The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1920-02-27
THE FLYER
By T. B. ANDERSON

1eASt or all ner cr0SS-grained, parS1-
monious. yet wealthy grandfather. He
allowed her no visitors, and when he
found that she was meeting Gale
ciandestinely at the rear gart@n gate,
he surprised the romantic duo and
gave Gale a severe dressing down.
IF l find you skulking about my
premises again" declared the drastic
old tyro, "rll get out my shotgun
You'd better do something In the
world before you think of getting mar
RED"
The taunt cut deep. To his own
way of thinking, Gale averaged pref
" well for young man Of twenty
two. He had worked up from entry
clerk to bookkeeper, was receiving
quite liberal salary, lived respect
ably, dressed well and loved Althea,
which was the crux of the situation.
And Althea loved him in return
that was the Joy that drove away the
despair caused by the cruel and cheer
less opposition of a crusty, mean
Souled old man.
"DO something in the world, eh?'
communed Gale with himself, as he
saw Althea driven, rather than Ted,
into the house by her tyrannical rela-
tive, in tears. "What does he mean?
I'm headed right in business way
and they elected me president of the
Merchants club last week. They gave
me great sendOff in the papers, too.
Maybe the old curmudgeon is think
ing of Darcy Moore, who invented
new collar button and made lot out
of 1t. Or that favorite of his, Ben
Junkin. I'll bet that's 1t! Junkin
has become a professional aviator.
Mr.. Marston tried to interest Althea
in Junkin, but she won't have 1t. Yes,
he's limiting at what a superior fell
low Junkin Is. His stunts down at
the aviation training field make the
old man think he's won fame and is
worthy of winning Althea Well, it's
given me an idea"
The young mans idea was soon put
into execution. He decided to cater
TO the belief that to amount to any
come hero, or a money success at.
tain nOtoriety and get to be looked
upon as somebody" The aviation
field seemed sensational and popular.
They were offering to teach aspirants
the way to fly at the field. ten miles
distant, with view to training re-
cruits for the army and postal service
In the future. Gale got leave of
absence Of two days and went down
TO Ardmore.
Ben Junkin was there. the king of
the roOst, so to speak. He was so
filled with sense of his own impor-
lance, that he feigned great interest
in Dale's frankly expressed aspiration
to become an "ace." He fiattered the
hopes of the novice and then took one
OF the expert aviators aside.
"See here, jim" he said confiden-
TALLY, Il went you to put that fellow
Through the PAGES. He's got the fly
ing bug. Encourage him. Wear him
out with the tests
"All right" acceded the other.
he put in with these practical jokers.
They took him to building where a
tub-like contrivance Wheeled him
around on his feet at lightning speed.
This he was told was done to test any
tendency towards dizziness. Then he
was swung aloft on one foot to dis
cover any tendency towards a rush of
blood to the head.
When J3m took him up in the air
he gave the propellers a tip which
sent the victim rolling to the bottom
of the pit. Then he made a sharp
dive with the machine, yelling out,
"Ough! I've lost control !" He al
lowed the aIrship to strike the ground
nose first, and Gale was sent whirling
twenty feet across the field. BY this
time Gale began to suspect horseplay.
He righted himself pluckily, sat on
the ground, lit cigarette and coolly
remarked:
"Fine exercise, eh?"
He was bruised, he had been fright
fully scared, he was through with
aeronautics, but Gale displayed sheer
pluck to the last and, lmping from
the field, decided that he would there
after devote his energies distinctly 10
winning Althea exclusively. No more
trucking to the prejudiceS or favorit-
ism of the whimsical Josiah Dor
rance! He got word to Althea and
had a stolen interview with her.
A few evenings later Ben Junkin
was chuckllng over ''the course of
sprouts" they had put Gale through.
He narrated its Incidents to Mr.. Dor
rance.
''The fellow showed pluck and nerve.
I will admit" he observed, "but he
will never be flyer"
"Whats that, now!" exclaimed the
old man, as the chugging of an auto
mobile sounded in the lane behind the
house.
Ha 1noLyod into tho uoyf rnorn WHARF