Chapter VI: Ablaze in the Air

When the king of the motor boys was in the air with the _Comet_, every power of mind and body was trained to the work of looking after the machine.

Flying in an aëroplane is vastly more difficult than sailing in a balloon. In the case of a gas bag, an aëronaut has only to throw out ballast, take his ease, and trust to luck; but, with a heavier-than-air machine, the aviator must rely upon the quickness of his wits and his dexterity.

Aëroplane flying, in a large measure, is a knack, and must be acquired. The air pressure never touches the machine in exactly the same point for two consecutive seconds, and, because of this, the centre of gravity is constantly changing. Centre of gravity and centre of air pressure must coincide at all times if the machine is to be kept in the air, and the success or failure to do this proves the competency or the incompetency of the operator.

The Traquair aëroplane--upon which model Matt's machine had been built--preserved its equilibrium while aloft by an elongation, or contraction, of the wing tips. A lever regulated this; and, whenever Matt was flying, the lever was moving continuously, the ends of the wings darting out and in with lightning-like rapidity, one side presenting greater wing area to the pressure while the other presented less, and vice versa.

Motor Matt's engagement with Boss Burton did not cover long flights. Usually, if the weather was propitious, he made it a point to remain aloft about fifteen minutes, circling about the show grounds, turning sharp corners and cutting airy "figure eights," in order to show the capabilities of the aëroplane.

"Get your trapeze over, Le Bon!" he called, while they were steadily mounting.

A laugh was his answer--a silvery ripple of a laugh that had a familiar ring in his ears and now filled him with consternation. He dared not look around.

"Haidee!" he exclaimed.

"Are you mad at me, Motor Matt?" came the voice of the girl.

She cautiously slipped into the seat beside him, her heightened color and sparkling eyes showing her excitement.

"This was a trick," went on Matt calmly, attending to his work with an indifference more apparent than real, "which you and Le Bon and Burton played on me?"

"It was Burton's idea, and he told it to me while we were going after Archie le Bon. Archie was to pretend to run with the machine, and I was to be with him. When the machine got to going too fast for us, Archie was to drop to one side and I was to spring to the lower wing. Your back would be in my direction, and you couldn't see me."

"That wasn't like you, Haidee," said Matt.

"Are you mad?"

"What's the use of being put out with you? I'll have something to say to Burton and Le Bon when I get back to the grounds."

"You thought you were doing something to help me--I know that--but you didn't understand I was perfectly able to carry out my part of the programme. As it is now, I came along and you couldn't help yourself. Are you going to try and keep me from dropping under the machine with the trapeze?"

"No," was the grim reply, "now that you are here you can go on with your work. Hold to the hand grip on the edge of the plane while you unlash the bar."

Perfectly cool, and in complete command of her nerves, Haidee knelt on the foot-rest, clinging to the plane with one hand while she unlashed the trapeze bar with the other.

"I'm ready, Motor Matt," said Haidee.

She was sitting on the edge of the seat, holding the bar in both hands.

Matt had brought the _Comet_ to an even keel, some fifty feet over the show grounds. They were traveling about thirty miles an hour--a snail's pace for the _Comet_--and Matt was about to make a turn over the river and traverse the length of the grounds going the other way.

"Now, listen," said he to the girl. "I'm going to tilt the _Comet_ sharply upward and ascend for about fifty feet, then I'm going to reverse the position and descend for fifty feet in the same sharp angle. When we turn for the descent, Haidee, drop from the foot-rest when I give the word. The pull of your body, when it falls, will drag on the machine, but never mind that--hang on and don't get scared. As soon as I can I will bring the machine to a level. Understand?"

"Yes."

"And another thing. While you're moving on the bar, just remember to do it quietly and easily. You've seen the two Japs at work in the show, I know. When the big fellow balances the pole on his shoulder, and the little fellow goes up, every move is made as though there would be a smash if they were not careful."

"I understand," said the girl.

