Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1910-08-26
VIRGIL
He AIR
BY
HERBERT Quick
CHAPTER TX.

the station toward dilapidated Car
sons Landing.
Seated on stump. he sought nenta
adjustment before entering his house
He had had his chance with Shayne
''the prince Of the powers Of the air.
and had thrown 1t away In hot words
to Shayne, in q blow to Silberberg and
by leaping from the Roc into the un
known abyss Of night. These were
actualities. The broken defect0r OF
the parachute he carried proved that
as did the memory of his foolishness
over Shayne's niece. now happily for.
ever past.
Mr.. Waddy's money and Mr.. Craig.
heads kilograms saved the day.
The first three yellow dispatches had
come in one delivery at Nashville. ad.
dressed to Theodore Carson. the Illus
trious Inventor and Thaumaturge'
Care Conductor. Train 70" Theodore,
the illustrious. could not accumulate
the courage to ask for them, but the
wise conductor had pounced suddenly
upon him and said. II reckon you're
Mr.. Carson"
"Yield not to temptation. fear or cold
feet" the first read. "Your Uncle Full.
Ter is at the helm" This was signed
''The Great Uncalled." with the first
two words run together as "Thegreat"
in a telegraph operators effort to re-
duce to the semblance of a name Mr..
Craighead's nom de guerre. The Sec
ond ran: "Have no fear. Monopoly is
as clear in the air as on the land.
Apologies to Sir Humphrey Gilbert.
None to any one else by dern sight,
Conspuez Shayne." This was signed
"Craighead. the Legal Bloodhound"
IAN old Broom" ran the more mys-
terious next. "albeit minus one cover
and dogs cared. nevertheless sweeps
clean. He yokes the whirligig to our
car and sweeps the bowling skies"
(Signed) Dandy Jim Of Caroline Gray
bill" The fourth. delivered at Biz
mingham. was addressed to General
Theodore Carson, Nj. A. ("Monopolist
Of the AIRY. and consisted Of ten
repetitions of Eureka" signed I'D. ].
Of c."
The last came at Bay Minette and
was too astonishing to be explained on
any theory consistent with Craighead's
sobriety and sanity. "Caroline's dad"
1t read. falls dead at unwilling Of
Broom idea. Sees absolute cinch and
rises to 1t as per lifelong custom.
Formed today Universal Nitrates and
Air Products company. Laws Of West
Virginia. You come In for Is per cent
Caroline impressed. Either universal
genius or rodents in campanile. Great
" encouraged. not to say titivated.
Almost converted to belief in my own
schemes and self. but am cautiously
suspending Judgment. Will have Chi
cago surrounded by time you return.
Go east to Wheeling Tor Is Charleston
capitalN tonight and will incidentally
run up and construct first line Of cir
cumvallation (see cyclopedia, about
Greater New York. Monopoly end Of
deal absolutely nailed down: brass
nails. with Waddy doubloons coming
copious. Up to you to produce 6ier.
Getting wabbly IN head. Losing faith
in you as concrete entity. Have you
any aeronef? Answer Yes or NO at
once" This also was signed ID. ]. Of
Caroline"
What could he mean by an IAN old
BroomY' The old copy of Broom's Lee
gal Maxims in Craighead's library"
was indeed minus cover and dogs
cared. but how this Broom" could.
even In metaphor. yoke the whirligig
to any car and, sweep the bowling
skies Carson could, not guess Mr..
Waddy's demand for aeronautical mo-
nopoly was being complied with. to
Mr.. Craighead's mind. and the last
telegram seemed to imply that the bu-
collie f3nancier had been convinced. His
failing dead might mean much or
little. but his ''doubloons coming CO.
piOus" was eloquent Of faith. And
what In the name of all the gods at
once could Universal Nitrates and
Air Products company" mean in an
aerial navigation deal or those mys-
terious expressions about surround
ing" Chicago and Greater New York;
Well. Aunt Chloe was in there. shuf-
fling about. wondering where he might
be. and here he was. looking on spec
trally and unsupported. With the COM
mon human impulse to secret ap-
proach, Theodore walked on, conceal
ed between the Spanish bayonets and
a somber line Of red cedars. climbed
the end of the veranda. scuttled into
the broad hall and up to his room, into
which he stepped quickly. breathing a
little harder. He opened the closet
for change Of clothes and started
back In wonderment quite as paralyz-
ing as horror. for his clothes were
gone. Instead there sat huge trunk
with its lid back. its open tray full of
silken hosiery. corsets. laces. gloves.
handkerchief and openwork things
Of mystery and terror. On the hooks
were many. many others quite as aw-
full, frilled and tucked and rufiled and
plated garments. silks. dimities. cash
meres. linens. cottons and soft light
woolens. filling bis closet and spread
against the wall for occult reasons con.
nected with keeping them in shape.
and protrudlng from the trunk were
more clothes. while In corners Of the
bedroom were more trunks.
A light step sounded. and he froze
to statue of panic and trance and
paralysis. Some one entered. His
heart bounded and then stood still. for
1t was Psyche of the dunes. Shayne's