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diff --git a/old/50287-0.txt b/old/50287-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b953305..0000000 --- a/old/50287-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7143 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Flying Machine Boys in the Wilds, by Frank Walton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Flying Machine Boys in the Wilds - The Mystery of the Andes - -Author: Frank Walton - -Release Date: October 23, 2015 [EBook #50287] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FLYING MACHINE BOYS IN THE WILDS *** - - - - -Produced by Rick Morris and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -[Illustration: The boys were certain that if they could have looked down -upon the savages they would have seen them on their knees.] - - _The Flying Machine Boys in the Wilds._ _Page 24._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Flying Machine Boys - In the Wilds - - OR - - The Mystery of the Andes - - - By FRANK WALTON - - AUTHOR OF - “The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service” - “The Flying Machine Boys on Duty” - “The Flying Machine Boys in Mexico” - -[Illustration] - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - NEW YORK. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Copyright 1913 - BY A. L. BURT COMPANY - - ------- - - THE FLYING MACHINE BOYS IN THE WILDS - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. UNDER THE EQUATOR. 3 - II. WHAT THE FISHERMEN CAUGHT. 13 - III. A MASTERLY RETREAT. 23 - IV. PLANNING A MIDNIGHT RIDE. 33 - V. A WAIF AND A STRAY. 44 - VI. AUTOMOBILE VS. AEROPLANE. 56 - VII. A PAIR OF PLANS. 58 - VIII. A SPRING FOR LIBERTY. 80 - IX. A FINE CURTAIN-RAISER. 92 - X. WHERE THE TROUBLE BEGAN. 104 - XI. UNDER TROPICAL STARS. 115 - XII. THE HAUNTED TEMPLE. 125 - XIII. THE CLOSING OF A DOOR. 135 - XIV. THE INDIANS HELP SOME! 145 - XV. A QUESTION OF MARKSMANSHIP. 155 - XVI. BESIEGED IN THE TEMPLE. 165 - XVII. THE LOST TELEGRAMS. 177 - XVIII. JIMMIE’S AWFUL HUNGER. 188 - XIX. WHERE THE PASSAGE ENDED. 199 - XX. THE SAVAGES MAKE MORE TROUBLE. 209 - XXI. THE MYSTERY OF THE ANDES. 221 - XXII. TWO RUNAWAY BOYS! 230 - XXIII. TWO RUNAWAY AVIATORS! 239 - XXIV. THE END OF THE MYSTERY. 248 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE FLYING MACHINE BOYS - IN THE WILDS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - UNDER THE EQUATOR. - - -The Flying Machine Boys were camping under the equator. The _Louise_ and -the _Bertha_, the splendid aeroplanes in which the lads had visited -California and Mexico, lay on a great plateau some fifteen thousand feet -above the level of the Pacific ocean, and two thin tents of light -oiled-silk stood not far away. - -Ben Whitcomb and Jimmie Stuart sat at the entrance of one of the tents -shivering with cold, while Glenn Richards and Carl Nichols, in the -interest of increased warmth, chased each other around a miserable -little apology for a fire which alternately blazed and smoldered near -the aeroplanes. - -“I begin to understand now how those who freeze to death must suffer!” -declared Ben, his teeth chattering like the “bones” of an end-man in a -minstrel show. - -“You give me a pain!” grinned Jimmie. “Here we are almost exactly under -the equator, and yet you talk of being cold!” - -The boy’s lips were blue and he swung his arms about his body in the -hope of getting a livelier circulation of blood as he spoke. - -“Under the equator!” scoffed Ben. “Better say ‘under the Arctic circle!’ -What are we camping here for, anyway?” he added impatiently, springing -to his feet. “Why not drop down into a region where the equator isn’t -covered with ice a foot thick?” - -“You wanted to pass a night up here!” laughed Carl, stopping in front of -the two boys, his eyes dancing with mischief, his cheeks flushed from -exercise. “You told us how you wanted to breathe the cool, sweet air of -the hills! Now breathe it!” - -“The cool, sweet air of the hills,” Ben retorted, “reminds me of the -atmosphere of the big refrigerator at home.” - -Glenn Richards now joined the little group and stood laughing at the -disgusted expression on the face of his chum. - -“Didn’t I tell you,” he exclaimed, “that Ecuador is the land of -contradictions? When you come here, you bring a peck or two of quinine -tablets, a bundle or two of mosquito netting, and a couple of bales of -fans. You bring your summer clothing, and don’t expect to wear much of -that. Then you go on a trip up-country and freeze to death where the ice -is about nine thousand feet thick!” - -“I know where all the heat goes!” Jimmie declared. “It pours out of -those big peaks you see off there. How do you suppose the earth is going -to keep any warmth in it when it is all running out at volcanoes?” - -The boys were, perhaps, twenty miles north of Quito, almost exactly -under the equator. From the plateau on which they were encamped several -ancient volcanoes were in plain view. - -“Huh! I guess the volcanoes we see are about burned out!” Carl declared. -“At any rate, I don’t hear of their filling in any valleys with lava.” - -“I guess about all they do now is to smoke,” Ben suggested. - -“And that’s a bad habit, too!” Glenn Richards grinned. - -“Now, I’ll tell you what we’d better do, boys,” Glenn said, after -glancing disapprovingly at the small fire. “We’d better hop on the -machines and drop down about ten thousand feet. I’ve got enough of this -high mountain business.” - -“All right!” Jimmie returned. “You know what you said about wanting -experiences which were out of the way. If you think you’ve got one here, -we’ll slide down to the green grass.” - -It was late in November and the hot, dry season of the South American -continent was on. Far below the boys could see the dark green of -luxuriant vegetation, while all around them lay the bare brown peaks of -lofty plateaus and lifting mountain cones. - -As it was somewhere near the middle of the afternoon, the boys lost no -time in packing their camp equipage and provisions on the aeroplanes. In -order to find a suitable place for a camp lower down they might be -obliged to traverse considerable country. - -In describing this part of the continent a traveler once crumpled a -sheet of paper in his hand and tossed it on the table, saying to a -friend as he did so that that was an outline map of the northern part of -South America. There were many gorges and plateaus, but only a few spots -where aeroplanes might land with safety. - -After quite a long flight, during which the machines soared around -cliffs and slid into valleys and gorges, the boys found a green valley -watered by the Esmeraldas river. Here they dropped down, and the -shelter-tents were soon ready for occupancy. - -“I suppose,” Carl grumbled as provisions were taken from the flying -machines and brought to the vicinity of the fire, “that we’ll have to -fight thousands of kinds of crawling and creeping things before -morning!” - -“Well,” Jimmie laughed, “you wouldn’t stay up there where the flying and -creeping things don’t live!” - -“My private opinion,” declared Glenn, “is that we ought to spend most of -our time in the air! I wish we could sleep on the machines!” - -“Where are we going, anyhow?” demanded Jimmie. - -“We’re going to follow the backbone of the South American continent -clear to Cape Horn!” replied Ben. “That is, if our flying machines and -our tempers hold out!” - -“I have an idea,” Glenn said, “that we’ll spend most of the time in -Peru, which is probably the oldest country in the world so far as -civilization is concerned.” - -“That’s another dream!” exclaimed Carl. - -“Look here,” Glenn exclaimed, “there are still temples and palaces in -Peru which date back beyond the remotest reach of tradition. The -earliest Incas believed that many of the fortresses, castles and temples -which they found there were formed by the gods when the world was made.” - -“That’s going back a long ways!” laughed Jimmie. - -“There’s a lake in Peru called Titicaca on an island in the middle of -which lies an ancient palace and many other structures,” Glenn went on. -“Gathered about it are the remains of a civilization that was old when -the people of Europe consisted of a group of semi-heathen tribes -wandering from place to place. There are palaces surpassing anything to -be seen on the Rhine, and castles which had fallen into decay before -civilization began at the mouth of the Nile.” - -“Go to it!” laughed Carl. “Make it good and old while you’re about it!” - -“On the island of Titicaca,” continued Glenn, “are marvels in -architecture which make the wonders of Egypt look like thirty cents! -There are massive fortifications perched on the sides of almost -perpendicular cliffs, and even to-day there are large stones carefully -balanced on the verge of precipices, ready to be pushed off at a -moment’s notice and sent crashing down on the legions of an attacking -foe.” - -“Those old fellows must have been fighters!” commented Ben. - -“They were fighters, all right!” Glenn went on. “They ruled all that -part of the world until the Spaniards came. They were very -superstitious, the sun being an object of worship. The Temple of the -Sun, on the island of Titicaca, was one of the most magnificent -structures ever erected. Outside and inside the walls were lined with -gold and precious stones. The temple was the pride of the Incas, but it -was stripped of its rich covering by the Spaniards. The walls were torn -down and rifled, and the sacred sun was seized and gambled for by the -covetous invaders. Nothing that could be converted into money was -overlooked. And since that time the Incas have become one of the lowest -races on the face of the earth.” - -“I suppose we shall be able to inspect a lot of these old temples?” -asked Carl. - -“Undoubtedly!” Glenn answered. “Some of them are deserted; some are -occupied by native Indians, and some are said to be frequented by the -spirits of those who erected them.” - -“Gee! That sounds good to me!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -“A haunted temple might help some!” Carl exclaimed. - -“There really is a temple down on Lake Titicaca!” declared Glenn, “which -even Europeans declare to be inhabited by the Evil One.” - -“That’s where I’m headed for!” declared Jimmie. “Any old time you show -me a mystery you’ll see me on the job!” - -“There’s a mystery there, all right!” Glenn insisted. “The temple stands -on a winding arm of the lake, and is entirely surrounded by broken -country. So difficult is it of access that for years no one attempted to -visit it. Then, a few years ago, a party of Englishmen made their way to -the ruins and found themselves in an atmosphere of mystery almost -resembling magic.” - -“What did they see?” asked Ben. - -“I don’t remember exactly what they all saw,” Glenn answered. “Their -stories do not agree! Some saw figures in white—the long flowing robes -of priests—some saw strange lights suspended in the air; some heard the -most mournful and terrifying sounds.” - -“And these Englishmen were supposed to be people of average -intelligence?” asked Ben. - -“There were scientists in the party!” was the reply. - -“There is no such word as ghost in the dictionary of the scientist!” -laughed Carl. - -“Following the stories told by the visitors,” Glenn went on, “a number -of people visited the vicinity of the temple, and all came away with -tales more vivid and more imaginative than those of the scientists. For -two years now the place has been left entirely alone.” - -“We might go there and camp!” suggested Carl. - -“I move we take a look at it!” Jimmie cut in. “We can fly down on the -roof and get away before the goblins get us.” - -“I’m game for anything you boys decide on,” Glenn declared, “but my -private opinion is that it will be only a waste of time for us to pay -much attention to the haunted temple!” - -“The ghosts wouldn’t like us if we should leave their country without -making a formal call!” laughed Carl. - -“Who’s going to get supper?” asked Jimmie in a moment. “I feel like I -could eat one of the wild beasts which are said to flourish in this -region!” - -“There isn’t much supper to get!” replied Ben, with, a laugh. “All we -have is a couple of pounds of ham, a few eggs, and a lot of tinned -provisions. There’s the river down there. Why don’t one of you boys go -and catch a fish?” - -“Aw, I don’t believe there’s any fish in that river!” grinned Jimmie. -“If there are fish there, they’ll be tough eating for they must be -acrobats!” - -“Why acrobats?” asked Glenn. - -“Because they must stand on their heads and turn handsprings in order to -get something to eat in that swift water!” - -“I believe we can get a fish for supper, just the same!” insisted Carl, -“and I’m going to get out a line and an imitation minnow and go try!” - -“May the luck of the hungry fisherman go with you!” laughed Ben. - -“He’ll have better company than that!” Jimmie grinned. “I’m going along -myself!” - -While Glenn and Ben arranged the camp for the night Jimmie and Carl -started away down the slope leading to the river. Directly in front of -the tents the bank was clear of undergrowth, and covered with grass -almost waist high. Lower down, however, to the west, was a great thicket -which seemed to extend for miles. The opposite shore of the stream was -heavily wooded for some distance up. Above, the timber line showed the -bare, brown slopes of mountains. - -When the two boys reached the bank of the stream the prospects were not -attractive, the water being broken into rapids and falls by jagged rocks -which occupied the bed of the river at this point. To the west, however, -where the stream entered the forest, the surface of the water appeared -to be unbroken, so the lads made their way in that direction. In a few -minutes their lines were out and almost instantly sharp twitches at the -hooks informed the boys that they were not fishing in barren waters. - -But before the first fish was landed an exciting interruption occurred. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - WHAT THE FISHERMEN CAUGHT. - - -Seated with his back to the thicket, Jimmie heard a rustle and turned -about expecting to see one of his chums. - -Instead, he saw the ugly, vicious face of an Ecuadorian savage. While he -looked, the fellow was joined by another, equally repulsive and equally -naked. During that first moment of amazement Jimmie dropped his fish -pole and it went bobbing down the river. - -“Carl!” he said, in a low whisper. - -The boy shouted back from lower down the stream. - -“Got a fish?” - -“Come up and see!” cried Jimmie. - -Carl came panting through the undergrowth, and Jimmie pointed with a -hand which was not quite steady at the two figures in the underbrush -just back of him. - -“Look what I’ve found!” he whispered. - -“Did you call me up to give me my share?” asked Carl. “If you did, I -don’t want it! You’re welcome to everything you find in that line!” - -“Gee!” Jimmie exclaimed. “I wish we were back by the machines!” - -“I wish so, too!” Carl put in. “I wonder why they stand there looking at -us in that way.” - -“Maybe they’re out after supper, too!” remarked Jimmie. - -“Do they eat folks?” asked Carl. - -“The savages who come over from the Amazon valley eat folks,” Jimmie -answered, “and those fellows look as if they came from that -neighborhood.” - -“Let’s start on up toward camp and see if they will interfere!” -suggested Carl. - -“Have you got a gun with you?” asked Jimmie. - -“Of course not!” was the reply. “I didn’t come out to shoot fish!” - -“And I left mine at the camp, too!” Jimmie complained. “I’ll never do it -again!” - -“Well, let’s make a start and see what comes of it!” suggested Carl. - -As the boys moved away the savages, men of medium height but apparently -very strong and supple, lifted naked arms in gestures which commanded -them to remain where they were. - -“I wonder if they’ve got guns?” questioned Jimmie. - -“They’ve got little short spears!” answered Carl. “I saw one in that -fellow’s hand.” - -“And I suppose they’re poisoned, too!” Jimmie asserted. - -The two savages now advanced from the thicket and stood threateningly -before the two boys. Except for breech-clouts, which seemed to be woven -of some sort of fiber, the men were naked. In color they were almost as -dark as the negro of Africa. Their features seemed to be a cross between -the tribes of Asia and Africa. They were armed with short spears which -they flourished with many hostile gestures. - -“Good-evening!” Jimmie said. - -The savages conversed together in a dialect which seemed to the boys to -resemble a confidential conversation between two hogs, and then pointed -down the river. - -“Here’s where we get abducted!” Carl exclaimed. - -“You needn’t get funny about it!” Jimmie expostulated. “This is no -joke!” - -“Anyhow,” Carl went on, “the ginks don’t know anything about good -manners. They never answered your salutation!” - -The savages were still uttering what appeared to be wordless commands, -and, as they continued to point down the river, very reluctantly the -boys started in that direction. - -“I wonder if the brutes have captured the camp, too?” queried Jimmie. - -“Oh, I suppose so!” Carl answered. “These fellows travel in droves, like -wild hogs, and I guess we lit right in the middle of a large tribe.” - -In spite of the impatience expressed by the gestures of their captors, -the boys proceeded very slowly. As they walked they listened for some -indication of trouble at the camp. They knew that Glenn and Ben were -well armed, and that they would not submit to capture without first -putting up a spirited defence. - -“We haven’t heard any shooting yet,” Jimmie said in a moment. - -“I don’t believe there’s any use of our being lugged off in this style!” -Carl advised. “We ought to be able to break away from these brutes and -get back to camp. The boys there are all right up to this time, for we -haven’t heard any fighting, and the four of us ought to be able to -induce these two savages to beat it!” - -“If we can only get back to the flying machines,” Jimmie suggested, “we -can get away, all right. I believe these fellows would drop dead if they -saw the _Louise_ or the _Bertha_ slanting up into the air!” - -“Well, then, let’s make a break!” Carl advised. - -“All right!” Jimmie replied. “When we get to the next jungle where the -bushes are so thick they can’t throw a spear very far, you duck one way -and I’ll duck the other, and we’ll both make for the camp.” - -The boys knew very well that they were in a perilous situation. The -savages were more familiar with travel through underbrush than -themselves. Besides, they would undoubtedly be able to make better time -than boys reared on city streets. In addition to all this, the spears -they carried might carry death on every tip. - -However, to remain seemed fully as dangerous as to attempt to escape. So -when they came to a particularly dense bit of jungle the boys darted -away. As they did so Jimmie felt a spear whiz within an inch of his -head, and Carl felt the push of one as it entered his sleeve. Dodging -swiftly this way and that, uttering cries designed to bring their chums -to their assistance, the boys forced their way through the undergrowth -some distance in advance of their pursuers. - -Every moment they expected to feel the sting of a spear, or to be seized -from behind by a brown, muscular hand. After all it was their voices and -not their ability as runners which brought about their rescue. - -Hearing the cries of their chums, Ben and Glenn sprang for their guns -and, walking swiftly toward the river, began firing, both for the -purpose of directing the boys toward the camp and with the added purpose -of frightening away any hostile element, either human or animal, walking -on four legs or on two. Panting, and scarcely believing in their own -good fortune, Jimmie and Carl presently came to where their chums stood -not far from the machines. Both boys dropped down in the long grass the -instant they felt themselves under the protection of the automatics in -the hands of their friends. - -To say that Glenn and Ben were surprised at the sudden appearance of -their chums only feebly expresses the situation. The savages had not -followed the boys into the open plaza where the grass grew, and so there -was no physical explanation of the incident. - -“What’s doing?” demanded Glenn. - -“You must be running for exercise!” Ben put in. - -“For the love of Mike!” exclaimed Jimmie, panting and holding his hands -to his sides. “Get back to the machines and throw the truck on board! -These woods are full of head-hunters!” - -“What did you see?” asked Ben. - -“Savages!” answered Jimmie. - -“They got us, too!” Carl put in. - -“They did?” demanded Glenn. “Then how did you get away?” - -“Ran away!” answered Jimmie scornfully. “You don’t suppose we flew, do -you? I guess we’ve been going some!” - -“Where are the savages now?” demanded Glenn. - -“I don’t know!” Jimmie answered. “I don’t want to know where they are. I -want to know where they ain’t!” - -“Come on!” Carl urged. “Let’s get back to the machines!” - -Glenn and Ben did not seem to take the incident as seriously as did -their chums. In fact, they were rather inclined to make facetious -remarks about little boys being frightened at black men in the woods. -Ben was even in favor of advancing into the thicket on a tour of -investigation, but Jimmie argued him out of the idea. - -“They’re savages, all right!” the latter insisted. “They’re naked, and -they’re armed with spears. Look to me like head-hunters from the Amazon -valley! If you go into the thicket you’re likely to get a couple of -spears into your frame!” - -“Then I won’t go!” Ben grinned. - -“Come on,” urged Carl, “it’s getting dark, so we’d better be getting -back to camp! Perhaps the niggers have beaten us to it already!” - -“I guess the two you saw are about the only ones in the vicinity,” -answered Glenn. - -“You’d feel pretty cheap, wouldn’t you, if you’d get back to camp and -find that the savages had taken possession?” demanded Jimmie. - -Thus urged, Glenn and Ben finally abandoned the idea of advancing into -the forest. Instead, they turned their faces toward the camp, and all -four boys advanced with ever-increasing speed as they neared the spot -where the aeroplanes and the tents had been left. - -About the first thing they saw as they came within sight of the broad -planes of the flying machines was a naked savage inspecting the motors. -He stood like a statue before the machine for an instant and then glided -away. They saw him turn about as he came to a cluster of underbrush, -beckon silently to some one, apparently on the other side of the camp, -and then disappear. - -“And that means,” Glenn whispered, “that the woods are full of ’em!” - -“Oh, no,” jeered Jimmie, “the two we saw are the only ones there are in -the woods! I guess you’ll think there is something in the story we told -about being captured and abducted!” - -The short tropical twilight had now entirely passed away. It seemed to -the boys as if a curtain had been drawn between themselves and the tents -and flying machines which had been so plainly in view a moment before. -There was only the glimmer of the small camp-fire to direct them to -their camp. - -“Who’s got a searchlight?” asked Glenn. - -“I have!” replied Ben. “I never leave the camp without one!” - -“Then use it!” advised Glenn, “and we will make for the machines.” - -“Don’t you do it!” advised Jimmie. “They’ll throw spears at us!” - -“Well, we’ve got to have a light in order to get the machines away!” -declared Carl. “Perhaps the niggers will run when they see the -illumination. The light of a searchlight at a distance, you know, -doesn’t look like anything human or divine!” - -It was finally decided to advance as cautiously and silently as possible -to the camp and spring at once to the machines. - -“We’ll never be clear of these savages until we get up in the air!” -declared Ben. - -“But that will leave our tents and our provisions, and about everything -we have except the machines, behind!” wailed Carl. - -“It won’t leave all the provisions behind!” declared Jimmie. “I’ll -snatch beans and bread if I get killed doing it!” - -During their progress to the camp the boys neither saw nor heard -anything whatever of the savages. They found the fire burning brightly -and the provisions which had been set out for supper just as they had -been left. The machines had not been molested. In fact, the statue-like -savage they had observed examining the flying machine now seemed to have -come out of a dream and retreated to his world of shadows again. - -“Perhaps it won’t be necessary to leave here to-night,” Glenn suggested. - -“I don’t think it’s safe to remain,” Ben contended. - -“You boys may stay if you want to!” Jimmie exclaimed. “But Carl and I -have had enough of this neck of the woods. We’ll take the _Louise_ and -fly over to Quito, and you can find us there when you get ready to move -on. You boys certainly take the cake for not knowing what’s good for -you!” he added with a grin. - -“Oh, well, perhaps we’d all better go!” Glenn advised. “I don’t see -anything nourishing in this part of the country, anyway. If you boys had -only brought home a couple of fish it might have been different. I’m of -the opinion that a square meal at Quito wouldn’t come amiss just now.” - -“It’s so blooming dark I don’t know whether we can find the town or -not,” suggested Carl. - -“Oh, we can find it all right!” insisted Ben. - -“If the savages let us!” exclaimed Jimmie excitedly. