Then, before actual labor2 began, Captain Anderson suggested that they go into the house for a few moments. Andy chuckled3. He knew that the captain wanted to acquaint his suspicious wife with the turn in affairs—possibly the captain was afraid that Mrs. Osborne might make a real attack with her skillet.
Andy could not but envy the young aviator4’s natty5 figure and the professional look about him. It was with considerable pride that he presented Osborne to Mrs. Anderson and his mother.
“Maybe you don’t know about him,” began[134] Andy while Roy protested and grew red in the face, “but there isn’t anyone in America, young or old, who knows any more about flyin’ machines than he does. There’s a book about him, and he ain’t but—how old are you?” exclaimed the boy.
“Oh, I can’t vote yet,” laughed Roy. “This is certainly a beautiful place for a home, Mrs. Anderson.”
“And that book tells how he figured out an aeroplane express in the deserts of Utah and found a lost tribe of Indians—”
“But I can’t see that anything I did was half as remarkable6 as the making of a complete aeroplane down here,” broke in Roy.
“I never saw a regular flying machine,” said Mrs. Anderson, “but this one doesn’t look like one to me. Do you think it is all right?”
“No aeroplane is absolutely all right,” answered Roy smiling. “But this one out there is correct so far as I understand aeroplanes. Anyway, I’m going to test this one out, and I don’t expect to kill myself doing it.”
“How far can you go in it?” asked Mrs. Leighton.
“If it works all right, I could go easily from here to Lake Worth, or back over the Everglades, or even across to the Bahamas—”
[135]
“To the Bahamas?” broke in Andy.
“Certainly,” affirmed Roy. “I understand they aren’t over eighty-five or ninety miles away. But I shan’t do any of these things. I’ll make a thorough test of the apparatus7 and then show Andy how to operate it.”
“Andy!” exclaimed Mrs. Leighton in alarm.
“I promised to,” explained Roy, surprised. “That is, if he wants to try it.”
But Mrs. Leighton was shaking her head.
“That’s part of my business, you know. I’ve taught a good many persons and have never yet had an accident.”
“I don’t think I want him to learn,” said Mrs. Leighton slowly.
“Mother,” spoke8 up Andy, with energy, “didn’t you say I could try to operate this car when Captain Anderson asked you to let me do it?”
“I—believe I did,” conceded that lady hesitatingly.
“Well, Captain Anderson,” exclaimed Andy stoutly9, “don’t you want me to try it?”
“If Mr. Osborne tests it out and takes you up and shows you how, I think it’ll be all right.”
“There,” urged the boy facing his mother, “are you going to keep your word?”
[136]
“Let’s see what Mr. Osborne has to say about it after he has tried it,” pleaded the boy’s mother.
That was all the concession10 Andy wanted.
At three o’clock the Pelican11 was completed.
“You have to wait for the wind to go down, don’t you?” asked Captain Anderson. “That’ll be about five o’clock.”
Roy shook his head.
“Some do,” he said, “but with a perfectly-made machine and a powerful engine, I like a fair breeze.” He looked about. “I’m all ready.”
The river shore at each side of Captain Anderson’s place was crossed by a wire fence. On the south side of the pier12, the hard, white sand stretched like a road for miles. Here and there was a little driftwood. Captain Anderson removed the fence with a few blows of an axe13, while Andy ran down the shore to remove the driftwood.
“I suppose you think it strange I don’t help,” said Roy to Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Leighton, who were on the pier. “But that’s the first thing an aeroplane operator has to learn. When I make an extensive flight, I do no work that day if I can help it. My assistants[137] fill the tanks and get the car in place. I save every bit of muscle and nerve force I have.”
“You haven’t stuck to your rule to-day,” suggested Mrs. Leighton a little anxiously. “You’ve worked harder than the others.”
“Oh, this isn’t a real flight,” explained Roy. “I mean one in which you’re going to do stunts14 in the way of an exhibition. I shan’t go high or far. If I were going up several thousand feet—”
“Several thousand feet!” exclaimed both ladies.
“The safety in aeroplane work,” Roy explained, “is in going very high or very low—no middle ground. Either go so low that a fall won’t hurt you, or get up so high that if anything happens, your machine will have time to get into a glide15.”
