Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-06-21

when Lucy's disappearance had 70
quired pOstponement Of this night, he
had apprehended trouble; II hadn't
seemed reasonable to hope that the
Parrot could be held in waiting on his
orders for many days without the Sc.
cret leaking out; but 1t was trouble to
develop before the start from Port
Aviation that he had anticipated. The
possibility that the Pack would be able
to work any mischief to him after that
had never entered his calculations
Even now he found 1t difficult to give
It serious consideration.
Again he glanced back. Now, II
his judgment, the monoplane doomed
larger than before against the glow
ing sky, indicating that 1t was over
taking them.
Beneath his breath Lanyard swore
from a heart trimming with disqaiet.
The Parrot was capable Of speed
Of eighty miles an hour; and unques
tionably Vauquelin was wheedline
every ounce Of power out Of that will
ing motor. Since drawing Lanyard's
attention to the pursuer he had con
trived an appreciate acceleration.
But would even that pace serve to
hold the valkyr in its place. II not to
distance It?
His next backward look reckoned
the wonoplane no nearer.
And another thirty minutes or SO
elapsed without the relative positions
of the two flying machines undergoing
any perceptible change.
In the course of this period the Par
rott rose to an altitude, indicated by
the Paragraph at Lanyard's elbow, OF
over half mile. Below the channel
fog spread itself out like sea Of
milk, slowly churning.
Staring down in fascination, Ian
yard told himself gravely:
Blue water below that, my friend!'
1t seemed difficult to credit the fact
that they had covered the distance
from Paris in so short period OF
time.
BY his reckoning-a very crude one
the Parrot was then somewhere OF
Dieppe-it ought to pick up England
in such case, not far from Brighton. II
one could only see!
BY bending forward little and star.
ing past the aviator Lanyard could
catch glimpse of Lucy Shannon.
Though all her beauty and grace of
person were lost in the clumsy swad-
dlings of her makeshift costume, she
seemed to be resting comfortably in
her place; and the rushing air, keen
with the chill of that great altitude,
not only nodded her wind-veil precise
ly to the exquisite contours of her face,
but stung her firm cheeks until they
glowed with rare fire that even that
thick, dark mesh enshrouding them
could not wholly Quench.
The sun crept above the floor OF
mist, played upon it with iridescent
rays, shot it through and through with
warm, pulsating glow like that Of a
fire.opal, and suddenly turned It to a
sea of fairy gold that, extending to the
horizon baffled every effort to surmise
their position, whether they were
above land or sea.
None the less, Lanyard's rough and
rapid calculations persuaded him that
they were then about mid-channel.
He had no more than arrived at this
conclusion when q sharp. startled
movement that rocked the plane drew
his attention to the man at his side.
CHANGING in alarm ct the ayiator'a
face. he saw that It was q white %
marble what little Of It was visible
beyond and beneath the wind-mask.
yauquelin was holding out an arm
and staring at It incredulously; Ian.
yards gaze focused upon the same
spot-a ragged perforation in the
sleeve OF the leather surtout, just
above the elbow.
what Is IT." he inquired stupidity.
forgetting again that the other could
not possibly hear him.
The eyes Of the aviator, lifting from
the perforation to meet Lanyard's
stare. were clouded with consterna-
ton.
Then Vauquelin swerved quickly in
his seat and looked back. Involuntar-
lily he ducked his head. Simultaneous
ly something slipped whining past
Lanyard's cheek. touching his flesh
with q touch more chill than that Of
the icy air itself.
"Damnation! he shrieked. almost
Historically. THAT mailman In the
Valkyr is firing at us!"
AnAa-en NNNla