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4" P -J '% * s y -" - : Jp*- I'f **s ^ "<v N. grt • - * . - v • * v # ^S»«3SliS ? • wwet v.v; »ii«^ 'l"Wi!l'.'V> v?< */-*«.r<r-*:v> •nfiT., llNlif|»>«>»t»^l»»*»<»»M»tH^M4>»>»KM»MI»MIMII>>tillill<»iflM1irfM#MMtMMt<»>IMM»<M« •' n v^7?' " * * ,. j V "i-n ^~"|C- ' i, - "By L0UIS JOSEPH JtfAHCE • <,Jt* ^7'< (Copyright b« l.ontw .loarpli V»ne».' f'l . ~i :-!•• :'""" iifa,, #4 C" 'O1 'il" 'C» ft 0" <" i • s CHAPTER XXX--Cont inued . p-&<.~t:» f. 'V v '. SI w m:4:' , . #-V' &$•;. "ss ^ ?y «?•J ..iK^or the present, however, Lanyard Wflifiht taking any. He met that chal­ lenge with a look of blank noacorapre- henslon, folded his arms, lounged against the desk, and watched Mme. Omber acknowledge, none too cordial* tg, the sergent's query, "I am Mn?e. Omfcer-iyei. What can I do for you?" " The sergent gaped. "Pardon!" he stammered, then laughed as one who tardily appreci­ ates a joke. "It is well we are here in time, madams," he added--' though it would seem you have not bad great trouble with this miscreant. Where is the woman,?" , He moved a pice forward Lanyard--••' handcuffs jingled in his grasp. "A moment, if you please!" madame interposed. "Woman? What woman?" Pausing, the Bergent explained in a tone of surprise: "His accomplice, naturally! Such Were our instructions---to proceed at once to madame's home, enter quietly by way of the servants' entrance-- which would be open--and arrest a burglar with his female accomplice." - Again the stout sergent moved to­ ward Lanyard; again Mme. Omber •topped tijm. "One moment, If you please!" "Her eyes, dense with mystification and suspicion, questioned Lanyard's, who, with a significant nod toward the Jewel case still in her hands, gave her a ]Dok of dumb entreaty. After brief hesitation, "It Is a mis­ take," madame declared; "there is no «6man In this house that I know of *bo has no right to be here. But yea say you received a message? I sent none!" The fat sergent shrugged. "That is not for me to dispute, madame. I have only my Information to go by." He glared sullenly at Lanyard, who returned a placid smile which, despite what little hope was to be derived from madame's irresolute manner, masked a vast amount of trepidation. He felt tolerably sure Mme., Omber had hot summoned the police on prior knowledge of his presence in the li­ brary. This meant, then, a new form of attack on the part of the Pack. He must certainly have been followed-- or else the girl had been caught at­ tempting to steal away and the infor­ mation extracted from her by force majeure. Moreover, he could hear two more pairs of feet tramping through the salons. . Pending the introduction of these last, Mme. Omber said nothing more. And, unceremoniously enough, the newcomers shouldered their way into the library -two men In citizen's cloth­ ing--one pompous body of otherwise undistinguished appearance, promptly identified by the Bergents de ville as the commis8aire of that quarter, the Other, a puffy mediocrity, known to Lanyard at least (if no one else seemed to recognize him) as Popinot. ^ At this confirmation of his darkest fairs the adventurer abandoned hope erf any *aid from Mme. Omber and be­ gan to take unostentatious stock of his chances of escaping by his own ef­ forts. Bat he was altogether unarmed, thanks to his precipitate action In drawing the teeth of madame's re­ volver, and the odds were heavy--four against one, all four no doubt under anns, and two at least--the sergents de ville--men of sound military train- "Mme. Omber?" inquired the com- snlssaire, saluting that lady with Iqi- mense dignity. "One trusts that this intrusion may be pardoned, the circum­ stances remembered. In an affair of this nature, involving this repository of so historic treasures--" " "That is quite well understood, mon- aleur le commissalre," madame replied distantly. "And this monsieur is, no doubt, your aid?" "Pardon!" Monsieur le commissalre hastened to make his companion known. MM. Popinot, agent de la aurete, who lays these informations." With a profound obeisance to Mme. Omber, Popinot strode dramatically over to face Lanyard and explore bis lineaments with his small, keen, shifty ayes of a pig--a scrutiny which the ad­ venturer suffered with superficial im­ perturbability. "It is he!" Popinot announced' with a gesture. "Messieui's, I call upon you to arrest this man, M. Michael Lan­ yard, self-styled the Lone Wolf." «r. He