CHAPTER VII
The Trial Voyage
The great steel forgings which were to form the framework of the Skylarkfinally arrived and were hauled into the testing shed. There, behindclosed doors, Crane inspected every square inch of the massive memberswith a lens, but could find nothing wrong. Still unsatisfied, he fittedup an electrical testing apparatus in order to search out flaws whichmight be hidden beneath the surface. This device revealed flaws in everypiece, and after thoroughly testing each one and mapping out theimperfections he turned to Seaton with a grave face.
"Worse than useless, every one of them. They are barely strong enough tostand shipment. They figured that we would go slowly until we were wellout of the atmosphere, then put on power--then something would give wayand we would never come back."
"That's about the right dope, I guess. But now what'll we do? We can'tcancel without letting them know we're onto them, and we certainly can'tuse this stuff."
"No, but we will go ahead and build this ship, anyway, so that they willthink that we are going ahead with it. At the same time we will buildanother one, about four times this size, in absolute secrecy, and...."
"What d'you mean, absolute secrecy? How can you keep steel castings andforgings of that size secret from Steel?"
"I know a chap who owns and operates a small steel plant, soinsignificant, relatively, that he has not yet been bought out or frozenout by Steel. I was able to do him a small favor once, and I am surethat he will be glad to return it. We will not be able to oversee thework, that is a drawback. We can get MacDougall to do it for us,however, and with him doing the work we can rest assured that there willbe nothing off color. Even Steel couldn't buy _him_."
"MacDougall! The man who installed the Intercontinental plant? Hewouldn't touch a little job like this with a pole!"
"I think he would. He and I are rather friendly, and after I tell himall about it he will be glad to take it. It means building the firstinterplanetary vessel, you know."
"Wouldn't Steel follow him up if he should go to work on a mysteriousproject? He's too big to hide."
"No. He will go camping--he often does. I have gone with him severaltimes when we were completely out of touch with civilization for twomonths at a time. Now, about the ship we want. Have you any ideas?"
"It will cost more than our entire capital."
"That is easily arranged. We do not care how much it costs."
Seaton began to object to drawing so heavily upon the resources of hisfriend, but was promptly silenced.
"I told you when we started," Crane said flatly, "that your solution andyour idea are worth far more than half a million. In fact, they areworth more than everything I have. No more talk of the money end of it,Dick."
"All right. We'll build a regular go-getter. Four times the size--she'llbe a bear-cat, Mart. I'm glad this one is on the fritz. She'll carry atwo-hundred-pound bar--Zowie! Watch our smoke! And say, why wouldn't itbe a good idea to build an attractor--a thing like an object-compass,but mounting a ten-pound bar instead of a needle, so that if they chaseus in space we can reach out and grab 'em? We might mount a machine-gunin each quadrant, shooting X-plosive bullets, through pressure gasketsin the walls. We should have something for defense--I don't like thepossibility of having that gang of pirates after us, and nothing tofight back with except thought-waves."
"Right. We will do both those things. But we should make the power-plantbig enough to avert any possible contingency--say four hundredpounds--and we should have everything in duplicate, from power-plant topush-buttons."
"I don't think that's necessary, Mart. Don't you think that's carryingcaution to extremes?"
"Possibly--but I would rather be a live coward than a dead hero,wouldn't you?"
"You chirped it, old scout, I sure would. I never did like the looks ofthat old guy with the scythe, and I would hate to let DuQuesne feel thathe had slipped something over on me at my own game. Besides, I'vedeveloped a lot of caution myself, lately. Double she is, with a skin offour-foot Norwegian armor. Let's get busy!"
* * * * *
They made the necessary alteration in the plans, and in a few days workwas begun upon the huge steel shell in the little mountain steel-plant.The work was done under the constant supervision of the greatMacDougall, by men who had been in his employ for years and who wereall above suspicion. While it was being built Seaton and Crane employeda force of men and went ahead with the construction of the space-car inthe testing shed. While they did not openly slight the work nearly alltheir time was spent in the house, perfecting the many essential thingswhich were to go into the real Skylark. There was the attractor, forwhich they had to perfect a special sighting apparatus so that it couldact in any direction, and yet would not focus upon the ship itself noranything it contained. There were many other things.
