Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-10-22
t5.a II ~ syss i iisgf&sA g + 8 n ~ NIX 4
CHAPTER vi Continued.


Up toward him the machine arose in
a I long, sweeping curve until but a
u few hundred feet separated them and
deeply intoned; gasp came from the
multitude as the tragedy: seemed about
q to close before it had begun And
then the unexpected happened. Clos
II ing his wings as quickly as "a woman
4 snaps her fan shut, the Flying Man
dropped in a black streak, while Put
y nam, quick as a cat in pursuit Of a
Il mouse, plunged after him in Q dive
80 reckless, so apparently beyond con
troll, that q shrill cry, quick and ex-
j plosives burst from the multitude and
hundreds averted their faces that they
might not witness the 4 sight v all
n thought must follow. But when hum
dreds Of those below had already start
led for the place where he would lie
lat the end Of the fall. he checked his
Night with incompatible M skill and
went skimming along on parallel.
once more In perfect poise. It was
an exhibition Of nerve beyond any
Il thing they had ever seen attempted
by an aviator before, and a hoarse
I roar Of admiration burst from their
threats as they pounded each other
upon the back in a frenzy Of delight.
3 AS for the Flying Man, he had mount
ED up again and was now coming
straight toward them with mighty
/ sweeps. Swiftly Putnam circled about
and followed. " N, It} MI
And now followed q chase such as
man had never seen before the sight
HOf a wingless man in machine-driven
craft Whistling through the air at
wild speed in pursuit OF another man
upon whom Nature had bestowed a
power Of flight beyond that ef most of
her feathered thin 18th death as
Z the losers ,penalty. Their eyolutions
became bewildering Plainly the Fly
ing Man was trying the other out as
"a boxer tests an unknown adversary
before deciding upon: his course Of
I battle. He mounted straight upward
\ as an arrow and at q height OF thou
sands Of feet hung stationary with a
4 languid beating Of his great wings. He
dropped as q 1ighthaWk drops in his.
hunting at dusk, he leaped broad
spaces like q shooting star, he few
upon his side as q j swimmer races,
4 he scircled, he pirouetted in dizzy
whirls, scared like "a condor, tapped.
.iazily. It was an exhibition of flying
Incompatible, and theI concourse be-;
low grew cold with apprehe tension as it,
mentally pictured the scene which
4 must follow when this wizard OF the
air, firing Of his exhibition, would.
bring it to q close. But. Putnam, reck-
less as ever and either not realizing
or not caring that he was hopelessly
$outclassed, stuck, to his quarry with
the tenacity OF "a bulldog. Almost any
other man would have descended and
8 awaited the arrival Of reinforcements,
\ but with half million dollars in
sight; great crowd to watch him
/ and his reputation for fearlessness at
stake, the aviator followed every
movement Of the black-winged one
% with fierce determination It was
4 catch or be caught, kill or be killed,
and he had faced death at short range
too often to falter now. Steady as
/ an iron man, cool as ice despite his
rage, he unanswered his machine with
a skill and dash and disregard Of con.
& sequences that proclaimed him the
I most spectacular of his spectacular
4 profession, every move executed with
4 the accuracy of genius, every poise:
the acme Of skill. Three times his
revolver had leaped from its holster
as his foe offered possible mark,
Y but each time the winged one, divin.
/ ing his intent, dropped like stone
and Putnam had released the unfred
weapon to devote himself once more
to the machine. He had begun at last
y to realize that the chase was hopeless,
but his obstinacy was still mistaken.
1T has got to be you or I,emy artful
dodger," he gritted between his set
teeth as he once more swung about
in pursuit after futile iwhirlwind
dash. 1T is you or I, and fby Heav.
Il ems one of us has got to take a tumble
I this day." In the grimness of his de-
: termination to get fair shot he
would have tried to fly to midocean
had the other led him that way.
s But now the tactics of the Flying
/ Man suddenly changed. Appearing to
have satisfied his mind that he could
toy with the other and harass him as