excited as Englishmen can be.
But all the time I was worrying over Bob's secret getting out and I told Sir Kenyon about that. But he told me that I could rest easy on that score. He would answer personally for the secret of Bob's being safeguarded, he said. In fact, he promised that in view of the great service Bob and I had rendered England (though I didn't get what at the time) he would secure a Letters Patent for Bob free of all expense, if Bob would send on a description and drawings of his invention.
Well, that's about all I can tell. Only it seemed that by using the ray Bob had discovered they could photograph the sky at night and spot the blimps. But there was something else they didn't get until I asked them what had caused the two blimps to blow up.
"By Jove!" exclaimed Sir Kenyon, and "By Jove!" cried the Chief, and "By Jove!" said Mr. Landon, all in one breath.
Then—"Mr. Nash," says Sir Kenyon, "I have always been a great admirer of Yankee ingenuity and brains, but I have never hitherto had such a convincing demonstration as at the present moment. The explosion! By Jove! Of course—it was the ray! Mr. Nash, you and your associate, Mr. Johnson have, I believe, saved England."
Major Leighton Resumes
I was still working day, and most of the night, on the mechanisms of the dirigibles, without having gotten much nearer a solution of their puzzles than ever, when—about eleven o'clock one night—I was ordered to report in London with all possible speed.
Within the hour I was in Whitehall, and entering the offices of Sir Kenyon McDonald—to whom I had been instructed to report—I found him in earnest conversation with General Sir Edward Brassington and a young red-headed, freckle-faced chappie who, I felt sure, was an American.
"Ah! Here you are!" exclaimed General Brassington, scarcely acknowledging my salute, and leaping to his feet. "Lost no time en route, I see. Good! Major Leighton, let me introduce Mr. Nash of New York, a young man to whom the British nation owes a debt it never can repay, and who—if I am not vastly mistaken—has saved England."
I stared at the fellow, Nash, in amazement. What, I wondered, was Sir Edward talking about? What was all this about this youngster saving England, et cetera? He was a jolly-looking chappie, but hardly more than a boy, and was blushing furiously as he shook hands and the general spoke. And I must say he did not appear in the least like a saviour of the country, a hero or a master-mind, you know. Still I knew there must be something back of it all, for General Brassington and Sir Kenyon would not be here at this ungodly hour and would not have summoned me from Aldershot and would not be talking with young Nash, unless something important was in the air.
“Now, Major," continued Sir Edward, "take a cigar and a chair and listen to the most amazing thing that's happened yet, eh, Sir Kenyon?"
Sir Kenyon nodded and the general cleared his throat
"As you know," he began, "we've been keeping a strict censorship on all outgoing and incoming mails, cables, radio and telephone messages. In doing so, we came upon several communications addressed to Mr. Nash which, to us, appeared a bit suspicious and puzzling. Among them a cable mentioning 'shots' and advising Nash to 'try a night shot.' Quite naturally we kept a pretty sharp eye on our young friend here. Detective Sergeant Landon being assigned to his case. No use in going into irrelevant details, but suffice to say that this evening—no, last evening—Nash was seen to place some sort of a mechanism in his window. It resembled a cinema camera, but Landon, who was watching from a distance, observed that it emitted a faint pinkish glow. The next instant there was a terrific detonation from the sky. As Landon had noted that one of our scouts was patrolling overhead, his first thought was that the airplane had blown up, but to his amazement the hum of the motor continued. Feeling certain that Nash and his machine had
But all the time I was worrying over Bob's secret getting out and I told Sir Kenyon about that. But he told me that I could rest easy on that score. He would answer personally for the secret of Bob's being safeguarded, he said. In fact, he promised that in view of the great service Bob and I had rendered England (though I didn't get what at the time) he would secure a Letters Patent for Bob free of all expense, if Bob would send on a description and drawings of his invention.
Well, that's about all I can tell. Only it seemed that by using the ray Bob had discovered they could photograph the sky at night and spot the blimps. But there was something else they didn't get until I asked them what had caused the two blimps to blow up.
"By Jove!" exclaimed Sir Kenyon, and "By Jove!" cried the Chief, and "By Jove!" said Mr. Landon, all in one breath.
Then—"Mr. Nash," says Sir Kenyon, "I have always been a great admirer of Yankee ingenuity and brains, but I have never hitherto had such a convincing demonstration as at the present moment. The explosion! By Jove! Of course—it was the ray! Mr. Nash, you and your associate, Mr. Johnson have, I believe, saved England."
Major Leighton Resumes
I was still working day, and most of the night, on the mechanisms of the dirigibles, without having gotten much nearer a solution of their puzzles than ever, when—about eleven o'clock one night—I was ordered to report in London with all possible speed.
Within the hour I was in Whitehall, and entering the offices of Sir Kenyon McDonald—to whom I had been instructed to report—I found him in earnest conversation with General Sir Edward Brassington and a young red-headed, freckle-faced chappie who, I felt sure, was an American.
"Ah! Here you are!" exclaimed General Brassington, scarcely acknowledging my salute, and leaping to his feet. "Lost no time en route, I see. Good! Major Leighton, let me introduce Mr. Nash of New York, a young man to whom the British nation owes a debt it never can repay, and who—if I am not vastly mistaken—has saved England."
I stared at the fellow, Nash, in amazement. What, I wondered, was Sir Edward talking about? What was all this about this youngster saving England, et cetera? He was a jolly-looking chappie, but hardly more than a boy, and was blushing furiously as he shook hands and the general spoke. And I must say he did not appear in the least like a saviour of the country, a hero or a master-mind, you know. Still I knew there must be something back of it all, for General Brassington and Sir Kenyon would not be here at this ungodly hour and would not have summoned me from Aldershot and would not be talking with young Nash, unless something important was in the air.
“Now, Major," continued Sir Edward, "take a cigar and a chair and listen to the most amazing thing that's happened yet, eh, Sir Kenyon?"
Sir Kenyon nodded and the general cleared his throat
"As you know," he began, "we've been keeping a strict censorship on all outgoing and incoming mails, cables, radio and telephone messages. In doing so, we came upon several communications addressed to Mr. Nash which, to us, appeared a bit suspicious and puzzling. Among them a cable mentioning 'shots' and advising Nash to 'try a night shot.' Quite naturally we kept a pretty sharp eye on our young friend here. Detective Sergeant Landon being assigned to his case. No use in going into irrelevant details, but suffice to say that this evening—no, last evening—Nash was seen to place some sort of a mechanism in his window. It resembled a cinema camera, but Landon, who was watching from a distance, observed that it emitted a faint pinkish glow. The next instant there was a terrific detonation from the sky. As Landon had noted that one of our scouts was patrolling overhead, his first thought was that the airplane had blown up, but to his amazement the hum of the motor continued. Feeling certain that Nash and his machine had
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