It was in this work that the strikingly different temperaments andabilities of the two men were most clearly revealed. Seaton strode upand down the room, puffing great volumes of smoke from his hot andreeking briar, suggesting methods and ideas, his keen mind finding theway over, around, or through the apparently insuperable obstacles whichbeset their path. Crane, seated calmly at the drafting-table,occasionally inhaling a mouthful of smoke from one of his specially-madecigarettes, mercilessly tore Seaton's suggestions to shreds--pointingout their weaknesses, proving his points with his cold, incisivereasoning and his slide-rule calculations of factors, stresses, andstrains. Seaton in turn would find a remedy for every defect, andfinally, the idea complete and perfect, Crane would impale it upon thepoint of his drafting pencil and spread it in every detail upon thepaper before him, while Seaton's active mind leaped to the next problem.
Not being vitally interested in the thing being built in the shed, theydid not know that to the flawed members were being attached faultyplates, by imperfect welding. Even if they had been interested theycould not have found the poor workmanship by any ordinary inspection,for it was being done by a picked crew of experts picked by Perkins. Butto make things even, Perkins' crew did not know that the peculiarinstruments installed by Seaton and Crane, of which their foreman tookmany photographs, were not real instruments, and were made only nearlyenough like them to pass inspection. They were utterly useless, indesign and function far different from the real instruments intended forthe Skylark.
Finally, the last dummy instrument was installed in the worthlessspace-car, which the friends referred to between themselves as "TheCripple," a name which Seaton soon changed to "Old Crip." Theconstruction crew was dismissed after Crane had let the foreman overheara talk between Seaton and himself in which they decided not to start fora few days as they had some final experiments to make. Prescott reportedthat Steel had relaxed its vigilance and was apparently waiting for thefirst flight. About the same time word was received from MacDougall thatthe real Skylark was ready for the finishing touches. A huge triplanedescended upon Crane Field and was loaded to its capacity with strangelooking equipment. When it left Seaton and Crane went with it, "to makethe final tests before the first flight," leaving a heavy guard over thehouse and the testing shed.
A few nights later, in inky blackness, a huge shape descended rapidly infront of the shed, whose ponderous doors opened to receive it and closedquickly after it. The Skylark moved lightly and easily as a waftedfeather, betraying its thousands of tons of weight only by the hole itmade in the hard-beaten earth of the floor as it settled to rest.Opening one of the heavy doors, Seaton and Crane sprang out into thedarkness.
Dorothy and her father, who had been informed that the Skylark was to bebrought home that night, were waiting. Seaton caught up his sweetheartin one mighty arm and extended his hand past her to Vaneman, who seizedit in both his own. Upon the young man's face was the look of avictorious king returning from conquest. For a few minutes disconnectedexclamations were all that any of the party could utter. Then Seaton,loosening slightly his bear's hold upon Dorothy, spoke.
"She flies!" he cried e
xultantly. "She flies, dearest, like a ray oflight for speed and like a bit of thistledown for lightness. We've beenaround the moon!"
"Around the moon!" cried the two amazed visitors. "So soon?" askedVaneman. "When did you start?"
"Almost an hour ago," replied Crane readily; he had already taken outhis watch. His voice was calm, his face quiet, but to those who knew himbest a deeper resonance in his voice and a deeper blue sparkle in hiseyes betrayed his emotion. Both inventors were moved more than theycould have told by their achievement, by the complete success of thegreat space-cruiser upon which they had labored for months with all thepower of their marvelous intellects. Seaton stood now at the summit ofhis pride. No recognition by the masses, no applause by the multitudes,no praise even from the upper ten of his own profession could equal forhim the silent adulation of the two before him. Dorothy's exquisite facewas glorified as she looked at her lover. Her eyes wonderful as theytold him how high he stood above all others in her world, how much sheloved him. Seeing that look; that sweet face, more beautiful than everin this, his hour of triumph; that perfect, adorable body, Seaton forgotthe others and a more profound exaltation than that brought by hisflight filled his being--humble thankfulness that he was the man toreceive the untold treasure of her great giving.
"Every bit of mechanism we had occasion to use worked perfectly," Cranestated proudly. "We did not find it necessary to change any of ourapparatus and we hope to make a longer flight soon. The hour we took onthis trip might easily have been only a few minutes, for the Lark didnot even begin to pick up speed."
* * * * *
Shiro looked at Crane with an air of utter devotion and bowed until hishead approached the floor.
"Sir," he said in his stilted English. "Honorable Skylark shall bemarvelous wonder. If permitting, I shall luxuriate in preparing suitablerefreshment."