stepped back a pace, expanding • bis chest in a vain effort to eclipse his abdomen, and glanced round triumph­ antly at his respectful auditors. "Accused," he added with intense TOlish, "of the murder of Inspector %Oddy of Scotland Yard at Troyon's, and of setting fire to that establish-, i^nkent--" ^ "For this, Popinot," Lanyard Inter­ rupted in an undertone, "I shall some ttme cut off your ears!" He turned to Mme. Omber; "Accept, if you please, ;|*MMlame, my sincere regrets--but this accusation happens to be one of which • .j am altogether innocent." Instantly, from his passive pose. f|3kanyard straightened up, and the j i lieavy brass and mahogany humidor V. Whereon his right hand had been rest- ifcig seemed fairly to leap from its : »lace on the desk as, with a sweep of 1 flls arm, he sent It spinning point ilank at the younger sergent. Before that one, wholly unprepared -iould more than gasp, it caught him a llow like a kick just below the breast? ' '"&one. He reeled, and the breath left ln 000 ml*bty Bust, he sat dowjn ' ^abruptly--blue eyes wide with a look '<<•, "Of aggrieved surprise--clapped both "•'-J- • f_, v.. *••» -- Am KU mMilta hlinlrail pule, and keeled over on his side. But Lanyard hadn't waited to note ^results. He was too busy. The fat aergent. with % snarl had leaped upon his ami and was struggling to hold it still long enough to snap a handcuff round the wrist, while the commis­ salre had started with a bellow of rage and two hands extended. Itching, for the adventurer's throat. j. The first received a half-arm jab on the point of his chin that jarred his teeth, and without in the least under­ standing how It happened, found him­ self being whirled around and laid prostrate in the commlssatre's path. The latter tripped, fell and planted two hard knees, with the bulk of his weight atop them, on the zenith of the sergent's rotundity. * £t the same time Lanyard, leaping toward the door way, noticed that Popi­ not was tugging at a revolver In his hip pocket. Followed a vivid flash, then com­ plete darkness; with a well-aimed kick --an elementary movement of la savate--Lanyard had dislodged the light switch, knocking its porcelain box from the wall, thus breaking the connection and causing a' short circuit which extinguished every light in the house. With his way thus apparently cleared, the police in confusion, dark­ ness abetting him. Lanyard plunged on; but in midstride, as be crossed the threshold, his ankle was caught and jerked from under him by the still prostrate younger Bergent. For the next minute or two Lanyard fought blindly, madly, viciously, strik­ ing and kicking at random. Then^ free, he made off, running, stumbling, reeling, gained the recep­ tion hall, flung open the door, and heedless of the picket who had fired at him from below the window, threw himself bodily down the steps and away. Three shots sped him through that Intricate tangle of the night-bound park. But all flew wide; and the.pur­ suit--what little there was--blundered off at haphazard and lost Itself. He came to the wall, crept along ln shelter of its deeper shadow until he found a tree with a low-swung branch that jutted out over the street, climbed this, edged outward, and dropped to the sidewalk. A shout from the direction of the nearest gate greeted his appearance. He turned and dashed off. Running feet for a time pursued him, afed cnce he heard the rumble of a motor. But he recovered quickly, regained his wind, and ran well, with long, steady, ground-consuming strides, and doubled, turned, and twisted ln a manner to wake the envy of the most subtle fox. The pursuit failed once more. In time he felt warranted in slowing down to a rapid walk. Weariness was now a heavy burden upon him, and his spirit numbed with desperate desire for rest; but his pace did not fiag nor his purpose falter from its goal. It was a long walk to which he set himself and, as soon as he felt confi­ dent of freedom from espionage, a di­ rect one. He plodded without falter* ing to the one place where he could the golden shadows and the ancient mystery of the farther choir and dis­ tant shining altar--and there was no more doubt in his heart but that, what­ ever should ensue of this, the restless spirit of the Lone Wolf was laid at last. « But in time he remembered how urgent was their plight; and remem­ bering, found courage to break in upon her devotions. "We must go," he said gently. "We