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - A MASTERLY RETREAT. - - -“I don’t see any savages!” replied Glenn. - -“Can’t you hear them?” demanded Jimmie. - -“I think I can smell something!” Carl exclaimed. - -“Don’t get gay, now!” Jimmie answered. “This is no funny business! If -you’ll listen, you’ll hear the snakes creeping through the grass.” - -The boys listened intently for an instant and then, without looking into -the tents, sprang toward the machines. It seemed for a moment as if a -thousand voices were shouting at them. They seemed to be in the center -of a circle of men who were all practicing a different style of -war-whoop. - -To this day the boys assert that it was the whirling of the electric -searchlights which kept the savages from advancing upon them. At any -rate, for a time, the unseen visitors contented themselves with verbal -demonstrations. - -“We’ll have to jump out on the machines!” advised Glenn. “We can’t fight -a whole army!” - -“Why, there’s only two!” Jimmie taunted. “You said yourself that we saw -all the black men there were in this neighborhood!” - -“Aw, keep still,” Ben cried. “We haven’t got time to listen to you boys -joke each other! Come on, Jimmie! You and I for the _Louise_!” - -It was now very dark, for banks of clouds lay low in the valley, but the -boys knew that the machines were situated so as to run smoothly until -the propellers and the planes brought them into the air. They had -provided for that on landing. - -With a chorus of savage yells still ringing in their ears, the boys -leaped into their seats, still swinging their searchlights frantically -as their only means of protection, and pressed the starters. The -machines ran ahead smoothly for an instant then lifted. - -The next minute there was absolute silence below. The boys were certain -that if they could have looked down upon the savages who had been so -threatening a moment before they would have seen them on their knees -with their faces pressed to the ground. - -“They’ll talk about this night for a thousand years!” Jimmie screamed in -Ben’s ear as the _Louise_ swept into and through a stratum of cloud. -“They’ll send it down to future generations in legends of magic.” - -“Little do we care what they think of us after we get out of their -clutches!” Ben called back. “It seems like a miracle, our getting away -at all!” - -“Do you really think they are head-hunters?” shouted Jimmie. - -“You saw more of them than I did,” Ben answered. - -After passing through the clouds the starlight showed the way, and in a -very short time the lights of Quito were seen glittering twenty miles or -so to the south. - -“What are we going to do when we get to the town?” shouted Jimmie. - -“Hire some one to watch the machines and get a square meal!” Ben -replied. “And buy new tents and provisions and everything of that kind!” -he went on. “I suppose those savages will have a fine time devouring our -perfectly good food.” - -“And they’ll probably use the oiled-silk tents for clothing!” laughed -Jimmie. “I wonder if we can buy more at Quito.” - -“Of course we can!” replied Ben. “Quito has a hundred thousand -inhabitants, and there are plenty of European places of business there!” - -The _Bertha_ with Glenn and Carl on board was some distance in advance, -and directly the boys on the _Louise_ saw the leading machine swing -about in a circle and then gradually drop to the ground. Ben, who was -driving the _Louise_, adopted the same tactics, and very soon the two -flying machines lay together in an open field, perhaps a mile distant -from Quito, the capital of Ecuador, the city known throughout the world -as the “City of Eternal Spring.” - -It was dark at the ground level, there being only the light of the -stars, faintly seen through drifting masses of clouds, many hundred feet -higher here than those which had nestled over the valley. - -“What next?” asked Carl as the four boys leaped from their seats and -gathered in a little group. - -“Supper next!” shouted Jimmie. - -“But we can’t all leave the machines!” declared Glenn. - -“Don’t you ever worry about the machines being left alone!” asserted -Ben. “Our lights will bring about a thousand people out here within the -next ten minutes. Dark as it is, our machines were undoubtedly seen -before we landed, and there’ll soon be an army here asking questions. -We’ll have little trouble in finding English-speaking people in the -mob.” - -“I guess that’s right!” Jimmie agreed. “Here comes the gang right now!” - -A jumble of English, Spanish and French was now heard, and directly a -dozen or more figures were seen advancing across the field to where the -flying machines had landed. - -“There’s some one talking United States, all right!” Jimmie declared. - -Directly the visitors came up to where the boys were standing and began -gazing about, some impudently, some curiously and some threateningly. - -“Keep your hands off the machines!” Glenn warned, as a dusky native -began handling the levers. - -The fellow turned about and regarded the boy with an impudent stare. He -said something in Spanish which Glenn did not understand, and then -walked away to a group of natives who were whispering suspiciously -together. - -“Where are you from?” asked a voice in English as Glenn examined the -levers to see that nothing had been removed or displaced. - -“Gee!” exclaimed Jimmie. “That United States talk sounds good to me!” - -The man who had spoken now turned to Jimmie and repeated his question. - -“Where do you boys come from?” - -“New York,” Jimmie replied. - -“And you came across the Isthmus of Panama?” was the next question. - -“Sure we did!” answered the boy. - -“Well,” the stranger said, “my name is Bixby, Jim Bixby, and I’ve been -looking for you for two days.” - -“Is that so?” asked Jimmie incredulously. - -“You see,” Bixby went on, “I am a dealer in automobile supplies, -probably the only one doing a large business in this part of the -country. Some days ago I received a telegram from Louis Havens, the -millionaire aviator, saying that four pupils of his were coming this -way, and advising me to take good care of you.” - -“Where did Mr. Havens wire from?” asked Jimmie. - -“First from New York,” was the reply, “and then from New Orleans. It -seems that he started away from New York on the day following your -departure, and that he has been having trouble with the _Ann_ all the -way down. His last telegram instructed me to ask you to wait here until -his arrival. He ought to be here sometime to-morrow.” - -“That’ll be fine!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -“And now,” Bixby went on, “you’ll have to employ two or three fellows to -watch your machines for the night. The natives would carry them away -piecemeal if you left them here unguarded.” - -“Perhaps you can pick out two or three trusty men,” suggested Glenn. - -“I have had three men in mind ever since I received my first message -from Mr. Havens!” replied Bixby. “When your machine was sighted in the -air not long ago, I ’phoned to their houses and they will undoubtedly be -here before long.” - -“How’ll they know where to come?” asked Jimmie. - -“Don’t you think that half the people in Quito don’t know where these -wonders of the air lighted!” Bixby laughed. “The news went over the city -like lightning when your planes showed. Your lights, of course, revealed -your exact whereabouts to those on this side of the town, and telephones -and messenger boys have done the rest.” - -While the boys talked with this very welcome and friendly visitor, the -clamor of an automobile was heard, and directly two great acetylene eyes -left the highway and turned, bumping and swaying, into the field. - -“There will be damages to pay for mussing up this grass!” Carl -suggested, as a fresh crowd of sight-seers followed the machine into the -enclosure. - -“Of course,” replied Bixby, “and they’ll try to make you pay ten times -what the damage really amounts to. But you leave all that to me. I can -handle these fellows better than you can!” - -“We shall be glad to have you do so!” Glenn replied. - -In a moment the automobile ran up to the planes and stopped. Of the four -men it contained, three alighted and approached Bixby. - -“These are the guards,” the latter said turning to the boys. - -The men, who seemed both willing and efficient, drew a long rope and -several steel stakes from the automobile and began enclosing the -machines with the same. As the rope was strung out, the constantly -increasing crowd was pushed back beyond the circle. - -“Won’t they make trouble for the guards during the night?” asked Ben. - -“I think not,” was the reply. “I have already arranged for a number of -native policemen to assist these men.” - -“Gee!” exclaimed Carl, “I guess Mr. Havens picked out the right man!” - -“How did he know we were going to stop at Quito?” asked Ben. - -“He didn’t know!” replied Bixby. “But he surmised that you’d be obliged -to land here in order to fill your fuel tanks.” - -“Well, we didn’t come here for that purpose,” laughed Glenn. “We came -here because the savages chased us out of a cute little valley about -twenty miles away!” - -“It’s a wonder you got away at all if they saw you!” said Bixby. - -“I guess they didn’t seem to understand about our motors getting into -the air!” laughed Jimmie. “The minute the wheel left the ground their -war-cries ceased.” - -“It’s a wonder you were permitted to get to the machines at all if they -caught you away from them!” said Bixby. - -“Aw, we always have the luck of the Irish,” Jimmie replied. “The -shooting and the display of electric searchlights kept them away until -we got into the seats and our way of ascending into the sky did the -rest.” - -“You are very lucky boys!” insisted Bixby. - -“It’s nice to hear you say so!” Ben answered, “because we’re going to -follow this line of mountains down to Cape Horn, and visit every ruined -temple on the route that has a ghost on its visiting list.” - -“If you’ll listen to the stories you hear in the cities,” laughed Bixby, -“you’ll visit a good many ruined temples.” - -“Glenn was telling us about a temple down on Lake Titicaca,” Ben -replied. “He says that figures in flowing white robes appear in the -night-time, and are seen by the light that emanates from their own -figures! He says, too, that there are illuminations of red, and green, -and yellow, which come from no determinable source, and that there are -noises which come out of the clear air unaccounted for!” - -“There is such a temple, isn’t there, Mr. Bixby?” asked Glenn. - -“There is a temple about which such stories are told,” laughed Bixby. -“Are you boys thinking of going there?” - -“Sure thing, we’re going there!” asserted Jimmie. - -During this conversation the three men who had been employed by Bixby to -guard the flying machine during the night had been standing by in -listening attitudes. When the haunted temple and the proposed visit of -the boys to it was mentioned, one of them whose name had been given as -Doran, touched Jimmie lightly on the shoulder. - -“Are you really going to that haunted temple?” he asked. - -Jimmie nodded, and in a short time the four boys and Bixby left for the -city in the automobile. As they entered the machine Jimmie thought that -he caught a hostile expression on Doran’s face, but the impression was -so faint that he said nothing of the matter to his chums. - -In an hour’s time Bixby and the four boys were seated at dinner in the -dining-room of a hotel which might have been on Broadway, so perfect -were its appointments. - -“Now let me give you a little advice,” Bixby said, after the incidents -of the journey had been discussed. “Never talk about prospective visits -to ruined temples in South America. There is a general belief that every -person who visits a ruin is in quest of gold, and many a man who set out -to gratify his own curiosity has never been heard of again!” - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - PLANNING A MIDNIGHT RIDE. - - -“If the people of the country believe there is gold in the temples said -to be haunted,” Glenn asked, “why don’t they hunt for it themselves, -without waiting for others to come down and give them a tip?” - -“Generally speaking,” replied Bixby, “every ruin in Peru has been -searched time and again by natives. Millions of treasure has been found, -but there is still the notion, which seems to have been born into every -native of South America, that untold stores of gold, silver and precious -stones are still concealed in the ruined temples.” - -“What I can’t understand is this,” Glenn declared. “Why should these -natives, having every facility for investigation, follow the lead of -strangers who come here mostly for pleasure?” - -“I can’t understand that part of it myself,” Bixby replied, “except on -the theory that the natives ascribe supernatural powers to foreigners. -Even the most intelligent natives who do not believe in the magic of -Europeans, watch them closely when they visit ruins, doubtless on the -theory that in some way the visitors have become posted as to the -location of treasure.” - -“Well,” Ben observed, “they can’t make much trouble for us, because we -can light down on a temple, run through it before the natives can get -within speaking distance, and fly away again.” - -“All the same,” Bixby insisted, “I wouldn’t talk very much about -visiting ruins of any kind. And here’s another thing,” he went on, -“there are stories afloat in Peru that fugitives from justice sometimes -hide in these ruins. And so, you see,” he added with a laugh, “you are -likely to place yourself in bad company in the minds of the natives by -being too inquisitive about the methods of the ancient Incas.” - -“All right,” Glenn finally promised, “we’ll be careful about mentioning -ruins in the future.” - -After dinner the boys went to Bixby’s place of business and ordered -gasoline enough to fill the tanks. They also ordered an extra supply of -gasoline, which was to be stored in an auxiliary container of rubber -made for that purpose. - -“Now about tents and provisions?” asked Bixby. - -“Confound those savages!” exclaimed Jimmie. “We carried those oiled-silk -shelter-tents safely through two long journeys in the mountains of -California and Mexico, and now we have to turn them over to a lot of -savages in Ecuador! I believe we could have frightened the brutes away -by doing a little shooting! Anyway, I wish we’d tried it!” - -“Not for mine!” exclaimed Carl. “I don’t want to go through the country -killing people, even if they are South American savages.” - -“I may be able to get you a supply of oiled-silk in Quito,” Bixby -suggested, “but I am not certain. It is very expensive, you understand, -of course, and rather scarce.” - -“The expense is all right,” replied Glenn, “but we felt a sort of -sentimental attachment for those old shelter-tents. We can get all the -provisions we need here, of course?” he added. - -“Certainly,” was the reply. - -“Look here!” Jimmie cut in. “What time will there be a moon to-night?” - -“Probably about one o’clock,” was the reply. “By that time, however, you -ought all to be sound asleep in your beds.” - -“What’s the idea, Jimmie?” asked Carl. - -The boys all saw by the quickening expressions in the two boys’ faces -that they had arrived at an understanding as to the importance of -moonlight on that particular night. - -“Why, I thought—” began Jimmie. “I just thought it might not do any harm -to run back to that peaceful little glade to see if the tents really -have been removed or destroyed!” - -“Impossible!” advised Bixby. “The tents may remain just where you left -them, but, even if they are there, you may have no chance of securing -them. It is a risky proposition!” - -“What do you mean?” asked Ben. - -“I mean that the superstition of the savages may restrain them from -laying hands on the tents and provisions you left,” replied Bixby, “but, -at the same time,” he continued, “they may watch the old camp for days -in the hope of your return.” - -“What’s the idea?” asked Glenn. - -“Do they want to eat us?” asked Jimmie. - -“Some of the wild tribes living near the head waters of the Amazon,” -Bixby explained, “are crazy over the capture of white men. They are said -to march them back to their own country in state, and to inaugurate long -festivals in honor of the victory. And during the entire festival,” -Bixby went on, “the white prisoners are subjected to tortures of the -most brutal description!” - -“Say,” giggled Jimmie, giving Carl a dig in the ribs with his elbow, -“let’s take the train for Guayaquil to-morrow morning! I don’t think -it’s right for us to take chances on the savages having all the fun!” - -“As between taking the first train for Guayaquil and taking a trip -through the air to the old camp to-night,” Bixby laughed, “I certainly -advise in favor of the former.” - -“Aw, that’s all talk,” Ben explained, as Bixby, after promising to look -about in the morning for oiled-silk and provisions, locked his place of -business and started toward the hotel with the boys. - -“What do you say to it, Carl?” Jimmie asked, as the two fell in behind -the others. - -“I’m game!” replied Carl. - -“Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do!” Jimmie explained. “You and I will -get a room together and remain up until moonrise. If the sky is clear of -clouds at that time, and promises to remain so until morning, we’ll load -ourselves down with all the guns we can get hold of and fly out to the -old camp. It’ll be a fine ride, anyway!” - -“Pretty chilly, though, in high altitudes at this time of night,” -suggested Carl. “I’m most frozen now!” - -“So’m I,” Jimmie replied, “and I’ll tell you what we’ll do! When we -start away we’ll swipe blankets off the bed. I guess they’ll keep us -warm.” - -“Well, we’ll have to keep Glenn and Ben from knowing anything about the -old trip,” Carl suggested. “Of course they couldn’t prevent us going, -but they’d put up a kick that would make it unpleasant.” - -“Indeed they would!” answered Jimmie. “But, at the same time, they’d go -themselves if they’d got hold of the idea first. I suggested it, you -know, and that’s one reason why they would reject it.” - -Arrived at the hotel, Jimmie and Carl had no difficulty in getting a -double room, although their chums looked rather suspiciously at them as -they all entered the elevator. - -“Now,” said Ben, “don’t you boys get into any mischief to-night. Quito -isn’t a town for foreigners to explore during the dark hours!” - -“I’m too sleepy to think of any midnight adventures!” cried Jimmie with -a wink and a yawn. - -“Me, too!” declared Carl. “I’ll be asleep in about two minutes!” - -It was about ten o’clock when the boys found themselves alone in a large -room which faced one of the leading thoroughfares of the capital city. -Quito is well lighted by electricity, and nearly all the conveniences of -a city of the same size in the United States are there to be had. - -The street below the room occupied by the two boys was brilliantly -lighted until midnight, and the lads sat at a window looking out on the -strange and to them unusual scene. When the lights which flashed from -business signs and private offices were extinguished, the thoroughfare -grew darker, and then the boys began seriously to plan their proposed -excursion. - -“What we want to do,” Jimmie suggested, “is to get out of the hotel -without being discovered and make our way to a back street where a cab -can be ordered. It is a mile to the field where the machines were left, -and we don’t want to lose any time.” - -Before leaving the room the boys saw that their automatic revolvers and -searchlights were in good order. They also made neat packages of the -woolen blankets which they found on the bed and carried them away. - -“Now,” said Jimmie as they reached a side street and passed swiftly -along in the shadow of a row of tall buildings, “we’ve got to get into a -cab without attracting any attention, for we’ve stolen the hotel’s -blankets, and we can’t talk Spanish, and if a cop should seize us we’d -have a good many explanations to make.” - -“I don’t think it’s good sense to take the blankets,” Carl objected. - -“Aw, you’ll think so when we get a couple of thousand feet up in the air -on the _Louise_!” laughed Jimmie. - -After walking perhaps ten minutes, the boys came upon a creaking old cab -drawn by a couple of the sorriest-looking horses they had ever seen. The -driver, who sat half asleep on the seat, jumped down to the pavement and -eyed the boys suspiciously as they requested to be taken out to where -the machines had been left. - -The lads were expecting a long tussle between the English and the -Spanish languages, but the cabman surprised them by answering their -request in excellent English. - -“So?” exclaimed Jimmie. “You talk United States, too, do you? Where did -you come from?” - -“You want to go out to the machines, do you?” asked the cabman, without -appearing to notice the question. - -“That’s where we want to go!” replied Carl. - -“What for?” asked the cabman. - -“None of your business!” replied Jimmie. - -“I’ve been out there once to-night!” said the cabman, “and the party I -drew beat me out of my fare.” - -“That’s got nothing to do with us!” replied Carl. - -“It’ll cost you ten dollars!” growled the cabman. - -“Say, look here!” Jimmie exclaimed. “You’re a bigger robber than the New -York cabmen! It’s only a mile to the field, and we’ll walk just to show -you that we don’t have to use your rickety old cab.” - -With a snarl and a frown the cabman climbed back up on his seat and gave -every appearance of dropping into sound slumber. - -“Now what do you think of that for a thief?” asked Carl, as the boys -hastened away toward the field. “I’d walk ten miles before I’d give that -fellow a quarter!” - -“We’ve got plenty of time,” Jimmie answered. “The moon won’t be up for -an hour yet. Perhaps we’d better walk up anyway, for then we can enter -the field quietly and see what’s going on.” - -On the way out the lads met several parties returning from the field, -and when they reached the opening in the fence they saw that many -curious persons were still present. There were at least half a dozen -vehicles of different kinds gathered close about the roped-off circle. - -“Say,” Carl exclaimed as the boys passed into the field, “look at that -old rattletrap on the right. Isn’t that the same vehicle the cabman -pretended to go asleep on as we came away?” - -“Sure it is!” answered Jimmie. “I don’t remember the appearance of the -cab so well, but I know just how the horses looked.” - -“He must have found a ten-dollar fare out here!” Carl suggested. - -“Yes, and he must have come out by a roundabout way in order to prevent -our seeing him. Now what do you think he did that for? Why should he -care whether we see him or not?” - -As the boy asked the question the rig which they had been discussing was -driven slowly away, not in the direction of the road, but toward the -back end of the field. - -“Something mighty funny going on here!” Jimmie declared. “I guess it’s a -good thing we came out.” - -When the boys came up to where the machines were lying, Doran was the -first one to approach. - -“Little nervous about your machines, eh?” he asked. - -“Rather,” replied Jimmie. “We came out with the idea of taking a short -trip to see if they still are in working order.” - -“Well,” Doran said with a scowl, “of course you know that you can’t take -the machines out without an order from Mr. Bixby!” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - A WAIF AND A STRAY. - - -“Bixby doesn’t own these machines!” exclaimed Carl angrily. - -“Who does own them?” demanded Doran. - -“We four boys own them!” was the reply. - -“Well, you’ve got to show me!” insisted Doran, insolently. - -“I’ll tell you what we’ll do!” Jimmie announced. “We’ll go right back to -Bixby and put you off the job!” - -“Go as far as you like,” answered Doran. “I was put here to guard these -machines and I intend to do it. You can’t bluff me!” - -While the boys stood talking with the impertinent guard they saw two -figures moving stealthily about the aeroplanes. Jimmie hastened over to -the _Louise_ and saw a man fumbling in the tool-box. - -“What are you doing here?” demanded the boy. - -The intruder turned a startled face for an instant and then darted away, -taking the direction the cab had taken. - -Carl and Doran now came running up and Jimmie turned to the latter. - -“Nice old guard you are!” he almost shouted. “Here you stand talking -with us while men are sneaking around the machines!” - -“Was there some one here?” asked Doran in assumed amazement. - -“There surely was!” replied Jimmie. “Where are the other guards?” - -“Why,” replied Doran hesitatingly, “they got tired of standing around -doing nothing and went home. It’s pretty dull out here.” - -“Well,” Jimmie answered, “I’m going to see if this machine has been -tampered with! Get up on one of the seats, Carl,” he said with a wink, -“and we’ll soon find out if any of the fastenings have been loosened.” - -The boy was permitted to follow instructions without any opposition or -comment from Doran, and in a moment Jimmie was in the other seat with -the wheels in motion. - -Seeing too late the trick which had been played upon him, Doran uttered -an exclamation of anger and sprang for one of the planes. His fingers -just scraped the edge of the wing as the machine, gathering momentum -every instant, lifted from the ground, and he fell flat. - -He arose instantly to shake a threatening fist at the disappearing -aeroplane. Jimmie turned back with a grin on his freckled face. - -“Catch on behind,” he said, “and I’ll give you a ride!” - -“Did you see some one fumbling around the machine?” asked Carl, as -Jimmie slowed the motors down a trifle in order to give a chance for -conversation. - -“Sure, I did!” was the reply. “He ducked away when he saw me coming, and -ran away into the field in the direction taken by the cab.” - -“Gee!” exclaimed Carl. “Do you think the cabman brought that man out to -work some mischief with the flying machines?” - -“I don’t think much about it,” Jimmie answered, “because I don’t know -much about it! He might have done something to the machine which will -cause us to take a drop in the air directly, but I don’t think so. -Anyhow, it’s running smoothly now.” - -“Still we’re taking chances!” insisted Carl. - -The moon now stood well up in the eastern sky, a round, red ball of fire -which looked to the lads large enough to shadow half the sky a little -later on. Below, the surface of the earth was clearly revealed in its -light. - -“We’ll have to hurry!” Carl suggested, “if we get back to the hotel -before daylight, so I’ll quit talking and you turn on more power.” - -“I may not be able to find this blooming old valley where we left the -tents,” Jimmie grumbled. “If you remember, son, we left that locality in -something of a hurry!” - -“I certainly remember something which looked to me like a jungle scene -in a comic opera!” grinned Carl. “And the noise sounded not unlike some -of the choruses I have heard in little old New York!” - -Jimmie drove straight north for an hour, and then began circling to left -and right in search of the little valley from which they had fled so -precipitously. At last the gleam of running water caught his eyes and he -began volplaning down. - -“Are you sure that’s the place?” asked Carl, almost screaming the words -into Jimmie’s ears. “I don’t see any tents down there, do you?” - -“I see something that looks like a tent,” Jimmie answered. “We are so -high up now that we couldn’t distinguish one of them anyhow.” - -As the aeroplane drove nearer to the earth, a blaze flared up from -below. In its red light they saw the two shelter-tents standing in -exactly the same position in which they had been left. - -“There!” cried Jimmie. “I had an idea we’d find them!” - -“But look at the fire!” cautioned Carl. “There’s some one there keeping -up that blaze!” - -“That’s a funny proposition, too!” exclaimed Jimmie. “It doesn’t seem as -if the savages would remain on the ground after our departure.” - -“And it doesn’t seem as if they would go away without taking everything -they could carry with them, either!” laughed Carl. - -“We can’t guess it out up here,” Jimmie argued. “We may as well light -and find out what it means. Have your guns ready, and shoot the first -savage who comes within range.” - -When the rubber-tired wheels of the machine struck the ground which they -had occupied only a short time before, the boys found a great surprise -awaiting them. As if awakened from slumber by the clatter of the motors, -a figure dressed in nondescript European costume arose from the fire, -yawning and rubbing his eyes, and advanced to meet them. - -It was the figure of a young man of perhaps eighteen, though the ragged -and soiled clothing he wore, the unwashed face, the long hair, made it -difficult for one to give any accurate estimate as to the years of his -life. He certainly looked like a tramp, but he came forward with an air -of assurance which could not have been improved upon by a millionaire -hotel-keeper, or a haughty three-dollar-a-week clerk in a ten-cent -store. - -“Je-rusalem!