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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1910)
E THE OMAHA SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1 ' 4 iO STORIES at CET KILL- jl SO ME ONE HMG ON SOMEONE TO LET GO! HAVE To LET f-GOES! I : .vi lLiJnF KD,SrjRE J IHELPME! MIKH I WILL HELP KNOW I I Go! I MOST. MRET- ! V , I SiiEvr, JJff V; feGERh Ilmej huhu UljJL llSLv -well! , 4 escrib qnp (fp qop qnp qop qnp cb m re slap . ) wi vO-:a T71 Pf I ! is T I nr VVHEN WINTER. iiK'j M Iff S i R i L L 1 ( u. n Kchpj LJIJ Lf-LJ UyLeJ LJLJ UULJ LJULj LJuLJ UfJJLJ m id if. pf ipt Iff jm pi mi srfii iMj Vc LiJ rM& dfdb qa6 6 rfHjb tigS -arycJSb cjfti qtti dffLi dlb j ixl m Ipfr Twb r ai -i wktfi tim$ bjtd m$- -W - IPtej fcf SI o n Is ? mm- p f mn m j . , fef m hm:mm Mm vtj wm mm ' oEfc u Q 0 W 1 rrwm I 11? Ijhr n I i .... V VI-;;-: k mizsTi) mh .to go back. fit Li ill -mi ulf will 1 PI II WUL -mi 1 1 ill m - t tin s i ii i,e ; ii ii tx .jam. Li i i in 1 1 i r. s : t t r i'' i i i 1 i k . 2 . .1 1 - 1 1 1 i 1 i'h 'i -iid -i m u i s 11 i i f 1 11 ' i 1 in 1 1 h k- - 4 m n 1 11 11 11 : v t 11 1 11 11 1 1 rjj DOG GONt THAT RAREBIT! I NEAfy -LY FELL OUT OP THE WNpOWU! A New Airship Serial by JHerbert Quick olgma' the LANES 0 (Coprricht, 1S18. by Pobbf-Merrlll Co. CHAPTER VIII TBtlaa4. R) nr a. , brooch m, brtceletn. pa.rl neck lace none very abnurd; then two band cf fold, embellished with Cupld nd Venusra, cunningly llrked to expand . or oontract with the 4aati tape thrtmrh them, and rach clospvd with clustered dia mond that darted blue and red. Theo dore took them up and admired them for they were rery lovely. How beautiful!" he cried. "How I hould like to aee them on you!" "What good would that do you, alllyr aid ahe. "I don't believe you know what they are!" Tor once, the b!ush was Virginia', "They're bracelets, aren't theyT" queried Theodore. "Or are they necklaoea or gir dle:'' "Do you mean to nay T" She etopned and In deaperation at his Ignorance added phimply "They're my Sunday-go-a-meet-tng garters. " Theodore slretcbed them to their full extent, not quite In possession of the Idea; anl looked at her as If In Incredulity, snatching them she ran to her room, really put to flight she who had discussed things quite as Intimate with dosens of men. without a quiver of the eyelash. But they, he said, weren't babies; and It was like talking ailments to a physician. But this boy-ancle be really was the most disturb ing creature! She felt put in an Indeli cate position by the Immaculate character sheet of the young savage. While he he felt his skin trees and burn alternately at that awful speech, beyond pardon. Khe had left him in anger. She would never speak to him againshe under his protec tion by his own deceit. If man ever was bound to suffer death rather than utter a syllable of respectful love, even, not to mention disrespect. Somehow, he must star.; how to 4ologlze without grave offense was a question sweated over at the escritoire In unavailing woe-until she peept-d from behind the door and said: "I ran sell the absurd things, even If you don't know what they are. They ob struct the circulation, anyhow!" Theodore tore up his apology and they went after berries. No wonder that It took much coffee to clear his eyes before the voyage for mag nolia blooma He .had walked the hall in hi stocking feet for hours; kUeed Vir ginia door once or twice; and hurried to bed where be enacted enough two-character vaudeville sketches to have f-.lled all the circuits In the world. In all these the avuncular relation was explained a may. in eloquence which brought tears to the eyes of I'ncle Theodore, the one dispassionate auditor. "I have deceived you," the man actor would say. "But if ever man had highest claims for pardon. I am he! 1 lovtd you so. Virginia, I could cot send -mi away! Will not love win pardon for i ecett T' Sometime the woman-character ' orred him, and he died of a broken heart; while, oftrner, she ahlepcred that he must punish him. every dsy of their lives by staying with him. Then be died of Joy. lo there was a new leading man Theodore Caron; and Uncle Theodore al ways shed copious tears on the pillow. At a ferry enroute Virginia klsxed a little girl and called her "sweetheart." Virginia wanted to see some young wood peckers, and almost wept when