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diff --git a/43264.txt b/43264.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 872d489..0000000 --- a/43264.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5617 +0,0 @@ - THE PHANTOM AIRMAN - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: The Phantom Airman -Author: Rowland Walker -Release Date: July 20, 2013 [EBook #43264] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM AIRMAN *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: "It was as though the mighty concussion had blown a hole -in the universe."--_Page_ 245.] - - - - - THE - PHANTOM AIRMAN - - - BY - - ROWLAND WALKER - - AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE - McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC. - - - - S. W. PARTRIDGE & Co. - 4, 5 & 6, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.1 - - - - - MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN - _First Published_ 1920 - _Frequently reprinted - This Impression issued_ 1931 - - - - - *CONTENTS* - -CHAPTER - - I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald - II. The Wonder 'Plane - III. "Tempest" of the Aerial Police - IV. A Midnight Consultation - V. The Aerial Liner - VI. An Up-to-Date Cabin Boy - VII. A Duel with Words - VIII. Sons of the Desert - IX. The Phantom Bird - X. The Brigand of the Eastern Skies - XI. The Air-King's Tribute - XII. The Maharajah's Choice - XIII. The Missing Airship - XIV. Betrayed by the Camera - XV. Diamond cut Diamond - XVI. The Ghostly Visitant - XVII. The Watchers - XVIII. "Live Wires" - XIX. The Devil's Workshop - XX. "Hands Up!" - XXI. The Coming Fight - XXII. An Aerial Duel - - - - - *THE PHANTOM AIRMAN* - - - - *CHAPTER I* - - *THE SECRET OF THE SCHWARZWALD* - - -Rittmeister Heinrich von Spitzer, late flight-commander in the German -Air Service, was one of the Prussian irreconcilables, who, rather than -submit to the peace terms enforced by the Allies after the defeat of -Germany, resolved to become an aerial brigand, an outlaw of the nations, -and to wage a bitter warfare of violence and plunder against his late -enemies. - -His proud spirit refused to bend before the conquerors, for the iron -shaft of defeat had embittered his soul, particularly against Britain, -whom he had ever regarded as the evil genius of the Entente. - -One day, when his plans were well matured, he unburdened his spirit to a -couple of his friends, kindred souls, men after his own heart, both of -them apt pupils of the great Richthofen, who was still referred to by -his disciples as "the red airman." They had been engaged that day in -dismantling an aerodrome on the edge of the Schwarzwald; to them, at -least, a hateful job. - -"Comrades," he said, "this peace has ruined us. _Germania delenda est_, -but I will not sit still amid the ruins of the Fatherland. Glorious we -have lived, like kings of the air; let us not inglorious die." - -"I am with you, Rittmeister. I will follow you to the gulfs," exclaimed -one of his companions, named Carl, who had been a famous scout pilot in -the Richthofen "circus," and the lightning flashed from the young -airman's eyes as he spoke. - -"But what can we do against the empires of the world?" asked a Gotha -pilot who had raided the English towns a score of times. - -For answer the chief turned a withering look upon the last speaker and -said:-- - -"Max, you have faced death a hundred times in the air, and over the -British lines. You have thirty enemy machines to your credit, and yet -you ask me what can we do?" - -"What of it, Rittmeister? Tell us what is in your mind." - -"Listen, then, both of you, and I will tell you what still remains for -brave men to do. All is not lost while courage and hope remain," and -whilst he spoke the German chief drew his two friends away from the -half-dismantled aerodrome on the southern edge of the Schwarzwald, to a -narrow path that led amongst the trees. - -When the aerodrome was hid from view he began to speak once more, -huskily at first, as though restraining some pent up excitement. - -"I am in possession of a secret," he said, "which I may not tell even to -you unless you first swear to follow me on some great adventure." - -They both looked at him, not a little amazed and bewildered, and neither -spoke for a moment. - -"I have chosen you," continued Spitzer, "because I know you to be men of -daring and resource. You are both dissatisfied with the condition of -things in the Fatherland. Ach Himmel! This occupation of the sacred -German soil by the Britisher, the Frenchman and the American is breaking -my heart. I will endure it no longer, but I will strike a blow at the -enemy before I die." - -As he spoke thus, he almost hissed out the words which he uttered, for -his voice had now lost its strange huskiness, while his eyes gleamed -like the fierce glittering orbs of the tiger about to make its spring -from the hidden jungle. Nor was his present madness without its visible -effect upon his two companions, for he had strange powers of magnetic -influence, this Prussian Junker. - -"Donner and Blitz, but you are right, Rittmeister!" exclaimed Carl, the -blood mounting to his temples. - -"And you, Max, what say you?" and the chief fixed the Gotha pilot with -his eyes. - -"Ja! ja!" he assented. "I am with you also." - -"But the end of this adventure is death!" continued von Spitzer, -speaking now more deliberately. "This much I must tell you in all -fairness before I proceed further. However much we achieve--and we shall -accomplish not a little--there can be no other ending." - -"Bah! we have looked too often into the face of that monster to be -afraid," returned the scout. - -"You speak truly, Carl," replied the chief. "When your machine went down -in flames near Cambrai, you passed so close to me that I stalled my -Fokker to let you pass, and I saw the smile upon your lips that day as -you looked into the face of death. I never expected to see you alive -again, but you were saved for this." - -Then, amid the gloom of the dark aisles of the Schwarzwald, these two -men swore to follow their chief on this last great adventure, as they -had followed him during the darkest days of the war. - -"And now I will tell you the secret which I hold, and which at present -is known only to two other men," said the Rittmeister, and, sitting down -about the gnarled roots of an upturned tree, the two airmen listened to -the following story: - -"You have heard me sometimes speak of a great mathematician and -engineer, by name one Professor Weissmann," began von Spitzer. - -"Yes, we have heard of him," replied the others. - -"He is the greatest living scientist; moreover, he is a practical -engineer, and during the last four years he has devoted his time -entirely to designing, constructing and perfecting with his own hands, -assisted by one other mechanic, a wonderful aeroplane, compared to which -neither the Allies nor the Central Powers have anything to approximate." - -"Donnerwetter, but why wasn't it ready before?" exclaimed Max. "It -might have turned the tide of battle in the autumn of 1918." - -"It's no use crying over spilt milk," replied the chief. "It could not -be completed before." - -"And you say that this wonderful machine is now ready," interposed Max, -who had flown every type of machine from a single-seater scout to a -heavy bomber, and whose professional curiosity had now been thoroughly -awakened by the words of the German ace. - -"It is ready, and what is more to the point, it is at my disposal," -returned the chief briefly. - -"Der Teufel! But where is it?" - -"I can lead you to it, for it is less than three miles from where we sit -at the present moment." - -"Himmel!" exclaimed both the pilots, springing to their feet. "Take us -to see it, Rittmeister; we have given you our promise." - -"Be calm, my friends; you shall see it to-day. But let me put you on -your guard. You must not speak of it aloud, but only in whispers, for -the secret of this machine is jealously guarded, and its whereabouts is -unknown, save to the professor, his assistant and myself." - -"Has it ever been flown?" ventured Max. - -"Yes." - -"Who was the pilot?" - -"I was." - -"You, Rittmeister?" exclaimed the amazed airmen. - -"Yes." - -"And you are satisfied at her performances?" asked Carl, gazing -steadfastly into the eyes of his chief. - -"More than satisfied. She is the most wonderful and responsive thing I -have ever flown. You will say the same when you have seen her, and made -a trip or two." - -"Phew! take us to see her now; I would give ten years of my life to fly -in her," said Max, who was getting almost feverish in his anxiety to see -this wonderful thing and to handle her controls; for such is the lure of -the air, especially to those who have climbed into the azure and sailed -amongst the clouds in the days of their youth. - -"You shall fly in her," replied Spitzer. - -"When?" asked the eager youth. - -"When we start our great adventure," replied the chief. - -"And when will that be?" - -"To-morrow, if you are willing; all our plans are laid." - -"Why to-morrow?" asked the others simultaneously. - -"Because delay is dangerous. There is always the danger that this -secret, so jealously guarded, and hidden away in the depth of the Black -Forest, may be discovered. You know that Germany, under the Peace -terms, is forbidden for the present to manufacture aircraft." - -"Yes, yes; we know it only too well." - -"Well, even now," continued von Spitzer, "the British Air Police have -got wind of the thing, and their agents are in a dozen different parts -of Germany trying to fathom the mystery of this phantom aeroplane, but -so far they have not succeeded. All the same, it is time for us to get -away, and that is why I have confided my plans to you to-day. Do you -wish to withdraw?" and there was just a faint suspicion of a sneer in -the tone of the speaker's voice, as he said this. - -"Withdraw? Ach Himmel, no, a thousand times no! I am ready to start -to-day," flashed back the ruffled Carl as he replied. - -"Gut!" grunted von Spitzer. "Then you shall see this wonderful thing -to-night at sunset; I dare not take you there before, and to-morrow, -ach! to-morrow, this great adventure will begin." - - - - - *CHAPTER II* - - *THE WONDER 'PLANE* - - -The sun was sinking amongst the pines of the Schwarzwald when the three -airmen, after traversing for several miles the wild unbroken solitudes -of that primeval forest, emerged at length from the dark shadows of the -trees on to a little open glade, a natural clearing about two hundred -metres in diameter. - -"Here we are at last!" exclaimed the chief. - -"Himmel! what a perfect little aerodrome," cried the scout pilot. - -"But where is the hangar?" asked the more observant Max. - -"Hist! Let us wait for the signal," ordered the Rittmeister, waving his -companions back to the fringe of the forest. - -"But there is not a soul to be seen anywhere," expostulated Carl. "No -one ever comes here." - -"We must be careful; there is too much at stake," whispered the -flight-commander, and then he gave a long, low whistle, repeated twice. - -Scarcely had the last sound died away, like the sad piping tone of the -woodland robin, than a similar call came in response from the opposite -side of the glade. - -"Follow me; the way is clear," said the chief as he strode across the -clearing towards the spot whence came the signal. And his companions -followed him, silently wondering, for, somehow, they felt that they were -treading on enchanted ground, and that some interesting _denouement_ -would shortly take place. - -As they neared the edge of the forest once more, a movement amongst the -trees attracted their attention, and the next instant a solitary figure -emerged from the shadows and greeted them. It was the keen, lynx-eyed -professor, the great mathematician and engineer; a man about fifty, -dressed in a loose working garb, wearing a battered felt hat above his -shock of white, wavy hair. - -"You are welcome, children of the Fatherland," he said, extending his -hand, and fixing the two strangers with his piercing eyes, after this -brief salutation. - -"I hope we are not late," began von Spitzer, when the first salutation -was over and he had introduced his companions. - -"The sun is amongst the pines and the shadows of the Schwarzwald -deepen," replied the professor, speaking in the language of the forest. -"It was the time arranged, but"--and here he paused for a second--"there -is no time for delay," and an uneasy look spread over his face. - -"You don't mean that----" began the chief, but the genius forestalled -him by adding:-- - -"Yes, strangers have crossed the clearing to-day. For the first time -since I came here, I heard strange voices amongst the trees." - -"But they found nothing?" - -"Nothing!" ejaculated the professor. - -"Good! Then my friends may view the aeroplane," said Spitzer. - -"Certainly; let them follow me," and through an opening barely fifteen -feet wide, the professor led the way to a combined hangar and workshop, -carefully camouflaged and hidden away amongst the trees. - -The next instant the two young airmen received the greatest surprise of -their lives. - -"Der _Skorpion_!" announced the professor. - -"Donnerwetter!" came the involuntary cry from both the strangers as -their eyes fell upon a new type of aeroplane, with an angry, waspish -look about it, that the Bristol Fighter used to wear during the later -days of the Great War. Yet it was not a Bristol Fighter by any means, -for it was twin-engined, and steel-built throughout, with a central -conning-tower, tapering off to a sharp point to improve the stream-line, -and a closed-in be-cabined fuselage into which four or six persons might -with ease be stowed away. - -"But her engines!" exclaimed Max. "How small they are." - -"But how powerful!" replied Spitzer. "Each one develops anything up to -400 horsepower." - -"Is it possible?" asked Carl, who was already carefully examining the -starboard engine, in its covered in and stream-lined casement. - -"The propellers are different, too; they're something like the Fokker's, -but shorter, and they have a peculiar twist, which I have never seen -before. What is that for, Rittmeister?" asked the Gotha pilot. - -"For vertical climbs, Max," replied the chief, for while the professor -stood by, and looked on, interested and amused at the growing enthusiasm -for his idol, the Rittmeister, who had been secretly schooled in the -hidden mysteries, explained them point by point, for he was a great -mechanic and mathematician was this ex-flight-commander. - -"Vertical climbs?" echoed the other. "I thought it was impossible." - -"Impossible? Rubbish! Nothing is impossible to the man of science. -Have you never heard of the Helicopter?" - -"You mean that hybrid mongrel the verdammt Yanks and the Britishers have -been experimenting with of late, and which has caused so many -accidents?" - -"The same; only they went the wrong way about it. This propeller, with -this driving power behind it, practically gives the vertical ascent, -especially when once flying speed has been obtained." - -"Blitz, but it is wonderful!" concluded Max, his enthusiasm growing by -leaps and bounds, as he continued his examination. - -"Why, the propellers are made of steel, and so are the planes," -exclaimed Carl, who was now carefully examining the material of which -the aeroplane was made. - -"Steel, tempered steel, every bit of it--fuselage, propellers, tail fin, -rudders. There's not an ounce of wood about the _Scorpion_," returned -the mentor. - -"Then the danger of fire is lessened," ventured Max, whose one dread in -the air had always been that of fire. - -"That danger is eliminated," replied the chief, in a tone of certitude. - -"Except by petrol. By the way, where are the petrol tanks?" exclaimed -Carl, who had never missed them till now. - -"There aren't any," replied the Rittmeister, smiling. "I was waiting -for that question." - -"No petrol tanks?" came the astonished cry from both the airmen at once. - -"They're not necessary," returned the other; "and that's the greatest -mystery of all." - -"Himmel! Am I dreaming?" exclaimed Max. - -"No, you're wide awake. Don't stare like that, man!" - -"Der Teufel, but how is she driven?" demanded the scout, staring with -wide-open eyes from Spitzer to the professor, and from the latter to his -mechanic, who had stood by all this while, with arms akimbo, silently -amused at the bewilderment of the two strangers. - -"Listen," began the Rittmeister. "I cannot explain everything now--time -will not permit--but you shall learn all these things before many days -are over." - -"Yes, go on!" - -"The professor has spent years on this series of inventions, both in the -workshop and the laboratory, and each discovery has been co-ordinated -and fitted into the scheme. The greatest of all his discoveries is the -fact that he has been able to discover and to harness an unknown force -to drive the motors of the _Scorpion_." - -"A highly compressed gas, I suppose," interposed Max, who had taken a -science degree at Bonn. - -"Certainly, it is a _most_ highly compressed gas, extracted at great -pains and labour from the elements. The formulae for this wonderful new -element exist only in the still more wonderful brain of the professor. -It has not been committed to paper even, in its final terms and ratios, -so that, even should this machine be captured, which it certainly shall -not be whilst I am its pilot, it could not be used, once the present -supply of this Uranis, as we will call it, is used up." - -"That is why the engines are so small, then?" ventured Max. - -"Precisely!" - -"And what is our present supply of this wonderful element?" - -"Do you see this?" said the Rittmeister, pointing to a few small -cylinders, each about two feet long, and six inches in diameter, which -lay carefully piled upon each other on the floor near the _Scorpion_. - -"Yes." - -"That is the world's supply at present, excluding the two cylinders -which are already fitted on the machine." - -"The world's supply," ejaculated Carl, who was thinking of the huge -petrol tank, which in a Fokker scout would last only three hours with -the throttle wide open. "That won't last long, unless the pressure is -enormous." - -"The pressure is enormous, my friend; so enormous that if anything -happened it would----" - -"Blow a hole in the universe, I reckon," interposed Max. - -"You are right, and that is the only danger connected with the -_Scorpion_. The other danger you mentioned, that of fire, is altogether -eliminated. There would be nothing to burn if one of these cylinders -exploded, for there would be nothing left--in the vicinity." - -"_Sacre bleu_!" exclaimed Carl, _sotto voce_, for, brave youth that he -was, he shuddered at the thought. - -Max was the more practical of the two, however, for he belonged not to -the highly sensitive scouts, but to the heavy bombers, and he merely -asked to satisfy his curiosity:-- - -"How far will one of those cylinders take us, Rittmeister?" - -"Ten thousand miles," replied the chief, "that is, one fitted to either -engine." - -"Good! Let me see, there are ten here, and one already fitted to either -motor makes a dozen. Why, they would carry us"--and here he made a -rapid calculation--"they would take us twice round the world." - -"Precisely, and with a little to spare, when we had completed the double -trip." - -"And what speed would she pick up, say at a level flight?" - -For answer the chief looked at the professor, as though uncertain -whether to reply to this question. - -"They have taken the oath, sir," he pleaded, "They cannot withdraw," and -the great scientist nodded his acquiescence. - -"Two hundred and fifty miles without being pushed," he replied at -length. - -"Donnerwetter! And what if she were pushed?" - -"I cannot say, she has never been driven beyond that." - -"What a deuce of a noise she will make--like a whole formation of -Gothas, I should imagine," said Max. - -The professor smiled, but left it to the Rittmeister to explain this -last point. - -"The engines are silent, but there is a slight hum from the propellers. -That cannot be effaced at present, but it is nothing." - -Then, having given all these details, the visitors made a closer -inspection of the machine. They were permitted to climb into the -conning-tower, to handle the controls, and the two swivel machine guns -mounted there. They were shown into the little cabin, where four men -might sit at the little table, or lie down at full length, but could not -stand upright. The steel struts, steel folding wings, the carefully -packed spares, the little mica windows in the cabin--these, and a dozen -other things, were pointed out and explained to them--the stores which -were already packed, comprising chronometrical instruments, maps, -charts, ammunition for the guns, compressed food, etc., until their -bewilderment grew, and their astonishment became unbounded. - -"Why, she scarcely needs an aerodrome at all!" Carl ventured at length. - -"Scarcely," replied the chief. "At any rate, not for a long time." - -"She is weather proof; she is wonderfully camouflaged. She could hide -in a desert, or a meadow," said Max. - -"And she carries her own stores for a long, long trip," ventured Carl, -who was just dying for the morrow to come. - -"And if she were chased, she could make rings round anything, even a -Fokker scout, or a verdammt British S.E.5," added Max. - -"So you are satisfied, both of you?" asked the Rittmeister. - -"Perfectly satisfied. I am only longing for to-morrow, so that I may -turn aerial brigand, buccaneer, or what you like," answered Carl. - -"And you, Max?" - -"I am ready, chief, to follow you to the end of the world, for mine eyes -have seen the wonder 'plane." - - - - - *CHAPTER III* - - *"TEMPEST" OF THE AERIAL POLICE* - - -Colonel John Tempest, D.S.O., M.C., etc., late of the Royal Air Force, -and now Chief Commissioner of the British Aerial Police, sat before a -pile of papers in his office at Scotland Yard late one evening. He was -anxious and worried, for something had gone seriously wrong with his -plans. - -It was his duty to investigate and track down all aerial criminals, -whether brigands, smugglers or revolutionists of the Bolshevist type. -For this purpose he had been appointed by the Government to the command -of the British Aerial Police, whose functions included the patrolling of -the routes of the great aerial liners throughout the British Isles, and -the All-Red route to Egypt, India, and other British possessions, and -the careful guarding and watching of the aerial gateways and ports. - -Some of the best scout pilots of the war, including two famous secret -service men, named Keane and Sharpe, were detailed to assist him in this -important and ever-increasing task, for aerial crime of twenty different -kinds was becoming more and more prevalent since the war. - -So far his efforts had been conspicuously successful, and he had brought -many of the offenders to justice, but at the present moment he had to -confess himself baffled--utterly baffled by a series of unfortunate -occurrences which it had been beyond his power to prevent. - -"There is some master-mind behind all this," he exclaimed to himself, -rising suddenly from his chair, and beginning to pace the room, much in -the same way that he used to pace his squadron office, in the old days, -when, as commander of a squadron of scouts during the Great War, he had -attempted to outwit the daring of the German airmen. - -"I wonder now--I wonder what happened to that missing German professor!" -and Colonel Tempest suddenly halted, and placed his left hand to his -forehead, as some powerful, new idea had arrested his mental faculties. - -Then, walking across the room swiftly, he switched on a shaded light -which illuminated a large map of Germany, showing the aerial routes, the -lines of occupation by the Allies, etc. - -"It is just possible," he murmured to himself, "that the two things are -connected--the disappearance of this eminent scientist and the -appearance of this extraordinary flying machine." Then he switched off -the light, and returned to the sheaf of papers and documents on his -desk. He sorted out one and placed it on top; it was a decoded message, -received some days ago from one of his agents at Constantinople. It ran -as follows:-- - - -"Mysterious aeroplane, phantom-like in appearance, passed over here -yesterday flying at terrific speed. All our signals disregarded. No -navigation lights showing. Our fast scouts gave chase but left -hopelessly behind. Came from direction of Adrianople, crossed the -Bosphorus, and disappeared rapidly flying south-east. Time shortly after -sunset. - -AERIAL, CONSTANTINOPLE." - - -"That is three days ago," continued the Colonel, still thinking aloud, -"and here are four similar messages from other sources showing quite -plainly the route taken. Great Heavens! if I were not tied to my desk -in this place, I would take the fastest scout in the country and chase -this infernal night-wizard myself." - -A soft tap at the door startled the Commissioner, for during the last -three days he had become highly nervous; this affair was getting on his -mind, but he recovered himself instantly and called out in a deep -voice:-- - -"Come in!" - -The door opened softly and his confidential secretary entered, and -announced:-- - -"Two more cables and a wireless message, sir." - -"Anything from Keane or Sharpe yet?" demanded the chief. - -"Nothing, sir." - -"Then what are these confounded things?" - -"More about that aerial brigand, sir." - -"Let me see them," and Jones handed the messages to his chief. - -Consternation and alarm were both visible on the face of Tempest as he -read the news. - -"So the devil has already got to work, Jones," he remarked, quoting from -the sheets, laconic phrases such as "Oil tanks at Port Said burning for -three days. Crew of mysterious aeroplane suspected." (Delayed in -transit.) "Wireless station at Karachi utterly destroyed, after brief -visit by strange airmen." The third was a wireless message which proved -most disconcerting of all to the Commissioner. It announced that a -silent aeroplane, showing no distinctive marks whatever, passed over -Delhi "this afternoon" at a speed estimated at not less than three -hundred miles an hour. - -The chief of the aerial police leaned back in his chair and groaned. - -"Three hundred miles an hour!" he gasped; "but the silent aeroplane idea -is a fallacy. It is impossible with any type of internal-combustion -engine. It must either have been too high up for the good people of -Delhi to hear it, or its engines must have been shut off, or well -throttled down. Bah! I know too much about aeroplanes to swallow -that." Then rounding upon Jones, who was standing by awaiting -instructions, he said sharply:-- - -"Did that second message go out to Keane?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"And there's still no reply from him?" - -"Nothing whatever, sir." - -"H'm. I cannot understand it. Send it out again by wireless telephone; -he may be on his way back by aeroplane now, and possibly within reach." - -"Right, sir," and Jones disappeared to stab the ether waves again in -search of Keane. At that moment the telephone bell on the Commissioner's -desk rang. It was the Home Secretary asking for Colonel Tempest, for -the same messages concerning the aerial brigand had reached him. - -"Hello, Tempest; is that you?" - -"Yes; who is that?" - -"Lord Hamilton, speaking from the Home Office." - -"Oh, yes, my lord." - -"I say, Tempest, what is this news just to hand about aerial highwaymen -romping half round the British empire, destroying wireless stations, and -burning out the big oil tanks along the All-Red Route? I thought you -had all these aerial criminals well in hand. There'll be a deuce of a -row about all this when Parliament meets in two days' time." - -"Well, er--we're doing our best to deal with it, sir, but it will take -time to lay these fellows by the heel, I fear." - -"Have you got the matter in hand?