“Bombs from the air can’t do any great damage to a city.”

“No, but they can spread alarm, and it’s an insult, too.  We feel as the Germans would if we were dropping bombs on Berlin.  I wish you’d keep those glasses to your eyes all the time, John, and watch the skies.  Let me know at once, if you see anything suspicious.”

John, continually turning in his seat, swept the whole curve of the world with the powerful glasses.  Paris was now far below, a blur of white and gray.  Above, the heavens were of the silkiest blue, beautiful in their infinite depths, with tiny clouds floating here and there like whitecaps on an ocean.

“What do you see now, John?”

“Nothing but one of the most beautiful days that ever was.  It’s a fine sun, that you’ve got over here, Philip.  I can see through these glasses that it’s made out of pure reddish gold.”

“Never mind about that sun, John.  America is a full partner in its ownership and you’re used to it.  I’ve heard that you have more sunshine than we do.  Watch for our companions of the air, friend or foe.”

“I see them flying; over Paris, but none is going in our direction.  How far is our port of entry, Lannes?”

“We should be there in two hours, if nothing happens.  Do we still have the course to ourselves or is anything coming our way now?”

“No company at all, unless you’d call a machine about three miles off and much lower down, a comrade.”

“What does it look like?”

“A French aeroplane, much resembling the Arrow.”

“Is it following us?”

“Not exactly.  Yes, it is coming our way now, although it keeps much lower!  A scout, I dare say.”

Lannes was silent for a little while, his eyes fixed on his pathway through the blue.  Then he said: 

“What has become of that machine, John?”

“It has risen a little, but it’s on our private course, that is, if we can claim the right of way all down to the ground.”

Lannes glanced backward and downward, as well as his position would allow.

“A French plane, yes,” he said thoughtfully.  “There can be no doubt of it, but why should it follow us in this manner?  You do think it’s following us, don’t you, John?”

“It begins to look like it, Phil.  It’s rising a little now, and is directly in our wake.”

“Take a long look through those glasses of yours.”

John obeyed, and the following aeroplane at once increased in size tenfold and came much nearer.

“It’s French.  There cannot be any doubt of it,” he said, “and only one man is in it.  As he’s hidden by his flying-suit I can’t tell anything about him.”

“Watch him closely, John, and keep your hand on the butt of your automatic.  I don’t like that fellow’s actions.  Still, he may be a Frenchman on an errand like ours.  We’ve no right to think we’re the only people carrying important messages today.”