Air Wonder Stories, July 1929 — page 85: what you’re looking at

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

MEN WITH WINGS trying to keep out of the way of the flashes from the “thunder sticks” were not giving their gunners a very good chance to direct their fire and those who fell were shot down only by stray bullets. They were always right on the tail of the ma- chines and on that day they proved how much more efficient were living wings to those of cloth and steel, Less than fifty planes now remained as they fell one after another in smoke and fire, but they had learned their lesson and were climbing higher and higher so that the flying creatures were below them, Thunderbolts continued to flash and several more planes went into tail spins. A number of the flying men fell because by this time the gunners could take more careful aim upon the whirling twisting bodies, and by holding their position high above the earth in the full glare of the sun they were able to shoot the winged creatures down one by one as they darted hither and thither attempting to shoot their bolts into the vital parts of the machines, ; Yet as each man fell there was another to take his place. The airplane force had no reinforce- ments, they had shot their bow and by now their fuel must have been very low, And they were being driven back beyond-the range of Mentor. More of the flying creatures arose from the trees. The enemy was forced to ‘acknowledge defeat. Below were fresher troops taking formation in readiness for a new attack. Dropping a few remaining bombs; and with as much dignity as they could muster, in close forma- tion the thirty-odd air planes moved west. We learned later that several dozens were forced down in the jungles because of the lack of fuel. So ended the First Battle of Mentor! Now the work of the hospital corps began. A little less than a hundred of our people had fallen, and only thirty-five of them were fatally wounded; the others having suffered only from flesh wounds. A few had been killed outright as they fell atop the metal sheets above the machines, Most of the enemy pilots and gunners had died, but some still lived and these were brought in to be cared for. The dead were gathered together and cremated. The pits around the machines were piled high with the wreckage of the two hundred planes. Much of the jungle toufid about had been completely demolished, but the cities of Mentor had not been touched, We scarcely slept that night. There was moaning and sobbing over the deaths of our people. I and my staff worked the night through to bring out an extra, and with early morning the couriers flew with the papers to the other settlements. There was a great deal of rejoicing in the settlements, for it had been proven that Mentor could overcome her enemies. Hawever, we did not know what the result would have been if it were not for the Machines. Still, we were to learn that at a later period. The world knows now that the Mentorites are invincible, and they have leatned to respect the nation. 83 CHAPTER TEN Life Continues in Mentor CACOUTS were now stationed as look-outs day and night, for we had fear of a second attack, although our spies Outside reported that the enemy had not yet rallied from their ignominious defeat. Still public opinion ran high, and North America was demanding that Mentor be wiped off the map. It was now estimated that we were a million strong, and they had no way of telling just how wide an area we covered. The returning planes had reported the locations of the machines, and it was evident that the next attack would be made upon them. Plans were being made to establish bases in the jungle lands, for it had been proven that the air planes needed a port closer to the scene of the battle. America and Canada were both mobilizing troops, and airplanes were being hastily built, And while all these preparations were being made on the Outside, Mentor continued on with her busi- ness of living. Our new recruits were being ini- tiated into our manner of living, babies were being born, settlements enlarged. I made it a point to visit the fifty-odd aviators who had survived the wrecking of their planes at the Detention Camp. They all expressed their ad- miration for their captors, and were intensely in- terested in the progress of the nation. On being freed from the Camp they quickly accepted their new life, and many of them appeared highly con- tented with their lot and expressed the hope that we should not be attacked again. One, Harry Mellor, a Canadian, approached the Patriarch with the plan for the construction of a number of bombing planes to combat the enemy. The Patriarch did not approve the notion. He ad- thitted that his ancestors had not conceived the thought that man should ever rise in the air in mechanical devices, but he saw“no reason jor their offspring to take to machinery. He meant to prove to the world that wings were an improvement over the planes. The task of bringing new women to Mentor pet- sisted, but the abductors were more cautious and worked only by night. Too, they had to travel further and further for-their prey. There were no more spectacular aerial kidnappings or hotel scares. Flying for hundreds of miles, sometimes as far as the border states of the United States, the mar- auders abided their time alighting as a rule near some outlying post where from previous observa- tion they had discovered the woman of their choice. There they would await her coming. Swooping suddenly down upon her, burying her cries in a muffler they bore off with her not halting till they reached home. The world was more uproarious than ever in their demands that the criminals be punished. Ger- many were turning out Zeppelins and planes that were being rushed across the Atlantic. England was also aroused, and even France and Italy were incensed although the Mentorites did not molest their peoples. In the settlements of the winged people, how- ever, war appeared forgotten. The Arts were being pursued avidly by the youths of the nation. conmiclooolks com