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"What have you done? I shall be bombarded with questions shortly; in -fact, the Colonial Secretary's here now. He's complaining that the -routes are not sufficiently well patrolled. What steps have you taken -to deal with these marauders?" - -"I've wirelessed to all the aerial stations, to get their fastest scouts -out all along the line at once to look for these bandits, and I'm -staying on here all night expecting news every moment." - -"Very well. Keep me informed of everything that happens. It's becoming -very serious. You have full powers to deal effectively with these -criminals, and they may be shot down at sight if they don't respond to -signals." - -Then, as the angry minister rang off, another tap was heard at the door, -and the imperturbable Jones entered once more, and announced: - -"Message from Keane and Sharpe came in whilst you were speaking on the -telephone, sir." - -"Good!" ejaculated Tempest, as he wiped the perspiration from his brow, -for he had expected something much worse from the Home Secretary. "What -does the message say?" - -"They received my last message, sir, and are on their way home by the -fastest aeroplane. They are due at Hounslow aerodrome at midnight." - -"Excellent! What time is it now, Jones?" - -"It wants ten minutes to midnight, sir, and I have sent out the fastest -car to meet them and bring them straight here. They should be here in -half an hour, sir." - -"Have you told them at Hounslow?" - -"Yes, sir, and they have already got out the coloured lights and the -ground flares." - -"You have done well, Jones, but you had better not leave the office -to-night. I'm very sorry, but I may want you. This is urgent business; -we're up against something this time, and unless Keane and Sharpe have -found something out, we're going to be beaten." - -"I'll stay, sir, but what about you? This is your third night-sitting, -and you've had nothing since lunch. Shall I order supper for you?" - -"Oh, thanks, Jones, but I'd forgotten. Yes, you may order me coffee and -a sandwich, and get something for yourself. You're getting the strain -as well, and I don't want you to break down." - -When left alone, Colonel Tempest once more began to pace the -soft-carpeted room, much as a captain paces the bridge when his thoughts -are unduly disturbed by some untoward event during the watch of the -second officer. Every other minute he consulted his watch, and wondered -why the time passed so slowly. Twice he rang down to the lobby -attendant and asked if Captain Keane had arrived, and twice the same -answer was returned. - -Then he looked at the maps on the wall, and followed with his finger the -trail of the All-Red Route which the aerial liners followed, linking up -the empire and half the world. Now and again he would glance shrewdly -at the large map of Germany, as a skipper eyes the weather quarter when -a storm is brewing. Occasionally he would murmur half aloud:-- - -"A silent engine ... three hundred miles an hour. Gee whiz! but they -have beaten us two to one. We shall never catch them." - -Then a slight sound caught his ears from outside the great building. -The soft purr of an approaching Rolls-Royce motor and the sharp blast of -a Klaxon horn followed. - -"At last!" he cried. "Here they come!" - - - - - *CHAPTER IV* - - *A MIDNIGHT CONSULTATION* - - -The next moment the door burst open and two men in flying helmets and -leathern coats entered the room, and saluted the Colonel. Without any -ceremony the latter greeted them warmly, almost joyously, for their -cheerful presence gave almost instant relief to his over-burdened mind. - -"Good evening, Keane. Good evening, Sharpe," he exclaimed, stepping -forward and gripping each of them warmly by the hand. - -"Good evening, sir." - -"Now, have you discovered anything?" began the chief, without waiting -for them to divest themselves of their heavy gear. - -Keane looked at the Commissioner for a second or two and then -answered:-- - -"Yes, and no, Colonel." - -"H'm. That means something and nothing, I presume." - -"Exactly, sir," continued Keane, who acted the part of spokesman. Then, -speaking more solemnly, and in lowered tones, he continued, "We are up -against something abnormal; I had almost said something supernatural. -When you recalled us we were hot on the trail of the man who, in my -opinion, is behind this conspiracy." - -"You mean this Professor Weissmann?" added the chief of the aerial -police. - -Keane nodded. - -"I thought so. This man is evidently an evil genius of very high mental -calibre, and he has determined, out of personal revenge for the defeat -of Germany, to thwart the Allies, and in particular Great Britain." - -"He is a master-mind, and a highly dangerous personality; dangerous -because he is so clever. And now that he has secured a few daring -airmen for his tools, there is no end to the possibilities which his -evil genius may accomplish before he and his crew are run to earth," -replied Captain Keane. - -"I know it, I know it--look here!" and the colonel handed him the batch -of cables and wireless messages which showed how the _Scorpion_ had -already got to work. - -"H'm! and there will be worse to follow," added the airman after he had -glanced through the list. - -"Now, tell me briefly what you have found, Keane, after which we must -get to work to devise some immediate plan to thwart these aerial -brigands. But first take off your flying gear, and sit by the fire, for -you must be hungry, tired and numbed after that cold night ride." Then, -ringing for his attendant, he ordered up more strong coffee and -sandwiches. - -"Thanks, Colonel, I will not refuse. It was indeed a cold ride, and we -had no time to get refreshments before leaving the aerodrome at Cologne -this evening," said Sharpe, as he divested himself of his heavy gear, -sat by the fire and enjoyed the coffee which soon arrived. - -A few moments later, the three men were engaged in serious conversation, -although the hour of midnight had long since been tolled out by Big Ben. - -"You sent me," Keane was saying, "to discover the whereabouts of this -great German engineer and man of science, this brain wave whose -perverted genius is likely to cost us so dear." - -"And you were unable to find any trace of him?" interposed the chief. - -"Well, we were unable to come into contact with him, for we found that -since peace was concluded he had vacated his professorial chair at -Heidelberg University, where he had been engaged for some considerable -time, not only on some mechanical production, but in an attempt to -discover some unknown force, evidently a new kind of highly compressed -gas to be used for propulsive purposes." - -"Had he been successful?" - -"That, it was impossible to find out during our short stay over there," -replied Keane, "but I discovered from someone who had been in close -touch with him just about the time peace was signed, that he had -expressed himself in very hopeful terms." - -"Was he a very communicative type of man, then, did you learn?" - -"No; on the contrary, he seldom spoke of his work, but on this occasion, -when he communicated this information, he was very much annoyed at the -defeat of Germany, and considered that his country had been betrayed -into a hasty peace." - -"And what happened to him after that?" asked the colonel. - -"Shortly afterwards he disappeared completely, taking with him all the -apparatus connected with his research work, also a highly skilled -mechanic who had been specially trained by him for a number of years. -But he left not a trace of himself or his work," said the captain, -pausing for a moment to light a cigarette. - -"Do you think he is acting under any instructions from his authorities?" - -"No, certainly not; he distrusts his present Government entirely, and -considers them traitors to the Fatherland." - -There was another brief silence, whilst the three men, wrapt in deep -thought, sat looking into the fire, or watched the rings of tobacco -smoke curling upwards to the ceiling. At last, Captain Sharpe -observed:-- - -"A powerful intellect like that did not suddenly disappear in this way -without some ulterior motive, Colonel Tempest." - -"Obviously not," returned the latter briefly, for he was deep in -contemplation, and his mind was searching for some clue. At length he -turned to the senior captain and said:-- - -"This silent engine theory, Keane, what do you think of it?" - -Keane shook his head doubtfully, and the colonel handed to him once more -the recent wireless message from Delhi, adding merely:-- - -"Do you think it possible?" - -"Scarcely," replied Keane carefully, "but with a master mind like this, -one never knows. It will be necessary for you to consult the most -eminent professors of science and chemistry at once." - -"I intend to visit Professor Verne at his house first thing to-morrow, -or rather to-day, for it is already morning." - -"But the aeroplane," added Sharpe, who had been perusing the Delhi -message, "this also must have been specially built for this new gas." - -"Given the one, the other would naturally follow, and would be the -lesser task of the two, for this man is a great engineer as well," said -Keane. - -"It is a deep well of mystery," continued Tempest after another pause; -"but something must be done at once. To-morrow the morning papers will -be full of it. Next day Parliament meets, and questions will be asked, -and it will all come upon us. I shall have to meet the Home Secretary -as soon as I have interviewed Professor Verne, and Lord Hamilton will -not be easily satisfied. The public will also be clamouring for -information on the subject, and they will have to be appeased and -calmed. The Stock Exchange will begin to talk also, and to demand -compensation for the companies whose properties have been damaged. -Insurance rates, marine and otherwise, will be raised, and Lloyd's -underwriters will not fail to make a fuss. Now, gentlemen, what steps -can we take to deal with these raiders in the immediate future?" - -Send us after this mystery 'plane on fast scouts with plenty of -machine-gun ammunition," urged Sharpe. - -"I cannot spare you for that, but I have already ordered strong patrols -of aerial police to search for the brigands. I must have you here or -somewhere within call. At any rate, I cannot let you go further than -Germany. It may be necessary to send you there again." - -"On what account, sir?" asked Keane. - -"To find the aerodrome which this raider calls 'home,' for he must have -a rendezvous somewhere if only to obtain supplies and repairs." - -"And that secret aerodrome must be somewhere in Germany, hidden away in -some out-of-the-way place," ventured Sharpe. - -"But in what part of Germany?" asked the commissioner. - -"Let me see," cried Keane, rising to his feet, and walking across the -room to where the large map of Germany hung upon the wall--"why, it must -be in the Schwarzwald!" - -"The Schwarzwald!" exclaimed the other two. - -"Yes, it is by far the best hiding-place in the whole country. One may -tramp for days and never see a soul. It must be somewhere in the -Schwarzwald." - -"Then to the Schwarzwald you must go to-morrow, adopting whatever -disguises you desire, and you must find this hidden spot where the -conspiracy has been hatched," concluded the colonel. - - - - - *CHAPTER V* - - *THE AERIAL LINER* - - -The airship liner, _Empress of India_, was preparing to leave her -moorings, just outside the ancient city of Delhi, for Cairo and London. -This mammoth airship was one of the finest vessels which sailed -regularly from London, east and west, girdling the world, and linking up -the British Empire along the All-Red Route. She had few passengers, as -she carried an unusually heavy cargo of mails for Egypt and England, and -a considerable amount of specie for the Bank of England. Several persons -of note, however, figured amongst her saloon passengers, including the -Maharajah of Bangapore, an Anglo-Indian judge, and a retired colonel of -the Indian army. - -She was timed to depart at mid-day, and during the morning mailplanes -had been arriving from every part of India with their cargoes of -mail-bags, already sorted for the western trip. - -The great mammoth now rode easily with the wind, moored by three stout -cables to the great tower which rose above the roof gardens of the -air-station. An electric lift conveyed the passengers and mails to the -summit of this lofty tower, from whence a covered-in gangway led to the -long corridors which lined the interior of the rigid airship. - -"Have all the engines been tested?" the captain asks of the chief -engineer, as he comes aboard with his navigating officer. - -"Yes, sir." - -"All the passengers aboard?" he asks next of the ground officer. - -"All except the maharajah, Captain, and I expect him any moment." - -"Excellent," replied the skipper. "There's a good deal of bullion -aboard from the Indian banks, I hear, and the rajah himself is likely -touring a lot of valuables with him, I understand, as he is to attend -several court functions at St. James's Palace." - -"Yes, sir. I hope you won't meet that aerial raider," replied the -ground officer. - -"Poof! What can he do? He can't board us in mid-air! Besides, I hear -that the aerial police are on his track, and that all their fast scouts -are patrolling the mail routes." - -"Yes, you'll have an aerial escort with you for the first two hundred -miles, Captain. They'll pick you up shortly after you leave here." - -"Absolutely a waste of time. The police could be much better employed -in searching for these rascals." - -"Well, perhaps you're right," replied the ground official. "They -certainly cannot board you in mid-air, as you observe, and they cannot -set you on fire as they did the early Zeppelins, for helium won't burn." - -This conversation was interrupted by shouts and cheers which reached the -speakers from down below. - -"Hullo! here comes the rajah. I must go down and welcome him," said the -captain, as a fanfare of trumpets announced the arrival of the great -Indian chief. - -Then, with all the ceremonial and pomp of the East, the Maharajah of -Bangapore was welcomed aboard the luxurious air-liner, and, accompanied -by his personal attendants, he was shown with much obsequiousness to his -private saloon. His baggage, containing treasures worth a king's -ransom, was likewise transferred, under the supervision of his -chamberlain, from the ground to his suite of apartments. - -The clock in the palace of the Great Mogul in the old city of Delhi -strikes twelve, and the captain's voice is heard once more, as he speaks -from the rear gondola:-- - -"All ready?" - -"Yes, sir, all clear!" - -A button is pressed and the water ballast tanks discharge their cargo to -lighten the ship, and then swiftly comes the final order:-- - -"Let go!" - -And as the cables are slipped from the mooring tower, the light gangway -is drawn back, the crowd down below cheer, and the giant airship backs -out, carried by the force of the wind alone till she is well clear of -the station. Then her engines open up gradually. She turns until her -nose points almost due west, then slips away on her four thousand miles' -journey over many a classic land, desert, forest and sea towards the -centre of the world's greatest empire. - -About four o'clock that afternoon, as Judge Jefferson sat and talked -with his friend Colonel Wilson in one of the rear gondolas where smoking -was permitted, he remarked that this was his seventh trip home to -England by the aerial route, and declared that he could well spend the -rest of his lifetime in such a pleasant mode of travel. - -"There's no fatigue whatever," he added; "nothing of the jolt and jar -which you get in the railway carriage. As for the journey by sea, I was -so ill during my last voyage that I simply couldn't face the sea again. -A storm at sea is of all things the most uncomfortable. If we meet with -a storm on the air-route we can either go above it or pass on one side, -as most storms are only local affairs." - -"Not to speak of the time that is wasted by land or sea-travel," added -the colonel. - -"Exactly," replied the judge. - -"Only to think that in forty-eight hours we shall be in London, even -allowing for a two hours' stay in Cairo to pick up further mails and -passengers." - -"Wonderful! Wonderful!" agreed his companion. - -"And the absence of heat is some consideration, when travelling in a -land like India," continued the colonel as he flicked off the end of his -cigar. - -"Yes. The stifling heat, particularly in May, June and July, when you -get the hot dry winds, is altogether insufferable in those stuffy -railway carriages, while up here it is delightfully cool and bracing, -and the view is magnificent." - -"Hullo! what is that fine river down there?" asked the judge, as he -looked down through the clear, tropical atmosphere on to the delightful -landscape of river, plain and forest three thousand feet below. - -"Oh, that must be the Indus, the King River of Vedic poetry, a wonderful -stream, two thousand miles in length," said the colonel, consulting his -pocket map. - -"Can it really be the Indus?" - -"It is indeed." - -"Then we have already travelled four hundred miles since noon across the -burning plains of India, and we have reached the confines of this -wonderful land," replied Jefferson. - -"Yes, we have indeed. We shall soon enter the native state of -Baluchistan. See yonder, right ahead of us, I can already make out the -highest peaks of the Sulaiman Mountains. We are already rising to cross -them." - -"And this evening we shall cross the troubled territory of Afghanistan." - -"Yes," replied the colonel, "and by midnight, if all goes well, we shall -be sailing over Persia." - -"Persia, the land of enchantment," mused the judge. - -"And of the _Arabian Nights_, those wonderful tales which charmed our -boyhood--the land of Aladdin, of the wonderful lamp, and the magic -carpet." - -"The magic carpet," laughed the judge. "This is the real magic carpet. -The author of that wonderful story never dreamt that the day would -really come when the traveller from other lands, reclining in luxury, -would be carried through the air across his native land, by day or by -night, at twice the flight of a bird." - -And so these two men talked about these wonderful classic lands over -which they were sailing so serenely, of Zoroaster, the great Persian -teacher of other days, of Ahura Mazda, the All-Wise, and the Cobbler of -Baghdad, until the tea-bell startled them. - -Then, finding they were hungry because the bracing air had made them so, -they passed on to the snug little tea-room, where, amid the palm-trees -and the orchids, they listened to soft dulcet notes from a small Indian -orchestra which accompanied the maharajah. Here, they sipped delicious -china tea from dainty Persian cups, and appeased their hunger, as best -they could, from the tiny portions of alluring _patisserie_ which -usually accompany afternoon tea. - -But, later that evening, they did ample justice to a fuller and nobler -banquet, which had been prepared for them in the gilded and lofty dining -saloon; for they were the honoured guests of the Maharajah of Bangapore. -And he entertained them right royally as befitted one of his princely -rank. - -And in all the wondrous folk-lore and tradition of the ancient Persian -kings, was there ever a more regal banquet, or one more conspicuous by -the splendour of its oriental wealth than this long-protracted feast? -Rich emblazoned goblets of gold, bejewelled with rare and precious gems, -adorned the table, for the prince had brought his household treasures; -they were to him his household gods, and heirlooms of priceless worth. - -Never the Lydian flute played sweeter music than these soft native airs -which wandered amid the eastern skies, as, under the silver moon, the -long, glistening, pearl-like airship sailed on beneath the stars, while -down, far down below, lay the ruins of Persepolis, where the ancient -kings of Persia slept their last long sleep. - - - - - *CHAPTER VI* - - *AN UP-TO-DATE CABIN BOY* - - -While the great, mammoth air-liner is racing like a meteor across the -eastern skies, on its way to Cairo and London, it is necessary to -introduce to the reader a chirpy, little fellow called Gadget. In fact, -this cute little chap, who stood a matter of four feet two inches in his -stockinged feet, deserves a chapter or two all to himself. - -Now Gadget did not belong to the passengers, nor did his name appear at -all in that distinguished list. Neither did he rightly belong to the -crew, except in the matter of his own opinion--on which subject he held -very pronounced views. But he certainly did belong to the airship, and -appeared to be part of the apparatus, or maybe the fixtures and effects. -He certainly knew the run of that great liner, every nook and corner of -it, better even than the purser or the navigating officer. - -To tell the truth, this insignificant but perky little bit of humanity -was a stowaway, who had determined, at twelve years of age, to see the -world, at the expense of somebody else. How he came aboard, and hid -himself amongst the mail-bags, until the airship had sailed a thousand -miles over land and sea, still remains a mystery. But it happened that, -when the _Empress of India_ was crossing the blue waters of the Adriatic -sea, on her outward voyage, there came a tap at the captain's door one -afternoon when the latter had just retired for a brief spell. - -"Come in!" called the air-skipper, in rather surly tones, wondering what -had happened to occasion this interruption. - -The next instant, the chief officer entered the little state-room, -leading by a bit of string, attached to one of his nether garments, the -most tattered-looking, diminutive, but perky little street Arab the -captain had ever beheld. - -"What in the name of goodness have you got there, Crabtree?" exclaimed -the skipper, starting up from his comfortable bunk, at this apparition. - -"Stowaway, sir!" replied the officer briefly. - -"Stowaway?" echoed the captain. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Where did you find him?" - -"Didn't find him, sir. He gave himself up just now. Says he's been -hiding amongst the mail-bags. What shall I do with him, sir?" - -"Tie him to a parachute and drop him overboard as soon as we are over -the land again," shouted the captain in angry tones. "I won't have any -stowaways aboard my ship." - -This was said more to frighten the little imp than with real intent, -though the air-skipper spoke in angry tones, as if he meant what he -said. He was evidently very much annoyed at this discovery. - -"He's half-frozen, sir," interposed the chief officer in more kindly -tones. - -"Humph! Of course he is," added the captain. "This keen, biting wind -at three thousand feet above the sea must have turned his marrow cold. -Besides, he hasn't enough clothes to cover a rabbit decently. Just look -at him!" - -The little chap's eyes sparkled, and his face flushed a little at this -reference to his scant wardrobe. But he knew by the changed tone in the -captain's voice that the worst was now over. He had not even heard a -reference to the proverbial rope's-end, a vision which he had always -associated in his mind with stowaways. - -"My word, he's a plucky little urchin, Crabtree!" declared the -air-skipper at length, his anger settling down, and his admiration for -the adventurous little gamin asserting itself as he gazed at the ragged -but sharp-eyed little fellow. - -"What is your name, Sonny?" he asked at length. - -"Gadget, sir," whipped out the stowaway. - -"Good enough!" returned the captain smiling. "We've plenty of gadgets -aboard the airship, and I guess another won't make much difference. -What do you say, Crabtree?" - -"Oh, we'll find something for him to do, sir. And we'll make him earn -his keep. He's an intelligent little shrimp, anyhow." - -"How old are you, Gadget?" asked the captain. - -"Twelve, sir!" replied the gamin. - -"Father and mother dead, I suppose?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Been left to look after yourself, Gadget, I reckon, haven't you?" said -the skipper kindly, as he gave one more searching glance at the small -urchin, and noted how the little blue lips quivered, despite the brave -young heart behind them. - -There was no reply this time, for even the poor, ill-treated lad could -not bring himself to speak of his up-bringing. - -"Never mind, Gadget...!" interposed the skipper, changing the subject. -"So you determined to see the world, did you, my boy?" - -"Yessir!" came the reply, and again the sharp eyes twinkled. - -"Well, you shall go round the world with me, if you are a good boy. -But, if you don't behave, mark my words"--and here the captain raised -his voice as if in anger--"I'll drop you overboard by parachute, and -leave you behind! Do you understand?" - -The urchin promised to behave himself, and, in language redolent of -Whitechapel, began to thank the captain effusively. - -"There, that will do! Take him away, and get him a proper rig-out, -Crabtree," said the skipper impatiently. "I never saw such a -tatterdemalion in all my life." - -"Come along, now, Gadget," ordered the chief officer, giving a little -tug at the frayed rope, which he had been holding all this while, and, -which, in some unaccountable way, seemed to hold the urchin's wardrobe -together. - -This little tug, however, had dire results, in-so-far as the above -mentioned wardrobe was concerned. It immediately became obvious that it -not only served as braces to the little gamin, but also as a girdle, -which kept in a sort of suspended animation Gadget's circulating library -and commissariat. For, even as the janitor and his prisoner turned, the -rope became undone, and, though Gadget by a rapid movement retained the -nether part of his tattered apparel in position, yet his library--which -consisted of a dirty, grease-stained, much worn volume--and his -commissariat--composed of sundry fragments of dry crusts of bread -wrapped in half a newspaper--immediately became dislodged by the -movement, and showered themselves in a dozen fragments at the captain's -feet. - -"Snakes alive! what have we here?" demanded that august person, as he -stooped and picked up the book. Then he laughed outright, as he read -aloud from the grubby, much-thumbed title page:-- - -_Five weeks in a Balloon_ ... by Jules Verne. - -The mate grinned too. He remembered how that same book had thrilled -him, not so long ago either. And, perhaps, after all, it was the same -with Captain Rogers. - -"Where did you get this, Gadget?" asked the captain, reopening the -conversation, after this little accident. - -"Bought it of Jimmy Dale, sir," replied the boy readily. - -"And how much did you pay for it?" - -"Gev 'im my braces, an' a piece o' tar band for it, sir." - -The captain ceased to laugh, and looked at the boy's earnest face. And -something suspiciously like a tear glistened in the eyes of the airman, -as he replied:-- - -"You actually gave away to another urchin an important part of your -scanty wardrobe to get possession of this book?" - -"Oh, it wur a fair bargen, sir. Jimmy found the book on a dust heap, -but I wasn't takin' it fur nothin'. And then Jimmy never had any -braces." - -"I see. Very well, you can go now, Gadget. Mr. Crabtree will find you -some better clothes, and get you some food. Then you shall report to me -to-morrow. See, here is your treasured book," said the skipper, -dismissing the urchin once more. - -"Thank you, sir," returned the boy, pulling a lock of unkempt hair which -hung over his forehead, by way of salute. "I'll lend you the book, sir, -if you'll take care of it," and the chief officer smiled as he led the -little chap away. - -So that was how Gadget became part of the fixtures and apparatus of the -air liner. He was more than an adventurer, was Gadget. He might even -have been an inventor or a discoverer, if he had met with better fortune -in the choice of his parents. His sharp, young brain was full of great -ideas. - -In less than a couple of days, rigged out in a smart pair of overalls, -which had been very considerably cut down, he was soon perfectly at home -aboard the great liner. But then he was so adaptable. As an up-to-date -cabin boy, the captain declared that he never knew his equal. - -He became a general favourite, and in a very short space of time he -discovered more about airships and internal-combustion engines than many -a man would have learnt in six months. - -It was no use, therefore, to argue with the boy that he didn't belong to -the crew of the _Empress_. And it just wasn't worth while to inform him -that, as he was still of school age, he would be handed over to