THE LONG FLIGHT BEGUN
Major Denning was greatly astonished when Lieutenant Beverly made so
astounding an assertion.
"Well, I wouldn't put anything past you Yankees," he presently remarked,
with a dry chuckle. "But this is something of a Herculean task you're
planning, Colin. A flight of over three thousand miles is a greater
undertaking than any plane has so far been able to carry through. And if
you should meet with trouble, the jig is up with you all!"
"We understand what we're up against, I assure you," Tom replied. "The
plan is entirely Lieutenant Beverly's, sir. Sergeant Parmly has reason to
get home before the _La Bretagne_ reaches New York harbor, and she's
already three days out. Learning this, our good friend here made a
thrilling proposition, which we eagerly accepted. That's the story in a
nutshell, Major Denning."
"I must say I admire your nerve, that's all," exploded the other,
shaking hands with all of them. "Just the type of chap I'd like to tie up
with. My word! if I could get leave, and there was room for one more
aboard the big bomber, I'd beg of you to take me in. But I wish you every
luck in the wide world. My word, fancy the nerve of it!"
"We must remember not to speak a word so that any of the men can guess
what our real destination is," Beverly cautioned, as they continued along
the path. "Only my right-hand agent here knows the truth, and he means to
keep it dark."
"But they must suspect something unusual," suggested Tom.
"It's hinted that we are aiming at Berlin, don't you know?" pursued the
lieutenant, chuckling. "But believe me, the game is a bigger one than
just that little jaunt, far bigger in fact."
Presently they came to the shore where the stout hangar was found, partly
hidden under the branches of low trees and shrubbery. Before them lay the
sandy stretch of beach hard as a dancing floor, and well fitted to be
their "jumping off" place.
Tom bent down to feel it, after the manner of an experienced air pilot.
"Couldn't be bettered much, could it, Tom?" demanded Lieutenant Beverly
confidently.
"I should say not!" was the quick response.
Jack was feeling quite joyous since the outlook for starting on the
anticipated flight had become so bright. At the same time he told himself
he would not entirely lose that tense sensation around the region of his
heart until they were actually off.
Around the hangar they found a cordon of several armed men; a fact which
caused Tom to remember that they shortly before had heard the report of
firearms, and as yet had failed to learn the cause. Then again there was
that explosion down the coast. He turned to Lieutenant Beverly for an
explanation.
"We too heard the sound of an explosion," Beverly told him in reply. "It
came from further down the shore. There's some sort of British airdrome
in that quarter, I'm informed; and possibly they had an accident there.
As for the shooting, that's easily explained. My men were the cause."
"Spies hanging around, probably?" hazarded the major, in disgust. "We've
been bothered with the slick beasts right along--shot several, but even
that didn't keep the coast clear."
"There have been skulkers around for some time," continued the
lieutenant. "Baxter tells me he'd warned them off until he grew tired,
and threatened that the next one who was caught trying to peep would be
fired upon. So to-night when a sentry reported suspicious movements in
the brush we sent in a few shots, more to give them a scare than to do
any damage."
"Have they tried to injure your plane, Colin?" asked the major.
"I understand that once my men discovered a fire had been started in a
mysterious way, which they succeeded in putting out. Only for prompt work
it would have at least disabled the bomber so that its usefulness for the
present would be nil."
"The ways of those German spies are past finding out," complained Major
Denning. "They seem to take a page from Indian tactics, and resort to all
species of savage warfare. It wouldn't surprise me if you found they had
shot an arrow with a blazing wad of saturated cotton fastened to its
head, and used your hangar as a target. History tells us your redskins
used to do something like that in the days of the early colonies."
Shortly afterwards the monster bombing plane was wheeled out of its
hangar, and became an object of vast interest to the two Air
Service Boys.
Tom and Jack were of course familiar with its working, but needed a few
hints from Lieutenant Beverly with respect to certain new features that
it possessed.
"What do you think of it, boys?" was the natural question asked by the
intrepid flight commander, who of course meant to do his share of the
handling of the giant plane during its long flight.
"A jim-dandy! That's what!" exclaimed the delighted Jack, almost awed by
the tremendous size of the up-to-date machine, with its wonderful expanse
of planes and its monster body in which the vast amount of stores, as
well as surplus gasoline, could be stowed.
"I'm confident we'll have more than a fighting chance to reach the
objective we have in view," Tom in his turn remarked; and even though the
men standing near must have heard what he said they could not possibly
suspect the truth that lay back of his words.
"Everything has been looked after, and right now there's not a single
item lacking," Lieutenant Beverly assured them. "Mention what you please,
and I defy you to find I've overlooked it. I notice that you have brought
your glasses along, Jack. I have a fine pair with me, but we can
doubtless use both."
"And on my part," added Tom, "I thought it wise to carry a few small
knickknacks that I've become attached to. They ought to share my
fortunes. If I cash in, my reliable old compass here, for instance,
wouldn't be valued highly by any one else; but it's saved my life more
than a few times."
"And may again," said Jack softly; "for those fogs are simply dreadful,
if half that's said about them turns out to be true."
Tom was stooping down and feeling the firm sandy beach.
"A splendid place to make our start, Lieutenant," he remarked.
"I selected it with that idea in view," explained the other. "Besides, in
a long trip, like the run to Berlin, this would be as desirable a station
as any. What do you think of the plane, Tom?"
"As well as I can see it, I am satisfied it will be all you told us," Tom
answered him, while Jack added:
"Same here."
Certainly, as seen spread out on the almost level stretch of hard sand
the monster bombing plane did have a powerful appearance that must
favorably impress any experienced pilot. Tom and Jack had noted several
things about it calculated to inspire confidence. They were taking
tremendous risks, of course, but then that was nothing novel in their
lives as aviators.
"Is there anything to delay us further?" asked Jack naively, feeling
that even minutes might count when the issue was so plainly outlined.
"I do not know of the slightest reason," admitted Lieutenant Beverly,
moving toward the bombing plane and followed by his two comrades. "And
that being the case, let's get aboard. Anything like a written message
you would like to leave behind, to be sent in case we are never heard
from again, boys? You can give it to my cousin, the major here, who will
attend to it."
Both Tom and Jack had thought of this long before, and each had prepared
a simple statement which would explain their fate in case they met with
disaster on the flight. These sealed and directed envelopes they now
handed to Major Denning.
"Depend on me to hold them until all doubt is past," he told them, as he
warmly pressed a hand of each.
Then Lieutenant Beverly gave the word to his men, and immediately the hum
of the giant motors announced that they were off on their amazing trip to
span the Atlantic, as it had never been done before, by way of the air!