The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1918-03-01

once, leaving the second sea lord ana
the secretary staring at each other. He
was at the bottom OF the stairway he
fore they had recovered their self
possession. Then the sea lord snatched
up his telephone.
curious haze was creeping up from
the Thames, spreading perceptibly
from corner to corner. 1t blotted out
the redness Of the evening clouds and
hung overhead like a great, smoky
pail. A newsboy rushed past, shout
ing. Donald saw the contents of the
placard that swung before him. 1t
mentioned series of local explosions
which had been occurring along the
east coast of England.
Donald was trying to locate hotel.
He CROPPED his way from corner to
corner, clinging to the ratings of areas
and pillars of houses.
He had reached some open space.
which he imagined to be Trafalgar
square, but it was impossible to cross.
Carts, carriages, omnibuses, stalled by
the fog, doomed up on every side.
Horses stood snorting invisibly, a few
inches away. Drivers struck out with
their whips promiscuously. Men were
shouting, women screaming. Panic
had begun. All knew that this was not
one of those rare black fogs that de-
scend upon London.
| Then it was that the news of the
man-monsters began to filter through
| the crowd.
A man announcing himself, through
megaphone, to be the police commits
sioner, ordered all to remain still until
star bombs could be set off. Nobody
needed him, and his efforts to stay the
4 panic were unavailing. The mob had
begun to flow in one direction, sweep
| ing all before 1t.
Donald had been swept along with
1t, and then left, stranded and damned
by the human torrent, into a small re.
cess. In front Of him he felt parapet
He tore himself away and was lost
in the crowd. Donald hoisted himself
to the parapet, scrambled to the outer
coping, and chung there. The shriekinf
mob rushed past and never touched
| him. Then there came the sound of {
mighty explosion, long volume of re
sounding thunder. 1t went rollin!
down the river like the discharge of {
thousand cannon.
And then, as a flood from hose
pipe, a burst of water from the skie
deluged the city. 1t boiled through tn
air with kissing lashes, as if the por
tails of the armament were broker
open. The grinning face of the moo
broke through the smoky pail. Sud
denly the stars appeared. And 1t wa
calm, clear weather.
A roar of relief seemed to go u
from the Threats of the multitude. An
very slowly the traffic began to resum
its course again.
What had happened, as scientist
afterward surmised, was this: The h.
drogen, increasing until it attained
certain chemical relationship to tn
oxygen of the atmosphere, had explot
ed where it was densest, on contac
with fire, as in a laboratory. But tt
! explosion instantly generated wat,
! as the two gases met. Hence followe
J the deluge.
| But as yet the government was on
! dimly beginning to understand tn,
this was some unknown natural fore
and not a continuance of the enem.
They did not know until Donald pr,
scented himself in the office of the SCI
ond sea lord at nine o'clock.
The second sea lord grasped him b
the hands.
There isn't time to say more tina
that apologize" he said. "The goy
eminent has been. searching for 20