Air Wonder Stories, December 1929 — page 62: what you’re looking at

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

; ee Seat’. Son oP ne, 5 ae ee » or! afl NT Ne eS eae 540 AIR WONDER STORIES was hanging northward of Berlin, and we saw that it was Stockholm. And, even as it came to rest out there beside us, two other air-cities were rushing-up from the south; looming larger swiftly and identifying themselves, when they too shot up to hang near out central city, as Geneva and Rome, And then from the west. were coming others, Patis-and Brussels and Am- sterdam; while down from the-cold east were. speeding Moscow and. Helsingfors and Leningrad. City after city was rushing from all quarters of the compass, from every part of the European Federation, until they filled the sky. Through the hours of that afternoon we watched their numbers. grow until:they numbered over a hundred. They had come from every part of the earth, over which the: European Federation-held sway. From the bleak eastern steppes, from-the jagged peaks - and green valleys of the Pyrenees, from the great ice- locked fiords of the north and frotn the blue-plains of southern Africa, they -were rushing at colossal speed to gather here ina great-circle about their capital city— Berlin! Great air-cities, each-of which flashed through the air at the same tretnendous speed, each of which bore upon it- great batteries of those-giant. heat-guns that-nothing else in the air could sustain, each of which held upon it'a soaring electrostatic-tower and thousands of other clustered pinnacles. As in Berlin, the crowd- ing, seething millions of its. peoples had been: left_ on the ground quarters prepared-for them. The gathering of the cities! At last, with the coming of sunset, all but the last few of the Federation's mighty air-cities had gathered around Berlin! _By then,-gazing: out: from our window high-in the electrostatic tower, Hilliard and:I seemed to be looking actoss a single gigantic city that stretched in mid-air as far.as the eye could reach, so closely were the scores of great hovering air-cities hanging together! It was as though we were looking forth across an endless-plain of clustered:towers of metal, from which rose here and there the higher ‘pinnacle of a city’s power-source; a titanic plain. of towers_and streets. of metal,-crowded with millions of the European. Federation’s soldiery. And, as the blood-red stmset: flamed. eastward. upon all this huge assemblage, now waiting only: for the last of their number, something seemed to snap-in my brain, and all the stoicism which I had summoned -to meet our fate and our nation’s fate abruptly vanished. “We.can’t stay here while doom rushes upon our nation!” T cried-madly, “Since they: start out tonight —since our time is up and we die ourselves tonight— we'll go to. death fighting for our freedom!” But, now, it was Hilliard who: endeavored to- calm me. “It’s: useless, Brant,” he said. ~‘A- few hours more; then all will be. rushing west while the Asiatic Federation is moving east upon our air-cities,. And at any moment now, before that attack starts, they will be coming here for. us.” ‘ “But they'll not. take tus toa death like that! I_ex- claimed, a cold, long-repressed fury-surging up within me. “If we're to die we'll do it, striking a blow at our enemies!” Like a caged tiger I paced the: little cell's interior, growing shadowy and dusky now; the:stin had= dis- appeared. From the corridor outside came the voices of the guards, and at any. moment I expected the door to swing open-and admit those who would take-us to a last examination at which our silence would bring im- mediate death. Already, far out over the great mass of scores: upon scores of giant air-cities that filled the air about us, a great, complicated pattern of. brilliant lights was gleaming through the deepened twilight; and — ra =. Eph rs 3 ian yi ws OT LT aye ON he eG es em now, from south and east and west, the last of the great European Federation's air-cities were assembling about that tremendous gathered mass of cities. Then, as I turned from-the metal door which I had- been ex- amining in blind and futile rage, my eyes fell upon our bunk-racks_and the strong but slender strips of metal that held them out from the metal wall, against which they were set diagonally.. And, as I looked at them an-idea, a -last flame of hope, burned into my brain, and I turned swiftly to Hilliard. “Those strips of metal!’ I exclaimed, pointing toward them. “Those bunk-supports—it’s a chance to escape! A chance that means death, Hilliard, I think—but death is upon us how in any case—” Swiftly, almost-incoherently, I explained to_him the idea that had suggested itself tome. I heard his breath catch as he comprehended its appalling nature. Then I saw. his eyes gleam_as he realized that, inasmuch as almost certain death awaited us, death in escaping could not deter us, for we were already doomed. 50, we grasped one of the metal strips and tried with all our force to tear its lower end loose from the metal wall. That lower end, set directly in the wall, seemed integral with its metal; and, as-we pulled upon the metal strip, gasping: with our great effort, muscles tired, we-_still kept on..-We had to work quietly lest some sound betray tis to the guards without. It seemed that we could never tear it loose. Straightening from the violent exertion, with dizzy heads, muscles aching, we paused for a moment, then reached to grasp the strip again, braced -ourselves against the wall\and exerted all our force upon it. It held fora terrible moment, then seemed to give, to bend—and then, with a little grating sound, we had pulled the strip loose from the wall into which it had: been ‘set. CHAPTER VUE A Single Chance NTENTLY for a moment we listened without mov- ing; but there.came no sound of-alarm from with- out, nothing but the occasional voices of the guards. And now we grasped another of the metal bunk-sup- ports, and wrenched its‘metal strip loose from: the wall with another tremendous effort. We had in our hands two metal strips, each of some three. feet in length. These we now: bent swiftly into two L's or right angles of equal sides, using’all our combined ‘strength on each to bend the strong metal. Then, swiftly loosening the long, strong_leather belts that criss-crossed: over’ our black air-jackets, we formed of them swiftly two leather topes ten feet. in length. Each of these we attached to-one-of our metal L’s, making each fast.to one of the jagged, broken ends of one of the bent strips. Then, panting from our swift efforts, we stood erect, and moved toward our little window. Night Jay over the world now, and-from our window we saw the cities illumined: by. their lights stretching out-to the horizon: On the landing plazas of the air- city beneath us rested the great European Federation battle-fleet. In the plaza directly beneath us, that which surrounded the-base of our reat electrostatic tower, there-rested: but-a few score of cruisers, those of the commanders who were now at the headquarters inside the great tower’s base. The plaza was practically de- serted; for it was the evening meal. Fora moment I stood there at the window, gazing out over that tre- mendous mass of-giant air-cities. Then, summoning all my-courage, I flung my tight leg-over the window's base, through its opening. ~ comicbooks.com = = ‘ : : 2 Ashe ib ii Ah eee eb ~~ ewe ely