"prodigy" on his hands. He realized that unless some unfortunate accident cut Tom's career short, the Lafayette Escadrille would soon receive another recruit whose record in time might equal that of any of its most shining lights, some of whom had already given their lives to the service of France.
The youths found that making successful landings was a very important factor in the education of an aviator, and had often to be attempted under difficult conditions. Clumsiness at this has played havoc with many a bright pupil's hopes, and even taken lives as its toll.
From one class Tom passed into another. Jack strove earnestly to keep abreast of his more accomplished chum, and was doing very well, but still fell far behind Tom's record. Indeed, the marvelous manner in which Tom Raymond climbed the ladder made him the talk of the camp. The Americans there were proud of Tom. They believed that, given time, he was fated to become one of their best and most famous flyers; and none of them, placing the service far ahead of his own personal hopes, showed the least jealousy because of his rapid promotion.
Various types of machines were given to Tom to handle, and he seemed to be perfectly at home with them all. It was "born in him,"
