Show OOS COUP THAI AT FAILED dy by H M EGBERT copyright 1914 by W G chapman it was not tho the shock of arms but thirst that threatened to force the devoted city into surrender for months the eneany had hurled their lines against tile the fortress only to see the gallant troops retire decimated baffled by the strong earth works that promised to hold out indefinitely and until the city tell fell the forward march of the victorious army could not continue general lamarche Lar narcho was desperate ile he could not leave the fortress in his rear and continue his advance toward the capital of the enemy for that would mean that his lines of communication would be severed and behind those walls walla the enemy was reforming ready to renew the war lit in all its ita pristine vigor but for months no drop of rain had fallen the springs within the city had run dry the river had been dammed and diverted by the besiegers and there remained hardly three days supply of water that the city was waa in need of water general lamarche knew but he d did id not know how near it was to surrender and every days delay was worth a thousand men tp those within it was at this juncture that ho he gave e audience to the man who had begged tor for an interview dally daily during the past month let the fellow come in he said reluctantly to his aide well sir air he demanded as the ragged wild looking fellow stood before him my aly name Is durand said the man ap general lamarche started slightly the aviator he asked t durand bowed his head lamarche like every frenchman frencha an knew about durand lie he had bad been one of the foremost men to develop the dirigible gas balloon while others lo 10 rose slowly into the air worked upon the aeroplane durand had brought the dirigible flin almost cist to perfection and at the moment when he bo was about to see ills his invention adopted by the french army lie he had committed murder a foul inexcusable murder while under the influence fi tience of absinthe to which he had become addicted by reason of the mental strain lie he had undergone ile he was shipped to new caledonia but after serving three years there he was pardoned and disappeared from the haunts of ills his associates that was a year ago and since then nothing had been heard olf him 1 I want to do something tor for my country durand explained you shall be attached to the aeroplane division answered answer ci i lamarche durand laughed quietly 1 I do not wish to become a private aviators aviator he said 1 I have a plan by which you can capture fort gleichen what Is it asked lamarche impatiently he had had a thousand plans submitted to him during the past three months give me a thousand pounds of en unite answered durand and I 1 will blow it into the earth I 1 will blow away all traces of it if there Is a thousand pounds of to spare in prance france you shall have it provided you can convince me of the feasibility of your scheme the general answered it is very simple replied durand in the mountains of the where I 1 havo have lived during the last year I 1 have my perfected dirigible I 1 will load it with a thousand of mell nite which Is 1 as aa much as it will carry in addition to my own weight I 1 will steer it above fort gleichen pull the valve open after calculating the descent and escape in my parachute the bril balloon loon will drop squarely into the center of the fort and blow it from the face of the es earth jtb they talked over the project for a while and the more durand explained pla ined the more feasible his proposal appeared to the french general of course from an aeroplane only small bombs could be dropped dut but there was no reason why a balloon should not contain a thousand pounds cf an explosive deadly enough to obliterate all trace of the famous stronghold that barred the advance of the army it was obvious furthermore that the dead weight ot 0 tile load after the valve had been opened would send fiend the dirigible to earth with a speed and aim that noth ing could avert seven days inter durand with at a thousand pounds of hi fit bin dirigible balloon and the parachute attached to the aluminum stern rosi slowly above tho the french camp int inac C the air from the walls walla of the fortress the besieged general glass to his oes eyes watched and wondered nt at tilts this new maneuver ile he had find sworn never to surrender and by heroic privations liis ills men had managed to conserve still etall another days clays supply of water though nearly all their animals were dead of erst it was the generals genc rala intention til ft sut 1 ut tits his way out at the head of life hie on the morrow and die un gijin the field unless it rained hut but the scorched heavens refused to open day and night were brazen glow of heat all night heat lightning played on oil tho the horizon and sometimes the distant muttering of 0 thunder was heard but never a drop of rain had fallen durand rose slowly into the air and as lie he did so tho the ot of tile tho fortress opened ore fire upon him rut but t Is the most difficult thing in tho the world to lilt hit a quickly rising balloon and neither durand nor lamarche had h ad any fears on that score it if the balloon were lilt hit the would c explode X in the air and the balloon and aviator would vanish but no harm would come to the besiegers at worst the experiment would harm nobody at nn an altitude of two thousand feet the balloon was safe from danger durand smiled as he ha heard the great shells whizzing around him he knew that only a miracle of marksmanship could bring him down at four thousand feet durand was only a speck in the sky hardly to be discerned even through Lam Lani archos arches glasses the french camp strained its eyes upward the report ot of the broken mans exploit which was to restore his honor and bring no doubt the ribbon ot of the legion ot of honor had become universal stAl and in the beleaguered beleaguer ed fortress for the first time an inkling of the airmans intentions became obvious when then a tiny speck w was as seen to detach itself from the slightly aligi aly larger la r ger mass and drop toward earth instantly it had begun the swift descent while the balloon relieved of its slighter burden shut upward in ill spite of the rapid escape of gas tho the dirigible ascended five hundred feet before it paused stood still belll and then began its downward rush durand had planned his descent so that it should carry him into the french lines but to ills his horror a sudden breeze drove the parachute straight toward the inside of the fortress walls and then resigning himself to the inevitable he devoted all ills his efforts toward towar 0 saving his life rather than attempting to gain tile the camp of 0 the besiegers which would mean an instant drop to death it was about a minute after he had pulled the cord ot of the valve when durand dropped unharmed at the feet of the general in defense of fort gleichen etchen Gl hut But nobody noticed him for all eyes were strained upward to where the great balloon cane whirling down straight toward the fortress here durand had not miscalculated ted it fell true as an arrow and the heat lightning played about it and the most awful detonation that had ever eer been heard since war began tilled filled the whole air with sound A coll coil of woud aloud enveloped everything and shut out the sunlight slowly it drifted away and everyone knew what had occurred the dirigible had been struck by eight lightning ning during its descent an instant later the sun disappeared and suddenly with the sound of h a million bullets hailstones the size of pigeons eggs w whizzed to the earth followed by a drenching downpour never ever had it rained as ai it rained that afternoon the water fell in torrent toi rents a t was as though n million millian hoses hose wye turned earthward from the heavens in two minutes the camps were flooded tho the streets ot of tho be town ran water men blen flung themselves upon their faces and wallowed in the precious rain from ever every house buckets bath tubs implements ts ot of every kind were out str stretched etcheT to hold the life giving water the cisterns overflowed tho be city was saved durand stood before the general within the fortress ills ilia hope had failed by the interposition of the un expected element fate which seeds so many schemes agley he expected death ile ha was waa not even in uni uniform forni a hopeless ragged ex convict bearing the stamp ot of shame upon hla his furrowed face the general turned to him do you know what is going to happen tc you iou he asked A firing party I 1 suppose durand muttered muter cd no answered the general quiet ly IY you are going to make a balloon tor for us |