| Show r f fr e Ie exel ele ele Ie Ie eIe e e e e exe e ne ele exe Ie elle ele ere e eIe e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e eIe e ne e e e ele e ele e e e e e e e e e e e e ele e e e e e e e. e ele e e e e e e e e e e e e e e nel e ele e e eIe eIe e BY HENRY M. M NEELY NEELY J THE DEVILS DEVIL'S DARNING NEEDLE The Tho Fourth Author or of 01 Finger the tho D Danny Murdoch Stories c. c 5 1 Copyright 1 1915 by 67 the Bine Book Magazine I a 1 I At Uncle Sams Sam's am s Secret Military Aviation r Camp amp There Is s Employed an Genius Aeronaut-Genius Whose Daring r Exploits Have Won on for or Him the t I Nickname e rt The uThe a Devils Devil's s Darning Needle t The e First h of These Adventures ventures Is s Here ere Described Under the Title The Darning Needle Stings t e e e e e ere e eIe r riWe e e e e e e eIe e ere e ele erne e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ne e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ele eIe e e e e e e ele exe ele ele ele e eIe e ne e e e e exe e ele eu e eIe e ne e e e e e ele ele e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e er e f f f f f f A f W f f f f f f f 9 1 17 r t f st s f 1 f f f Y t td f 12 f d' d For Tor a i jagged circle of perhaps three flute hundred feet in diameter the surface of the ocean was a seething sea of flame Into j it if helpless to stop in time the hydroplane and its stricken passengers plunged at full fall speed shot down almost pe perpendicularly perpendicularly through the deepening shadows I of ot evening enning Not until until until un un- til he was was within a afew afew few rew feet of ot the field did he cut out his is motor and straighten for his landing The two marine Wh who had run out outto outto to meet him gasped when they saw tho the recklessness r e ness of ot it and their eyes were blinded by the the great clouds of ot d dU dust up by the steel claws of ot the foot o t brake that Sayville drove down down as soon as his wheels h had d douched Couched Landings at such speeds as J that were e e not u usual al after mere mero practice practice tice tico flights except Pt for the ra rankest kest am amateurs urs- urs ursand r and the Devils Devil's Darning Needle was as far from being an ama- ama teu k ii w I A d to to the ground even be be- for tor fth had come come to a full full st I ere ere r is 1 is Lie Joline he sn snapped to tire first t marIno marine who reached him tl wireless house sir uH HaVo v this machine put away You to tile other man hurry man around to the the hydro hydro hangars Tell Tell whomever is js' in ia cl charge arge that I want one of the X-type X machines at once Fill both tanks tanks I 1 want two range-finders range and two fire bombs in tho tho rack J 4 1 yes sir Target d dummies of sI sir r. r M No not not target dummies Say Say- eyes eres snapped Loaded shells toh of ot them It i Ho wheeled led and hurried across to the tho wireless Ireless house Whew the marine whistled Loaded Loaded eh L ded eh h Now what the the the-I I wonder wonder wonder won won- der der better quit an n do do- Yb what ho told you suggested the other Looks t t. me like some- some up IJ Looks like tho Needles Needle's gettin t t. ready t sting In rn the t ground floor office of t tho the wireless Ss S's house Joline sc scowling g dark y listened as Carlton S Sayville y i le talked Then he picked up tip the tele tele- telephone phone Connect me with Ensign Warner he ord ordered re There was wasa was a minutes minute's w wait it and he cont continued n ed That YO you Warner r come iome o e to to to the wireless l ss h house use at once once t He hung up and turned again to Sayville sUll still scowling It may mays be serioUs serious or it may not If it is we we shall need drastic action You say she is lying directly off the mouth of the bay About thirty miles mlles off off I should judge She Sno came to a a. full stop while I r was watching her That's what first made me suspicious Do you think think they they saw you Not chance In Jn the world I w was s swell well over ten thousand feet up and it was almost dark And she looks looks' like a tramp steamer Yes most disreputable and nd bat bat- When I got my glass on her herI herand herand and saw what she was was wasI I I almost made I up my mind she had stopped for enI en- en I gipe gitle trouble trouble or something of ot that kind Then I saw them swing one of ot the d derricks and haul this speed speed boat boat out of ot the hold Tramp steamers do donot donot donot not carry mahogany hydroplanes of that type as tenders tenders Joline I she should ld say that she is good for at least forty knots and never cost less than Hm The lie lieutenant tenant drummed on his desk with a pencil while his keen keeney ey eyes searched th the the face opposite Sayville Sa he said finally I think you ought to know w the whole thing The two may may be connected connected or or they may not Capt is at the Edgewater Edgewater Edgewater Edge- Edge water Beach Beach Hotel now conferring with Secret Service Servicemen men He received a a code wireless from Washington this morning Some foreign government government- they did not say which which has has got wind of this station in some way God knows how We have haye been here for tor two years and the best brains in both departments have perfected the system system system tem by which we have been carrying on our secret work I doubt if It any man here would risk selling information tion about us You know the penalty for th that t dont don't you rou Sayville smiled grimly I Rather he he- said Capt Craig Craig- mere more told me mo when l I joined you that I was not to feel flattered by my commissIon commission commission com com- mission as as lieutenant iJ Ci Civilians ans' ans commissions give them no authority he said They only give us the right to have them stood up against a a. concrete hangar hangar- and shot if it we find that any anyone one outside learns of the station work through them Exactly But nut I imagine that you realize now why such measures are Ii necessary sir I I a.