Revenge of the Mad Scientist (Book One: Airship Adventure Chronicles) by Lara Nance Page A

released the lines from the mooring rings.
    Gambit began to rise just as a commotion rose from outside the building. Yells and calls heralded the arrival of the angry trappers.
    “Hurry, they got our money,” came an angry growl.
    “They’re getting away, stop them,” yelled another.
    Rett pulled the lever back and angled the fans down and set them to high speed. He called down to Sam, “Hold on.”
    The ship shot upwards just as the horde of angry mountain men roared across the floor of the hanger, shouting and brandishing their weapons. A few jumped to catch a tether line, missing by only inches.
    The brass knob on the lever vibrated in Rett’s hand as the ship shuddered with the precipitous assent.
    “You’re gonna blow the engine,” Sam’s yell rose from the engine room below him.
    Rett struggled to ease back on the handle, but the controls had developed a mind of their own and fought him. He gritted his teeth and threw his weight behind the leverage with both hands.
    Finally, after several agonizing minutes when he thought they were done for, the ship leveled out and the fan control moved smoothly back to a neutral position. He no longer heard the raised voices and his altimeter showed they had risen several hundred feet in a matter of seconds. He drew a hand across his brow where sweat had formed despite the sub-zero temperatures. He took a deep breath and the clean, cold air seared his lungs. Fortunately the engine room kept the snow melted off the deck and exuded a small amount of heat.
    Sam crawled up the ladder from the engine room and stuck his head above the floorboards, his face pale and eyes wide. “What the hell were you doing?”
    “Saving our skins. Sorry, the assent got a little out of hand.” Rett grimaced. “Is the engine okay?”
    “Barely.” Sam climbed the rest of the way out and closed the hatch behind him. He leaned against the rail of the aftcastle and wrapped his arms across his chest. “You leveled out just in time. I thought the pressure gauge was going to explode.”
    “Now if we can just get far enough south before this new storm hits, maybe we can pick up our load in Eagle’s Peak.” Rett pulled his goggles down over his eyes and flexed the hand that had been gripping the handle. “I’ll need my heavy gloves and some coffee if you don’t mind. It’s bloody cold up here and my head feels like a ripe melon ready to pop open.”
    Sam grinned, then nodded and went down the steps to the main deck and the cabins below where the galley was located. He returned a few minutes later with the gloves.
    “Coffee will be ready in a few.”
    Rett pulled on the heavy fur lined leather gloves and buckled the straps around the wrists. It took a minute for his half frozen fingers to warm up. He wrapped his woolen scarf around the lower portion of his face to block the wind.
    “How much money do we have left?” Sam asked as he checked the ropes that held the gondola to the inflatable. And then made an adjustment to the rudder pulley.
    “Just enough for a good meal in Eagle’s Peak. But when we get the cargo payment we’ll be in good shape again. We’ll pay off the Baron and be in the clear.”
    “Hmm, well, I guess it’s the best we can hope for given the circumstances,” Sam said. “I thought we’d bought it when that regulator went bad in the storm.”
    “So did I.” Rett checked the compass and made an adjustment to their course, then looked up at the dark sky around them with wisps of clouds sailing by. Half a moon gave off a silvery glow that glittered across the clouds. “We’d better get out lights up.”
    Sam grunted and they both went down to the main deck to light the navigation lamps that hung on the side rails. In the front, the lanterns had the traditional red globes on the right side of the ship and green globes on the left. The aft lanterns were clear glass.
    Bitter cold air bit into any body part not covered, and Rett adjusted his scarf to envelop his face