the forest of sword 15

the forest of sword 15

The plane was very near now, and assuredly it was German. John could

discern the Teutonic cast of their countenances, as the two men in it

leaned over and looked at the flag. They dropped lower and lower and

then flew in circles about the tree. John, despite his anxiety and

suspense, could not fail to notice the humorous phase of it. The plane

certainly could not effect a landing in the boughs, and if it descended

to the ground in order that one of their number might get out, climb the

tree and capture the flag, they would incur the danger of a sudden swoop

from French machines. Besides, the flag would be of no value to them,

unless they knew who put it there and why.

 

"The Germans, of course, see that it's a French flag," he said to

Weber. "I wonder what they're going to do."

 

"I think they'll have to leave it," said Weber, "because I can now see

other aeroplanes to the west, aeroplanes which may be French, and they

dare not linger too long."

 

"And our little flag may make a big disturbance in the heavens."

 

"So it seems."

 

The German plane made circle after circle around the tree, finally drew

off to some distance, and then, as it wavered back and forth, its

machine gun began to spit fire. Little boughs and leaves cut from the

tree fell to the ground, but the flag, untouched, fluttered defiantly in

the light breeze.

 

"They're trying to shoot it down," said John, "and with such an unsteady

gun platform they've missed every time."

 

"I doubt whether they'll continue firing," said Weber. "An aeroplane

doesn't carry any great amount of ammunition and they can't afford to

waste much."

 

"They're through now," said John. "See, they're flying away toward the

east, and unless my imagination deceives me, their machine actually

looks crestfallen, while our flag is snapping away in the wind, haughty

and defiant."

 

"A vivid fancy yours, Mr. Scott, but it's easy to imagine that German

machine looking cheap, because that's just the way the men on board it

must feel. Suppose we sit down here and take our ease. No flying man

can see through those vines over our heads, and we can watch in safety.

We're sure to draw other scouts of the air, while for us it's an

interesting and comparatively safe experience."

 

"Our flag is certainly an attraction," said John, making himself

comfortable on the ground. "There's a bird of passage now, coming down

from the north as swift as a swallow."

 

"It's a little monoplane," said Weber, "and it certainly resembles a

swallow, as it comes like a flash toward this tree. I thought at first

it might be Lannes in the _Arrow_, but the plane is too small, and it's

of German make."

 

"I fancy it won't linger long. This is not a healthy bit of space for

lone fellows in monoplanes."

 

The little plane slackened its speed, as it approached the tree, and

then sailed by it at a moderate rate. When it was opposite the flag a

spurt of flame came from the pistol of the man in it, and John actually

laughed.

 

"That was sheer spite," he said. "Did he think he could shoot our flag

away with a single bullet from a pistol when a machine gun has just

failed? That's right, turn about and make off as fast as you can, you

poor little mono!"

 

The monoplane also curved around the tree, but did not make a series of

circles. Instead, when its prow was turned northward it darted off again

in that direction, going even more swiftly than it had come, as if the

aviator were ashamed of himself and wished to get away as soon as

possible from the scene of his disgrace. Away and away it flew,

dwindling to a black speck and then to nothing.

 

John's shoulders shook, and Weber, looking at him, was forced to smile

too.

 

"Well, it was funny," he said. "Our flag is certainly making a stir in

the heavens."

 

"I wonder what will come next," said John. "It's like bait drawing birds

of prey."

 

The heavens were now beautifully clear, a vault of blue velvet, against

which anything would show. Far away the cannon groaned and thundered,

and the waves of air pulsed heavily, but John noticed neither now. His

whole attention was centered upon the flag, and what it might call from

the air.

 

"In such a brilliant atmosphere we can certainly see our visitors from

afar," he said.

 

"So we can," said Weber, "and lo! another appears out of the east!"

 

The dark speck showed on the horizon and grew fast, coming apparently

straight in their direction. John did not believe it had seen their flag

at first, owing to the great distance, but was either a messenger or a

scout. As it soon began to descend from its great height in the air,

although still preserving a straight course for the tree, he felt sure

that the flag had now come into its view. It grew very fast in size and

was outlined with startling clearness against the burning blue of the

sky.

