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THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
Or
From College Campus to the Clouds
by
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
Author of "The Rover Boys at School," "The Rover Boys on
the Ocean," "The Putnam Hall Cadets,"
"The Putnam Hall Rivals," Etc.
Illustrated
[Illustration: "THREE CHEERS FOR THE ROVER BOYS!" CALLED OUT
ONE OF THE SENIORS.
_The Rover Boys in the Air. Frontispiece_--(Page 123.)]
New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
* * * * *
BOOKS BY ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
THE ROVER BOYS SERIES
THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
THE ROVER BOYS ON TREASURE ISLE
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
THE ROVER BOYS DOWN EAST
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
(Other volumes in preparation.)
THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES
THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS
THE PUTNAM HALL RIVALS
THE PUTNAM HALL CHAMPIONS
THE PUTNAM HALL REBELLION
THE PUTNAM HALL ENCAMPMENT
THE PUTNAM HALL MYSTERY
_12mo, Cloth. Illustrated
Price, per volume, 60 cents, postpaid_
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, New York
* * * * *
Copyright, 1912, by
Edward Stratemeyer
_The Rover Boys in the Air_
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. THE BOYS AND THE BIPLANE
II. SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS
III. SAM BRINGS NEWS
IV. AT THE TELEPHONE
V. LOOKING FOR THE LOST FLYING MACHINE
VI. TWO OLD ENEMIES
VII. THE RUNAWAY HORSES
VIII. TRIAL FLIGHTS
IX. THE NEW ARRIVAL
X. FUN WITH OLD RICKS
XI. OFF FOR BRILL COLLEGE
XII. A GRAND ARRIVAL
XIII. SOME INTERESTING NEWS
XIV. THE BIRTHDAY FEAST
XV. A PERILOUS FLIGHT
XVI. DICK AND DORA
XVII. CAUGHT IN A HAILSTORM
XVIII. TOM AND HIS FUN
XIX. STARTLING NEWS FROM HOME
XX. GRACE'S REVELATION
XXI. FOLLOWING DORA AND NELLIE
XXII. OVER THE BIG WOODS
XXIII. AT CLOSE QUARTERS
XXIV. AT THE SWAMP
XXV. THE TRAIL OF THE TOURING CAR
XXVI. THE MOONLIT TRAIL
XXVII. THE CHAUFFEUR OF THE TOURING CAR
XXVIII. AT THE OLD MANSION
XXIX. THE ARM OF THE LAW
XXX. THE ROUND-UP--CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
MY DEAR BOYS: This is a complete story in itself, but forms the
sixteenth volume issued under the general title of "Rover Boys Series
for Young Americans."
This line was started thirteen years ago by the publication of the first
three volumes, "The Rover Boys at School," "On the Ocean," and "In the
Jungle." I hoped that the young people would like the stories, but I was
hardly prepared for the very warm welcome the volumes received. The
three books were followed by a fourth, "The Rover Boys Out West," and
then, yearly, by "On the Great Lakes," "In Camp," "On Land and Sea," "On
the River," "On the Plains," "In Southern Waters," "On the Farm," "On
Treasure Isle," "At College," and then by "Down East," where we last
left our heroes and their friends.
Of course, as is but natural, Dick, Tom and Sam are older than when we
first met them. Indeed, Dick is thinking of getting married and settling
down, and with such a nice girl as Dora Stanhope, who could blame him?
All of the boys are at college, finishing their education, and all are
as wideawake as ever, and Tom is just as full of merriment. They have
some strenuous times, and take a trip through the air that is a good
deal out of the ordinary. They meet some of their old enemies, and prove
that they are heroes in the best meaning of that much-abused term.
The publishers report a sale of this series of books of _over a million
copies_! This is truly amazing to me, and again, as in the past, I thank
my many young friends for their cordial reception of what I have written
for them. I trust the present story will interest them and prove of
benefit.
Affectionately and sincerely yours,
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD.
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR
CHAPTER I
THE BOYS AND THE BIPLANE
"Fo' de land sakes, Massa Dick, wot am dat contraption yo' boys dun put
togedder back ob de bahn yesterday?"
"Why, Aleck, don't you know what that is?" returned Dick Rover, with a
smile at the colored man. "That's a biplane."
"A biplane, eh?" repeated Alexander Pop, the colored helper around the
Rover homestead. He scratched his woolly head thoughtfully. "Yo' don't
mean to say it am lak a plane a carpenter man uses, does yo', Massa
Dick? 'Pears lak to me it was moah lak some ship sails layin'
down,--somethin' lak dem ships we see over in Africy, when we went into
dem jungles to find yo' fadder."
"No, it has nothing to do with a carpenter's plane, Aleck," answered
Dick, with a laugh. "A biplane is a certain kind of a flying machine."
