The WAR IN THE AIR
[Copyright, 1907, 1908, by the Macmillan Company.]
SYNOPISIS OF PRECEDING CHAP
TER.
Alfred Butteridgre invents an extraordi
nary flying machine and plans to sell it j
to the British government. War is threat- j
ened. Butte ridge and a lady in whom he j
Is Interested arrive at a seaside resort in !
a runaway balloon. Bert Smallways, a
motor cycle dealer, catches hold of the
car of the balloon and falls into it just as [
Butteridge and the lady fall out. The bal- I
loon leaps upward, carrying Smallways.
CHAPTER 11.
The Balloon.
BELOW him, fur below him. shin- j
ing blue, were tlie waters of:
the English channel Far off.
a little thing iu the sunshine
and rushing down as if some one
was bending it hollow, was the beach
and the irregular cluster of houses,
that constitutes Dymchurch. lie could
see the little crowd of people he
had so abruptly left. Grubb, in the
white wrapper of a Desert Dervish,
was running along the edge of the sea.
Mr. Butteridge was knee deep in the
water, bawling immensely. The lady
was sitting up with her floriferous hat
in her lap, shockingly neglected The:
beach east and west was dotted with I
little people—they seemed all heads
and feet—looking up. And the bal
loon, released from the twenty-five:
stone or so of Mr. Butteridge and his j
lady, was rushing tip into the sky at
the pace of a racing motorcar.
"My crikey," said Bert, "here's a j
go"'
To be alone in a balloon at a height of
fourteen or fifteen thousand feet—and
to that height Bert Smallways pros-!
ently rose—is like nothing else in hu-1
man experience. It is one of the su- !
1 renie things possible toman. No fly-j
lug machine can ever better it. It is!
to pass extraordinarily out of human
tilings. It is to be still and alone to
nil unprecedented degree. Bert felt
acutely cold, but he wasn't mountain
Fi- k. lie put on the coat and overcoat
oti l gloves Butteridge had discarded—
put tlieni over the Desert Dervish
sheet that covered his cheap best suit
—and sat very still fur a long time, |
overawed by the new found quiet of ]
the world. Above him were the light, !
translucent, bil'owinar globe of shining
brown oiled silk and the blazing sun
light and the great deep blue dome of
the sky. Below, far below, was a torn
floor of sunlit cloud, slashed by enor
mous rents, through which he saw j
the sea.
He wasn't In the least degree tin
comfortable nor afraid.
"Gollys!" he said at last, feeling a
need for talking. "It's better than a
motor bike. It's all right! 1 suppose!
they're telegraphing about me."
The second hour found him examln !
Ing the equipment of the car with
great particularity. Above him was j
the throat of the balloon bunched and
tied together, but with an open lumen !
through which Bert could peer up into
n vast, empty, quiet interior and out
of which descended two fine cords of
unknown import, one white, one crim
son, to pockets below the ring. The
netting about the balloon ended in j
cords attached to the ring, a big steel j
bound hoop to which the car was!
slung by ropes. From it depended the
trail rope and grapnel, and over the
sides of the car were a number of
canvas bags that Bert decided must
be ballast to "chuck down" if tlie bal
loon fell. "Not much failing just yet,"'
said Bert.
There were an aneroid and another
box shaped instrument hanging from
the ring. The latter had an ivory
plate bearing "statoscope" and other
words in French, and a little indicator
quivered and waggled between "Mon
tee" and "Descente." "That's all right.
said Bert. "That tells if you're going
up or down.'' On the crimson padded
seat of the balloon there lay a couple
of rugs and a camera, and in opposite
corners of tlie bottom of the car were
an empty champagne bottle and a
glass. "Refreshments," said Bert med
itatively, tilling the empty bottle.
Then he had a brilliant idea. The
two padded bedlike seats, each with
blankets and mattress, he perceived,
were boxes, and within lie found Mr.
