After the squire had gone below, Miss Chain said,—
“I really do sympathise with you, Miss Dove, and cannot understand what Mr Goodall is bent on accomplishing.”
“He is perhaps attempting to cross the Channel with the idea of pursuing the fugitives in France, but to me,” said Miss Dove, hysterically, “it seems fearfully venturesome.”
“Let us hope it will all end well,” said Miss Chain.
CHAPTER XIX
UP ALOFT
After Harry Goodall and Tom Trigger had left the park and Doctor Peters in the lurch, a grand view burst upon them as the balloon mounted to an elevation of over two thousand feet, when the rays of the bright sun enlivened the Sussex scenery and began to dry the saturated silk.
Magnificent, however, as the change proved, the voyagers had no time to dwell upon such matters, for the open sea lay before them, and they were drifting towards it rapidly and in the direction of Newhaven. Up to this time, Goodall had kept his real project from Trigger, but now that the aeronaut and his assistant were alone in the empyrean, there was no longer any reason for concealing from Tom that they were not aloft solely for the object of drying the balloon, but principally to carry out the daring and novel idea of pursuing the fugitives, Falcon and Croft, should they have crossed over to Dieppe by the steamer from Newhaven. And certainty as to this Goodall expected to get from Warner, whom he had arranged to pick up and take in his balloon somewhere near the coast by preconcerted signal. This was the scheme concocted by Harry Goodall, and listened to with approval by the squire when they journeyed to Lewes, though, of course, it was not finally settled until Warner had agreed to it.
Harry Goodall, soon after passing the Sussex Downs, in pursuance of this piece of aeronautic strategy, lowered a long trail rope to check the speed of his balloon over the marshes, so that he could pull up with less difficulty as they drew near to the coast. And on his side, Simon Warner was fortunately enabled to expedite the aeronaut’s efforts on noticing the balloon by picking up a fly returning from the station. This was a special bit of good luck, as the fly man, Richard Trimmons, knew the country intimately and had done a little ballooning himself. Directly they caught sight of the balloon, they commenced signalling to Mr Goodall to anchor near Bishopstone Church where there was a sheltered spot. Here, two other Seafordites, viz., Blucher Gray of Pelham Place, and Mr Charles Strive, a retired chief officer of the Blatchington coastguard, presented themselves, and they very obligingly, together with others, rendered valuable assistance in securing the balloon.
On this being effected, the detective rushed up to Harry Goodall with great glee and shook hands.
“Well, Warner, what is the news?”