Now, with the window shut, the boys seemed safe enough for the present. They could see that the big snake was extremely uneasy. As the wind whistled by him, his great tail twisted and untwisted, and he seemed to be trying to get a better hold on the smooth surface, while his beady eyes glared at them only a moment in the glow of the flashlight, and then he transferred his attention to the landscape below them. His forked fangs darted in and out during this time with the angriest lightning-like movement.
Paul relieved Tom at the throttle for a few minutes, so that the latter could have a look at the reptile.
When Tom came back again to his post, he said, with plain uneasiness: "I never saw such a big snake before, Paul. Between the rush of wind and the roar of the engine and propeller, he seems scared out of his wits."
"We've got to get him off of there somehow—and mighty soon, too," put in John, with decision. "Tom, if that monster should begin to slip a little most likely he will coil his tail around some of our control wires,—and then what?"
Their faces blanched at this prospect. They knew what that would mean. It would mean that the great creature would either operate the airplane's rudders when they should not be operated, or would prevent Tom from moving them when they must be moved. In either event, the result would be disaster to machine and crew.
"Good heavens, boys!" said Tom, so nervous his voice shook, "get rid of that snake as quick as you can!" He fancied he could see the rear control levers moving at that instant.
The other three flyers knew the importance of these instructions, but how were they to carry them out? The reptile was too large to be shoved off with a stick or pole, and would probably squirm through the window while they were attempting it. And they were afraid to use a gun, as, in the case of a miss or a little lurch of the airplane at the moment of firing, the bullet might puncture the hollow wing or rear fuselage and let helium escape.
It was Bob who solved the puzzle.
"Why not try a loop or two?" he asked.
Their hearts jumped with hope at this. So everything was made tight in the cabin, with the straps and fastenings which had been provided when the machine was made. Even Grandpa had to submit to being roped up in one of the swinging hammocks. When the boys had buckled themselves down to their seats, John gave Tom the word, and he began to rise slowly. At close to two thousand feet he brought the Sky-Bird quickly and smoothly upward until she stood almost on her tail end.