Butteridge's conception of an adequate
equipment for a balloon ascent —a
hamper which included a game pie, a
Roman pie, a cold fowl, tomatoes, let
tuce. ham sandwiches, shrimp sand
wicbes, a large cake, knives and forks
and paper plates, self heating tins of
coffee and cocoa, bread, butter and
marmalade, several carefully packed
bottles of champagne, bottles of min
eral water and a liig jar of water for
washing, a portfolio, maps and a com
pass, a rucksack containing a numbei
of conveniences, including curling
tongs and hairpins, a cap with earl
tJai>>s. and so forth.
"A 'ome from 'ome," said Bert, sur-1
veying this provision as he tied the j
earflaps under his chin.
He looked over the side of the car.
Far below were the shining clouds, j
They had thicken so that the whole
world was bidden. Southward they
were piled in great snowy masses so!
that he was half disposed to think!
them mountains. Northward and east-!
ward I hey were in wavelike levels and j
blindingly sunlit.
"Wonder how long a balloon keeps j
upV" lie said.
He imagined lie was not moving, so
insensibly did the monster drift with
the air about it. "No good coming
down till we shift a bit," he said.
lie consulted the statoscope.
"Still Monty," he said.
"Wonder what would happen if you
pulled a cord? No." he decided; "I
ain't going to mess it about."
Afterward he did pull both the rip
ping and the valve cords; but, as Mr. 1
Butteridge had already discovered,
they had fouled a fold of silk in the
throat. Nothing happened. But for
that little hitch the ripping cord would
have torn the balloon open as though
it had been slashed by a sword and!
hurled Mr. Smallways to eternity at!
the rate of some thousand feet a sec
ond. "No go!" he said, giving it a
tinal tug. Then he lunched.
He reposed for a time. Then he got
up, paddled about, rearranged the bal
last bags on the floor, watched the
clouds for a time and turned over the!
maps on the locker. Bert liked maps,
and be spent some time in trying to j
tind one of France or the channel But ,
they were all British ordnance maps
of English counties. That set him ;
thinking about languages and trying
to recall his seventh standard French. '
"Je suis Anglais. Cost uue meprise.
Je suis arrive par accident ici." he de
cided upon as convenient phrases. (
Then it occurred to him that he would
entertain himself by reading Mr. But-j
teridge's letters and examining his!
pocket book, and iu this manner he j
whiled away the afternoon.
He sat upou the padded locker, j
wrapped about very carefully, for the
air, though calm, was exhilaratingly
cokl and clear. About him, above and
below, was space—such a clear empti
ness and silence of space as ouly the
aeronaut can experience.
There were letters of an entirely pri
vate character addressed to Mr. But
teridge. and among others several love
letters of a devouring sort in a large
feminine band. These are no business
of ours, and one remarks with regret
that Bert read them.
When he had read them he remarked,
"Gollys!" iu an awe stricken tone, and
then, after a long interval, "I wonder
if that was her? Lord!"
He mused for a time.
He resumed his exploration of tl\e
Butteridge interior, it included a num
ber of press cuttings of interviews and
also several letters iu German, then
some in the same German handwrit
ing, but in English. "Hello!" said Bert.
One of the latter, the first he took,
began with an apology to Butteridge
for not writing to him iu English be
fore and for the inconvenience and
delay that had been caused him by
that and went on .o matter that Bert
found exciting in the highest degree.
"We can understand entirely the dif
ficulties of your position and that you
shall possibly be watched at the pres
ent juncture. But. sir. we do not be
lieve that any serious obstacles will be
putin your way if you wish to en
deavor to leave the country and come
to us with your plans by the custom
ary routes—either by way of Dover,
Ostetid. Boulogne or Dieppe. We find
it difficult to think you are right in
supposing yourself to be in danger of
murder for your invaluable Invention."
"Funny!" said Bert and meditated.
Then he went through the other let
ters.
