THE LORD OF TERROR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22247, 23 October 1935, Page 23

THE LORD OF TERROR

By SYDNEY HORLER Author of "The Secret Agent." ? S.O.S. ~ "The Jiplder'» wc«.

(COPYRIGHT)

CHAPTER XXl.—(Continual) "There she is!" cried Vivanti, pointing. "The greatest airship th€i world has ever known —and soon to bei in my power. Now for the V-ray." Rushing to his switchboard, he directed the pointer of a machine an«i pulled down a switch. The effect was uncanny, for out of the void a vivid green ray shot up and joined the white beam of the searchlight. What occurred was not only spectacular, but sensational: instantly the sound of the aero engines stopped. "Marvellous!" excaimed Kulmreich, taking with trembling fingers a pair of field-glasses from a case slung round his shoulder. "But, all the same, Vivanti," » he called in a strident voice, "your scheme's failed. She's not slackening speed." Without waiting for a reply he rushed to the window, the glasses glued to his eyes. Vivanti, in turn, broke into a roar of scornful laughter. "You do not understand. Listen for a moment. Can you hear her engines now? No, 1 tell you—there's not a sound. The Sky King is now a derelict; she is moving forward only by her own impetus. And now, Kuhnreich, for my masterpiece. I've winged my bird and I'm going to bring her to subjection. Behold, my giant aero magnet!" Still at the switchboard, he jwinted a third direction arrow at the airship .and pulled down a large handle. A mighty whirring sound followed immediately, and this in turn grew slowly into a shriek. "Look!" cried the inventor. Kuhnreich, still at the window, commenced to dunce with excitement. 'She's stopping—she has stopped!" he cried. "Of course she's stopped," cried Vivanti. "But will'she come to earth?" "What I have said I will do, I will do!" "She's dropping like a stone now!" ■houted the other. * "You thought I was mad —an empty boaster. Now you see you were wrong." "I always believed in you," said Kuhi ircich. There was a clatter of footsteps outside and the door was violently thrust f open. The ex-Crown Prince of Ronstadt stood regarding the inventor and Kuhnreich through his monocle. "You've done it, Vivanti," ho cried. "•I am amazed." Vivanti looked at the speaker as a bacteriologist might regard a strange Jrind of bacillus. "I ain obliged for your confidence, lour Royal Highness." Rushing past him, the ex-crown prince took up a position by the side of the dictator. Like Kuhnreich, he kept a pair of field-glasses to his eyes. "She's dropping faster. She'll bo down in a few minutes," he cried. ; V The man by his sido turned to Wfr:, S^anti. ■ , "She's coming down liko a thunderbolt; she'll be smashed to pieces!" The statement did not perturb the inventor. "I have prepared for that," he said. §l| "We will reduce the power. She will ® land quite gently, I can assure you. The |p: Airship will be unhurt."

an enthralling story, packed with thrills and adventure

Stepping across, he did some further manoeuvring with his forest of switches. "Now please notice the difference." " By gad, i t's wonderful I" exclaimed the ex-crown prince. "Her mad rush has been stopped. I congratulate you, Vivanti," said Kuhnreich in a calmer tone. "The reality has surpassed all expectations." Vivanti gave him an ironical bow. "I do not like flaws in my work," he said. At this point the dissipated-looking man at the window swung round his ler.n body. "She's down! The Sky King is down!" Moving forward, he held out his -hand. "Dr. Vivanti, you can be master of the world," he declaimed. While Kuhnreich stood looking at him with a fixed stare, Vivanti repeated the words broodingly. "Master oi the world—yes," he repeated; "but. I prefer another title." It was the Dictator of Ronstadt who asked the question. "What is that?" "The Lord of Terror," was the reply. Again it wjis significant that, in spite of the absurdly melodramatic words, both listeners treated the statement seriously. CHAPTER XXH DISASTER The commander turned to van Dressier angrily. " I can't find out!" he snapped, lhe engines have stopped—and my experts report that nothing is wrong, it is uncanny; I can give you no reasonable explanation." . , " What's that searchlignt?" inquired Moorhouse. " That also is a mystery to me. " Are we near land?" " According to the chart, there is only a small island near us—and that is wholly uninhabited." " What's, its name?" " Scart." . " 1 don't like the sound of it, commented van Dressier, his offensive tono becoming more marked. You don t seem to know anything, Captain. But somebody will -have to answer for this. The Japanese cut in. " That searchlight evidently comes from the island you mentioned, Commander, and yet you say it is uninhabited." " That is the report," was the curt answer. " I know nothing more than that." It was plain that he was feeling both uneasy and irritable, and the words had scarcely left his mouth before both the Japaneso and van Dressier cried out m alarm. . " We're falling, surely," eaid Moorhouse, joining the other two men at the window. Aveling's voice was grave as he answered: "We have been falling for some time, gentlemen. It is only fair that I should warn you. And now J must get back to my post." He left them without another word. Back in his control car he found consternation. " She's been getting heavier and heavier in the nose during the last ten minutes, sir," the elevator coxwain rereported. Aveling glanced rapidly at the fore and aft levels. " Two degrees down," he ordered. " Give her more helm. Osborne." He turned to Fussell. " Tell a rigger to go along the gasbags and find if any are leaking. Have another check-up on the ballast. We ms.y bo tail-light, not noseheavy, but I don't think so, for we're losing height slowly." Fussell, with a respectful " Yes, sir," left immediately he heard the order.

