“I asked about the amphibian that was to be placed at our disposal,” Jack informed the other later on; “and Mr. Herriott apologized because, as he said, he understood it had been decided best and safest for all concerned if instead of the wonderful new navy speed boat, one of the latest patterns along that line, as first designed for us, they had sent a much used Curtiss Falcon; although certain new fangled devices had been attached, such as combination wheels and pontoons, that had been successfully tried out in active service, and were much the worse for wear, but staunch for all that.”
“Gee whiz! that’s goin’ to tickle a feller named er-Wally a heap, let me tell yeou, buddy!” exclaimed Perk, with glistening eyes. “Allers did hanker to see haow that ere contraption panned aout. What else is there ’baout the boat we’ll ’preciate, boss?”
“A number of up-to-date things that are apt to come in handy,” Jack told him; “but remember, pains have been taken to make it appear they’ve been attached to the flying ship for quite some time—it might look suspicious if they were all new, as though placed there for some particular purpose—get the full meaning of that, do you, Wally?”
“Yeah, jest so,” the other made answer, a bit hesitatingly, but with growing assurance in his manner; “them bally guys got sharp eyes, an’ if so be they happens to have a spy right hyah in Charleston town, he’d lamp sech extravagance, an’ keep an eye on weuns.”
“That’s the right answer, boy—you said it. Well, another fine thing Mr. Herriott told me, was connected with a suppression of the row made by our exhausts. You know that’s been a source of great annoyance to us in times past, when it meant a whole lot if we could get close to our intended quarry without kicking up such a tremendous racket that every living thing inside ten miles must know an airship was somewhere around.”
“Hot-diggetty-dig! air yeou tellin’ me they done got that squall muzzled at last—that yeou kin make a grand sneak up on yeour meat withaout them suspectin’ a single thing?”
“Well, they do say it’s pretty close to having the noise kept under perfect control,” Jack went on to state. “Whenever you want to stop the staccato sounds from publishing your coming to the entire country, ten miles in every direction, all you have, to do is to press a button, and the muffler gets down to business automatically. Even the whirling sound of the propeller has been fairly quieted in the same way.”
“Say, that shore is great news!” Perk exclaimed, enthusiastically; “an’ I’ll be near crazy to see haow she works, aput in practice.”
“Just hold your horses until tomorrow, when we’ll go out to the field and take our first flight in the old cabin Curtiss Falcon ship, to find how she handles. I never had the pleasure of piloting one of that type of ships, and so there’ll be a heap for both of us to learn.”
“Shucks! I done handled a amphib many a time, but that was years back, when they didn’t near come up to the new kind; an’ with all them contraptions attached in the bargain. It’s agoin’ to be high sport dodgin’ ’raound over them swamps an’ wild sections o’ territory, duckin’ daown to settle on some bayou, or mebbe a meanderin’ river with a fierce current, sech as I read they got close to the Atlantic seaboard—bet yeour boots it is, partner.”