south and west. They must have an available base.

His heart suddenly increased its beat. He saw a darting figure and he
recognized the shape of the German Taube. Then something black shot
downward from it, and there was a crash in the streets of Paris,
followed by terrible cries.

He knew what had happened. He caught another glimpse of the Taube
rushing away like a huge carnivorous bird that had already seized its
prey, and then he ran swiftly down the street. The bomb had burst in a
swarm of fugitives and a woman was killed. Several people were wounded,
and a panic had threatened, but the soldiers had restored order already
and ambulances soon took the wounded to hospitals.

John went on, shocked to the core. It was a new kind of war. The flying
men might rain death from the air upon a helpless city, but their
victims were more likely to be women and children than armed men. For
the first time the clean blue sky became a sinister blanket from which
dropped destruction.

The confusion created by the bomb soon disappeared. The multitude of
Parisians still poured from the city, and long lines of soldiers took
their place. John wondered what the French commanders would do. Surely
theirs was a desperate problem. Would they try to defend Paris, or would
they let it go rather than risk its destruction by bombardment? Yet its
fall was bound to be a terrible blow.

Lannes was on the steps of the Opera House at the appointed time,
coming with a brisk manner and a cheerful face.