CHAPTER XII
THE MONOPLANE
Looking down from above, as he was doing, it was hard for Frank to keephis bearings at all. Naturally, everything looked very different. He hadbeen used to looking up at houses, and had had them in one plane. Noweverything was flat before him. In the day time the resemblance of thecountry as he now saw it to a map might have helped him. But at night,even on a clear night, things were blurred. Fences and roads rantogether confusedly. And this night was not clear. The day had beenfair, but now clouds were coming up.
"We'll have some rain, hang it!" said Greene. "The firing seems to bringit. At least that's what they say. Wonder if it's true? I suppose itmight."
"I should think it might be a good thing," said Frank. "It'll make itharder for them to see us, won't it! And that ought to help us."
"Yes, but it'll make it a good deal harder for us to see what we'reafter, too. Cuts both ways, you see. Still I don't mind as long as wedon't have fog or wind, and I think I'd rather have the wind. You knowwhere you're at with wind, anyway. In a fog--Lord! You've no idea what athing fog is until you've tried to make a landing in it."
With the motor muffled down, they were able to talk easily. In theearlier days of aeroplanes the motor made so much noise that anythinglike a sustained conversation was impossible. But now the motor onlypurred gently in their ears, just like that of a motor car. For militarypurposes the silence thus obtained more than made up for the slightsacrifice of power. The more old-fashioned 'planes, many of which werestill in use, advertised their presence to an enemy as soon as they cameat all near. But this new type, largely used by the British and theFrench, as Frank knew, had to be seen before they were in any danger,so silently do they wing their flight.
"Talking about fog," Greene went on, talking as indifferent as if theyhad been on solid ground, "I had a nasty experience just before KaiserBill started this trouble. Went up at Sheerness, for an experimentalflight in this same 'plane. First time I'd had her out, and I didn'tknow her very well. And one of those old-fashioned sea fogs came rollingin when I was ten miles from anywhere. Never saw anything so sudden inmy life!"
"How did you find your way, sir?"
"I didn't! I just went up and up until I was above the fog and in thesunlight. You can do that, you know. But that was a queer fog--rose awhole lot. Anyway, when I got above it, it was precious cold. And thesun didn't do me much good. I'd got lost, so far as my bearings belowwere concerned, making spirals as I went up. What I hoped for was tofind out something when I was above the fog."
"How was that? You mean that the fog would only spread over a certaindistance?" he asked.
"That's it exactly. Only I didn't know that fog! So far as I could tell,it spread over all England and Ireland, too, with some left over forFrance! Only one thing for it, of course. I knew I'd get away from it ifI kept on flying. So I steered by the sun as well as I could, and kepton until my petrol began to run short, and a cylinder began missing. Andthen, just as I was wondering whose windows I'd break when I went down,it began to thin out, and slipped away as quickly as it had come. And Iwas right above the golf links on Wimbledon Common. I volplaned down,and landed on a putting green, and an old colonel who'd been invalidedhome from India said I'd done it on purpose, and he was going to have mecourt-martialled!"
Frank laughed heartily at the story. But at the same time, he suspectedCaptain Greene's purpose in telling it. He thought the captain wanted tokeep his spirits up, and make him forget that he had never had a flightbefore, and he admired and liked him more than ever in consequence,even though, as he told himself, it wasn't necessary.
"Hello! I think we're getting near your spot, young 'un," said Greene,abruptly. He dipped down, and Frank peered down to see where they were.
"Yes," he cried, in assent. "There's the hill we were coming down whenwe saw them, just as we rounded that turn. That's the road they weremarching along, and there, over to our left, are the woods. I wonder ifthey're still there."
"We'll soon know," said Greene. "Now for a little climbing. I'm notafraid of being hit, but orders are to find them without being seen, ifwe can manage it. So we'll try the high spots for a bit."
At once the monoplane began climbing, ascending in great spirals. Frankwas absorbed by the sensation. He found that he could see the groundreceding without feeling any qualms, and said so.
"You're lucky," said Greene, briefly. "Made me feel queer first fewtimes I tried it, I can tell you. You're probably a born flyer--and thechances are you'll never do much of it, I suppose! Always the way!"
Frank, looking down, saw that they were moving away from the woods whichthey were to reconnoitre, and mentioned it.
"Got to," said Greene, briefly. "Then we'll fly back. We can't climb ina straight line. When I went out for altitude once, I made twelvethousand feet, and when I finished climbing I was nearly fifteen miles,in a straight line, from where I started. Let's see. Got that flashlightI gave you? Play it right on the board there till I tell you to stop."
Frank obeyed, shooting the little spear of light on the variousinstruments in front of the aviator.
"All right. Hold it there. My barograph, you see. Gives me my height byshowing the change in atmospheric pressure. That's how we calculateheight. Not very exact, because all sorts of things vary the pressure.But it's near enough. A thousand feet! That's good enough. I don'tbelieve they're looking for us. We don't usually scout behind our ownlines."
Now he brought the monoplane around in a great sweep and flew straightover the woods. But, though Frank looked down through powerful navynight glasses, of the sort that are used for look-out duty at sea, hecould see nothing.
"Clasp them around my head--so," said Greene. "See the trick? All right!Now I'll have a look. There's another pair in my pocket--use those foryourself."
But if the Germans were there, they were concealing their presence witha good deal of care and skill.
"Have to go lower, then," decided Greene. "Get ready! We'll shoot thechutes now."
