Arizona republican., 1911-07-01
ACROSS THE ALPS BY AIRLINE.
The Experiences of a Man Who Seeks
to Traverse Dangerous Space In an
Aeroplane are Many-Failure at
First, Success Afterward.

| In white Motley" a rev novel by
Max Pemberton. the aeroplane is used
as a means of a climax and the scene
is the crossing of the Alps. Benjamin
Benson is the one who makes the at
tempt and fails. Later he succeeds,
| but the best description is of the first
| attempt. The story, in part, is as fol-
lows:
And so great hopes went with him,
and the smallest check upon them could
set his heart beating. OF these the
most considerable came at the moment
he headed his machine for the twin
peaked Weisshorn. His brother and the
able had warned him against the cur
rents Of the Valley Zermatt; but so
triumphant had been his progression to
this time that he had forgotten the
warnings or derided them. Now they
returned as an echo to which he must
listen. Suddenly, and without any
warning at all, ne felt himself sinking
toward the valley. 1t was just as
though the whole machine dropped rap
idly, had lost stability, and would go
hurting down to the abyss as a bird
that is shot. In vain he raised his
elevated plane to it's full capacity. The
shell continued its headlong flight, its
nose dipped downward. its engine raced
wildly. Then. as suddenly, he regained
his balance, went little way upon an
even keel, and discovered that his en-
CINE had almost ceased to run. II
ebbed away as life that gasDs for air
-sObbed out requiem. And that
drove MIN almost mad with terror; for
a spell his wit failed him altogether;
he sat back in his chair and looked
death in the face.
But ii was for an instant, nc more.
There is this in the instinct OF a true
mechanic. that whatever the emergency
his mind will grasp the meaning of it
before the minds of others. and he will
be the first to act. Even as death
looked him in the face, Benny could
say that the engine had ceased to run
because the petrol supply ha / failed
Turning in his seat he lifted the needle
valve and then struck the side Of his
tank fierce blow. As swiftly as the
engine had failed. as swiftly it took up
the drive again. He heard the hum of
it; watched the great propeller racing,
and then looked ahead of him to regain
Ills NouTSt. mere DttIl Il maj SIN
of ten seconds perhaps between saliva
ton and the ultimate calamity. He
was as white as the snow beneath him
when he understood the truth.
A vast black precipice Of rock doomed
up the third of mile away. Unable
to see more than its jagged face Benny
swung his machine to port. then scared
without break until he had lost all
sense of locality and the air was so bit
terly cold that his very breath turned
to ice. Now a great white cloud en-
veloped him. He looked vainly to his
compass for help, but the needle oscil-
lated so violently that north and south
had no meaning. Descending a little
way, he discovered that he was circling
about Monte Rosa and that tire plains
of ITALY called him once more. Then
despair seized upon him-the despair
of a man VIII" wanders by night. lost to
all sense Of direction, and vainly seek |
ing lights upon a strange horizon
In the measure this dread had been |
inspired by the fall. He waited with
ear intent fer any sound that the engine |
would fail a second time aid shud- |
dered It any variation of its rhythm. |
When the vista became clear again he |
was astonished to find that the scene
was just as it had been when first he |
crossed the sumr1it OF the Matterhorn. |
All the great peaks-the Dent Blanche. |
the Rothhorn, the GrI1d Gorrer. the |
Weissthor-stood in the same relation |
to his course as when he had set it at
the beginning. And at this he took |
new courage, and with a counsel of