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Now what do you think of this?” - -“I saw him first!” declared Carl. - -“All right, you may have him!” - -The intruder came forward and stood for a moment without speaking, -regarding the boys curiously in the meantime. - -“Well,” Jimmie said in a moment, “what about it?” - -“I thought you’d be back,” said the other. - -“Where are the savages?” asked Carl. “Didn’t you bump into a war party -here?” - -The stranger smiled and pointed to the tents. - -“I am a truthful man,” he said. “I wouldn’t tell a lie for a dollar. I -might tell six for five dollars, but I wouldn’t tell one lie for any -small sum. My name is Sam Weller, and I’m a tramp.” - -“That’s no lie!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Unless appearances are deceiving!” - -“Perhaps,” Carl suggested, “we’d better be getting out of here. The -natives may return.” - -“As soon as you have given me time to relate a chapter of my life,” Sam -Weller continued, “you’ll understand why the savages won’t be back here -to-night.” - -“Go on!” Jimmie grunted. “Tell us the story of your life, beginning with -the poor but dishonest parents and the statement that you were never -understood when you were a baby!” - -“This chapter of my life,” Sam went on, without seeming to notice the -interruption, “begins shortly after sunset of the evening just passed.” - -“Go ahead!” Carl exclaimed. “Get a move on!” - -“While walking leisurely from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn,” Sam -began, “I saw your two flying machines drop down into this valley. At -that time,” he continued, “I was in need of sustenance. I am happy to -state, however,” he added with a significant look in the direction of -half a dozen empty tin cans, “that at the present moment I feel no such -need. For the present I am well supplied.” - -“Holy Mackerel!” exclaimed Carl. “But you’ve got your nerve.” - -“My nerve is my fortune!” replied Sam whimsically. “But, to continue my -narrative,” he went on. “It seemed to me a dispensation of providence in -my favor when you boys landed in the valley. In my mind’s eye, I saw -plenty to eat and unexceptionable companionship. You were so thoroughly -interested in landing that I thought it advisable to wait for a more -receptive mood in which to present my petition for—for—well, not to put -too fine a point upon it, as Micawber would say—for grub.” - -“Say!” laughed Carl. “It’s a sure thing you’ve panhandled in every state -in the union.” - -Sam smiled grimly but continued without comment. - -“So I hid myself back there in the tall grass and waited for you to get -supper. Don’t you see,” he went on, “that when a boy’s hungry he doesn’t -radiate that sympathy for the unfortunate which naturally comes with a -full stomach. Therefore, I waited for you boys to eat your supper before -I asked for mine.” - -“You’re all right, anyhow!” shouted Jimmie. - -“But it seems that your meal was long-delayed,” Sam went on, with a -little shrug of disgust. “I lay there in the long grass and waited, -hoping against hope. Then you two went after fish. Then in a short time -I heard cries of terror and supplication. Then your two friends rushed -out to your assistance. Then, being entirely under the influence of -hunger and not responsible for my acts, I crawled into one of the tents -and began helping myself to the provisions.” - -“And you were there when the savages flocked down upon us?” asked Carl. -“You saw what took place after that?” - -“I was there and I saw,” was the reply. “When you boys came running back -to the machines I stood ready to defend you with my life and two -automatic revolvers which I had found while searching through the -provisions. When you sprang into the machines and slipped away, leaving -the savages still hungry, I felt that my last hour had come. However, I -clung to the guns and a can of a superior brand of beans put up at -Battle Creek, Michigan.” - -“How did you come out with the Indians?” asked Carl. “Did you tell them -the story of your life?” - -“Hardly!” was the laughing reply. “I appeared at the door of the tent in -a chastened mood, it is true, ready for peace or war, but when I saw the -savages lying upon their hands and elbows, faces bowed to the tall -grass, I reached the conclusion that I had them—well Buffaloed!” - -“The machines did it?” asked Jimmie. - -“The machines did it!” replied Sam. “The Indians bowed their heads for a -long time, and then gazed in awe at the disappearing aeroplanes. As I -said a moment ago, they were Buffaloed. When they saw me standing at the -door of the tent, they looked about for another machine. So did I for a -matter of fact, for I thought I needed one just about then!” - -“Can you run a machine?” asked Carl. - -“Sure I can run a machine!” was the reply. “I can run anything from a -railroad train to a race with a township constable. Well, when the -machines disappeared, the savages vanished. Not a thing about the camp -was touched. I appointed myself custodian, and decided to remain here -until you came back after your tents.” - -“Then where are you going?” asked Carl. - -“With your permission, I will place three days’ provisions under my belt -and be on my way.” - -“Not three days’ supplies all at once?” questioned Jimmie. - -“All at once!” replied Sam. - -The two boys consulted together for a moment, and then Jimmie said: - -“If you’ll help us pack the tents and provisions on the machine, we’ll -take you back to Quito with us. That is, if the _Louise_ will carry so -much weight. I think she will, but ain’t sure.” - -“It surely will be a treat to ride in the air again!” declared the -tramp. “It has been a long time since Louis Havens kicked me out of his -hangar on Long Island for getting intoxicated and filling one of the -tanks with beer instead of gasoline.” - -The boys smiled at each other significantly, for they well remembered -Mr. Havens’ story of the tramp’s rather humorous experience at the Long -Island establishment. However, they said nothing to Sam of this. - -“And, in the meantime,” the tramp said, pointing upward, “we may as well -wait here until we ascertain what that other machine is doing in the air -at this time of night!” - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - AUTOMOBILE VS. AEROPLANE. - - -Shortly after midnight Ben was awakened by a noise which seemed to come -from the door of his room. Half asleep as he was, it came to his -consciousness like the sparkling of a motor. There was the same sharp -tick, tick, tick, with regular pauses between. - -As he sat up in bed and listened, however, the sounds resolved -themselves into the rattle of one metal against another. In a minute he -knew that some one unfamiliar with the lock of his door was moving the -stem of a key against the metal plate which surrounded the key-hole. - -Then he heard the bolt shoot back and the door opened. There was an -electric switch on the wall within reach of his hand, and in a second -the room was flooded with light. The person who stood in the center of -the floor, halfway between the doorway and the bed, was an entire -stranger to the boy. He was dressed in clothing which would not have -been rejected by the head waiter of one of the lobster palaces on -Broadway, and his manner was pleasing and friendly. - -He smiled and dropped into a chair, holding out both hands when he saw -Ben’s eyes traveling from himself to an automatic revolver which lay on -a stand at the head of the bed. - -“Of course,” he said, then, as Ben sat down on the edge of the bed, “you -want to know what I’m doing here.” - -“Naturally!” replied the boy. - -The man, who appeared to be somewhere near the age of twenty-five, drew -a yellow envelope from his pocket and tossed it over to Ben. - -“I am manager at the Quito telegraph office!” he said. “And I received -this despatch for you just before twelve o’clock. In addition to this I -received a personal message from Mr. Havens. Read your message and then -I will show you mine!” - -Ben opened the envelope and read: - -“Be sure and wait for me at the point where this message is delivered. -Complications which can only be explained in person!” - -The manager then passed his own despatch over to the boy. It read as -follows: - -“Mr. Charles Mellen, Manager: Spare no expense in the delivery of the -message to Ben Whitcomb. If necessary, wire all stations on your circuit -for information regarding aeroplanes. If Whitcomb is at Quito, kindly -deliver this message in person, and warn him to be on the watch for -trouble. I hope to reach your town within twenty-four hours.” - -“Now for an explanation regarding my surreptitious entrance into your -sleeping room,” Mellen went on. “My room is next to yours, and in order -not to awaken other sleepers, and at the same time make certain that you -understood the situation thoroughly, I tried my hand at burglary.” - -“I am glad you did!” replied Ben. “For if there is anything serious in -the air it is quite important that no stir be created in the hotel at -this hour of the night.” - -“That was just my idea!” Mellen answered. “I knew that if I asked the -clerk to send a page to your room every person in the hotel would know -all about the midnight visit in the morning. So far as I know, -understand, the complications hinted at by Mr. Havens may have had their -origin in Quito—perhaps in this very hotel.” - -“It was very thoughtful of you,” answered Ben. “You know Mr. Havens -personally?” he asked then. - -“Certainly!” was the reply. “He is a heavy stock-holder in the company I -represent; and it was partly through his influence that I secured my -present position.” - -“After all,” smiled Ben, “this is a small world, isn’t it? The idea of -finding a friend of a friend up near the roof of the world!” - -“Yes, it’s a small world,” replied Mellen. “Now tell me this,” he went -on, “have you any idea as to what Mr. Havens refers in his two rather -mysterious messages?” - -“Not the slightest!” was the reply. - -“I wish we knew where to find Havens at this time,” mused Mellen. - -“I don’t think it will be possible to reach him until he wires again,” -Ben answered, “because, unless I am greatly mistaken, he is somewhere -between New Orleans and this point in his airship, the _Ann_.” - -“I gathered as much from his messages to Bixby,” replied Mellen. “You -see,” the manager went on, “I got in touch with Havens to-night through -the despatches he sent to Bixby yesterday, I say ‘yesterday’ because it -is now ‘to-morrow’,” he added with a smile. - -“Then you knew we were here?” asked Ben. “That is,” he corrected -himself, “you knew Bixby was expecting us?” - -“When Bixby left you at the hotel,” Mellen laughed, “he came direct to -the telegraph office, so you see I knew all about it before I -burglarized your room.” - -“Bixby strikes me as being a very straightforward kind of a man,” Ben -suggested. “I rather like his appearance.” - -“He’s all right!” replied Mellen. - -“And now,” Ben continued, “I’d like to have you remain here a short time -until I can call the other boys and get a general expression of -opinion.” - -“Of course you’ll wait for Mr. Havens?” suggested Mellen. - -“Of course,” answered Ben. “However,” he continued, “I’d like to have -the other members of the party talk this matter over with you. To tell -the truth, I’m all at sea over this suggestion of trouble.” - -“I shall be pleased to meet the other members of your party,” replied -Mellen. “I have already heard something of them through my -correspondence with Mr. Havens.” - -Ben drew on his clothes and hurried to Glenn’s room. The boy was awake -and opened the door at the first light knock. Ben merely told him to go -to the room where Mr. Mellen had been left and passed on to the -apartment which had been taken by Jimmie and Carl. - -He knocked softly on the door several times but received no answer. -Believing that the boys were sound asleep he tried the door, and to his -great surprise found that it was unlocked. - -As the reader will understand, he found the room unoccupied. The bed had -not been disturbed except that some of the upper blankets were missing. - -He hastened back to his own room, where he found Glenn and Mellen -engaged in conversation. Both looked very blank when informed of the -disappearance of Jimmie and Carl. - -“What do you make of it?” asked Mellen. - -“I don’t know what to make of it!” replied Glenn. - -“I think I can explain it!” Ben cried, walking nervously up and down the -room. “Don’t you remember, Glenn,” he went on, “that Jimmie and Carl -suggested the advisability of going back to the old camp after moonrise -and getting the valuable tents, arms and provisions we left there?” - -“Sure I remember that!” answered Glenn. “But do you really think they -had the nerve to try a scheme like that?” - -“I haven’t the least doubt of it!” declared Ben. - -“It’s just one of their tricks,” agreed Glenn. - -“They must be rather lively young fellows!” suggested Mellen. - -“They certainly are!” answered Ben. “And now the question is this,” he -continued, “what ought we to do?” - -“I’m afraid they’ll get into trouble,” Glenn suggested. - -“It was a foolhardy thing to do!” Mellen declared. “The idea of their -going back into the heart of that savage tribe is certainly -preposterous! I’m afraid they’re already in trouble.” - -“Perhaps we ought to get the _Bertha_ and take a trip out there!” -suggested Glenn. “They may be in need of assistance.” - -“That’s just my idea!” Ben agreed. - -“It seems to me that the suggested course is the correct one to pursue,” -Mellen said. - -“Perhaps we can get to the field before they leave for the valley,” Ben -interposed. “They spoke of going after the moon came up, and that was -only a short time ago.” - -“Well,” said Mellen, “the quicker we act the more certain we shall be of -success. You boys get downstairs, if you can, without attracting much -attention, and I’ll go out and get a carriage.” - -“Will you go with us to the field?” asked Ben. - -“I should be glad to,” was the reply. - -When the boys reached the corner of the next cross street, in ten -minutes’ time, they found Mellen waiting for them with a high-power -automobile. He was already in the seat with the chauffeur. - -“I captured a machine belonging to a friend of mine,” he said, with a -smile, “and so we shall be able to make quick time.” - -As soon as the party came within sight of the field they saw that -something unusual was taking place there, for people were massing from -different parts of the plain to a common center, and people standing in -the highway, evidently about to seek their homes, turned and ran back. - -“Can you see the flying machines?” asked Ben. - -“I can see one of them!” answered Mellen in the front seat. “And it -seems to be mounting into the air!” - -“I guess the little rascals have got off in spite of us!” declared Ben. -“Perhaps we’d better hold up a minute and follow the direction it takes. -It may not head for the valley.” - -“It’s heading for the valley, all right!” Glenn exclaimed. - -“Yes, and there’s something going on in the field below,” Mellen -declared. “There are people running about, evidently in great -excitement, and the second machine is being pushed forward.” - -“Do you think the little rascals have taken a machine apiece?” demanded -Ben. “There’s no knowing what they will do!” - -“No, I don’t,” replied Glenn. “They’d be sure to stick together.” - -“Then we’d better hustle up and find who’s taking out the second -machine!” exclaimed Ben. “This does look like trouble, doesn’t it?” - -“Oh, it may be all right,” smiled Mellen. “The boys may have taken a -machine apiece.” - -When the party reached the field the second flying machine was some -distance away. The driver, however, seemed to be wavering about in the -air as if uncertain of his control of the levers. Once or twice in an -uncertain current of air the _Bertha_ came near dropping to the ground. -In time, however, he gained better control. - -One of the native policemen secured by Bixby rushed up to the automobile -as it came to a stop. He recognized Mellen in the car and addressed him -in Spanish, speaking as if laboring under great excitement. - -The boys listened to the conversation very impatiently, noting with no -little apprehension the look of anxiety growing on the face of the -manager as he listened to the story of the policeman. At length Mellen -turned to the boys and began translating what he had heard. - -The story told by the policeman was virtually the story told in the last -chapter, with the exception that it included the departure of Doran and -another in pursuit of the _Louise_. - -“The policeman,” Mellen went on, “is of the opinion that Doran means -mischief. He declares that he rather forced himself on Bixby, and was -instrumental in securing the absence of the two Englishmen who were to -assist him in guarding the aeroplanes.” - -“It seems that the trouble arrived shortly after the Havens’ telegram,” -suggested Ben. “I wish I knew what it meant.” - -“No one this side of Kingdom Come knows!” declared Glenn. “That is, no -one save Mr. Havens,” he added. “Anyway, it’s trouble!” - -“How far is it to that valley?” asked Mellen. - -“At least twenty miles!” replied Ben. - -“Would it be possible to reach it in this machine?” - -“I can’t answer that question,” replied Ben, “because it was dark when -we came over the ground. It seems, however, to be all up hill and down -on the way there. I don’t think the machine could make the trip.” - -“I’ve a great notion to try it!” declared Mellen. “Anyway,” he went on, -“we can tour along in that direction. The man in charge of the last -aeroplane doesn’t seem to be next to his job and he may get a tumble.” - -“And if he does,” cried Ben, “we’ll give him a lift, patch up the -machine, and start over to the old camp!” - -And so, with the two machines in the air, the automobile went roaring -and panting over the rough mountain trails in the direction of the -valley! Occasionally the occupants saw the last machine but not often! - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - A PAIR OF PLANS. - - -“That other machine,” Jimmie observed glancing hastily in the direction -pointed out by Sam, “looks to me like the _Bertha_.” - -“Can you identify an aeroplane at that distance in the night-time?” -asked Sam. “I’m sure I couldn’t do anything of the kind!” - -“I don’t know as I can express it,” Jimmie replied, “but to me every -flying machine has a method and manner of its own. There is something in -the way an aeroplane carries itself in the sky which reminds me somewhat -of the manner of a man in walking. In the case of the man, you know who -it is long before you can see his face, and in the case of the flying -machine, you know her long before the details of construction are in -view. I’m sure that is the _Bertha_!” - -“It is the _Bertha_, all right!” Carl cut in. “And she isn’t being -handled by one of our boys, either!” - -“It isn’t possible, is it, that that fellow Doran found the nerve to -chase us up?” asked Jimmie. “If he did, he’s a poor aviator, all right!” - -“It’s a wonder to me he doesn’t tip the machine over,” Sam suggested. - -“He may tip it over yet!” exclaimed Carl. “Just see, how it sways and -sags every time it comes to one of the little currents of air sweeping -out of the gorges. I anticipate a quick tumble there!” - -“That’s a nice thing,” exclaimed Jimmie, “for some one to steal the -machine and break it up! If the _Bertha_ goes to pieces now, we’ll have -to delay our trip until another aeroplane can be bought, and the chances -are that we can never buy one as reliable as the _Bertha_.” - -“She isn’t smashed yet!” grinned the tramp. “She’s headed straight for -the camp now, and may get here safely. The aviator seems to understand -how to control the levers, but he doesn’t know how to meet air currents. -If he had known the country well enough, he might have followed an -almost direct river level to this point.” - -“We didn’t know enough to do that!” Carl exclaimed. “We came over -mountains, gorges, and all kinds of dangerous precipices.” - -“That was unnecessary,” laughed the tramp, still keeping his eyes fixed -on the slowly-approaching flying machine. “The south branch of the -Esmeraldas river rises in the volcano country somewhere south of Quito. -The east branch of the same river rises something like a hundred miles -east and north of Quito. These two branches meet down there in front of -the camp. You can almost see the junction from here.” - -“Could a boat sail down either branch of the river?” asked Carl. - -“I don’t know about that,” was the reply, “but there must be a -continuous valley from Quito to the junction. If yonder aviator had -followed that, or if you had followed it, there would have been no -trouble with gorge winds or gusty drafts circling around mountain tops.” - -“Is there a road through the valley?” asked Jimmie. “A wagon road, I -mean. It seems that there ought to be.” - -“There are a succession of rough trails used by teamsters,” was the -reply. “I came down that way myself. The trails climb over ridges and -dip down into canyons, but it seems to me that the roadbed is remarkably -smooth. In fact, there seems to be a notion in the minds of the natives -that a very important commercial highway followed the line of the river -a good many centuries ago. I don’t know whether this is correct or not, -but I do know that the highway is virtually unknown to most of the -people living at Quito. I blundered on it by mistake.” - -“We’ll go back that way,” Carl suggested, “and, as we can fly low down, -there will be no risk in taking you along with us.” - -The flying machine which had been discovered approaching the camp a few -minutes before was now near enough so that two figures could be -distinguished on the seats. The machine was still reeling uncertainly, -the aviator undoubtedly seeking a place to land. - -“You see,” Carl explained, “the fellow is a stranger so far as this camp -is concerned. If he had ever been here before, he would now know exactly -what to do. Either Ben or Glenn could lay the machine within six inches -of the _Louise_ without half trying.” - -“Then you are certain that it is not one of your friends in control of -the aeroplane?” asked Sam. - -“I am sure of that!” replied Jimmie. “Neither one of the boys would -handle a machine the way that one is being handled.” - -“When she gets a little nearer we can tell whether that man Doran is on -board or not,” suggested Carl rather anxiously. - -“If you are certain that the machine has been stolen from the field -where she was left,” Sam went on, “you ought to decide without delay -what course to take when she lands. The man having her in charge may -have followed you here with hostile intentions.” - -“That’s very true!” Carl agreed. - -“We have two automatics apiece,” Jimmie grinned, “and we know how to use -them, so we’ll be able to take care of ourselves, whatever happens!” - -“And I have two which I found lying with the provision packages in one -of the tents,” said Sam. “Perhaps I shall be able now to pay for my -dinner. I’m always glad to do that whenever I can.” - -The oncoming machine was now circling over the valley, and it seemed -that a landing would be made in a few minutes. The boys moved back to -where the _Louise_ lay, then stood waiting and watching anxiously. - -“Do you think the men on the machine saw you?” asked Jimmie, in a -moment, turning to Sam. “It doesn’t seem possible that they did!” - -“Certainly not!” answered Sam. “You must remember that it is dark down -here, and that they are virtually looking into a black hole in the -hills. The way they approach the valley indicates that. Only for the -remnants of the fire, I don’t believe they could have found the valley -at all!” - -“Perhaps they haven’t seen us, either!” Carl suggested. - -“I don’t think they have,” Sam answered. - -“Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do!” Jimmie exclaimed. “We’ll scatter and -hide in three different places, in three different directions. Then, -when they land, we’ll perform the Jesse James act and order them to -throw up their hands! With six automatics pointing in their direction, -they’ll probably obey orders without argument.” - -“I should think they would!” laughed Carl. - -“What’s the idea after that?” Sam questioned. - -“I don’t know,” Jimmie returned. “Anyway, we’ll get the machine and -leave them to walk back to Quito. By the time they have accomplished -that stunt, we’ll be on our way to the haunted temples of Peru. I’m -getting sick of this old country, anyway.” - -Bending low in the darkness so as to avoid being seen from above, the -three scattered, in accordance with this arrangement, and lay, securely -hidden, in the tall grass when the _Bertha_ came wavering down. Owing to -the inexperience of the aviator, she struck the earth with a good deal -of a bump, and exclamations of rage were heard from the seats when the -motors were switched into silence. - -“This must be the place,” Jimmie heard one of the men saying, as the two -leaped to the ground. “There’s been a fire here not long ago, and there -are the tents, just as described by the boys.” - -“Yes,” another voice said, “and there is the _Louise_ back in the -shadows. It’s a wonder we didn’t see her before.” - -“But where are the boys?” the first speaker said. - -“We don’t care where the boys are,” a voice which Jimmie recognized as -that of Doran exclaimed. “The boys can do nothing without these -machines. It seems a pity to break them up.” - -“We won’t break them up until we have to!” the other declared. - -“I was thinking of that,” Doran answered. “Suppose we pack up the tents -and provisions and such other things as we can use and take everything -away into some valley where we can hide the machines and all the rest -until this little excitement blows over.” - -“That’s just the idea!” the other answered. “When things quiet down a -little we can get a good big price for these machines.” - -“And in the meantime,” Doran continued, “we’ll have to catch the boys if -they interfere with our work. If they don’t, we’ll just pack up the -stuff and fly away in the machines.” - -“And the two lads at Quito?” asked the other. - -“Oh,” Doran replied with a coarse laugh, “it will take them three or -four days to find out where their friends are, and a couple of weeks -more to get new machines, and by that time everything will be all lovely -down in Peru. It seems to be working out all right!” - -Jimmie felt the touch of a hand upon his shoulder and in a moment, Carl -whispered in his ear: - -“Do you mind the beautiful little plans they’re laying?” the boy asked. - -“Cunning little plans, so far as we’re concerned!” whispered Jimmie. - -“What do they mean by everything being lovely down in Peru after a -couple of weeks?” asked Carl. “That sounds mysterious!” - -“You may search me!” answered Jimmie. “It looks to me, though, as if the -trouble started here might be merely the advance agent of the trouble -supposed to exist across the Peruvian boundary.” - -“I suppose,” Carl went on, “that we’re going to lie right here and let -them pack up our stuff and fly away in our machines?” - -“Yes, we are!” replied Jimmie. “What we’re going to do is to give those -fellows a little healthy exercise walking back to Quito.” - -Directly Doran and his companion found a few sticks of dry wood which -had been brought in by the boys and began building up the fire, for the -double purpose of warmth and light. Then they both began tumbling the -tinned goods out of the tents and rolling the blankets which the boys -had used for bedding. - -“Ain’t it about time to call a halt?” asked Jimmie. - -“It certainly is!” Carl answered. “I wonder where our friend Sam is by -this time? He wouldn’t light out and leave us, would he?” - -“I don’t think he would,” was the reply. “I have a notion that this -mix-up is just about to his taste!” - -Just as Jimmie was about to show himself, revolvers in hand, preparatory -to sailing away in the machines and leaving the intruders with their -hands held well up, a murmur which seemed to come from a myriad of human -voices vibrated on the air and the tall grass all about the place where -the tents had been pitched seemed to be imbued with life. - -“Savages!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -“Gee!” whispered Carl, excitedly. “This location seems to be attracting -attention to-night! What are we going to do?” - -“If those outlaws were away,” explained Jimmie, “we’d know well enough -what we ought to do! We’d make a rush for the machines and get aboard, -just as we did before.” - -“I wonder if Doran and his companion will have sense enough to try -that?” asked Carl. “If they do, we’ll have to stop them, for we can’t -lose the machines. They ought to be shot, anyway.” - -While the boys whispered together the savages, evidently in large -numbers, crept toward the aeroplanes in an ever-narrowing circle. As -luck would have it, the place where Jimmie and Carl were hidden was -permitted by the savages to make a break in the circle because of the -depression in which they lay, their heads on a level with the surface of -the earth. - -The savages swept almost over them, and in a moment, by lifting their -heads above the grass in the rear of the dusky line, they saw the -attacking party swarming around the tents and the machines. Doran and -his companion were seized, disarmed, and tied up with stout fiber woven -from the bark of a tree. Directly a scouting party brought Sam into the -group. - -The tramp had apparently surrendered without any attempt at defence, and -the boys wondered a little at that until they found themselves facing -lithe spears which waved significantly to and fro within six inches of -their heads! Then they, too, laid down their automatics, for they -understood very well that there was horrible death in the poisoned -shafts. - -They, too, were marched to the center of the group, now gathered about -the machines. Doran and his companion gazed at them with terror showing -in their faces, and the tramp seemed to consider the situation as too -serious for comment. He moved closer to the two boys, but was almost -immediately forced back by the savages. - -In a moment the war chants and ejaculations of victory died out while -two savages who seemed to be in charge of the party spoke together. - -During this silence, tense with excitement, the distant chug, chug, chug -of motors beat the air. The boys looked aloft for an aeroplane, yet did -not understand how one could possibly be there! - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - A SPRING FOR LIBERTY. - - -The savages heard the clamor of the motors, too, and turned quick faces -of alarm toward their white prisoners, as if they alone could explain -what was coming to pass. Doran and his companion, also, turned -questioning glances toward the two boys, while a slow smile of -comprehension flitted over the face of the tramp. - -As the welcome sounds came nearer the savages gathered closer and moved -a short distance toward the thicket, their spears extended as if to -repel attack. Sam now approached the two boys without opposition. - -“Do you know what that is?” he asked with a positive grin. - -“Sounds like an aeroplane!” suggested Jimmie. - -“Or like an automobile!” Carl put in. - -“Aw, how could an automobile get up here?” demanded Jimmie. - -“Don’t you remember the river road Sam was telling us about not long -ago?” asked Carl. “I guess an automobile could run along that, all -right!” - -“Is that so?” asked Jimmie turning to Sam. - -“A superior machine driven by a superior chauffeur might,” was the -reply. “Anyway, that’s a motor-car coming, and there’s no other way to -get in here. We’ll see the lights in a moment.” - -“Gee!” Jimmie exclaimed. “Do you think our friends chased the men who -stole the _Bertha_ up in a high-power automobile?” - -“That’s just what I do think!” exclaimed Carl. - -“And that is undoubtedly the fact,” Sam agreed. - -Doran and his companion seemed to share in the pleasant anticipations -the boys were now sensing, for they approached them in a friendly manner -and began asking questions regarding the oncoming machine. - -The savages were still drawing farther away, and Sam occupied his time -during the next moment in finding his way back to the tents and -procuring another automatic revolver which had not been discovered by -the outlaws. He held it so that the two boys caught sight of the brown -barrel and nodded significantly toward Doran and his friend. - -“He doesn’t mean to let them get away,” said Jimmie to Carl, in a low -aside. “He seems to be next to his job!” - -The savages, with their eyes fixed upon the jungle near the river bank, -kept crowding farther away from the machines. The clamor of the motors -came louder every instant, and directly two powerful acetylene lamps -looked out of the tall grass like great blazing eyes. - -The savages no longer hesitated as to how to meet this new situation. -They dropped their spears and whatever else they had in their hands and -broke for the thicket, uttering such cries of fright and terror as the -boys had never imagined could issue forth from human lips. Doran and his -companion sprang for the machines as the savages disappeared. - -When Ben, Glenn and Mellen came bumping up in the automobile, a minute -later, they saw the two fellows standing by the side of the _Louise_ -with their hands held high in the air. Before them stood Sam with a -threatening revolver pushed to within six inches of their faces. - -“Jerusalem!” exclaimed Ben, springing from the machine. “This looks like -a scene in one of the fierce old dramas they used to put on at the -Bowery theater! Are those the men who stole the _Bertha_?” he added -nodding toward the two whose arms were still held out. - -“They came here in the _Bertha_!” replied Carl. - -“Mr. Mellen,” began Doran, “you know me well enough to know that I -wouldn’t get mixed up in any such thieving scrape! These two boys came -to the field and ran away with the _Louise_. I had orders not to let any -one take the machines away, so I followed them in the _Bertha_.” - -“And he merely employed me to go with him!” the other fellow cut in. - -“They stole the machine!” insisted Jimmie. “I heard them talking about -leaving us here to walk back to Quito and hiding the machines in some -mountain valley until the search for them had died out. They were even -packing up our provisions and tents to take with them when the savages -came up!” - -“So those were savages who took to the tall timber?” asked Glenn. - -“The same kind of people who drove us out of the valley,” answered -Jimmie. “They had the whole bunch pinched when your machine came dancing -merrily out of the woods!” - -“And the way the niggers took to the tall timber was a caution!” -exclaimed Carl. “They must be going yet!” - -“Mr. Mellen,” broke in Doran, “I insist on being released from this -ridiculous position. I ask you to order this tramp to remove his -revolver. I am not used to such indignities.” - -“He is not subject to my orders,” replied Mellen. - -The tramp looked at Doran with a humorous smile on his face. - -“I don’t understand,” he said, “how you managed to reach this place in a -road machine. It must have been awful going!” - -“It certainly was!” answered Mellen. “Many a time I thought the machine -incapable of making the grades, and on various occasions we nearly -dropped over precipices.” - -“I never was so scared in my life!” declared Ben. - -“Riding an aeroplane is a picture of peace and safety in comparison to -such a whirl as that!” declared Glenn. “I hung on with my toes most of -the way! And,” he added, with a grin, “I saw Ben getting ready to jump -several times.” - -“We went so fast I couldn’t jump!” declared Ben. - -“I must congratulate you on the trip,” Sam cut in in a manner intended -to be friendly. “I don’t think any motor-car ever passed over that river -trail before! You certainly have blazed the way for others!” - -“Tell it to the chauffeur!” laughed Mellen. “And now, boys,” he went on, -“seeing you have rescued your precious oiled-silk shelter-tents, we may -as well be getting back to the city.” - -“I want to travel back in the _Bertha_!” exclaimed Ben. - -“And so do I!” Glenn cut in. “No more of that river ride for me!” - -“That leaves me to the full command of the motor-car!” laughed Mellen. -“I think one of you boys, at least, might ride back with me.” - -“Why, if the boys take the machines,” Doran put in, “there’s nothing for -us to do but ride back in the motor-car.” - -“You’ll walk so far as I’m concerned!” exclaimed Mellen. - -“Then I’ll act as first mate of the roadster,” suggested Sam, whereat -Mellen looked at the boys inquiringly. - -“He’s all right!” Jimmie exclaimed. “We found him here acting as -custodian of the camp,” he continued with a grin. “And you can see for -yourself how he pinched these two thieves.” - -“Be careful boy!” almost shouted Doran. “You’ll have to answer for every -word you say against me!” - -“I said ‘thieves’!” insisted Jimmie. “I overheard what you said before -the savages came up. You were going to make us walk back to Quito, and -now we’ll give you a dose of your own medicine. You’re the rascals -that’ll do the walking.” - -Mellen called the boys aside and, after learning exactly what had taken -place, both at the field and at the camp, fully agreed that the men -ought to be obliged to walk back to Quito. - -“It will teach them a lesson,” he said, “and, besides, it will keep them -out of mischief for at least twenty-four hours!” - -“Now,” Ben said, “Jimmie and I will go back in the _Louise_, and Glenn -and Carl can take the _Bertha_. You, Mr. Mellen, and Sam can return in -the automobile, and we’ll fly just above you along the river trail. If -you tumble over a precipice,” he added, with a smile, “we may be able to -pick you up, or you may be able to help us!” - -“There is one thing about it,” Carl suggested, “and that is that we -won’t have to use the flying machines for freight wagons. The automobile -can carry the tents and provisions and everything of that sort back to -Quito. That will make it easier for us to duck about and watch the -course of the automobile. You may need watching, you know,” he added -turning to Mellen. “Especially,” he continued, “if you have Sam Weller -with you!” - -The boys mounted the machines and were soon in the air, while Mellen and -Sam entered the motor-car, the latter keeping Doran and his companion -covered with an automatic revolver until the car was ready to start. -Both men sprang forward as the wheels began to revolve. - -“Are you really going away and leave us to walk to Quito?” demanded -Doran. “The savages will be here in an hour after you leave!” - -This was an argument which Mellen could not resist. It was perfectly -clear that the men would be murdered by the Indians if left there alone. - -“Perhaps,” he said, after some hesitation, “we’d better carry you far -enough to get you out of the Indian country.” - -“Only five miles!” pleaded Doran. - -“Jump in!” replied the manager. - -The two men thanked Mellen effusively, but there was a crafty, scheming -look in Doran’s eyes which told plainly enough that he intended to take -advantage of the kindness of the manager at the very first opportunity. - -Sam saw the evil expression and placed the automatic within easy reach -of his hand. Doran saw the movement and snarled out an oath. - -“There’s no need for you to make any gun-play!” he scowled. - -“When I see a snake,” declared Sam, “I don’t take any chances on being -bitten! I know pretty well the kind of a sneak you are.” - -“Look here!” exclaimed Doran, appealing to Mellen, “why don’t you take -us back to Quito and make complaint against us for stealing the machine? -It seems to me that that is the correct thing for you to do!” - -Mellen considered this proposition gravely for a moment. He believed now -that Doran was in some way mixed up in a conspiracy against the boys. -When considered in connection with Mr. Havens’ telegrams to Ben and -himself, the actions of the two men seemed significant. In fact, the -manager believed that the trouble referred to in Mr. Havens’ messages -had already made its appearance, guided by the hand of Doran! - -It seemed to him that the man’s plea was entirely reasonable, and yet he -understood that the fellows ought to be kept out of Quito as long as -possible. Even in jail, held only on a charge of grand larceny, Doran -would have little difficulty in securing a lawyer and communicating with -such other desperadoes as might be concerned in the conspiracy. - -“The savages,” Doran went on, pleadingly, “are scattered all through -this country, from the Colombia boundary line to Peru. It would be plain -murder to leave us here at this time!” - -“I half believe the man is right!” Sam agreed. - -“You know I am right!” insisted Doran. - -The matter was one which Mellen hesitated to decide. He believed that, -by taking Doran to Quito, he would place the boys in some unknown peril; -and he believed, too, that by leaving the two men in the mountains he -might be contributing to their murder. - -“What do you think about it?” he asked, turning to Sam. - -“I wouldn’t turn a thieving dog over to those savages!” was the reply. - -“No civilized human being would!” Doran exclaimed. - -“Very well,” Mellen replied. “I’ll take you to the police office at -Quito and ask to have you locked up on a charge of grand larceny.” - -“That will be satisfactory,” answered Doran. - -While entirely satisfied with the decision which had been reached, both -Mellen and Sam did not fully trust the two prisoners. They believed that -at some time during the return trip an attempt at escape would be made. -The two pretended to be very much interested in the aeroplanes, which -were almost constantly in sight, yet Mellen saw that they inspected the -trail eagerly as if looking for some soft place to land. - -Believing that the men would attempt to leave the motor-car only when -within a short distance of Quito, the two did not watch them as closely -as they might have done. The attempt came when the car had covered only -about half the distance between the camp and the city. - -The chauffeur was coasting down a very steep declivity with the brakes -well in hand and Mellen and Sam were clinging tightly to the sides of -the machine when Doran sprang to his feet and leaped. - -His companion attempted to follow his example, but Sam’s hand was laid -upon his shoulder at that instant, and the two tumbled into the bottom -of the car. The struggle there was of short duration, for Sam was a -muscular fellow and the other combatant was not inclined to put up much -of a fight. Mellen watched the struggle with a smile. - -It was impossible to stop the car on the steep grade, and so Mellen and -Sam were obliged to remain inactive while Doran struggled to his feet -and shook his fist at the car uttering as he did so threats of -vengeance. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - A FINE CURTAIN-RAISER. - - -The sun was rising over the mountains when the flying machines and the -motor-car reached the field where the boys had landed the night before. -After the escape of Doran, the aeroplanes had searched the hills and -gorges for the fugitive, but had found no trace of him observable from -the sky. - -After seeing that the machines were placed in charge of capable and -loyal officers, the boys entered the car with Mellen and were driven to -the hotel. When they reached the entrance they found a little crowd -assembled in the lobby. - -Messengers from the telegraph office were passing out and in, and the -clerk seemed to be answering a good many questions by ’phone. Mellen -stopped at the office counter while the boys took the elevator for their -rooms unobserved by the clerk in the office. - -“There’s something strange going on here!” the clerk exclaimed, as Mr. -Mellen stepped up. “We have a sheaf of telegrams for you, and a lot more -for those boys who came here last night.” - -“Well,” smiled the manager, “you may as well deliver them.” - -“Deliver them?” repeated the clerk. “How are we going to deliver them? -You can receipt now for the ones which belong to you,” he went on, “but -what are we going to do with those directed to the boys?” - -“Why, deliver them!” answered Mellen. - -“But the boys left the hotel last night!” replied the clerk angrily. -“Without paying their bills!” - -“But they are in their rooms now,” Mellen assured the clerk. - -“And they stole woolen blankets off the bed, too!” the clerk almost -shouted. “I ought to have them all arrested!” - -As the clerk uttered the words in a loud tone a slender, black-eyed man -who seemed to Mellen to move about the corridor with the sinuous -undulations of a snake, stepped up to the desk. - -“So the fugitives have returned?” he asked. “Shall I arrest them at -once? You have made the charge, you know!” - -“You will find the blankets in the boys’ room,” advised Mellen. “They -took them because they had a long, cold ride before them.” - -“It is policy to restore stolen goods after discovery!” snarled the man -who had asked instructions of the clerk, and who occupied the very -honorable position of house detective. - -“Look here, Gomez!” exclaimed Mellen. “You keep out of this! The boys -had a right to use the blankets outside of the hotel as well as inside.” - -“I shall do as the clerk says!” snarled the detective. - -“Oh, I suppose we’ll have to let it go if they’ve brought the blankets -back!” replied the clerk, reluctantly. - -Gomez turned away with a sullen frown on his face, and Mellen saw that -he had made an enemy of the fellow. - -“These boys are your friends?” asked the clerk of Mellen. - -“I never saw them until last night,” was the reply, “but I know that -they belong to the party of which Louis Havens, the millionaire aviator, -is the head. I presume the telegrams waiting for me here are from Mr. -Havens, who expects to be here within twenty-four hours.” - -“Not Louis Havens, the great explorer?” asked the clerk. - -“The same,” answered Mellen, “and if you’ve anything more to say about -the boys, say it to him.” - -Taking the telegrams from the clerk, Mellen went back to the machine -and, after leaving the prisoner with the police, hastened to Ben’s room, -where the other boys were assembled. As he had supposed, the messages -were all from Mr. Havens, and all were repetitions of the warning which -had been sent the previous night. - -“I don’t understand what it means!” Ben said after the messages had been -read and discussed. “But it is a sure thing that Mr. Havens knows what -he is talking about.” - -“I think we’d all better go and get a square meal and go to bed!” Jimmie -observed, rubbing his eyes. “The next time I get up in the night to take -a twenty-mile ride in the air, I won’t.” - -“That’s very good sense,” Mellen agreed. “These telegrams, as you see, -state that Mr. Havens cannot possibly reach Quito until some time -to-night.” - -“Then we can have a good sleep!” Carl agreed. “And sit up all night -again if we want to.” - -“It hasn’t been such a bad night!” Ben observed. “If we had only kept -Doran, everything would be in pretty good shape now.” - -“What did the chief of police say when you turned the other gink over to -him?” asked Carl. “He locked him up, didn’t he?” - -“Yes, he locked him up!” answered Mellen. “But, before I left the -station, I saw the fellow at the ’phone and I presume he is out on bail -by this time. The police have no recourse if bail is offered.” - -“Then I’ll tell you what you do!” advised Ben. “If he is admitted to -bail, you hire a private detective and have him watched. He is sure to -meet with Doran before very long. He may go to the hills to consult with -him, or Doran may come to the city, but the two fellows are certain to -come together! Then Doran can be arrested.” - -“That’s a good idea,” Mellen answered, “and I’ll attend to the matter as -soon as I get back to my office. Now, we’ll all go down to a restaurant -and have breakfast. I’m hungry myself just now.” - -“What’s the matter with the hotel?” asked Ben. - -Mellen did not care to explain to the boys exactly what had taken place -down stairs, but he felt that they would be treated with suspicion as -long as they remained there, so he decided to ask them to change their -quarters as soon as they returned from breakfast. - -Making the reply that the morning _table d’hote_ at the hotel was not -suitable for hungry boys who had been up all night, Mellen went with the -lads to a first-class restaurant. After breakfast he suggested a change -of hotels, saying only that they had already attracted too much -attention at the one where they were stopping, and the boys agreed -without argument. It took only a short time to locate in the new -quarters, and the boys were soon sound asleep. - -When Ben awoke, some one was knocking at his door, and directly he heard -a low chuckle which betrayed the presence of Jimmie in the corridor. - -“Get a move on!” the latter shouted. - -“What’s up?” asked Ben. - -“Time’s up!” replied Jimmie. - -“Open up!” almost yelled Carl. - -Ben sprang out of bed, half-dressed himself, and opened the door. The -first face he saw was that of Mr. Havens, who looked dusty and tired as -if from a long journey. - -As may be imagined, the greetings between the two were very cordial. In -a moment the boys all flocked into Ben’s room, where Mr. Havens was -advised to freshen up in the bath before entering upon the business in -hand. - -“You must have had a merry old time with the _Ann_,” laughed Ben. - -“Never saw anything like it!” exclaimed Mr. Havens. - -“Did she break down?” - -“Half a dozen times!” - -“Perhaps there was some good reason for it,” suggested Glenn, -significantly. - -“Indeed there was!” answered Mr. Havens. - -“Couldn’t you catch him?” asked Jimmie. - -“I could not!” was the reply. - -While the millionaire remained in the bath-room, the boys discussed all -manner of surmises concerning the accidents which had happened to the -_Ann_. They had not yet heard a word of explanation from Mr. Havens -concerning the warnings of trouble which had been received by wire, but -they understood that the interferences to the big aeroplane were only -part of the general trouble scheme which seemed to have broken loose the -night before. Finally they all gave up the problem. - -“We don’t know anything about it!” exclaimed Jimmie. “And we won’t know -anything about it until Mr. Havens gets cleaned up and tells us, so we -may as well talk about hens, or white bulldogs, until he gets ready to -open up. By the way,” the boy continued, “where is Sam?” - -“Mellen took him down to get him into decent clothes,” Ben answered. - -“Is he coming back here?” asked Jimmie. “I rather like that fellow.” - -“Of course he’s coming back!” Ben replied. “He’s hasn’t got any other -place to go! He’s flat broke and hungry.” - -“I thought perhaps he wouldn’t like to meet Mr. Havens,” Jimmie -commented, with a wink at Carl. - -“And why not?” asked Ben, somewhat amazed. - -Then the story of Sam Weller’s previous employment at the hangar on Long -Island came out. The boys all declared that they wanted to be present -when Sam met his former employer! - -“I don’t care what you say about Sam!” Jimmie declared, after the boys -had finished their discussion of the Long Island incident. “I like him -just the same! There’s a kind of a free and easy impudence about him -that gets me. I hope he’ll stay with us!” - -“He might ride with Mr. Havens in the _Ann_!” laughed Carl. - -“Well, I don’t believe Mr. Havens would object, at that!” declared -Jimmie. - -“Certainly he wouldn’t object!” replied the millionaire, coming out of -the bath-room door with a smile on his face. “And so Sam Weller showed -up here, did he?” he asked as he seated himself. “The boy is a -first-class aviator, but he used to get his little finger up above his -nose too often, so I had to let him go. Did he tell any of you boys how -he happened to drift into this section?” - -“He told me,” Jimmie replied, “that he was making a leisurely trip from -the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn. He looked the part, too, for I guess -he hadn’t had a square meal for several decades, and his clothes looked -as if they had been collected out of a rag-bag!” - -“He’s a resourceful chap!” Mr. Havens continued. “He’s a first-class -aviator, as I said, in every way, except that he is not dependable, and -that of course spoils everything.” - -“He’s got the nerve!” Carl observed. - -“He certainly has!” agreed Jimmie. - -“Well,” Mr. Havens said in a moment, “if you boys like Sam, we’ll take -him along. We have room for one more in the party.” - -“And that brings us down to business!