Air Wonder Stories, December 1929 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

AIR WONDER STORIES us. But of course we have made a little progress against the enemy; and we have uncovered two rays of hope, our planes are more than a match for them in battle, and it is evident that they are fighting among them- selves.” My companions stared. “The fight we saw yesterday seems to prove that,” IT went on: ‘The plane that got-away from us in the clouds is a distorted copy of our own.” “That is.so,” agreed Price. “Evidently the two fac- tions are jealous of each other. But, added to our other problems we have discovered another—compli- cations with some foreign power.” “That will work itself out in time, I believe. now we must set out for home.” CHAPTER IV The Foe Invades Washington E got home without further adventures. Our report to the Air Department was held secret; not a word leaking out to the public. For several days all was quiet. The weather was fair, business was good, and once more the people be- lieved that the worst was over. Then, one day, in the midst of a storm, the enemy again struck. It happened over Washington above the Capitol itself. Six mili- tary planes which had not yet been insulated, winging their way home to. Fort Myer, were suddenly attacked and destroyed. Their wrecks were strung along in a zigzag line extending from the Washington Monument beyond the Lincoln Memorial. Every man aboard them was killed; and every body bore that grisly blue mark of the mysterious slayer The National Defence Council, assailed on all sides by a fighteously indigant and suspicious public, and smarting under another bitter reminder of its impo- tency to stop the slaughter of its planes, assembled in extraordinary session: The atmosphere of the chamber’ was one of gloom and despair. My pilots and I were called in to recite the incidents of our battle with the foe. “The theory of Captain Price, that this awful. thing may have a base in South America, I think a sound one,” said Commander Benson. “I believe that. it would be well to send planes to scout in that region. Besides, I believe that our secret service should be doubled in every capital in the world. Although we have just witnessed another example of the demon’s cunning and power, we feel that we are making some progress toward its annihilation. Mr. Clare and his pilots have demonstrated that the insulated planes are invulnerable to its attacks, and no plane so insulated has been destroyed. However, I feel that our progress toward the solution of this mighty problem is slow and that, unless we can hasten it, the price we will pay for our delay will stagger humanity, Therefore, I earnestly recommend that every available factory in the country be run night'and day for the construction and insula- tion of military planes.” Commander Benson’s recommendations were adopted without one dissenting voice. And then I asked for the privilege of conducting another night patrol off Boston; this was in obedience to a hunch rather than to any definite analyses. Not knowing when or where the demon wotild strike next, one patrol district would seem as likely to produce results as another. However, the startling sequence of events proved that sometimes _ a hunch may be right. We took the air night after night, and nothing hap- But pened to us for a week; but in the meantime over the land we continued to, lose planes—sometimes singly and other times whole flights, And then, one Sunday night, our luck turned. The weather was magnificent. The full moon rode high, flooding the sea with silver as we swung out over it, The sky was clear, with only a few billowy clouds to freckle its velvety, star-strewn dome. Those clouds, which drifted lazily along in a light breeze, were scattered and irregular in size; but off to the right, only a few miles from shore, was a group of these foggy clouds, theiravhite, fluffy banks and ridges stand- ing clear and bright in the soft light. There were no others near them. They were of about the same size and shape; and, as we passed, I watched them curi- ously and counted them. There were seven. We went on. For some time no one had spoken— doubtless every one was under the mystic spell of the mellow night. Then I noticed Price staring fixedly to the rear. Suddenly he rubbed his eyes and seized the binoculars. “Look there, boys,” he exclaimed a moment later. “I just counted those clouds when we passed—there were seven—ond now there are but four! And—and —for the love of God, look! In their place are three white planes—the planes of the blue demon—and they are being attacked.” Unable. to believe our eyes, we stared like fools. ; Above the three white planes had suddenly appeared, as though projected from empty space, the great craft that had escaped us before. “There’s out baby again,” exclaimed Collins glee- fully. “We've got him this time, or I’m a lubber.” Then he swiftly turned the plane back. And now, as we approached 'them, we saw that amaz- ing blue fire blaze and flash and circle about the plane as it bore down on the white fleet. Then, one after another, the remaining four clouds vanished suddenly, leaying in their places four more white planes! We stared at one another speechless with amazement. There were now seven white planes, each the exact counterpart of the one we had forced down on that sandy island. They had moved unseen within a mantle of clouds—and one of the great mysteries about our foe was solved. Under cover of their cloud screen they. had approached their victims and struck them down by means of some infernal power. “What dumbheads we all are!” I exclaimed in dis- gust. “Why didn’t some fool among us discover that we lost no planes during clear weather—that clouds were always about?” “But what about that fellow that seems to be all afire?” asked Price, “is he friend or foe? Foe, I’m thinking, for he ran from us. Probably he-is the leader. And yet—” The captain paused for want of words, We came to a hovering stop less than five hundred yards from the white planes. Two of them suddenly fiose-dived to the sea. Then, as the remaining five zoomed and dipped’and banked in their mad efforts to escape the same fate, their aggressor gained altitude with a swift, upward. surge. He quickly wheeled to the left and brought all five white planes upon his quarter. Again his plane blazed with blue and green and yellow fire; and three more of the white planes, whose cloud curtain had been mysteriously dissolved, went lurching down and were swallowed by the waves! And now we were surprised to see the two remaining planes, unmindful of the awful power flashing from their adversary, charge straight at him. But, before ae Pa! ~~ “comicbooks.com