Show AT ATTEN TE TEN THOUSAND r ge FEET V V V Bv By v Alexander s S. S t Briscoe I HE barograph indicator wavered indictor I THE j back and forth across the dial I face tace as the L 3 snoring along atthe atthe at the foot level lifted and dipped j I with wih the gusts gust of ot the thirty mile thiry-mie thiry an I hour gale Carney in the te pilot piot house bouse kept a wary war eye on the te fluttering streamers streamer on the forward skids the position of which tell tel the aviator whether he is on an even eve keel keel while his ears ars were cock cocked for or a a false fase note In the drumming symphony of the deep lunged lunge motors motor Burrows sat eat watching the te He e was wa captain of ot the N New YorI- YorI 1 Liverpool mail mal because of ot his reputation reputation tion ton of or always flying on time There Thee were those in the te mail mal service serce who hinted that Burroughs' Burroughs reputation had ha been because of ot the nerve nerv and skill ski of the the men at the steering posts of ot his craft but that hardly was a question queston at this particular time When an aeroplane is bucking a thirty mile blow with wih Its propellers turning at the maximum its is progress is a a simple matter of ot arithmetic In a calm th the n T. 8 mater hn how va i ho n i i t. t miles nis an hour Thirty hirty from rom that tha figure leaves and leves Burroughs Buroughs mentally men men- tally taly calculated the number of ot hours hour he lle would be behind schedule when the flier docked doce at Liverpool Then came a startled shout from Carney Carey who from rom his seat seat In the tle drivers driver's saddle had caught sight of the twin red streamers across the upper planes of ot the Ford liner Condor New York to lo Cherbourg V Those red streaks to lo an airman were what the S uS O. O S. S is to toa a wireless operator operator operator op op- op- op what an ensign union down is to a sailor and Carney Crey signaled for forlow forlow forlow low speed Evidently It was wa engine trouble which had caused the Condor to fl thy fly the distress signal signal The V passenger flier fer was 2000 feet teet below the 3 L and was making heavy hev weather of the gale Four of ot her propellers were motion motionless motionless moton- moton motion motion- I less ss and the one till still tU revolving g gave v her barely enough power to keep afloat As it was the tho lower biplane was as making making mak mak- ing no headway In fact she was sliding sliding slid slid- ing backward pitching and swooping like a hawk hark rh I M Carney sized up the tho other cr crafts craft's t plight and delivered an expert opinion Her second and third engines are out he said barely power enough to maintain steerageway in this nils' this blow and is being forced back baAk bak She cant can't drop down and ride it out in that sea and ad he indicated the this white while combers comb comb- ers era almost two Iwo niles mlles mits below The Thew w waves ves would swamp her in a minute Theres nothing we can do came from Burroughs Buroughs whose mind was still sUl on on schedule Carney Carey looked looke at at his captain in astonishment as the steering post wove back and forth under his capable hands for the L 3 at low speed was wasas wasas wa as hard to handle in tho the heavy winds as the distressed Condor We cats can cn stand by he said briefly and twisted his neck to glance through the rear portholes of the car cr the L 3 having craw crawled ed ahead of ot t tile e passenger passenger passenger ger ger craft crU No use Burroughs Buroughs snapped We WeI I can do no good The They probably will wi get ge their other motors running anyhow anyhow anyhow any any- how and ad if it i they fall tn we couldn't res rescue rescue re- re res- res cue eue a a soul o on board Carney Carey looked his disgust nd disgust and and other I things We can cain c do some good he retorted Those folks are ar in bad ba shape and ad Its It's up to us to save eave them them he rasped What can we V do 7 Burroughs Burough The Te aviator avator again an squinted through the port Po hole He le was a short powerfully power tuly fully limbed raze man mn of 40 with wih a fighting jaw dented on the side eide where It had 1 been broken in a taU fall lick Hack ck in the days when automatic stabilizers a were ere dream drem of ot the future We can ca pa peas pa s I them a line lne he grunted Nothings s i the matter mater with our power plant Were not a life saving crew The captains captain's captin's tone was w sharp harp Its Is not our business nor our ou funeral tuner Were We're carryIng carry carry- c- c cing ing the mail mai see Do you understand understand under under- stand stad Meaning you au would go ahead and leave those people I said sid it i was wa not our lookout The I voice of the aeroplane commander held the strident quality of ot a. a a man who Is ordering an inhuman inhuma thing Go 00 ahead aed ful ful speed and well wel signal the first firt steamer we pass And tAnd leave lea the Condor to fight it out with wih one engine in a wind like this thi 7 Yes Yea Burroughs bellowed Give her full fun speed V Carney Carey settled himself himsel in the saddle sadle and spoke into the engine room tube A moment later Blake Blae the other driver of ot the L 3 crawled crawle out of the te narrow narow tunnel which