Apparently none of them realized yet that the paraplane was crippled.
“I won’t alarm these men yet,” Tom decided. “Maybe I can figure out some plan of action.”
Sweating under the tension, the young inventor cut throttle and sized up the situation. His indicator dial showed that the wind direction had changed sharply.
It was now blowing inland from the sea-away from both the village and the Sky Queen’s clearing.
“Not a chance of gliding to safety,” Tom told himself grimly. “I’d better think fasti”
Suddenly an idea occurred to him. A skillful sailor, Tom had often tacked a sailboat upwind on Lake Carlopa. “Perhaps,” he thought, “by inflating and deflating the dirigible bag, I can tack ver-148
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tically against the wind in the paraplane! It’s worth a try. But first I’ll have to get this crate aimed on course!”
There was barely enough response left in the controls to enable Tom to bank the craft slightly. By gunning the jet in quick spurts, he was able to maneuver the ship about, so that it was headed back toward the clearing.
Rodriguez threw Tom a puzzled glance. “We are turning back?”
Tom nodded curtly, hoping to avoid further explanation. The police chief scowled suspiciously, but said nothing.
Tom switched on the helium pump full power. As the dirigible bag swelled to its greatest size, the plane shot upward. Then Tom deflated the bag and used his increased altitude to coast downward into the wind. This brought the ship considerably closer to the clearing. Again Tom ballooned the ship upward, then repeated the same tactic.