The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1917-08-18

shC 81 W SCc. thc NiCNN I
Of dust which should mark the prog
ress of a large body of horsemen.
The little expeditionary force had
moved rapidly and with craft, effacing
itself completely from the face of the
country side, long before sunrise.
For upwards of an hour Patria pur-
sued her fruitless reconnaissance.
At length. discouraged and dis /
heartened, she turned back to her start |
ing point and dropped down to the |
private aviation field.
AS she descended, in spite of the
preOccupatiOn of every faculty i'm
posed by that most difficult task
known to aviatOrs, that of negotlat-
ing a successful landing, she was con-
sciOus that strangers watched her from
the body of huge gray motorcar on
the edge of the field.
Alighting beside her stationary bl-
plane, she saw a group Of some hail a
dozen moving toward her from car.
Donald was one of these; the others
were all men in the field uniforms or
the regular army of the United States.
She identified one or two faces made
familiar to her by production in the
pages of newspapers and magazines
the faces of men who had risen to high
places in the service of their country.
One wore on the collar Of his tunlc
the insignia of a brigadier general.
Her heart warmed to their soldier
" bearing-then sank as she was re-
minded that all they stood for, or gal
lantry. loyalty, bravery, Intelligence
and efficiency, must count for nothing
| in event of war. because the country
they served refused them men enough
| To lead successfully against any but
the most pitlfully impotent enemy.
| Introduced by Captain Parr. the brig
adler general greeted her with grave
courtesy. presented formally each
member of his staff, and complimented
/ Patria on her own skill in aviation, AZ
well as the skill of her corps of air
men.
Il have seen a great deal of wonder
full flying" he said. but what l see
going on here surpasses anything that
has come under my observation, Tor
snap and precisiOn-comes near 10
what I have heard of the work of the
French and English flying corps. L
could wish" he added, trace visit
fully, yet with a perceptible twinkle
in his eyes as they held Patria'S, my
own command were as we'll OFF,
"My men and my machines" Patria
told him. "are always at the service OF
my country"
in event of need, then, 1 shall not
hesitate to call upon you"
you need not. l am doing
tria hesitated briefly; yet this official
visit proved that the secret of her
nreparations had leaked Out-"wha'
am doing solely as patriot and
soldiers daughter"
at is because you have proved your
self 10 be that-a worthy daughter OF
, nv own cOmrade," the general said
that I have ventured to make this
unlimited call. / would be glad i
: Won could give me q few moments o.
: YOUR time to discuss question Of pub
lie policy"
There was no way to escape. Pa
: tria bowed gracefully to the inevitable
S eff you will be good enough TO &C
: company me to my home" she said
1--WE can find there a quiet place IL
a which to talk. And shall be honore'
! if you and your staff will be m
e guests for luncheon"
: The invitation was eagerly accepted
e and the party motored back to tn
/, hacienda.
K There. while luncheon was bein
prepared, Patria abandoned all effol
at concealment and. conducting tn
general to the library, laid before hiI
q complete exposition of all her plan
u and preparations to repel an invasion
= emitting no material detail.
:. "Not my biplanes alone" she col
- cluded. but the rest of the gear
have gathered together here-and II
men trained to manipulate it-are ;
u my country's CALI
= The general Strengthened up fro
!, the Typographical map over which
~ had been bending. There was admir-
ton and something more in his regar
Y "You are a very remarkable your
ID woman, if you will permit me to s;
nj so, Miss Claiming. 1 am only sor
m that there are not more women-al
men-like you in this land. If the
~ were"
40 The wistful look possessed his ey
IN again, but he shook that humOr off.