The fence having been removed and the beach cleared, the taut16, bird-like aeroplane was carefully trundled around the pier and out on the sand facing south, from which direction the breeze was blowing. Andy and the captain were visibly nervous.
Then, as if it had just occurred to him, Roy said he would test the engine once more. Mrs.[138] Anderson and Mrs. Leighton had followed close behind. Roy turned with a smile.
“You ladies had better step to one side,” he suggested. “There’ll be quite a commotion17 behind. Take hold of her,” he said to the captain and Andy.
He located Captain Anderson and Andy at the rear of the car on opposite sides of the rudder frame and told them to sit on the ground and dig heel holes in the sand as if pulling on a rope in a tug18-of-war.
“And pull your hats over your eyes,” he ordered. “Hold your heads down and hang on until you get the word to ‘let go’.”
The captain, not less eagerly than Andy, did as directed, and Roy, having turned the propeller19 blades into place, started the engine. The first whirr of the big blades began to agitate20 the loose sand and dry grass. Then the young aviator turned on more power. The agitation21 grew into a breeze, and that into a tornado-like storm of wind. The boy and the man on the ground felt the aeroplane pulling, and as it began to tug at its human anchors and rock from side to side, Roy quickly shut off the engine.
“Fine,” he remarked without excitement,[139] as the dust and grass settled and Andy and the captain shook the dirt from their faces. “Nothing the matter with that engine.” Then with another look about and a “feel” of the hand for the wind, he walked to the front of the car.
The breeze seemed a little stronger now. As the young aviator noticed this, he ran into the boathouse and appeared with his coat. This he buttoned and then turned up the collar.
“There’s just a chance that I’ll have to go up a little to turn and get back on the beach,” he explained, “and you don’t have to go very high to find it considerably22 cooler.”
Then he turned the visor of his cap to the rear, and climbed into the seat.
“Hold on till you get the word,” he commanded. At the same moment he started the engine again.
Once more the rush of wind behind told the power of the revolving23 propellers24. Roy did not look behind. One hand on the engine valve and the other on the lever control, he sat unmoving. Lower and lower dropped the heads of the captain and Andy, as their heels sank into the sand and their hands gripped the framework—the fragile car was throbbing[140] with power and the propellers were no longer visible.
“She’s slippin’—!”
“Let go!” shouted Roy.
As the captain and the boy fell backward, the untested aeroplane darted25 forward. For a few yards, it bounded up and down, and then, as if gathering26 new force, shot straight over the smooth sand.
Once it seemed about to rise, and then, striking the beach again, the aviator seemed to lose control of the machine. The rushing aeroplane shot sideways, as if to dash into the shallow river. Again it sprang upward, and again darted toward the river. Just as the forward wheel touched the water, the great planes caught the breeze, poised27 themselves for an instant, and rose in the air like a fluttering duck. Twice its rear wheels touched the surface of the river, and then the spectators could see Roy shoot the bird-tail rudder shaft28 to the rear and the pinions29 fly upwards30.
“He’s off!” shouted Andy.
“You bet he is!” shouted Captain Anderson just as vigorously. “She’s flyin’!”
On the sand, Andy raced back and forth31, as if he had lost his senses. With a loud whoop[141] of joy, he turned a handspring as the only relief for his bottled-up excitement.
Out over the river the Pelican flew a few hundred feet, and then, veering32 toward the beach, began to rise. Her propellers seemed to sound louder as she lifted herself. And southward, Roy held her, between two hundred and three hundred feet above the beach, for perhaps a half mile.
Then her operator began to mount higher. As he did so, he turned out over the water and brought the machine about toward the north, at least eight hundred feet above the water.
Andy ran to his mother and threw his arm around her.
“Watch it!” he cried. “Isn’t it a wonder?”
But his mother was too astounded33 to make a reply.
Having tested the machine, Roy could not resist one of his exhibition stunts. His propellers going full speed, he headed the car toward the beach at a point a little south of where the fence had stood.
Coming directly toward his audience, his speed could only be guessed by the rapidly growing outlines of the car.
