The Great Airship: A Tale of Adventure.
Page 5
CHAPTER V
A Tour of Inspection
"Hallo there! Turn out! It's a grand morning and there are things worthseeing."
It was the cheery Alec who aroused Dick Hamshaw on the day after hisrescue outside the Needles and his introduction to the airship. Dickwakened with a start, rolled over comfortably, and blinked at his newfriend.
"Eh! My watch. Not it," he grumbled sleepily. "I was off late last nightand have had the dickens of a nightmare since. Fancied I was aloft in abig airship. Leave a fellow alone to sleep, do."
Alec shook him, laughing loudly. "So you call our airship a nightmare!"he cried. "That's a nice thing to do when the Admiralty have offered youand your men as part of our crew and Mr. Provost has accepted you. I'lltell the Commander. You'd better be getting back to your ship, for thereare dozens of fellows who'd be only too glad to come aboard here."
That brought the great Dicky to his senses. He sat up on an elbow, stillblinking at Alec with half-open eyes. Then those sharp orbs of hisopened widely, the light of full understanding returned to them, and inan instant he was out of bed.
"My word, but I've been dreaming the whole affair over again, andcouldn't think it could be true. And it's real? Eh? Actually a fact thatI'm on board an airship high in the air. How high did you say?"
Alec made no answer. He stepped across the carpeted floor of this roomycabin, with its milk-white walls and furniture, and its pictures securedto those same walls by tiny cleats of transparent material, and turningback some hangings exposed a window three times the size of an ordinaryporthole, and provided with a pane of what one would have imagined wasglass. But it bent with the force of the wind. Half open, the frameprojected into the room at an angle to Dick, and glancing at it hecaught a reflection of the sun, now bright, and a second later blurredas the pane bent and the surface was altered. The simple fact broughthim bounding after Alec. He ran his fingers over both sides of the pane,bent the material backward and forward, and then tapped it with hisknuckles. That done he suddenly gazed upward, only to find himselfdisappointed.
"You don't expect to have transparent roofs to your cabins too, do you?"laughed Alec. "A fellow couldn't undress without half the crew seeinghim. No, the ceilings of the dressing-rooms, cabins, and so forth aremade opaque. But this window gives you a good idea of the stuff of whichthe ship's made. Now, take a squint below."
Dick did as he was bidden, and instantly clutched tight to the frame ofthe window. For down below, down a terrible distance, was a smooth,oily surface which he guessed was the ocean. And on it were a number ofminute dots at irregular intervals, while away to the right was ablurred patch of white, which might be land or anything else. The sightmade him absolutely giddy. A glance away to his right showed him theunder-surface of this enormous ship, transparent, it is true, but of abluish-grey colour owing to the shadows cast upon it. It was immense. Itstretched away from him in an easily-curving line till it was lost inthe distance. And beneath it there was nothing, nothing but thin elusiveair, and far, far below that muddy ocean.
"Jingo!" he gasped.
Alec grinned. "Makes a chap feel queer at first," he said. "But, as I'vetold you before, it's as safe as houses. Here, tumble into a tub. It'llbuck you up, and when you've been on top with me and had a general lookround you'll feel as right as a trivet. Shave?"
"Eh?" asked Dick.
"Do you shave?"
"Er, no--that is to say, not always."
"Lucky beggar! I have to. A beast of a job, and takes half the morning.You pop into the tub. We've a bath between us, and I dare say by thetime you've finished I shall have managed to get rid of this growth.Awful bore I find it."
Dicky couldn't help but grin. He stepped across to Alec, forgetful nowof the strange sight he had witnessed outside, placed himself directlyin front of him, and closely scrutinized his features, maintaining agravity there was no fathoming.
"Poor beggar!" he said at last. "Awful hard lines, ain't it? You'll findit difficult to get down to breakfast."
To be perfectly truthful, there was not so much as a single hair onAlec's chin or lip, any more than there was on Mr. Midshipman Hamshaw's.And the gravity of his guest, his candour, and those twinkling eyesquite made up to Alec for any soreness he may have felt at this somewhatpersonal declaration. He flushed a rosy red, and then burst into loudlaughter.
