Part 14 (2/2)

M Guynemer said no more He felt that he had probed his son's soul to the depths, and his pride in his hero did not diuish, but he watched the boy, thinking he would never see hihters, too, stood on the threshold oppressed by the sa no words to veil it

In the Iliad, Hector, after breaking into the Greek ca the land, and which the Gods alone could stop, returns to Troy and stopping at the Scaean gates waits for Achilles, who he knows e Patroclus Old Priaer, and beseeches hionist Hecuba joins her tears to his supplications But tears and entreaties avail little, and Hector, turning a deaf ear to his parents, walks out to meet Achilles, as he thinks, but indeed to meet his own fate

On Septe field of Saint-Pol-sur-Mer near Dunkirk His old friend, Captain Heurtaux, so long Commander of the Storks, was not there; he had been wounded the day before by an explosive bullet, and the English had picked up and evacuated him

Heurtaux possessed infinite tact, and had not infrequently succeeded in influencing the rebellious Guynemer; but nobody was there to replace him September 5 was a day of extraordinary activity for Guyneic airplane was still at the works, where he had co able to wait for it, he sent for his old machine and immediately attacked a DFW at close quarters, as usual; but the Boche was saved by the jaet back to his landing-ground Furious at this failure, he proain and attacked a chain of five one-seated planes, hitting thich however ed to protect each other and escape After two hours and a half, Guyneer out of order, and for the third tinant to see nothing but prudent Ger far out of his reach So, he had flown five hours and a half in that one day What nerves could stand such a strain? But Guyne victory, cared little for strain or nerves Everything seeainst him: Heurtaux away, his best uns out of order, and Gere No wonder if he fretted himself into increased irritation

Guynemer liked Lieutenant Raymond, and every now and then fleith hi on leave, Guynemer on September 8 asked another favorite comrade, _sous-lieutenant_ Bozon-Verduraz, to acco soon parted the two aviators, who lost their way and onlywhen Bozon-Verduraz was over Nieuport and Guynemer over Ostend

September 9 was a Sunday, and Guynemer over-slept and had to be roused by a friend

”Aren't you co to mass?”

”Of course”

The two officers went to roorse Guyne the enforced rest, he resented it as a personal wrong Next day he flew three tiht, on his two-gun machine, he found that the water-puian aerodroraph The picture shoorried, tense, disquieting countenance under thethe ene his friends

[Illustration: ”GOING WEST”]

The photograph taken, Guynemer flew back to camp The best for him, under the circumstances, would have been to wait Was he not hourly to hear that he o to the Buc works for hison an unsatisfactory airplane? But Guynemer was not in Flanders to wait He wanted his quarry, and he wanted to set an exaalvanize hisabsent, Guynemer borrowed his machine, and at last discovered a chain of Gerardless of their nued the air-pump, an accident which not only compelled him to land but to return byto the whisper of wisdoache'sover the loose top of the carburetor The oil caught fire, and Guyne been in the air five hours and a half on unsatisfactory airplanes No wonder if, with the weather, the ainst him, he felt tired and nervous He had never done so much with such poor results But his will, his will cannot accept what is forced upon hie himself beaten

III THE LAST FLIGHT

On Tuesday, Septes by the seaside do not last, and the sun soon began to shi+ne Guyneht after his failures, and had brooded, as irritable people do, over the very things thatwithout his new airplane--the enchanting machine which he had borne in his mind so many months, as a wo under hi became an obsession, until he made up his mind to leave for Buc before the day was over Indeed, he would have done so sooner had he not been haunted by the idea that hedown his Boche But since the Boche did not see

Now he is resolved, andHe has only to while away the ti, and besides Major du Peuty, one of the chiefs of Aviation at Headquarters, and Major Brocard, recently appointed attache to the Minister of Aeronautics, were co down by the early train They were sure to arrive at the camp between nine and ten, and a conversation with the; so, better wait for thehts, Guynemer was restless, and his face showed the sallow color which always foreboded his physical relapses His o, strolling from his tent to the sheds and from the sheds to his tent He was not cross, only nervous Suddenly he went back to the shed and examined his _Vieux-Charles_ Why, the uns had been repaired, and yesterday's accident was not likely to happen again If so, why not fly? In the absence of Heurtaux, Guyneood example forced itself upon hi work already; the fog was quickly lifting, the day would soon be resplendent, and the notion of duty too quickly dazzled him, like the sun For duty had always been his motive power; he had always anticipated it, fro to enlist at Biarritz to this 11th of Septelory nor the craze to be an aviator which had caused hi to be of use; and in the sahts were made in obedience to his will to serve

All at once he was really resolved _Sous-lieutenant_ Bozon-Verduraz was requested to accompany him, and the mechanicians wheeled the ence: ”Aren't you going to wait till Major du Peuty and Major Brocard arrive?” Guyne itself fro off his hesitancy, and his friend felt that he ent Everybody of late had noticed his nervousness, and Guynemer knew it and resented it; tact was more necessary than ever with him Let it be remembered that he was the pet, almost the spoiled child, of his service, and that it had never been easy to approach him

Meanwhile, the two majors, who had been met at the station, were told of his nervous condition, and hurried to speak to him They expected to reach the camp by nine o'clock, and would send for him at once But Guynemer and Bozon-Verduraz had started at twenty-five ht

They had left the sea behind the them over Bixchoote and the Korteker Tavern which the French troops had taken on July 31, over the Bixchoote-Langeeust 16 Trenches, sections of broken roads, familiar to them from above, crossed and recrossed each other under theemarck road the railway, or what used to be the railway, between Ypres and Thourout and the Saint-Julien-Poelkapelle road No German patrol appeared above the French or British lines, which Guyneht of above the Maison Blanche, and they followed on to the Geres of Poelkapelle

Guyne-practiced eye then sao-seated enenal was ht was certain, and this fight was the one which Fate had long decided on

The attack on a two-seater flying over its own lines, and consequently enjoying unrestricted freedom of movement, is known to be a ticklish affair, as the pilot can shoot through the propeller and the passenger in his turret rakes the whole field of vision with the exception of two angles, one in front, the other behind hi the ene directly at him, whether upwards or doards, was Guyne speeds of the two er is sheltered by the engine So it is best to get behind and a little lower than the tail of the enemy plane

Guynemer had frequently used thisthat if he should fail he could easily resort to the other, either by turning or by a quick tail spin So he tried to get between the sun and the enemy; but as ill-luck would have it, the sky clouded over, and Guynemer had to dive down to his opponent's level, so as to show hies of the planes, hardly visible But by this tiet his range Prudence advised zigzagging, for a cool-headed gunner has every chance of hitting a straight-flying airplane; the ene, and the attack should be made fro back in case the eneardless of rules and stratageht have said, like Alexander refusing to take advantage of the dark against Darius, that he did not want to steal victory He only counted on his lightning-like , which had won him so many victories, and on his marksmanshi+p But he missed the Gerain by Bozon-Verduraz, aited him below