Read Online Saint Intervenes by Leslie Charteris - Free Book Online

Newdick seriously. “But, of course, they are worth far more than that.
Far more. … I very much doubt,” he said,
“whether fifty thousand would be an ade quate price. My
patents alone are worth more than fifty thousand pounds.
Sixty thousands pounds would scarcely tempt me. Seventy thousand would be a
poor price. Eighty thousand—— ”
    “Is
quite a lot of money,” said the Saint, interrupting Mr. Newdick’s
private auction.
    Mr. Newdick
nodded.
    “But
you haven’t seen the place yet—or the machine we turn out. You ought
to have a look round, even if we can’t do business.”
    Mr. Newdick
suffered a twinge of horror at the thought even while he uttered
it.
    He led the
Saint out of his “office” to the junk shed. No one who
had witnessed his sad survey of that collection of lumber a few minutes
before would have believed that it was the same man who now
gazed on it with such enthusiasm and affection.
    “This,”
said Mr. Newdick, “is our workshop. Here you can see the parts of
our machines in course of construction and assembly. Those lengths of wood are
our special lon gerons. Over there are stay and braces. …”
    “By
Jove!” said the Saint in awe. “I’d no idea helicopters went in for
all those things. They must be quite dressed up when you’ve finished
with them, what? By the way, talking of longerons, a girl friend of mine
has the neatest pattern of step-ins …”
    Mr.
Newdick listened patiently.
    Presently
they passed on to the other shed. Mr. Newdick opened the door as
reverently as if he had been unveiling a memorial.
    “And
this,” he said, “is the Newdick helicopter.”
    Simon
glanced over it vacuously, and looked about him.
    “Where
are all your workmen today?” he asked.
    “They
are on holiday,” said Mr. Newdick, making a mental note to engage some
picturesque mechanics the next day. “An old custom of the
firm. I always give them a full day’s holiday on the anniversary of
my dear mother’s death.” He wiped away a tear and
changed the subject. “How would you like to take a flight?”
    “Jolly
good idea,” agreed the Saint.
    The
helicopter was wheeled out, and while it was warm ing up, Simon
revealed that he also was a flier and possessed a license for helicopters. Mr.
Newdick complimented him gravely. They made a ten-minute flight, and
when they had landed again the Saint remained in his seat.
    “D’you
mind if I try her out myself?” he said. “I won’t ask you to
take the flight with me.”
    The machine
was not fitted with dual control, but it was well insured. Mr.
Newdick only hesitated a moment. He was very anxious to
please.
    “Certainly,”
he said. “Give her a thorough test yourself, and you’ll see that
she’s a good bus.”
    Simon took
the ship off and climbed towards the north. When Mr. Newdick’s tiny aerodrome was out
of sight he put the helicopter through every test he could think of, and the results amazed him even while they only confirmed
the re markable impression he had
gained while Mr. Newdick was flying
it.
    When he saw
the London Air Park below him he shut offthe engine and came down in
a perfect vertical descent which set him down outside the Cierva hangars.
Simon climbed out and button-holed one of the company’s test pilots.
    “Would
you like to come on a short hop with me?” he asked. “I want to show you
something.”
    As they walked back towards the
Newdick helicopter the pilot studied it with
a puzzled frown.
    “Is
that one of our machines?” he said.
    “More or less,” Simon
told him.
    “It
looks as if it had been put together wrong,” said the pilot
worriedly. “Have you been having trouble with it?”
    The Saint
shook his head.
    “I
think you’ll find,” he answered, “that it’s been put together
right.”
    He
demonstrated what he meant, and when they returned the test pilot took
the machine up again himself and tried it a second time. Other test pilots tried it.
Engineers scratched their heads over it