And each stick sloped back
at so sharp an angle--much sharper than forty-five degrees--that the
wind not only blew the craft along in its course, but actually
supported it as well.
It meant a wind which would make a hurricane seem tame. Either that,
or air with greater density than any Smith knew about.
Suddenly the cruiser came about into the wind, and at the same
instant it began to take in sail, all the sheets furling in unison.
Simultaneously great finlike wings shot out of slits in the sides of
the hull; and immediately they began to beat the air, back and
forth, back and forth, with the speed and motion of swallows.
So this was the meaning of the giant reciprocal engine! Instead of
the screw propeller which characterized earth's aircraft, these
vessels employed the true bird principle, combining it with the
simple methods of primitive sailing craft.
As soon as the ship stopped its wind-driven rush and began to employ
its wings, the speed straightway slackened; and the ships began to
descend.
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