"Yes; but he is going down for all he is worth," said Alfred.
It was now evident that the Farman had been hit. It moved through the air like a drunken man, and several times it dove down headlong, only to catch itself and momentarily sail upward again.
"If he can only keep that up for another mile he will be all right," said Ralph, as his gaze was fixed intently on the moving object. The suspense was intense for a few minutes.
"Isn't that too bad!" said Alfred, as he removed the glasses from his eyes. "He's gone! he's gone!" he added in great excitement.
"The machine is now going at a terrific rate of speed. I know what that means," sadly remarked Ralph.
"I believe the captain's all right, after all," shouted Alfred, somewhat cheered up, after he again had focused the glasses.
"Why do you think so?" queried Ralph.
"Because he has again righted the machine; that shows he's all right," responded Alfred.
The machine was now less than a thousand feet from the earth, and was safe within the English lines. Down, down it went, sometimes plunging almost vertically, then again staggering from side to side.
"He's almost down now," said Ralph. "Poor fellow; I wish we could go over and see him."