ith his red fat face and his cold
blue eye, was very much alive and had a grievance.

"Where did that man drop from?" he demanded truculently, "I didn't see
him."

"I'm sorry," said Blackie; "if we had known that, we would have got him
to ring a bell or wave a flag."

"That is frivolous," said the German officer severely.

"It is the best we can do, dear lad," said Blackie, and didn't trouble
to invite him to lunch.

"Tam, you've done so well," said the squadron leader at that meal, "that
I can see you being appointed official guardian angel to the O. B.'s.
They are going to bring you some flowers."

"And a testimonial with a purse of gold," suggested Croucher, the
youngest of the flyers.

"A'm no' desirin' popularity," said Tam modestly, "'tis against ma
principles to accept any other presents than seegairs, and even these
A'm loath to accept unless they're good ones."

He looked at his wrist watch, folded his serviette and rose from the
mess-table with a little nod to the president.

It was a gratifying fact, which Blackie had remarked, that Second
Lieutenant, late Sergeant, Tam, had taken to the mess as naturally as a
duck to water. He showed neither awkwardness nor shyness, but this was
consonant with his habit of thought. Once attune your mind to the
reception of the unexpected, so that even the great and vital facts of
life and death leave you unshaken and unamazed, and the lesser
quantities are adjusted with ease.

Tam had new quarters, his batman had become his servant, certain little
comforts which were absent from the bunk were discoverable in the cozy
little room he now occupied.

* * * * *

His day's work was finished and he was bound on an expedition which was
one part business and nine parts joy-ride, frank and undisguised, for
the squadron-car had been placed at his disposal. The road to Amiens was
dry, the sun was up, and the sky was blue, and behind him was the
satisfactory sense of good work well done, for the "Sausage-Killer" was
at that moment on his way back to the base, sitting vis-a-vis with a
grimy young military gentleman who cuddled a rifle and a fixed bayonet
with one hand and played scales on a mouth-organ with the other, softly,
since he was a mere learner, and this was an opportunity for making
joyful noises without incurring the opprobrium of his superiors.

Tam enjoyed the beauty and freshness of the early afternoon, every
minute of it. He d