Air Wonder Stories, July 1929 — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

MEN WITH WINGS aiong. Never before had I met a girl who was so natural, so simple—without any little coquetries or subterfuges that one usually looks for in the sex. She accepted me merely as a companion and ex- pected me to do the same with her. Several Mentorites passed us, men and women with their variegated wings dragging in the dust behind, all clad in the tight fitting costume that gave no resistance to the wind in flying, One fellow passed who had the half formed wings of the “Earthbound” as they called them, the people bred of the two races, winged and unwinged. There were many of these people in Mentor des- tined never to fly but to give birth rather to child- ren that would, one day, fly. They took their place in the ranks as did the others. They were, in fact, the workers, holding responsible positions in the underground stronghold. They were merely a part of this strange evolution. Once, overhead, I heard the beating of wings and Miss Lois bade me look up. Doing so I saw per- haps a half a dozen or so winged people flymg down toward us through the trees. At first I be- lieved they would surely tear their wings upon the branches of the trees, but in looking more closely I saw that the great branches of the trees had been cut away to allow about twenty feet clearance, giving the alated an entrance and exit to the world. These avenues were cut at regular intervals so that there would be no danger of crowding when danger lurked above. Sightseeing yes by carrying me up a distance of about fiity feet Miss Lois showed me other avenues cut horizontally through the trees to give passage to those who did not wish to expose themselves above the trees. They could fly many miles within the protection of the jungles in this manner, There were many of these paths criss-crossing through a great area. Where the trees became thin and gave way to glades and clearings wingless men were usually stationed to give warning if danger was about. We now approached one of the natural clearings where many people, children and adults alike were playing or sunning themselves. Here were groups of woman sitting or lying in the grass talking and working over lengths of cloth, embroidering feathers on jackets, shaping garments. Here, for the first time, I saw a number of fellow “captives.” Upon our entrance into the glade a tall, slender, dark-haired girl jumped to her feet and came run- ning toward me. Almost immediately I recognized her from the picture I had seen in the papers, It was Miss Marion Hally. She stopped short a few feet in front of us. “You are a newcomer, aren’t you?” she asked me in a low, throaty voice, “Yes, Miss Hally,” I averred. “Ah, you know me!” “Only by your, photos.” “Tell me, then,” she said, “have you heard any- thing about my father? I have been sick with worry about him. How is he taking my disappear- ance... he had only me... you see...” 71 I told her of her father’s offers of rewards for her recovery. Beyond that I knew nothing else. She sighed and without another word returned to the group she had deserted. “That,” said Miss Lois, “is the trouble of stealing these poor girls. They could be happy with us, I believe, if only they could get in touch with their people and let them know that they are well...” “Ves,” T said, “the world is not going to stand for this wholesale abduction of yours very long!” Up came Miss Lois’ chin. “We do not have any fear of that, Jim Kennedy, Mentor knows how to protect herself!” “Well, why don’t you come above board and show your hand to the world instead of this miser- able woman-stealing ?” She shrugged her shoulders. “It is not for us to ask, Jim Kennedy. The Patriarch will deal with the world when the Time comes!” “Then there will be a Time?” She smiled. “Yes, the tine is coming when the world will realize that we are a factor to be rec- koned with! They will gladly give us our place in the World Court!” “Unless they annihilate you entirely!” “And that is impossible of course.” I said nothing to that, but I felt it highly im- probable that this handful of people could stand against the world. “May I ask... how many people have you here, Miss Lois?” She nodded, “Surely. We divide our population into two parts, the winged and the Earthbound. Of the former we have here in Number One a little less than thirty thousand! Of the latter there are about ten thousand! Of children under the ages of sixteen there are forty thousand! Then in each other community there is almost a like number.” Jim Learns Much O say I was astounded was putting it too mild- ly. I turned upon Miss Lois in wonder. “You mean that there are eighty thousand people living here in this area?” She nodded, “Certainly.” “And this is only one of several like settlements?” I queried. “Yes, at present we have six communities, and the Patriarch is directing the construction of a seventh city. He has decided that it would be well for us to have two cities devoted entirely to children. Our quarters here are becoming too crowded.” “Hum, then you have a population of almost a half a million people. Good Lord it sounds im- possible.” She laughed up at me. “We have forgotten to in- clude the ‘captives’. There are about two thousand of them at the present time! And by the end of the year the Patriarch expects us to have about ten thousand |” “My God!” I was flabbergasted. “A half a million people here in this jungle.” “Mentor now covers about sixty square miles and still continues to grow. Each settlement is about four miles in circumference for we always build from a hub, and each settlement is laid about fifteen miles apart to give room for spreading.” comnicloooks.com