Chapter 24 Chapter 9 The Tail of the Kite

The next day, Nov. 5, Bryant and Baxter went to work early in the morning.Before making the kite bigger, the amount of weight it could carry had to be carefully considered, and then they could calculate the ground area needed to lift something about 130 pounds into the air. Experiments don't have to wait until night.The northwest wind was blowing gently, and Bryant just had to keep the kite from flying too high for people across the lake to see.The test was very successful.The kids discovered that in normal wind speeds, the kite could carry a 20-pound bag.Then they tore the kite off and laid it flat on the ground.

Baxter first reinforced the kite frame with animal ribs, just as the umbrella frame is secured with radiating wire.The surface area of ​​the kite has been increased due to the enlarged frame and the new canvas covering.Kate has played no small role in this.There is a lot of needlework in the stockpile and Kate does a good job of sewing. If Bryant and Baxter had known more about mechanics, they would have taken into account factors such as weight, area, center of gravity, center of gravity, and where the strings should be tied to the kite, as important as the surface area of ​​the kite.They were then able to calculate the kite's lift and how high it could reach.This also gives them an idea of ​​what the tension in the rope is.This is the most important factor for a scout's safety.

Fortunately, the 2,000-foot-long meter rope on the sailboat played a great role, but if the angle of the kite's launch is not selected properly, it will not be able to bear such a heavy load.To Costa and Thone's great disappointment, the kite did not need a tail, since the kite carried enough weight to stabilize it, and the tail was useless at all. After a few tries, Bryant and Baxter found it best to tie the weights to a cross.The cross was fixed a third of the way from the center, and a rope was tied at each end so that the weight would hang 20 feet below the kite, taking into account the slant of the taxi rope, they made a total of 1, 200 feet of rope.This can keep the kite seven or eight hundred feet off the ground.

In order to avoid accidents, they decided to let the kite fly over the lake.The width of the lake is very easy for a skilled swimmer to swim across.When completed, the kite measures approximately 80 square yards and is octagonal with sides approximately 8 feet long and a diameter approximately 15 feet long.Due to the strong support and the airtight fabric of the pasted kite, the kite can easily carry a weight of 120 pounds into the air. The scout is to sit in a wicker basket.Wicker baskets serve many purposes on small sailboats.It was deep enough to be as high as the armpit of a boy of average height; it was large enough to allow him to move freely in it; and wide enough that the scout could easily climb out if he wanted to.

As you can imagine, these were not done in a day or two. Construction started on the morning of the 5th and ended in the afternoon of the 7th.The test flight was postponed until night in order to test the kite's ability to lift in the air and its stability. Meanwhile, the situation remains unchanged.Several times one or two boys climbed to the top of the cliff to observe.But north between Trap Wood and Frenchman's Hole, south of Cross Creek, west of Galleon Bay, or on the lake, there was nothing suspicious.Not a single gunshot was heard on the top of Oakland Hill, nor was there a wisp of cooking smoke within sight.

Hadn't Bryant and his companions hoped that Walston had left Charman Island?Is it wise to resume their former lives now?There is no doubt that the kite test will shed light on the matter. But when the person who ascends to the sky wants to come down, how can he let his partners on the ground know? Bryant's answer was: "Signal lights are absolutely out of the question, and Walston might see them." So Baxter and I prepared a string as long as a rope, one end of which was fixed to the ground and the other end was tied to the ground. On the basket. We will tie a lead weight with a small hole in the middle to the line, and the lead weight will fly up to the sky with the basket. No matter who flies into the sky, as long as he lets the lead weight slide down the line, we will know that he wants to come down. "

"It works," Donagan agreed. Everything is ready, the test flight has begun, and the moon will not rise until two o'clock in the morning.The conditions for the flight were favorable with a light breeze blowing from the southwest. At 9 o'clock, the night was very dark.A few thick clouds were floating in the starless sky, no matter how high the kite flew, even the vicinity of the Frenchman's Cave could not be seen. All the boys ran out to watch the fun.It can be said that this experiment is tentative.If they had tried it for themselves, they would have been more pleased than apprehensive.

The winch on the sailboat is firmly fixed on the sloped flat area.The long rope was carefully coiled so that it could be retracted smoothly with the signal rope.Bryant put a 130-pound bag of dirt in the basket, more than any boy could weigh. Donagan, Baxter, Wilcox, and Webb took their positions by the kite.The kite was placed 100 yards from the winch.As long as Bryant gave the command, they would tighten the strings on the kite's frame to lift the kite into the air.Once the wind lifted it, Bryant, Gordon, Sauvis, Cross and Garnett would control the winch and let the rope go. "Ready?" Bryant asked.

"Okay!" Donagan replied. "put!" The kite rose a little, swayed in the wind, and then flew to the predetermined flight angle. "Let it go! Let it go!" Wilcox yelled.After a while, the winch turned due to the tension of the rope.Kites and baskets flew slowly into the air. Despite the danger, children cheered as the "air giant" lifted off the ground.However, to their great disappointment, the kite quickly disappeared into the night.And the kids didn't want it out of sight as the kite flew over the family lake. "Don't be sad, baby," Kate said. "The next time there's no danger, your 'giants' will be up in daylight, and you'll be able to send signals up into the sky as you like."

