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

111But <strong>Tom</strong> almost reckoned without his host, f<strong>or</strong> a few moments later, as hewas trying to get m<strong>or</strong>e revolutions out of the propellers, he ran into an adversecurrent of air.In an instant the Humming-Bird was tilted up almost on her “beams’ ends,”so to speak, <strong>and</strong> had it not been that the young invent<strong>or</strong> quickly warped thewing tips, to counteract the pressure on one side, there might have been adifferent end to this st<strong>or</strong>y.“Bless my——!” began Mr. Damon, but he got no further, f<strong>or</strong> he had tobend his body as <strong>Tom</strong> did, to equalize the pressure of the wind current.“A little farther over!” yelled the lad. “A little farther over this way, Mr.Damon!”“But if I come any m<strong>or</strong>e toward you I’ll be out of my seat!” objected theeccentric man.“If you don’t you’ll be out of the aeroplane!” cried <strong>Tom</strong> grimly, <strong>and</strong> hiscompanion leaned over as far as he could until the young pilot had brought thecraft to an even keel again.<strong>The</strong>n <strong>Tom</strong> speeded up the mot<strong>or</strong>, which he had partly shut down as theypassed through the danger zone, <strong>and</strong> again they were racing through space.<strong>The</strong>y were nearing Shopton now, as the lad <strong>and</strong> Mr. Damon could tell bythe familiar l<strong>and</strong>marks which loomed up in sight. <strong>Tom</strong> strained his eyes f<strong>or</strong> thefirst view of his home.Suddenly, as they were skimming along, there came a cessation of the hum<strong>and</strong> roar that told of the perfectly-w<strong>or</strong>king mot<strong>or</strong>. It was an ominous silence.“What’s—what’s wrong?” gasped Mr. Damon.“Something’s given way,” answered <strong>Tom</strong> quickly. “I’m afraid the magnetoisn’t sparking as it ought to.”“Well, can’t we volplane hack to earth?” asked the odd man, f<strong>or</strong> he hadbecome familiar with this feat when anything happened to the mot<strong>or</strong>.“We could,” answered <strong>Tom</strong>, “but I’m not going to.”“Why not?”“Because we’re too far from Shopton—<strong>and</strong> dad! I’m going to keep on. I’vegot to—if I want to be there in time!”“But if the mot<strong>or</strong> doesn’t w<strong>or</strong>k?”“I’ll make her w<strong>or</strong>k!”<strong>Tom</strong> was desperately manipulating the various levers <strong>and</strong> h<strong>and</strong>les connectedwith the electrical ignition system. He tried in vain to get the magneto to resumethe giving out of sparks, <strong>and</strong>, failing in that, he switched on the batteries. But,to his h<strong>or</strong>r<strong>or</strong>, the dry cells had given out. <strong>The</strong>re was no way of getting a sparkunless the little electrical machine would w<strong>or</strong>k.<strong>The</strong> propellers were still whirring around by their own momentum, <strong>and</strong> if<strong>Tom</strong> could switch in the magneto in time all might yet be well.<strong>The</strong>y had started to fall, but, by quickly bringing up the head plane tips,<strong>Tom</strong> sent his craft soaring upward again on a bank of air.“Here!” he cried to Mr. Damon. “Take the steering-wheel <strong>and</strong> kept her onthis level as long as you can.”“What are you going to do?”