The Hidden Man: A Phineas Starblower Adventure (Phineas Starblower Adventures) (30 page)

“No I wasn’t. So we have a condenser as well, very useful.” Phillips filed that bit of information away for later. “But if I may, how is the rest of the hull? You stated that rivets had popped in Engineering when we ah...when we executed our little recovery maneuver. How badly did the frame bend?”

“It only flexed Sir, no bending, at least not at first glance. We lost three rivets in the engine room, scared the life out of us when it happened, but nothing a few moments work couldn’t fix. When the repair teams have finished with the skin I’ll have them sweep the longitudinal spars for any others that may have worked loose. But to tell the truth Sir. I’m not worried overmuch by that.”

Phillips relaxed. “So were in good shape despite our war wound on the Skin around 93”

“Yessir.”

Jerard nodded, thinking about the storm. With the ship in this condition he did not want to risk running into another one of those on their return trip. He took another sip of the Scotch before speaking again. “I think Mr. Nichols we will have plenty of time for repairs before we have to set off for home. Our only problems will be in getting the materials needed. Am I correct?”

I believe so Sir. But our Tash has proven to be quite resourceful, it would not surprise me if we were repaired and back in the air in 24 hours. I see having the available manpower to be more of a problem. With an extra day we could probably have the engines repaired as well.”

“Good, let’s shoot for that then. Once Dr. Nordstrom has been retrieved and is safely back on the ship the delay in our return home should not be a problem.” Phillips stated as he straightened up. “I had best get back to the bridge and take us in.”

“Begging your pardon Sir but I think it is your turn for a bit of a kip. Our Wallace can handle bringing us in.”

“You’re right.” Jerard sighed “As soon as Fred gives Mr. Wallace the course have him and Mr. Jones stand down for an hour or so as well. You have command Mr Nichols.” Jerard offered his second a salute, then headed wearily to his bunk.  Without thinking he left the Scotch glass on the console, complete with most of it's original contents.

The speaking grill in his cabin buzzed snapping Jerard out of a fitful doze. “We’re directly over the Norwegian coast now Sir.” Jones’ voice announced.

Rolling off the bed Jerard managed to move his weary body to the desk and infernal speaking grill. Fumbling with the reply switch he managed a muttered, “I’ll be right up,” as he shook off the remains of his nap.

A few minutes later he adjusted his cap squarely and entered the control gondola. Jerard looked over at the instrument panel. The chronometer showed it a little before three thirty in the afternoon, he’d gotten barely an hour of down time he realized. But the good news was that they still had perhaps an hour and a half lead on the kidnappers, assuming they had been as slowed by the storm on the ocean as the Discretion had been in the air. Forcing a light tone he announced, “Good show Mr Wallace. Frederick where exactly are we?”

Fred Randal was away from his desk and standing at the edge of the observation bubble, sextant in hand, a small pair of Daubresse style binoculars hung from his neck as well. Without moving the sextant from his face he mumbled “Checking now ...Sir”

Moving up to the window and gazing at the jagged coastline Phillips felt a sense of accomplishment. The flight to Norway despite its ups and downs had been the furthest north he had flown an airship. Though he saw no reason to share that particular fact with anyone just yet. Looking closely at the coastline he estimated they were, as Fred had implied before, a good bit south of their desired landfall. Seeing a deep cut inlet he pointed, “Is that it Fred?”

“No Sir, sorry Sir that I believe is ‘Egersund’. If so we’re fifty miles south of Stavanger.”

“Drat, not so good Fred. Can’t be helped, but I’ll have to annoy Mr. Nichols now as a result.” Phillips returned to his seat and steepled his fingers as he calculated. “William bring us up to 55 knots and take her around the coast line as well. Gentlemen, the chance of spotting the boat over the sea is rather small I know, but for the Colonel’s sake I think we need to make a show of it at least. Mr Jones...”

The officer looked away from the scenic view unfolding below them. “Yessir?”

“Get a crewman up on the dorsal observation dome, I assume we have a telescope or two up there already yes?”

“We do captain, and I’ll have Mr Landover up there presently.” Jones replied.

