midnight
And he passed on , vouchsafing Orris a wink that might mean anything . That next night other planes from near-by sectors began flitting in here , there , until , with the planes already at the aerodrome , there must have been at least fifty of the various types of battle and scouting planes on hand . Many of the airmen were French , many British , not a few Americans , inclusive of the Lafayette Escadrille , composed mainly of men from overseas . The early evening passed , the dark hours flitted by , and so came midnight with a long line of planes stretched far and wide over that war-scarred expanse . Here and there the pilots had gathered in little groups , receiving their last instructions from majors , captains , lieutenants , even sergeants of the various aviation corps or squads who had , in turn , received theirs from commands higher up . Some of these groups were studying maps and photographs which had been made by recent reconnaissance trips and prepared for distribution among those whose task it was to proceed along the various lines thus indicated . One group near the center of the line deserves attention .