they would meet with a stubborn resistance. The enemy must, in
the nature of things have been forewarned, and would do everything in
his power to ward off the impending blow.

There was likely to be a determined battle in the air, with the Germans
closing in to make desperate resistance. There was also bound to be a
heavy fire from below. Airplanes, perhaps even Zeppelins of the latest
and most powerful description, would attack the raiders, and seek to
smash their formation into a chaos that must mean disgraceful flight and
heavy losses.

But every American heart beat strong with confidence as the fliers
winged their way through space, heading for the Hun stronghold that was
intended to be a supreme menace to the onrushing tide of Uncle Sam's
boys in khaki.

CHAPTER XVII

FLYING FOR VICTORY

BOTH Tom and Jack could look back to previous experiences in bombing the
enemy. They had taken part in excursions that occupied a part of a
moonlight night; trips that sometimes had carried them across the
border, and to Metz; once they had gone even as far as the Rhine up in
the region of Coblenz, where later on Pershing's army was fated to be
posted as a guard over the beaten Huns.

But on those occasions their work had been of a different character from
that now given to them. They had seen munition plants go up in masses of
flames after their bombs struck; watched important bridges being
shattered under the same gigantic force; felt a thrill of triumph when a
lucky shot exploded some huge munition dump, on which the enemy depended
for his reserve store; exhausted their stock of bombs in demolishing an
important railway junction, so as to paralyze the transportation of
reinforcing bodies of German troops.

All those things they were familiar with, but from the great secrecy
that had been maintained in connection with this enterprise they could
understand that it far exceeded them all in importance.

Their speed was such that they would be likely to reach their goal
shortly, when all the suspense must be over. Jack wished that time had
come. He was already trying to figure out just how Tom would plan so as
to seem to become lost on the homeward flight, and thus be left to his
own resources for a time.

From this reverie he was aroused by seeing the signal flash from the
pivot of the spearhead. It gave him an electrical sensation, though that
was only to be expected.

Tom, too, knew the crisis was near at hand