Blatz was enthusiastic in his praise of the great machine and Andy was forced to admit to himself that his earlier suspicions appeared unfounded. He relaxed his vigilance somewhat and the secret agent of the Gerka sensed this change in the assistant pilot’s attitude. Between them a real friendship started to develop and it was only natural that Bert and Harry were included in this feeling of comradeship.
On more than one occasion Blatz proved his sound technical knowledge, which could have been gained only at Friedrichshafen, a fact which influenced Andy in quieting his suspicions. In addition, there had been no report from the Washington headquarters of the secret service and it appeared that Blatz’s record was all right.
Shipments of helium, the life-blood of the Goliath, were arriving daily from the Texas gas fields. The long, narrow cylinders were stacked in rows outside the hangar. When needed they would be trucked inside, the valves opened, and their contents would flow into the gas cells inside the duralumin hull. In this respect the United States led all the other nations in its precious supply of helium, a non-inflammable gas. Some of the Europeans were forced to use hydrogen, a highly inflammable gas, the use of which had resulted in some of the major dirigible catastrophes.
Work on the Goliath was well ahead of schedule and when Bert and Harry finished their work on the radio equipment, Harry announced that it would be necessary for him to return to Brooklyn at once for a final test of the equipment of the Neptune.
The submarine was to leave soon and Andy and Bert obtained leave to accompany Harry on his return east. When Blatz heard of the plans, he asked permission to accompany them. It would give him an opportunity to visit the American headquarters of the Gerka in New York.
“You might just as well make it a real holiday,” Andy’s father said when apprised of their plans. “One of our cabin monoplanes will be in tomorrow and I’ll see that you are given the use of it for a week. Then you can fly east together.”
The suggestion appealed to them and they accepted with enthusiasm. Two days later they were ready to depart. After stowing their luggage into the baggage compartment of the trim, fast National Airways monoplane, they each took farewell looks at the Goliath and then climbed into their places.
Andy was at the controls with Blatz in the seat beside him. Bert and Harry were sprawled in comfortable wicker chairs to the rear. The plane skimmed across the field and took off in a steep climb, circled the field once, and then headed northeast in a bee-line for New York.
The mountains, their crests covered with the fresh green of early spring foliage, reared their misty heads to the east. They would cut diagonally across them and Andy held the stick back and watched the altimeter climb. At five thousand he leveled off and settled down to the trip. They had plenty of gas to make it on one long hop.
Blatz was enjoying the trip, the rolling country beneath, the mountains which they were approaching and even the thrill of being in the air, which never grew old to him. His eyes sparkled and there was a bright glow to his cheeks. He’d like to get his hands on the controls and see how this American commercial job handled.