"Oh well, perhaps I imagined it a bit," he said. "If I stick to therazor things'll come along in time. There, into the tub. I'll be alongin a jiffy."
Ten minutes later, in fact, they were dressed and ready to leave thecabin, Dick having found his own clothes dried, brushed, and neatlyfolded beside his bed.
"I say," he began, "how do you come to be aboard? Tell me."
"Cousin of Joe's: going to be an engineer one of these days. Acceptedhis invitation in a jiffy. Come on. Breakfast'll be ready in half anhour, so we've time to make a round of the ship. Now, up we go to thetop deck of all; it'll give you a good impression of the vessel."
ARRIVED WITH A BUMP FACING COMMANDER JACKSON
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They stepped into that strange lift again and were whisked on high. Aminute later they were in the open, with a brisk breeze blowing aboutthem and the genial rays of the sun pouring down upon them. Gazing inevery direction Dick found himself stepping upon a flat deck oftransparent material, immediately beneath which he could easily see thebeams that supported it. Down lower still, beneath a deep space, whichcommon sense told him must be filled with gas, were more beams, curvingneatly to complete the shape of this ship, and beneath them again,stretching on either side of a central gallery a number of cabins, somewith transparent roofs, others with opaque material let into theceilings. And yet deeper, forming the lowest portion of the ship, wasone long compartment, through the roof of which he could see engines,with a couple of men attending to them.
"Let's get along aft, then we'll make forward," said Alec, showing thevarious parts of the ship with pride. "I'll tell you something abouther. She's longer than the latest Zeppelin, and equally deep from top tobottom. You can see that her shape is flattened from above downward,which makes her very much wider than a Zeppelin. Care to come out to oneof the side keels?"
Dick hesitated. Then catching sight of a rail passing from this maindeck down the easily-sloping side of the vessel he nodded. After all, hewasn't going to be beaten by Alec.
"Right," he said. "Get ahead."
They clambered over the main rail to find themselves on a narrow wayprovided with very shallow steps. This brought them after a minute rightout to the farthest lateral edge of the ship, to that lateral keel, infact, which Joe Gresson had made such a point of. And there the railended abruptly. Alec leaned over it and invited Dick to join him.
"Ripping, eh?" he asked. "Getting your balance at last, I expect. Don'tseem so dreadful now, does it?"
It did not by a great deal. The midshipman was bound to confess that hewas becoming accustomed to his surroundings. More than that, the hugebulk of this floating monster, the fact that she never even trembled,while the weight of himself and his comrade now brought right out to thefarthest edge caused no sign of heeling, impressed him vastly with thestability of the vessel. He was beginning to catch some of Alec'senthusiasm. He was longing to peep into every corner, to get tounderstand every detail. And we must remember that Mr. MidshipmanHamshaw was not unacquainted with things mechanical. What naval officercan be in these days, indeed, when the old wooden walls have long sincedeparted, and when your modern ship is composed of steel, while almostevery movement aboard her, however trivial, is, where possible, carriedout by some cleverly-contrived mechanical means? No, Dick had a fondnessfor mechanics. And here, aboard the airship, he guessed that hisfondness was to be gratified to the utmost.
"Let's get back to the deck again," he said at last, when they had gazedbelow at the muddy ocean. "I'm dying to see more. Now, what are theserails for? It beats me your having a deck on top of the ship. But Isuppose it's necessary. Why rails on the deck
? That's what I can'tfathom."
But he saw the reason a little later, for Alec took him to a sunken deckhouse, which, seeing that its roof was dead level with the deck, mightbe expected to offer no resistance whatever to the air. Opening a trap,he ushered his new friend in, though the contents were plainly to beseen without that manoeuvre. And there, anchored to the floor, was apair of spreading planes, as transparent as glass, strong and flexible,attached at their centre to a boat constructed of the same material.
"An aeroplane!" he gasped. "Here, on an airship? Why?"
"For scouting. To act as a messenger. To take passengers to and fro whenit's necessary."