the -authorities, or placed in a reformatory, as soon as the vessel returned -to England. Gadget had made up his mind that he wouldn't. In a little -while it even became an open question whether Gadget belonged to the -airship or the airship belonged to Gadget. - -"I hain't argefyin' with you, I'm telling ye. This is the way it should -be done!" he was heard to remark to one of the air mechanics one day, -after he had been on the vessel about a week. The point at issue -concerned a piece of work on which the mechanic was engaged, and Gadget -had even dared to express his point of view. The extraordinary thing -was that Gadget was right. - -Ships and railway engines were all right in their way, but they were not -good enough for Gadget. Aeroplanes and airships were much more to his -liking. He was thoroughly alive and up-to-date, and though some months -ago, when this fever of world travel first seized upon him, he had more -than once considered the question of stowing himself quietly away on -some outward bound vessel from the West India Docks in London, his -fortunate discovery, and ultimate possession of that tattered copy of -_Five Weeks in a Balloon_, had caused him to change his views. - -Ever since reading that volume he had had no rest. Even his dreams had -been mainly concerning balloons and their modern equivalents, airships. - -"I will see the world from an airship," he had confidently announced to -himself one day. "I will sail over tropical forests and lagoons, over -deserts and jungles." - -This had been his dream and his prayer. But unlike many older folk, -Gadget had left no stone unturned in order to answer his own prayer. He -had carefully followed the newspapers (for he had earned many a shilling -by selling them) for the movements of the new air liner and the opening -up of the All-Red Route. And when the time had arrived for the airship -to sail, watching his opportunity the little fellow had smuggled himself -on board, and here he was, having now almost sailed around the world, -crossing the Arabian desert on the homeward voyage. - - - - - *CHAPTER VII* - - *A DUEL WITH WORDS* - - -Gadget's activities, however, were not confined merely to the duties of -cabin boy, although his diminutive size and his rapidity of movement -made him very useful in that capacity. To fetch and carry for the -skipper or chief officer along that 670 feet of keel corridor was to him -a life of sparkle and animation. But, when no particular duty called -him, the pulsating mechanism of that mighty leviathan irresistibly -attracted him. - -His round, closely cropped, well shaped head, and his roguish little -face, would suddenly appear in the wireless cabin or in one of the four -gondolas, where the powerful Sunbeam-Maori engines drove the whirling -propellers. - -Ship's mascot and general favourite though he was, his sharp wits soon -enabled him to make himself almost indispensable. At length, however, -the everlasting call seemed to be---- - -"Gadget! Gadget! Where is the little rascal? What mischief is he up -to now?" - -For it must be admitted that the overwhelming curiosity of the urchin -sometimes got him into trouble. In this respect he had particularly -fallen foul of Morgan, the third engineer, a short, stout, somewhat -stumpy type of Welshman, whose spell of duty generally confined his -activities to the care of the twin-engines in the rear gondola. - -It appears that Gadget had unwittingly broken the rules and regulations -of the airship by smuggling two parcels of tobacco aboard during a brief -stay in one of the air ports. He knew full well that a little fortune -awaited the man who could unload smuggled tobacco down the Whitechapel -Road, and the temptation had been too great for him. He had been -discovered, however, and the captain had punished him for the offence. - -Now, Gadget was still smarting under this punishment when one day he -startled the third engineer by his sudden and unlooked for appearance in -the rear gondola. - -"How now, you little rascal!" exclaimed Morgan, throwing a greasy rag at -the boy. "How much did you make on that tobacco?" - -"Stop smokin' on dooty, will yer, an' mind yer own bisness!" rasped out -the urchin, feeling that both his dignity and importance were being -imperilled by this reference to his recent offence. - -"Go away!" snarled the bad-tempered Welshman, surreptitiously hiding the -still smoking cigarette. - -"Yah! Why don't yer get more 'revs' out o' those rear engines?" yapped -the insulting little Cockney boy, repeating a few words used by the -captain himself the day before, and preparing to beat a hasty retreat -through the doorway. - -"You dirty ragamuffin!" shouted the stout man, flushing with anger, and -hurling the oil can, which he held in his hand, at the gamin. - -For one instant the tantalising little street arab disappeared on the -other side of the door, but, when the missile had spent its force, and -had crumpled up against the panelling, leaving a pool of oil on the -floor, the urchin's head reappeared once more. The opportunity was too -good to be lost. All the vivacity of the boy was pitted against the hot -tempered Welshman, and Gadget was a master of invective, and had a -wonderful command of high sounding words, the real meaning of which, -however, he did not properly understand. But he was just dying for -another of these encounters, so common in his experience of things down -Stepney way, or along the West India Dock Road. - -"Call yerself an ingineer?" came the next gibe from the saucy, impudent -little face, now distorted into something grotesque and ugly. "We'll be -two hours late at Cairo, an' all because you ain't fit to stoke a -donkey-ingine." - -"Ger-r-r-o-u-t!" shouted the angry man, making a rush for his tormentor. -"I'll break your head if you come in here again!" - -"I'd like ter see yer!" came the tart reply, ten seconds later, as the -head reappeared once again, for Gadget had retreated swiftly some way -down the keel corridor, as his opponent made for him with a huge -spanner. - -The engineer had determined to lock the door of the little engine-room -against the little stinging gad-fly, but of course the sharp-witted -rascal had outwitted, or "spike-bozzled" him, as they say in the Air -Force, by snatching the key and locking the communication-door on the -outer side. - -Morgan was beginning to find out to his cost that it was a very unwise -proceeding to cross the path of this pertinacious stowaway. He could -not get rid of him, and this morning, after the skipper's recent -remarks, he was trying to recover his lost reputation by extra attention -to his engines. Besides, the captain would be along on his rounds again -soon, and, if the engines were not doing their accustomed revolutions, -there might be trouble. - -Thinking he had now got rid of his tormentor, Morgan turned to examine -his engines, when the key turned softly in the lock once more, and the -irrepressible mascot, peering through the slightly open door, grinned, -and then gave vent to the one word, which means so much:-- - -"Spike-bozzled! Yah!" - -"You're a little villain!" roared the engineer. - -"You're an incubus!" retorted Gadget. - -"Go away!" - -"Swollen head, that's what you've got!" - -"By St. David, if I catch you, I'll----" cried the now exasperated -Welshman. - -"Abnormal circumference--distended stummick, that's what you're -sufferin' from. The capten says so!" replied Gadget as a parting shot. - -This ungentle reference to his personal symmetry was too much for the -engineer, and he made another wild rush in the direction of his -opponent. This time, Gadget had no opportunity to lock the door, but, -turning round, he bolted precipitately down the long keel corridor, -cannoning into the chief officer, who was just coming along to the rear -gondola, and receiving a somewhat violent cuff on the head from that -dignified official, whose gravity had been gravely endangered by this -sudden encounter. - -"Here, you little rascal, take that!" cried the angry officer, and -Gadget, glad to get away on such slight terms, and feeling that he had -given his opponent value for his money, scampered off, and made his way -to the wireless cabin. - -Here he assumed immediately an attitude of respectful attention, and -even prevailed on the officer in charge to give him another lesson on -the Morse code, for the urchin had a wonderful range of feeling which -enabled him at a moment's notice to adapt himself to the circumstances -of his environment. - -"Wonderful, Gadget! You're making rapid progress. You shall have a -lesson in taking down messages, to-morrow. You have the making of a -good wireless operator in you. I shall speak to the captain about it." - -"Thank you, sir," replied the _gamin_, pulling his lock of hair by way -of salute. This lock of hair, by the way, at the urchin's special -request, had been left there, when the famous "R. D. clippers" had shorn -off the rest of the crop, when the airship's barber had overhauled and -close-reefed him, soon after his first encounter with the captain. - -Gadget's next visit was to the little photographic cabin, where the -wonderful negatives and bioscope films were carefully prepared. These -were to record to the world at large the wonderful panorama of the earth -and sky, photographed from the great air-liner on her wonderful trip. - -Here, again, by his artful, winning way, which Gadget knew how to adopt -when circumstances demanded it, the little urchin was on good terms with -the photographic officer. The latter, who admired the boy's character -and wit, and pitied his upbringing, had declared more than once that -Gadget possessed in a large degree that intuitive genius which belongs -to greatness, and prophesied a brilliant future for the neglected boy, -if only he could be properly trained. - -"Come to me for an hour a day, Gadget, when the captain does not require -your services, and I will teach you photography. Some day you shall -have a camera of your own, and who knows, you may become a great film -operator." And the grateful boy was only too quick to learn what these -skilful operators had to teach. - -So, into this new life of adventure and travel, this little urchin -entered with all the zest and enthusiasm of which he was capable, making -many friends, and an occasional enemy. And all the while the great -airship, glistening in the tropical sun, sailed on across the wide -stretch of desert which lies between India and Egypt, along the line of -the thirtieth parallel. - - - - - *CHAPTER VIII* - - *SONS OF THE DESERT* - - -The tropical sun looked fiercely down upon the burning sands of the -Hamadian Desert. North, south, east and west, as far as the eye could -reach, in every direction, the illimitable waste of desert stretched, -save only at one pleasant, fertile spot, where a cluster of date and -lofty palm trees fringed the banks of a silent pool. - -A small encampment of Bedouins, sons of the desert, fierce-looking and -proud, occupied this charming spot. Three small tents and a larger one, -a camouflaged fabric, part of the loot of the garrison of Kut, completed -the camp. There were a dozen men all told, and as many noble, fiery -Arab steeds. The men were well armed, with modern weapons, too. There -had been too much loot in the Mesopotamian campaign during recent years -for the Arab sheik and his followers to find much difficulty in securing -the very pick of European weapons, ammunition and equipment. But one -thing was evident--all these men were not real sons of the desert. -Three of them at least were Europeans, as the reader will shortly -perceive. - -An atmosphere of subdued excitement, primed with expectancy, seemed to -pervade the camp. The whole party were eagerly watching and waiting for -something. But what caravan, with its tinkling bells, its camels and -spices, its rich silks and ladings from Persia or from Damascus had -awakened the predatory instincts of these kings of the desert? Besides, -were they not too few in number to engage a well-armed band of Baghdad -merchants? - -Nay, it was no rich argosy of the desert that these fierce men expected; -their eyes were directed one and all towards the skies, for the days had -now arrived of which the poet spoke, when he - - "Saw the heavens filled with commerce, - Argosies of magic sails, - Pilots of the purple twilight, - Dropping down with costly bales;" - -and they were awaiting, with evil intent, the passing of the Aerial -Mail, which they knew to be carrying vast treasures of gold and other -precious things from India to Cairo and Europe. - -The three Europeans who had collected and organised these robber chiefs, -by appealing to their hereditary instincts, were none other than our -friends, Rittmeister von Spitzer, and his companions Carl and Max, the -German irreconcilables, whom we left in the dark shadows of the -Schwarzwald preparing for their adventure. - -Already they had made a name greater than Muller of the _Emden_, but -they had made themselves outlaws of the nations of the world, and though -for a little while success and fame might attend them, yet they knew -that sooner or later the agreed price of their adventure would be death. - -"What news of the British air-liner, Max?" called von Spitzer, as his -subordinate descended by a rope ladder from one of the smaller trees, -where an observation post had been fixed, and an aerial mounted, for the -purposes of wireless telegraphy and telephony. - -"She left Delhi at mid-day yesterday, sir," replied the operator, -unclamping the receivers which till now had been fixed over his ears. - -"Then she's running to scheduled time?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Was it the official departure message that you tapped?" - -"It must have been, Rittmeister, for it announced that a distinguished -passenger had joined her at the last moment." - -"Indeed! What was his name? Did you discover it?" asked the -flight-commander, who, to maintain his influence over the wild sons of -the desert, was wearing the loose, flowing robes of an Arab sheik, -richly emblazoned and adorned. - -"His name was the Maharajah of Bangalore," replied Max, the erstwhile -Gotha pilot. - -"What! the miscreant! He was the man who raised thirty thousand Indian -troops for the Mesopotamian campaign, and made it possible for the -British to advance on Baghdad after their disaster at Kut." - -"That accounts for it. He is to be decorated at St. James's Palace for -some eminent services he has rendered to the British Government." - -"We're in luck's way, Max. I may spare his life, as I do not seek to -take any man's life who does not oppose me. But it's a thousand to one -he's carrying his jewels and his household gods with him; it is the -custom of these eastern potentates. I will strip him as the locust -strips the vine. I will give his jewels to these brave Arabs; it will -confirm my hold upon them. We may need their help upon another -occasion. But, this is by the way, was there anything from the -professor?" - -"Only this, Rittmeister; I have waited since dawn for it," and the -operator handed to Spitzer a cryptic message of seven letters, which, to -the receiver at least was quite unintelligible. Max had pencilled it -down as follows:--"X--G--P--C--V--S--M," for it had come through the -ether by wireless telegraphy and not by wireless telephone, like the -first message. The reason was obvious. One message was for public -intelligence and for use in the newspapers, and the other was for more -secret and sinister purposes. The cryptogram had come from the -professor, who, with his mechanic, had been left behind in the -Schwarzwald to collect information for the brigands, and to obtain -further supplies of uranis for the _Scorpion_. - -The Rittmeister eagerly grasped the little strip of paper on which the -message was written, and retired to the small hangar where the -_Scorpion_ was pegged down and stowed away, remarking:-- - -"This is evidently urgent; I must get the cipher-key and decode it at -once. Meantime, I want you to rehearse the men in the parts they are to -play, and give Carl a hand with the vibration drum. The great liner is -almost due. You may tell the sheik that in addition to the large cargo -of gold which the airship carries, an Indian Prince with jewels worth a -king's ransom is on board." - -"Your orders shall be carried out, Rittmeister," replied Max, who was -glad to be relieved of his monotonous task of listening hour after hour -for coded messages, and looked forward with some pleasure to the coming -adventure. - -Shortly afterwards, Max, having delivered his message to the Arabian -chief, was standing beside Carl under the shadow of a cluster of trees -on the very margin of the pool. That wonderful instrument, the -vibrative drum, which is fashioned somewhat on the principle of the -human ear, but with a large horn-shaped receptacle for receiving the -very minutest sound waves, and focussing them on to a very sensitive -drum, was engaging their attention. - -Every now and then, when they fancied they heard a sound that broke the -stillness of the desert, they would listen acutely, turning the horn -this way and that way to discover whence came the sound. - -"They are due about mid-day, the chief says," remarked Carl, after a -brief pause in their conversation. "What time do you make it now?" - -"A quarter of an hour yet," responded Max, consulting his chronometer, -and making a rapid calculation to allow for the difference in longitude, -for he still carried Central European time. - -"And they're sure to follow the 30th parallel?" - -"Yes, it's their shortest route," replied the wireless expert. - -"Then they should pass within three or four miles from here," observed -Carl. - -"Yes, unless they've drifted a little out of their course." - -"But we should hear them on the vibrator even if they were fifty miles -away in a silent land like this." - -"Undoubtedly." - -"Listen! Can you hear anything?" exclaimed Max in a slightly nervous -tone, after a brief silence. - -"No, I don't think so, but those fellows over there must be quiet; -they're getting excited about the promised loot." - -"Go and tell them, Carl; you speak the best Arabic." - -The German left the drum for a moment and after expostulating for a -while with the sheik, he gained his point and the word was passed along -for silence. - -The Arabs were greatly mystified by this strange instrument, as well as -by those aerial wires affixed to the trees, and most of all by that -strange, weird machine, hidden away behind the sand-proof curtains of -the little camouflaged hangar, like the sacred ark in the holy of -holies. - -With wondering eyes they had on occasion watched the _Scorpion_ mount to -the heavens with marvellous ease and descend with like facility--bearing -its human burden aloft to the very skies and bringing them safely to -earth again. - -These strange gods which the infidels had brought with them to their -desert home were greatly feared even by these brave, proud men, and it -was only the largesse and the promise of still better things to come, -from the great white chief, which prevented these sons of the desert -from leaving this dreaded spot. - -The scout pilot, having obtained his wish, now returned to the -instrument, for his companion was already beckoning to him. Evidently -the approach of the airship had been indicated by the sensitive drum, -but, ere Carl reached the margin of the pool, he noticed the Rittmeister -emerge from the hangar where he had been decoding the message, and wave -for him to approach. - -"What is it, Rittmeister?" he called. - -"The message. Come here a moment!" - -Max, who thought that a faint sound he had just heard from the -instrument might portend the distant approach of the liner, left the -drum, for he knew there would be plenty of time, and joined the other -two by the hangar on the other side of the pool, for he also was curious -about the cryptic message, which he had taken earlier in the day. - -"Was it from the professor?" he asked in his first breath. - -"Yes, he is in for a bad time, I fear," replied the Rittmeister. "He -will not be able to communicate again for some time." - -"What is the matter?" asked the others simultaneously. - -"Why, Keane and Sharpe are on his track again. You know the rascals; -they were secret service pilots and spies during the war, and now they -are scout pilots in the British aerial police. They're the left-hand -and the right hand of that confounded Tempest, the little tin god at -Scotland Yard, and the brains of the aerial police." - -"Himmel! I hope he can outwit them," exclaimed Carl. "They're keen -birds, both of them, and they have some exploits to their credit." - -"If he can't, then the length of our existence is the capacity of those -remaining eight cylinders of uranis," ventured Max. - -"And the length of the rope round our necks as well," murmured his -companion. - -They all laughed at this, but Spitzer looked keenly for an instant into -the eyes of the two pilots, as though he would search their innermost -souls, and make sure that they would be game to the end. But they -evidently read his thoughts also, for Max announced:-- - -"It's all right, Rittmeister; we're not going back upon our word. The -die is cast!" and Carl in a brave attempt at another sally, added:-- - -"The cast is--die!" at which they all laughed again, as the old sea -pirates laughed before they blew up their ship, when they saw that the -game was up. - -The next instant their thoughts were diverted to another subject. It -was already mid-day, for the sun by his altitude announced it. As they -approached the drum, they could now distinctly hear the hum of mighty -engines though still forty miles away, recorded in that delicate -instrument, and one thought, uttered or unexpressed, came instinctively -to each mind:-- - -"Aircraft approaching!" - - - - - *CHAPTER IX* - - *THE PHANTOM BIRD* - - -"Airship or aeroplane?" asked von Spitzer, a moment later, as Carl -closely watched the delicate recorder, which, as the vibration caused by -the sound waves increased, indicated not only the type of craft, but the -type of engine by which it was driven, and also whether the engine was -running with or without defects. So wonderful are the secrets which man -has already wrested from nature. - -"Airship, decidedly!" replied Carl, after a second's pause. -"Full-powered too; there are four or five Sunbeam-Maori engines, and all -running smoothly." - -"Her position?" demanded the Rittmeister next. - -"Forty-four miles due east," came the answer. - -"Then it must be the aerial mail from India; she is just about due." - -"Is she steering due west?" the chief asked. - -"About two degrees south, that's all," replied Carl. "She's evidently -getting a little drift from the upper currents." - -"Good!" remarked the chief airman. "Then if she continues steering -steady, she should pass within a couple of miles of us in another twenty -or twenty-five minutes. Come along, Carl, it is time for us to get -away. You will remain on the ground, Max. You have a difficult job. As -soon as we get away, see that the tents are struck, and all men and -horses placed under cover of the trees." - -"Yes, sir." - -"And now sound the alarm signal, and help us to get out the _Scorpion_; -it is going to bite to-day," ordered the Rittmeister as he strode away, -exclaiming, - -"Who wouldn't be a king of the desert? For one day at least it will be, -'_Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles_!'" - -The alarm being sounded, all the occupants of the little camp went to -quarters, just as they had been rehearsed during the last few days. The -camouflaged fabric was stripped from the little hangar, and the -_Scorpion_ was set free to bite once more. She was released from the -ropes which held her down and turned head to wind. The steel folding -wings were snapped back into their sockets and made secure. - -"Are you ready, Carl?" asked the chief, as he completed his rapid survey -of the machine, during which neither the propellers, planes, tail-fin -nor rudder escaped his scrutiny. - -"Aye, ready, sir!" came the reply from the junior, who was now seated in -the armour-plated conning-tower, testing the controls and examining his -machine guns. - -Without a moment's delay the chief clambered up through the little -trapdoor and joined his companion. Then he paused for a moment whilst -he swept the eastern horizon with his powerful binoculars. - -"I cannot see her yet, Carl," he said. Then turning to Max, who stood -by the starboard engine, he shouted, "Just try to pick up her position -again from the drum. She may have changed her course a trifle." - -The Gotha pilot dashed off on his errand, and after carefully listening -for a moment, he returned and said, "East-south-east, about four degrees -east." - -"Good, she'll pass about five miles south of us then; but she's not -visible yet," replied Spitzer. - -"She's getting a good deal of drift, I fancy," returned Max. - -"Anyhow, we'll get up into the blue and wait for her," said the airman, -and waving his hand for the signal to stand clear, he pressed the -self-starting knob, and instantaneously both engines sprang into life, -and the whirring propellers started up such a dust storm from the loose -sand of the desert that the Arabs were startled, and rushed to secure -their frightened steeds. - -Within ten seconds the rev.