Part 11 (1/2)

His new decoration was given him at four o'clock on a beautiful summer afternoon Guynemer's comrades were present, of course, and as pleased as if the function had concerned thei row of squadron machines, sixty in number, which stood there like race horses as if to take part in the fete Guynemer's well-known airplane, the _Vieux-Charles_, was the fifth to the left, its h it had been injured that very day In front of the aviation and regi aviator stood by hiht and pale, but upright, with eyes sparkling At a little distance a few civilians--his own people, whos

General Franchet d'Esperey appeared, a robust, energeticscene, described by one of the trench papers--the _Brise d'entonnoirs_ of the 82d Infantry--took place: ”The general stopped before the young hero and eyed hiallant soldier, touched his two shoulders with his sword, as they did to chaes, pinned the _rosette_ on his coat, and e tune of '_Sambre-et-Meuse_' the band and the soldiers marched in front of the new officer who, the cere over, joined his relatives so over Guyneed parts

”How co to one of the bullet-holes

”I had just reeneral_,” said Guynemer, with his usual simplicity

None of the airot that afternoon of July 5, 1917 The su the Aisne, the distant bass of the battle, lent to the scene an enchanting but soleic reat na, noble, hard-working Dor on May 25, and of Captain Lecour-Grandmaison, creator of the three-seaters, who, on one of these ht down five Gerht back to ca coreat chasers, to wounded Heurtaux, to Menard and Deullin, to Auger, Fonck, Jailler, Guerin, Baudouin, and all their colory to the pilots and observers who, always together in the discharge of duty, are not infrequently together in ues, pilot, and sous-lieutenant Bouvard, observer, who once fought seven Ger one down; to Lieutenant Floret and Lieutenant homo, who, placed in similar circuuier who, on April 18, had the pluck to come down to twenty-five meters above the enemy's lines and calmly make his observations; and to so ence, and conscientiousness, to the hundreds of uinary mass, thron from above, like the chorister boys in the _corpus Christi_ procession, the red roses of epics!

The whole Storks Escadrille had received fro _citation_: ”Escadrille No 3 Co escadrille which for the past two years has fought in every sector of the front onderful spirit and admirable self-sacrifice The squadron has just taken part in the Lorraine and Cha this period its members have destroyed fifty-three Gerht down, ht certainly demolished, and one hundred and thirty-two partly disabled”

This battle on the Aisne, with its faan to slacken in July; and it was decided that the chasing squadrons, including the Storks, should be transferred to one of the British sectors where another offensive was being prepared But before leaving the Fisiven his new rank in the Legion of Honor to be idle: that was not his way On the contrary, his habit was to show, after receiving a distinction as well as before, that he orthy of it On July 6 he engaged five two-seaters, and brought down one in flames The next day his notebook records two more victories:

”Attacked with Adjutant Bozon-Verduraz, four Albatros one-seaters, above Brimont Downed one in flames north of Villers-Franqueux, in our own lines Attacked a DFW which spun down in our lines at Moussy”

These victories, his forty-sixth, forty-seventh, and forty-eighth, were his farewell to the Aisne But these excessive exertions brought on nervous fatigue The escadrille had only just reached its new station, when Guyneo into hospital, whence he wrote his father on July 18 as follows:

Dear Father:

Knocked out again Hospital But this ti No ht in the fields I have a room all to myself Quite correct: I downed three Fritzes, one ablaze, and the next day again great sport: ht three of them, then one alone at 3200 to 800 meters He took fire They will have to wait till the earth dries so they can dig him out An hour later a two-seater turned up at 5500 He blundered, and fell straight down on a 75, which died of the shock But so did the passenger The pilot was simply a bit excited, for which he couldn't be blaed, but cauns intact

The _toubib_ (doctor) says I shall be on my feet in three or four days Don't see many Boches just now, but that won't last I read in a newspaper that I had been mobbed in a friendlyit Modern science brings about s (officer's stripes) and the cross of the Legion Please congratulate hies

PS I, who get seasick over nothing at all, have just been out to sea for the first tih, especially for a little h it all Wasn't I proud!

In fact, some newspaper had announced that Guyne in the Parade of the Fourteenth of July in Paris, and this was enough to persuade the crowd that some other air him to Paris on that solelory, but hated show, and he had followed his squadron to Flanders, where he had taken to his bed

The foregoing letter bears Guyne over having a roo renounced all co to begin as _garcon d'aerodrome_; the joke about the Gerround that it would have to be dug out, and the surprise of the pilot; the delight over Ray allusion to sea-sickness by the ation, are all characteristic details

Sheik Jabias thus su the Cid in his ca, sans digue, Absolu, lance au poing, panache, au front

And that Cid had never fought up in the air

IV GUYNEMER IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE

To quote hi dazzled by the Cid in his camp, is supposed to see hi more humble work