In a minute Stepan was satisfied and had taken his place beside Dick. Then the motor was started, the propeller began to turn, and in a few moments they rose from the ground, soared above the trees, and were in full flight.
"Now you see why we had to be warm!" said Stepan. "We are in for a long flight. But up first! We must fly high!"
CHAPTER XVIII
THE FLIGHT
They rose higher and higher, climbing in spirals, until Dick had completely lost his bearings. The night was cloudy, and there were no stars to help him, and before long they had passed through the first layer of low hanging clouds, so that he was denied the aid of lights and towns below. Then when they had thus made it impossible for anyone below to detect them, Stepan gave his motor full play and the real flight began. Dick thought he had never in his life known a sensation so glorious as this swift gliding along through the air. But he soon appreciated the comfort that came from the thick clothes upon which his chum had insisted. Despite the weight of the things, he was far from being hot in that long night flight.
Sometimes he slept. He was aroused once when they descended, but the country was wholly unfamiliar to him, and they were soon off again. But with morning came a stunning surprise. The sun was visible now, and Dick saw that they had been flying northeast! He had supposed that they would head for the Servian army, but he guessed now, as he saw snow capped mountains before them, that they had taken an entirely different course. And his surprise was vastly increased when a strange sound assailed his ears.
"Ah!" cried Stepan, exulting. "It is all right!"
Dick followed Stepan's pointing finger with his eyes, and now he saw the source of the firing that had so astonished him. It was in front of him, on the plain between them and the mountains, which were far away still, though they seemed so near.
"What troops are those? And where are we?" he cried.