Part 18 (1/2)

Jack had already started an examination on his own account, and he almost immediately announced a finding.

”Just what happened, Tom!” came his cry, in a tone of dismay mingled with disgust. ”Why, there are two holes, one far above the other! I reckon it came from below, after all. But the tank is empty, and only for that automatic feed change, meant for such an emergency, we'd have been running on hot air before now.”

”There's not enough petrol in the small tank to take us home, Jack, I'm afraid,” Tom called next.

”Then what?” demanded the other eagerly.

”Only one thing left to us, I'm thinking.”

”What's that? You're the skipper of this craft, and I take my orders from you. Whatever you say goes.”

”We'll have to pick out a nice even spot and land,” said the pilot, in the most natural tone imaginable; for he had by now shut off some of his power, and the noise accordingly diminished.

”And try to get enough gas, some way or other, to see us safely on our way--is that the programme, Tom?” queried the observer.

”There's really no other way. If we keep straight on we're likely to be forced to drop right back of the Hun lines, where we'd be gobbled up as quick as a flash.”

”Too bad, isn't it?” cried Jack, in mock tones of chagrin. ”And, Tom, wouldn't it be queer now, if after we did drop down we should find that we'd actually landed close to a half ruined chateau that's perched on a hilltop, and occupied by a Hun general as headquarters?”

”That would be a strange coincidence, I should call it, Jack.”

”But you say we've just got to land somewhere,” urged the other.

”No other way out of the mess. It's either that or else take big risks of being captured just back of the Boche lines. Of the two, our chances are better here than there.”

”Well, I bow to your judgment, Tom. You know best. But we'd better drop to a much lower level right away, hadn't we?”

”That goes without saying,” replied the pilot, setting about taking a dip, at which he was very expert. ”As it is now we can't see much of where we are; and the rest of the gang seem to have cleared out entirely. You can hear the stir of their pa.s.sage getting fainter and fainter all the while.”

”We'll have to go pretty far down if we hope to glimpse anything of the character of the country in this poor light,” Jack continued, ”and, of course, it'll be necessary for you to pick out a clear place for a landing.”

”Unless we can we stand to have a smash that'll just ruin everything,”

Tom cheerfully a.s.sured him.

They had begun to fall rapidly. Tom managed it so that this maneuver was carried out in the best possible way calculated to conserve their very limited stock of petrol.

Gradually they began to get a clearer view of the ground, which until then had only appeared in vague outlines to their eyes. Jack soon announced a discovery.

”I can begin to make out the trees in patches, Tom. And see there! That must be the river winding along like a snake over yonder. Didn't we decide that the chateau stood within sight of this very stream, Tom?”

”According to what that Lorrainer told me, it did; and on the left bank in the bargain,” admitted Tom.

”Good! And unless I've lost my reckoning entirely I should say we're on the left bank of the river right now.”

”Just what we are,” came the rea.s.suring answer. ”I'm going to drop down another peg or two, so we can pick up some landmark and get our bearings settled. No use in groping about as if we were in a fog. I'll shut off most of our speed and just loaf along. We've got to make that gas see us through, you know, Jack.”

”I hope it will, I certainly do!”