Evening star., 1924-12-18
The Ark of the Covenant
A Story of Mystery and Adventure
RY VICTOR MocCIyRE
BY VICTOR MCCLURE.


/ except what could come through the
phone, and then he did the same for
me. When we were all fixed, 1 opened
| the cut-out, and gave the Merlin full
throttle. The dial hand jerked round
to 500 kilometers and stayed put, for
| that was the limit of it's register
but / knew we were going well over
| the 500.
1t was now Is minutes to 5, and cold
gray had crept in to the horizon ahead.
Steadily, steadily, as we sped into the
| dawn, the light paled into silver and
primrose, the floor of the sea passed
| from dull blue into a living purple
| fecked with green and silver. Min
| utes passed. the hand of the clock on
| the control-board, dragging heavily,
and again 1 felt that curious alert
ness of perception which 1 had ex-
perienced on and after the flight of
| the day before. 1t was more than
alertness. 1t was an anticipation OF
| things that were about to happen.
And now, with the coming of the
light. visibility decreased as a haze
| began to grow over the face of the
sea We dropped on long angle to
! 1900 meters. Here and there, the sea
was dotted with steamers which,
| though visible to us, must have been
out of sight of each other. These we
could see were freighters and small
| liners.
All three of us in the cabin of the
Merlin were staring ahead expecting
to sight the great mass of the Par
nassic at any moment, for the time
was now well past o'clock. AS far
as one could judge, we were nearing
the position where the liner could be
expected, but the haze below us was
thlckening quickly and every minute
was lessening our range of vision.
soon II would mean casting circles in
search.
Suddenly Milliken touched me light
ly on the shoulder and pointed. Ahead
/ OF us, four masts and three tunnels
pierced the mist. L throttled down
| into a steep angle. We were over
and whipped into the silencer then
hovered down into a steep angle. We
| were over the ship in few seconds.
There's something the matter
there. Mr.. Boon" said Milliken.
There's no way on her, and she's
rolling broadside on
MY Cod" cried Dan Lamont "She
| has been abandoned!
There was something terrifying in
| the helplessness Of the great liner.
! sluggishly, swaying and veering
among the oily hummocks, and
| about her was the silence of death
| itself. Not soul stirred on her decks,
and the thin wisp of steam that
| curled from one of her smokestacks 8
was the only thing about her that
moved.
I know that my hands were shak-
| ing on the joy-stick, and it was all
l could do to master the sick feeling
that was creeping over me. We cir
| cled round her as slowly as we could
| and coming as close as we dared.
Look l said. There are dead
men lying on the bridge!"
God in heaven!' Dan Lamont cried,
white to the lips. What can have
| happened to them?"
| Il don't know" I muttered, but
| we'll find out"
I swung the Merlin closer to the
liner.
What are you going to do, sir?'
Milliken cried apprehensively.
L am going to put the Merlin
| aboard her, if 1 can"
You'll smash her, sir.
/ Maybe" L said madly, but we're
| going aboard"
Don't try II, sir! For COOS sake,
don't try it!'
Shut up, Milliken" said Grossly
then realizing that he wasn't think
ing of his own skin, but of his
beloved Merlin, 1 grinned at him
feebly. ITS all right, Milliken. l
won't do anything rash. Let's recon-
noitre."
1t was out of the question to try
and bring the Merlin alongside the
heaving freeboard of the liner We
would have had our winks smashed
for certainty. Nor was there space
available to land on any of the
decks, cluttered as they were with
ventilators and deck-gear. The only
likely place to bring her aboard was
on what appeared to be long stretch
of canvas covering the promenade
deck astern, and it was a question
If that would take her weight. For
tunately, there was no cordage much
aft of the jiggermast, except for one
stay coming down to the sternpost,
and all halyards were reeved close to
the mast. A ventilator or two pie reed
the awning.
Though it was terribly risky
thing to attempt with the ship roll
ing as she did, 1T was the only chance,
and l told Millken what I proposed
to do.
"All right. Mr.. Boon" he said.
There's nothing else for tiff we
are to get aboard. I don't blame
you"
What about you, DAM" 7 asked.