"Thoy seem to want him to come,"
said Bert, "but they don't seem hurt
ing themselves to get 'irn, or else
they're shamming don't care to get his
prices down.
"They don't quite seem to be the
gov'ment." he reflected after an inter
val. "It's more like some firm's paper.
All this printed stuff at the top.
Dracheuflieger. Dracheuballons. Bal
lonstoffe. Kugelballons Greek to me.
"But be was trying to sell his blessed
secret abroad. That's all right. No
Greek about that! Gollys! Here is
'the secret!"
He tumbled off the seat, opened the
locker and had the portfolio open be
fore him on the folding table, it was
full of drawings done in the peculiar
flat style and conventional colors engi
■ neers adopt. Lord," he said, "here am
I and the whole blessed secret of flying
—lost up here on the roof of every
where.
"Let's see!" He fell to studying the
drawings and comparing them with
the photographs. They puzzled him.
Half of them seemed to be missing.
He tried to imagine how they titled to
gether and found the effort too much
for his mind. /
"it's trying." said Bert. "I wish I'd
been brought up to the engineering. If
I could only make it out!"
lie got more and more perplexed up
there among the clouds as to what he
should do with this wonderful find of
his. At any moment, so far as he
knew, he might descend among he
knew not what foreign people.
' It's the chance of my life!" he said.
It became more aud more manifest
to him that it wasn't. "Directly I
come down they'll telegraph—put it in
the papers. Butteridge 'II know of It
and come along on my track.
"Wouldn't do. What's the good of
thinking of it?" He proceeded slowly
and reluctantly to replace the But
teridge papers in his pockets and port
folio as he found them, lie became
aware of a splendid golden light upon
the balloon above him and of a new
warmth in the blue dome of the sky.
lie stood up and beheld the sun. a
great ball of blinding gold, setting
upon a tumbled sea of gold edged
crimson and purple clouds, strange
and wonderful beyond imagining.
Eastward cloudland stretched forever, |
darkling blue, and It seemed to Bert
the \Vhole round hemisphere of the
world was under his eyes.
Down went the sun and down—not !
diving steeply, but passing northward j
as it sank—and then suddenly daylight j
and the expansive warmth of daylight
hail gone altogether, and the Index of
the statoscope quivered over to "De
seen te."
"Now what's going to 'appen?" said
Bert.
lie found the cold, gray cloud wil
derness rising toward him with a wide,
slow steadiness. Abruptly the sky was
bidden, the last vestiges of daylight
gone, and he was falling rapidly in an
evening twilight through a whirl of
fine snowtinkes that streamed past him
toward the zenith, that drifted in upon
He Looked Over In Time to See a Mi
nute White Splash.
the things about him and melted, that
touched his'face with ghostly fingers.
He shivered. His breath came smok
ing from his lips, and everything was
| instantly bedewed aud wet.
He had an impression of a snow
: storm pouring with unexampled aud
increasing fury upward. Then he real-
Ized that he was falling faster aud
: faster. <
Imperceptibly a sound grew upon his
| ears. The great silence of the world
was at an eud. What was this con
fused sound?
He craned his head over the side.
He was dropping, dropping—into the
i sea!
He became convulsively active.
"Ballast!" he cried, and seized a lit
tle sack from the floor aud heaved it
overboard. He did not wait for the ef
fect of that, but sent another after it.
He looked over in time to see a minute
I white splash in the dim waters below
him, and then lie was back In the snow
and clouds again.
.That first downward plunge filled
Bert with a haunting sense of bound
less waters below. It was a summef's
night, but It seemed to hini, neverthe
less, extraordinarily long. He had a
feeling of insecurity that he fancied
quite irrationally the sunrise would
dispel. Also he was hungry. He felt
In the dark in the locker, put his fin
gers in the Uoman pie and got some
sandwiches, and he also opened rather
successfully a half bottle of cham
pagne. That warmed and restored
him. Then he made a discovery. His
-or, rather, Mr. Butterldge's—waist
coat rustled as he breathed. It was
lined with papers. But Bert could not
see to get them out or examine them,
much as he wished to do so. He fell
asleep.
