They saw at once that resistance was useless, and sullenly
obeyed the Captain's order to throw up their hands. They were
then marched back to camp, turned over to the proper authorities,
and the next morning at sunrise they met the fate of all spies
who are caught.
That was not the end of the affair, however, for, knowing that
the airplane which the spy had referred to as the "Buzzard" was
to be expected that night, and that the German aviator would look
for signals from the straw-stack, plans were made for his
reception, and this part of the drama was witnessed from the
village as well as from the camp. The night was clear, and at
about eleven o'clock the whirr of a motor was heard in the
distance. The Doctor, who had returned late from a visit to a
sick patient in an adjoining village, heard it, and at once gave
the alarm. Out of their beds tumbled the sleepy people of
Fontanelle, and, wrapping themselves in blankets or any garment
they could snatch, they ran out of doors and gazed anxiously into
the sky.
Pierre and Pierrette, with their parents and grandparents, were
among the first to appear. They saw the black speck sail swiftly
from the east, and hover like a bird of ill omen over the
meadows. No alarm sounded from the camp, but suddenly from the
shadows three French planes shot into the air. Two at once
engaged the enemy, while a third cut off his retreat. The battle
was soon over. There were sharp reports of guns and blinding
flashes of fire as the great machines whirled and maneuvered in
the air, and then the German, finding himself outnumbered and
with no way of escape, came to earth and was taken prisoner.
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