For Forty Weeks the Sunbird Flew: An Airman's Tale

Chapter 7: The Longest Hour of His Life

"Right then, you know what we're doing?"

"Aye!"

"Good. Can you sew?"

"Yes, sir!"

The engineer gestured to Archer's patch-covered jacket with his free hand, the other holding a large needle in his hand and a roll of canvas under the arm. Normally Archer knew that Lawrence would have chided him for the use of 'sir', but right now they both had bigger things to worry about.

"Did you patch that one up yourself?"

"Yes Mr Walker, I think I've all but rebuilt it a few times over by now."

The man gave a slight smile, quickly smothered and replaced by a stern expression.

"Good. We're going up into the balloon to patch it back up after the captain's last stunt. I say after the captain's last stunt, I mean during the bloody thing, since it's only just beginning. It's the same principle as the patches on your jacket though, just a lot bigger. Grab that second roll of canvas, I don't know how much we'll need. I've already grabbed the needle and thread for us, so we should be good to go. I know, this isn't what you expect to be doing when they tell you you're to be an engineer, but I'm afraid that's life. You'd be surprised how much mundane work goes on that you don't consider when signing up, and how important it all is."

Archer swallowed and followed the man, doing his best to ascend the ladders single handed. There was only a few people on deck, Cooke amongst them and eyeing them both nervously. Archer was forced to grip the bars of the ladder leading up to the balloon tight as a sudden violent lurch nearly sent him tumbling down to the deck. He peered down after regaining his footing. If he was lucky, he'd only break his legs and his back if he fell. He didn't feel like testing that luck.

"Archer! Are you all right?"

Lawrence's voice was thick with worry, but Archer was quick to give him some only slightly shaky reassurance.

"I'm all right! What was that?"

"Exactly what I'd hoped wouldn't happen! Come on, quickly, we need to get up to the balloon right this moment!"

Lawrence's footsteps up the ladder were far quicker than Archer's own, the man having decades more experience than Archer did, but he still made an effort to try and match the man's pace as best he could without endangering himself. There was little sense in distracting his mentor with something like his death right now. Eventually ladder rungs gave way to walkways, and Archer breathed a sigh of relief. He'd become quite adept at going up and down the ladders on the outside of the ship that joined the decks, but they were only ten or fifteen steps each, whereas the balloon had to have been at least fifty, perhaps sixty steps up, and the same again within the balloon itself.

"Archer, you alright? Still with me?"

"Yes sir, sorry sir! I'm not used to climbing to such hights."

The man nodded in understanding, still not reprimanding him for his use of the honourific as the two of them clambered up the last few rungs and stood atop the walkway, moving towards a winch.

"That's all right, you're up here now. Your job is mostly simple, okay? Listen to me here, look at me, listen! All right, you see that winch? And that gaping tear in the balloon? I'm going to attach myself to the winch by that harness there, the one that looks like a thick belt, you see it? Are you following me so far?"

Archer nodded shakily, not at all liking where this was going.

"You're not going down there, don't worry. You'll be cutting the canvas and keeping an eye on the winch when I'm down there, okay? I don't trust it; it's been making an awful din recently but our Captain refused my request for a replacement, or even a repair. It's probably the only thing on the ship that I've never known how to repair myself, and I hate the fucking thing. Whilst I'm down there, you'll be up next to it making sure it doesn't kill me before winching me back up with that hand crank on the side when I give you the word, okay?"