The Washington times., 1934-12-08


His hand dropped to his
fathers shoulder, gripped it.
and looking down into those
worldweary eyes, a sudden pity
seized him, a vast compassion
for this man, suffering and
lonely, whose life lay too re-
mote for Dick or his brother
ever to have touched. And
even in that moment came a
realization of the strange, un.
equal character of his father,
tc whom the death of a son
he had ever thwarted and op-
posed now brought a burden of
added years.
Deep Grief
For a time the older man
stood at the window looking out
into the night, then at last
turned to Sari.
II am going with Dick" he an
nounced shortly. do whatever
Is necessary here until I return.
And one more thing. Wire
Verde that Bruce is to be buried
beside his mother. At once. I
couldn't"
He stopped and his eyes rose
in mute appeal to Dick. Then
again he Strengthened, and with
a short nod followed his son
down the long, dark corridor,
leaving Sari, still silent, still
quietly regarding them with
those tawny, unhurried eyes.
Just outside the taxi waited,
and they were driven swiftly
through the almost deserted
center of the city, down Four
teenth st. and across the
frozen waters of the Potomac.
AS the car drew up at the fly
ing field, Dick heard the low
sound Of a motor, and across
the snowy field, now bright with
flood lights, he made out a low
single-motored monoplane. The
plane TAXED nearer and Dick
nodded in satisfaction. It was
one of the fastest of the fleet.
Well, nothing could be fast
enough that night. No plane
could keep pace with his driv-
ing, goaded thoughts. Quickly
he completed his arrangements
in the little office, then walked
the length Of the platform, wait
ing for the pilots word.
Last Bond
It come even sooner than he
thought, and helping his father
through the narrow doorway of
In the fuselage, he confirmed
the route with the pilot, pulled
the door closed, and settled
down in his seat.
Slowly the plane TAXED out
over the hard, snow-powdered
field, then turning directly into
that cold north wind, the pilot
opened the throttle, and with a
roar and a swirl of frozen snow
the plane was off. Twice circling
the field it gained altitude while
the white, rolling country un-
folded into the distance, bro
ken only by the long, dark, wind
ing line of river and blurred by
the lights Of Washington that
dotted both banks to the north.
Far to the right the luminous
dome of the Capitol stood forth,
brilliant and majestic against
the lowering January sky. Dick
watched it drop beneath the
horizon and with its passing he
seemed to have severed the last
faint bond that held him to
the EaSt-ahead lay the desert
and a task to be fulfilled.
Bleak View
So, with a roar of the engine
and amid drifting of scudding
clouds, they whirled westward
into the darkness.
It grew colder. Eyes fixed on
his instruments, the pilot opened
a thermostat, then closed the
throttle of the engine to cruis-
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died. Two thousand feet be-
meath cleaned the scattered
lights of small villages, separated
by bleak stretches of white, cut
only by a network Of roads that
looked like dull black ribbons
against the snow.
Keeping well beneath the
drifting clouds that crowded
ever thicker as they plunged
south, the plane Skirted the
eastern front of the Blue Ridge.
Heavier clouds here. Several
times during the next hour the
pilot shook his head, as if appre-
henSive of what lay ahead, and
at last, to break the maddening
insiStence of his thoughts, Dick
leaned over and shouted, Let
me spell you for a while"
IlOXn ~ caoonI thA TNilof haci.