with Washington, while his
detached scouts sought far and wide over the Eastern States looking for
anything resembling an aeronautic park. A squadron of twenty airships
detached overnight had dropped out of the air upon Niagara and was
holding the town and power works.

Meanwhile the insurrectionary movement in the giant city grew
uncontrollable. In spite of five great fires already involving many
acres, and spreading steadily, New York was still not satisfied that she
was beaten.

At first the rebellious spirit below found vent only in isolated shouts,
street-crowd speeches, and newspaper suggestions; then it found much
more definite expression in the appearance in the morning sunlight of
American flags at point after point above the architectural cliffs of
the city. It is quite possible that in many cases this spirited display
of bunting by a city already surrendered was the outcome of the innocent
informality of the American mind, but it is also undeniable that in many
it was a deliberate indication that the people "felt wicked."

The German sense of correctitude was deeply shocked by this outbreak.
The Graf von Winterfeld immediately communicated with the mayor, and
pointed out the irregularity, and the fire look-out stations were
instructed in the matter. The New York police was speedily hard at
work, and a foolish contest in full swing between impassioned citizens
resolved to keep the flag flying, and irritated and worried officers
instructed to pull it down.

The trouble became acute at last in the streets above Columbia
University. The captain of the airship watching this quarter seems to
have stooped to lasso and drag from its staff a flag hoisted upon Morgan
Hall. As he did so a volley of rifle and revolver shots was fired from
the upper windows of the huge apartment building that stands between the
University and Riverside Drive.

Most of these were ineffectual, but two or three perforated
gas-chambers, and one smashed the hand and arm of a man upon the forward
platform; The sentinel on the lower gallery immediately replied, and the
machine gun on the shield of the eagle let fly and promptly stopped
any further shots. The airship rose and signalled the flagship and City
Hall, police and militiamen were directed at once to the spot, and this
particular incident closed.

But hard upon that came the desperate attempt of a party of young
clubmen from New York, who, inspired by patriotic and adventurous
i