by Eric Flint
"Sweetpea, you catching me darlin'?"
"I'm right here. And I'm gonna stay right here till you land."
"Good deal. Okay, tell me where they've been looking for the boys, and where they're gonna go today."
"Gotcha. I'll get back to you in a minute."
Marlon was again glad that the telephones still worked. His radios were not wired quite the same as the others, because they were German, and used slightly different bandwidths. They had their own private channel, but he couldn't contact the team directly.
"Dispatcher says that the scouts searched the eastern side of the preserve last night, and the plan today was to try more to the south," Reva said.
"Sounds good, darlin'. I think we might circle the area and see what we find."
"I'll let the dispatcher know. You take care and don't fall out of that contraption."
"Don't you worry your pretty head about that. I got my seatbelt on. Besides, Bernard is doing enough worrying for the both of us. Helga's having the time of her life, though."
The smile in Reva's voice was clear, even through the static. "I'll just bet she is. Most exciting thing that has happened to her in a blue moon."
* * *
J.D. wiped the smoke out of his eyes after sticking another branch on the middle fire. He felt lonely here away from Ulrich and Fritz. And hungry. Then he heard something.
It was like the chainsaw he had heard a long time ago. He looked at the trees around him, but didn't see anything. And then the day got a little darker, like when a cloud goes over the sun for a moment. J.D. looked up and saw something amazing. It wasn't an airplane, but something entirely different. It reminded him of the Goodyear blimp they used to have at football games when he was little.
"Herr Schwarz! Herr Schwarz, come quick!" J.D. waved his arms over his head to get the assistant scoutmaster's attention. "You have to come and see this. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's coming this way. Hurry!"
* * *
Ulrich dropped the stick he had been using to stir his small fire, and hurried up to the signal fires. J.D. sounded disturbed. It took him a few minutes to reach the boy. And when he did, J.D. stood staring up into the heavens.
Ulrich didn't wonder about that. It was unbelievable, all right. An egg-shaped thing colored in red, black and yellow. Like J.D., Ulrich stood staring with his mouth open. Then he noticed that it was coming toward them.
* * *
"I see something. There to the left," Helga shouted.
Good thing I brought her along, Marlon thought. "You got good eyes, girl. I see it. Three columns of smoke."
Marlon adjusted the yoke, crabbing sideways some. "Helga, I'm gonna come in from downwind, keep a look out." Swinging the tail of the ship as it drifted by the signal, Marlon brought up the throttle as evenly as possible. The airship began to settle. Marlon helped it along with a degree or two of down-thrust from the engines. He picked up his radio handset, and thumbed the button a couple of times.
"Sweetpea, I think we got something. There are three columns of smoke over here. We're past the northwest corner of the preserve."
"All clear, Marlon. I'm relaying the info to the dispatcher now."
* * *
"Ulrich! Ulrich, can you hear me?"
He looked at the flying egg, and then saw a face, and an arm waving. "Helga? Helga, how are you up there?"
The egg came closer, and he saw that it was much bigger than he had thought at first. In fact, it was the largest vehicle he had ever seen, more than a hundred and thirty feet long, and at least forty feet high. And Helga was in a small sort of cart at the bottom.
The ship came closer. Now he could see that not only Helga, but her father, Herr Brenner, and their employer, Herr Pridmore were in the cart.
"Ulrich, where is Fritz? Where is the other boy?"
Ulrich shouted up, "Fritz fell in a hole over here. We were unable to move him. He has been hurt."
"Stay right there, we will swing around and see him."
The egg moved right overhead where they could look down the hole.
Marlon leaned over the edge, examining the sinkhole, the injured boy, and the path up and down. "Herr Schwarz, I think we can help get the boy out of there. You cut a couple of poles, and use that blanket to make a stretcher. Herr Brenner, here, will help you."
He directed the airship past the signal fires and into the open glade. "I'm gonna drop a rope. But don't touch it until I tell you." He was well aware of the dangers of static electricity. How many times had he seen that footage from the Hindenburg?
Ulrich and J.D. retreated to a large boulder, and watched. Marlon detached the bottom of the bow rope, and let it dangle. It dragged on the ground for a moment. "Okay, Ulrich. Run over here, and grab this rope. You can help steady us as we land. Herr Brenner is climbing out, and I don't want to overbalance."
Ulrich grabbed and held tight to the bow rope. Herr Brenner climbed out of the gondola, then leaned back in to retrieve something. But Ulrich didn't notice exactly what. He was looking into Helga's eyes. Truly, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her cheeks were red from the wind, and her hair was fly-away and tangled. But the look on her face was priceless. Her hazel eyes seemed to pull him into deep water. He hoped that she would continue to look at him like that forever.
"All right, you two." Marlon grinned when he saw the two young people gaze at each other as if they were seeing each other for the first time. "You'll have time for that later. Right now, we gotta get this rig back in the air."
