The three found plenty to talk about, though they were often obliged to let their lively tongues slow down on account of the lines of marching troops and the almost endless procession of motor trucks passing in both directions.
In about three-quarters of an hour they reached their destination—the headquarters of the famous Lafayette Escadrille, which happened to be, at this time, in a beautiful little villa, situated in the midst of spacious grounds.
A number of the American pilots cordially greeted him, and Don was very glad to see among them Victor Gilbert.
After meeting the courteous French captain of the escadrille the boy was shown to a room on the second floor, which he was to share with several others.
Outside of the hazardous nature of their occupation, the members of the American Squadron, unlike the “doughboys” and poilus, lived a life of ease and comfort. They had orderlies who attended to their needs, comfortable feather beds to sleep upon, and their meals, prepared by a French chef, were eaten in a dining-room which delighted the eye by its most artistic furnishings and decorations.
It would have been very hard to analyze Don Hale’s feelings on this particular occasion. Expectation, eagerness, happiness and impatience, all seemed to hold sway over his thoughts, and though the reality was before him he could scarcely believe that he actually had become a member of the famous American Squadron.
After a substantial lunch, still in the company of George Glenn and Albert, Don journeyed to the aviation field not very far away.
With the utmost eagerness, he gazed about him. He saw numerous hangars, rest tents and various wooden structures. And, besides these, parked at one side, were ponderous motor trucks, trailers and several automobiles.
Attached to the great encampment were mechanicians, chauffeurs, telephone operators, Red Cross attendants and motor-cyclists—for the business of flying has its prosaic side as well as its thrills. Somehow or other it reminded Don of a country fair on a large scale, and it would have seemed to him very natural indeed had his eyes alighted on a barker, mounted upon a rostrum, exhorting a crowd of spectators to enter. There was a certain air of grimness and sternness, however, about the men whom they encountered that soon removed this impression. From the east came the sullen rumble of countless guns. Sometimes it was low, like the mutterings of distant thunder; sometimes it swelled into a volume, as if a storm was about to burst, and then, like the sighing of the wind, almost faded away.
A patrol was just about to leave for the front, and Don watched the Nieuports taxi across the ground, rise one after another in the air, and, after gaining a high altitude, soar in a V-shaped formation toward the battle front.