The permission granted, he trotted away into the house, and thetravelers invited their visitors to inspect the new craft. Crane and theolder man climbed through the circular doorway, which was at anelevation of several feet above the ground. Seaton and Dorothyexchanged a brief but enthusiastic caress before he lifted her lightlyup to the opening and followed her up a short flight of stairs. Althoughshe knew what to expect, from her lover's descriptions and from her ownknowledge of "Old Crip," which she had seen many times, she caught herbreath in amazement as she stood up and looked about thebrilliantly-lighted interior of the great sky-rover. It was a sight suchas had never before been seen upon earth.
In the exact center of the huge shell was a sphericalnetwork of enormous steel beams. Inside this structure could be seen asimilar network which, mounted upon universal bearings, was free torevolve in any direction.]
She saw a spherical shell of hardened steel armor-plate, fully fortyfeet in diameter; though its true shape was not readily apparent fromthe inside, as it was divided into several compartments by horizontalfloors or decks. In the exact center of the huge shell was a sphericalnetwork of enormous steel beams. Inside this structure could be seen asimilar network which, mounted upon universal bearings, was free torevolve in any direction. This inner network was filled with machinery,surrounding a shining copper cylinder. From the outer network radiatedsix mighty supporting columns. These, branching as they neared the hullof the vessel, supported the power-plant and steering apparatus in thecenter and so strengthened the shell that the whole structure was nearlyas strong as a solid steel ball. She noticed that the floor, perhapseight feet below the center, was heavily upholstered in leather and didnot seem solid; and that the same was true of the dozen or moreseats--she could not call them chairs--which were built in variousplaces. She gazed with interest at the two instrument boards, upon whichflashed tiny lights and the highly-polished plate glass, condensite, andmetal of many instruments, the use of which she could not guess.
After a few minutes of silence both visitors began to ask questions, andSeaton showed them the principal features of the novel craft. Craneaccompanied them in silence, enjoying their pleasure, glorying in themighty vessel. Seaton called attention to the great size and strength ofthe lateral supporting columns, one of which was immediately above theirheads, and then led them over to the vertical column which pierced themiddle of the floor. Enormous as the lateral had seemed, it appearedpuny in comparison with this monster of fabricated steel. Seatonexplained that the two verticals were many times stronger than the fourlaterals, as the center of gravity of the ship had been made lower thanits geometrical center, so that the apparent motion of the vessel andtherefore the power of the bar, would usually be merely vertical.Resting one hand caressingly upon the huge column, he exultantlyexplained that these members were "the last word in strength, made up ofmany separate I-beams and angles of the strongest known special steel,latticed and braced until no conceivable force could make them yield amillimeter."
"But why such strength?" asked the lawyer doubtfully. "This column alonewould hold up Brooklyn Bridge."
"To hold down the power-plant, so that the bar won't tear through theship when we cut her loose," replied Seaton. "Have you any idea how fastthis bird can fly?"
"Well, I have heard you speak of traveling with the velocity of light,but that is overdrawn, isn't it?"
"Not very much. Our figures show that with this four-hundred-poundbar"--pointing to the copper cylinder in the exact center of the innersphere--"we could develop not only the velocity of light, but anacceleration equal to that velocity, were it not for the increase inmass at high velocities, as shown by Einstein and others. We can't govery fast near the earth, of course, as the friction of the air wouldmelt the whole works in a few minutes. Until we get out of theatmosphere our speed will be limited by the ability of steel towithstand melting by the friction of the air to somewhere in theneighborhood of four or five thousand miles per hour, but out in spacewe can develop any speed we wish, up to that of light as a limit."
"I studied physics a little in my youth. Wouldn't the mere force of suchan acceleration as you mention flatten you on the floor and hold youthere? And any sudden jar would certainly kill you."
* * * * *
"There can't be any sudden jar. This is a special floor, you notice. Itis mounted on long, extremely heavy springs, to take up any possiblejar. Also, whenever we are putting on power we won't try to stand up,our legs would crimple up like strings. We will ride securely strappedinto those special seats, which are mounted the same as the floor, onlya whole lot more so. As to the acceleration...."
"That word means picking up speed, doesn't it?" interrupted Dorothy.
"The rate of picking up speed," corrected Seaton. "That is, if you weregoing forty miles per hour one minute, and fifty the next minute, youracceleration would be ten miles per hour per minute. See? It'sacceleration that makes you feel funny when you start up or down in anelevator."