- a. 7 t I I certainly do If It you rou had told me mea a a. month ago that any government had produced the machines and and equipment that I have found here I should have advised a commission in lunacy for you The machine I havo have been flying to- to today day lay is twenty years ahead of of- anything anything anything any any- thing outside yet here you consider it an old type and use it for experimental expert expert- mental work Joline nodded That is why we have to be so strict he lie said Any government do Europe would pay a man a million dollars for lor a complete set of ot our drawings drawings draw draw- ings lugs and computations You may not know it but our agents turned your whole life inside out before we asked you to join in itt our development work here It was not your life as an aviator understand The Devils Devil's Darning Darning Daming Darn Darn- ing Needle was already too well known to require investigation on an that score It was your admitted skill with all types of oh planes coupled to your your own researches and inventions that made us want you here to help us But we have haye to be so careful that character counts ev even n more than thana a ability and yours was put under tinder the tho severest kind of probe He r rose se and walked to the foot toot of the s stairway Oh he called I A muffled Yes sir answer answered d him Mr Warner is here to relieve you I You will report to to- your quarters and await orders He returned to the table and ana resumed resumed resumed re re- re- re his seat opposite Sayville I have haTe all the confidence in the world in Oakford he explained but only a commissioned officer Is permitted permitted permitted per per- to handle messages in a case like this It lessens the danger of a aleak aleak aleak leak and narrows the responsibility Here is Warner The three men went at once to the room roam upstairs where where the instruments were housed Five minutes later Warner took off his phones and shook his head Capt is not at the hotel he reported He left fifteen minutes ago in a m motor tor car saying he would not return until 9 or 10 o'clock Joline JoUne bit his lips in inde Inde- Very well wel he be sai said at length I wish that you wo would ld stay here until Sayville reports that everything is all right Come below Sayville He led the way downstairs and out outto outto outto to the field over which the darkness had already eady fa fallen Gleaming arc lights mark marked d the long long line line of hangars of-hangars to the left and others picked out the various buildings of tho the station The two turned their steps toward the officers officers' quarters tout but neI neither her spoke r for many minutes Finally JaIme Jolina seemed to have reached a decision Well have to handle this without the captain he said sald You had better better bet bet- ter take one of ot the hydro's and see if it j I you can spot that speed boat from the steamer steamer Had you thought of f any plan Sayville told of ot the orders he had given to the marine J Joline oline nodded gravely I I I really do not think it will turnout turn turnout I out so seriously after all all he said I but this mornings morning's Information from Washington shows that something is afoot somewhere If It you find that this seems to be connected with it it you can wireless for me Ill I'll have another machine ready to join you at a moments moment's moments moment's mo o ments ment's notice Of course you understand understand understand under under- stand that you are not to use a bomb except in case of of sudden extreme emergency And do not forget that an attack upon a citizen of ot a friendly country will lead to international complications complications complications com com- that will destroy all ail of the secrecy secrecy that we have spent s so much effort and money to maintain here If you find anything wrong send for fore forme forme me e first Sayville went to his own room in inthe inthe the officers officers' quarters and slipped sUpped an automatic into the side pocket of his leathern flying jacket Then he hurried out into the darkness skirted the shadowy hangars that housed the land machines and came to the long line lIno of concrete buildings that backed upon them but faced the cove of the bay for nearly a mile along the shore The marine was vas waiting for him under I the glare of an arc aTC light All AU ready sir he said He lIe Holed led the way to where an X-typo X TV was as a r upon the runway run- run way war just above the line of the lapping waves Sayville listened intently her haven't Youve st started you ho