By this time Blaine felt that he and Buck must do one of two things.
Those retreating observation planes would undoubtedly bring up air
reinforcements. The barrage had already stopped. This was good for
the charging Allies as well as the retreating Boches.

"Buck and I have either got to get back inside our lines or fight," he
thought, carefully balancing his triplane against a rising breeze. "Or
we might rise higher and take another chance. One thing we have done.
We've helped bust up that charge, no matter how their advance has fared
at Appincourte or elsewhere."

Forward went the Allied infantry, driving the now disrupted Huns before
them. The fog kept clearing. Presently both Blaine and Bangs saw
heavy masses of men advancing in platoon formation over the scraggy
battle-scarred plain. They were probably two miles distant from the
retreating Huns.

Blaine darted back and sent out his signal flares, announcing the fact.
Indicating the probable distance, he waited for the barrage he was
sure would come. Bangs, seeing that Lafe was signaling, doused his now
useless Boche flares and confirmed what Blaine had signaled. Presently
the barrage began, and now both saw that it was incumbent on them to
remain up there as long as possible to assist the new Allied assault by
rendering their barrage effective.

But Bangs once more perplexed Lafe by another manifestation of his way
of fooling the Germans. More and more Blaine was perplexed.

"Where in sin did Buck get read up in Boche code flares like he is now?