The states-graphic. (Brownsville, Tenn.) 1???-1984, 1916-07-14

pered wonder the fact of his equaniIk
ity-there seemed nothing at Z
strange in this extraordinary expeI
ence: he was by no means excited. =
manned merely deeply interested. AM
he could detect in his physical sensa
tons no trace of that qualmish dread
he had always associated with higf
places-the sense ne now experienced
~ security Of solidity. ever afterwart
remained wholly unaccountable In his
understanding.
OF sudden, surprised by touch b
his arm, he turned to meet through the
mica windows of the wind-mask thu
eyes OF the aviator, informed with al
expression of importunate doubt. quito
illegible. Assailed by siekening feas
lest something was going wrong with
the machine, Lanyard shook his head
to Indicate want of comprehension
Then, with an impatient gesture, the
aviator pointed downward.
Approaching the fact that speech
was impossible. Lanyard clutched th4
struts and bent forward. But the pacts
was now so fast and their elevation
SO great that the landscape swimming
beneath his vision was no more than q
brownish plain fugitively maculated
with blots of contrasting color.
He looked up blankly, but only to
be treated to the same gesture.
Piqued, he concentrated attention
more closely upon the fat, streaming
landscape. And suddenly he recog-
nized something oddly familiar in the
bend of the Seine that was approach
ing.
"St.-Germain-en-Laye!" he exclaimed
with start of alarm.
This was the danger point.
And over there" he reminded him
self-"to the left-that wide field with
a queer white thing in the middle that
looks like winged grub-that must
be De Morbihan's aerodome and his
Valkyr monoplane! Are they bringing
II out? Is that what Vauquelin means?
And if so-what of it? | don't see."
A sudden doubt and wonder chilled
the adventurer.
! Temporarily, Vauquelin returned en-
tire attention to the management of
the biplane. The wind was now blow
ing more titfully, creating pockets
those holes in the air" so dreaded by
cloud-pilots-and in quest of more
constant resistance the aviator was
swinging his craft in wide northerly
curve, climbing ever higher and more
high.
The earth soon lost all semblance of
design; even the twisted silver wire of
the Seine vanished far on the left; re-
NAMED only the effect of firm suspen-
sion in that high, blue vault, of Goa
tinuous flow Of iced water on the face,
together with the tuneless chant of the
motor.
After some forty minutes more of
this-it may have been an hour, for
time wal then an incalculable thing
Lanyard, In a mood of abnormal sensi-
tiveness, began to divine some little,
disquiet in the mind of the aviator,
and stared until he caught mis- eye.
What is it?" he screamed @ta -ths
other in futile effort to lift his voice
above the din.
But the Frenchman understood, and
responded with sweep of his arm to-
ward the horizon ahead. And seeing
nothing but cloud in the quarter indi-
Gated, Lanyard began to grasp the ma.
ture of phenomenon which, From the
first, had been vaguely troubling him.
The reason why he had been able to
perceive no real rim to the world was
that the earth was all asteam from the
heavy rains of the last week; all the
more remote distances were yelled
with rising vapor, And now they we're
approaching the coast, to which, it
seemed, the mists chung closest; for
all the world before them slept be-
meath a blanket of dark gray.
Nor was it difficult now to under
stand why the aviator was i'll at ease
facing the prospect of navigating in a
channel fog.
Several minutes later he startled
Lanyard with another peremptory
Touch on his arm, followed by signifi-
can't glance over his shoulder.
Lanyard turned hastily.
Behind them, at distance which he
calculated roughly as two miles, the
Silhouette of monoplane hung against
he brilliant armament, resembling,
with its single spread of wings, more
a solitary, soaring gull than any man.
directed mechanism.
Only an infrequent and almost i'm
perceptible shifting OF the wings
proved that it was moving.
He watched it for several seconds,
in deepening perplexity finding it i'm
possible to guess whether the mono
plane were gaining or losing in that
long chase or who might be its pilot.
Yet Lanyard entertained little doubt
that the pursuing machine had risen
from the aerodome of Count Remy de
Morbihan at St-Germain-en-Laye; that
1t was nothing less, in fact, than De
Morbihan's Valkyr monoplane, repnted
the fastest in Europe and winner of a
dozen international events; and that It
was guided, If not by De Morbihan him.
self, by one of the creatures of the
Pack-quite possibly, even more prob
ably, by Ekstroml