The record-union., 1896-11-30
NUNAN And THE AIRSHIP.
Pat Relates His SOuI-HarroWing EI-
perienCe.
How he Was Be2ulIed Into Taking
Ride in the Sky-Scrap-
ing Craft.

A group Of men were seated around
the stove in the back room of an up
town saloon a couple of nights ago, en-
gagged in a vigorous discussion. 1t was
not free silver they were debating this
time, but airship possibilities and prob
abilities.
There were a couple of men In the
crowd who believed an airship had
been sailing about, but the others were
skeptical, and the discussion was wax
ing warm when Patrick Nunan en-
tered and took a seat close to the
stove. He was not long in getting into
the airship discussion, and insisted on
being heard.
Now, me byes," said Pat, as he
rubbed his cold hands together, "Oill
till We phwat Oi know about the air.
ship, if yen listen an not put in yer
oars till OF get through wild me story.
well, a couple of wakes ago Oi waz
out in the country near-but niver
moind where it waZ. Oi waz maxim a
short cut for Sacraminto acrass the
fields, an sat down at the foot av a
three to rist an have a pull at me
poipe, Whin Oi saw a felly comm
t'wards me. dye moind. Whin he came
up to me he looked about in a scared
Sart av a way, an thin he turned to
me an sez he, Hello, Pat!' sez he.
Sure an ye hev me name all
roight,' sez Oh, but phwere n the divil
did We foind it out?'
''Niver moind about that sez he,
but till me, phwere are ye goin,' seZ
he
"'O'm goin' to Sacraminto, wild the
help O. God an pair O. good sound
Hgs,' sez Oi.
Well thin, We needn't wark there.
sez he, for ye can roide wild me-
Dim yer mon! sez Oi.
He towld me in sart of whisper to
folly him, an he lid the waay to a
thicket, phwere he showed me a big
machine the loike av which no livin'
mon iver gazed an befoor.
'Phwat the divil koind av waggin
is that?' seq OF. -Phwere's yer harse?'
He's gone ter grass sez he.
''Harses amt in amy more seq he.
All ye hev to Go is sit shtill an Oill
take yer fer a roide the loike av which
ye niver injoyed befoor,' sez he.
An bad sess to him, he did. There
waz two chairs in the CONTINUANCE, an
Oi sat down an wan av thin an he an
the ither a-facin' me, dye moind. He
put his finger an some koind a plug
an prissed it, loike that Thin a pair
av big wings an the machine begin
ter flap. A lot av wheels set ter buzz
Zin' an begorra the thing begin to roise
aft the ground, Me hair begin ter
roise, too, an Oh thried ter jump out.
Houi am he cried 'phwat ther
divil are ye thryin' ter do? Sure ye'd
be killed, mon, af ye jumped out, for
we're up in ther air!' sez he.
'Shtop, Oh yilled, an lit me go
home ter me wife an little vans, Dye
take me fer turkey buzzerd?' seq Oi.
But ther divil a hair did he care
how much 1 hollered. He jist turned his
Dyes upward, loike a dyin' calf, an
gazed at the hivins, an all ther tonne
we waz goin' higher and higher. There
waz nothin' fer me ter do but sit shtill.
We'll, Oh looked out av a little windy
by me soide, an Oi could see that we
waz passin' over Sacraminto, an all
ther tonne we We're goin' higher an
higher"
The crowd hitched up their chairs a
little closer as Pat stopped to wet his
throat with glass of whisky, and then
he proceeded with his strange story.
Thin it waz that Oi begin to feel
a toightniss in me chist, an Oh could
hardly brathe. Oi looked at me COM
panion an saw there waZ somethin'
wrong wild him, too. His face waz ez
phite as shate, an by all thet's good
an houly blood waz runnin' out av his
nose an mouth!
"Oi thried ter spake ter i'm. but me
vice waz gone! Me tongue waz as
thick as the head av a pizened pup
an as dhry as thet av a militiaman an
the Foorth av July! Sez Oh to me-
silf, oh, if Oi only he'd a schooner av
beer,' seZ Oi, but there wasn't a way
side inn anywhere in soight.
An all this tonne we waz goin'
higher an higher. Thin me companion
tainted an fill fran his chair to the
bottom av the machine. Oi looked at
i'm for a moment an thin Oh fit me-
silf a-goin' an thin Everything aroun'
me grew black an Oh waZ, as the law
yers say, non compass mentiss-Oi
didn't know nothin'.
"Afther a bit Oh came to an thried
to roise, whin Oi pitched forrard an
me head came in contact wild some part
ay the worruks-the doynamo or some
thin av the soort-an' may the divil
take me If the whole thing didn't shtop
roight thin an there. lOike the ora n