[Illustration: THE BATTLEPLANES STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT] “Now, don’t you boys start quarreling. You might get in a worse scrape than the aeroplanes I’m telling about. “Now I’ll get back to my story again: [Illustration: A SAFE LANDING SPOT] “Between nine and ten o’clock, the two rival air fleets are equally tired of the strife. Almost at the same time, both decide to stop fighting, and withdraw to their own sides of the battleline. The struggle itself might be called a tie. But since we kept the enemy from dropping bombs on our men in the trenches, the victory is really ours. “It is dangerous for our airmen to land their machines in the dark. They might land on bad ground or in a tree, or possibly collide with some building. To make landing at night safe and avoid being seen by the enemy, was a problem we had to solve. We placed powerful electric lights deep in the ground and covered them with heavy glasses to prevent their breaking. When the lights are sunk in this manner they can be seen only from above. Wherever our aviators see one of these lights, they know it marks a safe landing spot. “Now,” said Uncle Sam, “so far as our story is concerned we shall leave the bloody battlefront, and I will tell you about the aeroplane of the sea. The flying machine of the sea is called the hydroaeroplane. That is a rather long name. Seaplane is an easier word to pronounce, and is more commonly used. The seaplane can float like a boat and fly like an aeroplane. [Illustration: THE SEAPLANE CAN SAIL ON THE WATER LIKE A BOAT AND FLY IN THE AIR LIKE AN AEROPLANE] “I suppose you boys have the same opinion of seaplanes as most people. You think the seaplane is not half as important as the land battleplanes I’ve been telling you about.” [Illustration: THE BLIMP DIRIGIBLE BALLOON] “That’s right,” agreed Tom and Jack. “Well,” continued Uncle Sam with an air of superior wisdom, “the aviation service of the sea is just as important as that of the land. As the land aeroplanes are the ‘eyes’ of the army, so the seaplanes are the ‘eyes’ of the navy. If it weren’t for these marvelous flying boats, the German submarines might have succeeded in sinking nearly all of our merchant ships—the boats that carry food, clothing, guns, and ammunition to the Allies of Democracy. Sometimes, too, our seaplanes have helped the battleships to destroy the enemy fleet. “Just after the World War started, Germany launched her U-Boat submarines and undertook a campaign which eventually brought this country into the war. England was in a dreadful fix. Very little food, clothing, and munitions could get in from America; many of her fine ships were being sent to the bottom of the sea. There was no way to stop the U-Boats. What could we do?