f his friends, Edouard de Layens, was killed in this kind of
accident, and Guynemer was enraged that a gallant airman should perish
otherwise than in battle. He was in reality an inventor, though this
statement may cause surprise, and though it may not be wise at present
to bear it out by facts.

Every part of his machine or of his gun was familiar to him. He had
handled them all, taking them apart and putting them together again.
There are practical improvements in modern airplanes which would not be
there had it not been for him. And there is a "Guynemer visor."

Confidence and authoritativeness had not come to him along with glory,
for from the first he talked as one engrossed by his ideas, and it is
because he was thus engrossed that he found persuasive words to bring
others round to his views. But, naturally enough, he had not at first
the prestige which he possessed when he became Captain Guynemer, had
high rank in the Legion of Honor, and enjoyed world-wide fame. In his
'prentice days when, in workshops or in the presence of well-known
builders, he would make confident statements, inveigh against errors, or
demand modifications, people thought him flippant and saucy. Once
somebody called him a raw lad. The answer came with crushing rapidity:
"When you blunder, raw lads like myself pay for your mistakes."

It must be admitted that, like most people brought up with wealth, he
was apt to be unduly impatient. Delays or objections irritated him. He
wanted to force his will upon Time, which never admits compulsion, and
tried to over-ride obstacles. His peculiar fascination gradually won its
way even in workshops, and his appearance there was greeted with
acclamation, not only because the men were curious to see him, but
because they were in sympathy with him and had put his ideas to a
successful test. The workmen liked to see him sit in a half-finished
machine, and explain in his short, decisive style what he wanted and
what was sure to give superiority to French aviation. The men stopped
work, came round, and listened eagerly. This, too, was a triumph for
him. What he told them on such occasions he had probably whispered to
himself many times before when, on rainy days, he would sit in his
airplane under the hangar, and think and talk to himself, while
strangers wondered if he was not crazy.

However, he had made friends with well-known engineers, especially Major
Garnier of Puteaux and M. Bechereau of the Spad wor