haven't much time, and we must be out of Paris before dawn If we're to live to see another sundown. I think that will be all right--I've a standing arrangement with the minister of war." Sbe rose quietly, With a serenely ra­ diant face. "I knew you would be here," he sfkld slowly--"I knew it well." "I knew you would come here for me," she told him in turiv--"I knew you must. I was praying that you might be spared to me, my dearest." Lanyard Fought Blindly, Madly, Vi­ ciously. CHAPTER XXXI.' <3 Wings of the Morning. About-half past six Lanyard left the dressing room assigned him ln the bar­ racks at Port Aviation and, waddling quaintly in the heavy wind-proof gar­ ments provided at the instance of Du- croy, made his way between two hang­ ars to the practice • eld. Now the eastern skies were pulsing fitfully with promise of dawn; but within the vast inclosure of the aero- doine the gloom of night lingered so stubbornly that two huge searchlights had been pressed into the service of those engaged in tuning up the motor of the Parrott biplane. In their intense, white, concentrated' glare--that rippled oddly upon the wrinkled, oily garments of the dozen or so mechanics busy about the ma­ chine--the under sides of those wide, motionless planes hung against the dark with an effect of impermanence-- as though they wore already afloat and needed but a breath to send thera winging skyward. At one side a number of young and keen-faced Frenchmen, officers of tkw corps, were lounging, overlooking the preparations with alert and intelligent interest. On the other, all the majesty of Mart* was incarnate in the rotund person of ( M. Ducroy, posing valiantly In fur- lined coat and shining top-hat while he chatted with an officer of tall, ath- Lstic figure who wore an air of uncom' mon efficiency together with his aviat­ ing uniform. As Lanyard drew near, this matt brought his heels together smartly, saluted the minister of war and stroda off toward the flying machine. "Captain Vauquelin informs me he, will be ready to start ln five minutes, monsieur," Ducroy announced. "You are just in time." "And mademoiselle?" the adventurer asked, peering anxiously around. Almost immediately the girl came forward from the shadows with a smile apologetic for the strangeness of her attire. She had donned, over her street dress, a simple leather garment whi^h enveloped her completely 'and but­ toned tight round wrists and ankles. Her small hat, too, had be^n replaced by a leather helmet-cap which left only her eyes, nose, mouth add chin exposed, and even these were soon to be hidden by a heavy veil for protec­ tion against spattering oil. "Mademoiselle is not tfervoua--eh?" Ducroy inquired politely. * Lucy smiled brightly. "I? Why should I be, monsieur?" "I trust mademoiselle will permit me to commend her courage. Pardon! I have one last word for the ear of Cap­ tain Vauquelin." Lifting his hat, the Frenchman joined the group near the machine. Lanyard soared unaffectedly at the girl's face, unable to disguise his won­ der at the high spirits advertised by her rekindled color and brilliant eyes "Well?" she demanded gayly. "Don't tell me I don't look like a fright! I know I do!" "I daren't tell you how you look to me," Lanyard replied soberly. "But I will say this, that for sheer, down­ right pluck, you--" "Thank you, monsieur! And you?" He glanced with a deprecatory smile at the flimsy-looking contrivance to wiucli they were presently to intrust their lives. "Somehow," said he doubtfnlly, "I don't feel ln the least upset or exhil­ arated. It seems little out of the aw erage run of life--all In the day's work!" "I think," she replied, "that you're very like tife other lone wolf, the fic­ titious one--Lypin, you know--a bit of a humbug. If you're not nervous, why keep starin j hither and yon--as if you were rather expecting somebody--as if you wouldn't be surprised to see Popinot or De Morbihan pop out of the ground--or Bkstroni!" "Hum!" he said gravely, "I don't mind telling you now, that's precisely what I am afraid of." "Nonsense!" the gfrl cried In open contempt. • "What could they do?" "Please don't ask me," Lanyard begged seriously. "I might try to tell you." ' "But don't worry, please!" Fugitive- Ifcr her hand touched his arm. "We're ijeady." It was true enough. Ducroy was moving toward them again. "All Is prepared!" he announced in sonorous accents. In a sober silence they approached the machine. j