Howard Roger Garis

“ Grit growled in a deep, threatening voice, and Uncle Ezra looked around with startled suddenness.
"I guess I'd better chain him up before I answer you," said Dick, grimly. "Here, old boy!"
The bulldog came, unwillingly enough, and was made secure.
"An—an airship!" gasped Uncle Ezra, as though he could not believe it. "An airship, Nephew Richard. It will never go. You might a good deal better take the money that you are so foolishly wasting, and put it in a savings bank. Or, I would sell you some stock in my woolen mill. That would pay you four per cent, at least." ”

“ Then Dick, who was at the steering wheel, headed his craft due West.
From the parade ground below them came cheers from the army men and other spectators, the shrill cries of the three girls mingling.
"I wonder what will happen before we dance with them again?" spoke Paul, musingly.
"You can't tell," answered Innis, as he looked down for a last sight of a certain pretty face.
"Well, we can only hit the ground twice between here and San Francisco," remarked Dick, as he turned on more power. "If we have to come down the third time—we lose the prize." ”

“ Vardon pulled over the lever of the starting motor.
With a hum and a buzz, the propellers started, and this time the Abaris shot forward on the surface of the water, instead of up into the air.
"She's going!" cried Paul.
"She sure is doing it!" yelled Innis.
"Yes, I think she's as successful on the waves as he was in the clouds," agreed Dick, as he looked at a speed-measuring gage. "We're hitting up forty miles an hour right now."
"And that's good speed for a craft of this size in the water, or, rather, on top of the water," declared Lieutenant McBride. ”

“ At the factory Dick was directed, by a foreman, to an unused wing of the building.
"You'll find your uncle in there," the man said to Dick. "He's building an airship!"
"A what!" cried the young millionaire in great astonishment, for he had been too busy, of late, to hear any news from Dankville.
"An airship—a biplane, I believe they're called," the foreman went on.
"Well, I'll be gum-swizzled!" cried Dick, faintly. "Come on, fellows. The world must be coming to an end, surely." ”

“ He certainly was not cut out for an aviator, and I certainly was surprised when he built that airship."
"He's being used by that fellow Larson, I'm sure of that," declared Mr. Vardon. "Your Uncle Ezra has fallen into the hands of a scoundrel, Dick."
"Well, I'm sorry for that, of course," said the young millionaire, "but, do you know, I think it will do Uncle Ezra good to lose some of his money. He's got more than he needs, and he can afford to spend some on aviation. Someone, at least the workmen, and those who sell materials and supplies, will get the benefit of it." ”

“ Uncle Ezra became more and more engrossed with his caller who came several days in succession. They were shut up together in the parlor, and one window shutter was opened each time, to the horror of Mrs. Larabee.
"That carpet will be faded all out, and clean ruined," she complained to her husband.
"Well, if it is, maybe I'll get money enough to buy a new one," said Uncle Ezra. "Mind, I'm not saying for sure," he added, cautiously, "but maybe."
"Why, how you talk!" cried Aunt Samantha. "That carpet ought to last us until we die! A new carpet! ”

“ But the marvelous power of the gyroscope would force her back again.
On through the night and through the gale went the airship. So severe was the storm that it was not deemed wise for any one to remain in his bunk. So everyone spent the hours of darkness in wakeful watching and waiting.
"We want to be ready to act in any emergency," explained Mr. Vardon. "There's no telling when something may give way under the strain."
"Well, then we ought to go over all the machinery every ten minutes or so, and see if anything is wrong," suggested Dick. ”

“ Larson went on.
"Well, I am sorry, for your sake, to say that my craft is almost completed," replied Dick. "So I can't give you the contract."
"Completed!" cried Larson, in tones that showed his great surprise. "You don't mean to tell me you have undertaken the important work of constructing an aeroplane so soon after coming from the military academy?"
"Well, I didn't want to waste any time," replied Dick, wondering at the lieutenant's interest. "I'm going to try for the government prize, and I wanted to be early on the job." ”

“ Then, while the call for aid was being sent out, Lieutenants Wilson and Larson were made as comfortable as possible, and some of Uncle Ezra's scratches and bruises were looked after.
"No more airships for me," he said bitterly, though with a chastened spirit. "I'm going to stick to farming, and my woolen mill. Just think of it—over eleven thousand dollars in that pile of—junk!" and he shook his head sadly at the wreck of his airship.
"We'll take you on to San Francisco with us, if you like," said Dick. "You can see us win the race—if we can," he added. ”

“ Thus did Dick Hamilton's chums offer him their congratulations as they started off on the trip they hoped would bring to the young millionaire the twenty-thousand-dollar prize, and, not only do that but establish a new record in airship flights, and also give to the world the benefit of the experience in building such a unique craft. ”

“ A little later the motor-boat was made fast to the float, and the three cadets were greeting the three girls.
"Look out for my hands!" warned Dick, as Miss Hanford's light summer dress brushed near him. "I'm all oil and grease. I'll go scrub up, if you'll excuse me."
"Certainly," said Mabel Hanford, with a rippling laugh.
When Dick returned, he ordered a little lunch served out on the end of the dock, where they could sit and enjoy the cool breezes, and look at the river on which were many pleasure craft. ”

“ Up and up went the big aircraft. There was a section of the cabin floor made of thick transparent celluloid, and through this a view could be had of the earth below.
"We're leaving your place behind, Dick," said Paul, as he noted the decreasing size of the home of the young millionaire.
"Well, we'll come back to it—I hope," Dick answered. "Don't you fellows want to try your hand at steering?"
"Wait until you've been at it a while, and see how it goes," suggested Innis. "We don't want to wreck the outfit."
But the Abaris seemed a stanch craft indeed, especially for an airship. ”

