The Airship Golden Hind Read online

  CHAPTER VI--Z64 SCORES

  Count Karl von Sinzig was certainly the "first away." TypicallyTeutonic, he had succeeded in throwing dust in the eyes of his rivals.Acting upon the principle "Do others or they'll do you," he was leavingno stone unturned to pull off the big prize; and, figuratively speaking,a good many of the stones were too dirty for a clean sportsman tohandle.

  For one thing von Sinzig had obtained his airship by fraud, althoughnone of the other competitors were aware of the fact. Formerly in theGerman Air Service, the count managed to smuggle one of the Zeppelinsout of the shed at Tondern, taking it by night to an aerodrome in EastPrussia.

  According to the terms of the Peace Treaty, Germany was to surrender allher airships. How she evaded the stipulation is now well known. TheZeppelins at Tondern and other air stations in Sleswig-Holstein weredestroyed by fire deliberately, to prevent them falling into the handsof the Allies. This act of bad faith was similar to the scuttling ofthe Hun fleet at Scapa; and the tardiness of the Allies to obtainreparation merely encouraged the Huns to other acts of passive defiance.But, although the destruction of the airships was taken as an acceptedfact, it was unknown outside certain Junker circles that one of theZeppelins had been removed before the conflagration.

  Revolutions and counter-revolutions, in which the fire-eating von Sinzighad several narrow escapes from death, led the count to seek pasturesnew; and about this time the publication of M. Chauvasse's terms for theinternational contest suggested to the Junker count the possibility ofmaking good his financial losses.

  Gathering a crew of airmen who had had experience in Zeppelins duringthe war, von Sinzig flew the airship to Spain, crossing Austria and thenorth of Italy during the night, and carefully avoiding French territoryon his aerial voyage.

  In a secluded part of the mountainous Estremadura he had practically hisown way. The Alcaldes of the nearest surrounding villages were easilybribed to leave the mysterious airship and its foreign owner severelyalone. From stores of German war material "sold" to Spain von Sinzigobtained gas cylinders, petrol, spares, and even a baby "Albatross"--asmall yet powerful monoplane. With folding wings this machine couldwith ease be stowed away in the car of the airship. With Germanthoroughness the Count, looking well ahead, foresaw that the Albatrosswould probably serve a most useful purpose in helping him to win thecoveted prize.

  The honour of being the first man to fly round the world took quite asubsidiary place in von Sinzig's plans. Since Germany did not own asquare inch of territory outside Europe, he was compelled to make use ofalien lands in which to alight. That was a handicap, and the thought ofit rankled. There was some consolation to be derived from the prospectof wresting the big prize from a hated Englishman, a despised Yankee, ora miserable yellow Jap. And he meant to do it--somehow.

  Already Germans had resumed their "peaceful penetration" of GreatBritain and the United States. Commercial travellers, representingGerman houses and at the same time potential spies, were able toascertain with little difficulty particulars concerning the British andAmerican competitors for the Round-the-World Flight. The moment vonSinzig learnt of the date of Sir Reginald Fosterdyke's departure fromEngland, he anticipated the time by starting the day before the Britishairship was supposed to leave Gibraltar.

  This was a comparatively easy matter. According to the terms of thecontest, competitors had to obtain a clearance certificate from anofficial of the International Airways Board. Provided the flight werecompleted within twenty days of the date of the certificate theprincipal condition was complied with, while it was furthermorespecified that the certificate could be post-dated to the extent oftwelve hours to allow for the time taken up in transmission from theBoard's representative to the actual competitor.

  In von Sinzig's case he scored again. Employing a swift motor-car, heobtained the official _vise_ at Madrid, and was back at the rendezvouswithin two and a half hours, the atrocious roads notwithstanding.

  Everything was in readiness for the start, and at ten in the morning Z64left her shed and, flying at a comparatively low altitude, made off in asouth-easterly direction.

  The German was counting on forty-eight hours' start of his Englishrival--possibly more. He had been informed that the "Golden Hind"proposed leaving England on the following Monday. Fosterdyke reallymeant to have started on that day, and only the exuberant demonstrationof the crowd outside Air Grange had made him alter his plans. It was alucky stroke, for Fosterdyke's secret intelligence department was atfault. According to information received from Germany, Count von Sinzigwas a non-starter. Incidentally it was the count who had set thatrumour afloat. It was but one of the many petty artifices upon which hebuilt his hopes of carrying off the Chauvasse Prize.

  Chuckling to himself, Count von Sinzig stood beside the helmsman of Z64,quite in ignorance of the fact that a few thousand feet above him wasthe British airship which he fondly thought was resting in her shed infar-off England.