ABLAZE IN THE AIR.
When the king of the motor boys was in the air with the _Comet_, every
power of mind and body was trained to the work of looking after the
machine.
Flying in an aëroplane is vastly more difficult than sailing in a
balloon. In the case of a gas bag, an aëronaut has only to throw out
ballast, take his ease, and trust to luck; but, with a heavier-than-air
machine, the aviator must rely upon the quickness of his wits and his
dexterity.
Aëroplane flying, in a large measure, is a knack, and must be acquired.
The air pressure never touches the machine in exactly the same point
for two consecutive seconds, and, because of this, the centre of
gravity is constantly changing. Centre of gravity and centre of air
pressure must coincide at all times if the machine is to be kept in the
air, and the success or failure to do this proves the competency or the
incompetency of the operator.
The Traquair aëroplane--upon which model Matt's machine had been
built--preserved its equilibrium while aloft by an elongation, or
contraction, of the wing tips. A lever regulated this; and, whenever
Matt was flying, the lever was moving continuously, the ends of the
wings darting out and in with lightning-like rapidity, one side
presenting greater wing area to the pressure while the other presented
less, and vice versa.
Motor Matt's engagement with Boss Burton did not cover long flights.
Usually, if the weather was propitious, he made it a point to remain
aloft about fifteen minutes, circling about the show grounds, turning
sharp corners and cutting airy "figure eights," in order to show the
capabilities of the aëroplane.
"Get your trapeze over, Le Bon!" he called, while they were steadily
mounting.
A laugh was his answer--a silvery ripple of a laugh that had a familiar
ring in his ears and now filled him with consternation. He dared not
look around.
"Haidee!" he exclaimed.
"Are you mad at me, Motor Matt?" came the voice of the girl.
She cautiously slipped into the seat beside him, her heightened color
and sparkling eyes showing her excitement.
"This was a trick," went on Matt calmly, attending to his work with an
indifference more apparent than real, "which you and Le Bon and Burton
played on me?"
"It was Burton's idea, and he told it to me while we were going after
Archie le Bon. Archie was to pretend to run with the machine, and I was
to be with him. When the machine got to going too fast for us, Archie
was to drop to one side and I was to spring to the lower wing. Your
back would be in my direction, and you couldn't see me."
"That wasn't like you, Haidee," said Matt.
"Are you mad?"
"What's the use of being put out with you? I'll have something to say
to Burton and Le Bon when I get back to the grounds."
"You thought you were doing something to help me--I know that--but you
didn't understand I was perfectly able to carry out my part of the
programme. As it is now, I came along and you couldn't help yourself.
Are you going to try and keep me from dropping under the machine with
the trapeze?"
"No," was the grim reply, "now that you are here you can go on with
your work. Hold to the hand grip on the edge of the plane while you
unlash the bar."
Perfectly cool, and in complete command of her nerves, Haidee knelt on
the foot-rest, clinging to the plane with one hand while she unlashed
the trapeze bar with the other.
"I'm ready, Motor Matt," said Haidee.
She was sitting on the edge of the seat, holding the bar in both hands.
Matt had brought the _Comet_ to an even keel, some fifty feet over the
show grounds. They were traveling about thirty miles an hour--a snail's
pace for the _Comet_--and Matt was about to make a turn over the river
and traverse the length of the grounds going the other way.
"Now, listen," said he to the girl. "I'm going to tilt the _Comet_
sharply upward and ascend for about fifty feet, then I'm going to
reverse the position and descend for fifty feet in the same sharp
angle. When we turn for the descent, Haidee, drop from the foot-rest
when I give the word. The pull of your body, when it falls, will drag
on the machine, but never mind that--hang on and don't get scared. As
soon as I can I will bring the machine to a level. Understand?"
"Yes."
"And another thing. While you're moving on the bar, just remember to do
it quietly and easily. You've seen the two Japs at work in the show, I
know. When the big fellow balances the pole on his shoulder, and the
little fellow goes up, every move is made as though there would be a
smash if they were not careful."
"I understand," said the girl.
The machine had been brought around and was heading toward the grounds.
