THE Big Boat rode so smoothly over the water that it was hard for me not to imagine that we were sliding on very well-greased ways. There were some small waves and even some whitecaps as we reached the open water, but the huge plane seemed to ignore them. Presently the last visible portion of the shore line disappeared from my porthole and I could see only the great wing and the water far below.
THEFor several minutes we continued on our way, picking up a very little speed; I judged that we were doing about thirty knots. Everything was strangely quiet and I could sense that the Big Boat was not exerting herself in the least.
We began to turn again, this time in a long easy arc that seemed completely effortless. Then the turn stopped, and we rode on a steady heading, meeting the waves hea
