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Lords of the Stratosphere

Burks, Arthur J.

Published: 1933

Type(s): Short Fiction, Science Fiction

Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/29466

About Burks:

Arthur J. Burks (September 13, 1898 – 1974) was an American writer

and a Marine colonel.

Burks was born to a farming family in Waterville, Washington. He

married Blanche Fidelia Lane on March 23, 1918 in Sacramento, Califor-

nia and was the father of four children: Phillip Charles, Wasle Carmen,

Arline Mary and Gladys Lura. He served in the United States Marine

Corps in World War I, and began writing in 1920. After being stationed

in the Caribbean and inspired by the native voodoo rituals, Burks began

to write stories of the supernatural that he sold to the magazine Weird

Tales. In 1928 he resigned from the Marine Corps and began writing full

time. He became one of the "million-word-a-year" men in the pulps by

virtue of his tremendous output. He was well-known for being able to

take any household object that someone would suggest to him on a dare,

and instantly generate a plot based around it. His byline was common-

place on pulp covers. He wrote primarily in the genres of aviation, de-

tective, adventure and weird menace. Two genres he was not to be found

in were love and westerns. He wrote several series for the pulps, includ-

ing the Kid Friel boxing stories in Gangster Stories, and the Dorus Noel

undercover-detective stories for All Detective Magazine, set in

Manhattan's Chinatown. The pressure of producing so much fiction

caused him to ease off in the late-1930s. He returned to active duty as the

U.S. entered World War II and eventually retired with the rank of lieu-

tenant colonel. Burks moved to Paradise in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania in 1948, where he continued to write until his death in

1974. Throughout the '60s, he wrote many works on metaphysics and the

paranormal. In his later years, he lectured on paranormal activities and

gave readings.

Also available on Feedbooks for Burks:

• The Mind Master (1932)

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Chapter 1

The Take-off

It seemed only fitting and proper that the greatest of all leaps into space

should start from Roosevelt Field, where so many great flights had be-

gun and ended. Fliers whose names had rung—for a space—around the

world, had landed here and been received by New York with all the

pomp of visiting kings. Fliers had departed here for the lands of kings, to

be received by them when their journeys were ended.

Of course Lucian Jeter and Tema Eyer were disappointed that Franz

Kress had beaten them out in the race to be first into the stratosphere

above fifty-five thousand feet. There was a chance that Kress would fail,

when it would be the turn of Jeter and Eyer. They didn't wish for his fail-

ure, of course. They were sports-men as well as scientists; but they were

just human enough to anticipate the plaudits of the world which would

be showered without stint upon the fliers who succeeded.

"At least, Tema," said Jeter quietly, "we can look his ship over and see

if there is anything about it that will suggest something to us. Of course,

whether he succeeds or fails, we shall make the attempt as soon as we

are ready."

"Indeed, yes," replied Eyer. "For no man will ever fly so high that an-

other may not fly even higher. Once planes are constructed of unlimited

flying radius … well, the universe is large and there should be no end of

space fights for a long time."

Eyer, the elder of the two partner scientists, was given sometimes to

quiet biting sarcasm that almost took the hide off. Jeter never minded

greatly, for he knew Eyer thoroughly and liked him immensely. Besides

they were complements to each other. The brain of each received from

the other exactly that which he needed to supplement his own know-

ledge of science.

They had one other thing in common. They had been "child prodigies,"

but contrary to the usual rule, they had both fulfilled their early promise.

Their early precocious wisdom had not vanished with the passing of

childhood. Each possessed a name with which to conjure in the world of

science. And each possessed that name by right of having made it fam-

ous. And yet—they were under forty.

Jeter was a slender athletic chap with deep blue eyes and brown hair.

His forehead was high and unnaturally white. There was always a still

sort of tenseness about him when his mind was working with some idea

that set him apart from the rest of the world. You felt then that you

couldn't have broken his preoccupation in any manner at all—but that if

by some miracle you did, he would wither you with his wrath.

Tema Eyer was the good nature of the partnership, with a brain no less

agile and profound. He was a swart fellow, straight as an arrow, black of

eyes—the sort which caused both men and women to turn and look after

him on the street. Children took to both men on sight.

The crowd which had come out to watch the take-off of Franz Kress

was a huge one—huge and restless. There had been much publicity at-

tendant on this flight, none of it welcome to Kress. Oh, later, if he suc-

ceeded, he would welcome publicity, but publicity in advance rather

nettled him.

Jeter and Eyer went across to him as he was saying his last words into

the microphone before stepping into his sealed cabin for the flight. Kress

saw them coming and his face lighted up.

"Lord," he said, "I'm glad to see you two. I've something I must ask

you."

"Anything you ask will be answered," said Jeter, "if Tema and I can an-

swer it. Or granted—if it's a favor you wish."

Kress motioned people back in order to speak more or less privately

with his brother scientists. His face became unusually grave.

"You've probably wondered—everybody has—why I insist on making

this flight alone," he said, speaking just loudly enough to be heard above

the purring of the mighty, but almost silent motor behind him. "I'll tell

you, partly. I've had a feeling for the last month that … well, that things

may not turn out exactly as everybody hopes. Of course I'll blaze the

way to new discoveries; yes, and I'll climb to a height of around a hun-

dred thousand feet … and … and… ."

Jeter and Eyer looked at each other. It wasn't like Kress to be gloomy

just before doing something that no man had ever done before. He

should

have

been

smiling

and

happy—at

least

for

the

movietone

cameras—but he wasn't even that. Certainly it must be something un-

usual to so concern him.

"Tell us, Kress," said Eyer.

Kress looked at them both for several moments.

"Just this," he said at last: "work on your own high altitude plane with

all possible speed. If I don't come back … take off and follow me into the

stratosphere at once."

Had Kress, possessor of one of the keenest scientific minds in the

world, taken leave of his senses? "If I don't come back," he had said.

What did he expect to do? Fly off the earth utterly? That was silly.

But when the partners looked again at Kress they both had the same

feeling. It probably wasn't as silly as it sounded. Did Kress know

something he wasn't telling them? Did he really think he might … well,

might fly off the earth entirely, away beyond her atmosphere, and never

return? How utterly absurd! And yet… .

"Of course we'll do it," said Jeter. "We'd do it anyway, without word

from you. We haven't stopped our own work because of your swiftly ap-

proaching conquest of the greater heights. But why shouldn't you come

back?"

For a moment there was a look of positive dread upon Kress' face.

Then he spoke again very quietly:

"You know all the stuff that's been written about my flight," he said.

"Most of it has been nonsense. How could laymen newspaper reporters

have any conception of what I may encounter aloft? They've tried to

make something of the recent passage of the Earth through an area of so-

called shooting stars. They've speculated until they're black in the face as

to the true nature of the recent bombardment of meteorites. They've pic-

tured me as a hero in advance, doomed to death by direct attack from

what they are pleased to call—after having invented them—denizens of

the stratosphere."

"Yes?" said Jeter, when Kress paused.

Kress took a deep breath.

"They've come nearer than they hoped for in some guesses," he said.

"Of course I don't know it, but I've had a feeling for some time. You

know what sometimes happens when a man gets a sudden revolutionary

idea? He concentrates on it like all get-out. Then somebody else bursts

Arthur J. Burks - Lords of the Stratosphere.pdf

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