active 1880-1932 Edwin Green

“ For a moment the submarine hung in this position. Then, to the accompaniment of the steady booming of the ice, the sleek, steel hull slid from view. It was gone in ten seconds—devoured by the ever-hungry Arctic.
Gilbert Mathews, who had aged years in the last few days, stumbled across the ice.
“Thank heaven you’ve arrived,” he cried. “We must hurry. The blizzard is almost upon us.”
In twos and threes the crew of the Neptune hurried toward the Goliath. A twilight had settled over the scene and the lights from the cabin windows of the Goliath shone strangely through the dusk of the coming storm. ”

“ Before nightfall Bellevue had been turned into a truly military camp with its strict guard around the grounds of the National Airways plant, the army planes ready to take the air at any time of day or night, and the great searchlights, crouching under their shrouds of canvas, eager to send their searing blue-white beams tracing through the night sky.
“When a fellow looks over the field now,” said Bert as they walked to the hotel for supper, “he realizes just how valuable the Goliath is to Uncle Sam.” ”

“ Hangar doors swung open. Mechanics popped out of beds and into their clothes. Canvas hoods were ripped off the searchlights and the dynamos hummed with energy.
The microphones had picked up the sound of an approaching airplane. Propellers of the army planes spun. Flame whimpered around the exhaust stacks. Ammunition belts were fed into the black, deadly little guns.
Andy ran along the line of fighting planes. They were poised; eager for the word to go. Every other light in Bellevue had been put out. There was only the occasional flicker of the exhaust of one of the waiting planes. ”

“ Every man who was not on duty in the control or engine rooms was at the windows or stationed in the observation cockpits atop the dirigible, straining ahead for some glimpse of the Neptune and its marooned crew.
Static had been bad all morning but Bert kept up an incessant call for Harry. It was an hour after crossing the Greenwich meridian when he received his first answer and his wild whoop of joy brought Andy into the radio room on the run.
“I’m talking with Harry now,” cried Bert. “He says to hurry. The pack ice is breaking up and the Neptune may be lost at any minute.” ”

“ Hello Andy,” said Harry, eight hundred miles away and under water in the radio room of the Neptune. “Tell Blatz hello, too, if he’s with you,” added Harry.
“The three of us are in the radio shack,” replied Bert, “and I resent your implication that I overate tonight. I over-talked.”
“Which is just as bad,” came back the voice over the ether waves.
Andy picked up the microphone and spoke to Harry.
“How is the trip going?” he asked, “and where are you?”
“We’re about 130 miles out of New York harbor,” replied Harry. “The sea is a little choppy but nothing to write home about. ”

“ Lights of the field drifted out of sight and they slipped over the hills on the start of their surprise visit to Washington. Gradually the speed was stepped up. Forty, fifty, sixty miles an hour they pushed their way through the moonlit sky, soaring through the heavens. The altimeter showed a steady climb and Captain Harkins kept the nose of the Goliath up until they had reached the ten thousand foot level. At that height the muffled sound of the airship’s engines could not be heard on the ground and it was doubtful if anyone would see the great silver craft slipping through the sky. ”

“ Bob Smith, first officer of the Neptune, was not much older than Harry. Bob was a navy man, loaned to Gilbert Mathews especially for the Polar cruise, and he was thoroughly at home in the underwater craft.
From Bergen to King’s Bay, Spitzbergen, was a lonely voyage for there are few ships in the Arctic. An occasional gull wheeling overhead, stray bergs drifting by, and the eternal blue of the cold North Atlantic was all they saw day after day. Harry kept the radio humming with the press messages which the explorer sent back to his syndicate in New York. ”

“ Radio stations all over the northland tuned their sensitive ears for some word from the Goliath, but the wall of static had dropped and their calls went unanswered.
In the meantime, the Goliath was racing south, its motors on full as it sped through the storm. They were doing a hundred and thirty miles an hour but the snow stayed with them and the cold was even more intense.
The great ship was running blind. The only direction was south. Anything to escape the tearing savagery of the Arctic. Serge stood silent at the controls while Andy went on a tour of inspection. ”

“ After leaving his cabin, Andy ran up one of the ladders which led to the top of the dirigible and its observation cockpits. He saw the shadow of someone ahead of him and discovered that Serge, who had been making a trip through the interior, could not resist the temptation and had also gone up top.
“You Americans should be very proud of the Goliath,” said Serge. “I have never dreamed of anything so complete. It is a Pullman of the air; every comfort thought of and anticipated.” ”

“ When Herman Blatz, alias Lieut. Serge Larko of the Rubanian secret police, was alone in his room late that afternoon preparing for supper, he was torn between conflicting emotions. He had reached Bellevue safely. He was even inside the plant of the National Airways, accepted as a German civilian observer. The opportunity for him to wreck the Goliath might present itself at any moment but two mighty emotional forces were at work. One was his inherent love for anything man-made that could conquer the elements. ”

