CHAPTER XVI
JUST IN TIME
It was with mingled feelings of alarm and sorrow that Tom Raymond
sent the speedy Spad aeroplane on its homeward way toward the French
lines. He was worried, not chiefly about his own safety, but on
account of Jack; and his sorrow was in the thought that perhaps he
had taken his last flight with his beloved chum and comrade in arms.
He could not see where Jack had been hit, but this was because the
other lad lay in such a huddled position in the cockpit. Jack had
slumped from his seat, the safety straps alone holding him in
position, though he would not have fallen out when the machine was
upright as it was at present.
"One of those machine gun bullets must have got him," mused Tom, as
he started the craft on an upward climb, for it had darted downward
when Jack's nerveless hands and feet ceased their control. For part
of the steering in an aeroplane is done by the feet of the pilot,
leaving his hands free, at times, to fire the machine gun or draw
maps.
Tom had a double object in starting to rise. One was to get into a
better position to make the homeward flight, and another was to have
a better chance not only to ward off the attack of the Hun planes,
of which there were now three in the air, but also to return their
fire. It is the machine that is higher up that stands the best
chance in an aerial duel, for not only can one maneuver to better
advantage, but the machine can be aimed more easily with reference
to the fixed gun.
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