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148 their own they were privileged to roam about, and make numerous delightful discoveries. Later on they would be sent up with one of the other pilots, perhaps to take photographs of the enemy country back of the lines.

For this purpose a heavier machine than the Nieuport was always used, which went by the name of Caudron. This plane, being a two-seater, was frequently utilized to carry a spy far back of the German lines, where he could be dropped, to be called for at a specified time later on, after he had collected his information.

When one of these heavy planes went out on a reconnaissance it was equipped with a complete though small wireless outfit. Besides this Tom found—something that for some reason he had not before known—that a number of homing pigeons would be taken along, these to be released one by one as the pilot picked up news that he considered worth sending back in haste to the camp. Thus it might reach General Headquarters, and possibly prove of vast value in warding off a threatened attack.

Jack was most interested in the bombarding machines. These were of a peculiar build, and so fitted that they could take up a certain number of highly destructive bombs, carried underneath, where at the proper time each in turn