Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Judith Wirawan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: _The Seraph Made a Quick Glide Below Its Adversary_] THE BOY VOLUNTEERS WITH THE FRENCH AIRMEN BY KENNETH WARD [Illustration: Logo] THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK Copyright, 1917, by AMERICAN AUTHORS PUBLISHING CO. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I ANTWERP, AND THE FLIGHT THROUGH NORTHERN BELGIUM 13 II IN THE AVIATION CAMP 25 III THE WOUNDED AVIATORS 35 IV TRENCH WORK WITH THE BRITISH FORCES 48 V ON THE FIRING LINE 61 VI VIGOROUS RED CROSS WORK 72 VII BOUND FOR VERDUN 84 VIII AN AEROPLANE AMIDST THE LIGHTNINGS 94 IX A CHAPTER OF LESSONS ABOUT THE AEROPLANE 107 X A THRILLING EXPERIENCE IN THE AIR 117 XI A FIGHT AND A LANDING IN BELGIUM 125 XII EXCITING EXPLOITS ON LAND 143 XIII A DARING BOMB RAID TO THE RHINE 152 XIV A TERRIBLE FIGHT IN THE CLOUDS 160 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS _The Seraph Made a Quick Glide Below Its Adversary_ _Frontispiece_ PAGE _Types of Allied Airplanes_ 29 _Airplanes of the Central Powers_ 31 _Allies' Distinguishing Mark_ 64 _Black Cross on German Flyers_ 65 _French and German Flags_ 75 _Instrument Board of Standard Airplane_ 111 _A Dangerous Position_ 129 _A Safety Manoeuver_ 133 FRENCH AIRMEN THE BOY VOLUNTEERS WITH THE FRENCH AIRMEN CHAPTER I ANTWERP AND THE FLIGHT THROUGH NORTHERN BELGIUM Antwerp was in a fever of excitement, as Ralph and Alfred marched up from the quay with the Belgian troops, and rumors of an immediate attack on the city were flying about. "Look at the Zeppelin!" cried out a voice. The boys turned to follow the gaze of the people who lined the streets. There, almost directly west, they caught the first glimpse of one of the monsters which appeared to be moving south, far beyond the reach of the encircling forts, but plainly visible. "Nothing would suit me better than a trip in a flying machine!" exclaimed Alfred.