The Phantom Airman — A Closer Reading

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In Category - Fairy Moral Tales

Authors: Walker, Rowland, 1876-1947 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2013 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Science fiction; Pirates -- Juvenile fiction; Airships -- Juvenile fiction; Aeronautics -- Juvenile fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 41,550

Reading time 181 min

Text sections 7

The Phantom Airman — A Closer Reading can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 41,550 words, 3 hr 1 min estimated reading time, and 7 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 17.9 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Science fiction,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #43264

This editorial note examines how Rowland Walker's 1920 adventure novel uses its opening, middle, and later excerpts to establish a post-WWI aerial brigand, a desert air-king, and a gold shipment plot, guiding first-time readers through its serialized structure.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg43264

Read the Text

I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald II. The Wonder ’Plane III. "Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV. A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI. An Up-to-Date Cabin Boy VII. A Duel with Words VIII. Sons of the Desert IX. The Phantom Bird X. The Brigand of the Eastern Skies XI. The Air-King’s Tribute XII. The Maharajah’s Choice XIII. The Missing Airship XIV. Betrayed by the Camera XV. Diamond cut Diamond XVI. The Ghostly Visitant XVII. The Watchers XVIII. "Live Wires" XIX. The Devil’s Workshop XX. "Hands Up!" XXI. The Coming Fight XXII. An Aerial Duel

THE SECRET OF THE SCHWARZWALD

Rittmeister Heinrich von Spitzer, late flight-commander in the German Air Service, was one of the Prussian irreconcilables, who, rather than submit to the peace terms enforced by the Allies after the defeat of Germany, resolved to become an aerial brigand, an outlaw of the nations, and to wage a bitter warfare of violence and plunder against his late enemies.

His proud spirit refused to bend before the conquerors, for the iron shaft of defeat had embittered his soul, particularly against Britain, whom he had ever regarded as the evil genius of the Entente.

One day, when his plans were well matured, he unburdened his spirit to a couple of his friends, kindred souls, men after his own heart, both of them apt pupils of the great Richthofen, who was still referred to by his disciples as "the red airman." They had been engaged that day in dismantling an aerodrome on the edge of the Schwarzwald; to them, at least, a hateful job.

"Comrades," he said, "this peace has ruined us. _Germania delenda est_, but I will not sit still amid the ruins of the Fatherland. Glorious we have lived, like kings of the air; let us not inglorious die."

"I am with you, Rittmeister. I will follow you to the gulfs," exclaimed one of his companions, named Carl, who had been a famous scout pilot in the Richthofen "circus," and the lightning flashed from the young airman’s eyes as he spoke.

"But what can we do against the empires of the world?" asked a Gotha pilot who had raided the English towns a score of times.

For answer the chief turned a withering look upon the last speaker and said:--

"Max, you have faced death a hundred times in the air, and over the British lines. You have thirty enemy machines to your credit, and yet you ask me what can we do?"

"What of it, Rittmeister? Tell us what is in your mind."

"Listen, then, both of you, and I will tell you what still remains for brave men to do. All is not lost while courage and hope remain," and whilst he spoke the German chief drew his two friends away from the half-dismantled aerodrome on the southern edge of the Schwarzwald, to a narrow path that led amongst the trees.

When the aerodrome was hid from view he began to speak once more, huskily at first, as though restraining some pent up excitement.

"I am in possession of a secret," he said, "which I may not tell even to you unless you first swear to follow me on some great adventure."

They both looked at him, not a little amazed and bewildered, and neither spoke for a moment.

"I have chosen you," continued Spitzer, "because I know you to be men of daring and resource. You are both dissatisfied with the condition of things in the Fatherland. Ach Himmel! This occupation of the sacred German soil by the Britisher, the Frenchman and the American is breaking my heart. I will endure it no longer, but I will strike a blow at the enemy before I die."

As he spoke thus, he almost hissed out the words which he uttered, for his voice had now lost its strange huskiness, while his eyes gleamed like the fierce glittering orbs of the tiger about to make its spring from the hidden jungle. Nor was his present madness without its visible effect upon his two companions, for he had strange powers of magnetic influence, this Prussian Junker.

"Donner and Blitz, but you are right, Rittmeister!" exclaimed Carl, the blood mounting to his temples.

"And you, Max, what say you?" and the chief fixed the Gotha pilot with his eyes.

"Ja! ja!" he assented. "I am with you also."

