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Chapter 25: Taking Off
In Clegg's view things were proving perfectly satisfactory. The test flights had been perfect and they'd loaded enough fuel into the great white seaplane for the maiden flight.
The inlet behind Abu Kammash was perfectly adequate for the sea plane's take-off, Clegg had decided. He'd been a little worried by the risk of floating debris – logs and the like but Elspeth had made a pass in the autogyro over the water that morning and there'd been no sign of any flotsam. She'd been happy and Clegg thought they could risk the take off. Clegg insisted that a launch went down the inlet for a final inspection before they started their take off run.
But then all was ready and it was time to go. Elspeth had organised Sally and Alice to welcome them as they walked aboard the plane. Conditioned by Insing's treatment they were happy to accept any command. Standing either side of the gangway that led from the dock up into the plane they were both staring ahead with fixed, vacuous smiles as Clegg, Bertie, Jennings and Elspeth boarded.
“Welcome aboard, enjoy your flight,” they chorused in unison.
Bertie, turned to Clegg. “So these are your ‘air maids' – hope they look after us well,” he said. “Can't say I think much of the uniforms though – got used to the rather skimpier garb of the girls in the Chateau.” Bertie looked disapprovingly at their rather prim outfits, dark blue suit jackets with skirts that stretched down to the middle of their calves, matching dark blue forage caps, white shirts.
Jennings , following along behind, took the opportunity to stop at the gangway beside Alice . “I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed our little encounter at the Chateau,” he said.
Alice looked blankly ahead and repeated, “Welcome aboard, enjoy your flight.” She said nothing as Jennings grinned and pushed one hand inside her jacket. He grasped her breast and squeezed tightly on the nipple. The pain was evident on Alice 's face but she did not cry out. He turned to Sally.
“I wonder if you are as accommodating as your colleague?” he asked.
“We wish to ensure you have every comfort on your flight. Welcome aboard,” she responded, ignoring the fact that Jennings had was probing inside her own jacket now.
“Well,” said Jennings . “Its hard to tell which of you has the nicer handful. We'll have to experiment.”
He heard a voice from inside the seaplane. “Do come along, Jennings , old chap” he heard Bertie calling. “We're waiting for you.”
Bertie and Jennings took themselves a seat in the seaplane's cabin. Jennings was having no difficulty in adapting to a more luxurious style of travel than was his usual lot. The main cabin was spacious, set low down in the hull under the width of the wings. At one end a series of couches provided comfortable seating accommodation, at the other a table stood with eight seats secured to the cabin floor around it. On a stainless steel pedestal beside the door to the cockpit stood the Schneider Trophy.
Clegg and Elspeth went forward and climbed the spiral staircase that led to the flight deck where Jean and Hermione were waiting for them. Dressed neatly in uniform white blouses and navy blue slacks the two girls sat passively as Clegg and Elspeth arrived.
Jean Alardyce was seated at the controls in the right hand of the plane's two pilot's seats staring blankly forward. Clegg sat down in the left hand seat, alongside her,. Hermione Addams sat behind them at a drop down table that was covered in an array of charts. Above her head a series of instruments showed the status of each of the engines, gauges for the quantity of fuel and switches for the pumps that would transfer fuel from one tank to another to keep the aircraft balanced as the fuel was used up during the flight. Combining the navigator and flight engineers' roles would tax Hermione's mathematical skills.
“Ladies,” Clegg said in an affable way, “let's go to work.”
Elspeth stood in the doorway to the flight deck, watching as Clegg went through the pre-flight and engine start-up checks. The two girls responded as they were required to at every point. The routines were simple, Elspeth admitted but it was quite surprising how well the “coaching” from Dr Insing appeared to have worked. Both Hermione and Jean appeared fully in command of their skills but at the same time completely compliant.
She watched as Clegg reached up to a panel in the roof of the cockpit. Cartridge starters fired in turn on each of the six great radial engines and soon the aircraft was throbbing from their power.
Elspeth looked back over her shoulder down the staircase into the cabin where Bertie and Jennings were seated. Clegg reached up to the throttle leavers overhead and eased them forward. The plane edged away from the jetty and out into the lake. Elspeth could see the marker buoy that they had put down at the far end to mark the cleared runway. Clegg called “ready for take off” and moved the throttles forward again. Elspeth watched the two girls like a hawk, alert for the slightest sign that they were anything other than fully under Clegg's command. She needn't have worried, Insing's techniques proved thorough. The seaplane powered across the lake spilling a broad white wake behind it. As it sped faster it came up onto the step of the hull and began planing across the surface of the water rather than ploughing through it. The whole plane seemed to come alive as though it was keen to be away and into the air.
“Follow me on the control yoke, Alardyce,” Clegg called.
“Sir,” responded, Jean without emotion putting her hands on the control column. Insing's conditioning made certain that she would obey but her conscious mind was thinking – “If he'd only told me what he wanted me to fly I would have come willingly.”
The two of them eased the sea plane into the air and soon the sea was dropping away beneath them. They had 5300 miles ahead of them – 18 hours flying at least.
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