ally with another shot the Eagle suddenly
jumped miles high into the sky. Then he found himself bumping about
with the strange lad in a world of canvas with several other people.

By a strange freak of fortune the last shot had severed the rope by
which the two boys clung to the airship and had precipitated them
straight onto the tent. There they floundered for a time.

"Ha!" Jimmie heard as he opened his eyes. "Another recruit!"

CHAPTER XII

TEMPTATIONS

"Gee whiz!" exclaimed Harry excitedly, grasping a portion of the
framework of the Eagle to assist in keeping his balance as the great
plane shot skyward. "What's coming off here, anyhow?"

"What's the matter, Ned?" gasped Jack with equal astonishment.

Ned was too busy, however, just at that moment to give a suitable reply
to the queries. The antics of the Eagle were occupying all his
attention, and he made extreme efforts to prevent the craft and its
freight from being dashed to an ignominious end in the midst of the
camp of Germans who had succeeded in making a prisoner of Jimmie.

Instinctively the lad knew that something had happened to the boys
beneath the machine, although at the moment he was unable to see just
what calamity had befallen them.

With a great leap the Eagle soared away from the camp amidst the
humming of bullets from the rifles of the angry Uhlans, who fired
rapidly but without proper aim. Accustomed as they were to shooting at
targets on a level with themselves, they found it an entirely different
proposition to properly aim their weapons when their quarry was at some
distance above the earth.

Several of the missiles, however, struck the fuselage and wings of the
Eagle, causing considerable alarm. The boys were devoutly thankful
that none of the leaden messengers struck a vital part.

"Whew!" breathed Harry as the Eagle drew away from the scene. "We
didn't have much margin that time, I declare!"

"I guess that next time we go through a German camp we'll just hang an
anchor out overboard and hook up everything we can as we pass,"
suggested Jack, peering back at the camp they had just left.

"Better get Dave out of his perilous position as soon as we can," put
in Harry, remembering their new-found friend who had done such valiant
service. "He'll be tired by this time, with all this rough riding and
bouncing about we have been giving him."

"Yes," added Jack with interest, "you certainly started upward with the
litt