Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-03-29
Tried on
the Dog
(Copyright.)
BY Armiger Barclay


were the most downhearted set OF men
to be found that night in all London.
| II give 1t up" sighed Mac. This
Is my fourth attempt, and It's my
last" His eyes dwelt gloomily on the
broken model OF the fiylng-machine
that Uttered the table.
Time wasted-money gone-hope
vanished" Dawes ground out between
his teeth. lie was thinking c. the col.
lapse OF his last piece OF apparatus.
on which he had spent three months
and all the money he could borrow.
was on the point of adding my
quota to- the chorus OF vain regrets
when the door opened with jerk and
i'ridger stumbled in. Our nerves. just
then, We're not in n state to support
any form of shock however slight, aud
his sudden entrance startled us.
Bridger's face was like the face of
man who had seen ghost
W-whats up?" Mac exclaimed.
For answer. Bridger supported him
self on the edge of the table and made
sound that we know meant
Brandy" There was some half-pint
In the bottle that Mac hurriedly pro-
duced. and Bridger swallowed the bet
ter part of 1t. Then he wiped the per-
SEPARATION from his forehead and col
lapsed into chair.
Feel better?" asked Dawes sympa-
theticaliy.
Bridger nodded. and presently spoke
in a weak voice. I'm awful sorry
to make such an ass Of myself but I've
had bit of n shock"
Bad news?" I inquired.
Not so much that as series of
nerye-trying incidents. Cumulative,
YOU know. They've knocked me out
of time"
Although he worded his distress in
conventional jargon, It was obviously
acute. lie was shaking all over.
Il ought to have told you," he said.
rather desperately. that. like your.
selves. I've been giving months to
the problem of aerial flight, working
with another man. an Italian chemist,
who has made strange discovery In
motive power. Our joint efforts re-
suited in model which made its first
flight week ago"
You don't mind giving us details?"
suggested Dawes. You can rely ON
us 10 respect your confidence"
I'll tell you everything" declared
Brldger. 1T will be a relief. Indeed.
| can't keep the hellish thing to MY.
self any longer" He waited moment
as II to concentrate his thoughts.
You know she ring-dove? It's
flight is noiseless and very rapid We
kept one captive in the shed where we
worked. intending to base our designs
on 1t. Somehow. we changed them.
Zoffani. my partner had manufactured
cartiiaginous substance-a sort OF
membrane. and this was stretched
over digits, and the planes ultimately
took the shape of n bats wing. The
whole model was only foot across
and extremely light. For the digits,
! stays and braces we used only al.
batross quilts. and the motive pow
err He made an impressive pause
was radiuml"
! "Radium," echoed Mac. increduous-
ly. You're not serIous?"
! Il never was more so In my life"
Bridger's tone was too impressive to
leave any doubt on that score.
! "But-how did you apply it?"
asked.
In the form of the Beta-ray. | am
not a chemist, and fear can't give
you the explanation should like of
how this form of energy was adapted
TO our purpose. In fact, this portion
OF the work was undertaken by Zof-
FAM.
BY this time our interest was thor
oughly aroused. Bridger had begun
by exciting our curiosity: now, both
his manner and his words rivetted our
attention when, at the first triaI."
he continued. we found that the lift
ing power of the machine was nine
times that of its total weight you may
imagine our exultation. Our fondest
hopes had been exceeded, Its flight
was SO strong and sustained that con-
! troll was necessary from the first
Connected to the middle of the floor
by strong fishing line, 1t could keep
in mid-air for, apparently Indefinite
periods AT first, 1t rose and remained
in vertical position. but 1t was. i
think, at the third trial that we began
TO notice It's tendency to incline to-
wards the cage in which the dove was
kept"
{; Up to this point Bridger had shown
comparative calmness, but directly he
referred TO the dove a change came
over him. His breath grew shorter;
his words came In jerks.
The bird was a wild one-we got it
from Romney marsha female. 1t
had got used to captivity. but directly
the machine approached 1t, 1t showed
fear-battled against the bars of its