Vauquelin kept himself aloof while Lanyard and a young officer helped the girl to a seat on the right of the pilot's and strapped her in. When the adven­ turer had been similarly secured in the place on the left the two sat, impris­ oned, some six feet above the ground. Lanyard found his perch comfort­ able enough. A broad band of webbing fjurnlshed support for his back, another crossed his chest by way of provision against forward pitching, there were rests for his feet ^nd cloth-wound grips 'fixed to struts on either side for his hands. ^ He smiled at Ludy across the empty seat, and was surprised at the clear­ ness with which her answering smile was visible. But he wasn't to see it again for -i long and weary time; al­ most immediately she began to adjust her veil. The morning had grown much light­ er within the last few minutes. i A wait ensued of seemingly intermi­ nable duration. A swarm of znechan kes, assistants and military aviators buzzed round their feet like bees. The sky was now pale to the eastern horizon. A fleet of heavy clouds was drifting off into the south, leaving in their wake thin veil of mist that bade fair soon to disappear before the rays of the Sun. The atmosphere seemed tolerably clear and not un­ seasonably cold. The light grew stronger stills- features of ^distant objects defined themselves; tracer: of color warmed the winter landscape. " After some time their pilot, wearing his wind-mask, appeared and began to climb to his perch. With a cool nod for Lanyard and a civil bow to his woman passenger he settled himself, adjusted several levers and flirted a gay hand to his brother officers. There was a warning cry frorft the rear. The crowd dropped back rapid­ ly to either side. Ducroy lifted his hat in parting salute, cried "Bon voyage!" and scuttled clear like a startled roost­ er before a motor car. Thereupon the motor and propeller broke loose with a mighty roar comparable only. In Lanyard's fancy, to the chant of ten thousand riveting-locusts. He felt momentarily as if his tyjn- panums must burst with the incessant and tremendous concussion registered upon them; but presently this sensa­ tion passed, leaving him with that of permanent deafness. Before he could recover and regain control of his startled wits the aviator had grasped a lever and the great fab­ ric was in motion. It swept down the field like a frightened swan, and the wheels of'its chassis, registering every infinitesimal irregularity in the surface of the ground, magnified them all a hundred­ fold. It was like riding in a tumbrel driven at top speed over the Giant's Causeway. Lanyard was shaken vio­ lently to the very marrow of his bones; he believed that even his eyes must be rattling- in their sockets. Then the Parrott began to ascend. Singularly enough, this change was marked at first by no more than a slight lessening of the vibration--the machine seemed still to be d&shing ; over a cobbled thoroughfare at break­ neck speed; and Lanyard found It dif­ ficult to appreciate that they were i afloat, even when he looked down and discovered a hundred feet of space be­ tween himself and the practice-field. In another breath they were soaring over housetops. Momentarily, now, the shocks be­ came less frequent. And presently they ceased almost altogether, to be repeat­ ed only at rare intervals, when the drift of air opposing the planes devel­ oped irregularities in its velocity. There succeeded, in contrast, the sub- limest peace; even the roaring of the propeller dwindled to the negligible status of a sustained drone; the Par­ rott seemed to float without an effort upon a vast, still sea, flawed only occa sionally by inconsiderable ripples. Still rising, they surprised the earliest rays of the sun; and in their virgin light the aeroplane was trans­ formed Into a thing of gossamer gold. Continually the air buffeted their faces like a flood of icy water. Below, the scroll of the world un­ rolled like some vast and Intricately feel sure of finding his beloved. If she lived and were free. He knew that she had not forgotten, and ln his heart he knew that she would never again of her own wil1 fall him. vi«r had1 she, when--weary and sp>st t from that heart-breaking climb vp the merciless acclivity of the Butte Montmartre--he staggered rather than walked past the sleepy verger and found his way through the crowding shadows to the softly luminous heart of the cathedral of the Sacre-Coeur, and