Bangs walked across, eyed the dead Hun a moment, and came back, saying:
"Will your plane carry us -- but pshaw! You're out of gasoline, man!"
"No - we're not. Got a tank half full!"
"Too thin, old man! Why, then did you stop here? You didn't know I
was going to drop down, and you knew Stanley ought to be in the
hospital instead of lying here listening to you and me gabbing this
way."
"Why haven't you got some invention, Buck?" Blaine was grinning as he
rose up to prepare for early departure. "I 'lowed that if Bauer had
enough gasoline to get this far, if his tank wasn't busted, he might
have more. I took what they had and was about to leave when down you
came. Come on -- let's go!"
With great care Stanley was placed as comfortably as possible inside
the biplane, which the two aviators trundled to the edge of the
shell-hole. A moment later, with Bangs giving the plane a downward
push, then leaping lightly up behind Blaine, they easily rose to a
requisite height and glided over the shell-torn plain.
Far away to the east and southeast rumbled the roar of battle, while
with the gray dawn, now mantling into rose pink, then red, and finally
melting into the brightest of gold, at last came the morning's sun,
leaping from its nightly nest and flooding half the world with the
day's celestial glory.
Luckily their plane was not hit or in danger from the occasional shells
that still came screaming over the lines across the scraggy war-torn
land over which they flew.
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