Without waiting for instructions from the lieutenant, he cautiously made his way along the chassis, following up the wires which were indicated by the lieutenant. Within four feet of the tail plane Ralph halted. Then, reaching down, he succeeded in grasping a dangling wire, and held up the end for the lieutenant's inspection. After several attempts he found the other end of the wire, which had been severed by a shot from a shrapnel shell. The ship was still circling around, so without waiting to repair the break Ralph turned the rudder, and, glancing at the lieutenant, saw the latter smile, and then by motions direct him to give the control plane a still further push in the right direction. It was impossible for Ralph to hear anything the lieutenant said, but as soon as the airplane was fairly headed for the west, the power was shut off, and the machine began to descend. "Good boy!" shouted the lieutenant. "Can you fasten them together?" he asked. "I am afraid not," replied Ralph. "A piece seems to have been shot away. But I can take care of it if you will only direct me to pull it to the right or to the left." "All right, then. Do you see that great patch of green, directly beyond the castle?" asked the lieutenant. "I can see it plainly," replied Ralph. "Shall I steer for it?" he asked. "Oh, no. We must come up from the south. Note the direction of the wind from the smoke. Make a long sweep. We are now at an altitude of 1200 meters. We can volplane twelve kilometers from this height," remarked the lieutenant. The turn was made to the south in a long sweep, Ralph continually glancing forward to note the direction indicated by the lieutenant. "Now straight ahead, and hold steady." They were now rapidly approaching the earth; the machine gliding over the tops of the trees at the border of the forest that ran along the river bank. To their right, across the river, was a large town, Pont-a-Mousson, and the castle ahead of them was a large school, from which even then hundreds of children were emerging, and excitedly rushing toward the approaching machine. Down went the machine at a sharper angle; then, when close to the earth, the rear control was sharply turned, and the nose of the ship raised up, but for an instant only, when the machine settled down, and, after running along a hundred feet, stopped. The agitated children pressed about, and the lieutenant tried in vain to keep them off. Some more venturesome than others, after seeing Ralph and Alfred, began to question them. To the relief of the boys they learned that the French out-posts were less than a mile distant. "Let us make the repairs as rapidly as possible," said the lieutenant.