ered, and the
memory of it made him happy.

I swallowed a question I was going to ask: What about
yourself--some day? because he looked so full of life that the
notion of death could never present itself to him. But he seemed to
have read my thoughts, for he said:

"You have plenty of time in the air, except when you fight, and
then you have no time at all. I've been brought down six times, and
I always had plenty of time to realize what was happening." And he
laughed his clear, boyish laugh.

As a matter of fact, he has been incredibly lucky. In one fight he
was hit three times, and each time the bullet was deadened by some
unexpected obstacle.

Finally I was shown photographs of himself, chronologically
arranged. Needless to say, it was not he who showed them. There was
the half-nude baby, with eyes already sparkling and eager, then the
schoolboy with the fine carriage of the head, then the lad fresh
from school with a singularly calm expression, and well filled-out
cheeks. A little later the expression appeared more mature and
tense, though still ingenuous. Later again there was a decidedly
stern look, with the face less oval and thinner. The rough fingers
of war had chiseled this face, and sharpened and strengthened it. I
looked from the picture to him, and I realized that, compared to
his former pictures, his expression had now indeed acquired
something terrible. But just then he laughed, and the laughter
conjured away all phantasies.

V. THE MAGIC MACHINE

As a tiny boy who had invented an enchanted bed for his sisters' dolls,
as a boy who, at College Stanislas, had rigged up a telephone to send
messages to the last forms in the schoolroom, or manufactured miniature
airplanes, as a recruit who, at Pau, had gladly accepted the work of
cleaning, burnishing, and overhauling engines, Guynemer had always shown
a passion for mechanics. Becoming a pilot, and later on a chaser, he
exhibited in the study and perfecting of his airplanes the same
enthusiasm and perseverance as in his flights. He was everlastingly
calling for swifter or more powerful machines, and not only strove to
communicate his own fervor to technicians, but went into minute details,
suggested improvements, and whenever he had a chance visited the
workshops and assisted at trials. Such trials are sometimes dangerous.
One o