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diff --git a/old/50070-0.txt b/old/50070-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b1c599f..0000000 --- a/old/50070-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6527 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Dave Dashaway and His Giant Airship, by Roy Rockwood - -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 www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Dave Dashaway and His Giant Airship - or, A Marvellous Trip Across the Atlantic - -Author: Roy Rockwood - -Release Date: September 28, 2015 [EBook #50070] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rick Morris and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Dave Dashaway - and His Giant Airship - - - Or - - A Marvellous Trip Across the Atlantic - - - BY - ROY ROCKWOOD - - AUTHOR OF “DAVE DASHAWAY THE YOUNG AVIATOR,” “THE - SPEEDWELL BOYS SERIES,” “THE GREAT - MARVEL SERIES,” ETC. - - - ILLUSTRATED - - - NEW YORK - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - BOOKS FOR BOYS - - BY ROY ROCKWOOD - - THE DAVE DASHAWAY SERIES - 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - - DAVE DASHAWAY THE YOUNG AVIATOR - DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS HYDROPLANE - DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP - DAVE DASHAWAY AROUND THE WORLD - - THE SPEEDWELL BOYS SERIES - 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - - THE SPEEDWELL BOYS ON MOTORCYCLES - THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR RACING AUTO - THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR POWER LAUNCH - THE SPEEDWELL BOYS IN A SUBMARINE - - THE GREAT MARVEL SERIES - 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - - THROUGH THE AIR TO THE NORTH POLE - UNDER THE OCEAN TO THE SOUTH POLE - FIVE THOUSAND MILES UNDERGROUND - THROUGH SPACE TO MARS - LOST ON THE MOON - IN A TORN-AWAY WORLD - - CUPPLES & LEON CO. PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK - - ------------------------------------------- - - Copyrighted 1913, by - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - - -------------- - - DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP - - Printed in U. S. A. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. THE GIANT AIRSHIP 1 - II. “FOR MOTHER’S SAKE” 11 - III. A NARROW ESCAPE 21 - IV. IN BAD COMPANY 36 - V. “THE RIGHT KIND” 44 - VI. A MYSTERIOUS FLASH 53 - VII. AT THE AERODROME 62 - VIII. THE RIVAL AIRSHIP 69 - IX. IN THE LEAD 76 - X. THE HAUNTED AERODROME 84 - XI. A GRAND SUCCESS 91 - XII. ADRIFT IN THE STORM 103 - XIII. A FIRST LANDING 110 - XIV. LOST 123 - XV. “THE TERRIBLE MACGUFFINS” 129 - XVI. IN FRIENDLY HANDS 137 - XVII. A TRUSTY GUIDE 144 - XVIII. IN A BAD FIX 149 - XIX. A MYSTERIOUS FRIEND 154 - XX. THE STOWAWAY 160 - XXI. THE HAUNTED AIRSHIP 166 - XXII. FIRE AT SEA 176 - XXIII. THE FORLORN HOPE 187 - XXIV. GOAL! 192 - XXV. CONCLUSION 199 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - DAVE DASHAWAY - AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP - - - - - CHAPTER I - - THE GIANT AIRSHIP - - -“Is that your airship?” - -“Not exactly, but I am in charge of it.” - -“The _Gossamer_, isn’t it?” - -“Yes.” - -“Belongs to the Interstate Aero Company?” - -“You’re pretty well posted, I see.” - -“Ought to be. I’m close to the Interstate people, so I’d like to look -the machine over. In fact, if you’ve got an expert aviator on hand, I -think I’ll take a little flight.” - -John Grimshaw, ex-balloonist and battered-up aeronaut, regarded the -foppishly dressed young man before him quizzically. - -“Oh, you do, eh?” he observed, very dryly. “Well, it won’t be on this -occasion. As to an expert aviator, we’ve got Dave Dashaway.” - -“Yes, I’ve heard of him.” - -“Most everybody has, I reckon. He’s here on business though, and that -sign is for outsiders, yourself included.” - -Old Grimshaw pointed to a sign on the big gates of the high board -enclosure outside of which he stood on guard. It read: “No Admittance.” -The visitor had come strolling from the direction of some summer -cottages near a pretty lake close by. Grimshaw surmised that he was one -of the smart set spending an outing there. - -“Humph!” observed the young man, with a shrug of his shoulders and a -scowl. “Pretty independent, aren’t you? I think you’ll change your tune -shortly.” - -“Is that so?” - -“I fancy. I’ll bring somebody with me who will do what he chooses with -your precious old airship, and send you about your business, if he feels -like it.” - -The young man turned on his heel, mad as a hornet, as he spoke. Just -then the gate was pushed open, and a bright-faced, athletic young fellow -stepped into view. - -“What’s the trouble, Mr. Grimshaw?” he asked, pleasantly. - -“Another of those pestiferous nuisances, who want to pry into other -people’s business, and think they own the world,” grumbled the veteran -aeronaut. - -“What did he want?” - -John Grimshaw told his story. - -“Oh, you might have gratified his curiosity and let him look around a -little.” - -“See here, Dave Dashaway,” bristled up Grimshaw, “you’ve seen in the -past what taking in a stranger led to. You’re here for a special -purpose, and no Jerry Dawson, or fellows of that stripe, are going to -get a chance to trick us again.” - -“That’s so, Mr. Grimshaw, we can’t be too careful, I will admit,” agreed -the young aviator. - -He was a rather unassuming young fellow for a person of his merits and -record, was this active lad who inside of three months had made his way -from humble circumstances to the very front rank of American airmen. - -Dave Dashaway looked back over the past twelve weeks of his young career -with pride, pleasure and satisfaction. There were dark spots, of course. -The Jerry Dawson old Grimshaw had mentioned was one of them. Envious -rivals there had been, too. Danger, scheming, cunning had more than once -threatened. - -That bright, breezy afternoon, however, the accredited pilot of the -latest monoplane on exhibition, Dave Dashaway felt like a general who -had won a hard-fought battle and was resting on his laurels. - -Those who have read the first volume of the present series, entitled, -“Dave Dashaway, the Young Aviator; Or, In the Clouds for Fame and -Fortune,” will recall how humble and difficult was the start in life -made by the bright young aeronaut. The father of Dave had been a noted -balloonist. Dave was of tender age when he died. For years the boy was -made a drudge by a miserly old guardian. The finding of a prize medal -and other valuables accidentally lost from an airship, sent Dave on his -travels seeking their owner, Robert King, a noted airman, who gave Dave -a job. - -It seemed as though air sailing was born in Dave. He took to aviation -like a duck does to water. The youth did several helpful things at the -various aero meets for Mr. King that won his confidence and friendship. -Dave studied all the books he could get hold of on airships, and -Grimshaw, a crippled and retired balloonist, took him into his school. - -From the initial run made on a dummy aeroplane along the ground, to his -first aerial flight in a monoplane with Mr. King, Dave showed -intelligence, skill and ambition. Then came his first brilliant flight -in the _Baby Racer_, a show biplane. So well did the young aviator -manage the _Racer_, that its owner, the Interstate Aero Company, made a -contract with him for regular exhibitions. - -Dave did not disappoint his liberal employers in his efforts. He won -several prizes, gave a big lift to a chum, Hiram Dobbs, in the aero -field, and made old Grimshaw proud of so apt a pupil. - -In the second volume of the present series, called, “Dave Dashaway and -His Hydroplane; Or, Daring Adventures Over the Great Lakes,” is told how -Dave advanced another important step up the ladder of fame and fortune. -The company employing him started him at exhibiting their model -hydroplane. This was a new venture for Dave, but he industriously -mastered its details and made a great hit at an aero meet near Chicago. - -All along the line Dave had been forced to oppose the envy and malice of -unprincipled business rivals. By thinking straight and acting straight, -however, he had won out on every occasion, as an honest, deserving lad -always does. He and his young protege, Hiram Dobbs, by making a hundred -mile record flight one dark and stormy night, got a big order for the -Interstate Aero Company ahead of a competitor. Then Jerry Dawson, his -father and a smuggler stole the hydro-monoplane, _Drifter_, and located -across the Canadian border. Dave and his friends began a wonderful chase -in another machine. They had some stirring adventures, ending in the -discovery of the _Drifter_. - -That incident shut out the Dawsons from later aero meets, but, as they -had not been prosecuted, they became hangers-on at circus and county -fair exhibitions. Dave heard of them once in awhile, but they seemed -unlikely to injure him any farther. - -Dave and Hiram were finely rewarded by the Interstate people for their -success. The company wanted Dave to make a two-year contract to exhibit -their machines. Dave, however, was obliged to decline the offer. - -There was a strong reason for this—a reason that was enough to set on -fire the enthusiasm of any live, up-to-date boy. - -As related in the preceding volume, Dave had discovered an old friend of -his dead father, one Cyrus Dale. This gentleman was wealthy, had no -family, and had been a fellow balloonist of Mr. Dashaway, years before. -A boy who had stolen some papers from Dave had succeeded in palming -himself off on Mr. Dale as Dave Dashaway. - -Mr. King had unmasked the imposter. The latter, with some friends, had -then kidnapped Mr. Dale. The veteran aviator, Robert King, had rescued -Mr. Dale from their clutches. The gratitude of the latter for this act, -together with his warm interest in Dave, had led to the three coming -together in a most friendly way. It was this ideal situation which had -resulted in the carrying out of a long-cherished plan of Mr. King. - -This was nothing less than a scheme for crossing the Atlantic in a giant -airship. It had been the pet idea of the skilled aviator for years—the -hope and dream of every ambitious airman in the world. - -Of all men in the field, Mr. King had the ability to direct such a -project. Mr. Dale was not only willing but ready to supply the capital. -As to Dave and Hiram, they talked constantly of the enterprise daytimes -and dreamed of it nights. - -The plan of the veteran aviator, however, was one that involved time, -skill and expense. His plans for building the great airship were very -elaborate. A month had now gone by, and only the skeleton of the mammoth -air traveler had so far been constructed. - -A temporary aerodrome had been constructed on the edge of a large city -about twenty-five miles from Lake Linden, where we find the young -aviator at the opening of the present story. There Mr. King, Mr. Dale -and some skilled workmen were energetically pushing forward their work. -If their plans did not go awry, before the end of August the giant -airship would start out on the strangest, grandest trip ever attempted -in the field of aeronautics. - -In the meantime the Interstate Aero Company had prevailed on Dave to -give them a month’s special service. This comprised the exhibition of -their latest hydro-monoplane, the _Gossamer_, at Lake Linden. The -district was one visited every summer by men of wealth from New York, -Boston and other large cities. The Interstate people had secured what -had once been a small private park. Here Dave, Hiram and Mr. Grimshaw -had been located for over a week. - -The object of their exhibitions was to influence a sale of the -Interstate machines among the rich men visiting Lake Linden. Many of -them were aero enthusiasts. Besides that, the proprietors of the resort -paid the company quite a large fee for making occasional flights as an -attraction to popularize the lake. - -Dave glanced after the man who had just had the verbal tussle with Mr. -Grimshaw. He did not like his trivial looks any more than the old -balloonist had. They had many curious visitors at the enclosure, -however, and Dave forgot the strange brag of the latest one, as he -looked down the road in the direction of the town of Linden. - -“It’s strange Hiram doesn’t get back with the carryall,” remarked the -young aviator. - -“Yes, I heard the train come in half an hour ago,” replied Grimshaw. -“Expecting quite a crowd, aren’t you, Dashaway?” - -“Why, yes, according to the message the Interstate people sent me,” said -Dave. “It seems there is a special party of foreign airmen our New York -salesman has interested. Some of them have come over to take a try at -the meets in the Southern circuit, and want to buy machines.” - -“They’ll find ours the best,” asserted Grimshaw. - -“I think that, too,” agreed Dave. “That’s why I’ve got everything spick -and span inside there. The _Gossamer_ looks as if she was just waiting -to float like an eagle at the word.” - -“She’s a beauty, and no mistake,” declared Grimshaw, and like some -ardent horseman gazing at a fond pet, he pushed open the gate, and fixed -his eyes on the hydro-aeroplane in the middle of the enclosure. “She’s -the last word in airships,” boasted the old enthusiast. “That trial -flight of yours yesterday, Dashaway, was the prettiest piece of air work -I ever saw.” - -Intimate as the young aviator was with the _Gossamer_ and every detail -of her delicate mechanism, he could not resist the fascination of -looking over the most beautiful model in the airship field. - -The _Gossamer_ had proven a revelation, even to skilled airmen. It had -been constructed in strict secrecy. The public had known nothing as to -the details of the craft until it was taken out on Lake Linden to test -its balance and speed. - -It was equipped to carry four passengers, was driven by a forty -horse-power motor, and made the tremendous speed of fifty miles an hour -in the water and sixty miles an hour in the air. With its two propellers -driven by clutch and chain transmission, and its new automatic starter -and fuel gauge, it was a marvel of beauty and utility, as readily sent -up from the confined deck of a warship as from the broadest aero field. - -“She’s a bird, sure enough,” declared old Grimshaw, admiringly. - -“Wasn’t she sort of built for a bird?” challenged Dave, with a smile. - -“That’s so. Ah, I hear the wagon. Hiram is coming.” - -The two went outside the enclosure, and the man looked keenly down the -road in the direction of the village. - -“Why Dashaway,” he exclaimed, “it’s Hiram, but he isn’t bringing the -party you expected.” - -“That’s queer,” commented the young aviator. - -“He’s all alone—oh, no, he isn’t. He’s got one passenger aboard—a girl.” - -“A girl?” repeated Dave, staring somewhat mystified at the approaching -vehicle. - -“Yes.” - -“That’s queerer still,” remarked the young aviator. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - “FOR MOTHER’S SAKE” - - -“Whoa!” sang out Hiram Dobbs, bringing the team to a halt and beckoning -to Dave. - -“Why, what’s the trouble, Hiram?” inquired the young aviator. - -“Crowd didn’t come, that’s all.” - -“And no word from them?” - -“Why, yes, there was a wire,” and Dave’s friend and assistant handed a -yellow sheet to Dave with the explanation: “Operator at the station gave -it to me that way. A rush, so I read it.” - -“That’s all right,” returned Dave, and he also read the brief dispatch -in his turn. - -It stated that there had come an unexpected hitch in the arrangements of -the New York agent of the Interstate people, and that the party he had -in tow would not visit Lake Linden until the following day. - -“That’s good,” said Dave. “It will give us a chance to go to the city -and see how our giant airship scheme is coming on.” - -“Fine!” applauded Hiram. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you -about first, though, Dave.” - -“What’s that, Hiram?” - -“Wait a moment, Miss.” - -Hiram interrupted with these words, addressed to the only passenger in -the carryall. For the first time Dave glanced at her closely. She was a -plainly-dressed, modest-looking girl of about sixteen. Her eyes were red -with weeping. She held a handkerchief in her hand, and was pale and -seemed greatly distressed. - -“Oh, I must make you no farther trouble,” she said, in a broken tone. “I -will get out of the carryall here and walk the rest of the way to the -seminary.” - -“I want to speak to my friend here first, Miss,” said Hiram. “You just -wait. Maybe he can suggest some way to help you out.” - -“You have been so kind to me already,” murmured the girl. - -Dave wondered what was up. The carryall was a hired one, and he had -supposed at first that Hiram had given the girl a lift, finding she was -going his way. Hiram was always doing such kindly things. - -The forlorn appearance of the girl, however, and the rather serious -manner of Hiram as he jumped from the wagon seat and beckoned Dave out -of earshot of his passenger, made the young aviator surmise that he had -something of particular moment to impart to him. - -“Now then, what is it, Hiram?” he asked. - -“You see that girl?” - -“Of course.” - -“I never felt so sorry for anyone in my life as I do for her.” - -“Who is she?” - -“A poor girl working her way through the young ladies’ seminary up at -the other end of the lake.” - -“Oh, I see.” - -“It seems she got a telegram about an hour ago. It is from her home, a -hundred miles west of here. It stated that her mother was in a critical -condition, and if she expected to see her alive she must take the first -train for Easton. She hurried to the depot. I found her there crying as -if her heart would break.” - -“Poor girl! she had missed the train.” - -“By just four minutes, and no other until eight o’clock this evening.” - -“I am dreadfully sorry for her,” said Dave, glancing with genuine -sympathy at the girl in the carryall. - -Hiram fidgeted about. He dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt. Then he -looked Dave daringly in the eye. Then he dropped his glance. Dave was -quick to read his impetuous and open-hearted comrade’s thoughts. - -“I fancy I guess what’s in your mind, Hiram,” he said. - -“I hope you do, anyhow. Say, if I knew how to run an airship like you——” - -“You’d run it to Easton, I suppose?” intimated Dave. - -“Yes, sir, that’s just what I would do. See here, Dave, suppose you had -a sister in the trouble that young girl is in?” - -Dave put up his hand interruptingly. His face was earnest and serious. - -“I’d get her to her mother if I had to sell the shoes off my feet. -You’re a grand-hearted fellow, Hiram Dobbs, and, as I’ll not let you -beat me in the doing-good line, why——” - -“You’ll take her to her mother in the _Gossamer_?” fairly shouted Hiram, -dancing from one foot to the other in his excitement over such a -prospect. - -“I’ll try and make it out that way,” responded Dave. “Let me think for a -minute or two, Hiram.” - -The young aviator took another look at the mournful face of the young -girl in the carryall. Then he made up his mind. He was a fully-trusted -employe of the Interstate Aero Company, and pretty nearly at liberty to -do as he pleased. Dave looked up at the sky, made some mental -calculations, and said finally: - -“Tell her who I am, Hiram—I want to have a little talk with her.” - -“This is my best friend, Dave Dashaway, Miss——” - -“My name is Amy Winston,” spoke the girl, a trifle shy and embarrassed. - -“Hiram Dobbs has told me about your trouble, Miss Winston,” said Dave. -“He is a fine fellow and feels sorry for you, and so do I. We are going -to try and get you to your home within the next three hours.” - -“Oh, if you only could!” exclaimed the young girl, anxiously. “But there -is no train until this evening.” - -“That is true,” replied Dave. - -“You see, Dave is a great aviator, Miss,” broke in Hiram, in his usual -impulsive, explosive way. “He’s taken lots of prizes. He won the——” - -“That will do, Hiram,” laughed Dave. “The truth is, Miss Winston,” he -continued to the puzzled girl, “we have only one way of getting you to -your home. Please step down and I will show you what it is.” - -Dave helped the girl down the steps at the rear of the vehicle. He led -her to the gates of the enclosure and drew one of them wide open. - -“Why, it is an airship!” exclaimed Amy Winston. “I saw it yesterday from -the seminary grounds.” - -“Dave was running it, and I was aboard,” boasted Hiram, proudly. - -“How beautifully it sailed,” murmured the girl. - -“Miss Winston,” spoke Dave, “I can make Easton in about three hours in -that machine. It may be something I should not propose, considering the -possible risk, but the _Gossamer_ is at your service.” - -“Oh,” exclaimed Amy, her eyes filling with tears of gratitude and hope, -“I would dare any danger to once more see my dear mother before she -dies.” - -“You are willing to try it?” asked Dave, definitely. - -Amy was trembling, but she answered bravely in the affirmative. - -“Tell Mr. Grimshaw,” said Dave to his friend, who at once started off to -obey the order. “Now, Miss Winston,” continued the young aviator, “I -will help you to a seat in the machine.” - -When the girl had been disposed of in the most comfortable seat in the -_Gossamer_, Dave gave her a strap to draw her dress skirt tightly about -her feet. Other straps bound her in the seat so that by no possibility -could she fall or be thrown out. - -The girl had grown a shade paler and was all in a flutter, but she did -not show the least inclination to draw back from an exploit that would -start most people into hysterics. - -Dave went into the tent where he and Hiram and Grimshaw ate and slept, -and came out in aviation garb. He took some time looking over a guide -book. Meanwhile his two helpers had been working about the _Gossamer_, -getting everything in order. - -Grimshaw made no comment on the occasion. While he always resented any -intrusion of outsiders at aerodrome or meet, he had long since made up -his mind that Dave knew his business and was just about right in -everything he did. The old expert went over the _Gossamer_ as thoroughly -as if the machine was bound on a long distance non-stop flight. He saw -to it that nothing was lacking that an air navigator might need. He even -set the green lantern on the right side and the red to the left, -steamship code, in case of some delay or accident, whereby the -_Gossamer_ might drift up against night work. - -“Look out for a change in the wind,” was Grimshaw’s parting injunction. - -“It looks like a coming squall in the northwest,” replied Dave; “but I -think this head wind will hold till we get out of range. All ready, Miss -Winston?” - -“Yes, sir,” fluttered the little lady, holding tightly to the arms of -her seat behind the operator’s post, although she was securely tied in. - -“All free,” said Dave simply, and his helpers stood aside as the -self-starter was set in motion. - -The _Gossamer_ rose lightly as a bird. Just above the fence line, -however, Dave slightly turned his head at an unusual sound. He had just -a glimpse of two figures acting rather wildly immediately beyond the -enclosure. - -One was the foppish fellow who had recently been repulsed by Grimshaw, -and who had made the strange threat that he would bring somebody with -him who would settle affairs. - -Apparently this vaunted individual was now in his company. He was a -richly dressed lad, somewhat older than Dave. He seemed to be a good -deal excited about something; acted, as Grimshaw had described it, as if -he owned the world. - -His companion was waving his cane angrily as the airship shot skyward. -The boy himself shook his fists toward the _Gossamer_, and shouted out -furiously some command or threat the young aviator could not make out. - -Dave wondered what this second visit meant. He had no time nor thought -to spare, either staring or guessing, however. Eye, hand and brain were -centered intently upon his task. Dave for the moment forgot everything, -except that he was directing to a safe, steady course a mechanism as -delicate and sensitive as the works of a fine chronometer. - -He caught the echo of a low, quick respiration from the girl behind him. -The suddenness of the ascent had acted on her as it did on every novice, -producing a startled feeling. Then, as the _Gossamer_ whirled three -hundred feet high, and the swaying, gliding exhilaration of perfect -motion followed, a long-drawn breath told of relief and satisfaction. - -“Don’t be frightened, Miss Winston,” called out Dave, venturing a quick -glance at his passenger, whose wide-open eyes surveyed the panorama -beneath them in speechless wonderment. - -“Oh, I am not, indeed,” cried Amy Winston. “It is only the strangeness.” - -“You are perfectly safe,” assured the young aviator. “We have made a -splendid start. Just think of home—and your mother,” he added very -gently. “I feel certain that we can make Easton inside of two hours.” - -“I am so glad; oh, so glad,” replied Amy, with grateful tears in her -eyes. - -Dave was pleased that his course towards Easton took him due southwest. -A six-mile breeze was coming from that direction. This was a perfect -condition for even, stable progress. Over towards the northwest a bank -of ominous black clouds were coming up, threatening a gale and a deluge -of rain. The young pilot of the _Gossamer_ planned and hoped to dodge -this storm by fast flying. - -The southern edge of the big cloud began to cover the sky ahead of Dave. -Once or twice there were contrary gusts, and he had to do some skillful -engineering to preserve a safe balance. He felt considerably relieved to -observe that the _Gossamer_ was safely out of range of the real storm -center. Some ragged-edge masses thrown out from the main body were, -however, scudding ahead of him. There were one or two spatters of rain. - -To the far right of him Dave could tell that a momentary tornado was -sweeping the tops of the trees. He set the lever to the limit notch, -made a long volplane and then a wide circuit to the south. - -“I believe we are out of range,” Dave told himself, hopefully. - -Then, as a sudden and unexpected shock announced the meeting of two -powerful forces, he sat motionless and helpless. - -The young aviator faced a mishap most dreaded of all that threaten the -safety of the expert aeronaut. