Show I Ills His five companions companion lid dirt not stay star to offer oCter battle I still held heM tho the upper hand and even got ot in fn a a few rew bursts burst at tho the next nearest machine before its pilot throw himself Into a n. and escaped me The sight of ono one of f their members falling In flames evidently quito quite dl discouraged discouraged dis dis- them Abandoning all t their lr dc designs i ns on th the unsuspecting be below below below be- be low they dived awa away for Cor G Germany rm and loft leU mo me the field rr Lufbery SD O I returned to my field secured secuNd a n. car carand carand carand and drove rove immediately Immediate up to the tho lines linos to our balloon section I 1 1 to get ct m my victories confirmed both confirmed both this one of oC to today ay and the Fokker that I 1 had hall brought down yesterday In the tiLe same samo se sector tor For no matter how ho homan man many pilots may h have o witnessed ed the bringing down Iown of oC an enem enemy plane official confirmation confirms confirma tion of their testimony must be bo ob obtained tamed from rom outside witnesses o on th the r ground Often this is impossible to get In such a case ase the victory Ictor Is not credited to the pilot Upon tho tragic death of Major Lufbery Lufbery Luf- Luf ber bery who at t that time was the lend lead mug American ace nce with eighteen victories vic vic- Iet t tories orles the title of oC American n ace of oC aces fell Cell t to Paul Frank lIner Bacr of Fort Wayne lad Ind a member of or the Lafayette I liner Bacr had had nine nino victories victories victories vic vic- tories and had hall never neer he been n wounded Baer Daer is a I. I particularly modest and lovable loable boy and curiously h enough he Is Isone Isone isone one of ci the few T fighting I pilots I hemet have h met who sho felt Celt a real repugnance for Cor his task tak of ot shooting shoGUnS down enemy aviators When hen fell taU liners Bacr's commandIng command- command Ing Ins officer Maj William Thaw called him the office orfice and md talked ed seriously serious serious- g- g ly with him re regarding the before him as ns Americas America's leading ace lIe Ho advised Bacr Baer to bo be cautious and I he ho would go far tar Two days later Baer Bacr was as shot down and nd slightly wounded behind the German lines Thereafter Lieutenant Fr Frank Da Bayliss flay Bay liss of oC New lew Be Bedford ford Mass a member member mem mem- ber her of or the crack French of oC tho the Ci 5 held the American title until ho he was killed Inaction in action on June 12 12 1918 Bay Bayliss had thirteen victories to his credit Then David I Putnam Putnam another Massachusetts Mas- Mas bo boy took the lead with twelve twel victories over enemy aero aero- planes Putnam as ns I have ha said was vas I IlIk 1 lIk like Ike Lufbery shot down In flames but buta a da day or two before beCore m my last victory Superstition Troubles 1 Rick Flick Lieutenant Tobin o of San Antonio Tex and a n. member o of the Third Pursuit Pursuit Pur- Pur suit group of oC which Maj William Thaw was the commanding officer now ow had six victories confirmed He Heed led ed the list I for tor m my part had five rive vIctorIes confirmed But upon reedIng reed recel I InS InS' ng confirmation for Cor the two ers ersI I had vanquished yesterday and today to- to day ay I should h have vc m my seven and would lead ead Tobin b by one So it was with some little interest and Impatience p I that hat I set oC oft off to tr try to find ground round witnesses of oC m my last two battles above St Sl L Mihiel I Mingled lcd with this natural desire to become tho the Reading fighting ace of oC America was wis a haunting superstition that hat did not lc leave ve my mind until tho the I very very- cry end o of the war It was that the very cry possession of or this title title Ace Ace of ot I c Ac s brought s with it the unavoidable able doom that had overtaken all Its previous holders I wanted it and yet et I feared e red to learn that it w was s mindIn mine mind I In n later days Ua's I began belan to feel that thin superstition was almost the he heaviest i burden th that t I carried with me into the tho I air Perhaps It served to redouble my m- caution and sharpened