Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-12-16
CHAPTER K.
Ths Strange AeropIane.


was that strange. survival Of
mediaevaliSm. the Slavic fox" the
king Of the Balkans. He debated and
delayed his submissions. He showed
an extraordinary combination of cum
ming and temerity in his evasion of the
repeated SummOnSes from BrisSagO.
He affected i'll health and Il great pre-
tress. for his semibarbaric court was
arranged on the best romantic models.
His tactics We're ably seconded by DR..
pestovitch, his chief minister.
Failing to establish his claims to
complete Independence. King Ferdi-
nand Charles annoyed the conference
by a proposal to he treated as a pro-
tected state. Finally he progressed an
uncovering submission and put
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 Tilt
crate peasantry. passionately if con-
fuSedly 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 paci6catiOn Of the world as if the
Balkan submission was made In absO-
lutte good faith, and he announced the
disarmament Of the force of aeroplanes
that had hitherto guarded the council
at Brissago upon the approaching 18th
Of July. But instead be doubled the
number upon duty On that eventful
day and made various arrangements
for their disposition. He consulted
certain experts. and when be took
King Egbert into his confidence there
was something in his neat and explicit
foresight that brought back to that ex-
monarchs mind his half forgotten fan
tasy of Leblanc as fisherman under Il
green umbrella.
About 5 o'clock in the morning Of the
18th Of July one Of the outer sentinels
Of the Brissago fleet. which was soar.
ing unobtrusively over the lower end
Of the lake of Garda. sighted and hail
ed strange aeroplane that was flying
westward and. failing to get a satisfac-
tory reply. set it's wireless apparatus
talking and gave chase 4 swarm Of
consorts appeared very promptly over
the westward mountains, and before
knew Of that store of mischief now
but the king and his adviser and three
heavily faithful attendants; the avi-
ators who waited now in the midday
blaze with their bomb carrying ma
chimes and their passenger bomb
throwers in the exercising grounds Of
the motor c;clist barracks below We're
still in ignorance of the position Of
the ammunition they were presently
to take up. 1t was time they started
If the scheme was to work as Pesto-
witch had planned it. 1t was mag
nifcent plan. 1t aimed at no less
than the empire Of the world. The
government of idealists and professors
away there at Brissago was to be
blown to fragments, and then east.
west. north and south those aeroplanes
would go sWarm1ng over world that
had disarmed itself to proclaim Fer
dinand Charles, the new Caesar, the
master. lord Of the earth.
1t was magnificent plan. But the
tension Of this waiting for news of the
success Of the first blow was-consid.
cradle.
The Slavic fox was Of a pallid fair
ness, he had remarkably long nose
thick, short mustache and small blue
eyes that were little too near to,
gether to be pleasant 1t was his
habit to worry his mustache with
short, nervous tugs whenever his rest
less mind troubled him. and now this
emotion was becoming so incessant
that It irked Pestovitch beyond the
limits Of endurance.
II will CO." said the minister "an(
see what the trouble is with the wire
less. They give us nothing. good Of
bad"
Left to himself. the king could worr.
his mustache without stint He Leaned
his elbows forward on the balcony ant
gave both Of his long white hands t.
the work, so that he looked like pail
dog gnawing bone. Suppose the.
caught his men. what should he do
Suppose they caught his men?
The clocks in the light, gold capped
belfries Of the town below PRESENT..
intimated the half hour after midday
OF course he and Pestovitch ha,
thought it out. Even If they ha.
caught those men they were pledge
to secrecy. Probably they would b
killed in the catching One could den
anyhow. deny and deny.
And then he became aware Of hal
dozen little shining specks very hig
in the blue.
Pestovitch came out to him presently
1.-THE government messages. sire. hav
all dropped into cypher.' he said. g
have set q man.
"Look!' interrupted the king an
pointed upward with a long. lean fiji
ger
Pestovitch followed that indicatio
and then glanced for one questionin
moment at the white face before him
I'VE have to face it out, SIRE" l.
said.
For some moments they watched tt
steep spirals of the descending me
sengers, and then they began hast
consultation.
They decided that to be holding
council upon the details of an ultimat
surrender to BrissagO was as innoce1
looking n thinu as the king could we