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Right here,” -he went on, “is where we want you to turn on the spot light. We’ve had -so many telegrams referring to trouble that we’re beginning to think -that Trouble is our middle name!” - -“Perhaps we would better wait until Mellen and Sam return,” suggested -Mr. Havens. “That will save telling the story two or three times.” - -“Is Sam Weller really his name?” asked Jimmie. - -“I don’t think so,” answered Havens. “I think it is merely a name he -selected out of the Pickwick Papers. While in my employ on Long Island -several people who knew him by another name called to visit with him. -Now and then I questioned these visitors, but secured little -information.” - -“Perhaps he’s a Pittsburg Millionaire or a Grand Duke in disguise!” -suggested Carl. “And again,” the boy went on, “he may be merely the -black sheep in some very fine family.” - -“There’s something a little strange about the boy,” Mr. Havens agreed, -“but I have never felt myself called upon to examine into his -antecedents.” - -“Here he comes now!” cried Carl. “With a new suit of clothes on his back -and a smile lying like a benediction all over his clean shave!” - -The boys were glad to see that the millionaire greeted Sam as an old -friend. For his part, Sam extended his hand to his former employer and -answered questions as if he had left his employ with strong personal -letters of recommendation to every crowned head in the world! - -“And now for the story,” Mellen said after all were seated. - -“And when you speak of trouble,” Jimmie broke in, “always spell it with -a big ‘T’, for that’s the way it opened out on us!” - -“I’m going to begin right at the beginning,” Mr. Havens said, with a -smile, “and the beginning begins two years ago.” - -“Gee!” exclaimed Jimmie. “That’s a long time for trouble to lie in wait -before jumping out at a fellow!” - -“In fact,” Mr. Havens went on, “the case we have now been dumped into, -heels over head, started in New York City two years ago, when Milo -Redfern, cashier of the Invincible Trust Company, left the city with a -half million dollars belonging to the depositors.” - -“That’s a good curtain lifter!” exclaimed Carl. “When you open a drama -with a thief and a half million dollars, you’ve started something!” - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - WHERE THE TROUBLE BEGAN. - - -“When Redfern disappeared,” Mr. Havens went on, “we employed the best -detective talent in America to discover his whereabouts and bring him -back. The best detective talent in America failed.” - -“That ain’t the way they put it in stories!” Carl cut in. - -“We spent over a hundred thousand dollars trying to bring the thief to -punishment, and all we had to show for this expenditure at the end of -the year was a badly spelled letter written—at least mailed—on the lower -East Side in New York, conveying the information that Redfern was hiding -somewhere in the mountains of Peru.” - -“There you go!” exclaimed Ben. “The last time we went out on a little -excursion through the atmosphere, we got mixed up with a New York murder -case, and also with Chinese smugglers, and now it seems that we’ve got -an embezzlement case to handle.” - -“Embezzlement case looks good to me!” shouted Jimmie. - -“Hiding in the mountains of Peru?” repeated Sam. “Now I wonder if a man -hiding in the mountains of Peru has loyal friends or well-paid agents in -the city of Quito.” - -“There!” exclaimed Mr. Havens. “Sam has hit the nail on the head the -first crack. I never even told the boys when they left New York that -they were bound for Peru on a mission in which I was greatly interested. -I thought that perhaps they would get along better and have a merrier -time if they were not loaded down with official business.” - -“That wouldn’t have made any difference!” announced Carl. “We’d have -gone right along having as much fun as if we were in our right minds!” - -“When I started away from the hangar in the _Ann_,” Mr. Havens -continued, with a smile at the interruption, “I soon saw that some one -in New York was interested in my remaining away from Peru.” - -“Redfern’s friends of course!” suggested Mellen. - -“Exactly!” replied the millionaire. - -“And Redfern’s friends appeared on the scene last night, too,” Jimmie -decided. “And they managed to make quite a hit on their first -appearance, too,” he continued. “And this man Doran is at present ready -for another engagement if you please. He’s a foxy chap!” - -“I’m sorry he got away!” Mellen observed. - -“Yes, it’s too bad,” Mr. Havens agreed, “but, in any event, we couldn’t -have kept him in prison here isolated from his friends.” - -“There’s one good thing about it,” Ben observed, “and that is that we’ve -already set a trap to catch him.” - -“How’s that?” asked the millionaire. - -“Mr. Mellen has employed a detective to follow Doran’s companion on the -theory that sometime, somewhere, the two will get together again.” - -“That’s a very good idea!” Mr. Havens declared. - -“Now about this man Redfern,” Mr. Mellen went on. “Is he believed to be -still in the mountains of Peru?” - -“I have at least one very good reason for supposing so,” answered the -millionaire. “Yes, I think he is still there.” - -“Give us the good reason!” exclaimed Carl. “I guess we want to know how -to size things up as we go along!” - -“The very good reason is this,” replied Mr. Havens with a smile, “the -minute we started in our airships for the mountains of Peru, obstacles -began to gather in our way. The friends or accomplices of Redfern began -to flutter the instant we headed toward Peru.” - -“That strikes me as being a good and sufficient reason for believing -that he is still there!” Mellen commented. - -“Yes, I think it is!” replied the millionaire. “And it is an especially -good reason,” he went on, “when you understand that all our previous -plans and schemes for Redfern’s capture have never evoked the slightest -resistance.” - -“Then the embezzler is in Peru, all right, all right!” laughed Carl. - -“But Peru is a very large country,” suggested Mr. Havens. - -“There’s a good deal of land in the country,” agreed Jimmie. “When you -come to measure the soil that stands up on end, I guess you’d find Peru -about as large as the United States of America!” - -“What are the prospects?” asked Mellen. “What I mean,” he continued, “is -this: Can you put your finger on any one spot on the map of Peru and -say—look there first for Redfern.” - -“Yes,” replied Mr. Havens, “I think I can. If you ask me to do it, I’ll -just cover Lake Titicaca with my thumb and tell you to pull Redfern out -of the water as soon as you get to that part of old Incaland!” - -“Je-rusalem!” exclaimed Jimmie. “And that takes us right down to the -haunted temple!” - -“What kind of a lake is this Titicaca?” asked Glenn. - -“Don’t you ever read anything except base-ball stories and police court -records?” asked Ben, turning to his friend. “Before I was seven years -old I knew that Lake Titicaca is larger than Lake Erie; that it is five -inches higher in the summer than in the winter, and that the longer you -keep a piece of iron or steel in it the brighter it will become.” - -“Is it a fact that the waters of this lake do not rust metal?” asked -Mellen. “That seems to me to be a peculiar circumstance.” - -“I have often heard it stated as a fact,” replied Mr. Havens. - -“Ask any one who knows, if you won’t believe me,” Ben went on with a -provoking smile. “It is said that Lake Titicaca represents the oldest -civilization in the world. There are temples built of stones larger than -those used in the pyramids of Egypt. The stones have remained in -position after a century because of the nicety with which they are -fitted together. It is said to be impossible to drive the finest needle -between the seams of the walls composed of granite rocks.” - -“But what did they want to build such temples and fortresses for?” -demanded Jimmie. “Why didn’t they spend more time playing base-ball?” - -“You’re a nut on base-ball!” laughed Ben. - -“The temples which exist to-day were there when the Incas settled the -country,” the boy continued. “They knew no more of their origin than we -do at this time!” - -“They may be a million years old!” exclaimed Carl. - -“Perhaps that’s as good a guess as any,” replied Ben. “We don’t know how -old they are, and never shall know.” - -“Isn’t it a little remarkable,” said Mellen, “that an act of -embezzlement committed in New York City more than two years ago should -lead to a visit to ruined temples in Peru?” - -“Now about this Lake Titicaca, about which Ben has given us a bit of -history,” Mr. Havens said, after replying briefly to Mellen’s question. -“We have every reason to believe that Redfern has been living in some of -the ancient structures bordering the lake.” - -“Did you ever try to unearth the East Side person who wrote the letter -you have just referred to?” asked Ben. - -“We have spent thousands of dollars in quest of that person,” replied -the millionaire, “and all to no purpose.” - -“And what do we do to-morrow?” asked Jimmie, breaking into the -conversation in true boy-fashion. - -“Why, we’re going to start for Peru!” cried Carl. - -“And the haunted temples!” laughed Ben. “Honest, boys,” he went on, “I -don’t believe there’s anything in this haunted temple yarn. There may be -temples which are being guarded from the ravages of the superstitious by -interested persons who occasionally play the ghost, but so far as any -supernatural manifestations are concerned the idea is ridiculous.” - -“Don’t you ever say anything like that in the vicinity of Lake -Titicaca,” Mellen suggested. “If you do, the natives will suddenly -discover that you are robbers, bent on plunder, and some night, your -bodies may find a resting-place at the bottom of the lake.” - -“Do they really believe the temples to be haunted?” asked Glenn. - -“There are people in whose interest the superstition is kept up,” -replied Ben. “These interested people would doubtless gladly perform the -stunt just suggested by Mellen.” - -“I think I’ve got the combination now!” Jimmie laughed. “See if I’m -right. The temples still hold stores of gold, and those searching for -the treasure are keeping adventurous people away by making the ghost -walk.” - -“That’s the idea!” Ben replied. - -“And, look here!” Sam broke in. “Why shouldn’t this man Redfern have a -choice collection of ghosts of his own?” - -“That’s an idea, too,” Mr. Havens remarked. - -“I’ll bet he has!” Jimmie insisted. - -“Then we’ll examine the homes of the ghosts first,” grinned Jimmie. -“We’ll walk up to the portal and say: ‘Mr. Ghost, if you’ll materialize -Redfern, we’ll give you half of the reward offered for him by the trust -company.’ That ought to bring him, don’t you think?” - -“And here’s another idea,” Sam interrupted. “If Redfern has ghosts in -the temple in which he is hiding—if he really is hiding in a Peruvian -temple—his ghosts will be the most active ghosts on the job. In other -words, we’ll hear more about his haunted temple than any other haunted -temple in all Peru. His ghosts will be in a constant state of eruption!” - -“And that’s another good idea,” suggested Mr. Havens. - -“Oh, Sam is wise all right,” Jimmie went on. “I knew that the minute he -told me about unearthing the provisions in the tent before he knew -whether the savages were coming back!” - -“Gentlemen,” began Sam, with one of his smooth smiles, “I was so hungry -that I didn’t much care whether the savages came back or not. It -appeared to me then that the last morsel of food that had passed my lips -had exhausted itself at a period farther away than the birth of Adam!” - -“You must have been good and hungry!” laughed Mellen. - -“What did you wander off into that country for?” asked Jimmie. “You -might have known better.” - -“I couldn’t remain in the Canal Zone,” replied Sam, “because no one -would give me a job. Everybody seemed to want to talk to me for my own -good. Even the chief in charge of the Gatun dam contract told me——” - -“Do you know the chief in charge of the Gatun dam contract?” asked -Havens, casually. “You spoke of him a moment ago as if you had met him -personally.” - -“Well, you see,” Sam went on, hesitatingly, “you see I just happened -to——” - -The confusion of the young man was so great that no further questions -were asked of him at that time, but all understood that he had -inadvertently lifted a curtain which revealed previous acquaintance with -men like the chief in charge of the Gatun dam. The boy certainly was a -mystery, and they all decided to learn the truth about him before -parting company. - -“Well,” Mr. Havens said, breaking a rather oppressive silence, “are we -all ready for the roof of the world to-morrow?” - -“You bet we’re all ready!” cried Jimmie. - -“I’m ready right now!” exclaimed Carl. - -“Will you go with us, Sam?” asked Mr. Havens. - -“I should be glad to!” was the reply. - -No more was said on the subject at that time, yet all saw by the -expression on the tramp’s face how grateful he was for this new chance -in life which Mr. Havens had given him. - -“Jerusalem!” exclaimed Jimmie in a moment, jumping to his feet and -rushing toward the door. “I’ve forgotten something!” - -“Something important?” asked Ben. - -“Important? I should say so!” replied Jimmie. “I forgot to eat my -dinner, and I haven’t had any supper yet!” - -“How did you come to do it?” asked Mellen. - -“I didn’t wake up!” was the reply. “And now,” the boy went on, “you see -I’ve got to go and eat two meals all at once.” - -“I’ll eat one of them for you,” suggested Sam. - -“And I’ll eat the other!” volunteered Ben. - -“Yes you will,” grinned Jimmie. “I don’t need any help when it comes to -supplying the region under my belt with provisions.” - -The boys hustled away to the dining-room, it being then about seven -o’clock, while Mr. Havens and Mellen hastened back to the manager’s -office. - -Passing through the public lobby, the manager entered his private room -and opened a sheaf of telegrams lying on the table. - -One of the messages was for Mr. Havens. He read it carefully, twice -over, and then turned a startled face toward the manager. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - UNDER TROPICAL STARS. - - -The manager glanced at the millionaire’s startled face for a moment and -then asked, his voice showing sympathy rather than curiosity: - -“Unpleasant news, Mr. Havens?” - -“Decidedly so!” was the reply. - -The millionaire studied over the telegram for a moment and then laid it -down in front of the manager. - -“Read it!” he said. - -The message was brief and ran as follows: - - “Ralph Hubbard murdered last night! Private key to deposit box A - missing from his desk!” - -“Except for the information that some one has been murdered,” Mellen -said, restoring the telegram to its owner, “this means little or nothing -to me. I don’t think I ever knew Ralph Hubbard!” - -“Ralph Hubbard,” replied the millionaire gravely, “was my private -secretary at the office of the Invincible Trust Company, New York. All -the papers and information collected concerning the search for Milo -Redfern passed through his hands. In fact, the letter purporting to have -been written and mailed on the lower East Side of New York was addressed -to him personally, but in my care.” - -“And deposit box A?” asked Mellen. “Pardon me,” he added in a moment, “I -don’t seek to pry into your private affairs, but the passing of the -telegram to me seemed to indicate a desire on your part to take me into -your confidence in this matter.” - -“Deposit box A,” replied the millionaire, “contained every particle of -information we possess concerning the whereabouts of Milo Redfern.” - -“I see!” replied Mellen. “I see exactly why you consider the murder and -robbery so critically important at this time.” - -“I have not only lost my friend,” Mr. Havens declared, “but it seems to -me at this time that I have also lost all chance of bringing Redfern to -punishment.” - -“I’m sorry,” consoled Mellen. - -“I don’t know what to do now,” the millionaire exclaimed. “With the -information contained in deposit box A in their possession, the -associates of Redfern may easily frustrate any move we may make in -Peru.” - -“So it seems!” mused Mellen. “But this man Redfern is still a person of -considerable importance! Men who have passed out of the range of human -activities seldom have power to compel the murder of an enemy many -hundreds of miles away.” - -“I have always believed,” Mr. Havens continued, “that the money -embezzled by Redfern was largely used in building up an institution -which seeks to rival the Invincible Trust Company.” - -“In that case,” the manager declared, “the whole power and influence of -this alleged rival would be directed toward the continued absence from -New York of Redfern.” - -“Exactly!” the millionaire answered. - -“Then why not look in New York first?” asked Mellen. - -“Until we started away on this trip,” was the reply, “we had nothing to -indicate that the real clew to the mystery lay in New York.” - -“Did deposit box A contain papers connecting Redfern’s embezzlement with -any of the officials of the new trust company?” asked the manager. - -“Certainly!” was the reply. - -The manager gave a low whistle of amazement and turned to his own -telegrams. The millionaire sat brooding in his chair for a moment and -then left the room. At the door of the building, he met Sam Weller. - -“Mr. Havens,” the young man said, drawing the millionaire aside, “I want -permission to use one of your machines for a short time to-night.” - -“Granted!” replied Mr. Havens with a smile. - -“I’ve got an idea,” Sam continued, “that I can pick up valuable -information between now and morning. I may have to make a long flight, -and so I’d like to take one of the boys with me if you do not object.” - -“They’ll all want to go,” suggested the millionaire. - -“I know that,” laughed Sam, “and they’ve been asleep all day, and will -be prowling around asking questions while I’m getting ready to leave. I -don’t exactly know how I’m going to get rid of them.” - -“Which machine do you want?” asked Mr. Havens. - -“The _Ann_, sir, if it’s all the same to you.” - -“You’re quite welcome to her,” the millionaire returned. - -“Well, then, with your permission,” continued Sam, “I’ll smuggle Jimmie -out to the field and we’ll be on our way. The machine has plenty of -gasoline on board, I take it, and is perfect in other ways?” - -“I believe her to be in perfect condition, and well supplied with fuel,” -was the answer. “She’s the fastest machine in the world right now.” - -Sam started away, looking anything but a tramp in his new clothes, but -turned back in a moment and faced his employer. - -“If we shouldn’t be back by morning,” he said, then, “don’t do any -worrying on our account. Start south in your machines and you’ll be -certain to pick us up somewhere between Quito and Lake Titicaca. If you -don’t pick us up within a day or two,” the boy continued in a hesitating -tone, “you’ll find a letter addressed to yourself at the local -post-office.” - -“Look here, Sam,” suggested Mr. Havens, “why don’t you tell me a little -more about yourself and your people?” - -“Sometime, perhaps, but not now,” was the reply. “The letter, you -understand,” he continued, “is not to be opened until you have -reasonable proof of my death.” - -“I understand!” the millionaire answered. “But here’s another thing,” he -added, “you say that we may find you between Quito and Lake Titicaca. -Are you acquainted with that region?” - -“Well, I know something about it!” replied Sam. “You see,” he continued, -“when I left your employ in the disgraceful manner which will at once -occur to you, I explained to Old Civilization that she might go and hang -herself for all of me. I ducked into the wilderness, and since that time -I’ve spent many weeks along what is known as the roof of the world in -Peru.” - -“I wish you luck in your undertaking!” Mr. Havens said as the young man -turned away, “and the only advice I give you at parting is that you take -good care of yourself and Jimmie and enter upon no unnecessary risks!” - -“That’s good advice, too!” smiled Sam, and the two parted with a warm -clasp of the hands. - -After leaving the millionaire aviator at the telegraph office, Sam -hastened to the hotel where the boys were quartered and called Jimmie -out of the little group in Ben’s room. They talked for some moments in -the corridor, and then Jimmie thrust his head in at the half-open door -long enough to announce that he was going out with Sam to view the city. -The boys were all on their feet in an instant. - -“Me, too!” shouted Ben. - -“You can’t lose me!” cried Carl. - -Glenn was at the door ready for departure with the others. - -“No, no!” said Sam shaking his head. “Jimmie and I are just going out -for a little stroll. Unfortunately I can take only one person besides -myself into some of the places where I am going.” - -The boys shut the door with a bang, leaving Carl on the outside. The lad -turned the knob of the door and opened and closed it to give the -impression that he, too, had returned to the apartment. Then he moved -softly down the corridor and, still keeping out of sight, followed Sam -and Jimmie out in the direction of the field where the machines had been -left. - -The two conversed eagerly, sometimes excitedly during the walk, but of -course, Carl could hear nothing of what was being said. There was quite -a crowd assembled around the machines, and so Carl had little difficulty -in keeping out of sight as he stepped close to the _Ann_. After talking -for a moment or two with one of the officers in charge of the machines, -Sam and Jimmie leaped into the seats and pushed the starter. - -As they did so Jimmie felt a clutch at his shoulders, and then a light -body settled itself in the rather large seat beside him. - -“You thought you’d get away, didn’t you?” grinned Carl. - -“Look here!” shouted Jimmie as the powerful machine swept across the -field and lifted into the air, “you can’t go with us!” - -“Oh, I can’t?” mocked Carl. “I don’t know how you’re going to put me -off! You don’t want to stop the machine now, of course!” - -“But, see here!” insisted Jimmie, “we’re going on a dangerous mission! -We’re likely to butt into all kinds of trouble. And, besides,” he -continued, “Sam has provisions for only two. You’ll have to go hungry if -you travel with us. We’ve only five or six