sharpen d' d dm m my fighting senses But Dut never ne was I able to forget forget for for- get th that t tho the life of or a a. holder title or-I or Is short hort Eating my sandwiches In the car that hat day I soon ran through St St. Mi- Mi ti- ti hid and made m my w way y on the main road cast east to Apremont and then north to o Thiaucourt I knew that there had been a t b balloon up near the there e both d days 5 and felt certain that their observers must have ha seen my two combats Wrecks Wreck r k Two U. U S. S Balloon Unfortunately tey the tho road Cr from m Apremont Apremont Apremont mont to Thiaucourt was clo closed ed because of ot tho the great number of or sh which crossed criss-crossed it After being S' lost for or two hours in Ip the forest which lies between St St. Mihiel and Vigneulles I Iwas Iwas Iwas was nm finally y able to extricate myself myself i and found I had emerged Just south 2 ot of I 1 was about one mile south of o our trenches And standing there with map in hand wondering where to go next to find our balloons I got ot n an unexpected clue unexpected clue A sudden flare lare of 11 mes struck my sight off of off to the right Running around tho tr trees es I caught a no view of r one of our balloons between me and Thiaucourt court c completely immersed in lames flames H way Half y down n wa was as a a. graceful grace grace- ful little parachute beneath which sun swung the observer as ho he settled ly to Mother Earth And as s I gazed g I Ga saw w a a. sec second n balloon bal hal loon two or three miles further cast east towards Pont Pont-a- Pont Pont-a-Mousson Jousson perform the I same sam maneuver Another of our ob ob- ob servers was ma making the tho same perilous Jump A sly 51 Heinle Heinie had sl sUpped across I our lines ahead and had made madea a a. suc sue attack u up upon n tho the tw two balloons and had made mad a clean getaway I saw I h hm climbing up away from from rom the tho fu furIous furious fu- fu rious gale ale of oC anti aircraft tt fire which pur ur gunners w re ro speeding after him I t am afraid m my sympathies were al almost al- al most entire entirely with the airman Irm n as at I watched the murderous bursting of oC Archy all around his machine Wo We had little idea idea he hc would really get et either of oC them but wo we all hil gathered gath gath- ere ered together her out In th the open pen as tho the i time g gew ew cw near and nd kept our eyes glued to tho distant speck peck In the tho sky Suddenly Major exclaimed There goes oes tho the first on ono one It It was lr lri true A tremendous f flare arc o 0 ot flame Oame lighted i the up horizon We Wc all aU glanced at our watches It U was exactly on the dot I Work ork Conf COf Hun The 1110 Intensity o of our gaze ga towards the tue location of oC the second Hun hal bal loon may be Imagined It had grown too dusk to distinguish the tho balloon itself It It- self elf bUt but T wo we sell weil l new th tho exact point in the horizon on where it hung hunS Not it r e word wa was spoken a as ns w wo alternately alter altar glanced at the second-hands second o 01 our watches and then at tho the eastern skyline Almost upon the second our w watching group yelled simultaneously A small blaze first lit up the tho point at which we were gazing gassing Almost another gigantic burst of flames names announced to us that the second sec sec- ond balloon had been destroyed It was a most spectacular exhibition We c all stood tood b by on the a aerodrome in front of or I hangar until fifteen minutes later inter wo we heard through the darkness the tho hUnt hum of oC his hla returning moI mo mo- I 1 tor Ills mechanics were shooting up red YeI Very lights w th their pistols to Indicate to him the tho locution location of or our field With on one short circle lr above e aboe abo e the aerodrome ho ha shut of oft off hl his motor notor and nd made a n. perfect landing Just In tn front of our group roup J g and hugely pleased leasell with hl his Luke Jumped running over to us to out and came receive our heartiest t congratulations front from the Within a half hours hour's absence field Frank Luke had destroyed d fob He lie had worth of en enemy my property returned I absolutely I un C Conti Continued n U Tomorrow o w |