DRAGONFLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20472, 25 January 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

DRAGONFLY.

By ELLERSLEY HAL'L. George Lavander, the sixteen-year-old son of tho wealthiest sheep owner in the Hawthorn district, wiped a smudge of greaso from his cheek, walked backward a few paces, placed his hands on his hips and smiled. It was a big smile, a satisfied smile, for the last nui had been tightened, tho last wire strained to the required tautness and the thing which he had worked on for weeks was now complete. He had built an aeroplane. It was n business-like little craft, a monoplane, and George had built it from plnns which he procured from England. As ho stood surveying the completed machine ho felt a justifiable thrill oi pride. His aeroplane. The thought, filled him with joy. He was already the youngest certified pilot in New Zealand, and now he was also tho youngest owner of a plane. His parents were delighted with the machine. They could scarcely believe -that their own son had built it.

" Perhaps we shall be glad that George has a plane," said Mrs. Lavander. "Apart from tho pleasure we shall get from it. it might come in very useful if we had to take an urgent message anywhere." And tho plane did como in useful, for (ho very next day George's father was taken seriously ill and as the nearest doctor was ten miles away and tho telephone was out of order, the plane was put to the test. " I'm sure she'll take the air all right." said George to his. mother, who was looking extremely worried over her husband's condition. " Don't be afraid. I'll get Ihero in less than ten minutes and bring Dr. Williamson back with mc. Everything will be all right." He headed straight across the hills. It would havo been, safer to have flown down the valley, but he wanted to lose no timo and by Hying over the hilly part of the country he could save several minutes —and minutes were precious when one's father was seriously ill. From a height* of three thousand feet, George looked down on the winding river, tho great pine plantations and the white strip which wound up the valley to his iiorne. It looked more like a length of tape than a road. He wis just beginning to wonder how high he would havo to climb before the road would becomo invisible when he became aware of a change in tho wind. The plane bumped badly, and the atmosphere became suddenly warmer. With his hand on the control lever he sensed that a north-west wind had sprung up, 5 wind which never blew at anything less than forty-five miles an hour.

Grimly lie held on and tried to fight . B alc > but l)c knew from the beginning that it was a hopeless task. An Avro or a Bristol Fighter could manage it, but not a little Dragonfly, Before long he was above strange country. HilJs rose higher and higher beneath him. He saw clilfs and gorges far below. At last the engine began to falter. It spluttered, coughed and finally stopped George knew what that meant. He had run out of petrol. There was nothmg eiso to do but descend in a long glide and make a forced landing A forced landing in hilly, unknown country. It meant certain death. He pulled back the lever and the piano began to descend. Down down it glided while the wind whistled and shrieked in the wires anQ struts. Ho strained his •eye3~tS~ pick out a level spot on which to land, but nothing but hills and valleys and cliffs ■ lay belbw. The piano couldn't go much farther now. It would soon be all over His thoughts flew back to his father and to his mother waiting anxiously at home, and then he saw something beneath and ahead of the plane that brought him a ray of hope. A lake. . Carefully he steered the plane to it. • It would be better to land in water than on the side of a hill or the bottom of a gully. The plano_ would sink but he would be able to swim ashore. Lower and lower glided tho plane while its pilot used everv ounce of his skill to make it reach the hike. He knew that he was flattening out almost to the danger point, when the machine would stall and crash to earth in a heap, or fall into a tail slide, from which it would never recover.

But the gallant little Dragonfly kept her balance and presently, like a duck alighting on water, it struck the surface of ths lake with a splash. George threw himself from it as soon as it began to sink and struck out for tho shove. The v.ater was cold and his clothes hampered him, but at last, he reached the shore aud sat down on the bank. The plane had tilted in sinking and the tail was sticking out of the water. Its owner knew it was impossible to recover it from tho water without help, so he turned his back on it with a sigh of regret and struck off across country in an easterly direction. His one thought was to reach a tarm or sheep station from which he could telephone tho doctor. He knew that before long his parents would know that something had happened, and would become frantic with fe.-r.

I must do something to get a messageto the doctor," he thought'. " But what can I do? Surely I'm not lost?" Another half-hour's walking brought him to the edge of a cliff and he saw, far below, a telegraph wire. Instantly, he made up his nnnd to climb down toit- It must lead somewhere. He climbed down the i'ace of the cliff, at. times hanging on by only one hand,, while his toes felt for a footing, but at last, he was on safe ground and ran toward tho telegraph posts. As he neared them an idea caine to him. If he could climb up to tho wire it might be possiblo to send a message to the post office by knocking on the wire with his pocket knife. It was worth trying. Ho climbed up tho post, and in tho longii and shorts oi the Morse code rapped out half a. dozen times. " Doctor wanted at Lavander homestead. Urgent." There now," he said as he slid down to the ground. " I've done all I can. There's just a chance that the message might be heard." Alter that ho walked for miles and miles. lie was hot, tired and weary. 110 had no idea in which direction he was going, but at last he came to more open country and crossing a swampy paddock, found a road. Far away in the distance ho saw a cloud of dust coming toward him and heard the hum of a, car. lie held up his hand as ths car approached, intending to ask the driver whero he was, and as the car pulled up he recognised Dr. Williamson. "My message," he gasped, leaning heavily against the radiator. . "Did you get it?" " I did," was tho reply,* " The post office at Okero rang me up to say that, a strange message had been picked up." " And are you going to see my father now ?" asked George. " No," said the doctor. " I have seen him and am on my way back. Have> you been lost ?"

George soon told his story. Dr. Williamson opened the door of his car " Jump in," ho said, " and I'll take you home. I can sec you are nearly clone."

There is no need to relate all that hap" peued when George arrived home. _ He» was the hero of the day. And he didn't lose his beloved plane, for, unknown to him, the station hands located it, rescued it from the lake, took it, to piece* and when its owner awoke next morning it was waiting for him, in sections, oi course, but undamaged, in front of tb# garage*