"There will not be time now if you are taken far back of the German lines where an aeroplane may come down unobserved. There will not be time," he repeated to Hal, "for you to work forward to the position where you must be."
"What's the matter with coming down near the position where we're wanted?" asked Hal.
"Near their lines?" Captain O'Neill questioned. "There will be men all about, of course; you will be observed."
"What's the matter with coming down observed sir?" said Chester.
"Observed," repeated the captain. "How do you mean?"
"It is something we have talked of before," said Hal. "We have often considered this method of getting a man down inside the German lines, even in a section where discovery is certain. A machine goes up carrying bombs, perhaps; it drops them and attracts anti-aircraft fire. It appears to fall, sir, and comes down in that way."
Captain O'Neill's brows drew together, puzzled, but he was patient.
"But I do not see the advantage," he said.
"It falls in flames, sir," said Hal. "The pilot ignites it when it begins to drop."
"Proceed," Captain O'Neill bade.