Page:Air Service Boys Flying for France.djvu/128

Rh as his genial instructor explained it, and everybody agreed that he was a wonder.

Eventually he was allowed to mount to a very high altitude, further than he had ever gone before, so that the snow-capped Pyrenees seemed on a level with his machine.

His first trial at such a high altitude flight was exciting enough, though its successful accomplishment soon made it an easy task. In the little Nieuport he mounted to the great height. Then the machine was made to dive rapidly for a short distance, after which Tom gave a sharp pull on the controls, forcing the machine to climb suddenly, at the same time shutting off the motor.

When the little plane lost its speed, it fell over backwards. Just at the proper second, when the machine had reached the line of diving, Tom turned on the spark and once more resumed his flight, to repeat the experiment again and again until it became an old story with him.

Jack wondered how successful he would be when the time came for him to try this necessary evolution, which some day when in action and wishing to escape from an enemy might be the means of saving his life.

Tom was next put to work on other even more dangerous tactics, all of which have to