Page:Air Service Boys Flying for France.djvu/151

146 them from their slumber. In time however they would become so accustomed to such things as to pay little attention to them. Those who live for days and weeks and months in almost constant contact with fighting armies by degrees get accustomed to almost any sort of noise.

Then came the morning that would ever be marked with a white stone in their memories. After breakfast, with some of the pilots, Tom and Jack prepared to witness the bustling scenes almost hourly taking place at the camp of the escadrille where the hangars were situated, and where most of the mechanicians and other workers are quartered, so they can look after the numerous machines.

The boys already knew that the pilots were not expected to do anything in connection with their machines save fly in them and fight, thus carrying out their perilous air service. They are the drivers, and there is a host of workers and mechanicians on hand ready to run the planes back into their hangars after the pilots have alighted, and to see that the machines are properly cleaned and have a full supply of petrol and oil; in fact do everything necessary to put them in first class condition for work.

Already several planes were in the air, bent on various missions. Here one had ventured over the enemy lines, and was circling high up,