The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-08-25

Warmth began Immediately. to steal
over his body, and his brain grew
active again. The bleeding from his
forehead had almost ceased, but he
had a splitting headache, which
made it difficult for him to think
But his engine still work.
ed smoothly, and his machine rushed
through the night on it's compass
course.
IF the motor keeps going. and
don't collapse" he told himself,
there's nothing that need trouble
me between here and the coast. But
when I come planning down, and fire
my signals for the submarine, I must
look out for trouble"
Two hours had passed-heurs
which to Henshaw had been a night
mare. One moment he had felt icy
cold; the next. his head and hands
seemed burning. It was agony for
him, with the pain In his head, to
bend forward and read his ii9stru-
ments. Yet he had to do this con-
stantIy And all the time he was
flying on through the night at near
ly twice the speed of an express train,
while the clock on his dashboard,
and the occasional glimpses he
caught of arth-Hghts below, told
him the tale of his progress.
Now a few miles ahead, lay the
coast at the point x-nere he had to
cross it. His steering had ksen ac-
curate, the conditions throuk ~ ia
yorable. But Henshaw, pSering
ahead, uttered an exclamation of dis
gust as he saw the rays of many
searchlights, stretched in line along
the coast, swinging to. and fro In
a patient quest.
'I'd climb a bit more, and try to
pass over high above them" he said
to himself, but I'm running it close
with my petrol. No; I'll just rip
through them. and trust to speed
Several searchhghts a little inland
he managed to avoid: but then an ex-
tremely powerful .searchlight, fixed
on some point just near the waters
edge, caught him fairly in its beam.
An instant later there were angry
flashes Of light from far below, and
shrapnel-shell skyward. But Hen
shaw was not greatly concerned at
this His small machine, thousands
of feet high, and rushing through the
ray of the searchlight. formed an ex-
tremely difficult target. He glanced
downward. Shells were bursting now
with vivid splashes of flame. but, they
were below him, and to the rear.
He passed out across the coast
line. Only few miles seaward, as
he knew lay the area patrolled by
the submarine which awaited him.
He looked at his height-recorder, and
began to reduce altitude; then he
CROPPED for and found his signal pis-
tol., so as to be ready to give warn
ing to those on the submarine.
Mechanically he glanced back
shoreward,- and as he did 50 he felt
himself grow rigid with apprehen-
sion. Out from the coast, thousand
feet or so below him, outlined for a
moment In the swing of searchlight
and moving fast, appeared a large
patrol airship.
.'The beggars have seen me; they
are on my line" Henshaw told him
self.
He thought for. a moment, and
then murmured:
ct must fire my signals, or the sub
marine will never see me. And yet
these same signals will act as a guide
to the airship. She'll tumble to the
game in a moment, and come up on
us for all she's worth. But there's
nothing else for it.
He began now to switch his motor
off and on pointing his bow well
downward, and descending rapidly
towards the surface of the waterfall
the same time thrusting his arm over
the side of the hull, he fired the sig
nails from his rocket pistol. Then
aided by a flicker OF light that CLINT
ed on the moving WAVES. he steadied
his, machine in its descent and
| brought it into as neat contact
with the water az was possible He
knew that such machine, with q
heavy engine, and without gear tc
enable 1T to rest on the water, could
not be expected to remain LONG
afloat.
Directly his craft touched the sur.
face, Henshaw scrambled from his
cockpit and climbed back toward.
sfhe rear of, the hull. His idea wal
that by bringing his weight to the
rear Of the machine, he might check
the tendency of the craft to settle
down bow first. But, in spite, of it.
load. the machine, after riding a mo.
ment or SO with its lower plane flush
with the surface of the water, tool
a sudden 1urch forward. It's bow
and nearly all the lower mainplane
disappeared beneath the water, while
the tail, bearing Henshaw with 1t
swung upward in the air and tilted
uneasily to and fro with the move
ment of the waves.
Henshaw chung with difficulty tt
the, sloping surface. He peered ou
across the dark water, but could Sc,
nothing. Again, with lurch, tn,
biplane buried itself more deeply
and a flick OF ice-cold water STRUCK
him round the knees
! She'll go right under in anothel
moment" he told himself. 'wher,
/ on earth's that submarine ~
His murmured words were Gu
short and he drew in his breath witt
a gasp. Very low. almost above hin
and emerging rapidly from a bank o
cloud, came the patrol airship. And
as Henshaw gazed UPWARD. vivi,
tgleam of light, from arnidships of he
long hull, sfione full on him. and hi
partially-submereged machine.
The bow OF the airship came roun,
at once, pointing towards him. Tn
throb of her engines seemed to I'll
the air. straight for him she cam
and Henshaw could do nothing bu
stare up at her.
Where's the submarine? Where
II"
He was beginning to shout, scarce
1y knowing what he did, when h
was conscious Of a vivid flash o
light on the water little to his left
then there sounded a thunderou