"Wat's dat? A flyin' machine? Shorely, Massa Dick, yo' ain't gwine to
try to fly?" exclaimed Aleck, in horror.
"That is just what I am going to do, Aleck, after I have had a few
lessons. I hope to fly right over the house, just like a bird."
"No! no! Don't you try dat, Massa Dick! You'll break yo' neck suah!
Don't yo' try it! I--I can't allow it nohow--an' yo' aunt won't allow it
neither!" And the colored man shook his head most emphatically.
"Now, don't get excited, Aleck," said Dick, calmly. "I won't go up until
I am sure of what I am doing. Why, don't you know that flying in the air
is getting to be a common thing these days? Tom and Sam and I bought
that biplane in New York last week, and a man who knows all about flying
is coming out to the farm to teach us how to run it. After we know how
to sail through the air we'll take you up with us."
"Me!" ejaculated the colored man, and rolled his eyes wildly. "Not in a
thousand years, Massa Dick, an' not fo' all dat treasure yo' dun brung
home from Treasure Isle! No, sah, de ground am good enough fo' Aleck
Pop!" And he backed away, as if afraid Dick Rover might carry him off
then and there.
"Hello, Aleck!" cried a merry voice at this moment, and Tom Rover came
into view. "Want to take a sail through the clouds for a change?"
"Massa Tom, am yo' really thinking ob goin' up in dat contraption?"
demanded the colored man, earnestly.
"Sure thing, Aleck. And you'll want to go, too, before long. Think of
flying along like a bird!" And Tom Rover spread out his arms and moved
them slowly up and down. "Oh, it's grand!"
"Yo' won't be no bird when yo' come down ker-flop!" murmured Aleck,
soberly. "Yo' will be all busted up, dat's wot yo'll be!"
"We won't fall, don't you worry," continued Tom. "This biplane is a
first-class machine, warranted in all kinds of weather."
"If it am a flyin' machine wot fo' you call it a biplane?" asked the
colored man curiously.
"Bi stands for two," explained Dick. "A bicycle means two cycles, or two
wheels. A biplane means two planes, or two surfaces of canvas. This
biplane of ours, as you can see, has two surfaces, or decks, an upper
and a lower. A monoplane has only one plane, and a triplane has three.
Now you understand, don't you, Aleck?"
"I dun reckon I do, Massa Dick. But look yeah, boys, yo' take my advice
an' don't yo' try to sail frough de air in dat bicycleplane, or wot yo'
call it. 'Tain't safe nohow! Yo' stick to de hosses, an' dat
autermobile, an' de boat on de ribber. A boy wasn't meant to be a bird
nohow!"
"How about being an angel, Aleck?" asked Tom, slyly.
"Huh! An angel, eh? Well, if yo' go up in dat bicycleplane maybe yo'
will be an angel after yo' fall out, even if yo' ain't one when yo'
starts." And with this remark Aleck Pop hurried away to his work in the
house.
"That's one on you, Tom," cried Dick, with a broad smile. "Poor Aleck!
he evidently has no use for flying machines."
"Well, Dick, now the machine is together, it does look rather scary,"
answered Tom Rover, slowly. "I want to see that aviator try it out
pretty well before I risk my neck going up."
"Oh, so do I. And we'll have to have a good many lessons in running the
engine, and in steering, and all that. I begin to think running a flying
machine is a good deal harder than running an auto, or a motor boat."
"Yes, I guess it is. Come on down and let us see how the engine works.
We can do that easily enough, for it's a good deal like the engine of
an auto, or a motor boat," went on Tom.
"Where is Sam?"
"He took the auto and went down to the Corners on an errand for Aunt
Martha. He said he'd be back as soon as possible. He's as crazy to get
at the biplane as either of us."
The two boys walked to where the biplane had been put together, in a
large open wagon shed attached to the rear of the big barn. The biplane
has a stretch from side to side of over thirty feet, and the shed had
been cleaned out from end to end to make room for it. There was a rudder
in front and another behind, and in the centre was a broad cane seat,
with a steering wheel, and several levers for controlling the craft.
Back of the seat was the engine, lightly built but powerful, and above
was a good-sized tank of gasoline. The framework of the biplane was of
bamboo, held together by stays of piano wire, and the planes themselves
were of canvas, especially prepared so as to be almost if not quite air
proof. All told, the machine was a fine one, thoroughly up-to-date, and
had cost considerable money.
"We'll have to get a name for this machine," remarked Tom. "Have you any
in mind?"
"Well, I--er--thought we might call her the--er----" And then his big
brother stopped short and grew slightly red in the face.
"I'll bet an apple you were going to say _Dora_," cried Tom quickly.
"Humph," murmured Dick. "Maybe you were going to suggest _Nellie_."
"No, I wasn't," returned Tom, and now he got a little red also. "If I
did that, Sam might come along and want to name it the _Grace_. We had
better give the girls' names a rest. Let's call her the _Dartaway_, that
is, if she really does dart away when she flies."
