to ensnare
him in the meshes of the law he had been defying so flagrantly.

"What's that matter to you?" he finally yelled testily, so that Perk
began to suspect he must have touched up the other with one of the
bullets that struck the seaplane.

"Oh! nothin' much," sang out the complaisant Perk, cheerfully, "on'y I
wanted to let you know I was over there in the same line and had the
good luck to send down a few o' you Hun pilots in a blazin' coffin.
Wondered now if me'n an' you mightn't a had a private scrap o' our own
in them bully times. Allers did hanker to have a talk-fest with you,
sense I heard 'bout you bein' one o' them bloomin' hot Junker pilots."

A hoarse laugh greeted this amazing sally of Perk's.

"Say, what sort of a crazy gyp are you to want to talk things over while
we got this scrap on?" bellowed the helmeted man in the shot torn cabin
of the amphibian. "That's our boat you're standin' on, and we need it in
our business, see? Give you three minutes to clear out, for I'm comin'
aboard. Get that, Kamarad?"

"Sure thing, Oscar old hoss, but when you do it'll be feet first, for
I'm fixed to fill your carcass so full o' lead it wouldn't need any
cannon ball to sink you if you died at sea. So mind your step, Mister
Pilot--jest been gettin' my hand in so far, but what's comin' next'll be
a whole lot different, bet your boots!"

The other did not show the white feather but immediately set to work
once more with his weapon. No sooner was its chatter "on the air" than
Perk started giving his own gun a chance to show its worth. This made it
lively again and once more those aggravating splinters began to scatter,
worrying Perk not a little, for strange to say he dreaded lest one of
them find lodgment in his anatomy and this troubled him much more than
the possibility of being struck by a speeding bullet.

It was quite warm while it lasted, but presently Perk realized that the
opposition had suddenly ceased. Being a polite man and always pleased to
meet his antagonist on even terms, Perk also stopped firing. If Oscar
had decided to advance once more and try conclusions at close quarters
where it would be give and take, he, Perk, could prove himself a most
accommodating chap.

Sure enough the engine of the amphibian had started up with increased
vigor and Perk, cautiously lifting his head, saw that the plane was
really in motion. But it was also veering to one side, which action
might mean either one of two