Tom Swift and His Wireless Message; Or, The Castaways of Earthquake Island

by Victor Appleton

  CHAPTER X

  OVER THE OCEAN

  "Hurrah!" cried Mr. Fenwick in delight. "My machine is really flyingat last!"

  "Yes," answered Tom, as he adjusted various levers and gears, "sheis going. It's not as high as I'd like, but it is doing very well,considering the weight of the craft, and the fact that we have notused the gas bag. I'm going to let that fill now, and we'll go up.Don't you want to steer, Mr. Fenwick?"

  "No, you manage it, Tom, until it's in good running shape. I don'twant to 'hoodoo' it. I worked as hard as I could, and never got morethan two feet off the ground. Now I'm really sailing. It's great!"

  He was very enthusiastic, and Tom himself was not a little pleasedat his own success, for certainly the airship had looked to be avery dubious proposition at first.

  "Bless my gaiters! But we are doing pretty well," remarked Mr.Damon, looking down on the field where Mr. Fenwick's friends and themachinists were gathered, cheering and waving their hands.

  "We'll do better," declared Tom.

  He had already set the gas machine in operation, and was now lookingover the electric apparatus, to see that it was working well. Itneeded some adjustments, which he made.

  All this while the WHIZZER was moving about in a big circle, for therudder had been automatically set to so swing the craft. It wasabout two hundred feet high, but soon after the gas began to enterthe bag it rose until it was nearly five thousand feet high. Thissatisfied Tom that the airship could do better than he expected, andhe decided to return nearer earth.

  In going down, he put the craft through a number of evolutionsdesigned to test her ability to answer the rudders promptly. The ladsaw opportunity for making a number of changes, and suggested themto Mr. Fenwick.

  "Are you going any farther?" asked the owner of the WHIZZER, as hesaw that his craft was slowly settling.

  "No, I think we've done enough for the first day," said Tom, "ButI'd like you to handle her now, Mr. Fenwick. You can make thelanding, while I watch the motor and other machines."

  "Yes. I guess I can make a landing all right," assented theinventor. "I'm better at coming down than going up."

  He did make a good descent, and received the congratulation of hisfriends as he stepped from the airship. Tom was also given muchpraise for his success in making the craft go at all, for Mr.Fenwick and his acquaintances had about given up hope that she everwould rise.

  "Well, what do you think of her?" Mr. Fenwick wanted to know of theyoung inventor, who replied that, as soon as some further changeshad been made, they would attempt a long flight.

  This promise was kept two days later. They were busy days for Tom,Mr. Fenwick and the latter's assistants. Tom sent a short note tohis father telling of the proposed long flight, and intimated thathe might make a call in Shopton if all went well. He also sent awire to Miss Nestor, hinting that she might have some appleturnovers ready for him.

  But Tom never called for that particular pastry, though it wasgotten ready for him when the girl received his message.

  All was in readiness for the long flight, and a preliminary test haddemonstrated that the WHIZZER had been wonderfully improved by thechanges Tom made. The young inventor looked over the supply of foodMr. Fenwick had placed aboard, glanced at the other stores, andasked:

  "How long do you expect to be gone, Mr. Fenwick?"

  "Why, don't you think we can stay out a week?"

  "That's quite a while," responded Tom. "We may be glad to return intwo days, or less. But I think we're all ready to start. Are any ofyour friends going?"

  "I've tried to pursuade some of them to accompany me, but they are abit timid," said the inventor. "I guess we three will make up theparty this time, though if our trip is a successful one I'll beoverwhelmed with requests for rides, I suppose."

  As before, a little crowd gathered to see the start. The day waswarm, but there was a slight haziness which Tom did not like. Hehoped, though, that it would pass over before they had gone far.

  "Do you wish to head for any particular spot, Mr. Fenwick?" askedTom, as they were entering the cabin.

  "Yes, I would like to go down and circle Cape May, New Jersey, if wecould. I have a friend who has a summer cottage there, and he wasalways laughing at my airship. I'd just like to drop down in frontof his place now, and pay him a call."

  "We'll try it," assented Tom, with a smile.

  An auspicious start was made, the WHIZZER taking the air after ashort flight across the ground, and then, with the lifting gasaiding in pulling the craft upward, the airship started to sail highover the city of Philadelphia.

  So swiftly did it rise that the cheers of the little crowd of Mr.Fenwick's friends were scarcely heard. Up and up it went, and then alittle later, to the astonishment of the crowds in the streets, Tomput the airship twice in a circle around the statue of William Penn,on the top of the City Hall.

  "Now you steer," the lad invited Mr. Fenwick. "Take her straightacross the Delaware River, and over Camden, New Jersey, and thenhead south, for Cape May. We ought to make it in an hour, for we aregetting up good speed."

  Leaving the owner in charge of his craft, to that gentleman's nosmall delight, Tom and Mr. Damon began an inspection of theelectrical and other machinery. There was much that neededattention, but Tom soon had the automatic apparatus in workingorder, and then less attention need be given to it.

  Several times the young investor looked out of the windows withwhich the cabin was fitted. Mr. Damon noticed this.

  "Bless my shoe laces, Tom," he said. "What's the matter?"

  "I don't like the looks of the weather," was the answer. "I thinkwe're in for a storm."