“ Vardon, who was watching the gage that told the number of revolutions per minute. "Throw in your clutch!"
"Now to see if she'll rise or not," murmured Dick. He pulled the lever that closed the muffler, thus cutting down, in a great measure, the throb of the motor. Then, with a look at his chums, he threw in the clutch. The great propellers began to revolve, and soon were flying around on their axles with the swiftness of light.
Slowly the Abaris moved forward along the ground.
"We're off!" cried Paul, excitedly.
"Not quite yet," answered Dick. "I want more power than we've got now." ”

“ At the Kentfield Military Academy they had been called upon to do much manual labor, in preparation for a military life.
There had been pontoon bridges to build across streams, by means of floats and boats. There had been other bridges to throw across defiles and chasms. There were artillery and baggage wagons to transport along poor roads. And all this, done for practice, now stood Dick and his chums in good stead.
They knew how to employ their hands, which is the best training in the world for a young man, and they could also use tools to advantage. ”

“ Vardon, who was at the wheel of the Abaris, quickly changed her course when he saw what was about to happen, and the other pilot could have had plenty of room to pass in the air.
Instead he altered his direction so as to coincide with that of Dick's craft.
"They must be crazy!"
"If they'll hit us we'll go to smash, even if she is a lighter machine than ours!"
Thus cried Paul and Innis as they stood beside Dick.
"It's my Uncle Ezra, all right," murmured the wealthy youth. "I can recognize him now, in spite of his helmet and goggles. But what in the world is he up to, anyhow? ”

“ Catching up a pair of powerful field-glasses, Dick went to where Paul stood with Grit, looking out of the celluloid window. By this time some of the others had also gathered there.
"It's a big machine all right," murmured Innis.
"And there are three aviators in her," added Paul.
"Can you make out who they are, Dick?" asked Larry Dexter.
"No, they have on protecting helmets and goggles," replied the young millionaire, as he adjusted the binoculars to his vision. "But I'm sure I know that machine!" ”

“ It's the only way to get out of their way. They're either crazy, or bent on their own destruction, as well as ours. Give me more speed, Dick! All you can!"
"All right!" answered the young millionaire. "We'll do our best to get out of your way, Uncle Ezra!"
As Dick hastened to the motor-room, Grit trotted after him, growling in his deep voice at the mention of the name of the man he so disliked.
Dick realized the emergency, and turned the gasolene throttle wide open. With a throb and a roar, the motor took up the increase, and whirled the big propellers with mighty force. ”

“ Why don't you try for that?"
"What, me try for that prize in the first airship I ever owned!" exclaimed Dick. "I wouldn't have the nerve! I guess the government doesn't want amateurs in the trans-continental flight."
"It doesn't make a bit of difference," declared Mr. Vardon. "It is going to be an open competition. And, let me tell you, amateurs have done as much, if not more, than the professionals, to advance and improve aviation. Why, as a matter of fact, we're all amateurs. We are learning something new every day. ”

“ I think you had better wait until morning."
"And stay here all night?" asked Dick.
"I think so. You have proved that your hydroplanes are all right. Why not rest on the surface of the lake until morning? You can't anchor, it is true, but you can use a drag, and there seems to be no wind, so you will not be blown ashore. Besides, you can, to a certain extent, control yourself with the propellers."
"I think we will wait then," decided the young millionaire captain. "As you say we can make a drag anchor to keep us from drifting too much." ”

“ Dick laughed. On the dock, under the shade of an awning, he had caught sight of three pretty girls from town—girls he and his chums knew quite well. They were Mabel Hanford, in whom Dick was more than ordinarily interested, Grace Knox, and Irene Martin.
"I thought I'd get a rise out of you fellows," the young millionaire went on. ”

“ If you will scale a sheet of tin, or a thin, flat stone, or even a slate from a roof, into the air, you will have the simplest form of an aeroplane. The stone, or tin, is heavier than the amount of air it displaces, but it stays up for a comparatively long time because it is in motion. The moment the impulse you have given it by throwing fails, then it begins to fall.
The engine, or motor, aboard an aeroplane keeps it constantly in motion, and it glides along through the air, resting on the atmosphere, by means of the planes or wings. ”

“ Vardon. "Throw on the self-starter, Dick! We may catch her before she loses all her momentum!"
"All right!" answered Dick. He made one jump to the switch that put into commission the electrical starter. But he was too late to "catch" the motor. It had died down, and, though the young millionaire made contact after contact with the copper knife-switch, there was no response.
"We're falling!" cried Innis, from the pilot-house, as he noted the height gage, and saw that the hand was constantly receding. "We're falling, Dick!" ”

“ As they volplaned downward they saw the wreck of the Larabee strike the outer branches of a big tree, and then turn over again before crashing to the ground.
"She may catch fire from the gasolene," said Dick, in a tense voice. "We ought to hurry all we can."
"I could go down faster," said Mr. Vardon, "by starting up the motor. But I don't like to until I see what sort of landing ground we'll have."
"No, it's wiser to go a bit slowly," agreed Lieutenant McBride. "We must save ourselves in order to save them—if possible. It's a terrible accident!" ”

“ Vardon. "We'll soon be at the limits of the aviation field, and I doubt if these machines will be allowed to go beyond it. So, if you want to beat them in a race now is your time to speed up."
"Here she goes!" cried Dick, as he opened wider the gasolene throttle.
In an instant the big craft shot ahead, fairly roaring through the air. The closed cabin, however, kept the pressure of wind from the occupants, or they might not have been able to stand it, for the gage outside registered a resistance of many pounds to the square inch. ”