The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-09-19
FOURTEENTH EPISODE
The Sky Monsters.

The Sky Monsters.
The mounted patrol. guarding the
outskirts of the city in its thinly popu-
lated sections. had begun their nightly
vigil without prospect Of unusual ad-
venture.
1t was warm summer evening,
with very little moonlight. Far to the
south, the busy night life Of New
York, was moving in joyous streams
under the bright lights of the theat-
rical district. Usually O'Donovan. the
mounted policeman, who had patroled
the same section for years, might ~
well have been riding through the open
country for all the excitement that
came his way.
But tonight the Irishman searched
the sky. trying to discover the cause Of
tAs strange Intrusion upon the custom
ary stiffness Of the night. Suddenly
there appeared . string Of lights, high
In the heavens, at first family discern
ibls but growing rapidly brighter.
Thsn came louder "hum," increas-
ing In volumn. until. ~ It approached
high above the ground. the policeman
at last concluded that some strange
ship Of the air was cruising south. in
the quiet night, bound for the city
stil1 several miles away.
ODonovan forgot the sweetness Of
his pipe, ~ he suddenly wheeled his
horse and dashed away for the near
est patrol box. The airship was now
directly overhead, humming along to-
ward New York at an even speed that
might send II to the heart OF town
within an hour. tt
TITS ODonovan,. said the patrol
man over the police phone. -Look
above you at the aitship. It's . big
one. going south" H..
The deck sergeant in ODonovan's
precinct sent an ofl,cer to watch for
the dirigible. and passed the word
along to the other station houses far
thsr south. In this way the approach
Of the airship manned By anarchists
and bent on q mission Of destruction,
was made known to every police sta
don In the city.
And ~ q precautionary measure the
department headquarters had called
up Governors island and the forts
down the bay, warning the Officers In
command that New York was having
Q visitor In the sky, who looked sus-
ptdous, but not, Of necessity. danger
ous 10 the welfare Of the city.
with the speed that generally at
tends the spread Of sensational news,
the approaching dirigible was herald
ed by means Of the mouth-to-mouth
telegraph. Citizens began throngins
The public squares and thoroughfares
long before the airship arrived at q
point in the sky above the center Of
the city.
The cafes and restaurants were
aAame with excitement.
Eagerly the crowds waited and
watcheA, a. thousands Of eyes scanned
the iky while necks grew Interestingly
stin from the unaccustomed strain Of
bending backward. Wild rumors
flashed through tho streets passing
from man to man, growing In circum-
stantial detail with every repetition.
A. the giant skyship passed over
block after block Of the northern dis
triet Of New York, without creating
anything more than intense excite
ment, the residents who felt that they
had escaped some dire calamity. grew
5oyous In celebrating their good for
tune.
Tho "Great white Way" had never
experienced such thrills.
Just a. excitement in tho heart OF
the city was at its most intense pitch.
and thousands stood In terror OF some
unaccountable ossaster, an unprece-
dented thing happened-every light In
street or building was snuffed out. The
'.TenderIoin," for the frst tune In the
history OF New York. was IN utter
darkness.
Police headquarters. acting upon ad-
Vice from the commandant at Cover
nor's island, had ordered the power
compsuy to shut of every electric
isht, from Columbus Circle to the