Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1916-05-27


comfort he might.
And he was glad, very glad, Of the
dark wind-veil that shrouded his face,
which he believed to show nothing
less than panic terror.
He was, in sober fact, quite rigid
with fright and horror. 1T were idle
to argue that only unlikely chance
would wing one of the bullets from
the Valkyr to vital point-there
was the torn canvas overhead, there
was that hole through Vauquelin's
sleeve.
And then the Paragraph on the strut
beside Lanyard disappeared as If by
magic. He was aware of a slight jar;
the framework of the biplane quiv-
cred as from heavy blow; something
that resembled a handful of black
crumbs sprayed out into the air ahead
and vanished-and where the instru-
ment had been nothing remained but
an iron clamp gripping the strut
And even as any one of these bull
lets might have proved fatal, their first
successor might incapacitate the avia-
tor, If it did not slay him outright
in either case inevitably the result
would be death following a fall from
height, as recorded on the Paragraph
dial the instant before its destruction,
of over four thousand feet.
And they were still climbing.
Now the pursuer was losing some of
the advantage of his superior speed;
| the Parrot was perceptibly higher;
the Valkyr must needs mount in a
more sweeping curve
None the less, Lanyard, peering
down. saw still another tongue of
fame spit out at him, and two bullet
holes appeared in the port wings of
the biplane, one in the lower, one in
| the upper spread of canvas.
| White-1ipped and trembling, the ad-
| venturer began to work at the fasten-
ings of his surtout. After a moment
he plucked off one of his gloves and
cast it impatiently from him. Asprawl,
it sailed down the wind like a wound
| ed sparrow. He caught Vauquelin' 8
| eye upon him, quick with a curiosity
which changed to a sudden CLEAN of
| comprehension when Lanyard, thrust
| ing his hand under the leather coat,
CROPPED for his side pocket and pro
| duced an automatic pistol which Du-
croy, learning that he was unarmed,
had pressed upon him.
They were now perhaps a hundred
feet higher than the Valkyr, which
| was soaring quarter of a mile off to
starboard. Under the guidance of the
Frenchman the PARROT swooped rocnd
in narrow circle until it hung almost
Immediately above the other-a ma
neuver requiring, first and last, some
thing more than five minutes to effect
Meanwhile Lanyard rebuttoned his
surtout and. clutching the pistol, tried
hard not to think. But already his
imagination was sick with the thought
of what would ensue when the time
came for him to carry out his inten.
ton.
Vauquelin touched his arm with ur
gent pressure; but Lanyard only shook
his head, gulped, and without looking
surrendered the weapon to the aviator
Bearing heavily against the chest
band, he commanded the broad, white
spread of the Valkyr's back and wings
Invisible beneath these hung the mo
tor and the drivers seat.
An instant more and he was avare
that Vauquelin was bending forward
over the edge of the plane.
Aiming with what elaboration was
possible, the aviator emptied the cliI
Of it's cartridges in less than a minute
The reports rang out against the
drum of the motor with an accent az
vicious as the cracking OF a black
snake whip.
Momentarily, Lanyard doubted If {
single bullet had taken effect. He
could not, with his swimming vision
detect any sign of damage in the can
vas of the Valkyr
He saw the empty automatic sill
from Vauduelin's numb and nerveles
fingers, and vanish
A frightful fascination kept his gaz'
constant to the soaring Valkyr. Be
yond it, down, deep down, a mile o
emptiness, was that golden floor o
tumbled cloud, waiting.
He saw the monoplane halt abrupt.
in it's strong onward surge-as if i
had run. full tilt, head on against al
invisible obstacle and for wha
seemed round minute, it hung sc
veering and wabbling, muzzling tn
wind. Then, like a sounding whale
it turned and dived headlong, propel
Ter spinning like a top.
Down through an eighth of a mil
of space it plunged plummetlike; Their
perhaps caught in a flaw of wind, /
turned sidewise and began to revolve
at first slowly. but with increasin
rapidity in it's fatally swift descent
Toward the beginning of its revolt
tions something was thrown of, some
thing small. dark and sprawling-ik
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