Evening star., 1922-05-11

brought uptown with me.
"Queer?" I echoed. unfortunate,
terrible, but hardly queer. Why, 1t
is a common saying among the aero
nauts that II they keep at 1t long
enought they will all lose their lives u
Yes, know that" rejoined Ken
nedy; but, Walter, have you noticed
that all these accidents have happened
to Norton's now gyrosccpe machines"
well, what of that?" I replied.
Isn't it just barely possible that
applying the gyroscope to an aero
about either the gyroscope or the
aeroplane, but from what l hear
the fellows at the Office say 1t would
seem to me that the Hyroscope Is a
pretty good thing to keep OF an aero
plane, not to put on It,"
"Why?" asked Kennedy blandly.
We'll, it seems to me. from what
the experts say, that anything which
tends to keep your machine in one
position is just what you don't want
in an aeroplane. What surprises
them, they say. Is that the thing
seems to work so well up to . certain
point-that the accidents don't hap
aviation field tells me that when that
poor fellow Browne was killed he
had all but succeeded in bringing
his machine to a dead stop In the air.
In other words. he would have won
the Brooks prize for perfect notion
rick. the day before, was going about
seventy miles an hour when he col
lapsed. They said it was heart
failure. But tonight another expert
says in the Star-here. I'll read it:
The real cause was carbonic- acid
the mouth from driving fast through
the air, and the consequent inability
to expel the poisoned air which had
been breathed. Air once breathed is
practically carbonic acid gas. When one
is passingly rapidly through the air this
the lungs. and only little can get away
because of the rush of air pressure
into the mouth. So 1t 10 rebreathed,
and the result is gradual carbonic-
acid-gas poisoning. which produces
kind or narcotic Sleep"
Then it wasn't the gyroscope in
that case?" said Kennedy with a
rising infection.
NO" I admitted reluctantly, per
haps not" / could see that had been
rash in talking so long. Kennedy had
only been sounding me to see what
the newspapers thought Of It. HIS
Morton has asked me to look into
the thing" he said quietly. III his in
vention IL q failure, he is a ruined
man. All his money Is in 1t, he Is
suing q man for infringing on his
patent, and no Is liable for damages
to the heirs. according to his agree,
ment with Browne and Herrick.
have known Norton some time; in
fact, he worked out his ideas at the
university physical laboratory. I have
flown in his machine. and 1t is the
most marvellous bfplane I ever saw.
Walter. I want you to get a Belmore
go out to the aviation meet with me
tomorrow. I'll take you on the held
around the machines-you can get
enough local color to do dozen Star
specials later on. may add that de-
vising flying machine capable OF re-
revolution that will relegate all
other machines to the scrapheap.
From q military point Of view 1t is
the one thing necessary to make the
aeroplane tho superior in every re-
spect to the dirigible." .
The regular contests did not begin
until the afternoon, but Kennedy and
decided to make a day of It, and
early the next morning we were
speeding out to the, park where the
flights were being held.
We found Charles Norton. the IN
ventor, anxiously at work with his
mechanicians in the big temporary
and was dignified, with the name OF
hangar.
II knew you would come. professor.
he exclaimed. running forward to
meet US.
"Of course" echoed Kennedy. I'm
in
Of yours not to help you. Norton. You
know what I've always thought Of ii
I've told you that it is the most I'M
portant advance since the Original
discovery by! tho wrights that the
aeroplane could be balanced oy
warping the planes"
I'm Just fixing up my third ma
chine,7 said Norton. IT anything nap.
pens to it, I shall lose the prize. as
least as far as this meet is concerned
for I don't believe I shall get my
fourth and newest model from the
makers in time. Anyhow, II did J
couldn't pay for it am ruined. If
don't win that twenty-f1ve-thousa
dollar Brooks prize. And. besides.
couple Of Army men are coming to in
spect my aeroplane and report to the
war Department on it. I'd have stood
a good chance of selling 1t, think. II
my fights here had been like The
added, and his face was drawn and
tragic, 'Td drop the whole thing If
didn't know was right. Two men
6ead-think Of it. Why. even the
newspapers are beginning to call me
a cold, heartless, scientific crank to
keep on. But I'll show them-this aft.
ernoon. I'm going to fly myself. I'm
not afraid to go anywhere I send my
men. I'll die before I'll admit I'm
beaten"
It was easy to see why Kennedy
was fascinated by man OF Nor
toms type. Any one would have been
1t was Not foolhardiness. 1t was
self and in his own ability to tri-
umph over every obstacle. .--,-
we now slowly entered the shed
where the two men were working
over Norton's biplane. One Of the
men was a Frenchman. Jaurette, who
dark-browed, weather-beaten fellow
with a sort Of sullen politeness. The
other man was an American, Roy
Sinclair, tall, 1.-THE, wiry chap with
a scanned and furrowed face and q
loose-jointed. but very. deft manner,
Norton's third aviator, Humphreys,
who was not to hy that day. much to
his relief. was reading paper in the
back Of the she'd.
We were introduced to him. and
he seemed to be very companion
able sort Of fellow. though not given
to talking.
"Mr. Norton" he said. after the
introduction, there's quite an ac-
count of your Injunction against De-
lanne in this paper. It doesn't seem
to be very friendly" he added. in
dicatins the article.
Norton read It and frowned.
"Humphi Til show them yet that
my application Of the gyroscope ID
patentabls. Delanns will put me