CHAPTER VIII.
A SAFE RETURN.
Who could blame Billy if he turned ashy pale at that critical second. Hecould not believe that this was any scheme of Frank's for showing offwhat the great seaplane was capable of, though on previous occasions hehad known such a thing to happen.
The one terrible conviction that flashed through his mind was thatsomething had happened to stop their motors at this great altitude; andthat the _Sea Eagle_ was now, with ever increasing velocity, headingdownward to earth.
If they managed, through any degree of dexterity to escape death, theremust always be more or less chance of the machine being wrecked; andeven though that catastrophe were avoided, it was sure to fall into thehands of the Germans. Then good-by to their hopes of keeping itsconstruction a secret.
But Frank had been busy meanwhile. He was not the one to be caughtnapping by any sudden happening. Their present predicament had beenaccurately discounted by the clever mind that had invented many parts ofthe strange seaplane.
No sooner did Frank realize that the motive power had ceased than, witha quick snap of the hand, he had turned a valve that was within easyreach.
This allowed pure hydrogen gas from one of the cylinders to rush intothe buoyancy devices, which might be called the crowning triumph alongthe line of insurance against accidents connected with Dr. Perkins'invention.
As if by magic, the upper wings of the aircraft began to swell untilthey had all the appearance of puffed-out mattresses. How the eyes ofthose who were watching down below must have grown round with wonder asthey realized that here was something altogether new. It was also ahitherto unheard-of device intended to diminish the terrible risk of afall ever present with those who go up in aircraft.
The swift volplaning had immediately begun to grow less pronounced, andBilly, feeling that after all they were not going to drop to the ground,drew in his first breath since the accident had come about.
Frank was already busily engaged in examining the stalled motors. Soreliable had the same brand always proven in connection with the _SeaEagle_ type of hydro-aeroplane, that Frank could not remember everhaving such an accident occur.
They were now floating aimlessly in space, not having any means ofmoving save as the wind might chance to cause the seaplane to drift,much after the manner of an old-time balloon.
"Can you make the repairs, Frank, or do we have to hang out the whiteflag of surrender?" called Billy, in an agony of fear lest theirwonderful tryout cruise be fated to come to such an ignoble finish.
"There's nothing terrible the matter," came the reassuring reply fromthe pilot, still working with feverish haste at the motors. "I think Ican get things working again in a hurry."
"Oh! you make me happy by saying that, Frank," Billy told him. "I wasbeginning to think I could see the inside of a German dungeon, or afiring squad standing me up against a blank wall. I hope it doesn't takelong, Frank. There, they start their plagued old anti-aircraft gunsagain!"
Indeed, the first heavy crash of breaking shrapnel not far from thestationary seaplane proved that Billy's remark bore the stamp of truth.They had rushed down with such impetus that before the buoyancy devicescould accomplish the purposes for which they were intended, the seaplanehad once more dropped within range of the elevated guns below.
Now having a stationary target to aim at instead of one that was makingsomething like sixty, seventy, or perhaps fully five score miles anhour, the experienced gunners were very apt to send their shellsdangerously close, so that at any second, fragments from one, as itburst, might do terrible damage to either the seaplane's motors or herdaring young pilots.
Oh! if Frank could only hurry and repair the motors, Billy was sayingover and over again to himself as he clung there and tried to keep countof the numerous sudden puffs of gray or white smoke, indicating thebreaking of the shrapnel shells around them.
What if one of them, better aimed than the rest, should shatter thosebuoyant wings that were their sole means of remaining afloat in theupper air! A rush, an agonized sensation of the earth coming up to meetthem, and that would be their last realization of what life meant.
Billy would never forget that frightful agony of that minute as long ashe lived. A minute--why, it seemed to the shivering boy as though hemust have lived almost a whole year while that furious bombardment keptup; Frank coolly tinkered with the motors.
Then Billy heard his chum calling to him; never had words soundedone-half so sweet.
"Got it fixed. Be out of this in a jiffy!" the other shouted, for therewas so much racket around them that words spoken in an ordinary tonecould never have been heard.
Then Billy forgot about the crackling shrapnel and the circling Taubes.He had caught the familiar whir of the propellers as the motors startedonce more upon their work. It was a very soothing sound to Billy'swrought up nerves.
Immediately the _Sea Eagle_ began to speed forward. Frank's first actwas to set the suction pump to work emptying the great wings of gas, andsending it back to the reservoir intended for storage purposes. This wasdone because they could never hope to attain any great amount of speedotherwise.
When they were falling, the boys had heard what seemed to be a concertedroar from thousands of lusty throats below. This they knew had indicatedthe sudden delight of the watching and deeply interested soldiers in theaerial mishap that appeared to have overtaken the wonderful Yankeeinvention.
