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have that bastard’s nuts in a vice when I find him.”
    I smiled, “I am not certain that the powers that be will allow that but leave it with me.  Come to the colonel’s office after breakfast in the morning.” As he walked away I frowned. The men in the squadron were the best I had ever served alongside.  I could not countenance that one of them was an enemy agent.
     
     

Chapter 4
    I was almost late for dinner and I saw a frown crease Archie’s face as I entered the mess.  He knew that it was not like me to be late.  I gave the slightest of shakes of the head and smiled at everyone.  “Sorry I am late.  Bates wanted the temperature of the bath to be just right!”
    Everyone smiled at that.  They all knew Bates and his ways. I stood behind my chair as Archie said Grace and the mess orderlies hurried in as soon as we were seated. I spoke quietly so that only Randolph and Archie, who were on either side of me, could hear what I said. I saw that Ted and Gordy were curious but they knew I would tell them later if it concerned them.
    “We have a saboteur. Sergeant Lowery found metal in the fuel tanks. It explains why our engines have been running badly lately.” I paused while the steward ladled the soup into the bowl. When they had gone I continued. “It has only begun since we returned to this field. It explains why young Lowery crashed today. I told Lowery we would not fly operations tomorrow.”
    “Good idea.  Bit of a bugger though.  I thought all of our chaps were good fellows.”
    “They may be.  It could be someone coming from outside the base. Equally it could be someone new.”
    Randolph shook his head.  “There are only the new pilots and gunners who have joined us since we returned.  All of the other ranks have been with us all the time.  Certainly they have been with us when we had no sabotage. I can’t see pilots and gunners sabotaging the engines.  Their lives are on the line.”
    “Are you sure about this Bill?”
    “I saw the evidence with my own eyes.  There are pieces of metal in the tanks of the new aeroplanes.”
    “Perhaps the sabotage is in England where they make the aeroplanes.”
    “There are metal pieces in the older aeroplanes too. I used mine at Ypres and there was no problem. I think that Harvey died today not because his bus was damaged by German fire but because he used so much fuel that the metal got into the engine and it stopped.”
    “Could it be one of the new pilots?”
    “It could be but they would have to have a death wish.  They fly the buses too.”
    We paused again as the soup was taken away and the main courses came. “We better have a drink and chat about something else sir, everyone is watching us.”
    Randolph was right.  We looked serious and conspiratorial; it was not our way. “You are right.  Join me in my office after the port then.”
    As we left the mess I nodded for Gordy, Freddie  and Ted to join us.  Once in the office hut, which the office staff had vacated and was empty, Ted asked.  “What’s up?”
    I told them.  The looks on their faces showed what they thought. Ted summed it up succinctly.  “It’s bad enough going against those triplanes without having to worry that someone has damaged the bus you are in.  What do we do?”
    “I have been thinking about this over dinner. It seems to me that there are two possibilities: one is a saboteur coming in at night and doing their deadly deed.  The second is that it is one of our chaps.  We can eliminate the first one.”
    “How?”
    “Increase the number of guards we have around the aeroplanes at night.”
    “But if it is one of our chaps then won’t that tip them off?”
    “Not if you receive a telephone call from Headquarters warning them of possible German infiltrators close to our airfields.  You will have to warn Headquarters anyway.”
    “Good idea, Bill, but we can’t ground the squadron for long. This is the time when the Hun is out and about.  They have