Evening star., 1916-05-28

PARIS, May Is. 1915.
,nE7HERES the Ace of the Air"
W In the Cafe de la Paix, the
maitre d'hotel Mchelet in
q dcated mere boy lunch
ng opposite. alone. and conscientiously
fr.shing off with sliced fruits in
HGraschino and Genois jelly cake. He
.-,oked astonishingly like Napoleon
Eonaparte in his youth. as artillery
suba1tern.
It's Navarro" whispered Michelet-
A mere boy yet he has fought forty
aerial duels and brought down fourteen
enemy aeroplanes in flames. Pigoud is
dead and Garros is prisoner. but
greater than Pegoud and Garros have
sprung up. The fighting pilots of
France with terrific records, are mere
boys. The public is wild about their
exploits, but has scarcely learned to
recognize their faces. Navarro attract
ed no attention in the famous restau-
rant Nobody dreamed that he was in
Iaris.
He's come to take back a new ap-
paratus" whispered Michelet II think
rs a one-seat biplane Nieuport, but
Tn not certain. He flies alone. Pre-
iousIy to last September he used
-Saulnier parasol monoplanes.
With a gunner behind him. but he
wanted more speed and altitude, so
fi.-hts single-handed.'
fne Ace looked lonely, young and
::alid Could this be the youth of
i. nom they tell such stories? Scouting
= one in a two-seat "parasol. he came
own in a fog, inside the German lines.
Tne machine was intact, but he was
surrounded and disarmed A German
captain had an idea. Strapping the
Young Frenchman securely to the
pilots seat. he jumped in behind him,
pointing revolver and saying: Wen
-xplore the French trenches and rear,
at low altitude. If you make mo-
tion to land, I'll blow your brains out
and pilot the machine myself The
French boy obeyed. He steered straight
to the French trenches. flew over them.
reared suddenly. and looped the loop.
Not strapped to the seat, in order to be
free of his movements, the German
captain was spilled out. and went
crashing to earth. while the French boy
steered for headquarters and made his
report.
Michelet came from pouring the
heros coffee.
He says the Fokkers are not in it
with little Fdench zinc he knows of.
that gases 125 miles per hour and
mounts to 1000 yards dead easy
~ hispering) His brother, in the Amer
lean Hospital won't lose his arm. after
all They're great. the Americans.
Here was my chance to get the nero
in Paris alone after a good lunch ana
favorable to Americans for their care
of his brother.
Jean and Pierre Navarro are twins
from down Grenoble way. Both are
military aviators; both fly alone in
one-seat chasing aeros. manipulat-
Ing rudders and machine-gun single
handed, and both are aces. Pierre
Navarro. flying only six months. had
already made strong record, when
he got these two ricocnet balls from
a German aeroplane machine-gun. In
the upper left arm-nasty wound,
threatening amputation. To save his
arm was an American triumph.
Naturally. Pierre stopped. while Jean.
already tie -and-tie with Georges Guy
nemer continued. Later Gu!nemer
was equally laid up at the astoria
Hotel Hospital with a similar shoulder
wound. less dangerous. and Jean
Navarro, untouched and fortunate. con-
tinued to make victories, and became
the Ace with a big 'A-for the
present
1 sent word by Michelet-would he
He could scarcely refuse. But not
today. Already he had paid his Dill