The statement of fact is characteristic of Guynemer. An
unforgettable sight had been imprinted on his eyes: the pilot sinking
down in his cock-pit, the arms of the observer beating the air, the
burning airplane sinking. Such were to be his future landscape sketches,
done in the sky. The wings of the bird of prey were unfurled definitely
in space.
The two fighting airmen had left Vauciennes at two o'clock in the
afternoon, and at quarter-past three they landed, conquerors, at
Carriere l'Eveque. From their opposing camps the infantry had followed
the fight with their eyes. The Germans, made furious by defeat,
cannonaded the landing-place. Georges, who was too thin for his clothes,
and whose leather pantaloons lined with sheepskin, which he wore over
his breeches, slipped and impeded his walking, sat down under the
exploding shells and calmly took them off. Then he placed the machine in
a position of greater safety, but broke the propeller on a pile of hay.
During this time a crowd had come running and now surrounded the
victors. Artillery officers escorted them off, sentinels saluted them, a
colonel offered them champagne.
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