Charlevoix county herald., 1917-01-26

car. Yet nothing but racer, he re-
membered as he snatched out his
watch, could get him to the Central
Tower building In time.
His next thought. however. took him
tearing down the village street like
mailman. For the name OF "Cedarton"
had brought into his mind yet another
name. the name Of Bobby Evart." And
Bobby Evart, who had his workshop
and hangar on the southerly outskirts
Of that village. had been the first of
the Racquet club members to forsake
automobiles for aviation, and startle
Long Island by his early morning
hydroplane maneuvers over suburban
golf courses and country homes. He
had been the first civilian volunteer
for the federal air scouts and at San
Diego had twice broken his own alti-
tude record established at Pensacola,
and was now imuQred in the mysteri'
Gus task OF fashioning a stabilizer for
monoplanes, a stabilizer, Manley re.
membered, which was receiving SYM
pathetic attention from certain navy
officials in Washington.
Instead of finding this same in
trepid Bobby porting over blue prints
OF stabilizer parts, however, the breath.
less Manley found his old-time friend
in rattan club chair TRANQUILITY play.
ing chess with his maiden aunt. In
two minutes the breathless newcomer
had explained to the somewhat as
ed young chess player situation
which brought a brighter light into
the latters boyish eyes.
The point is" cried Manley, could
you get me there. Could you make a
landing at night?"
They were already on their feet
again. running for the hangar.
Yes. can get you there! But what
have we got to make landing on?"
THE main building of the Central
tower stops at the eighteenth story.
That gives us a fiat roof Of several
hundred yards. Could you make 1t on
that?"
Not unless 1t was lighted" ex-
planned Evart, shouting for his
mechanician as he rounded the gloomy
corner of the hangar itself.
But it is lighted" Manley told him.
1T gets the light from the tower itself,
and the whole cornice line Is strung
with electrics, the same as the Singer
building!"
Evart's finger, touching a button,
threw white food across the vaulted
roof Of the building. A touch on an
other button sent the great doors
swinging open. Manley looked at his
watch Then he shook his head.
Its too late" he proclaimed. But
Evart and his mechanician were al
ready at work on the wide-winged
monstrosity nestled under its metal
roof like pterodactyl in cave.
Get aboard" commanded Evart
Were going to try for it anyway
He turned to mis- helper. Hey, Brown,
throw my friend up that fur coat of
yours!"
But what speed can you get out OF
this machine?" asked Manley as he
clambered aboard the chassis and
struggled with his seat-straps.
Evart, who had been STOPPING over
his engines, looked up.
81 got one hundred and four an hour
out of her this morning" he off-hand-
edly announced. But / think | can
push her up to one hundred and ten.
Manley's heart beat faster.
"Then there's a cnance!" he cried.
"A fighting chance
A sudden sense of chill caused Man.
ley to clutch for the fur coat thrown
in at his feet, and struggle into 1t.
As he did so the earth seemed sud-
denly to fall away from him. Villages
became spangled checker-boards of
lights. Highways became winding
strings Of pearls.
Manley forgot the chilliness striking
into his bones. He forgot Margery
Golden and Legar. He forgot the ORR
gin Of his mission that brought him
winging through the midnight heav-
ems. He forgot the fact OF his own
puny existence and the trivial ends to
which it had been given over. All
these he forgot, completely and utter
ly, until Evart, sweeping out along
the twinkling shore lights Of South
Brooklyn, circled north again where
the brazen figure Of Liberty guarded
the upper bay, and dropped lower
along that tapering point of gloom
where Battery park nosed like ships
prov into the tides Of the Atlantic.
They we're still planning down, gently,
like settling sea bird, with the tilted
planes veering little westward to es-
cape the beetling skyscrapers along
the canyon of lower Broadway.
Manley thought, for moment, that
Evart had misjudged his position.
Then he felt sure that Evart had also
misjudged his height, that his stabil-
izing fin was already too low to clear
the fiat roof that abutted the light
strewn tower itself.
But Evart, obviously. knew what
he was about. For he took that OBJ
long of fat gloom outlined In electrics
with a gentle upward undulation like