The two chums were not in the least taken aback with the announcement.
They knew the way of their late O.C. On active service Fosterdyke was
in the habit of issuing orders for certain operations to be performed
without apparently considering the magnitude or the danger of the
undertaking. The officer or man to whom the order was given almost
invariably executed it promptly. In the few cases where the individual
instructed to carry out a "stunt" failed to rise to the occasion, that
was an end of him as far as his service under Wing Commander Sir
Reginald Fosterdyke went. Fosterdyke had no use for faint-hearted
subordinates.
On the other hand, Kenyon and Bramsdean were astonished at being invited
to take part in what promised to be the biggest aerial undertaking ever
contemplated. After nearly two years "on the ground" the prospect of
"going up" seemed too good to be true.
"Business difficulties, perhaps?" hazarded Fosterdyke, noting the faint
signs of hesitation on the part of the two chums. "Think it over. But I
suppose you'd like to have a few particulars of the stunt before
committing yourselves?"
"I think it could be arranged, sir," replied Kenyon. "As regards our
little show, we could leave it to our head foreman. He's a steady-going
fellow and all that sort of thing. It's merely a question of a month, I
suppose?"
"Less than that. Twenty days, to give a time limit," declared the
baronet. "Either twenty days or--_phut_! However, I'll outline the
salient features of the scheme.
"Like a good many others, it arose out of an almost trivial incident--a
bet with an American Air Staff officer whom I met in London just after
the Yankee seaplane NC4 flew across the Atlantic--or rather hopped
across. Without detracting from the merits of the stupendous
undertaking, it must be remembered that the seaplane was escorted the
whole way, and alighted several times _en route_. The Yankee--General
U. B. Outed is his name--offered to bet anyone $50,000 that an American
aircraft would be the first to circumnavigate the globe.
"Half a dozen of us took him on; not that we could afford to throw away
an equivalent to ten thousand pounds, but because we had sufficient
faith in the Old Country to feel assured that the accomplishment of a
flight round the world would be the work of a British owned and flown
machine.
"Shortly after the wager was accepted came the news that R34 had flown
from East Fortune to New York in 108 hours, making the return journey in
76 hours. That rather staggered General Outed, I fancy, and he had a
greater shock when Alcock and Brown covered nearly 2,000 miles between
Newfoundland and Ireland without a single stop.
"Things from a British aviation point of view looked particularly rosy;
then for some obscure reason our Air Board appeared to let the whole
matter of aerial navigation slide, or, at any rate they gave no
encouragement. The big dirigibles were dismantled and sold; powerful
aeroplanes were scrapped, air-stations were closed, and in a
parsimonious wave of retrenchment even our old Royal Air Force was
threatened with ignominious relegation to a corps under the control of
the War Office.
"About three months ago a wealthy Swiss--a M. Chauvasse--who had made a
pile in the United States, offered a prize to the value in British money
of L25,000 to be given to the first airman to circumnavigate the globe,
either in a lighter or a heavier than air machine. The prize is open to
all comers, and already a Yankee and a German have announced their
intention of competing."
"A Hun!" exclaimed Kenyon. "I thought that Fritz, under the terms of
the armistice, had to surrender all his aircraft."
"But he hasn't," remarked Fosterdyke, drily. "Nor is he likely to; and
if the Allies haven't the means to enforce the terms, that's not my
affair. If a Hun does compete, let him. That's my view. Providing he
doesn't resort to any of his dirty tricks, there's no valid reason why
the door should be banged in his face. Because he's down and out is no
reason why we should continue to sit on him. Commercially, I regard
German goods as a means to reduce the present extortionate prices of
things in England. I'm no believer in dumping, I never was; but if our
manufacturers cannot compete with the products of a country beaten in
war and torn by internal troubles, then there's something wrong
somewhere. But I am digressing.
"Briefly, the terms of the contest are as follows: any type of machine
or engine can be employed, and as many descents as are necessary to
replenish fuel and stores. A start can be made from any place chosen by
the competitor, but the machine must finish at the same spot within
twenty days. Again, any route can be chosen, so that full advantage can
be taken of existing air stations, but--and this is a vital point--in
order to fairly circumnavigate the globe, competitors must pass within
one degree of a position immediately opposite the starting-point. Do
you follow me?"