found her kneeling, her head bent upon hands resting across the back of the little chair before her, a slight and timid figure lost and lonely in the long ranks of empty chairs that filled the body of the nave. Slowly, almost fearfully, he went to her, and silently slipped Into the chair by her side. She knew, without looking up, that it was he. After a little her hand stole out to his, closed, round his fingers and drew him forward with a gentle; insistent pressure. He knelt then with her, hand in hand--filled with the wonder of it, that he to whom religion had net!'4"E «hnuld havA h«m hrnnvht to thfa by the magic of a woman's love. He knelt for a long time, for many minutes, his somber gaze questioning STRANGE FASHION FREAKS * * 1 Women's, 8ty!es Follow 8tage Fads or National Costumes--Garter Helped One Young Lady. Ik nine cases out of ten' fashions axe born, not made, and they caft of­ ten be traced to the Influence of pass­ ing events. It would seem that the short, full skirts which are now in vogue originated with the Russian bal­ let which has been so popular of late, in the same way as the tight skirts fol­ lowed the craze for oriental plays and dances. Following up the Russian in­ fluence, the Paris fashion experts in­ troduced the Cossack coat and high Cossack boots. Dress experts keep changing the fashions, as it were, in self-defense. At one time elaborately-worked and hand-embroidered blouses were tl\e vogue. Then machines were so per­ fected that 'machine • embroidered blouses outrivaled the hand work, and fashion experts retaliated by design­ ing blouses as plain as they could be made. The fashion for uncurled feathers =ro« tha result of a wet day. Curled ostrich feathers were on every tiat, when, at some fashionable function, the rain descended in torrents and ev- featner was soon absolutely • : straight. Milliners, always alert for an idea, were struck with the appear­ ance of these feathers, and uncurled ostrich plumes became the demand. Tue fashion for wearing ribbons in­ termingled with curls piled on the top of the head originated ln the reign of Louis XIV of France. A certain Mile Fontange was out hunting with the king and court, when a branch of a tree caught her hair and pulled It down. With quick resourcefulness, she leaned down, pulled off her ribbon gar ter, and twisted up her hair with it. The king, noticing the pretty effect, complimented her on her charming coiffure, and from that moment the "fontange," as It was termed, became the rage. It cannot be dented that most of the more extreme fashions originate with the stage, but the most lasting fash iuua uui to royalty. The vogue for black and white, which has not yet died out, was the result <>f of King Edward. •• Drought Affects Ostrich f'eilfiers. uargt*t7 uwttumi ut iiia gi nmZ drought in Africa, the supply of os­ trich feathers is smallefLiii quantity and inferior In grade. It Was Nothing Less Than De Mor- bihan's Valkyr'Monoplane. Illuminated missal, or like some strange mosaic, marvelously minute. Lanyard could see the dial of the compass, fixed to a strut on the pilot's left. By that telltale their course lay nearly due northeast. Already the weltering roofs of Paris were ln sight to the, right, the Eiffel tower scaring from them like a fairy pillar of fine gold lace-work, the Seine looping the cluttered acres like a sleek brown snake. Versailles broke the horizon to port and slipped astern. Paris closed up, telescoped its panorama, became a mere blur, a smoky smudge. But It was long before the distance eclipsed that admonitory finger of the Eiffel. Vauquelin manipulating the levers, the plane tilted lts,, nose and swam higher and yet higher. The song of the motor dropped an octave to a rich­ er tone. The speed was sensibly in­ creased. Lanyard contemplated with untem- pered wonder the fact of his equanim­ ity--there seemed nothing at all strange in this extraordinary experi­ ence; he was by no means excited, re­ mained merely deeply interested. And he could detect in his physical sensa­ tions no trace of that, qualmish dread he had always associated with high places--the sense he now experienced of security, of solidity, ever afterward remained wholly unaccountable in his understanding. Of a sudden, surprised by a touch on his arm, he turned to peet through the mica windows of the wind-mask the eyes of the aviator, informed with an expression of importunate doubt, quite illegible. Assailed