Part 17 (1/2)
”Of course not!” said Bill ”Let's get off I have a hunch that we ought to get along We don't want to have to follow all the way to Leavenworth”
”All right-o, let's be off!” seconded Ernest ”Take the pilot's seat, and I will help you if it is necessary Good luck, old dear!”
”Here comes Tom and the other fellow,” said Bill ”They can hold us”
He cli his wounded ar with amazement and curiosity, held the ave his engine plenty of gas, the propellers whirled faster and faster, and when they reached top speed under Bill's accustoo The plane bounded forward, skipping merrily over the field Bill balanced on one wheel for a moment, then with a thrill of the heart such as he had never known tilted the elevating plane and felt himself rise in the air
They were off!
CHAPTER XIII
As the plane, responding perfectly to Bill's touch, soared upward, it sees out of a well of darkness and reet the sun whose first rays were gilding the tops of the hills They went up in the very face of the great orb whose light, first striking the upper wings, turned all the delicate wires and cords to gold How they shone in the clear early sunlight! As the pace increased, Bill felt rather than heard the delicate huine he did not knohether he could distinguish a delicate sound or whether it was only a trick of his iination, but he was so exalted and so thrilled by the wonderful experience through which he was passing that he seemed to hear all sorts of celestial sounds
Fear fell from him A neas born in heart and brain He felt as uplifted in soul as he was in body Soood thoughts; to do good deeds When he tried to think of Frank and his ugly black actions, he found that he regarded the ways away and of little consequence All was going to be well It was as though the darkness fro up, up into the light! Bill kneell as though soher power had whispered it to hi: he did not doubt his ability to do an alh he had flown all his life He was ”exalted in spirit,” because his goal was a worthy one Without a question for their own safety, the boys had started on an enterprise filled with dangers, in order to save Lee from false imprisonment and possibly worse Ernest knew the Indian nature better even than Bill He kne irace and how often they end that disgrace with a bullet or the swift thrust of a knife He hoped that the white blood that doh to overcome this trend, but nevertheless he felt that there was not a moment to be lost So there he sat, only an observer in his well-beloved aeroplane, the broken ar Bill who had never been nearer to flying than the warping of a wing and the sailing on one wheel over the field--sat in the pilot's seat, grave and intent, and guided their swift flight
But ah, who could tell the thoughts that all unbidden coursed through thebound and muffled in the rear seat? So intently were the eyes of his spirit bent inward on the dark and whirling horrors they found there that the eyes of his body were blind to the wonders of the young day He lay where they had placed hireat dome above him
The storm seemed to have washed the very air It was clear as crystal A few clouds, thin as gossa less as a steady breeze sprang up in the wake of the sun and gently disered
When they passed through these fairy clouds, they found theh with rainbow colors Then e, they passed once reater than Bill had ever iined
How tiny, how frail they were: three boys darting in a ! What risks!
Daring, risks? Bill was unable to grasp theof those earth-born words He felt neither s the conquerors!
At a signal from Ernest he increased the speed and soared upward It is safer in the higher altitudes, although there is usually a great deal ine trouble, you havetheover a city when trouble threatens, you have a chance to find a good landing place
All of these things Bill had had lectured to him endlessly at Sill, and from both Ernest and Tom at school But actual experience he had not had That fact, however, he put resolutely behind him Just one breath of fear struck him He had witnessed a tail dive once at Sill, and over and over his her than the head and you won't spin” Ernest sht went on that he had stored away all the counsel he had listened to Many a trained aviator never learned to drive his engine and balance his plane with the cool cleverness and judg and untried aeronaut Ernest coine accident, there was no reason to suppose that Bill would wreck the plane
”Up!” cried Ernest, pointing with his well hand
Bill responded and the plane again soared aloft
Here the wind screa, the engine dru Bill's hand on the wheel grew tense; his faculties seeht Bill was surprised He had kept good track of his direction by the aid of the air coht direction
Nevertheless he turned and, banking his wings and lifting the ailerons, ested Half an hour later Ernest again motioned, this time for a turn to the left
It was not until days after their arrival at Sill that Ernest thought to tell Bill that the unexpected and seeht course were merely to try him out An hour or so later when Ernest saw that they were passing over a strip of country where good landing places seemed plentiful, he indicated a dip and Bill executed it perfectly He felt proud of himself now, and said, ”Tail up, tail up!”
repeatedly, as he felt the plane drop earthward Reaching a lower level, Ernest nodded and they sailed on a straight-away flight, their eyes turned ever to the far-away goal in the west