-counter indicated two thousand five hundred, -and, sufficient power for flying speed being thus obtained, Max deftly -removed the chocks from the wheels, and this new type of desert steed -dashed off across the sands, and leapt into the air, amid the cheers of -the astonished Bedouins. - -"Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful!" cried the Arab chief, as he -raised his hands imploringly towards heaven. "It is the bird of -destiny, my children, the phantom of the desert!" and Max could scarcely -restrain a smile as he beheld the momentary fear which had seized these -strong, fierce men. - -The next moment, however, they were all busy striking the tents and -bringing horses, equipment, and all the camp effects under the shadow of -the trees. - -Meanwhile the _Scorpion_, appearing exactly like a huge grey phantom -bird, soared away in a north-westerly direction, lest it should be -observed by the occupants of the approaching liner. - -And in a few minutes, rising rapidly by steep spirals, and an almost -vertical climb, it had disappeared from sight. Soon it soared over the -camp again at ten thousand feet, and appeared but a speck in the -cloudless blue, like the faintest suspicion of a tiny cirrus cloud. - -Shortly afterwards a cry from one of the natives directed the attention -of all present towards another tiny streak in the opposite direction. -His sharp, piercing eyes had been the first to discern the approaching -airship. - -"Allah, the Compassionate!" again began the sheik, and Max, fearing that -this strange visitant might affect their nerves, called out aloud in the -best Arabic he could muster:-- - -"Allah be praised! This stranger carries gold and rare jewels across -the desert. He must pay tribute to the sons of Jebel and Shomer!" - -This appeal to their cupidity instantly changed the demeanour of these -fanatics. Their fear departed. Even when, later, they heard the roar of -the powerful engines which propelled the airship, their one thought was -of plunder. - -"The treasures of twenty Damascus' caravans are in that great airship," -cried Max, fulfilling with considerable skill the part which Spitzer had -allotted to him. - -The Bedouins, whose feelings were now raised to the highest pitch of -excitement, began to fear lest, after all, so rich a prize might be -lost, and they eagerly searched the skies for the phantom airman, as -they called the Rittmeister, and shouted:-- - -"Where is the phantom bird? Where is the great white sheik?" and they -would have dashed out into the desert on their fiery steeds, for they -were already mounted, but the German restrained them, saying:-- - -"There is no need to hunt the quarry. The great white sheik will bring -down the airship on this very spot. Be ready, when I give the signal, -to surround it." - -Another anxious moment passed, and the airship, travelling rapidly at -some three thousand feet above the ground, would have passed them by -some few miles to the south, but at that instant, the Indian judge -caught sight of the picturesque oasis with its cluster of palms far down -below, and said to his soldier companion:-- - -"Look, Colonel Wilson! Just look at that beauty spot after two hundred -miles of yellow desert." - -"Ah, wonderful!" exclaimed the delighted soldier. "It is a little -garden planted by Nature in the solitary wastes." - -"How picturesque! I should like to land there," returned the other. - -"Let us ask the captain at least to change his course slightly, so that -we may pass over it and photograph it as a souvenir of our pleasant -journey," said the officer. - -At that moment the captain, passing down the gangway, overheard the -remark, and being eager to oblige his distinguished passengers, he -telephoned his orders to the navigating officer, who slightly altered -the ship's course, so as to pass almost directly over the oasis. - -It was while they were engaged in delightful contemplation of this -emerald isle embedded in the gold of the desert, that another object -attracted the attention of the judge. Chancing to glance upwards, he -caught sight of a silvery speck six thousand feet above them, and a -little way on their beam. - -"See, a tiny cloudlet in the sky; the first I have ever seen in crossing -these deserts." - -"A cloud, where?" asked his companion. - -"There, right up in the blue vault of heaven," said the judge, pointing -out the speck which now seemed to have grown larger. - -"Why, it is a bird; some great vulture of the desert. It seems to be -diving right down upon us! These vultures, I hear, have often attacked -the airships in the desert. It evidently takes us for some new kind of -prey." - -"A bird!" cried the captain, who had now joined the speakers. "Let me -see it?" - -"There it is!" cried the two men simultaneously, pointing out the grey, -swift phantom. - -The captain saw the bird-like object, and one glance sufficed. - -"It is an aeroplane," he said, and there was just a touch of uneasiness -in his voice. - -"An aeroplane?" echoed the others, and an instant later, viewing it -through his glasses, the colonel added:-- - -"Why, so it is; but I say, Captain, what a peculiar type of aeroplane! -It is one of the patrols, I expect, come to meet us." - -"Your glasses, if you please, for one moment," asked the captain, and he -almost snatched them from the hands of the officer. - -The next instant a violent expletive burst from the captain's lips. - -Leaving his companions, he dashed down the corridor to the wireless -operator's room. The operator was already engaged in conversation with -the aerial visitor by means of the wireless telephone, and the captain -took in the situation at a glance. - -"What does he want? Who is he?" blurted out the skipper. - - - - - *CHAPTER X* - - *THE BRIGAND OF THE EASTERN SKIES* - - -"Someone has signalled us to stop, Captain!" said the wireless operator. - -"Who is it?" demanded the irate skipper. - -"He will not declare himself, sir!" - -"Hand me that receiver, Robson!" and the commander, clamping the -ear-piece of the wireless telephone to his ear, asked of the intruder, -"Who are you that thus dares to order me to stop on a lawful voyage?" - -"It is I, Sultan von Selim, Air-King of the Hamadian Desert, who orders -you to stop!" came the reply from the aerial raider, who now rode just a -little way above the large airship, and on the starboard side. - -"Then I refuse!" thundered the skipper. - -"You will do so at your peril," came the quiet, cool reply, which rather -disconcerted the captain. - -"I will call up the patrols, you brigand!" continued the commander of -the liner. - -"One word to the patrols and I will blow your wireless to pieces. I -have two guns already trained on it," replied the air-king. - -"I dare you to do it!" replied the brave skipper. Then, turning to the -operator, he said, "Send the S.O.S. with the latitude and longitude to -the patrols. Smartly there, Robson." - -"Yes, sir." - -"This is that raider we heard of at Delhi, but he can't touch us." - -The raider, however, had caught the sentence, or part of it, and he -understood the order. The next instant a burst of fire from a machine -gun, trained with wonderful accuracy, blew the main part of the wireless -apparatus to pieces, and rendered it perfectly useless for either -receiving or transmitting. How the captain and the operator escaped -injury or death will for ever remain a mystery. - -Seizing a megaphone, the former dashed out of the cabin, down the keel -corridor and the narrow slip-way, to the central touring gondola on the -starboard side, and, shaking his fist at the raider, who sailed calmly -alongside about a hundred feet away, shouted through the instrument: -"You brigand! You shall hang for this!" - -A mocking laugh, drowned by the roar of the engines, which still -continued full speed ahead, was the only reply. Evidently this mad -airman was enjoying the fun immensely. At any rate he appeared very -careless of the other's threats. - -"I mean it, you felon!" roared the skipper. - -"Are you going to heave to?" came the the reply through the raider's -megaphone. - -"No, certainly not!" - -"Then you must take the consequence!" came the mocking taunt, and the -next instant, "Rep-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!" came another burst from that deadly -machine-gun, which seemed so effective every time it spoke. - -This time the starboard engine, a 250-H.P. motor, conked out entirely, -and, for a moment, there was danger of fire in the gondola, owing to the -petrol-feed being smashed in the general break-up. - -This made the captain think furiously. He now recognised, for the first -time, that he was absolutely at the mercy of this strange highwayman of -the air. Evidently he was a determined character, a master criminal, -and the skipper looked round for some means of defence. - -There was certainly an old machine-gun aboard the airship, but it had -never been used and was not even mounted, for it was believed that a -peaceful trader would never need it. The police patrols constituted the -real defence of the trade routes, and even with them a few smugglers -were the chief offenders. - -The captain's eyes were fixed for the next few seconds on the wonderful -machine which sailed along so easily and so quietly. Once, he had -noticed, when the raider made a circuit of the great liner, that the -machine had shot ahead at twice or thrice the speed of the _Empress_. -The armoured conning-tower, over the top of which the heads of the pilot -and his companion could just be seen, gave the skipper an impression of -strength, against which he knew that even if he could have replied with -a machine gun, the bullets would have pattered harmlessly against the -sides, and fallen away like rain-drops. - -He was in a quandary, this brave air-skipper. He had missed his chance -of calling up the patrols. Yet, how could he, a British captain, -surrender to some foreign marauder, or perhaps even to a British -renegade; for he knew not as yet who this bold fellow was. Then he -thought of his passengers, those distinguished guests committed to his -charge, and last of all of the valuable lading: that consignment of gold -for the vaults of the Bank of England. - -"By heaven, it's the gold they're after!" he exclaimed. "I never -thought of it before. They've had the news ahead of us and they've -waited for the airship in this out-of-the-world spot. Confound them, -but they shan't get it if I can help it!" and the captain nerved himself -to still further resistance, though he felt it was hopeless, unless some -outlying patrol should come up quickly. - -The raider seemed to have read his thoughts, for he sailed close up -again, and shouted through his megaphone, "For the last time, Captain, -will you heave to?" - -"No--o!" the courageous man replied, though this time his voice wavered -a bit, for he wondered what devilry the stranger would attempt next. - -He had not long to wait, for the pirate suddenly banked his machine, -turned swiftly outwards, and circling round till he came up level with -the great twin-engine in the rear gondola, which drove the giant -propeller near the rudder, he opened once more a terrific burst of fire -which instantly put both engines out of action. - -This almost brought the huge liner to a stop. At any rate, she now made -more leeway than headway, for the only remaining engines which could now -be used were those in the foremost gondola and port centre cabin. - -"Stop!" signalled the captain to the remaining engineers in charge of -those engines. - -And the next instant the huge, looming mass, with her engines silent, -lay there helpless, levering away to windward, shorn of her pride, and -with the wreckage hanging loose from her rear and central gondolas. - -Another surprise that now awaited the crew and passengers of the -air-liner was to see the phantom raider careering wildly around the -beaten giant at enormous speed, in almost perfect silence, though his -two propellers raced wildly as he dipped, spun and rolled to celebrate -his victory, and to show off his amazing powers to the victims. - -"Good heavens!" ejaculated the captain as he watched all this. "It was -only too true, then, what we heard at Delhi." - -"You mean about the silent engines and the speed of three hundred miles -an hour," added the navigating officer, who now stood by the skipper. - -"Yes. It's some amazing conspiracy. I cannot help admiring the -rascals, though I should like to hang the pair of them." - -"Hullo! here he comes again. I wonder what he wants this time," and the -next instant the raider throttled down, and came close up to the -gondola, shouting as he did so in perfectly good English:-- - -"Start that port engine, please, and bring her to earth by that cluster -of palm-trees over there." - -"What more do you want with us?" replied the captain. - -"I must see your passports, and examine your cargo for contraband." - -"Eh, what's that?" exclaimed the amazed commander. "What does he want -to examine our passports for?" - -"We haven't any," remarked the navigating officer. - -"And why the deuce is he to search for contraband, I should like to -know?" groaned the skipper. - -"Did you hear what I said?" called the raider, who now appeared to be -getting angry at the delay. - -"Yes," growled the other. - -"Then bring her down at once, and let out that mooring cable!" - -And as there was no apparent help for it, and not a single patrol had -yet hove in sight, the captain of the liner reluctantly complied, -wasting as much time as he dared in the operation. - - - - - *CHAPTER XI* - - *THE AIR-KING'S TRIBUTE* - - -Far down below, the Arab sheik and his party, ambushed amid the waving -palms of the oasis, had watched with keen and eager eyes this thrilling -encounter in the heavens between the phantom-bird and the great -leviathan. To them it seemed impossible that the aeroplane, sometimes -diminished by distance to a tiny speck, could overcome the mighty -airship. - -As the fight continued, and they heard the rat-tat-tat of the -machine-gun, sometimes their doubts and fears overcame them, and many -were the cries that went up to Allah the Compassionate, the Faithful, -etc. But when they saw that at last the great white sheik had won and -the disabled liner was slowly coming lower and lower, their pent-up -feelings gave place to wild excitement, and shouts of, - -"Allah be praised! The bird of destiny has won! The great white chief -has triumphed!" while others, more practical, and also more piratical, -exclaimed: "Allah is sending down the treasures of heavens into the lap -of the faithful. Praise be to Allah and to Mohammed his Prophet!" - -It was with some difficulty that Max restrained these wild men from -dashing out in their frenzy to capture and loot the huge, lowering mass -that now loomed but a little way above them. He began to fear that they -would not wait for the pre-arranged signal, and he urged the Arab sheik -to restrain them, and to repeat the orders that the occupants of the -airship must not be touched. - -Nearer and nearer came the huge mass, steering badly and veering round -in attempting to gain the lee-side of the trees, lest she should be -totally wrecked in the mooring. Two hundred feet of cable suddenly -dropped from her bow, and, when it touched the ground, Max gave the -signal, and with a wild shout these fierce Bedouin horsemen suddenly -broke from cover, and galloped into the open. - -"Ye saints!" gasped the Indian judge, when he beheld this wild -tournament of galloping horsemen, brandishing their rifles and long -spears. "Are we to be eaten alive?" Less than an hour ago he had -expressed a pious wish to visit this peaceful garden in the desert; now, -it was too near to be pleasant. - -"All hands to the cable!" shouted Max in Arabic, and very quickly both -horses and men were struggling with the stout hawser. - -"This way," shouted the Gotha pilot. "Take it round and round these -three trees; they should stand the strain unless the wind gets -stronger," and selecting a small group of trees on the leeward side of -the grove, he very quickly had the cable made fast in such a way that -the leviathan of seven hundred feet in length swung easily head to wind, -like a ship riding at anchor and swinging with the tide. - -Then the tribesmen, kept well in hand, surrounded the prize, keeping -some thirty paces distant, for they had not yet quite overcome their -fears. Never before had such a thing been seen resting on the yellow -sands of the Hamadian Desert. - -As the gondolas of the _Empress of India_ came to rest quietly on the -ground, the _Scorpion_ descended in a rapid spiral, touched the sands -lightly and taxied up to the fringe of trees. - -Then, to the utter amazement of the occupants of the dirigible, some of -whom were already descending from the gondolas, a couple of men, wearing -the loose flowing robe of the desert, including that distinctive mark of -the Mohammedan world, the fez, leapt from the machine and approached the -airship. - -"Snakes alive!" ejaculated the colonel; "but what have we here?" his -eyes fixed upon the two men. - -"Some person of note, evidently," remarked his friend the judge, as he -saw the foremost of these individuals mount a richly caparisoned horse -which was held in readiness for him, and approach in a dignified and -almost royal manner. - -"This king of the desert is evidently some European renegade who is -challenging the right of other nations to cross his domain without his -permission," said the soldier. - -"He is some daring pilot, at any rate," replied the justiciary. - -"I wonder now what he intends to do with us," observed the other. - -"Why, he intends to plunder us, of course," replied his companion. -"What else could be his motive?" - -The captives were not long to be left in doubt as to the proceedings of -this daring freebooter. Raising the megaphone which he had used in the -air so effectively, he shouted in perfectly good English:-- - -"Abandon airship!" - -And to make this order immediately effective, the desert king ordered -Max to see that every member of the great liner, passengers and crew, -were immediately assembled before him. The navigating officer and the -captain were the last to leave the vessel; they did so unwillingly, and -not without a measure of compulsion at the point of a revolver. The -skipper's looks as he fixed them upon this desert freebooter astride the -fiery steed, conveyed to the brigand much more than mere words could -have expressed. - -Fixing him with his keen, malicious eyes, the pirate said: "Are you the -captain of this vessel?" - -"I am," replied the skipper in surly tones. - -"Show me your bill of lading." - -"Bill of lading?" echoed the captive. "You must hunt for it if you want -it." - -The self-styled king of the desert frowned. He knew that he was up -against an English skipper, and that he must adopt other measures to -gain his end. Without lifting his gaze from the commander of the -air-liner, or flinching a muscle, he replied firmly, "One word from me, -Captain, and your life would be forfeit. You would swing from that tree -by one of your own cables." - -"I know that, brigand," replied the prisoner. "Get a cable and carry -out your threat; the rope that will hang you is not so very far away, -either." - -"Very well," exclaimed the German. "Then, I need only give the order to -these, my faithful subjects, and the whole of your valuable cargo will -be strewn on the sands, and your airship will be alight. I do not -propose to adopt those measures unless you compel me. I will give you -five minutes to decide." As the pirate uttered these words in a cool, -nonchalant manner, he glanced at the European emblem on his wrist, a -gold, gem-studded wristlet watch with luminous dial. - -"I deny your right to interfere with a peaceful trader," blurted out the -captain, when he saw the full force of the two alternatives which had -been offered to him. He was wondering, moreover, how much the brigand -knew about the presence of the specie on the vessel. - -"You deny my right, do you?" returned the other. - -"Yes. Who are you?" - -"I am Sultan von Selim, Air-King of the Hamadian Desert. I told you -that once before when I first challenged you in the air." - -"Who made you king?" snorted the captain. - -There was silence for the space of ten seconds, during which time the -brigand consulted his watch again, then replied:-- - -"The Allies made me king, particularly you _verdammt_ English when you -drove me from my Fatherland with those impossible peace terms. King I -am, and king I will remain, of all the aerial regions where I choose to -abide, until there comes a better man who can beat me in the air. And -you, Captain, of all men, must know from what you have already seen that -my powers in that realm are considerable." - -The captain, having cooled somewhat after this outburst, had to admit to -this German irreconcilable that there was certainly some truth in his -statement about being king of the air. Certain things were beginning to -dawn upon this English captain, and he was now wondering how far it -would be wise to humour the brigand. He added, however, to his -admission, the following words, "You are only king by might!" - -"Ha! ha!" laughed the outlaw, "but that also is some admission. My -position is precisely that of the British in India or Egypt. Withdraw -your soldiers from these two countries and what becomes of your -government there? So am I King of the Hamadian Desert till a stronger -man comes. When that time comes one of us must die. There is no room for -two kings, even in the desert. Till then I am supreme. But come, -captain, four minutes have passed already. Your bill of lading, quickly -now, for we are but wasting time, and these my subjects"--and here the -brigand waved his hand towards the restive Arabs--"or rather I should -say my customs' officials, are waiting to examine your cargo, and to -levy the king's tribute." - -The captain looked around first upon his own followers and then upon the -impatient Bedouins--the vultures around the carcase. - -"I could have brought your ship down in flames, but I preferred a milder -method," continued the outlaw, as he watched the seconds of the last -minute being ticked away on his jewelled watch. - -"But helium will not burn!" returned the captain smartly. "That was -beyond your powers." - -A mocking, sardonic laugh came from the robber chief as the Englishman -uttered these words. - -"Would you like to see it burn?" he almost hissed. - -The captain faltered in his reply; he was not quite so decisive as he -had been. Evidently there was some sense of humour, if not much, about -this irreconcilable German. - -"Here, Carl!" cried the bandit. "Detach one of those nineteen -ballonettes from the airship." - -"Yes, sir," replied the subordinate, stepping up to the king and -saluting smartly. - -"Take it away to leeward there, and show this dull Englishman how he may -learn chemistry and science even from inhabitants of the Hamadian -Desert. Here, take this, you will need it," and the chief handed to his -assistant a small cylindrical tube with which to carry out his orders. - -Turning next to the Englishman, he observed, "Know, you dullard, that a -small admixture of a secret gas, which is known only to three living -men, will make your renowned helium flare like hydrogen. You shall see -it in a short space of time." - -"Recall your man, I will take your word for it, Sultan!" exclaimed the -captain, who now felt that it must be so, for he was already bewildered -by the strange things which he had witnessed that day, and he had no -desire to see this experiment carried out. - -"You believe me, then," returned the air-king, who seemed particularly -to relish this interview with the Englishman, especially with this group -of celebrities within earshot, for they had listened eagerly to every -word which he had spoken. And the German knew that though his days -might be numbered, as indeed he felt they were, yet his fame would be -greatly enhanced by the episodes of this day, for vanity was not the -least among his failings. - -Once more he glanced at his watch; for the allotted space of time had -nearly run. - -"How now, Englishman!" he exclaimed in a harsher tone. "The bill of -lading, where is it?" - -The chief purser, receiving the captain's nod, at once advanced towards -the regal horseman, handed him a bundle of papers and said: "Here, sir, -is the document you desire." - - - - - *CHAPTER XII* - - *THE MAHARAJAH'S CHOICE* - - -A dramatic episode followed the examination of the airship's bill of -lading by the _pseudo_ monarch and his so-called chancellor of the -exchequer, Carl, who aided his master in the task. - -"Item one. What does that consist of?" asked the brigand. - -"Mails. His Britannic Majesty's mails," replied the chancellor. - -"Where from?" - -"From India for Egypt and London," replied Carl, maintaining a grave and -solemn deportment. - -"H'm! They may pass when the usual tribute is paid," remarked the -bandit in serious tones, as though he had delivered himself of some -weighty pronouncement. - -The judge looked at the colonel with raised eyebrows when he heard this -strange decision, but the captain, forgetting his position for a moment, -blurted out:-- - -"Tribute indeed? When did the King of England pay tribute for his mails -to be carried across the Hamadian desert?" - -The air-king eyed the speaker with apparent amazement, mingled with a -touch of scorn and pity, then quietly observed:-- - -"That is the very point, Captain. There has been far too much laxity in -this respect in the past. The liberties of the small nations to make -their own laws, and possess their own lands in peace, have been greatly -endangered of late. It is mere brigandage for a great power to -over-ride the native interests of small communities. But from to-day -this brigandage must cease, at any rate over the territories where I -rule." - -The captain could find no reply to this sally of the desert king's, and, -while a smile played about the corners of his mouth, he looked beyond -this robber chief, in his gaudy trappings, to where the _Scorpion_ lay -squatting like an ugly toad upon the sands. - -At length the monarch resumed his cross-examination with these words: -"Come, Captain, will you pay tribute for the transit of mails across my -territory, or will you not?" - -"I will not!" replied the skipper. - -With a flash of fire in his tones the brigand ordered: "Take the first -ten sacks of mails out into the desert and burn them at once." - -"It shall be done, O chief," replied Max, who immediately detailed some -of the natives to carry the order into effect, when the captain, urged -to it by the judge, asked:-- - -"What is the amount of the tribute?" - -"Ten thousand pounds in English gold," came the immediate reply. - -"I cannot pay it," returned the captain. "It is mere plunder," though -the judge pointed out to the commander quietly that it would probably be -more profitable to pay it and to get away with the mails in a damaged -airship, than to leave the mails behind to be lost or destroyed in the -desert. - -"He will take the gold anyhow, when he comes to it on the bill of -lading," added the colonel, "though devil a penny I'd pay him." - -"It isn't my money," argued the captain, "so there's an end of it." - -"How now, Englishmen! We are wasting time. Will you pay the sum -demanded?" - -"No, I will not!" - -"Very good. Get out the rest of the mails and burn them at once!" -ordered the monarch, and a couple of minutes afterwards the first bags -of mails, sprayed with some inflammatory liquid, were blazing furiously. - -"Item two!" called the desert king. - -"Gold. Nineteen boxes of bullion for the Bank of England," called out -the chancellor. - -"Gold?" echoed the air-fiend, as though he were utterly unconscious of -the presence of such a commodity, in face of the captain's refusal to -pay over a trifling ten thousand pounds to secure right of way for his -mails. - -"Yes, sir. Nearly one hundred thousand pounds in specie." - -"I thought we had prohibited the importation of gold into these regions, -chancellor, because of its evil effects upon the minds of the people." - -"Yes, sir," returned the chancellor. "We decided to abolish its -importation altogether on that account, save only as tribute money for -the royal chest." - -"Exactly," replied the bandit, in a tone of assumed moral injury. Then, -turning to the Englishman, he said: "You must know, Captain, that most -wars are caused by gold, and by the unbrotherly strife which it foments. -You must know also that all wars are sustained by it." - -"Yes, I agree with you for once," returned the prisoner, boldly, -wondering at the ease with which this confirmed brigand could turn -moralist. - -"Then what must be done with the gold, sir?" asked the chancellor. - -"Every ounce of gold on the airship must be confiscated," exclaimed the -king of robbers as he uplifted his hands in pious horror. "Let it be -removed at once." - -"Very well, sir," and this second operation, which was more pleasing -still to the waiting Arabs, was immediately put into effect. - -"Item three!" called out the chief. - -"Ten boxes of valuables, including the personal property and belongings -of one of the passengers," came the reply. - -"What, do they belong to one person?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"What is his name?" - -"The Maharajah of Bangapore, sir," returned the wise man of the -exchequer, whose task promised to be an easy one in the future, judging -by the vast amount of spoil which had already fallen into his lap. - -"The Maharajah of Bangapore?" repeated the monarch, raising his hand to -his forehead for an instant, as though he would recall some long -forgotten episode. "Is he amongst the company present?" - -"I believe so." - -"Ask him to stand forth." - -And the Indian prince, hearing his name called in English, stepped forth -and confronted his old enemy of the Mesopotamian campaign. When their -eyes met a flash of fire, more eloquent than words, revealed what was in -each man's mind. The prince expected to be tortured to death and was -prepared for it, for, like all his people, he was brave as well as -fierce. At last the robber spoke. - -"Prince Jaipur, you are an enemy of mine," he said. - -"I know it!" - -"Do you expect mercy after the way your tribesmen massacred my men at -Kerbela?" - -The maharajah shrugged his shoulders, but disdained to reply to this -upstart robber chief who styled himself a king. - -"Do you know that your life is in my hands?" exclaimed the bandit -fiercely. - -"I am not afraid of anything you can do, brigand!" hissed the prince, -and his voice sounded not unlike the angry, venomous snake in the -jungle. Another man might have quailed before those glaring eyes and -those hissing tones. But the German quavered not. - -"I will give you a kingly choice," he said, "as you are the scion of -half a hundred kings in your illustrious line." - -"I ask no favours of a common Bedouin robber," snarled the other. - -"Listen. I will give you the choice of drinking this deadly poison, or -of being dropped ten thousand feet from my aeroplane. Which will you -take?" - -The prince shuddered slightly, and glanced up into the cloudless blue, -as though anticipating what such a death might mean, then looked at the -small phial which the brigand held forth in his hand. - -"Yes, ten thousand feet!" continued the German, as he noted the anxious -look which overcast the Hindoo's face for an instant, as he gazed up -into the sky. "Then I will loop the machine, and, with your hands -pinioned, you will be thrown out and drop, drop---- Which will you -choose?" - -"I will drink the poison," replied the prince, who had now regained his -usual composure. - -"Very well. Let him be securely tied to that tree to await our -pleasure," and the maharajah was instantly seized by three or four -powerful Arabs, and secured to a tree some twenty paces away. - -"What about his valuables, sir?" asked Carl. - -"Have you examined them?