The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-24

H'5 thdt old nag OF Nind over this city
Of London i'm the dark till YOU spots the
mint, then drop her slow down till we gets
WilRn graphing distance of the roof
en- the fun begins. Now kin she do
companion.
'Aly 'Coquette.' she can do anything in
my hands. responded Theodor cnthusi-
a3sslcally' only the wind, It must not be
"Ah, we'll" reacctively remarks his com
panion, we must i'm course fix on "a quiet
nsht and risk that" IL was Augustus
theory that he would find some hatch on
We ROOF the mint amenable TO the gem
ne persuasion of jimmy OF the best steel
duu ON further Investigation by means
Oh rope ladder one at least of the gold
!tpoSitoilcs might not prove Irresistible
70 the same test. Access to tho roof
from the balloon was to be gained by slid
in6 aoWn the rope, which anchored the
uiiWielly cfaft TO the housetops. Attach
~ 20 inns rope were couple Of light
pieces OF wood to serve as seats ian case
the dlHiculty OF shining up the rope on
thelr return should prove to great for the
aerOnauts. Fastened also 70 The lower
Vhu OF the rope was a strong net to con-
tdih lne cases OF gold they hoped to cx-
{5I1ct from her maJesty's golden store. A
l6Ht coIu IN connection with the escape
ValVe also Travelled down the side OF the
suuHbef anchor cable, so that the voyagers
Sou!a contro', TO some extent at least the
Destiny of their aerial steed, while seated
50 10 speak, at the end of their tether.
y Wllu schcme truly. one that could only
pc attempted by a desperate Englishman
dlu an imaginative Frenchman. Sull IL
was determined to bc put into execution
Various surveys were held by Augustus
from the roofs of surrounding ware
houses ana ny the aid of strong glass
Ne was enabled To localize the weak spots
Hkcly 10 succumb to the jimmy and upon
Mhich the balloon might safely swoop
and md "A safe anchorage on the oc-
oasion of the next public ascent. careful
~ deferred until the atmospheric condi-
IohS suited the worthy couple sailed over
the vicinity as near the housctops az
ings.
Nothing remained then but to await
qu,et' dark evening. balloon is an ar
ugtC that cannot very well be slowed
@Way, even when empty i'm ones waist
coat pocket and to distend IL necessarily
implies fair amount of publicity, COM
bined with a connection with the gas main
Credit having been restored IT was. there
Iore, arranged to have a public ascent az.
usual though as late I'm the evening a.
6 airi,,nIIies;, By TINS means, as Augustus
dlplomaucally pointed out, II the balloon
should be prematurely discovered hover
ing over the mint, ii would be put down
70 70 an accident; while on tho other hand.
II successful, the robbery would never be
associated with the innocent aeronauts.
Inc day arrived when ID looked as n inc
rates might be propitous. Early notice
was given as matter Of form of the
contemplated ascent from n favorite re-
sort OF the LondOncr. AT the appointed
nne NE TWO men, with the additlonai
a.
bottom OF the car gave the word TO lei
10, ana IN the presence of a small but en-
IhuslaSuc crowd La Coquiette" sailed
maJestcally toward the heavens.
Brignac purposely directed n course
away from the city, but as the evening
Iqil gradually worked his way toward the
Mlnorles For some hours they cruised
about at high altitude with the count
less nights Of the great city far beneath
them Had the scion Of a noble race been
az all POLITICALLY inclined. he had splen-
OnnnrrTnffW n ina. L.
easion But the F'itz-Cholmondeleys new
er haq run 10 poetry, and this specimen
only shlvSred in the chill air and waited
lmpatiently to hear midnight strike
AZ length cautious descent was made
me hRnts were somewhat confusing, but
augustus. familiarity from boyhood with
good steady. Silently under Brignac's
sklllful manipulation the great balloon
settled on the building like some huge
bfQ OF prey The graphing was lowered
and caught good hold amid the old-fash-
loned CHIMNEY tops of the motley pile. In
a twlnkling two men slid down the ropes
and assured themselves that the convey
ance was really fast. All below was then
dark, except where in the distance the
night IN the guard room fickered. IL was
now Augustus turn to demonstrate his
particular talent. in a very short time
an entrance was effected through an in
dluerently secured hatch, and the profess
sional started with his rope ladder to ex-
plore AS luck would have IT, he had hit
upon one Of the store rooms, impregnable
from below, but, as we have seen, easily
accessible from above. Surrounded by
such vast store of newly mined coin Of
the realm, Fitz-Cholmondeley's first i'm
pulse was to appropriate the lot, but his
companions warning as to the lifting ca
pacity Of the balloon, led him reluctant
~ TO be content with a couple of eases
Weighing about 100 pounds each Together
tney represented about El2,WO, and with
affectiOnate care they were noiselessy
raised to the watcher on the roof and
cautiously transferred to the net attached
a hn hn to
building. In a high state Of excitement
the couple arranged themselves
on their respective seats. and
released the graphing. Alas for their
calculations Either the weight Of the
gold was too great, or else the balloon
in its descent had lost too much gas
but to their horror, instead Of sailing
majestically into the ether it slowly but
Enthusiastically grayitated toward the
ground. Here was predcament. The
Frenchman was. however, equal to the
occasion. We must throw one case
down" he said. "An' "A nice old row
that'n make, not to mention losin' the
glar, but as there's nothin' else for it,
ere goes" and the hundredweight Of
gold fell crash upon the courtyard of the
mint. The balloon shot up few yards
and the deadly stiffness that followed the
chink of the coins as they scattered all
over the flags was broken by the hoarse
cry Of the sergeant Guard, turn out"
But the enterprising marauders had
congratulated themselves too soon. Again
the balloon commenced slowly to de-
scend. THE othe- must go too whis-
pered Theodorr You'll go fust," returned
Augustus with smothered curse, but
just then the command was heard, with
ball cartridge, load" That was enough
for the Frenchman, and, in spite of Au-
gustus, struggles, the second case of their
precious booty was hurled into SPACE
This time the balloon shot up in real
earnest. Three hours later two men dis
entaeled themselves from the wreck OF
a balloon on Henley Common, and 1t was
noticeable that oven in adversely their
relations were somewhat strained The
OdOr has since lost his penchant for ball
looming, but still admires Jules Vern.
for the comparative safety and obscuritv
Of a Normandy inn, and Augustus-weu
we have not met yet. As for the mint
authorities, they are still looking for the
mysterious visltant who first apDropria-
ted and then gcattered with such a lavish
hand their golden store.
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