"That's the last enemy line!" called Sanderson, pointing down. "They will be about, somewhere, now," and obedient to his wish, the machine lifted her nose and climbed to 12,000 feet. Already the change in temperature was noticeable. John had discarded his hat and tunic and sat in shirt sleeves, the wind blowing through his hair. They were traversing the desolate hill-region of Lower Samaria with Nazareth, highly situated to the West, and were now nearing the wild ravines where they would find the Ferweh-Balata road. John's heart beat quicker at the approach of the desperate moment. Far off, to the north, a bright light flashed. John noticed it twice before he called Sanderson's attention to it. "What is it?" asked Sanderson. "A helio?" "I don't know." Again it flashed. "I've got it!" cried John, putting his finger on the map. "It's the Sea of Galilee." The next moment there floated up to them the sound of a dull report. "That's a bomb--we've found 'em! Look out, I'm going to sweep--they're in one of these ravines. We ought to pick up the road here." The wind sang down the planes as they banked and dropped, the country-side slowly revolved as if on a disc. "There!" cried John, pointing to a white, ribbon-like road threading a deep gorge. "Look--it's choked with transport!" An aeroplane ahead hovered like a hawk, then, as if inert, fell to within two hundred feet of the road, dropping its bombs. Boom! Boom! There were two clouds of dust high over which the swerving aeroplane swept. _Ratatatatatatatatat!_--whirred its machine gun, ere the bird of death leapt skywards again. Below on the blocked road, pandemonium broke loose. The mules reared amid a debris of destroyed wagons; some of the drivers deserted their seats and ran up the steep hillsides looking for shelter. The transport in front backed, the transport behind pressed forward, the line swayed, bulged and writhed in confusion and noise. A second aeroplane swooped and increased the panic. The road was now heaped with dead and dying men and horses, abandoned lorries, guns, carts and motor cars. There was no place of refuge in that pitiless gorge. "Are you ready?" called Sanderson. John's hand sought the bomb release lever. "Yes." The next moment they had nose-dived; at the bottom of the dive, Sanderson would pull out John waited for the moment, his eye on the bomb-sight through which the road seemed leaping up to meet them. Suddenly, the wind caught the rigid planes as the machine pulled out of the dive. Now! John saw the two bombs go, turn over, fall in the distance; then a pause, with the air singing in their ears and-- Boom! Boom! They were now climbing joyously. Their companion, for some strange reason, had turned to the west and was circling wide. "What's he doing?" asked Sanderson, but the question was answered a moment later when three enemy aircraft, their wings black-crossed, emerged suddenly from a cloud-bank.