the one Theodore got would not go back into the neet. but fluttered away, crying pitifully. They got gome magnolia buds which the "Creole" negro girl said would surely open, adding that "all the young couples came for them on Sundaya." Virginia en countered a "apreadln adder" ten Inches long, and ran to Theodore, gathering her skirts about her plump calves In terror; and he calmed and comforted her on a high and fatherly level. That was the maddening thing. Every- very curious; for It ruins mapnolia petals to be touched. Perhaps that is why lliey were poor dears; flowers and people are rather pitifully Interesting when so deli cately made that it ruins them to be touched. But why did she put the pennant under her pillow T Theodore was abeent at dinner, without apology; and the women were in bed be fore he stole to his room, and lay tossing lain. DeKperate. he rose and went to the library, lighted a lamp, saw the still sealed letter from Captain Harrod, and slashed It open as if It bad been the breast of his mortal foe. "I hear." It ran, "that you are back south. I hope you can come right soo". The engines is here for ten daya I am right clos' run fer grub, e.nd need sleep. The roan that lot the flying thing the young lady came In, Is back. He Is tight crasy. Mr. Theodore, from losing his ma chine. He keeps trying to get Into the shed, and yells he Is rooned, and tore off a plank, and I have to stay awake, and am about all In. They Is a lot cf "etters and telegrams at Palmetto Beach. Hop ing this will find you ready to start. I te tnaln your truly, . "CROCKER HAUROO.' Theodore struck himself on the breast and started to his feet, determined to f!ce to his work, and from the Aa.iger of hi unclehood. Trembling with etcitement lie attempted a note to Virginia. Wmntr at the cabin, messages at the Bcat-h, meant danger and disgrace if hs neglected his task longer. Infamy if he toyed on with temptation. He told Chlo through ber door that he had been called away, end that she must explain to the ladies. lie hastily packed a bag, ran ujwi. and u ti thing: was maddening; but crisis and ex plosion lay In the fact that, while keeping moored the launch, and f ed down the river ber within reach, he had palsied the arm t a speed made foolhardy by the darkness, to reach her withal; that he could drop Kmerging Into Mobile bay. he stod toward no hint of those nightly vision; that, palmetto Beacn. his eyes iraiKt before while their relation allowed affection, they hirn. steering wi;h ajt tmatio accuracy. guard on the scouting airship, and should have Flunk inland by the dense hummocks of Bon Secour. Or It might be some one connected with the revenue service. This hypothesis should, of course, have given the captain no uneasiness. He was an exemplary fisherman, with boat on shore, and "tresmires" drying on their atakes. fishing' formally on fine days for redfish, Spanish mackerel and pom pa no. His cabin was "Harrod's fishing camp" nothing more. What had revenue officers to do with such humble piscatorial head quarters as these? They should not care about Theodore's hidden Invention. The airships keeping their lanes, east, west, north and south, paid no attention; and, if they were not Interested, why need the revenues bother? The humble establish ment had no connection with the world save through fish as any revenue officer should have known. And yet one day the captain rearranged his drying nets, solicitous as to their drap ing; and soon a slimy sea monster stuck a blunt nose out from the water at about the five-fathom contour line, opened a rectangular mouth, and flicked a square red tongue like an angry snake, until Captain Harrod. on the highest dune, opened a brilliant red handkerchief with a Chautauqua salute, and wiped his nose elaborately. Whereupon the sea monster sank beneath the brine, and no one but the porpoises and sharks might any where It went. What took place that night was concealed by darknesa If Captain Harrod was busy carrying packages ashore until morning, he came by them honestly, no doubt. An examination of the popular novels or periodicals of lite past say of the era cf that president whose Christian name our Theodore bears will be rewarded by a realisation of prophecy gone wrong, as to the Influence on smuggling of aerisl navi gation. It must bring free