CHAPTER XIX
UNCLE EZRA'S ACCIDENT
For some seconds after he had been taken up in the atmosphere in hisairship, Uncle Ezra said nothing. He just sat there in the paddedseat, clutching with his hands the rails in so tight a grip that hisknuckles showed white.
Up and up they went, Larson skillfully guiding the craft, until theywere a considerable distance above the earth.
"That's--that's far enough!" Uncle Ezra managed to yell, above thethrob of the now throttled-down motor. "Don't go--any higher!"
"All right," agreed the aviator. "But she'll work easier up a littlemore."
"No--it--it's too far--to fall!" said Mr. Larabee, and he could notkeep his voice from trembling.
Really, though, he stood it bravely, though probably the thought of allthe money he had invested in the craft, as well as the prize he wasafter, buoyed up his spirits.
"How do you like it?" asked Larson, when they had circled around overMr. Larabee's extensive farm for some time.
"It's different from what I expected," remarked Uncle Ezra. "But itseems good. I don't know as I'll stand it all the way to SanFrancisco, though."
"Oh, yes, you will," asserted Larson. "You'll get used to it in time."
"Is she working all right, Lieutenant Larson?"
"Yes, pretty well. I see a chance to make one or two changes though,that will make her better."
"Does that mean--er--more money?" was Uncle Ezra's anxious question.
"Well, some, yes."
"Not another cent!" burst out the crabbed old man. "I won't spendanother cent on her. I've sunk enough money in the old shebang."
Larson did not answer. He simply tilted the elevating rudder and thebiplane poked her nose higher up into the air.
"Here! What you doing?" demanded Uncle Ezra.
"I'm going up higher."
"But I tell you I don't want to! I want to go down! This is highenough!" and Uncle Ezra fairly screamed.
"We've got to go higher," said Larson. "The carburetor isn't workingjust right at this low elevation. That's what I wanted the extra moneyfor, to get a new one. But of course if you feel that you can't spareit, why, we'll simply have to fly higher, that's all. The carburetorwe have will work all right at a high elevation on account of therarefied air, but with a different one, of course we could staylower--if we wanted to.
"Still, if you feel you can't afford it," he went on, with a sly lookat the crabbed old man who sat there clutching the sides of the seat,"we'll have to do the best we can, and make this carburetor do. Iguess we'll have to keep on a little higher," he added, as he glancedat the barograph.
"Say! Hold on!" yelled Uncle Ezra in his ear. "You--you can have thatmoney for the carburetor! Go on down where we were before."
"Oh, all right," assented Larson, and he winked the eye concealed fromhis employer.
The aircraft went down, and flew about at a comparatively lowelevation. Really, there did not seem to be much the matter with thecarburetor, but then, of course, Larson ought to know what he wastalking about.
"She's working pretty good--all except the carburetor," said the formerarmy man, after they had been flying about fifteen minutes. "The motordoes better than I expected, and with another passenger we'll besteadier. She needs a little more weight. Do you want to try to steerher?"
"No, sir! Not yet!" cried Uncle Ezra. "I can drive a mowing-machine,and a thresher, but I'm not going to try an airship yet. I hired youto run her. All I want is that twenty-thousand-dollar prize, and thechance to sell airships like this after we've proved them the best foractual use."
"And we can easily do that," declared Larson. "My mercury stabilizeris working to perfection."
"When can we start on the race?" Mr. Larabee wanted to know.
"Oh, soon now. You see it isn't exactly a race. That is the competingairships do not have to start at the same time."
"No?" questioned Uncle Ezra.
"No. You see each competing craft is allowed to start when the pilotpleases, provided an army officer is aboard during the entire flight tocheck the results, and the time consumed. Two landings will beallowed, and only the actual flying time will be counted.
"That is if the trip is finished within a certain prescribed time. Ithink it is a month. In other words we could start now, fly as far aswe could, and if we had to come down because of some accident, or toget supplies, we could stay down several days. Then we could startagain, and come down the second time. But after that we would beallowed no more landings, and the total time consumed in flying wouldbe computed by the army officer."
"Oh, that's the way of it?" asked Uncle Ezra.
"Yes, and the craft that has used the smallest number of hours will winthe prize," went on Larson. "I'm sure we can do it, for this is a fastmachine. I haven't pushed her to the limit yet."
"And don't you do it--not until I get more used to it," stipulated theowner of the airship.
The former army officer sent the aircraft through several simpleevolutions to test her. She answered well, though Uncle Ezra gaspedonce or twice, and his grip on the seat rail tightened.
"When do you plan to start?" Mr. Larabee wanted to know, again.
"Oh, in about a week. I have sent in an application to have arepresentative of the government assigned to us, and when he comeswe'll start. That will give me a chance to buy the new carburetor, andmake some other little changes."
"Well, let's go down now," suggested Uncle Ezra. "Hello, what's this?"he cried, looking at his coat. "Why, I'm all covered with oil!"
"Yes, it does drip a little," admitted the aviator. "I haven'ttightened the washers on the tank. You mustn't mind a little thinglike that. I often get soaked with oil and gasolene. I should havetold you to put on an old suit."
"But look here!" cried Uncle Ezra, in accents of dismay. "I didn't puton an old suit! This is my second best. I paid thirteen dollars forit, and I've bad it four years. It would have been good for two moreif your old oil hadn't leaked on it. Now it's spoiled!"
"You can have it cleaned, perhaps," suggested the lieutenant as he sentthe biplane about in a graceful curve, before getting ready for adescent.
"Yes, and maybe have to pay a tailor sixty-five cents! Not much!"cried Uncle Ezra. "I'll clean it myself, with some of the gasolene. Iain't going to waste money that way. I ought to charge you for it."
"Well, I'll give you the gasolene to clean it," said the aviator, withanother unseen wink.
"Humph!" ejaculated Uncle Ezra with a grunt, as he tried to hold onwith one hand, and scrub off some of the oil spots with hishandkerchief.
"Well, I guess we'll go down now," announced Larson, after makingseveral sharp ascents and descents to test the efficiency of thevertical rudder.
"Why, we're quite a way from the farm!" exclaimed Mr. Larabee, lookingdown. "I didn't think we'd come so far."
"Well, I'll show you how quickly we can get back there!" boastedLarson. "I'll have you at your place in a hurry!"
He turned more power into the motor, and with a rush and a roar, thebiplane shot forward.
But something happened. Either they struck an air pocket, or therudder was given too sudden a twist. Anyway, the airship shot towardthe ground at a sharp angle. She would have crashed down hard, onlyLarson threw her head up quickly, checking, in a measure, the momentum.
But he could not altogether control the craft, and it swept past a treein an orchard where they were forced to land, the side wing tearing offthe limbs and branches.
Then, bouncing down to the ground, the airship, tilted on one end, andshot Uncle Ezra out with considerable force. He landed in a heap ofdirt, turned a somersault, and sat up with a queer look on his face.