CHAPTER V.
A NIGHT ON THE CHANNEL.
"They're looking for us, and they've got lanterns, Frank!" was what theone on guard said in a low tone as he pulled his chum's sleeve.
Frank was wide-awake instantly, and one quick glance showed him theapproaching peril.
"Yes, you're right about it, Billy," he observed cautiously, and ifthere was a little quiver to his voice that was no more than might beexpected under the exciting conditions by which they were surrounded.
"How queer the lights look swinging along close to the water, and inthat fog, too. They are heading out this way, I'm afraid, Frank."
"It seems so, Billy."
"Hadn't we better get under way, then?" continued the nervous one.
"No hurry," Frank told him. "They may happen to swing around one way orthe other and miss us. We'll wait and find out. You know we can getmoving with a second's warning. Now let's watch and see what happens."
Billy could be heard sighing every now and then. Doubtless, as he satthere with his head turned halfway around, observing the creepingmovements of those two strange lights through the fog that hugged thesurface of the water, he was thinking it the most exciting moment of hiswhole career.
Then a new idea seemed to have lodged in his brain, for again hewhispered to his companion.
"There may be more than those two boats, Frank!"
"Possible but not probable," Frank replied.
"What if, when we started off with a rush, one happened to get in theway?" pursued Billy.
"I'd be sorry for the men in that boat, that's all, Billy!" was thelaconic reply he received, and apparently it satisfied the other, for hedid not pursue the subject any further.
Meanwhile it became apparent that the searching boats were graduallydrawing nearer the floating seaplane. Unless they changed their coursevery soon those in the hostile craft would be likely to make a discoverythat must fill them with delight.
"Are we headed right for a start, Frank?" asked Billy, a minute later.
Frank himself had been considering that very thing. The influence of thetide seemed to have swung the seaplane around a little more than heliked; but then this could be easily remedied, for they were preparedfor such a possibility when on the water.
There was a little paddle within reach of Frank's hand; all he had to dowas to pull a couple of cords, and it was in his possession.
Softly he worked it through the water. Frank had spent many happy hoursin a canoe when on his outing trips, and knew how to wield a paddle likean expert. He had even taken lessons from one of those old-time guidesaccustomed, in years gone by, to using a birch bark canoe in stealing upon deer when jacklight hunting was not banned by the law.
Consequently he now used his paddle without making the slightest noise;and under its magic influence the clumsy craft gradually veered until hehad its spoon-shaped bow heading just where he wanted it. Then he handedthe paddle to Billy to replace as best he might.
They could by this time vaguely make out the nearer boat, and also theindistinct figures of two men. One of these was rowing, while the otherheld up the lantern.
Of course, there was nothing to tell Frank who they might be. Perhaps,in these stirring times, the waters of the harbor had to be patrolled byguards on the watch for submarines or other perils. These protectors ofshipping may have heard or seen enough that was suspicious to warrant asearch of the adjacent waters.
He was more inclined to believe, however, that the German spies,rendered furious by the escape of the coveted American seaplane had, asa last resort, started out to scour the water nearby in hopes oflocating it.
"Frank!" whispered Billy again, "I think he glimpses the seaplanethrough the fog!"
The actions of the man holding the lantern indicated this, for he wasplainly much excited, turning to his companion at the oars as thoughurging him to make more haste.
"Then it's high time we were off!" said Frank.
Again did Billy hold his breath as the possibility of the motors failingthem in this great emergency flashed through his mind. But he need nothave allowed himself this mental anxiety, for no such calamity befellthem.
A shrill whistle was heard, evidently a signal to those in the secondboat to inform them that the object of their search had been discovered.Then came the cheery whirr of the motors, accompanied by the churn ofthe busy propellers, and like a giant, double-winged dragonfly, theseaplane started along the surface of the water, followed by anotherburst of angry shouts.
"Duck! they may be going to shoot!" exclaimed Frank, suiting his actionsto his own words.
That was just what did happen, for a volley of shots sounded, and hadthe motors not been making so much noise the boys might have heard thewhistle of the passing leaden messengers.
There was no harm done, for, unable to longer see the speeding seaplane,those who used their weapons with such reckless abandon had to fire atrandom. Skimming the water like an aquatic bird, with a gradual butrapid increase to their speed, the seaplane soon began to rise.
Billy realized from that that Frank meant to make an ascension, possiblydeeming it wise to get away from such a dangerous neighborhood asquickly as possible. And, as they anticipated, the reliable _Sea Eagle_was doing her prettiest when called upon to show her fine points.
Once free from the sea, they rose until Frank felt sure of his position.He had switched on the electric searchlight, and the storage battery wasof sufficient power to send the ray of white light far ahead. It couldbe turned to any quarter of the compass.
