CHAPTER XV
THE LONG FLIGHT BEGUN
Major Denning was greatly astonished when Lieutenant Beverly made so astounding an a.s.sertion.
"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 a.s.sure 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 nutsh.e.l.l, 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 sh.o.r.e 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 antic.i.p.ated 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 sh.o.r.e. 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 a.s.sured them. "Mention what you please, and I defy you to find I"ve overlooked it. I notice that you have brought your gla.s.ses 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 compa.s.s 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!
CHAPTER XVI
THE FIRST NIGHT OUT
It was with a strange feeling of exhilaration that Tom and Jack realized the fact that at last they were embarked on a flight that would either bring about their death or, if successful, make a record in long distance non-stop travel in a heavier-than-air machine.
The cheers of the men on the beach had been drowned in the roar of the powerful motors and twin propellers when they left the land and commenced to sweep upward in a graceful curve.
Both boys looked down to catch the last glimpse of France, the land so closely a.s.sociated with liberty in the minds of all true Americans. It was in her cause two million young Yankees were at that very hour facing the Boche in a determined effort to chase him back over the Rhine and force a stern settlement for all the devastation his armies had wrought.