meals with us!” - -“So you’re planning a long trip, eh?” scoffed Carl. “What will the boys -say about your running off in this style?” - -“Oh, keep still!” replied Jimmie. “We’re going off on a mission for Mr. -Havens! You never should have butted in!” - -“Oh, let him go!” laughed Sam, as the clamor of the motors gradually -made conversation impossible. “Perhaps he’ll freeze to death and drop -off before long. I guess we’ve got food enough!” - -There was no moon in the sky as yet, but the tropical stars looked down -with surprising brilliancy. The country below lay spread out like a -great map. As the lights of Quito faded away in the distance, dark -mountain gorges which looked like giant gashes in the face of mother -earth, mountain cones which seemed to seek companionship with the stars -themselves, and fertile valleys green because of the presence of -mountain streams, swept by sharply and with the rapidity of scenes in a -motion-picture house. - -As had been said, the _Ann_ had been constructed for the private use of -the millionaire aviator, and was considered by experts to be the -strongest and swiftest aeroplane in the world. On previous tests she had -frequently made as high as one hundred miles an hour on long trips. The -motion of the monster machine in the air was so stable that the -millionaire had often taken prizes for endurance which entitled him to -medals for uninterrupted flights. - -Jimmie declares to this day that the fastest express train which ever -traveled over the gradeless lines of mother earth had nothing whatever -on the flight of the _Ann_ that night! Although Sam kept the machine -down whenever possible, there were places where high altitudes were -reached in crossing cone summits and mountain chains. - -At such times the temperature was so low that the boys shivered in their -seat, and more than once Jimmie and Carl protested by signs and gestures -against such high sailing. - -At two o’clock when the moon rose, bringing every detail of the country -into bold relief, Sam circled over a green valley and finally brought -the aeroplane down to a rest hardly more than four thousand feet above -sea-level. It was warm here, of course, and the two boys almost dropped -from their seat as the fragrant air of the grass-grown valley reached -their nostrils. While Sam busied himself with the running gear of the -flying machine, Jimmie and Carl sprawled out on the lush grass and -compared notes. The moonlight struck the valley so as to illuminate its -western rim while the eastern surface where the machine lay was still -heavy in shadows. - -“Jiminy!” exclaimed Jimmie, lifting himself on one elbow and gazing at -the wrinkled cones standing all around the valley. “I wonder how Sam -ever managed to drop into this cosy little nest without breaking all our -necks.” - -Sam, who seemed to be unaffected by the cold and the strain of the long -flight, stood, oil-can in hand, when the question was asked. In a moment -he walked over to where the boys lay. - -“I can tell you about that,” he said with a smile. “Not long ago I had a -job running an old ice-wagon of an aeroplane over this country for a -naturalist. We passed this spot several times, and at last came back -here for a rest. Not to put too fine a point upon it, as Micawber would -say, we remained here so long that I became thoroughly acquainted with -the country. It is a lonesome little valley, but a pleasant one.” - -“Well, what did we come here for?” asked Carl, in a moment, “and how far -are we from Quito? Seems like a thousand miles!” - -“We are something like four hundred miles from the capital city of -Ecuador,” Sam replied, “and the reason why we landed here will be -disclosed when you chase yourselves along the valley and turn to the -right around the first cliff and come face to face with the cunningest -little lake you ever saw, also the haunted temple which stands there!” - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE HAUNTED TEMPLE. - - -“A haunted temple?” echoed Jimmie. “I thought the haunted temples were a -lot farther south.” - -“There are haunted temples all over Peru, if you leave it to the -natives,” answered Sam. “Whenever there is a reason for keeping -strangers away from such ruins as we are about to visit, the ghosts come -forth at night in white robes and wave weird lights above skeleton -faces.” - -“Quit it!” cried Carl. “I’ve got the creeps running up and down my back -right now! Bring me my haunted temples by daylight!” - -“Yes,” scorned Jimmie, “we’ll bring you a little pet ghost in a -suit-case. That would be about your size!” - -“Honest,” grinned the boy, “I’m scared half to death.” - -“What’s the specialty of the ghosts who inhabit this ruined temple?” -asked Jimmie. “Can’t you give us some idea of their antics?” - -“If I remember correctly,” Sam replied, with a laugh, “the specialty of -the spirits to whom I am about to introduce you consists of low, soft -music. How does that suit?” - -“I tell you to quit it!” cried Carl. - -“After I prepare the aeroplane for another run,” Sam went on, with a -grin, “I’ll take you around to the temple, if you like.” - -“Mother of Moses!” cried Carl. “My hair’s all on end now; and I won’t -dare look into a mirror in the morning for fear I’ll find it turned -white.” - -“There’s a strange feeling in my system, too!” Jimmie declared, “but I -think it comes from a lack of sustenance.” - -“Jimmie,” declared Carl reproachfully, “I believe you would pick the -pocket of a wailing ghost of a ham sandwich, if he had such a thing -about him!” - -“Sure I would!” answered the boy. “What would a ghost want of a ham -sandwich? In those old days the people didn’t eat pork anyway. If you -read the history of those days, you’ll find no mention of the wriggly -little worms which come out of pigs and made trouble for the human -race.” - -“Well, if you’re ready now,” Sam broke in, “we’ll take a walk around the -corner of the cliff and see if the ghosts are keeping open house -to-night.” - -“You really don’t believe in these ghosts, do you?” asked Jimmie. - -“I do not!” was the reply. - -“There ain’t no such animal, is there?” asked Carl. - -“I have never witnessed any ‘supernatural’ things,” Sam answered, “which -could not be traced eventually to some human agency. Usually to some -interested human agency.” - -“Well,” grinned Carl, “if there ain’t any ghosts at this ruined temple, -what’s the use of my going there to see them?” - -“You may remain and watch the machine if you care to,” Sam replied. -“While we are supposed to be in a valley rarely frequented by human -kind, it may be just as well to leave some one on guard. For instance,” -the young man went on, “a jaguar might come along and eat up the -motors!” - -“Jaguars?” exclaimed Carl. “Are they the leopard-like animals that chase -wild horses off the pampas of Brazil, and devour men whenever they get -particularly hungry?” - -“The same!” smiled Sam. - -“Then I want to see the ghosts!” exclaimed Carl. - -“Come along, then,” advised Sam. - -“If you didn’t know Carl right well,” Jimmie explained, as they walked -along, “you’d really think he’d tremble at the sight of a ghost or a -wild animal, but he’s the most reckless little idiot in the whole bunch! -He’ll talk about being afraid, and then he’ll go and do things that any -boy in his right mind ought not to think of doing.” - -“I had an idea that that was about the size of it!” smiled Sam. - -Presently the party turned the angle of the cliff and came upon a placid -little mountain lake which lay glistening under the moonlight. - -“Now, where’s your ruined temple?” asked Carl. - -“At the southern end of the lake,” was the reply. - -“I see it!” cried Jimmie. “There’s a great white stone that might have -formed part of a tower at one time, and below it is an opening which -looks like an entrance to the New York subway with the lights turned -off.” - -The old temple at the head of the lake had frequently been visited by -scientists and many descriptions of it had been written. It stood boldly -out on a headland which extended into the clear waters, and had -evidently at one time been surrounded by gardens. - -“I don’t see anything very mysterious about that!” Carl remarked. “It -looks to me as if contractors had torn down a cheap old building in -order to erect a skyscraper on the site, and then been pulled off the -job.” - -“Wait until you get to it!” warned Jimmie. - -“I’m listening right now for the low, soft music!” laughed Carl. - -“Does any one live there?” asked Jimmie in a moment. - -“As the place is thought by the natives to be haunted,” Sam answered, -“the probability is that no one has set foot inside the place since the -naturalist and myself explored its ruined corridors several weeks ago.” - -The boys passed farther on toward the temple, and at last paused on the -north side of a little arm of the lake which would necessitate a wide -detour to the right. - -From the spot where they stood, the walls of the temple glittered as if -at sometime in the distant past they had been ornamented with designs in -silver and gold. The soft wind of the valley sighed through the openings -mournfully, and it required no vigorous exercise of the imagination to -turn the sounds into man-made music. - -The boys looked at each other significantly. - -“Come on, Jimmie,” Carl shouted. “Let’s go and get a front seat. The -concert is just about to begin!” - -“There is no hurry!” Jimmy answered. - -While the three stood viewing the scene, one which never passed from -their memory, a tall, stately figure passed out of the entrance to the -old temple and moved with dignified leisure toward the margin of the -lake. - -“Now, who’s that?” demanded Carl. - -“The names of the characters appear on the program in the order of their -entrance!” suggested Jimmie. - -“Honest, boys,” Sam whispered, “I think you fellows deserve a medal -apiece. Instead of being awed and frightened, standing as you do in the -presence of the old temple, and seeing, as you do, the mysterious figure -moving about, one would think you were occupying seats at a minstrel -show!” - -“You said yourself,” insisted Jimmie, “that there wasn’t any such thing -as ghosts.” - -“That’s right,” exclaimed Carl. “What’s the use of getting scared at -something that doesn’t exist?” - -“The only question in my mind at the present time,” Jimmie went on, with -a grin, “is just this: Is that fellow over there carrying a gun?” - -While the boys talked in whispers, Sam had been moving slowly to the -west so as to circle the little cove which separated him from the -temple. - -In a moment the boys saw him beckoning them to him and pointing toward -the ruins opposite. - -The figure which had been before observed was now standing close to the -lip of the lake, waving his hands aloft, as if in adoration or -supplication. This posture lasted only a second and then the figure -disappeared as if by magic. - -There were the smooth waters of the lake with the ruined temple for a -background. There were the moonbeams bringing every detail of the scene -into strong relief. Nothing had changed, except that the person who a -moment before had stood in full view had disappeared as if the earth had -opened at his feet. - -“Now what do you think of that?” demanded Jimmie. - -“Say,” chuckled Carl, “do you think that fellow is custodian of the -temple, and has to do that stunt every night, the same as a watchman in -New York has to turn a key in a clock every hour?” - -Jimmie nudged his chum in the ribs in appreciation of the observation, -and then stood silent, his eyes fixed on the broken tower across the -cove. - -While he looked a red light burned for an instant at the apex of the old -tower, and in an instant was followed by a blue light farther up on the -cliff. The boys remained silent, wondering. - -“You didn’t answer my question,” Carl insisted, in a moment. “Do you -think they pull off this stunt here every night?” - -“Oh, keep still!” exclaimed Jimmie. “They don’t have to pull it off -every night. They only put the play on when there’s an audience.” - -“An audience?” repeated Carl. “How do they know they’ve got an -audience?” - -“Chump!” replied Jimmie scornfully. “Do you think any one can sail an -aeroplane like the _Ann_ over this country without its being seen? Of -course they know they’ve got an audience.” - -By this time the boys had advanced to the place where Sam was standing. -They found that young man very much interested in the proceedings, and -also very much inclined to silence. - -“Did you see anything like that when you were here before?” asked -Jimmie. “Did they put the same kind of a show on for you?” - -Sam shook his head gravely. - -“Well, come on!” Carl cried. “Let’s chase around the cove and get those -front seats you spoke about.” - -“Wait, boys!” Sam started to say, but before the words were well out of -his mouth the two lads were running helter-skelter along the hard white -beach which circled the western side of the cove. - -“Come back!” he called to them softly. “It isn’t safe.” - -The boys heard the words but paid no heed, so Sam followed swiftly on in -pursuit. He came up with them only after they had reached the very steps -which had at some distant time formed an imposing entrance to a sacred -temple. - -“What are you going to do?” he demanded. - -“We’re going inside!” replied Carl. “What do you think we came here for? -I guess we’ve got to see the inside.” - -“Don’t take any unnecessary risks!” advised Sam. - -“What’d you bring us here for?” asked Carl. - -“Oh, come on!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Let’s all go in together!” - -Sam hesitated, but the boys seized him by the arms and almost forced him -along. In a moment, however, he was as eager as the others. - -“Do you mean to say,” asked Jimmie, as they paused for a moment on a -broad stone slab which lay before the portal of the ruined temple, “that -you went inside on your former visit?” - -“I certainly did!” was the reply. - -“Then why are you backing up now?” asked Carl. - -“On my previous visit,” Sam explained, standing with his back against -the western wall of the entrance, “there were no such demonstrations as -we have seen to-night. Now think that over, kiddies, and tell me what it -means. It’s mighty puzzling to me!” - -“Oh, we’ve got the answer to that!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Did you come here -in an aeroplane, or did you walk in?” - -“We came in on an aeroplane, early in the morning,” was the reply. - -“That’s the answer!” exclaimed Jimmie. “The people who are operating -these ghost stunts did not know you were coming because they saw no -lights in the sky. Now we came down with a noise like an express train -and a great big acetylene lamp burning full blast. Don’t you see?” - -“That’s the idea!” Carl cried. “The actors and stage hands all -disappeared as soon as you showed around the angle of the cliff.” - -“But why should they go through what you call their stunts at this time, -and not on the occasion of my former visit?” asked Sam. - -“I’ll tell you,” replied Jimmie wrinkling his freckled nose, “there’s -some one who is interested in the case which called us to Peru doing -those stunts.” - -“In that case,” Sam declared, “they have a definite reason for keeping -us out of this particular ruin!” - -“That’s the idea!” exclaimed Jimmie. “So far as we know, this man -Redfern or some of his associates may be masquerading as ghosts.” - -“I came to this temple to-night,” explained Sam, “thinking that perhaps -this might be one of the way stations on the road to Lake Titicaca.” - -“You have guessed it!” exclaimed Jimmie. “The men who have been sent -south to warn Redfern are doing their first stunts here!” - -“And that,” said Sam, “makes our position a dangerous one!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE CLOSING OF A DOOR. - - -“I wonder if they expect to scare us out of the country by such -demonstrations as that?” scoffed Carl. - -“There is, doubtless, some reason for this demonstration,” Sam observed, -thoughtfully, “other than the general motive to put us in terror of -haunted temples, but just now I can’t see what it is.” - -“Redfern may be hiding in there!” suggested Jimmie, with a wink. - -“Go on!” exclaimed Carl. “Didn’t Mr. Havens say that Redfern was in the -vicinity of Lake Titicaca? How could he be here, then?” - -“Mr. Havens only said that Redfern was believed to be in the vicinity of -Lake Titicaca,” Sam corrected. - -“Then they don’t even know where he is!” exclaimed Carl. - -“Of course they don’t,” laughed Sam. “If they did, they’d go there and -get him. That’s an easy one to answer!” - -“Well, if Redfern isn’t in that ruin,” Jimmie declared, “then his own -friends don’t know where he is!” - -“Yes, it seems to me,” Sam agreed, “that the men who are trying to reach -him are as much at sea as we are regarding his exact location.” - -“If they wasn’t,” Jimmie declared, “they wouldn’t be staging such plays -as that on general principles!” - -“Well!” exclaimed Carl. “Here we stand talking as if we had positive -information that the Redfern gang is putting on those stunts, while, as -a matter of fact, we don’t know whether they are or not!” - -“And that’s a fact, too!” said Jimmie. “The people in there may be -ignorant of the fact that a man named Redfern ever existed.” - -“But the chances are that the Redfern bunch is doing the work all the -same!” insisted Sam. - -“The only way to find out is to go on in and see!” declared Carl. - -“Well, come on, then!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -The two boys darted in together, leaving Sam standing alone for an -instant. He saw the illumination thrown on the interior walls by their -searchlights and lost no time in following on after them. - -The place was absolutely silent. There was not even the sound of bird’s -call or wing. The moonlight, filtering in through a break in what had -once been a granite roof, showed bare white walls with little heaps of -debris in the corners. - -“It seems to me,” Sam said, as he looked around, “that the ghosts have -chosen a very uncomfortable home.” - -“There must be other rooms,” suggested Carl. - -“There are two which still retain the appearance of apartments as -originally constructed,” replied Sam, “one to the right, and one to the -left. There seems, also, to have been an extension at the rear, but that -is merely a heap of hewn stones at this time.” - -As the young man ceased speaking the two boys darted through an opening -in the west wall, swinging their flashlights about as they advanced into -what seemed to be a stone-walled chamber of fair size. Following close -behind, Sam saw the lads directing the rays of their electrics upon a -series of bunks standing against the west wall. The sleeping places were -well provided with pillows and blankets, and seemed to have been very -recently occupied. Sam stepped closer and bent over one of the bunks. - -“Now, what do you think about ghosts and ghost lights?” asked Jimmie. - -“These ghosts,” Carl cut in, “seem to have a very good idea as to what -constitutes comfort.” - -“Three beds!” exclaimed Jimmie, flashing his light along the wall. “And -that must mean three ghosts!” - -Sam proceeded to a corner of the room as yet uninvestigated and was not -much surprised when the round eye of his electric revealed a rough -table, made of wooden planks, bearing dishes and remnants of food. He -called at once to the boys and they gathered about him. - -“Also,” Carl chuckled, “the three ghosts do not live entirely upon -spiritual food. See there,” he continued, “they’ve had some kind of a -stew, probably made out of game shot in the mountains.” - -“And they’ve been making baking powder biscuit, too!” Carl added. - -“I don’t suppose it would be safe to sample that stew?” Jimmie asked -questioningly. “It looks good enough to eat!” - -“Not for me!” declared Carl. - -While the boys were examining the table and passing comment on the -articles it held, Sam moved softly to the doorway by which they had -entered and looked out into the corridor. Looking from the interior out -to the moonlit lake beyond, the place lost somewhat of the dreary -appearance it had shown when viewed under the searchlights. The walls -were of white marble, as was the floor, and great slashes in the slabs -showed that at one time they had been profusely ornamented with designs -in metal, probably in gold and silver. - -The moonlight, filtering through the broken roof, disclosed a depression -in the floor in a back corner. This, Sam reasoned, had undoubtedly held -the waters of the fountain hundreds of years before. Directly across -from the doorway in which he stood he saw another break in the wall. - -On a previous visit this opening, which had once been a doorway, had -been entirely unobstructed. Now a wall of granite blocks lay in the -interior of the apartment, just inside the opening. It seemed to the -young man from where he stood that there might still be means of -entrance by passing between this newly-built wall and the inner surface -of the chamber. - -Thinking that he would investigate the matter more fully in the future, -Sam turned back to where the boys were standing, still commenting on the -prepared food lying on the table. As he turned back a low, heavy grumble -agitated the air of the apartment. - -The boys turned quickly, and the three stood not far from the opening in -listening attitudes. The sound increased in volume as the moments -passed. At first it seemed like the heavy vibrations of throat cords, -either human or animal. Then it lifted into something like a shrill -appeal, which resembled nothing so much as the scream of a woman in -deadly peril. Involuntarily the boys stepped closer to the corridor. - -“What do you make of it?” whispered Jimmie. - -“Ghosts!” chuckled Carl. - -“Some day,” Jimmie suggested, in a graver tone than usual, “you’ll be -punished for your verbal treatment of ghosts! I don’t believe there’s -anything on the face of the earth you won’t make fun of. How do we know -that spirits don’t come back to earth?” - -“They may, for all I know,” replied Carl. “I’m not trying to decide the -question, or to make light of it, either, but when I see the lot of -cheap imitations like we’ve been put against to-night, I just have to -express my opinion.” - -“They’re cheap imitations, all right!” decided Jimmie. - -“Cheap?” repeated Carl. “Flowing robes, and disappearing figures, and -mysterious lights, and weird sounds! Why, a fellow couldn’t work off -such manifestations as we’ve seen to-night on the most superstitious -residents of the lower West Side in the City of New York, and they’ll -stand for almost anything!” - -“It strikes me,” Sam, who had been listening to the conversation with an -amused smile, declared, “that the sounds we are listening to now may -hardly be classified as wailing!” - -“Now, listen,” Carl suggested, “and we’ll see if we can analyze it.” - -At that moment the sound ceased. - -The place seemed more silent than before because of the sudden -cessation. - -“It doesn’t want to be analyzed!” chuckled Carl. - -“Come on,” Jimmie urged, “let’s go and see what made it!” - -“I think you’ll have to find out where it came from first!” said Carl. - -“It came from the opening across the second apartment,” explained Sam. -“I had little difficulty in locating it.” - -“That doesn’t look to me like much of an opening,” argued Carl. - -“The stones you see,” explained Sam, “are not laid in the entrance from -side to side. They are built up back of the entrance, and my idea is -that there must be a passage-way between them and the interior walls of -the room. That wall, by the way, has been constructed since my previous -visit. So you see,” he added, turning to Carl, “the ghosts in this neck -of the woods build walls as well as make baking powder biscuits.” - -“Well, that’s a funny place to build a wall!” Carl asserted. - -“Perhaps the builders don’t like the idea of their red and blue lights -and ghostly apparatus being exposed to the gaze of the vulgar public,” -suggested Jimmie. “That room is probably the apartment behind the scenes -where the thunder comes from, and where some poor fellow of a supe is -set to holding up the moon!” - -“Well, why don’t we go and find out about it?” urged Carl. - -“Wait until I take a look on the outside,” Sam requested. “The man in -the long white robe may be rising out of the lake by this time. I don’t -know,” he continued, “but that we have done a foolish thing in remaining -here as we have, leaving the aeroplane unguarded.” - -“Perhaps I’d better run around the cliff and see if it’s all right!” -suggested Carl. “I’ll be back in a minute.” - -“No,” Sam argued, “you two remain here at the main entrance and I’ll go -and see about the machine. Perhaps,” he warned, “you’d better remain -right here, and not attempt to investigate that closed apartment until I -return. I shan’t be gone very long.” - -“Oh, of course,” replied Jimmie, “we’ll be good little boys and stand -right here and wait for you to come back—not!” - -Carl chuckled as the two watched the young man disappear around the -angle of the cliff. - -“Before he gets back,” the boy said, “we’ll know all about that room, -won’t we? Say,” he went on in a moment, “I think this haunted temple -business is about the biggest fraud that was ever staged. If people only -knew enough to spot an impostor when they saw one, there wouldn’t be -prisons enough in the world to hold the rascals.” - -“You tell that to Sam to-night,” laughed Jimmie. “He likes these -moralizing stunts. Are you going in right now?” - -By way of reply Carl stepped into the arch between the two walls and -turned to the right into a passage barely more than a foot in width. -Jimmie followed his example, but turned to the left. There the way was -blocked by a granite boulder which reached from the floor to the roof -itself. - -“Nothing doing here!” he called back to Carl. - -“I’ve found the way!” the latter answered. “Come along in! We’ll be -behind the scenes in about a minute.” - -The passage was not more than a couple of yards in length and gave on an -open chamber which seemed, under the light of the electrics, to be -somewhat larger than the one where the conveniences of living had been -found. The faint illumination produced by the flashlights, of course -revealed only a small portion of it at a time. - -While the boys stood at the end of the narrow passage, studying the -interior as best they might under the circumstances, a sound which came -like the fall of a heavy footstep in the corridor outside reached their -ears. - -“There’s Sam!” Carl exclaimed. “We’ll leave him at the entrance and go -in. There’s a strange smell here, eh?” - -“Smells like a wild animal show!” declared Jimmie. - -Other footsteps were now heard in the corridor, and Jimmie turned back -to speak with Sam. Carl caught him by the shoulders. - -“That’s Sam all right enough!” the latter exclaimed. “Don’t go away -right now, anyhow.” - -“What’s doing?” asked Jimmie. - -“There’s a light back there!” was the reply, “and some one is moving -around. Can’t you hear the footsteps on the hard stone floor?” - -“Mighty soft footsteps!” suggested Jimmie. - -“Well, I’m going to know exactly what they are!” declared Carl. - -“Well, why don’t you go on, then?” demanded Jimmie. - -The two boys stepped forward, walking in the shaft of light proceeding -from their electrics. Once entirely clear of the passage, they kept -straight ahead along the wall and turned the lights toward the center of -the apartment, which seemed darker and drearier than the one recently -visited. - -Besides the smell of mold and a confined atmosphere there was an odor -which dimly brought back to the minds of the boys previous visits to the -homes of captive animals at the Central Park zoo. - -“Here!” cried Jimmie directly, “there’s a door just closed behind us!