"What is known in navigation as Great Circle Sailing," replied
Bramsdean. "If a start is made somewhere on the 50th parallel North,
the halfway time will be somewhere 50 degrees South, with a difference
of 180 degrees of longitude."
"That's it," agreed Sir Reginald. "Now the difficulty arises where to
find two suitable places answering to these conditions. With the
exception of a small part of Cornwall the whole of Great Britain lies
north of latitude 50.... Therefore, to reach the 50th parallel in the
Southern Hemisphere would mean making a position far south'ard of New
Zealand--where, I take it, there are no facilities for landing and
taking in petrol.
"Nor is the vast extent of the United States any better off in that
respect. I think I am right in saying that there is no habitable land
diametrically opposite to any place in Uncle Sam's Republic."
Fosterdyke produced a small globe from a corner of the room in order to
confirm his statement.
"And the old Boche is a jolly sight worse off," said Kenyon. "I don't
suppose any British Dominion will tolerate him. It's certain he won't
be allowed to fly over any Allied fortress, so where is he?"
"Paying the penalty for his misdeeds," replied Sir Reginald, grimly.
"It's not exactly a case of _vae victis_. If he'd played his game, he
would have taken his licking with a better grace because it wouldn't
have hurt him so much."
"How many competitors are there for the Chauvasse Stakes, sir?" asked
Bramsdean.
"A Yank, a Hun, and myself," replied Fosterdyke. "That is, up to the
present. For some reason the idea hasn't caught on with our fellows.
Probably there'll be a rush of entries later on--perhaps too late. I'll
show you my little craft; but before doing so I'll give you a few
details of the contest.
"My idea is to start from Gibraltar--for the actual race, of course.
I'll have to take my airship there, but that's a mere detail. Why
Gibraltar? Here's an encyclopaedia, Kenyon. Look up the position of
Gib."
"Lat. 36 deg. 6' N.; long. 5 deg. 21' W.," replied Kenyon, after
consulting the work.
"And the antipodes of Gib. would be lat. 36 deg. 6' S.; long. 174 deg.
39' E.," continued the baronet. "The longitude, of course, being easily
determined by adding 180 to that of Gibraltar. Now the next thing to be
done (as a matter of fact I've determined it already) is to find a
habitable spot approximating to the second set of figures. Look up
Auckland, Kenyon."
"Auckland is lat. 36 deg. 52' S.; long. 174 deg. 46' E.," replied
Kenneth. "Why, that's less than a degree either way."
"Exactly," agreed Fosterdyke. "The next point is to determine the air
route between the two places, so as to make the best of the prevailing
winds. When one has to maintain an average speed of fifty miles an hour
for twenty days the advantage of a following wind cannot be ignored."
"Your 'bus'll do more than that, sir," remarked Peter Bramsdean.
"She'll do two hundred an hour," declared the baronet, emphatically. "I
haven't had a trial spin yet, but she'll come up to my expectations.
It's the stops that lower the average. Naturally I mean to take the
east to west course. It means a saving of twenty-four hours. If I took
the reverse direction, I'd be a day to the bad on returning to the
starting-point. The actual course I'll have to work out later. That's
where I want expert assistance. Also I want the aid of a couple of
experienced navigators. And so that's why I sent for you."
"We're on it," declared both chums.
"I thought as much," rejoined Fosterdyke with a smile. "There's one
thing I ought to make clear--the matter of terms."
Kenyon made a deprecatory gesture.
"Not so fast, Kenyon," protested his chief. "It's a rock-bottom
proposition. Twenty-five per cent. of the prize if we are successful is
your collective share. If we fail, then I'm broke--absolutely. I've
sunk my last penny into the concern, because I'm hanged if I'm going to
sit still and let a foreigner be the first to make an aerial
circumnavigation of the globe. Now let me introduce you to the airship
'Golden Hind.'"