Tom Swift and His Sky Racer or The Quickest Flight on ... - Fourmilab

110 CHAPTER 25. HOME AGAIN—CONCLUSIONWould he be in time? Would he be in time? That question came to himagain <strong>and</strong> again.F<strong>or</strong> a time the Humming-Bird skimmed along as though she delighted inthe rapid motion, in slipping through the air <strong>and</strong> sliding along on the billowsof wind. <strong>Tom</strong>, with critical ears, listened to the hum of the mot<strong>or</strong>, the puffingof the exhaust, the grinding of the gear wheels, <strong>and</strong> the clicking of the trips, asvalve after valve opened <strong>or</strong> closed to admit the mixture of air <strong>and</strong> gasoline, <strong>or</strong>closed to give the compression necessary f<strong>or</strong> the proper explosion.“Is she w<strong>or</strong>king all right?” asked Mr. Damon, anxiously, <strong>and</strong>, such was thestrain on him that he did not think to bless anything. “Is she all right, <strong>Tom</strong>,my lad?”“I think so. I’m speeding her to the limit. Faster than I ever did bef<strong>or</strong>e, butI guess she’ll do. She was built to st<strong>and</strong> a strain, <strong>and</strong> she’s got to do it now!”<strong>The</strong>n there was silence again, as they slid along through the air like a coastergliding down a steep descent.“It was a great race, wasn’t it?” asked Mr. Damon, as he shifted to an easierposition in his seat. “A great race, <strong>Tom</strong>. I didn’t think you’d do it, one spellthere.”“Neither did I,” came the answer, as the young invent<strong>or</strong> changed the sparklever. “But I made up my mind I wouldn’t be beaten by Andy Foger, if I couldhelp it. Though it was taking a risk to shut off the current the way I did.”“A risk?”“Yes; it might not have started again,” <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tom</strong> looked down at the earthbelow them, as if measuring the distance he would have fallen had not his skyracer kept on at the critical moment.“And—<strong>and</strong> if the current hadn’t come on again; eh, <strong>Tom</strong>? Would we—?”Mr. Damon did not finish, but <strong>Tom</strong> knew what he meant.“It would have been all up with us,” he said simply. “I might have volplanedback to earth, but at the speed we were going, <strong>and</strong> at the height, around a curve,we might have turned turtle.”“Bless my—!” began Mr. Damon, <strong>and</strong> then he stopped. <strong>The</strong> thought of<strong>Tom</strong>’s trouble came to him, <strong>and</strong> he realized that his w<strong>or</strong>ds might grate on thefeelings of his companion.On they rushed through the air with the Humming-Bird speeded up faster<strong>and</strong> faster as she warmed to her task. <strong>The</strong> machinery seemed to be w<strong>or</strong>kingperfectly, <strong>and</strong> as <strong>Tom</strong> listened to the hum a look of pleasure replaced the lookof anxiety on his face.“Don’t you think we’ll make it?” asked Mr. Damon, after another pause,during which they passed over a large city, the inhabitants exhibiting muchexcitement as they sighted the airship over their heads.“We’ve got to make it!” declared <strong>Tom</strong> between his clenched teeth.He turned on a little m<strong>or</strong>e gasoline, <strong>and</strong> there was a spurt in their speedwhich made Mr. Damon grasp the upright braces near him with firm h<strong>and</strong>s,<strong>and</strong> his face became a little paler“It’s all right,” spoke <strong>Tom</strong>, reassuringly. “<strong>The</strong>re’s no danger.”