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Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Astounding Stories May 1932. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
_A man leaped in and made some adjustments._]
The Great Drought
By Capt. S. P. Meek
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Another episode in Dr. Bird's extraordinary duel with thescientific wizard Saranoff.]
"Is the maneuver progressing as you wish. Dr. Bird?" asked the Chiefof the Air Corps.
The famous scientist lowered his binoculars and smiled.
"Exactly, General," he replied. "They are keeping a splendid line."
"It is the greatest concentration of air force that this country hasever seen," said General Merton proudly.
With a nod, Dr. Bird raised his glasses to his eyes and resumed hissteady gaze. Five thousand feet below and two miles ahead of the hugetransport plane which flew the flag of the Chief of the Air Corps, along line of airplanes stretched away to the north and to the south.Six hundred and seventy-two planes, the entire First Air Division ofthe United States Army, were deployed in line at hundred-yardintervals, covering a front of nearly forty miles. Fifteen hundredfeet above the ground, the line roared steadily westward over Marylandat ninety miles an hour. At ten-second intervals, a puff of black dustcame from a discharge tube mounted on the rear of each plane. The dustwas whirled about for a moment by the exhaust, and then spread out ina thin layer, marking the path of the fleet.
"I hope the observers on the planes are keeping careful notes of thebehavior of those dust clouds," said Dr. Bird after an interval ofsilence. "We are crossing the Chesapeake now, and things may start tohappen at any moment."
"They're all on their toes, Doctor," replied General Merton. "Iunderstood in a general way from the President that we are gatheringsome important meteorological data for you, but I am ignorant of justwhat this data is. Is it a secret?"
Dr. Bird hesitated.
"Yes," he said slowly, "it is. However, I can see no reason why thissecret should not be entrusted to you. We are seeking a means ofending the great drought which has ravaged the United States for thepast two years."
* * * * *
Before General Merton had time to make a reply, his executive officerhastened forward from the radio set which was in constantcommunication with the units of the fleet.
"Two of the planes on the north end of the line are reporting enginetrouble, sir," he said.
Dr. Bird dropped his glasses and sat bolt upright.
"What kind of engine trouble?" he demanded sharply.
"Their motors are slowing down for no explainable reason. I can'tunderstand it."
"Are their motors made with sheet steel cylinders or with duraluminengine blocks?"
"Sheet steel."
"The devil! I hadn't foreseen this, although it was bound to happen ifmy theory was right. Tell them to climb! Climb all they know! Don'tlet them shut off their motors for any reason, unless they are aboutto crash. Turn this ship to the north and have the pilot climb--fast!"
A nod from General Merton confirmed the doctor's orders. The line ofplanes kept on to the west, but the flagplane turned to the north andclimbed at a sharp angle, her three motors roaring at full speed. Withthe aid of binoculars, the two ships in trouble could be picked out,falling gradually behind the line. They were flying so slowly that itseemed inevitable that they would lose flying speed and crash to theground.
"More speed!" cried the doctor. "We've elevation enough!"
The altimeter stood at eight thousand feet when the pilot leveled outthe flagplane and tore at full speed toward the laboring ships. Themain fleet was twenty miles to the west.
* * * * *
They were almost above the point where the two planes had first beganto slow down. As they winged along, the three motors of the flagplanetook on a different note. It was a laboring note, pitched on a lowerscale. Gradually the air-speed meter of the ship began to show a lowerreading.
"Locate us on the map, Carnes!" snapped Dr. Bird.
Operative Carnes of the United States Secret Service bent over alarge-scale map of Maryland, spread open on a table. With the aid ofthe navigating officer, he spotted on the map the point over which theplane was flying.
"There goes Burleigh's ship!" cried the executive officer.
There was a gasp from the occupants of the flagplane's cabin. Farbelow them, one of the crippled planes had slowed down until it hadlost flying speed. Whirling like a leaf, it plunged toward the ground.Two small specks detached themselves from the falling mass. Theyhovered over the falling plane for an instant. Suddenly a patch ofwhite appeared in the air, and then another. The two specks fell moreslowly.
"Good work!" exclaimed General Merton. "They took to their 'chutesjust in time."
"We'll be taking them in a few minutes if our motors don't pick up!"replied the executive officer.
Far below them, the doomed plane crashed to the ground. As it struckthere was a blinding flash followed by vivid flames as the gasolinefrom the bursted tank ignited. The two members of the crew weredrifting to the east as they fell. It was evident that they were in nodanger.
"Where is Lightwood's plane?" asked General Merton anxiously.
"It's still aloft and making its way slowly north. He intends to tryfor an emergency landing at the Aberdeen Proving Ground field,"replied the executive officer.
"That's where we had better head for," said Dr. Bird. "I hope that thecharge on Captain Lightwood's plane discharges through the tail skidwhen he lands. If it doesn't, he'll be in serious danger. Follow himand we'll watch."