asked Yes sir He stepped into tho the steel armored smiling miling grimly to himself as ashe ashe ashe he thought of the tho deafening thunders that used to drams jail gall other noises noises when h he started W hi taS for tor fork I k his exhibition flights outside He had thought that roaring toy with with its scant horsepower as near mechanical me mo- mechanical perfection as man had come Yet here before him was an engine developing developIng developing de de- brake h horsepower turning turning turning turn turn- ing as as a glance at the tachometer r dial showed at better than 1500 1600 a minute and doing it so ISO that not a sound could be heard 20 feet a away way On the instrument board before him illuminated by tiny electric bulbs were a dozen or m more re di dials each with witha Vitha a n needle edle finger on a a. pulse of the machine machine ma ma- chine and beside four of them were I levers the tho pulling pulling- of ot which would disconnect the automatic controls and give him manual guidance the moment moment moment mo mo- ment an indicator warned of trouble with the mechanism smAll sm All right he said Ill start He eased in the clutch and the whine of the two propellers one on each side of him in four of at the planes answered him shrilly as they began to whirl and the machine slid forward over the water in the path of ot his searchlight rays In one hundred feet he had risen from the surf surface e had thrown on onn full fuU power and switched off the light He rose in total darkness save saYe for forthe forthe forthe the soft shaded glow of the light on his instruments a glow that was en en- concealed in the shaped boat-shaped body and that could not be seed seen from below As he headed northward climbing all the while until the lights of the the Edgewater Beach Hotel Hatel flickered flickered flick flick- ered in n the shadows ahead he ho was tempted to land there and wait until could be found It was possible that this flight of ot his would bring him face to face with a situation with which his lack of military training training training train train- ing had not fitted him to cope with a problem involving Government polIcies policies policies pol pol- that were too important to be decided upon by a a. civilian He figured he foe could land on the shore opposite the hotel where his own Farman was still housed in his tent left eft there in charge of ot his And Andrew ew Beale He could send Andy out in an n. n auto auto to find the captain Orders were strict at the station station station sta sta- tion that no one outside should be permitted to examine one of ot these Government machines that machines that an aviator I should deliberately smash up on the I waters of ot th the bay and sink his apara- apara ius if any trouble forced him to descend descend de de- de- de rather than allow an outsider to get close enough for an inspection But Andy Beale was different His long and faithful service to Sayville had proved his utter devotion to the aviator and his rugged honesty was beyond question j Still the orders were too definite to allow misinterpretation They left an officer no dI discretion These machines machines must not be landed outside the station Capt must be found by wireless Sayville had to act alone He swung about to the right reduced reduced reduced re re- re- re his speed to forty five miles an ani J i hour and headed down the bay His aneroid dial showed that he was something something something some some- thing over 1000 feet up high enough to make inaudible to anyone on the water the whine of the propellers and the hissing of the air as it met the Increased slant of the planes He set his automatic controls and then turned l his is attention to the black surface of the water beneath him It vi was as a moonless starless night without even a aglow glow in an the sky but he knew that any motion by a swift boat boatIn boatin boatin in the bay would leave a wake of white whitewater whitewater whitewater water that would be plainly visible to him even from a a much greater alti alti- tude Momentarily he be glanced at his to see whether he was rising rising rising ris ris- ris- ris ing or descending for it was impossible ble to Judge in the inky darkness But the steady steady- needle assured him that all of hi his automatIc mechanism was Vas workIng workIng working work- work Ing perfectly and that the air had settled over the water after sunset without bad drifts or unequal barometric barometric barome barome- pressures Down the entire length of the bay he flew his eyes straining over the sides for the first sign of ot white water But n nothing stirred on the surface With the movement of ot a l lever er he swung about to head due east set his mechanism for a steady climb of five degrees and flattening his planes until until un- un til th they y had practically no Inclination threw on full power and was soon hurtling through the air at to three miles a a. minute Five minutes later front Cronl Ills Increased Increased In In- creased height he made out the lights of the tho steamer ahead She was still lying mo motionless as he had bad seen herin her herin herin in the dusk following suns sunset t. t Once more slowing down to forty forty- five miles robes an hour he found her in his binoculars There seemed to tobe foe he no signs signa |
