Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-09-30
RIDING ON A STORM.
A BOAT THAT RODE RIGHT UP THE
DOWNPouRlNG RAIN.

I
Turn Of q Discussion on AT
ships-To Win In an Argument One
Needs Only to Master His Conscienee
and Think In Hurry.
ST don't believe there is any such .
thing as an airshipp exclaimed the
man who had his chair tilted back !
against the side Of the hotel and who
was allowing cigar ashes to drop ON his
vest.
"But people have seen 1t, +" expostu-
lated the man who wears long red side t
whiskers on his head and spats on his
feet.
The other members Of the Ourbstone
club drew their chairs up closer and
looked interested
(which simply goes to show" was
the reply, that we are living IN an era
Of adulteratiop. Nobody ever saw things
like that before they got to making
chemical laboratories take the place OF
distilleries. What do we want with an
airship anyhow" :,
s.Soientists say it's bound to come,
yentured the proprietor of a white vest
and plated shirt bosom.
"Of course scientists tell us it's COM
ing. Scientists have families to support,
the same as other people, and It's their
business to keep public confidence up.
And don't deny that the airship may
be coming some time. But it won't get
here till conditions demand it. What
could you do with an airship that can't
be accomplished Just as we'll with
trolley car or steamship or blcycler
Some drops of rain gave warning OF
a storm, and when the party had got
settled in the smoking room the skeptlc
resumed:
Surprising they do fix up an arrange
ment to take you up in the air. what ID
there to do except to come down agalns
OF course you can go from place to
place, but straight line is the shortest
distance between two points, and what's
the use of taking the extra trouble or
travelling on curve through the atmos-
phere? If there were some way OF an
choring cloud and starting a roof gar
den on it, I'd say, Go ahead and have
the airship, BY all means There'd De
money in 1t. -
| "But," ventured he Of the plated
shirt front, sit would be nice way to
travel, plenty Of fresh air and room,
you know"
II The storm had increased outside IN
til it's noise attracted general attention.
The man with side whiskers went to
the door and exclaimed:
81 guess this is the worst we ever
had in this part of the country.
s'It might be that and still not
J amount to much,' contemptuously re-
, sponded the wearer of the ash sprinkleo
} vest. cts coming down in drops so fa1
apart that you can see between them. :
, "They're pretty big drops, though. :
"Pshawl Compared to the real thing
this shower is nothing but leak in
wash boiler By the way, somebody
was claiming that airship travel would
. be commodious and comfortable and al
that sort of thing
. 81 said that" came the rather timit
4 confession.
Ibid you ever try a voyage at grea
d altitude?''
Q emo"
81 thought not. If you had, yo'
: wouldn't make any such assertion.
: ga number of years ago went Wit
friend for a trip on Lake Erie. That
. the place for storms. His boat was
small screw propeller and one of tn
/ swiftest affairs ever built. We saw
y storm coming, and, in spite of on
1t efforts to run away from it, it overtoo
us. Talk about rainl What we encoun
b tered there was perpendicular river
a NY friend staid on deck to see that "
didn't run into anything, and l, {
a course, stood by him. In few minute
10 I realized that if something wasn't don
le we'd drown right in our tracks. I wait
ID ed my opportunity, and presently, whe
t. big wave came along and tilted tn
ts boat up go that the deck stood at an ar
" gle Of about 10 degrees, turned the Ell
CINE loose for all there was in it.
Q. glanced at my friend. He was white 6
ut a sheet, but he grasped my hand in t.
r ken of his approval Of what I was d.
ing. It was desperate chance, but
m turned out as I had hoped. The boat b
,h gan to rive steadily and swiftly on
ell slant It was time Of horrible su
m pense, for we didn't know what minut
i'll the craft might strike thin spot in tt
as storm that the paddle wheels wouldn
take hold Of But we got safely to tt
top and both sank to the deck in utt'
a. exhaustion. When we recovered suf
is GENTLY, we took survey of our su
m roundings, and 1 give you my word
be never experienced anything more dreal
a than the impression made by the tr
he mendous expanse of vacancy which m
er our gaze on all sides. After few hou
he Of it I would have given fortune f
ed the sight of few telegraph poles or tt
is sound of train boy peddling oranges.
lie Chow did you get DOWN." asked o.
i'd of the group.
ID, eve didn't bother about that. Aft
dis playing seven up till we got tired of Il
of game we turned in, and when Y
90 awakened it was broad daylight. Y
found that as the storm subsidized Y
had sunk gently until we were driftil
in sunshine and safety on the broa
60. placid bosom of Lake Erie"
H. "And you say you don't believe
.be any such thing as an airship?" queri
10 the man with the white vest quietly.
''Of course not. And what / ha
m just told you goes to show that it won
vol be aslonesome and undesirable instit
oct ticn if we had one"
~ "Maybe it does," was the repl
to maybe it does. Anyhow, it has il
s;a pressed one great lesson that I sh;
~ never forget. And that is that there
~ no need of mans getting the worst
the any argument if he can only get the I
ns per band of his conscience and think
~ A hurry. Washington Star.
He is, fool who cannot be angry,
ne is a wise man who will not.-Sene'
Ouite Another Sort of Man.