Already there, and seated on either side of their illustrious cousin, the Twinkle Twins rose to do the honors. Each one of the five Brothers experienced a thrill of excitement, as, in turn, he shook hands with the great aviator. They saw a rather tall, thin-faced man of perhaps thirty, with bright, dark eyes, and very black hair. They admired his strong chin and close-lipped, pleasant mouth. Neither could they fail to note his litheness of movement, as he rose from his chair when the Khaki Boys were introduced to him by his cousin Jack. "Have you been long in France?" he questioned courteously, as the party took seats at the round table. "Only a few weeks, sir." Jimmy became spokesman. "We are in training at R----. We hope to go to the front soon." "You are eager for a taste of the fighting, I suppose." The aviator smiled. "That seems to be the prevailing spirit among the American soldiers. We of France admire it." "France has set us an example, sir, that we glory in following. The whole world knows what France has done in this war." Jimmy's face lighted into glowing enthusiasm. "I thank you, in the name of my country." The aviator's hand lightly touched his forehead in salute. Instantly seven hands went up in prompt return of the salute. "Now let's drop the form and ceremony act," proposed Jack Twinkleton. "I'll salute you, Emile, when I have to, but I'll be blamed if I will when I can get out of it. I've a great deal of respect for you up in the air, and some when we're down on the ground. Don't forget that, will you?" "I will endeavor to remember." The Frenchman showed white teeth in an indulgent smile. "It will be, perhaps, a trifle difficult," he slyly added. "Ha, ha! Emile's onto you, Jack!" rejoiced Jerry. "You're my twin," flashed back his brother, with the wide, jovial grin that so characterized the Twinkle Twins. "I'm sorry, but it can't be helped," retaliated Jack, duplicating Jerry's grin. "Now let's side-track these playful little compliments and get down to business. I'm crazy to know what you fellows have been doing since you left Sterling. You tell your tale and then we'll tell ours. Wait a minute till I shoo this waiter away. We don't want to order yet. We want to talk." "We were down south at Marvin for a while, then one day we started out on a hike with a big detachment of Sammies, and we never went back any more," began Bob, when Jack had temporarily banished the waiter from their vicinity. "First thing we knew we were piling into a train and after we rode awhile in that we got tired of it, and switched off to a transport for a change. It was the _Columbia_, and I guess----" "The _Columbia_!" exclaimed three voices in unison. "Yes, I guess we _do_ know what happened to the _Columbia_," emphasized Jack. "And you fellows were in that mix-up and came out O. K.! Well, what do you think of that?" "How'd you get away from her, and what happened to you?" was Jerry's excited question.