Air Wonder Stories, December 1929 — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

‘ : te i ee eee FREEDOM OF THE SKIES 523 ber of the Order, who told them to follow him. Several hundred feet farther down, the man stopped where the corridor was lined on either side by a number of doors; he opened one of them. “This is the room of the young woman,” he said. “She will enter here and make herself as comfortable as possible. Five minutes will be given the captain to say ‘farewell’; and then he must accompany pilot and plane No.,78 to the mainland,” The two young people immediately forgot the pres- ence of their guard. But there was no time for them to discuss a possible plan of action. Unashamed they em- braced, and Nadia whispered: “I’m afraid I’m costing you your honor—your life, Fred!” He kissed her: “It’s worth it!” he said. He held her close and ‘thought hard for a moment. No idea of escape coming to him, he thought of her welfare as a prisoner. “Remember the old formula, dear—let us live in the memory of our Jove, no matter how unpleasant our path.” She sighed: “You always thought. of things, Fred. “You'll—” she lowered her voice to a whisper which only he could hear“—you'll find a way out of this, too!” Whereupon the guard took his arm and ordered him to depart. Brettner, in order to leave Nadia there in the door- way of her quarters, had needed all his will-power. The whole affair was so contrary to every ideal he had cherished—freedom, love, the inheritance of every American to live without slavery and without force! And now a daring act of piracy had placed him in this situation ! He must find some way to combat this Grand Master and his wild dreams. He wondered curiously why the Grand Master should wish to conquer the world; why, in fact, any one should be so greedy. And yet, as he reasoned further, the Grand Master might possess ideals of his own. Perhaps the ruler of this floating kingdom wanted to reign over the entire world, so that it might attain even greater civilization and progress. But again, why should he set himself up as the arbiter of the world’s destiny? There was little suffering at least in America. Nor was the age-old cry of misery now ring- ing from the lips of the newer and finer generation of Europeans, Prosperity, throughout the world, had been brought about by a great program of cooperation be- tween individuals and nations, all of whom had realized that this planet is small and that the happiness of all means the happiness of each individual. Now, in this age of peace and plenty, there had arisen the spectre of this gigantic piracy—— He was walking along.the decks, escorted by the guard, when his mind came back to,the reality of what he must face. The Grand Master meant business. Many millions of dollars had been expended in this submarine structure alone, how many millions he could not calculate. It was an immense thing, occupying an almost inconceivable space in the water. It was so built that, when it came to the surface, only the decks were visible. The remainder of the ship was under. water, but he saw that it was almost indestructible by attack from the water. It had thousands and thousands of compartments and watertight doors. It contained im- mense machine shops and dynamos, and that newly- conceived apparatus for the taking of motor fuel from the different elements. Power? If appearance did not lie, the Grand Master had power; if his assertion were true, that ten thousand pilots belonged to his Order, he had enormous power; for no nation on earth had possessed more than-that, since war had vanished from the earth. And now, in place of international war, a powerful individual was arising to menace the earth. Another Capture N his way up to the surface, Brettner saw hundreds of men and many women carrying on the multi- tudinous details of. life, and all apparently happy in their surroundings. At first he had believed that they, too, were fanatics carrying out the wishes of a fanatical leader. But their cheerful industry and efficient manner of carrying on their life astounded him. The guards, who appreciated Brettner’s astonishment, seemed to feel the chasm. between them; for there was not an unnecessary word spoken. Presently they arrived at a great opening that led up to the deck. Here the sun shone in, and here and there were the great-fead-covered cables of the sun-power converters. As Brettner learned, the sun’s energy was being converted into electrical:-energy which was stored in great batteries to be used during days of the inevit- able fog. They climbed the stairs—ladder, in the lan- guage of the sea—and emerged upon the huge deck. A large plane was sliding down for a Janding, and another of the pursuit-planes’ preceded it. As the large ship came closer, Brettner recognized it as a big trans- Pacific passenger liner of the International. And, as he made out the ship’s number, he gave a start; for this was Joe Blaine’s craft. When the ship had finally landed and taxied into position near the hatchway, Captain Blaine emerged from the gangway, under guard, and looked about him, with bewilderment written on his face. He saw Fred, gave a start, hurriedly started toward him. The guards intercepted them. “For God’s sake!” said Blaine excitedly: “Was this your game, Brettner, when you asked for a cargo plane? And you are in with that gang of pirates that disguised themselves as passengers and seized my ship!” The guards motioned their prisoner away. “No, Joe,” Brettner answered quickly: “I’m as innocent as you.are, I wanted that cargo plane so I could be alone, but I discovered later that these people had’ abducted my sweetheart. I followed them, and was taken here.” “Good Heavens!” gasped Blaine. He was silent for a moment. “Sorry, old man, I was so hasty!” The guards were forcing him down the ladder. Brettner waved at him and turned to his guard: “I’m ready now,” he said simply. Presently a small amphibian plane was wheeled from the elevator, and a pilot came out to tune up the motor, He called Captain Brettner to enter the cockpit. Fred climbed in, the plane rose and they were off on a zig- zag course in the general direction of the California coast. This wavering flight was, evidently, the ruse which Marino’s flyers used to cover their tracks. Six hours Jater they-slipped into a small, unpretentious air- port, a few miles from the Grand Central Terminal. When the plane had landed, and the motor was cut out, the Marino pilot said: “You're to phone and tell your headquarters that you crashed on the mountains in a fog, and that I rescued you.” Brettner picked up the instrument and, dialing his office, spoke to the superin- tendent, repeating the story which had been prepared for him. When. Brettner had finished, his companion asker: “What do your officials say?” Fred tried to make light of the situation: ‘et Rt th ne tii i, atin ct = i a a a comicbooks.com ‘