“This was where he would perhaps have been wise to have thrown up and
returned to his ’drome. He hung on in the hope that the engine would
pick up again—as engines have an unaccountable way of doing—and even
when he found himself dropping back out of place in the formation he
still stuck to it and followed on. He knew the risk of this; knew that
the straggler, the lame duck, the unsupported machine is just exactly
what the Hun flyer is always on the lookout for; knew, too, that his
Flight-Commander before they had started had warned him (seeing the
trouble he was having to start up) that if he had any bother in the
air or could not keep place in the formation to pull out and return.
Altogether, then, the trouble that swooped down on him was his own
fault, and you can blame him for it if you like. But if you do you’ll
have to blame a good many other pilots who carry on, and in spite of
the risk, do their best to put through the job they are on. He finally
decided—he looked at the clock fixed in front of him to set a time and
found it showed just over one minute to twelve—in one minute, at noon
exactly, if his engine had not steadied down to work, he would turn
back for home.
[Illustration:
_Courtesy Red Cross Magazine._