Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1917-05-11
Love In the Air
By A. B. STEPHENS

/ I'd
! II the aeroplane craze. There's q
/ y concern that has made q ma.
chine with u lot of safety
appliances that is especially fitted
| for amateur aeronauts. The women
| have taken up the fad the same as
/ the men. They've organized a club,
with first rate starting grounds, and,
although it's all brand new there are
dozen members who own their ma
chimes, and In good weather some OF
| them are flying all the while. Those
who haven't aeroplanes sit on the club
house porch with opera glasses In their
| hands watching the tliers and flirting.
\ race between two individuals.
Beverly Yorke and Jim Springer. took
| place not long ago, on which there was
lot of money placed. II wasn't a
fair race, but there was nothing that
came within the rules as being foul.
A 200 mile course was laid out, start
ing from the clubhouse. 1t first went
| TO Arlington then south to JOnesyille.
| then southeast TO Merryman. then
northeast to Hilton, then straight west
TO Darlington, then to the clubhouse.
church spire in each town, except
Jonesyile, where there was a big
factory, and they were TO pass above
the POO foot chimney that belonged to
| it. Yorke was to start westward and
Springer eastward. The one who got
back to the clubhouse first was to be
declared the winner As to the ffiers
observing ali the rules, this was Sc
cured by club member being station
ed at the different points they We're TO
pass over.
The machines being merely for
| pleasure, were not especially powerful.
There were machines with strong en-
gines in the club, but this race was
limited to the pleasure class. 1t WASN'T
expected that the race would be made
in less than three hours At 10 o'clock
the club grounds We're full Of members
and guests to see the race, and num-
Der of machines were flying about.
dashlng hither and thither. rising,
ducking and doing different stunts.
One Of these belonged TO Kate Win
terton, who in the air topped every
other woman member for flying and
on terra firna topped them all for
flirting. She had every man in the
club by the ears. and it was generally
conceded that when she undertook TO
bring man to his marrowbones he
might as well come down at once.
lorke was the favorite at odds sof
five TO four At least these We're the
odds up to the day before the race.
But that night they suddenly changed
to two TO one on Springer. The Queer
thing about 1t was that no one could
find out why this change should have
come about. There We're rumors about
Yorkc not being in a condition to race
or his machine having been found
wanting in some particular, but they
were nothing but rumors and were
looked upon as mere jockeying for
odds.
At II o'clock the two machines were
rolled out on the starting grounds, the
one pointed west, the other east. The
racers took their seats, and half a
dozen men did the starting for each
machine at the same moment. AS
they rose the aeroplanes that were
| fitting about TO see the fun started off
| in different directions. either to inter-
cept the racers or to take some central
point where they hoped to keep the
machines in sight by means of glasses.
| Kate Winterton's last victim was
! Jim Springer She had been seen on
the clubhouse porch during the even
ing before the race spooning with him,
and it was expected by their observers
| -. a nil \.
| him in the contest to encourage him.
But in this they were disappointed.
| She followed neither of the fiiers,
! lowering over the club grounds and
| by signs communicating with those be-
! low how the race was going. When
| he racers had been out couple of
| hours she was seen TO fly away in the
direction of Merryman and was soon
out of sight.
When she came within seeing dis
| lance of the fiiers they had met and
! Yorke had passed the halfway point
greatly ahead of Springer. Kate made
a bee line for Yorke. who had started
westward and was nearing Hilton. He
had met his opponent so far ahead OF
the point he should have been and felt
so certain of winning that he was not
/ pressing his machine. Kate sailed up.
within hearing distance
"Oh, Mr.. Yorke," she called, "Im so
glad"
'Glad about whatW
You're going to win"
That's very nice of you.'
| They sailed along in company for
awhile when something seemed TO go
wrong with Hates machine. 1t ca
reened first on one side, then ON the
! other.
i I'm afraid I'm going to fallv' she
cried in voice of terror, and true
enough she went down rapidly till she
struck the earth, but managed her ma
chine so well that there was no abso-
| Lutte drop. Yorke was too much of
man to leave her In distress and fol-
lowed her. finding her lying on the
ground beside her machine In a state