Thus far not a single drop of rain had fallen, according to Perk’s calculations but the coming of the drenching flood could not be much longer delayed, he felt positive. Had there not been so much racket around them those keen ears of his might have detected a rushing sound in the near distance, like the roar of the incoming tide on the sandy shores of the gulf.
Then it came with a swoop, the wind whistling around their ears and the rain beating a tattoo against the fuselage of the ship, as well as striking them smartly in the face, despite such protection as their helmets and heavy goggles afforded.
Jack certainly had his hands full in managing the bobbing, shifting craft, gripped by those shifty gusts that came with giant force, making the flyers feel as though they were clinging to a mere chip tossed about in the wild fury of a Texas tempest.
Time and again did Perk feel as though his heart had jumped up in his throat, almost choking him; seasoned veteran at this sort of thing as he believed himself to be, he could not help this feeling of helplessness in the hands of the aroused elements; yet each time Jack managed to bring their ship through the teeth of the storm in a way that was next door to miraculous, and if Perk had up to this time not fully appreciated the astonishing skill and confidence of his younger companion while at the controls in an emergency, he certainly was getting his lesson then and there, in a way to cause it to sink deep, and stick.
CHAPTER XVII
A FIGHT WELL WON
It was no longer possible for the busy pilot to keep on his course. Every minute of his time was taken up with a desperate effort to keep from being thrown into a nose dive, that, unless miraculously conquered, would be likely to send them whirling down, to crash from a five thousand foot ceiling, and thus bring about a complete writeoff.
That however was the least of Jack’s worries—all he asked was the ability and luck to be able to fend off threatening disaster; could this be done successfully in good time they could pick up all that was lost, and once more continue their westward flight.
The battering they endured was simply tremendous, and Jack marveled at the ship being able to withstand such a horrible strain. If but a single strut gave way under all that pounding it would mean starting a series of similar mishaps such as would quickly render them incapable of keeping aloft; and with this threat hanging over their heads it can readily be understood neither of the two could be in a comfortable frame of mind.
Still it is wonderful how men thus threatened will continue to carry on, although in an almost mechanical fashion, doing just the necessary thing with each change of pace on the part of the tricky storm, and meeting successfully every near tragedy as it arises to clutch them in its grip.
No longer did Jack keep on climbing—it seemed to him that the further the staggering boat lifted the more dangerous became their situation for the air was surcharged with electricity as the zigzag lightning darted from cloud to cloud, doubling the chances of their frail craft being struck.