* * * * *
Five thousand feet below them, the crippled plane limped slowly alongtoward Aberdeen. It was gradually losing elevation. Two speckssuddenly appeared in the air, followed by white patches as theparachutes opened. Captain Lightwood and his gunner had given up theunequal fight and taken to the air. As the ship struck the ground,again there was a blinding flash, followed by an inferno of roaringflames.
"We're not in much better shape than they were, General," said theexecutive officer as he came back from the control room where thepilots were heroically striving to keep their motors turning over fastenough to keep up flying speed. "We'd better get into our 'chutes."
"The Proving Ground is just ahead," said the doctor. "Can't we make itby sacrificing our elevation?"
"We're trying to do that, Doctor, but we're down to four thousand nowand falling fast. Get ready to jump."
Dr. Bird buckled on the harness of the pack parachute which theexecutive officer offered him. The rest of the crew had hurriedlydonned their packs and stood ready.
For another five minutes the plane struggled on. Suddenly a large flatexpanse of open ground which had been in sight for some time, seemedto approach with uncanny rapidity.
"There's the landing field!" cried the General. "We'll make it yet!"
Lower and lower the plane sank with the landing field still too faraway for comfort. The pilot leveled off as much as he dared and droveon. The motors were laboring and barely turning over at idling speed.They passed the nearer edge of the field with the flagplane barelythirty feet off the ground. In another moment the wheels touched andthe plane rolled to a halt.
"Don't get out!" cried Dr. Bird.
He looked around the cabin and picked up a coil of bare antenna wirewhich hung near the radio set. He wrapped on
e end of the wire aroundthe frame of the plane. To the other end, he attached his pack 'chute.
"Open the door!" he cried.
* * * * *
As the door swung open, he threw the 'chute out toward the ground. Asit touched, there was a blinding flash, followed by a report whichshook the plane. A strong odor of garlic permeated the air.
"All right!" cried the doctor cheerfully. "All out for Aberdeen. Thedanger is past."
He set the example by jumping lightly from the plane. General Mertonfollowed more slowly, his face white and his hands shaking.
"What was it, Doctor," he asked. "I have been flying since 1912, yet Ihave never seen or heard of anything like that."
"Just a heavy charge of static electricity," replied the doctor. "Thatwas what magnetized your cylinder walls and your piston rings andslowed your motors down. It was the same thing that wrecked those twoships. Unless it leaks off, the men of some of your other ships aredue to get a nasty shock when they land to-night. I discharged thecharge we had collected through a ground wire. Here comes a car, we'llgo up to Colonel Wesley's office. Carnes, you have these maps?"
"Surely, Doctor."
"All right, let's go."
"But what about this ship, Doctor?" objected the General. "Can'tsomething be done about it?"
"Certainly. I hadn't forgotten it. Have your crew stand by. I'lltelephone Washington and have some men with apparatus sent right downfrom the Bureau of Standards. They'll have it ready for flying in themorning. We'll also have search parties sent out in cars to locate thecrews of those abandoned ships and bring them in. Now let's go."
* * * * *
Colonel Wesley, the commanding officer of the Aberdeen Proving Ground,welcomed Carnes and Dr. Bird warmly.
"I'll tell you, General Merton," he said to the Chief of the AirCorps, "if you ever get up against something that is beyond allexplanation, you want to get these two men working on it. They are theones who settled that poisoning case here, you know."
"Yes, I read of that," replied the general. "I am inclined to thinkthat they are up against something even queerer right now."
Colonel Wesley's eyes sparkled.
"Give your orders, Dr. Bird!" he cried. "Since our last experiencewith you, you can't give an order on this post that won't be obeyed!"
"Thank you, Colonel," said Dr. Bird warmly. "One reason why I camehere was that I knew that I could count on your hearty cooperation.The first thing I want is two cars. I want them sent out to bring inthe crews of two ships which were abandoned some eight miles south ofhere. Carnes will locate them on the map for your drivers."
"They'll be ready to start in five minutes, Doctor. What next?"
"Turn out every man and every piece of transportation you haveto-morrow morning. I want the men armed. They will have to search astretch of swamp south of here, inch by inch, until they find what I'mlooking for."
"They'll be ready, Doctor. Would it be indiscreet for me to ask whatit's all about?"
"Not at all, Colonel. I was about to explain to General Merton whentrouble started. I am searching for the cause of the great droughtwhich has been afflicting this country for the past two years. If Ican find the cause, I hope to end it."
"Oh! I had a sneaking hope that we were in for another skirmish withthat Russian chap, Saranoff, whose men started that poison here."
"I rather think we are, Colonel Wesley."
General Merton laughed.
"I'll swallow a good deal, Dr. Bird," he said, "but when you talk ofan individual being responsible for the great drought, it's a littletoo much. A man can't control the weather, you know!"