Even though they couldn't see it, judging by the speed of the wind above, the boys could feel that the kite was flying smoothly and well. Bryant wanted to make the experiment as good as it could be.So he put the rope at the end.He could feel that the tension in the line was within normal range, the winch had let out 1,200 feet of line, and the kite was perhaps seven or eight hundred feet high.It's all done in just 10 minutes. When the trial was complete, the boys grabbed the handle of the winch and began to reel in the rope, a process that took much longer.It took a full hour to wind up the rope.

Bringing the kite with the basket back to the ground without causing any damage is the most stressful part of the flying process.However, the wind was so steady that the kite was retrieved smoothly.The octagonal kite slowly came into view and landed softly on the ground, approaching the point where it started flying, just as the kite left the ground, and the children cheered again as the kite returned. All that was left to do was to leave the kite on the ground, and Baxter and Wilcox volunteered to watch until dawn. The next day is November 8th.The first official flight will take place around the same time. The boys waited for Bryant's order to return to the Frenchman's Den; but he said nothing, as if lost in thought. What was he thinking about?Are you thinking about the dangers encountered in such a lift-off?Or do you want to put a companion on a mission to take on his responsibilities? "Let's go in," Gordon said. "Wait a minute," Bryant said, "Gordon, Donagan! I have a suggestion." "What?" Donagan asked. "We let the kite fly," Bryant said, "and it was a success because the conditions were favorable, the wind was calm, neither too strong nor too weak. How would we know what the weather was going to be like tomorrow? I thought it would be best not to delay the flight." gone." It couldn't be more reasonable.But no one uttered a word.At the thought of danger, hesitation is natural, even for the most daring. Bryant asked, "Who's on?" "Me!" Jack volunteered. "Me!" cried Donagan, Baxter, Wilcox, Cross, and Sauvis. There was a silence.Bryant did not break the silence. Jack spoke first, "Let me go, brother, let me take the risk! Let me go!" "Why you and not me?" Donagan asked, "Why you and not someone else?" "Yes! Why?" asked Baxter. "Because it's my turn," Jack said. "Should you go?" Gordon asked. "yes." Gordon grabs Bryant's hand, as if asking him what Jack's intentions are.He felt Bryant's hand tremble in his.If the night hadn't been so dark, he would have seen Bryant's pale face with tears in his eyes. "All right, brother?" Jack said in a very firm tone. "Answer, Bryant!" said Donagan. "Jack says he has the right to take the risk! Why does he have the right and we don't? What does he mean?" "Because I did something wrong," Jack sobbed, "and I'm telling you what I did wrong." "Jack!" Bryant cut him off, refusing to explain. "No!" Jack became emotional, and his words became staccato, "Let me say it! This mental burden is too heavy! Gordon, Donagan, the reason you are here is that you all stay away from your friends and stay here I'm on the island! I'm the one to blame. The sailboat drifted out to sea because I recklessly, no, mischievously... no, foolishly let go of the cable tied to Oakland. Yes! I did it just to It was fun. But as soon as I saw the boat drifting away, I lost my mind again. I didn't scream when I should. So an hour later, in the middle of the night, we were floating in the middle of the sea. God! Forgive me, forgive me Me!" Jack cried.Kate tried to comfort him. "Come on, Jack," Bryant said, "now that you have admitted your mistake, you are willing to risk your life to make up for it; or to make up for the harm you caused." "But hasn't he already made it up?" Donagan said, looking much more magnanimous this time. "Didn't he always risk doing things for us? Oh, Bryant, I understand now why you keep pushing your brother forward whenever there's danger, and why he's always willing to do it. That's why he risked his life Go to the fog to find the reason for me and Cross. Yes, Jack, my dear friend, we forgive you!" The boys swarmed around Jack and grabbed his hands.Though the boy was still weeping sadly, they understood now why the liveliest, sharpest young man at Charmain's school had become so preoccupied and kept avoiding the others!Under his brother's orders and his own wishes, they saw that he was always at the forefront of danger, and he felt that he was not doing enough!He wants to take another adventure!As soon as he opened his mouth, he would say: "Look, it's my turn! I'll go alone! Isn't that right, brother?" "Well said, Jack," Bryant said, patting his brother on the back in a friendly manner. After Jack confessed, at his insistence, Donagan and others tried in vain to stop him.All that can be done is to let the wind bless him.At this time, the wind tends to strengthen. Jack squeezed his friends' hands again and turned to his brother before stepping into the basket.Bryant stood expressionless a few steps away from the winch. "Goodbye," he said. "Yes, goodbye!" Bryant tried hard to control his emotions, "Or, let me say goodbye to you, and I will go." "You!" Jack called. "You! You!" Donagan and Sauvis also yelled repeatedly. "Yes! Me! It doesn't make any difference whether Jack's stupid behavior is compensated by himself or by his brother. Besides, when I was planning to go up, do you think I would let someone else go?" "Brother," Jack begged, "please, please!" "No, Jack!" "Then," Donagan