"And how do they know then?' she asked.

"The German airmen are more decent than some of the other Hun forces
we're fighting," explained Torn. "Generally after they capture one
of our escadrille members, dead or alive, they fly over our lines a
few days later and drop a cap, or a glove, or something that belongs
to the prisoner. Sometimes they attach a note, written by one of
their airmen or from the prisoner, giving news of his condition."

"And you think they may do this in my brother's case?" asked Nellie.

"They are very likely to," assented Tom, and Jack, to whom the girl
looked for confirmation, nodded, his agreement.

"How long shall we have to wait?" Harry's sister asked.

"There is no telling," said Tom "Sometimes it's a week before their
airmen get a chance to fly over our lines. It all depends."

"On what?"

"On how the battle goes," answered Tom. "If there is much fighting,
and many engagements in the air, the Boches don't get a chance to
fly over and drop tokens of our men they may have shot down. We do
the same for them, so it's six of one and a half dozen of the other.
Often for a week we don't get a chance to let them know about
prisoners we have, because the fighting is so severe."

"Will it be that way now?" the girl went on.