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"And what do they consist of?" asked the king. - -"His jewels, his gold and silver plate, studded with rare gems of -priceless value. They are worth five times the value of the specie," -whispered Carl. - -"And what else? You said there were ten boxes." - -"Part of his regalia and numerous ceremonial robes." - -"They are all confiscated!" announced the monarch. "The sun will set in -another two hours, and at sunset the Indian must die." - -"There is nothing else, sir, of much value. All the gold and this -personal property has been secured. Here is the list of passengers, for -there are scarcely any passports held by the strangers," and here Carl, -who had paid a visit to the aerial, whispered something to his chief. - -"Good! Then, in your opinion, chancellor, sufficient tribute has now -been obtained from these strangers who have crossed our territory -without permission," said the bandit aloud for all to hear. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Then let them board the airship at once. She will be cast adrift in ten -minutes." - -At this there was a scramble for the gondolas, and very quickly all, -save the captain and the navigating officer, were aboard. The judge and -the colonel, however, prevailed upon by the maharajah's men, descended -again to intercede for the life of the Indian. - -"You have taken the man's jewels," said the colonel. "At least you -might spare his life." - -"You may have his body," remarked the airman, "but he must first drink -the phial," and a stern look appeared once more in the robber-bandit's -eyes. On this point he was unbending, and remained like adamant. - -"The airship is ready now, sir," said the captain, making a final appeal -for the life of the maharajah. "I should like to report, at any rate, -when I do complete my journey, that all my passengers are safe, though I -expect to be two days late with only two engines and this beam wind. -Once more, will you release the Indian?" - -"Bring him before me!" commanded the monarch at last, with a bored -expression, and the Indian, still bound hand and foot, was brought -before the pseudo king. - -"Unloose his hands," came the order. - -"They ask me to spare your life, Indian dog!" continued the robber, -addressing the prince in contemptuous tones. "If you sue for it -yourself, you may have it, otherwise..." and, instead of completing his -sentence, the speaker shook the little phial in the face of the -prisoner. - -"I will not ask my life of you, serpent!" hissed the captive. "From you -I will accept no favours. Robbed of my family heirlooms, my jewels and -my household gods, I prefer to die. Give me the poison, and I will show -you how a real prince of the royal line of Indus can die!" - -For one awful instant, the desert chief glared at his enemy, who had -dared to refuse his generous offer. Then, in angry tones, he cried:-- - -"Indian dog! I offered you mercy, but you spurn the gift of Allah and -ask for death. Then take this and drink it!" and he tossed him the -phial. - -"Stay!" cried half a dozen voices from amongst the group of passengers. - -But their expostulations were in vain, for, with an eagerness to hide -his disgrace in death, which only a proud oriental can show, the -prisoner caught the phial, withdrew the small cork, and drained the -contents before his horrified friends could interfere. - -The next moment, the body of the maharajah lay prostrate upon the sands -of the Hamadian desert. - - - - - *CHAPTER XIII* - - *THE MISSING AIRSHIP* - - -Horrified and aghast at the foul deed which had been done, the -passengers and crew of the air-liner, who had left the gondolas at the -cry of consternation which went up, now crowded around the fallen -prince. Even those fierce sons of the desert who witnessed the dire act -could not restrain an involuntary shudder, but they merely shrugged -their shoulders, or remarked: "Kismet! It is the will of Allah, the -Compassionate, the Merciful," and after some such invocation, their -piety appeared to be satisfied, for they immediately returned to their -treasure. - -The captain and his friends were loud in their protestations and -imprecations after their first and futile attempts to rouse the -prostrate man, for they believed him to be already dead. They glared at -the pseudo caliph, who appeared to be entirely unmoved by the -heart-rending spectacle. And if, at that moment, any weapon of offence -had remained in their possession, it would certainly have been turned -upon the offender, whom they now regarded as a murderer. - -But every weapon had been carefully removed from the air-liner and her -complement; even the unmounted machine-gun and the one box of ammunition -placed aboard on her first voyage, were now in possession of the -bandits. - -The captain in particular was furious, and he turned upon the German -fiercely, shook his fist at him and cried, "One day you will pay for -this, sirrah! The arm of Britain is long enough to reach you!" - -A mocking laugh was the only reply which the German gave. Then, looking -once more at his jewelled watch, he signified that the time for the -airship's departure had almost arrived. - -"Three minutes more and I shall cut her adrift," he said. - -"But the maharajah?" asked the captain. "What can we do with him; we -cannot leave his body to the vultures." - -"Bah! Take him away with you. He will live again in seven hours; it -was only morphine!" - -Bewildered, but yet relieved by these words, they quickly ascertained -that the prostrate man was not actually dead, and they hurriedly placed -him aboard the airship and administered emetics. - -"Let us get him away at once," urged the Indian judge; "perhaps the -higher altitudes will quickly dissipate the effects of the morphine." - -"Are you ready there?" shouted the caliph, who had ridden with his -escort up to the central gondola. - -"Yes," came the response. - -"Then remember, the next time that you invade my dominions without my -permission you will not escape so easily. As you know to your cost, the -King of the Hamadian desert is able to defend himself and his people, -even from the insults of a great power." - -The captain made a slight bow, half ironical, in response to this kingly -assertion, and asked, - -"Is there any communication which your majesty would like to have -delivered to my Government?" - -"Yes," replied the monarch, drawing from under his loose robe a sealed -packet, which he appeared to have had in readiness for the occasion. It -was addressed as follows:-- - - -"To Colonel John Tempest, D.S.O., M.C.. -Chief Commissioner of the British Aerial -Police, Scotland Yard, London," - - -and across the top left-hand corner it was marked "_Confidential_," and -also "_To be delivered personally by the Captain of the Air-Liner, -Empress of Britain_." - -The skipper, apparently bewildered for a moment by this strange request, -for it seemed to him like a letter from a condemned man to his -executioner, looked the packet over for a few seconds. Noting the great -red seal on the back, he read the imprint embossed on the huge wafer. -It read as follows, and was circular in form:-- - -"From Sultan von Selim, Air-King of the Hamadian desert," and the crest -was a scorpion, with the solitary word in Latin, "_Scorpio_." - -The caliph waited patiently until the captain had examined the exterior -of the packet, and recovered from his amazement, and then said, "Before -you depart, Captain, you must promise me that you will deliver that -packet in person to Colonel Tempest, who is not unknown to me." - -The captain did not answer for a few seconds, for he was wondering what -new conspiracy was this. He was wondering also whether the conveyance -of this packet was not after all the real reason for the forced descent -of the airship. - -"Do you promise, Captain?" asked his interrogator, looking at him -fixedly. - -"Yes, I promise." - -"On your honour?" - -"On my word of honour, I promise to deliver it." - -"Then good-bye. I will 'wireless' the patrols to look out for you." - -"Thank you," replied the skipper acidly. - -And the next moment, seeing that only his own accomplices and reputed -subjects were left on the ground, the Sultan gave the order, "Let go!" - -So the huge cable was slipped, and the leviathan left her moorings at -once. The north-west wind carried her clear of the trees, and, as she -had left nearly two tons of her most precious cargo behind, she rose -rapidly, then started falteringly on her long journey to Cairo as her -two remaining Sunbeam-Maori engines burst into life. - -The sun, which had shone with pitiless might upon the Arabian desert -that day, was sinking like a huge red ball beneath the horizon when the -great air-liner, drifting considerably from her course, but still making -progress in her journey towards Cairo, disappeared from the watchers' -view. - -With strange impartiality, inexplicable in such a robber-bandit, the -spoil had been divided amongst the Bedouins, who, to their bewilderment -and surprise, were now rich, each one of them, beyond the dreams of -avarice. Their gratitude to Allah, the Giver of all Good, and to the -great white sheik was unbounded. Never before had their greedy eyes -beheld such treasure; never before had they gained a prize so easily; -and some of them even wondered whether, after all, Mohammed had not -appeared to the Faithful once more in the person of the great white -sheik. - -Long before midnight, however, the last man, with heavily-laden beast of -burden, had disappeared, swallowed up, as it were, by the very sands of -the desert, so that, when the full round moon approached the meridian -and changed the gold of the desert to silver, not a vestige of man or -beast remained. And of the camp, only a few ashes marked the spot where -once a fire had burned. The _Scorpion_, too, had taken its departure -for an unknown destination, carrying its mysterious crew far, far away -from these burning sands, for the indomitable commander knew only too -well that the captain spoke truthfully when he said that the arm of -Britain was very long, and could even reach to this wild desert land. - -Before his departure, however, Heinrich von Spitzer had sent off his -promised message in laconic terms to the Cairo patrols. It ran as -follows:-- - -"Air-liner _Empress_ with damaged engines crossing desert towards Cairo. -Lat. 29-50 N., Long. 40-25 E. drifting W.S.W. Wireless deranged. -SCORPIO." - - -"Piece of bad luck, sir!" remarked the commissioner's assistant at Cairo -when he received the message. - -"H'm! She carries the Indian mail, too," replied his chief. - -"Yes, and a good deal more, sir." - -"What else does she carry this trip besides passengers and mails?" asked -the alert commissioner. - -"That big loading of specie, sir, for the Bank of England. Nearly a ton -of gold, I believe." - -"Phew! And isn't the maharajah of somewhere or other coming on a state -visit to the King also?" - -"Yes, by Jove, so he is! We had a message this morning saying that he -would travel by the _Empress_." - -"Heaven help us if she comes down in the desert with that cargo. The -Bedouins would soon make short work of it. The authorities rely too -much upon the patrols for these long journeys," said the commissioner. - -"We were asked to take particular care over her this trip. The Delhi -patrols accompanied her part of the way, and she was all right up to -mid-day, but she hasn't spoken to us since. I have sent out one or two -messages and have had the patrols ready to go out and meet her, as soon -as I heard again from her, giving her position, sir." - -"And you've had no further reply till this message came in?" asked the -chief. - -"No, sir." - -"By the way, is her wireless damaged as well as her engine? I didn't -notice." - -"Yes, sir. The message says: 'Wireless deranged,'" replied the -assistant, re-reading from the aerogram. - -"Then who the deuce sent the message?" - -"Scorpio---- But who Scorpio is I can't make out. It must have been -some passing airman, for it cannot have been one of our own patrols." - -"Phew! The mystery deepens. Get the patrols out at once, and tell them -to take plenty of ammunition with them. It will take a few rounds to -scare off those Bedouin fiends if once they get round a carcase where -there are such pickings." - -"I don't think there's much to worry about in that respect. Those Arabs -have a wholesome fear of these air-liners, sir. However, I will get the -machines off at once." - - - - - *CHAPTER XIV* - - *BETRAYED BY THE CAMERA* - - -The order was quickly given for the aerial police scouts to start. -Within a few minutes the patrols left Cairo and the adjoining -air-stations, and, spreading out fan-wise, they crossed the Canal, the -Gulf of Sinai, the wild mountainous peninsula which bears the same name, -and the Hedjaz coast, until they entered the desert regions beyond. -Then they commenced their search by moonlight for the battered and -drifting air-liner over the trackless, desert lands which lie between -the 28th and the 30th parallels. - -By a pre-arranged system of Very lights, the patrols kept each other -informed of their exact positions during the night, and watched keenly -the eastern horizon for any response which might come from the belated -airship. - -Meanwhile the air-liner, fighting manfully against the freshening wind, -made very slow progress, and drifted still further and further away from -her course. The air was full of wireless messages both from Cairo and -the patrols, but she was as yet unable to reply and define her position. -The engineer and wireless operator, however, had been able to receive -some of the messages indistinctly, and they knew at any rate that help -was not far away. - -The captain was naturally very much depressed by the turn of events. -Somehow he felt that he had not acted very heroically in the matter. He -had considered the safety of his distinguished passengers perhaps too -much. - -"If I had had no passengers to consider, I would have remained aloft -until the whole liner had been shot to ribbons!" he declared to himself, -when he at last retired for a few minutes to his private cabin. "They -should never have taken me alive! But there, my instructions stand--the -safety of the passengers and crew before anything else. I was a fool, -though, to act as I did. I ought to have sent out the S.O.S. to Cairo -without a second's delay, instead of arguing with this brigand; but -there, whoever expected to encounter anything like this?" - -Then as his thoughts turned to the wonderful machine, he endeavoured to -docket all the information he could remember about the brigand's -aeroplane, for he knew that he would be expected to recount every detail -when he met the court of enquiry, "which," he murmured, "is as certain -to take place as to-morrow's sunrise. - -"Gee whiz! Three hundred miles an hour, and silent engines to boot! -Phew! nobody will believe me, anyhow. Still, I shall have to face the -music, and also to explain why I have lost a hundred thousand pounds of -specie," and the skipper looked down on the white sands below, and for a -moment he almost contemplated suicide. - -"I wouldn't mind if I could only bring sufficient information to the -authorities to lead to the speedy capture of the villain, but I can't. -There wasn't time even for a photograph. The bandit was aware of all -that, and I understand that every camera was removed from the airship -before he let us go." - -At that instant there came a slight tap at the cabin door. - -"Come in!" cried the commander, expecting some further report from the -sick-berth steward about the condition of the maharajah, who, half an -hour ago, was said to be showing signs of recovery, owing to the bracing -air at three thousand feet. - -The door opened, and Gadget, the ship's mascot, appeared. Now Gadget's -newest hobby was photography, and through the kindness of the -photographic officer he had become the proud possessor of a small pocket -camera. - -"I got her, sir! Thought you'd like to see her ... begging your -pardon," and Gadget, with his dirty, but sunny, smiling face stopped -short and pulled his lock of hair by way of salute, as the captain -pulled him up sharply by snapping out:-- - -"Got whom? Like to see whom, Gadget?" - -"The 'Clutchin' Hand,' sir," explained Gadget, who now found himself -floored for once by his want of English. - -"I don't understand, boy?" - -"The bloke what played the dirty on us, sir," replied the boy, opening -wide his bright blue eyes, and holding out three wet and recently -developed pocket films. - -"Him what got the swag, sir," continued the urchin, endeavouring to make -himself clear. - -"Oh, you mean that you photographed the brigand!" replied the skipper as -he caught sight of the negatives, and snatched at them eagerly, a new -light coming into his eyes. - -"Yessir!" exclaimed the lad. "Him what said he was a King of the -Desert." - -"Gadget!" exclaimed the captain, after a brief examination of the films, -which were really three fine, clearly defined pictures of the -_Scorpion_, showing her in mid-air, when alongside the _Empress_. - -"Yessir," replied the excited youth, not yet certain whether he was -going to be hanged or praised for his offence. - -"You have shown more wit and skill than anyone on board the airship. -You shall be well rewarded for this, I promise you. How on earth you -managed to get three good snapshots like these, all showing different -angles of the machine, and to hide them away, is beyond me!" - -"Thank you, sir! Thought you'd like 'em," and the boy's eyes sparkled -even more than ever as the captain shook him by the hand, and planted -five new, crisp Bradburys therein, then dismissed him. - -"Great Scott!" exclaimed the captain, "but that little urchin's saved my -reputation. These photographs may prove of more value to the authorities -than the lost treasure. I feel a different man. Here is extraordinary -evidence against the culprit. One photograph shows the fiend actually -firing a burst at the twin engines in the rear gondola, and another the -faces of the two occupants above the fuselage. They will show more -evidence still when they have been enlarged." And the captain, after -carefully drying them, placed them in an envelope and put them into his -inner coat pocket, muttering:-- - -"Smart little beggar! I wish I hadn't punished him the other day for -smuggling that tobacco aboard." - -The captain, who had left strict instructions that he should be called -half an hour before the end of the watch, in order that he might relieve -the navigating officer, was just about to lie down on the couch for a -brief spell, when suddenly another knock at his cabin door startled him, -and immediately after his servant entered and announced: "Seven bells, -sir." - -"Already?" exclaimed the captain. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Has the moon set, yet?" - -"Yes, it is quite dark now, sir." - -"All right. Tell the navigating officer that I'll be down in one -moment." - -At this very instant the telephone bell which connected the cabin with -the navigating gondola rang furiously. Snatching up the receiver, the -captain asked, "What's the matter, Donaldson? Is there another raider -on the starboard bow?" - -"No, sir, but there's something very much like a signal flash away in -the north-west." - -"Sure it wasn't a shooting star?" - -"More like a Very light, sir, but very faint," replied the navigating -officer. "Shall I reply, sir?" - -"Yes, give him three red lights. I expect it's one of the patrols -looking for us. I'm coming down now," and the captain replaced the -receiver, and made haste down the corridor which led to the chart and -navigation room. - -The next instant three red balls of fire fell from the airship -earthwards in rapid succession, and within a couple of minutes a faint -gleam of greenish light fell like an arc in the north-western sky. - -"Yes, the patrols have found us, sure enough," exclaimed the captain, -who had now joined the officer. - -After several further exchanges of fire-balls, repeated now from two or -three quarters, the searchers closed in upon the straggler. Then a -rapid dialogue took place by means of the morse lamp, and, when dawn -came, shortly afterwards, no less than six fighting scouts, running at -about a quarter throttle, surrounded the wounded leviathan, and escorted -her towards Cairo. - -When the _Empress_ reached that town, she was already twenty-four hours -overdue at London, so the cables and the wireless stations were busy -with messages relating to the missing liner, and with more than one -inquiry as to the safety of her cargo, evidently from the consignees, or -more likely still, from the underwriters. - -And when the captain told his story to the Commissioner of Aerial Police -at Cairo there was another mighty stir, and both the cables and the -wireless were busy again, for the whole civilized world was tingling -with excitement to know something tangible about this man of -mystery--the phantom airman. And the story of Gadget's photographs was -told to the world. - - - - - *CHAPTER XV* - - *DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND* - - -While the events recorded in the last few chapters were taking place, a -series of adventures not less exciting and perilous had befallen the two -airmen, Keane and Sharpe, in their endeavours to track that ingenious -conspirator, Professor Rudolf Weissmann, in his secret retreat within -the dark recesses of the Schwarzwald. - -After their midnight consultation with Colonel Tempest at Scotland Yard, -their instructions were to proceed early next day, by whatever aircraft -was then available, to Germany, and once there to adopt some suitable -disguise, and institute forthwith a most rigorous search for the secret -aerodrome. They were to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to -track down this great German irreconcilable, who had dared to hold a -pistol at the civilized world, and to bring back, if possible, some -tangible clue concerning his two great discoveries. - -"Time is short," the colonel said. "Immediate action on our part is -vital. Spare no expense in the venture, and if necessary you must even -proceed to extreme measures to capture this daring outlaw and his -accomplices." - -"And what about this phantom aeroplane?" asked Keane. "Apparently it -has already left the Schwarzwald on its piratical expedition." - -"It may return, and you must watch for it. Some of those scattered -inhabitants of the Black Forest are sure to have seen or heard something -of it. Its trial trips must have been carried out somewhere in the -vicinity." - -"They are a simple and primitive type of people who still inhabit those -forest wastes; wood cutters, lumbermen, makers of little wooden clocks -and musical boxes, most of them, I believe," added Sharpe, who had often -traversed those regions as a British spy during the Great War. - -"Then they should be easier to handle," added the commissioner of aerial -police, who had a ready method of brushing away apparent difficulties. -"I am compelled to rely almost entirely upon your efforts. Take your -pocket-wireless telephones with you and a sufficient quantity of German -gold and silver, and start directly you have had a few hours' rest." - -"We will get away immediately after breakfast, sir," replied Keane, who -had already made up his mind as to how he should proceed in the matter, -for he had fixed up his jumping-off ground for the Schwarzwald, and also -the type of disguise he intended to adopt. - -"Good-bye, both of you, and may good fortune attend you!" said the -colonel. - -"Good-bye, sir." - -Big Ben was striking three o'clock as they left Scotland Yard and made -for their quarters, which were in that part of London known as The -Adelphi, a quaint, old-fashioned ensemble of buildings of the Georgian -period, overlooking the Thames, not far from the Watergate. A few -minutes later they bade each other good-night, and turned in for a few -hours' sleep before their long flight across England and France. - -At seven o'clock they were breakfasting together in a private room -overlooking the river, and discussing the details of their coming -adventure. - -"The Schwarzwald!" Sharpe was saying, as he helped himself to another -egg and a rasher of ham. "Where do you think, now, we had better start -from, Captain Keane?" - -"Mulhausen," replied the other promptly, for with Keane the initial -procedure was already cut and dried. - -"Mulhausen? Capital! I was thinking of Strasburg, but your idea is -better still. Is there a good aerodrome there where we can land?" - -"Yes, on the banks of the little river Ill, which runs into the Rhine a -little lower down. And once across the Rhine we are already in the Black -Forest, though we shall still have a long tramp to the place which I -suspect," added Keane, pouring out another cup of coffee. - -"Oh, yes, I remember the place; the aerodrome is near the junction of -the Rhine-Rhone Canal," replied his companion. - -"You've got it, exactly. Now we must get away; it must already be seven -o'clock, and a fine morning to boot. What says the weather report about -the Channel crossing?" - -"Here it is," exclaimed Sharpe, passing a copy of the _Times_ across to -his friend, who turned over the pages and read as follows:-- - - -"Flying prospects for to-day:--South-east England and Continent, -including the Channel crossing, favourable for flying for all types of -machines till mid-day, after that conditions will deteriorate, squalls -and heavy rains will predominate, visibility will be poor, and -conditions will become unsuitable for cross-country flying." - - -"Good! Then we must get away at once," observed Sharpe, and within -another five minutes they were being hurled along towards Hounslow, the -aerodrome from which this new adventure was to begin. - -Forty-five minutes later a couple of S.E.9s, the fastest machines in the -service, rose from the flying ground and steered a course -east-south-east for the Straits of Dover. Thirty-five minutes later, -the necessary signals having been accepted by the Dover patrols, with -throttles wide open, the two daring young aviators rushed the Channel at -one hundred and fifty miles an hour. - -The French patrols having been informed by Dover, permitted them to pass -unchallenged. And now changing course till they steered almost due -south-east, they sped onwards, catching now and again a glimpse of the -old battle-front of the days of 1914-1918, where the shell-marked -craters of the Hindenberg line were still visible from the air. - -Then they followed the railway line from Laon to Rheims, left the -ancient town of Nancy to their left, and, crossing the Vosges Mountains -and forests a little to the north of Belfort, they dropped down quietly -to the landing ground outside Mulhausen in Alsace, as the clock in the -Market Square struck the hour of noon. - -Having left their machines and flying gear in charge of the commandant, -they entered the town, purchased a portable camp outfit, and, dressed as -tourists of the pedestrian and naturalist type, continued their journey, -crossed the Rhine and entered the Schwarzwald, ostensibly to study the -fauna and flora of the Black Forest. - -"Phew! I'm tired of this load. Let us camp here for the night, by this -little clearing, where these seldom trodden footpaths diverge," said -Keane, some hours later, as, weary and dusty with his three hours' tramp -through the bracken and the tousled undergrowth, he threw down his heavy -knapsack and nets, and began to wipe the perspiration from his forehead. - -Then they lit a small fire of dried twigs, cooked their evening meal, -and lit their pipes. - -After a quiet smoke, during which time they carefully re-examined a -survey map of the Schwarzwald, they began to talk in low whispers, -whilst the