Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-20

foreign name. hat a genuine foreigner. pres
sunnhly of Italian birth The man was not
taii or particularly broad but he WIS we'll
pf"p"rt"ned. and gave the idea OF one pos-
scSSed of cons ldcrahlc physical strength,
In particular. Walter noticed how long his
arms were. ana how the muscles stood OUT
between his shoulders. As 10 the r.st the
man looked mild enough, and his dark
smile.
He proceeded with the aid Of AN ar.
tendant. 10 'asten two small curved canvas
frames to his shoulders These he thrashed
up and down with hs arms. mucu as a
cock flaps its wings before Growing Then.
with an agile leap from the stage the man
proceeded 10 sal. up slowly from the nnor
t" the flies
"Thats clever" Venabl = exclaimed. 1t
looks 10 me as If our friend has solved tho
art of the flying machine. But one ncver
knows. ! daresay It is no more than some
ingenious trick"
This speech appeared TO be resented by
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES mech anic who was oc~
cupNing the next seat to Nenables
Clothing of the kind" the man said in.
Iignantly. I've been here three nights
now, and l know something about me-
chanics. too. If you think that wires arc
used you are just mistaken A friend of
mine Is stage carpenter here and he told mo
all about it. Depend upon il, that chap has
got the knack right enough
The performer futtercd down again from
the wings as lightly and easily as he had
risen. and tremendous outbreak Of APP
plause followed. When the din had died
away the stage manager came forward and
invited any o. the audience who chos. to
come up and see for themselves that every-
thing was fair and legitimate, and that no
| mechanism had been employed. The IN
telligent mechanic turned TO Venables with
a defiant smile
Now is your chance guv'nor." he ex-i
claimed. You go and smell it out for
yourself"
Venables would have declined the offer,
but already Walter had risen eagerly from
ms seat The opportunity was too good to
he missed. Though NE did not associate
tins man Waldo with the mysterious at
tack on Lord Ravenspurs life, he felt quite
convinced that the artist was ind rectly
concerned in ii. To waste a chance would
be the height OF folly. moment or two
later the two friends were on the stage.
They stood there while the er:ormcr went
through another series OF graceful performs
ances. but they could see absolutely moths
ing which suggested mechanical con-
trivance of any kind. The whole act cam6
to an end at length. and Waldo stood there
bowling and smiling whel his wings were
removed.
Let's have a chat with him." Venables
whispered. Apart from the thing being
decidedly interesting, there ought 10 be-
some good copy here. Properly worked,
signor Waldo ought to be worth couple OF
columns to me-
At the suggestion of the press the
stage manager prcked up his He
was not insensble to the value of a good
private Office. where ii would be possible
for the visitors to interview quietly Is
Nothing | should like better" Walter
said eagerly. Perhaps you will come with
US and join us in bottle of champagne?"
They made their way behind the stage to
a dingy little room. insufficiently GIFTED
with one gas jet. The back of the stage
was in a turmoil. 1t was almost impos-
sble to hear for the din Then very briefly
and modestly Waldo told his history He
had found out his peculiar powers by O
series of experiments with the para chute!
The whole secret lay. he explained, IN tho
enormously powerful muscles between his
shoulders and the backs of his arms. The
rest was worked by the amazing rapidity
with which he had learnt 20 move his arms.
So far the thing was effective enough. but
the strain was so great that, hitherto. he
had found II impossible to rise to height
of more than forty feet This naturally
prevented him from obtaining engagements
In the larger theaters and halls, where SO
limited flight would have been far less
imposing than 1t appeared to be when perl
There was nothing more to be said, and the
two friends were turning away when q
woman put her head into the door and
looked inquiringly at Waldo He muttered
something to the effect that he would be
ready in a moment or two and the woman
vanished =
Walter caught his lip In his teeth. 1t was
hard work to conceal his surprise. There
doubt whatever about It, no auesS
ton to the identity of the intruders
Strange as II appeared TO be, Walter recog,
nzed the features of Mrs. Delahay. Thera
was no mistaking that white, stern facet
1t was only for moment. but that m oment
had been enough for Lance. -
Go be continued tomorrow 4