said, "I ask to go." "No, Donagan," Bryant said firmly, "I'm going! That's my idea." "I think it's better for Bryant to go!" Gordon shook his hand. Minutes later, Bryant was in the basket.As soon as he was seated, he gave the order to be released.The kite began to rise steadily.Then Baxter, Wilcox, Cross, and Sauvis, standing by the winch, quickly let go of the rope.At the same time, Garnett lets go of the signal rope. After 10 seconds, the "air giant" disappeared into the darkness, instead of leaving with laughter like the last time it was released, it was replaced by silence! The brave leader of this small world disappeared with the kite. The kite rose steadily.A gentle breeze ensures this.Bryant hasn't had any dangerous ups and downs.He remained motionless, clinging tightly to the rope that hung the basket.The rope swayed gently, as if on a swing. He had a strange feeling at first.Sitting in this gigantic tilting flying object whizzing in the wind, he felt as if he were floating in space, as if he were being carried by a strange bird, more like a huge black bat.But thanks to his strong character, he can keep calm even in such an adventure. After 10 minutes, the kite was already so high off the ground that it was no longer going up anytime soon! Bryant began to observe calmly.Grab the rope in one hand and the night telescope in the other. There was darkness beneath him.The lakes, forests, and cliffs were all pitch black, and the outlines could not be distinguished, but he could still find the coastline of the entire island. If flying in daylight, the vision will be very clear.He can see other islands or continents within forty or fifty miles, if there are islands and continents within the range he can see. The sky in the west, north, and south was so foggy that he could see nothing; but in the east there was a corner of the sky which was not yet covered by clouds, and some stars appeared. It was in that direction that a gleam of light, reflected in the low clouds, caught his attention. "Firelight!" he exclaimed. "Wolston's camping there? Impossible! It's too far away, obviously over the island. Is it a volcanic eruption? Is there any island over there?" Bryant suddenly remembered seeing a white dot on his first expedition to Deception Bay. "Yes," he said, "it's over there! Could it be a glacier? Not far to the east from us." Bryant pointed the telescope at the flames, and the darkness made it all the more obvious that it was a volcano.It was on land or on an archipelago more than thirty miles away, next to a glacier. As Bryant figured this out, he spotted another fire, much closer to him, only five or six miles away, of course in the bushes on the island. "In the forest this time," he confirmed, "on the edge of it, by the coast!" The fire seemed to disappear in just a flash, and no matter how he looked, Bryant could no longer see it. yes!His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold the telescope and focus on what he was looking at. But there was no doubt that there was a campfire not far from the mouth of the East River.Bryant saw it, and soon he spotted the reflection in the bushes. So Woolston and his gang camped near Bear Rock Bay, and the scoundrels on the "Severn" hadn't left Charman Island yet!The little colonists are under their attack at any moment, and the French Den is no longer safe! Apparently Walston found it hopeless to fix the ship, and gave up the attempt to leave for another neighboring island. After Bryant finished observing, he felt that there was no need to prolong the observation time in the air, so he prepared to descend.The wind started to pick up and the basket wobbled harder, making his landing a bit more difficult. After he was confident that the signal line would be clear, he let go of the plumb.Within seconds, the lead had slipped into Garnett's hands. The winch immediately began to retract the rope. As the kite descended, Bryant kept watch for the light he saw, and again he saw the eruption and the light of the campfire. One can imagine the anxiety Gordon and others felt waiting for the signal to drop!The 20 minutes Bryant was in the air seemed like it would never end. As Donagan and his assistants twisted the reels hard, they also found that the wind had increased and become more unstable.They felt the pull of the rope, and they began to worry anxiously that Bryant was in trouble. They rolled hard, and the reels spun fast, but it took some time to retrieve the 1,200 meters of rope.The wind was still growing and within 45 minutes of the signal, it was already very strong. By this time the kite was 100 feet above the lake. There was a sudden violent swing, and Wilcox, Donagan, Sauvis, and Baxter found that their resistance had disappeared, and they all fell to the ground. The rope broke. Shouts mingled with cries of terror. "Bryant! Bryant!" A few minutes later, Bryant arrived on the beach and yelled loudly. "Brother!" Jack yelled, running to him first. "Wolston's still there!" These were the first words Bryant said when his companions gathered around. When the rope snapped, he felt himself being blown away by the wind.Instead of falling vertically, he fell slowly diagonally, with the kite above him acting as a parachute, and he just had to jump out when the basket hit the water.He waited quietly.The moment the basket touched the water, he went head first.A good swimmer like him, he swam four or five hundred feet from shore in no time. At the same time the kite lost his weight and disappeared to the north like a great raft in the sky.