CHAPTER V
A DISASTROUS FLIGHT
"Hold on there! Hold on!" cried the fat man, as Noddy was about to pullsome levers, which, presumably, set the gears in mesh and would makethe big tin wings flap, though they were motionless now.
"What's the matter?" asked Noddy angrily, looking up.
"I thought you were going to wager me a hundred dollars that you couldfly in that thing?"
"So I am."
"Well, why don't you put up the money? Mine's up."
"I guess I'm good for it," murmured Noddy. "The bet stands. Look out,there, I'm going to make a start now! Clear the way! Look out! Look outeverybody!"
He turned a little more gasolene into the motor, and the apparatusbanged away louder than ever. The whole machine vibrated.
But something seemed to be the matter. Noddy, who had taken his seatin the small car attached to the machine, was vainly pulling on leversand twisting wheels.
"Something's stuck," he said.
"You're stuck," replied the fat man. "You're stuck for a hundreddollars; that's who's stuck."
"Oh, let up!" exclaimed Noddy as the fat man began to laugh. "Just youwait!"
"We are waiting," cried several in the crowd. "Let her go, ProfessorNixon."
"Bring us down one of those clouds," suggested another.
"Yes, and a little cooler atmosphere from above," added a third waggishone.
Noddy was red in the face from his exertions in yanking on variouslevers. He could not seem to get the motor in gear, though the machinewas working away at a fast rate. Finally Noddy called to one of hishelpers. The man, who was evidently a machinist, soon located thetrouble.
"I told you to pull out that catch before you tried to work thestarting lever," he said.
"Guess he doesn't know much about the machine," was the fat man'scomment.
"I know more than you, and I'll show you so in a minute, too," declaredNoddy savagely.
He pulled on a lever with all his force. There was a grinding ofcog-wheels, a sort of cough and wheeze from the motor as it took up theload, and then the big wings began to vibrate slowly up and down.
"There she goes!" cried the crowd in some enthusiasm. "Hurrah! He'soff!"
"Well, the wings move, that's sure," admitted Jerry to his chums, "butit's another thing to rise in the air."
Noddy, however, had not yet turned on full power. He did so a momentlater, and the motor seemed to redouble the explosions, which, notbeing muffled, made a terrific din. The wings went up and down fasterthan ever, so rapidly, in fact, that they looked only like a brightblur.
Then Noddy pulled a rope, which shifted a sort of box-kite arrangementthat was mounted on supports above the wings, and, to the surprise ofthe motor boys and the others in the crowd, the clumsy-looking tinfly began to move forward, slowly at first, but, gathering speed, itskimmed over the ground, moving along on the wheels of the platform onwhich it rested.
"There he goes! There he goes!" cried the throng. "He's going to fly!"
"Not yet, but soon, maybe," murmured Ned. "Come on, fellows, let's runafter him."
They hastened forward, following the crowd which was all about thecurious machine.
"Keep back! Give me room! Don't get in the way! Some one may get hurt!Stand back! Keep back!" yelled Noddy, who was much excited.
He turned on more gasolene. The motor was now working so fast thatthe whole machine seemed ready to fly apart with the violence of theexplosions and the vibrations of the tin wings.
"Here I go!" yelled Noddy.
"I thought you'd gone some time ago," remarked the fat mansarcastically. He was puffing and wheezing, as he ran to keep up withthe machine. Noddy did not reply. He pulled on another lever, and thensomething did happen.
The _Firefly_ lifted itself off the wheeled platform and fairly lurchedforward, rising the least bit into the air, which action was necessarybefore it could leave the platform.
"Look out! Look out!" cried many voices, and the crowd in front of thecurious affair ducked and dodged, separating so as to allow a clearpassage for the tin fly.
With the motor firing a regular volley of explosions, and Noddy sittingdesperately in his narrow seat, the _Firefly_ dashed forward. But ifthe crowd expected it to sail aloft over their heads they were muchdisappointed. It continued to lurch forward, and then, whether Noddypulled the wrong lever or cord, or whether it was the nature of thecontrivance, was never clearly established, but it turned squarelyabout and started back.
