“I thought that was it!” Major Mack smiled. “Langdon, ever since Bob Akeley came to this squadron, at least twice a day he’s been in here trying to talk me into turning the squadron to pursuit. Of course we can’t sanction such doings, Langdon. And for my own part, I wouldn’t pull such a strafe. No, I’m a little too old and slow on the controls. You see, I like to have a little more space between my wheels and the ground. But I’m not so old as to be unable to appreciate the finesse of the thing and, Lieutenant, if we could roll back time, and circumstance would place Langdon in Mack’s place, and Mack in Langdon’s-- Well, that road would have been strafed today. Maybe not as good, but after a fashion at least. * * * * * “Now, Lieutenant, I’m neither going to call out a firing squad nor mark you on the ground. Between you and me, aviation, as the eyes of artillery, doesn’t carry even the weight of a good joke. I’m an old artillerist myself, Langdon, and I know. So if we can wage any kind of a war of our own, I’m not going to stand in the way of progress. You understand, Langdon, I am not authorizing, sanctioning or legalizing future side trips; but in your own right, you are in command of one ship while off the ground. Orders, the best orders ever made, were only made to be broken. And so long as they are broken without going into the red, when it’s all over, there’s no kick coming. In other and fewer words--be sure you’re right, then go ahead and don’t slip up. The quick are always right in war, Langdon. But it is far better that the quick be dead than be wrong. “Now, there’s one observer in the Trente-Neuf with whom I want you to become well acquainted. It is Lieutenant Samter. Samter, during such times as Bob Akeley wasn’t pestering me, has spent much wind trying to show me where and how this outfit might run up a big record in combat victories. He’s of the opinion that an observer should only observe when there’s no fighting to be done. And he can do things with that rear machine gun, Langdon. Sergeant Rictor tells me that Samter has shown him more trick stuff than he’s ever seen before. And Sergeant Rictor has been an armorer for upward of fifteen years. If you and Samter find that you have much in common, come to me and we’ll talk it over. No reason at all why he shouldn’t hold down your rear stool on all flights . . . English fags, they are. Take a couple with you, Lieutenant.” Late into that night, Langdon and Samter talked. And they discovered that they had just about everything in common, including a rotten opinion of one Charles Surry Mudd, F.F.V. Lieutenant Samter had been riding behind Mudd a great deal of late, and the war had lost its flavor.