The Winslow mail., 1914-10-17
THE WORLD SET FREE

by proposal to be treated as a pro-
tected state. Finally he professed an
uncOvering submission and put a
mass of obstacles in the way of the
transfer Of his national officials to the
new government. In these things he
was enthusiastically supported by his
subjects, still for the most part an ilit-
crate peasantry, passionately if con-
fnsedly patriotic and so far with no
practical knowledge of the effect Of
atomic bombs. More particularly he
retained control of all the Balkan aero
planes.
For once the extreme naivete Of Le-
blanc seems to have been mitigated by
duplicity. He went on with the gen
eral pacificat0n Of the world as If the
Balkan submission was made in abso-
lutte good faith, and he announced the
disbahdment Of the force of aeroplanes
that had hitherto guarded the council
at Brissago upon the approaching 18th
OF July. But instead he doubled the
number upon duty on that eventful
day and made various arrangements
for their disposition. He consulted
certain experts, and when he took
King Egbert into his confidence there
was something in his neat and explicit
foresight that brought back to that ex-
monarch's mind his half forgotten fan.
taSy of Leblanc as a fisherman under a
green umbrella.
About O'Clock in the morning Of the
18th of July one of the outer sentinels
of the Brissago fleet, which was soar
ing nnobtrusively over the lower end
OF the lake of Garda, sighted and hail
ed strange aerOplane that was flying
westward and, failing to get satisfac.
tory reply, set its wireless apparatus
talking and gave chase A swarm Of
cOnsOrts appeared very promptly over
the westward mountains, and before
the unknown aeroplane had sighted
Como it had dozen eager attendants
closing In upon it, Its driver seems to
have hesitated, dropped down among
the mountains and then turned south
ward in fight, only to find an inter-
cepting bipane sweeping across his
bows. He then went round into the
eye Of the rising sun and passed with
in hundred yards of his original pur-
suer.
The sharpshooter therein opened fire
at once aud showed an intelligent grasp
of the situation by disabling the pas
Senger first. The man at the wheel
must have heard his companion cry out
behind him. but he was too intent on
getting away TO waste even a glance
beAind Twice after that he must have
heard shots. He let his engine go, be
crOuched down. and for twenty minutes
he must have steered in the continual
expectation of bullet. 1t never came,
and when at last he glanced round
three great planes were close upon
him, and his companion, thrice hit, lay
dead across his bombs. His followers
manifestly did not mean either to upset
OrsShoot him. but ineXorably they drove
hkH down. down. At last he was cury.
ing and flying hundred yards or less
over the level fields Of rice and maize
Ahead Of him and dark against the
morning sunrise was village with
very tall and slender campanile and
line of cable bearing metal standards
that he could not clear. He stopped
his engine abruptly and dropped fiat
He may have hoped to get at the bombs
when he came down. but his pitless
pursuers drove right over him and sho
him as he fell.
! f'Hhrpa at bpr nnrnplInnc curVa1 dawn
and came to rest amid the crushed
grass close by the smashed machine
Their passengers descended and ran
holding their light rifles in their hands
toward the debris and the two dead
men. The coffin shaped box that had
occupied the center of the machin
had broken. and three black objects
each with two handles like the ears ~
a pitcher. lay peacefully amid the lii
ter.
These objects were so tremendously
important in the eyes Of their captor
that they disre@arded the two deat
men who lay bloody and broken anit
the wreckage as they might have dis
regarded frogs by ii country pathway
Look. Look cried the first Here
they arer'
''And unbroken" said the second
I've never seen the things hefOre.'
said the first
bigger than | thought" said the
second.
The third conner arrived. He stared
for a moment at the bombs and then
turned his eyes to the dead man with
a crushed chest who hay in a muddy
place among the green stems under the
center Of the machine.
Zone can take no risks" he said with
q faint suggestion of apology.
The other two now also turned to the
victims. 1--WE must signal" said the
first man. A shadow passed between
them and the sun, and they looked up
to see the aeroplane that had fred the
last shot.
"Shall we signal?" came a mega.
phone hail.
Three bombs" they answered TO-