Ulrich blushed and hurried backwards. He still didn't take his eyes from Helga. He stepped backward until he ran into J.D., and they both watch the airship lift off the ground.
"You boys get that stretcher put together. I think that with Bernard's help, you will be able to get Fritz up here to the landing zone."
* * *
"Swordfish, you got info for me?"
"Reva, you got the prettiest voice." Reva could feel the blush. Here the man was saying things like that when there was an emergency going on.
"Enough of that. Have you got the boys?"
"Yeah, I got 'em spotted, but one is hurt. I need you to call the hospital and let them know."
"Who's hurt?"
"It's Fritz. He's in bad shape. We have to make this quick. Tell the hospital we have the boy, Tell 'em we're inbound. ETA about thirty minutes."
* * *
The men wrapped the blanket around two saplings, and pinned the ends down to create a rough stretcher. Ulrich and Bernard carried it to the side of the hole and examined the problem. They had to lift Fritz up out of the hole without hurting him more than they had to, and get him on the stretcher for the airship to carry.
Ulrich took the rope and tied a bowline on a bight, making a boson's chair. Then they lowered the chair down to the injured boy.
In his best fatherly voice, Bernard instructed Fritz. "Lad, when this rope comes down, slip it underneath you like a chair. Then Herr Schwarz and I will pull you up. Hang on tight."
Fritz whimpered a little as the rope lifted him. Tears were streaming from his eyes, and he was holding on the rope with the whitened knuckles of one hand as he came to ground level. Gently, the men took him by the shoulders and hips, and laid him on the stretcher. They splinted the injured leg to the other leg, and bound them both together.
Before picking up the stretcher for the trip back to the glade, Ulrich said, "J.D., you put out this fire, like they showed you in scouts. Use that stick as your shovel, and pour the rest of the water from the canteen on it. I don't want to see any smoke. We will keep the signal fires over there smoking until the others get here."
"Yes, sir."
Ulrich and Bernard carried Fritz to the large boulder. It was worrisome that with every bump and jolt, Fritz would groan a little.
They carefully put him on the ground, and signaled the airship. Not too long now, and everything would be all right.
* * *
"Hello, who is th
is?" The man's voice sounded almost as frustrated and harried as Reva had felt a few moments earlier.
"This is Reva Pridmore, and I'm trying to let someone over there know that you have a patient arriving in about fifteen minutes."
"Okay, I got that. How are they arriving?"
Reva hesitated a moment, then dove in. "They're coming in on an airship. You know, like a blimp?"
There were a couple of moments of silence, and then the man said, "You mean it's like a life flight? I think we can handle it. I'll get a gurney and a couple of men out into the parking lot to meet it. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
* * *
Helga had not taken her eyes from Ulrich and her father. They were both busy taking care of the poor little boy. Then Ulrich looked up at her again, and began to wave his scout scarf.
"Herr Pridmore, I think they are ready. Ulrich is waving."
After settling the airship to the ground, Marlon had Helga pull the pin from the middle seat, and it laid down flat, like a bed. He waved Ulrich and Bernard over. They carefully placed Fritz and the stretcher into the gondola, and stepped back.
Marlon handed another canteen to Ulrich. "You take care, I've got to get this little fellow to the hospital double quick. The search and rescue team will get here as fast as they can." Marlon pulled both the handles to the burners, and pivoted the engines so they were thrusting straight down. Balancing on the thrust and with the heat in the balloon increasing, the air ship rose rapidly in to the air. Still at a full burn Marlon began pivoting the engines to thrust them forward.
He thought for a moment, then eased the throttles all the way to the stops. Hilde always said that a ship like this could do fifty kph. I'm gonna call him on that. He could feel the pull of acceleration, and the cold wind whipping past the windshield.
* * *
The parking lot at the hospital resembled a hill of ants that had been kicked open by a curious boy. People hurried everywhere, carrying supplies, watching the sky for the life flight, or just standing in the way gawking.
"All right, listen up!" It was the ER doctor and, as hospital protocol required, all personnel stopped for a moment to listen. "I want this area cleared of anyone who doesn't have a real job. The rest of you, stay over there on the grass. I don't need any rubber-neckers underfoot."
The crowd sorted itself out, and the tumult died down for a moment. The sound of a couple of trucks could be heard down the road, and a police car pulled into the parking lot.
"Albert, get that cop car out of our landing zone, then find out what he wants." All eyes looked into the sky. No one knew exactly what to expect. No description of the airship had been given to anyone.
"There it is! I see it!"
"Wow, it's beautiful!"
"Coool."
"Okay, everybody. Just like we practiced it in the drill, only with a blimp instead of an ambulance."
* * *
Marlon looked down in frustration. "This thing needs a horn." The blimp was rapidly approaching the hospital. Pitching down, Marlon began to ease off the throttles.
He leaned over the side and shouted, "Grab the rope. Grab the rope!" The bowline was already dancing across the parking lot.