 

The approaching machine consisted of two planes alike in shape and size,

superimposed and about six feet apart, the whole with a stabilizing tail

about ten feet long and six feet broad. John saw as it approached that

the aviator sat before the motor and screw, but that the elevating and

steering rudders were placed in front of him. There were three men

besides the aviator in the machine.

 

"A biplane," said John.

 

"Yes," said Weber, "I recognize the type of the machine. It's originally

a French model."

 

"But in this case, undoubtedly a German imitation. They've seen our

flag, because I can make out one of the men with glasses to his eyes.

They hover about as if in uncertainty. No wonder they can't make up

their minds, because there's the tricolor floating from the top of that

tall tree, and not a thing in the world to explain why it's in such a

place. A man with a rifle is about to take a shot at it. Bang! There it

goes! But I can't see that the bullet has damaged our flag. Look, how it

whips about and snaps defiance! Now, all the men except the aviator

himself have out glasses and are studying the phenomenon of our signal.

They come above the tree, and I think they're going to make a swoop

around the grove near the ground. Lie close, Weber! As I found out once

before, a thick forest is the best defense against aeroplanes. They

can't get through the screen of boughs."

 

They heard a whirring and drumming, and the biplane not more than fifty

feet above the earth made several circles about the little wood. John

saw the men in it very clearly. He could even discern the German cast of

countenance where all except the one at the wheel that controlled the

two rudders had thrown back their hoods and taken off their glasses.

The three carried rifles which they held ready for use, in case they

detected an enemy.

 

Whirling around like a vast primeval bird of prey the biplane began to

rise, as if disappointed of a victim, and winding upward was soon above

the trees. Then John heard the rapid crackle of rifles.

 

"Shooting at our flag again!" he exclaimed.

 

But the whizz of a bullet that buried itself in the earth near him told

him better.

 

"It isn't possible that they've seen us!" he exclaimed.

 

"No," said Weber, "they're merely peppering the woods and vines in the

hope that they'll hit a concealed enemy, if such there should be."

 

"That being the case," said John, "I'm going to make my body as small as

possible, and push myself into the ground if I can."

 

He lay very close, but the rifle fire quickly passed to other portions

of the wood, and then died away entirely. John straightened himself out

and saw the biplane becoming smaller, as it flew off in the direction

whence it had come.

 

"I hope you'll come to no good," he said, shaking his fist at the

disappearing plane. "You've scared me half to death with your shots, and

I hope that both your rudders will get out of gear and stay out of gear!

I hope that the wheel controlling them will be smashed up! I hope that

the top plane will crash into the bottom one! I hope that a French shell

will shoot your tail off! And I hope that you'll tumble to the earth and

lie there, nothing but a heap of rotting wood and rusty old metal!"

 

"Well done, Mr. Scott!" said Weber. "That was quite a curse, but I think

it will take something more solid to disable the biplane."

 

"I think so too, but I've relieved my feelings, and after a man has done

so he can work a lot better. What are we to look for now, Weber? We

don't seem to have success in attracting anything but Germans. If Lannes

is coming at all, as you think he will, he'll get a pretty late ticket

of admission to our reserved section of the air."

 

"You must remember that the sky above us is a pretty large place, and at

any rate we're a drawing power. We're always pulling something out of

the ether."

 

"And our biggest catch is coming now! Look, Weber, look I If that isn't

one of Herr Zeppelin's railroad trains of the air then I'll eat it when

it gets here!"

 

"You're right, Mr. Scott. There the monster comes. It can't be anything

but a Zeppelin! They must have one of their big sheds not far east of

us."

 

"We'll hear its rattling soon. Like the others it will surely see our

flag and make for it. But if they take a notion to shoot up the wood, as

the men on that biplane did, we'd better hunt holes. A Zeppelin can

carry a lot of soldiers."

 

The Zeppelin was not moving fast. It had none of the quick graceful

movements of the aeroplanes, but came on slowly like some huge monster

of the air, looking about for prey. It turned southeast for a moment or