Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-02-26

It had Tapped over into the press box
and sent an unaccustomed thrill of ex-
citement along the reporters table.
Anxious eyes studied the biplane to
see If there was yet any sign Of defec-
tive machinery. Once the machine
started as If to settle earthWard; then
1t steadied. and those who knew drew
a long breath and told one another
that the swerye was due to some up
per air current. for the biplane was
again climbing.
Although the whiz of its propeller
blades was clearly visible. like a little
electric fan. the sound they made was
now altogether inaudible. The roar OF
Harriman's motor meanwhile sounded
like a continuous accent of haste and
anxiety.
For the %monopiane was now complet-
ing Its first spiral. its motor running
full speed and its occupant evidently
bent on gaining every possible inch OF
elevation. Again and again the ele-
waiting plane lifted the insect-like body
to a sudden. almost perpendicular. up
WdEu nlEil. 4HCiG WAo aAH6CA 49,
thus forcing the mechanism. Each
time the aviator took the risk that the
repeated stress would snap some con-
Meeting link between himself and his
apparatus and send 1t crashing down.
ward. But To the audience each OF
these splendid upward leaps seemed to
be executed for its amusement. and 1t
cheered them wildly. Here and there
people argued about the probable alti-
tude. but none denied that the mono
plane was rising faster than the air
ship that had preceded It,
Under any circumstances Harriman's
monoplane was a faster machine than
Clinton's biplane. The biplane was
built for stability, endurance and a r
rying power. The monoplane was con-
structed for speed first and other
things afterward
Again and again it seemed us II Har-
riman lifted his machine upward by
sheer force of will. As the faint buzz
of the motor sounded once more d.
rectly above the grand stand 1t was
evident that the dragon fly mad cut
one-third from the distance that sep
arated it from the biplane. 1t was
impossible TO estimate It's height above
the ground. but each successive spiral.
sometimes carrying the monoplane far
out over the river. evidently brought
the pursner nearer the altitude of his
quarry.
Fifteen minutes, twenty. twenty-five
almost half an hour had elapsed since
the ~monoplane started. The two air
ships were now near together. and
fieldglasses were necessary to follow
their evolutlons. The band had started
another march. but no feet beat time
TO 1t. The field had altogether lost its
customary air of hustle and prepara-
ton. The aviators had drawn together
and were looking steadily upward.
The mechanicians stood In idle groups
watching the airships. The announcer
had put down his %megaphone.
Then the biplane began to drop. 1t
fell slowly to the level of the mono
plane. and for a long thirty seconds
the two machines seemed to be coming
down together.
One of the men at the edge of the
field spoke into a telephone. and a mo-
ment later a motor driven ambulance
came into view from behind the hos
pital tent. 1t stopped and waited. In
side n couple of white coated surgeons
were arranging a stretcher. The chauf-
feur leaned forward. with his eye fix
ed on the biplane.
But the two airships were again
mounting. now almost side by side.
Even with the glasses it was impossi-
bic to tell what the men in them were
doing. But the ~monoplane, putting on
speed, headed in front of the slower
craft and her turned and plunged sud
denly downward.
A quick indrawing Of breath ran
along the grand stand. a mighty sigh.
as IL all these thousands of people had
responded to a given signal. The band
stopped playing. one instrument after
another in%voluntarily silenced by the
general feeling of something imminent
and terrible.
Up there in the sky Hartman seem
ed to be performing feats that were no
longer amusing. but criminally reck-
less. 1t was one thing, people told one
another. to see a man take risks, but
they had not come there to see a man
commit suicide. Three times in sue
cession he drove his machine across
the path of the biplane and then diyed
earthward at an angle that made it
seem impossible that he would not be
pitched bodily out. But the fourth
time the other machine followed. and
the two began circling back toward
the earth.
And now the a seemed to be re-
versed. The monoplane led. and the
biplane followed. The long, graceful
spirals brought them nearer and near
er to the landing place. The band. as
if ashamed of its lapse from duty,
played louder than yer.
The faint buzzing of the motors grew