“It will have to be before we get to the first place they expect to bombard, then,” Frank replied, meaning, of course, that once the work of the fleet began there would be no time for any of them to manifest any interest in the evolutions of the American built aircraft.
When Frank had moved a lever that called for all speed, and the motors were working at the astonishing rate of almost two thousand revolutions a minute, it seemed as though they had left the rest of the fleet far in the lurch. Green flames spouted from the exhausts, for Frank had opened the muffler in order to get every ounce of speed out of the motors.
They could see the pilots of the other seaplanes looking up at them in mingled wonder and admiration, for, like the jockeys of race horses, it is the ambition of every aviator to possess the fastest going machine on the market.
Having secured a free section of space to himself, Frank proceeded to put the wonderful Sea Eagle through her paces. He showed what could be done in various ways, and while possibly most of those other craft were capable of accomplishing similar tricks, the fact was made patent that the superior size of the American made hydro-aëroplane did not act as a bar to the ability of the Sea Eagle to maneuver in a dexterous fashion while going at that tremendous rate of speed.
“Now we’ll have to stop, and mount a little higher,” Frank remarked, having circled around and found himself once more back of the leaders in the procession.
“There go several aëroplanes off to the right!” announced Billy. “I reckon that’s the detachment told off to tackle Bruges and other interior places.”
“We’re coming to Ostend!” Frank told them, pointing down to where the city of the celebrated bathing beach could be seen, with the houses and hotels close to the famous sandy stretch of shore.
There were boats in the harbor, and they must be German owned or they could not have come there. Billy, using the glasses, could see that the most tremendous excitement had seized upon every one in sight. People were rushing in every direction, soldiers as well as civilians; the rays of the sun glinted on cannon that were being hastily changed, so as to point upward.
“There goes the first anti-aircraft gun!” called Billy, as a faint boom reached their ears from far below.
“Watch what the fleet pilots do!” Frank told them.