The Dreadnought Boys on Aero Service Read online

  CHAPTER V.

  UNCLE SAM'S MEN-BIRDS.

  "Py golly, dot feller Neddie he fly like vun birdt, alretty, ain'd it?"exclaimed Hans Dunderblitz one day two weeks later.

  He was standing by the side of Herc Taylor, watching the evolutionsof the bi-plane of Bright-Sturgess model, which Ned Strong wasmanipulating far above them.

  "You're pretty good yourself, Hans," encouraged Herc.

  "Ach nein! Efferey time I gedt oop midt der air I schneeze. Undtden--down I go tumble, alretty."

  "You'll have to learn to stop sneezing," commented Herc; "maybe theengine doesn't like it--see a doctor."

  "Phwat's thot about docthors?" asked Mulligan, coming up. "Shuretalkin' uv doctors reminds me uv one we had at home in Galway. He wasa successful docthor, understan', but whin he wos a young mon he wasnot so well-to-do. In fact, the only ornament he had in his parlor wasPatience on a Monument, a stathoo, ye understan'. Wun day a frind callster see him in the days whin the doc was prosperous.

  "'Doc,' says he, 'you ain't got Patience on a Monument any more.'

  "'No,' says the docthor, says he, 'shure I've got monumints on all mypatients now, begob!'"

  "Puts me in mind of what I once read in a paper up in the Catskills,"laughed Herc. "The item read: 'Dr. Jones was called, and under hisprompt and skilful treatment Hiram Scroggs died Wednesday night.'"

  "By Chermany, dere vos a docthor vunce----" began Hans.

  But what the doctor "by Chermany" did or said, was destined not tobe known, for an order came to the group to resume their practice.Immediately they hastened off to get their machines in trim once more.

  Lieutenant De Frees' system of instruction had proved effectual. Bythis time almost all of his squad had learned to fly. Some of themcould only take "grasshopper jumps," but others, Ned, Merritt andChance among them, had proven themselves really capable airmen. Theyhad learned with wonderful aptitude.

  Ned would never forget his first day in an aeroplane. The officer hadtaken up a biplane and given a daring exhibition. Then he descendedand announced that instruction would begin. His assistants took upHerc and Merritt, while Ned was ordered to seat himself on the narrowlittle place beside the officer. The Dreadnought Boy experienced then,not exactly fear, but a curious sort of sinking feeling born of hisinitiation into a hitherto unknown experience. He braced his feetagainst the slender struts of the machine, as he was instructed, andheld tightly to the handholds provided for the purpose. Then he stolea glance at Lieutenant De Frees. The officer's face was as calm as thatof a man who was about to take an afternoon's drive behind a favoritehorse.

  Suddenly the officer twitched a brass contrivance attached to aquadrant on his steering handle, which was not unlike that of anautomobile. He pressed a pedal with his foot and a mighty roar andvibration began at once as the motor opened up.

  The acrid reek of castor oil, which is used to lubricate aeroplanes,filled the air. The stuff was expelled from the cylinder vents inblue clouds, shot with lambent smoky flame. The mighty power exertedby the eight cylinders shook the frail fabric of the aeroplane as anearthquake might.

  "Hold on tight now!" shouted the officer to the pupils, who weregripping the machine tightly, grasping on to the rear structure. Hadthey not done so, it would have darted off at once before the twopropellers gained top speed and driving power.

  "Now!" shouted the officer suddenly.

  Instantly they let go, as they had been instructed. Ned felt as ifhe had suddenly been plunged into a runaway express train that wascareening over a newly ploughed field. The shocks and vibration of themachine, as it rushed straight forward, like a scared jackrabbit, overthe uneven surface of the field, made it hard to hold on.

  Just as Ned felt that he must inevitably be hurled from his seat, themotion suddenly changed. The contrast was violent. From the jouncing,rattling, bumping onrush of a second before, the novice seemed to havebeen suddenly transported to the softest of feather-beds. The aeroplaneglided upward without any apparent effort. It appeared to Ned as ifthe land was dropping from under his feet, rather than that they wererising from the earth.

  Higher they soared and higher. Suddenly their pleasant drifting, as itseemed, though the aeroplane was making sixty miles an hour, changed toa terrifying drop.

  It was like rushing downward in a runaway elevator. Ned choked, caughthis breath, and turned faint and dizzy. Without wishing to do so, hefound himself compelled to close his eyes. The qualms of incipientnausea began to rack him. His head pained, too.

  "Gracious," he thought impatiently, "what's the matter with me, anyway?Am I a baby or a girl? If the lieutenant can stand it, I can."

  With a supreme effort of will, the Dreadnought Boy compelled himself toopen his eyes. He stole a side glance at his companion. Lieutenant DeFrees was as cool as an iceberg.

  "I must be, too," thought Ned, steeling himself. As he did so, thealarming downward motion ceased. They began to rise once more, swingingupward and climbing the sky in long, lazy circles.

  It was then and there that Ned's attack of air fever left him, neverto return. Compared to the experiences of his companions, he learnedlater he had had a comparatively mild attack.

  Ned now began to look about him. The other two aeroplanes were soaringbelow them, like big birds of the buzzard kind. He felt a wild desiresuddenly gripping his heart to go higher--right up among the fleecyclouds that hung above them. Perhaps the officer read his thoughts. Atany rate, they continued to climb the aerial staircase. At a height offour thousand feet, they plunged into a fog. The sudden change from thebright sunlight was bewildering.

  "We are passing through one of those clouds that you saw from below,"volunteered the officer. He glanced at the barograph and read off toNed the height to which they had arisen.

  "Good gracious," thought the lad, "four thousand feet above the earth,and nothing between me and it but the soles of my shoes!"

  But Ned's terror had gone. He began to take a real interest in theoperation of the aeroplane now. It was fascinating to a degree.All at once they emerged from the wet fog bank and glided into thesunlight. Condensed moisture covered the planes. Drops of water, turnedto miniature rainbows by the sunlight, slid down the wire stays andsupports.

  "Want to go higher?" asked the officer presently.

  "If you want to, sir," said Ned.

  "We might as well. You are standing it splendidly, Strong."

  Ned felt himself glow with pleasure. Words of praise from an officerare not plentiful in our or any other navy. But, as we have seen, thediscipline on the aviation squad was not exactly as rigid as on board abattleship.

  But presently Ned's pleasant glow gave way to a shivering sensation.It was growing bitterly cold. His teeth chattered and his hands turneda beautiful plum color. The moisture from the cloud began to freeze onthe machine.

  "Enough for to-day," decided the officer, and he started to descend.

  The drop was rapid, yet now that Ned was more used to it, he feltno particular alarm. In an incredibly short time, so it seemed, theearth rushed up to meet them, and they landed on the aviation field aslightly as a wind-wafted feather.

  The next day Ned and the two other most proficient pupils--Merrittand Chance--were given a chance to handle the levers alone. Theyacquitted themselves well. Their advancement proved rapid, living upto the promise of their first efforts. On the day which we describedat the beginning of this chapter, Ned, as we have seen, was capable ofhandling an aeroplane alone. So were Merritt and Chance. Herc was afair airman, and the others were progressing favorably.

  But the real rivals of the air were, at present, Ned, Merritt andChance.