He was awakened by the crowing of
cocks, the barking of dogs and a
clamor of birds. He was driving slow
ly at a low level over a broad land lit
golden by sunrise under a clear sky.
He stared out upon hedgeless. well cul
tivated fields intersected by roads,
each lined with cable bearing red
poles. He had Just passed over a com
pact whitewashed village with a
straight church tower and steep red
tiled roofs. A number of peasants, men
and women, in shiny blouses and
lumpish footwear, stood regurding him,
arrested 011 their, way to work. He
was so low that the eud of his rope
was trailing.
He resolved to rise a little and got
rid of his wig, which now felt hot 011
his head, and so forth, lie threw out
a bag of ballast and was astonished to
find himself careering up through the
air very rapidly.
"Blow!" said Mr. Smallways. "I've
overdone the ballast trick. Wonder
when 1 shall get down again? Brek
fus' on board, anyhow."
He removed his cap and wig, for the
air was warm, and an improvident im
pulse made him cast the latter object
overboard. The statoscope responded
with a vigorous swing to "Montee."
"The blessed thing goes lip If you
only look overboard," he remarked and
assailed the locker. \
Then he took off his overcoat, for the
sunshine was now inclined to be hot,
and that reminded him of the rustling
he had heard In the night. He took off
the waistcoat and examined it. "Old
Butteridge won't like me unpicking
this." lie hesitated and finally pro
ceeded to unpick it. He found the
missing drawings of the lateral rotat
ing planes, on which the whole stabil
ity of the flying machine depended.
An observant angel would have seen
Bert sitting for a long time after this
discovery in a state of intense medita
tion. Then at last he rose with an air
of inspiration, took Mr. Butterldge's
ripped, demolished and ransacked
waistcoat and hurled it from the bal
loon, whence it fluttered down slowly
and eddyingly until at last it came to
rest with a contented flop upon the
face of a German tourist sleeping
peacefully beside the Hohenweg, near
Wildbad. Also this sent the balloon
higher, and .so Into a position still
more convenient for observation by
our imaginary angel, who would next
have seeu Mr. Smallways tear open
his own jacket and waistcoat, remove
his collar, open his shirt, thrust his
hand into his bosom and tear his heart
out—or at least, if not his heart, some
large bright scarlet object. If the ob
server. overcoming a thrill of celestial
horror, had scrutinized this scarlet ob
ject more narrowly, one of Bert's most
cherished secrets, one of his essential
weaknesses, would have been laid
bare. It was a red flannel chest pro
tector. one of those large quasi-hy
gienic objects. Always Bert wore this
thing. It was his cherished delusion,
based 011 the advice of a shilling for
tune teller at Margate, that he was
weak in the lungs.
lie now proceeded to unbutton his
fetish, to attack it with a penknife
and to thrust the new found plans be
tween the two layers of imitation Sax
ony flannel of which It was made.
Then, with the help of Mr. Butter
idge'r small shaving mirror and his
folding canvas basin, he readjusted
his costume with the gravity of a man
who has taken an irrevocable step lu
life, buttoned up his Jacket, cast the
white sheet of the Desert Dervish on
one side, washed temperately, shaved,
resumed the big cap and the fur over
coat and, much refreshed by these exer
cises, surveyed the country below him.
"Wish I knew how to get down,"
said Bert, 10,000 feet or so above It all,
and gave himself to much futile tug
ging at the red and white cords. Aft
erward he made a sort of Inventory of
the provisions. Life in the high air
was giving him an appalling appetite,
and it seemed to him discreet at this
stage to portion out his supply into
rations. So far as he could see he
might pass a week in the air.
