Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1910-07-27
A New Method of
Rescue
By ROCKFORD KING
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

&~~P'0 "ShocAeu WY VOOk SuCu IN
terest In aeroplanes. why contin-
uaily pracuced Mt driving them. why
studied different makss. Then. when
I had taken flight into distant
land. no one knew where. and after
my return all my interest In air navi-
CATION had vanished. they wondered
still more.
l have been a great traveller. though
l am not yet thirty years old. Some
years ago while In Russia / made the
acquaintance. followed by the friend
ship. OF member OF the American en-
bassy OF St Petersburg. In this way
I saw something OF court life there.
One night at a function ut the Winter
palace was introduced to the daugh-
ter of a general In the Russian service.
Not for IN earltlom would l give her
name. SO / shall call her Sophia. In
my travels have picked up number
OF foreign languages. Russian speak
tolerably, and Sophia spoke some Eng.
lfsh. There usually comes I'm a mans
life. II II comes when he Is young.
some woman who appeals to him rs no
other woman has ever appealed to him.
.
knew that one had risen up In my path
whom / must possess. else the vitality
bad passed out of my life.
I went to my hotel after my first
meeting with her TO lie awake half
the night with the comfort one feels
In having found mate. and the other
half I dreamed Of her. From that
time for several months wns with
her as often as Russian etiquette
allows. danced with her. I skated
with her. met her mt the opera and
on court gala occasions. She gave mo
unmistakable signs that In me she Ind
found what l had found I'm her. Rut
when came TO tell her my story her
whole manner changed.
no, no. no." she moaned IL have
permitted myself to sink into dream.
You have awakened me. have done
very wrong. Go away from me. For.
get me"
What there was between hor and me
that led her 20 talk thus l could not
induce her to tell. left Russia and
tried TO forget her. l continued my
travels. but the interest for me had
gone out OF the curioslties of travel.
rhc pyramids. the Coliseum. the
works OF art that had before fascinat-
ed me. were now unable to move me.
One day | took up II newspaper and
saw by telegraph from Russia that a
conspiracy against the life of the car
had been discovered and that tho
daughter OF prominent general had
been implicated. Something told me
that she was Sophia. returned to
ST. Petersburg to learn that my antici.
patton was correct. The girl loved
had already been sent TO Siberia. Now
| understood her action toward me.
felt that great work had sprung
up before me-the work of liberating
Sophia. famous traveller was in st.
Petersburg at the time md was about
to start. with the permission of the
5ussian government TO write up the
condition Of Siberian exiles. sue
cecdcd In inducing him to appoint me
his secretary. or amanuensis. In this
way ! would be able TO locate the girl
! had mnde up my mind to free. On
arriving In the prison region learned
that Sophia's father had been enabled
10 secure for her simply exile, not i'm
prisonmcnt. She was living In a hut
close by prison. Escape for her was
dsiinpossiblc as If she had been with.
u stone walls But her position was
encouragement for me. whose life
work was 10 take her out OF Siberia.
] saw her talked with her and told
Icr That during the same month (Au-
.uSt' The following year to expect me
tith means by which to give her her
'rprdum.
That autumn and winter was
npwn 10 hr one Of the principal devo-
"rS To- the navigation of the air.
icd every Kind of acroplanc that had
""n invented | made long flights
10 by day and by night. | few to
10 Land Of the Midnight Sun I'm the
Esd ~ winter. that might become
"I I" dying III the cold. tried for
prizcS. entered no contests. work
WIZ one purpose IN view. That
vas iU make II Hight TO Russia. swoop
own hy The hut In which lived ny
"vc and bear her away TO freedom.
piss over the details OF study by
which found machine especially
ldapt"d for my purpose transport
cd u by sen to Sweden From there
10 my destination was not far. but 1
must make the Journey at one flight
with one supply OF fuel. One morning
| rose 20 height OF 800 feet and
drove my machine eastward. / uIr.
posely kept nc considerable height
ull stood directly over the sophyar-
hut that might attract the least pos
fibic attention From where ! was
poised was n slanting course down TO
the but I hoped that she might be
outside. but she was not. descended
TO her door. All was silent. ] was
about 20 leave the machine TO enter
tie but when l saw her face at the
window. aud I'm another moment she
was sitting beside me on the machine.
I HQH f.Ff.vtdoH fer A.