“I’m afraid there is,” the young inventor answered. “We’re being forced down. I thought everything was all right with the machinery, but you never can tell.”
“Bless my accident insurance policy! Do you think we’ll go down right in the water, Tom?” gasped Mr. Damon.
“It begins to look so,” was the reply. “But perhaps better there than on land—there won’t be such a shock. The plane has floating compartments, and so has this car—I had them built in as a precaution against water landings. I don’t believe there will be any real danger.”
There was no doubt about it—the plane was gradually settling lower and lower—ever coming nearer to the surface of Lake Carlopa.
“She’s slowing up, Tom,” remarked Ned, as he listened to the throbs and pulsations of the motor above them.
“Yes, I’m afraid we’re in for it,” came the response. “Can’t you make any emergency repairs, Meldrum?” he asked the mechanician.
“Bert’s trying, but it doesn’t seem of much use,” was the answer. Bert Dodge was the assistant engineer, and fully as competent as his chief.
“This settles one thing,” remarked Tom, as he glanced out of the car window. “On the next flight I’ll have a duplicate oiling system installed.”
“Brace yourselves, everybody! We’re in for a ducking!” came the cry.
The next moment the big new aeroplane and its attached passenger car plunged into Lake Carlopa with a mighty splash. For a moment it seemed that they would be engulfed and all drowned before they could make egress from the plane and car. But Meldrum had guided the machine down on a long angle so that the water was struck a glancing blow. In effect, the lower surface of the car and the tail of the plane slid along the surface of the water for some distance. This neutralized some of the force of the impact, and then, though the machine settled rather deeply in the water, it did not sink. The air compartments prevented that.