The Washington times., 1913-10-09

Involuntarily, looked at Mary. She
CHANGED to glance up at the same In
slant, and gave me swift nod, as II
she comprehended the whole situation;
yet there did not seem to be the least
trace Of fear in her. Should l tell her
the true state Of affairs? 1 doubted If
there was need tot. She seemed to un-
derstand. A moment later l knew she
did. for she half rose from her place
and called to me:
Anything is better than Vinton!'
Thank God, she was brave about It!
Although I had little time for anything
save the operation Of the machine,
none the less felt that at last was OBJ
tanning a true glimpse Of the woman S
real spirit 1t remained unbroken. de-
spite the sinister, relentless attack upon
1t by the tall man who seemed to be
our evil genius.
Westward we flew at 400 feet. the
same even. unbroken layer of fog be-
meath US. 1t seemed as II the whole
earth was plastered with it. we might
have passed villages. even cities, but
they were invisible. The air was per-
not the slightest dimming Of the stars;
but below. the screen Of mist was as
impenetrable to the eye as the steel
armor Of a battleship. / dared not at
tempt a landing in II; what sort of
earth surface it concealed was beyond
even q guess.
And yet at any time might have to
land. from sheer exhaustion of power to
keep US aloft. Four hundred feet be-
meath US was solid earth, yee-we might
not touch 1t. Fog was q contingency
against which even my compass would
not have availed, SO far as the selection
Of landing spot was involved. We had
escaped Vinton-for what?
For half an hour at least We few
above the crest Of the fog. Sometimes
1t thinned out so that 1t seemed far be-
low us, even at cur comparatively mod
crate elevation; at other times 1t piled
up In ridges, into the top of which We
plunged, forcing me to rise in order
to regain a vision Of my stary guides.
Once We were carried to 600 feet to es-
cape It; at another time I let the plane
slide down to the 200-foot level and was
still above the bank Of mist
Not light shone up from below.
both of us distinctly heard the changing
Of bell. 1t sounded like the gong of
a motorman, but II soon faded away,
and all was silence again, save for the
tncessant roaring Of the great wooden
screw behind us. And the mockery of
1t all was the brilliantly clear sky over
head
We had been voyaging above the fog
for an hour, and l estimated that we
had been in the air for at least half as
long again. Baltimore must be seventy
or eighty miles to the eastward of US,
and / began to wonder vaguely lust
where We were. For the life of me 1
could recall nothing Of my geography.
The air was getting cooler, and the
rapid pace at which We were passing
through it was chilling me. I felt pity
for Mary. who was without even a coat,
and would gladly have given her my
own If had dared to remove my hands
from the levers long enough to accom-
of suffering, however, but lay notion
less upon the lower wing. her hands
tightly gripping the forward edge. and
her eyes bent steadily downward.
Then my ear caught an ominous
sound. The engine skipped an explo-
sion. I listened intently for perhaps a
qquarter OF a minute. Then 1t skipped
three beats In rapid succession. / knew
what that meant. We were running on
the dregs Of the gasolene tanks. Our
flight would soon be over. Where and
how would 1t end?
Mary's quick ear soon noted the un-
even explosions. and she rose to a
kneeling posture, steadying herself
against one Of the uprights. and bend
ing her face toward me until 1 could
The beats Of the engine were steadily
growing more intermittent.
I'VE must land." called to her.
She nodded Understandings.
Don't be afraid" I added. yet my
heart was in my mouth as I said the
words, TO-. 1 believed that nothing but
death lay below US.
She smiled at me!
Bending to my right, saw that the