The laugh provoked him beautifully and stimulated his blasphemy as he ordered me again to let Harden speak to him.
"I can't very well do that, can I? You'll understand why."
"What the devil do you mean by that?"
"Think, man, think. It would stop my getting off with No. 14 in time to reach Schipphasen before dark, if I were to wait an hour before making this trial trip."
"But you mustn't do anything till I come, Vibach," he growled.
"Good. I thought you'd see that." I paused and added: "Of course I will. I've told him we're awfully obliged to him. All right, good-bye. Don't make it longer than an hour. The days are none too long."
I made as if to hang up the receiver when Harden put out his hand to take it. That was according to specification; and I started as if remembering he wished to speak to Schiller, stumbled against a chair behind me, nearly fell, holding tight to the receiver, and in recovering myself, pulled it clean off the flex and put the 'phone out of action.
A mouthful of apologies for my clumsiness was met by a smile from the good simple man whose conviction of my good faith had been assured by the half of the conversation he had overheard.
"It is of no consequence at all. My people will put it right in a few minutes," he declared, little guessing what those few minutes meant to me. "What I had to say to Captain Schiller can quite well wait until he arrives," he added.
"He may be a bit put out, but I'll explain that it was my fault entirely. He reckons to be over in about an hour," I said as we returned to the field; "and that will give us nice time for the little experimental flight—our little bit of convincing evidence, eh? He likes the idea, and is as much obliged to you as I am."