CHAPTER XVII.--AN AeRIAL AMBULANCE.
Harry was about to flash back an answer to the message of congratulationwhen, suddenly, into the scene of triumph was injected a grim note ofthreatened tragedy. One of the passengers, a young woman who had beenleaning far out over the rail of the boat deck waving a handkerchief offilmy lace and linen, was seen, all at once, to topple from her perch.
The next instant, and while her shrill scream for help still rent theair, a young man who had been standing beside her jumped out into spacewithout waiting to do more than strip off coat and shoes. The _Ultonia_was speeding ahead at the fastest gait her twin screws were capable of.She was a large vessel, probably some 15,000 tons of registration, andher momentum was too great to stop her for a considerable distance.
From the _Sea Eagle_ horrified eyes saw the accident, and witnessed theyoung woman's head bob up for an instant amid the frothy wake of the bigcraft. The liner's whistle screamed out a shrill alarm, and men could beseen scampering to lower a boat, while life buoys were thrown overboard.
But before anything more could be done the _Sea Eagle_ took a suddenswoop, a swift dive downward, characteristic of the bird for which shehad been named.
The wonderful craft struck the water with a force that sent a cloud ofspray boiling up about her, temporarily hiding her substructure and heroccupants from view.
"She's sunk!" went up a moaning cry from the decks of the liner. But,no! An instant later it was seen that the _Sea Eagle_, an aeroplane nolonger but a winged boat, was speeding as fast as her twin propellerscould drive her toward the spot where the young woman had last beenseen.
Hardly a word, except Dr. Perkins' caution to "hang on tight," had beenexchanged between the aviators from their simultaneous observation ofthe accident till the moment the _Sea Eagle_ struck the water. But noworders came quick and fast.
"Attend to the engines!"
The order came from Frank, and Harry sprang into the place his brothervacated.
Frank hastily buckled on one of the life jackets and then, as the _SeaEagle_ skimmed the water at a twenty-five knot gait, he scanned theseething lane of foam behind the liner. Suddenly he saw what he waslooking for. A white, imploring face, crowned with a wealth of goldenhair.
"Save me!" screamed the girl who, although she had been swimming, was bythis time too exhausted with the effects of her immersion and the weightof her water-soaked clothes, to keep up any longer. Without an instant'shesitation, Frank leaped into the water and began striking out withpowerful strokes for the sinking girl. He reached her side just as shewas going down for the third time.
WITHOUT AN INSTANT'S HESITATION, FRANK LEAPED INTO THEWATER.]
In the meantime the young man who had sprung after her had also becomeexhausted, and would certainly have sunk had not Dr. Perkins headed the_Sea Eagle_ in his direction. Leaning far out as they came alongside thestruggling man, Harry grasped him by the collar, and then half draggedhim into the hydroplane portion of the air craft. This done, full speedwas made for Frank and the young woman.
None too soon did they reach Frank's side. With the blind instinct of adrowning person the young woman was clinging so tightly to Frank that,strong swimmer though he was, he had much difficulty in keeping abovethe water. Dr. Perkins ordered the motor stopped as they neared the two,and allowed the _Sea Eagle_ to glide up to them. Then both he and Harrybent all their strength to hauling on board, first the young woman andthen Frank.
By this time the liner's speed had been checked, and her officers wereswinging her in a broad circle to the scene of the accident. A boat hadbeen lowered and was heading for the _Sea Eagle_, but Dr. Perkins,snatching up the megaphone, hailed the oarsman and told them thateverything was all right.
This done, power was applied once more, and the _Sea Eagle_ headed forthe liner's side. As if guessing his intention a gangway had beenlowered, and all was ready for their reception as they came alongside.In the meantime the young man had introduced the golden-haired youngwoman as his bride, and himself as Stanley Travers, of Portland, Me. Tosay that both he and Mrs. Travers were grateful would be not to stateone half of their actual feelings.
In fact, their expressions of appreciation took so long that one of theofficers at the head of the gangway shouted:
"This is a mail boat and we must hurry, please."
While this was going on congratulations on the plucky act had beenshouted down from the uniformed skipper on the bridge and from a scoreof the passengers that banked the rails three and four deep.
At last Mr. and Mrs. Travers, wet to the skin, clambered up the liner'stall, black side, and the boat was hauled up on the davits. As the bigcraft, dipping her ensign and blowing her siren, heaved ahead, a shoutof enthusiasm went up. But it was drowned by the roar of the _SeaEagle's_ motor. Hardly had the propellers of the vessel begun to churnthe water once more before Dr. Perkins' craft rose from the water like awhite-winged sea gull after a refreshing dip. As the gallant sea-and-airship rose, her three occupants waved their hands in farewell inrejoinder to the babel of shouts beneath them.
"Well, at any rate, if the _Sea Eagle_ never does anything more,"remarked Dr. Perkins, "she has accomplished a great deal."
"I should think so," exclaimed Frank, who had slipped into dry clothesas soon as the _Sea_ _Eagle_ took the air once more; "it isn't everycraft that finds her baptism in life-saving at sea."
As long as they could see the _Ultonia_ the big liner continued to blowher whistle, and doubtless the eyes of all her passengers remained fixedattentively on the wonderful sky ship as she waxed smaller and smalleragainst the blue. That afternoon the voyagers found themselves off CapeAnn. High above the cape they flew, cutting off a good chunk of distancein this way. The folks in West Gloucester stared in wonderment as thehuge air ship soared by high above the town, and when a short time laterthe aviators passed above the white-winged fishing fleet, every tin panand fog horn in the flotilla of small craft sounded an enthusiastic "Godspeed" to the air travelers.
Far behind the main body of the fisher craft lagged a small sloop, andas the _Sea Eagle_ came closer to her the boys noticed that her flag wasflying from the peak "union down," a sign of distress the world over.The big hydro-aeroplane was flying low at the time, and it was easy tosee, without the aid of glasses, that several men were running about thesloop's decks and shouting something up at the air voyagers.
"Shall we go down and see what the trouble is?" asked Frank, as he andHarry saw the signs of distress.
"Yes," decided the doctor, "no craft, either of the air or of the sea,can disregard such a signal of disaster. It will be odd if, for thesecond time on the very first day of our cruise, we are able to renderaid to somebody who needs it badly."
The boys thought so, too, and as they dropped seaward the minds of allthree occupants of the _Sea Eagle_ were busy with speculationsconcerning what could be the cause of the sloop's distress. Dr. Perkinscaused his craft to alight gently on the sea a short distance from thesloop, and then headed her over the waves toward the distressed vessel.As they drew closer they could see a grizzled-looking fellow, in roughfisher's garb, leaning over the side.
"Come quick!" he shouted, "there's been bad work going on aboard!"