“Frank, they got her after all!” gasped Billy.
“Do you mean the Sea Eagle?” cried the other in dismay.
“Yes,” continued the excited Billy, “here’s an account of how in the middle of the night a sudden shock was felt in Dunkirk. People thought it must be those Taubes back again bombarding the town, and lots of them hurried down into their cyclone cellars. But it was found that an aëroplane hangar just outside the place had been blown to pieces with a bomb that had either been placed underneath or dropped from some airship.”
“All gone?” asked Frank.
“Blown to pieces, and they tell that it is feared several French guards lost their lives in the bargain. They don’t say much about it, except that the hangar contained a new seaplane the Government had just purchased from an American firm owning the patents, and that as it was utterly destroyed, the loss would be complete.”
“Whew!” cried Pudge. “Say, I’m glad it was out of our hands when this happened.”
“For a good many reasons, too,” added Frank. “We might have gone up with the hangar and the Sea Eagle if we’d been there.”
“No, sir, I don’t believe it would have happened as long as Frank Chester was on deck,” said Billy stoutly. “But, Frank, they’ll have to fight this war through now without the help of fifty Sea Eagles, won’t they?”
“Just what must happen,” replied Frank, “because Dr. Perkins will never consent to pursuing the matter any further. He would not dream of supplying patterns to the Allies after this. I’m sorry, and yet at the same time I must say I feel a bit glad.”
“Well, let me tell you,” said Pudge, “it’s a good thing for the Germans.”