"It's afraid! It's scared at the crowd!" yelled the fat man, who seemeddelighted at Noddy's discomfiture.
"Look out!" shouted the now excited throng, as the people separated togive the _Firefly_ room to do all the queer stunts it desired.
Noddy was now holding on to the framework about him. He seemed to havegiven up trying to guide the airship, which was more of a "groundship," for it was now resting upon the earth, and hopping forward, byuncertain jerks, like a tired frog.
"Go up! Go up! Why don't you go up?" panted the fleshy one. "I'm goingto win my hundred dollars."
Noddy reached forward to pull another lever. As he did so the _Firefly_swerved to one side, narrowly missing knocking over several persons whohad approached too close. Then it swung back again, and next began tohop over the ground in real earnest, the flapping of the broad wings,every time they went up and down, serving to lift it with jerks. Butas for flying, one might as well expect a man to lift himself by hisown boot-straps.
Straight ahead flopped the _Firefly_, right toward a candy and lemonadestand, which the proprietor had piled high with good things, inanticipation of a brisk trade. The tin wings beat the air, the motorexploded loudly, and the whole affair swayed and trembled.
"Get a balloon!" yelled some one in the crowd.
The owner of the stand, who had been too busy fixing up his place topay much attention to the airship trials, now looked up. He saw comingtoward him the tin fly, and he realized his danger and the danger tohis stand.
"Here! Here!" he yelled. "Hold on! Stop her! You'll run into me! Stopit, I say!"
"Move your stand! This is the _Firefly_ limited, and it mustn't get offthe track," said the fat man with a laugh.
Noddy was doing his best to stop the motor, but either he did not pullthe right lever, or else the machine had become jammed and could not bestopped. It seemed bent on destroying the stand.
"Jump! jump!" cried several to Noddy, as they saw that he was indanger. He stood up, but his legs became tangled in some things inthe bottom of the car, and he could not extricate himself.
"I--I can't jump!" he shouted back.
"Shut off the motor!" yelled his machinist, pushing his way through thecrowd.
"I can't do that either. Something's the matter with it! It won't stop!"
The _Firefly_ was approaching nearer and nearer to the lemonade stand.The proprietor was frantically jumping up and down in front of hispossessions, as if he could thus ward off the attack of the airship.
"Stop! Stop, I tell you!" he shouted, shaking his fist at the _Firefly_,which every second was coming nearer.
"Look out!" yelled the crowd. "She's going to hit!"
And hit she did a moment later. At the last moment Noddy managed toleap, and he did so only just in time, for there was a resoundingcrash, a rending and splintering of wood. The lemonade and candy standseemed to crumple up. One side gave way to admit the pointed prow ofthe _Firefly_, then the stand seemed to swallow up the airship.
"THERE WAS A RESOUNDING CRASH!"]
All at once there flew in all directions packages of candy, popcornand boxes of other confections. One pail of pink lemonade was tossedhigh into the air, and, turning over, poured out a crimson flood, whichsprinkled the bystanders. Bottles of root-beer and ginger ale mingledwith sarsparilla in forming a shower of cooling drinks. There was ahail of peanuts.
The big tin wings, hampered in their movements by the wreck of thestand, came to a stop. But the motor went on. It was now running atfull s
peed, free, and its momentum was terrific. There came severalexplosions, louder than any that had preceded.
"Look out! She's going to blow up! The gasolene tank will explode!"cried the fat man.
The crowd, which had gathered about the wreck, scattered on the run.
Once more came a loud explosion.
"There she goes!" yelled several.
But there followed only a whistle, a wheeze, and a sort of apologeticcough from the motor. Then, with a gentle sigh, the overworked machine"went dead" and stopped. But oh what a scene of wreck, ruin anddesolation!