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - A NARROW ESCAPE - - -The _Gossamer_ had struck “a hole in the air!” “We are lost!” thought -Dave Dashaway. - -The young aviator was not prone to arrive at senseless conclusions. He -had made a practical study of aeronautics, in a way; from the first time -the pioneer airman harnessed a gasoline engine to a kite and called it a -flying machine, down to the loop-the-loop somersault trick in aviation. - -A “hole in the air” to the sky traveler is what a yawning chasm is to a -speeding automobile or an unexpected cataract to a hydroplane. It is -worse than a “killed” motor or even a threatened “turn turtle.” Every -part of the machine suddenly goes useless. The heavy mechanism simply -drops. In a word, the _Gossamer_ had been caught in a dead void caused -by two opposing air currents colliding, and shutting the machine into an -absolute pocket, or vacuum. - -If Dave had remained inert, or had hesitated for a single instant of -time, the _Gossamer_ would have been doomed. A slender thread of hope -presented itself and he was quick to utilize it to the limit. “Feeling” -the air with one cheek, he noticed the tail of the machine give a quick -switch. This he at once understood indicated that the master air current -was from the north. Dave hoped there was power enough left in the -propellers to make a sharp, quick turn. He set the apparatus for the -speediest whirl he had ever attempted. - -The machine was tipping, dropping steadily. Dave banked to the left at a -most critical angle. There was a dizzying spin and then a dive. A great -breath of relief swept from Dave’s lips as the _Gossamer_ righted. The -wings caught the violent blast of the gust, and the machine fairly bored -its way ahead, true as an arrow, into the teeth of the storm. - -A drenching shower shut the aerial wayfarers into a blinding deluge of -rain drops. Then their course lightened, and Dave knew that the thinning -veil of moisture indicated sunlight beyond it. He shut down speed -slightly. The air pressure was fast decreasing as the _Gossamer_ emerged -from the clouds. Dave gradually worked the head of the machine due -southwest once more. The former head wind was regained, and sunny -progress offered beyond. - -“A close shave,” said Dave, to himself, and turned to see how his -passenger had taken it. - -“I suppose that scared you somewhat, Miss Winston?” he remarked. - -Amy’s face was pale, and she showed the strain of her startling -experience, but she replied: - -“I could not be frightened with you. Anybody as kind and thoughtful as -you are to a poor girl in distress like myself, could not be anything -but brave.” - -Dave’s heart warmed at the compliment. He admired the girl, too. As he -thought back, he realized that his nerves had been at a tension where -any outcry or movement on the part of his passenger might have upset his -self-control, and have prevented the prompt action which had saved the -day. - -He felt proud and pleased at his success in turning a hard corner. His -passenger, too, became more light-hearted as the prospect of soon -reaching the side of her invalid mother became more assured. Once or -twice as they flew over chicken coops in farm yards there was great -excitement beneath them, and she could not help but smile. - -“That is Easton,” she leaned over finally to say to Dave, as the -steeples and factory chimneys of a little town came into view. - -The girl pointed out her home a few minutes later, and Dave prepared to -make a landing. The _Gossamer_ came to earth in the middle of a field a -few hundred yards distant from the house the girl had designated. - -Long before Dave had released the ropes that had held his passenger in -her seat, people who had viewed the novelty of a real airship came -flocking to the spot from all directions. Amy seized the hands of the -young aviator, bubbling over with gratitude. She tried to thank him as -she wished to, but the words would not come. - -“Don’t delay, Miss Winston,” said Dave. “I know they must be very -anxious about you at home.” - -Dave led his little charge to the fence surrounding the field and helped -her over it. Then he returned to the _Gossamer_. He found that the -propellers had gone through some strain during his adventure in the -storm, and he had some little work to do with chisel, hammer and wrench. -While he was thus occupied almost a mob surrounded the airship, curious, -gaping and delighted. - -A man wearing a big star, and evidently the policeman of the town, made -himself very officious keeping the crowd back. He had seen an airship -once at a county fair and paraded his knowledge now. He tried -industriously to make himself very agreeable to the young aviator. Dave -had to laugh secretly to himself as the man pinched his fingers -describing to a local newspaper man that this was the “magenta”—meaning -magneto; and that the “carbutter”—meaning the carburetor. - -“You must have been reading up on airships,” spoke the newspaper man to -the policeman, as the latter walked importantly about the craft, now and -then sternly calling on some small lad to “git back out th’ way.” - -“I have,” came the confident answer. “I know a lot about ’em. Of course -I haven’t ever sailed in one, but my brother, he’s a policeman in Long -Island, and once, when I was on a visit to him, he was detailed to go -out to a place where they was havin’ one of these airyplane contests, -and keep order. I went with him, and he swore me in as his deputy -assistant. I seen a lot of them foreign fellers fly, and I picked up a -lot of information.” - -“I suppose so,” murmured the newspaper man, who was new in town, and did -not know enough to discount the boasting talk of the officer. - -“Yes, indeed!” went on the constable. “Why, once one of them -birdmen—they call ’em ‘birdmen’ you know,” he explained as though he -knew it all, “once one of ’em run out of gasoline just as he was goin’ -to start in a prize flight, and if it hadn’t been for me he’d never won -it.” - -“How’s that?” asked the reporter. - -“Why I hustled over to the hangar—that’s the French word for a balloon -shed,” he explained condescendingly, “I rushed over to the hangar and -got him a can of gasoline and he went up as slick as anything and won -the prize. He said I helped him a lot, and he gave me a dollar. I didn’t -want to take it, but he insisted. Oh, I know a lot about airships.” - -Dave was so busy tightening some of the guy wires that had come loosened -at the turn buckle, by reason of the great strain, that he paid little -attention to the reporter and the constable for a few minutes. - -The young aviator, however, noticed that the officious officer was -becoming more and more familiar with the machine, touching the different -parts, often calling them by their wrong names, and totally unconscious -of his errors. Nor was the reporter any the wiser. - -“I don’t exactly understand what makes the airship move,” confessed the -newspaper man to the self-appointed instructor. “Is it——?” - -“It’s these here perpellers,” explained the constable. “They work just -like an electric fan, you know.” - -“I see, but then the blades of an electric fan go around but the fan -doesn’t sail in the air. Why is that?” - -“Well—er—it’s because—Oh, here’s something I forgot to explain,” said -the constable quickly, finding himself unexpectedly in deep water. “I’ll -tell you about the perpellers later. This here’s the radiator,” he went -on. “It’s full of water, just like in the radiator of an automobile, and -it keeps the gasoline from boiling over—cools it off you know.” - -“Indeed,” said the reporter, who knew a little about autos. “But I -thought the water was to keep the engine from getting overheated.” - -“Not in an airship,” insisted the constable. “In an airyplane the -radiator keeps the gasoline cool. I’ll jest show you how it works,” and, -before Dave could stop the man, he had opened a small faucet in the -radiator, designed to drain out the water. - -Now it happened that Dave had been running his engine very fast, and, in -consequence, the water in the radiator—which really did cool the motor -and not the gasoline—this water was very hot—in fact some steam was -present. - -No sooner did the meddlesome constable open the stop-cock that a jet of -steam shot out, burning his fingers severely. The man jumped back with -an exclamation of pain. - -“I—I didn’t know it was so hot!” he cried. “This must be a new cooling -system he’s using on this affair.” - -“I should say it was more like a _heating_ system,” remarked the -reporter, with a smile he could not conceal. - -“Ha! Ha! Shiner got burned!” yelled a small boy who had been ordered -away from the craft. “Shiner got burned! Ha! Ha!” - -“Make a cup of tea, Shiner!” yelled another lad, “Shiner” evidently -being the constable’s nickname. - -“I’ll ‘shiner’ you if I git holt of you!” he threatened, rushing forward -with some of his fingers in his mouth to render the pain less. It was -not a very dignified attitude for a guardian of the law. - -“I wish you’d shut that stop-cock!” cried Dave, who was busy tightening -a part that he could not very well leave just then. “Shut that water -off, or I’ll lose all there is in the radiator, and have to put in -more.” - -“It—it’s too hot,” objected the constable, his attention drawn from the -annoying lads. “I didn’t know it was so warm. What system do you use?” - -Dave was too annoyed to answer, and the constable, not wishing to burn -himself again, held back. Meanwhile water and steam were spurting from -the stop-cock. - -“I’ll shut it off,” volunteered the reporter, feeling that he was partly -to blame for the incident, since he had evinced a curiosity that the -constable had tried to gratify. - -The newspaper man advanced toward the radiator, which was now enveloped -in steam. Dave saw that he had on no gloves. - -“Look out!” cried the young aviator. “You’ll get a bad burn. That’s very -hot. Here,” he added, “take these pliers, and turn that valve. I’d do it -myself only if I let go this wire it will slip and I can’t easily get it -in place again,” and Dave indicated where a pair of pliers lay on the -ground. - -“I get you,” said the reporter with a smile. A moment later he had shut -the stop-cock and the stream of water and the hissing steam stopped. - -“Cricky! but this burns!” exclaimed the constable. “I forgot about the -radiator part. Some airships don’t have ’em on.” - -“Why not?” asked the reporter. - -“Oh, er—well—you see—say, here’s what I was telling you about, the -perpellers, they make the ship go. You see you turn them around to start -the engine, jest like you crank an auto. I guess I can turn them over, -though it’s pretty hard. Down on Long Island, where my brother was that -time, I helped one of the birdmen lots. You jest do it this way,” and he -advanced toward the big wooden propeller. - -“Here, don’t touch that!” cried Dave, but he was too late. The officious -constable whirled the wooden blade around. As it happened Dave had -turned on the switch in order to make a test, and had forgotten, until -that moment, to turn it off. But when he saw what the man was going to -do he realized what would happen. “Let that alone!” he cried, being -unable to get out, as he was straddling one of the runners to tighten a -wire. - -The constable gave the apparatus another turn, and with a rattle and -bang, like a salvo of musketry, the motor started. - -Now there is considerable power to an airship’s propeller—there has to -be to make the craft sail. As the blades whirled about they fairly blew -the constable back out of the way. His helmet went sailing off, tossed -by the terrific wind created and, only that he jumped aside in time he -would have been hurt. The airship, too, would have moved off, only Dave -had left the drag-brake on. This halted it long enough for the young -aviator to leap out and shut off the switch. - -“Say!” the lad cried to the constable, “I’ve a good notion to——” - -“I—I didn’t know it would start!” cried the man, finally managing to get -on his feet, for he had staggered back so fast that he fell. “I didn’t -know it would do that. I—I guess I’ll go up to the drug store and get -something for my burned fingers,” and, not stopping to give any more -information to the newspaper man, the officer hurried off, amid the -laughter of the crowd. - -It took Dave half an hour to get the machine as he wanted. He had a -pleasant chat with the local reporter, who was immensely interested. -Dave got ready to start back for home, when a young fellow about his own -age made his way hurriedly through the crowd. Our hero observed his -resemblance to his recent passenger. He was excited and eager, and -seized Dave’s hand with great warmth. - -“You are Mr. Dashaway?” he spoke. - -“Yes, I am Dave Dashaway,” replied the young aviator, pleasantly. - -“My sister sent me. Oh, how we want to thank you,” and the tears began -to fall down the cheeks of the manly young fellow. - -“How is your mother?” asked Dave, embarrassed at the growing attention -of the listening crowd about them. - -“That’s it, that’s it,” exclaimed young Winston, brokenly. “You’ve saved -her, oh, think of it; the doctor says she won’t die, now!” - -Dave tried to quiet the agitated lad, but the latter would have his say. -From his incoherent talk Dave gathered that Mrs. Winston had indeed been -near death. The main trouble was that she imagined her daughter Amy had -died away from home. The girl’s return had quieted the frantic sufferer. -She had received Amy in a wild transport of delight. Then she had gone -to sleep in her daughter’s arms, happy and quiet, the fever broken; and -the doctor had announced that the crisis was past. - -The crowd began to get wind of the pretty little story of Dave’s -heroism. The newspaper man was excitedly taking notes. The policeman -looked proud at having something of importance happen in the town of -which he was the public guardian, and the crowd began to shout handsome -things at Dave. - -The young aviator was actually blushing as he started the _Gossamer_ -again. Cheers of genuine enthusiasm rang out, three times three and many -times over, as the machine shot skyward. Then, as Dave caught sight of a -little lady waving a handkerchief at him from the front porch of the -Winston home, he felt somehow as if a real blessing had been bestowed -upon him. - -“It’s a good deal to be an airman,” Dave told himself. “It’s a good deal -more to be able to do a kind deed and make others happy,” he added, so -glad that he had been of service to Amy Winston, that he would have been -willing to go through the daring adventure all over again. - -The skies had cleared in every direction. The machinery of the -_Gossamer_ worked to a charm on the return trip to Lake Linden. The dial -showed a trifle over two hundred miles in five hours and a half. - -Dave made a run for the turning bar in one corner of the enclosure to -get the stiffness out of his limbs. Then he hurried over to the living -tent, glad that he had an interesting story to tell to his fellow -airmen. - -“Nobody here?” he remarked, looking around. “Mr. Grimshaw and Hiram must -have gone to town. Probably didn’t expect me home so soon.” - -“Hello, there!” spoke an unexpected voice. - -Dave turned quickly. Two persons had passed the gates and were -approaching him. He recognized them at once. One was the -foppishly-dressed man he had seen twice before. The other was the boy -who had shaken his fist at Dave when the _Gossamer_ had started on the -hasty trip to Easton. - -At closer sight than before the young aviator instantly read his -visitors as in a book. The elder of the twain was about twenty-five or -thirty years of age, and all his elegant attire and rather handsome face -did not disguise his resemblance to some shrewd sharper who made his way -in the world by living on others. - -The boy suggested the spoiled scion of some wealthy family, with plenty -of money, and used to spending it foolishly. His face was flushed and -excited, and Dave decided that he was under a very baneful influence in -the company he kept. He was the first to speak. - -“You are Dashaway, I suppose?” he observed in a careless, almost -insolent way. - -“Yes,” said Dave. - -“Well, this is my friend, Vernon. Was here before, to-day.” - -“I know he was,” replied Dave. - -“Where is the old fellow who was so saucy to him?” - -“What do you want to know for?” demanded Dave, unable to keep from -getting a trifle angry. - -“Because he’s due for a trimming, that’s why. I don’t allow my friends -to be treated that way. See here, I don’t suppose you know who I am,” -observed the speaker, with an air of self-assertion that was almost -ridiculous. - -“I don’t,” answered Dave. - -“I thought so. That may enlighten you.” - -The boy drew an elegant case from his pocket, selected a card with a -tissue paper cover, and handed it to Dave, who took it, somewhat curious -to know the personality of so presumptuous an individual. The card read: -“_Elmer Brackett_.” - -The name Brackett was suggestive to Dave, but not altogether -enlightening. There was a Mr. Brackett who was president of the -Interstate Aero Company. Dave read the card over twice, closely and -thoughtfully, then he looked his visitor squarely in the face. - -“Well?” he demanded, coolly. - -“My name is Brackett, as you probably observe,” remarked the boy, -smartly. - -“I see it is.” - -“You don’t seem to understand yet,” proceeded the forward youth. “My -father is the owner of the company that hires you.” - -“Well?” again challenged Dave. - -“You’ve heard of him, I reckon.” - -“Many times,” replied Dave. - -Young Brackett looked nettled. Apparently he had expected Dave to bow -with reverence or quake with fear. - -“See here,” he spoke suddenly in a harsh, rasping tone. “I’m Elmer -Brackett, my governor owns that airship and everything around here. I’m -his son, and I want to give my friend Vernon a spin in the air.” - -“Well,” said Dave simply, “you can’t do it.” - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - IN BAD COMPANY - - -“What’s that?” shouted young Brackett. - -He made a spring forward as if he hoped to intimidate Dave. The young -aviator did not budge an inch, and his adversary contented himself with -simply glaring at him. - -“You heard me,” said Dave, simply. - -“Yes,” fired up the fellow named Vernon; “we heard you, and if I was in -Brackett’s place you wouldn’t be heard much longer. Say, Elmer, why -don’t you wire your father and get some kind of an accommodating crowd -around here.” - -“I’d soon show who was boss if I was near the old man,” grumbled young -Brackett. - -“I am boss here, if that is what you want to call it,” said Dave. “This -is private property, I am in charge, and you are trespassers. Outside of -your not coming at me in the right way, I want to say to you that the -_Gossamer_ is here for a specific purpose, and I have my orders and -plans.” - -“If my father was here, he’d soon order you to give us a spin in the -_Gossamer_,” declared Brackett. - -“I know who your father is, and respect him greatly,” replied Dave, “but -I would have to have his written order to do any work outside of -routine.” - -“Oh, is that so!” sneered Brackett. “You seem to make no bones about -gallivanting about in the _Gossamer_ as freely as you choose with your -own particular lady friends.” - -Dave made no reply. He did not consider that his visitors had the -fineness of mind to understand the pathetic circumstances of his efforts -in behalf of the Winston family. - -Vernon gave his companion a wink and a nudge. He whispered some quick -words to him that Dave did not catch. Young Brackett drew out a wallet -stuffed full of money. - -“See here, Dashaway,” he spoke, in a tone meant to be friendly and -wheedling; “be a good fellow. There are some girls down at the hotel I -promised to show the _Gossamer_ to, and what she could do on the water. -I’ll make it a twenty. Come, help us out.” - -“I am sorry,” replied Dave, steadily. - -“You won’t do it?” - -“No.” - -Again Vernon whispered to his companion. The latter nodded his head. -Vernon shot a quick glance about the enclosure. Then, before Dave could -surmise his purpose, the man made a spring at him. - -The young aviator was athletic and strong, but he had to cope with a -full grown man. Vernon had seized his arms from behind and Dave -struggled in vain. - -“Fetch those ropes over near the airship,” directed Vernon, with an -unpleasant laugh. “I’ll show you how to do this thing.” - -Young Brackett looked a trifle frightened. - -“See here, Vernon,” he said, “I don’t know about this.” - -“Well, I do,” retorted Vernon, securely twisting the rope about Dave’s -arms and body. “You said you knew how to run the machine, didn’t you?” - -“Why, I’ve been up in a biplane at the works several times,” said -Brackett, rather hesitatingly. - -“What are you afraid of, then? Just because it’s a bigger machine? Look -here, give it a try.” - -“What are you going to do with Dashaway?” - -“Take him along.” - -“What!” - -“Certainly, so if we make any blunders he’ll have to take the helm to -help himself out of the fix.” - -“I want to warn you,” cried Dave. “You are trying a dangerous -experiment.” - -Vernon only laughed. Brackett put on a braggart air of over-confidence. -The former lifted Dave into one of the seats and took his own behind the -pilot post. - -“All right,” announced Brackett, climbing into the forward seat. “I -think I can manage the machine.” - -Dave cast a hopeless look towards the gates of the enclosure. There was -no sign of Grimshaw or Hiram. He watched the bungling of Brackett over -the delicate mechanism, fearful as to the outcome of the resolution of -the reckless fellow. - -“Self-starter, eh?” he heard the presumptuous pilot say. “I know how to -operate that. What’s this little mirror for? Oh, yes, to index the -curves. Pshaw! I can’t go wrong if I watch that.” - -“Can’t you? Oh, my!” muttered Dave. - -Young Brackett was all right at the wheel. His brief biplane experience -counted for enough to enable him to make a very pretty swoop aloft. He -was so delighted at this that he chuckled: - -“Say, I guess I’ll take a job at running the governor’s machine myself. -Hey, what?” - -“Good for you—doing finely,” commended Vernon. “Get over the lake, -Brackett. If you can manage to sail the machine we’ll take the girls for -a ride.” - -Dave held his breath. Brackett had split half a circle abruptly, and the -_Gossamer_ got ready for a dive. By some accident the frightened pilot -banked just in time to save a spill. - -“Don’t change your course—don’t dare to!” fairly shouted the excited -Dave, as he saw that any further attempt at a head change in novice -hands meant sure destruction for the _Gossamer_. - -Young Brackett was terribly frightened. In his fear and dismay he turned -on the full power, but let the machine run a perfectly straight course. -It was, however, on an angle of about fifty degrees. - -“What’s he to do?” chattered Vernon, himself growing pale and nerveless. - -“I can’t tell—I can only show him. If the course is not changed, the -machine will hit the earth going forty miles an hour,” declared Dave. - -“Show him, then! show him!” gasped Vernon. - -He reached over with trembling hands and began to loosen the ropes with -which he had bound the young aviator. In some way they had become -tangled, and in that circumscribed space he dared not move about freely. -The _Gossamer_ tipped slightly, and its dismayed pilot let out a yell of -fear. - -While Vernon was tugging breathlessly at the ropes, Dave noted that the -machine was due to land with a terrific shock inside of two minutes. It -just grazed the tops of some tall trees. Then it missed a flagpole in -the center of some private grounds. - -“Shut off the power, or we are lost!” cried Dave. - -Brackett had just enough sense left to obey him, but that did not -prevent a catastrophe. They were just passing near some glass-covered -hothouses. The first one they skidded. At the second one the head of the -machine ripped the top row of glasses out of place like a toboggan shoe -splintering a stretch of thin ice. Then the under floats tangled in the -frame work, and Dave bore company with the others in a dive into a bed -of geraniums. - -The shock of even that soft landing place was sufficient to half stun -our hero for the moment. In a dim blur of vision he seemed to see two -figures limping away. He caught sight of the machine lying half-way -through a frail trellis. Then he heard these startled words in an -unfamiliar voice: - -“Hello! I say, what’s this?” - -Dave looked up to see a man in gardener’s garb staring in turn at -himself, the _Gossamer_, and the havoc the machine had made. - -“If you’ll help me up,” said Dave, rather faintly; “I’ll try to -explain.” - -“You’ll have to!” cried the gardener. “Who ever heard of such a thing? -Get up, but don’t you try to run away from all the mischief you’ve -done.” - -“Hardly,” promised Dave, as the man cut the ropes securing him. “How -badly is the machine damaged?” - -“How badly are my greenhouses damaged, you’d better say!” shouted the -man. “Say, who’s to pay for all this wreck and ruin?” - -“Don’t worry about that,” replied Dave. “The company will settle with -you.” - -“I don’t know anything about your company,” retorted the man. “If you’re -Dashaway——” - -“I am.” - -“I’ve heard of you, and you look like a decent, honest fellow. But say, -this is an awful fix for me. I’m only in charge here, and I don’t know -but the boss will hold me responsible for what’s happened and take the -damage out of my small pay.” - -“I will see that he doesn’t do that,” pledged Dave. - -The man was almost crying in his fright and distress. - -“You estimate what it will cost to replace things as they were,” -directed Dave, “and I’ll settle it right out of my own pocket before I -even leave here.” - -“You will?” cried the gardener, joyfully. - -“You can depend upon it. Did you see anything of two fellows who were in -the machine with me?” - -“Yes, I saw two young men running for that back fence yonder. They got -out of sight pretty quick.” - -“I’m glad they weren’t hurt, anyway,” thought Dave. - -The gardener went around, surveying the damage done to the greenhouses, -while Dave examined the _Gossamer_. Our hero was agreeably surprised to -find that outside of the warping of one of the wings and a twisted -propeller, the machine had suffered very slight injury. - -“A lucky escape,” he said to himself. “Those venturesome fellows were -never nearer death than fifteen minutes ago.” - -“I say, what’s this, Dashaway!” - -It was Grimshaw who spoke, pale and out of breath. Equally startled and -anxious, Hiram Dobbs, following him, came rushing up to the spot. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - “THE RIGHT KIND” - - -“Oh, say, Dave, what’s happened, anyway?” burst out the irrepressible -Hiram. - -“You see,” observed Dave, with a sweeping wave of his hand. - -“Yes, I see,” said Grimshaw. “But you never ran the _Gossamer_ into all -this!” - -“No, I wasn’t the pilot on this occasion,” admitted Dave. - -“I told you so!” cried Hiram, jubilantly. “When we first saw the airship -and its queer doings, and ran after it, didn’t I tell you that Dave -couldn’t be at the wheel, Mr. Grimshaw?” - -“You did, and I felt sure he wasn’t,” commented Grimshaw. “Who was?” he -challenged, bluntly. - -“That’s quite a story,” explained Dave. - -“Then tell it.” - -“I don’t want much said about it for the present,” stipulated the young -aviator. - -“All right,” nodded Grimshaw. - -Dave motioned his friends out of earshot of the gardener, who was -pottering about his broken panes. Then he told the whole story. - -“Why, the wretches!” growled old Grimshaw, fiercely, when the narrative -was concluded. - -“The mean sneaks!” exclaimed the indignant Hiram. “Left you here in that -fix, not knowing whether you were dead or alive.” - -“I’d have those two rascals locked up, double-quick,” advised Grimshaw. - -“No,” dissented Dave. - -“Why not?” - -“I want to think things over a bit, before I decide on what I shall do,” -was the reply. “I have no patience with the fellow called Vernon.” - -“Take my word for it, he’s a bad one,” declared Grimshaw. - -“The other one—young Brackett—I feel sorry for.” - -“Of course you do,” observed Grimshaw, rather sarcastically; “that’s -your usual way. Who’s going to pay for the damage here? Say, you take my -advice—teach those two smart Alecks a lesson by having them arrested, -and send the bill to Mr. Brackett, telling him all the circumstances.” - -“I’d a good deal rather help young Brackett than harm him,” said Dave, -considerately. “He doesn’t strike me as a bad fellow at heart. It’s the -influence of Vernon that is leading him into trouble.” - -“How’s the machine?” - -“Not in very bad shape. I think there are enough tools and materials -aboard to mend her up till we get home.” - -All three of them looked the _Gossamer_ over critically. Expert that he -was, old Grimshaw soon had the machine free of the trellis and the -injured parts repaired. Dave went over to the gardener, who was figuring -on the side of a fence post with a piece of chalk. - -“Well, my friend,” he said cheerily; “what’s the damage?” - -“Why, you’re acting so handsomely about it, I want to make the bill as -reasonable as I can,” was the reply. - -“Of course you do—that’s the right way.” - -“The frames aren’t much broken,” explained the man. “About all there is -to do is to replace the glass.” - -“Yes, but there’s a heap of it,” said Dave. - -“We buy the panes by the gross. I’m willing to do the setting and -puttying myself. I think twenty dollars will cover everything.” - -Dave took out his pocket book, selected some bank bills, and handed them -to the man. He heard an ominous growl from old Grimshaw behind him, and -caught a “S’t! S’t! S’t!” from the exasperated Hiram. Dave, however, had -his own ideas as to disposing of the matter in hand. - -“If you find it’s more, you know where to see me,” said Dave to the -gardener. - -“Say, you’re an easy one,” observed Grimshaw, with a look of disgust on -his face. - -“It’s a shame to let those vandals go scot free,” scolded Hiram. - -“I’m glad the _Gossamer_ didn’t get smashed up, as I feared,” was all -the young aviator would reply. - -Dave made pretty sure that the machine would stand a trip back to the -enclosure. To his satisfaction he made the flight without any mishap. -Looking the craft over more critically after the return, however, he -decided that the wings and floats would need some expert attention -before he could venture any extended flight. - -It was dark by the time they got the airship housed and supper ready in -the living tent. After the meal Hiram strolled away, saying he would go -to town after the evening mail. Dave and Grimshaw went inside the tent -as a shower came up. They chatted agreeably, watching the gentle rain in -the glint of the tent light. - -“Hello,” said the old man, bending his ear sharply. - -“Yes,” nodded Dave, “some one is knocking at the gate.” - -“I’ll go and see who it is.” - -“Maybe it’s Hiram.” - -“No, he’s got a key.” - -Grimshaw went away. Dave heard him talking with someone outside the -gate. He was a little surprised as his old friend secured the gate after -him. He was further puzzled to note the expression on Grimshaw’s face as -he came back into the tent. - -“Who was it, Mr. Grimshaw?” questioned Dave. - -“Humph! he didn’t get in. Now see here, you take my advice and don’t run -into another trap.” - -“Another trap?” - -“That’s what I said. There’s a fellow out there that wants to see you. -He’s mighty meek and humble, but from what you told me I guess pretty -straight that he’s the chap who tried to run the _Gossamer_ this -afternoon.” - -“Is he alone?” asked Dave, rising quickly from the camp stool. - -“Yes, he’s alone. If the bigger fellow had been with him I’d have licked -him.” - -“And he wants to see me?” questioned Dave. - -“Mealy mouthed and subdued, just that.” - -“Why didn’t you invite him in?” - -“Why didn’t I? Say, Dave Dashaway!” stormed the old man, “I believe in -forgiving dispositions, but drat me if I’d quite let a trouble-maker -like that young Brackett get a second chance to mix things up.” - -“I hardly think he means any harm this time,” said Dave, and hurried to -the gate. - -Outside, a patch of sticking plaster over one eye and one arm in a -sling, and looking rather mean and ashamed, young Brackett dropped his -glance as Dave appeared. - -“Come in, won’t you?” invited the young aviator, quite heartily. - -“No, I don’t think I’d better,” replied his visitor, in a low tone. “See -here, Dashaway, I’ve got my senses back, and I don’t want you or anybody -else to think I’m some cheap cad.” - -“Certainly not,” responded Dave. “What’s the trouble?” - -“I’ve come to give you this money,” explained Brackett, extending his -hand. “As soon as I got enough over being scared to feel ashamed of -myself, I slipped away from that confounded Vernon. He’s always getting -me into trouble.” - -“What do you run with him for, then?” questioned Dave, gently. “See -here,” he added, placing his hand in a friendly way on the boy’s -shoulder; “you may be headstrong and foolish at times, but that man -doesn’t belong in your class.” - -“You’re just right,” began Brackett, in a spirited way, and then, as if -he feared to go farther into the subject, he added in a moody, -dissatisfied tone: “Never mind about that. I’ve come to pay you back the -twenty dollars you gave to the man down at the greenhouses. I went to -pay him myself, but you had gotten ahead of me. I can’t let you stand -for one cent of damage I did, and if there’s any other expense——” - -“None at all,” Dave hastened to say. “See here, you’ve shown me you are -the right sort. I don’t like that man Vernon, and down at heart I don’t -think you do, either.” - -“It don’t matter whether I do or not,” muttered the boy. “I don’t dare -to break away from him till—well till—I feel I’m safe out of his -clutches.” - -“If you are in any foolish trouble——” began Dave. - -“I won’t discuss it,” declared young Brackett, quite stormily. “Take the -money, and—see here, Dashaway, I’ll give worlds to keep this from the -old man.” - -“You mean your father?” - -“Yes.” - -“Why don’t you say so, then,” upbraided Dave. - -Young Brackett bit his lip. - -“I’ll try to after this,” he promised, quite humbly. “That’s all,” he -added, as Dave took the bank notes. - -“I do wish you’d make a friend of me and let me help you out, if it will -do any good,” said Dave, wistfully. - -Brackett dropped his head. Then he gave it a savage jerk. - -“You’re all right, Dashaway,” he said, “but I’ve got to pay for my fast -sledding, and I’ll do it like a man.” - -“Come and see me again,” invited Dave. - -“Hardly,” responded Brackett. “Our paths probably won’t cross again—and -you’re probably the gainer for it.” - -“I don’t know that,” declared Dave. “Rest easy on one score—I shall not -say anything to your father about to-day’s scrape.” - -“Thank you, Dashaway.” - -“But I wish you would tell him. Come, now—he’s your best friend. If -you’ve been a little wild, go to him and tell him about it.” - -“A little wild!” repeated Brackett. Then he gave a bitter laugh, waved -his hand at Dave, and disappeared in the darkness. - -“Poor fellow!” said Dave, thoughtfully. “I’m afraid, as he hinted, he is -in the clutches of that sharper, Vernon. I wish I knew a way to help him -out.” - -Dave re-entered the enclosure a good deal subdued. Young Brackett had -said that their paths might never cross again. Dave hoped if they ever -did cross his late visitor would be in a better frame of mind. - -Their paths were to cross, indeed, although neither of them realized it -at that moment. Dave Dashaway was to hear of him again very soon, and in -a truly remarkable way. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - A MYSTERIOUS FLASH - - -“Well, what did he want?” challenged Grimshaw, gruffly, as the young -aviator entered the living tent. - -“It was young Brackett,” said Dave. “He came to settle the damage up at -the greenhouses.” - -“With real money?” - -“Oh, yes.” - -“You surprise me,” observed the old man, drily. - -“Don’t be too hard on him, Mr. Grimshaw,” said Dave. “There is some good -in him.” - -“Humph! It’s all under the surface, then. You are too soft-hearted, -Dashaway. It’s of a piece with that Jerry Dawson affair. After he and -his crowd had done you all kinds of harm, stolen the _Drifter_ and tried -to put you out of business, you let him go scot free.” - -“Hoping Jerry had learned his lesson and would behave himself.” - -“Which he won’t,” affirmed the old man, strenuously. “I’ll wager he’ll -pop up in some mean way before you get through with this giant airship -scheme.” - -“There’s Hiram,” announced Dave, brightly, as the gate slammed and a -cheery whistle echoed through the enclosure. - -Dave’s loyal young assistant came into the tent flushed and animated -from a run in the rain. - -“Any mail?” inquired Dave. - -“Yes, a letter and a telegram,” replied Hiram, handing two envelopes to -Dave. - -The young aviator opened the telegram first. He looked at its enclosure -so long and steadily that his two friends began to regard him with deep -curiosity. - -“Well, that’s queer,” said Dave at length. - -“What is?” challenged Hiram. - -“This message.” - -“Who is it from?” - -“The Interstate people.” - -“What does it say?” asked Hiram. - -“I’ll read it: ‘Good advertising—keep it up.’” - -“H’m,” observed Grimshaw. “That’s sort of puzzling. Now, what does it -mean?” - -Dave shook his head vaguely. - -“I really don’t know,” he admitted. - -Hiram began to grin. Then he laughed outright. - -“Do you?” demanded Dave, glancing suspiciously at his friend. - -Hiram slapped his knee emphatically, chuckling the while. He began -feeling in the outside pockets of his coat. - -“I didn’t know at first,” he spoke; “but I think I can guess it out -now.” - -Hiram drew out a folded newspaper, opened it up, glanced over it, and -refolded it so as to show a half-column article with a display head. - -“City evening paper, that just came down with the mail,” he explained. -“Look at that, Dave Dashaway, and say you aren’t famous!” - -Our hero was a good deal surprised to find in the newspaper a glowing -article about the unselfish heroism of a rising young aviator, who had -encountered vivid danger in doing a noble service for a poor girl. - -Dave saw at once that the enterprising newspaper man at Easton had made -a fine story of the sensational episode. The _Gossamer_ was lauded for -its handsome conduct in a storm, and the Interstate Aero Company was -commended for building such a staunch aircraft. Dave was given full -justice, and the interesting little story was told in a very pathetic -way. - -“You understand now, I reckon, Dave?” chuckled Hiram. - -“Why, in a way, yes.” - -“I suppose the story has been telegraphed all over the country,” said -Hiram. “It’s a good one. The Interstate people saw it, and wired you at -once.” - -Old Grimshaw read the newspaper article eagerly in his turn. He gloated -over the handsome things said about Dave. - -“I’m proud of you, as usual, Dashaway,” he observed. - -Dave opened the letter Hiram had brought him. He read it through with a -face indicating considerable satisfaction. - -“Here’s a pleasant bit of news,” he announced to his two friends. - -“From Mr. King, isn’t it?” inquired Hiram. “I noticed the handwriting -and the postmark.” - -“Yes,” replied Dave. - -“Anything interesting about the giant airship?” - -“A whole lot,” answered Dave, briskly. “It seems that Mr. Dale has been -fortunate enough to find a French aero man who spent several years in -foreign dirigible service. Mr. King writes that he is something of an -inventor and a practical man in airship construction.” - -“That’s famous, Dashaway,” voted Grimshaw, with enthusiasm. - -“They are going to push the big craft towards completion just as fast as -they can,” reported Dave. “Mr. King writes that they need me and that he -is financing the project on my account. He wants me to get the -Interstate people to release us, and all of us get to Croydon soon as we -can.” - -“Then the trip across the Atlantic is a sure thing!” cried the excited -Hiram. - -“Mr. King thinks so.” - -“Hurrah!” shouted the delighted lad. - -“I hope they count me in,” spoke Grimshaw, a flicker of the old -professional fire and ardor in his eyes. “Since I got knocked out of -service by my bad fall from a biplane, I’ve been pretty well shelved. -I’d like to figure in the biggest aero exploit ever attempted, though.” - -“You are going to, if the rest of us do,” said Dave. “Mr. King settled -that in my last talk with him.” - -“He did?” - -“Yes. He says you understand a dirigible better than he does a -monoplane.” - -“I’m pretty well posted on balloons, yes,” asserted the veteran -aeronaut, with a look of considerable pride. - -There was little else talked of by the friends but the giant airship the -rest of that evening. Dave, later, devoted an hour to writing a long -letter to the Interstate people. He told them that Mr. King needed him, -and hoped they could find it convenient to release him without delay -from his contract. - -Like the real business boy and faithful employe that he was, however, -Dave went through regular routine duty the next day. The agent of the -company brought down his clients that afternoon, and Dave showed off the -_Gossamer_ at her best paces. - -The ensuing day and the one next following he made the regular ascents -for the resort people. - -The expected reply to Dave’s letter finally arrived. The Interstate -people wrote that they were sorry to lose so valued an employe, and -added a pleasant word concerning Grimshaw and Hiram. They hoped that the -giant airship exploit would be a great success, and announced that at -any time a good position for Dave was open with them. - -A liberal check was enclosed in the letter, and the statement made that -a man to take charge of the _Gossamer_ would leave the works for Lake -Linden the next day. - -Dave looked around for young Brackett whenever he strolled about the -lake resort and the village. He did not, however, come across either the -youth or the man Vernon. He made some inquiries, and was troubled to -learn that the pair had gotten into a fight at the town hotel, had -smashed up some furniture, and had left the place with a pretty bad -record. - -Dave gave a day to his successor, teaching him the ropes. Monday -afternoon he had everything packed up ready to take the train for -Croydon, where the giant airship was under construction. Hiram, who had -been earning very good wages of late, had ordered a new suit of clothes -in the village. It would not be done until the next morning. - -“You go ahead, Dashaway,” advised Grimshaw. “There’s nothing to keep you -here, and Mr. King seems to need you. Hiram and I will come on -to-morrow.” - -This arrangement was agreed on. Dave took the train, and reached Croydon -about dusk. He found it to be a busy little manufacturing city near the -coast. From what Mr. King had written him, and through some inquiries, -Dave was soon on his way to the so-called aerodrome, where the giant -airship was being built. - -An old roofless molding shop had been utilized for the construction. It -looked lonely and deserted as Dave came up to it. The windows were -boarded up, apparently to keep out prying eyes. The big front doors were -closely padlocked, and a temporary canvas roof was in place. - -The street lamps of the city ran out to the factory, and nearby were -some houses. Dave felt sure that Mr. King and the others had taken -living quarters in the vicinity. He had no doubt that a little inquiry -would result in locating them. - -Dave walked around the old plant, thinking a good deal of the proud -hopes that attached to the big airship inside. The upper pair of windows -of the place were not boarded up. Dave’s eyes chanced to be scanning -these as he was about to cross the street to where the houses were. - -“Hello!” he cried out sharply, in a startled way. - -A sudden flash, bright and dazzling, shot across the whole row of -windows from the interior of the building. It resembled the illumination -made by a sudden powder blast, but there was no report. - -“Why, what can that be?” exclaimed the bewildered young aviator. - -Dave bent his ear and listened. No sound broke the stillness. He could -not figure out the circumstances for the moment. He was puzzled, and yet -reluctant to leave the spot without learning what the mysterious flash -portended. - -“Someone!” spoke Dave, suddenly. - -Then he broke into a run. Mystery had become suspicion. Against the -light of a corner lamp, he saw, away down the length of the building, -the outlines of a ladder. Its top rested on the sill of one of the upper -windows. - -The window was open. Through the aperture a form had quickly scrambled. -Dave felt sure that some underhand work was in progress. - -“Hey, there; who are you? What are you up to?” he shouted. - -As he challenged, Dave ran towards the ladder. The person descending it -hurried his progress, leaped from it, cast a hurried look at the -approaching youth, and darted across the street. - -Our hero noticed that he held in one hand a small black case about ten -inches square. - -As the fugitive turned the street corner he looked again to see how -closely he was being pursued. The lamp light fell full upon his face. - -“The mischief!” fairly shouted the amazed young aviator. “It’s Jerry -Dawson!” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - AT THE AERODROME - - -Dave Dashaway was greatly startled. All along the line of his airship -experience Jerry Dawson had crossed his path, always in a threatening -and troublesome way. A quick thinker, the young aviator traced a new -menace in this unexpected appearance of the scampish plotter. - -“It certainly means no good for either my friends or myself,” reflected -our hero. “What mischief has he been up to inside the aerodrome? That -flash meant something. What?” - -Dave ran on for a bit, but soon discovered that he was wasting time in -striving to overtake the fugitive. Jerry had made good his escape among -the scattered buildings beyond the street corner where he had -disappeared from view. - -Dave hurried to the house nearest to the aerodrome. He ran up its steps -and knocked briskly at its door. A woman appeared in response to the -summons. - -“I am looking for the people working in the old factory over yonder,” -explained Dave, hurriedly. - -“Oh, yes, the balloon folks, you mean? They board at my sister’s house.” - -“And where is that?” - -“Second house from the next corner. Number twenty-seven.” - -“Thank you,” said Dave and was off like a flash. “Oh, Mr. King!” he -called out a moment later, as he recognized the well-known figure of the -veteran airman crossing the street just ahead of him. - -“Why, Dashaway!” exclaimed Mr. King, in a hearty way. “We’ve been -expecting you, and I’m glad you’ve come. Grimshaw and Hiram——” - -“I’ll tell you later,” interrupted Dave, rather unceremoniously. “Mr. -King, get right over to the aerodrome. Something’s up.” - -“Why, what do you mean, Dashaway?” - -“Mischief is brewing, if I’m not mistaken.” - -“Mischief? In what way?” - -The young airman lost no time in briefly recounting his discovery. He -had Mr. King as thoroughly stirred up as himself by the time he had -concluded his graphic recital. - -“This is serious,” declared Mr. King, very much disturbed. “Dawson -again, eh? It’s easy to guess trouble when that young scapegrace is -around. It fits in with—but that will keep. There is no time to wait. -Stay here for a minute.” - -The expert aviator dashed into the house, while Dave waited in the -street. He kept his eye fixed on the aerodrome, half expecting every -moment to see it burst into flames. - -“Here we are,” announced Mr. King, reappearing on a run with two -companions. One of them was Mr. Dale, who grasped Dave’s hand while -hurrying along. The other man Dave had never seen before. - -“That is Leblance, our new man,” explained Mr. Dale. - -“Don’t delay!” called out Mr. King, excitedly, leading the way, and the -group reached the entrance to the aerodrome in less than two minutes. - -Mr. King unlocked the door. As he opened it he reached in and touched -the button controlling the electric lights. A blaze of radiance suddenly -illuminated the rambling place, making it as bright as day. - -In the center of the shop, supported on a working frame and by the iron -girders aloft, was the skeleton of the giant airship. The young aviator -was eagerly ready for full attention to the object so dear to him. All -his faculties, however, were for the instant enlisted in an effort to -trace out the significance of the surreptitious visit of Jerry Dawson. - -“There does not seem to be anything out of place,” said Mr. King, after -a swift survey of the dirigible balloon. - -“Oh, but I smell powder,” observed Leblance, sniffing. - -“Powder?” repeated Mr. Dale. - -“Yes. There has been some kind of an explosion here,” insisted the -French engineer looking around. - -Dave hurried over to the window where he had first discovered Jerry -Dawson. There were a number of tall, slim ladders all about the working -framework. He lifted one of these against the sill of the window aloft. -Then he ran up its rounds nimbly. - -“Aha!” suddenly exclaimed the young aviator. - -“Found something, Dashaway?” called out Mr. King. - -“Yes, sir.” - -“What is it?” - -For reply Dave quickly descended the ladder. He held in one hand a -sooted tin disc. Its center showed a little heap of hard cinders. - -“I found this on the window sill,” he explained. - -“What is it?” questioned Mr. Dale. - -“I think I guess the motive of Jerry Dawson’s visit now,” said Dave. -“The little black box he had under his arm was a camera. This is the -flashlight disc.” - -“Hello!” exclaimed Mr. King, comprehendingly. - -“They have been photographing our balloon!” cried Leblance. - -“Exactly,” asserted the young aviator. - -The engineer and Mr. Dale exchanged disturbed looks. Mr. King was -thoughtful. - -“We might have expected it,” he said, but to Dave only. - -“How is that?” inquired our hero. - -“I’ll tell you soon as we reach the house. I am glad they did no harm to -the balloon. I hardly think they will try that, Leblance,” he said to -the Frenchman, “but you had better get one of your men to stay on watch -here nights.” - -“Yes, yes,” responded Leblance earnestly. “We have been warned, we must -look out.” - -“Come with me, Dashaway,” said Mr. King. “I have a lot to talk over with -you.” - -Mr. Dale remained at the aerodrome until Leblance could hunt up one of -his workmen and place him on watchman’s duty. The aviator led his young -friend to the boarding house. Dave declared that he was not hungry, but -his host would not consent to this impending talk until he had -dispatched a good meal. Then he took him to his own room, locked the -door to secure them from interruption, and made him take a comfortable -armchair. - -“You have arrived in the nick of time, Dashaway,” said Mr. King. “I’ve -felt the need of you for some days.” - -“I can’t be of much assistance until the airship is finished, I should -think,” suggested the young aviator. - -“That is true so far as the _Albatross_ is concerned,” agreed Mr. King. -“That end of the proposition is in capable hands, I am glad to say. We -have been very fortunate in securing the services of Leblance. He is an -expert in airship construction, helped to build several models in -Europe, and has some splendid new ideas. I am now satisfied that the -_Albatross_ will be all that we have hoped for.” - -“That is good,” said Dave. - -“It seems that our project has made quite a stir in the aviation world,” -proceeded Mr. King. “All the clubs are interested, the central -association has taken the matter up, and there is a chance of a bulk -prize of at least fifty thousand dollars being offered.” - -“Grand!” commented Dave, with sparkling eyes. “It’s worth trying for, -isn’t it, Mr. King?” - -“And we will get it, if there’s no miss in our plans—and no trickery, -Dashaway,” asserted the veteran airman, confidently. “I have counted all -the risks and chances. Given fair conditions, I believe our group will -successfully make the first airship voyage across the Atlantic. -To-morrow I will show you how far we have progressed, and how carefully -Leblance is planning to turn out the finest dirigible ever constructed. -It will make you as hopeful and enthusiastic as myself.” - -“I’m that already,” insisted the young aviator. - -“Very good, but I need your services for a certain phase of the -proposition that is worrying me.” - -“What is that, Mr. King?” - -“Well, Dashaway,” answered the expert airman, “I have reason to believe -that we will not be the only contestant in a race across the Atlantic. -In fact,” continued Mr. King, seriously, “I am quite certain that the -rival of the _Albatross_ is being built now.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - THE RIVAL AIRSHIP - - -“A rival in the field?” said the young aviator, with a good deal of -interest and curiosity. - -“Yes,” nodded Mr. King. “It isn’t that I didn’t expect it. We have no -exclusive patent on building an airship and trying to cross the -Atlantic. We do want to know what we have to fight against, though.” - -“Yes, it is always best to find out what your competitors are doing,” -agreed Dave. - -“Well, there are several we have run down and dismissed from our minds. -Two-thirds of them are cranks seeking notoriety. Some of the others are -inventors who know all about mechanics, but nothing practical concerning -aircraft. It would amuse you to go over some of the wild schemes they -are getting up. One proposition has kept me busy thinking.” - -“What is that, Mr. King?” - -“You remember a man named Davidson?” - -“Why, certainly,” responded the young aviator at once. “He is the fellow -they ran out of the Springfield aero meet.” - -“That’s the man,” assented Mr. King, “an unscrupulous trickster. He has -been tabooed by all legitimate airmen, but he has bobbed up again with -his old-time nerve and audacity. Look there.” - -The aviator selected a bunch of newspaper clippings from a drawer in his -desk, and pushed them over to his young friend. - -Dave scanned them rapidly. An item hinted mysteriously at a grand -exploit in aeronautics about to be undertaken by the “celebrated” -airman, Roger Davidson. A later article purported to show the -possibility of sailing a dirigible balloon across the Atlantic. - -A column story followed. It referred to the great interest in the -international exploit, and named the rich prize ready for the successful -competitor. It was understood that Roger Davidson was preparing to enter -the race, and a superb aircraft was being built for him at an aero plant -at Senca. - -“I suppose you remember that Jerry Dawson and his father were in the -employ of Davidson for a time, Mr. King?” observed Dave. - -“I recall it perfectly,” nodded the aviator. - -“And Jerry being here to-night shows they are together again.” - -“It looks that way. As long as they only try to steal our thunder I -don’t so much mind,” remarked the airman. “It may be the start for -something worse, you see. I am tied up here with Leblance. I want you to -ferret out the Davidson crowd and find if they are really up to -something.” - -“I can do that,” assured the young aviator, confidently. - -“None better, I know. Get their line-up, Dashaway. Find out if they are -really in earnest, or only jockeying for notoriety, or fleecing some -gullible promoter.” - -“All right,” agreed Dave; and that settled it with Mr. King, who had -full confidence in the shrewd wits and fidelity of the boy he had taught -to fly. - -Dave was to start for Senca the next evening. He passed a glorious -morning at the aerodrome. The French inventor was one of the most -interesting men he had ever met. Leblance was all business, but very -enthusiastic and optimistic in his work. He took a fancy to Dave, and -told him things about transatlantic aircraft and airmen that were part -of an actual education to the young aspirant for aeronautic honors. - -The construction of the _Albatross_ had progressed far enough to show a -practical form and substance. No expense was being spared. The men under -Leblance were experts in their line, and Dave was amazed at the details -they were working out. - -“It’s money well invested,” declared Mr. Dale, “if it only serves to -produce the most perfect airship ever built.” - -“Why, if they put all the things in the _Albatross_ they count on,” said -Dave, “it will be like a trip on a high-class ocean steamship!” - -“Wait till she’s done, my friend,” observed Leblance. “We shall see—and -we shall cross the Atlantic; oh, never fear.” - -Grimshaw and Hiram put in an appearance by noon. The latter went wild -over the _Albatross_. He believed implicitly in Dave, and the young -aviator believed in the giant airship under construction. - -“If they let me go on that trip,” said Hiram, breathlessly, “I’ll be the -proudest and the happiest fellow in the world.” - -“You are going, if any of us do,” promised Mr. King, and the delighted -Hiram moved about as if he was treading on air. - -Mr. King went down to the train with Dave. - -“Don’t run into any danger, Dashaway,” he advised. “You are going to -deal with a wicked-tempered crowd, remember that.” - -“I shall remember,” promised Dave; “and profit by your warning.” - -Hiram was rather lonesome over the absence of his friend the next day. -The ensuing one he got restless and anxious. - -“I tell you what,” he said, confidently to Grimshaw the next afternoon; -“if Dave don’t show up soon, I’m going after him.” - -“Dashaway knows how to take care of himself—trust him for that,” -insisted the old airman. - -“Well, I can’t stand this worry. If he don’t come by to-morrow, I’m -going to look him up.” - -Grimshaw said nothing to this. He was, in fact, also a trifle disturbed -over the prolonged absence of Dave. His grim face relaxed into genuine -relief and gladness that evening, as, just after dusk, the young aviator -broke in upon the airship group. - -Dave was brisk and cheery as usual, and all hands gave him a cordial -greeting. Mr. King and Leblance were eager to hear his report at once. - -“Well,” said Dave, “I’ve found out about all there is to discover down -at Senca.” - -“Does it amount to anything?” inquired the aviator. - -“That’s for you and Mr. Leblance to say.” - -“Run across that fine specimen of humanity, young Dawson?” asked -Grimshaw, in a kind of a growl. - -“He had been sent to New York for some balloon material,” explained -Dave, “so I got along finely, for Davidson doesn’t know me by sight. -Sure enough, they are building a dirigible balloon,” continued Dave. -“They’ve found a backer who has put up several thousand dollars. They -talk big of how sure they are of reaching Liverpool in a week’s time,” -and Dave smiled. - -“What are you smiling at, Dashaway?” inquired Mr. King. - -“You would smile if you saw the craft they are building,” declared Dave. -“To tell you the truth, I can’t get away from the suspicion that the -whole thing is what people call a fake.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“Well, I had no trouble in getting into their workroom. The way they -act, the machine they’re getting up—well, I almost made up my mind that -Davidson is doing all this to get some of the promoter’s easy money. If -the _Dictator_ ever sails a hundred miles, let alone a thousand, it will -be doing well.” - -“What kind of a craft is this _Dictator_?” inquired Leblance, with -professional interest. - -“I’ll show you,” said Dave, feeling in his pocket. “The fact is, I gave -those fellows tit for tat.” - -“As how?” questioned the curious Hiram. - -“Well, they stole a photograph of the _Albatross_. I had the chance to -draw a picture of the Dictator, and here it is.” - -The young aviator produced a paper roll from his pocket. Dave was a -natural draughtsman. As he spread out the paper a well-traced penciled -outline was revealed. - -“Let me see it,” spoke Leblance, eagerly. “Ah, you have done well.” - -The keen eyes of the French inventor scanned the drawing intently. Then, -suddenly and with great excitement of manner, he threw it upon the -table. - -“Preposterous!” he exclaimed. “Nonsense! Absurd! My friend King, we have -nothing to fear. The _Dictator_ is a botch, a farce. Whoever constructed -it is a novice, a dabbler! That machine could not fly ten miles!” - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - IN THE LEAD - - -“Someone here to see you, Dave.” - -Hiram greeted the young aviator with this announcement one evening, two -weeks after their arrival at Croydon. - -“Is that so?” said Dave. “Who was it?” - -“I can’t say, for he wouldn’t tell his name. I was walking along the -fence around the aerodrome, and just as I neared the gates he popped out -from behind a pile of boards, just as if he had been in hiding.” - -“Did he ask for me?” - -“Yes. I told him you were here quite regularly, and always evenings at -the boarding house. The fellow looked peaked and scared, and backed away -as soon as he saw someone coming down the street. He mumbled something -about finding you.” - -The young airman could not surmise who his strange visitor might be. He -ransacked his mind, wondering if it could be some one of his old friends -from his home town. Then he said: - -“Describe him to me, Hiram, will you?” - -“Why,” explained Hiram, “he was a trifle older than I am, and taller; -yes, fully two inches taller. Oh, by the way, he wore a false mustache.” - -“What’s that?” challenged Dave, half guessing Hiram was joking. But the -narrator looked earnest enough. “You say he wore a false mustache?” - -“Sure thing,” persisted Hiram. - -“How did you know it was false?” - -“Because it came partly off just as the boy turned his face away. Say, -you couldn’t tell much about him. His face and hands were all grimed up, -and he had his cap pulled way down over his eyes. It was funny, though, -one thing.” - -“What, Hiram?” - -“For all his trampish looks, I noticed that his linen was fine and -white, and the necktie he wore was one of those expensive ones you see -in good furnishing shops.” - -“Is that so?” observed Dave, musingly. Then a quick thought came to his -mind. He put Hiram through a rapid course of cross-questioning. - -“I am satisfied it is young Brackett,” said Dave, to himself. “But why -in that trim, and acting like a fugitive? Hiram,” he added aloud, “keep -your eye out for that boy. I am sure he is in some kind of trouble, and -wishes to see me very much.” - -“All right,” nodded Hiram, carelessly. “He won’t get away from me next -time.” - -“Don’t use any force and scare him,” directed Dave. “Tell him that I -guess who he is, and want to see him very much.” - -“Very well. There’s Professor Leblance just going into the aerodrome. -Isn’t it famous what he says about the _Albatross_ being nearly finished -and just as perfect as money and skill could make it.” - -Both boys hurried their steps to overtake the genial, accommodating -Frenchman. For the time being Dave’s recent visitor drifted from his -mind. - -The past two weeks had been the busiest and most engrossing in all the -career of the young airman. Dave’s report on the Davidson balloon and -the drawing of it he had showed to Leblance had convinced the expert -that the _Dictator_ could not make even a start in the race across the -Atlantic. - -Dave had told him the gas bag of the _Dictator_ was conspicuously made -of tri-colored fabric. Its promoter, Davidson, had made a great claim. -The propelling power of the _Dictator_, he declared, would be built on -the monoplane principle. When traveling the gas bag would collapse, -except when they wanted to float. A gas-generating machine was among the -adjuncts of the hull, and was placed just above the framework attaching -the airplanes to the balloon. - -“It is