Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1911-12-01

And HOW new CAUSE "a @HNl'tl
presented i;<e!f II WIS evident that
I the Chamelcoa was gradually bcin"
brought to earth. I s1w signals OK
hanged be;weru her 1id rar:uI. His
men on tie Chaiae!"ru had >r'A Us.
and saw from their motioAS that they
were pointing rs out
| He knew bow to lnanaGc lis cam
! naign He sent his two men around
10 the northeast and northwest sides.
while he himself guarded the sou'h
/ Then we were surrounded
The question now was. How large
reinforcement would Payton receive
when his aero succeeded In landing:
Mis- Gayman thought five had fallen
| In that case our enemies would mum
Der only five in all. and Paytohs nc
cession Of force would be two men
Still. 1t would be terrible odds. since
they had guns ana o;lIy a pistol.
The opcn ground around MS was sur
flciently broad 10 require several min
utes for u runner 10 cross It. MY
task was to keep a sharp watch on all
sides and prevent an approach.
! ran round the parapet. as l may
call il, peering out In every direction.
Miss Grayman, comprehending what
was about and seeing my difficulty.
offered to aid me. l refused at first.
fearing to expose her to a shot. but
she eagerly insisted. and let her take
the northern side, instructing her to
peep through the interstices In the
broken rocks, but not to show even her
head
Presently shot came from the
northeast side and spattered on the
rock close by her head. She screamed
and dropped through fright. and i
sprang to her side. with terrible fear
that she had been hit She was oil
right, however, and pulled her to the
center OF the Enclosure and sprang
back to my watch.
After awhile the Chameleon came
down in the brush close to the point
where our parachute lay. PaytOn dis
appeared, and another man took his
place. The way in which they expos
ed themselves in surrounding the rocks
convinced me that Payton knew very
we'll that had no other weapon than
pistol
now told Miss Grayman to renew
her watch. being extremely careful not
to expose the least part Of her person
and to give me warning II any one
tried to approach the rocks from her
side. i did not know at what moment
the rush might come.
light. and II l could stand Payton OF
long enough I felt confident that our
friends on the Osprey would manage
to ground her II they could not re-
verse her course and would come to
our rescue. counted a great deal on
the sagacity Of Mr.. Grantham and the
experience and devotion of Ethan
Haight.
On the other hand, we were without
provisions and water. felt the more
sure that Payton would make q rush
because he must understand that aid
would reach US before long. and was
puzzled at his delay after the arrival
Of his two men from the Chameleon.
But presently l discovered the rea-
son and felt my face turn pale.
Out Of the brush where the Chame-
leon lay . kite began to rise.
The wind was in such q direction as
to carry It directly over us. l knew
| instantly what it meant. and II made
my heart sink. Without explaining
my motives. for they had not seen the
kite. l Immediately led the two girls
into q corner Of the rocks. where a
ledge projected 30 as to make a kind
Of roof. while in front Of the bears
den thus formed another ledge rose.
leaving only an irregular. narrow open.
Ing. ! hurried them in here. saying:
Il think they are going to fire a shell
at US. but In here you will be perfectly
safe." and turned to leave them.
but you" exclaimed Miss Gray
man. OBTAINING me. with an expression
of concern that thrilled me-"you must
not expose yourself while we are COW
cred"
'I'll look out for cover" l returned,
but must FIRST make sure what they
are about"
! knew well enough what they were
about. It was evident to me now
that the Chameleon carried the drop
ping bombs that were used in war, and
that Payton was going to drop one Of
these missiles upon Us with the aid of
the kite. another military device which
at that time had come into use as an
auxiliary In such cases.
II the top Of the rocks had been a.
exposed as he naturally concluded It
to be bis cunning would have had its
reward and we should have been
blown to bits: or. at the very least.
put hors de combat so that he could
safely rush the stronghold.
watched the manipulation Of the
kite with the keenest anxiety. hoping
that some accident would come to II.
But Payton was skillful. and in q few
minutes he had 1t poised exactly over
the top Of the rocks. ! was familiar
with such tactics.
could see the round black bomb
depending from 1t. and the string that
controlled its descent. the pulling Of
which would cause It to fall. In my
desperation ! took q quick aim with
my pistol and fred. for the thing was
not hundred feet above US. hoping
to cause an explosion in the air. But
Of course I missed, and an instant AFT.
erward I saw the string Jerked and
the fearful missile began its descent
ran and lodged into a sloping
crevice at the side Of the Enclosure.
In two or three seconds the explo-
sion occurred. The effects were fear
full. It shook the whole rocky emil
hence. sent fragments flying in every
direction and ground the rock where
the bomb struck to powder. l felt an
excruciating pain in my left ankle.
which had been left exposed, but I