trade, they shut out love. This life gave to him Only one thing rou'1 nlm frgm his trance said. Phlps navigating the air could land revelation mostly hidden from lovers, and vouchsafed to fathers, brothers and hus bands only; but he was cut off from the endearment of an uncle, even. He was a tiger cub licking his master's hand, and feeling the Jungle hunger for It. All that day the cub had been on the very verge of devouring somebody. It was appiUllng. All unconscious of her parlous state. Vir ginia took his arm under the screening row of cedars, told him what a delightful day she had had, and aqueesed his arm while he said It. Something may have warned her that this was a ticklish thing with so young and Inexperieaeed aa uncle, for she dropped hi arm and ran gaily toward the house, looking back and stepping lightly like a kid--when she trod in a hollow, .and fell in a heap on the Bermuda grasa Theo dore found her with her ankle gripped in her hands, and her Up tight to hold back a cry. A hurried question, a cheery repJy cut In two with a twinge of pain, and he picked ber up. She threw her arm about a white objort lying on the tfunwale, which he picked up anl placed in his note book the droppel petal of a magnolia bloom. CMAPTKIl IX. Mr. Wiener Serares a CoDanaaad. Captain Harrod, dignified, barefooted, soft-voiced, unkempt, kept hi lonely vigil on the white atralgV-edge of bnach that lay from Fort Moixun to Pertlido bay. All was of sand, sandy. The taiid-coloed And ptpers skittered across the beach be fore the breeses; pelicans in solwr beach gray deliberately skimmed tiie cottony cotrber buriii on tns outer suidt-far; porpoixes 'ea;ej ar.d tpouted in terror when caught in the rattling tide among the sandy .hall?'s neiar tt.e shore; and once in a while an evil-eyed shark gloomed cruelly (like a t;ot of darker .it)fl with cold little yes) from the green water beyond reach if 'ha fisherman's gig. To the unlettered man for seventy years fa- their cargoes anywhere, every acre being a potential port of entry. Tet, the airships gave the custom house people an astonish ingly small amount of trouble. Airships were so conspicuous; their loads were necessarily so light; tho system of report ing them by wireless from Canada, Mex ico and the Islands was so efficient; the listing and registry regulation were so perfect; the rifck of loss was so great; the perils of trans-oceanic flights were so pro hibitive; and the co-operation between na- day before, and the captain had slept late, and was taking a morning's stroll to see that rain and wind had quite obliterated all traces of a landing he knew of. Just over the first hillock he heard one of those startling, human sounding rustlings In the leaves, with no Joree whistle to explain It. Captain Harrod began peering Into the thicket, with a stricture gripping his throat There was a denee growth of the rheu matlo little old oaks on the inshore side of the hill, easting a deep shade; and in the damp hollow a thick clump of palmat toes an ideal spot for a hiding place. A joree flicked out of the deepest shadow, perched for a moment on the rosemary and gave that mellow, human sounding whistle. Relieved, the captain stepped boldly forward and trod on Mr. Wixner' head as he slept with a mosquito bar over his face, in a comfortable sleeping bag. The Inventor struggled forth with a wild yell, and began running. Captain Harrod, another Old Man of the Sea. leaped upon his back, bore him to the ground, and sat on him, panting. Wisner looked up at him In abject terror. "Oh. If you. Is It!" cried he. "I know you! I know you!" Captain Harrod was puzxled. but relieved, to note that the man did not act like an officer. In making the arrest, the captain had acted on impulse and was glad that he had caught no revenue. The man was quite as clearly not a deserter. His whine, his rolling eyes, his scraps of nonsense, all aroused doubts as to his sanity. "You're one of "em!" groaned Wixner. pounding his head on the sand. v "Let me VP'. You and Shayne and Filberberg and the girl all linked in tcgether to rob me of my helicopter! You've got It hid there! You've ruined me! Kill me if you want to! Let me up!" Captain Harrod slowly relea.ed him, and both rose, facing each cither. 