Adventure Magazine, December 10, 1924 — page 125: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE PONY EXPRESS OF THE SKY by Will Chamberlain H, OUT of the stillness a shadow, And out of the spaces a whir, A spreading, a flashing of pinions, Where the eagle was master, a stir— Lo, the world crawls below, plain and prairie, Clear the track, O ye hawks soaring high! For the mail of a country is passing— I’m the pony express of the sky. There, once went the pathfinders—Frémont, Pierre Dorian, Lewis and Clarke. They journeyed like worms, toiled and sweated— Behold me, as free as the lark. I may be the plaything of lightnings, But back of the thrill is the bless. Mine’s the line where the stars blink and wonder, The buzzing, cloud-scaling express. Down there creeps the pale Mississippi, And yon the Missouri leaps forth. Proud Harney to me is a molehill, Pike’s Peak a mere wrinkle of earth. With the winds and the rainsheets I fellow, On the tempests my muscles I try; I’m the mission-sped bird of a nation, The pony express of the sky. To your throne, God, I climb to pay honor; I’ve the soul of a soldier and nun; For unselfish triumph is worship Of You—may your purpose be done. I laugh with the rose of the morning, And the vespers of evening cry— Look up, O ye mortals! I’m passing, The pony express of the sky. 103 cCoOMmichoooks.G© 5}