Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-08-25
CHAPTER !.
The Man with Wings.

The Man With Wings.
rn many hours-Cayley was too
much Of god today to bother with
he exact number Of them-he had
teen flying slowly northward down a
mid southerly breeze. Hundreds Of
Ise. below him was the dazzling. ter
fble expanse OF the polar Ice pack
xhich shrouds the northern limits Of
ne Arctic ocean in its impenetrable
veil Of mystery.
A compass. a sextant, a bottle OF
ain and a revolver comprised. with
ne clothes he wore. and with the
lhlmnering silken wings Of his areo-
pane. his whole equipment His near
ct base Of supplies. II you could call
\ that, was a 20-peund tin OF pemmi-
ca. hidden under a stone on the
uo.k east extremity Of Herald island.
80 niles away. The United States
rescue station at Point Barrow. the
,z1sne northerly point Of Alaska.
Do place which he had called home
ir The paat three months. was pos
hbl5. half a. far again away, some
rh>rs Of to the southeast.
But for these past weeks of un-
broken arctic sunshine, he had fairly
1Yed swing. The earth had no OBJ
zrustions and the air no perils. To
az. with his great broad fan-tail
trzxn W arc-wise beneath him. his
p|znsE pitched slightly forward at the
recIse and perilous angle that only
~. did not send him plunging. head
f1t down upon the sullen masses Of
ks beIov. be lay there. prone. upon
he shes9skin sleeping bag which
Fdded the framework supporting his
I've wings. - secure as the great full
nzr petrel which drew curiously near.
nd then. with q wheel and q plunge,
14 away. sQuswking.
~ al practical purposes Cayley
h1 learned to fy. The great fan
tiven air ship. 100 feet from tip to
a. which had long lain idle on his
xnch ct Ssndoval. would probably
1eFer leave It's house again. 1t had
dooe yeoman service. without its
rferfcl propellers. for the last re-
e1'1e' caylsy would never have been
s''s 70 try the experiments and get
us Practise which he'd given him the
~ lcr his natural element. He had
o''poFn H. He had no more need
motors or whirling fans. The force
tnvity, the force OF the breeze and
1' Perfectly co-ordinated muscles of
- Own body gave him all the power
y needed now.
rernaps the succeeding generations
nunsnkind may develop an eye
.nen can see ahead when the body
V'ng prone. as a bird lies In its
l'I cayley had remedied this de-
'ncy with a little silver mirror,
sn,p concave. screwed fast to the
e'''orace which supported his shout
Instead Of bending back his
'a' or trying to see out through his
2'o'ows. he simply cast a backward
1-aos INTO this mirror whenever he
saa'ed to look on ahead. 1t had been
NIUE perplexing at first, but he
,'''a see better in 1t now than with
~ ansided eyes.
nno now, minute or two, perhaps,
VI nat fulmar had gone squawking
~ ne glanced down into his mir.
and his olympian calm was
en With the shock Of surprise.
~ What he saw. clearly reflected in
n'tle reducing glass. was land.
','e was u mountain. and a long
80 me that must be a clifflike
o1' 4 was land that never had
~ marked on any chart. In abso.
g desrees Of latitude ne was not,
.'n the arctic explorers view. very
ncrth. Over on the other side Of
world they run excursion steam
feFs summer nearer to the pole
= Ne was at this moment. spitz.