Osborne's voice was puzzled " he said: " She won't pitch up. Shall I give her more helm, sirP" Aveling stared at him. " Yes, yes—give her full elevator if necessary." Ten minutes passed. Fussell returned. "The gasbags are all right, sir," he reported. " Full ballast except for what we dropped casting off." "That's darned funny!" Aveling pulled at his lip. " Look at that! Full speed ahead, elevators hard up, and yet it's all we can do to hold one-half of a degree ot positive pitch. There's something wrong. Go and tell them to test each gasbag for purity and check all over the valves, automatic, and manoeuvring. Put Robinson in charge of it; tell him to report to me when he's finished, and then come back." When his first officer was gone again the commander looked at his watch. " The weather forecast is overdue," he muttered. He lifted the telephone and spoke. " What?" he could be heard ejaculating in an incredulous tone. " Come in here at onoe." The door opened. The white face of the wireless operator could be seen. " I can't understand it, sir," he repeated over and over again with a dazed expresison. " Everything's gone dead. Transmitting, receiving, reserve radiognometric set—everything." " What do you mean, everything 8 gone dead?" demanded the commander sharply. " Just what 1 say, sir," was the frightened reply. " And the worst of it isj none of us has the slightest idea what is at the back of it. It's uncanny, that's all I can say. I've never heard of such a thing. The valves are all right, all the wiring is intact, and yet every bit of wire in that set is as dead as" if there weren't a bit of electric power in it."

" Well, we'll have to do without it. Fetch the meteorological officer." The wireless operator vanished like a scared rabbit. Simultaneously the two coxwains turned to the commander. " There's no load on the rudder," exclaimed Higgins. " Same with the elevator, sir, declared Osborne. Both pale-faced, they stared at the commander. The latter frowned, as well he might, for he was facing the most puzzling problem of hia career. " Keep quiet a moment," he said. All three of them listened. The silence was terrifying; there was no sound at all. The steady purring of the engines and the Bwish of air past the control cabin —so familiar to their ears —all was gone! What was more, tho airship was motionless. " My God!" cried Aveling, his nerve breaking beneath the strain. " The engines have stopped! Has everything gone mad?" Fussell hurried into the control car. A few moments' search revealed the dreadful truth. Coming back, ho stared at Aveling * " You're quite right, sir: every one of our engines has stopped," he said. " The engineers themselves are in a panic; they cannot make it out. Number one and number five say they've tested the plugs and find there's no spark. They can't find anything wrong with the magnetos, but they're just not doing their job, that's all." At that moment the meteorological officer entered. His heavy-featured spectacled face was alert with anxiety. Aveling took command. " Hetherington, we've been struck by lightning," he said. " It's put the wireless and the engine ignition out of action." The meteorological officer pushed his spectacles into place. " Struck by lightning, sir? But that's impossible, begging your pardon—utterly impossible There isn't a cloud near us. There isn't a thunderstorm within a hundred miles of us. We, couldn't possibly have been struck." The commander's haggard eyes caught sight of Fussell. " Was that purity analysis completed when you came?" tie inquired. " There's nothing wrong to be found there, sir. Purity over 97 per cent in most bags. Only 95 per cent in one

bag, but that was the worst; and anyway, it's gooi considering we're ten miles out." " What about the valves?" " They're all tight, sir." The commander, with a sigh, turned away and stared at the flickering needle of the altimeter dial and the bubble in the fore and aft level. Fussell stared over his shoulder and pursed his lips in a whistle. " I'll be utterly dashed," hi* said, "if we've not gone nose-heavy and are sinking I" There was a tap at the door and the white face of a steward appeared. " The passengers are panicking, sir," he said. " Thev think we're falling. What shall I tell them?" The commander's tone was curt. " Go forward, Fussell, and tell them that the airship is temporarily disabled by a stroke of lightning. That is as good an excuse as any. Tell them also that the enginej are being repaired as rapidly as possible and that full control will tnen be resumed. Meanwhile the airship is behaving like a balloon and is perfectly safe, although it is impossible to maintain it on an even keel. Tell them also that, as they are agitated, lifebelts will be served out to all Eassengers and the emergency exit will e pointed out to them." ' Aye, aye, sir." Fussell turned and went. Higgins' agitated voice now broke the silence. " We're still falling, sir," ha said. " We're down to 2000 ft. now." This time Aveling said nothing. He walked painfully up the steadily-tilt-ing floor and anchored himself to the ballast control board with one hand, while he pulled over a switch. Meanwhile he studied the statoscope grimly. Remorselessly the hand fell "back. He pulled over another switch. It wavered and came forward, painfully, slowly, while the men watched it with fascinated eyes. They were rising again. Then it stopped once more. With a flicker it crept back again. Aveling pulled over another switch. Ten minutes passed. The Sky King came down to 1700 feet, still drifting gently downward, and the last ton of ballast had gone. (To be continued daily I