I have told you how it is possible for a body heavier than air to
remain above the earth, as long as it is in motion. It is this which
keeps cannon balls and airships up--motion. Though, of course,
airships, with their big spread of surface, need less force to keep
them from falling than do projectiles.
And when the motor of an airship stops it is only by volplaning
down, or descending in a series of slanting shifts, that accidents
are avoided.
This, then, is what Dick did. He would let the airship shoot
downward on a long slant, so as to gain as much as possible. Then,
by throwing up the head-rudder, he would cause his craft to take an
upward turn, thus delaying the inevitable descent.
All the while this was going on Mr. Vardon, aided by Lieutenant
McBride, was laboring hard to replace the burned-out wires. He
worked frantically, for he knew he had but a few minutes at the
best. From the height at which they were when the motor stopped it
would take them about ten minutes to reach the earth, holding back
as Dick might. And there was work which, in the ordinary course of
events, would take twice as long as this.
"I'm only going to make a shift at it," explained the aviator. "If
I can only get in temporary wires I can replace them later."
"That's right," agreed the army man.
"How you making it, Dick?" asked Larry, as he came to the door of
the pilot-house.
"Well, I've got five hundred feet left. If he can't get the motor
going before we go down that far--"
Dick did not finish, but they all knew what he meant.
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