CHAPTER V
SUSPICIONS
Casting aside the straps that bound them to their machines, the armyaviators leaped lightly from their seats. The big propellers, fromwhich the power had been cut off, as the birdmen started to volplane tothe ground, ceased revolving, and the hum and roar of the powerfulmotors was no more heard.
In their big, leather helmets, and leather jackets, and with theirenormous goggles on, the birdmen looked like anything butspick-and-span soldiers of Uncle Sam. But dress in the army hasundergone a radical change. The "fuss and feathers" are graduallydisappearing, and utility is the word. It was so in regard to theaviators. They were not hampered by uniforms.
"Kentfield Military Academy?" inquired one of the officers, evidentlyin command. He looked about for someone in authority.
"Kentfield Academy, sir," replied Colonel Masterly who had come up. "Iam in charge here," and he introduced himself. The army man, who worea captain's shoulder straps, saluted and remarked:
"I am Captain Grantly, in charge. That is Captain Wakefield, in theother machine. With him is Lieutenant McBride, and my companion isLieutenant Larson. I presume you expected us?"
"Oh, yes," said Colonel Masterly, as he shook hands with the visitors."I'm sure we are all glad to see you."
Dick and his chums looked on with interest. The army aviators seemedefficient and pleasant men--that is all but one. The first sight hehad of the face of Lieutenant Larson, after the latter had removed hisprotecting helmet and goggles, made Dick say to himself:
"That fellow will bear watching! I don't like the look in his eyes."
But Dick said nothing of this to Paul or Innis. He made up his mind hewould learn their impressions later.
"We thought we might as well come on in the machines, as to have themtaken down, shipped here, and then have to assemble them again, wouldtake too much time," went on Captain Grantly. "Though we expect,later, to give your students a practical demonstration in how thebiplanes are put together, so they may understand something of how tomake repairs.
"We came on from the nearest army aviation grounds, and had a mostsuccessful flight. I must send back word to Major Dalton."
"Our telephone, or telegraph service, is at your disposal," saidColonel Masterly. "If you will come with me--"
"Excuse me, but we carry with us our own means of communication," saidCaptain Grantly with a smile. "We are going on the assumption,constantly, that we are in an enemy's country.
"Consequently we go prepared as though there were a state of war. Weshall communicate with our base by means of wireless."
"I am afraid we can't accommodate you there," went on the head of themilitary school. "We are installing a wireless outfit, but it is notyet completed," the colonel said.
"Oh, we carry our own!" was the unexpected retort. "Lieutenant Larson,if you and Lieutenant McBride will get the balloon ready, CaptainWakefield and myself will work out the cipher dispatch, and send it.
"We use a code in our wireless," he went on to explain, "and it takes afew minutes to make up the message."
"But I heard you speak of a balloon," said Colonel Masterly. "I don'tsee how you carry one on your machine."
"Here it is," was the answer, and a deflated rubberized silk bag wasproduced from a locker back of the pilot's seat. "This is the latestidea in airship wireless," went on Captain Grantly, as he directed thelieutenants to get out the rest of the apparatus. "We carry with us adeflated balloon, which will contain about two hundred cubic yards oflifting gas. The gas itself, greatly compressed, is in this cylinder.There's enough for several chargings.
"We fill the balloon, and attach to it our aerial wires. The balloontakes them up about four hundred feet--the wires weigh about twentypounds, I might say. Then we carry a light sending instrument. It hasa considerable range, though we can receive messages from a muchgreater distance than we can send, as our force for a sending currentis limited."
As he was talking the others were working, and the cadets looked oninterestedly. The drill had been abandoned, and officers and studentscrowded up near the army aviators to see what was going on.
With a sharp hiss the compressed gas rushed from the containingcylinder into the deflated balloon. The silken sides puffed out,losing their wrinkles. The balloon gradually assumed largerproportions.
"Ready with the wires?" asked Captain Grantly.
"All ready, sir," replied Lieutenant Larson. Dick now heard him speakfor the first time, and did not like his voice. There are some personswho make a bad impression on you at the first meeting. Often this mayhe unjustified, but Dick's first impressions were seldom wrong.
The wires, forming the wireless aerial, were carried up on two lightspreaders, hanging down from a network that went over the balloon bag.From the aerials depended the wires that were attached to the receivingand sending apparatus. These wires were on a reel, and would heuncoiled as the balloon arose. The earth-end would be attached to thetelephone receivers and to the apparatus, consisting of a spark-gapwheel and other instruments designed to send into space the electricalimpulses that could be broken up into dots, dashes and spaces, spellingout words according to the Morse or Continental code--whichever wasused.
Captain Grantly looked over everything. His assistants signified thatevery connection was made.
"Send her up," ordered the commander, and as the catch, holding theballoon, was released the spherical bag of gas shot into the air,carrying with it the aerials, and unreeling the connecting wires.
Quickly it rose to nearly five hundred feet, and, when it had beenanchored, all was soon in readiness.
Meanwhile a code dispatch had been written out, and as it was handed toCaptain Wakefield, who was to operate the wireless, he began depressingthe key that made and broke the electrical current. The current itselfcame from a small, but powerful, storage battery, and it had beenswitched on. The current also set in motion a toothed wheel of brass.This wheel revolved on its axis with the points, or teeth, passingrapidly in front of a platinum contact point.
