Show 47 t mill 0 dal 1 1 SYNOPSIS PRECEDING james adams yest point graduate Is ia in paris at the opening of the french german war tear in a lagoon balloon reconnaissance for the fro french nich he is almost captured by the germans the balloon is wrecked at the la dunall Bes rescued cued adams falls in love with aimee daughter of the count lagunay Lag the germans invade france A german colonel griesman Or icsman insults aimee end is attacked by adams who is in turn overpowered by the kaiser ire he joins the german army under tinder a friend lowenberg cli engages gages in an ambush of a french column and returning 2 to camp learns that Gr grickman icsman has charged aimee with treason and has imprisoned her adams pursues drics man in an automobile kills him in single combat and takes aimee to a cousin at bethel lit in the terrific land tattle battle two days later lowenberg is killed in the capture of the french drive the germans back ba ck with gly colite a terrible explosive sprinkled from airships one of the ships is blown in ill the night to montpelier where adams is camped its crew is thrown out adams blunders into it and is swept away in the gate gale VII I 1 was awakened early the next morning by the sun my clothes were damp with cloud moisture I 1 did not learn until then that there was an aluminum root roof to the air car which was wag pocketed in the basketwork basket work sides and that there W were ere four electric radiators to provide heat beat thereafter I 1 was more comfortable the ship floated steadily high in the clouds I 1 could see nothing but vapor being rapidly dissipated by the sun occasionally shot clear rays in into to my eyes the barometer indicated an altitude of two miles and the speed gauge registered for the past twelve hours an average of twenty miles an hour after a brief breakfast I 1 examined tho the ship more at leisure I 1 found it a little ahead of anything I 1 had ever seen it steered perfectly and could be sent up or down by the elevation or depression of broad aluminum blades fore and aft A small motor run by a powerful chemical battery operated tho the propellers though it was often possible to travel rapidly with the wind alone as ab motive power there was also a faure condenser tor for extracting hy hydrogen drogen from the air which operated automatically keeping the bag always fully inflated Inua ted A wireless telephone outfit various acl instruments the electric lighting and heating beating apparatus and the tank for condensing water from the gasbag were novelties in their way I 1 found also a second hamper of food and drinkable and to my great delight a A lokot ox of fine key west cigars which I 1 ed immediately the car was eight feet wide and about sixteen feet long and there was ample room for a party I 1 longed for fleischmann or poor lowenberg when I 1 had started the motor and set the fans to descend I 1 took a telescope from the rack and waited eagerly tor for a eight of something that would indicate my whereabouts by the compass I 1 was wag going due west and it if that direction had been maintained all night I 1 was far out on the atlantic at last the clouds around mo me thinned and vanished and I 1 came into clear air below me stretching away in all directions ions to tho the horizon lay the sea I 1 its tossing waves breaking white under the stiff wind and lashing flashing back the tha rays of the morning sun eagerly I 1 swept the whole range or of visible ocean here and there appear d V tile the black smudgy of a distant hinr and to tile the northeast I 1 milde maclo out a lo 10 low dark line that might be either liale ha so or land but this was not all directly dalri atly beneath me I 1 perceived a series of dark objects all spouting black smoke they aro of various sizes and by tile the formation I 1 could conclude only one thing that they were the ships of cf a fleet a naval squadron then I 1 recalled the words of the kaiser that moonlight night at the chateau lagunay there will be two great battles one on tho the land Is before us tile tho other on the sea wili will occur within a fortnight I 1 confess to a feeling of elation that 1 I was here in tho the air in position to witness tile the greatest naval battle of years although I 1 regretted the necessity for this test of arms I 1 observed that the fleet was headed northeast mort and desiring a closer view I 1 ran ahead a mile or more and descended until I 1 had a fair sight the ahlai were ivere imrich french by their flags flaga beautiful and stately were tho the great vessels grimly beautiful brauti ful too when ono one took note of their enormous turret guns twenty inch without doubt capable of hurling a ton or n more lore of 0 metal every five minutes I 1 ca counted u anted ten battleships five or six tor boat destroyers recognized by their quadruplicate funnels and several cruisers ciul sers two huge coal barges were being towed several miles to tile the rear this much was wai visible to the naked eye looking through my glass I 1 could see it a swarm of torpedo boats only their conning towers showing above the water hovering around tile the flanks and leading the dance advance tile the fleet was proceeding very slowly in a great curve to tile the north evidently not desiring to advance nearer tile coast by late afternoon