The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-21
By
H. G. Wells


the angle OF the wings. The machine,
seemed to hang for hall minnie
mot'onless in mid-air, and then he
saw the hazy blue housc-covercd b;1s
OF kilburn and Hampstead jump up
before his eyes and rise steadily nm
til the little sunlit dome of the Albert
Hall appeared through his windows
For moment he scarcely understood
the meaning OF this upward rush of
the horizon. but as the nearer and
nearer houses came into view. he
realized what he had done He had
turned the wings over too lar. and
they were swooping Stccply down
ward toward the Thames
The thought, the question, the
realization were all the business OF A
second OF time. TOO much" gaspcd
Woodhousc. Monson brought the
wheel halfway back with a jerk, and
forthwith the kilburn and Hampstead
ridge dropped again to the lower edge
OF his windows. They had been a
thousand feet above Coornbc and
Maiden station: fifty seconds after
they whlzzed. at . frightful pace, not
eighty feet above the East Putncv
station, on the Metropolitan District
line, TO the screaming astonishmcnt
OF a platformful OF people Monsoon
flung up the vans against the air. and
over fulham they rushed up their az
mosphcrIc Switchback again, stccply-
too stecply. The buses went found
crIng across the Fulham Road the
people yelled.
Then down again, too stccplv still.
and the distant trees and houses
about Primrose Hill lcaped up across
Monson'S window. and then suddenly
he saw straight before him the green
cry OF kensIngtOn Gardens and the
towers OF the Imperial Institute.
They were driving straight down up
on South kcnsington. The pinnaclcs
OF the Natural History Museum rush
cd up into view. There came ono fatal
second OF swift thought, moment
OF hesitation. Should he try and clear
the towers. or swcrve eastward
He made hcsitating attempt to re-
lease the right wing. left the catch
half released, and gave a frantic
clutch at the wheel.
The nose of the machine seemed to
leap mp before him The wheel press
cd his hand with irresistible force,
and jerkcd itself out OF his control.
Woodhouse. sitting crouched to-
gethcr, gave hoarsc cry, and sprang
up toward Monson. TOO fart he
cried, and then he was cIinging to
the gunwalc for dear lie, and Monsou
had been jerked clean overhead, and
was falling backward upon him.
So swiftly had tho thing happened
that barely a quarter OF the people
going to and fro in Hyde Park. and
Brompton Road. and the Exhibition
Road saw anything OF the aerial
catastrophe. A distant winged shape
had appeared above the clustering
houses to the south. had fallen and
risen. growing larger as it did so: had
SwOopcd swiftly down toward the In
pcrial Institute. a broad spread OF
flying wings. had swept round in
quarter circle. dashed eastward. and
then suddenly sprang vertically into
the air. \ black object shot out OF
1t. and came spinning downward. \
man! Two men clutching each other!
They came whirling down, separated
as they struck the roof OF the Stu-
dents Club. and bounded off into the
green bushes on its southwark side.
For perhaps hall minute, the
pointed stem OF the big machine still
pierced vertically upward. the screw
spinning desperately. For ono brief
instant, that vet seemed an age to all
who watched. it had hung motionlcss
in mId-air. Then spout of yellow
hamc licked up its length from the
stern engine. and swift. swiftcr, swift ]
cr. and fiarIng like 4 rocket. it rushed
down upon the solid mass OF masonry
which was formerly the Royal Col
lcgc OF Science. The big screw OF
white and gold touched the parapct.
and crumpled up like wet linen. Then
the blazing spindlc-shaped BODY
and splintcred, smashing and
splintcring in its fall. upon the north
western angle OF the building.
But the crash. tho fame OF blazing }
paraftn that shot hcavenward from
the shattered engines OF the machine.
the crushed horrors that were found
in the garden beyond the Students
Club. the masses OF yellow parapct
and rcd brick that fell hcadlong into
the roadway, the running to and iro
Of people like ants in a broken ant
hill. the galloping of fire engines, the
gathering OF crowds-all these things
do not belong to this story. which
was written only TO tell how the first J
Of all successful flying machines was
and flew. Though ne failed,
and failed disastrously, the record of
Monson'S work rcmains-a sufficient