'Ah'jn raght sorry, suh," said the cup tain, "that Ah trod on yo' haid. Ah didn't see you, suh." Wixner approached the captain, took him by the shirt, looked about cunningly, and whispered in his ear. "Tell me where my helicopter Is!" said he wheedlngly. "It'll be a I right. If you do! And I'll make you rich!" "Oh," said the fisherman. "To' the flyin't machine man. sho. Aftah the young lady tumbled out when we hauled in on the painter, it fetched adrift an' went out tion was so hearty that smuggling had. to -. you know, uh7 little aid from aeronautical success, such as It was. Very unexpectedly, It Was the submarine that drove the "revenues" wild and fillert the law books with lraconian statutes. No trade ever grew faster. The submarines were shady characters, but they had pre tensions to legitimate trades like other every cent I had Into It. said "It was worth a "million. Give it dubious individuals; and it was their busi ness to be lost to sight for long period of t i me. The storms which kept In har bor the scouts of the law offered the sub- hls neck te ease the burden. Alas! It made miliar with such thing, however, they wax marine opportunities, and submarine can It heavier! The fervor of his embrace (fid the ankle no good, and nearly crushed poor Virginia. The color rose slowly to her brow, as he set ber domn on the veranda, and stood over ber, breathing hard, t-h rose on the sound foot and tried the other carefully. "It Isn't bad at all," said aha "I can almost walk on iu" Taking off the shoe, she held the little foot la her band, examining the ankle critically. ' "LH you thick It's swelling?" ahe asked. Theodore tenderly aqueesed the shapely ankle, and rose to hi feet. "I don't know." said ha "I Virginia " He had seised her band, and was looking at her with none of the Impersonality of the surgeon or physician. She did not take her hand away. He dropped It. and ran ran toward the river. It was very rude; et she harbored eo bitterness. he had Cnloe bandage her foot, went to her room, took doa Theodore' college pen nant, restored some stitches to 4U snd communed with, her magnolia blooms. pressing them to her cheek and lips. Hie at atery performance, but he aas ala called them "Pour dears! poor dears! All uninteresting. 80 one may unde.nnd why Captain Har rod, ignoring In0i;iii and seascape, de voted himself to the study of track of all sorts: tracks of lutn examining the boa- n for turtles' eggs, months ahead of time; talon marks of civ iwivui Aid raccoor prowling about for crab, mice a'id birds' eggs; hoof Tiaik of wild hogs, rioting over the mat under the scrub oaks; "crawls" of lilliga'o . miJo in o'g'itly Journeys between Fienau-i , lal:e anj deep holes In lie poo's among the tljiMr; long scratchy claa- scores of ? i- from early morning minue-.s on the beacn; trails of men going ip and d..v.. the aise!' traveled highw.iy of the i-tiand; t.n.1 tie footprints of ii pirnc-nUc. tuu lurkej about and v iv-J u be think!!!,: f tlio cabin and Its in-n-.i). Yes, thin Bcdj'i.n sand science "ill t-'ll thougnts L t'wilr. Tracks in the 'arid er- to Ilaiio-I r.ok, newspaper. telegraph and circulating library, lie kr-ew the language "f sand. He knew severel things that this man might be. A deserter from the 'fort, per haps, though: such a one would have been likely to bo docned by Uie corporal not pursue submarine The boat-fish dived beneath the tempest, rose on some lonely . coast like this by appointment with some Cajitaln Harrod sitting like a bewhitkered bit-of wreckage on the dune. Driven to t pen lawlessness by detection, some cf the devilish craft embraced open piracy, restored to the seal a flavor of the seven teenth century, and waxed fat on spoil. Passengers on transatlantic liners learned to grow pale at equivocal objects In the sea, in expectation of the submarine's ef fective "stand and deliver," barked by torpedoes in place of the time honored pistol. Maintaining relations a 1th slimy sea monster tas a fairly s..f o and lu crative diversion; but a miet.ty tlrkiish thing to be found out in. Hence, perhaps. Captain Harrod profound Interest in tracks, his nervousness at the rustling of the red-brown jorees under the scrub. Their whistles, too. sourded startlingly like human signal. He searched the thickets, in Uh cases, until he found hi feathered friend, or established Die absence of enemy. It waa thus that he found Mr. Wixner. The xbonstur's