etection.

"Now we'll know what they're up to, I guess," said Jack, with a good
deal of satisfaction. "It's a good thing I sort of half disobeyed orders
and came this way, isn't it?"

"You didn't really disobey orders, did you, Jack?" asked Tom.

"No, I didn't, really, Tom. I did what I was ordered to do, but I did
something more, too, as there was no special time limit set for the job
they gave us. But a scout is supposed to use his own judgment a good
deal, anyhow. Otherwise he wouldn't be any use as a scout, so far as I
can see."

It was very quiet in the hay. But above them, and sounding all the more
clearly and distinctly for the silence that was everywhere else, they
could hear the great hum of the motor of the aeroplane. With no muffler,
the engine of the flying-machine kicked up a lot of noise, and, as it
gradually grew louder, Jack was able to tell, even without looking up,
that it was coming down.

"By George," said he, "I think they are going to land! They're getting
more cautious, you see. They scout ahead now, and they're using their
war aeroplane the way we have been using this car of ours."

"What are our flying-machines doing, Jack? I haven't seen them on the
job at all."

"General Harkness is using them in the actual battles. They go up to
spot concealed bodies of the enemy, so that our gunners can get the
range and drive the enemy, theoretically, out of any cover they have
found. That's one of the ways in which flying machines are expected to
be most useful in the next war. You see, as it is now, with smokeless
powder and practically invisible uniforms, ten thousand men can do a lot
of damage before anyone on the other side can locate them at all. But
with a flying-machine, they won't be able to hide themselves. A man a
thousand feet above them can see them, and direct the fire of artillery
by signals so that the troops that were in entire security until he
discovered them can be cut to pieces by heavy shell fire."

"That's what our men have been doing, eh?"

"Yes--and theirs, too, mostly. This is the first time I've seen one of
their machines scouting. Look out now--keep quiet! They're landing, and
they're not more than a hundred feet away!"

The scraping of the flying-machine, as it came to rest in the field, was
plainly audible as the Scouts stopped talking and devoted themselves to
listening intently. Also, by craning their necks a little, though they
were in no danger of being seen the