"When those charging battalions went by, of their officers threw away
his coat. They were on a double quick, to reinforce others that gone
on before I came down.

"Lucky they happened to have no planes. Otherwise I'd never pulled
through. As it was she was a close squeeze. I slipped down, bagged
the coat, and here she is. You needn't laugh, Sergeant. There's maps
and papers inside. Might be wuth something to our side yet."

"Bully for you, Bangs! I was wrong. Are you ready? Then follow me!
We're going to stick round the Boche flanks a bit and who knows what we
may run up against?"

Without a bit of trouble Blaine's triplane glided upward after a short
slide over the rough level of No-Man's-Land, and he was off. Buck
attempted to follow but the machine skidded sideways, struck a slope
and after a mute struggle with adverse conditions came to a standstill.
Cursing to himself, Buck jumped out, forced his plane to a more stable
level, then mounting to his seat again he put on all power to try to
overtake his companion. But in that short interval Blaine had vanished
in fog.

"If this isn't bad luck, I don't know what is!" soliloquized Buck, as
his Nieuport began to rise. "If I'd got off at first, I wouldn't 'a'
lost Lafe. Well, I must do a trifle of scouting on my own hook. "

Buck was climbing, not too fast, for he watched, still hoping that
something might happen that he would sight Blaine again. Flying thus
easily, climbing still higher, he was all at once startled by a burst