Matt twisted the small forward planes, which laid the course for
ascending or descending. At the same time he speeded up the motor.
The _Comet_ pointed upward; then, at the top of her course, was as
quickly turned and aimed toward the earth.
Matt caught a glimpse of a sea of upturned faces. The machine was
rushing downward at a frightful pace.
"_Now!_" shouted Matt.
He saw the girl poise birdlike on the foot-rest, then sink from it with
the trapeze. So great was the slant of the aëroplane that she seemed to
fall forward.
There was a jar as the bar reached the end of the ropes, and, with the
girl's weight, was caught and held. The _Comet_ made an erratic wabble
and lurched sideways like a great bird, wounded on the wing.
Haidee withstood the jolt admirably, and Matt twirled the lever
operating the steering planes.
Sounds from the earth always reach aëronauts with startling
distinctness. The shouts of consternation which came from the throats
of the spectators could be heard, and also the murmur of relief as the
_Comet_ righted herself, and the trapeze and the girl swung back under
the machine.
Controlling the aëroplane was always more difficult when there was a
weight suspended beneath, but Matt had counted upon this, and he forced
the _Comet_ back and forth over the show grounds, holding the machine
fairly steady.
Three times he and Haidee circled over the "tops" with their gay
streamers, cheer upon cheer following them from below.
Matt had been in the air more than fifteen minutes, and he was just
manoeuvring toward the starting and stopping point, when the cheers
were suddenly turned to cries of fear and alarm. He could see the
people below waving their arms and pointing upward.
For an instant the young motorist's heart sank. He felt sure that
something had gone wrong with the girl.
This conviction had hardly formed before it was dissipated. A smell of
smoke came to his nostrils, and to his ears a crackle of flames. Matt
turned his head.
The left wing of the aëroplane was on fire!
A thrill of horror shot through him. In the air, he and Haidee, with a
blazing flying machine alone between them and death! The very thought
was enough to wrench the stoutest nerves.
"Haidee!" yelled Matt.
"Yes," came the stifled response, from underneath the _Comet_.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
"Hang to the bar--don't lose your nerve!"
Matt's mind was grappling with the complex situation. To get safely
to the ground in the shortest possible time was the problem that
confronted him.
How the wing had caught fire he did not know, and had not the time even
to guess. It sufficed that the plane was ablaze, and that the longer it
blazed and ate into the fabric the less resistance the plane made to
the atmosphere. And it was this resistance that spelled life for the
king of the motor boys and the girl!
To drop the blazing aëroplane into that sea of heads below meant injury
to some of the spectators. Matt must avoid this and reach the earth in
the roped-off lane from which the ascent had been made.
He put the clamps on his nerves, and, with brain perfectly clear, drove
the aëroplane about at a sharp angle.
Then, if ever, the machine was true to its name, for as it darted
onward, the smoke and flame that streamed out behind must have given it
the look of a comet.
Could he drop to earth, the young motorist was asking himself, before
the fire struck either of the gasoline tanks?
Motor Matt, as he coaxed the last ounce of speed from the motor,
shouted encouragingly to the terrified girl on the trapeze.
Suddenly, below him opened the narrow lane roped off along the road. A
buzz of excited voices echoed in his ears. With steady hand he shut off
the power and glided downward.
"Drop from the bar and run, Haidee," he shouted, "as soon as we come
close to the ground."
There was a response from the girl, but the clamor of the crowd
prevented him from hearing what it was.
The next moment the blazing aëroplane settled into the road and glided
along on the bicycle wheels.
McGlory, Carl, and Ping were on hand, the cowboy in charge of a
detachment of canvasmen with buckets. A hiss of steam, as water struck
the flames, rose in the air.
"Careful!" cried Matt, restraining the impetuous assault of the fire
fighters. "Don't climb over the machine and damage it! Keep them back,
Joe! Here, some of you, drench the wings on the right side and keep the
fire from spreading."
Ably directed by Matt and McGlory, the fire was extinguished. Leaving
the damaged aëroplane in charge of Carl and Ping, Matt limped off
toward the calliope tent, accompanied by his cowboy chum.