nonsense, ridiculous,” insisted Leblance, over and over again. -“They are inviting sure death if they venture a hundred miles away from -land.” - -“All the same, they are going to try it,” proclaimed Hiram, a week -later, holding up a newspaper. “Here is a great account of the machine -and the plans, and Davidson and Jerry Dawson, who are going to fly the -_Dictator_.” - -These two latter individuals did not trouble the _Albatross_ people any -further. A constant guard, however, was kept on duty in the aerodrome. -There were a great many curious and interested visitors. Day by day the -giant airship approached completion. Now, as Hiram had announced, it was -practically ready to essay its initial flight. - -Professor Leblance smiled indulgently at them, as with considerable -professional pride he walked around the mammoth structure his skill and -efficiency had devised. Dave never tired of surveying the splendid -machine. To him it was a marvel how Leblance had assembled the parts of -the airship so speedily. There were three engines, and from the wooden -ribs and metal bracing, socketed to withstand collisions, to the -passenger cabin almost as sumptuously furnished as a Pullman palace car, -every detail fitted into a mammoth scheme never before attempted in -aeronautics. - -“The _Albatross_ will do what no aeroplane could accomplish,” said -Leblance to his companions, who were admiringly regarding the great -machine. - -“What is that, Mr. Leblance?” inquired the young aviator. - -“It can be perfectly handled in a storm exceeding thirty-five miles an -hour velocity. It is as much of a ship as any that can travel the ocean. -An iron ship is sustained on the water by the air inside of her hull, -air being eight hundred times lighter than water. The _Albatross_ will -be sustained in the air by hydrogen gas, which is sixteen times lighter -than air.” - -“And sixteen to one is as good as unlimited to one,” remarked Dave, who -had been studying aeronautics. - -“That’s it. The _Albatross_ is a ship sustained by displacing more than -its own weight on the air. Its gas chambers are inflated to about -three-fourths of their capacity, to allow for the full expansion of gas -after the ship has been driven up dynamically by the action of the -engines and propellers, the flat top and under surface of the hull -acting as an aeroplane.” - -The _Albatross_ was a flexible gas bag, just like the ordinary drifting -balloon, except that in shape it was long and pointed, instead of round. -Otherwise, Leblance explained, it could not be driven through the air. -The gas was contained in twenty-two separate chambers inside of the -rigid hull, which performed the same functions as the air-tight -compartments inside an ocean liner. - -“It will sink only if it leaks badly,” explained Leblance. “The -sustaining compartments are always closed. Even if several compartments -should burst, the loss of the lift is compensated by the aeroplane -action of the hull whenever driven at full speed. When thus driven it -burns its own fuel so rapidly that this, acting the same as the casting -of ballast, is continuously lightening the ship. This is what is called -balancing the ship. The air balloonets maintain the rigidity of the bag -whenever it loses gas through the action of the sun or change in -elevation. The breeze passing through the ventilators at the bow -prevents the gas from expanding on the hottest days of the year. I tell -you confidently, my young friends, to my mind the _Albatross_ is -practically unsinkable.” - -Neither Dave nor Hiram had thus far been inside the cabin and other -living apartments of the _Albatross_. They had, however, watched their -construction. The big airship could carry twenty passengers, if -necessary, and in providing for the comfort of those making the first -trip no detail for their welfare had been overlooked. There were -washrooms, provision apartments, a cook’s galley; and the engineer’s -quarters, Leblance explained, would be perfect in appointment and -equipment. The main point he had striven for was to maintain absolute -control of the gas at all times. As this depended upon reliable engines, -motors had been built that ran for thirty-six hours at full speed. The -machinery could not break down, as every part had been duplicated. - -“That means,” said Leblance, “that if the carburetor gets out of order, -a duplicate enables it to go right on working. The engine has a great -number of automatic devices, among them two pumps which force the fuel -to exactly the right places, even if the ship is standing on its beam -ends, running up into the air or coming down at an angle of forty-five -degrees. You won’t have to sit sandwiched in small quarters, my young -friends. You can walk up and down the cabin and go all over the ship, -without disturbing the balance of the huge float overhead. To-morrow the -last touch will be put on the engine, and then practically we will be -all ready.” - -Hiram went down to the post-office for the mail after supper that day. -Mr. King and his party were downstairs in the living room of the -boarding house, entertaining two airmen who had come to Croydon to look -over the _Albatross_ that afternoon, when Hiram returned. - -The young aviator’s impetuous assistant burst unceremoniously in upon -the group, stumbled over a rug and went flat, but flushed and breathless -tossed the evening newspaper to Mr. King. - -“Read, read!” panted the excited lad. - -“Why, what’s all this commotion, Hiram?” questioned the astonished -veteran airman. - -“It’s all in—the paper,” gasped Hiram in jerks. “The -_Dictator_—has—got—ahead of us.” - -“What’s that!” fairly shouted Mr. Dale, springing to his feet. - -“Yes,” declared Hiram. “The _Dictator_ started from Senca this -afternoon—on her trip across the Atlantic!” - - - - - CHAPTER X - - THE HAUNTED AERODROME - - -The excitable Leblance was on his feet in an instant. Dave reached the -side of Mr. King and glanced quickly at the paper he had opened out. - -“Impossible—so poorly equipped! Incredible—so quickly!” almost shouted -the Frenchman. - -“The _Dictator_ has sailed, just the same,” announced the veteran -airman, conclusively. “I’ll read it to you.” - -Every word of the article in the newspaper was taken in absorbedly by -the persons in the room. According to it, the _Dictator_ had made a -splendid ascent from Senca at two o’clock that afternoon. The red, white -and blue appearance of the great gas bag had evoked the most patriotic -enthusiasm, and cheers and flag-waving had accompanied the flight. - -The _Dictator_, according to the report, would float southward overland -till a point near Baltimore was reached. Here a descent would be made to -learn its condition, the machinery carefully scanned, and the ocean -course begun. Then followed an interview given out by Davidson on the -superiority of his double monoplane apparatus. There was, too, a -portrait of Davidson and one of Jerry Dawson. The article wound up with -a reference to the _Albatross_, which it stated, would soon be hot on -the heels of the _Dictator_. - -“They have got the lead,” observed Mr. Dale, in an anxious tone, the one -of the group most disquieted by the newspaper article. - -Professor Leblance shrugged his shoulders. He waved his hand to express -ridicule. His long, waxed mustache curled up in disdain. - -“It is absurd,” he said. “Do I not know? An egg shell like that—no -science, no reserve force. Bah! I laugh at it.” - -All the same the volatile Frenchman beckoned Mr. King to the next room. -In low, serious tones they held quite an extended conversation. At its -end Leblance hurried from the house. Mr. King returned to his friends -with a serious face. - -“The ball has been set rolling,” he spoke, “there is no doubt of that. -No matter what we think or guess about the _Dictator_, it seems certain -that the craft has made a start. Leblance has gone to set his men at -night work. The _Albatross_ must be gotten in trim for its flight within -forty-eight hours.” - -“As quickly as that!” exclaimed Dave. - -“Leblance assures me he will have the _Albatross_ all ready for its -flight by day after to-morrow,” said the airman. “Make preparations, my -friends. There must be no delay.” - -“Hurrah!” whispered Hiram, into the ear of his young friend. - -The guests of Mr. King saw that his mind was seriously on his business, -and arose to depart. - -“Some of our crowd will be here to give the _Albatross_ the right -send-off,” one of them declared. - -The airman saw the visitors to the door. When he returned he snatched up -his hat quickly. - -“Come with me, Dashaway; you too, Hiram,” he directed. - -“Where are you going?” inquired Mr. Dale. - -“To the aerodrome. There is going to be a lot of rush work to do, and -perhaps we can help.” - -“Count me in,” said the old man, cheerily, “although I haven’t been very -useful so far outside of gaping at the wonderful work of our gifted -friend, Leblance.” - -“Day after to-morrow is the twenty-first,” spoke up Grimshaw. “Two days’ -start for the _Dictator_ crowd.” - -The group left the boarding house. They crossed the street and walked -along the fence of the aerodrome enclosure. Dave and Hiram were in the -lead. They were chatting animatedly as they turned the corner of the -building, when Dave was thrust violently to the side and Hiram was -knocked head over heels to the street. - -A frenzied yell accompanied the collision with them of a wild, scurrying -form, which recoiled at the unexpected impact, a hat bobbing from its -head. - -“Hi! what’s all this?” challenged the astonished Mr. King. - -“Why, it’s the night watchman!” declared Grimshaw. - -“Oh, Mr. King!” panted the man, and then, pale, shaking, and gasping for -breath, he fell against the wall of the building from sheer weakness. - -“Here, brace up,” ordered the aviator, seizing the arms of the fellow -and shaking him. “What’s the trouble?” - -“Ghost!” choked out the watchman, in thrilling accents. - -“Where—what do you mean?” - -“Aerodrome.” - -“A ghost in the aerodrome?” questioned Mr. King, derisively. “Is that -what you’re trying to say?” - -“Yes.” - -“Nonsense! Here, Grimshaw, help me get this fellow back to his post of -duty.” - -Between them they forced the man along the walk. He gurgled, quaked, and -held back as they neared the gates of the enclosure. They found these -locked, as also the door to the old factory, when they reached it. - -“I locked it in,” quavered the frightened watchman. “Don’t—don’t let it -out!” - -“You’re a fine guardian of property, you are,” censured the airman, -severely. “Here we are,” and as he opened the door, Mr. King snapped on -the electric lights. The watchman sank to a chair and crouched as he -directed a scared glance around the place. - -“Where’s your ghost?” derided the aviator quickly. - -“I—I don’t see him now,” grunted the watchman. - -“I guess you don’t,” scoffed Grimshaw. “You must be a weak one to fly -into a tantrum like this over nothing.” - -“Nothing!” fairly bellowed the watchman. “I saw it plain as the nose on -my face. See here, I had the door ajar about a foot to let in a little -of the cool evening air. Here I sat in my chair right near it. I must -have half snoozed and woke up suddenly. Not five feet away, right near -that oil tank yonder, was a horrible shape. It was all white and -unearthly. As I started up it let out an unearthly scream and waved its -arms. Say, it was curdling! I bolted for the door, locked it, and -scooted.” - -“Yes, you scooted all right,” grumbled Hiram, rubbing a bump on his -head. - -Mr. King, with a glance of impatience at the great booby of a watchman, -proceeded briskly the length of the building, peering into every odd -nook and corner. When he came back he held in his hand a long cotton -sheet that had been used to cover some of the machinery. - -“That is what you saw,” he declared. “Somebody has been playing a trick -on you.” - -“Why, how could that be,” chattered the watchman, “seeing nobody was in -the building but me?” - -“How do you know that?” demanded the aviator; “when you say you had the -door open? I tell you some one slipped in, wrapped in the sheet, and -half scared the life out of you.” - -“Then he must be here now,” insisted the watchman, “for when I bolted I -locked the door after me.” - -“It all looks rather queer,” remarked Mr. Dale. - -“Hi!” suddenly shouted the watchman. - -“What’s the matter now?” asked Mr. King. - -“My dinner pail—that I bring my night lunch in.” - -“What about it?” - -“Gone! It was right here near my chair. It’s been taken.” - -Dave had followed the progress of the incident of the hour with -curiosity, ending in positive interest. - -“Come on, Hiram,” he said. - -“What for?” inquired his comrade. - -“To do some investigating. Don’t you see that if the watchman’s story is -straight some one really was here?” - -“And if the door was locked when the watchman ran away he couldn’t very -well get out.” - -“Exactly.” - -The two lads made more than one tour of the length and breadth of the -place. Their quest proved a vain one. There was no one hiding about the -aerodrome, as far as they could discover. - -“We’ll have to give it up,” said Hiram at last, “although it’s something -of a mystery.” - -It was, indeed, but a mystery soon to be explained in a startling way to -the young aviators. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - A GRAND SUCCESS - - -“All ready!” - -Robert King, seated in the pilot room of the _Albatross_, spoke the -words through a tube at his side connecting with the cabin. - -Dave Dashaway stood beside him, and behind the young aviator was Hiram -Dobbs. It was the most impressive moment in all the boys’ lives. Well -might it be, for the next movement of the expert airman meant the start -of the giant airship on a cruise but once before attempted by mortal -man. - -Before the skilled sky rider was a great sheet of glass punctured with -knobs of metal. Each bore a number. From practice, these indices to -guiding detail were as familiar to Mr. King as an alphabet to a -schoolboy. The operator was so intent upon his work that his hand -trembled, his eyes were glued to the pilot board, and his face was quite -pale. Dave stood with every nerve tense and strained. Hiram fairly held -his breath. There was a grind and a sway as Mr. King touched a -particular button. The huge gas bag lifted its prow from the ground, -then its body cleared all earth of contact, and the next instant was -stretched out on an angle of forty-five degrees. - -“We’re started!” breathed Dave. - -“It’s grand!” pronounced Hiram, in a gasp. - -Both edged towards the open window. A dizzying panorama greeted their -sight. - -The old factory was a wreck. One entire sidewall and parts of the front -and rear walls had been torn out of place that morning, to allow for the -exit to level ground of the _Albatross_. Outside of the enclosure over a -thousand persons were gathered. A band was playing, the crowd was -cheering, and from a neighboring roof a group of reporters and a dozen -airmen, friends of Mr. King, joined in the tumult, waving hats, flags -and handkerchiefs. - -The _Albatross_ behaved splendidly. There was not a jar as it ended a -mile ascent in exactly five minutes. Then, as the vast machine balanced -to its natural position, it began a straight, even glide so graceful and -buoyant that it imparted a positive thrill to the passengers. - -“Say, it’s glorious!” burst out the irrepressible Hiram, “I feel as if I -had been taking laughing gas!” - -Dave resumed his position near his friend and patron, Mr. King. For the -present he was to take no active part in running the _Albatross_. He -had, however, sat up half the night listening to the arrangements mapped -out by Professor Leblance. He realized, too, that as soon as he learned -all that the aviator had acquired he was to relieve him. There was not a -movement made by the skilled hand of the airman that Dave did not -memorize. He had accompanied the professor in a tour all over the craft -two hours before starting, and had been amazed at the simplicity of the -construction as a whole. He was lost in admiration as he realized what a -perfect mechanism controlled the giant airship. - -The Frenchman had four skilled airship men under his orders. They had -been trained to their duties in Germany and France. Each knew what was -required of him, and each understood that, while they appeared to act as -automatons, a single miss in the programme might end their career in -mid-air, or in the ocean depths. - -Outside of these men, who performed engineering duties solely, a young -and enthusiastic Pole named Vacla assisted the professor in the actual -control of the craft. In the pilot room Mr. King directed the course of -the _Albatross_ by electric signals, or word of mouth through the -speaking tube. - -Passages ran past the cased-in balloonets to every part of the airship. -In the direct center of the craft and above the airplanes and float -attachments was the roomy cabin. Two persons, both foreigners, the cook -and the cabin attendant, had this department in charge. The cabin had -rows of windows on both sides, and was furnished comfortably and even -elegantly. Seated at one of the windows, a passenger had a perfect view -as far as the eye could reach. - -Hiram found his way to the cabin, to come upon Mr. Dale and Grimshaw -viewing the fast-receding earth. The good hearted old gentleman, who had -financed the proposition almost solely on Dave’s account, was chuckling, -with his fat comfortable face crossed with a great smile of delight. -Grimshaw seemed more contented and spirited than Hiram had ever seen him -before. - -“We’ve made a famous start,” burst out Hiram, waving his hand in glee. - -“That’s pleasant,” beamed Mr. Dale. - -“And Mr. King says we’re going to keep it up.” - -“That’s natural,” joined in Grimshaw. - -“Everything has been provided for, and we’re going ahead slick as -grease.” - -“That’s evident,” chuckled Mr. Dale. - -“And we’re going to cross the Atlantic first!” boasted the excited young -airman. - -“That’s all!” roared Grimshaw—“all worth working for and waiting for. -I’ve dreamed it for ten years. Now—hooray!” - -In about half an hour Professor Leblance, Mr. King and Dave came into -the cabin. The Frenchman’s eyes were shining with half-suppressed -excitement and satisfaction. Mr. Dale rushed at him and grasped his hand -fervently. - -“My friend,” he said, “you’ve proven a genius, a wonder! Hold out as you -have begun, and I double the fee originally agreed upon.” - -“Ah, sir,” replied the gifted engineer, “let me but see the land on the -other side—then, undying fame! I ask no more.” - -“See here,” broke in the ever-active and restless Hiram, “is this all -we’ve got to do—sit here and let her drift?” - -“About that, for the present,” returned Mr. King. - -“Remember, we are still over land,” reminded the professor. “It is calm -and fair. It is a pleasant beginning. When we get over the ocean——” - -The Frenchman here shrugged his shoulders expressively, as if he thought -it no child’s play ahead. - -“Then,” added Mr. King, “every man must do his duty as on a ship in -stress of weather.” - -“The orders are for four hours drifting,” explained Professor Leblance. -“About nightfall we will have reached what we call the approximate air -current. The right air course is just as established as the ocean roads, -and we aim to follow it in our voyage.” - -“And now, my friends,” came from Mr. Dale. “I have something more to say -about this wonderful airship.” - -All eyes were at once turned on the rich gentleman who had made it -possible to construct the _Albatross_. - -“Years ago Dave Dashaway’s father and I were chums. He did me many a -good turn. That is why I have taken such an interest in my young friend -here. Now that this giant airship is an accomplished fact, I wish to -make it known to all of you that I have had it built on his account——” - -“Oh, Mr. Dale!” interrupted our hero. - -“It is true, my boy, and from this moment on I wish the _Albatross_ to -be known as Dave Dashaway’s airship,” went on the rich gentleman. - -“Hooray!” cried Hiram and Grimshaw, in unison. - -“My airship?” cried Dave. - -“Yes, my boy, your airship,” answered Mr. Dale. “And may she win her way -across the Atlantic without a mishap.” - -“Amen to that,” put in Mr. King. “Dave, my warmest congratulations,” and -he held out his hand. - -Dave was so overcome he could scarcely speak. But at last he thanked Mr. -Dale heartily for his great kindness. The thought that the giant airship -had been turned over to him filled his heart with new enthusiasm. - -“I’ll do my best to make a success of the trip,” he said, in a voice -filled with emotion. - -“I know you will—I bank on you, my boy,” answered Mr. Dale. - -They circled out toward the water for a few miles, to ascertain the -strength of some of the ocean currents of air, and as they were turning -inward again Dave cried out: - -“Look, there’s a seagull trying to race with us, I do believe!” He -pointed upward and there, in the air above them and off to one side, was -one of the graceful birds. - -“That’s what it is!” exclaimed Mr. Dale. “And that reminds me of -something I must do to oblige a friend. But first let us watch that -seagull.” - -All eyes were now turned toward it. The swift bird seemed to realize -that one of its own kind, or, more properly, a rival, was disputing the -element so long unconquerable by man. The seagull would approach the -giant airship as if to ascertain what it wanted in the upper regions, to -learn its speed and power. Then, as if alarmed at the noise of the -propeller, or perhaps some of the odors of the escaping gas, the bird -would veer off, only to return. - -“Look!” cried Dave again. “It’s going to see how much faster it can go -than we do. It’s trying to double on us, I declare!” - -And that is exactly what the seagull did. Darting ahead it swung around -a good distance in front of the airship, and then, as if to prove how -puny was man, compared to nature, the bird darted straight back toward -the craft. - -“He’s going to ram us—he’ll be killed, sure!” yelled Mr. King. - -“No, he’s going to one side,” declared Mr. Dale. - -And that is what the bird did! Like an arrow it shot along the side of -the _Albatross_, almost brushing the gas bags with its wing tips. To the -rear swung the big bird. Its purpose was now plain. It was going to -circle the airship. - -“Two can play at that game!” cried Dave. “Let’s put on all speed! Can we -beat the seagull?” - -“We certainly can,” said Mr. King, in a quiet voice. He walked over to -some of the signal buttons and pushed them. The effect was at once -apparent. There was an increased tremor through the whole craft. It -darted ahead and cleaved the air as it had never done before. Once more -Mr. King pressed a small lever. Again the trembling of the craft -increased as if she would shake apart. But she was staunchly built. - -“Can you see the gull?” demanded Mr. Dale. - -“Yes, here he comes!” cried Dave. “He’s been to the stern, rounded it, -and here he comes up alongside like the wind. He’s trying to pass us!” - -“But he never will,” spoke Mr. King. “Here goes for the final test. -Perhaps it’s foolish to use our greatest speed on a new motor before -it’s been warmed up and run longer than this has, but we might as well -know first as last just what the _Albatross_ will do. Now for the test!” - -He pressed a button that communicated with the motor room, and there -came such a vibration to the craft that one and all, who were not aware -of the reserve power, looked at one another in some alarm. - -“How about it, Dave?” inquired Mr. King. “Are we holding our own?” - -“Yes! Yes!” eagerly answered the young aviator. “The gull is straining -every wing feather, but he’s falling back. Look, no he’s even with us -now! He’s going ahead—see—see!” - -Was the _Albatross_, after all, to be beaten? - -The gull was now flying alongside in such a position as to be visible to -all. Clearly the bird was exerting every last ounce of strength. Its -wings were wildly beating the air, and its slender head and hooked bill -were stretched out like the prow of some slave-galley—cutting the air. - -“It’s falling back—it’s falling back—we win!” cried Dave exultantly. - -It was so. The gull, unable to keep up the terrific speed, was losing -ground. The airship kept on, its awful power forcing it forward. Foot by -foot the bird fell back until like some express train passing a slow -freight, the _Albatross_ shot ahead of the weary bird, and the creature, -as if humiliated by the test, folded its wings and dropped downward like -a shot, in order to rest. Then spreading wide its pinions again, it -floated in the air, far below the rival craft. - -“We sure did go!” cried Dave in triumph, as some of the terrific power -was cut down. “But what was it you said you wanted to do, Mr. -Dale—something that the sight of the gull reminded you about?” - -“Oh, yes. Well, it’s nothing more or less than to release a carrier -pigeon I have on board.” - -“A carrier pigeon?” cried several. - -“Yes, a friend of mine, who is interested in aeronautics, and who -published a magazine about them, asked me to do this for him. He gave me -a carrier pigeon a few days ago, and requested me to release it on our -trial trip. I said I would, and now I am going to send him a message of -our success. The bird will fly directly to his coop, and later, when I -give him the time we liberated it, and he notes the time of arrival, he -can figure the speed.” - -“Good!” cried Dave. “Where is the pigeon?” - -It was brought out in the basket where it had been held captive, and Mr. -Dale, who understood such matters, prepared a short message on thin -paper. The paper was put in a quill, sealed at both ends, and then tied -by silk thread to one of the pigeon’s wings. - -The bird was taken to the deck of the craft and liberated. It soared -high in the air, circled about once or twice and, then even in that -void, seeming to get its bearings, it darted off to the south. - -“Later we will learn how my friend received the message,” said Mr. Dale. -“And now I think we had better change our course.” - -The _Albatross_ lined the coast a few miles to the interior. Until dusk -Dave and the others viewed a constantly changing panorama. Then there -was supper, a bountiful meal, well prepared, and immensely relished by -all hands. - -After that lights were set, the big headlights, front and rear, sending -out far-reaching shafts of radiance that must have appeared to -uninitiated landsmen as streaming meteors. - -Mr. King was in the cabin when the electric call bell took him to the -speaking tube. He dropped it as if some important message called him -instantly to the pilot room. - -His manner and face indicated to the young aviator that whatever message -he had received had urged him to seriousness and haste. - -“Something’s up; eh, Dave?” shot out Hiram, as the airman hurried from -the cabin. - -“It looks that way,” assented Dave. “I wonder what?” - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - ADRIFT IN THE STORM - - -The two young aviators, alive to every motion of the _Albatross_ and the -movements of its operators, sat together on one of the observation -benches. - -“I don’t see any change in our course,” remarked Hiram, glancing from -the window. - -“Neither do I,” said Dave. “There’s a flash, though.” - -“Yes, I saw it,” spoke Hiram, quickly. “Lightning, wasn’t it?” - -“I think so. In fact, I am sure of it. Yes, it has all clouded up.” - -“And a wind coming,” added Hiram. “What is it, Mr. Grimshaw?” he -questioned, as there was a ring at the tube hook. - -“Orders to close everything up fast and tight,” reported the veteran -aeronaut. - -“Then there’s a storm coming, sure enough,” said Hiram. - -Even before they had all the windows closed a change of atmosphere was -noticeable. A blast of wind roared around the giant airship. - -“Of course, this isn’t serious,” observed Hiram. - -“Oh, I think not,” rejoined the young aviator. - -“If the _Albatross_ can’t weather a little land zephyr, she’s no good -over the ocean.” - -“Mr. King is simply taking all precautions,” said Dave. - -“Whew! did you feel that!” - -There was a whirl that made the young airmen think of their past -experience in striking an air pocket when aboard their monoplane. - -Bang! went a pitcher of water from the table in the center of the cabin. - -“We’re tipping,” exclaimed Hiram. - -“Yes, upwards,” said Grimshaw. - -“Trying to strike a calmer upper current, I fancy,” suggested Mr. Dale. - -Hiram made his way to a window and tried to peer out. The rain was -beating in rattling dashes against the thick panes. - -“Say,” he reported, “if you want to see a sea of black ink, come here.” - -“I call it a blaze of dazzling light,” submitted Grimshaw, as there was -a vivid flash of lightning, followed by a tremendous crack of thunder. - -“It’s all below us now,” reported Hiram, a few minutes later. - -“We must be above the storm cloud, then,” said Grimshaw. - -“There’s some wind yet, I’m thinking,” observed Mr. Dale. - -There came a signal from the tube bell just then. Grimshaw being -nearest, took up the tube and received the message. - -“You, Dashaway,” he spoke in his quick, laconic way. - -“From Mr. King?” - -“Yes.” - -“All right.” - -The young aviator left the cabin at once. All over the hull of the great -airship was an electric light system. The lamps were placed at intervals -along the passages, and Dave found no difficulty in threading them. He -arrived at the pilot room to find Mr. King at the glass table and -Professor Leblance holding his hand out through a small porthole, the -inside glass shield of which was thrown back. - -The airman looked serious and occupied with the various buttons on the -table. The Frenchman’s face wore a somewhat anxious look. - -He drew in his arm. As he did so Dave observed that his hand held a -little meteorological instrument he had noticed before. It was a -barometric contrivance. The professor held it up to the light and -scanned its surface closely. - -“It won’t do at all,” he announced. “The index is not broad enough to -give exact conditions.” - -“There is the aerometer, Professor,” suggested Mr. King. - -“Did I not tell you I found one of its tubes shattered? Such -carelessness! I would no more start across the ocean without a perfect -instrument than without food.” - -“Then it’s a stop?” - -“Somewhere.” - -“And a descent?” - -“Of course.” - -“When, and where?” - -Professor Leblance indulged in his accustomed shrug of the shoulders. - -“I dare not descend, not knowing the exact conditions below, as I -stated. We are on a fair level.” - -“Then why not continue till the situation clears?” - -“We can only run one way.” - -“Yes, with the storm, but we are not leaving the coast line to any -appreciable degree.” - -“That is true, but we may get too far south.” - -“Oh, we can soon make that up. We will have to land near some large -city, I suppose, to get what you want.” - -“Not necessarily,” replied the Frenchman. “All I need is some -quicksilver. I have plenty of surplus tubes.” - -“Well, what is the programme?” - -“Straight ahead, watching the wind gauge and the grade guide.” - -“Very good.” - -“I will go to the engine room.” - -“Come here, Dashaway,” ordered the expert airman. - -His junior assistant was prompt to gain the side of his superior. - -“You understand the guide?” inquired Mr. King. - -“It is on the same principle as the aeroplane apparatus?” - -“Yes.” - -“Then—perfectly,” assented Dave. - -“Watch it closely for variations, and the wind record. If the mirror -shows a deviation past the fifteen mark, notify me.” - -“And the wind?” - -“Over fifty miles an hour is dangerous.” - -“And we will have to descend?” - -“Or ascend, that’s it.” - -Dave seated himself in a chair at one end of the table. The guide, a -delicately adjusted instrument, recorded every variation in the progress -of the airship. The wind gauge was connected by wires with a vane on top -of the gas bag. - -Dave turned to his duty with interest and carefulness. His monoplane -experience stood him in good stead. He felt a great deal of satisfaction -in realizing that he was actually sharing in operating the _Albatross_, -and in addition to that learning something practical and of value. - -Inside of five minutes he had mastered the requirements of the occasion -and was working in entire harmony with the airman. - -For over three hours the _Albatross_ was kept on as perfectly straight a -course as could be mapped out. - -“We seem to have encountered a heavy southwest storm of great extent,” -Mr. King told him. - -“Have we got to pass over its entire length before we land?” asked the -young aviator. - -“Professor Leblance thinks that plan best,” replied Mr. King. - -It must have been nearly midnight when the Frenchman came back from the -engine room. - -“Superb!” was his first commendatory word. “The _Albatross_ does not -seem to have strained a seam. I must congratulate you both.” - -The airman smiled pleasantly at this praise and Dave bowed modestly. The -professor again took the barometric readings. - -“I think we have hit the tail of the wind,” he announced a few minutes -later. “As soon as we are sure of it, we will make a descent.” - -“What’s that?” suddenly called out the young aviator. - -Boom! A great shock traversed the airship! - -Boom—boom—twice in succession there followed a muffled bang, and it was -apparent that the sounds were caused by some trouble in the airship. - -Professor Leblance rushed from the room. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - A FIRST LANDING - - -The young aviator was not unused to “thrills” in his professional -experience. He noted no deviation in the straight progress of the -_Albatross_. Mr. King did not distract attention from the signal plate. -Still Dave awaited some explanation of the detonation with curiosity and -anxiety. - -“It’s all right,” reported Professor Leblance, reappearing a few minutes -later. - -“Explosions?” questioned the airman, simply. - -“Yes. Three of the balloonets blew up.” - -“Which means?” - -“Nothing,” replied the Frenchman, with his accustomed shrug of the -shoulders. “We must have struck a warm current. Ah, yes, that is true,” -he added, as he made the thermometer test. “You see, the sudden -transition from cold caused an expansion and affected the balloonets.” - -“Does that weaken the lifting force, Professor?” inquired Dave. - -“Not perceptibly. I count on such accidents, more or less. I can -duplicate the balloonets, and as to the gas—we have arranged for all -necessary replenishment in that direction. Mr. King, everything is -favorable for a descent.” - -“All right,” replied the airman. “Have you any idea where we are?” - -“I should say, south of Washington.” - -“In Virginia, then?” - -“Or still farther south. I have measured the distance covered since our -start, but I do not know how far we are inland.” - -Mr. King left Dave in charge of the signal table for a few moments. He -went to the lookout, meantime instructing the young aviator as to what -buttons he should operate. This brought the _Albatross_ on a lateral -slant. The enormous headlight at the prow of the airship cast a glow far -below. Mr. King was able to trace outlines on the landscape. He returned -to the pilot table, and following his directions there were many changes -made in the course of the giant airship during the next half hour. - -Once more the aviator consulted the lookout. Then, back again at his -post, he ordered a slow-up and a gentle, gradual drop. - -“Landed,” breathed Dave at last, intensely interested in all the gentle -and natural movements of the descent. - -“Yes, and that was certainly easy,” replied his patron, with a sigh of -relief and satisfaction “The professor understands his business.” - -The Frenchman soon appeared, followed by two of his assistants. The -aviator and Dave accompanied him to the cabin. - -“You people had better go to bed,” he directed all hands. “My men will -attend to securing the machine safe and sound. We can do nothing now -until morning.” - -This order was obeyed. Dave and Hiram had what might be called a -stateroom to themselves. It was narrow, but cozy. It had a window -opening, and there the young aviator posted himself for some time. - -By the aid of the headlights Dave could make out Leblance and his men -securing the _Albatross_. The craft seemed to have landed on flat land -rather bare of verdure and with no trees. - -“An ideal spot for landing,” Dave reported to his comrade. - -“Yes, but where are we?” questioned Hiram. - -“In some wild mountain district, I should say,” responded Dave—“maybe -Virginia, maybe North Carolina.” - -“Well, it has been a dandy cruise,” declared Hiram. “Say, I’ve gone -through so much excitement I don’t believe I can sleep a wink.” - -“Try it, anyhow,” recommended Dave. “There may be a lot to do in the -morning, and we want to be rested and strong to take our share in it.” - -How long he rested Dave Dashaway did not know, but he was suddenly -awakened by feeling the _Albatross_ moving. At first he imagined that he -must be dreaming, for certainly he did not think they would start off -again after making a landing with such trouble. - -“But she sure is moving,” decided the lad, “though not in the air, if my -senses are good for anything. That is unless we’re bumping along a cloud -bank.” - -He sat up in his berth, and could make out a dim light in the room -beyond. He listened and heard Hiram breathing heavily. - -“He’s fast asleep, anyhow,” decided the young aviator. “It takes a good -deal to disturb him. But we sure are moving. I wonder——?” - -Such a strange thought came to him that he hesitated to put it into -form. But he decided to reason it out. - -“Can it be?” he mused, “that I have slept through a whole night and day -without knowing it, and that we are on the move again. Can anything have -happened—to me—or the others? Have—I been unconscious—hurt—and not have -known what has happened? It doesn’t seem possible, and yet——” - -His self-communing was interrupted by a more violent motion of the -airship. It seemed to careen to one side, and then right itself. Dave -found himself clutching the sides of his bunk. Then came a period of -calm. - -“I’m going to wake Hiram up,” decided Dave. “He may not like it, but I -want to talk to some one about this, and if he gets mad, in case it -isn’t anything, he can easily get to sleep again. And that’s what I -won’t do unless I find out what’s going on.” - -Dave cautiously got out of bed. As he did so he again felt the lurch of -the big craft. At the same time he heard a voice speaking softly -outside. - -“By hickory!” came the tones. “I don’t seem to be movin’ th’ ole shebang -much. Guess I’ll hev t’ go git another mule critter or two t’ snake it -away. Whoa there!” - -“What in the name of sweet spirits of nitre is going on?” murmured Dave. -“Is some one trying to steal the _Albatross_?” - -He crossed softly to look out of one of the windows, but could see -nothing. The big headlights had been extinguished, and, save for some -few incandescents here and there, which were only dimly glowing there -was no illumination inside the ship. It had been decided to make it dark -so all hands would sleep better. - -“This is sure mysterious,” went on Dave. “I can’t see anything, but I -can hear, and I can—feel!” he added a moment later, for again the craft -moved slightly. - -Once more the young aviator peered out, but he could discern nothing. -The night was very black. - -“If I thought——” he began, when a sleepy voice from the adjoining berth -inquired: - -“Whatsmatter, Dave? Time f’r brkfust?” - -“Hiram! Hiram!” whispered Dave shrilly. “Wake up! Something has -happened—it’s happening now!” - -Instantly Hiram sat upright in his bed. He was rather a slow chap, but -on occasions could move lively. - -“What is it?” he inquired in a low voice. “Burglars in here, Dave?” - -“I don’t know. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. Anyhow, I don’t think -they’re in yet.” - -“All right, then; wait until they do get in an’ we’ll nab ’em. Lay low!” - -“That’s just what I don’t want to do,” replied Dave. “Something may -happen unless we get busy. They may even get away with the _Albatross_.” - -“Get away with the _Albatross_?” cried Hiram. “What are you talking -about, Dave? How can they——?” - -But he did not finish his sentence. At that moment there came another -lurch to the craft, and it moved several feet. - -“There!” hoarsely whispered Dave. “What did I tell you?” - -“Are we going up—a night flight?” asked Hiram. - -“I don’t know. I was awakened by the movement, and it’s been going on -ever since. Someone is outside, that’s sure. Listen now!” - -There was silence for a moment, and then a cautious voice could be heard -saying: - -“I suah will have t’ done go an’ git another mule critter t’ move this -contraption. An’ I ain’t got no mo’ of my own. I’ll have to borrow one -off Nate Jackson, an’ then he’ll want me t’ whack up with him. Wa’al, -there ain’t no help, fer as I kin see!” - -“There!” exclaimed Dave in triumph. - -“It sure is strange,” said Hiram. “I guess we’d better wake up the -others. Mr. King and Mr. Dale ought to know about this.” - -But there was no need for the boys to awaken their companions. The next -moment there came such a violent motion to the ship that not a sleeper -continued to slumber. With one accord they tumbled out of their berths. - -Then from without came a chorus of excited shouts. - -“Whoa, there! Consarn ye all, what d’ ye mean by backin’ and fillin’ -that a-way? Stand still, pesky mule critters that ye be! Ye wouldn’t -pull this shebang when I wanted ye to, an’ now ye’re tryin’ t’ run away -with it. Whoa!” - -“Who’s there?” cried Mr. King. - -“What is going on?” demanded Mr. Dale. - -“Something has happened!” shouted Professor Leblance. - -“That’s right!” agreed Dave, “and it’s going on now.” - -“Someone is trying to make off with the airship,” added Hiram. - -“Make off with the airship!” repeated the professor. “Can it be——” - -He did not finish, but in a moment he had switched on a number of -lights, including the two big ones outside the craft. Then, as they -looked from the windows, they saw a strange sight. - -An unkempt man, with a team of sorry-looking mules, had fastened a rope -to the _Albatross_ and was evidently trying to drag it away. He started -back in alarm at the sudden illumination, and hastily began taking off -the rope. - -“Here! What are you trying to do?” cried Mr. King, through an open -window. - -“Good land! Is there folks in this shebang!” asked the mountaineer. -“Land a’massy! I thought it was a balloon that had come down.” - -“And you were going to haul it away and claim a reward, I suppose,” put -in the professor, beginning to understand the situation. - -“That’s what I was, stranger” came the answer. “But my mules wa’n’t -strong enough. I was goin’ arter another pair when yo’-all turned up -your kerosene lamps. She wouldn’t hardly budge.” - -“I should say not, with the way she is fastened,” said the Frenchman. -“But explain yourself, monsieur.” - -“That ain’t my name, but it don’t much matter,” came the answer. “I was -on my way home from th’ settlement, with a load of stuff t’ keep my wife -an’ kids in bacon an’ flour, when I seen ye come down last evenin’. I -once went t’ a county fair, an’ they had a balloon assent. Th’ perfesser -offered five dollars t’ whoever’d git his balloon arter he jumped out of -it, an’ she drifted away.” - -“Nate Jackson was th’ lucky man, an’ he found th’ balloon in Black Cedar -swamp. He hauled it t’ town an’ got his five. When I seen this -contraption come down, I just laid low, aimin’ t’ git th’ reward. I -s’posed you folks would all go home until mornin’ anyhow. But ye didn’t. -I onhitched my mules arter dark, an’ got a rope from my wagon, an’ tried -t’ haul th’ balloon away. But she wouldn’t haul. I’m mighty sorry if I -disturbed ye’ an’ I’ll travel on now. This is th’ most forsaken country -I ever knowed, an’ it’s hard t’ git money. I thought I saw an easy way -t’ make a five dollar bill.” - -“It’s worth more than that to have our airship let alone, my man,” said -the professor. “This is the kind of a balloon you never saw before. Here -are ten dollars for the wife and little ones,” and he passed over a -bill. - -The man was overwhelmingly grateful and apologized again for the trouble -he had caused. A hasty examination showed that he had not damaged the -craft any by his pulling and hauling, and a little later he had -disappeared in the darkness with his “mule critters,” and soon the -rumble of his wagon over the road, that was hardly more than a trail, -came fainter and fainter to the ears of the aviators. - -“Well, that sure was a scare!” exclaimed Dave, when quiet was once more -restored. - -“I should say yes!” agreed Hiram. “The idea of trying to cart off the -_Albatross_!” - -“Well, his explanation was natural,” said the professor. “These -mountaineers, in this lonely region, scarcely ever see money, I guess. -But now, boys, get to bed. We’ve got lots to do to-morrow.” - -Everyone again retired after the lights had again been turned low, and -Dave and Hiram were soon asleep again. It was two hours after daylight -when Grimshaw routed them out of their berths. - -“Come, get up here,” he ordered; “if you don’t want to miss breakfast.” - -“I certainly don’t,” announced the active Hiram. “I’m hungry as a bear.” - -“Well, there’s a capital meal waiting for you,” observed the old -aeronaut. - -The boys found this true as they came in at second table in the cabin. -They hurried through with the meal, for outside on the ground Mr. King -and the others were assembled. From their actions the young aviator -concluded that some active discussion was in progress. - -Exit from the cabin was made through a trap door and a balancing ladder. - -“Hurrah!” piped Hiram, as he reached the ground. “Here’s a chance to -stretch our legs and breathe some fresh air.” - -“Let’s see what is going on with the others,” suggested Dave, and they -approached the group made up of Professor Leblance, Mr. King, Grimshaw -and Mr. Dale. - -“We are evidently in some remote spot,” the Frenchman was saying. “All -the better that, for we shall have no troublesome visitors. My men can -attend to the balloonet and some other needful repairs while we send for -that quicksilver.” - -“Which means the location of the nearest town?” submitted the airman. -“There was so much excitement last night I forgot to ask that old -mountaineer. But we must locate a store.” - -“Exactly.” - -“And that may be somewhat difficult.” - -“Perhaps,” agreed the Frenchman, “but once down in the valley yonder it -is to be supposed there are some tokens of civilization.” - -“Who is to go?” inquired Mr. Dale. - -“I think you had better entrust the matter to me, Professor,” said the -aviator. “Here, let one of the boys—you, Dashaway—go with me.” - -“I shall be glad,” said Dave, eagerly. - -“Hold on,” broke in Hiram; “give me a show too; won’t you, Mr. King?” - -The aviator took a brief look at the earnest, beseeching face of the -willing and accommodating young aeronaut, and smiled indulgently. - -“Well, you two make a hardy, useful team, so make it so, if you like.” - -Arrangements were made for the departure at once. It was understood that -the _Albatross_ would remain at its present landing place until the -exploring party returned with the quicksilver, even if they had to -consume considerable time in locating a town. - -“I think we can make it and return by nightfall,” said the airman. -“Don’t worry, though, if we are longer away.” - -“No,” spoke the professor. “We can’t leave till we get that quicksilver, -no matter how long it takes.” - -A plentiful lunch, a compass, and a gun were gotten ready by the cabin -man. Then, waving a cheery adieu to their friends, the airman and the -boys started down the mountain side. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - LOST - - -“It’s no use, Dave.” - -“Why not?” - -“We’ve shouted ourselves hoarse, and in this still air and the way we -have kept up the hollering, anyone could hear us five miles away, it -seems to me.” - -“Then there is only one conclusion to arrive at,” observed the young -aviator quite seriously. - -“What’s that, Dave?” - -“We are lost.” - -“I reckon you’re right,” assented Hiram ruefully, dropping to the ground -and reclining on the grass. - -His companion followed his example. It was six o’clock in the afternoon, -the sun was descending, and at the end of ten hours spent in persistent -search of a town or settlement, this had been the result of their hard -travel and laborious investigations. - -The trio who had left the _Albatross_ had kept together until about -noon. Not a wagon track or even a footpath had they come across, much -less a human habitation. The landscape seemed as wild and untenanted as -if it were a primeval wilderness. - -“I hardly know what to do,” said the old aviator, about the middle of -the afternoon, as they concluded a rest and a lunch. - -“Yes, we may go on for miles and miles and not run across a human -being,” returned Hiram, who was tired out. - -“I have half a mind to return to the _Albatross_ while we are pretty -sure to find our way,” remarked Mr. King; “and advise that we make an -air flight for civilized territory.” - -“We might try as far as the other side of that big hill,” suggested -Dave, pointing to a lofty eminence in the distance. - -“That may not be a bad idea,” replied Mr. King. “See here, we’ll make a -circuit. It can’t be over a few miles. I’ll trail the valley this way; -you boys take the other direction, and we’ll meet on the other side of -the hill.” - -“That’s a good arrangement,” declared Hiram; and the divided journey was -begun. - -It proved a very unwise experiment, the way things turned out. The -circuit was not so easy to follow as it had seemed. Pursuing a ravine -and its branches, at the end of three hours the boys found themselves -inextricably mixed up as to location or direction, with so many hills in -view that they could not tell which was the one they had had in view -when they separated from the aviator. - -“Yes,” observed Hiram now, looking rather hopelessly about them; “we’re -lost, that’s sure.” - -“Then the thing is to find ourselves,” said Dave, cheerily. - -“Worst of all, Mr. King has got all the lunch,” mourned Hiram. “See -here, Dave, when are you going to make a start from here?” - -“Why, when we get rested we’ll press right forward and get to a town or -back to the _Albatross_.” - -“That’s easily said; but not done.” - -“Well, we can try; can’t we?” - -“I suppose so.” - -Hiram was out of sorts. His gloom somewhat abated, however, and finally -walking on, they came across a big patch of wild raspberries. When, a -little later, Dave discovered a pecan tree, Hiram quite recovered his -spirits. - -“I hardly hope to rejoin Mr. King,” said Dave. “I think I can keep the -general direction of the _Albatross_ in view. What I say is to brace up -and keep steadily ahead for a few hours, and see if we don’t come across -something encouraging. There’s a full moon, you know. Besides, at night -we could make out lights at a distance. You see, even if we fail, we can -surely get back to the airship.” - -“Not if we lose our reckoning.” - -“Yes, even then,” persisted Dave. - -“How can we?” - -“Why, I heard Professor Leblance tell Mr. King that if we did not return -by midnight, he would have the big searchlight on the _Albatross_ at -work.” - -“That’s grand!” cried Hiram, bracing up magically. “We can see the -searchlight for a good many miles, you know.” - -The wayfarers threaded several tortuous valleys. They reasoned that if -they could get out of the mountains they were sure to come upon some -little farm. It was near dusk when Hiram, who was a little in advance of -Dave, shouted suddenly: - -“Here’s something!” - -“What is it?” questioned our hero, hurrying up to where he stood. - -His companion held up what looked like a broken tree branch, only the -bark had been peeled off from it, and one end had evidently been -fashioned into a handle with a pocket knife. - -“Someone driving live stock has been here—lately, too,” declared Hiram, -inspecting the whip. “It broke, and he threw it away. Hold on. I was -long enough on a farm to trail a cattle track, if there’s one around -here. Yes, there is,” and the speaker’s tone rose in volume as he bent -over and, running along, inspected the ground keenly. - -“Found it?” asked the young aviator, pressing close after his comrade. - -“Yes. It’s plain enough, now. Come on, Dave; we’re in luck, sure.” - -They could now make out a beaten track, and tell the irregularities in -the ground made by the trampling of many feet. The track finally ended -at the edge of a small stream. - -“Here’s where they forded the brook,” explained Hiram. “We’ll take off -our shoes and stockings and wade over.” - -This they did. The opposite bank gained, they saw through a fringe of -bushes what looked like a level field. They could hear occasional -bleatings. - -“Oh, say, we’re all right now,” declared the sanguine Hiram. - -They hurried on their shoes, eager to pursue their investigations. - -“The sheep are over yonder,” said Hiram, pointing to a corner of the -field. “We’re surely near some farm now. I shouldn’t wonder if we found -some one guarding the sheep, too, for—hear that!” - -It was the echo of distant yelping and barking to which Hiram called -attention. - -“Wolves?” asked Dave, guessing quickly. - -“That’s what; I know them. Saw lots of them when I was out West. Come -ahead. We’re going to find somebody right away, I’m sure.” - -The boys now noticed a little knoll. The bleating sounds seemed to echo -from behind it. As they started up the incline, Hiram grabbed his -companion in some affright and dismay, and both fell back startled. - -A sudden flash split the air. It started a sweep in a perfect circle, -like a revolving searchlight. Its bright rays sent out a glare a hundred -yards from its base. Then, the circle complete, as suddenly it died out. - -“Now what do you think of that?” gasped the bewildered Hiram. “Worse, -and more of it!” - -Bang! - -From the same spot, just as abruptly, some gun or cannon belched out a -sheet of flame, followed by a report that awoke the echoes for miles in -every direction. - -Facing a mystery they could not explain, the two young aviators stood -staring mutely towards the spot from which flash and report had so -unaccountably come. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - “THE TERRIBLE MACGUFFINS” - - -“Now what do you think of that?” challenged Hiram, after a long spell of -wondering silence. - -“I don’t think it was intended for us,” responded the young aviator. - -“Why not?” - -“Because that revolving light, or whatever it is, flashed in every -direction, and that firearm wasn’t aimed towards us.” - -“That’s so,” agreed Hiram. “But what was it done for at all?” - -“We had better try and find out,” suggested the young aviator. - -The boys waited for some little time, expecting a renewal of the strange -manifestations, but it did not come. Then Dave led the way, creeping up -the incline. As they reached the top of the knoll, they paused and -looked about them. Sheltered in a kind of a dip of the ground, they -could make out half a hundred sheep huddled together. No human being was -visible. - -“There’s the contrivance that flashed and fired,” announced Hiram, -pointing to a small raised platform at the edge of the knoll. - -“I guess it is,” assented the young aviator; “go slow, Hiram. No need to -run any risks.” - -Neither could refrain from satisfying his curiosity as to the purpose of -the device near to them. As they neared it, proceeding cautiously, the -bright rays of the moon, just rising, showed clear outlines of the -platform and the object upon it. - -“Hark—listen!” ordered Dave, suddenly. - -As they waited a sharp tick—tick, regular and prolonged, struck their -hearing. - -“It’s a clock,” declared Hiram. “Look there—seven or eight gun barrels. -And wires running to that box. There’s clock works in it. See, the light -is still burning, but shut in with a cover.” - -“That’s so,” nodded Dave, surprised and still puzzled. - -“Oh, say!” cried Hiram, suddenly, “I’ve guessed out the whole scheme.” - -“Have you?” - -“I think so.” - -“What is it?” asked the young aviator. - -“Why, this is a contrivance for scaring away wolves. It’s mighty cute, -and it must be a smart fellow who got it up. Don’t you see, probably -every hour the light flashes and one of those firearms goes off. That -would scare wolves good and right.” - -“I believe you have solved the problem,” said Dave. - -He was certain of it as they made a closer inspection of the queer -contrivance. Some backwood genius had spent time and some money in -rigging up a wolf-scarer that kept up an alarm and illumination through -the night, serving as a protection for the sheepfold. - -“Of course there’s a house somewhere near,” said Hiram, as they started -from the spot. - -“Yes, look there—a light!” cried Dave. - -What looked like a candle or lamp in a window showed at a little -distance. The young adventurers hurried along with a good deal of -satisfaction. - -They finally reached a roomy log cabin with a barn behind it. As they -passed around the house they were unable to discover anybody about the -premises. They knocked and then hammered at the front door. There was no -response, and Hiram shouted, but no one appeared. Walking around the -house, they could see through the uncurtained windows into every room. - -“There’s no one in the house, it seems,” said the young aviator. - -“Probably gone to some neighbor’s,” suggested Hiram. - -“What is that?” suddenly exclaimed Dave. - -Towards the southeast a growing glare showed in the sky. It increased in -brightness each moment. - -“It’s a fire!” declared Dave. - -“I think so, too. Let’s run for it,” spoke Hiram. - -They had gone perhaps a quarter of a mile when shots and then shouts -rang out on the still night air. - -“Someone is running this way,” said Dave. - -Against the radiance of the mingled fire glow and the moonlight the boys -saw a woman hurriedly crossing a clear space beyond the trees. She held -a baby in her arms. A little girl she clasped by the hand. The baby was -crying, and the woman, with many a fearful glance back of her, was -sobbing audibly. - -She came directly towards the boys. Dave stepped forward in her path. -The woman drew back with a shriek of alarm. - -“Don’t be frightened,” said Dave. - -“You do not belong to the raiders?” the woman faltered, all in a -tremble. - -“What raiders?” asked Hiram. - -“The MacGuffins—the terrible MacGuffins!” almost wailed the woman. - -“Who are they?” - -“Don’t you know?” asked the woman, incredulously. - -“We are strangers here, madam,” explained the young airman. “What is the -fire and what is the trouble?” - -“All our men are away—hiding from the officers down at Brambly Fork,” -said the woman. “The MacGuffins have made a raid and are burning us all -out! They may kill us if they catch us. Oh, sirs, help me get our little -ones in hiding,” she pleaded. - -“To your home, do you mean?” inquired Dave. - -“Oh, no, no,” dissented the woman instantly. “That is the worst place in -the world to go to just now. They will burn our house next.” - -“They may not harm you,” suggested Dave. - -“Yes, they will. My husband is the man they hate the most. It’s an old -quarrel between the MacGuffins and our people. They will harm you, too, -if they catch you.” - -“Why should they?” asked Hiram. - -“Because no stranger is ever allowed in these Carolina mountains. They -are all moonshiners, and will take you for detectives. They shot two -suspicious characters only a few days ago.” - -“H’m,” remarked Hiram under his breath. “We’re in a nice country!” - -The young aviator comprehended the situation at once. He had read and -heard of these North Carolina outlaws and their family feuds, sometimes -running through half a dozen generations. - -“How can we help you?” he said to the woman. - -“It isn’t safe for us anywhere around here,” she declared. “I must get -to my husband.” - -“At Brambly Fork, you mean?” - -“Yes, that’s where he is, and his crowd.” - -“Is it far from here?” - -“About fifteen miles. He ought to know about the MacGuffins, so as to -drive them away before they steal our cattle and crops. I can manage to -get along with the baby, but the little girl is ready to drop down from -tiredness. See, oh, hide! hide! They are coming this way!” - -Among the trees beyond the clearing the boys could see men with torches -and armed with rifles coming in their direction. - -“They are going to fire our house next!” cried the woman, bursting into -tears. - -“I am afraid it would be foolish for us to try and prevent them,” -remarked Dave. “They are armed and in a dangerous mood.” - -“You would simply risk your lives.” - -The young aviator snatched up the little girl in his arms. - -“Help the lady, Hiram,” he directed, “and follow me.” - -Dave led the way to a thick copse. The woman told the little girl to -keep perfectly quiet. In a few minutes the men they had seen passed by -without discovering them. - -“I must get to my husband at once,” said the woman, eagerly, as soon as -the horde of raiders was out of sight and hearing. - -“You can’t go alone,” observed Dave. “Here, we will go with you. Take -turns at carrying the little girl, Hiram.” - -The woman sobbed out her heartfelt gratitude. Then Dave questioned her -as to the direction of Brambly Fork, and all were soon on the way. - -“This isn’t looking for Mr. King, Dave,” suggested Hiram, after awhile. - -“Mr. King will take care of himself, Hiram,” replied the young aviator. - -“Yes, but neither is this looking for a town where we might get that -quicksilver.” - -“It’s on the way to it, isn’t it? When we get to the place where this -woman’s husband is, some of the crowd can direct us to the nearest -settlement, that is sure.” - -It was pretty hard traveling, after a day of heavy tramping. The forlorn -condition of the woman, however, appealed to both the boys. - -“We are very near Brambly Fork now,” spoke the woman at the end of four -hours, during which time they had rested frequently. “Another turn in -the valley and we will be there.” - -“Sure enough!” cried Hiram with animation. - -They had come upon a spot well shut in on three sides with trees. A big -campfire was burning, and near it were gathered a dozen or more men. -Their interest was centered on a man who stood with his arms bound -behind him. - -“Why,” cried Dave, “it’s Mr. King!” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - IN FRIENDLY HANDS - - -The young aviator did not delay for a single instant. So precipitately -did he start for the group about the tree, that he fairly knocked Hiram -off his footing. - -“The mischief!” gasped the latter, righting himself and staring aghast -at the scene a little distance ahead of them. - -“Stop! stop!” shouted Dave at the top of his voice, as he dashed across -the open stretch, and momentarily came nearer and nearer to the men who -surrounded the airmen. - -Dave had a right to be urgent, for two men had seized hold of Mr. King -as if to handle him roughly. - -Three rifles were aimed at Dave as he fearlessly ran up to the group. -One of the party, evidently the leader, stared at our hero as he came to -a halt, with a suspicious and threatening scowl. - -“Hello,” he challenged, “another one? Why, strangers are getting thick -as bees in swarming time.” - -“It’s another detective,” growled a man by his side. - -Dave faced the fierce-visaged, reckless-mannered mob, all alive with -anxiety and excitement. - -“You must not harm that man,” he declared, dauntlessly. - -“Know him, do you?” inquired the leader, with a sinister look. - -“I should say I did. There’s some mistake.” - -“Who is he?” - -“He is Mr. Robert King, the great aviator.” - -“H’m that’s what he said, but we don’t believe him,” retorted the -leader. “Look at that badge on him.” - -“Why, that is a trophy from an aero club,” explained Dave. “Read what it -says, and you’ll see that I am telling the truth.” - -“Say, sonny,” observed the man, with a derisive laugh, “there ain’t any -schoolhouses in this district, and none of us know how to read. Now -then, who are you, and where did you come from?” - -“I am in the same line as Mr. King,” replied Dave; “and I came from the -spot where our airship landed.” - -“How did you find us?” - -“Oh, yes,” said Dave, quickly. “I ran across the MacGuffins. They were -making a raid, and——” - -If the young aviator had thrown a firebrand among the group he could not -have caused more excitement. At the mention of that dread name, “the -MacGuffins,” it seemed as though the men before him uttered a fearful -roar of hatred and rage. The leader sprang forward and grasped Dave’s -arm. - -“Don’t you fool me!” he shouted. “Where did you run across the -MacGuffins?” - -“About fifteen miles north of here. They were burning houses, and——” - -Dave was interrupted by a cry. It proceeded from the woman he and Hiram -had helped. She appeared now upon the scene carrying her babe, and Hiram -following with the little girl in his arms. - -“Jared!” cried the woman, and then Dave knew that the leader of the -outlaw band was her husband. The man stared at her in bewilderment. - -“Nance,” he spoke in a husky voice, “what does it mean, you being here?” - -“Oh, Jared, the MacGuffins!” she wailed. “They have burned us out! If it -wasn’t for these two brave boys, we might all have been killed! They hid -us and helped me get here with the children.” - -“You did this?” spoke the man in a choked-up tone, turning to the young -aviator. “And that fellow is your friend?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Set him free,” ordered the man with a wave of his hand towards Mr. -King. “As to you, young man, you’ve made some friends, let me tell you.” - -Dave and Hiram hurried eagerly to the spot where two of the band began -immediately to liberate Mr. King, who had looked worn and worried. A -glad smile of relief now covered his face. - -“You came just in the nick of time,” he told his two young friends. - -“It looks so,” said Hiram, seriously. - -“There’s a bad nest of them,” cautioned the airman. “I never met such -stubborn, unreasonable beings. They seem to have two objects in life—to -fight each other and dodge revenue officers.” - -“Regular outlaws, aren’t they?” queried Hiram. - -“Yes, and with little idea of the value of human life.” - -The band grouped together about the woman, who was reciting the -incidents of the raid of the MacGuffins. Wild shouts and threats -followed her story. The party split up, and half of them ran to a -thicket, to reappear with horses. - -At a word from the leader they set off in the direction the refugees had -just come from. Then the man approached the airman and his companions. - -“We’re rough fellows, maybe,” he said, “but we stick like glue to a -friend. You two young fellows saved my Nance and the babies. There isn’t -much we fellows wouldn’t do for you in return.” - -“Well, you can probably help us out a good deal if you want to,” replied -Dave promptly. - -“Just name how, son.” - -“Mr. King has told you how we are balloonists. We need some quicksilver, -and the three of us had started out to locate some town where we could -get the article.” - -“Quicksilver, eh?” repeated the outlaw, as though dubious and puzzled. -“Where would you be likely to get it now?” - -“Most hardware or drug stores keep it,” explained Dave. - -“Nothing else you need?” - -“No, only to return to our balloon when we get the quicksilver.” - -“Hi!” shouted the man, beckoning to two of his men. “Mount and make a -quick run for Forestville. How much quicksilver do you want?” - -“It comes in iron tubes,” explained the airman. “One will answer. If -they keep it in some other form, about thirty ounces.” - -“Get back soon as you can,” the outlaw ordered his messengers. “If the -places are shut, shoot up the town and get some action on the case.” - -The speaker turned and proceeded to where a tent stood. In a little -while he reappeared to say to his guests that they must be hungry and to -follow him. - -Seated on rude home-made camp stools, the three friends enjoyed a meal -of corn pone, sweet potatoes and wild turkey, all cooked to a turn. Then -their host threw some blankets on the ground outside. He invited them to -be seated, and for over an hour asked question after question regarding -their wonderful airship and the great world beyond the wilderness of -which he knew so little. - -“We’re perfectly safe to sleep here,” remarked Mr. King, as the man left -them finally. - -“More than safe,” declared Dave. “These people would protect us with -their lives, the way they feel about us.” - -The wayfarers were pretty well tired out. All three were soon asleep. It -must have been two hours later when Dave felt himself roughly shaken. -The outlaw leader and two others were standing near, staring up into the -sky in an awed, puzzled way. - -“What’s that?” asked the outlaw leader of the young aviator. “It’s -strange to us, and I thought you’d know.” - -Across the sky in the direction of the airship a broad sweeping pencil -of light swept the heavens from zenith to horizon, and back again. - -“Ah, that?” said Dave; “it’s the great searchlight of the _Albatross_.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - A TRUSTY GUIDE - - -The young aviator had to do some explaining for the benefit of the -outlaw leader before the latter could understand what a searchlight was. - -“Reckon there’s no spot safe for a free and easy fellow with all these -new-fangled contrivances,” remarked the man. - -“I’d like to see that balloon, all the same,” observed one of his band. - -“We’d better keep close to the safety line,” advised the leader. -“There’s a good deal of hubbub around, and we’d better watch out for the -MacGuffins.” - -It was an hour later when the two men sent to Forestville came galloping -back into camp. They were hot, tired and dusty. Their steeds were -reeking, and dropped their heads in an exhausted way as their riders -drove up to the campfire and dismounted. - -“Did you get the stuff?” inquired the leader. - -“That’s what you sent us for, wasn’t it?” queried one of the horsemen. -“Well, there it is,” and he handed out a package. - -“We had some trouble making the drug clerk understand how badly and -quickly we needed it,” remarked the other horseman, with a chuckle. -“When we told him that Forestville would be off the map in a few days if -he didn’t act lively, he produced results double quick.” - -Mr. King examined the package. It contained two large glass tubes filled -with quicksilver. He thanked the men heartily. His hand went to his -pocket and his purse was half withdrawn to offer a reward, when he noted -a warning flash in the eyes of the leader. - -“Don’t try to pay for what money wouldn’t get you if you weren’t -friends,” said the man, tersely. - -“We are anxious to get back to the airship,” suggested the airman. - -“Want to start right away?” - -“Yes, if possible.” - -“That searchlight signal will guide you?” - -“Oh, surely. Besides, I think we could find our way without its aid.” - -“Maybe. Just the same, I’ll go with you as far as the gap. That’s hard -to cross unless you know it pretty well, or hit a trail by accident, as -you seem to have done in getting here. Hi, there, saddle up four fresh -horses,” ordered the speaker to one of his men. - -“This is pretty fine treatment,” declared the young aviator, as his -friends and himself found themselves in the saddle and the outlaw leader -piloting the way from the camp. - -“It will take my wife a long time to forget all we owe you,” the leader -remarked more than once. - -At the end of two hours’ travel, the latter stages of which were taken -through dark and sinuous windings along a densely-verdured ravine, their -pilot ascended a long slope. - -“There’s your searchlight still going,” he said, pointing to the broad -waving flare in the sky. “I dare not go any farther with you for two -reasons,” he explained. “In the first place I’m over what we call the -safety line. In the next place I want to get back in time to start a -daylight hunt after those MacGuffins.” - -“I feel sure we can find our way to the _Albatross_ now,” said the young -aviator. - -“Say, that was a queer adventure, wasn’t it now?” spoke Hiram, as their -recent guide waved his hand in a friendly way and disappeared like a -flash back the route they had come. - -“These rough fellows are true blue when you touch the right spot,” -declared the airman. “We seem to be on higher level ground than before. -Let us get along as fast as we can, so we can send the horses back.” - -The outlaw leader had insisted that they retain the steeds. He had -instructed them to simply head them back homewards when they were -through with them. - -“Don’t fret,” he had said, confidently, “they’ll be sure to find the -camp feeding trough before breakfast time.” - -“This has been quite an adventure, as you say, Hiram,” remarked Mr. -King, as they trotted single file on account of the narrow course. - -“With probably a lot more of it waiting us along the line,” added Dave. - -“Yes,” assented Hiram, “I can guess it will be pretty lively if we cross -the Atlantic. Say, we’re getting near to the _Albatross_.” - -This was apparent from the clearer radiance from the searchlight glow. -They rode on about two miles further. - -“We can do the rest on foot, I fancy,” said Mr. King. - -The party dismounted, arranged the bridles so they would not trail, -turned the heads of the horses homewards for them, and, giving each a -slap on the flanks, watched them dart away, rapidly. - -The searchlight faded out before they had proceeded a mile. In fact, day -was breaking. The sun came up as they reached the bottom of a high hill. - -“I remember this spot,” said the young aviator. - -“Yes, we left the camp this way,” agreed Mr. King, casting a look about -and recognizing some landmarks. - -“I suppose Professor Leblance has been mighty anxious about us,” said -Hiram. “I’ll have a great story to tell Mr. Grimshaw.” - -Despite the arduous rigors of their all-day tramp and all-night -adventures, Dave and Hiram felt fresh and ambitious. - -“We’re pretty near the top,” spoke the young aviator. “I’ll race you to -see who arrives first.” - -“All right,” agreed Hiram. “Here we go.” - -Dave showed the most endurance. He reached the summit, paused and waved -his hand triumphantly at his toiling rival. - -“Hold on,” called Hiram. “Wait for Mr. King.” - -“I’ll take a look first,” answered Dave. - -The young aviator climbed over a low ledge of boulders. Beyond them was -a fringe of high bushes. Dave knew that, these passed, the _Albatross_ -would be in view. - -He pressed his way through the bushes and cleared the last obstruction -at a leap. Then the young aviator took one look, uttered a dismayed cry, -and fairly dived back in among the undergrowth, startled beyond -expression. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - IN A BAD FIX - - -“Keep back!” shouted the young aviator. - -He accompanied the words with a spring and a roll that took him through -and past the fringe of bushes and brought him directly against Hiram. - -“Hold on, I say. The mischief!” blurted out Hiram, tipped clear off his -balance. - -“Hush!” warned Dave, regaining his feet. “Don’t go ahead, don’t make any -disturbance. Stop Mr. King.” - -Dave spoke the words in a hurried and urgent tone. Then, cautiously, he -crept on all fours through the shrubbery. He took a second more -comprehensive look over the plateau. Then he worked his way back to the -bewildered Hiram. - -“See here, Dave Dashaway,” challenged the latter, “you’re acting mighty -strange.” - -“What’s the trouble here?” inquired Mr. King, coming up to the boys, -pursuant to mysterious gestures from Hiram. - -“It is trouble, I am very much afraid,” replied Dave, seriously. - -“What do you mean—about the airship?” - -“Yes, Mr. King. The _Albatross_ seems to be all right, but about twenty -men, all armed with guns, have our entire party cornered near some -rocks.” - -“You don’t say so!” cried the airman. “Let me have a look.” - -“Be careful, then,” advised Dave. “It looks to me as if another band of -these wild outlaws probably traced the searchlight, and have managed to -catch our friends away from the airship. Anyway, our folks are helpless, -and the strangers look fierce and dangerous.” - -All three of the adventurers crept through the fringe of underbrush and -took a look across the plateau. They found the situation as Dave had -described it to be. The strangers held Professor Leblance, Mr. Dale, -Grimshaw and the others at bay. A big, rough-looking fellow, evidently -the leader of the band, was talking animatedly to the Frenchman. The -others of the intruders held their rifles in a way that threatened an -attack if the captives showed any resistance. - -“They may be the MacGuffins,” whispered Hiram, intensely wrought up with -excitement. - -“I shouldn’t wonder,” said Dave. “Mr. King, let us try to get nearer to -them.” - -“Yes, we may learn what is going on and give our friends some help, if -they need it,” replied the airman. - -They had to cover half a mile in a cautious detour. This finally brought -them to a thicket not thirty feet distant from their friends and -enemies. Mr. King lay flat on the ground behind some high bushes, and -his companions followed his example. Dave bent his ear keenly, to catch -what the leader of the invading party was saying. - -“That don’t go with me,” the man said. “How do we know that you ain’t -here to spy on us? We fine trespassers here and we charge rent for the -use of our property.” - -“You must own the whole state, you fellows must,” snapped out Grimshaw. - -“We run this district, if you want to know it,” retorted the outlaw. -“Usually we just string up spies.” - -“But we are no spies,” declared the professor, earnestly. - -“We don’t take your word for that. Come, you’ve got to pay your -reckoning. You scrape us up as much as two hundred dollars among you, -or——” - -The speaker waved his hand significantly in the direction of the -_Albatross_. - -“Yes,” growled one of his fellows. “It wouldn’t take us long to make a -sieve of that contrivance.” - -“I resent this outrage!” cried the Frenchman, hotly. “We are under -international protection. Our mission is in the interests of science. If -you interfere with us, you will rouse the entire community. It will be -the worse for you.” - -“Hear him, boys,” rallied the outlaw leader. “Say, stranger, who’s going -to tell what we did or didn’t do to you, hey?” - -The speaker grinned in a cold-blooded way that made Hiram Dobbs shiver. - -“Say, Mr. King,” he whispered hoarsely, “shoot them.” - -“One gun against twenty wouldn’t count for much,” responded the airman, -with a shake of his head. - -“I will pay no ransom, I will give you not one cent of blackmail,” -declared the doughty Frenchman, thoroughly indignant. - -“All right, then we will ransack your old gas bag and take what we -want,” boasted the outlaw. - -“I warn you,” cried the professor. “The airship is one mass of devices -you do not understand. You may find trouble.” - -“What do you bother with him for?” cried the man beside the last -speaker. “We’ll cover the rest of the crowd. You make him take you over -the machine and get what’s lying around loose.” - -“Can’t we do something, Mr. King?” inquired the young aviator, in an -anxious tone. - -“I fear not, Dashaway,” was the reply. “These are desperate men and -bound to have their own way. We can only hope that our being free will -help our friends somewhere along the line.” - -“You come with me,” ordered the outlaw leader, roughly seizing Professor -Leblance by the arm and pulling him along. “Keep your eyes on those -others,” he added, to his men. - -The Frenchman held back with resolute face and force. The outlaw, -however, was a great, bulky fellow of enormous strength. - -They had proceeded less than twenty feet towards the airship, when a -quick word cut the air, clear and startling as a pistol shot. - -“Halt!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - A MYSTERIOUS FRIEND - - -In an instant of time the whole complexion of affairs had changed. The -young aviator and his two companions crouched, staring at the scene -before them, which now seemed the stage setting to some intense drama. - -“Hello!” gasped the excitable Hiram. - -“What does that mean?” echoed Mr. King, in a truly astonished way. - -Dave was quite as fully amazed and puzzled. Suddenly and unexpectedly a -form had sprung into view just beyond one of the floats of the -_Albatross_. It was that of a lithe person, young and energetic. To all -appearance he was a negro, for hands and face at that distance were of -seeming ebony hue. - -This extraordinary person, a stranger to all who looked upon him, held -leveled a short but heavy rifle. At once the watchers from the -underbrush recognized it as one of several weapons provided for the -arsenal of the giant airship before the _Albatross_ had left Croydon. - -“It’s the magazine rifle Mr. Dale showed us!” exclaimed Hiram. “Who’s -the fellow holding it, and how did he get it?” - -“Who is he, indeed?” murmured the airman, staring hard at the person who -had so startlingly pronounced that mandatory word—“Halt!” - -The outlaw leader had come to a dead stop. He dropped the arm of the -professor, who took in this last strange incident of the moment in a -very bewildered way. - -“Stand still or I will fire,” rang out now in clear, vibrant tones. - -Those of the band guarding the rest of the crew of the _Albatross_ stood -mute and staring, taken aback by the determined and threatening attitude -of the person near the balloon. - -“If one of your men so much as raises a weapon, I will shoot,” came -floating distinctly on the still mountain air. “I hold a magazine rifle -in my hand loaded for one hundred rounds, that will shoot eighty times -in a minute. Order your men to put down their guns.” - -The outlaw leader hesitated. Bang! ten times in incredibly rapid -succession at a light pressure the formidable magazine rifle rang out, -aimed, however, at the boughs of a nearby tree, some of the leaves of -which fell in scraps and ribbands under the destructive effect of the -powerful fusillade. - -“One, two, three—I can pick them off before they can raise a trigger!” -shouted the sable champion of the airship crew. “I’ll do it, too, if -that order is not given double-quick.” - -The outlaw leader quailed. Then he turned and made a sign to his men. -The last one of them placed his gun on the ground. - -“March,” came the inflexible order. “Down that path to the left, so we -can keep you in view. You will find your weapons safe when you return -and we are gone. Go!” - -The menace of the powerful magazine rifle cowed the outlaw gang. The -breathless spectators from the brush saw them join their leader unarmed, -take the path as directed, and file away from the plateau. - -The person who had so marvellously accomplished all this never lowered -his weapon. Still holding it ready for instant use, he walked over to -where a ledge of rocks rose like a sentinel tower above the level of the -plateau. There posting himself, he held the discomfited retreating foe -in constant sight. He swung his hand towards the stupefied crew of the -airship. He spoke some order or suggestion to them that Dave did not -overhear. The party, however, at once possessed themselves of some of -the abandoned rifles of the outlaws and stood ready for attack and -defence. - -Mr. King arose and hurried over to where Professor Leblance stood, and -Dave and Hiram followed him. - -“Professor!” cried the airman. “Here are some strange happenings. Who is -that person—not one of the crew?” - -“I never saw him before,” replied the dazed Frenchman. “He has saved -us.” - -“And the _Albatross_. We have the quicksilver. This is a dangerous -ruffian-infested district. Let us leave as soon as possible.” - -“Yes, yes,” said the Frenchman, in a hurried tone. “After what has -happened we cannot be too quickly nor fast on our way.” - -The animated engineer of the _Albatross_ bustled about into immediate -action. He ordered two of his men to join their rescuer on the rocks. -All the others were impressed into service in assisting to get the giant -airship ready for a new and longer flight. - -It did not take fifteen minutes to accomplish this. One by one Professor -Leblance told off his expert assistants to their duties. Dave and Hiram -had been kept busy, but more than once the young aviator had glanced in -the direction of the heroic figure on the rocks. - -He saw the Frenchman say some quick words to Mr. King, and the latter -then approach the stranger. Some conversation took place between them. -As a signal for starting was sounded from the engine room, Mr. King -turned towards the airship. He was accompanied by the person with the -magazine rifle. - -All hands got quickly aboard. When the young aviator reached the cabin -he found their mysterious friend seated in a shaded corner of the place. -Then the activity and excitement of the ascent engrossed all minds. - -The magnificent _Albatross_ arose in the air like a bird. It attained a -high altitude. All the recent troubles of its crew faded away like light -feather down. - -Mr. King came into the cabin inside of half an hour, quickly followed by -Professor Leblance. Both looked intensely curious. The _Albatross_ -safely started on a steady course, they had evidently hastened to -explore the mystery of the strange friend who had aided them in their -sorest need. - -The airman approached the silent, timid-appearing figure in the corner -of the cabin. He extended his hand warmly, grasping that of the -shrinking stranger. - -“My friend,” he said, “come up to the table. We want to have a talk with -you. You asked to be taken aboard, and said you would then explain your -being here.” - -The stranger somewhat reluctantly took a chair at the cabin table. For -all his recent heroic attitude, he acted rather embarrassed and -frightened now. - -He looked down. Then he trembled visibly. And then he made the -remarkable statement: - -“I am a stowaway.” - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - THE STOWAWAY - - -The young aviator took a long, earnest stare at the mysterious person -who had just stated that he was a stowaway. In a flash Dave seemed to -get hold of one end of a long chain of circumstances and mysteries. - -“A stowaway?” repeated Professor Leblance, incredulously. “You mean -aboard the _Albatross_?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“From the time when she first started?” - -“And before.” - -“You amaze me!” - -“I am amazed at myself,” came the words, in rather a depressed way. The -speaker dropped his head, and both of his interlocutors looked troubled -and more puzzled than ever. “I’ll tell you, gentlemen, I’d rather not -say much till I am sure your airship is out of the country. You know you -promised I should stay aboard if I wanted to,” he added to Mr. King. - -“I surely did,” assented the airman, heartily. - -Dave had been studying the profile of the stowaway. He had noticed that -his ebony hue was due entirely to soot or greased lampblack smeared over -face and hands. Further, the keen glance of the young aviator had -scanned closely the clothing, even down to the necktie of the stranger, -and then—he was a stranger no longer to Dave. - -“Mr. King, may I speak to you for a moment,” said Dave, moving out of -the cabin into a passageway. In some surprise the airman followed him -there. - -“What is it, Dashaway?” he asked. - -“The stowaway. I know him, Mr. King,” declared Dave, hurriedly. “There -is a certain mystery about him he dares not explain just now, and you -are embarrassing him dreadfully. Don’t ask him any more questions. Tell -him to come to my stateroom. Later, I will explain everything to you -about him.” - -“Well, well,” commented the airman; “you seem to have the faculty for -preparing surprises for your friends, I must say. I’ll do what you -suggest, but I’m curious to understand what it all means.” - -“You shall soon know,” promised the young aviator, and he went to the -little partitioned-off space where he and Hiram slept. He sat down on -one of the berths, placing a stool in the middle of the room for his -expected guest. - -“You will find a friend in there,” reached Dave’s ear, a little later, -in the tones of the airman. - -“Did—did you want to speak to me?” rather falteringly asked the -stowaway, entering the stateroom. Mr. King retired and closed the door -after him. - -“Why, yes,” replied Dave pleasantly. “Say,” and he grasped the hand of -his guest in a hearty way, “I am glad to see you, and doubly glad -because you have made good, just as I knew you would. I once told a -friend you were of the right kind. You’ve proved it, Elmer Brackett, and -I’m proud of you.” - -“Yes, I see you know me. Made good! Proud of me?” repeated the boy in a -dazed, half-stunned way. - -“Why, you saved the _Albatross_, didn’t you?” cried the young aviator, -in a spirited tone, bound to rouse and buoy up his guest. “The lives, -too, probably, of every person aboard. What are you crying for—joy?” - -Sure enough, young Brackett was crying. He acted like a boy in such a -tangle of circumstances that he was fairly crushed. Finally he blurted -out: - -“Joy? None of that for me, ever again, I guess.” - -“Why not?” challenged Dave. - -“Oh, you don’t know, you don’t know!” cried the young man. “It seems as -I sit here, in the strangest position a fellow ever was in, I reckon, -that I’m in some terrific dream. There’s only one clear idea I can cling -to—to get out of the country, away—away——” - -“Away from that villain, Vernon? Am I right?” spoke Dave, quickly. - -“Yes, that’s it,” assented Brackett, in a lost tone of voice. - -“I thought so. Now then, see here, you are among the best friends any -fellow ever had. You have just been the best kind of a hero ever was. -Forget everything else for the present. Make up your mind that whatever -your troubles may be, there’s a combination aboard the _Albatross_ -strong enough to help you fight your way clear out of the last one of -them, and—tell me all about it.” - -There followed the most interesting hour of Dave Dashaway’s life. The -friend of everybody, he had been the confidant and helper of many a lad -in difficulties. As bit by bit the strange history of Elmer Brackett -came out, however, Dave conceded that it was the most remarkable case he -had ever handled. - -Briefly, the reckless, impetuous son of the big man in the Interstate -Aero Company had become the helpless victim of the schemes of Vernon. -Young Brackett did not tell Dave everything. He hinted that while in a -muddled condition he had been induced by Vernon to forge a number of -notes. - -Once completely in the power of the schemer, the latter showed no mercy. -He appalled Brackett by claiming that he could send him to the -penitentiary, disgrace his family, and almost ruin his father’s -business. These claims were, in a measure, exaggerations. - -Elmer Brackett then lost his head completely. His one thought was to -escape from Vernon. He disguised himself, after sending a letter to his -father, warning him against the forgeries, and saying he was going to -seek some foreign country where he could lose himself and be forgotten. - -“I had no money, I dared not appeal to friends, for Vernon was seeking -for me everywhere to tighten the chains of his power around me,” related -the youth, bitterly. “I thought of you, and while tracing down the -_Albatross_ I ran across Davidson and young Dawson and their _Dictator_. -Maybe it was a wild idea, but I thought how it would just suit me to get -away from this country by airship, for Vernon had claimed that if I left -him he would have the detectives looking out for me everywhere. Well, I -hung around Senca. Then, as I didn’t think much of the way the -_Dictator_ showed up, I went to Croydon.” - -“It was you, then, who asked my friend, Hiram Dobbs, about me, and wore -a false mustache?” - -“Yes, I was disguised,” admitted Brackett. - -“And you were, too, the ghost who scared the watchman at the _Albatross_ -aerodrome nearly into fits!” - -“That was me, too,” admitted Brackett. “The night before you started I -sneaked aboard the airship. I stowed myself away behind the big boxes of -provisions near the cabin here. I heard and saw what was going on. Then -that crowd of outlaws came, I got the magazine gun from the arsenal, -and—here I am.” - -“And here you wish to stay till we get across the Atlantic?” said the -young aviator. “Good! Now, then, take my advice; forget all this -wretched fear and trouble that is part of your past. Help us win the -great prize, and when this trip is over trust to it that Mr. King and -Mr. Dale will find time and money to squelch this miserable Vernon, -straighten out your affairs, and start you on a new career.” - -Elmer Brackett, minus the lampblack and encouraged by Dave, was soon -quite another person in appearance and spirits to the refugee stowaway. -Dave imparted to his friends only as much of Brackett’s story as was -necessary. - -The following morning the boys awoke to find the _Albatross_ out of all -sight of land, fairly started on the great trip across the broad -Atlantic. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - THE HAUNTED AIRSHIP - - -“Say, fellows, this is life on the ocean wave worth seeing, isn’t it?” - -Hiram Dobbs spoke the words, and his auditors and jolly companions were -the young aviator and Elmer Brackett. It was the second evening out of -sight of land. The _Albatross_ had made splendid speed, and the -machinery had acted like a charm. Just about dusk, however, Professor -Leblance had ordered a drop to lower level. - -“There is a low barometric pressure,” Dave Dashaway had heard him say to -Mr. King. “There is bound to be a change in the air currents shortly, -and I want to determine our course from the way they act. There are some -repairs to make, also, and we will slow down for at least two hours.” - -The boys were immensely interested in the manœuvers of their craft under -the direct manipulation of the professor. The _Albatross_ was brought to -the surface of the water, resting on its floats as easily and gracefully -as the great ocean bird it was named after. A hint from the cook sat -Hiram thinking. Fresh fish would come in very acceptably for breakfast -next morning, he told Dave, and the trio decided to take the lighter of -the two boats and see what they could catch. - -Mr. King warned them to keep within hailing range of the airship and -provided them with trolling lines. The young aviator and Elmer plied the -oars and Hiram did the fishing. He was gloating over the occasion with -satisfaction, and made the enthusiastic remark which heads the chapter -as he deposited a final catch, a fat codfish, in the bottom of the boat. - -“That will do, Hiram,” directed Dave. “We have got more fish already -than we can use in a week, and some of them look as if they were not in -the eating class. The cook will know.” - -“Yes, and see, we are quite a distance from the _Albatross_,” put in -Elmer. - -A weird warning wind sang about them just then. The boys had been so -engrossed in their sport they had failed to notice that some scudding -clouds had obliterated the stars. - -“Get to work, Elmer,” ordered Dave, picking up the oars. “We must be a -full mile from the _Albatross_.” - -“Yes, and maybe that storm Professor Leblance told about is going to -catch us,” remarked Elmer, he too getting in shape for a row back to the -airship. - -The minor headlight of the _Albatross_ guided them, and for this, a dim -spark in the distance, the little yawl was headed. The water had become -choppy, but the oarsmen felt equal to the task of the moment. - -“Just see that!” shouted Hiram, as a phosphorescent streak crossed their -course. “It’s like a streak of fire.” - -“There’s another one ahead,” said Elmer. - -“Yes, and look! look!” exclaimed Hiram. “It’s a shoal of fishes. Big -fellows, too. Say, see them leap out of the water.” - -It was a stimulating sight and a novel one to the boys. They were now -within less than a quarter of a mile of the airship. As Hiram spoke, the -big searchlight of the _Albatross_ suddenly flared up. It signalled the -boys to return, as Dave understood it. - -“Say, I’m going to make a throw for one of those big fellows,” declared -Hiram. - -“Don’t do it. Whew!” exclaimed Elmer. “They are big fellows. Did you -feel that?” - -Some object had landed against the side of the yawl, nearly tipping it. - -“It’s a big fish, almost as big as a shark!” shouted Hiram. “They’re -chasing the smaller ones. Whoop! I’ve caught something. Hurrah! Slow -down! Oh, the mischief!” - -All in a fleeting second the excited lad shouted out, tugged at the -trolling line, bracing his feet against the bottom of the boat, and -then—flop! splash! - -“Stop the boat!” rang out the voice of the young aviator, sharply, for -Hiram, his hand tangled in the trolling line, had been pulled clear over -the end of the yawl. His startled comrades saw him disappear, and strove -staunchly to put the boat about. As the craft half turned, there was a -shock and a crash. - -A giant fish, perhaps a shark, had struck the boat amidships. The craft -was splintered in half as quick as a flash. The next minute the young -aviator and his companion were struggling in the water. - -The big marine monster had apparently gone straight on its way in -pursuit of a disappearing phosphorescent mass. Dave grabbed out at the -one floating half of the wrecked yawl. - -“This way—Hiram! Elmer!” he shouted at the top of his voice. - -“I’m here,” panted Elmer, as he reached Dave’s side and grasped the edge -of the floating wreck. - -“Where’s Hiram?” - -“U-um! Thunder!” puffed the individual in question. “I’m safe, but my -big catch got away, line and all.” - -“Never mind that now,” replied Dave. “We’re in a serious fix, fellows.” - -“And all the fish in the boat gone, too,” mourned Hiram, dolefully. - -“See here, both of you,” ordered Dave, decisively, “don’t waste any -time. We don’t know what kind of danger hovers about us. Yell!” - -“Good and loud!” agreed Hiram, letting out a terrific warwhoop. The -others chorused in. Dave believed that their forlorn hail might have -some effect. - -“They’ve heard us,” cried Hiram, joyfully. - -“Yes, here she comes,” added Elmer, in a relieved tone. - -The searchlight on the _Albatross_ was suddenly shifted. Its broad, -groping rays were focussed on the sea, searching for the castaways. The -glowing pencils of light came nearer and nearer. Finally the full -dazzling gleam swept the wreck and those clinging to it, and rested on -it. - -“They have seen us,” declared the young aviator, as the searchlight -maintained a full focus directly upon them. - -“And what next?” inquired Hiram. - -“We will have to wait and see,” replied Dave. - -Relief and rescue came almost magically quick. The larger yawl of the -_Albatross_ glided across the broad path of light, the veteran airman, -the anxious Grimshaw and two others its occupants. - -“This ends all experiments in the fishing line,” declared Mr. King. “It -is a wonder some of those sharks did not attack you.” - -“The searchlight probably scared them away,” suggested Grimshaw. - -The adventure furnished a fruitful theme for discussion when the boys -were once more back in the comfortable cabin of the airship. Hiram, -however, continued to expatiate on his great catch and greater loss. - -“I’ll bet it was a dolphin pulled me out of the boat,” he declared. -“Just think of it, fellows—catching a dolphin! That’s something to brag -about.” - -A storm set in within the hour and the _Albatross_ speedily sought a -higher level. All the boys knew about it was what Mr. King told them the -next morning. The pleasing swaying motion of the giant craft had lulled -them to sound and refreshing slumber. - -It was again after dark the next evening when the cook came into the -cabin, and looked at Mr. King in a manner that made the airman inquire -curiously: - -“What’s on your mind, Demys?” - -“Why, I found a window broken in the room just beyond the larder,” -reported the cook. - -“Hailstone, maybe,” said Mr. King, casually; “you know we had some last -night.” - -“Yes, I know that,” replied the man. “Later to-day I noticed two more -panes of glass cracked right across.” - -“Perhaps the big strain of the wind in the storm last night weakened -them,” suggested the airman. - -“Maybe,” assented the cook, vaguely. “Funny thing, though. I set a pan -of beans in the room to cool before supper. When I went after them just -now I found nearly half of them gone.” - -“Is that so, now?” questioned Mr. King, beginning to get interested. - -“Say, don’t you suppose it was rats?” propounded the quick-thinking -Hiram. - -“No, sir!” declared the cook definitely. “I have never noticed a trace -of rats in the _Albatross_.” - -“Then I’ll bet it’s another stowaway—say, just like Elmer here was.” - -All hands laughed abruptly at this unique piece of guesswork. - -“I reckon I was the only intruder aboard, Hiram,” remarked Elmer, -good-naturedly. - -“Well, the beans are gone and somebody ate them,” said the cook. “It -couldn’t be anybody of the crew, for no one has passed through the -galley but myself, and the room I speak of is beyond it.” - -“Suppose we investigate?” suggested the young aviator. - -“That’s it,” agreed the impetuous Hiram. “Come on, fellows.” - -All hands followed the cook to his quarters. They inspected the galley -and then entered the room beyond it. Sure enough, there was the dish of -beans, nearly half its original contents missing. - -Hiram and Elmer explored every nook and corner of the place where there -was the least opportunity for a stowaway to hide. Their search was -without results. - -“It’s certainly something of a mystery,” decided the young aviator. -“Those cracked windows, too. Why,” he added, examining them closely, “it -looks as though some one had deliberately hammered on them until they -gave way, as you see.” - -There was another sensation the next evening. The cook came rushing into -the cabin. Mr. King happened to be on hand. - -“I’m getting superstitious and scared,” declared the cook. - -“What’s up now?” interrogated the airman. - -“Enough for anybody’s nerves,” reported the man. “Sounds, scrapings, -sort of low groans. I’m beginning to believe the airship is haunted.” - -“Nonsense!” said Mr. King. “When did you hear these strange noises you -describe?” - -“Just now. See here, some of you come with me and see if you can figure -this thing out.” - -The boys were ready enough for the investigation. The cook led them to -the galley, and they sat down as he put out all the lights. - -“Now keep perfectly quiet and listen patiently,” directed the young -aviator. - -“There’s something,” spoke Hiram in a hoarse whisper, as a queer cooing -sound came from the watched room. “Gently, now,” he added and crept -through the doorway. - -There was a fluttering sound. Dave traced it to a corner of the room -where there were some boxes. The noise came from behind them. He groped -with his hand, and his fingers finally grazed a feathery, shrinking -object. - -“Flare a light,” he called out instantly. “I’ve caught the stowaway.” - -“Who is it? what is it?” cried Hiram, rushing forward as the electric -lights were turned on. - -“Why, it’s a bird—a pigeon,” announced Dave, dragging into view a -ruffled, timid dove. “Here’s your mystery explained. The bird must have -been driven through the broken window during that storm the other night. -The poor thing was famished and ate the beans. Then it cracked the -window panes trying to get out again.” - -“You’ve got it, Dave,” declared Hiram, “only, say, what is that fastened -under its wing?” - -“Why, sure enough,” said Dave, observing what looked like an oilskin -package fastened with silk cord under the wing of the bird. “Fellows, -this must be a carrier dove. We must see Mr. King about this.” - -The airman inspected the oilskin package. He read a written enclosure it -contained. - -“This is a trained passenger pigeon,” he said. “Started from Rio de -Janeiro and carrying a message to its former home in Washington. Feed up -the bird, boys, and we’ll send the brave little thing again on its -journey.” - -The next morning when the carrier pigeon was set free, started -landwards, it bore a second message. This told the world that the giant -airship was eight hundred miles on its trip across the broad Atlantic. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - FIRE AT SEA - - -“Well, Dave, they stole a march on us last night.” - -“How is that, Hiram?” questioned the young aviator. - -“Landed. Yes, sir, the _Albatross_ made a landing about midnight on the -beach of some island—Bermuda or Bahama, or something like that. Last -point of land this side of Europe, the professor says. Took on a fresh -supply of water. Mr. King visited the town nearby and got some papers, -and sent a message to the aero association.” - -Hiram had just come from the cabin, preceding his comrade in waking up -by a few minutes. When the two friends went to the cabin they found -young Brackett waiting to take breakfast with them. - -A few days had made a marked change in the new passenger of the -_Albatross_. Everybody was pleasant and encouraging to him. He had -become greatly interested in the workings of the airship. Dave had -suggested to him that, owing to the fact that his father was a foremost -manufacturer in the aeroplane line, he had a splendid opportunity to -begin business life in the same field. - -The _Albatross_ had started out on its real voyage in fine shape, -weather conditions being perfect. So far, except for the adventure among -the mountain men of North Carolina, not one adverse incident had marred -the flight. - -The three friends chatted and joked buoyantly while dispatching their -appetizing meal. Young Brackett had picked up one of the newspapers -brought to the airship from the island just after midnight. He was -looking it over casually, when he uttered a quick cry as of startled -amazement. - -“It’s not true!” he almost shouted, and he brought his fist down upon -the table to emphasize the remark with such force that the dishes -rattled. - -“What’s not true, Brackett?” inquired the young aviator, in some -surprise. - -“Listen!” called out the lad in considerable excitement, and then he -read from the newspaper: - -“Another red, white and blue float was picked up three hundred miles -from land by the steamer _Royale_. It proved to contain a dispatch with -the readings: ‘Aug. 21, altitude one thousand feet, course due east, -making splendid time. Airship _Dictator_: Signed, Roger Davidson, Perry -Dawson, on board.’” - -“That sounds like business,” exclaimed Hiram. “The twenty-first. That’s -the day we started. They were forty-eight hours ahead of us.” - -“Not true!” again declared young Brackett, sharply. - -“You mean?” asked Dave, in wonder. - -“Davidson and Dawson are not aboard of the _Dictator_.” - -“Oh, pshaw, now how can you say that,” challenged the impetuous Hiram, -“when here is the clear evidence?” - -“You seem to know something we don’t know,” remarked Dave, with a close -glance at Brackett. “The public prints announced that Davidson and -Dawson started with the _Dictator_ on the trip across the Atlantic on -the afternoon of the nineteenth.” - -“They did,” nodded Brackett. “I saw them. But they came back.” - -“What’s that?” cried Hiram. - -“Yes, they did.” - -“In the _Dictator_?” - -“Oh, no, and that’s the queer part of it. They may have lost their -nerve—it looks that way. They may have hired someone else to take the -risk of the trip. Anyhow, they got out of the _Dictator_ after leaving -Senca, and came back there at midnight. I slept that night in the place -where they had built the _Dictator_. I saw them come, I saw them go -away.” - -“Brackett, you astonish me,” said Dave, bluntly. “Are you sure of what -you say?” - -“Perfectly,” declared the lad, with positiveness. “Davidson and Dawson -came secretly to the old aerodrome. They had a big automobile, and -loaded into it a long box. Both were disguised, and I recognized them -only by their voices. I heard them speak of getting to the steamer. How -to explain these dispatches, apparently dropped from the _Dictator_ into -the ocean, I don’t know. I’ve only told you what I do know.” - -“Mr. King must know of this,” said Dave, thoughtfully. - -No plausible solution of the tangle was arrived at, however. Amid the -sheer exhilaration and activity of their own superb flight, the crew of -the _Albatross_ soon forgot the incident surrounding the rival airship -with new mystery. - -For two days and nights the giant airship made an even, steady run, true -as a needle to a set course. There was a slight mist over the waters the -next evening. So fair and promising was the weather, that Professor -Leblance had deviated from the route he had first laid out. He had made -an aerial short cut. The result was that they were somewhat out of the -regular path of ocean travelers. - -It was always a pleasure for the boys to watch out nights for the -steamers far beneath them. That night, Grimshaw, seated at one of the -windows, remarked in his usual laconic way: - -“Light ahoy!” - -“Where away?” chirped the active Hiram, who was priding himself on -becoming quite nautical. - -“Just ahead, somewhat to the southeast.” - -“I see it,” said the young aviator. - -“So do I,” joined in Hiram. “Why, say,” he added, excitedly a minute or -two later, “that’s no light. It’s a fire.” - -As they progressed and the radiance became plainer, all hands decided -that Hiram was right. Nearer and nearer they came to the growing light. -Flames became visible, then the fire fringed the outlines of hull and -rigging. - -Dave ran to the pilot room and quickly advised Mr. King of the -circumstance. Professor Leblance was summoned from the engine room. - -“Slow down and focus the searchlight on the ship,” he ordered. - -This was done. It was a vivid and exciting scene. The great fingers of -radiance went groping all about the craft. No one seemed aboard. No one -seemed struggling in the waves about the ship. - -Fast to its stern, however, by a long cable and thus held in position, -was a rude raft. The searchlight showed a man standing upon this and -viewing the blazing ship. At his feet, covered over with a tarpaulin, -there seemed to be another human form. - -“We cannot leave those people to their fate,” said the Professor. “Mr. -King, we will drop the floats and stop, while you and the boys take the -emergency yawl and go after whoever may be aboard of that raft.” - -The _Albatross_ rested its floats lightly upon the water and skimmed it -slowly at an even height, like the royal bird after which it was named. - -The handling of the yawl was of a piece with the operation of all the -perfect utilities of the airship. The three boys took the oars and the -airman acted as pilot. - -Just as they got near to the raft they saw the man standing upright upon -it, sever the cable holding it to the burning ship. The heat from the -flames had evidently become too intense for him to bear. Then he posed -in an attitude of suspense and eagerness, a wiry, keen-eyed little man. -He had a long, oval metal box strapped across his shoulder, and was -dripping wet. - -“Good for you!” he hailed, as the airman grappled the raft with a -boathook. - -“Ship caught fire, did it?” remarked Mr. King. - -“No, I set it.” - -The yawl crew stared almost unbelievingly at the man as he made this -statement, but he went on calmly: - -“I had to. She’s water logged, and bound to sink the first capful of -breeze that hits her.” - -“Where are the passengers and crew?” asked the airman. - -“Abandoned her early this morning. I was down in the cabin getting -this”—and the speaker tapped the tin box as though it contained -something precious. “They missed me, and were away in the boat before I -knew it.” - -“But the fire?” - -“I made this raft ready against the ship scuttling. Thought I’d fire the -ship for a signal for help. You see it did some good.” - -“Well, get aboard,” ordered the airman. - -“What about him?” inquired the shipwrecked man, and he pointed to the -tarpaulin on the raft. - -“Someone there?” - -“Yes.” - -“Who is it?” - -“A man I rescued not an hour ago. He lay across a wooden grating, -floating along past the ship. His head is bleeding, and he is -unconscious.” - -Mr. King directed Dave and Hiram to assist in lifting the insensible man -to the yawl. The latter was limp and lifeless as some water logged rat. -They placed him in the bottom of the yawl and resumed their oars. - -“See here,” spoke the man with the tin box, “the best you can do for me -is a sky sailor, is it?” - -“That, or nothing,” replied the airman. - -“Where are you bound for?” - -“Across the Atlantic, for Europe.” - -“I knew it would come some day,” observed the rescued man quite coolly. -“You see, I’m an inventor myself. I’ve got in that tin box patents for a -new kind of color photography that will make me millions. I’m not -altogether poor just now, either, and if you set me and my patents safe -on _terra firma_ almost anywhere, I’ll pay a handsome reckoning.” - -Within the hour the rescued men were hoisted safely into the airship and -the yawl replaced in position. The unconscious man had been carried into -one of the staterooms. Professor Leblance had quite a smattering of -medicine. He examined the patient, prepared some remedies from a -medicine chest the craft carried, and came into the cabin to report to -Mr. Dale. - -“A very sick man. What water and exposure have not done, a bad cut on -the head has. He is delirious and in a weak and feverish condition. I -would suggest that you in the cabin here take turns in caring for him.” - -All hands were agreeable to this. In the excitement and bustle of the -rescue, Dave and the others had not particularly noticed the sufferer. -Dave had scarcely entered the place where the patient lay, however, with -Hiram, when he gave a great start. He stood with his eyes fixed on the -man, as he spoke hurriedly to his comrade. - -“Go to Mr. King and tell him to come here at once.” - -“What is it, Dashaway?” inquired the airman, appearing a few minutes -later. - -“Look, Mr. King,” said the young aviator, pointing to the prostrate man; -“who is he?” - -“Impossible!” ejaculated Mr. King, starting back. “Why, it’s Roger -Davidson!” - -There was no doubt of the fact. In turn Grimshaw, young Brackett and -even Hiram confirmed the identification. - -“Here’s a new mystery for you,” admitted Mr. King, coming into the cabin -an hour later. “The clothes that man wore show little adaptability to -airship work. In one of his pockets I found the main stub of a steamship -ticket. He never fell from any airship. I can account for his -extraordinary appearance upon the scene in one way only.” - -“And that?” questioned Mr. Dale. - -“Is that he was lost off some ocean steamer. One thing certain—the -_Dictator_ never started across the Atlantic with this man in charge.” - -For three days Davidson lay insensible most of the time. Meanwhile the -_Albatross_ coursed its way without accident or delay. All hands were -delighted over the success thus far of their wonderful enterprise. They -passed the three-quarters distance mark with every prospect of reaching -goal in splendid trim. - -It was a cool, cloudy and misty night, and both the professor and airman -were on close guard on account of the changed weather conditions. The -boys were reading in the cozy cabin. Grimshaw and Mr. Dale had gone to -bed, and everything seemed proceeding smoothly in engine and pilot -rooms. Finally Hiram looked up from his book. - -“We are surely going to make it,” he remarked. “The professor says that -it will be a clean shoot ahead for land first thing in the morning.” - -“I can hardly realize that there is every chance of reaching the goal -and winning the prize,” observed the young aviator. - -“Say, what was that?” abruptly interjected young Brackett. - -There had come a sudden shock. It resembled a wrench, a shiver; as if -some vital part of the giant mechanism had met with disaster. - -“Something wrong!” cried Dave, springing to his feet. - -At that moment a blood-curdling yell echoed through the airship. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - THE FORLORN HOPE - - -Hiram and Brackett joined the young aviator in a rush for the passageway -leading to the pilot room. It was from that direction that the cry had -echoed. - -A sharp, double danger signal rang out from the engine room. There were -sounds of distant shouts. The yell was repeated. Some keen intuition -drove Dave to the stateroom which had served as invalid ward for the man -rescued from the raft. - -“Hiram,” cried the young aviator, “Davidson is gone!” - -“Why, it can’t be! Say—whew! suppose he’s gone wild, and is rambling all -over the ship among that machinery!” - -Snap—crack! Following upon the echoes of that second terrific cry, a -disturbing thing had happened—every electric light in the _Albatross_ -went out! - -To add to the confusion and terror of the moment, in the direction of -the engine room there rang out a thumping, crashing sound, as if some -disjointed part of the machinery was beating things to pieces like a -steel flail. - -“Stand still,” ordered Dave, sharply, “don’t try to grope about in the -dark. It’s no use.” - -The young aviator felt his way out into a corridor leading to the supply -room. It was a fortunate thing that he had familiarized himself with -everything about the place. Dave located a certain cabinet, and opening -one of its drawers, took out what he was after—an armful of electric -hand lights carrying their own batteries. - -“Here, Hiram, Brackett,” he called, flashing one of the tubes. “Take -some of these. Follow me. I don’t know that the people in the engine -rooms have any way of getting a light. Let us hurry to them.” - -“Hold on!” shouted a new voice, and Grimshaw bolted upon the scene. -“What’s the trouble?” - -“We don’t know, but something pretty serious, I imagine,” replied Dave, -quickly. “Take these.” - -He furnished Grimshaw with two of the electric tubes. Then Dave led the -way to the pilot room. He found Mr. King lighting matches to get some -kind of illumination, and as ignorant themselves as to the condition of -affairs. The aviator at once led a rush in the direction of the engine -room. They arrived at the ante-chamber leading to it to come upon a -stirring scene. - -A small hand lamp only illuminated the apartment. It contained four men, -the professor, two of his assistants, and these latter were holding to -the floor and battling with and binding hand and foot a wild, struggling -maniac—Roger Davidson. - -“He got loose!” cried the aviator, at once reading the situation. - -“And in his frenzy has done terrible damage to the _Albatross_,” -exclaimed Professor Leblance, pale, disturbed and anxious-faced. “It is -very serious, I fear. Get him away to the cabin as speedily as you can, -and watch him every minute. You, Mr. King, resume your post at the pilot -table. Dashaway, hurry all the spare light tubes here.” - -There was a shivery, uncertain wobble to the giant airship now. The -prodigious construction resembled some monster machine that had received -a vital wound. Dave hastened on his mission. As he returned to the -engine room he passed Hiram, Brackett and one of the assistants, -carrying Davidson back to the stateroom. - -Mr. King was at his post at the pilot table, and looked worried and -helpless. The electric apparatus of the airship having been destroyed, -he could only sit and use the speaking tubes. - -Dave found the engine room in hideous disorder. The engine was not in -operation, and parts of it were all out of order. The professor and his -men were getting a reserve engine in shape. For over an hour, silently, -and deeply engrossed in all that was going on, the young aviator placed -the light tubes as directed, and brought this and that tool and -machine-fitting to the workmen as Professor Leblance ordered. - -Dave saw the new engine started up. The professor held a long, whispered -conversation with one of his men. Then he beckoned to Dave and led the -way to the pilot room. - -The Frenchman sank into a chair there, his face gray and careworn. They -were three anxious ones. Leblance passed his hand over his eyes wearily, -as if he had gone through a terrible ordeal. - -“Well?” said the aviator simply. - -“That maniac threw an iron bar into the machinery. He has ruined -everything,” announced Leblance. - -“But the new engine?” - -“Can only operate the rudder control. The entire mechanism is -practically destroyed, my friends. I must not conceal from you that the -situation is desperate, dangerous, almost hopeless!” - -“But we are still running, Professor?” submitted the aviator. - -“With one forlorn hope in view.” - -“Of reaching the end of our voyage?” - -“That we can never hope for,” declared the Frenchman, in a gloomy tone. - -“Then—what?” bluntly demanded the aviator. - -Leblance arose to his feet, running one hand over his eyes with a swift -movement as if to restore impaired vision or brush away tears. He -proceeded to a map attached to the wall just above the pilot table. His -fingers traced the course already traversed by the _Albatross_. - -“We are here,” he said, halting the faltering index. “Ahead, observe, is -an island. It is two hundred miles southwest of the coast of France. We -may possibly reach it by exhausting every utility we possess. If we do -not, within the next forty-eight hours——” - -The professor shrugged his shoulders slowly, sadly this time. An -expression of ineffable solemnity crossed his noble face. - -He pointed down as if indicating unknown depths waiting to swallow them -up. Then he again ran his finger across the map, pausing at that little -dark speck that marked the island. - -“A change of wind,” he said, “a single break in the apparatus, a -trifling leak, and we are at the mercy of the mishap of our lives! That -island—it is our last forlorn hope!