it had turned rand and was heading west vest at the same pace As aa the sun drew near tho the horizon and the wind vind freshened I 1 turned tho the nose of my airship to the east and prepared to spend the night aloft I 1 had been sailing leisurely back and forth over an area of 0 perhaps fifty miles in hope of seeing the german fleet except for the many passenger steamers ste ameis coming and going there was nothing to lo be seen 1 I was leaning over the edge of my basket smoking idly I 1 had just christened my ship lalgee LAl mec mee and was wishing I 1 had the original with me when a voice came down upon mo me from the clouds who are you it called in french I 1 looked up in astonishment and there floated bloated tho the strangest airship I 1 had ever seen it was merely an aeroplane supported by great saucer like metal tal contrivances with a small bas ket car hung by slender cables it swept by some hundred feet above me and I 1 had a glimpse of a white taco face looking down upon me I 1 sped up tho the rno motor ter and rising as aa I 1 advanced soon drew up alongside my fellow traveler then ensued a brief conversation where are you going 1 I shouted ile he was not more moie than LL a hundred yards away 1 I dont know my steering fans wont work and I 1 cannot turn I 1 suppose up I 1 shall have to consider myself bound f for or america can you descend yes drop to the sea then and I 1 will pick you up my ship steers perfectly we were now far beyond tho the fleet I 1 descended by degrees tho the other tipped his planes slightly and started down on a long slant like a boy coasting down a hill when within twenty feet or less of the water be tipped tho the planes sharply in tho the other direction and hla his r ship hip stopped with a shudder hovered tor for a time like a brooding gull and settled slowly into the sea I 1 was close behind him with a small rope ladder and a minute later dripping wet but cheerful he clambered into my car then wo we rose again to the two thou sand foot level and with just enough headway on to overcome the wind lay as in a calm I 1 found that my guest was none other than emil lefevre son of the great inventor of submarines and explosives when he had disrobed dis robed and hung his wet clothes to dry in front of tho the radiators swathing himself in a rug meanwhile lie ho gave mo me a brief account of hla his journey the world was ringing with the news of bf tho the groat great battlo battle on the Cata catalonian lunian plain how the french had boon been all but whipped when their fleet of oc airships belated by some misi n an argement c line came upon tho the scene with the new explosive gly colite and sent the germans back upon their camp killing and maiming thousands there had been no movement on land since that all eyes were nw n w turned toward the sea where the fleets were watching for an opening lefevre had been so confident of his ability to manage his aeroplane acro plano that ho he had set act out in spite of the tha heavy wind that kept back all tho the less venturesome aeronauts aero lie ile was determined to witness the battle just before lie ho saw mo me lie he had attempted to turn and fount found tho the steering gears jammed had flad I 1 not rescued him lie would have probably found a watery grave it was now dark the air was damp and cold so I 1 drew the over part of my car L eF evres ros light clothing was dry enough to put on and wo we sat down to eat cat supper followed by a clear I 1 learned then many things bilings about the impending battle lefevre being familiar with the ex explosives plosives plo and apparatus in use on both sides tho germans were depending largely upon their late invention the aerial bomb tills this projectile was to bo be fired by compressed air from a alko gun eun and being fitted with a gyroscope would maintain its elevation for a distance of eight miles the bomb was two feet in diameter and about three feet long and moved so slowly as to the be during its whole course it contained a chargo charge of oc two hundred pounds of 0 a now explosive whose force operated always downward tho the bomb contained also a magnet and circuit breaker so tuned as aa to bo be responsive to electrical vibrations act up in a powerful electrical instrument on oil the discharging ship uy by the use of a unique range finding apparatus the bomb was kept in sight during its hole flight and upon reaching the d ati sli alred ed point it was exploded by tho the mere pressure of 0 a button on oil tile tho ship crom which it had been llred fired tests testa with this bomb had shown wonderful accuracy and most deadly effects another offensive OlYen sive device was an all aerial a small balloon like ilke affair tri ir anaed ranged to float at a considerable eloi atlon nt lon and carrying a powerful chemical light backed by strong reflectors A shoal of these illuminators Illuminat ors would be sent toward the fleet lighting up the sua sea and id tile vessels and making easy targets tor for the german gu guns its against these devices the french had prepared an aerial bomb to 1 discharge I IL a heavy and deadly gas and to sprinkle adds acids or explosives upon the slilla ipa of tile tho enemy they also provided with aluminum armor so thick and tough that an ordinary projectile would merely become