Tom Swift and His Air Scout | Page 6

gone up in a balloon,

will know exactly how Mary Nestor felt on this, her first sky ride of
any distance. For a moment, as she looked over the side of the machine,
she had a distinct impression, not that she was going up, but that some
one had pulled the earth down from beneath her and, at the same time,
given her a shove off into space. Such is the first sensation of going
aloft. Then the rush of air all about her, the slightly swaying motion of
the craft, and the vibration caused by the motor took her attention. But
the sensation of the earth dropping away from beneath her remained
with Mary for some time.
This sensation is much greater in a balloon than in an aeroplane, for a
balloon, unless there is a strong wind blowing, goes straight up, while
an aeroplane ascends on a long slant, and always into the teeth of the
wind, to take advantage of its lifting power on the underside of the
planes. The reason for this sensation--that of the earth's dropping down,
instead of one's feeling, what really happens, that one is ascending--is
because there are no objects by which comparison can be made. If one
starts off on the earth's surface at slow, or at great speed, one passes
stationary objects--houses, posts, trees, and the like-- and judges the
speed by the rapidity with which these are left behind.
Going up is unlike this. There is nothing to pass. One simply cleaves
the air, and only as it rushes past can one be sure of movement. And as
the air is void of color and form, there is no sensation of passing
anything.
So Mary Nestor, as she shot into the air with Tom Swift, had a
sensation as though the earth were dropping from beneath her. For a
moment she felt as though she were in some vast void--floating in
space--and she had a great fear. Then she calmed herself. She looked at
Tom sitting in front of her. Of course, all she could see was his back,
but it looked to be a very sturdy back, indeed, and he sat there in the
aircraft as calmly as though in a chair on the ground. Then Mary took
courage, and ceased to grasp the sides of the cockpit with a grip that
stiffened all her muscles. She was beginning to "find herself."
On and on, and up and up, went Mary and Tom, in this the girl's first
big sky ride. The earth below seemed farther and farther away. The

wide, green fields became little emerald squares, and the houses like
those in a toy Noah's ark.
Down below, Mr. Wakefield Damon, who had hurried over from his
home in Waterfield to see Tom Swift, gazed aloft at the fast
disappearing aeroplane and its passengers.
"Bless my coal bin!" cried the eccentric man, "but Tom is in a hurry
this morning. Too bad he couldn't have stopped and spoken to me. It
might have been greatly to his advantage. But I suppose I shall have to
wait."
"You want to see Master?" asked a voice behind Mr. Damon, and,
turning, he beheld a veritable giant.
"Yes, Koku, I did," Mr. Damon answered, and he did not appear at all
surprised at the sight of the towering form beside him. "I wanted to see
Tom most particularly. But I shall have to wait. I'll go in and talk to Mr.
Swift."
"Yaas, an' I go talk to Radicate," said the giant. "Him diggin' up ground
where Master told me to make garden. Radicate not strong enough for
dat!"
"Huh! there's trouble as soon as those two get to disputing," mused Mr.
Damon, as he went toward the house.
Meanwhile, Mary was beginning to enjoy herself. The sensation of
moving rapidly through the air in a machine as skillfully guided as was
the one piloted by Tom Swift was delightful. Up and up they went, and
then suddenly Mary felt a lurch, and the plane, which was now about a
thousand feet high, seemed to slip to one side.
Mary screamed, and began reaching for the buckle of the safety belt
that fastened her to her seat. She saw that something unusual had
occurred, for Tom was working frantically at the mechanism in front of
him.

But, in spite of this, he seemed aware that Mary was in danger, not so
much, perhaps, from what might happen to the machine, as what she
might do in her terror.
"Oh! Oh!" cried the girl, and Tom heard her above the terrific noise of
the motor, for she was speaking with her lips close to the tube that
served as a sort of inter-communicating telephone for the craft. "Oh, we
are falling! I'm going to