Jacklas of the Clouds

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 115, 16 May 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

Jacklas of the Clouds

CHAPTER XI. At the foot of the cliff toward which the machines were heading appeared the dull glow of small drybattery lamps, carried by the vag'ie and shadowy forms of men well muffled against the bitter chill of the night air at that altitude. A final burst of his throttle brougat Lauvignac surging in toward them, and scarce had his machine come to a quivering halt than he leapt from the cockpit. "The boy is in my rear cockpit!" he rapped. "Take him at once to my quarters and rouse Doctor Steinwohl. Hurry—the need is urgent!" Phantom Aerodrome. From the black depths of a bottomless pit, peopled by strange, fantastic shapes, Captain Eric Howard, of British Trans-Continental Airways, drifted slowly back to consciousness. He lay gazing with dawning wonderment ,at the ceiling of glistening rock above him. Weakly he turned Iris head. Hβ was lying in bed—a hed of snowy, spotless linen—in a Avarm room lighted by a shaded electric light bulb suspended from the rocky ceiling. No, it was not a room, after all. It was a cave. Tho •walls were hung with tapestries and there was a thick pile carpet on the floor. That was what .had deceived him —had made him think it was a room. Fuller consciousness was returning mow and with it he made two further discoveries. One was that his arm and shoulder were swathed in T>andages and the other was that he literally had scarce the strength to lift his head. He lay quite still for a while, gazing up at' the ceiling of rock with a puzzled frown. Where was this cave and how had he eorae here? It had something to do, had it not, with priests — black-robed priests? No, that-was all ■just part of the nightmare from which he had wakened. But— "You are awake, then, my friend!" A quiet, well-modulated voice by the side of the bed broke in on his thoughts. He turned his head. A man, middle-aged and well dressed, was standing looking down at him. Po silent had been his approach that Eric had not heard it. His face was grave and intellectual, with level blue eyes. cleaV-cut features, and a short, fair beard, trimmed carefully to a point.

By GEORGE E. ROCHESTER.

"Who are you?" whispered Eric, weakly. "My name is Steinwohl—Doctor Steinwohl," replied the other. "Where am I—where is this place?" demanded the boy, huskily. "You are at Phantom Aerodrome and are with—friends." The latter word came after an almost imperceptible pause. "Phantom Aerodrome?" repeated Eric, slowly. "But Ido not understand. How did I come here and— " "You were brought here three days ago," cut in Doctor Steinwohl quietly. "You have been ill—very ill indeed. You must not talk any more just now." He turned and spoke a low word. A short and stocky blue-bloused Mongolian stepped forward, a bowl of steaming soup in his hands. The hot, thick fluid sent the life blood coursing through Eric's veins, but with it there came a strange and overpowering drowsiness. The forms of Doctor Steinwohl and the Mongolian servant grew vague and indistinct; the boy's head fell back on the pillow and he dropped into a peaceful, strength-giving sleep.

When next he opened his eyes the Mongolian was still in attendance, sitting silently by the side of the bed. Seeing Erie awake, he rose to his feet and quitted the cave without a word. Minutes passed, then Doetor Steinwohl appeared, followed by a tall, lithely built, hawk-faced man clad in a tightly fitting dark blue uniform with high gold-braided collar and small golden wings on the left breast of the tunic. Eric stared at the man, for there was something familiar about those hawk-like features. "You are better, boy?" The man spoke crisply, but there was a kindliness in his tones. Eric nodded, his eyes on the man's face. "Yes, I'm much better!" he replied. The other laughed. "Come, that is excellent," he remarked. "So we have cheated those murderous priests of Buddha, after all, to say nothing of the gross Schaumvorge!" Those murderous priests of Buddha . . . the gross Schaumvorge . . . Tn a flash the flood gates of memory were loosed and there came to Eric vivid, pulsating recollection. He raised himself on his elbow, ey<:s dilating. "I know you now!" he cried. "Yon are Lauvignac, who came to me in the tortiire chamber of Katong!" Doctor Steinwohl stepped forward and pressed Eric gently back on his pillow.

