Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-11-30
NrH
The Night
Flyer
BY HENRY NJ. NELLY
Copyright,
The Frank a. Munsey Co.
BY HENRY N. Nicely
CHAPT TER I.
EIirtinu With Death,

I; CHAPTER I.
Flirting With Death.
II was such day a. the novice de.
lights in-warm TO the verge Of over.
powering indulgence. without even the
hint OF breeze TO catch under the FAR
cage of plane and require quick
rlghting, and clear as crystal with a
hot sun shining down through sky
guiltless OF so much as even a shred
OF cloud
The whole earth seemed stretching
Itself lazly for midsummer siesta;
and the last thought that could posi-.
bly, have come 10 me as Ted Spencer
trundled my sleek Bleyiot out of the
hangar and across the enclosure to the
starting place, was that flight-be.
c1n merely to escape the boredom
and lethargy Of the doing feld-was
tusplunge me into tanele OF dilem'
mas OF such worldwide notoriety be.
fore the day was done.
remember CHANGING at the long row
OF sheds az ! adjusted my helmet.
Every door was tightly closed.
There was not a human soul about tie
a6rodrome except my mechaniean
and me. In the hangar mex, to my own,
lsknew Alon2o Sanojas was sleeping
and possibly also his chief, Miguel
Casserta. he offers had all teen OFT
early IN the morning. had mace the r
practise flights, locked up tltlr n.I'
CHnes again and returned to the city.
But Casserta did not fly as We 9th
ers did
I'VE called him. defisively, the Night
Filler. and it had come to be d stand.
i6k form OF joke among US to make
c1hstic remarks about tho invention
upcp which he was working. Casserta
bare it all with patient Mexican shrugs
and Sanojas, his smechanician, merely
s8ilsd blandly and spread his hands
atArt in gesture that seemed to say
that he really knew nothing at all
about the ,matter.
The man with the invention that is
going to "revolutionize' the science
OF aviation ia known on every flying
fiald in the country,
He talks mysteriously ard i'm
portantly Of his experiments. works
away OF some sort Of outlandish con
traption until his money gives out.
never even so much az attempts to fly
ana finally quietly disappears.
But Casserta could not readily he
put in this class for two reasons first
he had most efficient and costly i'm
ported Farman biplane powered with
&c Gnome motor and, second, there
was no doubt OF his ability to fly.
None of us had actually seen him in
the air because, as have said. his fly.
ing was all done at night, but loungers
in the barroom OF the nearby cross.
roads hotel declared that they heard
his motor overhead almost nightly and
that his flights were by no means the
little ground-hugging jaunis around
the field that marked the efforts Of the
average.
Casserta always climbed high cut
away across country to the south OIL
southeast and returned long after the
natives had gone to bed
SO, whatever, his experiments, we
regarded him seriously in spite of oul
Joking. for the men who can make
flights like that and land in the dark
ness. IL an aviator not to be dispised.
"Going to be up long, Mr.. CARR
GAM" Tad asked me-
| glanced overhead at the dreamy
blue and all about me through the
shimmefing haze Of heat that huns
upon the earth.
II don't know" said "lf | fine
It pleasant up there, III stay while.
I threw over the propeller as Tao
braced himself to hold the machine
Then | stood for several minutes b.
the fuselage, listening to the deep
sweet drone Of the Gnome as it settled
to its work and hoping should find i
cooler above, than on the ground.
Finally, satisfied that all was work
Ing smoothly, l mounted to the seat
gave Tad the signal to let 30 and
was soon on the wing, climbing slow
" and gradually as the earth slipped
away under me at rate Of sixty mile
an hour.
II was, as. | had hoped, cooler above
There was no objective point to b
made for in the flight; all wante'
was relief from the heat and ennui o
the deserted field, so set my left foo
slightly Forward with the steering bal
pulled the cloche back for very grad
ual climb and settled comfortably i
the seat, removing my helmet tt &c
tla bracirg effects of the air. ,
va