登陆注册
14831300000080

第80章

He swept round in a half circle, staring at this advancing fleet. It flew in a wedge-like shape, a triangular flight of gigantic phosphorescent shapes sweeping nearer through the lower air. He made a swift calculation of their pace, and spun the little wheel that brought the engine forward. He touched a lever and the throbbing effort of the engine ceased. He began to fall, fell swifter and swifter. He aimed at the apex of the wedge. He dropped like a stone through the whistling air. It seemed scarce a second from that soaring moment before he struck the foremost aeroplane.

No man of all that black multitude saw the coming of his fate, no man among them dreamt of the hawk that struck downward upon him out of the sky. Those who were not limp in the agonies of air-sickness, were craning their black necks and staring to see the filmy city that was rising out of the haze, the rich and splendid city to which "Massa Boss" had brought their obedient muscles. Bright teeth gleamed and the glossy faces shone. They had heard of Paris. They knew they were to have lordly times among the "poor white" trash. And suddenly Graham struck them.

He had aimed at the body of the aeroplane, but at the very last instant a better idea had flashed into his mind. He twisted about and struck near the edge of the starboard wing with all his accumulated weight.

He was jerked back as he struck. His prow went gliding across its smooth expanse towards the rim.

He felt the forward rush of the huge fabric sweeping him and his aeropile along with it, and for a moment that seemed an age he could not tell what was happening.

He heard a thousand throats yelling, and perceived that his machine was balanced on the edge of the gigantic float, and driving down, down; glanced over his shoulder and saw the backbone of the aeroplane and the opposite float swaying up. He had a vision through the ribs of sliding chairs, staring faces, and hands clutching at the tilting guide bars.

The fenestrations in the further float flashed open as the aeronaut tried to right her. Beyond, he saw a second aeroplane leaping steeply to escape the whirl of its heeling fellow. The broad area of swaying wings seemed to jerk upward. He felt his aeropile had dropped clear, that the monstrous fabric, clean overturned, hung like a sloping wall above him.

He did not clearly understand that he had struck the side float of the aeroplane and slipped off, but he perceived that he was flying free on the down glide and rapidly nearing earth. What had he done? His heart throbbed like a noisy engine in his throat and for a perilous instant he could not move his levers because of the paralysis of his hands. He wrenched the levers to throw his engine back, fought for two seconds against the weight of it, felt himself righting driving horizontally, set the engine beating again.

He looked upward and saw two aeroplanes glide shouting far overhead, looked back, and saw the main body of the fleet opening out and rushing upward and . .

outward; saw the one he had struck fall edgewise on and strike like a gigantic knife-blade along the wind-wheels below it.

He put down his stern and looked again. He drove up heedless of his direction as he watched. He saw the wind-vanes give, saw the huge fabric strike the earth, saw its downward vans crumple with the weight of its descent, and then the whole mass turned over and smashed, upside down, upon the sloping wheels.

Throb, throb, throb, pause. Suddenly from the heaving wreckage a thin tongue of white fire licked up towards the zenith. And then he was aware of a huge mass flying through the air towards him, and turned upwards just in time to escape the charge--if it was a charge--of a second aeroplane. It whirled by below, sucked him down a fathom, and nearly turned him over in the gust of its close passage.

He became aware of three others rushing towards him, aware of the urgent necessity of beating above them. Aeroplanes were all about him, circling wildly to avoid him, as it seemed. They drove past him, above, below, eastward and westward. Far away to the westward was the sound of a collision, and two falling flares. Far away to the southward a second squadron was coming. Steadily he beat upward.

Presently all the aeroplanes were below him, but for a moment he doubted the height he had of them, and did not swoop again. And then he came down upon a second victim and all its load of soldiers saw him coming.

The big machine heeled and swayed as the fear maddened men scrambled to the stern for their weapons. A score of bullets sung through the air, and there flashed a star in the thick glass wind-screen that protected him. The aeroplane slowed and dropped to foil his stroke, and dropped too low. Just in time he saw the wind-wheels of Bromley hill rushing up towards him, and spun about and up as the aeroplane he had chased crashed among them. All its voices wove into a felt of yelling. The great fabric seemed to be standing on end for a second among the heeling and splintering vans, and then it flew to pieces.

Huge splinters came flying through the air, its engines burst like shells. A hot rush of flame shot overhead into the darkling sky.

