“I was astounded when Hamlin came to the aviation school. And, judging from many things he had said, I feared that perhaps he might actually be a spy. And in some of our altercations—altercations that interested Monsieur Dunlap—I intimated just as much.”
“You certainly did,” jeered Jason Hamlin, with an angry glare. “And if you’d only had sense enough to——”
“Silence—silence!” interrupted the lieutenant.
“Naturally, words may be said in the heat of anger which would not be uttered when cooler judgment prevails,” continued Victor, doggedly. “Why, I ask, shouldn’t I have been suspicious? And when I remarked to Hamlin that ‘other games are just as dangerous’ it was meant as a warning for him to go a bit slow.”
“Has your opinion been altered?” asked the lieutenant.
Victor Gilbert nodded.
“Yes, Monsieur the Lieutenant,” he replied. “And the reason is because of Hamlin’s very excellent record since he joined the squadron.”
Jason Hamlin now had the opportunity to explain his side of the case. As he began speaking his manner was decidedly different from that of the other two witnesses. He was clearly angry—aggressive, and his voice, raised high, rang through the room.
“I am very willing to admit that I was pro-German, as Monsieur Gilbert told you,” he declared. “But, as events change so can one’s opinions change with them. Before America became involved in hostilities I had a perfect right to favor Germany; but to have done so afterward would have been disloyal—indeed a traitorous act. No one has the right to go against his own country. And when I learned that Victor Gilbert had joined an aviation school in France I determined to show him, as well as any others who might have doubted my patriotism, that they were entirely mistaken. And as words without action count for little, I decided to follow his example and become an aviator.”
At this point Jason Hamlin’s stern expression deepened. He clenched his fists; and when he spoke again it was in even louder tones than before.