As each tooth thus came in opposition to the point, a blue spark ofelectricity would shoot out with a vicious snap; that is if theconnection key were pressed down. If the key were not depressed nocurrent flowed.
I presume most of you understand how the wireless works, so I will notgive you a complete description save to say that it is just like atelegraph system, in fundamentals. The only difference is that noconnecting metallic wires are needed between stations.
A group of wires in parallels, called "aerials," are hung in the air atone point, or station, and a similar set is suspended at the otherstation. The electrical current jumps through the air from one groupof wires to the other, without being directly connected, hence the name"wireless," though really some wires are used.
The electrical impulse can be sent for thousands of miles through theair, without any directly connecting wires. And the method ofcommunication is by means of dots, dashes and spaces.
You have doubtless heard the railroad or other telegraph instrumentsclicking. You can hold your table knife blade between two tines ofyour fork, and imitate the sound of the telegraph very easily.
If you move your knife blade up and down once, quickly, that willrepresent a dot. If you move it more slowly, holding it down for amoment, that would be a dash. A space would be the interval between adot and a dash, or between two dots or two dashes.
Thus, by combinations of dots, dashes and spaces, the letters of thealphabet may be made and words spelled out. For instance a dot and adash is "A."
In telegraphing, of course, the operator listens to the clicking of thebrass sounder in front of him on the desk. But in wireless theelectrical waves, or current received, is so weak that it would notoperate the sounder. So a delicate telephone receiver is used. This isconnected to the receiving wires, and as the sender at his station,perhaps a thousand miles away, presses down his key, and allows it tocome up, thus making dots, dashes and space
s, corresponding clicks aremade in the telephone receiver, at the ear of the other operator.
It takes skill to thus listen to the faint clicks that may be spelledout into words, but the operators are very skillful. In sendingmessages a very high tension current is needed, as most of it iswasted, leaping through the air as it does. So that though the clicksmay sound very loud at the sending apparatus, and the blue sparks bevery bright, still only faint clicks can be heard in the head-telephonereceiver at the other end.
"You may send," directed Captain Grantly to Captain Wakefield, and theblue sparks shot out in a dazzling succession, as the spiked wheel spunaround. This was kept up for some little time, after the receivingoperator at the army headquarters had signified that he was atattention. Then came a period of silence. Captain Wakefield wasreceiving a message through space, but he alone could hear this throughthe telephone receiver.
He wrote it out in the cipher code, and soon it was translated.
"I informed them that we had arrived safely," said Captain Grantly toColonel Masterly, "and they have informed me that we are to remain hereuntil further notice, instructing your cadets in the use of theaircraft."
"And we are very glad to have you here," replied the commandant ofKentfield. "If you will come with me I will assign you to quarters."
"We had better put away our biplanes, and haul down our wirelessoutfit," suggested Captain Grantly.
"Allow me to assign some of the cadets to help you," suggested thecolonel, and this offer being accepted, Dick, to his delight, was oneof those detailed, as were Innis and Paul.
Giving his instructions to the two lieutenants, Captain Grantly, withthe junior captain, accompanied Colonel Masterly to the main buildingsof the Academy.
"Well, let's dig in, and get through with this job," suggestedLieutenant Larson, in surly tones to his companion. "Then I'm going toask for leave and go to town. I'm tired."
"So am I, but we've got to tighten up some of those guy wires. Theyare loose and need attention. They might order a flight any time," hisfellow lieutenant said.
"Well, you can stay and tighten 'em if you like. I'm not," was thegrowling retort. "I'm sick of this business anyhow! Let some of thekids do the work."
"They don't know how," was the good-natured answer of LieutenantMcBride.
"There is a professional aviator here now," said Dick, as he recalledMr. Vardon. "We might get him to help you."
"I don't care," said Lieutenant Larson, as he began hauling down thesuspended balloon. "I only know I'm sick of so much work. I thinkI'll go back into the artillery."
Dick and his chums naturally did not care much for the surly soldier,but they liked Lieutenant McBride at once. He smilingly told them whatto do, and the boys helped to push the machines to a shed that had beenset aside for them. The wireless apparatus was taken apart and storedaway, the gas being let out of the balloon.
The work was almost finished, when Larry Dexter, with Mr. Vardon andthe latter's helper, Jack, came across to the sheds. They had come tosee the army airships.
By this time Lieutenant Larson had finished what he considered was hisshare of the work, and was on his way to get a brief leave of absencefrom his captain. At the entrance to the shed he came face to facewith Mr. Vardon and Jack.
"Oh, so you're the professional aviator they spoke of," said Larson,with a sneer in his tone.
"Yes, I'm here," replied Mr. Vardon, quietly. "I did not expect to seeyou here, though."
"The surprise is mutual," mocked the other. "I read about yourfailure. I suppose now, you will quit fooling with that gyroscope ofyours, and give my method a trial."
"I never will. I am convinced that I am right, and that you are wrong."
"You're foolish," was the retort.
Jack Butt stepped forward and whispered in the ear of his employer, sothat at least Dick heard what he said.
"I believe HE did it!" were the tense words of the machinist.