quadron of them being in the air, with others rising as they caught
the sound of the bustling motors coming from the south.

This was the first crisis in the raid. The Huns were "out for blood," as
Jack termed it, and would do their utmost to break up the formation.
Their object would be to confuse the Yankee pilots, and thus weaken the
force to the extent of making them abandon their plan.

But like a speeding avalanche the score of American planes sailed on,
bent on forcing their way directly through the feeble defensive line by
sheer mass play. It was football tactics over again on a huge scale, as
learned by most of those young pilots in their schooldays at home.

The machine-guns commenced to spray around them. Such a furious fire was
opened that almost immediately one of the Hun machines took a downward
dive, rushed earthward, bursting into flames before it had gone
one-quarter of the way to the ground.

This quick result evidently took some of the spirit out of the remainder
of the enemy pilots, for they sheered off to right and left, still
keeping their guns going, but apparently apprehensive as to their own
safety.

A second Boche crumpled up under this mass attack. His plane was seen
turning over and over, though it did not take fire, and there was not
one chance in ten of its pilot's being able to save himself from the
doom that apparently confronted him.

Of course, no one ever knew whose lucky shots had accomplished this
double result. These victories must go down in the history of the Yankee
flying squadron simply as "general damage inflicted upon the enemy." But
they counted just as much in demoralizing the Germans, for after that
the attempt to hold up the raiders was abandoned. Fritz had done his
best, but it had proved to be far from good enough.

Twenty Yankee machines had gone into the battle, and the same number
sailed majestically onward after the last spiteful chatter of
machine-gun fire had ceased.

For the first encounter of the night this was encouraging. It seemed to
give promise of further successes yet to come; and every member of the
expedition felt a glow in his heart on realizing how great their victory
had been.

They were now headed for the castle where report placed Ludendorff's
headquarters. Perhaps report lied. That was a matter with which they had
nothing whatever to do; all they knew was that their orders entailed on
them the duty of demolishing that castle in the most ex