AFTER A STRANGE BIRD
The _Comet_ was now at the mercy of the wind, as, the propellers no
longer revolving, the motor ship had no steerage way. The craft was
whirled and tossed about, and those in it, especially the boys, were
much frightened.
“Don’t be alarmed!” cried Mr. Glassford. “We can’t possibly fall, and
I’ll soon have her before the wind again.”
He quickly changed the elevation rudder, and so adjusted it as to send
the ship downward on a long, slanting course. This gave the desired
momentum, and the craft rode on a more even keel--if an airship has a
keel.
“Ned, you come here and take charge of things,” called Mr. Glassford,
“while Jerry and I look at the motor.”
Ned found little to do, save to keep steady the rudder which controlled
the side motion of the ship. Meanwhile, Jerry was looking over the
motor.
“I can’t find anything wrong with it,” he said as Mr. Glassford came
up. “It seems to be all right.”
“This isn’t exactly like the engine in an automobile,” said the
inventor, “though it’s nearer that in construction than anything else.
Let me have a look.”
Carefully he went over every part of it. Then he uttered an exclamation.
“I’ve found the trouble!” he cried.
“What is it?”
“One of the spark-plugs has broken, and it backfired. That was the
explosion we heard. I’ll soon have it fixed.”
It did not take long to adjust the machinery. Meanwhile, the _Comet_
was shooting downward at a rapid rate. In some alarm Jerry noted that
they were now only a few hundred feet above the surface of the earth.
Unless the depression rudder was soon shifted they would strike the
ground and lose all possible chance at the prizes, to say nothing of
perhaps damaging the ship.
“There!” cried Mr. Glassford at length. “Now I can start the motor.
Jerry, tell Ned to change the elevation rudder. We will go up now.”
An instant later the hum, throb and crackle of the machinery told that
the propellers were in motion, and with a swoop like some great bird
the _Comet_ once more sailed upward toward the sky.
The storm had moderated somewhat, though it was still raining hard.
This, however, did not bother the travelers, as their craft was snug
and tight.
“We’re doing a little better,” announced Mr. Glassford as he glanced at
the compass. “Not making so much west as we were, but still too much to
enable us to reach New Orleans on this course. Now, I think you boys
can turn in. I’ll manage the ship. In fact, there is little to do.”
“Call us at daylight,” said Jerry. “We want to see how much country
we’ve covered, and where we are.”
“I will,” promised the inventor.
Strange as it was to go to bed aboard an airship, the boys managed to
fall asleep quickly. The only sound was that made by the machinery, and
the occasional moan of the wind. Professor Snodgrass remained up quite
late, classifying his specimens, and then he too sought his berth.
It was just getting light when Jerry awakened without having had to
be called by Mr. Glassford. He got up, and his movements about the
bunkroom aroused his chums.
“Where are we?” asked Ned.
“I haven’t the least idea,” replied Jerry. “We’re still moving,
however.”
“Is the storm over?” inquired Bob.
“Seems to be,” was Jerry’s answer as he peered from a window. “Yes, the
sun’s coming up. Take a look--it’s great.”
Indeed, the rising sun, seen from an airship, with nothing to obstruct
the view, is a magnificent sight, and one the boys had never witnessed
before.
“Is everything all right?” asked Jerry as he went to the steering
tower, where Mr. Glassford was still on duty.
“Yes; the night passed off very well. The ship is running very
satisfactorily, and I think I’ll let you take charge now, and get some
sleep myself.”
“I’m sure you need it,” remarked Jerry. “Bob is getting breakfast.”
“Trust him for that,” said Mr. Glassford with a smile.
A look all around the horizon failed to show the presence of any other
of the contesting airships, though of course the travelers did not
know whether they were ahead of or behind their rivals. They hoped the
former.
With Jerry in the pilot house the motor ship was sent along at rapid
speed, while Ned and Bob sat with Professor Snodgrass in the main
cabin. The little scientist was keeping a lookout for any insects or
birds that he might add to his collection. So far his trip had not been
very profitable to him.
“What’s that?” suddenly asked Ned, pointing to a small black speck off
to the right.
“Maybe one of the airships,” replied Bob.
“No, it’s too small.”
“Well, maybe it’s a good way off.”
“No, it isn’t an airship,” went on Ned. “But whatever it is, it’s
coming nearer.”
“Get the telescope,” suggested Bob.
Ned did so, and when he had focussed it on the speck he uttered an
exclamation of astonishment.
“It’s a bird--a strange bird!” he said.
“A bird!” repeated the professor. “It must be a rare sort of bird to be
this high in the air. Let me take a look.”
He made an observation, and at once became very much excited.
“I must capture that for my collection!” he cried. “I have long wished
to possess a specimen of that kind, and now I have a chance to get it.”
“I guess you’ll have hard work,” commented Ned. “It seems to be going
away from us now.”
“I will ask Mr. Glassford to take after it,” said the scientist,
hurrying toward the sleeping-cabin, where Mr. Glassford was.
The inventor, once he understood the request of the scientist, and
learned that the bird was not too far off, agreed to change the course
of the ship.
“We ought to work back to the right, anyhow,” he said. “We must be many
miles off our course.”
Nearer and nearer the airship approached the bird. The winged creature,
instead of being frightened, flew closer to the _Comet_ as if to
inspect it. Nearer and nearer the creature came. The professor was all
excitement. With his longest-handled net he stood at an open window,
ready to capture the rare specimen.
“A little more to the right, Jerry,” called Ned.
Jerry shifted the steering lever. The _Comet_ swooped toward the bird.
The professor leaned out of the window with his net and made a sweep
to entangle the bird in the meshes. But a sudden shift of the wind
slightly altered the ship’s level, and the next instant the scientist’s
body shot out of the window. The airship was more than a mile above the
earth.