housed house the fliers flier's flers fler's three tre big Gnomes Think we could peas pass pas a line lne to her Carney Crey jerked his head hed towa toward the disabled disabled dis die aeroplane V Blake Blae spat reflectively It J would be bea a nasty naty bit bi of work work he said sd but theres there's a chance She's up against it it and she cant can't ct land in that thai sea Its s up to us us Carney declared Tie ule a wrench on a coil coll coi of ot rope and an send the Monkey out behind to drop it V V it ouI do nothing nothing of the sort Burro Burroughs Bur Bur- ro roughs exploded Its Is suicide Give her all aU she's got gol and well we'll get ge out of ot here here V C Carney ignored him him as did Blake I after a quick side glance The Condor her lone propeller fanning the blast in I seeming impotence had sagged to the foot level and the L 3 had dropped with her Here the gale gle was fler fiercer er an and the two air all craft pitched itch d dand and bucked like hike ships in a heavy sea se There was V a brief conference between between between be be- tween V the te aviators and Blake dived Into inlo the engine tunnel tunnel Afler a short interval the tle assistant engineer an undersized youth hose whose remarkable agility and the tena tenacious ious strength of his hands had hd gained him his nickname Slowly the L 3 came up her sluggishly sluggishly sluggishly slug slug- whirling propellers giving her herbut herbut herbut but little more speed than tha the other The Monkey dropped the weighted end of the line lne at the moment the Condor was dir directly cUy underneath but but t he failed correctly to lo estimate the wind The Xh blast caught the rope rope and trailed it behind like the tan tail of ot a kite kile kie It I sw swung ng down and rested reste against the there re rear r of the Condors Condor's Condors right plane but it i w was s far out of reach of ot the man on the I Icar car while the L 3 slowly forcing I ahead although her motors were throttled tied down to the limit threatened to lo drag the cable Into the lower fliers filers fers I one propeller and then Its Is foul the rope and drag us down dow too Burroughs' Burroughs cry was almost in inarticulate in- in articulate in its is fear er but it i was wa echoed echoe by a burst of admiring profanity from Blake The nervy ne devi devil I the te latter shouted his face tace pressed against the glass glas of a port Hes crawling out outon outon outon on the plane Carney could not watch He was too busy handling the swoops of the L- L L 3 3 but a a long drawn breath from rom Burroughs Burroughs Bur Bur- roughs and an exultant cheer from rom Blake told him the line lne had been caught and made fast tast Hes got it Blake shouted Now Kow ease her into the pull slow pull pul slow Im I'm Im going to send down another line That one might break brak As A the rope tautened the L 3 wallowed wallowed wal wal- lowed bowed hevly heavily and Carney signaled for tor tormore more j ower He did not nol attempt full ul speed oe knowing kowing the cable wo would ld snap under the strain strai and as a it i was he had his hands full ful keeping his craft crat on an even keel V VV V V With Wit the Ule drag of t tie the e other machine the L 3 seemingly lost her buoyancy and ad heaved heaved stubbornly with every gust I at at times veering verg ba badly I and rounding back with a shake like lie a horse fightIng fight fight- Ing for or its is head he Carney Cae kept a a COUSe course fight I straight into tho the wind for had the the gale once got under nde an a wing wie nothing nothing notIng not not- noth noth- I ing could have prevented a catastrophe For an an hour the two aeroplanes drove droW into the storm stor Carney had hd been fighting to t gain the higher levels and they n now w were at feet fet where I the wind was Jess less strong stong and ad blew steadier There was now now not so 80 much danger of a a Jerk tearing te the two to craft crt apart for for Blake had succeeded d In sendIng sending send send- ing tog down a second line lne This was a a feat tet which at first se seemed ned impossible the Condor at the end of ot the foot toot hawser not riding directly under the L La IC a a rope had been dropped from the upper craft th the wind of ot a a certainty would have have carried it into the Condors Condor's one working propeller pro peller and all aU would have b been n em in ina ina ina a few ew brief moments Blake and the Monkey aC accomplished it i however that however is is the aviator conceived conceived conceived con con- con con- the plan pla and Acker carried it 1 out A loop of ot wire was passed about about the this cable attached to the Condor Candor and anda ad a second one fastened to It i so that when the Monkey played out the te rope It slid to the hands of ot the man on the Condors Condor's car The strain on the upper machine was tremendous It It was not a contin- contin I pull pul but a series or jerKs ers as tn Lne two OUS big craft craf rose and ad fell el with wih the eddies and slants in the air Had the theone theone one propeller of the Condor stopped slopped the end would have come quickly for forthe forthe forthe the the L 3 could coull not have supported the double weight But both were re magnificent machines eighty feet tet across acoss the wings and as long bong