• •*••••
Late in the afternoon of a pleasant
summer day In the year 101—. if oue
may borrow a mode of phrasing that
once found favor with the readers of
the late G. I'. R. James, a solitary bal
loonist—replacing the solitary horse
man of the classic romances—might
have been observed weudlng his way
across Franeonia lu a northeasterly
direction and at a height of about
11.000 feet above the sea aud still
spinning slowly. His head was craned
over the side of the car. and he
surveyed the country below with an
expression of profound perplexity.
Ever aud again Ills lips shaped Inau
dible words, "Shootiu" at a chap," for
example, and "I'll come down right
enough soon as 1 find out 'ow." Over
the side of the basket the robe of the
Desert Dervish was hanging, an appeal
for consideration, an ineffectual white
flag.
[To be continued.]
A BtfINCE AT WORLD IFfHIBS
REAK ADM I BAL RICHARD
WAINWRIUHT, hero of one
of the most remarkable sea
fights of the Spanish-American
war. is about to retife from active \
service. Ills achievement thirteen
years ago was in its way a more-note
worthy performance than the sinking
of the Spanish fleet at Santiago.
While Admiral Sampson was block
ading the harbor of Santiago Admiral
Walnwright, commanding the Glouces
ter, which had been converted from a
yacht Into a dispatch boat, carrying!
less than 100 men, a couple of six j
pounders and some light guns, was as
signed the haphazard task of running
close Into the mouth of the harbor!
every night In order to make sure that I
the enemy should not escape. When:
Cervera's fleet finally emerged Wain-'
wrlght, though not supposed to do any
tightlug, closed with the torpedo boat
destroyers, the Pluton and the Furor.
Walnwright feared that they might .get
within striking distance of one of the
big battleships.
The two destroyers dashed at the
Gloucester, but Walnwright, swooping
down upon them in return, engaged
Rear Admiral Wainwright.
them In a terrific struggle. The Span
ish tire was heavy, but inaccurate, and
the Gloucester, therefore, escaped sink
ing. Her six pounders wrought fear
ful havoc with the two torpedo boats.
First the I'luton staggered and ran
ashore after less than half an hour's
exchange of shots, and then, smashed
by the Gloucester's projectiles, the
Furor caught tire. One gun crew after
a:.other was shot down, and in a short
time the vessel ran up the white flag.
Waiuwright was the executive officer
of the battleship Maine when that ves
sel was blown up In Havana harbor.
A Unique Experiment.
Potatoes, pears and pork are the
three P's on which Mayor Lew Shank
of Indianapolis rests his claim to mu
nicipal, state and national gratitude.
They are the food products which lie
has endeavored to reduce in price by
going to producers and inducing them
to send directly to market without call
ing in the services of middlemen. He
began with potatoes, continued with
pears and went 011 to pork. Apples
were also meutloned as coming within
the list of food commodities that the
mayor believed could be handled di
rectly. The mayor said food prices
were too high in Indianapolis and
should come down.
Say Nation Needs a Mending.
That there is something the matter
with the country aud considerable
remedial legislation should lie enacted
at the next congress session, which
will start m Dec. -i, is the opinion of a
body of prominent men whe will con
vene 011 Dec. 11 to see what recom
mendations they cau devise and agree
upon.
Politics and Matrimony.
Step up, Mr. Aspirant For Public Of
fice, and produce your marriage cer
tificate when you ask your fellow citi
zens to nominate you. That was the
attitude taken by some Massachusetts
women, who said that Louis A. Froth
ingliam. Republican candidate for gov
ernor, and David I. Walsh, Democratic
nominee for lieutenant governor, were
unsatisfactory because they were not
married. Thus Is a new terror added
to politics.
"Only married men in public office"
hereafter will be the slogan of a not
inconsiderable portion of the Bay
State's fair sex.
The Reichstag Election.
