The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 98: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

: HE aeroplane, hovering like a great bird of prey a thousand feet above the plain, hung motionless. The motor was revolving fitfully; Jones yanked the lever, listened and cursed softly. Not turning to look at his companion, he said shortly: “Something’s wrong; must go down.” The other, strapped in his seat, fingers gripping the uprights on either side, swal- lowed the lump which had risen in his throat. “But that is Mexican soil,” he remon- strated. “Ves,” said Jones, “but the motor is jumping like the devil, and I can’t fix it up here.” He looked down at the plain below, dotted with patches of green and yellow. His trained eye caught the gleam of a white wall and the dull red of the roofs which marked the tops of a cluster of squat houses. He pulled the lever gently. “But there may be trouble, landing in Mexico; you, an American army officer,” argued his companion. “Shucks!” growled Lieutenant Jones. “No need to tell them that, and in half I’m afraid we 88 SSS = an hour we will be up again.. Do you hear that motor?” As if to lend weight to his argument a series of spiteful sputters split the air. “We couldn’t go five miles farther,” Jones added, and slipped the lever over. The aeroplane dipped _ suddenly, swerved downward and glided in a wide circle toward the earth below. The outlines of the cluster of houses became more distinct, the yellow patches resolved themselves into stretches of sand, the green blotches into groves of trees, bunches of cactus and several acres of coarse-bladed grass. The air-ship swooped downward more rapidly, described an- other circle and hovered three hundred yards above the earth. There was a goodly piece of level land, clear of obstacles, behind the houses; again Jones pulled a lever, the aeroplane ~ made a final swoop, skimmed over the sur- face of the ground and came to rest with a jolt which was scarcely perceptible. The two men loosened the buckles of the straps and pushed back their heavy head-gear. Jones removed his gauntlets and opened a tool-box. ~ “We'll have this thing fixed presently; in the mean time you might trot over to the house and borrow a pail of water,” he suggested, and turned to the motor. GO OOK Con