“ Andy felt much refreshed the next morning and they decided to accompany Harry on his visit to the shipyard.
“It’s the finest tin fish I’ve ever seen,” said Bert, who had visited the Neptune the afternoon before. “They’ve got just about everything they need in it.”
“It is a wonderful boat,” admitted Harry proudly, “but I’ll have to confess that traveling in the Neptune won’t be able to compare with the Goliath. When we’re submerged the air isn’t any too good if we’re down three or four hours and we’re pretty cramped for space.” ”

“ The weather was getting thicker and Captain Harkins ordered Andy and Serge into the observation cockpits on top of the big bag.
“Keep in constant touch with me,” he ordered. “If you see a break in the storm let me know and we’ll try and run through it.”
From their lonely posts atop the dirigible Andy and Serge, clad in oilskins, braced themselves against the heat of the rain and the rush of the wind. With headsets on their ears and transmitters slung across their chests, they kept in touch with the main control room. ”

“ Bert, who had remained in the office to check over blueprints on an especially complicated piece of radio equipment for the Goliath, hurried up.
“Andy,” he said. “Herman Blatz is here.”
“Who?” asked Andy.
“Blatz,” repeated Bert, “Herman Blatz. He’s the civilian observer from Friedrichshafen.”
“Of course,” grinned Andy. “I’d forgotten the name for a moment. What does he look like?”
“Fine looking sort of a fellow,” replied Bert. “He’s just about our own age; not quite as tall as you are and dark; brown eyes and hair that is almost coal black.” ”

“ Andy looked about in amazement at the compactness of the instruments in the “brains” of the submarine. There was not an inch of waste space in the spotlessly white interior of the steel fish.
Harry led them through the forward engine room and into the crew quarters where double-decked bunks lined the walls. Just ahead were the officers’ quarters, slightly better furnished than those of the crew and beyond this was the radio cubby where Harry would practically live from the time they left the Brooklyn shipyard until they returned from the desolate ice wastes of the far north. ”

“ He had thought the Goliath safe from an air attack by a jealous foreign country but if the gray plane they had sighted that afternoon proved to be a Rubanian ship, they would have to station several fast army pursuit ships at the field or perhaps install searchlights to ward off any night attack. Possibilities of destruction of the Goliath by an air attack were limitless and Andy grew sick at the thought that the great ship, which represented the labor and love of hundreds of men, was in danger and he looked at the wounded agent of the Gerka with little sympathy. ”

“ Andy spread the news that the first official flight of the Goliath would take it into the polar regions and the crews inside the lofty hangar were filled with new enthusiasm and energy. They were making history, placing America in the forefront of the air-minded nations, and they thrilled at their task. ”

“ Bert, who had left his radio room, leaned out a window and looked down at the swollen Ohio.
“There’s plenty of water rolling down to the Gulf,” he told Andy, “and from all reports the Ohio isn’t the only river on a rampage. Almost every large tributary of the Mississippi is at flood stage, which means plenty of trouble for people living down in the lower river country. It will take several days for the flood waters to get there, but when they do the country is going to forget about the Goliath and think about the flood.” ”

“ The last hours aboard the Neptune had been hours of terror with the constant danger of the ice breaking up and dropping them into the depths of the Arctic. With rescue at hand, some of them were almost hysterical with joy. Mathews spoke to Andy.
“I know the Arctic,” he said. “Get out of here as soon as you can. This storm is going to be terrific. As soon as the last man is aboard, take off.”
Every motor was running smoothly and easily.
“Stand by for a quick take off and a run before the storm,” he warned the engineers. “Our lives will depend on you. We’ve got to make time.” ”

“ Surprised though he was at the news that he had been selected for a special mission. Serge felt that he was ready for whatever task might be ordered.
The dictator of Rubania spoke again, his words cracking through the midnight stillness of the room.
“You are all well aware,” he said, “that the United States is our only rival in the building of dirigibles. Their Los Angeles is antiquated now but their new Akron is superior to anything in the world. It is even a mightier fighting craft than the new Blenkko which we will launch next month. This must not be. We must be supreme in the air!” ”

“ The rapid movement of the ice was astounding. Orders cracked from the lips of Gilbert Mathews and Bob Smith. The crew tumbled back into the submarine. The main hatch was slammed and battened down. A crash dive was in order. They were going under the ice again.
Harry dreaded the thought. The last time their margin of safety had been slim; too slim. This time they might not come up.
The tension inside the Neptune was terrific as Bob gave the orders for the dive. Valves were opened wide; water roared into the diving tanks. The Neptune settled swiftly. ”

