by E. J. Craine
CHAPTER XVI
BLOTTING OUT HUN HEADQUARTERS
BELOW them, as they thus swooped downward, the air service boys couldsee the earth lying in semi-darkness. It was even possible to make outthe darker shadows which indicated patches of trees, and a white roadstood out like a straight line drawn across a shaded map.
Looking closer, Jack quickly discovered the castle.
It stood among some trees, and was unquestionably well fitted to servethe German High Commander as headquarters until such time as theAmericans drawing near forced him to move back to Sedan, and then crossover into Belgium near its junction with Luxembourg.
The bombers now altered their formation. Instead of moving forward in acompact mass they formed two parallel lines but a short distance apart,five machines to each column.
Jack looked across to the companion plane and distinguished both pilotand observer crouching at their posts, eager to get into action. Itseemed as though he could easily toss a coin over and make it land inthe other machine, so close did they range along, with buzzing motorscut down to slower speed so as not to interfere too much with thedropping of the bombs.
Each plane was to let just one missile go, and no more. If the castlehad one stone left on another after the rain of aerial torpedoes hadcome to an end, it would be vastly surprising.
True, it was a French chateau, and it seemed too bad to have to expendany of their precious bombs in bringing about its downfall. But ofcourse they knew full well it was the policy of the Huns never to leaveanything intact that could be of the slightest assistance or comfort tothe enemy. Hence the annihilation of the chateau was already ordainedwhen Ludendorff should be through using it.
Jack primed himself for his work, though it must be Tom who would givethe word when the exact second arrived for the bomb to be released. Onepressure on the trigger, and down through the slanting tube would speedthe messenger of destruction, bent on its fateful errand.
They were one of the last pair in line, consequently they might expectto hear some sign of the dreadful work before their time came to joinin.
Guns were beginning to sound, and the raiders could see spiteful flasheshere and there. Evidently, if Ludendorff did have his headquarters here,he had been judicious enough to mount a number of anti-aircraft guns tocombat the raiding planes should they appear at any time.
But the firing was only haphazard work, because the searchlight thatbegan now to play upon the airplanes could reveal only one bomber at atime. Thus the shrapnel burst much above their level, so deceptive wasthe glare.
Then came a sudden, terrific crash, sounding almost as if the battery ofHeaven's heaviest artillery had broken loose in one frightfulthunderclap. At the same time a blinding flash from below showed Jackflying timbers and scattering stones.
The first shot from the bombers had been well sent and accomplished allthat was expected of it. Hardly had the dancing echoes bounded from aneighboring elevation than there came a second explosion, if anythinglouder than the preceding one.
So the bombs exploded in pairs, just as they were let go by the units inthe double column of advancing raiders. Two, four, six had gone, and ifall struck as true to the mark as that initial one, there must be littleleft of the doomed castle by now.
Jack was in a fever of suspense. He feared that the signal to ceasefiring might be given before he could drop his bomb, the commander ofthe bombing fleet having decided enough damage had already beeninflicted, and that it would be only a waste of good material to raindown any more bombs.
But seven and then eight were falling, as though it had been settled tomake a clean sweep while about it.
Their turn next!
Jack gritted his teeth and awaited Tom's cry, when he would be the lastto burst into the rousing chorus of thunderous reports. The signal came,and Jack pressed the trigger, releasing the hanging bomb, and startingit on its downward journey.
If Tom's judgment was good it would at least strike somewhere in themidst of the debris and add more or less to the wreckage. As to whetherthe Boche commander-in-chief had been caught napping and buried in theruins, was a matter about which they could only speculate.
Tom himself doubted whether such a happy solution of the affair could beattained, because he had known of various attempts being made in timesgone by to "get" the Kaiser himself when visiting the western front, butalways without success.
They heard a frightful crash, much louder than any of those precedingit. The big plane rocked and swayed as though in a gale, and Tom neededall his skill to keep from being thrown off his balance.
It was no mystery to Jack. He realized that by a strange coincidence hisfalling bomb and that of the other rear plane had explodedsimultaneously, making the ground vibrate, and completely destroyinganything that had been left of the French chateau.
Their work in this quarter having been thoroughly accomplished theraiders now climbed higher, to rejoin the battleplane squadron hoveringabove, waiting to act once more as their armed escort.
Looking down in farewell, Jack could see fires burning. The shatteredtimbers of the wrecked chateau had been set ablaze. He would alwaysremember that strange event whenever again watching fires from a loftyheight in the night-time.
The squadron was off again, the second thrilling event connected withthe bombing raid having come off as scheduled without any mishap to theYankee air fleet.
Jack had kept quiet up to now, but it had cost him a severe effort.Talking when a plane is bombing on its way can never be anything of apleasure unless it is equipped with an up-to-date wireless telephone forthe use of pilot and observer.
Jack himself had contrived some amateur device of this sort which herigged up as soon as he seated himself back of Tom, although up to thenhe had failed to make use of it.
The roar of many propellers and the steady hum of a score of enginescombined to make a deafening noise. Nevertheless, when Tom felt a tug athis sleeve, such as had been agreed upon with his chum, he took hold ofhis little receiver and was delighted to hear Jack's voice as plainly asthough there had been no interference.
Plainly then Jack's idea was bearing fruit, and properly cultivatedthere might be something worth while in the scheme.
"Tom, do you get me?" demanded the agitated inventor, the first thing.
"Yes, and plainly, too," came the reply that greatly pleased Jack; forup to then they had found no occasion to test the wireless telephoneunder severe conditions.
If it "made good" with all that noise about them, Jack felt that heought to call it a success.
"That's right!" he told Tom, exultantly. "I never missed a syllable thattime. Oh, boy! it seems as if it's O K, doesn't it?"
"Splendid thing for talking when you're rushing along; and withoutcracking your voice, either," Tom told him.
"Did my bomb explode exactly at the same second as the other one?" nextasked Jack, more to continue the conversation and thrill with histriumph than for information, because he had already made up his mind onthat score.
"Just what it did, Jack. But let up on this now. I've got to keep mywhole attention pinned to my work."
That often different minds run in the same channel is proved every day;and in Jack's case it really turned out that while he was testing hiscrude invention another much more eminent person in far-away America hadjust succeeded in accomplishing the idea he had in mind, and was almostready to offer it to the Washington Signal Corps authorities.
After rejoining the squadron of battleplanes the old formation had beenresumed. A cordon of fighters moved on either side, one to each bombingunit in the fleet. Just as transports were convoyed across the dreadsubmarine danger-zone of the Atlantic by destroyers and cruisers, sothese working planes were protected by those better equipped for holdingoff intending offenders, and striking with all the strength of UncleSam's good right arm.
It would not be for long, Tom believed. Straight as the honey bee headstoward the hive when laden with sweets extracted from blossom andflower, th
ey were now aiming for their main objective, the last powerfulstronghold of the Hun in that sector, perhaps in all the extended battlefront.
Doubtless they would meet with a stubborn resistance. The enemy must, inthe nature of things have been forewarned, and would do everything inhis power to ward off the impending blow.
There was likely to be a determined battle in the air, with the Germansclosing in to make desperate resistance. There was also bound to be aheavy fire from below. Airplanes, perhaps even Zeppelins of the latestand most powerful description, would attack the raiders, and seek tosmash their formation into a chaos that must mean disgraceful flight andheavy losses.
But every American heart beat strong with confidence as the flierswinged their way through space, heading for the Hun stronghold that wasintended to be a supreme menace to the onrushing tide of Uncle Sam'sboys in khaki.
