Victor Appleton by Tom Swift;His War Tank

Author:Tom Swift;His War Tank
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-12-05T19:38:56+00:00

Chapter XIV

The Ruined Factory

Only too true were the words Ned Newton shouted to his chum. Tank A was really capsizing. She had advanced to the edge of the gully and started down it, moving slowly on the caterpillar bands of steel. Then had come a sudden lurch, caused, as they learned afterward, by the slipping off of a great quantity of shale from an underlying shelf of rock.

This made unstable footing for the tank. One side sank lower than the other, and before Tom could neutralize this by speeding up one motor and slowing down the other the tank slowly turned over on its side.

“But she isn’t going to stop here!” cried Ned, as he found himself thrown about like a pill in a box. “We’re going all the way over!”

“Let her go over!” cried Tom, not that he could stop the tank now. “It won’t hurt her. She’s built for lust this sort of thing!”

And over Tank A did go. Over and over she rolled, sidewise, tumbling and sliding down the shale sides of the great gully.

“Hold fast! Grab the rings!” cried Tom to his two companions in the tower with him. “That’s what they’re for!”

Ned and Mr. Damon understood. In fact, the latter had already done as Tom suggested. The young inventor had read that the British tanks frequently turned turtle, and he had this in mind when he made provision in his own for the safety of passengers and crew.

As soon as he felt the tank careening, Tom had pressed the signal ordering the motors stopped, and now only the force of gravity was operating. But that was sufficient to carry the big machine to the bottom of the gulch, whither she slid with a great cloud of sand, shale and dust.

“Bless my—bless my—” Mr. Damon was murmuring, but he was so flopped about, tossed from one side to the other, and it took so much of his attention and strength to hold on to the safety ring, that he could not properly give vent; to one of his favorite expressions.

But there comes an end to all things, even to the descent of a tank, and Tom’s big machine soon stopped rolling, sliding, and turning improvised somersaults, and rested in a pile of soft shale at the bottom of the gully. And the tank was resting on her back!

“We’ve turned turtle!” cried Ned, as he noted that he was standing on what, before, had been the ceiling of the observation tower. But as everything was of steel, and as there was no movable furniture, no great harm was done. In fact, one could as well walk on the ceiling of the tank as on the floor.

“But how are you going to get her right side up?” asked Mr. Damon.

“Oh, turning upside down is only one of the stunts of the game. I can right her,” was the answer.

“How?” asked Ned.

“Well, she’ll right herself if there’s ground enough for the steel belts to get a grip on.

“But can the motors work upside down?”

“They surely can!” responded Tom.

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