but we have to use our eyes,
too."

The boys climbed up and got settled. Control gave Stan clearance and he
called to his flight.

"Rhubarb Raid, check temperatures. Sim, take off first. Rendezvous at
twenty thousand."

Stan leaned back and checked his instruments. He watched Sim slide away
and shoot skyward. The 51's were plenty fast. O'Malley went off next and
was in the air almost at once. Stan kicked his throttle open and roared
after his pals. The Mustang hopped off as though she weighed only a few
pounds instead of three tons or more.

The three P-51's slipped into close formation and headed out across the
channel. The day was a good one for reconnaissance, because there were
many banks of clouds at high level with a very high ceiling. Stan kept
his eyes open for enemy interceptors. He half hoped a few Me's would
spot them so that they could try out the new ships. No fighters were
seen until they reached the mouth of the Rhine.

Below them they could see Rotterdam and beyond, Gorinchem. O'Malley was
wagging his wings, signaling to go down. The fighters they spotted,
three in number, did not try to intercept them.

Stan signaled back and they all peeled off. The P-51 went down smoothly
but with a swift rush that set Stan back against the shock pad. He had
to ease on a bit more power to stay with O'Malley who was trying his
ship out.

At five thousand feet they flattened out a quarter mile apart and
stalled in toward a line of trees and a windmill. O'Malley brushed the
sails of the mill as he swept over it. They were close to the ground
now, flipping along like cotton dusters on a Texas plantation. O'Malley
was hugging the ground, popping over trees and sliding between
buildings. Stan saw the white faces of people as they looked up. Most of
them waved to the ship with the United States insignia. They were Dutch
farmers.

The three ships hedge-hopped on over the low country. O'Malley held a
speed that made the ground blur and waver. It also made dodging power
lines and missing church steeples exciting business. Stan raked a
pennant off the top of a building without seeing the building at all.
After that he called to O'Malley.

"Hey, you. Get up a bit!"

"Sure, an' the scenery is foine down here," O'Malley called back. But he
did take a little more altitude.

They roared in over Germany and headed for Huls. Twice they were blasted
by machine guns, but they were flying so low the German detector system