Famous Flyers and Their Famous Flights

“From then on it was nip and tuck, andeach man for himself, dog eat dog. It wasa pretty even battle. The German was plucky, and ripped into Thaw for all he was worth.But one lucky turn, one accurate shot, andThaw had him. Down went his plane.Thaw, his plane in ribbons, his clothes bullet-riddled, limped home, stepped out of hisplane with a smile, and a joke on his lips.”

“Golly,” said Bob, “that must have beengreat fun. I wish I’d been there.”

“What would we have done with a babyin swaddling clothes?” laughed Bill.

“Aw,” said Bob, “you know I mean ifI was old enough.”

Hank was looking into the distance, withthe far-away look that meant another storywas coming on, and Bob stopped talking.

Finally Hank said, “Remember Luke andWehner? What a team! You never sawtwo men so different in your life. FrankLuke talked a lot – not always the mostmodest fellow in the world, either, and madea great to-do about everything he did. Buthe sure did plenty of damage to the Germans.Joe Wehner was quiet, modest, nevertalked very much, and never about himself.But still they were always together. Cameto be known as ‘The Luke and WehnerDuo.’

“They worked together, too. Went outon the same patrol and always stuck together.Luke’s specialty was shooting downDrachens. Those were the German observationballoons that they sent up behindtheir lines to observe what was going onin the American lines. Of course, the informationthey got caused plenty of harm, and anybody who shot down a Drachenwas doing a lot of good. But the thingswere expensive and useful, and the Germanssent them up with plenty of protection.There was always a swarm of planes flyingaround them and ready to light into anystranger that came near.

“Luke and Wehner used to take care ofthat. Wehner would fly above Luke, lookingout for any plane that might come toattack him. If one hove in sight, Wehnerwould go for him and engage him whileLuke flew on and shot down the balloon.Balloon after balloon went down. The Germanswere getting wary.

“One day when Luke and Wehner wereon their way to see what they could doabout three Drachens that were watchingthe American lines, they met up with a formationof Fokkers. Wehner dived into theuneven battle. Luke flew on, and shot downone, then the other bag. But the gallantWehner had fought his last fight. One ofthe Fokkers downed him. Luke, who sawwhat had happened to his pal, left the remainingballoon and furiously charged theFokkers. He fought like mad, zooming, diving, spurting fire into those German planes.Two of them hurtled to the ground. Theothers fled. Luke started for home. Onhis way he engaged and downed anotherenemy plane. It was a record that on anyother day he would have boasted about.But not that day. His pal had been killed, and Luke was for once silent and speechless.

“Of course, he didn’t give up balloonbreaking. He added up a goodly store. Butone day he got his, like so many of them.He’d sent three Drachens down in flames thatday, when his own plane was so badly crippled, and he was so badly wounded that hewas forced to land. He wouldn’t let themtake him, though, and he died fighting. Whena band of German soldiers approached him,he pulled out his gun and shot six of thembefore he fell dead.”

It was Bill’s turn. “Of course you boyshave heard of Eddie Rickenbacker. Therewas an ace for you. If it was speed andtrick flying that you wanted, Eddie was theman to give it to you. He had a bag oftricks that would get any pursuit plane offhis tail. But he didn’t always use them.He didn’t have 26 planes to his credit fornothing. Eddie was a great ace and a greatscout.”

Hank interrupted. “Here we go gassingagain like two old fogies. I feel like myown grandfather sitting on the front porchand discussing the battle of Bull Run. Weare getting old, aren’t we, Bill? Theseyoungsters ought to be glad that they didn’thave to fly those old buses that we used, though. The new planes are great to fly.You two are going to have a grand time.I’d rather fly than travel any other way.But I don’t think that it would be quitethe thing to suggest to my wife now thatI would rather fly to Europe with her thantake the boat. So old Hank will be a landanimal this time. Or rather, a water animal, instead of a bird.”

“A sort of – fish?” laughed Bill.