“ Andy asked the explorer.
“It’s flu,” replied Mathews. “They’re over the worst of it but so weak they can hardly move. However, if they had been exposed to many hardships, it would have turned into pneumonia and they wouldn’t have had a chance.”
Bert had managed to send out a flash on the rescue of the crew of the Neptune and had added that they were running before an Arctic blizzard. This meager information was relayed by the Hopedale station and for hours a waiting world wondered and waited for news of the Goliath and its daring crew. ”

“ Andy, Bert and Harry talked until far into the night, discussing the proposed meeting of the Goliath and the submarine Neptune at the North Pole.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” said Andy, “that the Goliath will be able to make the trip on schedule. What I’m wondering about is the tin fish.”
“You can cease worrying right now,” replied Harry. “The Neptune isn’t a cast-off navy submarine refitted for a polar cruise. It’s a long-distance underwater cruiser of the latest type and only a multi-millionaire explorer like Gilbert Mathews could afford to operate such a craft. ”

“ The Goliath could not land directly on the roof, but would hover just above it. The refugees would have to climb the ladder to safety.
With a megaphone in his hands, Andy directed the rescue work. The Goliath, its motors turning over just enough to hold it above the roof, hung almost motionless. The excited townspeople grasped the ladder, which four men held fast to the rooftop. The ladder was none too steady but the refugees, preferring the climb to the airship to another night on the rooftop, bravely made their way aloft. Women came up alone with the boys and girls following them. ”

“ Then they were over the Hudson, back to Jersey and sliding down out of the skyway with motor idling. They touched gently and rolled to a landing in front of the main control station where the number of their plane was taken and they were assigned to a hangar. Andy taxied the monoplane down the line to the No. 5 hangar where mechanics were ready to take it in charge.
“How did you like your aerial view of New York?” Andy asked Blatz.
“It was marvelous, breath-taking,” laughed the other. “In Europe we have no city to compare with it. Your buildings; they go into the clouds.” ”

“ He wondered how much this young American might really know about him; how much he might suspect for he had sensed instantly that Andy was suspicious of every newcomer.
“I spent a year at Friedrichshafen,” said Andy. “It is possible that we know a number of the same men there. Do you recall Bauer and Schillig, who were the aces of the navigation class in 1929?”
“The names are familiar,” replied Blatz, “but I went through navigation the preceding year.” Harry and Bert came into the office and Andy introduced the German expert and the radio operator of the Neptune. ”

“ There was nothing Harry could do in the control room and he returned to his own quarters. Bob was sound asleep in the chair. One dim light glowed over the now useless radio set. Harry sat down and picked up a message blank. He’d write a note to Andy and Bert. Someone might find the hulk of the submarine some day; a freak of the Arctic might cast it where it would again be viewed by man.
Harry had just started the note when he was startled by a sudden bumping and scraping. The Neptune tilted sharply. Were they headed for the bottom; crushed under the ice pack? ”

“ He had lived with the Goliath for months and the great ship was almost a part of him.
Mechanics had warmed up Andy’s plane and the trim red sportster was ready for the late afternoon spin.
“I thought you weren’t going to show up,” Bert shouted. “Been in ‘talking’ with the Goliath?”
Andy grinned and nodded.
“I don’t blame you,” shouted back Bert. “I go in there every once in a while and just sit down and look at it. Some ship!”
“I’ll say,” replied Andy. “You’d better get into a sheepskin coat. The air will be a little nippy when we get up five or six thousand feet.” ”

“ The secret service chief, Andy and Bert turned to leave the room. They were on the threshold when Dubra called them back.
“My job was to wreck the hangar,” he confessed, the words coming slowly and evidently with the greatest reluctance.
“Who is going to attempt to wreck the Goliath?” demanded the secret service chief.
“I don’t know,” whispered Dubra. “The Gerka doesn’t work that way. Each of us is assigned a specific task to carry out independent of anyone else.” ”

“ The Friday morning paper, which reached Bellevue by bus shortly after noon, emphasized the need for relief measures, stressing that refugees were without proper clothes or food. The national Red Cross had stepped in and was making every effort to relieve the situation but it was impossible to reach some of the more isolated regions and women and children were believed to be in want.
“What they need is a dirigible,” said Andy. “Why, we could load the Goliath with tons of food and clothing, cruise over that area at a low altitude, and drop supplies for hundreds of refugees.” ”

“ On up town they sped over the canyons between the skyscrapers where hurrying crowds of shoppers were thronging the streets. The Empire State’s gleaming tower was ahead, then beside, and then behind them. The Chrysler spire glittered in the sun and they looked down on the crowds in Times Square. ”