  "Then let's put back."

  "No, it would be too bad to disappoint Mr. Fenwick, now that we havemade such a good start. He wants to make a long flight, and I can'tblame him," spoke Tom, in a low voice.

  "But if there's danger--"

  "Oh, well, we can soon be at Cape May, and start back. The wind isfreshening rather suddenly, though," and Tom looked at theanemometer, which showed a speed of twenty miles an hour. However,it was in their favor, aiding them to make faster time.

  The speed of the WHIZZER was now about forty miles an hour, not fastfor an air craft, but sufficiently speedy in trying out a newmachine. Tom looked at the barograph, and noted that they hadattained an altitude of seven thousand five hundred feet.

  "That's better than millionaire Daxtel's distance of seven thousandone hundred and five feet," remarked the lad, with a smile, "and itbreaks Jackson's climb of seven thousand three hundred and threefeet, which is pretty good for your machine, Mr. Fenwick."

  "Do you really think so?" asked the pleased inventor.

  "Yes. And we'll do better than that in time, but it's best to goslow at first, until we see how she is standing the strain. This ishigh and fast enough for the present."

  They kept on, and as Tom saw that the machinery was working well, helet it out a little, The WHIZZER at once leaped forward, and, alittle later they came within sight of Cape May, the Jersey coastresort.

  "Now to drop down and visit my friend," said Mr. Fenwick, with asmile. "Won't he be surprised!"

  "I don't think we'd better do it," said Tom.

  "Why not?"

  "Well, the wind is getting stronger every minute and it will beagainst us on the way back. If we descend, and try to make anotherascension we may fail. We're up in the air now, and it may be easyto turn around and go back. Then, again, it may not, but itcertainly will be easier to shift around up here than down on theground. So I'd rather not descend--that is, not entirely to theground."

  "Well, just as you say, though I wanted my friend to know I couldbuild a successful airship."

  "Oh, we can get around that. I'll take her down as low as is safe,and fly over his house, if you'll point it out, and you can drop hima message in one of the pasteboard tubes we carry for that purpose."

  "That's a good idea," assented Mr. Fenwick. "I'll do it."

  Tom sent the WHIZZER down until
the hotels and cottages could bemade out quite plainly. After looking with a pair of opera glasses,Mr. Fenwick picked out the residence of his friend, and Tom preparedto circle about the roof.

  By this time the presence of the airship had become known tohundreds, and crowds were eagerly watching it.

  "There he is! There's my friend who didn't believe I would eversucceed!" exclaimed Mr. Fenwick, pointing to a man who stood in thestreet in front of a large, white house. "I'll drop him a message!"

  One was in readiness in a weighted pasteboard cylinder, and soon itwas falling downward. The airship was moving slowly, as it wasbeating against the wind.

  Leaning out of the cabin window, Mr. Fenwick shouted to his friend:

  "Hey, Will! I thought you said my airship would never go! I'll comeand give you a ride, some day!"

  Whether the gentleman understood what Mr. Fenwick shouted at him isdoubtful, but he saw the inventor waving his hand, and he saw thefalling cylinder, and a look of astonishment spread over his face,as he ran to pick up the message.

  "We're going up now, and will try to head for home," said Tom, amoment later, as he shifted the rudder.

  "Bless my storage battery!" cried Mr. Damon. "But we have had a finetrip."

  "A much better one than we'll have going back," observed Tom, in alow voice.

  "Why; what's the matter?" asked the eccentric man.

  "The wind has increased to a gale, and will be dead against us,"answered Tom.

  Mr. Fenwick was busy writing another message to drop, and he paidlittle attention to the young inventor. Tom sent the craft well upinto the air, and then tried to turn it about, and head back forPhiladelphia. No sooner had he done so than the airship was met bythe full force of the wind, which was now almost a hurricane. It hadsteadily increased, but, as long as they were moving with it, theydid not notice it so much. Once they attempted to stem its fury theyfound themselves almost helpless.

  Tom quickly realized this, and, giving up his intention of beatingup against the wind, he turned the craft around, and let it flybefore the gale, the propellers aiding to get up a speed of seventymiles an hour.

  Mr. Fenwick, who had dropped the last of his messages, came from hissmall private cabin, to where Mr. Damon and Tom were in a low-voicedconversation near the engines. The owner of the WHIZZER, happened tolook down through a plate-glass window in the floor of car. What hesaw caused him to give a gasp of astonishment.

  "Why--why!" he exclaimed. "We--we're over the ocean."

  "Yes," answered Tom, quietly, as he gazed down on the tumblingbillows below them. They had quickly passed over Cape May, acrossthe sandy beach, and were now well out over the Atlantic.

  "Why--why are we out here?" asked Mr. Fenwick. "Isn't it dangerous--inan airship that hasn't been thoroughly tried yet?"

  "Dangerous? Yes, somewhat," replied Tom, slowly. "But we can't helpourselves, Mr. Fenwick. We can't turn around and go back in thisgale, and we can't descend."

  "Then what's to be done?"

  "Nothing, except to keep on until the gale blows itself out."

  "And how long will that be?"

  "I don't know--a week, maybe."

  "Bless my coffee pot, I'm glad we've got plenty on board to eat!"exclaimed Mr. Damon.