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - GOAL! - - -“It’s too bad,” said Hiram, and the young aviator’s assistant was very -nearly at the point of tears. - -“We can only make the best of it,” returned Dave, trying to be -philosophical. “At any rate, we made a grand run.” - -“Yes, it’s something to beat the world’s record, even half the way,” -agreed Hiram. “But think of it—only for that awful break of Davidson -we’d have won the day!” - -The two young airmen sat outside of a wretched little hotel, a part of a -remote fishing town on the island that had been “the forlorn hope” of -the _Albatross_. The giant airship had succeeded in reaching it. - -As Dave sat rather gloomily reviewing experience and prospects, he could -not help but think of the past two nights and a day with a thrill. That -had been a desperate, hair-breadth dash of the crippled airship. Without -knowing all the technical details of their situation, Dave had read from -the tireless, feverish actions of Professor Leblance, that he was -rushing the _Albatross_ under a fearful strain of risk and suspense, -momentarily dreading a new and final disaster. - -Before daylight, with a flabby gas bag and with the reserve engine -barely able to work the propellers, the _Albatross_ had settled down on -a desolate stretch of beach, practically a wreck. - -“The mechanism has played out completely,” Leblance had asserted. -“According to the regulations of the international society, the flight -must end on the French or English mainland. We are two hundred miles -short. We might as well be two thousand.” - -“Is there no possible chance of getting new machinery, of making -temporary repairs that will tide us over?” suggested Mr. King. - -“Impossible, under days, even weeks,” replied the Frenchman. “On the -rule schedule a stay at any point over twelve hours cancels the right of -entry.” - -It was, indeed, too bad—so near to success, so very close to goal! A -profound gloom had spread over every member of the airship crowd. The -islanders had viewed the strange craft with excited curiosity at first, -and had then gone back to their fishing. Davidson had been removed to a -room at the little hotel, young Brackett in charge as his nurse, and all -the others had taken up their quarters as well. - -The young aviator and his comrade had been discussing the situation -seated on an overturned boat. Hiram at length arose with a dreary kind -of sigh and strolled aimlessly back towards the hotel. Dave sat thinking -deeply. He started up, however, as he saw Brackett coming towards him. - -“Dashaway,” he said quite excitedly, “I’ve got to get back to my charge, -don’t dare to leave him alone, you know but I wanted you to read -something,” and the speaker extended some folded sheets of paper. - -“Why, what is this?” inquired the young aviator. - -“You know I understand shorthand—humph! it’s about all I am good for, I -reckon,” added Elmer, in his usual deprecating way. “Well, for the past -hour or two my patient has been saying some strange things.” - -“What about?” asked Dave—“the _Dictator_ and Jerry Dawson, I suppose?” - -“You’ve guessed it. I’ve written out his ramblings in long hand. I fancy -your quick mind will weave a pretty startling story out of it all.” - -“There’s the professor,” said Dave abruptly, “I’ll read your notes -later, Brackett,” and he thrust the sheets into his pocket, and started -towards the beach as he saw Professor Leblance leave the hotel, bound in -the same direction. - -The failure of the ambitious Frenchman had almost crushed him. Dave felt -sorry for him as he noted the drooping head and dejected manner of the -scientist. He did not approach him closely, but followed him at a -distance. As they rounded some rocks the _Albatross_ came into full -view. - -Professor Leblance, walking slowly, gazed with sadness upon the inert -monster of the air. Then he looked up at a hail. A fisherman was running -towards him. Dave noticed the professor brace up magically at the first -words of the native. The latter pointed to the air and the sea. His -pantomime was expressive and energetic. - -There came a sudden blast of wind, and then Dave understood. He noticed -the professor start on a keen run for the _Albatross_. He was up the -trailing rope ladder sprightly as a lad, shouting some orders to the -fisherman, who ran towards the guy cable attached to a great tree trunk. - -“It can’t be possible,” almost gasped the startled young airman, “that -Professor Leblance is thinking of trusting to the wind alone to finish -the flight. It’s true! I won’t be left behind!” - -Dave caught at the ladder just as the propeller began to whir. By the -time he was in the cabin the earth was fading away. He threaded the -corridors in the direction of the engine room. - -“Dashaway!” shouted the professor in amazement, as the young airman -burst in upon him. - -“Yes, Professor, I am here,” said Dave. “You are going to make a try to -reach the mainland? I am with you.” - -There was no time for compliments, explanations or delay. In two -minutes’ time the professor had made his assistant aware of what was -required of him. Practically only as a balloon could the _Albatross_ now -act, and only provided the strong wind maintained in precisely the -direction it was now set. - -“See, my friend,” spoke Leblance, eagerly, “we have no control whatever -over the planes. The steering apparatus, too, is useless. The engine -will barely take care of the propellers. If you know how to operate -them, take my seat here. Keep the rudder locked firm. That is all we can -do. For the rest—it is a risk, a perilous risk.” - -“Anything to get there!” cried Dave; and then the professor left him -alone. - -The _Albatross_ had risen to a good altitude at her first spurt. She -drove with the wind at a wonderful rate of speed. At the end of an hour, -however, the young aviator noticed a gradual drop. The buoyancy of the -gas bag was lessening. - -After that Dave heard the professor working with tools below the cabin. -He was quite startled as there was a jerk. Then he saw first one and -then the other of the aeroplane attachments go hurtling down to the -water, engulfed by the ocean. - -Relieved of such an incubus the airship regained a higher level. Two -hours went by, then three. The professor appeared in a great state of -excitement and hopefulness. - -“She’s dropping again, but don’t let up for an instant,” he ordered. “I -see the land ahead—two hours more, and we’ve made it.” - -“Will the gas last?” inquired the young aviator, seriously. - -“I am about to free our final reserve—one tank. That will do for a -spell. Then—if I have to explode the balloonets into the main gas -chamber, we must keep aloft till we are over land.” - -Up—down—up—down—that was the progress for the next two hours. Once it -was nearly a volplane drift, and the dauntless young pilot of the -_Albatross_ fancied they were headed for a dive straight into the -ocean’s depths. - -A final rise, and Dave’s heart cheered as he saw land not two miles -distant. Professor Leblance rushed into the engine room. - -“Drift!” he ordered—“let her drop as she likes now—we have arrived!” - -The brave old scientist tottered from excitement and exhaustion as he -spoke. A great, thrilling cheer seemed to lift from the lips of the -young aviator, and ten minutes later the _Albatross_, a wobbling, -flabby, weather-worn wreck, landed on a great dock in the sight of -waiting thousands. - -“Boy,” spoke Professor Leblance, in a ringing tone and with sparkling -eyes, “we have reached goal! The giant airship has crossed the -Atlantic!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - CONCLUSION - - -“This is Professor Leblance, I believe? We have been expecting you, -sir.” - -“And this is my friend and co-worker, David Dashaway,” spoke the French -scientist, proudly. - -It was thirty-six hours after the giant airship had landed on French -soil. Within that space of time rapid and interesting events had been -crowded into the experience of the young American aviator. - -At once after the landing, the professor had sought out the nearest -resident representative of the French Aero Association. This individual -had officially verified the arrival of the _Albatross_. Armed with the -necessary credentials, Leblance and his young assistant had started at -once for London. - -Their destination, now reached, was the International Aero Institute, -with whom trans-Atlantic negotiations had been made before the -_Albatross_ started on its trip. The French official had wired about the -coming of the distinguished visitors. - -Now Dave Dashaway, like the professor, arrayed in a handsome new suit of -clothes, stood in the office of one of the most noted organizations in -the aero world. - -The first flush of the recent triumph still dwelt with Dave. Then there -flashed over his mind the marvelous contrast between the present moment -and less than six months previous. Then he had been the obscure -down-trodden ward of a cruel guardian. Now through a mist of grateful -tears the young aviator thought tenderly of the right royal friends who -had assisted in crossing the Atlantic in the giant airship and who had -loyally helped him to become the honored guest of men famous the world -over for science and intelligent adventure. - -The secretary of the club who had greeted them stood aside with a -courteous bow to usher them into the reception room of the club. As he -did so he said: - -“We are proud to greet you, Professor. Your exploit will live in -history, notwithstanding that you are second in the remarkable feat of -crossing the Atlantic in an airship.” - -The sensitive Frenchman recoiled as though dealt a blow. - -“How?” he cried sharply. “Second? what does this mean?” - -“You had not heard? Ah, yes, the _Dictator_, pilot J. E. Dawson, landed -near Plymouth day before yesterday. After a terrible trip, clinging to -the mere rag of a gas bag, Dawson was found nearly drowned on the -seashore.” - -Professor Leblance sank to a chair stupefied. He stared like a man -stunned into vacancy. He was completely overcome. - -A strange expression crossed the face of the young aviator. Impulsively -his hand went to a certain document that Elmer Brackett had given him -two days before. His eye grew more steady, his lips more firm. - -“Will you kindly give me a few details of the _Dictator_ flight,” he -requested, “while Professor Leblance recovers from his surprise?” - -It was a brief story. The red, white and blue gas bag had landed near -Plymouth. The daring pilot was discovered clinging to it, drenched to -the skin. He had been feted, honored, brought to London. He was even now -in the next room, relating his wonderful adventures to the president and -directors of the club. - -“Come, Professor Leblance,” said Dave, in a clear, steady tone, “I have -something to say to this wonderful J. E. Dawson.” - -“Professor Leblance and Mr. Dashaway, of the _Albatross_,” introduced -the secretary, a minute later. - -Lolling in a luxurious armchair in the midst of some braggadocio -recital, with a startled jerk Jerry Dawson came upright as though -electrified. - -The eye of the young aviator rested upon him with a fixedness that made -him squirm. - -“Happy to meet you, Professor Leblance,” greeted the club official. “You -share a most glorious exploit with our guest.” - -“One word first,” interrupted Dave, amazed at his own firmness of voice -and nerve. “So there may be no later misunderstanding, does that young -man, whom I recognize as a Mr. Dawson, claim to have arrived first in -the race across the Atlantic?” - -“Most assuredly,” responded the club president. - -“His claim is unfounded,” declared the young aviator in a calm, even -tone, but with great positiveness. “He is an adventurer, a fraud. He -crossed the Atlantic on the steamer _Alsatia_. The balloon found on the -Plymouth coast is a duplicate of the _Dictator_ which he brought along -with him, and the original _Dictator_, after a brief land run, was -purposely burned up fifty miles from New York city.” - -“Who says so?” shouted Jerry Dawson, getting excitedly to his feet. - -“Roger Davidson,” replied the young aviator, simply. - -Jerry Dawson grew white to the lips. He foresaw the losing game, but -still he blurted out: - -“The proofs?” - -“Gentlemen,” said Dave, “a cablegram will serve to order an -investigation of the ashes of the _Dictator_. A living witness as to the -shipboard experience of this young romancer can be brought to London as -soon as our friends are reached.” - -“Why, if this is true, the club will be the laughing stock of the -world,” observed the president, bending a dark look on Jerry. - -“I—I think I’ll go and consult a lawyer about this insulting charge,” -ventured Jerry. “Let me out.” - -“No, we will kick you out, if this is all true!” shouted an angry -director. - -“You will remain here,” said the president, firmly. “Your story, sir, -the truthful one; or we shall hold you criminally for false -representation.” - -Jerry was scared. Dave’s resolute face daunted him most of all. He -trembled and shivered. By degrees he confessed. He was taken to the -office of the club to furnish a signed statement. Then he was turned -loose on the streets of London—exit ingloriously Jerry Dawson! - -The invalid wanderings of Davidson had supplied his nurse, Elmer -Brackett, with a pretty clear history of the plot to impose a duplicate -_Dictator_ on the public. While under the influence of a drug, Davidson -had fallen from the steamer, and Jerry had thrown a grating after him. -Perhaps the hope of securing all the international prize money for -himself, had led Jerry to say nothing further about the accident. - - * * * * * - -There was a great celebration at a noted London hotel the week -following. The most humble member of the crew of the _Albatross_ was -present. - -Money and fame had come to them all. Dave Dashaway was the central -figure with the public. Professor Leblance seemed to take most pride in -the construction of the _Albatross_. Young, enterprising, popular, Dave, -as the last man at the helm of the ill-fated _Albatross_, was the real -hero of the event. - -“Well, lads,” said the happy Professor Leblance across the table to -Dave, Hiram and Elmer, “you have now reached so high a notch in -aeronautic science that you can go no further.” - -“Mistake,” piped up the irrepressible Hiram. - -“Oh, yes, a grave mistake, Professor,” insisted young Brackett. - -Dave Dashaway only smiled. - -“Come, what’s up with you young people?” challenged the good-natured Mr. -King. - -“Why,” spoke the young aviator, “when we go back home, and you have put -that promised quietus on that rascal Vernon, we are going to Elmer’s -father and have him build for us a magnificent aeroplane that will beat -anything ever before constructed.” - -“And the purpose?” inquired old Grimshaw, with a hopeful twinkle in his -eye. - -“Why,” replied Dave, “our idea is to get up a great international race -around the globe.” - -“That’s it,” jubilated the veteran airman. “I knew it would be something -grand and original.” - -“Canada, Alaska, Siberia, Russia—finishing where we began,” explained -Dave Dashaway. - -“Can it be done?” - -“I think so.” - -“But the danger——” - -“There was danger in crossing the mighty Atlantic.” - -“I know that. But to go around the world. You will meet all sort of -strange people and get in many a tight situation, and——” - -“But Dave Dashaway can do it, trust him,” said Mr. Dale, proudly. “He is -the son of his father—you can trust him.” - -“Oh, you can’t beat Dave,” cried Hiram. “His enemies have tried it, and -failed, every time.” - -So we leave our young airmen, full of ardor and hope, with their -wonderful plans. How the same were carried out in a most remarkable -aviation exploit, will be told in a succeeding volume, to be entitled, -“Dave Dashaway Around the World; Or, A Young Yankee Aviator Among Many -Nations.” - -“Only one Dave Dashaway in this world,” said Hiram, to young Brackett. - -“The best friend I ever had!” murmured the other. “One boy in a -million!” - -“Right you are!” - - - THE END - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES - By LESTER CHADWICK - - _12mo. Illustrated. Price 50 cents per volume. - Postage 10 cents additional._ - -[Illustration] - - 1. BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS - _or The Rivals of Riverside_ - - 2. BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE - _or Pitching for the Blue Banner_ - - 3. BASEBALL JOE AT YALE - _or Pitching for the College Championship_ - - 4. BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE - _or Making Good as a Professional Pitcher_ - - 5. BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE - _or A Young Pitcher’s Hardest Struggles_ - - 6. BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS - _or Making Good as a Twirler in the Metropolis_ - - 7. BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES - _or Pitching for the Championship_ - - 8. BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD - _or Pitching on a Grand Tour_ - - 9. BASEBALL JOE: HOME RUN KING - _or The Greatest Pitcher and Batter on Record_ - - 10. BASEBALL JOE SAVING THE LEAGUE - _or Breaking Up a Great Conspiracy_ - - 11. BASEBALL JOE CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM - _or Bitter Struggles on the Diamond_ - - 12. BASEBALL JOE CHAMPION OF THE LEAGUE - _or The Record that was Worth While_ - - 13. BASEBALL JOE CLUB OWNER - _or Putting the Home Town on the Map_ - - 14. BASEBALL JOE PITCHING WIZARD - _or Triumphs Off and On the Diamond_ - - _Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue._ - - ------------------------------------------- - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE JEWEL SERIES - - BY AMES THOMPSON - - _12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in colors_ - - _Price per volume, 65 cents_ - -[Illustration] - - _A series of stories brimming with hardy adventure, vivid and - accurate in detail, and with a good foundation of probability. They - take the reader realistically to the scene of action. Besides being - lively and full of real situations, they are written in a - straightforward way very attractive to boy readers._ - - -1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS AND THE VALLEY OF DIAMONDS - -Malcolm Edwards and his son Ralph are adventurers with ample means for -following up their interest in jewel clues. In this book they form a -party of five, including Jimmy Stone and Bret Hartson, boys of Ralph’s -age, and a shrewd level-headed sailor named Stanley Greene. They find a -valley of diamonds in the heart of Africa. - -2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS AND THE RIVER OF EMERALDS - -The five adventurers, staying at a hotel in San Francisco, find that -Pedro the elevator man has an interesting story of a hidden “river of -emeralds” in Peru, to tell. With him as guide, they set out to find it, -escape various traps set for them by jealous Peruvians, and are much -amused by Pedro all through the experience. - -3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS AND THE LAGOON OF PEARLS - -This time the group starts out on a cruise simply for pleasure, but -their adventuresome spirits lead them into the thick of things on a -South Sea cannibal island. - - _Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - ------------------------------------------- - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, PUBLISHERS New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE WEBSTER SERIES - - By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -[Illustration] - - Mr. WEBSTER’S style is very much like that of the boys’ favorite - author, the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are - thoroughly up-to-date. - - _Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. - Stamped in various colors._ - - _Price per volume, 50 cents._ - _Postage 10 cents additional._ - - Only a Farm Boy - _or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life_ - The Boy from the Ranch - _or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences_ - The Young Treasure Hunter - _or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska_ - The Boy Pilot of the Lakes - _or Nat Morton’s Perils_ - Tom the Telephone Boy - _or The Mystery of a Message_ - Bob the Castaway - _or The Wreck of the Eagle_ - The Newsboy Partners - _or Who Was Dick Box?_ - Two Boy Gold Miners - _or Lost in the Mountains_ - The Young Firemen of Lakeville - _or Herbert Dare’s Pluck_ - The Boys of Bellwood School - _or Frank Jordan’s Triumph_ - Jack the Runaway - _or On the Road with a Circus_ - Bob Chester’s Grit - _or From Ranch to Riches_ - Airship Andy - _or The Luck of a Brave Boy_ - High School Rivals - _or Fred Markham’s Struggles_ - Darry the Life Saver - _or The Heroes of the Coast_ - Dick the Bank Boy - _or A Missing Fortune_ - Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine - _or Making a Record for Himself_ - Harry Watson’s High School Days - _or The Rivals of Rivertown_ - Comrades of the Saddle - _or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains_ - Tom Taylor at West Point - _or The Old Army Officer’s Secret_ - The Boy Scouts of Lennox - _or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain_ - The Boys of the Wireless - _or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep_ - Cowboy Dave - _or The Round-up at Rolling River_ - Jack of the Pony Express - _or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail_ - The Boys of the Battleship - _or For the Honor of Uncle Sam_ - - ------------------------------------------- - - CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES - - By _Clarence Young_ - - -[Illustration] - - _12 mo. illustrated_ - _Price per volume, 50 cents._ - _Postage, extra, 10 cents_ - - _Bright up-to-date stories, full of information as well as of - adventure. Read the first volume and you will want all the others - written by Mr. Young._ - - 1. THE MOTOR BOYS - _or Chums through Thick and Thin_ - 2. THE MOTOR BOYS OVERLAND - _or A Long Trip for Fun and Fortune_ - 3. THE MOTOR BOYS IN MEXICO - _or The Secret of the Buried City_ - 4. THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS - _or The Hermit of Lost Lake_ - 5. THE MOTOR BOYS AFLOAT - _or The Cruise of the Dartaway_ - 6. THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE ATLANTIC - _or The Mystery of the Lighthouse_ - 7. THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS - _or Lost in a Floating Forest_ - 8. THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE PACIFIC - _or The Young Derelict Hunters_ - 9. THE MOTOR BOYS IN THE CLOUDS - _or A Trip for Fame and Fortune_ - 10. THE MOTOR BOYS OVER THE ROCKIES - _or A Mystery of the Air_ - 11. THE MOTOR BOYS OVER THE OCEAN - _or A Marvelous Rescue in Mid-Air_ - 12. THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE WING - _or Seeking the Airship Treasure_ - - ------------------------------------------- - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE BOYS’ OUTING LIBRARY - - _12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full color. - Price, per volume, 50 cents. Postage 10 cents additional._ - -[Illustration] - - THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES - By CAPT. JAMES CARSON - - The Saddle Boys of the Rockies - The Saddle Boys in the Grand Canyon - The Saddle Boys on the Plains - The Saddle Boys at Circle Ranch - The Saddle Boys on Mexican Trails - - - THE DAVE DASHAWAY SERIES - By ROY ROCKWOOD - - Dave Dashaway the Young Aviator - Dave Dashaway and His Hydroplane - Dave Dashaway and His Giant Airship - Dave Dashaway Around the World - Dave Dashaway: Air Champion - - - THE SPEEDWELL BOYS SERIES - By ROY ROCKWOOD - - The Speedwell Boys on Motorcycles - The Speedwell Boys and Their Racing Auto - The Speedwell Boys and Their Power Launch - The Speedwell Boys in a Submarine - The Speedwell Boys and Their Ice Racer - - - THE TOM FAIRFIELD SERIES - By ALLEN CHAPMAN - - Tom Fairfield’s School Days - Tom Fairfield at Sea - Tom Fairfield in Camp - Tom Fairfield’s Pluck and Luck - Tom Fairfield’s Hunting Trip - - - THE FRED FENTON ATHLETIC SERIES - By ALLEN CHAPMAN - - Fred Fenton the Pitcher - Fred Fenton in the Line - Fred Fenton on the Crew - Fred Fenton on the Track - Fred Fenton: Marathon Runner - - _Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue._ - - ------------------------------------------- - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE BOY RANCHERS SERIES - - By WILLARD F. BAKER - -[Illustration] - - _12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - - _Price 50 cents per volume._ - _Postage 10 cents additional._ - - _Stories of the great west, with cattle ranches as a setting, - related in such a style as to captivate the hearts of all boys._ - - 1. THE BOY RANCHERS - _or Solving the Mystery at Diamond X_ - Two eastern boys visit their cousin. They - become involved in an exciting mystery. - - 2. THE BOY RANCHERS IN CAMP - _or the Water Fight at Diamond X_ - Returning for a visit, the two eastern lads learn, with delight, - that they are to become boy ranchers. - - 3. THE BOY RANCHERS ON THE TRAIL - _or The Diamond X After Cattle Rustlers_ - Our boy heroes take the trail after Del Pinzo and his outlaws. - - 4. THE BOY RANCHERS AMONG THE INDIANS - _or Trailing the Yaquis_ - Rosemary and Floyd are captured by the Yaqui Indians but the - boy ranchers trailed them into the mountains and effected the - rescue. - - 5. THE BOY RANCHERS AT SPUR CREEK - _or Fighting the Sheep Herders_ - Dangerous struggle against desperadoes for land rights brings - out heroic adventures. - - 6. THE BOY RANCHERS IN THE DESERT - _or Diamond X and the Lost Mine_ - One night a strange old miner almost dead from hunger and - hardship arrived at the bunk house. The boys cared for him and - he told them of the lost desert mine. - - 7. THE BOY RANCHERS ON ROARING RIVER - _or Diamond X and the Chinese Smugglers_ - The boy ranchers help capture Delton’s gang who were engaged - in smuggling Chinese across the border. - - 8. THE BOY RANCHERS IN DEATH VALLEY - _or Diamond X and the Poison Mystery_ - The Boy Ranchers track Mysterious Death into his cave. - - _Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue._ - - ------------------------------------------- - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with - _underscores_. Boldface phrases are presented by surrounding the - text with =equal= signs. Small capitals have been rendered in full - capitals. - - Punctuation has been standardized. Minor spelling and typographic - errors have been corrected silently, except as noted below. - - "some one" and "someone" are used interchangeably throughout the - book, and all occurrences have been left as printed. - - On the second page (unnumbered), "12" added before "mo. Cloth. - Illustrated." - - "Imposter" left as is on page 6 (instead of being changed to - "impostor") as it was sometimes spelled "imposter" in the time - period. - - Three instances of "stop cock" changed to "stop-cock" to be - internally consistent and consistent with contemporary (1910's) - usage. - - Several instances of "employe" left as is, as it appears that way - three times in the book and was written that way occasionally in the - time period. - - The word "distinguished" has been changed to "extinguished" on page - 114. - - On page 117, "a-way" has been left as is, as it appears in dialectic - speech. - - On page 118, "bulge" has been changed to "budge", as "bulge" doesn't - make sense, even as dialect. - - One sentence near the bottom of page 134 ("Dave led the way to a - thick copse. The woman") was in the text twice (several paragraphs - apart), and the first instance has been removed. - - On page 202, "Rodger" has been changed to "Roger" to be consistent - with other usage in the book. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dave Dashaway and His Giant Airship, by -Roy Rockwood - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP *** - -***** This file should be named 50070-0.txt or 50070-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/0/7/50070/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rick Morris and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -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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