CHAPTER XXIV
RIDING AN AIRPLANE'S TAIL
Filled with the gravest fears for the safety of the Sky-Bird andthemselves, all except Bob rushed to the rear windows of the cabin andlooked out to see what had caused the ripping noise, and what could bewrong with the tail.
Paul reached a point of vantage first. One swift look showed him thetrouble. The left elevator had a big hole through it, made by thestone, fragments of silk showing all round the ragged gap. But thiscould not have caused the derangement of the steering controlsentirely, and looking for a reason, Paul saw that the impact had causedthe wire running to the right elevator to become twisted around abracket near the end of the fuselage. Under this condition neitherelevator could be controlled. With the good one held downward, it wasno wonder that the airplane had started a stubborn, slow dive towardthe ocean in spite of Bob's frantic efforts to work the lever normallyeffecting it.
"Shut off your engine!" called Paul to Bob. "That will hold us back.Three minutes of time I think will save us!"
With the words, Paul seized the end of a long coil of rope which laynear, and fastened it about his waist. Both Bob and John saw what hemeant to do. He would crawl out upon the fuselage and attempt tountangle the inactive control wire, freeing the now useless rightelevating plane!
It was a daring thing to do--a most perilous proceeding. But the oldermen knew that it was the only thing that could prevent them fromplunging into the sea. So John threw open a window for his brother,the nimblest one of them, gave his hand a parting squeeze, and Paulclimbed through.
Paul never had realized as he did now how smooth that rounded body ofthe machine was, nor how strong the wind shot back along it when themachine was in flight. Although he clutched it with both arms andlegs, and lay as close to it as he could press, he thought two or threetimes, as he made his way out toward the tail, that he would be tornloose. He knew that his friends in the cabin, whom it might be hewould never speak to again, were watching his progress with feargripping their hearts, and were probably inwardly praying for hissuccess with every breath.
Finally the boy reached the tail. He dare not look down at the sea tosee how much closer they were now, for the sight might unnerve him andprove disastrous to his purpose. So, glazing his vision to all excepthis environs and intent, he wrapped his legs around the narrowing bodyof the machine, let go with his arms, and in a crouching posture seizedthe tangled wires. Two or three tugs and he had them free. Heannounced this fact with as loud a yell as he could.
Immediately afterward he heard his brother's voice. "Hang right therewhere you are, Paul! Don't try to come back until we get elevationagain and I give you the word."
He realized what this meant and looked down as he once more wrapped hisarms around the fuselage, with his shoulders against the rudderbracket. What he saw was the restless sea less than two hundred feetbelow! Had Bob waited for him to attempt to crawl back into the cabinwith the tail elevated, the Sky-Bird would have buried herself in thewaters before he was half-way to his objective. They must now rise, ifthat were possible, to a good height; then Bob would slowly spiral theairplane downward and afford him a declining surface to work back upon.
Luckily Paul's freeing of the right elevating plane, gave the pilotfairly good control over the machine, so Bob had no difficulty inbringing the Sky-Bird into a rising swoop, although none too soon.Mounting at a good angle, but one which would not be likely to displacethe youth clinging at the tail, he brought the airplane up to twothousand feet.
"Now, Paul! Slide for it!" cried John, as the machine began a slowdescent in a great circle.
Paul then worked his way back like a crab, sliding a little, but notonce allowing his tensioned limbs to relax to the danger point. Beforethe airplane had come within five hundred feet of the sea, he felt hislegs grasped in the strong hands of John and Tom, and the next momentthey had hauled him bodily through the window.
"Ginger, Buddy, that was a close call for us--and you, too!" exclaimedJohn. "I hope I never see you in such a ticklish place again!"
Paul sank into a seat. He was too exhausted to do anything but smile.When at last he could find his voice he asked, anxiously: "Can Bobcontrol her all right now?"
"Well enough to land us where we wish to go, he says," observed Tom.
"That's right," put in Bob himself, who had overheard the conversation."The Sky-Bird isn't what she was before that rock went through her, butif nothing worse happens we'll reach Singapore, though it will probablybe somewhat later than our sweet friends in the other plane."
"We can land at Sumatra, I think, if we have to make repairs before,"ventured John. "We ought to cross the northern end of that island inthe course of an hour."
Searching the horizon for their rivals, they saw that, evidentlysatisfied with the mischief they had done, the _Clarion_ crew had goneon at full speed, for they were now far ahead.
"If I ever run onto Pete Deveaux again I believe I shall be angryenough to choke him till he's unable to speak his own name," declaredPaul.
"I'm afraid I'll have to help you at that job, Paul," cried Tom. "He'sthe most unprincipled scoundrel that ever went unhung."
"You are right, Tom; Deveaux is a brute," said John. "His deviltrycame near being the end of us. When we get home, we must see to itthat he is punished as he deserves. But we must keep it out of thepapers now, as it will look, in case we get beat, as if we wanted anexcuse."
John and Tom now resumed their hammocks and broken sleep, for they sawthat, although the shattered tail elevator caused the Sky-Bird to rideroughly and at reduced speed. Bob and Paul could probably handle herall right from now on. The cross winds of the monsoon also hinderedtheir progress a good deal, blowing erratically from differentdirections, but they plugged along at a pace slow enough to keepthemselves within the zone of safety.
A little later they came in sight of Sumatra, but as they were goingfairly well, thought it best not to attempt a landing for repairs. Sothey crossed the northern tip of the island, and proceeded on over theStrait of Malacca. Sometime since, Paul had taken Bob's place at thethrottle, and the latter had communicated with their destination bywireless, learning that the other airplane had arrived.
It was twilight when they at last reached Singapore, and made a landingin the race-course in the outskirts of the town. By long odds this wasthe smallest island upon which they had so far stopped, but they foundthe city one of the busiest. Their rivals had left fully two hoursbefore.
Now came the task of repairing the broken tail elevator. As the framewas undamaged, it was only necessary to straighten out a few bentsupports and put new covering on. The British official at the fieldshowed them where to purchase the necessary silk and glue, also a goodwaterproof varnish for coating the covering. From his own home hesecured a pair of scissors with which to do the cutting, and John andBob worked at the task, while Paul and Tom took on fuel and water andlooked after other preparations for resuming their journey as soon aspossible.
During this process, Grandpa the monkey was permitted to come out ofthe cabin and entertain the crowd of onlookers with his antics, whichhe did to perfection, as he had done at other stops. To the ivory ringabout his slender little waist, Paul always fastened a long thin rope,which he had bought in Para, when he let Grandpa out. This leashprevented him from wandering off, something nearly all unfetteredmonkeys will do if not watched very closely by their masters. Almostany place seems to be home to a monkey, and almost any man seems tosuit him for a temporary master.
Grandpa himself delighted in running out upon the wings of the Sky-Birdat the stops. He pulled the control wires and made the ailerons swingup and down, which always raised a laugh among the crowds. Anotherfavorite pastime with him was to post himself in front of the reflectorof the big searchlight up on the cabin, and make the most comicalgrimaces at his image on the polished reflector inside, sometimesuttering queer noises as if he were crying, and at other timeschattering with the utmo
st anger at the phantom monkey, mixing thesedemonstrations up with wild dashes around behind the lamp to see if themimicking animal were there. No matter what language the natives ofeach port might speak, they never failed to understand and appreciatethese little sideshow comedies of Grandpa's. And when it would becomenoised about among them that this particular monkey had traveled allthe way from South America through the air with the "bird-men," theirawe for him was amusing to behold.