Chapter 6
Getting Off The Roof
For a few minutes Mr. Sharp was so engrossed with looking underneaththe craft, to ascertain in what condition the various planes and braceswere, that he paid little attention to the old maid school principal,after his first greeting. But Miss Perkman was not a person to beignored.
"I want pay for the damage to the tower of my school," she went on. "Icould also demand damages for trespassing on my roof, but I willrefrain in this case. Young ladies, will you go to your rooms?" shedemanded.
"Oh, please, let us stay," pleaded Mary Nestor, beside whom Tom nowstood. "Perhaps Professor Swift will lecture on clouds and air currentsand--and such things as that," the girl went on slyly, smiling at thesomewhat embarrassed lad.
"Ahem! If there is a professor present, perhaps it might be a good ideato absorb some knowledge," admitted the old maid, and, unconsciously,she smoothed her hair, and settled her gold spectacles straighter onher nose. "Professor, I will delay collecting damages on behalf of theRocksmond Young Ladies Seminary, while you deliver a lecture on aircurrents," she went on, addressing herself to Mr. Sharp.
"Oh, I'm not a professor," he said quickly. "I'm a professionalballoonist, parachute jumper. Give exhibitions at county fairs. Leapfor life, and all that sort of thing. I guess you mean my friend. He'ssmart enough for a professor. Invented a lot of things. How much is thedamage?"
"No professor?" cried Miss Perkman indignantly. "Why I understood fromMiss Nestor that she called some one professor."
"I was referring to my friend, Mr. Swift," said Mary. "His father's aprofessor, anyhow, isn't he, Tom? I mean Mr. Swift!"
"I believe he has a degree, but he never uses it," was the lad's answer.
"Ha! Then I have been deceived! There is no professor present!" andthe old maid drew herself up as though desirous of punishing some one."Young ladies, for the last time, I order you to your rooms," and, witha dramatic gesture she pointed to the scuttle through which theprocession had come.
"Say something, Tom--I mean Mr. Swift," appealed Mary Nestor, in awhisper, to our hero. "Can't you give some sort of a lecture? The girlsare just crazy to hear about the airship, and this ogress won't let us.Say something!"
"I--I don't know what to say," stammered Tom.
But he was saved the necessity for just then several women, evidentlyother teachers, came out on the roof.
"Oh, an airship!" exclaimed one. "How lovely! We thought it was anearthquake, and we were afraid to come up for quite a while. But anairship! I've always wanted to see one, and now I have an opportunity.It will be just the thing for my physical geography and natural historyclass. Young ladies, attention, and I will explain certain things toyou."
"Miss Delafield, do you understand enough about an airship to lectureon one?" asked Miss Perkman smartly.
"Enough so that my class may benefit," answered the other teacher, whowas quite pretty.
"Ahem! That is sufficient, and a different matter," conceded MissPerkman. "Young ladies, give your undivided attention to MissDelafield, and I trust you will profit by what she tells you.Meanwhile I wish to have some conversation concerning damages with thepersons who so unceremoniously visited us. It is a shame that thepupils of the Rocksmond Seminary should be disturbed at their studies.Sir, I wish to talk with you," and the principal pointed a long,straight finger at Mr. Sharp.
"Young ladies, attention!" called Miss Delafield. "You will observe thelarge red body at the top, that is--"
"I'd rather have you explain it," whispered Mary Nestor to Tom. "Comeon, slip around to the other side. May I bring a few of my friends withme? I can't bear Miss Delafield. She thinks she knows everything. Shewon't see us if we slip around."
"I shall be delighted," replied Tom, "only I fear I may have to helpMr. Sharp out of this trouble."
"Don't worry about me, Tom," said the balloonist, who overheard him."Let me do the explaining. I'm an old hand at it. Been in troublebefore. Many a time I've had to pay damages for coming down in afarmer's corn field. I'll attend to the lady principal, and you canexplain things to the young ones," and, with a wink, the jolly aeronautstepped over to where Miss Perkman, in spite of her prejudice againstthe airship, was observing it curiously.
Glad to have the chance to talk to his young lady friend, Tom slippedto the opposite side of the car with her and a few of her intimatefriends, to whom she slyly beckoned. There Tom told how the Red Cloudcame to be built, and of his first trip in the air, while, on theopposite side, Miss Delafield lectured to the entire school onaeronautics, as she thought she knew them.
Mr. Sharp evidently did know how to "explain" matters to the irateprincipal, for, in a short while, she was smiling. By this time Tom hadabout finished his little lecture, and Miss Delafield was at the end ofhers. The entire school of girls was grouped about the Red Cloud,curiously examining it, but Mary Nestor and her friends probablylearned more than any of the others. Tom was informed that his friendhad been attending the school in Rocksmond since the fall term opened.
"I little thought, when I found we were going to smash into that tower,that you were below there, studying," said the lad to the girl.