Alec spoke loftily, watching Dick's amazement with secret delight."That's why there are rails on the deck outside," he explained. "Shestarts from 'em."
"But--but how does she return?" asked Dick, somewhat bewildered, forwhoever heard of an aeroplane flying towards an airship and settlingupon it? But Alec dismissed the question with a shrug of his shoulders,and a wave of his hands.
"Ain't there enough deck to please you?" he asked. "Do you want toprovide a drill ground? You just operate a motor; this sunken hangarrises with the aeroplane, and there you are, ain't you?"
Dick felt the truth of the words. The huge monster on which he had foundrefuge presented a deck wide enough and long enough to provide safelanding for any aviator. As for this plane upon which he looked, it wasobviously meant to float in the water, in fact, it was a waterplane,though the long, centrally-placed boat, to which the planes wereimmediately attached, was provided with wheels also, to enable it toroll upon the rails, and also to land either on this deck or on terrafirma. It was, without shadow of doubt, the last word in the science andmanufacture of a heavier-than-air machine.
"Ripping!" exclaimed Dick. "You've been in her?" he asked admiringly,with just a suspicion of jealousy in his voice.
"Once: I'm going again. You'll come too."
"From here? At this height?"
The possibilities of a swoop away from the broad deck of the airship,till a little while ago seeming to be so insecure, and now, comparedwith the machine he was inspecting, so broad and strong and trustworthy,was almost appalling. Dick wondered whether he could really screw hiscourage up to board this aeroplane, to sit in that flimsy boat and waitfor the machine to move along the rails, to gather speed, and then tohurl herself over the side of the vessel. It made that old, creepysensation return. Dick was one of those fellows gifted with an acuteimagination, and consequently suffered on occasions. Here, then, was anoccasion, and he was bold and open enough to admit the fact that hehardly viewed the prospect with enthusiasm.
"But you will soon," Alec told him. "It's simply a case of getting usedto the sensation, and then you long to go out. But let's leave the deck.You can see that we carry guns. They're provided by the Admiralty. Yes,my boy, by the Admiralty. You see, both the War Office and the Admiraltyhave been stirred up by Mr. Provost. They had to move. They had toinspect this ship when she was completed. And inspection was enough forthe two authorities. They began to stir, to get a move on with avengeance, and, as a result, we've men aboard sent by the two services,guns up here, and on the deck below, a wireless apparatus, and anofficer from either service, Commander Jackson for one, while thesoldier is to come to us almost immediately. Of course, I ain'tforgetting Mr. Midshipman Hamshaw."
He grinned a wicked grin at Dick and went racing away from him. As forthe young sailor, he gave chase on the instant, so that presently theship rang with their merry cries. And indeed, they made a race of it,for Alec made for the gangway built around the lift, racing down thesteep stairs as fast as active legs could carry him. Dick, however,proved his salt and his training. Finding a smooth, central girder ofthat strange and transparent material, he wrapped his legs round it, andwent shooting like a descending rocket to the deck below where hearrived with a resounding bump, to find himself directly facingCommander Jackson.
"'Mornin', sir!" he gasped, drawing himself up and touching the peak ofhis hat. "Fine weather, sir."
"For monkey tricks, yes," laughed the Commander. "Well, lad, how do youlike the vessel? Seen the aeroplane? Eh? Like a trip aboard her? I'm thecoxswain."
"Rather, sir," gasped Dick. "This is the finest thing I've had to dosince I joined the Navy."
"Indeed! You've been an officer a long while I take it," smiled hissenior. "Quite one of the older ones, Dick, eh? Come; I'll stopquizzing. Let's get along to the engines; Joe Gresson has gone there.There's no keeping him away from them. Come; you'll see the height ofsimplicity combined with the uttermost efficiency that has yet beenattained."
Dick did indeed inspect a machine which, with its components, gaveextraordinary power to the ship. To put the description with the utmostplainness, he found when he descended to the engine-room three sets ofengines, of moderate size, and of the internal-combustion variety. Therewas nothing remarkable, perhaps, about the engines themselves, exceptthat they were a modification of the Diesel.