visit bad occurred the "1 put Wixner. to me!" This argument laxtci daya and weeks; for Wixner saw that the fWliermau's hos pitality would not permit the driving awsv of a poor wretched being, such a he seemed to be. So the sleeping bug was placed on the veranda, and Wixner whined and glared; and whenever detected in an attempt to enter the shed, he bad the se verest sort of paroxysm, demanded his helicopter back, raved at Shayne, and re fused to ea for fear of being poiwined. Such was the state of things when Csr on left Virginia Suartt, the girl who, after their first curious meeting, had come to him. not knowing who he w. save that she believed htm to be her so.e male relative, and whom he had weakly allowed to remain, believing herself his niece. He was needed at the camp. v It was inipol ble longer to refrain from violating the supposed relationship, so he appeared at the cabin one day, white and determined looking, reread a pocketful of ctter and telegrams, and aaid with no salutation: "Where are those engine?" "In the ahtd, suh," replied the captain. "Ab done unpacked 'em. suh." Carson unlocked and upend the door from the cabin to the she J. 1 t In light through a hatch in the roof, and for two hours studied the engine, hi eyes lighting from time to time with serious half smile. Po'ir powerful motors, they were, each of fifty-horepoaei. with MgM cy linder, and so litfbt that he picked them up with ease. Down the long sued a ruge thing, like a great dragon fly, lay In Its Ciadle, with cheap launch moior fur ex perimental purposes In the engine pit Theodore called to the captain to tear Jlhem out. Once more on the veranda, he noted the sleeping bag stretched from column to column. "What's this?" he asked. "That's what the craxy man sleeps In," replied the captain. Carson examined It with care, looked at the pneumatic mattress, saw the complete ness and good condition of the outfit and turned grimmer of faoe than ever. "Who turned It inside out to air It?" he queried. , "He did, uh." ' "Did he ever do that before?" "Alius does it, suh." "What's this?" asked Theodore, picking something up. "Thing he lay ove"hls face, suh, to fend off the sand flies. Had It ova' him when Ah done found him." "Where was that?" asked Carson, The captain explained his discovery of Wixner, and the preceding myatcry of hi tracks. "When did you first see the trackt?" asked Carson. "Raght soon afte' you went no'th, suh," answered the captain. "Kept out of sight and made no outcry about the helicopter, until you kicked him out of the pa'.mettoee?" went on Carson. "Yes. suh." replied the witness. "Always careful to protect his faco when he sleeps?" "Yes, suh." "Good appetite?" "Yes, suh. he sho' has." "Tries to get into the shed with the aeronef ?' "All the i ah in, suit." replied the captain. "But when he got the plank off. he said the devils done druv him out with hot fohks. suh. so he didn't go In." Carson laughed unsympathetlrally. "Where is this systematic lunatic?" he inquired. "That- him a-comln' ove' the ridge, thah," replied the captain. ''He spends a heap o' tahm look in' afte' his lost rhicka- nanny." Mumbling to himself, and shaking his fists at vacancy, Wixner approached; but the start, showing guilt and embarrass ment which he gave on seeing Cartmn, violated all the conventions of lunacy. Theodore studied him with narrowed eyes, a he began making passes In the sir, as if In the exorcism of evil spirits, or carry ing out a physical culture system. "Another one!" he moaned. "All the devils '11 be heie soon and then and then Ha. ha ha!" "Stop that!" For some reason the youns man waa furious where the captain had ben piti ful. "Take this stuff of yours." said Carson, "and get out of this! Understand?" Wirner took down the Bleeping bag, lashed It up with the deflated mattress, and threw it down, rolling Ms eyes, and opening and shutting hi hand. "You're all linked in together!" he wailed, sitting on a bench, and feebly pounding his head against the column. "You're the head devil! You pulled her down by the p.