Twice he checked the dive, only to dive again. He hated to give up altitude, but he was determined to get a look.
After the third dive, and the loss of several thousand feet, he made out the drab-colored canvas hangars of a German ’drome, and poised on the open field was a veritable swarm of little moths appearing to be drying their wings in the sun. Three of them began racing along the ground and bounded into the 179air. At the same minute an Archie battery opened from the town. The burst was wide of McGee’s plane, but there was no mistaking their sincerity nor the fact that those three harmless appearing moths below were climbing to the attack.
Red gave his Camel all he thought it could stand as he climbed for the protecting clouds. Information was of no value if sealed by a dead man’s lips. He had learned far too much this morning to chance any fight with anyone that could possibly be avoided.
The Archie fire continued until he had regained the clouds, and even then two or three more shells burst harmlessly somewhere ahead in the grey mist wall. He changed his direction sharply and roared along on a full throttle.
His heart was racing with his motor. He felt convinced that the ’drome he had located was a new base for the squadron he had just seen, for were they not coming up from the interior? Doubtless he had stumbled on to a movement of some importance. Just how important he could not know, but G2 would be delighted with such information. Could that squadron, he wondered, by rare good fortune be the Circus of the famed von Herzmann?
Over Etrepilly an Archie battery hurled aloft a smashing, plane-staggering burst of black puff balls. A jagged piece of steel tore through his left wing. Too close, that!
180He dived steeply. More shells burst above him. Above, but still uncomfortably close. Those gunners were real marksmen.
Suddenly he thought of what he had seen the lone Nieuport do. It might be worth trying. Acting on the impulse he rolled, straightened out, then dipped twice. One more shell came screaming aloft and then the batteries became abruptly silent.
Well, that was that! There could be no question now as to the movement being a prearranged signal. Archie gunners would not ordinarily leave off firing at any such stupid performance–they would chuckle while they locked the breach on another shell, and forthwith blow that fellow into Kingdom Come.
McGee was in high fettle as he streaked across the lines south of Belleau and laid a course for home. He had a great deal to report, and someone, flying a lone Nieuport, was going to have a great deal of explaining to do.