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE INDIANS HELP SOME! - - -When Sam Weller turned the corner of the cliff and looked out at the -spot where the _Ann_ had been left, his first impression was that the -machine had been removed from the valley. - -He stood for a moment in uncertainty and then, regretting sincerely that -he had remained so long away, cautiously moved along, keeping as close -as possible to the wall of the cliff. In a moment he saw the planes of -the _Ann_ glistening in the moonlight at least a hundred yards from the -place where she had been left. - -Realizing the presence of hostile interests, he walked on toward the -planes, hoping to be able to get within striking distance before being -discovered. There was no one in sight in the immediate vicinity of the -_Ann_, and yet she was certainly moving slowly over the ground. - -The inference the young man drew from this was that persons unfamiliar -with flying machines had invaded the valley during his absence. Not -being able to get the machine into the air, they were, apparently, so -far as he could see, rolling it away on its rubber-tired wheels. The -progress was not rapid, but was directed toward a thicket which lay at -the west end of the valley. - -“That means,” the young man mused, “that they’re trying to steal the -machine! It is evident,” he went on, “that they are apprehensive of -discovery, for they manage to keep themselves out of sight.” - -Realizing that it would be impossible for him to pass through the open -moonlight without being observed by those responsible for the erratic -motions of the _Ann_, the young man remained standing perfectly still in -a deep shadow against the face of the cliff. - -The _Ann_ moved on toward the thicket, and presently reached the shelter -of trees growing there. In a moment she was entirely hidden from view. - -“Now,” thought Sam, “the people who have been kind enough to change the -position of the machine will doubtless show themselves in the -moonlight.” - -In this supposition he was not mistaken, for in a moment two men dressed -in European garments emerged from the shadows of the grove and took -their way across the valley, walking through the moonlight boldly and -with no pretense of concealment. - -Sam scrutinized the fellows carefully, but could not remember that he -had ever seen either of them before. They were dusky, supple chaps, -evidently of Spanish descent. As they walked they talked together in -English, and occasionally pointed to the angle of the cliff around which -the young man had recently passed. - -A chattering of excited voices at the edge of the grove now called Sam’s -attention in that direction, and he saw at least half a dozen figures, -apparently those of native Indians, squatting on the ground at the very -edge of the thicket. - -“And now,” mused Sam, as the men stopped not far away and entered into -what seemed to him to be an excited argument, “I’d like to know how -these people learned of the revival of the hunt for Redfern! It isn’t so -very many days since Havens’ expedition was planned in New York, and -this valley is a good many hundred miles away from that merry old town.” - -Entirely at a loss to account for the manner in which information of -this new phase of the search had reached a point in the wilds of Peru -almost as soon as the record-breaking aeroplane could have carried the -news, the young man gave up the problem for the time being and devoted -his entire attention to the two men in European dress. - -“I tell you they are in the temple,” one of the men said speaking in a -corrupt dialect of the English language which it is useless to attempt -to reproduce. “They are in the temple at this minute!” - -“Don’t be too sure of that, Felix!” the other said. - -“And what is more,” the man who had been called Felix went on, “they -will never leave the temple alive!” - -“And so fails the great expedition!” chuckled the second speaker. - -“When we are certain that what must be has actually taken place,” Felix -went on, “I’ll hide the flying machine in a safer place, pay you as -agreed, and make my way back to Quito. Does that satisfy you?” - -“I shall be satisfied when I have the feeling of the gold of the -Gringoes!” was the reply. - -Sam caught his breath sharply as he listened to the conversation. - -“There was some trap in the temple, then,” he mused, “designed to get us -out of the way. I should have known that,” he went on, bitterly, “and -should never have left the boys alone there!” - -The two men advanced nearer to the angle of the cliff and seemed to be -waiting the approach of some one from the other side. - -“And Miguel?” asked Felix. “Why is he not here?” - -“Can you trust him?” he added, in a moment. - -“With my own life!” - -“The Gringoes are clever!” warned Felix. - -“But see!” exclaimed the other. “The grated door! The hosts ready to -welcome! There surely can be no mistake.” - -The men lapsed into silence and stood listening. Sam began to hope that -their plans had indeed gone wrong. - -For a moment he was uncertain as to what he ought to do. He believed -that in the absence of the two leaders he might be able to get the _Ann_ -into the air and so bring assistance to the boys. And yet, he could not -put aside the impression that immediate assistance was the only sort -which could ever be of any benefit to the two lads! - -“If they are in some trap in the temple,” he soliloquized, “the thing to -do is to get to them as soon as possible, even if we do lose the -machine, which, after all, is not certain.” - -“The flying machine,” the man who had been called Felix was now heard to -say, “is of great value. It would bring a fortune in London.” - -“But how are you to get it out of this district just at this time?” -asked the other. “How to get it out without discovery?” - -“Fly it out!” - -“Can you fly it out?” asked the other in a sarcastic tone. - -“There are plenty who can!” replied Felix, somewhat angrily. “But it is -not to be taken out at present,” he went on. “To lift it in the air now -would be to notify every Gringo from Quito to Lima that the prize -machine of the New York Millionaire, having been stolen, is in this part -of the country.” - -“That is very true,” replied the other. - -“Hence, I have hidden it,” Felix went on. - -“And the savages? Are they safe?” was the next question. - -“As safe as such people usually are!” was the answer. - -As Sam Weller listened, his mind was busily considering one expedient -after another, plan after plan, which presented the least particle of -hope for the release of the boys. From the conversation he had overheard -he understood that the machine would not be removed for a number of -days—until, in fact, the hue and cry over its loss had died out. - -This, at least, lightened the difficulties to some extent. He could -devote his entire attention to the situation at the temple without -thought of the valuable aeroplane, but how to get to the temple with -those two ruffians in the way! Only for the savage associates in the -background, it is probable that he would have opened fire on the two -schemers. - -They were deliberately planning murder. That was a sufficient reason, to -his mind, to bring about decisive action on his part. However, the -savages were there, just at the edge of the forest, and an attack on the -two leaders would undoubtedly bring them into action. Of course it was -not advisable for him to undertake a contest involving life and death -with such odds against him. - -The two men were still standing at the angle of the cliff. - -Only for the brilliant moonlight, Sam believed that he might elude their -vigilance and so make his way to the temple. But there was not a cloud -in the sky, and the illumination seemed to grow stronger every moment as -the moon passed over to the west. - -At last the very thing the young man had hoped for in vain took place. A -jumble of excited voices came from the thicket, and the men who were -watching turned instantly in that direction. As they looked, the sound -of blows and cries of pain came from the jungle. - -“Those brutes will be eating each other alive next!” exclaimed Felix. - -“That is so!” answered the other. “I warned you!” - -“Suppose you go back and see what’s wrong?” suggested Felix. - -“I have no influence over the savages,” was the reply, “and besides, the -temple must be watched.” - -With an exclamation of anger Felix started away in the direction of the -forest. It was evident that he had his work cut out for him there, for -the savages were fighting desperately, and his approach did not appear -to terminate the engagement. - -The man left at the angle of the cliff to watch and wait for news from -the temple moved farther around the bend and stood leaning against the -cliff, listening. Sam moved softly up behind him. The rattling of a -pebble betrayed the young man’s presence, and his hands upon the throat -of the other alone prevented an outcry which would have brought Felix, -and perhaps several of the savages, to the scene. - -It was a desperate, wordless, almost noiseless, struggle that ensued. -The young man’s muscles, thanks to months of mountain exercise and -freedom from stimulants and narcotics, were hard as iron, while those of -his opponent seemed flabby and out of condition, doubtless because of -too soft living in the immediate past. - -The contest, therefore, was not of long duration. Realizing that he was -about to lapse into unconsciousness, Sam’s opponent threw out his hands -in token of surrender. The young man deftly searched the fellow’s person -for weapons and then drew him to his feet. - -“Now,” he said, presenting his automatic to the fellow’s breast, “if you -utter a word or signal calculated to bring you help, that help will come -too late, even if it is only one instant away. At the first sound or -indication of resistance, I’ll put half a clip of bullets through your -heart!” - -“You have the victory!” exclaimed the other sullenly. - -“Move along toward the temple!” demanded Sam. - -“It is not for me to go there!” was the reply. - -“And I’ll walk along behind you,” Sam went on, “and see that you have a -ballast of bullets if any treachery is attempted.” - -“It is forbidden me to go to the temple to-night,” the other answered, -“but, under the circumstances, I go!” - -Fearful that Felix might return at any moment, or that the savages, -enraged beyond control, might break away in the direction of the temple, -Sam pushed the fellow along as rapidly as possible, and the two soon -came to the great entrance of that which, centuries before, had been a -sacred edifice. The fellow shuddered as he stepped into the musty -interior. - -“It is not for me to enter!” he said. - -“And now,” Sam began, motioning his captive toward the chamber where the -bunks and provisions had been discovered, “tell me about this trap which -was set to-night for my chums.” - -“I know nothing!” was the answer. - -“That is false,” replied Sam. “I overheard the conversation you had with -Felix before the outbreak of the savages.” - -“I know nothing!” insisted the other. - -“Now, let me tell you this,” Sam said, flashing his automatic back and -forth under the shaft of light which now fell almost directly upon the -two, “my friends may be in deadly peril at this time. It may be that one -instant’s hesitation on your part will bring them to death.” - -The fellow shrugged his shoulders impudently and threw out his hands. -Sam saw that he was watching the great entrance carefully, and became -suspicious that some indication of the approach of Felix had been -observed. - -“I have no time to waste in arguments,” Sam went on excitedly. “The trap -you have set for my friends may be taking their lives at this moment. I -will give you thirty seconds in which to reveal to me their whereabouts, -and to inform me as to the correct course to take in order to protect -them.” - -The fellow started back and fixed his eyes again on the entrance, and -Sam, following his example, saw something which sent the blood rushing -to his heart. - -Outlined on the white stone was the shadow of a human being! - -Although not in sight, either an enemy or a friend was at hand! - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - A QUESTION OF MARKSMANSHIP. - - -“Door?” repeated Carl, in reply to his chum’s exclamation. “There’s no -door here!” - -“But there is!” insisted Jimmie. “I heard the rattle of iron against -granite only a moment ago!” - -As the boy spoke he turned his flashlight back to the narrow passage and -then, catching his chum by the arm, pointed with a hand which was not -altogether steady to an iron grating which had swung or dropped from -some point unknown into a position which effectually barred their return -to the outer air! The bars of the gate, for it was little else, were not -brown and rusty but bright and apparently new. - -“That’s a new feature of the establishment,” Jimmie asserted. “That gate -hasn’t been long exposed to this damp air!” - -“I don’t care how long it hasn’t been here!” Carl said, rather crossly. -“What I want to know is how long is it going to remain there?” - -“I hope it will let us out before dinner time,” suggested Jimmie. - -“Away, you and your appetite!” exclaimed Carl. “I suppose you think this -is some sort of a joke. You make me tired!” - -“And the fact that we couldn’t get out if we wanted to,” Jimmie grinned, -“makes me hungry!” - -“Cut it out!” cried Carl. “The thing for us to do now is to find some -way of getting by that man-made obstruction.” - -“Man-made is all right!” agreed Jimmie. “It is perfectly clear, now, -isn’t it, that the supernatural had nothing to do with the -demonstrations we have seen here!” - -“I thought you understood that before!” cried Carl, impatiently. - -Jimmie, who stood nearest to the gate, now laid a hand upon one of the -upright bars and brought his whole strength to bear. The obstruction -rattled slightly but remained firm. - -“Can’t move it!” the boy said. “We may have to tear the wall down!” - -“And the man who swung the gate into position?” questioned Carl. “What -do you think he’ll be doing while we’re pulling down that heap of -stones? You’ve got to think of something better than that, my son!” - -“Anyway,” Jimmie said, hopefully, “Sam is on the outside, and he’ll soon -find out that we’ve been caught in a trap.” - -“I don’t want to pose as a prophet of evil, or anything like that,” Carl -went on, “but it’s just possible that he may have been caught in a trap, -too. Anyway, it’s up to us to go ahead and get out, if we can, without -any reference to assistance from the outside.” - -“Go ahead, then!” Jimmie exclaimed. “I’m in with anything you propose!” - -The boys now exerted their united strength on the bars of the gate, but -all to no purpose. So far as they could determine, the iron contrivance -had been dropped down from above into grooves in the stone-work on -either side. The bars were an inch or more in thickness, and firmly -enclosed in parallel beams of small size which crossed them at regular -intervals. - -Seeing the condition of affairs, Jimmie suggested: - -“Perhaps we can push it up!” - -“Anything is worth trying!” replied Carl. - -But the gate was too firmly in place to be moved, even a fraction of an -inch, by their joint efforts. - -“Now, see here,” Jimmie said, after a short and almost painful silence, -“there’s no knowing how long we may be held in this confounded old -dungeon. We’ll need light as long as we’re here, so I suggest that we -use only one flashlight at a time.” - -“That will help some!” answered Carl, extinguishing his electric. - -Jimmie threw his light along the walls of the chamber and over the -floor. There appeared to be no break of any kind in the white marble -which shut in the apartment, except at one point in a distant corner, -where a slab had been removed. - -“Perhaps,” suggested Carl, “the hole in the corner is exactly the thing -we’re looking for.” - -“It strikes me,” said Jimmie, “that one of us saw a light in that corner -not long ago. I don’t remember whether you called my attention to it, or -whether I saw it first, but I remember that we talked about a light in -the apartment as we looked in.” - -“Perhaps we’d better watch the hole a few minutes before moving over to -it,” suggested Carl. “The place it leads to may hold a group of savages, -or a couple of renegades, sent on here to make trouble for casual -visitors.” - -“Casual visitors!” repeated Jimmie. “That doesn’t go with me! You know, -and I know, that this stage was set for our personal benefit! How the -Redfern bunch got the men in here so quickly, or how they got the -information into this topsy-turvy old country, is another question.” - -“I presume you are right,” Carl agreed. “In some particulars,” the boy -went on, “this seems to me to be a situation somewhat similar to our -experiences in the California mountains.” - -“Right you are!” cried Jimmie. - -The circle of light from the electric illuminated the corner where the -break in the wall had been observed only faintly. Determined to discover -everything possible regarding what might be an exit from the apartment, -Jimmie kept his light fixed steadily on that corner. - -In a couple of minutes Carl caught the boy by the arm and pointed along -the finger of light. - -“Hold it steadier now,” he said. “I saw a movement there just now.” - -“What kind of a movement?” asked the other. - -“Looked like a ball of fire.” - -“It may be the cat!” suggested Jimmie. - -“Quit your foolishness!” advised Carl impatiently. “This is a serious -situation, and there’s no time for any grandstanding!” - -“A ball of fire!” repeated Jimmie scornfully. “What would a ball of fire -be doing there?” - -“What would a blue ball of fire be doing on the roof?” asked Carl, -reprovingly. “Yet we saw one there, didn’t we?” - -Although Jimmie was inclined to treat the situation as lightly as -possible, he knew very well that the peril was considerable. Like a good -many other boys in a trying situation, he was usually inclined to keep -his unpleasant mental processes to himself. He now engaged in what -seemed to Carl to be trivial conversation, yet the desperate situation -was no less firmly impressed upon his mind. - -The boys waited for some moments before speaking again, listening and -watching for the reappearance of the object which had attracted their -attention. - -“There!” Carl cried in a moment. “Move your light a little to the left. -I’m sure I saw a flash of color pass the opening.” - -“I saw that too!” Jimmie agreed. “Now what do you think it can be?” - -In a moment there was no longer doubt regarding the presence at the -opening which was being watched so closely. The deep vocal vibrations -which had been noticed from the other chamber seemed to shake the very -wall against which the boy stood. As before, it was followed in a moment -by the piercing, lifting cry which on the first occasion had suggested -the appeal of a woman in agony or terror. - -The boys stood motionless, grasping each other by the hand, and so each -seeking the sympathy and support of the other, until the weird sound -died out. - -“And that,” said Jimmie in a moment, “is no ghost!” - -“Ghost?” repeated Carl scornfully. “You may as well talk about a ghost -making that gate and setting it against us!” - -“Anyway,” Jimmie replied, “the wail left an odor of sulphur in the air!” - -“Yes,” answered Carl, “and the sulphur you speak of is a sulphur which -comes from the dens of wild beasts! Now do you know what we’re up -against?” - -“Mountain lions!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -“Jaguars!” answered Carl. - -“I hope they’re locked in!” suggested Jimmie. - -“Can you see anything that looks like a grate before that opening?” -asked Carl. “I’m sure I can’t.” - -“Nothing doing in that direction!” was the reply. - -At regular intervals, now, a great, lithe, crouching body could be seen -moving back and forth at the opening, and now and then a cat-like head -was pushed into the room! At such times the eyes of the animal, whatever -it was, shone like balls of red fire in the reflection of the electric -light. Although naturally resourceful and courageous, the two boys -actually abandoned hope of ever getting out of the place alive! - -“I wonder how many wild animals there are in there?” asked Carl in a -moment. “It seems to me that I have seen two separate figures.” - -“There may be a dozen for all we know,” Jimmie returned. “Gee!” he -exclaimed, reverting to his habit of concealing serious thoughts by -lightly spoken words, “Daniel in the lion’s den had nothing on us!” - -“How many shots have you in your automatic?” asked Carl, drawing his own -from his pocket. “We’ll have to do some shooting, probably.” - -“Why, I have a full clip of cartridges,” Jimmie answered. - -“But have you?” insisted Carl. - -“Why, surely, I have!” returned Jimmie. “Don’t you remember we filled -our guns night before last and never——” - -“I thought so!” exclaimed Carl, ruefully. “We put in fresh clips night -before last, and exploded eight or nine cartridges apiece on the return -trip to Quito. Now, how many bullets do you think you have available? -One or two?” - -“I don’t know!” replied Jimmie, and there was almost a sob in his voice -as he spoke. “I presume I have only one.” - -“Perhaps the electric light may keep the brutes away,” said Carl -hopefully. “You know wild animals are afraid of fire.” - -“Yes, it may,” replied Jimmie, “but it strikes me that our little -torches will soon become insufficient protectors. Those are jaguars out -there, I suppose you know. And they creep up to camp-fires and steal -savage children almost out of their mothers’ arms!” - -“Where do you suppose Sam is by this time?” asked Carl, in a moment, as -the cat-like head appeared for the fourth or fifth time at the opening. - -“I’m afraid Sam couldn’t get in here in time to do us any good even if -he stood in the corridor outside!” was the reply. “Whatever is done, -we’ve got to do ourselves.” - -“And that brings us down to a case of shooting!” Carl declared. - -“It’s only a question of time,” Jimmie went on, “when the jaguars will -become hungry enough to attack us. When they get into the opening, full -under the light of the electric, we’ll shoot.” - -“I’ll hold the light,” Carl argued, “and you do the shooting. You’re a -better marksman than I am, you know! When your last cartridge is gone, -I’ll hand you my gun and you can empty that. If there’s only two animals -and you are lucky with your aim, we may escape with our lives so far as -this one danger is concerned. How we are to make our escape after that -is another matter.” - -“If there are more than two jaguars,” Jimmie answered, “or if I’m -unlucky enough to injure one without inflicting a fatal wound, it will -be good-bye to the good old flying machines.” - -“That’s about the size of it!” Carl agreed. - -All this conversation had occurred, of course, at intervals, whenever -the boys found the heart to put their hopes and plans into words. It -seemed to them that they had already spent hours in the desperate -situation in which they found themselves. The periods of silence, -however, had been briefer than they thought, and the time between the -departure of Sam and that moment was not much more than half an hour. - -“There are two heads now!” Jimmie said, after a time, “and they’re -coming out! Hold your light steady when they reach the center of the -room. I can’t afford to miss my aim.” - -“Is your arm steady?” almost whispered Carl. - -“Never better!” answered Jimmie. - -Four powerful, hungry, jaguars, instead of two, crept out of the -opening! Jimmie tried to cheer his companion with the whispered hope -that there might possibly be bullets enough for them all, and raised his -weapon. Two shots came in quick succession, and two jaguars crumpled -down on the floor. Nothing daunted, the other brutes came on, and Jimmie -seized Carl’s automatic. The only question now was this: - -How many bullets did the gun hold? - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - BESIEGED IN THE TEMPLE. - - -As Sam watched the shadow cast by the moonlight on the