Churchill standard. (Fallon, Nev) 1903-1908, 1906-04-28

leIt 6etueen France and Germany. He upls
YARN fnto conference VIVA the French General
SEdG. me German invdS1on has begun on me
s0h1HedSIern oorder. adams declares TINS .
feiot; ne urges balloon reconnaissance TO the
Five thousand aHfomo6leS are impressed, MED
wIfb fyooPs, and are sem noythlUa,S. .14ams,
General Martini, Reehere expert boAoonisT,
'yaag q feId Uar balloon. me ascent IS MADE
ana me nam German force IS discovered mo6il-
German shell and begins TO fa0 swiftly iafo IN
Wi65E OF The troops.
CHAPTER II.
The balloon was now within half a
mile or the earth, and settling teadily
Beneath us was "a sea of troops. The
gave a groan and sank by my side.
shot through the heart. Martins hand
was shattered as it gripped the rail
stood erect. again, grasping the sup
porting cable at one end of the basket.
1t seemed miserable to be thus a tar
diers with no. opportunity to reply.
suddenly the basket gave a violent
l4rch. lnstinctiyely my grasp tight
1t was. for, at that instant a we'll di-
reeted shell from a rapid-firer cut the
cable at the other end. and the car
wire rope. l drew myself up and got
a firm hold of the network surround
Ius me gas Dag mere L hung, grip
ping for my very life with both hands;
and as l looked down L saw Martini
Whirling over and over in mid air. and
me n body Of poor dead Rechere falling
port gave way, and the basket went
down after them.
closed my eyes, sick with horror
and faint from my tremendous muscu-
lar efforts. AS in a dream l was con-
Sc1ous of swift flight through the air.
T The sounds of shooting became fainter.
me whistle of bullets ceased. l real
lied that. the balloon, freed of It's
weight of passengers, apparatus, and
basket, was rising rapidly into the up
per air. All, then 1 would escape. after
all. tried to collect my thoughts,
knowing that should l lose conscious
ness my grip would weaker
Suddenly l felt that I had entered a
stratum of cold air. 1t was sweet and
pure. 1t stimulated me, l opened my
eyes. and glanced below me. Earth
could not be seen. I was in the clouds.
Remember. now, hat l hung by the
grip OF two hands, from a coarse net
made of half-inch rope forming "a cas-
ing for the balloon. I knew that l
should soon be compelled to rest or l
must let go and follow my late COM
panions. Summoning all my nerve, /
threw up on, leg, and as luck would
have 1t, caught my foot in a mesh of
the net. l pushed my leg through I'M
Ill the rope was under my knee; then
rested for a few sweet minutes hang
ing there uke a crab, one leg swing
ing free. Presently l secured a similar
hold with the other foot; then working
slowly and carefully, managed to get
both arms into the meshes, and for a
blessed interval was relieved of severe
strain, though my hold was by no
The balloon seemed now to be NOV
ing swiftly. IN the wind, but neither
rising nor falling. The steady gliding
motion, he absolute quiet, and the
WEAKNESS of body resulting from my
light grip of the net, produced "A ten
dency to sleep. l was compelled to
talk fn mNGaIf To knnn aNF1la md
finding that even this would not suffice
i determined to make myself secure.
AT Imminent risk. for was getting
right hand. and reaching in my pocket
got my knife. opening II with my teeth.
! cut through half a dozen meshes of
The net and thus made a hole large
enough to admit my head and Shout
ders, pushing away the enveloping
folds of the somewhat nabby balloon.
BY degrees | worked my whole body
through, and finally, with a prayer Of
thanks to Goo found myself lying Hat
upon the strong net work, my back
against the gas-bag. So great was the
relief of this position that 1 sank inso
1t seemed an age later when awoke,
hearing nay name spoken by the voice
or a woman. | opened my eyes and
ooked around me; l lay In a bed
whole body ached, and my head SEEM
Cd to be several times it's ordinary size.
Then a voice-that of the woman
sIoht again. III Sollg IlDDllIS IItnNl.
Monsieur must be quiet. 1t is best.
Monsieur is safe and Will soon be well
again"
| looked in the direction OF the sound
and saw approaching me what l
thought to be the most beautiful wo-
man had ever seen, Fair and tall. OF
table angel. Upon her head she wore
4 white lace cap. which served only
partially to restrain, her brown curls.
Her dress was simple-of white. with
a touch of blue at throat and shoulders.
She came to the bedside and leaned
nyer me. shall remember to my dy,
ing day her soft, cool hands pressed
upon my aching brow. Her loose slee-
YES showed her fair, plump arms nigh
10 the elbows, and l recall, even now,
he desire, as I fell asleep, that l could
have those arms about my neck.
woke w9, again, some time later feel
brought me a glass of cool milk, and
held my head In the hollow of her arm
as | drank, smiling and nodding at me.
presently found myself able TO speak.
Where am II" was my first ques-
ton.
She told me that I was in the Cha
Mouse River, some distance northwest
OF .Verdun. In the prettiest French,
which could readily understand,
execrable, she told me how at dawn
my balloon had come crashing into
a grove of trees neal the Chateau; how
0 Ao0 ANoSN ~ A'VAA |
my prison in the net: and how / had
been brought into the house, by her
fathers instructions, and cared for
through the night. I was seriously
bruised about the head and shoulders,
and they thought at first that 1 was
dead. Later her father, a French
nobleman of the old regime, came to
the bedside, expressed his pleasure
that Monsieur Ad-dams" (they had
learned my name from papers found in
my pockets) had recovered, assuring
me that / need have no concern as to
my perfect welcome to remain as his
guest. until I should be completely re-
stored to health.
| suppose 1t was the shock that blot
ted out, for the next few days, all
recollection of my identity, or my re-
cent experience. l knew simply that I
was in Paradise, with this adorable
angel always at hand to minister to
hunger or thirst, and to talk softly to
me. at intervals between maps She
teld me much about herself. She was
Dat twenty, an only child. with no
mother that she could remember. She