"All right, Tom; that's a first-class name," responded Dick. "And
_Dartaway_ she shall become, if Sam is willing. Now then, we'll fill
that gasoline tank and let the engine warm up a bit. Probably it will
need some adjusting."
"Can we use the same gasoline as we use in the auto?"
"Yes, on ordinary occasions. In a race you can use a higher grade, so
that aviator said. But then you'll have to readjust the magneto and
carburetor."
"Gracious, Dick! You're not thinking of an air race already, are you!"
"Oh, no! But we might get in a race some day,--and such things are good
to know," answered Dick, as he walked off to the garage, where there
was a barrel of gasoline sunk in the ground, with a pipe connection. He
got out a five-gallon can and filled it, and then poured the gasoline in
the tank of the biplane.
"She'll hold more than that," said Tom, watching him. "Here, give me the
can and I'll fill the tank while we are at it. We'll want plenty of gas
when that aviator gets here."
In a few minutes more the gasoline tank was full, and then the two lads
busied themselves putting the engine in running order, and in filling up
the lubricating oil box. They also oiled up the working parts, and oiled
the propeller bearings and the steering gear.
"Now, I guess she is all ready to run," remarked Dick, at length. "My,
but isn't she a beauty, Tom! Just think of sailing around in her!"
"I'd like to go up right now!" answered the brother. "If only I knew
more about airships, hang me if I wouldn't try it!"
"Don't you dream of it, yet!" answered Dick. "We've got to learn the art
of it, just like a baby has got to learn to walk. If you went up now
you'd come down with a smash sure."
"Maybe I would," mused Tom. "Well, let us try the engine anyhow. And
maybe we can try the propellers," he added, with a longing glance at
the smooth, wooden blades.
"One thing at a time," answered Dick, with a laugh. "We'll try the
engine, but we'll have to tie the biplane fast, or else it may run into
something and get smashed."
"Let us run her out into the field first. It's too gloomy in the shed.
I'll hammer in some stakes and tie her."
The biplane rested on three small rubber-tired wheels, placed in the
form of a triangle. Thus it was an easy matter to roll the big machine
from the shed to the level field beyond. Then Tom ran back and procured
some stakes, several ropes, and a hammer, and soon he had the biplane
staked fast to the ground, after the manner of a small circus tent.
"Now she can't break loose, even if you do start the engine and the
propellers," said he, as he surveyed his work. "Go ahead, Dick, and turn
on the juice!" he cried impatiently.
Dick Rover was just as anxious to see the engine work, and after another
critical inspection he turned on the battery and then walked to one of
the propellers.
"We'll have to start the engine by turning these," he said.
"All right!" cried Tom, catching hold of the other wooden blades. "Now
then, all ready? Heave ahoy, my hearty!" he added, in sailor fashion.
Four times were the wooden blades "turned over" and still the engine
refused to respond. It was hard work, and both of the lads perspired
freely, for it was a hot day in early September.
"Got that spark connected all right?" panted Tom, as he stopped to catch
his breath.
"Yes," was the reply, after Dick had made an inspection. "The engine is
cold, that's all."
"Humph, well I'm not! But come on, let us give her another twist."
The brothers took hold again, and, at a word from Dick, each gave the
wooden paddles of the propellers a vigorous turn. There came a sudden
hiss, followed by a crack and a bang, and then off the engine started
with the loudness of a gattling gun.
"Hurrah! she's started!" yelled Tom, triumphantly. "Say, but she makes
some noise, doesn't she?" he added.
"I should say yes. That's because airship engines don't have mufflers,
like autos," yelled back Dick, to make himself heard above the
explosions.
"And see those propellers go around!" went on Tom, in deep admiration.
"All you can see is a whirr! We sure have a dandy engine in this craft,
Dick!"
"Looks so, doesn't it?" returned Dick, also in admiration. "I reckon the
_Dartaway_ will give a good account of herself, when she is properly
handled. Now, I had better stop the propellers, I guess," he added,
moving toward the front of the biplane to do so.
"Yes! yes! stop em!" yelled Tom, suddenly. "Hurry up, Dick! See how she
is straining to break the ropes! Say, she wants to go up!"
Dick was startled and with good reason. Even while his brother was
speaking there came a sudden snap, and one of the ropes flew apart. Then
up out of the ground came the stake holding another rope. The big
biplane, thus released on one side, slewed around, and Tom was knocked
flat. Then came another snap and two more ropes flew apart.
"She's going! stop her!" screamed Tom, from where he lay, and the next
moment he saw Dick struck full in the face by the machine. Down went the
youth backwards, and as he fell, with a rush and a roar, the biplane
sped over the level ground for a distance of two hundred feet and then
went sailing into the air, headed almost point blank for the Rover
homestead, less than fifty rods away!