He pointed the monoplane straight down, cut out his motor, and glidedearthward in a glorious volplane, the most wonderful sensation that evenflight, with all its wonders, can afford. When the earth seemed about tocome up and hit them, though it was still actually a good five hundredfeet below, he caught the machine, righted it, and started the motoragain. Then he had to fly back until he was again directly over thewoods, and once more, while the monoplane moved very slowly, they peereddown. But still there was no sign.
"Humph!" said Greene. "If they were supposed to be anything but Germans,I'd say you'd told us a cock and bull story, young 'un! English troops,or French, would show some sort of a light. Some fool would take achance to get a smoke. But these Germans! They're not men--they'remachines. They'll obey orders that officers wouldn't take the trouble togive in any other army. We'll have to make sure. Up we go again!"
Frank could not see how going up would make it possible for them to getthe information that coming down hadn't afforded. But he said nothing,because he had come to feel by this time that when Captain Greene did athing he had a perfectly sound reason for his action. Nor was he wrong.Once more they climbed in a high spiral curve until they were higherthan they had been before. For the first time, Frank now felt a peculiarringing in his ears. He mentioned it, and Greene laughed.
"Pressure," he said. "You'll get used to it! Lord, sometimes I've feltas if my head would burst when I started to climb. But it doesn't lastlong. Feel in the seat there beside you, at your left. There ought to bea big electric torch."
"Here it is! I've got it, sir," said Frank, a moment later.
"All right. Touch the button at the end. Let's see if it lights upproperly."
It did, decidedly, for the result was a blinding glare.
"Pretty powerful, isn't it?" said Greene. "It's used for signalling, yousee. Flash the light, and you can reproduce Morse perfectly. When you'rehigh up it can be seen a long way, too. Now hold it straight down andflash it, then give a st
eady glare. Let us see if we cannot drawanything."
Frank obeyed, at the same time getting a glimpse of Greene's idea. Heheld the torch pointing straight down, and saw the beam of lightshooting straight down. It was not powerful enough, of course, by thetime it reached the treetops, to illuminate them, and so make anythingbelow visible, but it was certainly strong enough to be observed frombelow, he thought. But still there was no movement, and the uncannysilence and darkness below persisted.
"All right. There's still another chance," said Greene, patiently. Hedrew a revolver from his pocket.
"Flash your little light this way. Let me see if it's all right," hesaid.
Frank obeyed.
"New fangled automatic--very powerful, and shoots a .44 bullet almost asfar as an old-fashioned rifle," explained Greene. "Very useful if oneruns into another 'plane unexpectedly--and the other fellow happens tobe a German."
A moment later he opened fire, shooting straight downward. He could notaim, of course, but it was not his object to hit anything. He emptiedone clip of cartridges, and before the last shot was fired the woodsbelow began to spit fire. At once the monoplane began racing.
"Got 'em!" cried Greene, exultingly. "I thought that would do it! Itisn't human nature to be under fire without sending back a shot ortwo--not even German human nature!"
No bullets came near them, but there was no longer any possible doubtthat the Germans were below. The fusillade had settled that. Greeneslowed down.
"Show your light quickly, then douse it at once," he cried.
Frank flashed the light of the big torch for an instant. And at once themonoplane shot forward.
"See the point?" cried Greene. "They'll aim at where the light was. Onlywe won't be obliging enough to be there! Well, this is a good night'swork, my lad! You were right, and if I'm not much mistaken, you'll getyour name in dispatches for this. The beggars! I'd like to know how theygot through without being spotted!"
All the time the monoplane was racing away. But suddenly there was asharp crack behind them, and in an agony of concern Greene twistedaround in his seat.
"Oh, Lord!" he groaned. "I crowed too soon! That's the petroltank--bullet hole! It'll leak out, and we can't stop the leak!"
"If you went down right away, would it all get out before you reachedthe ground?"
"No, but they'll catch us if we go down here. Can't do that."
"It's the only chance!" said Frank. "Isn't it?"
"You're right. I'll take it. Good boy! You don't mind the risk?"
"No!" said Frank.
Then they were rushing down. It was a desperate venture. Greene pointedfor a field, but in the darkness the risk of capture by the Germans wasthe least that they faced.
Greene had cut out his engine; there was too much danger of anexplosion, with the leaking petrol, to allow the spark to continue. Hehad to volplane down this time, not as a quick way of descending, but asthe only means of preventing a disastrous fall. Even in broad daylightthere is always risk in landing with a dead motor. Here, in the darknessand with unknown country below, the risk was multiplied a hundred times.
All that Greene knew with any certainty was that he was over countrybroken up into fields. The fences were numerous, there were ditches,too, and obstructions of all sorts. The larger ones he could see readilyenough, when he got close; it was the smaller ones that threatened thereal danger.
But if the danger was great, Greene was a master of his craft. Heswooped downward. Then, when he was scarcely a hundred feet up, hecaught the machine with a fine show of skill and held it, for a moment,on an even keel.
"We'll chance it in the next field," he called. "Can't stay up anyfurther. Here goes!"
Down, down, they went. Then they were down, bumping along. But theelement of luck that, despite all his skill, Greene had to have, favoredhim. The field was smooth and the monoplane came to rest safely. In aninstant both were out, Greene first, since Frank, having to free himselffrom his straps, was delayed.
"Quick! The small flashlight!" called the flyer. "Here, give it to me!If we're to save any essence we've got to be quick!"
He took the light. But a quick look over the tank failed to show aspurting stream of gasoline.
"By Jove! Wonder if I could have been mistaken? Perhaps it was somethingelse they hit!" cried Greene. But then he groaned. As he unscrewed thecap of the tank and peered in, he saw that it was bone dry.