The San Francisco call., 1905-06-25

is up again this morning.
Eyes, use caution" added the doctor. "It's a
dangerous experiment"
sOh for that matter, nobody knows whether it's
dangerous or not, as nobody has ever attempted TO
investigate the thing" said Tom. But you may
be sure that I'll be careful"
For many days afterward he worked In the barn
fashionng something that made his mother very
curious, and which caused Eli Bones the hired man,
who helped him, to be very mysterious and impor-
tant, indeed
There's certainly little need about being SO
secret about what you doing" declared his
mother. Land knows, there's nobody left about
here, scarcely, to pry upon your dolngs.
Its nobody about here that / fear" returned
Tom. "I've notion, however, that something more
than Nature is at work in this affair." and that
is the bottom of it. for there's certainly nat
ural cause for this wind that blows hard for while
and then stops until there more victims in the
region Therefore, / am careful that no man
knows what am about until / am prepared
Then Tom with smiling eyes, went to the barn
and called Eli His mother watched, and almost
fell out of her rocking chair when something most
wonderful emerged from the great barn doors
moment later. 1t had enormous black wings that
spread out twenty-five feet each side of its red
body, and 1t throbbed and painted like great bird
eager to escape. Then she saw Tom leap into its
scarlet body, and then she recognized that it was
the Bungstarter automobile converted into an air.
ship fby her clever and learned son.
1t qulvered and snorted for second longer and
then with quick rush it darted upward, and after
soaring around in a short half-circe, while Eli
waved his hat and cheered it shot away toward the
blue mountains in the far distance.
Now, if | am right in my guess reasoned Tom
he sailed easily along, using But tinyldrop OF
gasoline per minute, toward the caves mouth "and
If human hands and human minds are responsible
for this mysterious wind, then perhaps men will
be IN the-cave and perhaps walking about on its
floor. Therefore, if | sail along close under its
root they cant reach me, and perhaps will never
at all; but TO make safe I'll wait until night
before approaching the entrance
So he alighted in little shady grove few miles
away, and rested there until darkness fell when he
sailed right to the cave. He could see the black
hole yawning in the mountainside blainlv in the
starlight, and into its depths he moved slowly keep
ing close up under the roof that rose inside into
vast dome, hundreds of feet high
There was not sign of life. anywhere; but finally
he passed through the enormous cavern and sailed
out into the starlight again, emerging into deep
broad valley completely encirced by steep cliffs
mile high
Here and there he twinkling lights, which
proved to him that men dwelt this strange, lin-
known valley. He came nearer to earth to find
huts and patches of farmland, and then d whole
village of houses, but not eye was lifted toward
the airshp as he sailed slowly overhead .A seemed
indoors, and, for the most part, probably asleep.
However, after he had carefully inspected tho
whole valley and arrived at the conclusion that
thousands of people must be dwelling in it, he be-
gan to wonder who they were and if they might not
prove to be unfriendy to an unlimited visitor He
decided to return to the and conceal himself