"And the marshal knows about this sail plane?" Joe Mauser's face was blank.
"I didn't say that. So far as I know, he doesn't."
"Then, Colonel Arpàd, with your permission, I'll be taking off."
The Hungarian said, "With what end in mind, captain?"
"Using this glider as a reconnaissance aircraft."
"Captain, I warn you! Aircraft were not in use in warfare until—"
But Joe Mauser cut him off, equally briskly. "Aircraft were first used in combat by Pancho Villa's forces a few years previous to World War I. They were also used in the Balkan Wars of about the same period. But those were powered craft. This is a glider, invented and in use before the year 1900 and hence open to utilization."
The Hungarian clipped, "But the Wright Brothers didn't fly even gliders until—"
Joe looked him full in the face. "But you of the Sov-world do not admit that the Wrights were the first to fly, do you?"
The Hungarian closed his mouth, abruptly.