sun descended amongst the pines on the western heights, over -which they had dragged their weary feet. - -"It is my opinion," whispered Keane, "that we are within five miles of -that secret aerodrome." - -His companion nodded, almost drowsily, although every faculty was kept -constantly alert. - -"It is just possible that one of these paths leads to the very spot, but -it will be necessary to explore them both. We must be extremely -careful, however, for this professor is sure to prove a wily opponent. -I hope, however, some wood-cutter or peasant may pass this way soon, and -that we may learn something from him which will help us," continued the -senior airman. - -"What if the wood-cutter should prove to be the professor himself?" -asked Sharpe, with a humorous twinkle in his eyes. - -"It is even possible," returned his companion. - -"In that case it would be diamond cut diamond, Keane, eh?" - -The other shrugged his shoulder at the very thought, and prayed that -such a contingency might not happen, at any rate until something -tangible had first been discovered. - -"In three hours it will be midnight," he said. "If no one passes this -way by then, I think we must carry out our search in the dark. Time is -pressing; we must find something within another forty-eight hours, or -poor old Tempest will be at his wit's end, and calling us home again. -He cannot leave us long on this trail." - -"The greater the pity. A fortnight is not too long to follow a trail -like this," said Sharpe. - -"Yet you had to do things pretty smartly in those dark days of 1917 and -1918, Sharpe." - -"Yes, and there was some danger and excitement attached to it, which -sharpened one's wits." - -"Never fear! There'll be both before we have finished this trek," -returned Keane. - -"Hist! What was that?" said Sharpe in an undertone, as he caught the -sound of broken twigs. - -"Someone approaching," whispered his companion. - -They listened acutely now, with every sense keenly alert. Again they -heard the sound, and it seemed to come from the western side of the open -glade, where the last dull glow of the sunset still revealed the edge of -the forest. - -The camp fire had died down to a smoulder, but Keane instinctively held -his ground sheet before the dying embers, lest their presence should be -betrayed. He was anxious to learn something of the nature of this -visitor before he revealed himself. - -"Bah! It is some creature of the forest," observed Sharpe, after a -moment's hesitation. "A wild boar or a red-spotted deer, most likely." - -He was right, for the next moment a series of grunts proceeded from the -spot whence came the sounds, and, as though suddenly startled by the -consciousness of some human presence, the beast, a fine specimen of the -_Sus Scrofa_, with fierce protruding tusks and long stiff bristles, -broke cover, trotted swiftly across the glade, within thirty yards of -the two watchers, and entered the forest on the other side. - -"So much for that little incident," muttered Sharpe, as he released his -grip of the Webley pistol, which his right hand had instinctively -grasped, when the dark shadow broke from the margin of the trees. - -Keane shook his head as though he disagreed with his companion, and -remarked in a low voice, "The creature was evidently startled or it -would not have fled like that. Its scent is very keen, and as the wind -is blowing from the west, it suspected danger from that quarter." - - - - - *CHAPTER XVI* - - *THE GHOSTLY VISITANT* - - -A few moments later the two men were startled by the sound of a human -voice, trolling out the words of some German folk-song, and approaching -from the same quarter towards the clearing. - -"This is our man," exclaimed Keane, as he removed the screen from the -fire and stirred the dying embers into a cheerful blaze, piling on more -dried twigs, so that the trees about the glade seemed to dance like -fairies. - -"Some woodman or peasant returning from a party," observed Sharpe. - -"I wonder where his cottage is," replied his friend; "it must be -somewhere in the neighbourhood." - -"We must welcome him to a belated supper. Perhaps this good Rhine wine -will open his lips still more, and he may tell us something about the -birds of the Schwarzwald." - -"Particularly the phantom-bird," facetiously observed Keane with a -smile. - -Nearer and nearer came the stranger, breaking occasionally into snatches -of song, as though he would frighten away the goblins and weird -creatures of the forest, for of the superstitious peoples of Europe, the -peasantry of the Black Forest are most given to credulous beliefs. -Perhaps this is because no other district of Europe is so rich in quaint -legend, folklore and ghostly tradition. - -Now and then the approaching stranger would stop his singing to address -some remark to a companion; evidently some beast of burden trudging -beside him. The next moment the figure of a man, leading a pack-horse -through the forest, suddenly emerged upon the clearing. Catching a -sight of the dancing flames which mounted skyward as one of the airmen -stirred the fire into life, and beholding the dark figures of the two -strangers, the newcomer, suddenly stopped, apparently half-terrified by -the sudden apparition. - -"Geistlich!" he muttered, staring with wide-open eyes towards the sudden -flame. - -"Guten abend, freund!" exclaimed Keane, wishing to draw the man into -conversation. - -The man's fears departed as soon as he discovered that he was addressed -by human beings like himself, for in his first wild flight of fancy he -feared it was far otherwise, and that he had suddenly come upon one of -those forbidden glades, where the sprites and goblins dance after dark. - -"Guten abend!" he replied, and, being asked to join the company, made -haste to do so, reining in his loaded horse and tethering him to a -tree-stump close by. - -"'Tis late to travel these lonely woods, friend," said Keane in -excellent German. - -"Yes, 'tis late, but the moon will soon be up, and then, why, 'twill be -better footing," replied the stranger, whose full, round face and -longing eyes were already directed towards a wicker-covered bottle, -which seemed to hold something good, so that he smacked his lips once or -twice, and in fancy he was already draining the sweet nectar which the -bottle contained. - -"Have you far to go?" asked Sharpe. - -"Why, yes, 'tis another seven miles to my cottage in the woods." - -"Then stay with us an hour until the moon shall rise and clear away the -goblins of the Schwarzwald," urged Keane, who, by this time, had been -able to examine the stranger's face by the light of the fire, and to -read it like a book. - -"A simple, credulous fellow, a true peasant of the Schwarzwald, -untouched by the outer world," he told himself. "He should be useful to -us." Then, passing to him the wicker-covered bottle, he said:-- - -"Good Rhine wine from Bacharach, Hans. Taste it!" - - "Ach, from Bacharach on the Rhine, - Comes the finest sort of wine," - -exclaimed the stranger in the rude dialect of the Black Forest, and his -round eyes sparkled as he clutched the bottle, raised it to his lips, -and drank half a pint without stopping to take breath. - -"'Tis a long time since I tasted such rich and luscious wine, -gentlemen," said the peasant, handing back the bottle. - -"Pray be seated and rest awhile," urged his companions, and nothing -loath to keep such excellent company, Hans, if such was really his name, -sat down by the fire. - -"Pray, what brings you to the lonely Schwarzwald, gentlemen? Have you -come to hunt for the wild boar, or to fish the mountain streams?" he -asked, "for I can show you where the biggest fish are to be found, and -where the wild pig rears her litters." - -"Butterflies and birds, especially birds," replied Keane, pointing to -his nets, and his neat little boxes for packing specimens. - -"Birds? Ach, there is one bird which sometimes flies in these parts -which you will never catch," said the peasant, speaking in lowered -tones, as though half-frightened by his own words. - -"Ha! What bird is that?" asked the others. - -"Hist!" exclaimed Hans, raising his forefinger, and looking guardedly -around. "It is the phantom-bird!" - -"The phantom-bird?" echoed the two airmen, who could scarcely believe -their eyes and ears, as they earnestly regarded this solemn, frightened, -half-childish man, who had evidently seen the very thing they had come -so far to find, but who believed it to be something supernatural. - -The two Englishmen glanced at each other. Had they really found someone -who could enlighten them about this mysterious aeroplane, for he could -certainly be referring to nothing else? And at that moment Keane -blessed his lucky star, which had led him to choose these wild forest -regions for their jumping-off ground. Still, they must not appear too -curious, lest they should betray the reason of their presence here. - -Keane shook his head as, with an apparently incredulous laugh, and a -sympathetic motion of the hand, he would banish all tales of ghostly -visitants to the realm of limbo. This only had the effect of egging on -the speaker to tell his tale, however. - -"Ach, Himmel!" he exclaimed. "Es war geistlich!" - -"Did you see it, then?" - -"Ya, das hab ich!" returned the other. - -"Was it in the day or the night-time when you saw it?" asked Sharpe. - -"It was night, about this time, and there was but a half-moon above the -tree tops." - -"Were you very much frightened, Hans?" - -"Yes, I was scared to death almost. I thought the old man of the -mountains had come for me. I had been to market to sell my little -wooden-clocks, and near this very place the huge grey phantom bird -swooped down, then circled round and round and disappeared there, over -there!" and the peasant, his eyes almost starting out of his head with -terror, pointed away to the east. - -"Bah! It was no bird, it was an aeroplane, Hans. You should not have -been frightened," exclaimed Keane, who had been taking particular note -of the direction in which the mysterious machine had disappeared. - -"Yes, a ghost-aeroplane!" iterated the Schwarzwalder. "There has never -been anything like it before." - -"Did anybody else see it?" queried Sharpe, passing the bottle once again -to Hans, who stayed but a moment to wipe his lips with his sleeve, and -to take another deep drink of the wine. - -"Ja, it was seen by Jacob Stendahl the same night, not far from this -very place." - -"And who is Jacob Stendahl?" asked Keane. - -"He is the woodcutter whose cottage is down by the stream, two miles -away. That path leads to his house. He was terrified; he said it was -an evil omen, and next morning his little Gretchen died." - -"And what happened to you, Hans?" asked Sharpe. - -"That same night my sow farrowed, and all the litter were dead next -morning," replied the peasant gravely. - -A deep silence followed this last remark, and the Schwarzwalder brooded -over his misfortune, and lamented to himself the loss of his fine litter -of young pigs. - -The two airmen felt certain now that Hans had really seen the mysterious -aeroplane, and they plied him with a dozen further questions as to the -noise it made in passing, and the speed at which it travelled, and -whether anyone else had seen or heard of it. To some of their questions -Hans could give no coherent answer. He said, however, that very few -people lived in this part of the forest, and parts of it were seldom or -never trodden by human foot. He had spoken to one or two about it, and -they also had either seen or heard of it from someone else, and the -general opinion amongst the Schwarzwalders in that part, was, that it -was one of the dead German airmen, whose spirit came to visit the spot -in a ghost-aeroplane. - -"Which of the German aces is it, then, that revisits this place, do they -think?" asked Keane. - -"Some say that it is the ghost of Immelmann, who used to come here -before the war to hunt the wild boar; others say that it is the spirit -of Richthofen, but I cannot say," replied Hans. - -On the question of speed and noise, however, the peasant declared that -he was certain. - -"It must have been a ghost-aeroplane," he said, "because it was silent, -and its speed was like the passing of a spirit when it leaves the body." - -A deep silence followed these words, but at the end of a few minutes -Hans, pointing to the east, said:-- - -"Look, friends, the moon is rising already. It is getting lighter, and I -must go." - -Then, untethering his pack-horse, he thanked the strangers for their -hospitality, gave them the direction and situation of his cottage, where -they would be welcome, should they care to visit him during their stay -in the Schwarzwald, and, bidding them adieu, started off on his journey -through the forest. - - - - - *CHAPTER XVII* - - *THE WATCHERS* - - -They watched the Schwarzwalder and his beast of burden disappear into -the forest, then for some minutes the two Englishmen, buried in thought, -sat by the embers of the fire. Neither spake to his companion for a -while, as, deep in contemplation, each endeavoured to fathom in his own -mind this secret of the phantom aeroplane, this riddle of the sphinx. -At last Keane addressed his colleague. - -"This travelling clock-maker has confirmed our theory, Sharpe," he said. - -"Yes, the simple fellow has helped us not a little," replied the other. - -"We must continue our search without further delay, lest this talkative -peasant should himself encounter this genius, and unwittingly announce -the presence of two strangers in the forest. That is my great fear -now." - -"You don't think this fellow misled us, Keane?" - -"Why do you ask? He was too dull-witted to be anything in the nature of -an accomplice," replied the captain. - -"Quite so, but he might have been a tool in the hands of this mystery -man," added Sharpe, as a sudden feeling of suspicion shot across his -mind. - -"In that case we ought to have followed him, but I scarcely think it -worth while. A dull-witted man of that type would have been too -dangerous to his employer, even when used merely as a tool. The only -danger I anticipate from that quarter, unless I am utterly mistaken, is -that the fellow may encounter someone in the forest who is engaged in -the plot, and thus reveal our presence, as I stated previously," -observed Keane, as he began to get his traps together, ready for the -march. - -"Anyhow, we have learned something from the Schwarzwalder." - -"By the way, Sharpe, you might tune up your little wireless pocket -'phone, and ascertain if there are any messages floating around." - -"So I will; we might pick up something," replied the junior airman, and -the next moment he climbed into a straggling, low-branched tree, -uncoiled a small aerial, and, starting his little battery, listened -attentively for any stray message that might be floating through the -ether. - -"Anything?" asked Keane, coming to the foot of the tree. - -"Nothing," remarked the other. - -"Then we'll push off." - -Five minutes later, having adjusted their packs, collected their nets, -and having stamped out the remains of the fire, they were ready to -start. - -"Which path shall we take?" asked Sharpe, for there were two -ill-defined, grass-grown tracks which led away from the clearing. One -led past Jacob Stendahl's cottage, and had been followed by the -Schwarzwalder, and the other, the lesser trodden of the two, led they -knew not where. - -"Let us take the one on the right," said Keane, indicating the latter. -"It is more likely to yield us something," and the next moment they were -hidden from sight amid the dense undergrowth of this part of the forest. - -Scarcely had they disappeared from view when one of the upper branches -of a tree near to the edge of the clearing suddenly appeared to move, -then to swing loosely for a second, and drop to the ground. Then for a -moment there was silence, save for the call of a nightjar which had been -disturbed, but a moment later a dark shadow debouched from the edge of -the forest and crossed quietly but quickly to where the fire had been -burning a few minutes previously. - -A low whistle, repeated twice, brought a similar shadow from the -opposite side of the clearing, and the two indistinct, but human shapes, -met each other face to face. - -"Who were they, Professor?" asked the second arrival of the first. - -"Himmel! Ich weiss nicht, Strauss," replied his companion, who was none -other than the renowned Professor Rudolf Weissmann, "but I fear that -they portend us no good." - -"Let us examine the ground to see if they have left any clue behind." - -So for the next few minutes the professor and his mechanic searched the -ground carefully for any little souvenir which the travellers might have -left behind them. And whilst they searched, they talked in low, but -eager whispers. - -"Did you hear that half-witted Schwarzwalder talking aloud about the -_Scorpion_?" asked the professor. - -"Yes. He called it a phantom-bird, did he not?" replied Strauss. "I -heard nearly all he said, he spoke so loudly and coarsely." - -"Could you hear what the others said?" - -"Not a word; they spoke so quietly, save once or twice when they spoke -to the clock-maker." - -"Nor could I, and that is what makes me so suspicious," returned -Weissmann. - -"They spoke good German, though," ventured the mechanic. - -"Bah! Of course they would. Nevertheless, it's my firm opinion that -they're foreigners, and that they're here for some special reason." - -"And that reason is?" - -"To find out about the _Scorpion_," snarled the mathematician. - -"Ach!" exclaimed the other; "the _Scorpion_ is two thousand miles away." - -"Then their next business is to find the aerodrome," said the professor. - -"Blitz! that they'll never do except by accident. Think of those live -wires waiting for them if they get within a hundred yards of it. We -have found six dead men there already; I don't want to dig any more -graves," returned Strauss. - -They had continued the search for fully ten minutes, and the professor, -occasionally flashing his pocket torch, was carefully examining the long -grass within a radius of some twelve of fifteen feet of the spot where -the fire had been. Wise man that he was, he carried out his final -investigation to the leeward of the fire, trusting that the breeze might -have carried some paper fragment, used in lighting a pipe or starting -the fire, in that direction. Nor was he disappointed. He was just about -to conclude his search, however, when his sharp eyes caught sight of a -piece of half burnt and twisted paper hidden away amongst the longer -grass. - -"Donnerwetter!" he exclaimed under his breath, as he flashed his torch -upon the paper for a second. "I thought so; here is evidence enough for -an execution." - -"What is it, mein herr?" asked the mechanic, hastening to his side. - -"Do you see that?" said his companion, untwisting the paper once again -and flashing a light upon it. - -"Ja! ja!" replied the other as he strained his eyes in the attempt to -decipher the handwriting on the half-burnt sheet. "But I cannot -understand it, for it is in a foreign language." - -"It is part of a small fragment of an envelope, and the writing, which -is in English, is certainly almost undecipherable, but I can distinguish -the letters '...eane'." - -"Ach, Himmel! That is Keane!" replied Strauss. "He is one of the -aerial police, is he not?" - -"You are right, Fritz. This letter was addressed through the English -post to Captain Keane, one of Tempest's best men, if not indeed his most -brilliant 'brain-wave,'" hissed the professor. - -"Donner und blitzen! Then he has come here to search for the -_Scorpion_, and the aerodrome." - -"Yes, but look, he only left London a few hours ago, for here is the -London postmark in the corner, bearing yesterday's date." - -"And his companion? Who is he?" asked the mechanic. - -"It must be that other scout pilot, Sharpe; they work together. But, -mark my word, Friedrich Strauss, they are mistaken if they think to find -an easy victim in Professor Rudolf Weissmann. I'll teach them to track -me like a murderer through the Schwarzwald. They have come to the Black -Forest, and here they shall stay." And for once, the quiet, -mild-mannered professor jerked out his words with unusual vehemence. - -The mechanic saw that his chief was deeply agitated by this sudden -discovery, which confirmed all his recent fears, and to allay his -feelings, he said, - -"But they will never find the aerodrome, Professor, or, if indeed they -find it, they will never enter it alive; think of the preparations you -have made for all uninvited guests," and the speaker shuddered, for he -knew something of the terrors of that "death-circle" in the lonely -forest. - -"Bah! it is my secret they want, the secret of that mysterious power -which drives the _Scorpion_." - -"Uranis?" ventured the other. - -The professor nodded, for he regarded it as the greater success of the -two. Without it the _Scorpion_ would be useless; with it a dozen -_Scorpions_ could be built, once the facilities were provided. -Unfortunately the discovery had been effected too late to win the war -for the Fatherland. Besides, he had not received the encouragement from -the government that he had deserved, and his soul was consequently -embittered. - -"Come," he said at last, "we must get back to the aerodrome and watch -for these half-witted Englishmen. Once there we can afford to laugh at -them. They will soon be held in a vice. But I must send a further -message to the _Scorpion_ out on the Hamadian plains, hinting how -matters stand. After that communications may have to cease for a while. -As for these death-hunters, they will find out presently that they are -up against something far more terrible than anything which old Jacob -Stendahl or the wood-cutter have ever imagined in their wildest fancy. -The secret of the Schwarzwald is not for them. I hold the master-key, -Fritz, and when I die that master-key will be broken." - -And the two men, who had been aware of the presence of the Englishmen -ever since they entered the forest, and had watched them accordingly, -now moved off in the same direction which the latter had taken half an -hour before. - - - - - *CHAPTER XVIII* - - *"LIVE WIRES"* - - -Matters in the Schwarzwald were now rapidly nearing a climax; the final -contest between German brains and English wit could not much longer be -delayed. For the moment Keane and Sharpe, unknown to themselves, were -enmeshed in the network of a deathly trap. Nothing less than a miracle, -or something approaching the same, could now set them free from their -perilous position. One thing was certain, and that was that this clever -but unscrupulous mathematician and engineer, who was now their declared -enemy, would not hesitate to adopt the most extreme measures to get rid -of his unwelcome visitors. Unfortunately his power, which almost -approached the supernatural, made him a dangerous and a wily foe. - -It was now past midnight, but the two Englishmen, who had left the track -some time before at a point where its course was suddenly changed, and -had continued their journey by the aid of a luminous compass, and the -uncertain light of the moon, came at last to another halt. - -"Let us stay here a while, Sharpe," his companion had whispered. "I -have a strong premonition of some impending danger." - -"The deuce you have!" remarked Sharpe, who well knew what this meant in -a man like Keane, whose psychic faculties were not to be sneered at. - -"Yes. I cannot explain it, but there is some hidden danger right ahead -of us; of that I am as certain as that we are in the Schwarzwald. We -had better lie down a while and await developments quietly." - -Nothing loath, Sharpe unfastened his shoulder straps, slid his equipment -quietly to the ground, and laid himself down beside his companion. - -For the moment all was quiet. The moon was hidden behind a bank of -clouds, and it was therefore very dark, but sounds travel far in the -night air of the forest, and when they conversed, they spoke only in -whispers. - -"It may be," remarked Keane, "that the spot we seek is just in front of -us, though I cannot see any glade or clearing as yet; it is too dark." - -"Is it likely that there are any booby-traps hereabouts, set by this -wily professor?" asked his companion. - -"I cannot say; he may have some outer system of defence." - -"Or even a system of ground signals to announce the approach of -strangers, whose presence might be undesirable to him," added Sharpe. - -"It is possible," whispered Keane, whose mind was actively engaged in -preparation for eventualities, in view of his inexplicable premonitions. -Suddenly he started and touched his comrade lightly with his raised -forefinger. - -"Hist!" he said, in a voice which could not have carried further than a -couple of yards Then he carefully raised his head, and, turning his eyes -towards the thicket through which they had come, he tried to read the -secret which it contained. His alarm was justified, yet was he -mystified not a little, for the more immediate danger seemed to come -from behind. - -"Can you hear it, Sharpe?" - -"Yes, the same crackling of twigs; another wild boar," remarked his -friend facetiously. - -Keane shook his head, for his sensitive ears had told him that the -footsteps which he had heard were those of human beings. Nor was he -mistaken, for a moment later they both heard distinctly, not merely the -crackling of twigs and the rustle of the bracken under heavy footfalls, -but voices, human voices, conversing in a guarded and careful manner. - -"None of your Schwarzwald peasants this time," he murmured, fingering -his Webley already, for he instinctively felt that this time they were -beset by danger both before and behind. And indeed, these two men, -during all their adventures in the secret service during the war, were -never in more deadly peril than at this moment, as they were soon to -learn. - -Scarcely daring to breathe, much less to whisper now, the two Englishmen -watched furtively for the coming of the strangers, who were now less -than a score of yards away, but were approaching very stealthily, as -though they were searching for something on the ground. - -"Who can they be?" wondered Keane. "And what can they be searching for?" - -"Poachers," Sharpe was thinking, "merely poachers, searching for their -booby-traps." - -Nearer and nearer came the dark shadows, and both the airmen had their -Webleys trained on them now. In that moment they might have shot them -down easily, and before long they would regret they had not done so. -But that is not the English way, for the ordinary Englishman would give -even a dog his chance, as the saying goes. Still, there are dogs and -dogs, and sometimes human dogs are worse than the four-footed ones. But -the Englishmen were uncertain; they did not know what world-wide -conspirators were these two men. They did not know what fearful deeds -would happen even that day on the Hamadian desert, two thousand miles -away, but all of it engineered from this spot, and made possible by -these two men. And as they did not know, they did not fire, but waited. - -"Gott in Himmel, where does that _verdammt_ live wire begin?" asked one -of the men in a low but vehement voice. It was the professor himself, -searching for one of his own man-traps. - -Sharpe glanced at Keane, but the other motioned him not to fire. - -"We're learning something, old man!" he whispered. "This is the gateway -to the aerodrome." - -The two men had passed them now, passed within six yards, and yet had -missed them. They were now groping a little way ahead, looking for -secret signs and marks lest they should be hoist upon their own petard. - -"Donner und Blitzen! Have you found it yet, Fritz?" called the -professor a little louder to his friend. - -"Here it is, Professor! Be careful ... there are six wires already laid -for those _verdammt_ Englishmen, Keane and--what is the name of the -other?" - -"Sharpe!" rapped out the professor, as though he had known the man all -his life. - -At these words the two Englishmen looked at each other in blank -amazement. And before their astonishment could subside, the opportunity -which had been given to them of ridding the world of two great -conspirators had passed. - -"One--two--six!" they heard the mechanic say, as he helped the professor -over the deadly maze, scarcely fifteen yards in front of