CHAPTER XVII
A Desperate Situation
A terrible five minutes followed the discovery that Joe Gresson hadmade, a period short enough as a general rule, but seeming almostunending under the tragic circumstances. For the great airship layhelpless in the air, turning slowly as if on a pivot, and dangling athousand feet above that tiny Union Jack which marked the summit ofMount Everest. Then a breeze caught her and wafted her to one side, sothat Dick, looking desperately from the window of the engine-room, couldgaze down into India. But a swirling current from the opposite directiongripped her a moment later, swayed the ship which was rocking like avessel at sea, drove her round and launched her northward, till theopposite slopes of the Himalayas came into view.
"Tibet--the road to Lhasa, the forbidden city," Dick told himself. "Andthat shining streak away over there must be the Brahmaputra. What's tobe done? This is a nasty sort of hole in which to find ourselves. And Idon't like the look of some of our friends. Larkin is as blue as blue,while Mr. Andrew don't appear much better. Where's Alec?"
That young gentleman was stretched full length at the foot of the ladderleading from the engine-room, and at once Dick stepped toward him andsecured the mouthpiece of his oxygen apparatus to his face.
"Can't do more," he thought. "Wish I could. George! Joe don't seem toobright. He's as green as grass, and, 'pon my word, he's falling."
He was just in time to catch the leader of this attempt upon a world'srecord and snatch him from the engines. Catching him in his arms he sathim down with his back against the wall of the engine-room. Then, quiteby the merest chance, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in thatsame square piece of looking-glass.
"My hat! Dusky as a nigger! But never felt better in my life. Oxygenseems to agree with me, but not with my lovely complexion. Now, what theblazes is a fellow to do? This is a corker."
It was worse than that, for not only was the ship in danger ofdestruction, but without a doubt were her position at that altitudemaintained, every soul aboard would be asphyxiated or frozen to death.Dick cast his eye at the barometer.
"Twenty-nine thousand feet. Dead level with the summit of the mountain,"he reflected. "And ain't she rolling, just?"
That, too, was an obvious fact; for, relieved of the weight of the waterwhich had filled her tanks, and which, like the engines, were disposedat the very lowest point possible, the ship now appeared to be a trifletop-heavy. In any case, she careened badly, swaying from side to side,till her decks presented steep slopes down which the figures of helplessmembers of her crew slithered. Yes, it was an ugly and distressingsight, for that loss of weight, and the fact that her elevating screwswould not grip the air, had made the ship unstable in a fore-and-aftdirection. To Dick's horror she began a new series of movements. Thegust outside freshened of a sudden, just as gales do spring up at theheight at which they floated, and at once the giant machine was swunground as if she were a top. Then she rolled heavily, till it was only byclutching at the rails about the motors that he escaped being throwninto them. Later she suddenly careened in the opposite direction, andhoisting her stern on high, projected her crew down the whole length ofthe gallery so that they were brought up against a distant bulkhead. Norwas that the last of her disconcerting gyrations. The breeze freshenedagain, till within a minute a whirlwind was singing and screamingoutside. It caught the framework of the ship as if she were a leaf, andnow that she was lying out of the horizontal, and Joe's curious designwas therefore almost inoperable, it swung her to one side and sent herheading madly for the snow and rock-strewn summit of the mountain. Dickheld his small remaining breath as the vessel bore down upon that rockypeak, and shivered as she missed it by a narrow margin.
"A miss is as good as a mile, sir," someone shouted in his ear, as ifthe person were a mile away. But Dick was deaf. His ears were singingand roaring, and when he let go his hold of the engine rails he wasdreadfully giddy. But, in spite of his deafness, he was able to note twoother things. The engine had stopped completely, no doubt because of theposition of the ship, the fuel supply having been entirely cut off. ThenHawkins was beside him, not the Hawkins of old, with a clean-shaven facetanned to mahogany by exposure, but a sailor whose skin was of leadenhue, whose eyes were sunken and had lost their sparkle, whose shouldersstooped as if he found it hard to keep upright In other respects it wasthe old Hawkins.