The general election for the Cerrnan
reichstng is now exciting the German
capital. All the parties and groups
were well prepared for battle a month
ago. As the result of a rumor the Vor
warts printed to the effect that the
government, wishing to secure a ma
jority for the Conservative groups,
had warned the latter to tie ready for a
"surprise" general election. There are
no fewer than fifteen p.-.rtles and
groups represented in the Imperial
legislature, divided into the right, cen
ter and left. The parties of the right
are the Conservatives, the Imperial
Conservatives, the agrarians and four
groups of the anti-Semites. The cen
ter consists of the Roman Catholic
party, the political representatives of
the papal church in Germany, where
approximately the Roman Catholics
number about one-third ot the popula
tion, while the left consists of the
throe Liberal and Itadical groups, now
united under the name of Progressive
People's party, and by the Socialists,
sometimes distinguished as the extreme
left. Then there are other parties,
which cannot strictly be included in
these divisions.
The "Second Coronation."
The great flurbnr of India, sometimes
referred to as the second coronation,
and which is even more elaborate than
the coronation in London, is scheduled
to begin on Dec. 7, the king-emperor
and queen-empress being due to arrive
in Delhi on tlie morning of that day.
They will be met by Lord and Lady
Hardinge. the governors and the heads
of the provincial administration of In
dia. Then follow a strenuous ten days
for their majesties. In the afternoon
of the Bth and 9th the king-emperor
will receive visits from India's chiefs
and will lay the memorial stone of the
late King Edward. Ills majesty on
Dec. 11 will present colors to three
British and two Indian regiments.
On the following day the durbar will
take place in the presence of a hun
dred thousand persons. The next day
King George will receive the volunteer
and native officers of the Indian army.
There will be a grand review of troops
on tiie morning of the 14th. Their
majesties will go in a state procession
through the city on Dec. 10.
The Peabody Fund.
For more than forty years the Tea
body fund, founded by George l'ea
body, the famous philanthropist of the
nineteenth century, lias been doing its
good work among educational institu
tions of the south. Now it is to be all
distributed and its trustees discharge-1
of their duties, according to recent an
nouncement. The sum remaining is
about SI,."KM 1,000, which will be distrib
uted among eleven southern states.
The Peabody educational fund was
founded in ISO" bv Mr. Peabody for
the purpose of promoting "intellectual,
moral and industrial education in the
most destitute portion of tb" southern
states." It amounted to mure "than
$a,000,000 and was tlie first of the gifts
of millions to charitable and education
al causes.
Women of Six States Voting.
Suffragists throughout the country
are rejoicing over their victory in Cal
ifornia, which will enable the women
of Los Angeles to decide the result of
the mayoralty election on Dec. 5.
More than 80,000 women are expected
to vote in tiie city. The Socialists are
making herculean efforts to capture a
good part of tlie votes of the fair sex
for their candidate. Job Ilarriman.
Mayor George Alexander is the "good
government" aspirant for re-election,
and bis workers are carrying their
campaign to the homes of the new vot
ers.
It has been a year of progress for
the advocates of votes for women.
Some big men have come out openly
and espoused their cause, and leaders
in tlie movement have been declaring
that the time is not far distant when
their victory will lie general. In addi
tion to California, the women have
won the ballot in Washington, Utah,
Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming.
Aim to Free World's Drug Slaves.
Empowered by their respective gov
ernments to execute agreements look
ing to international regulating in the
matter of habit forming drugs dele
gates from many points are now at
The Hague. Holland, for the opening
on Dec. 1 of the international confer
ence for the suppression of the opium
Bishop Brent.
traffic. Means whereby the distribu
tion of opium, cocaine and morphine
will be minimized will be formulated
at this meeting, which is the sequel of
the International opium conference
held in Shanghai in 1! 00.
Bishop Brent of the Philippine Is
lands is one of the American delega
tion which sailed for Holland the mid
dle of this month.
The Apples of the East.
i For the purpose of demonstrating the
apple growth in the east an associa
tion of Virginia and Maryland apple
growers Is giving an exhibit in the
new Masonic temple. Washington. The
, show closes on Dec. 'J.