them, and then -their dark forms had merged into the trees and disappeared, their voices -becoming fainter and fainter. - -"Great Scott!" gasped Sharpe, when he recovered from his astonishment; -"we've walked right into the hornets' nest." - -"We should have done if we'd gone another fifteen yards," replied Keane, -wiping the perspiration from his forehead. - -"Fortunate you had that presentiment of impending danger," said his -friend. - -"We should have been lying dead and half grilled over his deadly wires -but for that strange, weird feeling of mine," replied Keane. - -"But there, after all our attempts at concealment, he knows all about -us." - -"Even our names seem familiar to him," remarked the senior airman, -greatly puzzled. - -"I cannot understand it," replied the other. "Who can have given him -this information?" - -"Who indeed?" asked Keane. "It is as great a mystery as the other -matter." - -"Can it be the woodcutter or the clockmaker, do you think, for Hans is -sure to have called at Jacob Stendahl's cottage and told him the news." - -But Keane shook his head, as he remarked: "Neither Hans nor yet the -woodcutter could possibly have told the professor our names. This evil -genius must have other sources of information at his command. Possibly -he has an agent at Mulhausen aerodrome, or even at Scotland Yard. To a -man like this, a thousand ways are open. I cannot say, but this I know, -we are on the edge of the biggest mystery I have ever encountered." - -"And we might easily have shot him. Bah! it would have been better to -have fired, Keane," added Sharpe somewhat bitterly. "Cannot we follow -him now?" - -"No!" replied his companion, firmly. "It is better as it is." - -"Why?" demanded the other. - -"Rest content, Sharpe," said Keane. "To-day we have discovered the -aerodrome; to-morrow we will capture it." - - - - - *CHAPTER XIX* - - *THE DEVIL'S WORKSHOP* - - -Patiently, now, the two Englishmen waited for the dawn. Till then it -would not be safe to move in any direction. As they lay in the long -bracken and ferns, however, they were able to converse quietly, and to -discuss their plans for the coming day. The spot they had come so far -to seek was now before them. The live wires, just a few feet ahead of -them, had been duly located, and now that the danger was known, it was -not insuperable. It was an added mystery to them, nevertheless, how -this wizard secured sufficient voltage to make these wires so deadly. -They assumed, however, that powerful dynamos, worked by this same silent -energy that propelled the aeroplane, were at work somewhere near this -spot. - -Dawn came at last; a faint yellow streak lit up the horizon away to the -east. Then a crimson flush revealed the distant tree-tops, and the moon -and stars faded away. A hundred songsters awoke the stillness of the -forest, for another day had dawned, and the sable curtain of night -rolled westward. - -"See, there is a clearing fifty yards ahead," were Keane's first words -to his companion. - -"It is the aerodrome, the secret aerodrome!" replied Sharpe, peering -through the trees. - -"Let us work round a little way and find the workshop or hangar. I -fancy we shall find it on the other side of the glade." - -"Mind those beastly wires, then!" replied Sharpe, as he began to crawl -through the dense undergrowth after his companion, who had already -started to make a circuit of the outer defences on his hands and knees. - -The next half-hour was spent in cautious creeping and crawling just -outside those death-dealing wires. At the end of that time, however, -Keane made a discovery. He had completed about half the circuit, when, -peering carefully through the trees, he fancied he could make out the -camouflaged fabric which covered some temporary building. So carefully -was this place hidden amongst the trees that he had to look twice or -three times before he could make up his mind that he was not mistaken. -At last he convinced himself that he had located the workshop, else, why -should the place have been so carefully hidden. Waiting for his -companion to reach him, he pointed to the object and whispered, "There -it is, not thirty yards away!" - -"Shall we get over these wires, and rush the place?" asked Sharpe. - -"No. Let us continue our journey until we have completed the circuit. -We may make another discovery yet. Come along; fortune favours the -brave." - -They had scarcely crept another hundred yards, however, when a rustling -in the leaves, accompanied by a snort, revealed the presence of another -wild boar, which had evidently scented their presence. - -"Confound the pig!" muttered Sharpe, who was afraid the sounds might -lead to their premature discovery. But Keane thought otherwise, for, to -his quick mind and instructive genius, this trifling event seemed -providential. - -"The pig!" he whispered, pointing to the spot whence came the occasional -snorts of the angry, disturbed creature. - -"What of it?" queried Sharpe. - -"Let's get to the other side of the beast and drive it against the -wires." - -"And roast the brute alive for the benefit of their breakfast, I -suppose." - -Keane laughed silently, and wondered how far the conspirators used this -live wire to keep themselves supplied with food. He knew, however, that -a wild boar on the live wires would soon bring out the inmates of that -mysterious house in the woods, and would sufficiently distract their -attention to give the airmen their opportunity. - -The next moment, having made a sufficiently extensive circuit, so as to -get the wild boar between them and the wires, they began closing in on -the beast, an operation not devoid of peril, should the boar decide to -attack them. Fortune favoured them, however. The angry beast, noting -the approach of some unseen enemy, by the movements of the tangled -undergrowth, half frightened and half infuriated, made off in the -direction of the clearing, uttering further snorts. The next moment he -had touched the first of those deadly wires, and, with a wild scream -which rang through the forest, he leapt into the air, then fell back -quivering but dead across that fatal grill. - -"Back--back for your life!" hissed Keane, as he made haste back to the -spot where they had sheltered, close to the camouflaged hangar. - -The next instant the watchers saw the professor and his assistant rush -out of the little building, towards the place where the animal lay right -across the first four wires. In their excitement they both seemed to -have forgotten the presence of the two Englishmen in the woods during -the previous evening, for they were both unarmed. Or perhaps it was -that they imagined them to be the present victims of their cunning. - -"Hoch! Another royal boar for the larder, Fritz!" exclaimed the -professor. "We shall have the winter's supply complete very soon." - -"Gut, mein herr!" came the answer. - -"Better go back and switch off the current, so that we can take it -away," urged the chief, and, staying but a second to see the royal -victim, the assistant complied. - -This was what the two Englishmen had been waiting for. The moment of -action had come at last. Gripping their pistols, they made ready to -advance and take possession of the hangar during the absence of the -inmates. - -"Sind Sie fertig, Friedrich?" called the professor. - -"Ja, das bin ich!" replied the other, as he left the workshop, and -rejoined his companion. - -"Come along, the wires are dead now," whispered Keane, and, keeping well -within the shadows of the trees, the two men crept forward, gained the -rear of the structure, then cautiously worked their way round and -entered the hangar unobserved. - -One glance about the well-fitted workshop sufficed. There were no -further occupants, and they lowered their pistols. Sharpe at once -sprang to the lever which regulated the powerful electrical current and -clutched it. In another instant the two men without would have paid the -extreme penalty, for they would have been instantly killed by their own -evil device, but Keane stopped him:-- - -"Don't!" he said. "We have much to learn. The professor at least must -be taken alive, if possible. The secret he holds is too precious to be -lost. Let us hide!" - -"Where can we hide?" asked the other, somewhat disappointed, and amazed -at the further risks which his companion appeared willing to take in -order to gratify an insatiable curiosity. "The tables may be quickly -turned upon us." - -"We can shoot them as a last resort, if that is necessary," urged Keane, -who knew the priceless value of the secrets which this place contained. - -"Hist! They are coming." - -"This way!" whispered Keane, and he drew his companion into a little -recess, which had evidently been curtained off for the mechanic's -sleeping berth. - -They had barely withdrawn themselves into this narrow apartment when the -two men entered, dragging the carcase of the wild boar with them. - -"Leave it there for a moment, Strauss. The message from the Rittmeister -is due. I must also send him that other message again, as the first has -not been acknowledged," were the professor's first words. - -"Yes, sir. Shall I start the dynamos again?" asked the assistant. - -"Perhaps you'd better, but first hand me that message book and the -secret code." - -The next moment the professor was busy at the wireless keys, -transmitting some message to the far deserts of Arabia. - -"By all the saints," gasped Keane, "he's sending a message to the -raider, the _Scorpion_, as he calls it. I must have that secret code at -all hazards. I wonder what he is saying?" - -For some time the chief conspirator was engaged coding and decoding -messages at the little table where the aerials, carefully hidden amongst -the trees without, had their terminus. And in that moment Keane thanked -his stars that he had waited for this, for he saw new possibilities -opening out before him. Once in possession of this mechanism and the -necessary codes, he could communicate at will with the distant raider, -who was threatening the whole civilised world by his almost superhuman -powers of brigandage. He could recall the raider also, and make his -capture certain, once he could secure absolute possession of this little -citadel. - -For the present he could do nothing but wait, however, and see how -matters developed. Once, the assistant came quite close to their -hiding-place, and both men again gripped their Webleys. At this moment -even to breathe seemed fraught with danger. If the man should enter the -little apartment, he must die, and the professor must be immediately -threatened with the same penalty unless he surrendered. - -"Ha! So far so good!" gasped Keane, as the mechanic recrossed the -workshop without actually entering their hiding-place. - -"Teufel!" spluttered the professor. "Here is that fool Tempest trying -to communicate with those two _verdammt_ Englishmen who are still -roaming about in the Schwarzwald. He little knows that we possess his -secret code." - -"Himmel! What does he say?" asked the other. - -"Wants them to report progress at once, and let him know how matters -stand," said Weissmann in a mocking tone. "He says he will come over -himself, if necessary." - -"Donnerwetter! Ask him to come, Professor. He might as well grill with -his accomplices on the live wires, for that's where they'll be before -the day is out, unless they abandon their futile search," replied -Strauss. - -"This fiend is a perfect wizard!" thought Keane, and his glance -signified as much to Sharpe. "How he manages to get hold of these -secrets is beyond me. And yet, there is a defect in his mad science, -for he does not know that we're here, and that his own life is in our -hands. Fool that he is, he will soon learn that the wit of an -Englishman is more than a match for his boasted knowledge," and here the -senior airman carefully withdrew a cartridge from his Webley and -inserted another, silently--a cartridge that had a specific mission. -His companion watched him and repeated the action with his own weapon, -for he understood. - -"Blitz! but I've half a mind to send for Tempest," mused the professor, -who was still toying with the keys of the wireless instrument. - -"Send for him, Professor," urged his accomplice. "Those Englishmen are -getting too close to be pleasant. The British army of occupation will -be carrying out a thorough search of the Schwarzwald if these men get -away, and then where shall we be?" - -"We are in the neutral zone, though," replied the other. - -"But we're contravening the Peace Regulations, sir, and the English will -not stand upon ceremony. It will be too late should these men get -away." - -"Donner und Teufel!" rasped out the angry professor. "Don't speak to me -of the Peace Regulations. There will be no peace till Germany regains -all and more than all she has lost. I will send for this Commissioner -of Aerial Police, for I believe that he and his two accomplices, Keane -and Sharpe, are the only ones so far who know anything that matters -about the secret of the Schwarzwald," and he began to tap the keys, -reeling out the words as he sent them. - -Keane listened acutely for the cyphers of the code. They were:-- - -"Z--X--B--T--V--O--P..." - -and he understood that Tempest was to come at once, make for Mulhausen -aerodrome, then take a bee-line, east-north-east over the Schwarzwald -until he saw a smoke column, where a suitable landing-ground would be -found, and his accomplices would await him. - -"Ach!" shrieked the professor, with a fiendish laugh. "The smoke column -will mark his last resting-place. They shall all be buried together, -these mad Englishmen. We will have more live wires stretched across his -landing-ground, and as the wild boar died, so will these men die who -dared to follow me into the Schwarzwald." - -"The wild boar! Hoch! Hoch!" exclaimed his companion. "It is a -fitting tribute for the English are swine!" - -"And the _Scorpion_ shall witness the inglorious end of these men," -cried the professor, as a sudden idea came into his mind. - -"Der _Scorpion_?" queried Fritz, looking up amazed from his task. "What -do you mean, Professor?" - -"Why, the Rittmeister will have finished his work in the Hamadian Desert -this afternoon. His instructions are to resign the Sultanate of those -regions for the present, for the skies will be thick with British scouts -by to-morrow." - -"But then he goes to Ireland to work with the revolutionists there, does -he not, mein herr?" - -"Ja! ja! but I will ask him to call here for a day or two before he -proceeds. He will have much to tell us, and Spitzer, Carl and Max would -like to see these dangerous opponents safely out of the way, for at -present they are the only enemies to be considered." - -"Gut!" ejaculated Strauss, catching something of the professor's -enthusiasm. - -Keane would have intervened before this, for he had noted Sharpe's -impatience, but he intimated as well as he could by mute signs and -otherwise, that the fiend was doing their work for them. - -"Let him send this message first," he whispered in his companion's ears, -"and then----" But the sentence was completed by further cabalistic -signs. - -Again the professor turned to the keys, and sent his last instructions -through the ether waves to his confederate, the brigand of the eastern -skies. - - - - - *CHAPTER XX* - - *"HANDS UP!"* - - -"Haende in die hohe!" cried Keane as soon as the last message had been -sent. - -"Der Teufel!" gasped the professor as two swift shadows darted out from -behind the curtain, and the two men whom he had just been discussing -with such utter contempt confronted him and his accomplice with gleaming -pistols. - -"Hands up!" repeated Keane, anxious to give the professor another -chance. - -With a blasphemous oath the man of evil genius, who saw that he had been -outwitted, reached for a small hand grenade which lay beside him on the -table, and shouted:-- - -"Never!" - -"Then take that!" cried the Englishman, and two puffs of greenish smoke, -following a sharp crackle, burst simultaneously from the pistols, for -they had both fired together. - -The new Asphixor bullets took immediate effect. Both the Germans -staggered, clutched their throats as though to ward off the effects of -this new powerful gas recently discovered and adapted by that eminent -British scientist, Sir Joseph Verne--then lurched and fell, whilst their -opponents stepped back and quickly fitted on their safety masks. - -"They are both sound asleep," observed Keane, when, the fumes having -cleared away, he threw aside his respirator and carefully examined the -unconscious men. - -"Let them sleep," said Sharpe, who would have adopted even more drastic -measures if he could have had his own way. "'Tis scant mercy they would -have shown to us if we had been in their power." - -"And now let us get to work, for they will awaken in seven or eight -hours, and we have much to do. We must prepare for Colonel Tempest, and -also for this raider," urged Keane. - -"But they will not come to-day, Captain." - -"Scarcely, but we must be prepared for anything. There are only a -couple of us." - -"Shall we secure these men, in case they awake earlier than the -stipulated time?" - -"No, let us remove their slumbering forms behind the curtain there; we -will attend to them before they awake. I do not like the idea of -strapping down unconscious men, even though they are criminals. We will -watch them from time to time." - -Then for the next half-hour they carried out a careful examination of -the hangar and its contents. They were amazed at the intricate and -wonderful mechanism with which the place was fitted. It seemed -impossible that these things could have been transported hither without -attracting attention. Parts of aeroplane wings, struts, propellers, -engine-fittings, strange, weird-looking cylinders, retorts, analytical -appliances, instruments and vessels for chemical research, powerful but -silent dynamos, and numberless other things, all neatly arranged, and -apparently in working order, half filled the place. - -The further they carried their investigation the more were these two -Englishmen bewildered by what they saw. - -"Is it possible," gasped Keane, "or am I only dreaming? We have -discovered the home of the super-alchemist. After this, nothing will -surprise me." - -"We have discovered the devil's workshop," replied Sharpe, who did not -appear to be half so enraptured as his friend. - -"Nay, we shall find the philosopher's stone, or the _elixir vitae_ -soon," replied Keane, continuing his investigation. - -"We are more likely to find the _elixir mortis_ than anything else," -said the gloomy one. "This place gives me the shivers. I am sure that -I shall have cold feet for the rest of my life." - -"After this, Hermes and Geber will be dull reading," continued the -enthusiast. "Give me the Schwarzwald every time for the real thrill of -the alchemist." - -"Their time might have been more profitably employed, at any rate," -remarked Sharpe. - -"Yes, it is a thousand pities that the wonderful brain which designed -and organised all this should have had nothing better in view than -brigandage and world revolution." - -"More misdirected energy," moaned Sharpe; "the greatest brains often -make the greatest criminals." - -"You're a veritable misanthrope, Sharpe!" said his companion, laughing. - -"I have reason to be," returned the other. - -"What do you mean?" - -"I mean this--we're not out of the wood yet." - -"I agree; we're in the very centre of it," replied Keane. - -"Yet you did not inflict the _coup de grace_ on the diabolical vipers, -and they will shortly awake. Moreover, the _Scorpion_ may arrive -unexpectedly, and we shall be unprepared for her." - -"What would you do?" - -"Bring over the machines from Mulhausen, ready to fight this air fiend -when he comes." - -"Ho! So you're longing for another real air fight, are you, like the -'scraps' we used to have with the Richthofen 'circus'?" - -"At any rate, we'd better prepare. Then I'd bind those two criminals -hand and foot or surround them with live wires, so that, should they -awake unexpectedly, they would not dare to stir." - -"There is certainly something in what you suggest about bringing the -aeroplanes over, though we should have a deuce of a job to land them in -this place; they're by no means possessed of the powers of a helicopter. -However, I'll get into touch with Colonel Tempest and ask for immediate -assistance, and also ask him to bring over Professor Verne to -investigate these mysterious engineering and chemical appliances." - -So, leaving the workshop, the live wires and the prisoners to the care -of Sharpe, the senior airman devoted all the rest of that morning to -investigating the wireless apparatus, examining the secret codes, and -trying to get into touch with the Commissioner of Aerial Police. In -this, however, he was not very successful, for the air was full of -messages, concerning an overdue air-liner which had been expected for -some time at Cairo. Perhaps his message had been jammed or lost in the -aerial jostle. - -Colonel Tempest was almost at his wits' end. He sorely needed the help -of his able assistants. He wanted to send them out east to chase this -daring brigand off the trade routes. - -He was unable also to comply with the request for assistance, when at -length it did reach him, for all his best fighting men, with the -exception of these two in the Black Forest, had been sent after the -raider. He promised, however, to come personally at the earliest -possible moment, as soon as matters had been cleared up a little. - -Again and again Keane tried to reach him with brief, but urgent coded -messages, for he was now getting extremely anxious lest the raider -should appear before they were ready. Sharpe, however, who was -eminently practical, had taken the professor's own tip, and had laid -wires across the glade, which, when properly connected up, would make it -a dangerous proceeding for a hostile aeroplane to land there, while, in -the event of a friendly one appearing, the current could be immediately -switched off. He had seen to the prisoners as well, for, unknown to -Keane, he had, on the first signs of awakening, given to each of them a -sufficiently strong soporific to extend the period of their quiescence -for a considerably longer period, so that, late that afternoon, his -friend was somewhat alarmed at their quietude. - -That night they watched in turns, and relieved each other every two -hours. When morning came they climbed the highest trees and scanned the -horizon in every direction for the promised help, and also for the -_Scorpion_. But although the column of smoke from the fire which had -been lighted, ascended all day in one long grey streak to guide the -British airmen, yet morning wore on to afternoon, and no assistance -came. - -Keane sent message after message, but apparently to no purpose. The -very heavens were full of messages, for the whole civilized world had -been roused by the last daring feat of the phantom airman. London, -Paris, Cairo, Delhi and New York were clamouring for his immediate -capture and execution. Strong things, too, were being said about the -incapacity of the much vaunted aerial police, but all the world realised -that the task before these men was almost superhuman. - -Twice an urgent message came recalling the two Englishmen, but Keane -replied with the one word, "Impossible!" - -And all this time the raider, who was carefully hiding for a few days, -delighted his companions by retailing with much gusto such of these -messages as he had been able to piece together from the aerial jumble. - -"Let them send all their available machines and pilots out east," he had -said to Carl and Max, "then we will quietly slip across Europe to -Ireland, where everything is ripe for the promised revolution." - -"And the Schwarzwald?" queried Max. - -"Oh, we will call there for a few hours en route," replied the pirate, -calmly relighting his pipe, "The professor will understand our silence -and inactivity." - -So the third morning came, and Keane, whose anxiety regarding the still -sleeping prisoners had been allayed by Sharpe, who smilingly confessed -what he had done, now became fearfully uneasy as to the condition of -affairs. - -"For heaven's sake light that beacon again!" he ordered. "If assistance -does not arrive to-day, all these secrets I have endeavoured to rescue -will be lost." - -"What will you do?" asked his companion, who was already applying a -match to the pile of dried tinder and sticks. - -"Blow the whole place up," he replied. - -"And shoot the prisoners?" ventured his friend, slyly. - -"No." - -"What then?" - -"Rouse them up, somehow, handcuff them together and take them away." - -"Some job that," remarked Sharpe, looking up at the long thin trail of -smoke, for there was still an absence of wind currents. - -Even as he gazed into the sky, however, he caught sight of a tiny speck -hovering at twelve thousand feet, and he almost shouted, "Aeroplane!" - -"Where?" asked his startled comrade, whose nerves had undergone some -strain during the past few days. - -"Right up in the blue. There, can you see her?" - -"Yes, I have her now, but she's very high. Can it be the _Scorpion_, do -you think?" asked the senior. - -"Cannot say yet. I'll fetch the glasses." - -"Run for them, quickly! I cannot hear her engines at all. It must be -the brigand." - -"Ah, there, I hear the engines now, very faintly, though. Rolls-Royce -engines too, thank God!" exclaimed Keane fervently, as he recognised the -well-known sound, and knew that assistance had arrived at last, in the -shape of at least one Bristol Fighter. - -"It's all right, Sharpe. Cut off that beastly current. Tempest will be -here in a minute." - -"Are you sure it's Tempest?" - -"Yes. Listen to that! Now he's cut his engine out again, and he's -coming down. It's the chief right enough; I should know his flying -amongst a score of aeroplanes." - -The wires were cut off, a temporary landing-tee quickly rigged up on the -ground, and frantic signals were made to the pilot, who was now rapidly -coming down in sharp spirals. - -A few minutes later the intrepid pilot flattened out above the tree -tops, dipped again, banked steeply, and sideslipped almost to the -ground, in order to get into the confined and narrow space which served -the _Scorpion_ for an aerodrome. Scarcely had he landed when another -machine, which had followed him from England, performed the same -highly-skilled manoeuvre, and taxied up to the little group. - - - - - *CHAPTER XXI* - - *THE COMING FIGHT* - - -"Good-morning, Colonel!" cried the two airmen, saluting their chief -smartly, as he still sat in the aeroplane, looking not a little crabbed -and sour, as he secretly swore at the infamous stretch of ground -misnamed an aerodrome; then turned his gaze upon the two airmen who had -appealed for assistance. - -"Morning! So this is where you young cubs spend your holidays, while -the whole world is ramping at me for not catching this infernal brigand. -What have you got to say for yourselves?" - -Keane was not at all put out by this dour greeting; he knew his chief -too well, and admired him accordingly. Merit is not always accompanied -by a bland and urbane countenance, neither do brains always accompany a -white shirt front. - -"I have that to say which will almost make you jump out of your skin, -sir," replied Keane, "but we must somehow get these aeroplanes under -cover, or properly camouflaged, for the _Scorpion_ may arrive any -minute." - -"Eh? What's that you say, boy?" exclaimed Tempest, leaping from the -fuselage. "The _Scorpion_?