The Devolutionist and The Emancipatrix | Page 6

that ship, in proportion, was all of a mile long!
But Smith's awe was not shared by his agent, who turned indifferently away and looked
about the sky as though in search of other sights. In doing so, he leaned over the deck's
railing; and Smith saw the sheer sides of the giant ship, extending fore and aft almost
indefinitely; while far overhead billowed vast clouds of white cloth. The vessel was now
under sail.
About a mile higher up, and almost that distance to one side, the agent's eyes made out
two tiny specks. He watched them closely for a moment as they pitched and tossed
queerly about; then darted into the engine-room, secured a pair of binoculars of an old,
squat pattern, and swiftly focused upon the nearer of the two.
Smith instantly sensed a disaster. The object was a small air-craft, of a sort entirely

strange to the engineer; yet he knew that it was disabled. One of its queer wings was
broken and fluttering, as the little machine dropped, tumbling and twisting erratically, in
an inexplicably slow fashion toward the unseen ground. Smith glimpsed a single figure,
presumably strapped in the seat.
Then the focus changed to cover the other machine. It was of the same type; and Smith
saw that it was swooping in a steep spiral, its driver leaning over in his seat, looking
down.
Next moment the two were in focus together. Every second they dropped closer and
closer to Smith's borrowed eyes. And in less time than it takes to tell it, they had come so
close that when the occupant of the disabled craft lurched heavily to one side, Smith
could plainly make out the long, flying hair of a woman.
She was unconscious, and strapped in!
Her craft capsized. At the same time the other driver--a man--maneuvered so as to spiral
exactly around the wreck as it fell. When it came right side up again--now only a half a
mile away--he drove down so close that his machine nearly grazed the woman's head. As
he did so, he leaned over and tried to unfasten her. But the unsteadiness of her craft
prevented this.
He made a second try. This time his own machine narrowly escaped injury; he steered it
hastily away from that damaged wing. And then he made a supreme effort.
Bringing his machine directly across the top of the other as it once more righted itself, he
touched one of his controls, so that his own flier's spiral increased in steepness.
Straightening up, he poised himself while he coolly measured the distance; and then he
calmly leaped a matter of ten or twelve feet, over and down to the top of the other craft.
The shock of his landing steadied it. Clinging fast with one hand, the man bent and
unbuckled the woman's strap. Next instant he had lifted her, a dead weight, into his arms
and then over his shoulders.
His own machine was still scooting downward, its speed even greater than that of the
broken flier. When the man saw it swinging past and below him, he instantly clambered,
burden and all, to the edge of the cockpit. For a second he stood, balancing precariously;
and then, half jumping, half diving, he plunged once more.
Man and woman landed in a heap in the sound machine. In a flash the rescuer snatched
his controls, and tried with all his might to "straighten out." But it began to skid; and
Smith saw, despite the shakiness with which his excited agent held the binoculars, that
the craft was hopelessly out of control. Next instant the man caught sight of the ship, not
a hundred yards away; and steered straight for her.
Smith's agent rushed back to the engine-room, where he immediately located a new
group of instruments. Smith recognized a telephone and some wireless apparatus; then
found himself staring into some sort of a compound mirror system. Probably it was an
illuminated tunnel affair, opening into a long white cabin. Seemingly the place was an
emergency-ward.
A moment later the unconscious forms of the two aviators were brought within perhaps
twenty feet. Smith could hear nothing; the apparatus seemed made for looking only. But
he saw the doctors hurry in, saw restoratives administered, and saw both people revive.
The man was first to become conscious. He looked around, seemed to take in the
situation at a glance, and swiftly got to his feet. The doctors laid restraining hands upon
him, but he shook them off with a laugh.

He was a powerfully built man, considerably taller than normal and very deep in the chest.
He was decidedly blond, and good looking in a cheerful, reckless sort of way.
His concern was for the woman. She regained her senses in half