* * * * *
"Yet a man, or an incarnate devil--I don't know which he is--didcontrol the weather once, as well as the sun. But for the humbleefforts of two Americans, aided by a Russian girl whose brotherSaranoff had murdered, he might be still controlling it."
General Merton was silent now.
"Carnes, let me have that map," went on the doctor. When the detectivehad unrolled a map of the United States on Colonel Wesley's table, Dr.Bird continued, pointing to the map as he spoke.
"On this map," he said, "is plotted the deficiency in rainfall for thepast year, from every reporting station in the United States. Thesered lines divide the country into areas of equal deficiency. The areamost affected, as you can see, is longer east and west, than it isnorth and south. It is worst in the east, in fact in this veryneighborhood. Even a casual glance at the map will show you that thecenter of the drought area, from an intensity standpoint, lies inMaryland, a few miles south of here."
"In fact, just about where those two planes went down," added Carnes.
"Precisely, old dear. That was why we went over that section with thefleet. Now, gentlemen, note a few other things about this drought. Theareas of drought follow roughly the great waterways, the Ohio and thePotomac valleys being especially affected. In other words, the droughtfollows the normal air currents from this point. If something were tobe added to the air which would tend to prevent rain, it would in timedrift, just as the drought areas have drifted."
* * * * *
General Merton and Colonel Wesley bent over the map.
"I believe you're right, Doctor," admitted the general.
"Thank you. The President was convinced that I was before he placedthe First Air Division under my orders. Frankly, that search was thereal object of assembling the fleet. The maneuvers are a mere blind."
General Merton colored slightly.
"Now, I'll try to give you some idea of what I think is the methodbeing used," went on the doctor, ignoring General Merton's risingcolor. "In the past, rain has been produced in several cases whereconditions were right--that is, when the air held plenty of moisturewhich refused to fall--by the discharge from a plane of a cloud ofpositively charged dust particles. Ergo, a heavy negative charge inthe air, which will absorb rather than discharge a positive charge,should tend to prevent rain from falling. I believe that a stream ofnegative particles is being liberated into the air near here, andallowed to drift where it will. That was my theory when I had theFirst Air Division equipped with those dust ejector tubes.
"I knew that if such a condition existed, the positively charged dustwould be pulled down toward the source of the negative particlestream, which must, in many ways, resemble a cathode ray. That was whyI wanted the behavior of the dust clouds watched and reported. What Idid not foresee was that the iron and steel parts of the plane,accumulating a heavy negative charge, would be magnetized enough toslow down the motors and eventually wreck the ships."
"We have had eight ships wrecked unexplainably within twenty miles ofhere, all of them to the south, during the past year," said ColonelWesley.
"It had slipped my notice. At any rate, the behavior of the ships thisafternoon showed me that my theory is correct, and that some suchdevice exists and is in active operation. Our next task is to locateit and destroy it."
"You shall have every man on the Proving Ground!" cried ColonelWesley.
"Thank you. General Merton, will you detach three ships from the FirstAir Division by radio and have them report here? I want two pursuitships and one bomber, with a rack of hundred-pound demolition bombs.All three must have duralumin cylinder blocks."
"I'll do it at once, Doctor," the general agreed.
"Thank you. Carnes, telephone Washington for me. Tell Dr. Burgess thatI want Tracy, Fellows and Von Amburgh, with three more men down hereby the next train. Also tell him to have Davis rig up a demagnetizerlarge enough to demagnetize the motors of a transport plane and bringit down here to fix up General Merton's ship. When you have finishedthat, get hold of Bolton and ask for a dozen secret service men. Iwant selected men with Haggerty in charge."
"All right, Doctor. Shall I tell Miss Andrews to come down as well?"
* * * * *
Dr.
Bird frowned.
"Certainly not. Why would she come down here?"
"I thought she might be useful, Doctor."
"Carnes, as you know, I dislike using women because they can't controltheir emotions or their expressions. She would just be in the way."
"It seems to me that she saved both our lives in Russia, Doctor, andbut for her, you wouldn't have come out so well in your last adventureon the Aberdeen marshes."
"She did the first through uncontrolled emotions, and the secondthrough a flagrant disobedience of my orders. No, don't tell her tocome. Tell her not to come if she asks."
Carnes turned away, but hesitated.
"Doctor, I wish you'd let me have her come down here. I didn't trusther at first when you did, but she has proved her loyalty and worth.Besides, I don't like the idea of leaving her unguarded in Washingtonwith you and me down here, and with Haggerty coming down."
Dr. Bird looked thoughtful.
"There's something in that, Carnes," he reflected. "All right, tellher to come along, but remember, she is not in on this case. She isbeing brought here merely for safety, not to mix up in our work."
"Thanks, Doctor."
The detective returned in ten minutes with a worried expression.
"She wasn't in your office, Doctor," he