“Shut up, you,” said Hank. “Now, listen, how about that offer of my cabin andmy plane for your vacation? It’ll be agrand trip, and I guarantee that you’ll likethe cabin on the mountain. Nobody aroundfor miles, except Jake, who takes care ofthe place for me. In fact, there’s no townfor a hundred miles around. About the onlypractical way of getting there is by plane.Just think, old man, all of that beauty andsolitude going begging. You can get rightback to nature there, live a wild life, orhave all the conveniences of home, whicheveryou chose. We’ve got the place all fixedup. It’s a real man’s place, and you’ll loveit. And I’d like to see somebody who’d appreciateit have it this summer. And I knowyou would.”

Bill looked at Hank, who was talking soearnestly, with a puzzled look. “Listen,Hank,” he said, “you aren’t trying to persuademe to go up there as a favor to you, are you? Because if you are, you’re crazy.It’s certainly not you who should be doingthe begging. We ought to be down on ourhands and knees begging you for the place.The only reason I hesitate at all is becauseI think it’s too much you’re doing for us.”

Hank snorted. “Then you’re going totake the place.”

Bill looked at him fondly, seeing throughthe strange marks that time had left on thisman, the young, awkward boy whom hehad befriended in France, when he hadbeen just a young fellow himself, but notso green as the other. Then he said, “Whatdo you say we leave it up to the boys?” Heturned to them. “What do you say, Bob?How does a vacation up in the mountainssound to you?”

Bob, his eyes shining, could hardly answer.He hadn’t wanted to show too much eagernessbefore because he had remembered hismanners just in time, and was watching Billto see how they should respond to HankBrown’s generous offer. But now that hesaw that Bill was favorably disposed, hebreathed, “Oh, gee, I think that it would begreat! Just great! Let’s go, Bill.”

Hank was amused and pleased by thisenthusiasm.

The Captain turned to Hal. “How aboutyou?”

Hal, who had forgotten his misery duringthe recital of the exciting stories of waraces, and was once more fired with ambition, now that he was safely on the ground, wasalmost as enthusiastic. “But,” he said asan afterthought, “I don’t know whether Icould go, of course. My mother – ” hisvoice trailed off.

Bill reached over and grasped Hank’s hand.“We’ll take it, old scout. Don’t know howto thank you.”

“Don’t,” said Hank. “I’m glad you’regoing to go. All you have to do is to wireto Jake when you’re coming. He lights bonfiresto mark the landing field, and thereyou are. I’m going to be in town for twoweeks, so you can come up any time tomake arrangements. O.K.? Now I’ve gotto go. I’ve been spending too much timeas it is. Wish I could stay and see Pat, butI can’t. Tell him to come up and see me, will you?”

He bid them goodbye and left in his automobilewhich had been parked nearby.The next hour was spent in an excitinginspection of the various planes in the airport, from tiny two-seater monoplanes thatlooked like fragile toys, to huge biplanes; and in a growing impatience with Pat’s delay.Finally a tiny speck appeared on thehorizon, but the three of them had beendisappointed so often that they did not dareto hope that this was at last Pat McDermott.But it was. He stepped out of the greenmonoplane and pushing up his goggles, lookedaround him. He spied his three friendsimmediately, and hurried to meet them.

“Hi, Irish!” called Captain Bill. “I wantyou to meet two pals of mine.” He introducedBob and Hal. “We’re going to teachthem to fly.”

The two boys shook hands with Pat. Helooked like his name, a tall, broad, huskyman with a shock of curly hair that hadprobably once been red, but which was nowbrown, with a little gray at the temples; ayoung face – it was impossible to tell howold he was; and a broad grin that spreadacross his face and up around his eyes, disappearinginto the roots of his hair.

“Well,” he said, without ceremony, asthough he had been friends of theirs foryears, “They’ll make good flyers if they’renot too lazy. And if anybody can makeyou work, I can. And I will.”

The Captain laughed. “Don’t take Patseriously,” he said. “He’s too lazy to makeyou work very hard. But let me warn youthat he’s trained army flyers, so you’d betternot mind what he says, while he’s teachingyou.”

The boys had gone over and were lookingat the Marianne. She was a beautifullystream-lined craft, large yet graceful.