"Well, here we are off on our trial trip sooner than we expected," saidBilly, meaning to draw the other out, for he was consumed by curiosityto know what was coming next.
"Two narrow squeaks on one night ought to be enough, don't you think,Billy?" asked the pilot, as he started out into that avenue of light,and then glanced at the handy compass so as to fix their course on hismind.
"Well, we've been pretty lucky so far," admitted the other. "It wouldn'tpay to keep up that sort of racket. They say, you know, that the pitchermay go to the well just once too often. It might be three times and outfor us."
"And neither of us feels like accommodating those anxious German secretagents whose one business in Dunkirk is to steal our thunder, do we,Billy?"
"Not much," replied the other boy with decided emphasis. "I'd sooner seethe airship smashed to pieces than know it had fallen into the hands ofthe Kaiser's men."
"Hold on, Billy! You know we're supposed to be neutral in this fightingbusiness. We've got some mighty good friends who are of German blood,and we think a whole lot of them, too."
"Oh! I'm not saying a word against Germans; they're as fine a people asany in all the world; but, Frank, what we've met with in Northern Franceand in the little of Belgium we saw that day Major Nixon took us out inhis motor car, somehow set me against the invaders. Anyway, we've beentreated splendidly by the French here, and our business has been withthem."
"That's understood, Billy, and I agree with you in all you say. Butlet's talk now about our chances of dropping down again to the water."
"Oh! then you don't mean to stay up here, Frank? Will it be safe todescend, do you think?" asked Billy, a new sense of anxiety grippinghim.
"So far as the plane is concerned we can do almost anything with it,"Frank assured him. "Our light will tell us whether the sea is too roughfor alighting. We're heading downward as it is right now. Steady, Billy,and keep on the watch."
Having taken his course, Frank knew that they must be out on the channelsome miles from the harbor. On nine nights out of ten he would havehesitated about attempting such a risky proceeding as he now had inview; but the calmness that prevailed encouraged him to take the chancesof a descent in the darkness.
"I can see the water all right, Frank!" exclaimed Billy a minute later,as the wonderful air and water craft continued to head downward, thoughwith but a gradual descent.
"It looks good
to me," ventured the pilot, with confidence in his tone.
Presently they were so close to the surface of the water that both ofthe boys could see that it was fairly quiet. The long rollers weresteadily moving toward the southeast, as though the night air influencedthem, but then Frank had before now dropped down on the sea when it wasmuch more boisterous.
"Here goes!" he remarked, as he deflected the rudder just a trifle more,and immediately they struck the water.
The _Sea Eagle_, being especially constructed for this sort of work, andhaving a spoon bow that would not allow her to dip deeply, started alongon the surface, with the motors working at almost their lightest speed.Then Frank cut off all power.
"We did it handsomely, Frank!" exulted Billy Barnes, feeling quiterelieved now that the seaplane had proven fit and right for the businessit had been built to demonstrate.
"And here we are floating again," said Frank, "but this time so far awayfrom the harbor of Dunkirk that there's no longer any danger from spies.Billy, since that star has dipped behind the horizon, suppose you takeyour little twenty winks of sleep."
"You think it's perfectly safe to lie here the rest of the night, doyou, Frank?"
"Why not, when we can get away if the wind should come up, and the seaprove too rough for us? Make your mind easy on that score, Billy."
"But how about steamers crossing from the other side of the channel?"asked Billy. "I think I heard that they generally take the night to makethe trip these times, so as to keep the German aviators from learninghow many transports loaded with troops come over. Besides, they avoiddanger from submarines, and bombs dropped from Zeppelins that way."
"Oh! the chances of our being run down are so small that we needn'tbother about them," Frank assured the nervous chum. "I promise you thatif I see a moving light, or hear the propeller of a steamer, I'll wakeyou up, and we can stand by, ready to go aloft in case the worstthreatens."
That seemed to appease Billy, for he gave a satisfied grunt andproceeded to settle himself for a nap.
"This is being 'rocked in the cradle of the deep,' all right," heremarked, as the floating seaplane rose and fell on the swell. Frankmade no reply, so that presently Billy relapsed into silence, hisregular breathing telling the other he was sound asleep.
So the long night crept on. The boys managed to catch more or lesssleep, for nothing arose to alarm them. Naturally, their position wasfar from a comfortable one, and therefore Frank, who happened to be onduty at the time, felt pleased more than words could tell when heeventually glimpsed a light in the eastern sky that proclaimed thecoming of dawn.
Boy Aviators with the Air Raiders: A Story of the Great World War Page 5
