CHAPTER XIX THE FIRST FLIGHT

The balloon was still sliding downwards¹ and swiftly forward. For several minutes the three boys stood in silence. Only the steady whirr of the engine and a musical humming of vibrating wires could be heard. Bob wondered if they were headed earthward again, for he could see the approaching foothills widening out beneath. At last, when they could not have been over five hundred feet from the ground, came the quick order:

 

"Right the planes."

 

Bob was almost caught napping, for he was busy looking through the window. But his hands responded instantly, and he almost choked with chagrin² to find that he had started to throw the lever the wrong way. But his recovery of himself was instant and with a desperate pull he forced the guiding planes back horizontally. The glide³ downward stopped and the Cibola shot forward with renewed speed.

 

On the bridge Ned held a fluttering chart before him.

 

"How is she heading?" he called to Pilot Alan at the wheel. With a glance at the compass before him Alan promptly⁴ responded:

 

"Nor'nor'east."

 

"Make it north by east."

 

A quick slight movement and a strain told that the alteration⁵ had been made.

 

"North by east it is," sang out Alan.

 

"Keep her there," was the echoing response.

 

Bob was thrilled. Every word was to him a joy. Everything had happened so quickly that he hardly knew what it all meant, but he was happy. Even the sudden discipline pleased him and he was glad to be a part of it. The knowledge that a younger boy was giving him orders did not bother him. He had skill in his own line, but he saw and realized that in the Cibola Ned Napier was in charge and meant business.

 

For some time then no word was heard. The Cibola, speeding, swiftly onward⁶, had crossed the low foothills and was pulling herself through the almost breezeless air like a modern liner, five hundred feet above the ground. She was holding her course beautifully. Then Ned appeared and tested the gas exhaust and oil feed of the engine.

 

"Were you ever in a balloon before?" he said when he had finished, turning sharply towards Bob.

 

"Never," answered Bob, glad enough for a chance to say something.

 

"Have you any matches?" somewhat sternly asked the commander of the Cibola.

 

"Sure," replied Bob reaching in his pocket and finding one.

 

"Any more? All of them."

 

Surprised, Bob searched his clothes and discovered a few more which he obediently handed over to his superior officer. Noting the look of surprise in the reporter's face Ned laughed.

 

"The first rule in a balloon is 'No fire.' But beginners forget, sometimes; we can't take this chance with you."

 

"Take anything I have got," answered Bob with his old smile, which had now been in eclipse for some time, "and if I can speak at last I want to say that you boys are white, clean white, through and through. Didn't you need that ballast?"

 

"We may need it badly," said Ned, laughing. "If it should become necessary I suppose you won't mind if we throw you overboard."

 

"No," retorted Bob, "not if it is a little at, a time. But you're bricks—both of you—if I thank you I'll cry." The tears were again in his eyes.

 

"Well, it wasn't the thing to do, I suppose," said Ned turning away, "but you looked so hungry to go, and I knew what it meant. So I thought we'd just give you a little ride up to the camp."

 

"Yes, of course," answered Bob slowly as his hopes fell. "Put me out wherever you like," he added.

 

"You can go up now and have a look around," said Ned at last, "both of you. I'll take the wheel."

 

The relieved boys scrambled⁷ onto the bridge deck. Night was coming on and the mountains to the west were already black. Evening shadows were lengthening⁸ on the sloping plains beneath and a gentle, rising breeze flapped the flag and pennant⁹ and swayed the bag above them. Beneath, the Chusco wound its half dry course and off to the east a blue haze¹⁰, melting into the unending sand, told of a treeless and waterless waste.

 

"And there," exclaimed Alan at last, pointing off to the northwest where snow-capped, ragged¹¹ peaks rose out of a black jumble¹² of mountains, "are the Tunit Chas and the land of our dreams. To-morrow—"

 

"One moment," interrupted Bob quickly. "I think you are forgetting. That is your secret and not mine."

 

Alan flushed. "I forgot," he said with a stammer¹³, "and I thank you."

 

"I can't afford to make you sorry you brought me," added Bob, "and you are not going to be."

 

There was a little jar. The propeller¹⁴ slackened a trifle, and Alan explained that Ned had headed the Cibola another point into the freshening breeze.

 

"Steward," said Ned from below, "it's seven o'clock and I'm hungry. Besides, it's getting pretty dark down here."

 

Alan and Bob looked at each other and laughed.

 

"That certainly means me," exclaimed Bob, and both boys clambered below. With Alan's help Bob made his first examination of the store room.

 

The meal was rather haphazard¹⁵, as the boys, carried away by the excitement of their new flight, had neglected to eat when it was light. But water and hardtack were easily accessible, and Alan, taking the first two cans at hand, found happily that they contained sardines¹⁶ and veal¹⁷ loaf.

