Air Wonder Stories, August 1929 — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

136 the feat again. They might wait until the outcry Pe against them died down, till the forces that might = be opposed to them were lulled into a.false sense ‘ of security, but it seemed to me psychologically im- 5 possible that.a criminal gang could withstand the . itch of their ota for such easily acquired wealth. 4 In any case, hurrying up my work would do me no harm. My ideas for the improvement of the . Merlin were concrete enough to warrant pushing # ahead, I did: not want, for some indefinable reason i of sentiment maybe, to part with my original model to. the Government. The Merlin was almost. alive tome, and I knew that Milliken shared the feeling. Besides, in herself she was the most flexible of ma- chines—responsive, grateful to one’s hands—just that uncanny accident of assembled material that F. happens once in a hundred times. Her design might : be repeated over and over again to the fraction of a millimetre, and yet no machine be produced that had her ‘personal quality. The variations in the design which I contem- plated were merely to make the machines that might be built from it safer in unskilful hands. The original Merlin in the hands of Milliken or myself would be capable of everything that her sister- planes could do. Before dark that Tuesday night it became plain that no trace of the air pirates would be discovered. } The air police abandoned the chase, having combed out a great radius from New York without the slightest result, During the day I had been in radio communication with Dick Schuyler, who kept me , well informed, and his last message before he went off from a long spell of duty was that the author- ities were taking the tardy step of doubling the patrols for the night. My father arrived at the workshops soon after seven, and for a while he sat beside me on a high stool as I worked at the drafting table. Thus perched, he told me very calmly of an exhausting day. The run on the banks of the Monday had been repeated on the Tuesday, and there had been the greatest difficulty in meeting the situation. Nothing but selling had gone on in the Stock Ex- change and the fall that had ensued in all classes of shares, in some cases reducing quotations by as much as half, had produced a position in the matter of loan accounts unheard of in the history of banking. “Tf the government investigators were to ex- amine our books at this moment, Jimmy,” said the old man, “they’d find a position of affairs that theoretically could land me in jail. Think of that!” “I'd rather not think of it, dad,” said I. “The thing’s quite abnormal, isn’t it? It’s out of all relation to the actual loss?” “Of course it is. It’s the result of cold feet— don’t you call it?—among speculators in the stock markets. Not a few men have been ruined to-day who two or three days ago were worth considerable fortunes. There’s nothing more unreasoning than a scared investor or speculator. It’s all madness— stark madness! Coming home to dinner?” “Give me a minute to hand this over to the pat- tern-maker, and I'll be with you.” ; We had a quiet dinner together at Hazeldene, 2 and my father approved of my: plans. “T don’t see what else you can do, son,” said he. “The thing is too big for ordinary detective AIR WONDER STORIES work I’m convinced you're of the right lines. What about finances?” “Y’m well in funds, dad. That mooring tackle brings in enough in royalties to keep the sheds going full swing, even if they did not pay—which they do. Thank you all the same, dad.” “That's all right, then. I depend on you to play fair and let me stand my share of the expenses. Mind that.” ‘ “You shall have the gasoline account, dad,” I grinned at him. “I can see old Milliken joy-riding furiously at your expense!” “Ah!” my father said suddenly. “That’s a good man of yours, Jimmy—that Milliken. Lord Almeric ex and his niece:are greatly attracted to him.” “By the by,” he went on. “I have asked them both out here for the week-end. I hope you'll be able to show them round your shops?” “Very glad.” “And perhaps you'll be able to spare a little time from your work to look after Miss Torrance,- She is very much a business girl, but I’m sure she'd like to do a theatre or two—something like that.” “When I have the drafting done for the new Merlin, Pll be delighted.” “Good. I knew you would. Well, I must do some work, son. Are you going back to the shops?” “Must, dad,” said I. “I want the men to have a clear startin the morning. Good-night, dad. See you at breakfast, I hope. I’m bunking down at the shops, but I'll come over in the morning.” “Half-past eight, then. Good-night, Jimmy.” Next morning, by the time I had breakfast with the old-man, I had done enough work to let my fellows get a clean start on laying down the keels of three new Merlins, The drafting had taken me and my assistant all night, so when I had driven my father down to the jetty, and had seen him off with Didcot on the Seven, I turned in, leaving Milliken in charge of the construction, I slept until two o'clock in the afternoon, when I was awakened by an SOS through the bank from Sir Peter Weatherly, who had berthed the Parnassic: in the morning, and wanted the evidence of Dan and myself for the police. It was a nuisance, but there was nothing for it but to take the Seven and get to the Battery as soon as I could, Encountering the Police I FOUND Dan and the old sailor being badgered | into a state of irritation by one of the government investigators, who could not accept the evidence» they had given him, but wanted the very things » explained that everybody was puzzled about. The « pair of them greeted my arrival like a couple of lost pups—they both had that extraordinary likable doggy quality you sometimes see in men—and listened. to my evidence with obvious relief. I imagine the investigator had badgered them into thinking my version might possibly contradict their own. “But it’s preposterous!” the investigator cried. “Three sane men can produce only a bare yarn like that!” “What sort of yarn do you expect us to produce?” I asked. “Of course it’s preposterous from start to finish. It’s up to you to explain the pre- posterousness.” The man was rattled. A relic of the bad old days a) p Pe ee ee ee a ee ee ee ee a ee se a comicbooks;com } a