The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-09-04

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viii be crying quits inside OF an hour
after leaving the ground"
ITS CO." said Mr.. Seymour. put
up the cash"
A committee was selected to ar
range for the test. All that was nee
essary was to secure the services Of an
aviator at the local flying field and
swear him to secrecy, for II would not
do for the Seymour family to learn of
the matter. The arrangements we're
duly made and two days later, on a
clear afternoon, Mr.. Seymour, attired
in aviation clothes, was strapped to
the passenger seat of biplane, II he
was nervous be 1t to his credit that he
did not show 1t. The plane rose grace
fully and Mr. Seymour's stomach
seemed to climb into his throat with
the same motion. He had read it was
best not to look down, so he kept his
gaze aVerted, with the result that he
did not suffer severe nausea. In fact
he enjoyed the sensation Of soaring
through space and could not refrain
from mentally pooh pooling" at the
dangers Of aviation and chucklIng over
the ten thousand that would be his
However, he had reckoned not with
the man in control Of the craft. Sud-
denly the machine tipped and started
nose first at sharp angle for the
earth. The banker lost his breath and
chung desperately to the seat. 1t
seemed that he was going to be DASH
ed to pieces, but abruptly the plane
righted itself and shot upward at about
the same angle. Then it turned far on
one side and seemed about to tip COM
pletely over, but recovered its equili-
brium and tipped to the other side.
Before Mr.. Seymour could realize what
had occurred the machine took another
nose dive, this time dropping so far
that 1t almost scraped the top OF a
tree. Then up, far up, 1t scared again
and-heavens! it turned completely
over sideways and began rolling over
and over. This lasted for, it seemed,
an hour, although it was actually only
fifteen seconds. Hardly had the craft
fot horizontal position when it took
another dive, but instead of heading
for the earth the nose turned clear
under, the engine was shut of and the
plane, upside down, began falling rap
idly. The passenger could have sworn
that the machine had dropped fifty
miles, but 1t was only thousand feet,
when 1t struggled once more to an up
right position and began looping the
loop.
Enough" groaned Mr.. Seymour
through the speaking tube. Get me
to the ground in safety and you can
have anything / own"
The next day Mr.. Seymour did not
get to the office until mid Afternoon.
He found Weldon Miller awaiting him.
The banker glared at him and inquired
brusquely as to his erraud.
I've got the ten thousand" said the
young man, holding out a bank book,
one from the Second National. Fur
thermore, have your consent to
marry Ruth"
Mr.. Seymour stood at his desk and
glared at Weldon.
where do you get that stuff?o he
said in voice that was almost roar.
What do you mean, ten thousand?
What do you mean, consent%
Weldon helped himself to seat.
Il won the ten thousand in a bet"
he said. "Mr. HOLSTER, of the Seconn
National, loaned me an equal amount
and put it up for me. And while we
were doing stunts in the sky you told
me could have anything you owned
if put you safely back on the ground.
You see, I'm an air mail carrier"
| The banker dropped into his chair,
flabbergasted,
you win," he said weakly.