The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-11-26

quickly followed by fellow thug whereupon the two officers, no les% than the corporal and his men, had the modification of seeing the sentry leaped on, stupefed' by some scientific pressure on nerve centers and arteries and left lying on the ground like one dead. Were 1t not for the stringent orders received the soldiers would undoubted- ly have opened fire without further delay. In the circumstances all eyes watched eagerly for developments. | One of the Japanese emitted low whistle, and Manning fully expected to see Ali Singhs tall figure surmount-. ing the fence. At that instant, how ever, the chug-chug of another auto mobile driven at high speed sounded from the roadway. This second car stopped, and there was some seeming indecision which necessitated the Japs' listening to instructions given through a chink in the fence. It was noticed that both men made the sign of the crescent twice, after that there was no delay.
 They ran swiftly and stealthily to the shed, peered in through the door way, and, finding the place empty vanished within. That they knew their business was soon manifest, because the loud roar of the aeroplane's engine showed that they had not lost sec ond in entering the machine. It was particularly daring exploit which they were attempting-not less, in fact than starting plane from the interior of the shed, whereas, of course, the usual procedure involved it's careful wheeling out into the open by hand.
 However, the maneuver succeeded. The white wings emerged, gathered speed quickly and scared upward at a remarkably steep angle. At this stage of the game Bronson for once received the shock of his life. He knew that within a few seconds he would see that almost perfect crea- tion hurtling headlong to the ground and crushing into irretrievable ruin, while among its debris would lie the
 
 Such spectacle was thrilling and un- nerving, more so perhaps in anticipa- tion than in reality. His amazement was unbounded therefore when he heard the lieutenant say coolly to the major:
 "Isn't she wonder? No vibration, very little noise and smooth as hawk in flight. We've got the real thing this time, sir"
 These seasoned warriors were sur veying matters solely from the profes- sional point of view. The fate of the two thieves was not their affair. What mainly concerned them was the fault less performance of the machine. Up and up climbed the plane, which travelled steadily in a straight line, the clear object of its pilot being to get out of sight from the aviation ground at the earliest possible moment. While 1t was yet not more than three or four hundred feet from the ground Manning asked anxiously if Lieutenant Graham was quite sure that the stabilizer would fail to act.
 In6 SOlQ1er lauSneQ gr1mly.
 "You make the mistake of every nov ice, MT. Manning" he said. "Just as people on the surface overestimate the speed of an automobile and think it is travelling sixty miles an hour when it Is really going thirty-five to forty, so it is easy to exaggerate height But you can come out into the open now. Those chaps can't see us, and you'll have a good view of the grand smash. They ought to fall somewhat short of that clump of trees over there." And he pointed to group of chestnuts which ! lay at the farther end of the inclosure | Sure enough, few seconds later the splendid poise of the aeroplane seemed to be disturbed. It futtered and lurch- ed with an uncanny suggestion of a. bird shot dead in midair. Then it took long dive of nearly a hundred feet and began turning over and over. Two black specks fell out, and from each speck appeared four waving antennae.
 "There they go!' said the lieutenant nonchalantly. "That's the way a poor devils arms and legs behave when he's making the last drop. I can't account for 1t myself. suppose it means losa of muscular control or something oil the sort"
 The thud of the falling machine as il. struck the hard ground reached the ob1l servers distinctly. At the same timd| they became aware that two automot| piles were rushing off in frantic hastell Bronson's hand fell on Manning shoulder.
 "We've missed Ali Singh again, old| fellow" he said, "but I guess we'vd| given him the scare of his life."
 Manning, whose high strung temperI' ament had been strained unduly by th{' extraordinary sight of the falling plan{l and the two whirling bodies, contrivedI to keep his mind on the one ever preSI ent topic.
 "An Singh must have been warned somehow" he said gravely. We senI those two poor brutes to their deatt yet we have missed him. wonde| what happened.'
 "I wonder" said Bronson.
 When they reached home and hear the story of the attack on May Mar| hing by Hong Kong Harry they undeI stood. The half caste had avenged tn beating he received by saving the Tiff of the arch fiend whom he still regar nd as his master.