"Then riding in this thing will be like starting up in an elevator sothat your heart sinks into your boots and you can't breathe?"
"Yes, only worse. We will pick up speed faster and keep on doing it...."
"Seriously," interrupted the lawyer, "do you think that the human bodycan stand any such acceleration as that?"
"I don't know. We are going to find out, by starting out slowly andincreasing our acceleration to as much as we can stand."
"I see," Vaneman replied. "But how are you going to steer her? How doyou keep permanent reference points, since there are no directions inspace?"
"That was our hardest problem," explained Seaton, "but Martin solved itperfectly. See the power-plant up there? Notice those big supportingrings and bearings? Well, the power-plant is entirely separate from theship, as it is inside that inner sphere, about which the outer sphereand the ship itself are free to revolve in any direction. No matter howmuch the ship rolls and pitches, as she is bound to do every time wecome near enough to any star or planet to be influenced by itsgravitation, the bar stays where it is pointed. Those six big jackets inthe outer sp
here, on the six sides of the bar, cover six pairs ofgyroscope wheels, weighing several tons each, turning at a terrificspeed in a vacuum. The gyroscopes keep the whole outer sphere in exactlythe same position as long as they are kept turning, and afford us notonly permanent planes of reference, but also a solid foundation in thoseplanes which can be used in pointing the bar. The bar can be turnedinstantly to any direction whatever by special electrical instruments onthe boards. You see, the outer sphere stays immovably fixed in thatposition, with the bar at liberty to turn in any direction inside it,and the ship at liberty to do the same thing outside it.
"Now we will show you where we sleep," Seaton continued. "We have eightrooms, four below and four above," leading the way to a narrow, steepsteel stairway and down into a very narrow hall, from either side ofwhich two doors opened. "This is my room, the adjoining one is Mart's.Shiro sleeps across the hall. The rest of the rooms are for our guestson future trips."
Sliding back the door, he switched on the light and revealed a small butfully-appointed bedroom, completely furnished with everything necessary,yet everything condensed into the least possible space. The floor, likethe one above, was of cushioned leather supported by springs. The bedwas a modification of the special seats already referred to. Openinganother sliding door, he showed them an equally complete and equallycompact bathroom.
"You see, we have all the comforts of home. This bathroom, however, ispractical only when we have some force downward, either gravitation orour own acceleration. The same reasoning accounts for the hand-rails yousee everywhere on board. Drifting in space, you know, there is noweight, and you can't walk; you must pull yourself around. If you triedto take a step you would bounce up and hit the ceiling, and stay there.That is why the ceilings are so well padded. And if you tried to washyour face you would throw water all over the place, and it would floataround in the air instead of falling to the floor. As long as we canwalk we can use the bathroom--if I should want to wash my face while weare drifting, I just press this button here, and the pilot will put onenough acceleration to make the correct use of water possible. There area lot of surprising things about a trip into space."
"I don't doubt it a bit, and I'm simply wild to go for a ride with you.When will you take me, Dicky?" asked Dorothy eagerly.
"Very soon, Dottie. As soon as we get her in perfect running condition.You shall be the first to ride with us, I promise you."
"Where do you cook and eat? How do you see out? How about the air andwater supply? How do you keep warm, or cool, as the case may be?" askedthe girl's father, as though he were cross-examining a witness.
"Shiro has a galley on the main floor, and tables fold up into the wallof the main compartment. The passengers see out by sliding back steelpanels, which normally cover the windows. The pilot can see in anydirection from his seat at the instrument-board, by means of specialinstruments, something like periscopes. The windows are made of opticalglass similar to that used in the largest telescopes. They are nearly asthick as the hull and have a compressive resistance almost equal to thatof armor steel. Although so thick, they are crystal clear, and a speckof dust on the outer surface is easily seen. We have water enough intanks to last us three months, or indefinitely if we should have to becareful, as we can automatically distill and purify all our waste water,recovering absolutely pure H2O. We have compressed air, also in tanks,but we need very little, as the air is constantly being purified. Also,we have oxygen-generating apparatus aboard, in case we should run short.As to keeping warm, we have electric heating coils, run by thepractically inexhaustible power of a small metal bar. If we get too nearthe sun and get too warm, we have a refrigerating machine to cool usoff. Anything else?"
"You'd better give up, Dad," laughingly advised his daughter. "You'vethought of everything, haven't you, Dick?"
