Prev | Current Page 118 | Next

Perry, William B.

"Our Pilots in the Air"

It said:
"Hey, you, Orry! You're crippled! I can see that. But why don't you
come up higher? Get a move on!"
Erwin knew that voice. It was like a trumpet call to the lad.
Fiercely be seized his own megaphone and shouted back, while with one
hand and his feet he kept his own flier still going.
"Yes? I'm crippled but all right. I can't rise except slowly. Better
go while the going's good! Too many Archies below!"
While Orris was shouting, another shadow passed overhead. It was Buck
Bangs in his Nieuport. For hours they had been scouring the eastern
air-zone in a vain search for Erwin, when the sudden roaring of the
Archies turned them in this direction. While Orris was turning, trying
also to rise, he saw as he faced to the rear that two planes instead of
one were now charging the enemy. These had for a minute or more been
directing their machine gun fire upon the new arrivals. Erwin had
heard the noise of them, and wondered why he was not hit again. This
was the reason.
"Great boys, they are," he said to himself.
"But I hope looking for me has not led them where we all don't want to
go," meaning the prison camps of the Huns, from which had oozed stories
of starvation and cruelty that were more than bad enough.
"Considering how I'm fixed, I'll lay low down here and watch my chance
to help. That other chap must be Bangs.


Pages:
106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130