“I’m so tired I can hardly wiggle,” groaned Bert.
“I’m just about that bad,” agreed Andy. “Believe me, I’ll go to bed early tonight.”
“Wonder what’s happened to Harry and the Neptune?” said Bert. “I managed to roll out this morning in time to tune in at eight o’clock but I didn’t get even a peep out of him.”
“I must have been sound asleep when you got up,” said Andy, “for I didn’t hear a thing.”
“I came back to bed after failing to get in touch with Harry,” replied Bert. “I’ll try again tonight at eight. Hope I have better luck. I wouldn’t trust one of those tin fish as far as I could throw my hat. They don’t look safe to me.”
“I expect a sailor feels the same way about an airship,” said Andy. “It all depends on what you’re used to.”
After dinner that night Andy’s father announced that special tests would be made the next week, including the attaching of a plane to the Goliath while in flight. This had been successfully accomplished by the Akron and they expected no difficulty. The special rigging was already at Bellevue and it would be only the matter of a few days to complete the installation. The Goliath differed from the Akron in one capacity. Where the Akron could carry a single plane slung underneath in a special carriage, the Goliath had a special hold midships where the planes could be raised and stored. It could accommodate four fast pursuit ships, launching them as it sped through the air at one hundred miles an hour. It was from this viewpoint that the Goliath held unusual value to the army officers.
Shortly before eight o’clock Andy and Bert went to the radio room, where Bert tuned up his receiver for a talk with Harry, now far out to sea in the Neptune.
He turned on the power at eight o’clock and waited patiently for a signal from the submarine. When it failed to come he tried calling Harry but even then failed to get a reply.
Bert worked for an hour hoping that he could get some answer from the Neptune but at nine o’clock was forced to admit defeat.