Then he discovered a Camel machine starting on a long dive. He looked below to see what was attracting this fellow, and there only about fifteen hundred feet off the ground was one of those fat sausage balloons which carry officers in its basket who correct the fire of the artillery.
Jimmie gasped as he thought of this fellow taking a chance with a balloon, for he knew full well that a Camel had no business trying that sort of work. They dived too slowly to be effective, and observation balloons were always heavily protected by machine-guns. Having the range of the balloon, they could surround it with a perfect hail of bullets through which it was necessary to pass in order to set the balloon on fire.
The thought flashed through Jimmie’s mind, “Well, if that fellow’s trying it, why shouldn’t I? I still have time to take a shot at it and catch the leave-boat.”
They were both diving now from opposite sides, the Camel’s guns just starting to spit, when Jimmie was horrified to see the Camel quiver and burst into flames.
This fact was just impressed upon him when he heard the sing of bullets and the crackle of wood, and felt a stream of hot metal scrape both his legs. One terrific jolt hit him in the chest—and he went down.
His last conscious thought was of a burning sensation in his legs, yet there was no fire. All went black before his eyes and he must have fainted.
When Jimmie came to he found himself still strapped in his seat, the engine pointed straight down in front of him into comparative darkness, while pale daylight streamed in upon him over the tail.
Slowly he looked about him. The wings were gone! Turning his head with an effort, he saw them lying twisted and torn among the red tiles on the roof of the Belgian house into which he had crashed. Below him was a turmoil of sound. Deep, gutteral voices spoke in a tongue he did not understand. He tried to unhook his belt but was too weak to do it.
After minutes and minutes of talking and shouting, a ladder was put up beside him, his belt was unhooked, and he was lifted out of the machine and carried to the floor below. Here they tried to make him walk, but he found it was impossible. So they carried him down to the basement of this house, and there, of all places, he found there had been fixed up an enemy first-aid station.