The Dark Design by Phillip Jose Farmer

Tom looked eager. Martin turned pale.

“No, that wouldn’t work. I mean, a plane could get us a lot farther faster. But we’d have to land several times and make more fuel, and there’s no way of making more.

“No, I’m thinking about another type of air travel?’

“You can’t be thinking of a balloon?”

“Sure, why not? A balloon, or, better yet, a blimp.”

53

Tom Rider liked the idea.

Farrington said, “No! It’s too dangerous! I don’t trust those fragile gasbags. Besides, you’d have to use hydrogen, right? Hy­drogen can catch fire like that!”

He snapped his fingers.

“In addition, they’re easy prey for strong winds and storms. Also, where are you going to dredge up a blimp pilot? Airplane pilots should be easy to find, though personally I’ve only run into two. Furthermore, we’d have to be its crew, and that means we’d have to be trained. What if we don’t have the knack for it? There’s another reason …”

“A yellow streak?” Tom said, smiling.

Martin reddened, and his hands balled. “How’d you like a few teeth knocked out?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Tom Rider said. “But take it easy, Frisco, I was just trying to think of more reasons why we can’t do it. Help you along, sort of.”

Frigate knew that Jack London had never taken any interest in flying. Yet a man who had lived so adventurously, who had always been pugnaciously courageous, and who was also very curious, should have been eager to go up in the newfangled machine.

Was it possible that he was afraid of the air?

It could be. Many a person who seemed to be afraid of nothing on earth was scared of leaving it. It was one of those quirks of human character, nothing to be ashamed of.

Nevertheless, Martin might be ashamed to show fear.

Frigate admitted to himself that he had some of that brand of shame. He had gotten rid of some, but there was too much residue left. He was not afraid to admit a fear if there was a rational reason to do so. To reveal fear if it had an irrational basis wasrstill difficult for him.

Fanington’s reaction did have some logic. It could be dangerous, perhaps even foolish, to go in a blimp in the unavoidably uncertain conditions.

Nur and Pogaas were called in to hear Frigate’s new idea. Frigate proceeded to tell them what the perils might be.

“Nevertheless, considering the time saved, it’s more efficient, more economical, to go in a blimp. Actually, considering the time a blimp would take as against the time a boat would take, you’ll encounter many more dangers in a boat.”

“Damn it, I’m not afraid of danger! You know better than that! It’s just that …”

Martin’s voice trailed off.

Tom smiled.

Farrington said, “What are you grinning about? You look like a skunk eating shit!”

Pogaas grinned also.

“There’s no need to get all fired up about this just now,” Tom said. “First we have to find out what the Big Cheese, Podebrad, will do for us. More than likely, he won’t build us a gasbag. Why should he? But let’s mosey on up to his house and see what he has to say about this.”

Nur and Pogaas had more pressing business, so the captain, first mate, and deckhand walked toward a large limestone building pointed out to them by a passerby.

“You aren’t serious about stealing one of the steamboats?” Frigate said.

“That depends,” Tom said.

“Nur will never go along with that,” Frigate said. “Nor some of the others, either.”

“Then we might do without them,” Tom said.

They halted at Podebrad’s house, which stood on top of a hill, its peaked roof of bamboo almost touching the lower branches of a tall pine tree. The guards passed .them on into a reception room. A secretary listened to them, then disappeared for a minute. Return­ing, he told them that Podebrad would see them just after lunch two days from now.

They decided to go fishing the rest of the day. Rider and Farrington caught a few striped “bass,” but they spent most of their time planning how to capture a steamboat.