'Good,' he said, and that seemed to calm him down some.

He tried to get up, pushing with his elbows like he had somewhere pretty important to go, but he didn't have the strength, and he sank back down. It took him a long time to get the words out, swallowing and giving little coughs between words. 'Who?' I wondered if he was thinking clearly. Is the pilot raving and deluded in his final moments? 'Did you see them?' he asked me, his voice scratchy. For although Matt manages more or less single-handedly to rescue the distressed balloon and bring it on board the Aurora, he is too late to save the life of the injured pilot. It's the opening incident in a dramatic tale of discovery and adventure, exploration and piracy.

Its running lights weren't on, which was odd. It was a hot-air balloon, hanging there in the night sky. I raised my spyglass again, and with the help of the moon, caught a glimpse. Because at first, all I noticed was a blackness where stars should have been. He loves the ship and he loves his job, and he's got a fair expectation of being made junior sailmaker soon.Īnd he's one of those people that adventures just happen to, so we shouldn't be surprised that it's on Matt's watch in the crow's nest one night that he spies something unusual, drifting in the night sky: Then I saw it. He's the cabin boy on board the luxury airship, the Aurora.

Airborn series kenneth oppel