Two days later. The scene had changed. The Allied front, leaving the
rippling stream some two miles or more in the rear, was now showing a
convex bend towards the foe instead of a concave hollow, as was the
case before the :fighting.

The little half-ruined cabin was in decidedly better shape than before.
A number of Red tents and temporary wooden shelters had risen if by
magic in the small open space around. Trenches stretched eastward,
communicating the new trenches now occupied by Americans French, with a
sprinkling of British forces.

That the new front was considered as something to be held permanently
was further indicated the rapid construction of a new road for
automobiles and motor-car traffic along this new line. Even ties,
lumber and rails were being piled here and there, as foretokening that
one more of the many short lines of railway was now being prepared for
use in the near future.

Still further back was another aerodrome, unfenced as yet, but nearly
completed. There was one reassuring sign of its ownership and
occupancy. As the light winds flared out its folds, so that all who
saw might read, there floated out our own national emblem, the Stars
and Stripes.

Inside the restored hut lay Buck Bangs on a white cot, while on another
reclined the stalwart form of Lafayette Blaine. Both of these spad
pilots, though pale and looking rather the worse for wear, showed such
evidence of comfort and bodily ease that one felt sure things must have
happened to both. On the lapel of each coat was military decoration,
evidently very recently bestowed.