"Orders, sir!" he bawled, whipping his mouthpiece aside for the moment."This here's a fine old mess!"
"Must get those gas valves open and the engines started again. Here,"Dick gasped in answer. "Make this cylinder fast to my shoulders. It'stoo loose for my liking. There's a bit of rope yonder. That'll do it.Quick!"
He had no breath for more; but Hawkins seemed to see his meaning in aninstant, and soon had the cylinder of oxygen more secure on Dick's back.Then, with a dexterity which even this critical situation could not mar,he secured his own cylinder in similar manner. Dick gripped a hammer.Hawkins took a huge spanner.
"Now," said our hero. "We must get to the upper deck. Then start in thecentre, each going in opposite directions. Force open every othervalve. Even if you have to smash them to pieces you must contrive toopen them. Come--no time to be lost."
His orders were given in short gasping spurts. But Hawkins understoodand nodded. Then they clambered over the bodies of their comrades, wontheir way up the engine ladder, and raced as fast as they could alongthe gallery. Not that the pace was great, for each step seemed to be aneffort. They gained the liftway, and stared upward.
"No motor working. Must climb," Dick managed to gasp. "Up we go."
He felt as if his heart would burst long before he gained the upperdeck. That organ was indeed thudding heavily against his ribs, while theveins in his forehead, on his hands and face, were distended and purple.But there was pluck and determination to drive Mr. Dicky Hamshaw onward,while Hawkins was not the man to be beaten by an officer or to leave onein the lurch. And so, after a struggle which cost them dear, they wontheir way to the summit of that tiresome and never-ending ladder. Aminute later, almost too fatigued to deliver a blow, they attacked thevalves affixed to each of the many gas chambers, beginning with those atthe centre.
"Frozen hard as rocks. Deck covered with frost and ice. The weight'll bean advantage. But how are we to get these valves open?"
It was difficult enough under that white covering to detect theirpresence, though, fortunately for all, both Dick and Hawkins had morethan once examined the valves. Now they set to work with hammer andspanner, breaking away the coating of ice, and smashing the firm jointwhich the intense cold had formed round each seating. It was with ashrill, half-stifled cry of delight that Dick contrived to free thefirst of the valves.
"Wide open. Can smell the gas coming out," he told himself. "That'll fixher. A few more will do the trick. Wish to goodness she'd remain level."
Something shot past him at terrible speed, and brought up hard againstthe rail at the edge of the deck. It was Hawkins, pitched from his feetby a sudden lurch of the vessel, and saved from a dreadful dive intospace by the rail against which he had cannoned. A second later hisunconscious figure came hurtling back, and but for the grip Dick managedto fasten on him he would have shot over the side of the vessel in theopposite direction.
"Must go on alone, that's all," Dick told himself stubbornly. "Big job,but got to be done. I'll place Hawkins in the entrance to the liftway."
He dragged the unconscious figure after him, helped not a little by asudden tilting of the vessel. Then, stowing him in a corner from whichhe hoped he would not be dislodged, he raced along the deck again,himself took a header as the deck sloped steeply, caught a stanchion towhich one of the wireless supports was attached, and a moment later wasbeating frantically at a second valve. In ten busy minutes, in fact, hecontrived to release no fewer than five, and had the satisfaction ofsmelling the gas which at once poured out of them. More than that, aglance at the summit of the mountain showed him that the ship had fallenalready. She was resting
just a trifle above that wet, cold blanketwhich enveloped the central part.
"And a chap feels less blown than before," thought Dick. "That'ssatisfactory. Now for the engines. Must get 'em going and way on theship, for this gale is playing the dickens with her."
It was a way of expressing his meaning, and indeed, even now that he hadaccomplished his purpose so bravely, his work was likely enough to bedefeated by outside influences. For the whirlwind had not abated, andthree times while Dick worked had the ship been swept past the slopes ofMount Everest, at such speed that, had she struck, she would havecrumpled up like a concertina. Now she was caught again, spun round likea top, sent twirling from the mountain, only to be driven back againtill her bows actually collided with one of the slopes. But it was onlya glancing blow, and the snow happened to be both soft and deep.Shivering, therefore, at the shock, she shook herself free, and shot offinto the open.
