"I guess our ideas were all right, eh, Ned?" said Jack, as he ran an admiring eye over the rigging of the craft. "It's some boat!"
"It certainly is some boat!" declared Ned. "And I wish—"
"What Ned wished was never known, for at that instant a sharp report was heard and a bullet sang its way through the rigging of the Eagle with a vicious twang that made the boys wince.
"Wow!" was Jack's ejaculation. "That's too close for comfort!"
"May I reply to them?" asked Dave, picking up one of the German rifles that had been brought aboard. "I think I can get the range."
"I'd rather not shoot too close to them," Ned answered, manipulating the levers and valves in an effort to obtain more speed. "Perhaps we can run away from both. In that case we won't have to shoot any one."
"I think I'll take a crack at their propeller," announced Dave. "Maybe I can send a bullet through that, and if I can it will stop them."
As he spoke Dave took a quick sight, resting the rifle across the rim of the fuselage. A sharp detonation echoed above the hum of the motors. Dave peered eagerly toward the plane at which he had aimed.
"I got 'em, I got 'em!" he announced, slapping his thigh in glee.
"Who did you get?" asked Ned, without turning his head.