"Mart has, I think. This is all his doing, you know. I wouldn't havethought of a tenth of it, myself."
"I must remind you young folks," said the older man, glancing at hiswatch, "that it is very late and high time for Dottie and me to be goinghome. We would like to stay and see the rest of it, but you know we mustbe away from here before daylight."
* * * * *
As they went into the house Vaneman asked:
"What does the other side of the moon look like? I have always beencurious about it."
"We were not able to see much," replied Crane "It was too dark and wedid not take the time to explore it, but from what we could see by meansof our searchlights it is very much like this side--the most barren anddesolate place imaginable. After we go to Mars, we intend to explore themoon thoroughly."
"Mars, then, is your first goal? When do you intend to start?"
"We haven't decided definitely. Probably in a day or two. Everything isready now."
As the Vanemans had come out in the street car, in order to attract aslittle attention as possible, Seaton volunteered to take them home inone of Crane's cars. As they bade Crane goodnight after enjoying Shiro's"suitable refreshment" the lawyer took the chauffeur's seat, motioninghis daughter and Seaton into the closed body of the car. As soon as theyhad started Dorothy turned in the embrace of her lover's arm.
"Dick," she said fiercely. "I would have been worried sick if I hadknown that you were way off there."
"I knew it, sweetheart. That's why I didn't tell you we were going. Weboth knew the Skylark was perfectly safe, but I knew that you wouldworry about our first trip. Now that we have been to the moon you won'tbe uneasy when we go to Mars, will you, dear?"
"I can't help it, boy. I will be afraid that something terrible hashappened, every minute. Won't you take me with you? Then, if anythinghappens, it will happen to both of us, and that is as it should be. Youknow that I wouldn't want to keep on living if anything _should_ happento you."
He put both arms around her as his reply, and pressed his cheek to hers.
"Dorothy sweetheart, I know exactly how you feel. I feel the same waymyself. I'm awfully sorry, dear, but I can't do it. I know the machineis safe, but I've got to prove it to everybody else before I take you ona long trip with me. Your father will agree with me that you ought notto go, on the first trip or two, anyway. And besides, what would MadamGrundy say?"
"Well, there _is_ a way...." she began, and he felt her face turn hot.
His arms tightened around her and his breath came fast.
"I know it, sweetheart, and I would like nothing better in the worldthan to be married today and take our honeymoon in the Skylark, but Ican't do it. After we come back from the first long trip we will bemarried just as soon as you say ready, and after that we will always betogether wherever I go. But I can't take even the millionth part of achance with anything as valuable as you are--you see that, don't you,Dottie?"
"I suppose so," she returned disconsolately, "but you'll make it a shorttrip, for my sake? I know I won't rest a minute until you get back."
"I promise you that we won't be gone more than four days. Then for thegreatest honeymoon that ever was," and they clung together in the darkbody of the car, each busy with solemn and beautiful thoughts of thehappiness to come.
They soon reached their destination. As they entered the house Dorothymade one more attempt.
"Dad, Dick is just too perfectly mean. He says he won't take me on thefirst trip. If you were going out there wouldn't mother want to go alongtoo?"
After listening to Seaton he gave his decision.
"Dick is right, Kitten. He must make the long trip first. Then, afterthe machine is proved reliable, you may go with him. I can think of nobetter way of spending a honeymoon--it will be a new one, at least. Andyou needn't worry about the boys getting back safely. I might not trusteither of them alone, but together they are invincible. Good-night,children. I wish you success, Dick," as he turned away.
Seaton took a lover's leave of Dorothy, and went into the lawyer'sstudy, taking an envelope from his pocket.
"Mr. Vaneman," he said in a low voice, "we think the S
teel crowd isstill camping on our trail. We are ready for them, with a lot of stuffthat they never heard of, but in case anything goes wrong, Martin haswritten between the lines of this legal form, in invisible ink A-36,exactly how to get possession of all our notes and plans, so that thecompany can go ahead with everything. With those directions any chemistcan find and use the stuff safely. Please put this envelope in thesafest place you can think of, and then forget it unless they get bothCrane and me. There's about one chance in a million of their doing that,but Mart doesn't gamble on even that chance."
"He is right, Dick. I believe that you can outwit them in any situation,but I will keep this paper where no one except myself can ever see it,nevertheless. Good-night, son, and good luck."
"The same to you, sir, and thank you. Good-night."