by sickening fear lest something was going wrong with the machine. Lanyard fehook his head to indicate want of comprehension. Then, with an impatient gesture, the aviator pointed downward. Appreciating the f^ot that speech was impossible, Lanyard clutched the struts and bent forward. But the pace was now so fast and their elevation so great that the landscape swimming beneath his vision was no more than a brownish plain fugitively maculated with blots of contrasting color. He looked up blankly, but only to be treated to the same gesture. Piqued, he concentrated attention more closely upon the flat, streaming landscape. And suddenly he recog­ nized something oddly familiar ln the bend of the Seine that wap approach ing. "St.-Germain-en-Laye!" he exclaimed with a start of alarm. This was the danger point. "And over there," he reminded him­ self--"to the left--that wide field with a queer white thing ln the middle that looks like a winged grub--that must be De Morbiban's aerodome and his Valkyr monoplane! Are they bringing it out? Is that what Vauquelin means? And if so--what of it? I don't see." A sudden doubt and wonder chilled the adventurer. Temporarily, Vauquelin returned en tire attention to the management of the biplane. The wind was now blow ing more fitfully, creating pockets-- those "holes In the air" so dreadei by cloud-pilots--and In quest of a more constant resistance the aviator was swinging his craft ln a wide northerly curve, climbing ever higher any more high. The earth soon lost all semblance of design; even the twisted silver wire of the Seine vanished far on the left; re mained only the effect of firm suspen s}on in that high hln« nt a r tinuous flow of iced water on the face together with the tuneless chant of the motor. ' - -- After some forty minutes more of this--it m»y have beefc an hour, for time was then an incalculable thing-- "What Is It?" he screamed to tn* other in futile effort to lift his voice above the din. But the Frenchman understood, and responded with a sweep of his arm to­ ward the horizon ahead. And seeing nothing but cloud "in the quarter Indi­ cated, Lanyard began to grasp the na­ ture of a phenomenon which, from the first, had been vaguely troubling him. The reason why he had been able to perceive no real rim to the world was that the earth was all asteam from the heavy rains of the last week; all the more remote distances were veiled with rising vapor. And now they were approaching the coast, to which, it seemed, the mists clung closest; for all the world before them slept be­ neath a blanket of dark gray. Nor was it difficult now to under­ stand why the aviator was ill at ease facing the prospect of navigating ln a channel fog. > Several minutes later he startled Lanyard with another peremptory touch on his arm, followed by a signifi­ cant glance over his shoulder. Lanyard turned hastily. Behind them, at a distance which he calculated roughly as two miles, the silhouette of a monoplane hung against the brilliant firmament, resembling, a solitary, soaring gull than any man- with Its single spread of wings, more directed mechanism. Only an infrequent and almost Im­ perceptible shifting of the wings proved that it was moving. He watched It for several seconds, in deepening perplexity finding it Im­ possible to guess whether the mono­ plane were gaining or losing in that long chase or who might be its pilot. Yet Lanyard entertained little doubt that the pursuing machine had risen from the aerodome of Count Remy de Morbihan at St.-Germaln-en-Laye; that It was nothing less, ln fact, than De Morbihan's Valkyr monoplane, reputed the fastest in Europe apd winner at a dozen international events; and that it was guided, if not by De Morbihan him­ self, by one of the creatures of the Pack--quite possibly, even more prob­ ably, by Ekstrom! But--assuming all this--what evil could such pursuit portend? In what conceivable manner could the follow­ ing pilot reckon to profit himself by overtaking or distancing the Parrott? He couldn't hinder the escape of Lan­ yard and Lucy Shannon to England In any way, by any medns reasonably to be imagined. Was this simply one more move to keep Lanyard under espionage? But that might more readily have been ac­ complished by telegraphing or tele­ phoning the Pack's confreres, Wert- heimer's associates In the Bnglish capi­ tal! What else could the Pack have In mind? Lanyard gave It up, admitting his Inability