Archibald Archer,
Signal Corps Messenger Service.
Other smaller notes were prepared and “mounted” and it was agreed that it should be Archer’s duty to drop these conciliatory bombs one after another into the school field near Troyes. They had purposely refrained from mentioning that only one of them had escaped in the plane, for that would have necessitated mentioning their extraordinary meeting and might have aroused suspicion.
Having prepared these communications and manufactured their “bombs” by attaching rags from their clothing, they proceeded with what seemed the all but hopeless task of getting started. In this matter Archer’s headlight proved invaluable. With its aid an exploration of the submerged field was made and they found that a short distance from where they were it sloped up and was quite clear of the water for an area of a few yards.
To the edge of this higher land they moved the machine, one at either end of the plane, and set it facing into the wind.
The rain had almost ceased now, but the sky was still thick with little flaky clouds. Archer climbed into his seat and Slade buckled him in, giving him part of the oilskin tarpaulin for such protection as it might afford him. A moment later they were off, gliding along the field until presently, as Archer says, he saw the smooth black water of the meadows beneath him and knew that they were gathering height.
“He kept one hand on a leverr,” said Archer, “and watched the compass by the light of the little electric bulb near it I saw we werre heading straight west, but I couldn’t talk on account of the noise. I knew we werre going higherr and higherr, and it scarred me, kind of, that everything was darrk all around.”
But there was a little bright spot near the compass and the pilot had his eye fixed on that. Archer said he watched the altimétre and felt “nerrvous, sorrt of,” as the plane climbed higher and higher into the black heavens.
[5]. Bar-sur-Aube.