These shouts kept up more or less while the anti-aircraft guns werefuriously bombarding the nearly stationary seaplane; but as soon as thelatter started off again, as though in disdain at their futile efforts,the noise ceased like magic.
Frank first of all mounted higher, until none of the bursting bombs cameanywhere near them. Then, feeling perfectly safe from this danger, heset his course toward the southwest.
"Heading home, are you, Frank?" asked Billy, not at all disappointed,for their trial spin certainly had contained enough thrills and dangersto satisfy even such a greedy lover of adventure as the one-timereporter.
"Yes, we've done all we set out to attempt, and a good deal more intothe bargain," replied Frank, casting a cautious look to the right andleft, not meaning to be taken off his guard by any venturesome Germanpilot aboard a Taube machine, who might risk all in a last attempt tocripple this amazing seaplane that outclassed anything they possessed.
"You've finished pumping the gas back again into the reservoir, haven'tyou, Frank? Do you think there was much loss?"
"Not a bit more than two per cent., for we've tested that before," hewas informed.
"They've given up the pursuit," Billy observed presently, showing thatall this while he had been keeping an eye on those swift flying littleTaube machines that had continued to dart hither and thither, like angryhornets, yet not daring to make an attack.
Since there was no longer any visible sign of danger, the boys were ableto once more observe the checkerboard picture that lay far below them.Accustomed to being up among the clouds, they knew just how to gaugedistances, and in this way could get the relative value of things. Anovice would have found his calculations along these lines sadly atvariance with the facts.
"For one," said Billy, his voice showing signs of trembling, "I won't besorry to hug up to a stove when we get to our hangar once more. This airis bitter up here, and seems to go right through you. We're in for adecent spell of weather, it strikes me, Frank."
"Yes, it ought to last another day or so," the other replied, as thoughits condition was of importance.
Indeed, when the wind blew the pilots were kept from making their dailyreconnoissance. During storms and snow, or even rain, it was useless totake the risks of venturing aloft, because the view would be so limited,with the earth shrouded in fog or snow squalls, that it would not pay toascend.
So it was that hundreds of daring aviators would welcome this spell ofquiet weather as an opportunity that could not be allowed to slip pastwithout being taken ad
vantage of.
"We've passed over the trenches along the canal," announced Billy, stillhandling the glasses, and as usual telling the busy pilot what he saw."Now I can hear the British shouting hoarsely and they seem to be wavingall sorts of things up at us. Do you think they know we are supposed tobe trying out this seaplane which was really contracted for by theFrench Government before the war broke out?"
"They have guessed that we must be friendly to their cause, because theysaw something of what went on back there when we struck that minefield," Frank explained without the least hesitation.
He had been dropping lower the while, partly because the air was so keenand cutting so many thousands of feet up and also on account of the factthat they had nothing more to fear from hostile demonstrations.
"There's the road to Dunkirk and Calais that the Kaiser said his menwould tramp along in time to be in town at Christmas," laughed Billy,pointing his gloved hand downward to where could be seen variousdetachments of marching troops, with scores of huge motor vans takingsupplies out along the fighting line for the men who held the trenches,and the bridge-heads across the river.
"The British, with reinforcements coming up every day, seem to beholding all the ground around here," Frank was saying. "Can you seeDunkirk yet, Billy?"
"Oh! yes, easily enough. It isn't such a great distance away from wherethe fighting is taking place. They've heard the roar of the bigforty-two centimeter German guns at Dunkirk more than once this winter."
Still lower they dropped, until at less than a thousand feet they sailedalong, now over the water, with the Channel on their right, and thedisputed shore of France to the left.
"Will you alight on the water, and then head straight for our hangar,Frank?"
"That is the easiest way to do it," came the answer, as though Frank hadevery detail mapped out in his head.
"I warrant you Pudge is standing somewhere, and watching us come along,with his heart beating furiously, ready to fairly hug us after we getashore."
Billy grinned as he thus pictured the delight of their fat chum onhearing how magnificently the gallant _Sea Eagle_ had disported in theair high above the German Headquarters, and what a spasm of alarm theircoming had sent to the hearts of the various air pilots belonging to theinvaders.
With the grace of a monster swan, the seaplane circled around severaltimes and then alighted on the bosom of the water, as softly as floatingthistle down. Equally at home in the air or on the water, the strangehybrid craft immediately commenced to move along in the direction of thewooden inclined plane leading by a gradual rise from the water into theelevated hangar.
So ended the amazing and satisfactory trial trip of the _Sea Eagle_.