CHAPTER XV
SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE
"Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon. "This is terrible!" Theairship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale. "Can'tsomething be done, Tom?"
"What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor. "We were on a level keel before.What is it?"
"It's the automatic balancing rudder!" answered Tom. "Something hashappened to it. The wind may have broken it! Come on, Ned!" and he ledthe way to the engine room.
"What are you going to do? Don't you want Koku to shift the deflectingrudder? Here he is," Ned added, as the giant came forward, in responseto a signal bell that Tom's chum had rung.
"It's too late to try the deflecting rudder!" tried Tom. "I must seewhat is the matter with our balancer." As he spoke the ship gave aterrific plunge, and the occupants were thrown sideways. The nextmoment it was on a level keel again, scudding along with the gale, butthere was no telling when the craft would again nearly capsize.
Tom looked at the mechanism controlling the equalizing and equilibriumrudder. It was out of order, and he guessed that the terrific wind wasresponsible for it.
"What can we do?" cried Ned, as the airship nearly rolled over. "Can'twe do anything, Tom?"
"Yes. I'm going to try. Keep calm now. We may come out all right. Thisis the worst blow we've been in since we were in Russia. Start the gasmachine full blast. I want all the vapor I can get."
As I have explained the Flyer was a combined dirigible balloon andaeroplane. It could be used as either, or both, in combination. Atpresent the gas bag was not fully inflated, and Tom had been sendinghis craft along as an aeroplane.
"What are you going to do?" cried Ned, as he pulled over the lever thatset the gas generating machine in operation.
"I'm going up as high as I can go!" cried Tom. "If we can't go down wemust go up. I'll get above the hurricane instead of below it. Give meall the gas you can, Ned!"
The vapor hissed as it rushed into the big bag overhead. Tom carriedaboard his craft the chemicals needed to generate the powerful liftinggas, of which he alone had the secret. It was more powerful thanhydrogen, and simple to make. The balloon of the Flyer was now beingdistended.
Meanwhile Tom, with Koku, Mr. Damon and Mr. Nestor to help him, workedover the deflecting rudder, and also on the equilibrium mechanism. Butthey could not get either to operate.
Ned stood by the gas machine, and worked it to the limit. But even withall that energy, so powerful was the wind, that the Flyer rose slowly,the gale actually holding her down as a water-logged craft is heldbelow the waves. Ordinarily, with the gas machine set at its limit thecraft would have shot up rapidly.
At times the airship would skim along on the level, and again it wouldbe pitched and tossed about, until it was all the occupants could do tokeep their feet. Mr. Damon was continually blessing everything he couldremember.
"Now she's going!" suddenly cried Ned, as he looked at the dialsregistering the pressure of the gas, and showing the height of theairship above the earth.
"Going how?" gasped Tom, as he looked over from where he was working atthe equilibrium apparatus. "Going down?"
"Going up!" shouted Ned. "I guess we'll be all right soon!"
It was true. Now that the bag was filled with the powerful lifting gas,under pressure, the Flyer was beginning to get out of the dangerouspredicament into which the gale had blown her. Up and up she went, andevery foot she climbed the power of the wind became less.
"Maybe it all happened for the best," said Tom, as he noted the heightgage. "If we had gone down, the wind might have been worse nearer theearth."
Later they learned that this was so. The most destructive wind stormever known swept across the southern part of Europe, over which theywere flying that night, and, had the airship gone down, she wouldprobably have been destroyed. But, going up, she got above thewind-strata. Up and up she climbed, until, when three miles above theearth, she was in a calm zone. It was rather hard to breathe at thisheight, and Tom set the oxygen apparatus at work.
This created in the interior of the craft an atmosphere almost likethat on the earth, and the travelers were made more at their ease.Getting out of the terrible wind pressure made it possible to work thedeflecting rudder, though Tom had no idea of going down, as long as theblow lasted.
"We'll just sail along at this height until morning," he said, "and bythen the gale may be over, or we may be beyond the zone of it. Startthe propellers, Ned. I think I can manage to repair the equilibriumrudder now."
