The Project Gutenberg eBook, Skyrider, by B. M. Bower, Illustrated by
Anton Otto Fischer

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Skyrider

Author: B. M. Bower

Release Date: October 14, 2005 [eBook #16871]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SKYRIDER***

E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg
Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/)

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustration.
See 16871-h.htm or 16871-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/6/8/7/16871/16871-h/16871-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/6/8/7/16871/16871-h.zip)

SKYRIDER

by

B. M. BOWER

with frontispiece by Anton Otto Fischer

1919

[Illustration: Johnny dared a volplane, slanting steeply down at the
herd.]

Boston
Little, Brown, and Company

CONTENTS

Chapter

I A Poet without Honor

II One Fight, Two Quarrels, and a Riddle

III Johnny Goes Gaily Enough to Sinkhole

IV A Thing that Sets like a Hawk

V Desert Glimpses

VI Salvage

VII Finder, Keeper

VIII Over the Telephone

IX A Midnight Ride

X Signs, and No One to Read Them

XI Thieves Ride Boldly

XII Johnny's Amazing Run of Luck Still Holds its Pace

XIII Mary V Confronts Johnny

XIV Johnny Would Serve Two Masters

XV The Fire that Made the Smoke

XVI Let's Go

XVII A Rider of the Sky

XVIII Flying Comes High

XIX "We Fly South"

XX Men Are Stupid

XXI Mary V Will not be Bluffed

XXII Luck Turns Traitor

XXIII Dreams and Darkness

XXIV Johnny's Dilemma

XXV Skyrider "Has Flew"!

SKYRIDER

CHAPTER ONE

A POET WITHOUT HONOR

Before I die, I'll ride the sky;
I'll part the clouds like foam.
I'll brand each star with the Rolling R,
And lead the Great Bear home.

I'll circle Mars to beat the cars,
On Venus I will call.
If she greets me fair as I ride the air,
To meet her I wil