"I'm afraid I wasn't doing much studying," she confessed. "I had just aglimpse of the airship through the window, and I was wondering who wasin it, when the crash came. Miss Perkman, who is nothing if not brave,at once started for the roof, and we girls all followed her. However,are you going to get the ship down?"
"I'm afraid it is going to be quite a job," admitted Tom ruefully."Something went wrong with the machinery, or this never would havehappened. As soon as Mr. Sharp has settled with your principal we'llsee what we can do."
"I guess he's settled now," observed Miss Nestor. "Here he comes."
The aeronaut and Miss Perkman were approaching together, and the oldmaid did not seem half so angry as she had been.
"You see," Mr. Sharp was saying, "it will be a good advertisement foryour school. Think of having the distinction of having harbored thepowerful airship, Red Cloud, on your roof."
"I never thought of it in that light," admitted the principal."Perhaps you are right. I shall put it in my next catalog."
"And, as for damages to the tower, we will pay you fifty dollars,"continued the balloonist. "Do you agree to that, Mr. Swift?" he askedTom. "I think your father, the professor, would call that fair."
"Oh, as long as this airship is partly the property of a professor,perhaps I should only take thirty-five dollars," put in Miss Perkman."I am a great admirer of professors--I mean in a strictly educationalsense," she went on, as she detected a tendency on the part of some ofthe young ladies to giggle.
"No, fifty dollars will be about right," went on Mr. Sharp, pulling outa well-filled wallet. "I will pay you now."
"And if you will wait I will give you a receipt," continued theprincipal, evidently as much appeased at the mention of a professor'stitle, as she was by the money.
"We're getting off cheap," the balloonist whispered to Tom, as the headof the seminary started down the scuttle to the class-rooms below.
"Maybe it's easier getting out of that difficulty than it will be toget off the roof," replied the lad.
"Don't worry. Leave that to me," the aeronaut said. It tookconsiderable to ruffle Mr. Sharp.
With a receipt in full for the damage to the tower, and expressing thehope that, some day, in the near future, Professor Swift would do theseminary the honor of lecturing to the young lady pupils, Miss Perkmanbade Mr. Sharp and Tom good-by.
"Young ladies, to your rooms!" she commanded. "You have learned enoughof airships, and there may be some danger getting this one off theroof."
"Wouldn't you like to stay and take a ride in it?" Tom asked MissNestor.
"Indeed I would," she answered daringly. "It's better than amotor-boat. May I?"
"Some day, when we get more expert in managing it," he replied, as heshook hands with her.
"Now for some hard work," went on the young inventor to M
r. Sharp, whenthe roof was cleared of the last of the teachers and pupils. But thewindows that gave a view of the airship in its odd position on the roofwere soon filled with eager faces, while in the streets below was agreat crowd, offering all manner of suggestions.
"Oh, it's not going to be such a task," said Mr. Sharp. "First we willrepair the rudder and the machinery, and then we'll generate some moregas, rise and fly home."
"But the broken propeller?" objected Tom.
"We can fly with one, as well as we can with two, but not so swiftly.Don't worry. We'll come out all right," and the balloonist assumed aconfident air.
It was not so difficult a problem as Tom had imagined to put themachinery in order, a simple break having impaired the working of therudder. Then the smashed propeller was unshipped and the gas machinestarted. With all the pupils watching from windows, and a crowdobserving from the streets and surrounding country, for word of thehappening had spread, Tom and his friend prepared to ascend.
They arose as well as they had done at the shed at home, and in alittle while, were floating over the school. Tom fancied he couldobserve a certain hand waving to him, as he peered from the window ofthe car--a hand in one of the school casements, but where there were somany pretty girls doing the same thing, I hardly see how Tom could pickout any certain one, though he had extraordinarily good eyesight.However, the airship was now afloat and, starting the motor, Mr. Sharpfound that even with one propeller the Red Cloud did fairly well,making good speed.
"Now for home, to repair everything, and we'll be ready for a longertrip," the aeronaut said to the young inventor, as they turned around,and headed off before the wind, while hundreds below them cheered.
"We ought to carry spare propellers if we're going to smash into schooltowers," remarked Tom. "I seem to be a sort of hoodoo."
"Nonsense! It wasn't your fault at all," commented Mr. Sharp warmly."It would have happened to me had I been steering. But we will take anextra propeller along after this."
An hour later they arrived in front of the big shed and the Red Cloudwas safely housed. Mr. Swift was just beginning to get anxious abouthis son and his friend, and was glad to welcome them back.
"Now for a big trip, in about a week!" exclaimed Mr. Sharpenthusiastically. "You'll come with us, won't you, Mr. Swift?"
The inventor slowly shook his head.
"Not on a trip," he said. "I may go for a trial spin with you, but I'vegot too important a matter under way to venture on a long trip," and heturned away without explaining what it was. But Tom and Mr. Sharp weresoon to learn.