The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-27
Se
 SKY
 PIRATE .bTGARRET P 'o ~ SEQVISS.
(Continued.)

(Continued.)
 If it came 10 d light l didn't believ, that Captain Alfonso would stand III to it very long. My chief fear was a: 10 his running away. AS I have al ready intimated I had great confidence in the Eagle and knew her powers tC a nicety, but I was willing to allow that the Chameleon might be able tt draw away from her in race. Con sequently I didn't mean that there should be any race.
 As to my course, I had set 1t witt extreme care, and I was sure that il would take me very close to the inter section of my lines. But would it find Payton's hiding place? In my sou I believed it would.
 I glanced frequently at the formi dable line of aeros trailing after us rising and falling with the atmospheric pillows, while their polished guns glint ed in the sunlight, and as I watched my heart alternately swelled with pride and sank under the weight o1 anxiety.
  shortly afterward I signaled the squad ron to assemble and gave each com mander as he dropped alongside the Eagle the program of operations which we had worked out in my cabin. This is virtually what I repeated to all of them:
 "We are going to make descent upon the lurking place of Alfonso Pay ton. He has lodge here in the woods and holds as his prisoners a young lady and her maid, whom he has stol- en from New York. The young lady's father is aboard the Eagle, and with him, as you are aware, is Secretary Grantham. I believe that he has al ready informed you that all of our movements in this case are to be kept as a department secret. The honor and reputation of the service are at stake. You will act under my imme- diate orders, but under the eye of the secretary.
 "It is our design to reach the pirates place after nightfaH and to locate his lodge, as he calls it, which is probably a building of considerable magnitude and which may be strongly manned and fortified. We shall surround ii and endeavor to capture him and his prisoners. We believe that he has only one aero, a very fast f1ier, the Chameleon, of which you have all heard.
 I've must prevent him, at all costs, from getting away in her. If he tries escape we must disable his aero. But great care must be exercised not to iniure his prisoners in case he should succeed in getting them aboard. That is thing that we must prevent if it he humanly possible. You will get your signal lights ready for instant use, but no light is to be shown in approaching the place.
 ''There Is an all night twilight in this latitude at this season, and there will be sufficient light in the sky to enable you to follow the movements of the Eagle above the treetops. You will now drop a quarter of a mile be- hind, keeping in line abreast at inter- vals of an eighth of a mile. will signal you when to stop by a stern light. will give you signals for your subsequent movements."
 I then issued to each commander a signal code which I had prepared for maneuvering the squadron both in sur rounding the lodge and in the case of an attempt to escape and fight. But the majority of the signals were al- ready we'll known in the service.
 After sundown and when the woods beneath us began to grow dark and their details indistinguishable I slow ed down to twenty miles, which after a time reduced to ten and then to five. We had muff1ed the machinery as much as possible. We were all on deck with night glasses, peering down intently at the somber tufted surface of foliage, from which the cries of wild animals now occasionally rose to us.
 When I felt that we must be close to the critical point I halted the other f1iers and went on very cautiously with the Eagle, circling in narrow sweeps and not moving faster than two miles an hour. In little while I caught a gleam of light a short dis tance ahead. I dropped the aero until she almost touched the branches and crept earer.
 We -ld come in sight of the little like in front of Payton's lodge, and as we drew nearer we saw on the op- posite shore the lodge itself, with lights streaming from the lower win dows.
 "It must be the place." said. 'It can be nothing else"
 Immediately we backed off until we were out of sight of the lodge, and then I signaled the fleet to advance. I sent them about in such a manner as to surround the lodge on every side. When the maneuver was completed the five aeros fioated within a hundred rods of the building. their noses all inward and their bow guns bearing upon the lair of Captain Alfonso Pay ton.
 CHAPTER XIV.