Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1911-12-22
THE DEATH in THE DIRIGIBLE
AN ADVENTURE OF PETER CREWE 1.-THE MAN
WITH THE CAMERA EYES"
By HA ROLD CAR TER
Copyright by W Chapman States and Great Britain

detective records of my friend, Peter
Crewe, | am struck chiefly by the sim
pIicity of the crimes which he discov-
cred or frustrated. | mentioned this
to him once, and he responded:
Simplicity, Langton, if | may use
metaphor, Is the keystone Of the
arch of successful crime. We have
the upward curve-the plot; the down
ward curve-its accomplishment. I'm
less the whole be bound with that
simplicity of design which ensures
success, the plot must fail"
Most illustrative of this, think,
was Crewes detection of the diabol-
ical plan of the French doctor which
resulted in the death of four men and
the destruction of two German gov
ernment balloons.
The German government, there was
no doubt had at last perfected a
dirigible balloon whose value as a
war weapon was incalculable. Wheth-
er the French government was privy
or not to the murderous acts of DR..
Fenelon cannot be known for certain.
He may have been selfinspired pa
triot. There is no doubt, however,
that his intention was to intimidate
the German government into aban-
doning this type of balloon which had
been constructed at the cost of so
much labor and enterprise.
You all remember the fate Of the
Kaiserin ii. and her successor, the
Kaiserin III. How each ended in
similar manner. Each, after remain
ing in the air for forty-eight hours or
so, and after lowering Immediately
over the French defensive works upon
the boundary, collapsed while at an
altitude of perhaps eight hundred feet,
dashing its two occupants to the
ground, and simultaneously killing
them. The balloon, in either case,
remained only as thing of shreds
and patches of silk, and a tangle of
wickerwork.
Crewe and I, who were both inter-
ested in aeronautics, had been pres
eut at the start Of each balloon from
Hamburg There we made the ac-
quaintance of Dr. Fenelon. Despite
his French name and accent, he had
ingratiated himself into the confidence
of the German war staff as an in
habitant of Alsace-Lorraine-as one of
those French-born citizens who had
elected to throw in their fortunes with
the German nation after that province
was wrested from Napoleon. He had
been a child when the war ended; he
was now a man of between forty and
fifty years, doctor in the new aero
nautical division of the German army,
and an avowed hater of France. His
task it was to attend the starting Of
the balloonists, to test their hearts and
lungs before they ventured into the
upper air; he had free access to the
balloon, which was held captive within
the military reservation. Crewe and I
had permits to enter, for these We're
accorded freely to all with satisfac-
tory references. The secret lay In the
manufacture and none could ascertain
1t from an external inspection of the
great globe.
It was while the third balloon was
preparing to start, after the destruc
tion of the two others. that Crewe re-
solved to ascertain, if possible, the
cause of the disasters.
you are courageous" he said to
Lieutenant Won Keller ito risk your
life after your predecessors have per-
ished.'
ITS part of my job" Won Keller
answered, with a fatalistic shrug of
his shoulders. "If Gie-well--"
You do not believe in the rumors
of foul play?" asked.
Impossible Won Keller answered.
However, this time l shall make the
ascent unaccompanied, so that treach-
cry will be impossible"
THE balloon might be tempered
with before you start
Hardly. None but our officers can
approach the tent in which it is
moored. Then, before ascending, 1
shall test the pull-cord and all the ap-
paratus."
"And yet" said Crewe, "your COM
patriots were found dead in the shreds
OF their balloons, and they, too, had
confidence. Now let me ask you a
question To what do you ascribe the
fact that their bodies were found
drenched with water?"
''Rain-or dew" said the lieutenant.
There had been no rain, and dew
could never have soaked their bodies
to the skin and drenched their hair"
'Tt is immaterial," Won Keller an
swered. 81 shall not die, for | have
tested the balloon thoroughly and
have complete confidence in it."
This conversation took place upon
the morning Of that on which the as
cent was to be made. Almost imme-
diately afterward the tent was strip
ped from the balloon and the huge in
flated sphere could be seen swaying
above the ropes which fastened it to
earth. Sphere-shaped, instead of
cigar-shaped, the steering apparatus
was hidden within; it looked like a
balloon of an old-fashioned type such
as has been in use during the past
y. H. 81 &C