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Why, that is the name of your infernal raider, isn't it, Captain -Watson?" and here the colonel turned and addressed his passenger, who -was none other than the skipper of the air-liner which had been so -roughly handled in the Hamadian Desert. - -"The same, sir." - -"And the professor, Keane? I sent you to track the professor. Have you -found him?" - -"He is our prisoner, Colonel," and Keane bowed stiffly, and pointed to -the half-hidden hangar, where the two prisoners, who were now partly -roused, had been safely secured. - -An exclamation of pleasure and surprise broke from this dour-looking man -when he heard this news, and his face became wreathed with smiles as he -advanced to both Keane and Sharpe, shook them warmly by the hand, and -said:-- - -"Thank you, my boys; I knew if it could be done you would do it, though -I could ill spare you for the job. Yesterday my reputation was in -shreds; I am to be charged with inefficiency, and a public enquiry is to -be held. But you two wolf cubs have re-established my character; I can -never thank you enough. Now lead on, show us this evil-minded genius! -Professor Verne here, who has come in the second Bristol, with Captain -Hooper, is anxious to see him. He may redeem him yet from the error of -his ways, and it is vital that this secret of his should be in other and -better hands, else it will always be a danger to the public." - -So, whilst the party were conducted indoors, and shown the marvels of -the modern house of alchemy, the two professors were introduced, and -began a series of disputations, very embittered at first, as the German, -though relieved of his bonds, and made as comfortable as the -circumstances would permit, resolutely refused to give any particulars -of his discovery, or even to display the slightest amiability towards -his distinguished visitor, though they were not unknown to each other, -and had even studied at Heidelberg together in their younger days. - -Meanwhile, all possible steps were taken to prepare for the possible -arrival of the _Scorpion_. The Bristol machines, after being carefully -stowed away in a gap between the trees, were so camouflaged by branches -of pine and larch that they presented but a very indistinct object from -the air, and, unless their presence were known, might easily remain -unobserved. - -After some time had been spent in examining the highly developed and -intricate mechanism of the devil's workshop, as the place was now -called, the Commissioner suddenly turned upon his chief mentor, and -said:-- - -"By the way, Keane, have you discovered any drawings or designs of this -wonderful aeroplane? I don't see any amongst this pile of papers, and -the professor does not seem inclined to help us at all." - -"No, sir. We have searched the place carefully, but we have found -nothing. Part of the machine could certainly be reconstructed from -those spares, but all the important parts are missing. I have an -overwhelming curiosity to see the machine, though, and hope that I may -not have this pleasure much longer delayed." - -"Then we have nothing but these photographs," returned the captain. - -"Photographs?" echoed Keane. - -"Yes. Why, I forgot to tell you in the bewilderment and excitement of -the last hour, that Captain Watson here managed to secure three -snapshots of the raider in mid-air, whilst his airship was being -attacked." - -"It was the boy Gadget who secured them, sir," interposed the -air-skipper, anxious to give credit where credit was due. - -"Oh, yes, Keane, I ought to say that it was a smart little beggar called -Gadget, a stowaway, who really secured the photographs, and hid them -away from the brigand. We must see that the little chap is properly -rewarded when we return." - -"Let me see the pictures, sir," requested Keane, eager to get some idea -of his future opponent. - -"Here they are. I have had them developed and enlarged. They should be -extremely useful to us, as we shall shortly have to encounter this -Sultan Selim, Air King of the Hamadian Desert, the world's greatest -bandit, who had the audacity to send me this document by the captain." - -And here the colonel, having retailed the whole story of the fight in -the desert, showed the brigand's letter, which had been brought to -London the previous day by the fast aeroplane which had carried the -skipper of the air-liner. - -Keane turned in amazement from the clear photographs of the phantom-bird -to the brief, audacious letter of the phantom airman, and read as -follows:-- - -"To Colonel Tempest, D.S.O., M.C., - -Commissioner of Aerial Police, Scotland Yard, London, W.C. - -"Greetings from Sultan Selim, Air King of the Hamadian Desert. I regret -to inform you that of late there has been a serious increase of aerial -crime in these regions. The frequent passing of large airships -containing mails and other commodities, without due payment of tribute -to my customs officials, is a serious infringement of the laws of my -dominion. This action not only imperils the liberties of small -communities, but is also a crafty form of aerial brigandage, inasmuch as -it defrauds my exchequer of its just and equitable revenue. This -practice must cease forthwith, and I have taken steps to-day which, in -my opinion, will render it unwise for this shameful trespass to -continue. The bearer of this letter will give you further details of -the action which I have been compelled to take on behalf of my subjects. -Your five missing scouts will be found between the wells of Nefud and -the Hedjaz coast. I have destroyed their machines as a salutary warning -to future violaters of these my dominions." - -Keane could scarcely restrain a smile when he laid down this wily, -half-humorous, half-threatening epistolary from the aerial pirate. - -"What do you think of it?" asked the colonel. - -"It's a topping letter, sir, but I think he's trying hard to be funny, -this von Spitzer, as you call him. A German with a sense of humour, -sir, that's the best way to regard him," replied the airman. - -"Humour indeed!" rasped out the colonel, becoming ruffled. "It's -confounded impudence, and worse, when you remember that, apart from the -damage to the airship, which is considerable, there is a net loss of -specie and other valuables--to wit, the Maharajah's jewels--which is -estimated at a quarter of a million sterling. I only hope and pray that -we may encounter and waylay this bandit before he does any more damage. -The deuce only knows what he'll do next, or where he'll go." - -"Ireland is to be the scene of his next adventure, sir," remarked Keane. - -"Ireland?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Are you sure?" - -"I heard the professor say so. They are to work hand in hand with the -revolutionists there, and stir up strife which will make that unhappy -land a still greater thorn in the side of Great Britain." - -"Just what I feared!" exclaimed the now irate commissioner. "That -explains partly those mysterious messages and rumours floating about -Dingle Bay, and unfortunately I have had to withdraw nearly all the -aerial police from that quarter to send them out east." - -"You might as well recall them, sir." - -"Why?" - -"The raider has left the Hamadian Desert by this time, and is in hiding -somewhere, but will call here on his way to Ireland." - -"H'm! We're being thoroughly fooled, and if you hadn't found this -demon's nest I should have gone mad. At any rate I should have been -compelled to resign my post." - -"Still, public opinion had to be satisfied, and you sent the patrols -where the public demanded that they should be sent. Besides, if you -recall them now, this raider will probably pick up your messages and -change his tactics. I can tell you this, Colonel, that while he can get -his necessary supplies of uranis, and a few extra spares from the -workshop here, this von Spitzer intends to carry out his mad policy of -destroying the civilized world by piecemeal. It is all part of a great -plan to save Germany from the evil consequences of the Peace terms. -But, whilst we hold this citadel, and retain these two men captive, his -activities are limited to his present supply of this secret -element--uranis." - -The colonel swore under his breath, and went to examine the prisoners, -to make sure that there was no chance of their escaping, for he felt the -truth of Keane's words. He now felt grateful that the airman had not -responded to the message for his recall, although it had amounted to a -serious breach of discipline. - -"Ah, well," he said at length, "it only remains to capture this raider, -and the whole system of their clever and daring attempt to convulse the -Allies, break up their international system of mail transit, stop the -intercourse of civilized nations, and cause a world revolution--all -these things will fail." - -So their efforts were redoubled to make preparations to capture the -wonder 'plane, should it descend on the aerodrome. A couple of machine -guns were found, and mounted, under the charge of Sharpe and Captain -Hooper, though the skipper of the airliner pointed out that the -_Scorpion_ carried bullet-proof armour. - -"You will need to hit her in a vital spot," he said, "so that your first -burst may be your last, or she will be up again like a helicopter." - -"Then we must have the two Bristols ready," urged the colonel, "though -it's a deuce of a hole to get out of with this new type of a Bristol -Fighter." - -"And the petrol, sir?" asked Keane, who, was rather anxious on this -point, for he hoped that the _Scorpion_ would become his victim in the -coming air fight. - -"There may be sufficient for another two hours, certainly not more." - -"That means unless the _Scorpion_ chooses to stay and fight, she'll -simply leave us." - -"Von Spitzer will fight unless I stop him!" called out the professor -from behind the curtains, where he was confined under the charge of his -colleague of other days, for he had been listening to the conversation. - -"So much the better!" replied Keane, tartly. - -"And when the fight is over there won't be many of you left alive to -tell the story," came the rejoinder. - - - - - *CHAPTER XXII* - - *AN AERIAL DUEL* - - -"Message from the _Scorpion_, sir!" cried Keane, a little before midday, -from the little key-board where he had been patiently waiting for the -last hour. - -"Good! What does the brigand say?" asked Tempest. - -"Expects to be here within an hour." - -"Then we haven't a moment to lose," replied the colonel. "At the same -time, I am glad we have had this message, for to be forewarned is to be -fore-armed." - -Then, turning to Keane, whom he knew to be his best and most brilliant -pilot, he said, "Where would you like to be stationed, boy?" - -A sudden gleam came into the youth's eyes, for he saw that his chance -had come. - -"Let me have all the spare petrol from the other machine, and let me get -up above the clouds in that new No. 7 Bristol Fighter which you brought -over, sir." - -"I'm afraid it means certain death for you, my lad," replied the chief, -after a pause, unwilling to permit the youth to take such unknown risks, -and yet still more unwilling to deny him his request. "This _Scorpion_, -according to Captain Watson, must be some stunting machine." - -"I am willing to take the risks, sir," replied Keane. "It is not my -first fight with a Hun." - -"Don't I know it, boy!" replied the other, gazing with fond admiration -into the frank and pleasing face of the pilot. "The ribbons which you -gained speak for themselves, but they don't tell half the story. Don't -I remember the morning when you went over the line by yourself, and -encountered seven enemy machines, how you fought with them for an hour -and brought five of them down, chased the others till your machine -threatened to break up, then turned and staggered home with your wings -shot to ribbons?" and the colonel fondly patted the youth's shoulder. - -"Then let me go, sir. The brigand will be not a little confounded to -find himself attacked both from the ground and the air at the same -time." - -"You shall go!" said the colonel after another pause. "Will you take a -gunner with you?" - -"No, sir. I would rather go alone." - -And while the petrol was drawn off from the other machine, No. 7 was -brought out, filled up, and tested, ready to start at a moment's notice. -The Vickers gun, fixed forward to fire through the propeller, was -carefully examined, and several drums of the new armour-piercing bullets -placed in position. Another moment was given to the alignment of the -gun-sight, a matter of supreme importance in an aerial duel like this -one promised to be, for the slightest error in this respect would be -like courting disaster. - -Ten minutes later the signal was given to stand clear, the colonel -himself swung the propeller, and, instantly, the powerful 350 H.P. -Rolls-Royce burst into life with a crackle and a roar, and, when the -chocks were withdrawn, the Bristol dashed across the ground, leapt into -the air at sixty yards, and by a steep climb just cleared the tops of -the trees on the edge of the forest. - -"What are his chances, Colonel?" asked Captain Hooper. - -The chief shook his head as though doubtful of the result, then, after -watching the machine for a moment, as it climbed in rapid spirals up -into the clouds which half covered the sky at four thousand feet, he -said:-- - -"There is no pilot aboard the _Scorpion_, or any other machine for that -matter, who can hold a candle to Keane, but--it is the amazing speed and -climbing powers of the other machine that I fear. Still, it will be -some fight, and if we fail to trap the brigand down here, well, it is -just possible, despite his disadvantages, that Keane may bring the -rascal down. He'll have to keep well out of sight, though, and run at -less than half-throttle behind that cloud bank till the moment comes to -strike. And now to stations, all of you, and keep well out of sight. -Professor Verne, I am afraid you will have to take charge of the two -prisoners. Don't let them get away for heaven's sake. You must shoot -them first." - -"I'll take care of them, Colonel," replied the eminent man, "though it -is a somewhat unusual occupation for me." - -"Needs must when the devil drives, Professor! I told you it would be -some desperate adventure. Have you had any luck with that evil genius, -yet?" - -"Not the slightest, so far. He is prejudiced against the English mind, -and is secretly rejoicing over the expected arrival of the _Scorpion_." - -"Tell him from me, Professor, that if he attempts to escape, I shall -shoot both him and his accomplice without the slightest compunction," -said the colonel, as he turned away to re-examine all his defensive -posts, and to alter the position of one of the machine guns, which had -been entrusted to Captain Sharpe. - -Fifteen minutes passed away, and the Bristol, hidden away behind the -cloud bank, kept its engine well-throttled down, lest the roar of the -powerful motor should reveal its presence, when, suddenly, from one of -the watchers, the cry arose:-- - -"Aeroplane approaching from the south-east." - -"Is it the _Scorpion_, Captain Watson?" the colonel asked, as soon as -the machine had been located. - -"Yes, it is the same brigand, sir." - -Then, with amazement bordering on the supernatural, the little garrison -saw the _Scorpion_ moving across the sky at a miraculous speed, and -making directly for the secret aerodrome. Once or twice it circled -around at three thousand feet, then dived a clean two thousand five -hundred upon its objective, silently, like a mysterious phantom bird. -At five hundred feet it flattened out, rode gaily above the tree tops, -then swooping like a falcon, once more touched the ground lightly, and -came to rest within thirty yards of the secret hangar. - -"Haende in die hohe!" cried Colonel Tempest, stepping out into the open, -and confronting the visitors with a couple of revolvers, as they -prepared to leap from the armoured conning-tower. - -"Ach Himmel! We are betrayed!" cried Spitzer. "The _verdammt_ English -have captured the aerodrome." - -Without thought of surrender the brigands tumbled swiftly back into the -armoured cell, just as a shower of bullets from both revolvers swept the -upper surface of the cockpit. - -"Fire!" shouted Tempest, stepping back, as the daring bandits, -regardless of the danger, started the propellers once more by means of -the self-starting knob, within the conning-tower. - -And the next instant, even as the machine turned and raced for safety, a -terrific hail of bullets from the two machine guns swept the _Scorpion_ -from stem to stern. One of her machine guns was swept from its -mountings, and it is believed that one at least of her crew was wounded, -probably by the Colonel's revolver shots, but as for surrender, the -pirates would have none of it, as, apparently unhurt in any vital spot, -the _Scorpion_ recrossed the aerodrome, staggering once or twice under -the fierce welter of bullets, managed to leave the ground, and sail over -the tree tops out of immediate range. - -"Confound it! She's absolutely bullet-proof!" shouted the colonel, who -was furious at his failure, for his object had been to capture the -machine and its crew wholesale, because of its valuable secrets. - -"We shall see no more of her!" exclaimed Captain Hooper. - -"Just wait a moment," said the skipper of the air-liner. "She'll have -something to say presently. You don't know these infernal brigands." - -The last speaker was right, for a moment later the infuriated Spitzer, -sweeping round at a frightful speed, swooped down upon the little -hangar, where he presumed the English were in possession, swept the -place with a burst of machine gun fire from his remaining gun, then -dropped a bomb filled with high explosive right into the middle of the -structure; whilst he, himself, was screened by the trees from the -enemy's fire. - -The roar of the explosion was deafening, and several trees in the -vicinity of the workshop were blown to fragments, whilst the workshop -was now a tangled mass of wreckage. It was also burning furiously, and a -thick pall of dense smoke already hung over the spot. - -"The professor!--we must save him!" cried Tempest, who was already -limping from a bomb splinter which had pierced his leg. - -Captain Watson ran to help him, but the two machine gunners, Sharpe and -Hooper, stuck to their posts ready for the next attack, which they knew -would not be long delayed, for Spitzer, during his last circuit, had -marked the position of the two machine gun posts. - -As the rescuers hastened to the assistance of the prisoners, they came -upon Professor Verne, bleeding from the hands and face, dragging the -prostrate form of the German from amid the burning wreckage. - -"Ah, you are wounded?" cried the colonel. - -"It is nothing," replied the other. "See to the mechanic. I fear he is -killed, poor fellow, by his own countrymen." - -It was so; his mangled form was found buried under the _debris_ of the -workshop. The German professor and his rescuer were both helped to -safety; then the battle began again. - -"Here comes the _Scorpion_!" shouted Captain Watson. "Look out there!" -and instantly the air resounded with the sharp, short crackle of the air -brigand's gun-- - -"Rep-r-r-r-r-r----!" as the raider swept the machine gun posts. - -At this very instant, however, the sound of whistling wires came -suddenly from overhead, as something swooped down from the dizzy heights -upon the attacker. Then the sharp crackle of a Vickers gun rent the -air, as, in a headlong dive of two thousand feet, the Bristol Fighter -hurtled down, spitting fire through the whirling propeller, and driving -its quarry almost to the ground by its unexpected onslaught. - -By a miracle almost, the _Scorpion_ escaped a terrible crash, flattening -out within two feet of the ground in the middle of the glade, then -started its upward climb to out-manoeuvre its new opponent, for the rest -of this terrific combat was confined to the air. - -The little garrison below came out to see this thrilling spectacle, and -even the wounded German raised himself to watch the _Scorpion_, as he -expected, give its _coup de grace_ to its clumsy opponent. The fight -now was for altitude, dead angles, and the blind side of each opponent, -but more especially for altitude, for this is the equivalent in an -aerial duel of the windward position, in the days of the old frigates. - -Once, after climbing on the turn, the two machines approached each other -dead on, and each opened a burst of fire simultaneously on its opponent. -Carl, the scout pilot, was handling the solitary gun, and, if his aim -had been more steady, that would have marked the finish of the fight. -On the other hand Keane's bullets pattered with unerring aim upon the -armoured conning-tower, but with little effect, for so far the -finely-tempered steel resisted even these armour-piercing bullets. - -The watchers down below trembled with rage--all save the German--when -they saw this fearful waste of markmanship, but up there, calm and -collected, the British pilot clenched his teeth and muttered:-- - -"I must find his dead angle! I will attack him from below." - -Then followed a series of thrilling manoeuvres, in which the daring -skill of the Englishman alone saved him from his too-powerful opponent. -The _Scorpion_, using its superior speed, made a desperate effort to sit -upon its opponent's tail, a deadly position if it could only be -attained. But, looping, banking, sideslipping and occasionally -spinning, the Bristol out-manoeuvred its enemy every time. - -"Shade of Richthofen!" exclaimed the infuriated Spitzer; "but this -_verdammt_ Britisher is some pilot." - -Carl had become nervous and agitated at the gun, and his shooting had -begun to annoy his leader, who shouted angrily, "Let Max take the gun, -dachshund!" - -But Max was huddled up in the bottom of the cockpit with an English -bullet through his head; he had fired his last shot. - -"Blitz! Here he comes again!" shouted the German pilot, as his opponent -in the roaring Bristol, with engine full out, made as though he would -ram his enemy in mid-air, though such was not his intention. - -"Himmel, what does he mean?" yelled Spitzer, as he also opened out to -avert the threatened collision, then pulled over the controls, stalled -his machine, and attempted a vertical climb. - -"Thanks be!" muttered Keane, for this gave him just the opportunity he -sought. For two brief seconds the nether part of the fuselage, the only -weak spot in the _Scorpion_, was exposed, and with a quick eye and -unerring aim the British pilot poured a short burst into the very vitals -of his enemy, then dived for safety. - -It was the end of the fight, for the armour-piercing bullets ripped -through the softer, thinner steel of its victim, passed through the -chamber where the high-pressure cylinders which contained the uranis -were kept, and weakened or cracked one of those deadly things, which -were at once both the strength and the weakness of the _Scorpion_--the -only thing, as her pilot once said, that its crew need fear. - -Down, down sped the Bristol, as though conscious of the terrible -catastrophe which would shortly follow. It was well that she did, for, -ten seconds later, it seemed as if the end of the world had suddenly -come. - -Even while the _Scorpion_ was poised in mid-air, in the very act of her -last vertical climb, with nose pointed to the skies, the frightful -explosion occurred. The terrified onlookers threw themselves flat upon -the ground, but even the earth rocked, and huge trees of the forest were -uprooted. It was as though the mighty concussion had veritably blown a -hole hi the universe. The _Scorpion_, with all her crew, disappeared as -if by magic, blown into ten thousand fragments, and scattered like -blazing meteors to the very extremities of the Schwarzwald, while the -British aeroplane did not escape but crashed to earth, with its -unconscious pilot still firmly holding the controls. - -Thus did the _Scorpion_ meet her end, after all the vaunted pride and -skill of her founders. In that place where she was born, there also did -she come to an inglorious end, in the very presence of the evil-minded -genius who had designed her. Even the dying German professor at last -saw the error of his ways, and wished, in his latest hours, that his -energy and skill had been devoted to a purpose more lofty and humane. - -The great shock of that mighty explosion was felt for a hundred miles -and more. In far distant lands the seismographic instruments recorded -its effects. Some said that a great earthquake had occurred in central -Europe, but the Allied Command on the Rhine thought that some mighty -secret ammunition dump in the Schwarzwald had been accidentally -destroyed, and they sent assistance in every shape and form. And the -first to arrive were the aerial patrols, with medicines and supplies, -for the survivors on that blackened, devastated aerodrome. - -The unconscious pilot was extricated from the wreckage of the Bristol -Fighter, and after months of careful nursing he was restored to -convalescence, but he will never fly again. For his daring deed, he was -honoured by his country, and decorated by his King. Sharpe, Hooper and -Captain Watson, though severely wounded, recovered from their injuries. -Professor Verne had a miraculous escape from death when the brigands -bombed the hangar, and Colonel Tempest--though for the rest of his days -he will limp with the aid of a stick--was mighty glad to lay down his -high office with a reputation untarnished, and with the added honour of -a knighthood, and a substantial pension. - -It now but remains to tell what happened to that brilliant but misguided -German, the renowned Professor Rudolf Weissmann. He lingered for -another day after the terrible event which had befallen his fortune, and -his friend Sir Joseph Verne, constant as ever, waited beside him and -tended him amid his sufferings, for there is a wonderful spirit of -brotherhood and fraternity amongst men of learning. They are the -children of no particular country, for their parish is the world, and, -like our own Shakespeare, the whole earth claims them for its own. - -And when he saw that the time of his departure was at hand, this erring -genius no longer tried to withhold from the world the great secret which -he held, but, desiring to make what amends he could for the evil he had -wrought, he freely offered to reveal the secret to his old time friend -and fellow-student. - -But, alas, he had left it too long. The candle of life was flickering -within him, and the end was too near. Even while, with true repentance, -he endeavoured to give the hidden formula of the mysterious uranis to -his friend, he fell back exhausted and his spirit fled. - -So the wonderful secret was never revealed, for it lies buried deep in a -thousand fragments, amid the dark recesses of the Schwarzwald. But Hans, -the clock maker, and his friend Jacob Stendahl the wood cutter, and many -more beside, who dwell amid the legend and folklore of the Black Forest, -still assert that at certain times, especially when the full round moon -casts its silvery light over the Schwarzwald, the peasant who treads -these lonely paths may see the phantom airman on his ghostly 'plane. - - * * * * * - -As for Gadget, the little urchin of a stowaway, the sharp-witted, -up-to-date cabin boy who photographed the raider in mid-air, and -rendered such valuable service to the authorities, he was duly rewarded. -The Commissioner of Aerial Police pinned a gold medal on to his little -tunic, soon after the great air-liner returned to London, and even -delivered a speech in his honour, congratulating him upon his -resourcefulness and courage. - -He is no longer a street arab, for Captain Watson has adopted him, and -sent him to a preparatory school, where he is pursuing a useful course -of studies. But, when the long summer holidays arrive, you will find -Gadget, dressed in a smart little uniform, with plenty of gold braid -about his cap and tunic, standing beside the captain or the chief -officer, in the navigating gondola of the _Empress of India_. All who -know him speak highly of him. And there are even those who believe that -this little, mischievous, up-to-date cabin boy and erstwhile stowaway -will one day be one of out great air-skippers. - - - - - THE END. - - - - - THE LONDON AND NORWICH PRESS, LIMITED, LONDON AND NORWICH, ENGLAND - - - - - * * * * * * * * - - - - -*THE GREAT -ADVENTURE -SERIES* - - -_Titles uniform with this Series_ - - -*Percy F. Westerman:* - -The Airship "Golden Hind" -To the Fore with the Tanks -The Secret Battleplane -Wllmshurst of the Frontier Force - - -*Rowland Walker:* - -The Phantom Airman -Dastral of the Flying Corps -Deville McKeene: The Exploits of the Mystery Airman -Blake of the Merchant Service -Buckle of Submarine V2 -Oscar Danby, V.C. - - -S. W. PARTRIDGE & CO. -4, 5 & 6, SOHO -LONDON, W.1. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM AIRMAN *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43264 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. 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