The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-07-26
A New Method Of
Rescue
By ROCKFORD KING
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

| ACOpAG NOuuclSu WY lOOk SUN III
terest In aeroplanes, why l contin-
ually practiced at driving them, why
/ studied different makes. Then, when
l had taken a flight into a distant
land, no one knew where, and after
my return all my interest In air nayi-
| cation had vanished. they wondered
still more.
i have been great traveller, though
am not yet thirty years old. Some
years ago while in Russia made the
acquaintance, followed by the friend
| ship, Of a member Of the American en-
bassy Of st. Petersburg. In this way
| saw something of court life there.
One night at a function at the Winter
palace l was introduced to the daugh-
ter of general in the Russian service.
Not for an earldom would give her
name, so / shall call her Sophia. In
my travels have picked up a number
Of foreign languages. Russian / speak
tolerably, and Sophia spoke some Eng
lish There usually comes in mans
life, IL 1t comes when he is young,
some woman who appeals to him as no
other woman has ever appealed to him.
From the moment met Sophia l
knew that one had risen up in my path
whom l must possess. else the vitality
had passed out of my life.
| 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 | dreamed of her. From that
time for several months was with
her as often as Russian etiquette
allows. | danced with her. | .skated
with her. met her at the opera and
on court gala occasions. She gave me
unmistakabe signs that in me she had
found what | had found in her But
when came to tell her my story her
whole manner changed.
"No. no. no." she moaned. 81 have
permitted myself to sink into dream.
You have awakened me. l have done
very wrong. Go away from me. For,
get me-"
What there was between her and me
that led her to talk thus | could not
induce her TO tell ! left Russia and
tried to forget her continued my
travels, but the interest for me had
gone out Of the curiosities Of travel.
The pyramids. the Coliseum. the
works Of art that had before fascinat-
ed me, were now unable to move me.
One day / took up a newspaper and
saw by telegraph from Russia that a
conspiracy against the life of the czar
had been discovered and that the
daughter of n 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
l understood her action toward me.
felt that great work had sprung
up before me-the work OF liberating
Sophia. A famous traveller was in St
Petersburg at the time and was about
to start. with the permission Of the
Russian government, to write up the
condition Of Siberian exiles. sue.
ceeded in inducing him TO appoint me
his secretary. or amanuensis. In this
way I would be able to locate the girl
! l had made up my mind to free. On
.. arriving in the prison region | learned
that Sophia's father had been enabled
to secure for her simply exile, not i'm
prisonment She was living in a hut
close by prison. Escape for her was
Z as impossible as II she had been with
= in stone walls But her position was
+ encouragement for me. whose life
! work was TO take her out Of Siberia.
] | saw her talked with her and told
? her that during the same month TAU
! gust the following year TO expect me
with means by which to give her hel
freedom.
That autumn and winter wal
p known to be one OF the principal devo
/. tees TO the navigation Of the air.
4 tried every kind Of aeroplane that hat
!. been invented. made long fiighti
: both by day and by night. dew L
n the Land OF the Midnight Sun in thu
/ dead Of winter. that ! might becom,
used to flying In the cold. tried fo
no prizes. entered no contests. work
ed with one purpose in view Tha
), was to make n flight to Russia. swool
! down by the hut In which lived m!
:. love and bear her away TO freedom.
Q pass over the details OF study b.
c which / found machine especial
r adapted for my purpose. transport
2, cd II by sea 20 Sweden. From Their
e to my destination was not far. but
: must make the journey at one flgh
with one supply OF fuel. One mornn
rose TO height OF 800 feet an
4 drove my machine eastward. pul
q posely kept az considerable helgl
n TIL stood directly over the sophyal
e hut that might attract the least POI
A. slble attention. From where wa
s. poised was slanting course down
e the hut hoped that she might b
y outside. but she was not. | descende
u !, TO her door. All was silent. wa
q about 20 leave the machine TO entC
I. the hut when l saw her face az IN
N window. aud In another moment sh
A. was sitting beside me ON the machine
h had provided for starting by httin
! my machine with apparatus especial
A. adapted to the purpose. and, thong
=. keepers were 10y this time runnln
y toward us from every direction, "
~ rose above them aud the shots the
y. y sent up In time to save ourselves.
A. After n ride high In the air we can
ie down In sweden. nearly frozen. Frol
n there we ;tavclcd southwark. not stoI
~ ping illl we rcnchcd MarscIllos. wheI