"But the end of this adventure is death!" continued von Spitzer, speaking now more deliberately. "This much I must tell you in all fairness before I proceed further. However much we achieve--and we shall accomplish not a little--there can be no other ending."

"Bah! we have looked too often into the face of that monster to be afraid," returned the scout.

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The novel opens with a pointed historical grievance: Rittmeister Heinrich von Spitzer, a former German flight-commander, refuses to accept the post-WWI peace terms and resolves to become “an aerial brigand, an outlaw of the nations.” The language is direct and embittered, naming Britain as “the evil genius of the Entente.” Walker immediately establishes a villain with a motive rooted in recent history, not mere villainy. The scene is set in the Schwarzwald, where von Spitzer recruits two disciples—one a former Richthofen “circus” pilot, the other a Gotha bomber veteran—by appealing to their pride and promising a secret. This opening frames the story as a revenge-driven aerial campaign, with the Phantom Airman as a deliberate, organized threat.

The Secret and the Setting

The first chapter, “The Secret of the Schwarzwald,” introduces von Spitzer as a Prussian irreconcilable who “resolved to become an aerial brigand.” The excerpts show Walker’s method: he gives the antagonist a clear backstory and a secret that is not yet revealed, creating suspense. The setting—a half-dismantled aerodrome on the edge of the Black Forest—is both specific and symbolic, suggesting a fallen empire. The dialogue among the three Germans is stilted but purposeful, with lines like “Glorious we have lived, like kings of the air; let us not inglorious die.” This tone, mixing melodrama with historical reference, sets the stage for a conflict that is as much ideological as physical.

The Air-King and the Desert Interlude

In the middle excerpt, the narrative shifts to the Arabian desert, where a character called the Sultan von Selim, styled “Air-King of the Hamadian desert,” appears. He forces the captain of an air-liner to deliver a sealed packet to Colonel Tempest, using a crest with a scorpion and the Latin word “Scorpio.” This section introduces a second power center—a bandit ruler who commands loyalty and divides spoil among Bedouins. The description of the desert at night, “when the full round moon approached the meridian and changed the gold of the desert to silver,” shows Walker’s occasional lyrical touch. The episode also reveals that the air-liner Empress carries a ton of gold for the Bank of England, linking the desert encounter to a larger plot of theft and pursuit.

The Gold Shipment and the Wireless Message

Later in the text, the focus returns to the gold shipment aboard the Empress. A commissioner in Cairo learns that the air-liner carries “nearly a ton of gold” for the Bank of England, along with the Indian mail. Von Spitzer, now using the alias “Scorpio,” sends a laconic wireless message giving the air-liner’s coordinates and claiming its wireless is deranged. This moment ties together the earlier threads: the secret from the Schwarzwald, the desert encounter, and the impending theft. The commissioner’s assistant remarks, “Piece of bad luck, sir!”—a dry understatement that contrasts with the high stakes. Walker uses these brief exchanges to advance the plot without lengthy exposition, relying on the reader to connect the dots.

Structure and Serial Pacing

The chapter titles in the contents list—such as “The Secret of the Schwarzwald,” “The Phantom Bird,” and “The Devil’s Workshop”—suggest a serialized, episodic structure. Each chapter appears to introduce a new location or set piece: a German aerodrome, an Arabian desert camp, an aerial liner, a Cairo office. The excerpts show that Walker moves quickly between these settings, using dialogue and brief descriptive passages to maintain momentum. First-time readers should expect a fast-paced narrative that prioritizes action and intrigue over character depth. The recurring motif of the “Phantom Airman” and the scorpion crest provide continuity, while the gold shipment acts as a MacGuffin driving the plot forward.

Readers approaching The Phantom Airman for the first time will benefit from paying attention to the chapter titles, which function as signposts for the shifting locations and conflicts. The novel’s post-WWI setting is not merely background but a driving force for the antagonist’s motivation. The excerpts suggest that Walker expects his audience to follow a multi-threaded plot involving multiple antagonists and a race to secure the gold. Treat each chapter as a self-contained episode that builds toward a larger confrontation, and note how the author uses historical resentment, exotic settings, and technological marvels (airships, wireless) to create a distinctly early-20th-century adventure.

There’s something in Walker’s air-king, ruling his desert from above, that clings to you—that strange, solitary pride. It made me think of the other one, the quieter one, and how these characters seem to carry their lonely victories like a private weight. I keep returning to both, more for that feeling than the plotting. The Motor Scout: A Story of Adventure in South America — Context and Discussion sits beside it now, gently, on the shelf.