Evening star., 1923-04-22

the white moonlight. shrouding it in
almost impenetrable darkness. They
were on the outskirts of Mineola, and
near the aviation field, Thorne knew;
a little distance to the right was the
home of Col. Vail.
1t was Thorne's intention to convey
Smith directly to the home of his
misunderstanding him up in the deplor-
able state he was in. 1t would be
day or so ere he fully recovered, and
as Clairena saw him then, she would
never forgotten forgive him. Both
the colonel and his daughter abhorred
liquor. 1t was never upon their table.
Both were intensely in sympathy
with prohibition. Thorne believed
Clairena's respect for her lover would
end then and there; also what affec-
tion she might have for him. And
one he would order the betrothal be-
tween Jay and his daughter broken
then and there. But-"the best laid
plans of mice and man, aft gang
aglee."
An explosion suddenly cut, short
his scheming. "A punctured tire.
Confound the luck!" he exclaimed.
5gmping out to l4ok IT sawed oNsf him hne
the road was sprinkled with broken
glass
lie had no time to speculate over
this. for at that instant two men
leaped from the shadows Of the road
side. cold steel was pressed to his
temple: An order was peremptorily,
given to Fork over the contents OF
your pockets, and in double-quick
time"
Thorne realized the danger. as well
as the uselesSness of attempting an
rity. Now scoot. Well attend to
the carl" was the next order given.
Thorne did not stand an instant
upon ceremony. but. with the pest
the road. not stopping until he was
obliged to from sheer want or breath
He was not so far away f,ut ne coulo
see. in the clear moonlight, all that
transpired up the road. One had set
to work brushing away the glass;
while the other busted himself replac-
ing the tire. Thorne acted upon the
impulse to retrace his steps under
cover of the dense shadows, to learn.
II possible, what disposition they
would make of Smith. At last he was
within but few feet of them. SO
conversation fell upon his ear, clear
and distinct
His hurried task with the glass
comple,ed one OF Of the the car men tfFew Hey
smokes" he calculated. There's
another bird inside! He's fast asleep
or pretending to be"
In a trlcS jay was JeTkou 10 Tie
road and quickly deprived OF the roll
fine suit Of clothes. What's the mat.
ter with exchanging 1t for mine. eh?"
chuckled one of the men. This was
no sooneI thought Of than done
II believe the bloke's passih' In his
checks" remarked the taller OF the
two. with a muttered curse 1T would
Well have to take him along in the
car to some convenient place far
i've a better scheme" cut In the
other tersely: There's the aviation
with planting him in the big trans
atlantic seaplane which starts at day
break tomorrow for foreign shores. 1t
could take him along"
This seemed to meet with the ap-
proval of his companion. Without
further ado they raised the slight
slender figure. CARRYING him between
them into the fie!d. disappearing
A few moments later they reappeared,
running with great speed to the car,
into which they sprang, and the next
instant they were lost to sight by
bend in the road.
Thorne stood quite still, pondcrlng
over the events which had taken
place with such rapidity. If he raised
an alarm how could he prove that
robbery had actually occurred? He
was the last person in the company
of Smith. If he had been tossed head
long into the plane, and death had re-
suited in consequence, there would
be much unpleasant notoriety and
explaining to do.
Last. but by no means least, IL
Smith were shanghaied, carried off
ere the aviators discovered they had
a passenger aboard, he would have a
lively time getting back in time for
his wedding. This last thought de-
cided Thorne on silence-to let mat
terS take their course.
n W.
trees, until daylight. He saw the
aviators arrive on the field, accom-
panied by the few friends who had
gathered at dawn to see them off.
thoroughly looked over the night be-
fore. and at so late an hour, that
Rhodes and Casey. the expert aero
nauts, did not enter their plane until
the last moment. so busy were they
with Misunderstanding and answering
those who had gathered to bid them
"Cod-Speed."
With fascinated eyes Thorne watched
the great plane emerge from the
hangar, then a moment later mount
like a thing of life. and with great
velocity into the upper air. quickly
blue of the cloudless sky
A harsh laugh fell from Thorne's
lips. He remembered reading the OBJ
jective point of the giant seaplane
was the Barbary coast, returning by
way of the Azores.
where was my friend and who my
guide?
Years have not seen. Time shall not
see
The hour, that tears my soul from
thee"
For hours the great plane moved
with velocity. 1t had left America far
behind. now, only the blue, arched
sky was overhead, and beneath the
great stretch of water. melting into
the skyline in the distance. The sun,
which had endeavored to show itself
now and then during the day. disap-
peared sullenly behind a bank of dark
I'VE are running into the teeth Of a
storm-getting into a pocket" re-
marked Rhodes, scanning the heavens
with his practiced eye.
mo, we're above It," declared Casey
positively. adding the next Instant:
Did you hear-a noise-in the bottom
of the plane?"
Rhodes shook his head. laughing
amusedly. You ought to be familiar
by this time. with the songs the winds
sing; or, possibly we may have a sea-
gull for passenger.
at sounded like a human moan,"
insisted Casey, soberly.
The sound was repeated again; this
time so plainly Rhodes could not deny
that he heard It. He lost no time in
Investigating, calling out to Casey:
We've got a stowaway- down here;
the fellows unconscious. gravitated
to the end Of the plane, lying crum-
pied up, all in a heap"
Casey was astounded. He knew
Rhodes would bring him to In short
order with the restoratives he carried
Hes dyingr announced Rhodes
from the cock pit: been drinking