The other good news was the fact that the storm front had all but blown itself out on this side of the North sea. Thus, with next to no headwind to oppose her, they tacked around the coast to Stavanger in a little over forty minutes. Despite Phillips' fears Nichols never complained at his taxing the engines ever so slightly either, so when the inlets and scattered small islands that led to Stavanger came into sight Phillips asked Jones to alert Gopal to inform Miss Smythe-Harris and Colonel Carstares that the port was in sight.

As expected Carstares was down in the bridge only a minute or two later. “No sightings over the ocean I take it then Captain?”

“Sorry Colonel, we swooped on one fisherman but that turned out to be very obviously a Norwegian bringing in some lobster pots. I hardly think our quarry would have bothered with that don’t you?”

Carstares grimaced, Jerard suspected the man would have liked to have made that choice himself, but to his credit he didn’t comment on the decision of the Captain on his own bridge.

“Well lets get her into port and down for repair and some reconnaissance I say. Colonel what's your plan Sir?”

Carstares sighed, “As you say Captain we’re a little banged up I understand that, can your crew set me down near the harbor before going onto wherever you go for repairs?”

“I think we can manage that Sir...” Phillips replied, spotting a flash of cream colored cloth stepping through the door as he sat down. “Good afternoon Miss Smythe-Harris” He concluded civilly.

“Good afternoon Captain, Colonel Carstares,” she replied automatically as she took her accustomed seat on the settee. “So what's this? You want to be set down early Colonel?”

“Yes madam, there is scant time left and I need to contact my counterparts here without delay.”

“I see,” she replied politely then turned to to Mr. Jones. “Are we in wireless range yet Mr. Jones?”

“Not yet Miss Tash, may be another five minutes for the Starblower factory I’d say.”

Carstares raised an impressive and impressed eyebrow. “Your employer has a factory out here in Norway madam? Outside of the British Isles, for whatever reason may I ask?”

Phillips was also curious about this as well. However as a fresh company employee he simply pretended to study his log book as the woman answered.

“To call it a factory is a little misleading Colonel. It’s really a sort of research facility crammed into a town house. The Scandinavians have a knack with tanning leather and making hardy clothing from their Viking days.” she began. “Mr. Starblower thought to employ a few local cobblers and a tanner to experiment with ways to see how their traditional techniques could be moved to a more mass produced platform. But...” She leaned conspiratorially towards the Colonel. “... I think that the dear man just wanted an excuse to go skiing and, as he is now, and hiking about on a glacier or two.”

“I see madam, most enlightening.” Carstares drawled. “I doubt such a facility is near the docks where I need to be though, is it?”

“You are correct Sir, it’s a good ways inland, a couple of miles I should say.”

“What of your mysterious contact Sir?” Phillips questioned. “We maybe away from the Starblower facility but can you radio your fellows yet?”

“Probably Captain, but as time is so limited and my conversations have to be kept in the strictest confidence, I doubt a request to have the bridge to myself would go down well at this point.” Carstares replied looking Miss Smythe-Harris directly in the eye as he said it.

“No indeed Colonel but we can help none the less. Captain, can you have William bring us down near that little lake please” Tash questioned.

Phillips glanced at the local map he had just found in his mini desk. “ ‘Litla Stokkavatnet’ I have here, is this where you mean Miss Smythe-Harris?”

“I have no idea what its called Captain just do it please. Gopal, get the HLC ready, I think we’ll take a little drive with the good Colonel. Captain would you care to join us?”

“I should stay with the ship madam'” Phillips began to demur, but Miss Smythe-Harris was having none of it.

“Poppycock! This crew can make it to the facility in Porsvika easily enough Captain. Come take a ride with us.”

“I don’t know what our mercurial hostess has in mind Captain but I for one would welcome your company Sir.” Carstares added with a meaningful look to Phillips.

“Very well my dear lady, Colonel I’ll be down directly. How long till we get to the lake shore Mr. Wallace?”

“Less than a couple of minutes Sir then a couple more to get low enough to drop the HLC I’d say Sir.”

“ HLC?” Carstares queried.

“Sorry Colonel, I should have explained,” Tash said mischievously “Horse-less-carriage. We have a small four seater carried on board for Mr Starblower’s penchant for exploring...”

