WAR

iefed their mechanics and packed their kit. On takeoff, Navarre espied the staff
officers lined up at the end of the runway, waiting for the exhibition of stunting
they were sure Navarre would put on. The temptation was overwhelming. He
held his machine on the ground, heading straight for the group of officers. Apprehension,
then terror flitted across their faces as he roared down on them.
To a man they hit the dirt as Navarre zoomed over the end of the runway.
Reporting to Capitaine de Bernis on their arrival at Rheims and M-S 12,
Navarre and Pivolo found him interested to know some details of their recent
history and the conditions of their departure from Brias. Navarre blurted out the
story. Capitaine de Bernis said that he had just been on the telephone with the
CO. at Brias who had told him of the too-sensational departure and had demanded
that both lunatics be given 30 days. However, de Bernis added, the
sentence need not be imposed if the two of them (and particularly one of them)
would settle down and get with it.
To forestall an outburst of indignation from Navarre, de Bernis shooshed
them out of his office.
An hour or so later, judging that Navarre had calmed down, de Bernis
called him back. He had a special mission, he said, and if Navarre was fed up
with the air service and wanted a transfer to the infantry, then he, de Bernis,
didn't know who was going to fly the special mission.
"I'll go," said Navarre.
And he did. In fact he flew three special missions. These were usually very
dicey operations, involving the landing of saboteurs, agents provocateurs, or
spies behind the lines. The landings were particularly dangerous since they had
to be carried out at night in
Navarre volunteered for the first
unfamiliar territory on unlighted fields.
to make up for some of the trouble he had
caused at Brias. He volunteered for the second and third to make up somewhat
for cracking up an aeroplane, injuring a comrade, while duck hunting. In May
Navarre and sous-Lieutenant Rene Chambe had decided to have a go at the
canepetieres, a species of duck inhabiting the plains around Rheims. To be
different, they thought it would be good sport to hunt from an aeroplane.
Returning from a routine patrol, they headed for the plaine de Geux where
they soon flushed some game. As the duck skimmed along the ground, Navarre
went after it and Chambe raised the rifle. The bird zig-zagged across the fields,
Navarre following its movements, coming up close. Suddenly the bird turned,
an abrupt turn, absolutely at right angles to his previous line of flight. Navarre
turned too, instantly, forgetting in the heat of the chase that he was only a
few feet off the ground. When he brought up his left wing, his right wing went
into the ground. The aeroplane somersaulted several times with a terrific splintering
noise and came to rest upside down, pieces fluttering down all
around.
Navarre sat up and blinked. He was drenched with gasoline, the wreck
lay some distance away, and an equal distance away in another direction lay
Chambe.
said
38
It was quite a return to the aerodrome. "If only we'd had the duck, too,"
Navarre.