There was a splutter of sparks, a grinding sound, a series of explosions, and then a whirring noise as the great propeller blades began to revolve, slowly at first and then with a speed that made them mere blurs of light.
The Comet began to move slowly over the smooth ground.
“Ha! Ha!” laughed many in the crowd. “We knew she wouldn’t go up!”
But, hardly had they spoken, when Jerry tilted the elevation rudder. With a sweep and a swoop, the great motorship left the earth, shot over the heads of the crowd—the nearest ones instinctively ducking, though there was no need—and a few seconds later the airship was sailing majestically toward the clouds.
“Hurrah!” cried Bob. “We’re off again!”
For a moment the startled throng was silent, and then, as before their very eyes the seemingly impossible feat had been accomplished, they set up a great cheer, which came faintly to the ears of the motor boys.
“And now for the valley of the sixty nuggets of gold!” exclaimed Mr. Brill, there being none but friends to hear him.
“Not quite yet,” said Jerry, with a smile; “She needs a little adjusting before she answers to her rudders perfectly. But we can do that to-morrow, stock up the next day and set off.”
Before going back to their improvised “hangar,” however, they went out to Flathead Lake, where they settled down to the surface of the water to give the hydroplanes a trial. They worked well, the new one being as good as the others.
Then back again over the heads of the astonished, waiting throng they sailed, to settle down as gracefully as a bird in front of the shed.