The machine had been brought around and was heading toward the grounds. Matt twisted the small forward planes, which laid the course for ascending or descending. At the same time he speeded up the motor.

The _Comet_ pointed upward; then, at the top of her course, was as quickly turned and aimed toward the earth.

Matt caught a glimpse of a sea of upturned faces. The machine was rushing downward at a frightful pace.

"_Now!_" shouted Matt.

He saw the girl poise birdlike on the foot-rest, then sink from it with the trapeze. So great was the slant of the aëroplane that she seemed to fall forward.

There was a jar as the bar reached the end of the ropes, and, with the girl's weight, was caught and held. The _Comet_ made an erratic wabble and lurched sideways like a great bird, wounded on the wing.

Haidee withstood the jolt admirably, and Matt twirled the lever operating the steering planes.

Sounds from the earth always reach aëronauts with startling distinctness. The shouts of consternation which came from the throats of the spectators could be heard, and also the murmur of relief as the _Comet_ righted herself, and the trapeze and the girl swung back under the machine.

Controlling the aëroplane was always more difficult when there was a weight suspended beneath, but Matt had counted upon this, and he forced the _Comet_ back and forth over the show grounds, holding the machine fairly steady.

Three times he and Haidee circled over the "tops" with their gay streamers, cheer upon cheer following them from below.

Matt had been in the air more than fifteen minutes, and he was just manoeuvring toward the starting and stopping point, when the cheers were suddenly turned to cries of fear and alarm. He could see the people below waving their arms and pointing upward.

For an instant the young motorist's heart sank. He felt sure that something had gone wrong with the girl.

This conviction had hardly formed before it was dissipated. A smell of smoke came to his nostrils, and to his ears a crackle of flames. Matt turned his head.

The left wing of the aëroplane was on fire!

A thrill of horror shot through him. In the air, he and Haidee, with a blazing flying machine alone between them and death! The very thought was enough to wrench the stoutest nerves.

"Haidee!" yelled Matt.

"Yes," came the stifled response, from underneath the _Comet_.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"Hang to the bar--don't lose your nerve!"

Matt's mind was grappling with the complex situation. To get safely to the ground in the shortest possible time was the problem that confronted him.

How the wing had caught fire he did not know, and had not the time even to guess. It sufficed that the plane was ablaze, and that the longer it blazed and ate into the fabric the less resistance the plane made to the atmosphere. And it was this resistance that spelled life for the king of the motor boys and the girl!

To drop the blazing aëroplane into that sea of heads below meant injury to some of the spectators. Matt must avoid this and reach the earth in the roped-off lane from which the ascent had been made.

He put the clamps on his nerves, and, with brain perfectly clear, drove the aëroplane about at a sharp angle.

Then, if ever, the machine was true to its name, for as it darted onward, the smoke and flame that streamed out behind must have given it the look of a comet.

Could he drop to earth, the young motorist was asking himself, before the fire struck either of the gasoline tanks?

Motor Matt, as he coaxed the last ounce of speed from the motor, shouted encouragingly to the terrified girl on the trapeze.

Suddenly, below him opened the narrow lane roped off along the road. A buzz of excited voices echoed in his ears. With steady hand he shut off the power and glided downward.

"Drop from the bar and run, Haidee," he shouted, "as soon as we come close to the ground."

There was a response from the girl, but the clamor of the crowd prevented him from hearing what it was.

The next moment the blazing aëroplane settled into the road and glided along on the bicycle wheels.

McGlory, Carl, and Ping were on hand, the cowboy in charge of a detachment of canvasmen with buckets. A hiss of steam, as water struck the flames, rose in the air.

"Careful!" cried Matt, restraining the impetuous assault of the fire fighters. "Don't climb over the machine and damage it! Keep them back, Joe! Here, some of you, drench the wings on the right side and keep the fire from spreading."

Ably directed by Matt and McGlory, the fire was extinguished. Leaving the damaged aëroplane in charge of Carl and Ping, Matt limped off toward the calliope tent, accompanied by his cowboy chum.