Middletown transcript., 1914-08-01

of the pfgmies beneath me. and mo
ment later heard the splash Of the
Mediterranean pillows upon the rocky
shore Of Monte Carlo.
Straight out to sea / flew, guiding
my course by the new eastern sun, un-
til the land was only a low line behind
me. And presently even that failed
Now nothing was visible but the broad
expanse Of the ocean. Here and there,
rising and falling like a cork upon the
waters, saw a tiny steamship, no big
ger than toy boat And even these
disappeared at last, leaving me alone
with the sun and the sea and the
i wheeling gulls
Hour after hour went by. Upon a
fsyoring wind sped, ever southwark,
while behind me the busy motor
hummed and sang. "Charlesl Charles!"
That was its refrain. thought Of the
Incredible dangers that l had passed.
Now the Journey was almost ended,
and there was little more to overcome.
swooped lower, until l almost
skinned the surface of the waters, tax
ing sheer pleasure in the splash of
the spray and the mdulating waves
that rose and fell as far as the eye
could stretch in every direction. AS
the sun neared the zenith changed
my course, little by little, until few
Immediately toward it In the midst
Of my exultation, however, suddenly
an awful thought occurred to me.
SWhat If l should miss Corsica!"
1t sobered me. Heaven help me
then, for should fly straight south
ward until l reached Africa, or fell In
to the sea. And after night a straight,
an even comparatively straight, course
would be impossible
The sun crossed the zenith and
blazed in the west. Now l changed |
my course little by little, until the sun
was on my right hand. BY four O'Clock |
l should have sighted Corsica; by six
| must reach Scouto, for twilight |
would then be approaching. The sun
began perceptibly to decline. It was
half way down in the sky. And still |
no sight of land!
Another thought now came to mind |
for the first time and added to my
fears. What If zeuxis should, after all,
refuse to return with me? And, fur
ther, what If the added weight impeded
the acceptance!
But forced these thoughts from me
and strove desperately forward, as
though by sheer effort OF mentality /
could add to the speed Of the insensate
mechanism. 1t must be four o'clock.
Another half hour passed-an hour.
The sea was changing from blue to
black; in the northeast heavy thunder
clouds were looming up. l did not
dare think now. My brain whirled,
the heavens appeared to spin; the sun,
like fiery Cyclopean eye, drew near
to the horizon. That eye would close;
and then-good night to life and all
my hopes for Charles.
For my own life cared nothing,
but the thought of what would befall
him was torment It sent the blood
,oursing furiously through my veins
md my heart hammered like a ham
ner of doom. Six o'clocki-for the
sun dipped and its fiery edge touched
he water-line. There, immeasurably
expanded in apparent size, it hid itself
behind the murky clouds and seemed
o leer horribly at me on its passage
nto the depths of ocean. 1 was hope
essly lost now. could only shape my
course mechanically southwark. But
where was 1? l stared out over the
waters, stirring restlessly
'eneath the rising wind. One hour
more, perhaps a little longer, and
hen
Ny hands ached, my body ached,
nd an insurmountable lassitude
Weighed down my eyelids Involun-
arily 1 closed them for an instant.
hen opening them, l cried out with
oy.
For far in the distance / saw the
iniest blur of brown upon the face of
be sea. 1t was so far to port that, had
not closed my eyes and so relieved
hem from the strain of gazing over
be sea, should never have seen it
But as the suns rim dipped under
~ SOuloCu OICA q uASu anu !
ock-bound shore toward a white little
own set on a hill. l dropped into the
larket square, and from the houses
len came running up, shouting in
0me unintelligible speech. When the
Machine rested they ventured near
nd formed a circle round me at re-
pectful distance, crossing themselves
nd staring in amazement-
Where am II" l demanded In al
Iost all that knew of Italian.
One hero strutted toward me, toss
g back his long cloak, and answered:
"Scouto."
had flown all along the coast OF
Orsica, to land, by some most fortu-
ate coincidence of fate. at the pre-
Sc locality of my destination!
He knew me too, and began tremb-
AN that alone. For, as l stared into
e mans face 1 recognized-Zeuxis! l
But the coincidence was greater L
lg at the knees. Then, with a wild =
y, he fell face down upon the stones. -
nall wonder when, deeming himself ii
cure, he saw me swoop out Of the
les to drag him from his living n