"You see, a Diesel uses extremely high compression," Joe Gressonexplained, leaning one hand affectionately on an engine which happenednot to be working. "That can be managed easily ashore, and in the airalso. But compressors are required in addition to the engine, for theexplosive charge, consisting of the crudest oil, must be injected intothe cylinders by pneumatic power at a critical moment, and that powermust be at higher pressure than the contents of the cylinder. To me themost important question was the one of fuel. I barred petrol."
"Why?" Dick ventured to ask. "It's used on other airships."
"And other ships suffer from explosions and from fire. Petrol is tooinflammable, particularly upon a ship which is lifted by a huge volumeof gas. So I chose crude paraffin oil, the sort of oil that you canobtain in any part of Europe, almost in any part of the world. Todiscover a carburettor which would vaporize this crude oil wasdifficult. But a friend came to my help, and here you see the result.Our engines run steadily and strongly."
He pointed to the other two, which, as he said, were turning overnoiselessly and with a rhythm that told its tale plainly. Even Dick hadsufficient experience of this class of engine to know that the runningwas excellent. But beyond that he was somewhat fogged. For besides somemachinery housed in at the end of each motor, and a certain number ofswitches and levers common to any engine-room, there was nothing toindicate in what manner the power of the engines was conveyed, nor inwhat direction. Where was the propeller? How did these motors operateit? By electricity? Perhaps, for he could see a large dynamo revolvingat the far end of the cabin. But he was by no means certain. He askedthe question instantly, causing Joe to raise his head, open a port atthe far end of the cabin, and invite him to look through it.
"We're a little aft of amidships here," he explained, "and form thelowest attachment to the vessel. We're dead in the central line, and theweight of these motors and of other accessories housed in what compareswith the keel of an ordinary ship, keeps her perfectly steady. Now, lookyonder. That is the tail end of the ship. You can see the propeller,and as it is revolving and you cannot, therefore, distinguish itsoutline I had better tell you something about it. To begin, it's bothpropeller and rudder. See, I wish to turn the vessel. I press this leverto the right and at once the propeller swings in the same way, drivingthe tail of the ship to the left. See, I reverse the motion. Or,perhaps, I wish to descend or rise--hold tight, please, gentlemen, whileI give our friend here a little demonstration! But first, let me saythat the propeller itself is forty feet in diameter, presents half adozen blades, the pitch of which can be instantly altered, while theblades are encircled by a tube some twenty feet in depth from back tofront. Thus the air drawn into this revolving tube cannot escape toeither side, and the blades lose no efficiency, while one can readilyunderstand that when the ship is travelling quickly, particularlyagainst a head wind, the alteration in the pitch of the blades makes forgreater speed and more effectual use of the power. Now, hold tight,please. We'll show our friend of what we are capable."
"Now, see how we rise at will," said Joe, watching Dick's face withdelight, for it pleased the young inventor to notice the open admirationwith which the youthful sailor regarded everything. "Now, I pull thishandle. We fall. I reverse the movement. We shoot upward, but alwayskeeping the horizontal position."
It was really remarkable, for the mere touch of the inventor sent theship up and down, for all the world as if she were suspended in space,and his fingers controlled the switch of some hoisting machinery.
"How's it done?" asked Dick eagerly. "How does the power get to thatpropeller, for instance? Your motors are here. There are no chains, noshafts, nothing save these cased-in things at the end of each motor,which might be pumps for all I know."
"And happen to be exactly what you have mentioned. They are pumps, ofthe rotary variety, and the material they deal with is that same common,crude paraffin on which our motors run. See those pipes. They are of thebest, cold-drawn steel. They convey the oil from our pumps to thevarious propellers, to the lift and to any part where we have need forpower. No corner is too sharp for them. They run anywhere, and, as youcan imagine, convey the power of these engines with a certainty there isno gainsaying. Of course, at the far end we have other rotary motors.The oil pumped at this point, and under high pressure, is unable toescape from the steel pipes. At will we pass it into our distant motors,allowing some to escape back in this direction through a bypass. If thebypass is pulled wide open, the motors beyond do not turn; for the oilfails to reach them. If it is closed, there is no escape for the oil. Itreaches the motors at its highest pressure, and operates them at fullpower, as powerfully, in fact, as if this engine down here driving thepumps was away up there close to the propeller with the shaft directlycoupled to it. In short, and as an interesting fact, our propellers andother gear are operated by hydraulic power, applied after the latestprinciple."
