_I_ got her! Got her right over Beachy Head.
"I knew I"d done it the moment he turned about. I"d put half a drum right into her engines, and she wouldn"t want to land in the sea (rather Irish).
"Suddenly a searchlight blazed right on the pair of us, and the Archies stopped, just like the band stops and the limelight concentrates for the really tricky bit of the show with those acrobats at a music-hall....
"But this was dead easy, the rest of it. I just circled above her like a buzzard, driving her down, down, all the time. I didn"t fire at her any more, because you could tell within twenty yards where she was going to land, and I knew the lads of the village were all ready and waiting for her. One bad wobble she gave and pitched straight down. I sheered off a bit for fear of getting any bombs, but she"d drop her last one on the way. She simply came down end on like shying a lump of clay at a board.
Then I landed, tumbled out, and legged it up the slope as fast as I could; just in time to see "em getting out all the three Huns alive.
""My bird, I think," says I, running up all out of breath.
"Then a chap beside me spoke out of the dark, "Hi! Who are you?"
"I couldn"t see him, so I said, "D"you mind telling me who _you_ are?"
"He pulled a torch out of his pocket and showed it on himself. A Staff-major. So we shook hands, and he congratulated me.... Then I felt rather a fool," laughed Jack Awdas, "for he asked me my name.
""Well, as a matter of fact, Sir," I said, and stopped.
""Well what?" he asked.
""Well, as a matter of fact, I"m not supposed to be here at all."
""Oh?" he barked. "Got any orders on you?"
"I had; from the a.s.sistant Adjutant. I pulled "em out and he read them by the light of his torch.
""H"m," he said, "taking a machine to France, but I see by this you"re not due to start until tomorrow morning. It"s now two, ac emma. How"s this?"
"Well, when you"re cornered like that I always think there"s only one thing for it; pure cheek. So, as bold as bra.s.s, I gave a look at the orders myself, and then said, "I rather fancy this must be a clerical error, sir. My verbal orders were to start today, and I can"t have been two hours on the way yet?"
"I fancied I heard him give a chuckle in the dark, but all he said was, "Well, this will be a serious matter for you."
""Oh, I hope not, Sir," I said.
""A serious matter," says he. "If you"d been sent up to chase Hun planes you might have got the D.S.O. for this. But you see what it means now?"
""What?" I asked.
""Well! This being an act outside the course of your duty," he said, "it _may_ mean the Victoria Cross!""
Golden Awdas gasped. "Then, think of it, Bird-boy! You"ll only have traded _my_ ribbon," she exclaimed, "for that wonderful other! Now wasn"t that a prize----"
But the wide and distant stare had gone now from her airman"s eyes.
These had returned to her; his sweet American who had journeyed across a world before he had found her, his love whom he had loved enough to leave, knowing that it might be for ever.... His blue eyes were locked into hers again for a moment with his lover"s look that now sent a wave of pink fire flaming into her face and down her throat. Against that perfect throat he buried eyes and lips.
""Think?" I needn"t think of anything else now, Girl," he whispered.
"_You"re_ my prize!"
That was Jack Awdas"s story of his share in the raid.
The evening papers announced:
"Bombs were dropped in several districts, but no material damage was caused. A woman and two children were slightly injured.
"One German aeroplane was brought down on the coast by a pilot of the Royal Flying Corps."
The German account read:
"A successful raid was carried out by our airmen over London last night.
Good results were obtained, and large fires were seen to break out in various districts.
"All our aeroplanes returned safely."
CHAPTER XII
SHRAPNEL AND THE CHARM
"Never the time and the place and the loved one all together!"
Browning.
And what of the other people who had been at Mrs. Cartwright"s party when that raid alarm came through?
Olwen Howel-Jones and young Ellerton had imagined that by taking "the Metropolitan" from Baker Street Station they might arrive at Wembley Park before the raid started in earnest.
This hope proved to be vain before their train reached Willesden Junction. Out went the lights as the train came to a dead stand between two stations. Up went the windows; above the iron bars that guarded them there craned the heads of pa.s.sengers asking in every key what the matter was.
They were answered by the distant growling of those first guns.
"Bai Jove! Held up for the blessed raid," exclaimed the cheerful voice of young Ellerton, who was alone with Olwen in a first-cla.s.s carriage in the front of the train. "How priceless! Here we are and here we stay until the blighters choose to finish their little call, I s"pose. That"s all right.... Hope you don"t feel nervous, Miss Howel-Jones?"
The soft voice of little Olwen came to him out of the dark. (She was sitting in the corner seat, opposite to him.) "Oh, no! I"m not nervous at all, thanks. I think it"s quite exciting! I only hope Lizzie (that"s my Aunt) won"t be worrying about me; but then she knew where I was; she"ll probably think Mrs. Cartwright kept me."
"Ah, yes. She"ll probably think Mrs. Cartwright kept you," agreed Olwen"s companion. "I thought it looked a likely night for our friends."
He had made this remark, by the way, twice on their way to Baker Street.
"Yes," said Olwen.
Silence, punctuated by a nearer muttering of the guardian guns fell between the two young people in the carriage to themselves. The voices of other pa.s.sengers could be heard further along the train; and the guard appeared to be exchanging repartee with the engine-driver, whose name (as that of all drivers of "bus or engine seems to be), was Bill.
Olwen gave a little laugh as "Bill"s" comments were shouted forth on the night air, and her companion chuckled also. But he started no conversation about it. Or about any other subject.
The whole truth of the matter was that this quite good-looking and pleasant young man Harold Ellerton hadn"t got very much conversation.