At least
they might wait and join their own planes, now coming out of the west.
In the east the hostile squadron came on rapidly. Deploying as they
advanced, both Blaine and Bangs could see that there were battle
planes, scouts, and heavy bombing machines. These last were sweeping
lower, trying to get in range of the advancing Allies.
"Come on! Hurry up!" both aviators kept repeating to their own
advancing air fleet. "No time to waste! Let's get at 'em. They're
going to bomb our front lines."
Almost immediately a number of fast triplanes forged on ahead of the
rest at a speed which a year before would have been deemed impossible.
Joining the two weary airmen who had been up all night, yet were still
full of the battle hunger, they swept low down and straight at the
bombing planes, now beginning to drop their deadly explosives along the
lines of advancing infantry. But only for an instant, as it were, did
they go uninterrupted.
A hail of bullets from machine guns rained down upon them. In almost
no time two of these planes went staggering earthward. Blaine,
forgetting his almost empty sheaves of Lewis gun ammunition, hung upon
the tail of one, while Buck, with side loops and a nose dive, flung
himself almost literally on another.
"Holy Moses!" ejaculated Buck as his last full sheaf went into the
cartridge roll, and he realized that with this gone he would be
absolutely helpless.
Pages:
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96