The special train arrived an hour late and the crew of the airship worked with feverish haste to transfer the clothes and food from the express cars to the Goliath. The task was completed at four o’clock and with the first tints of dawn in the sky, the Goliath was taken out of its hangar and started on its errand of mercy.
Captain Harkins held the big ship at a steady eighty miles an hour and by mid-forenoon they were well below Memphis and swinging over the flood area. The Mississippi had turned its valley into an immense brown lake. The waters had swilled through towns, inundating streets and sweeping houses from their foundations.
Many of the towns had been deserted while others, on higher ground, were completely cut off by the flood. It was to the latter that the Goliath was directed.
Bert kept in touch with the latest radio reports on the conditions and the Goliath swung from one village to another. Andy, back in the hold, superintended the dropping of food and clothes. The food was put into bundles of clothes and then dropped overboard, the Goliath descending until it was a bare fifty feet above the towns to which it brought relief. With motors shut off, it was possible for Andy to carry on a conversation with the marooned people and ascertain their needs. Serge was with Andy and they directed the crew in the relief work.
Through the morning and afternoon they worked and their supply of food and clothing dwindled at a surprising rate. Two more towns to serve and they would be through. They dropped food and clothing to the first one and hurried on to supply the second. After that they would start for home.
Lieutenant Crummit and another army flyer had stuck with them all day long, leaving only when it was necessary to fly to some city and replenish their fuel supply, but one of the army pursuit ships had always been on duty.
A scene of complete desolation greeted them as they neared the last town to which they were bringing assistance. Flood waters were pouring through every street and the inhabitants who had not escaped were huddled on house tops. More than fifty men, women and children were congregated on the flat roof of a garage, the largest building in the town. Out of the northwest a chill wind was presaging a raw, bitter night and Andy shivered as he thought of the suffering which the little band on the rooftop would undergo before rescuers could reach them by boat.
“Why don’t we drop down and take them aboard?” suggested Bert. “With much more exposure some of those people will have pneumonia.”
“It might be possible,” agreed Andy. “We’ll see Captain Harkins.”
They presented their suggestion to the commander of the Goliath, and, after a careful survey, Captain Harkins agreed. Orders were given for the descent of the Goliath and Andy went back midships to supervise the dropping of a flexible steel ladder. The Goliath could not land directly on the roof, but would hover just above it. The refugees would have to climb the ladder to safety.