"Which is a lesson that will keep you for a while," smiled theCommander. "Ah, there's our host, and I hear the breakfast gongsounding. Come, Dick, my lad, you could eat, you think? the great heightat which we fly does not rob you of your appetite?"
Not by a long way. The young fellow was beginning to revel in hisstrange surroundings, and to quite like this residence at a height. Morethan all, he was vastly interested in the intricacies of the vessel. Andwe record only the fact when we say that he and Alec spent the whole ofthe morning in a close and thorough investigation, an investigationwhich disclosed, among other matters, the interesting fact thatcentrally-placed propellers, operating in tubes built transversely ateither end of the ship, controlled her sideways movements, makingentrance to a hangar easy, while she could be caused to descend or riseby others, located fore and aft likewise, with their tubes built in thevertical direction. As for the huge framework that held the gas, it wasdivided into twenty compartments, to each of which pipes of that strangetransparent material led. These latter ended in one large branch whichwas attached to a machine at one end of the engine-room. Joe explainedits action with a gusto that showed it to be one of his pet items, oneon which he prided himself not a little.
"What's the good of a ship which has to constantly return to land forgas supplies?" he said. "We take ours with us. Not compressed and insteel cylinders. Anyone can do that. But in the form of fuel. We carry amatter of seven tons, and can get a further supply in any part of theworld. A gas producer of my own designing deals with the stuff, and atdesire we can supply gas to replace leakages. Not that we experiencethose. Otherwise it would not be safe to smoke. But each one of ourcompartments aboard the ship contains a proportion of air. When we wantto go higher, or lift a bigger weight, we simply set the producer going,and by means of one of our motors pump gas to the top of thecompartments. Simple, isn't it? But it makes us wonderfully independent.That's why we've undertaken to make a trip round the world."
"Round the world? When?"
"Now--to-morrow, that is to say."
"And--and I go with you?" gasped Dick.
"Of course; you've been detailed by the Admiralty."
The shout which the midshipman gave might have been heard at the far endof the vessel. The prospect filled him with delight, so that he wassimply boiling over with enthusiasm and anticipation. Nor did hisexcitement evaporate as the day advanced. For the ship manoeuvred overthe ocean, and was put through her paces. Towards evening, however, hernose was turned to the north-east, and as night fell she hovered overEngland. Slowly she descended, obscured in darkness, till her pilot wasable to pick up his bearings. A distant light of curious colour caughthis eye and he sent the ship towards it. Then, when directly overheadthat same brilliant light suddenly shot from the ship and flooded thebuildings beneath. Dick found himself looking down upon a huge shed,placed in a wide-open place, and--could he believe his eyes?--the shedwas moving, revolving, actually turning. It made him giddy. Or was itthis wonderful ship which was turning?
"It's the revolving hangar, of course," Alec told him, with a laugh."You see, if the wind's blowing, we head up to it. The hangar opens awayfrom the point from which the gale comes. We manoeuvre opposite it,and enter easily. You watch. No one is wanted to hang on to ropes. Ourpilot can manage the ship in any direction. See, we've dropped oppositethe shed; but we're not quite head on. We're getting near it, however,for those propellers located in the cross tubes are being set to work.Ah! that's better. See, we're creeping in. Now our huge lateral keelsrun into wide slots built into the sides of the hangar. They engage andrun in farther. Right! We're home. Welcome to our kennel."
And what of the trip promised by Joe Gresson, and of the adventures itmight and certainly should bring in its train?
"Jingo!" cried Dick, as he hastened to the post office to send atelegram requesting that his full kit might be sent to him. "Jingo, ifwe don't have a cruise worth talking about, well--well, my name ain'tDicky."