As for Dick, he raced to the deck below, his respiration alreadydecidedly easier. Stepping over the still unconscious figures of hiscomrades, he gained the engine-room and tackled the task of starting theengines.
"Must get way on her somehow," he told himself. "Let's see--enginesstopped probably because of her pitching. You couldn't expect fuel toreach the carburettor when she was standing on her head. Wait a bit,I'll cure all that if once I can get those elevating screws going. How'sthat? Joe always turns that tap to make sure his fuel's flowing. There'sparaffin there right enough. Now, will she start?"
He switched on the current from the starting batteries, setting theelectric starting motor in action, and then moved the clutch lever,which threw this motor into engagement with the flywheel of the engine.Nothing resulted. Not a cylinder fired. There was not so much as thesuspicion of an explosion. One might have expected Dicky Hamshaw to beflabbergasted and beaten by such a happening, and as a matter of fact heleaned against the engine rail and gazed hopelessly at the apparatusbefore him. Then he had a brilliant inspiration. They didn't often comehis way, we confess. He was far too harum-scarum for flights of fancy orfor patient investigation. But in his heart of hearts Dicky was quitethe mechanic. As we have intimated, he hoped one of these days to beselected for submarine service, or for the naval flying school.Therefore it happened that facts and peculiarities about the mechanismof this huge airship had not escaped his notice. Indeed, they hadattracted his attention and positively fascinated him. It happened,consequently, that he was well acquainted with the carburation.
"Got it!" he cried. "It ain't a case of a simple carburettor. In thiscase the fuel enters the carburettor, and to start the engines if cold,or when they've been rested for long, one has to fill the gasometerwith gas. That's the ticket! I've seen Joe and the engineer makingpreparations. We just operate this geared fan, and force air through thecarburettor. There it goes, and the gasometer's rising. I'll give it alittle more and then try her. Afterwards the running engineautomatically pumps air. Now. How's that for done it?"
He switched the current in again, and moved over the clutch lever of thestarter. The engine spun round immediately, spluttered in one or morecylinders, backfired once, thereby throwing the starter out of action;and then, when Dick again pushed his lever over relentlessly, the enginefired, and went off at a speed that made the whole engine-room tremble.
Dick shouted. Or rather, he tried to shout, the mouthpiece and his ownwant of breath preventing much noise coming from him. His eyes sparkled.He actually danced, and then became very solemn. For after all the fateof his comrades and of this fine vessel still rested entirely in his twohands. Yes, entirely, for a glance along the gallery told him that notone of his friends was yet conscious.
"Set her going then. Wait--what's the elevation? Jingo--we've come downto twenty-two thousand feet. That's something; wish we weren't in thiscloud though. It makes a fellow wonder which way he ought to steer. Ah,there go the elevator fans!"
He could hear them whirring, and looked up at the barometer. The shipwas rising, and with a gesture of disgust he realized that he had setthe elevators working in the wrong direction. Instantly he reversedthem, and presently had the satisfaction of seeing that the vessel wasdescending. Then he started up the ship's propeller, and soon had hermoving, but very cautiously; for the damp, white cloud hid everything.Indeed, he was within an ace of wrecking the vessel, and, but for aquick twist of his wrist and a sudden acceleration of his motor, hewould have driven the airship against a rocky headland standing out fromthe mountain.
"A miss is as good as a mile," he grinned. "Oh, shan't I be jolly gladto get away from this Mount Everest? Not much!--not 'alf, as Hawkinswould say. Anyway, that peep gave me the right direction. Now, I'll takeher along at speed, and get clear out into the open."
"Eighteen thousand feet--what's happened?" the question came in weaktones from Joe Gresson. Dick nodded cheerfully at him. He had discardedhis oxygen mouthpiece, though the cylinder was still slung to his back.