imbedded embedded Im bedded therein and held fast without being ablo able to pass through around their ships and under water they hung largo large elect electromagnets electro ro magnets exerting by peculiar pec ulfar wiring a repelling hil luence on approaching torpedoes at a distance of a hundred yards invariably turning them aside their mainstay however was waa a new centrifugal submarine torpedo bout boat which needed not to come to tho the surface remaining down for days at a tinie time yet observing operations on tho the surface and doing its work with deadly accuracy lefavre lefevre could riot not give mo me the details of tins this machine its terrible effectiveness however was apparent the next day I 1 had no apprehension whatever as to tho the stability of laldee Li LAl meo mee and wo we lay down and went to sleep that night without the least apprehension stanch and true was she even as my own sweet betrothed it was still lark dark when I 1 was awakened with a start by the sound of heavy detonations deto nations below us I 1 leaped to my feet and looked over the side of the car lefevre joined mo me tho the next moment tile germans had evidently planned a night attack by the uso use of their illum I 1 gators below us tho the sea was alight in great spots and dimly we could make out the vessels over which shon c the iborg it ong blue white lights far off in thi darkness we could see sec the occasional lash flash of a gun the germans were sending homo home great shells loaded with explosives their aerial baill bombs bs could pot not bo be followed at night tile the F rench french were replying but their lire was more or less blind tile tho roar of tile tho guns came up to us plainly it shook the heavens suddenly thero there was a hash flash that lit up tile tho whole sky and a tor terrific rifle explosion sounded from below A german shell had found its mark one of the F rench french battleships had gono gone to her long home during tho the rest of tile the night there was no intermission in the heavy firing fearful explosions sounded now and then and we could but guess tho destruction st that was being I 1 had no wish to see either side win at the expense of the other at dawn wo were abio ablo to note the situation clearly six or eight miles away to the northeast lay the german fleet almost beneath us ua the french were gathered in loose order both were plying their great guns on both sides burning ships were drifting away others were careening halt half filled with water and ana now with the coming of daylight tile tho combatants resorted to their deadliest appliances As we watched one of t the he french battleships there was a a dull explosion the great hull opened split in twain like a canteloupe cantaloupe and went skiLl dering to the bottom wo we could see it deep in the clear water its hundreds of seaman swarming around like so many ants in a bowl it was remarkable to note the submarines moving here and there un under der water F from rom our height we could see clear to the b bottom 0 item and every boat was visible by a bright streak as it swept through tho the water suddenly lefevre clutched my arm and pointed the centrifugal lie he said in a whisper I 1 watched it on its way advancing in a bright whirl of bubbles it was making its way toward the german A r A f X W 44 A i xa nil Z oaf hl b Y IX SUDDENLY LU LB CLUTCHED UY HY ARIL ABU fleet and thither we followed but whatever work awaited this terror roust must bo be done quickly the germans were wonderfully accurate wl with th their aerial bombs shil after ship quivered split open and sank like a broken teacup tile force of the cal bilto was so great that it operated tor for a distance of a h undred hundred yards on every side anoro than once sin sinking king several of tho the smaller ships at one explosion lefevre groaned as looking back he saw one of the largest battleships col lapso fairly smashed into fragments ile ho shook ills hla ast flat 1st at tile the centrifugal on he shouted do thy work lag laggards gardt tho the centrifugal moved swiftly at intervals it came up with a submarine pau ed a moment to ascertain whether Ger gerain iian or french and it nd acted accordingly it if french it passed on it if german it darted at the victim touched it ain av 1 as quickly darted away avay what terrible ble power it exerted I 1 could not understand but at that fatal touch the enemy sank there seemed to be no escape no single chance presently tills this swift and silent messenger of death was in the think of 0 the german fleet looking back I 1 saw that thero there were but two of tho french ships left both sadly disabled tho the squadron was wai in fine shape but three ot of its ita battleships disabled disable I 1 sent vaimer lower to to observe moro more closely tho the centrifugal heeded not tile the torpedo nets neta it passed through obstructions dilons as though it were aure spirit we saw it under the bow ot of tho the frederich wilhelm Wll helm tho the largest battleship ot of tho the fleet for halt half a minute it luy there surrounded as aa over ever by that whirl willi UL of sparkling bubbles then thea it darted away toward another 80 interested wo we in watching thu uri uncanny canny movements of tho the str alig ault that we did not observe the on an board the |