"We'll have a good try, anyway," declared Fosterdyke. "Once we get her up we'll rely on our planes to get us across the Atlantic. Thank goodness the motors are intact! I wonder if there's much damage done to the navigation-room. Several bullets came unpleasantly close to our heads, I remember."
Examination resulted in the knowledge that although the aluminium sides of the nacelle had been liberally peppered, most of the nickel bullets had penetrated both sides without doing vital damage. What was the most serious injury was caused to the propellers of Nos. 5 and 6 motors, the feather-edged blades being chipped by bullets. Since the spare blades had already been used earlier in the voyage replacement was out of the question. The ragged edges meant at least a reduction of ten miles an hour, even if the blades did not fly to pieces when the propellers were running at maximum speed.
During the rest of the night the crew worked with a will--patching, mending, and "doping" the holed fabric and carefully testing each repaired ballonet with compressed air before refilling it with the precious brodium.
Meanwhile, the Federals brought quantities of petrol, employing teams of mules for the purpose, their petrol dump being a good five miles from the scene of the "Golden Hind's" unfortunate landing. Every drop had to be passed through a fine gauze strainer before being allowed to enter the tanks, since foreign matter in the fuel might easily result in motor trouble.
Anxious to make amends, the commandant also presented the baronet with a quantity of excellent tobacco and cigars, several native cakes made of maize, an earthenware bowl filled with good butter, and a wicker crate of fresh fruit.
By dawn the refitting of the "Golden Hind" was accomplished as far as lay in the power of the dauntless crew. Now came the crucial test: would the airship rise under the lifting power of the reduced volume of brodium?
At seven o'clock the huge fabric showed signs of buoyancy. A quarter of an hour later the recording instruments showed that only another thousand cubic feet of gas was necessary to overcome the force of gravity.
"We haven't that quantity, sir," reported Chief Air Mechanic Hayward. "But I would suggest, sir, that we release our reserve gas into the for'ard ballonets. That will lift her nose clear of the ground, and the propellers will do the rest. Once we're up, sir, it will be as easy as shelling peas."
"We can but try it," replied Fosterdyke. "At any rate, if we can make Panama we will manage with hydrogen for the remaining ballonets. Right-o! Pass the word when you're ready."
At seven-thirty the crew were at their stations. The for'ard portion of the airship was straining at the guide ropes. The declutched motors, purring gently at a quarter throttle, were awaiting the order that would transform them into propulsive forces. Until the planes could be brought into action the "Golden Hind" was much in the nature of a rocket soaring obliquely under the influence of a self-contained impulsive charge.