"You sit still," he shouted. "We're falling, and mighty quick now, Ifancy. Stay there till you're feeling yourself, and then come and adviseme. We're over on the Tibet side of the Himalayas, and I'm looking outfor a landing."
One by one, as the ship descended, the unconscious crew regained theirsenses, and for the most part looked about them in the most bewilderedmanner. For they were piled indiscriminately about the gallery, crewand passengers mixed together inextricably. Nor had they entirelyescaped damage, as might well be expected. Some were severely bruised bythe manner in which the sloping deck had caused them to slide, whileLarkin was quite angry. He was fully conscious, and had just draggedhimself from beneath the somewhat ponderous frame of the grinning Hurst.His nose was bleeding, as was the case with many of them; but that wasnot the cause of his agitation. One eye was closed, and the cheekbeneath beautifully swollen.
"Of all the mean tricks," he was growling, "of all the mean, dirty gamesto play on a fellow when he's fallen, this is it. What do yer mean,young feller?"
But Hurst still grinned placidly at him. He was, to speak the truth,barely more than semi-conscious. A delicious feeling of fatigue assailedhim, and had he had his own way he would have lain there in the passageand fallen into a sound slumber. That is, as soon as he had finishedwith Private Larkin. He was sleepily admiring that hero at this precisemoment. He didn't exactly know how it was that he and the noble Larkinhad become so mixed up together. Perhaps they had been for a spreeashore, and here was the consequence. But this his addled senses couldtake in, and it afforded him huge amusement--Private Larkin's none toohandsome face was swollen to the proportions of a pumpkin, and thedistension beneath that eye was as green as possible. There remained butone orb then, a staring orb, which had fastened itself indignantly,even threateningly, upon the sailor, moreover Hurst could tell that itwas the one that habitually squinted. What wonder that he could not takethe angry Larkin seriously?
"If you don't look handsome, not 'arf," he interjected. "Jest you getmovin' on yer two flat feet and take a squint at yer phiz in that theremirror. You'll see a sight there that'll scare yer. No, no! I ain'tasking you to look away in the corner. The mirror's there, above yerugly head, and lor, you just take care that you don't go right off andcrack it."
The situation was becoming a little strained before the Major pulledhimself together, helped the Commander to his feet, and separated thetwo who had been speaking. Then they went to Mr. Andrew, whom they foundsoundly asleep, breathing as gently as any child, and undoubtedlyunharmed by his late experience. Joe, too, was on his feet now, whileHawkins had put in an appearance.
"I'm owin' one more to Mr. Dicky," he told his chums, as they clusteredin the gallery and eagerly discussed this late happening. "I just didthe most almighty skid you could dream of. I can remember the shiprolling and sending me quick right across to the railing. Then I slidback again, and I can feel now the grip that Mr. Dicky got of my collar.After that there was darkness, till of a sudden my eyes opened. Blessyou, lads, that there Mr. Midshipman Hamshaw has saved the wholesitivation; by hisself he
's done it. And if it hadn't ha' been for him,and his pluck, and what not, there wouldn't be a airship now, no, norany of us covies. Larkin, you ain't called for to speak. I know what youwas thinkin' of saying. That Mr. Alec'd have been as good. I agrees, sothe wind's taken completely out of your sails, and there ain't no callfor an argument. But though he'd have had the pluck, he didn't have thesenses. It takes a hard chap to stand what we've been through.Understand me, lad; it takes a sailor--now, just you stop jawin'."
It was merely a passing pleasantry between the two services, and thepugnacious Larkin perforce closed his lips and sulked for a moment. Butit was only for a moment; for within a little while the crew weregathered in their own quarters partaking of their evening meal, and sopreparing themselves for the hard work now expected of them. In thesaloon Mr. Andrew and his friends gathered about the table, whileSergeant Evans waited upon them as if nothing out of the ordinary hadhappened, and as if it were a mere uninteresting item in the day'sperformance that he himself, but two hours earlier, had been stretchedsenseless in his own pantry, his face a dusky blue, his nose and earsbleeding, and his pulse beating at a pace which would have alarmed themost hopeful of practitioners.
