| 122 | 123 | 124 | 125 | 126 |
| 1 | 61 | 121 | 182 | 242 |
|
www.freeclassicebooks.com
aviator could neither hear nor understand the black above the noise of the
propeller and exhaust. By this time the plane was moving along the ground and
even then Usanga was upon the verge of leaping out, and would have done so had
he been able to unfasten the strap from about his waist. Then the plane rose from
the ground and in a moment soared gracefully in a wide circle until it topped the
trees. The black sergeant was in a veritable collapse of terror. He saw the earth
dropping rapidly from beneath him. He saw the trees and river and at a distance
the little clearing with the thatched huts of Numabo's village. He tried hard not to
think of the results of a sudden fall to the rapidly receding ground below. He
attempted to concentrate his mind upon the twenty-four wives which this great
bird most assuredly would permit him to command. Higher and higher rose the
plane, swinging in a wide circle above the forest, river, and meadowland and
presently, much to his surprise, Usanga discovered that his terror was rapidly
waning, so that it was not long before there was forced upon him a consciousness
of utter security, and then it was that he began to take notice of the manner in
which the white man guided and manipulated the plane.
After half an hour of skillful maneuvering, the Englishman rose rapidly to a
considerable altitude, and then, suddenly, without warning, he looped and flew
with the plane inverted for a few seconds.
"
I said I'd give this beggar the lesson of his life," he murmured as he heard, even
above the whir of the propeller, the shriek of the terrified Negro. A moment later
Smith-Oldwick had righted the machine and was dropping rapidly toward the
earth. He circled slowly a few times above the meadow until he had assured
himself that Bertha Kircher was there and apparently unharmed, then he
dropped gently to the ground so that the machine came to a stop a short distance
from where the girl and the warriors awaited them.
It was a trembling and ashen-hued Usanga who tumbled out of the fuselage, for
his nerves were still on edge as a result of the harrowing experience of the loop,
yet with terra firma once more under foot, he quickly regained his composure.
Strutting about with great show and braggadocio, he strove to impress his
followers with the mere nothingness of so trivial a feat as flying birdlike
thousands of yards above the jungle, though it was long until he had thoroughly
convinced himself by the force of autosuggestion that he had enjoyed every
instant of the flight and was already far advanced in the art of aviation.
So jealous was the black of his new-found toy that he would not return to the
village of Numabo, but insisted on making camp close beside the plane, lest in
some inconceivable fashion it should be stolen from him. For two days they
camped there, and constantly during daylight hours Usanga compelled the
Englishman to instruct him in the art of flying.
124
Page
Quick Jump
|