d, each diving for cover
and cutting loose their sticks of bombs. Stan banked and selected a
bomber as his victim. Through his windscreen he caught a glimpse of
Allison and his hand stiffened on the control. A cloud of Jerry fighters
had dropped out of the blue upon the Spitfire. Allison had gone wild as
he always did. His Spitfire was a whirling, twisting demon, its eight
wing guns flaming. But Allison hadn't a chance against that swarm of
Jerries.

Stan shot upward to get into the play. He cut loose the bombs from his
racks and gave the Hawk all she had. He had a wide space of blue to cut
through and as he bored in he saw Allison's ship lay over in a wabbly,
sickening lurch and then nose down.

"Guns out, motor stuttering. Have to go in," Allison's drawl came over
the radio.

The Hendee Hawk roared into the whirling mass of Jerry fighters and its
banks of guns roared. The Jerries slid away after they had tasted the
terrible gun power of this new ship.

Stan nosed down and plummeted after Allison who had two Messerschmitts
on his tail, but when the Hawk overtook them in one terrific spurt they
swerved aside, each sending a final spray of lead over Allison's ship.
Stan picked the one on the right and laid over to cut across the Messer
with all his Brownings drilling. A wing sheared away from the Messer and
shot up and out of sight. The Messerschmitt went rolling down.

Stan dived after Allison. He didn't like the way the Spitfire was
wobbling and turning. He had once seen a ship come in that way and when
the boys got to it the pilot was dead. All he could do was trail Allison
who failed to answer his frantic calls.

The Spitfire kept going until she was almost to the field. As she slid
out over the turf she wavered and her nose went down. She dived a few
hundred feet, straightened, then slid off on one wing. Again she
straightened and leveled out, close to the ground now. Suddenly she put
her nose down and plunged to earth, landing with a smash that made her
ground loop and pile up close to a hangar door.

Stan set the Hawk down and slid over to the wrecked Spitfire. He and
O'Malley leaped out and ran to the ship. The ground men had dragged
Allison out. He was slumped between two of them, his face bloodless,
his lips tight with pain. The old, mocking flicker was in his eyes as he
shoved aside the arms of the men and smiled at Stan.

"I take back everything I've said about Yank planes," he said, then he
slid ge