“I want you to eat a good big breakfast, old man,” he said. “I want you to take me for a spin in the air after while.”
“That’s good,” said Lawrence. “If I don’t fly more than I am doing now, I will have to give up my license and take a job as instructor somewhere. I am getting all out of practice.”
“You can have some practice today,” said Mr. Ridgeway. He went from the breakfast table to the telephone, and immediately they hurried out to the Aviation Field in Mr. Ridgeway’s runabout. There the first person who met them was O’Brien, all in leather, with his goggles in his hand.
“Your things are in the locker room,” he said to Lawrence. “Get into them quickly. Mr. Ridgeway is plannin’ quite a little trip for you.”
Ten minutes later, they embarked in one of the larger planes, and went sailing off, O’Brien at the wheel, cutting a straight course toward the east. In a wild rush of speed, reeling league after league of sky behind them, they reached the Atlantic coast and, swerving, made for the desolate reaches of Barnegat. Lawrence, to whom this was new territory, watched everything with the greatest interest.
The tide was out, and just below the Inlet a half-mile stretch of beach, hard and firm, afforded a wonderful landing. O’Brien dropped brilliantly, and leaving the plane, they walked back until they came to the hangar where the new dirigible was housed. Lawrence gave a quick sigh of delight when he saw the balloon. He had never seen anything so clean-lined and so sporty looking as the new model. For it was absolutely the latest thing in construction, and Lawrence longed to get his hand on the steering gear.
“What do you think of that?” asked O’Brien as Mr. Ridgeway went outside with one of the men, who seemed to be in charge.
“I never saw anything so fine!” declared Lawrence. “I never saw anything just like it. Even the new models in the pictures in the trade journals are not as good in outline, and do not look as light in construction.”
“They are not,” said O’Brien. “This is the first time I have seen this but I know it was designed for Mr. Ridgeway.”
“What is its fuel?” asked Lawrence.