“Marvelous! superb! excellent!” he was saying with his French extravagance of speech. “I take off my cap to zese boys. Zey are surely bound to make zare mark in ze profession. Jean, it ees no longer a chance we take. It ees a certainty. We sall laugh at ze gendarmes as we soar over zere heads in ze sky. Pouf! a turn of ze hand, and ze propeller it will buzz. Zen we are off wiz a rush. Get aboard, Jean!”
The taller man did not seem to have quite so much confidence as Jules. Doubtless he feared that they would be accepting unusual risks in thus trusting their lives and fortunes to a contraption made by mere boys. Still, the situation was such that he had to yield to the opinion of his comrade. And if all went well, it was an ideal method of giving their enemies the slip.
So, after giving a last look around him, with somewhat of a sigh he started to attach himself in the position which Jules had pointed out.
The new monoplane had been built especially for two. Frank and his cousin had that in mind when starting in to construct the machine; since neither of them wished to cruise through the air alone.
Hence, there was a place for the second man, where he would just balance matters nicely. And Jules had himself marked out where the two heavy suit-cases should be tied fast. In this, his former experience stood him well, since he was aware of all the little tricks developed by gliding aeroplanes when at work.
“You stay inside here, and when you hear me shout just whoop it up at the top of your voice. I’m going out to see if I can play a trick on them, and prevent an ascent,” whispered Frank.
Immediately he was gone, and Andy, feeling mighty shaky, as he afterwards frankly confessed, succeeded in crawling out from under the work bench. Still clutching his wrench weapon he tiptoed over to the vicinity of the open doors, where he stood almost holding his breath in his desire to have a full supply in his lungs when the signal came to let loose.
Frank had meanwhile crept softly outside. The shadow cast by the hangar served to hide him more or less. And besides, both men seemed to be completely taken up with what they were doing, for they certainly failed to look his way.
It was apparent that Frank had conceived some sort of idea. These things often came to him like a flash of light. It was fortunate in the present instance, for time was of considerable value. At any moment now, Jules, finding that his companion had settled himself, was apt to switch the power on to the shaft, and start the propeller to whirling around.
When that occurred it would be too late for any one to think of stopping the monoplane, which must begin to move off on its wheeled base, increasing in momentum with each yard of progress, until finally it would take gradually to the air, if all went well, in a graceful upward curve.