But if he said nothing, Andrew and Joe and their guests were full ofpraise of Dicky Hamshaw.
"'Pon my word, I'm proud of him as a brother officer," cried theCommander cordially. "Tell us all about it, Dick."
The bashful midshipman recounted what had happened, and how he hadovercome the many difficulties which had, one after another, faced him.
"It looked like being all up at one time, sir," he said. "The ship wasturning on her nose, making it difficult to get about and reach thevalves. I'm afraid we've done a heap of damage. You see, one hadn't timeto waste, nor breathe either. And so I laid in at the heads of thevalves with my hammer, careless, so long as I could get them to open."
"And rightly so," said Joe warmly. "As to damage, it will be trifling,and of no consequence; for we carry aboard spare valves and seatings,and they can be fitted in a few hours. That reminds me to speak of ourmovements. We are now on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas, resting acouple of hundred yards above the ground, and in a totally uninhabitedpart. It will be necessary to refit, to take in water, and to set ourgas-producer plant going. Now, why not a trip to Lhasa in the meanwhile?A trip to the forbidden city, there to call upon the Chinese Governor?It would be interesting and instructive both to the Llama priests and toourselves, and it will be something to have accomplished."
Such a journey was a mere nothing to the aeroplane carried upon thebroad deck of the airship, and as Joe required only a few of his staffto effect repairs and restock the tanks, quite a large party left theship on the following morning. Nor is there much of startling moment torecord as to their doings. For the city of Lhasa to-day is inhabited bybeings holding different views from those living there but a few yearsago. Then the place was sacred, travellers were forbidden to enter,while the very effort of reaching the city was more than enough todissuade the average person from making the attempt. Those upland plainsabout the city are, in fact, a wilderness of inhospitality in winterweather, while the milder months are all too short for an expeditionwhich entails going afoot, and demands strenuous exertions from the verybeginning. But a welcome now awaits the stranger. The Llamas seek foroutside guidance, and are no longer content with an existence unbrokenby the smallest distraction. The European who cares to undertake thatjourney may expect some kindness, while Tibet to-day has sent her sonsto Europe, there to gather something of Western learning and customs. Itfollowed, therefore, that Dick and Alec had a merry and entertainingvisit to record, and enjoyed the aeroplane trip immensely. Then theyrejoined the airship, now complete and ready, and that same evening thevessel once more crossed the Himalayas and steered a course for Burma.
"Where we take in oil for our engines," said Joe. "Later, we will followthe red route down the length of Burma till we reach the MalayPeninsula. Afterwards there is Borneo to be visited, and then New Guineaand Australasia."
The delights of such a course need no elaborate description, and withouta doubt they were put in the shade by constant admiration for the ship'sbehaviour. For it was not always fair weather, and that gale of windabout the summit of the mountain they had so recently left was asnothing to a storm experienced off Sumatra. Then, indeed, the trueworking of Joe Gresson's design was experienced and appreciated.
"I could not have believed it," the Commander shouted in the Major's earas they stood on the upper deck clutching the railings. "A Zeppelin nowin a gale such as this is would be torn to pieces."
"Smashed; her sides driven in without a doubt. Then she could never facea storm of this fierceness. She would be driven miles out of her course,if she were not wrecked instantly."
"While we merely head up to the gale and lay to, hardly even rolling."
Thanks to the water ballast which she had again taken aboard, theairship was wonderfully steady, while her capacity to withstand a galewas proved to the utmost. Even when turned broadside on to the wind theship maintained her position, the sweeping aerial currents being cutasunder by those lateral keels, and passing harmlessly above and beneathher. But then she was possessed of those cross air-shafts in whichpowerful screws worked, a feature absent entirely from the Zeppelin.
It was a week later when the passengers on the deck above sighted thehuge island of New Guinea, that inhospitable region, a great part ofwhich is still unknown to white men, where jungles and swamps areinhabited by the fiercest of cannibals. And here it was that Dick andhis friends came in for another adventure.