"__Two!__" he cried, with a bomb from overhead bursting as it fell, and forthwith he was beating up again.

同类推荐
  • 海南杂着

    海南杂着

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 飞花艳想

    飞花艳想

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 定命录

    定命录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 滹南集

    滹南集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 舒文靖集

    舒文靖集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 鬼眼相法

    鬼眼相法

    人走人道,鬼走鬼道。不管是人是鬼,你走错了道,我李向阳便会来收了你。一次同学聚会之后,李向阳的生意就红火了起来。各种鬼魅魍魉,全部到哥的碗里来吧!
  • Main Street and Other Poems

    Main Street and Other Poems

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 废材也逆天:逆天废材五小姐

    废材也逆天:逆天废材五小姐

    奇葩杀手变废材?说姐废材?几分分钟秒了你!丹药稀缺?姐当个炼丹师丹药满地洒!圣兽稀少?姐姐我分分钟拉出几只吓死你!不过,你一个神跟着姐做啥子?且看废材逆天奇葩之路!
  • 瓦罗兰王庭

    瓦罗兰王庭

    请问您和英雄们生活在一起感觉怎么样?江邯思考了一下:我感觉压力很大。李青听歌爱高频抖腿,德莱厄斯有脚臭,盖伦睡觉打的呼噜震天响。刀妹睡觉不仅爱踢被子还踢人,纳尔总是半夜起来偷吃,而且还是阿狸教唆的。平时拽拽酷酷的瑞雯现在已经沦为了铲屎官,亚索沉迷上摇滚乐。那您觉得你有什么优缺点嘛?优点?肯定有啊!我和英雄们穿越后分散在世界各地,然后白手起家,最后拯救了世界。更关键的是,之前说的一切和丰功伟绩,我没有抱大腿,没有捡便宜,全是我一个人想……诶!你这记者怎么打人啊!
  • 黑色的救赎

    黑色的救赎

    一段不堪回首往事,他在其中挣扎,可越是挣扎就陷得越深。兄弟的仇恨使他最终失去了理智。他不再束缚自己,而是放纵。就如飞蛾扑火一般。他得到了瞬间的绽放。而代价,则是他的后半生。
  • 风雨路之成圣

    风雨路之成圣

    叶霜天,一个普通修真家族的子弟家族因藏有异宝惨遭灭族,在得知自己真实身份之后,为报养育之恩,毅然踏上复仇之路。成圣路上的敌人越来越强大,朋友也越来越多,看叶霜天在修真风雨路上如何得道最终成圣。。。。。。
  • 食宴

    食宴

    这个世界存在着一种位于食物链顶端狩猎人类的猎食者他们伪装成人类潜伏在人类身边,伺机而动!他们被称为食种。而他的妻子就是一个食种!某一天,他失去了妻子,被夺走了女儿,在绝望中被刺中心脏的时候,他以为自己会死去,可在此醒来,却是十年之后,这十年到底发生了什么?他的妻女是否还尚在人世?有太多的疑惑等着他去解开=============================世界是一个巨大的滤网,弱肉强食是这个时代不变的真理。并不是所有的人都可以笑着走到最后
  • 想你,如初

    想你,如初

    你知道么,对于你,我永远都是妥协。小时候的我,永远跟在你身后,现在换你了!
  • 代替他来爱你

    代替他来爱你

    安阡陌本是一个活泼开朗的女孩,但是因为10年前哥哥的去世,安阡陌变得不喜欢笑,不喜欢和人交流。直到7岁的时候遇见了一个美丽的小少年,送了她一个银色四叶草的耳钻。“这是我爷爷送给我的,现在我送给你一个。你一定要带着它,我也有一个,以后我会拿着它来找你的。”那个小男孩从脖子上取下一个耳钻,用项链串起来,亲自帮女孩带在脖子上,对着小女孩甜甜的笑了笑。女孩傻呆呆的望着男孩,点了点头。9年后,在新兰高中的校门口,左逸尘看着趴在自己胸膛听心脏声还时不时的傻笑的女孩,看着她左耳边的耳钻。心想:“呵呵,终于找到你了,安阡陌,你逃不了了,乖乖的做我的小羔羊吧”…………
  • 有你的学校

    有你的学校

    轻松愉快的校园恋爱史,爱与恨的纠葛编织出一卷爱的史诗。如果路过的朋友想要听一听我的故事,就请你坐下,听我为你叙述,我生命中最宝贵的那些时光。