Ben struggled to free himself, but the big German held him tightly. His face was close to that of the young aviator, and the youth could see a strange gleam in the blue eyes. The hum of the motor as it increased in speed sounded loudly in the room. The big rattan screw was hissing as the blade cut the air.
“Let me go!” cried Ben. “I don’t want to try your flying machine!”
“But you must!” insisted the inventor. “This is an opportunity I have long waited for. All the other airship men would not come in when they got as far as the door. They were afraid of me, I guess.”
Ben wished he had been more discreet, for he realized that the man was a dangerous lunatic.
“You will soon be sailing through the air; right up through the roof,” the German went on, still holding Ben in his arms, while with one foot he pushed over a lever on the floor, thereby increasing the speed of the motor. “You will soon be among the birds. Then you can come down and write an account of it for the paper, and Hans Voller will be famous.”
Ben was very much frightened. The man was fairly crushing him in his terrible grip, and, as he approached closer to the machinery, the youth saw that the apparatus was strongly constructed and was revolving at a speed so great that the spiral looked like a thin white streak. The blades were not visible.
He could not imagine what the insane inventor was going to do with him, unless he intended to toss him into the midst of the whirling screw. In this event, though the material was only light rattan, our hero was likely to be seriously injured, because of the great speed. Also, there was danger that he would come in contact with a live wire or part of the big motor, the vibrations of which shook the whole frail building.
But the German soon showed that he was not going to do any immediate harm to the boy. He suddenly laid the young aviator down on an elevated platform, which Ben at once saw was part of a scale for weighing big objects. The scale was connected to the screw, and the arm, with the weight on, was oscillating up and down.
Before Ben could wiggle away, the German had passed some ropes over him, tying him securely down on the platform. Then he sprang to his feet, leaving the boy lying there, trussed like a fowl.
“Now we are ready to fly!” exclaimed the German, his eyes flashing strangely.