"Careful, my friend," he said, '.'else you, yourself will endanger the lite which we have tried so hard to save!" Erie lay back. "'You mean mine?" he asked. "Yes, yours!" nodded the doctor. He turned to Lauvignac. "1 will leave you with him now, sir," he said. "A few days will see him fit and on his feet again." "Ma foi, Steinwohl, I do not know what we would do without you," laughed Lauvignac. "I only *tru<t our labours have not been in vain. 'Twould be a thousand pities if the boy should fail us now." Steinwohl turned his eyes full on Eric. "He will not fail you, Lauvignae," he said; but to Erie it seemed as though the words were addressed to him. "He will not fail you, 1 say, if he has one shred of honour in hi? soul." "Nay, not honour!" replied Lauvignac, lightly. " 'Tis a poor word for the likes of us to use. Sav. rather, gratitude, my Steinwohl!" "Well, gratitude or honour, have it which you will." said the doctor and. turning on his heel, quitted the cav«. Lauvignac seated himself on the chair by the side of the bed. For a long moment he sat in silence, studying Eric's pale face. Then he said, quietly— "AVhat is your name?" "Howard —Captain Eric Howard, of British Trans-Continental Airways," replied the boy. "But, I say. I don't know how to thank you for what you did—" "I require no thanks —as yet!" cut in Lauvignac. "Tell me, were you leading the squadron which Sehaumvorjre attacked and shot down?" "Yes." Lauvignac nodded. "T thoujrht it was the squadron leader's machine which made th<; forced landing near the lamasery ot Katonj;," he said.

"Did you see the fight?" demanded Eric.

"It was no fight—it was a massacre," replied Lauvisnac, grimly. "Your small squadron had no chance at all. Yes, Vorsatz and I saw it. You will soon understand that I take more than a passing interest in the activities of the quaint Sehaurnvorse." "Yes, he spoke of you when he asked me to join his squadron," remarked Eric. "But there's heaps of things about this husiness which I don't understand. Why did you—" "No, no!" cut in Lauvignac, with upraised hand. "It is I who must question, if you will pardon ma. Now, tell me, why did you refuse to join Schaumvorge's squadron?" "Why?" echoed Eric. "Why did 1 refuse?" Isn't the question superfluous?" "No, it is not!" persisted Lauvignac. "Why did you choose death rather than serve with him?" "I hope you understand that I am not indulging in heroics." replied Erie, slowly, "when I say that I would have preferred death a hundred times to service with that blackguardly pirate who sent my comrades to their death!" "Ah, and there we have it!" sai.l Lauvignac, sharply. "Now imagim , for one moment that Schaumvorge,

pirate though he be, had harmed no comrades of yours. Imagine that up till the moment you met him in tho lamasery of Katong lie had rendered you no hurt, either directly or indirectly. You follow me?" "Yes," replied Eric, wonderingly. Lauvignac leant forward in his chair. "You understand," he said, "we are assuming that he is a stranger to you and one whom you have had no cause to hate —and yet a pirate. Now, under such circumstances as those would you have taken service with him ?" "No, I would not!" replied. Erie firmly. "You would still, an an alternative, have chosen death in the torture chamber?" "Yes, yes!" replied Eric, a trifle wildly, "Why do you ask me such a question?" ''Because I wished to know, of course!" retorted Lauvignac. curtly. "You say that spoke of me. What did he say?" "He gave, me to understand that you, also, were a pirate, though not so powerful as he," replied Eric. "He lied, of course!" "Why do you say of course, Howard ?" asked Lauvignac, quietly. Something in the words brought Eric up on his elbow, staring in astonishment at the handsome, blueclad Lauvignar. "Do you mean that Schaumvor<re did not lie?" he demanded. "Do you mean that you are a pirate—you, who risked your life to save mine and brought me here, and—and had me nursed back to health?" Lauvignac was silent, a faint and elusive smile on his firm lips. "Answer me, man!" demanded Eric. "Did Schaumvorge lie when he said you were a pirate ?" Lauvignac shook his head. "No," he said, softly. "For once, the bearded Schaumvorge told the truth!" Strange Tidings. Eric was first to break the silence which followed on Lauvignac's words. "Then why," he said, quietly, "did you rescue me?" "There were two reasons—nay, three," replied Lauvignac. "Let us deal with the least important first. The rescuing of you from the clutches of Zala Kai, the abbot of Katong, promised a somewhat joyous adventure. Next reason in importance was that I knew my rescue of you would render the inimitable Schaumvorge almost speechless with fury. And I love to see him so. The third, and most important reason as to why I attempted to rescue you—we will leave till later." "But even yet I fail to see how you did it," said Eric. "You took a frightful risk, for they would have served you as they were serving me if you had fallen into their hands." Lauvignac's eyes glinted. •Ti any harm had befallen me," he said, grimly, "then that lamasery oi Katong would have been blown . to atoms by the bombs of my squadron one hour after dawn had come." (To be continued.)