Air Wonder Stories, August 1929 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. 157 full throttle—took us far beyond our quarry, since I could not turn without depriving Milliken of his shot. I pressed the foot-bar for the turn, and Danny loosed off excitedly. “Hold your fire, Danny!” T yelled. “We're not near enough!” ee Jimmy!” he shouted. “Gimme a chance, will yi ou ” Despite my climbing turn, we had lost the level of the rising dirigible and we now had to climb at a steep angle, but I set. the Merlin to the task, all out. She answered willingly. High-above us floated the silent grey shape of the airship, and it seemed as if she were disdainful of the worst we could do her, No answering burst of fire came to us, no.sign that anyone moved on her. She was uncannily still. It was amazing that she still could float level, for at least three of my shells had taken effect on her envelope, and Milliken was not the man to expend ammunition unless his target was plumb on the cross-hairs of his: gun-sight. But she floated hori- zontally, rising quickly, apparently unharmed. We were gaining on her, I thought, but the angle at which we had to climb-seemed likely to take us clean under her, so I gave her a burst of shells before turning to spiral. As we came round, Danny’s. gun stuttered out long roll—it must have been nearly a drumful— and. presently Milliken’s heavier metal took up the ground bass of the chorus, till the cabin was-clamorous with the roar, through which came the thin tinkle of spent shells falling. Still no answer came from the enemy. : When the spiral brought us round so that the grey shape filled the field of my gun-sight again I began to notice that the ship floated in a thin pinkish haze that shimmered, as ote sometimes will see the heat do as it rises from a hillside in summer. It was a curious effect, curious enough to hold my attetition even in the excitement of that moment, and I called Danny’s atten- tion to it before opening fire on the target. But as I pressed the trigger, the haze enveloped the Merlin het- self, and a sort of dancing refraction spoiled my: aim, “Wonder if that haze has anything to’do -with their gas?” said Dan in my ear as we swung round once more, and he added something that was drowned by the noise of Milliken’s gun. Just at that moment, to my intense disgust, the en- gine of the Merlin, which had been working beauti- fully, gave a despairing whine and petered out. I felt the bus slip back, and I flipped up her tail so that we came into a head dive. As we came down the engine picked up and failed once or twice in an odd fashion, till at last—when I had got the bus into her steady hovering descent—it stopped altogether. We alighted on the face of the’sea. At once Milliken sprang for the engine ‘thatch, but Dan Lamont seized him by the arm. “Don’t open anything yet, Milliken!” he yelled. “Not yet—we’re still in the haze. It might be the gas!” “Gas—hell!” said Milliken. “I want to see what’s happened to the engine!” “Timmy !’ Danny cried in distress, as the mechanic geritly put him aside. “Just a moment, Milliken,” I intervened. “Let's think this thing out—Mr. Lamont may be right.” “Right, sir,” said Milliken, and stood aside at once. Escape 2 Bie pinkish haze lay about us as we rode the sea. To the north of us the liner still wallowed in the troughs, and the British cruiser was coming up hand over fist from the east, The airship floated motionless in the sky to the south of us, seemingly none the worse for out attack, nor making any attempt to get away. My glance fell on the clock attached to the control- Doar d. “Mighty!” I exclaimed in surprise. “It’s hardly ten minutes since we sighted her!” “What’s to be done about the engine, Mr. Boon?” Milliken demanded: : “We'll be guided by what Mr. Lamont says, Millie ken. What’s your notion, Danny?” I asked. Dan was on his knees working the bottle for sampling the gas. He looked up, then rose. “T’ve worked the bottle,” he said, “but I can’t test the gas here. If this haze is what I think it is, we ¢an’t open anything for long without being doped. This-is what I say, It’s damned unscientific—but I don’t believe in tests even on white mice. Let me open a port slightly, and take a whiff—tI’m certain the raiders are averse to the use of anything lethal. If I keel over, shut the port quick and bung my nose up against the oxygen tube, and leave me to recover. That will-be enough if I don’t show signs of choking——” Twas taken aback at having to sanction such a pro- ceeding, but there was no time to argue the matter. “You're O. C. Stinks; Danny,” T said quietly, “and what you say goes._ Is that the order?” “Sure it is,” said Dan, a little breathlessly. “Right,” I said, “If I didn’t think—I pray God it’s nothing worse than the usual us “T don’t see why they should change their tactics now,” said Dan. “If I don’t come round, try the ether injections I showed you. Stand by, boys.” He went quickly to.a porthole and undid the screw, then swung the cover aside and stuck his head out. “It’s the ga—gas—allri’—” he muttered with a funny little smile. Then he seemed:to crumple, and I caught him as he fell. Milliken whipped the cover back ‘into its place and threw in the fastener, while I gently laid my friend down with his fair head against the oxygen nozzle. Whether it-was.seeing Dan keel: over in-that fashion, or that Milliken and I gota whiff of the gas, I can’t attémpt to gauge, but we both had the symptoms of being pretty sick. I know that when my mechanic went to fetch a pillow to put under Dan’s head, he reeled and went white, while I was as dizzy-headed as could be. Dan was breathing quietly and, despite our anxiety, there.seemed no need to inject ether or try artificial respiration as he had showed us. “Pluck; if you like; sir,” Milliken muttered, and. very gently he lifted Dan’s head and put the pillow under it. That was all we could-do, for Dan’s shirt collar -was ope and his clothing loose. We-made the little fellow. as comfortable as we could. We were just rising to our feet, Milliken and I, when the cabin shook to a distant thud. A wispy ball of smoke was drifting from one of the barbette guns of the.cruiser, and, as we watched, a string of bunting was_ broken out on her signal halyard. “Look!” said Milliken. “There’s a plane up!” Sure enough, while we had been attending to Dan, the-cruiser had catapulted one of her machines into the air, and it already was climbing after the airship. “Reel out the aerial, Milliken,” I said. “We might pick up a message or something.” I switched into the open receiver as he let the wire down, then we watched the progress of the fight. The mai ee 4. a