This was shooting downward like some swift[142] bird in search of prey34. At the angle at which it was traveling, it must surely dash itself on the beach.
“Look out!” yelled Andy, alarmed.
Then something happened. With coolness that had come only with many flights, the boy in the machine made two swift motions. As one hand shut off the engine, the other shot back the rudder lever. The darting35 machine responded to the guiding planes, rose lightly as if it had struck an atmospheric36 hill, and then, the propellers coming to an instant stop, the machine floated gracefully37 forward as if on invisible tracks. Touching38 its wheels daintily on the ground a few times, it came to a gentle run which ended as Roy gradually applied39 the wheel brake.
“She wants a little ballast on the right side,” said Roy as he slid from his seat. Then he reached out his hands to the captain and Andy, and said, with a laugh:
“Any time you gentlemen need jobs, I’ll undertake to get them for you in Newark. Your machine is all right. The bird-tail guide certainly helps. I found a little trouble to start because I didn’t give it enough play; I didn’t allow for the counter-action. But it[143] certainly helps. Did you see the turn? With a plain rudder, I’d have come almost to a standstill doing that. I had a dip, but nothing like the usual one.”
“Do you think we can get a patent on it?” asked Andy almost perfunctorily, for he was already feeling the engine cylinders40 and inspecting the shafts41 for hot bearings.
“I don’t know,” said Roy, loosening his coat and reversing his cap. “The idea I’ve heard of before—maybe it is patented. But I’d try. And, if you can, I hope you’ll give us the first chance at it—I mean our company.”
“Weren’t you scared?” asked Mrs. Leighton.
“Mrs. Leighton,” answered Roy, “you can’t make an aviator—he’s born. That is, you can’t educate away fear. I am scared sometimes, but it’s from the engine behind my back, never because of the height at which I’m working. But I wish they’d put an engine where you could watch it. A hundred feet up or three thousand, it’s all the same to me. The engine is what I’m afraid of. But here’s one I’m less afraid of than any I ever saw.”
The short winter day was coming to an end,[144] but the sun was yet above the horizon. The breeze had dropped a little. Andy turned suddenly from his examination of the motor and whispered to Roy. The latter smiled and nodded his head.
“Mother,” said Andy, “Mr. Osborne won’t be here long. I’m going up with him.”
“I—” began Mrs. Leighton. “Are you sure it’s safe, Mr. Osborne?”
“We can never be sure of that,” answered Roy. “But I’d rather trust myself in an aeroplane than on a motorcycle.”
“What if your engine stopped?” suggested the disturbed woman.
“It stopped just now. Or, I stopped it,” added Roy. “I can’t go up without the engine, but I can come down without it.”
“Well—” began Mrs. Leighton.
“Can you hold her alone, Captain Anderson?” shouted Andy joyously42, knowing that consent had been given.
“I can hold her until she pulls away,” responded the captain soberly, “and when she does that, I guess she’ll be pullin’ some.”
“That’ll do,” said Roy. “Climb aboard.”
Three minutes later, Andy Leighton rose from the ground in his first aeroplane flight—but not the last by any means.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
attachment
|
|
| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
labor
|
|
| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
chuckled
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
aviator
|
|
| n.飞行家，飞行员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
natty
|
|
| adj.整洁的，漂亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
apparatus
|
|
| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
stoutly
|
|
| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
concession
|
|
| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
pelican
|
|
| n.鹈鹕，伽蓝鸟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
pier
|
|
| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
axe
|
|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
stunts
|
|
| n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
glide
|
|
| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
taut
|
|
| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
commotion
|
|
| n.骚动，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
tug
|
|
| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
propeller
|
|
| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
agitate
|
|
| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
agitation
|
|
| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
revolving
|
|
| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
propellers
|
|
| n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
darted
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
poised
|
|
| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
shaft
|
|
| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
pinions
|
|
| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
veering
|
|
| n.改变的；犹豫的；顺时针方向转向；特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
astounded
|
|
| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
atmospheric
|
|
| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
gracefully
|
|
| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
cylinders
|
|
| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
shafts
|
|
| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
joyously
|
|
| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |