"Yes, sir."
"There have been half a dozen of them down in front of us since seven o'clock this morning; most of them German, I think."
"This was one of ours, sir."
"Yes, I saw it. There were two of them came down about the same time, but the other one fell by our support trenches and the pilot and observer were saved."
"And the other one, sir?"
"Oh, there is no hope for that one. She came down over there near our front line trench, and she was blazing when she crashed. We could not get at her, or at least we kept the men back who volunteered, as the Germans turned their machine guns on her directly she hit the ground and swept the spot for twenty minutes."
"The devils!" ejaculated Brat, looking more serious than he had ever looked in his life, while a strange light shone in Cowdie's eyes.
"We were told that we must get to the dug-out of Captain Grenfell, somewhere in the front line trench."
"Oh, very well; but you fellows go at your own risk. The Boches have been shelling the place like hell most of the time since daybreak."
"We're quite prepared to take the risk, sir!" replied Cowdie.