A beautiful silver thread now appeared on the landscape to the east, as they reached their greatest altitude. Looking back there was a smaller thread to the west, and, apparently, the same distance from their viewpoint. They thus had the opportunity of seeing, at one glance, two of the most noted rivers which figure in the great war,--the Meuse to the east, and the Marne in the west, these streams at this point being within thirty miles of each other. It was, probably, imprudent for them to take an out-of-the-way course to reach their destination, but the temptation was very great. The sun was still shining brightly when they started from Ligny-en-Barrois, but it was now growing dark from the overspreading clouds, and as soon as Toul was sighted the lieutenant turned the machine northward. To the west it could now be seen that the threatening clouds were coming up, and they appeared to be sweeping toward the east with great speed, at right angles to the aviators' course. "I wonder what the lieutenant will do?" queried Ralph half to himself, as he looked at the clouds, and then glanced back to the officer. The lieutenant shook his head, and pointed the machine further to the left. "Why, I believe he is going right into it!" remarked Alfred in amazement to Ralph. But the officer now made a wide swinging turn. A view of the heavens indicated that the storm was an extensive one, and that the speed of the wind had increased most alarmingly, for, in looking down they seemed to stand still over the little hamlet beneath them. The wind, into which they were flying, was traveling at the same speed as the machine. There was but one course to follow. They must return to the earth, otherwise they would be driven far over into the German lines. By setting the control lever so as to depress the nose of the machine they rapidly descended, the lever being intermittently drawn back to a normal position, so as to keep the ship on an even keel and prevent it from performing a loop in the air. The landing was easily made, notwithstanding the wind, and they found they were near Commercy, west of the Meuse, about thirty-five miles south of Verdun. A terrific rainstorm then followed, which lasted more than an hour. "Were you ever in a rainstorm while flying?" "Never but once," replied the lieutenant, "and that was in thunder and lightning, too, which was the most terrific thing I ever went through." "Tell us about it!" said Alfred. "I almost shudder at it when I stop to think of the hour when I faced the lightning right where it is made," said the lieutenant. "It was in the second week of the war, just east of Rheims, when the Germans were sweeping across the frontier and had passed Charleville. I had a double-seated Nieuporte, with an assistant handling the machine, while I was making observations.