billy lifted a ruddy face from a bucket of ice-cold water, in which he had been taking a waking dip, and then yanked henri by the heels out of a warm blanket nest.
“get up, lazybones, and let’s be scraping the sky. it’s a good six o’clock, and the cook’s all in a fume about the breakfast getting cold.”
henri caught the spirit of his companion, and both gave way to joyful anticipation of a twenty-mile dash in a pair of monoplanes.
they attempted to waltz with the cook, but neither could reach even a quarter way around the waist of this rotund wilhelm, and if the latter’s legs had not been so much shorter than his waistband[223] it is likely that the skylarkers would have received several jars from a ham-like foot.
capering like colts, the boys headed for the hangar, and with the assistance of jacob and another helper, early on the ground, the machines were rolled out to make their buzzing start for high places.
when billy had removed kit number 16 from his monoplane he hopped into his seat on the frame. henri was already settled for flight.
the run-off, however, was postponed for a minute or two so that the a?roplanists could watch the rise of a zeppelin directly in front of them.
“let ’er go,” sang billy, and both monoplanes got away together.
the zeppelin had just swung around in the great arc of a circle, and the boys in the monoplanes were sailing immediately above the great cylinder. henri had just turned a swift glance at his companion aviator, with intent of setting the direction of flight, when—and the horror of it—billy’s machine suddenly stopped in midair, wabbling like a cradle, and before the young aviator’s desperate attempt to retain control could prevail the machine turned upside down, and the boy from bangor hung by the knees from the tumbling frame.
henri would have cried aloud in agony of spirit—but he was as one stricken dumb. he almost[224] spelled death for himself by letting go of the controls of his machine.
but what a sight for his staring eyes!
the falling monoplane had struck athwart the aluminum envelope of the zeppelin, and, though the bigger craft trembled from stem to stern with the shock, it held its way, buoyed up by the gas chambers on each side of the cylinder. billy soon rested safely on one of the platforms, cheered by members of a rejoicing crew.
henri found his voice again, and, shouting like a madman, he sent his monoplane darting toward the earth, and if he failed to land in his usual beautifully precise way he was there when the zeppelin brought back to him that “dear old billy.”
the lieutenant, hastily responding to summons, found his two expert aviators hugging one another, and the crew of the zeppelin critically inspecting a damaged monoplane grounded between its mate and the big ship.
“what’s the matter here?” nervously demanded the lieutenant.
“it looks like foul play is the matter,” shortly responded the chief officer of the zeppelin. he was not a member of lieutenant hume’s command.
“you’re right,” exclaimed the lieutenant with an oath, as he knelt to more closely inspect the chiseled propeller and the spiked rudder. turning to billy, and in severe manner:
[225]
“do you always hold your life so lightly as to start an air machine without previous inspection?”
“that machine, sir, was as right as could be when we left it last night. indeed, sir, it was in elegant shape.”
“no question but what some devil in human form planned your death, and if i get the dastard it will be a yardarm in the harbor for him, and no waste of time and lead.”
the lieutenant was aroused, and when a calm like his was rudely broken it meant woe for the object of his wrath.
told of the manner in which billy had been saved, the anger of the officer relaxed its force for the moment, when he solemnly said:
“of the like i have never known; it is beyond me.”
investigation, vigorously pushed, soon developed a significant fact—the youth to whom kit 9 was charged failed to respond at roll call. max was missing.
jacob then blurted out the whole story of the fight, and all that had preceded and followed it.
“i want to say right here and now,” was the stern declaration of the lieutenant, “that the next offender in this camp will get his billet to cologne, where they play checkers with their noses on iron bars. as for max, if he is captured, you will see[226] an example made that will not rub out of your memories for many a day.”
with that the speaker’s jaws set like a clamp.
when billy petitioned for the job of making another monoplane test the very next day, the lieutenant was astonished.
“you certainly ought to take something for that nerve of yours, boy.”
“but, sir, it’s all in the game,” argued billy; “it’s our business, and we can’t quit for every close call.”
“see me to-morrow; besides, herr roque wants to have a talk with you. here he is now.”
the lieutenant presented billy to a mild-looking man in citizen’s attire, and who peered at the boy through horn-bound spectacles. this noted secret agent was the picture to-day of a well-to-do merchant in the lesser lines of trade. what his appearance would indicate to-morrow is another thing. he was a lightning change artist, according to repute.
“glad to meet you, young sir,” was his bland address, in perfect english.
“same to you, sir,” billy politely replied, all the time wondering what was coming.
“i just came over from the city to take up a little supply contract with the officers here, and i learned of your narrow escape from death. it was wonderful, miraculous. i congratulate you.”
[227]
“thank you kindly, sir.”
“ah, no need of thanks, young sir. i highly appreciate the favor of meeting you.
“let us be seated, if you please. i am not so young as i used to be. good. now we can chat in comfort. i am very fond of the air sport, i assure you. isn’t it queer that often what we admire the most we know the least about? art, for instance—and flying, too, on little boards, without the lifting power of gas. wonderful!”
“what’s he driving at?” thought billy. then aloud: “i expect i had better not take up any more of your time, sir, as you are here on business.”
“i wish you knew just how dull it was in hamburg now. business is, oh, so quiet. and i so like to talk to bright young men. it just occurred to me that you and your young friend would like to take a little voyage with me, in a trading vessel that i own. of course, in these sad times of war a sea voyage is not the popular choice for recreation, but just a brief cruise in known waters isn’t at all bad for the nerves. the regularly enlisted young men, it seems, cannot be spared, and i have spoken to the lieutenant about borrowing his young visitors for a week or two, promising them both a good time, and just that spice of adventure which lads of your caliber seem to require.”
“it just occurred” also to billy that it was more than passing strange, in the first place, that there[228] should be so much personal interest manifested in the affairs of henri and himself, and, secondly, how it was that an ordinary tradesman could have such a “pull” with military authority. the civilian here, as a rule, did not count in high figures alongside of a uniform.
this was evidently an exceptional case, for not only did the lieutenant approve of herr roque’s proposition and invitation, but that officer had unbent to the extent of entertaining henri, on the side, and telling him that billy and himself were lucky in attracting the interest of this kindly merchant.
so it proved no longer a matter of open consent on the part of the boys; it was simply a go, when the lieutenant commanded.
“i don’t know why i was selected as the dummy for all that beating around the bush,” observed billy, when the boys tumbled into their bunks that night.
“you oughtn’t to kick because you are the prominent member of the firm,” teased henri.
“well, we won’t know what it is until we get to it, that’s one thing sure,” yawned billy.
they were booked, if they only knew it, to discover that “herr roque” was a man of many moods, as well as make-ups.