“Well that’s most remarkable!” The Colonel began as the great airship began to come about “Most gratifying as well, I’ve not had many occasions to ride in one of those novel devices as yet but..”

“But time is of the essence!” She put in for him. “I really do understand that Colonel.”

Carstares smiled. “I see that you do Miss Smythe-Harris, my thanks. Well now if your man Gopal could drop the captain and myself off on Norbogata Road...”

Miss Smythe-Harris got up and headed for the door. “Oh Gopal doesn’t drive...I do.” She declared airily as she exited the bridge, leaving both Carstares and Phillips with open mouths.

Phillips and Carstares jumped in unison as Mr. Jones’ voice crackled over the speaker in the cargo bay. “Holding at ten feet at the edge of the lake Captain” the Welshman's accent all but swallowed up by the electronic noise.

Jerard was, he supposed, grateful that Jones at least addressed him rather than Miss Smythe-Harris in this update. The capricious lady was again nearly eclipsing the chain of command for this little jaunt of hers. But Phillips thought he saw that she was getting back at Carstares ever so slightly for the rather peremptory treatment he had tried on her at their first meeting. Understandable, though not wholly fair, he thought. The Colonel had been under orders and that was something Jerard could certainly comprehend.

“Gopal set the winch please!” She called gaily from the driver’s seat to the impassive manservant still on the cargo bay floor.

“The winch captain?” Carstares inquired as he sat uncomfortably in the other rear seat of the tiny horseless carriage.

Phillips smiled reassuringly. “Ah yes Colonel, you see it would take some considerable time to land the Discretion without a ground crew and so I have had Wallace take us down as close as is prudent at the edge of the lake, then as the tail of the ship is just over the lake shore we’ll be winched down in this magnificent contraption for your ride.”

“I see, how obliging,” Carstares commented dryly looking at the back of Miss Smythe-Harris’s pith helmet with an ironic expression on his face.

“Yes be careful what you wish for around here Colonel,” Jerard laughed as the Indian set the controls and then watched impassively with folded arms as the HLC jerked in its initial downward motion. Jerard grabbed for the side of the vehicle and muttered, “I’m just coming to appreciate that myself.”

The horseless carriage rocked gently on its four winch lines as it settled into a sedate pace towards the ground. A minute or so later they were setting onto the slightly muddy banks of the Lesser Stokkavatnet lake.

“Release the hooks please gentlemen.” Miss Smythe-Harris asked as she depressed the starter button and unhooked the line closest to the steering wheel.

Jerard unhooked the steel hawser nearest to him as a small gasp of steam blew from a vent in the HLC’s bonnet. Driven by the Armstrong-Klein pressure starter, the small internal combustion engine coughed to life with a roar and a blast of chemical exhaust. He then leaned across the bewildered Colonel and showed the man how to decouple the hook on his side of the HLC’s framework while Tash leaned across the front seat and released the fourth and last hook.

“Thank you Captain” Carstares managed just before the small vehicle tore away from the lakeside in a spray of brown-grey mud.

“Your welcome Colonel” Philips replied as he was slammed back in his seat by the acceleration. To Tash he added. “I say there Miss Smythe-Harris steady on!”

“Oh sorry Captain just wanted to get clear of the mud before we sank, don’t you know?” She replied over her shoulder as the HLC bumped its way across the meadow and onto the nearest road. “Right! Now, which way..?”

“Madam will be well advised to go to the right.” Colonel Carstares stated levelly then with more urgency he added. “And madam will be better advised to drive upon the right as well!”

“Oh! Sorry about that.” Tash laughed as she swerved onto the other side of the road.

Gunning the little engine further she sped off , heading towards the center of the Norwegian town. Conversation was barely possible in the open topped vehicle and Phillips felt his face growing chill from the wind as their petite driver took them up over thirty miles per hour along the country roads. Rapidly the green of the countryside faded to be replaced by the wood and stone of increasing urbanization. A few other horseless carriages populated the road, their drivers often giving a cheerful ‘toot toot!’ to what they perceived was a fellow well to do citizen. But the traffic, such as it was, was mostly comprised of horses pulling small carts of produce and other goods away from the docks of the harbor town.

Eventually Tash slowed their progress and the search for Carstares’ road began in earnest.