French lines!"

They were soon going at terrific speed, fifteen thousand feet up
in the air, when a terrifying peril beset them.

Out of the blackness ahead, bearing straight at them, came a dozen
German airplanes in splendid formation!

CHAPTER XXIV

CONCLUSION

"Hurrah!" yelled Tom Reade. "Sink or swim---but never say die!
Now we'll give it to 'em, real Yankee Doodle, 'over there' style!"

It sounded like sheer bravado, but Reade was fired with the new
genius of the war.

Tom headed straight for the nearest plane, and Dick turned the
machine gun loose. Almost immediately he had the great good luck
to cripple that enemy and send the craft fluttering down to earth.

But another plane had attempted to go under them with a view to
shooting up. It came too near, in the maneuver shot too badly,
and Dick let loose with the machine gun again. Down came the
enemy plane while Reade took a wide swerve to the right.

So swift and daring had been Reade's tactics that he was through
and past the opposing fleet ere the German aviators realized their
failure. Now the survivors wheeled and gave chase, though they
soon abandoned it, for the plane that Reade drove was a new one
and faster than any of his pursuers. For a minute or so more
the two Americans survived by sheer good luck. Then they were
out of enemy range.

Higher Tom mounted in the air. Dick fairly chattered with the
cold, but he kept the machine gun ready for instant use.

A few minutes more, then Tom, shutting off the power for a glide,
inquired, at the top of his voice:

"Where do you want to be put down?"

"For choice," Captain Prescott answered, "as close as possible
to General Bazain's divisional headquarters."

"I know the place," Tom nodded. "There's an aviation station
about three miles beyond there."

Tom threw on the power, straightened away, and three minutes later
began to glide again until he was not more than six thousand feet
from earth.

"Keep your eyes turned low," Tom counseled. "Soon we ought to
see something."

Nor was that "something" long in appearing. Not far ahead, yet
so much below them as to look tiny, hundreds of flashes were seen.

"German artillery," Dick told himself.

Another minute, and he beheld flashes turned against the Germans.

"Between the two lines of artillery are the fire trenches of the
opposing armies," Prescott realized with a thrill.

Next he found himself, at lower altitude, going