“Good-bye and good fortune to you,” said the consul, as the great airship quivered and strained, as if anxious to be up.
The bags had been thrown off so rapidly that now the weight of only a few held her down. The professor took his place beside Mr. Tubbs. The consul’s wife waved a dainty handkerchief.
The departure had been kept a secret, but the sight of the great yellow bag’s outlines rising above the compound walls had attracted a crowd outside. A cheer arose as the Discoverer’s electric siren sounded a prolonged blast.
It was the signal for throwing off the remaining bags. Nat and Joe worked with a will. Suddenly the craft bounded upward, almost throwing them off. Hastily they cast off the final sacks, while Ding-dong, his face pale with excitement, stood by his engines.
Clang-clang! came from the gong at his elbow.
The lad’s hand shoved over the starting lever that gave the engines their first impulse by means of compressed air. Then he manipulated the sparking and gas controls.
The mighty propeller began to beat the air as the Discoverer soared buoyantly, and yet in stately fashion, high above the houses and tree-tops.
“Hurray! We’re off!” cried Nat, clambering along the runway as nimbly as a sailor.
Faster and faster the propeller revolved. The wind was blowing lightly out of the west, aiding the Discoverer on her flight toward the mountains.
Suddenly Ding-dong felt something fan the air past his ear. It was a bullet. At the same instant a report came from below. Somebody was shooting at the craft of the clouds. The others rushed out excitedly. They were just in time to see two figures struggling in the hands of several native policemen.