built buit of steel tubing with wt aluminum aluminum num um planes and fit fi to battle batte the te Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic gale In the car of the L 3 back backof of at the engine tunnel tunel lay sacks of mailand mail mailand man and and packages of ot valuable express but the Condors Condor's freight was wa the more pre pre- claus cious A A. A dozen passengers passenger five of them women were wee housed in her narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row cabins On top of the Condors Condor's car cr the te man mn who had made fast fat the line lne still stU lay clutching a brace his head hed ducked to avoid the rush of ot air ar Tied to his wrist writ was a knife knite He was ready rey to cut the tow lines lies the te Instant anything should go g wrong On the te L 3 Carney feet in the stirrups stir stir- str- str raps of the drivers driver's seat set his back braced braer swa swayed e and ad tugged at atthe the steering post ith each cach dip and swoop of ot the Jachin machine It I was wal strenuous strenuous I work vork de despite U the aid ald of ot the te compressed com corn pressed pressec presed al ar cylinders n controlled ni b by bl tha P ibs' ibs gyroscope which helt helped wasp p lz It f planes The gyroscope system came as a rep nea to automatic stabilization a as a roar mar J I yet had been able to devise hd deve The Te wonderful won v i little machine spinning spinninG in incase n f case ce ever struggled to t maintain a I upright position and an when hen the te aeroplane aero atro aeroplane plane heeled hele it 1 automatically or closed valves that tt let compre compressor r rall air all into ito the cylinders the te pistons u o which he helped control th the plan planes So S far far bower however inventors had be unable to eliminate entirely the te bumar humal equation and another set of ot wires a se wre rat Tal from the planes to the te steering pos poe controlled b by Carney In I ser a calm cairn fl fling fl th ing in at a steady pace p the driver c of ot th iii to aeroplane could have gone to sleep secure in the knowledge the te ever eve alex alert Ie gyroscope and the te powerful cylinders cylinder rf would keep kep the te craft cr on an a e even n keel but in a a. a gale gae or gusty wind d the avator aria avia ava- ava tor must watch constantly const for tor a bay ba slant slant an a eddy or an sri a air ar pocket pocket ba I With the building of at machines Of ot th l. l t. t size and ad engine power of craft o of th o t type of ot the Condor and ad L 3 the ol ok oh dang danger r from air ar pockets poet or holes u it the tIle air all as ae tb the early ely aviators hat ha ha called mated them had ba virtually been bee sUm elim eUI e eThe The heavily hevly fliers filers fler tore tote aJon at a a. pace that left an air pocket aon ar before the lack of supporting pressure under the tle planes was s hardly hadl felt It I w was at low speed that tat the mon ster aeroplanes were the hardest hadet t u handle and Carney Cey warily warny warping waring lilt hit planes was Wa reminded of at a day back hack tr ii his hs youth when at a a meet met at Hempstead Hemp Hemp- I stead Plains he had ha encountered storm stor while flying in a a low Wright biplane biplane- of the type used i IB ii exhibition work along about abut 1913 Hf Ht had fought the gale four tou hours headIng head bead Ing Ing into Ito it 1 all al the le time but was wa swept 1 tall tail tal first more than twenty twety miles mie before he succeeded In making a landing Since the te L 3 had ha made fast fat to th Condor the tho gale had shown show no signs sigs o 0 of abating but the cables still sUl held and ad there e seemed a fair chance chace of ot making maln land now about six hours of or flying away Then di disaster s seemingly inevitable loomed lomed near ner at at hand I It I was a series of violent swoops that taxed to the utmost Carneys Carney's strength Careys and skill ski to overcome The automat automatic stabilizer was ws not working properly 01 or not at all al and a moment later Evans Evang Ens the engineer canto came ce from rom the motoi motol tunnel with wIt the news of what had happened Wires leading from tho the gy to the cylinder valves had ha g broken and the apparatus was out of or commission Burroughs who had been crouchi crouching in sullen fear ter on a seat set in the te pilot piot house bouse leaped to his hi feet with an oath oat of terror V Theres no chance now h he loose shouted Its Is all al over unless we cut ct Carney glared at him as he gripped the steering post Not by a damned sight he le roared I 1 rode out blows as bad as this before they ever thought of a stabilizer And Ad Blake Blae Silent Blake they thee the called caled him him Usually the most mild mannered man man- ma- ma and diffident of men arose aroe aoe in wrath Cut loose Hell Hel he raged raed Not while the old boat hangs hags together Carney and ad I will drive her through Carney turned to his Ils work his eyes ever eve on the fluttering bits bis of tape on the skids and ad set his hi teeth as a he tugged and strained to counteract each ech lift and roll of ot the ad rol aeroplane drive her through he lie told himself but in his heart there was wa doubt to for without the thie aid of the stabilizer the task seemed virtually |