lendar. Yesterday we flew over Chauny, Tergnier, Laon, Coucy,
Soissons. Up to Chauny my observer had counted 243 shells; Coucy shot
500 to 600; my observer estimated 1000 shots in all. All we heard was a
rolling sound, and then the shells burst everywhere, below us, above, in
front, behind, on the right and on the left, for we descended to take
some photographs of a place which they did not want us to see. We could
hear the shell-fragments whistling past; there was one that, after
piercing the wing, passed within the radius of the propeller without
touching it, and then to within fifty centimeters of my face; another
entered by the same hole but stayed there, and I will send it to you.
Fragments also struck the rudder, and one the body." (His journal
mentions more.) "My observer, who has been an observer from the
beginning, says that he never saw a cannonade like that one, and that he
was glad to get back again. At one moment a bomb-head of 105
millimeters, which we knew by its shape and the color of its explosion,
fell on us and just grazed us. In fact, we often see enormous shells
exploding. It is very curious. On our return we met Captain Gerard, and
my observer told him that I had astounding nerve; _zim, boum boum!_ He
said he knew it.... I will send you a photograph of my '_coucou_' with
its nine bruises: it is superb."

The next day, June 18, it was his mother who received his confidences.
The enemy had bombarded Villers-Cotterets with a long-distance gun which
had to be discovered. On this occasion he took Lieutenant Colcomb as
observer: "At Coucy, terribly accurate cannonade: _toc, toc_, two
projectiles in the right wing, one within a meter of me; we went on with
our observations in the same place. Suddenly a formidable crash: a shell
burst 8 to 10 meters under the machine. Result: three holes, one strut
and one spar spoiled. We went on for five minutes longer observing the
same spot, always encircled, naturally. Returning, the shooting was less
accurate. On landing, my observer congratulated me for not having moved
or zig-zagged, which would have bothered his observation. We had, in
fact, only made very slight and very slow changes of altitude, speed,
and direction. Compliments from him mean something, for nobody has
better nerve. In the evening Captain Gerard, in command of army
aviation, called me and said: 'You are a nervy pilot, all right; you
won't spoil our reputation by lack of pluck--quite the contrary.