“And the records,” the instructor smiled, “prove that it was his last. Now, ten years later, the record still stands.” After one turn of the field with Langdon on the controls, the instructor gave him an O.K. He simply said, as he stepped from the plane: “You’re jake, Lieutenant, but if I were you, I wouldn’t land these DH’s out of a loop like that. Hell, Langdon, life’s sweet, even at an observation school. Come on now, go on living. Maybe you’ll get a shipment back to _chasse_. Others have done it, and the war is young. You know your air, and that’s no small item. But the good ones, Langdon, are the ones we pack in large boxes. And the other kind, damn ’em, we can’t get rid of. You know, there are observers here, Langdon, who just won’t qualify. They’re afraid of the Front and won’t leave Romo’. And just so long as their observation work is below grade, we can’t ship them out. What’s the use? They wouldn’t be worth a damn to any squadron.... “Now, just a minute. A mighty thought strikes me. Langdon, I’m going to put some of these dumb johns behind you. Maybe you can show them their objective. If you’ll fly ’em the way you just flew me, the Front will look like an old ladies’ home to the most timid of these goldbricks. Oh, just one more word before you take off. Don’t fly as close to other planes as you flew to that one a little while ago. That was Colonel Kingsley. He’s from Tours. Man, you were too near.” “That was all right,” Langdon assured the instructor. “I wasn’t trying to pull anything fast. I just wanted to learn something. You see, I’m accustomed to flying rotary motors with propellers turning at about 1400 revs. Well, this Liberty was doing about 1700 revs per minute and I just wanted to get a peek at that other bird’s instrument board. It was all right; his was turning the same. But 1700 r.p.m. seemed mighty fast.” “Hell!” the instructor said. “I hope your clock never stops, or you might try to get a peek at some other pilot’s wrist watch. But go ahead, take off. See you later ... We’re going to like each other, Langdon.” * * * * * With a full tank, good for four hours’ flight, the new DH pilot went back into the sky. Off toward Vierzon, at sunset, he spotted something that made his heart glad. There, with about twenty thousand feet under them, was a Nieuport “27” patrol, from Field 8. He knew that they were from No. 8 because, coming in close, all five Nieuports revealed ship numbers with which he was familiar. All of them were students; not an instructor’s ship was among the lot.