“Sorry to tell you, Jack,” reported Tom, after some uneasy movements, which the other had noticed with growing alarm, “that we’ll have to make a landing.  After all, it’s not going to be a non-stop flight to the coast.  Only a little matter, but it should be looked after before it develops into serious trouble.  I’m going to drop down to a lower level, where we can keep an eye out for a proper landing place.”

“But that means time lost!”

“We can spare an hour if necessary, and still get to Dunkirk by evening,” Tom replied cheerfully.  “I was a bit suspicious of that very thing, and only for our desperate need of haste would have waited to start until it had been gone over again.  But then I took chances, knowing it would, at the worst, mean only a stop for repairs.  Sorry, but it can’t be helped.”

When the plane had reached a distance of a thousand feet above the earth, with Jack eagerly looking for a favorable landing place, the latter had managed to recover from his depression.

“I see what looks like a fine stretch, Tom,” he now announced.  “Notice that road looking as if it might be pitted with shell-holes?  Just on its right, where that single tree trunk stands, there’s a field as level as a barn floor.  Circle around, and let’s get closer to it.”

Further examination convinced them that they had really run upon a suitable landing place.  What pleased Tom still more was the fact that so far there had been no evidence of human presence near by.

This meant that they would not be bothered during the time required for overhauling the engine by curious spectators, who might even question their right to be flying away from the front.

The landing was made in good style, and with only a few bumps, thanks to the smooth character of the field’s surface.  Even Jack was compelled to admit that though they had met with trouble, matters might be much worse.

“We’ll get busy now, and soon have things as fit as a fiddle,” said Tom, throwing off some of his superfluous garments so as to be free to work.

By this time both boys had grown to be real experts in all sorts of mechanical repairing, as every airman must of necessity become before he can pass the acid test.  Unlike the driver of a car on country roads, when a break-down occurs he cannot step to a neighboring house, use the long distance or local telephone, and summon help.  The airman is usually compelled to depend exclusively on his own ability to overcome the difficulty.

To get at the seat of trouble necessitated considerable disarrangement of the motor’s parts.  This consumed more or less time, and the minutes passing were jealously given up by the impatient Jack.

But the boys worked fast, and finally all had been accomplished.  Tom tested the engine, and pronounced himself satisfied, while Jack looked over the field ahead of them.

“It’s going to take us to Dunkirk without any further trouble, I give you my word for it, Jack,” he said.  “How long have we been here?”