Air Wonder Stories, December 1929 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

es ; d XS CITIES IN THE AIR 537 wrenching the pistol from him, Macklin and Connell had jammed the first one against the cell's. corner, with hand upon his mouth, and had him equally powerless! The whole swift scene of action had taken but a flashing moment to carry out, and so. lightning-like had been our movements, so careful above all had we been to gag with our hands the two guards as we grasped them, that no single sound save for a few low- choking gasps had-come from them. And then, while with hands over -their mouths and with; all the Strength: of our muscles Hilliard and I held the two guatds, Macklin and- Connell were. swiftly stripping their tight-jacketed green uniforms from them. A moment more, and Connell and Macklin were swiftly dofing their_own black uniforms of the Amer- ican Federation and donning the green ones. Now came a restless movement of feet.in the corridor with- out, and-with the speed. of utter necessity we took the two discarded black uniforms and forced them-upon the two guards, holding them still voiceless and power- less. Then, that done, the two guards were as ‘like in their black uniforms as Hilliard and myself; with Connell and Macklin, the latter having been chosen because of the similarity of his appearance to. one of the guards, wearing now the guards’ green uniforms. And now the very climax of our endeavor was come, that moment upon which depended all, for now, stud- denly removing our hands from the lips of the two guards we held, we added our own sudden cries: to theirs, and at the same moment Connell and Macklin, in their green uniforms, were engaging in a mock struggle with 11s and with our guards, whose din seem- ed terrific there in the quiet upper levels of the great tower! Instantly as those cries arose there was a rush of feet outside and the score of. guards there poured down the corridor and through the cell’s: door, to see four of us in black uniforms struggling apparently with two green-uniformed guards, who were in reality. Con- nell and Macklin, It was the moment: upon which all rested, and in that moment the score of guards acted as Hilliard had foreseen, gazing not in that wild-mo- ment of frenzied action at faces: but at uniforms, see- ing. only in_that first moment in the dusky cell four black-garbed men struggling with two green-garbed ones they had seen enter it but moments before. And, seeing this, they rushed-upon us four black-uniformed ones, Hilliard and myself and the guards whom in the guise of aiding in the struggle we had held, and began to beat us back against the cell’s end, totally forgetting in that moment the two green-uniformed men they were succoring! And in that moment, .as they pressed us back, Connell and Macklin were steal- ing swiftly out of the cell, and down the corridor toward the hall of the cage-lifts! For but.a moment more-did we struggle with our outnumbering opponents there, and then as they gripped and held the four of us helpless and: jerked our heads up wild cries came from them as they saw the faces of us, saw that two of tus were their own guards! Then the next moment, needing no other ex- planation of what had happened, they turned with their own black-garbed fellows, rushed out-of the cell, slamming shut its door behind them, -down the. cor- ridor and toward the cage-lifts after Connell and Mac- klin! We heard. those cries re-echoed swiftly over all the mighty building, heard rushing: feet and repeated calls on the levels of the great tower above and be- neath us. And then, as we flung ourselves to our window, gazed downward, we saw in the next mo- ment two green-garbed tiny figures issuing from the giant electrostatic tower's base far beneath us, run- ning across the great plaza toward the nearest of the cruisers. - They were Connell and Macklin! I cried out with Hilliard hoarse words of encourage- ment, forgetful-that. none could hear from our ter- tific height, saw Connell and-Macklin rushingup the slender gangplank-in the cruiser’s side and through its open.door, saw: that door.slam shut behind them, just as from the base: of the tower there poured out after them-a flood of pursuing green-garbed' figures. Those plitstiers were raising their heat-pistols, and a-hail of shining heat-cartridges were flying through the air toward the cruiser: in the next moment, but as they shot toward it there came faintly up to us the dron- ing of the ship’s great motors and then ‘with all the power of those motors in its vertical lifting tube-prop- ellers it was rising upward, was lifting smoothly and swiftly upward toward-us! And at the same moment the green-uniformed crowd of guards beneath were tushing across the plaza- toward the other resting cruisers, were rushing within them to soar up after Connell and Macklin! Up toward-us shot the lifting cruiser of our two friends, though, up toward our little window, for such had been our plan by which two, escaping, might rescue the remaining two. But as it shot upward I looked down, saw beneath the scores of cruisers on the plaza rising now after it, heard through all the great tower and for far around it-a great roar of Tising shouts as the escape was discovered, saw the giant gleaming muzzles of the great batteries of heat- guns around the plaza turning swiftly upward on their pivots toward the rising cruiser-of Conriell and Mac- Klin! And so the next moment as that cruiser shot up toward us, as I made out Macklin plain in its transparent-windowed bridge-room, driving it up to- ward-us, I flung an arm- outward from the tower to him, shouting in frenzied appeal. “Back, Macklin!” I cried, with Hilliard crying too beside me, “No time to get us—back home with Con- nell, for God's saket? He saw my frenzied gesture: westward, caught the meaning of my wild warning shout. as the guns be- neath swung toward him and the cruisers below rushed up, and I-saw him hang there for a fraction of-a moment irresolute, hesitating, Then the next-moment, just as there came a: swift-spreading thunder of deton- ations from the great heat-gins around the plaza he had whirled the wheel over and sent the great cruiser rushing away from the tower, serit it rushing westward through the dusk above the great air-city’s gathered lights. In the next instant there shot through the air where it had been the shining: heat-shells from be- neath! And then-as Macklin’s cruiser rushed comiet- like onward through the dusk the great heat-guns be- neath were turning again toward it. I cried out hoarsely as they thundered again, but with a whirl sidewise Macklin and Connell had evaded the rushing shells and were hurtling on, Now over all the great air-city, over all the mighty mass of Berlin was’ spreading a roar of alarm, and now. the cruisers that had rushed up in pursuit were: rocketing westward after that single fleeing one, the batteries be- neath us holding their: fire lest they strike their own pursuing ships. With. our hearts pounding Hilliard and T saw that single little cruiser leap on, saw it shoot- ing through the dusk until its gleaming shape was how far away from the great air-city, racing westward! comicbooks.com ;