-tinter. You stole her! Give me my mil lion or give her back" Carson took him by the throat choked him purple, and banged hi head against the post until the whining became an out cry of real pain. Like cure like," said Carson. "And pounding cures pounding! Clear o it now!" Wixner moved way slowly, but turned at a safe diatAoce. hi eye blaaing. "I'll fix you, you young fool'" he snarled. "You think you're an engineer! I'll show you!" "Go!" said Carson. "Befoi I fix you so you can't you snake!" Captain Harrod stood transfixed at thia terrible breach of hospitality on Mr. Theo dore's part puxxled by Mr. Wixner' sud den canity aa be paused between the dure, ankle deep in sand, and addressed Carson. "I'll fix you. good and plenty,''. he said. "No man can chok and pound m and live!'' For the first time, Carson' face ra taxed into a real smile. "If been a great thing for you," ha flung at the man In the sand. "See how clear your mind is'." "Ard you'll never get that mechanical . devil's darning needle of your to fly." w-ent on Wixner. "It'll turn turtle In th first puff. And if it does fly, you'll have competition. You sliver built son of a" Carson leaped from the veranda; but Captain Harrod was between them. "Don't kill him, uh!" he exclaimed. "H may not be quant ragt it" , "You old fool!" sneered Wixner. "You damned old smuggling fool! Youll get joura, too!" , He disappeared over the hillock, as a great revulsion of feeling passed through the old man's being. He felt wronged: Wisner suddenly becam an enemy, capa ble of infinite harm. "Mlste' Theodo'," aald he, In low, slow tones, "Ah have Jist altogethe' done lost confidence in that man! He' sho' not straight Mr. Theodo'!" Carson had not heard, or had not com prehended Wixner' allusion to smuggling. In a belated frensy of resolution, energised like a fully charged battery, he donned his working clothe, and began the in stallation of the new engine which were to make good his promise to himself, to Craighead and Waddy, and to a world which had long awaited the command of the air or to add the nam of Theodora Carson In the list headed by Daedal ua tt Son, and In which the tragic end of Lieu tenant Relfrldge waa less known than the comlo mishaps of Darius Green. It waa a crisis for Theodore; for Craighead and Waddy and for the world. Love! A mere Illusion! Wixner walked toward Fort i.Iorgan. hi teeth set, hi fists striking vicious blow t nothing, nnarer Insane than lie had ever been before. He hated Carson most violently, now. Instead of sourly and In actively as before. His Inventive genius waa genuine and respectable, but ha was insanely jealous, refusing to admit the correctness of any one else' Idea aa to anything pertaining to aviation and yet. the great dragon fly In the 4hed had im pressed him. It was so workmanlike, sa il im so poised: and the greet wing sur face beating the air in sections, vhil the wing itself was atatlonary, were elo quent of power In lifting and driving. Ha was Impressed and Immensely depressed. He had been so sanguine of his helicopter, so ambitious, with Bhayne' money, to build another and better one, and conquer fortune; and to have this young sprout with his logarithms and his "new knowl edge" rob him of hayne's attention and Shayne's money! If the fool girl bad enly not whisked herself into the'nlr, und all but into eternity, and fallen 2,000 feet into this young devil's arms! And. then, who had butted In, got Shayne away from him, gone north In the same airship with him. had all the chances in the world to hypnot ise him, and was now back, wi'.h money for the engines that had leen for lorg months waiting to be puid f.r, the cock of the walk, choking and pounding the head of a better man and a bettor ergi ceer? Carson the young hound, with bhayne's money, with Shayne's Influence stolen from him! He would fix this fel low, good and plenty! He would stamp his face into the ground! He Hould crush his white teeth out and send them down his throat He would kill him. in soma clow, horrible way. If he waited until he was a hundred yeure old. v liner's burn ing heat was eo much more mental thaa physical that he scarcely felt the cool breese that rolled in the vast volume of lashing white water, and piled huge drift of dry foam on the white beach. He plodded along unweai ledly. making toward the crossing In the lagoon. Once In a while he gased off to the north (lorn a dune top, saw that he had not yet passed the hinter land of marsh and alligator wallow, and w-alked on. the roar of the ocean In hi ears, and the growl and snail cf vengeajtca In bJ brain. To B CoaUiiued.)
