Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-04-22

mander with q little knot Of officer
about him standing forward. eageri!
scanning our feet Higher and highe
we arose. the air rapidly getting NOR
and more rare and our breathing be
coming more and more rapid looked
down at the sea. which was glimmerini
1900 feet below US In the sunlight:
turned my eyes at the great cylinder
ioverhead; shot holes In two Of its air
tight cOmpartments-and what q fall
But there were other things to think Of
Admiral gasped, II we go much
higher we shall die for want Of air.
"'Mr. Swash,' replied the grand old
salt, duty before breath always-re
member that. sir. I'm afraid the shiE
will not carry much higher. Wen gel
over them. don't you think. Captain
HOwitzerr
"HOwitzer gazed anxiously at the
; enemy, who were now within fifteen
miles. and replied:
"'Close call, SIR
| '.Then to the mens
| Stand ready to drop Q ton Of dyns-
mite en- them II we 60 ever themr
"As he spoke there was . pu3 on thu
! saemy's nag ship. and . solid shot came
GinginS half . mile below %. Old Wad
laughed. and ordered the bow gun to
return the flre when we were within
i've miles. Our shells passed over
them. We had then reached ~ high
an altitude a. It was possible for the
ships to float, and then we reduced
speed. They approached to within two
miles and stopped and began to circle
about us. evidently intending to sub
ject our balloons to a cross fire. Higher
than we they could not 60, and the dis
covery of this fact brought jeers and
cheers from our crew.
For some fifteen minutes there wa.
terrible suspense. Each vessel circled
warily around its chosen opponent,
banging away with its machine guns
in vain endeavor to puncture the en-
emy's balloon. But the distance was
too great and the movements Of the
vessels too quick for any successful
gun work. Suddenly HOwitzer seized
my arm and pointed toward the Light
ming. Her crew had just thrown over
board her whole cabin, her two guns
and a great quantity Of dynamite
bombs.
"FOr q moment we were speechlesa
with astOnishment. Were they going
to take to flight? Admiral Wad seized
a nag to signal Commander Blower.
but he just go as far as dam when he
stopped. Slowly the great vessel was
mounting In the air. A cry Of dismay
was heard from the hostile ship with
which she was engaged. In five min
utes she was 400 feet above them. The
British crew madly threw overheard all
the weight they carried-guns, bombs
and everything they were too late;
the Lightning was above them; then
a black object shot down on them; n
deafening roar followed, with n rush
of wind that hurled the Swallow q mile
out Of her course. And when we looked
toward the Lightning she was alone
but slowly sinking toward the sea, fol-
the conclusion had torn Off the end OF
her balloon cylinder. We could see heI
crew at the rail cheering wildly.
admiral Wad at one ordered tha,
we pursue the same tactics; everything
went by the board, guns, and all am
munition but five bombs. We lOOsened
some rivets in the floor and let the
ca bin fall; then we, too, began to rise.
But the British admiral was not to be
for he had been busy at ex-
actly the same work, and when we
found ourselves 1000 feet higher he
lay a mile away at the same altitude.
admiral Wad swore. Our guns
were gone, and we could have lain
there for eternity and not harm each
other, unless we closed. For long
time be paced the deck in silence. Al
length he called the men together. and
In a nect, touching speech asked for
ole volunteer for a forlorn hope.
"'AH that can be DONE he said, is
to ram the enemy. One man and my.
self can handle the ship, and 1t would
be useless for you to stop on board sim
ply to lose your lives
Every man volunteered; every ma1
offered to stay in their commanders
place. He chose me for his companion,
since | alone of all the crew was un-
and he positively refused to
accept IA substitute. He would 60 down
with the old ship, he said.
THE scene that followed was mos.
The men wrung the brave
old mans hand in a last parting. One
by one they took their parachutes,
swung over the side and went sailing
away into the blue.
''The last man was gone and old Wa, |
turned toward me and embraced me |
Between his emotion and the extreme |
Of the air he could not |
speak. This show Of feeling lasted but
1 minute, for we were brought to OUT |
senses by q great cheer from the On |
smy's crew. They believed the ship de- |
serted and were bearing down toward |
rs. Instantly tho admiral Strengthened |
up and firmly pushed the button, turn |
Ing the full force Of the electric current |
INTO the propelling motors. The great
ship swung around and with terrific
speed sailed at the enemy. The en-
emy tried to swing their ship out of the |
course, but in vain. In a minute We
struck them. A crash like thousand |
peals Of thunder, n flash like the ex |
plOsiOn Of dynamite factory and al !!
was still. And when l looked agaiI |
there was nothing but blue, the endless |
blue of infinite space. The Hawk and |
her two opponents had been wrecked |
suppose by the awful concussiOn."
Lieutenant Swash had finished hin l
narration and for a long time puffed |
silently at his pipe. l, for my part,
was rapt in silent wonder at the man. \
knew Swash well. but such assurance
rs this had not believed him capable ]
Df. After all, he was one of those per j
sOns who lie SO habitually that, com |
ing from them, a story of their own (
Heath was not surprising. Suddenly j