ar, unspecked.

As I gazed a line of red fire ran around the edge of the cloud. A
violet glow suffused the whole, faded swiftly into pink. The sun was
rising. Behind me I heard a huge whirring. Turning, I saw her, just
rising, all the beautiful trim length of her. The _New York_! Pride of
our air fleet!

Fifty paces to my right a little knot of officers caught my attention.
I recognized Jim Bradley. I remembered, someone had told me he was a
major, and was commanding a raft. Good. Jim would work with me as he
had in the old days at Stanford U., when I coached the air polo team
that he captained. I walked over.

Time for only a hurried handclasp. The signal corps sergeant,
earphones clamped to his head, was intoning the airship's messages.
"We have reached the thousand-foot level. Will now head for the
objective. All well."

We watched her. She was through our barrage-line. A snapped order from
Jim restored the barrier, momentarily lifted to let her pass. A
curious shimmering blurred the ship's outlines. I called Jim's
attention to it. "That's the new device, a network of fine wires,
charged with neutralising vibrations. Worked like a charm in the
tests. But there's no telling how effective it is in actual service."

* * * * *

A cold shiver ran up my spine. Many a fine ship I had seen strike that
invisible network of rays, and puff into smoke. Was that to be the
_New York's_ fate?

"We are about to pass through the enemy barrage. All well," came the
sergeant's unemotional monotone, repeating the voice in his ears. I
knew that voice was being listened to in Washington by a little group
whose every shoulder bore the stars of high command. My thoughts
flashed to them, gazing breathless at the screen that imaged the very
scene before us.

My breath stopped. Now! She must be in it now. The next second would
tell the tale. A faint coruscation of sparks ran along the network,
but the craft kept steadily onward. Thank God!

"We have passed through the enemy first-line barrage. All well."

A faint whistling of released breath came from all about me. I was not
the only one who had agonised at that moment. The first test had been
passed; would the other be as successful?

"We are increasing our speed to the maximum. Objective dead ahead. All
well."

I saw the ship fairly leap through the sky. Five hundred miles an
hour was her greatest speed. Another moment--

"We are entering the c