After being promoted to a lead, the pilots first assigned to initially fly my trail in a somewhat alternating pattern were as I recall John Patterson and Lorin Bliss. Both were mustangs and very good pilots, however Lorin was a bit crazy at times. On one particular occasion on the way home from a days scouting we had been chatting back and forth when after a pause for a spell, I could not raise him. I banked around hoping to get his attention only to find he was no where to be seen. Some what shocked, I immediately began to backtrack and shortly saw his bird on the ground and him out of it walking around in what appeared to be a bombed out grave yard. I made a low pass over his head with my hands up in an attempt to signify 'What's the problem', only to be met with a wave, a smile and an index finger gesture that he would be just a minute. Well, sure enough he was shortly back in the air and when we arrived home I hot footed down to his aircraft to have a word in private as to what the heh! had been going on. He replied with a big smile that he had only landed to see if he could find another SKULL CUP for the troop. I was so dumb founded at his answer yet so relieved as to his safety that I all I could think to say is, "Look, when ever we do something we do it as a team, OK", and just walked away murmuring to myself and thinking what a gutsy character he was.