Friendship demands equality between souls. If one has to protect the
other, if one is manifestly superior, it is no longer friendship. In the
Storks Escadrille friendship reigned in peace in the midst of war, so
surely did each take his turn in surpassing the others. Which one was,
finally, to be the greatest, not because of the number of his mentions,
nor his renown or public fame, but according to the testimony of his
comrades--the surest and most clearsighted of testimony--for no one can
deceive his peers? Would it be the cold and calm Dorme, who went to
battle as a fisher goes to his nets, who never spoke of his exploits,
and whose heart, under this modest, gentle, kind exterior, was filled
with hatred for the invader who occupied his own countryside, Briey, and
for six months had held in custody and ill-treated his parents? In the
Somme battle alone his official victories numbered seventeen, but the
enemy could recount many others, doubtless, for this silent,
well-balanced young man possessed quite improbable audacity. He would
fly more than fifteen or twenty kilometers above the German lines,
perfectly tranquil under the showers of shells which rose from the
earth.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153