Luckily, they came to ground with a gentle thump. The gondola slid forward to a stop in the parking lot. As people swarmed over, he yelled, "Grab the sides of the car, so we can stay down." He ignored the furor that was going on behind him as the boy was removed, and people were already shouting orders in incomprehensible medical jargon.
Grinning, he picked up the radio again. "Reva, could you pack up some kind of picnic? I could run it back out to those boys in the bush, and let them have something to eat. They haven't had much since yesterday."
"That's a really good idea, Marlon. You wait there. I'll be there in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Then we'll go home for a proper celebration."
Marlon kept the burners going periodically to keep the envelope inflated, but not lift them off the ground. He had wrangled a couple of bystanders to hook their elbows over the edge of the gondola to keep it on the ground.
One of the men holding the basket grinned. "Marlon, when you gonna build one of these for me?" His jibe stirred laughter from those standing around doing nothing.
"Well, I guess that depends. I'm willing to advise any one of you who wants to build one, but you're gonna have to do the building of it. I'm outta the balloon-making business. Got more than enough on my plate right now."
* * *
Bernard, Ulrich and J.D. were sitting near one of the fires. With the rescue and the excitement over, they all felt just a little let down.
J.D. spoke first. "I wonder how long it will be until they find us?"
"Not so long. You will be home before supper." Seeing the worry in the boy's eyes, Bernard grinned and said, "And if you're hungry now, you can always have an extra drink of water."
Ulrich had been staring at the sky, the last place he had seen Helga. He couldn't believe how wonderful she really was. He had been watching her, and thinking that in a couple of years he would like to settle down with someone like her. Now it seemed much more urgent. He needed a good job, and a bank account, and somewhere decent they could live. It would take at least that much for her father to consent to . . .
"There they are again!" J.D. was on his feet, jumping up and down and pointing. And sure enough, the flying egg had returned. As it came close, Helga leaned out and waved again.
After the landing, Marlon called from the front of the gondola. "We came back to take J.D. home, if he thinks he can stand to fly in this thing."
J.D. hesitated for only a flicker of a moment, then darted to the gondola, jumped over the side, and snapped his seatbelt.
Marlon laughed. "I guess he really wants his mama's cooking. And speaking of food, Helga's got something special."
She bent down and reappeared with a basket. "It is from Frau Pridmore and my mother. I hope you like it." The airship lifted off the ground again, and Ulrich still stood with the basket in hand, watching.
"And Ulrich, I expect you to call the moment you arrive home, so that we know you're all right."
"I will call, Helga. As soon as I step foot in Frau Moss' house."
Bernard frowned at Ulrich's enthusiasm, and shook his head. It didn't seem as if he was going to be able to keep his daughter from this young man. Perhaps it was time to get used to the idea.
Marlon leaned over the edge of the gondola and waved. "You boys keep out of trouble. Reva says that search and rescue is already halfway here. Be good."
* * *
The sunset painted the sky before Bernard arrived back home. The clouds that had been threatening rain all afternoon cleared and the sun was glorious through the trees to the west. Reva and Agnes had prepared a sumptuous feast for the Sabbath, and everything was ready when Bernard came through the front door.
"Did J.D. get home? Will Fritz be all right? And Herr Schwarz?" Helga tried to sound concerned with the scouts, but everyone could tell that she wanted to know about the scoutmaster.
"Yes, Liebchen, everything is good. The police tell me that Fritz didn't need surgery, and is conscious. His parents are at the hospital, and J.D. is home eating fried chicken and mashed potatoes." He frowned a little at his daughter, and didn't mention anyone else.
Marlon slapped Bernard's shoulder. "I'm glad you finally got home. You know, if you had stayed with me, you'd a been here a couple of hours ago."
Bernard held up his hands as if to stop any more such suggestions and began to take off his gloves. "No, my friend, I've had my first and last ride in your airship. If God had intended for me to fly, I would have been born with feathers."
"Oh, Poppi, I think it was wonderful. I can't wait to go again." Helga's eyes still gleamed, and she seemed almost a different girl. She had more of a confident air about her as though she had seen what she wanted, and was going to do her best to get it.
"Now hold on there, Bernard. We still have some business
to take care of."
"What is it that is so important? I've not had any decent food since this morning."
Agnes whirled around and put her fists on her hips. "Why you terrible man. How could you say something like that, after the beautiful picnic Frau Reva and I sent to you? Now you just turn yourself around and go out to the barn. We have an important ceremony."
Bernard turned and walked back out into the night while the rest followed. Around back, near the barn, he could see a dark lantern standing on a small table, along with some papers, and a bottle of beer.
Marlon stepped up to the table and lit the lantern. He began in a sonorous voice. "As long as men have been flying in hot air contraptions, they have been honored with entry into the Society of Fire and Air. The tradition is ancient—or I guess it will be—so you must do as I say. Bernard, you stand here. Helga, over here next to him."
