And even in those terrible moments, when the machines threatened to crash into one another, Don Hale could not help thinking what an amazing thing it was that he and this man, whom he had never met, whom he had nothing against, and who, equally, had nothing against him, should be fighting desperately, with all the ferocity of maddened tigers.
The combat, which seemed to be long-drawn-out but which in reality occupied only a very short time, was brought to an end by Don Hale. As the German plane, momentarily occupying an advantageous position, dove toward him, firing as it came, the combat pilot of the Lafayette Escadrille performed an evolution known as the renversement. He sent the Nieuport with meteor-like swiftness upward, and, while making a partial loop, flying head downward, the red Albatross flashed beneath him.
Still defying the laws of gravity, Don Hale straightened the course of his plane, so that it was flying horizontally in a direction exactly opposite to its line of flight at the beginning of the evolution. He then cut off the motor and operated the ailerons at the sides of the planes, which caused the machine to turn over sideways in a semicircle, and thus bring it back to a natural position.
The renversement was made with such remarkable swiftness that before the red Albatross could swing around to renew the attack Don was shooting in an upward drive straight for the shelter of the clouds.
Almost like a bullet from a machine gun he entered the lower strata and continued to climb, safe at last from the enemy who had sought to destroy him. But the lightning glared brighter than ever; the thunder rolled more ominously. He felt sure that only a short distance away the rain was falling in torrents.
Quite naturally, the boy’s brain was in a whirl, but a feeling of thankfulness that after encountering so many perils he had escaped unscathed predominated.
Finally emerging from the murky darkness into the light above, Don, scanning the heavens with the most earnest attention, could see no signs of other planes.
“Well, I have had all the adventures I wish for one day!” he soliloquized. “Whew! It was certainly a series of nightmares! Now I’ll just stay up here, wait until the storm is over, and after that beat it so fast for the airdrome that a marmite wouldn’t stand any chance in the race. How wonderful it is to be up here in this bright sunshine! It seems as though I must have drifted into the arctic regions by mistake. This is certainly great!”
It was, indeed, a singular scene upon which the combat pilot gazed. The upper surfaces of the ever-rolling and tossing clouds, of the purest and most dazzling white, like a vast field of snow and ice, stretched off to the limits of vision. It seemed like a glimpse of another world—a world of wonderful and impressive solitude. Not a sign of life could be seen in all that great circle. There was nothing to link one’s thoughts with the world below.
As before, Don saw the shadow of the wind-buffeted plane fantastically skimming over the crests of vapor. Very soon vivid lightning was flashing from cloud to cloud and the rolling, booming reverberations of thunder were beginning to fill the upper region with solemn and awe-inspiring volumes of sound.