Pat noticed the boys’ admiration, and waspleased. “How about taking a ride in hernow?” he asked.

“They just got down to earth,” said theCaptain. He explained about Hank andHank’s plane. Pat was delighted that theirold pal had turned up, and decided thatthey would have to have a reunion verysoon. He also decided on the spot thathe was going along with them to the mountains.

“Try to keep me away. Although I don’tmuch fancy the riding on cushions, in a fancyplane. When I fly, I want to fly. Butif you let me do the piloting, I’ll make thebest of that.” Pat always decided thingsthat way, but nobody resented his high-handmanner, since he looked, and was, the sortof man who could make good on any jobhe undertook. “Well, Bob, my lad,” hesaid, turning to the boy, “how about goingup? It’s the first step in learning to fly.And don’t think that it’s going to be likecabin flying. You’ll notice the differencewhen you get up. Ready?”

“Sure,” said Bob.

Pat produced a helmet and some goggles.“It’s an open cockpit you’re sitting in,” hesaid. “And see that the goggles fit tightly.”

Bob wiggled them around. “They seemall right,” he said.

“All right, hop in,” Pat told him.

Bob climbed into the rear cockpit, noless thrilled by his second flight that daythan he had been by his first. He waved hishand to the Captain and Hal who werewatching them. Pat climbed into the frontcockpit. “Ready?” he called.

“O. K!” shouted Bob.

Pat started the motor, which was a self-starter.The plane taxied gently across thefield, and Pat turned her nose into the wind.Bob felt her lift from the earth; there wasa bump – they hadn’t quite cleared; Patspeeded up, until Bob, looking over the sideof the cockpit, could see the ground slippingby dizzily. Then the bumping stopped; they had left the ground. This time theydid not again bump; the Marianne soared intothe air.

Bob could feel the blast of air againsthis face, and he was glad his goggles fittedwell. The motor roared, the wind screamed.Bob tried to shout, but could not hear himselfuttering a sound. He looked down.The airport looked as it had from the otherplane. Now he had more of the feeling offlying. There was a sudden bump. TheMarianne dropped suddenly. Bob felt asthough he were in an elevator that had descendedvery suddenly – there was the samepit-of-the-stomach feeling. Air bump, hethought, and it was. He looked over the sideagain, and could see nothing. They weretraveling pretty high.

Then suddenly the roar of the motor stopped, and they began to descend at what Bobfelt must be an almost unbelievable speed.At first Bob was frightened, but then realizedthat they were gliding down. Everynow and then Pat turned on his engineagain. Bob, looking over the side, couldsee the fields coming up to meet them. Theylanded so gently that he hardly felt the joltof the wheels touching the ground.

How funny to stand on the stable groundonce more! The sound of the motor wasstill roaring in Bob’s ears. He pulled offthe goggles and helmet. “It was marvelous!”he shouted loudly to his friends.

“We can hear you,” said the Captain.“You needn’t shout!”

“Was I shouting?” laughed Bob.

“You are,” said the Captain.

But Pat had turned to Hal. “Well, lad, you’re next.”

But Hal said what he had been rehearsingfor many minutes, in fact, ever since Bobhad taken to the air. “Don’t you thinkit’s rather late? We haven’t had any lunch.Maybe we could go up again after lunch.”

Captain Bill, who knew the struggle thatwas going on in Hal’s heart, and who wasgetting hungry anyway, said, “Lunch.That’s the idea. We’ve got a great picniclunch, Pat.”

“Lead me to it,” said Pat.

“Knew that would get you,” laughed theCaptain.

They left the plane in charge of a mechanic, who was to look after it, and went overto the automobile that the Captain hadparked. They decided, on Bob’s suggestion,to eat on a grassy slope from which theycould see the airport.

“I’ve got an idea,” said the Captain. “Youcan start your story about Lindbergh.”

“I’m ready,” said Bob, “if you’re readyto listen. I think I know the story backwardsand forward.”

“Begin at the beginning, always,” theCaptain warned.

They reached the spot where they hadchosen to picnic, and settled back contentedlyin the long grass to hear part of Bob’s storybefore lunch.