 

"We'll eat on deck," suggested Ned, as he set the wheel and had another look at the engine, which had not missed a revolution.

 

The night that greeted them was magnificent. The moon was not yet up, but the stars were scintillating¹⁸ in the inky sky and the deep silence of the clouds and desert was about them. Bob gazed as if spellbound. The charm of the night appealed to him as it did to Ned and Alan; but with it his brain formed phrases—"cloudland by night," "a dash to the stars." The reporter in him was thinking "copy."

 

"Hey, there, wake up!" cried practical Ned.

 

Bob flew to his task; with a turn he had the veal loaf can open and had dumped its contents in the wooden plate held by Alan.

 

In another moment he would have thrown the empty can overboard but the watchful¹⁹ Ned, ready for another lesson in aeronautics²⁰, caught his hand.

 

"Don't you like the route we are taking?" laughed Ned.

 

Bob's face showed he did not understand.

 

"The loss of the weight of that can might send us sparing upward a thousand feet," explained Ned dryly, "so don't cast over ballast until you get orders."

 

Bob shook his head. "Well doesn't that beat all," he exclaimed.

 

As night fell and the air grew heavier, the barometer²¹ showed that the Cibola had a tendency to rise. The aeroplanes were readjusted and then for an hour the craft sped on untouched. At eight o'clock Ned said:

 

"We haven't traveled over eighteen miles in an hour and we've been afloat four hours. If we are still over the Chusco and Elmer and Buck²² are at the appointed place we may be within ten or twelve miles of them."

 

"They are going to burn three small camp fires set in a triangle, you remember," remarked Bob.

 

"Therefore," suggested. Ned, "all keep a sharp lookout²³."

 

At half past eight Ned showed some concern. No lights had been sighted and the reckoning showed that they must be within two or three miles of the probable location of the camp. Another fifteen minutes went by, and yet no signal fires were seen. They had now passed over the junction²⁴ of the two rivers, if their calculations were right, and Ned and Alan were in a quandary²⁵.

 

"It's no use to go on," commented Ned; "so we'll just make a wide circle and see what we can find."

 

It was also useless to look below. In the darkness there was no sight of either river or desert.

 

"It we don't pick them up in that way," continued Ned, "we'll descend²⁶ and tie up for the night."

 

Both Ned and Alan went below, and with the engine shut down to half speed the Cibola was turned on her course in a wide sweep. Bob alone watched with anxious eyes, until he was joined in a short time by Ned. There was no sound but the soft chug-chug of the engine, and for some time neither spoke²⁷. The breeze of the early evening had died and there was not a breath of air. Alan in the dark cabin below held the wheel and Ned and Bob alone, hanging over the side net, watched and listened in vain.

1 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

2 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

3 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

6 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

7 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lengthening   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长

参考例句：

• The evening shadows were lengthening. 残阳下的影子越拉越长。
• The shadows are lengthening for me. 我的影子越来越长了。 来自演讲部分

9 pennant   

n.三角旗；锦标旗

参考例句：

• The second car was flying the Ghanaian pennant.第二辆车插着加纳的三角旗。
• The revitalized team came from the cellar to win the pennant.该队重整旗鼓，从最后一名一跃而赢得冠军奖旗。

10 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

11 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

12 jumble   

vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆

参考例句：

• Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
• The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

13 stammer   

n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说

参考例句：

• He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
• We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。

14 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

15 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

16 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

17 veal   

n.小牛肉

参考例句：

• She sauteed veal and peppers,preparing a mixed salad while the pan simmered.她先做的一道菜是青椒煎小牛肉，趁着锅还在火上偎着的机会，又做了一道拼盘。
• Marinate the veal in white wine for two hours.把小牛肉用白葡萄酒浸泡两小时。

18 scintillating   

adj．才气横溢的,闪闪发光的; 闪烁的

参考例句：

• Statistics on unemployment levels hardly make for scintillating reading. 失业统计数据读来不大会有趣味。
• You were scintillating on TV last night. 您昨晚在电视上妙语如珠。

19 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

20 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

21 barometer   

n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标

参考例句：

• The barometer marked a continuing fall in atmospheric pressure.气压表表明气压在继续下降。
• The arrow on the barometer was pointing to"stormy".气压计上的箭头指向“有暴风雨”。

22 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

23 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

24 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

25 quandary   

n.困惑，进迟两难之境

参考例句：

• I was in a quandary about whether to go.我当时正犹豫到底去不去。
• I was put in a great quandary.我陷于进退两难的窘境。

26 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

27 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：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。