to trump up any sane excuse fbr such conduct; but the riddle conr tinued to tret his mind. From the first, from that moment when Lucy's disappearance had re­ quired postponement of this flight, he had apprehended trouble; it hadn't seemed reasonable to hope that/ the Parrott could be held In waiting on his orders for many days without the se­ cret leaking out; but it was trouble to develop before the start from Port Aviation that he had anticipated. The possibility that the Pack would be able to Work any mischief to him after that had never entered his calculations. Even now he found It difficult to give it serious consideration. Again he glanced back. Now, in his judgment, the monoplane loomed larger than before against the glow­ ing sky, indicating that it was over­ taking them. Beneath his breath Lanyard s#ora from a heart brimming with disquiet. • The Parrott was capable of a speed of eighty miles an hour; and unques­ tionably Vauquelin was wheedling every ounce of power out of that will­ ing motor. Since drawing Lanyard's attention to the' pursuer he had con­ trived an appreciable acceleration. But would even that pace serve to hold the Valkyr in Its place. If not to distance it? His next backward look reckoned the monoplane no nearer. And another thirty'minutes or so elapsed without the relative positions of the two flying machines undergoing any perceptible change. In the course of this period the Par­ rott rose to an altitude, Indicated by the barograph at Lanyard's elbow, of over half a mile. Below the channel fog spread itself out like a sea of milk, slowly churning. Staring down in fascination, Lan­ yard told himself gravely : "Blue water below that, my friend!" It seemed difficult to credit the fact that they had covered the distance from Paris in so short a period of time. By his reckoning--a very crude one --the Parrott was then somewhere off Dieppe--it ought to pick up England, in such case, not far from Brighton. If one could only see! N By bending forward a little and star­ ing past the aviator Lanyard could catch a glimpse of Lucy Shannon. Though all her beauty and grace of person were lost In the clumsy swad- dlings of her makeshift costume, she seemed to be resting comfortably in her place; and the rushing air, keen with the chill of that great altitude, not only molded her wind veil precise­ ly to the exquisite contours of her face; but stung her firm cheeks until they glowed with a rare fire that even that thick, dark mesh enshrouding them could not: wholly quench. The sun crept above the floor mt mist, played upon it with iridescea< rays, shot it through aM through witl a warm, pulsating glow like that of s fire-opal, and suddenly turned it to a sea of fairy gold that, extending to the horizon, baffled every effort to surmise their position, whether they were above land or sea. None the less, Lanyard's rough and stalrmlnHnnft nArftiia^AH him thftl * -- » • - they were then about mid-channel. He had no more than arrived at this conclusion when a sharp, startled movement that rocked the plane drew his attention to the man at his side. Glancing ln alarm at the aviator's U1WU U1 IWUVi »U»t uaii/ai u, tiveness, began to divine some little disquiet in the mind of the aviator, and stared until ho caught his eye. CETOTHEM WIDDL F ACED MEN NEED _ FEA*pf : NO LONGER FOR THEIR JOBS. * Noted Physician Say* Big Buslneti Mas Learned Value of Miature Judgment and Piodditig Stead- l In Workers. : ? American Industry can no longed dispense with the middle-aged work­ ers nor even with those verging oa old age, writes the noted physician* - Dr. L Madison Taylor. Middle age and even old age need no 4onger dread the junk heap on which big business previously proposed to scrap all bufc. the most energetic of the population. - Little more than a year has elapsed since American business parlance be­ gan to forget Its phrase, "an old maa of forty." Little more than a year may elapse before it shall have adopt­ ed the phrase, "the youn,g man of fifty." Times are changing, and with them. Every indication of current indus­ trial, economic and commercial condi­ tions evidences the imminent neces­ sity on the part of 100,000,000 compos­ ing the population of the continental United States, of Increasing enormous­ ly their productive capacity and, nec­ essarily, their individual efficiency. " The lesson is one that has been Iflk culcated, in various forms of admoni­ tion, throughout the past year by stu­ dents of the European war and of the economic conflict which must folloir Its conclusion. Little more than ten years have goo# since, throughout the range of "W% business," the fiat went forth that this is the day of the young men. In many instances employees of undoubted loy­ alty and complete proficiency were dismissed or denied advancement sole­ ly on the score of an age limit which, too frequently, was set at a ludicrous­ ly low appraisement. Even 40 years of Hv^1 and fruit­ ful activity were supposed to be suffi­ cient to Incapacitate a man for the Initiative demanded by our "more modern" business methods. Grievous, wrong was done large numbers of ma­ ture intelligences whose sobriety of judgment more than compensated for the inappreciable abatement of their dynamic energy. The present insistent demand for workers of all classes has, to a note­ worthy extent, sWept aside the erro­ neous verdict of the "big business" of the past decade. The conditions of the Immediate future make certain the utilization ln some form or other of all of the mental and physical re­ sources of our people, if their Indus tries are to survive in the approach-* ing struggle between European and < American Industries. Yet it remains, ln the pitiless light of that brief tradition--existing long enough to establish a precedent still respected--for men past the first flush of their early vigor to realize the con­ ditions under which, if at all, they are to come into their own and are Je. hold it henceforward. If, ln our industries, we are Wr meet successfully the bitter competi­ tion impending, not only must our ex­ ecutives utilize all the labor energy and skill at their disposal, but the men of middle age must do their ut­ most to keep themselves at their best. How shall they do it ? As a practical physician, I should advise the average middle-aged man, for his first salva­ tion, to resolve not to squander effort. He must concentrate; he must refrain vfrom assuming useless burdens, how* ever tempting they may be. He must limit his expenditure of energy to the work which he has in hand and limit his appetites to the gratification of those only which shall conserve hie working powers. Middle age, wisely conserved, need not dread comparison with youth'f strength weakened by youth's lavfsh* ness. Go into German workshops--Into any industrial organization In Ger­ many--and you will have visual dem- ( onstration of the fact that the men most treasured are the men of mid­ dle age and, frequently, old age. These men usually evidence a plodding stead­ iness which implies less initiativ# than is to be found in Americans of -corresponding years. But the lauded and envied' German efficiency has proved their very steadiness, their in- defatigableness, their assured expers ness to be qualities more than com­ pensating for the "ginger" of mere youth. Heads Up! "An expert automobile driver of my acquaintance," Siys Frederick Upham Adams ln American Magazine, "has coined an injunction which might wall be adopted by all drivers pending the adoption of the reforms outlined. Moot of those who risk their lives crossing streets, between intersections do so with their heads down, their half- closed eyes fixed on their feet. After successfully dodging such trespassers, or stopping in time to save them from injury, my friend good-naturedly sings out* 'Heads up, friend!' "Few take offense at this cheerful admonition, and, as a rdle, they Bit their heads, square their shoulders, and briskly take an alert way acrotS the street and out of danger." race, uw onw tuai n ma wuiw •« marble--what little of it was vlstfcW beyond and beneath the wiiid-avulK (TO BC CONTINUUM Knowledge Is Power. It is true that knowledge is power, but how to use this power is another question, and means the learning of another lesson. The Persians have this significant and clever saying: "It takes ten pounds of common sotm to carry one pound of learning. A® common sense is not so very common ; after all. it will mean a diligent use of the means to gather ten pounds to carry the one pound of learning, but it wwi be done. How much better to do It, than to lose the power of know!- " - • . • f 11 \ Safety First. He was on tr&l for bigamy. J, "What," queried the judge, "evaftjiS ^ duced you to marry 14 wives?" , "Supersuuon. your honor, • replies the prisoner. /TP^een^you k^^ ^ considers# an unluckv number " eugts, vr Ma« to gala.