John
again glanced anxiously at Weber. He felt that his news was of serious
import.
"I saw your friend Lieutenant Philip Lannes about three weeks ago at a
village called Catreaux, lying sixty miles west of us," said Weber. "He
had just made a long flight from the west, where he had observed much of
the heavy fighting around Ypres, and also had been present when the
Germans made their great effort to break through to Dunkirk and Calais.
I hear that he had more than a messenger's share in these engagements,
throwing some timely bombs."
"Was he well when you saw him?" asked John. "He had not been hurt? He
had not been in any accident?"
"He was in the best of health, bard and fit. But his activities in the
_Arrow_ had diminished recently. Snow, rain, icy hail make difficulties
and dangers for aviators. But we wander. He had not heard from his
mother, Madame Lannes, or his sister, the beautiful Mademoiselle Julie,
for a long time, and he seemed anxious about them."
"He himself took Mademoiselle Julie back to Paris in the _Arrow,"_ said
John.
"So he told me. They arrived safely, as you know, but Lannes was
compelled to leave immediately for the extreme western front. The
operations there were continuous and so exacting that he has been unable
to return to Paris. He has not heard from his mother and sister in more
than two months, and his great anxiety about them is quite natural.
Pages:
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26