“But won’t they question my appearance at Bellevue?”
“That will be arranged,” promised Reikoff. “Before you leave Rubania you will be supplied with the credentials of a dirigible expert from the Friedrichshafen works in Germany. I warn you, however, that your mission will be dangerous. The American secret service knows that I will let nothing stand in the way of Rubania’s supremacy in the air and they have been guarding this new dirigible with the greatest secrecy. Our agents in the United States have known for some months that the National Airways was building a ship to enter the transcontinental passenger service but it was only two days ago that they learned the details of the plans. Boris Dubra, one of our cleverest agents in America, has secured employment at the main assembly plant under the name of Cliff Bolton. You will work with him in the accomplishment of your mission. Completion of the Goliath will mean domination of the skies for America. It must not be.”
There was a chorus of agreement from the members of the supreme council of the Gerka grouped around the table.
“The National Airways have ambitious plans for the Goliath,” went on Reikoff.
“Capt. John Harkins, probably the best dirigible commander in the world, will be in charge of the big ship,” he said, fingering the yellow sheets of flimsy, the wireless reports from the American branch of the Gerka which had brought news of the Goliath and its menace to Rubania’s air leadership.
“Construction at Bellevue is under the direction of Charles High, vice president in charge of operations, and his son, Andy, who is reported to be an unusually resourceful young scientist and who will be Captain Harkins’ first assistant.”
“Your duty,” went on Reikoff, addressing himself directly to Serge, “will be to win the confidence of Andy High. In America you will be known as Herman Blatz. Once you have done that you should be in a position to bring about the destruction of the Goliath. You must learn its every secret. If necessary that the ship be allowed to fly in order to accomplish that goal, do not interfere until you have mastered every secret of these American aircraft builders. When you have done that, destroy the Goliath!”
Serge nodded slowly. So this was why he had been drafted into the secret police. He was to destroy the new king of the skies. Serge loved the great, gracefully looking airships on which he had been trained at Friedrichshafen and the thought of destroying one of them sickened him. But he was a Rubanian, a member of the great army which lived as Alex Reikoff dictated and he finally forced himself to accept the mission.
The meeting of the supreme council adjourned at two o’clock and Serge drove hastily through the deserted streets of the capital until he reached the flying field where he was supervising the final work on the XO5, the new distance plane.
Mechanics were routed from their beds and set to work preparing the big monoplane for its long flight across the Atlantic. For eighteen hours Serge worked feverishly over the craft, making test flights over the field and checking every detail of the preparations. Satisfied that his craft was ready, he rolled into a bed at the field and slept for twelve hours. Awakened at dawn the second day following the secret meeting of the supreme council, he found Reikoff at the field to see him off.