The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-12-04
.THE bomb" PLOT =.
BY JOHN c. WELDON.


Dacre. ''They won't take me, but you
bet can do my bit running down spies
and traitors u
The announcement began dolorous-
~. It terminated in a positive burst
of enthusiasm from Dacre His fiancee
regarded him proudly, but with won
der-eyes tinged with token Of fear.
Don't run into danger, Elston p she
urged. Father says you are doing
your full duty in encouraging others
to serve your country in a noble, self
sacrificing way"
Perhaps" acceded Dacre, 'but I
want real action. / think shall 90 on
hunt for spies"
As Dacre had often expressed It, he
was a patriot from way back" He
had met with an accident the first day
of recruiting for the war, breaking a
limb. AT the end of three months he
had limped down to the recruiting Of
fee TO be Informed by the examining
surgeon that it void take a year, may
be two, to straighten out the injured
member.
He was engaged to Lille Burton, and
that CHEEKY, loyal little specimen of
femininity was well worthy of his re-
gard. She deplored his new resolution,
but did not express her full opinion,
and sighed as her lover left her that
evening, for Dacre was thorough in his
activities and would ferret out spies
and traitors, if anybody could.
Lille tried to dissuade Dacre from
what she believed to be waste of his
time, but her lover was headstrong.
She missed him and she worried about
him for about a week. Then she re-
ceived letter from him dated at Els
dene, a manufacturing town thirty
miles away.
81 am on the verge of a great dis
coVery," wrote Dacre. "Day and night
I am watching two suspicious stran-
| gers who have been in EIsdene for a
week. They are up to some big plot
I know this much: it involves bombs,
| and an airship."
Really, Dacre had some basis for his
sensational suspicious. He had struck
''his clue" after several days hanging
around Elsdene. AT it's principal hotel
| one evening he was seated reading
| newspaper, when a man lolling in the
! next chair started up and shook hands
with newcomer, greeting him effus-
| lively.
! "Glad you've come. Hard work kill
ing time in this dead town." spoke the
| first man.
SCOT delayed" explained the new
| conner. 'tNo easy task finding an avt-
| ator with a machine to accommodate
all the truck we will have to carry, be-
side ourselves"
Bombs all ready and shipped?"
"And the airship will be on hand as
soon as our baggage is at the rendez-
vOus. We will start tomorrow evening,
If the sky is clear. The trail runs over
! twenty towns, you know, and we drop
| the bombs directly over the center OF
EACH"
"Bombs!'' repeated Dacre In a
| breathIess gasp, as the two men moved
away. "Why they are going to make
! regular raid on every town In the
| county"
Dacre was terrifcally stirred up.
What should he do? Here was posi-
tive evidence of deadly work. Dacre
did not close his eyes In sleep; he
scarcely ate for twenty-four hours.
The next afternoon he traced the two
men to a garage. They went inside,
made some arrangement with the pro-
prietor and went away. Dacre sought
| an immediate interview with the ga
rage owner. He learned that the two
men had ordered an automobile and
| driver to take them over to Leeville,
twenty miles away, at six o'clock.
Dacre Influenced the garage man to let
| him act as chauffeur. Two hours later
he was at the wheel. Just at dusk the
| two men left the machine at Leeville.
They struck off down lonely country
road. On foot Dacre followed them at
safe distance.
It was an hour later when they
climbed a fence and at an opening,
amid dense grove Of saplings, came
upon an airship. Beside it, in boxes,
1 were black round objects, supplied
/ with fuses and having also appended
/ square package done up In thin tis-
sue paper.
II - Iu1Iu 4ldA WGlGO14C0 LACA1 dAA nA4
hands proceeded to pile In the bomb
like objects. The trio were evidently
Il about to start their flight. Dacre had
H two revolvers. There was no time to
lose If he hoped to prevent desperate
! bomb raid. A weapon in either hand,
Il he rushed forward, stumbled over a
! looping vine, one revolver was dis
Il charged and his head struck a tree
H stump, stunning him.
II When Dacre returned to conscious
ness it was to find himself tied to a
h tree. He heard a whirring sound
aloft and looked up. The airship was
rapidly moving in the direction of Lee
Il vile.
H Suddenly a spark of light showed
the running fire of a quick fuse. The
bomb vas driving downwards. There
was a brilliant explosion in midair, a
II graceful spark of colored f1rebails and
thousand white paper objects show
cred earthwards.
II Dacre tugged at his hands desper-
II a+oIu Az 10 or he napa 0a5 RI froa him