"Good," cried Earl. "Where do we land? In that big field behind the church?"
"That seems to be the only place, doesn't it?"
"As far as I can see it is," remarked Leon.
The monoplane dipped and began to descend in great circles. The young pilot shut off the motor and in silence, except for the noise of the air rushing through the wings, it swooped downward.
Earl did not enjoy this as much as he had the previous flying. As they came nearer and nearer to earth he could see the trees and fields rushing past beneath them and the sensation of speed was very great. He felt slightly nauseated and clung tightly to the sides of his seat.
Jacques was most skillful, however. He maneuvered the monoplane until they were directly over the field where they intended to make a landing. Then he suddenly shot downward until they were but a few yards above the ground; suddenly he straightened out the machine and they came to earth gracefully and without a jar. The monoplane ran along the ground for a short distance and came to a stop.
A squad of soldiers in the blue uniform of France came hurrying forward to greet the aviators.
"Is this Flambeau?" demanded Jacques of the corporal.
"I have some most important dispatches for him."
"Of course you wish to deliver them to him in person?"
"If you will come with me," said the corporal, "I will conduct you to him at once."
Jacques climbed out of the monoplane and set out across the field with the corporal.
"We'll wait right here for you, Jacques," called Leon, as he and Earl also stepped out of the machine and began to stretch their legs.
"Anglais?" queried one of the soldiers, hearing Leon speak in English.
"_Bon_," exclaimed the man. "_Parlez-vous Francais_? _Je ne parle pas l'Anglaise_." (Good. Do you speak French? I do not speak English.)
"_Un peu_" (a little), said Leon and he and his brother did their best to carry on a conversation in French with their new friends.
It seemed that there had been spirited fighting for the last week along that portion of the front. The men were of the opinion that the attacks and counter-attacks thus far had been in the nature of feelers and that both sides were searching for a weak spot in their opponent's line. They all seemed to feel that a general offensive was about to be undertaken and every man was convinced that the dispatches the three young friends had brought were in some way connected with this movement.