The night was not all dark. The moon came out at times, but not for long. Clouds went scudding across the sky.
“We’re not a moment too soon,” Ted thought as in a brief period of moonlight he caught sight of a dark bulk against the night sky.
“There they are!” came in a quiet tone over his radio. It was Kentucky speaking. “Let’s bear down on them. Can’t hold formation. Every man for himself. Choose your targets carefully. We can’t have lights on. They’d get us sure. But let us not shoot one another up.”
They bore down upon the advancing enemy.
It was an exciting moment, but to Ted everything seemed strangely unreal.
“Like a dream,” he told himself.
He knew soon enough that it was no dream. Underestimating their combined speed, he almost ran into the foremost enemy plane. He was seen, but by the time guns rattled, he was not there. Going into a stall, he circled left, then came up below the bomber formation.
“Well, I had a look at them,” he told himself. They were powerful two-motored planes. He had tried as he passed under them to estimate their speed.
Suddenly, off to the right there came the quick rat-tat-tat of machine-gun fire.
“That’s Kentucky!” He thrilled to his fingertips. “I wonder what luck!”