Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1924-06-27

( please" said the second sea lord to
Donald.
He whispered with the secretary,
whom Donald perceived to glance
toward him in rather apprehensive
manner. The secretary came forward,
! making a preposterously low bow.
81 will conduct you to the prime min
lister at once, Mr.. Paget," he said. mo
time must be lost. am going to have
a taxcab called"
Donald addressed the second sea
lord again.
Il understand" he said, controlling
himself with an effort of win. every
well, my lord, shall say no more at
this time. On you viii rest the respon-
sibility. And you win repent this bit
terly within a day or two"
And he walked quietly out of the
office, leaving the second sea lord and
the secretary staring at each other. He
was at the bottom of the stairway be-
fore they had recovered their self
possession. Then the sea lord snatched
up his telephone.
A curious haze was creeping up from
the Thames, spreading perceptibly
from corner to corner. 1t blotted out
the redness of the evening clouds and
hung overhead Ike a great, smoky
pail. A newsboy rushed past, shout
ing. Donald saw the contents of the
placard that swung before him. 1t
mentioned a series of local explosions
which had been occurring along the
east coast of England.
Donald was trying to locate hotel.
He CROPPED his way from corner to
corner, elinging to the ratings of areas
and pillars of houses.
He had reached some open space,
which he imagined to be Trafalgar
square, but it was impossible to cross.
Carts, carriages, emnibuses, stalled by
the fog, doomed up on every side.
Horses stood snortipg inyisibly, a few
inches away. Drivers struck out with
their whips promlscuously. Men were
shouting, women screaming. Panic
had begun. All knew that this was not
one of those rare black fogs that de
scend upon London.
Then it was that the news Of the
man-monsters began to filter through
the crowd.
A man announcing himself, through
a megaphone, TO be the police commits
sioner, ordered all to remain still until
star bombs could be set off. Nobody
needed him, and his efforts to stay the
panic were unavailing. The mob had
begun to flow In one direction, sweep
ing all before II.
Donald had been swept along with |
It, and then left, stranded and damned |
by the human torrent, into small re-
cess. In front of him he felt parapet. |
He tore himself away and was lost
in the crowd. Donald holsted himself /
to the parapet, scrambled to the outer /
coping, and chung there. The shrieking
mob rushed past and never touched
him. Then there came the sound of
mighty explosion, long volume of re-
sounding thunder. It went rolling |
down the river like the discharge of
thousand cannon.
And then, as flood from a hose
pipe, a burst of water from the skies
deluged the city 1t boiled through the
air with kissing lashes, as If the por-
tails of the armament were broken
open. The grinning face Of the moon
broke through the smoky pail. Sud
denly the stars appeared. And it was
calm, clear weather.
A roar of relief seemed to go up
from the throats Of the multitude. And
very slowly the traffic began to resume
It's course again.
What had happened, as scientists
lfterward surmised, was this: The hy-
irogen, increasing until II attained a
certain chemical relationship to the
oxygen of the atmosphere, had explod-
ed where 1t was densest, on contact
with fire, as in a laboratory. But the
explosion instantly generated water
rs the two gases met. Hence followed
he deluge.
But as yet the government was only
limly beginning to understand that
his was some unknown natural force
md not a contrivance of the enemy.
They did not know until Donald pre-
ented himself In the Office Of the sec
md sea lord at nine o'clock.
The second sea lord grasped him by
he hands.
'9There isn't time to say more than
hat 1 apologize" he said. '"The gov
rnment has been searching for you
ince daylight. We've cabIed Washing
on, and they have placed you at our
disposal. You are the only man who
an advise us, and-the prime minis
er wants you Immediately. And that's i
% joke this time"