Part 15 (1/2)

What ought Guyne been iain on his new tack, and his usual obstinacy, erous course As he dived lower and lower in hopes of being able to wheel around and have another shot, Bozon-Verduraz spied a chain of eight Gerreed between him and his chief that on such occasions he should offer himself to the newco Guynemer time to achieve his fifty-fourth success, after which he should fly round again to where the fight was going on He had no anxiety about Guynemer, hom he had frequently attacked enemy squadrons of five, six, or even ten or twelve one-seaters The two-seater erous, and Guyneht his presence of mind, infallibility of movement, and quickness of eye were sure to come back, and the two-seater could hardly escape its dooe imprinted on the eyes of Bozon-Verduraz was of Guyne down, Guyne to be helped from down below Then Bozon-Verduraz had flown in the direction of the eight one-seaters, and the group had fallen apart, chasing hiht machines becamehe had achieved his object, flew back to where his chief was no doubt waiting for him But there was nobody in the empty space Could it be that the Ger hiet a closer vien below there was nothing, no sign, none of the bustle which always follows the falling of an airplane Feeling reassured, he cli his co back, could not but come back, and the cause of his delay was probably the excitement of the chase He was so reckless! Like Dor in May, on the Aisne, went out and was never heard of afterwards--he was not afraid of traveling long distances over enemy country He must come back It is impossible he should not come back; he was beyond the reach of common accidents, invincible, immortal! This was a certitude, the very faith of the Storks, a tenet which never was questioned The notion of Guynee

So Bozon-Verduraz waited on,as necessary But an hour passed, and nobody appeared Then the airman broadened his circles and searched farther out, without, however, swerving fro-point He searched the air like Nisus the forest in his quest of Euryalus, and his ive hi with dis low One ine sounded to him! One o back alone

On landing, his first as to ask about Guynemer

”Not back yet!”

Bozon-Verduraz knew it He knew that Guynemer had been taken away from him

The telephone and the wireless sent their appeals around, airplanes started on anxious cruises Hour followed hour, and evening ca which the horizon wears the tints of flowers; the shadows deepened, and no news ca caian comrades arrived, anxious for news Everywhere the latest birds had come home, and one hardly dared ask the airmen any question

But the daily routine had to be dispatched, as if there were nowith it; they did not like to show their sorrow; but it was deep in thehed upon the it One officer tried to dispel the cloud by suggesting hypotheses Guynemer was lucky, had always been; probably he was alive, a prisoner

Guyneh, ”The Boches will never get h was terrible No, Guynemer could not have been taken prisoner Where was he, then?

On the squadron log, _sous-lieutenant_ Bozon-Verduraz wrote that evening as follows:

_Tuesday, September 11, 1917_ Patrolled Captain Guynemer started at 825 with _sous-lieutenant_ Bozon-Verduraz Found eium)

That was all

IV THE VIGIL

Before Guynehts of the air, other aces, had been reportedor had perished--soer in our lines, others like Sergeant Sauvage and _sous-lieutenant_ Dorme in the enemy's In fact, he would be the thirteenth on the list if the title of ace is reserved for aviators to whoiven its vise for five undoubted victories These were the naeant Hauss 5 ”

_sous-lieutenant_ Deloroud 6 ”

_sous-lieutenant_ Languedoc 7 ”

Captain Auger 7 ”

Captain Doueant Sauvage 8 ”

Captain Matton 9 ”

Adjutant Lenoir 11 ”

_sous-lieutenant_ Dorme 23 ”

Would Guynemer's friends now have to add: Captain Guynemer, 53? nobody dared to do so, yet nobody now dared hope

A poet of genius, who even before the war had been an aviator, Gabriele d'Annunzio, has described in his novel, _Forse che si forse che no_, the friendshi+p of two young men, Paolo Tarsis and Giulio Ca to conquer the sky, has grown in the perils they dare together If this book had been written later, ould have intensified its ht, Caamo and the Lake of Garda As Achilles watched beside the dead body of Patroclus, so Tarsis would not leave to another the guarding of his lost friend:

”In tearless grief Paolo Tarsis kept vigil through the short suh on the tree of his life; the enerous part of himself ruined For hier to see, burning in those dead eyes, the fervor of effort, the security of confidence, the rapidity of resolution He was no longer to taste the two purest joys of a manly heart: steadiness of eye in attack, and the pride of watching over a beloved peer”