ear with the
force of a hammer. Owing to the wind John could not hear the battle on
the other flank so well, but he believed that it was being fought there
with equal fury and determination.

He was watching with such intentness that he did not hear the sweep of
an aeroplane behind him, but he did see Lannes run to General
Vaugirard's car and give him a note.

While the general read and pondered, Lannes turned toward the wheel on
which John sat. Although he tried to preserve calm, John knew that he
was tremendously excited. He had taken off his heavy glasses and his
wonderful gray eyes were flashing. It was obvious to his friend, who now
knew him so well, that he was moved by some tremendous emotion.

John rode up by the side of Lannes and said:

"What have you seen, Philip? You can tell a little at least, can't you?"

"More than a little! A lot! The _Arrow_ and I have looked over a great
area, John! Miles and miles and yet more miles! and wherever we went we
gazed down upon armies locked in battle, and beyond that were other
armies locked in battle, too! The nations meet in wrath! You can't see
it here, nor from anywhere on the earth! It's only in the air high
overhead that one can get even a partial view of its immensity! The
English army is off there on the flank, a full thirty miles away, and
you're not likely to see it today!"

He would have said more, but General Vaugirard beckoned to him, gave him
a note which he had written hastily, and in a few more minutes Lannes
was flitting like a swallow through the heavens. Then General
Vaugirard's car moved forward and brigade after brigade of the French
army resumed its advance also.

John felt that the great German machine had been met by a French machine
as great. Perhaps the master mind that thrills through an organism of
steel no less than one of human flesh was on the French side. He did not
know. The invisible hand thrusting forward the French armies was still
invisible to him. Yet he felt with the certainty of conviction that the
eye and the brain of one man were achieving a marvel. In some mysterious
manner the French defense had become an offense. The Republican troops
were now attacking and the Imperial troops were seeking to hold fast.

He seemed to comprehend it all in an instant, and a mighty joy surged
over him. De Rougemont saw his glistening eye and he asked curiously:

"What is it that you are feeling so strongly, Mr. Scott?"

"The thrill of t