The propellers, which gave the forward motion to the airship, had beenstopped when it was found that the wind was carrying her along, butthey were now put in motion again, sending the Flyer forward. In ashort time Tom had the equilibrium machine in order, and matters werenow normal again.
"But that was a strenuous time while it lasted," remarked the younginventor, as he sat down.
"It sure was," agreed Ned.
"Bless my pen wiper!" cried Mr. Damon. "That was one of the few timeswhen I wish I'd never come with you, Tom Swift," and everyone laughedat that.
The Flyer was now out of danger, going along high in the air throughthe night, while the gale raged below her. At Tom's suggestion, Kokugot a lunch ready, for they were all tired with their labors, andsomewhat nervous from the danger and excitement.
"And now for sleep!" exclaimed Tom, as he pushed back his plate. "Ned,set the automatic steering gear, and we'll see where we bring up bymorning."
An examination, through a powerful telescope in the bright light ofmorning, showed the travelers that they were over the outskirts of alarge city, which, later, they learned was Rome, Italy.
"We've made a good trip," said Tom. "The gale had us worried, but itsent us along at a lively clip. Now for Switzerland, and theavalanches!"
They made a landing at a village just outside the "Holy City," as Romeis often called, and renewed their supply of gasolene. Naturally theyattracted a crowd of curious persons, many of whom had never seen anairship before. Certainly few of them had ever seen one like TomSwift's.
The next day found them hovering over the Alps, where Tom hoped to beable to get the pictures of snow slides. They went down to earth at atown near one of the big mountain ranges, and there made inquiries asto where would be the best location to look for big avalanches. If theywent but a few miles to the north, they were told, they would be in thedesired region, and they departed for that vicinity.
"And now we've just got to take our time, and wait for an avalanche tohappen," remarked Tom, as they were flying along over the mountainranges. "As Mr. Damon said, these things aren't made to order. Theyjust happen."
For three days they sailed in and out over the great snow-covered peaksof the Alps. They did not go high up, for they wanted to be near earthwhen an avalanche would occur, so that near-view pictures could besecured. Occasionally they saw parties of mountain climbers ascendingsome celebrated peak, and for want of something better to photograph,Tom "snapped" the tourists.
"Well, I guess they're all out of avalanches this season," remarked Nedone afternoon, when they had circled back and forth over a mountainwhere, so it was said, the big snow slides were frequent.
"It does seem so," agreed Tom. "Still, we're in no hurry. It is easierto be up here, than it is walking around in a jungle, not knowing whatminute a tiger may jump out at you."
"Bless my rubbers, yes!" agreed Mr. Damon.
The sky was covered with lowering clouds, and there were occasionallyflurries of snow. Tom's airship was well above the snow line on themountains. The young inventor and Ned sat in the pilot house, takingobservations through a spyglass of the mountain chain below them.
Suddenly Ned, who had the glass focused on a mighty peak, cried out:
"There she is, Tom!"
"What?"
"The avalanche! The snow is beginning to slide down the mountain! Say,it's going to be a big one, too. Got your camera ready?"
"Sure! I've had it ready for the last three days. Put
me over there,Ned. You look after the airship, and I'll take the pictures!"
Tom sprang to get his apparatus, while his chum hurried to the levers,wheels and handles that controlled the Flyer. As they approached theavalanche they could see the great mass of ice, snow, big stones, andearth sliding down the mountain side, carrying tall trees with it.
"This is just what I wanted!" cried Tom, as he set his camera working."Put me closer, Ned."
Ned obeyed, and the airship was now hovering directly over theavalanche, and right in its path. The big landslide, as it would havebeen called in this country, met no village in its path, fortunately,or it would have wiped it out completely. It was in a wild and desolateregion that it occurred.
"I want to get a real close view!" cried Tom, as he got some picturesshowing a whole grove of giant trees uprooted and carried off. "Getcloser Ned, and--"
Tom was interrupted by a cry of alarm from his chum.
"We're falling!" yelled Ned. "Something has gone wrong. We're goingdown into the avalanche!".