The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-09-05

tact as soon as possible on our return to
earth.
What do you make our altitude?"
asked, seeing the aeronaut consulting
the barometer.
mine thousand, eight hundred and
fifty feet, and according to the anemo-
meter this Southwestern must have al
ready carried us a good score of miles"
he answered from where he bent over
the instrument-board. Then, opening
his log-book, he began jotting down OBJ
seryations; proceeding that, to my re-
LEI, obviated any necessity for con-
versation.
Silently we fioated in the midst Of
silence-silence such as never rested on
earth or ocean. l gave myself up to
watching the clouds that were now
surging in mountainous pillows around
and above the balloon, combining the
view to their own feecy forms. AS l
watched they almost imperceptibly sub
| sided, at least so at first it appeared to
me; but presently glancing up at the
buoyant sphere overhead, saw dila-
ton of gas was taking place, owing
|
resulting in the renewal of the balloons
ascentive force. Soon she rose above
the shining white crests of the cloud
pillows, and again was revealed that:
" Illimitable ocean, without bound,
Without dimension, where length, breadth
| and height,
| And time and place are lost"
And now l saw that ahead of us there
/ npOpnn6n1 n fnuyoriprr nil n1OnI
OF purple somberness.
1--WE must get above that thunder
cloud, or we shall be plunged into it's
caldron"' exclaimed Walford with a
strange hardness of tone. 81 have
been in the midst of thunder-clo nd
once, and have no desire to renew the
experience"
But it is travelling by the same cur
rent as we are. Won't it keep ahead?"
/ asked.
mo; thunder-cloud is always sub
jected to more or less retardation. l
wish, Russell, you would cast out some
sand while watch the barometer"
So standing up, leaned over the side
of the car-outside which the bast-bags
were ranged-and followed his instruc-
tions. Immediately the balloon scared
upwards in an oblique direction.
Having discharged dozen handfuls
of the sand, asked him what our alti-
tude now.
Barely $4,000 feet. Go on, we will
give her another thousand, so as to
make sure of topping that COMPOUNDED
cloud
Having emptied the bag paused and
looked round inquiringly.
"a few more handfuls."
at is getting awfully cold" said,
letting more sand escape slowly through
my numb fingers.
"4es, because we are resisting the
air. When she resigns herself to the
current we shan't notice the cold," he
answered, in his quiet, even tones.
Then, by all that's reasonable, let
her resign herself I'm just frozen.
How high are we now?'' l questioned
huskily, for there was peculiar
feeling in my throat that made speech
painful.
Nearly Is, 900 feet"
Surely, thought, he must be mistak-
ing the reading. And forthwith 1 con-
suited my own little aneroid, gold
charm given me by Annie soon after we
became engaged. The limit of the scale,
20, 900 feet, was reached.
Good heavens, Walford, you are
wrong in your readings" l gasped,
swinging round to examine for myself
the mercurial barometer; he had it in
his hand, and as l turned he let it
drop. Taking step forward, as if to
pick it ny, he, instead, set his foot on it,
and there was snap as the glass tube
broke.
Careless" he muttered, bending over
the broken instrument.
l felt terribly vexed, for, judging from
my sensations, felt convinced our alt
itude would exceed by some thousands
the limit of my little aneroid. "Open
the valve-we shall be asphyxiated, |
with difficulty articulated, as l sank
down on the bench.
He neither answered nor made any
movement to pull the valve rope; only
turned his eyes on me. There was
CLEAN in them that reminded me of An
MES letter.
Was it a CLEAN of insanity? Was
murder or suicide his object? As that
awful suspicion flashed across my mind
l made to rise and pull the valve rope
myself. To my horror, 1 found my
limbs had lost all power; I could no
more move arms or legs than could
move mountain!
While like one in a dream l vainly
strove to regain the use of my limbs, l
saw Walford possess himself of the
large tube-titted bag that had aroused
my curiosity before starting, and which
he had said was intended for an expert
ment should we ascend high enough.
Applying his lips to the tube, he fixed
his eyes on me. Has diabolical purpose
looked out of them. He intended to
sustain his life on the oxygen there
stored until he had seen me gasp my
last. This was the experiment" then
this was the mode of revenge he had
devised, and with fendish ingenuity
had so contrived that should work my
own destruction. While 1 had been so
unsuspectingly casting out sand, he had
been giving me false readings of the
barometer, the breakage of which was
doubtless intended. Rage swelled
within mo lint could NOT find want ayap