marble slab at -the entrance, his prisoner turned sharply about and lifted a hand as if -to shield himself from attack. - -“A savage!” he exclaimed in a terrified whisper. - -It seemed to Sam Weller at that moment that no word had ever sounded -more musically in his ears. The expression told him that a third element -had entered into the situation. He believed from recent experiences that -the savages who had been seen at the edge of the forest were not exactly -friendly to the two white men. Whether or not they would come to his -assistance was an open question, but at least there was a chance of -their creating a diversion in his favor. - -“How do you know the shadow is that of a savage?” asked Sam. - -The prisoner pointed to the wide doorway and crowded back behind his -captor. There, plainly revealed in the moonlight, were the figures of -two brawny native Indians! Felix was approaching the entrance with a -confident step, and the two watchers saw him stop for an instant and -address a few words to one of the Indians. The next moment the smile on -the fellow’s face shifted to a set expression of terror. - -Before he could utter another word, he received a blow on the head which -stretched him senseless on the smooth marble. Then a succession of -threatening cries came from the angle of the cliff, and half a dozen -Indians swarmed up to where the unconscious man lay! - -The prisoner now crouched behind his captor, his body trembling with -fear, his lips uttering almost incoherent appeals for protection. - -The savages glanced curiously into the temple for a moment and drew -their spears and bludgeons. Sam turned his eyes away with a shudder. He -heard blows and low hisses of enmity, but there came no outcry. - -When he looked again the moonlight showed a dark splotch on the white -marble, and that alone! The Indians and their victim had disappeared. - -“Mother of Mercy!” shouted the prisoner in a faltering tone. - -“Where did they take him?” asked Sam. - -The prisoner shuddered and made no reply. The mute answer, however, was -sufficient. The young man understood that Felix had been murdered by the -savages within sound of his voice. - -“Why?” he asked the trembling prisoner. - -“Because,” was the hesitating answer, “they believe that only evil -spirits come out of the sky in the night-time.” - -Sam remembered of his own arrival and that of his friends, and -congratulated himself and them that the savages had not been present to -witness the event. - -“And they think he came in the machine?” asked Sam. - -The prisoner shuddered and covered his face with his hands. - -“And now,” demanded Sam, “in order to save your own life, will you tell -me what I want to know?” - -The old sullen look returned to the eyes of the captive. Perhaps he was -thinking of the great reward he might yet receive from his distant -employers if he could escape and satisfy them that the boys had perished -in the trap set for them. At any rate he refused to answer at that time. -In fact his hesitation was a brief one, for while Sam waited, a finger -upon the trigger of his automatic, two shots came from the direction of -the chamber across the corridor, and the acrid smell of gunpowder came -to his nostrils. - -The prisoner gasped and opened his lips. It was undoubtedly his belief -at that time that all his hopes of making a favorable report to his -employers had vanished. The shots, he understood, indicated resistance; -perhaps successful resistance. - -“Yes,” he said hurriedly, his knees almost giving way under the weight -of his shaking body. “Yes, I’ll tell you where your friends are.” - -He hesitated and pointed toward the opposite entrance. - -“In there!” he cried. “Felix caused them to be thrown to the beasts!” - -The young man seized the prisoner fiercely by the throat. - -“Show me the way!” he demanded. - -The captive still pointed to the masked entrance across the corridor and -Sam drew him along, almost by main force. When they came to the narrow -passage at the eastern end of which the barred gate stood, they saw a -finger of light directed into the interior of the apartment. - -While they looked, Sam scarcely knowing what course to pursue, two more -shots sounded from within, and the odor of burned powder became almost -unbearable. Sam threw himself against the iron gate and shouted out: - -“Jimmie! Carl!” - -“Here!” cried a voice out of the smoke. “Come to the gate with your gun. -I missed the last shot, and Carl is down!” - -Still pushing the prisoner ahead of him, Sam crowded through the narrow -passage and stood looking over the fellow’s shoulder into the -smoke-scented room beyond. His electric light showed Jimmie standing -with his back against the gate, his feet pushed out to protect the -figure of Carl, lying on the floor against the bars. The searchlight in -the boy’s hand was waving rhythmically in the direction of a pair of -gleaming eyes which looked out of the darkness. - -“My gun is empty!” Jimmie almost whispered. “I’ll hold the light -straight in his eyes, and you shoot through the bars.” - -Sam forced the captive down on the corridor, where he would be out of -the way and still secure from escape, and fired two shots at the -blood-mad eyes inside. The great beast fell to the floor instantly and -lay still for a small fraction of a second then leaped to his feet -again. - -With jaws wide open and fangs showing threateningly, he sprang toward -Jimmie, but another shot from Sam’s automatic finished the work the -others had begun. Jimmie sank to the floor like one bereft of strength. - -“Get us out!” he said in a weak voice. “Open the door and get us out! -One of the jaguars caught hold of Carl, and I thought I heard the -crunching of bones. The boy may be dead for all I know.” - -Sam applied his great strength to the barred gate, but it only shook -mockingly under his straining hands. Then he turned his face downward to -where his prisoner lay cowering upon the floor. - -“Can you open this gate?” he asked. - -Once more the fellow’s face became stubborn. - -“Felix had the key!” he exclaimed. - -“All right!” cried Sam. “We’ll send you out to Felix to get it!” - -He seized the captive by the collar as he spoke and dragged him, not too -gently, through the narrow passage and out into the main corridor. Once -there he continued to force him toward the entrance. The moon was now -low in the west and shadows here and there specked the little plaza in -front of the temple. In addition to the moonlight there was a tint of -gray in the sky which told of approaching day. - -The prisoner faced the weird scene with an expression of absolute -terror. He almost fought his way back into the temple. - -“Your choice!” exclaimed Sam. “The key to the gate or you return to the -savages!” - -The fellow dropped to his knees and clung to his captor. - -“I have the key to the gate!” he declared. “But I am not permitted to -surrender it. You must take it from me.” - -“You’re loyal to some one, anyhow!” exclaimed Sam, beginning a search of -the fellow’s pockets. - -At last the key was found, and Sam hurried away with it. He knew then -that there would be no further necessity for guarding the prisoner at -that time. The fact that the hostile savages were abroad and that he was -without weapons would preclude any attempt at escape. - -At first the young man found it difficult to locate the lock to which -the key belonged. At last he found it, however, and in a moment Jimmie -crept out of the chamber, trying his best to carry Carl in his arms. - -“Here!” cried Sam. “Let me take the boy. Are you hurt yourself?” he -added as Jimmie leaned against the wall. - -“I think,” Jimmie answered, “one of the brutes gave me a nip in the leg, -but I can walk all right.” - -Sam carried Carl to the center of the corridor and laid him down on the -marble floor. A quick examination showed rather a bad wound on the left -shoulder from which considerable blood must have escaped. - -“He’ll be all right as soon as he regains his strength!” the young man -cried. “And now, Jimmie,” he went on, “let’s see about your wound.” - -“It’s only a scratch,” the boy replied, “but it bled like fury, and I -think that’s what makes me so weak. Did we get all the jaguars?” he -added, with a wan smile. “I don’t seem to remember much about the last -two or three minutes.” - -“Every last one of them!” answered Sam cheerfully. - -While Sam was binding Carl’s wound the boy opened his eyes and looked -about the apartment whimsically. - -“We seem to be alive yet,” he said, rolling his eyes so as to include -Jimmie in his line of vision. “I guess Jimmie was right when he said -that Daniel in the lions’ den was nothing to this.” - -“But when they took Daniel out of the lions’ den,” cut in Jimmie, “they -brought him to a place where there was something doing in the way of -sustenance! What about that?” - -“Cut it out!” replied Carl feebly. - -“But, honestly,” Jimmie exclaimed, “I never was so hungry in my life!” - -The captive looked at the two boys with amazement mixed with admiration -in his eyes. - -“And they’re just out of the jaws of death!” he exclaimed. - -“Is that the greaser that put us into the den of lions?” asked Carl, -pointing to the prisoner. - -“No, no!” shouted the trembling man. “I am only the animal keeper! Felix -laid the plans for your murder.” - -“The keeper of what?” asked Sam. - -“Of the wild animals!” was the reply. “I catch them here for the -American shows. And now they are killed!” he complained. - -“So that contraption, the masked entrance, the iron gate, and all that, -was arranged to hold wild animals in captivity until they could be -transferred to the coast?” asked Sam. - -“Exactly!” answered the prisoner. “The natives helped me catch the -jaguars and I kept them for a large payment. Then, yesterday, a runner -told me that a strange white man sought my presence in the forest at the -top of the valley. It was Felix. I met him there, and he arranged with -me for the use of the wild-animal cage for only one night.” - -“And you knew the use to which he intended to put it?” asked Sam -angrily. “You knew that he meant murder?” - -“I did not!” was the reply. “He told Miguel what to do if any of you -entered and did not tell me. I was not to enter the temple to-night!” - -“And where’s Miguel?” demanded the young man. - -The captive pointed to the broken roof of the temple. - -“Miguel remained here,” he said, “to let down the gate to the passage -and lift the grate which kept the jaguars in their den.” - -“Do you think he’s up there now?” asked Jimmie. “I’d like to see this -person called Miguel. I have a few words to say to him.” - -“No, indeed!” answered the prisoner. “Miguel is a coward. He probably -took to his heels when the shots were fired.” - -The prisoner, who gave his name as Pedro, insisted that he knew nothing -whatever of the purpose of the man who secured his assistance in the -desperate game which had just been played. He declared that Felix seemed -to understand perfectly that Gringoes would soon arrive in flying -machines. He said that the machines were to be wrecked, and the -occupants turned loose in the mountains. - -It was Pedro’s idea that two, and perhaps three, flying machines were -expected. He said that Felix had no definite idea as to when they would -arrive. He only knew that he had been stationed there to do what he -could to intercept the progress of those on the machines. He said that -the machines had been seen from a distance, and that Felix and himself -had watched the descent into the valley from a secure position in the -forest. They had remained in the forest until the Gringoes had left for -the temple, and had then set about examining the machine. - -While examining the machine the savages had approached and had naturally -received the impression that Felix was the Gringo who had descended in -the aeroplane. He knew some of the Indians, he said. - -The Indians, he said, were very superstitious, and believed that flying -machines brought death and disaster to any country they visited. By -making them trifling presents he, himself, had succeeded in keeping on -good terms with them until the machine had descended and been hidden in -the forest. - -“But,” the prisoner added with a significant shrug of his shoulders, -“when we walked in the direction of the temple the Indians suspected -that Felix had come to visit the evil spirits they believed to dwell -there and so got beyond control. They would kill me now as they killed -him!” - -“Do the Indians never attack the temple?” asked Sam. - -“Perhaps,” Pedro observed, with a sly smile, “you saw the figure in -flowing robes and the red and blue lights!” - -“We certainly did!” answered Sam. - -“While the animals are being collected and held in captivity here,” -Pedro continued, “it is necessary to do such things in order to keep the -savages away. Miguel wears the flowing robes, and drops into the narrow -entrance to an old passage when he finds it necessary to disappear. The -Indians will never actually enter the temple, though they may besiege -it.” - -“There goes your ghost story!” Carl interrupted. “Why,” he added, “it’s -about the most commonplace thing I ever heard of! The haunted temple is -just headquarters for the agents of an American menagerie!” - -“And all this brings up the old questions,” Jimmie said. “How did the -Redfern bunch know that any one of our airships would show up here? How -did they secure the presence of an agent so far in the interior in so -short a time? I think I’ve asked these questions before!” he added, -grinning. - -“But I have no recollection of their ever having been answered,” said -Sam. - -“Say,” questioned Jimmie, with a wink at Carl, “how long is this seance -going to last without food? I’d like to know if we’re never going to -have another breakfast.” - -“There’s something to eat in the provision boxes of the _Ann_,” Sam -replied hopefully. - -“Yes,” said Jimmie sorrowfully, “and there’s a bunch of angry savages -between us and the grub on board the _Ann_! If you look out the door, -you’ll see the brutes inviting us to come out and be cooked!” - -The prisoner threw a startled glance outside and ran to the back of the -temple, declaring that the savages were besieging the temple, and that -it might be necessary for them to lock themselves in the chamber for -days with the slain jaguars! - -Jimmie rubbed his stomach and groaned! - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - THE LOST TELEGRAMS. - - -On the morning following the departure of Sam and the boys, Mr. Havens -was awakened by laughing voices in the corridor outside his door. His -first impression was that Sam and Jimmie had returned from their -midnight excursion in the _Ann_. He arose and, after dressing hastily, -opened the door, thinking that the adventures of the night must have -been very amusing indeed to leave such a hang-over of merriment for the -morning. - -When he saw Ben and Glenn standing in the hall he confessed to a feeling -of disappointment, but invited the lads inside without showing it. - -“You are out early,” he said as the boys, still laughing, dropped into -chairs. “What’s the occasion of the comedy?” - -“We’ve been out to the field,” replied Ben, “and we’re laughing to think -how Carl bested Sam and Jimmie last night.” - -“What about it?” asked the millionaire. - -“Why,” Ben continued, “it seems that Sam and Jimmie planned a moonlight -ride in the _Ann_ all by themselves. Carl got next to their scheme and -bounced into the seat with Jimmie just as the machine swung into the -air. I’ll bet Jimmie was good and provoked about that!” - -“What time did the _Ann_ return?” asked Havens. - -“Return?” repeated Ben. “She hasn’t returned yet.” - -The millionaire turned from the mirror in which he was completing the -details of his toilet and faced the boys with a startled look in his -eyes. The boys ceased laughing and regarded him curiously. - -“Are you sure the boys haven’t returned?” Mr. Havens asked. - -“Anyhow,” Glenn replied, “the _Ann_ hasn’t come back!” - -“Did they tell you where they were going?” asked Ben. - -“They did not,” was the reply. “Sam said that he thought he might be -able to pick up valuable information and asked for the use of the _Ann_ -and the company of Jimmie. That’s all he said to me concerning the -moonlight ride he proposed.” - -In bringing his mind back to the conversation with Sam on the previous -night, Mr. Havens could not avoid a feeling of anxiety as he considered -the significant words of the young man and the information concerning -the sealed letter to be opened only in case of his death. He said -nothing of this to the boys, however, but continued the conversation as -if no apprehension dwelt in his mind regarding the safety of the lads. - -“If they only went out for a short ride by moonlight,” Glenn suggested, -in a moment, “they ought to have returned before daylight.” - -“You can never tell what scrape that boy Jimmie will get into!” laughed -Ben. “He’s the hoodoo of the party and the mascot combined! He gets us -into all kinds of scrapes, but he usually makes good by getting us out -of the scrapes we get ourselves into.” - -“Oh, they’ll be back directly,” the millionaire remarked, although deep -down in his consciousness was a growing belief that something serious -had happened to the lads. - -He, however, did his best to conceal the anxiety he felt from Ben and -his companion. - -Directly the three went down to breakfast together, and while the meal -was in progress a report came from the field where the machines had been -left that numerous telegrams addressed to Mr. Havens had been delivered -there. The millionaire looked puzzled at the information. - -“I left positive orders at the telegraph office,” he said, “to have all -my messages delivered here. Did one of the men out there receipt for -them? If so, perhaps one of you boys would better chase out and bring -them in,” he added turning to his companions at the table. - -The messenger replied that the messages had been receipted for, and that -he had offered to bring them in, but that the man in charge had refused -to turn them over to him. He seemed annoyed at the fact. - -“All right,” Mr. Havens replied, “Ben will go out to the field with you -and bring the messages in. And,” he added, as the messenger turned away, -“kindly notify me the instant the _Ann_ arrives.” - -The messenger bowed and started away, accompanied by Ben. - -“I don’t understand about the telegrams having been sent to the field,” -Mr. Havens went on, as the two left the breakfast table and sauntered -into the lobby of the hotel. “I left positive instructions with Mr. -Mellen to have all messages delivered here. I also left instructions -with the clerk to send any messages to my room, no matter what time they -came. The instructions were very explicit.” - -“Oh, you know how things get balled up in telegraph offices, and -messenger offices, and post-offices!” grinned Glenn. “Probably Mr. -Mellen left the office early in the evening, and the man in charge got -lazy, or indifferent, or forgetful, and sent the messages to the wrong -place.” - -While the two talked together, Mr. Mellen strolled into the hotel and -approached the corner of the lobby where they sat. - -“Good-morning!” he said taking a chair at their side. “Anything new -concerning the southern trip?” - -“Not a thing!” replied Mr. Havens. “Sam went out in the _Ann_, for a -short run last night, and we’re only waiting for his return in order to -continue our journey. We expect to be away by noon.” - -“I hope I shall hear from you often,” the manager said. - -“By the way,” the millionaire remarked, “what about the telegrams which -were sent out to the field last night?” - -“No telegrams for you were sent out to the field last night!” was the -reply. “The telegrams directed to you are now at the hotel desk, unless -you have called for them.” - -“But a messenger from the field reports that several telegrams for me -were received there. I don’t understand this at all.” - -“They certainly did not come from our office!” was the reply. - -The millionaire arose hastily and approached the desk just as the clerk -was drawing a number of telegrams from his letter-box. - -“I left orders to have these taken to your room as soon as they -arrived,” the clerk explained, “but it seems that the night man chucked -them into your letter-box and forgot all about them.” - -Mr. Havens took the telegrams into his hand and returned to the corner -of the lobby where he had been seated with Mellen and Glenn. - -“There seems to be a hoodoo in the air concerning my telegrams,” he said -with a smile, as he began opening the envelopes. “The messages which -came last night were not delivered to my room, but were left lying in my -letter-box until just now. In future, please instruct your messengers,” -he said to the manager, “to bring my telegrams directly to my room—that -is,” he added, “if I remain in town and any more telegrams are received -for me.” - -“I’ll see that you get them directly they are received,” replied the -manager, impatiently. “If the hotel clerk objects to the boy going to -your room in the night-time, I’ll tell him to draw a gun on him!” he -added with a laugh. “Are the delayed telegrams important ones?” - -“They are in code!” replied the millionaire. “I’m afraid I’ll have to go -to my room and get the code sheet.” - -Mr. Havens disappeared up the elevator, and Mellen and Glenn talked of -aviation, and canoeing, and base-ball, and the dozen and one things in -which men and boys are interested, for half an hour. Then the -millionaire appeared in the lobby beckoning them toward the elevator. - -Mr. Mellen observed that the millionaire was greatly excited as he -motioned them into his suite of rooms and pointed to chairs. The -telegrams which he had received were lying open on a table near the -window and the code sheet and code translations were not far away. - -Before the millionaire could open the conversation Ben came bounding -into the room without knocking. His face was flushed with running, and -his breath came in short gasps. As he turned to close the door he shook -a clenched fist threateningly in the direction of the elevator. - -“That fool operator,” he declared, “left me standing in the corridor -below while he took one of the maids up to the ’steenth floor, and I ran -all the way up the stairs! I’ll get him good sometime!” - -“Did you bring the telegrams?” asked the millionaire with a smile. - -“Say, look here!” Ben exclaimed dropping into a chair beside the table. -“I’d like to know what’s coming off!” - -Mr. Havens and his companions regarded the boy critically for a moment -and then the millionaire asked: - -“What’s broke loose now?” - -“Well,” Ben went on, “I went out to the field and the man there said -he’d get the telegrams in a minute. I stood around looking over the -_Louise_ and _Bertha_, and asking questions about what Sam said when he -went away on the _Ann_, until I got tired of waiting, then I chased up -to where this fellow stood and he said he’d go right off and get the -messages.” - -“Why didn’t you hand him one?” laughed Glenn. - -“I wanted to,” Ben answered. “If I’d had him down in the old seventeenth -ward in the little old city of New York, I’d have set the bunch on him. -Well, after a while, he poked away to the little shelter-tent the men -put up to sleep in last night and rustled around among the straw and -blankets and came back and said he couldn’t find the messages.” - -The millionaire and the manager exchanged significant glances. - -“He told me,” Ben went on, “that the telegrams had been receipted for -and hidden under a blanket, to be delivered early in the morning. Said -he guessed some one must have stolen them, or mislaid them, but didn’t -seem to think the matter very important.” - -The millionaire pointed to the open messages lying on the table. - -“How many telegrams came for me last night?” he asked. - -“Eight,” was the reply. - -“And there are eight here,” the millionaire went on. - -“And that means——” - -“And that means,” the millionaire said, interrupting the manager, “that -the telegrams delivered on the field last night were either duplicates -of these cipher despatches or fake messages!” - -“That’s just what I was going to remark,” said Mellen. - -“Has the _Ann_ returned?” asked Glenn of Ben. - -“Not yet,” was the reply. - -“Suppose we take one of the other machines and go up and look for her?” - -“We’ll discuss that later on, boys,” the millionaire interrupted. - -“I would give a considerable to know,” the manager observed, in a -moment, “just who handled the messages which were left at the hotel -counter last night. And I’m going to do my best to find out!” he added. - -“That ought to be a perfectly simple matter,” suggested Mr. Havens. - -“In New York, yes! In Quito, no!” answered the manager. “A good many of -the natives who are in clerical positions here are crooked enough to -live in a corkscrew. They’ll do almost anything for money.” - -“That’s the idea I had already formed of the people,” Ben cut in. - -“Besides,” the manager continued, “the chances are that the night clerk -tumbled down on a sofa somewhere in the lobby and slept most of the -night, leaving bell-boys and subordinates to run the hotel.” - -“In that event,” Mr. Havens said, “the telegrams might have been handled -by half a dozen different people.” - -“I’m afraid so!” replied the manager. - -“But the code!” suggested Ben. “They couldn’t read them!” - -“But they might copy them for some one who could!” argued the manager. -“And the copies might have been sent out to the field for the express -purpose of having them stolen,” he went on with an anxious look on his -face. “Are they very important?” he asked of the millionaire. - -“Very much so,” was the answer. “In fact, they are code copies of -private papers taken from deposit box A, showing the plans made in New -York for the South American aeroplane journey.” - -“And showing stops and places to look through and all that?” asked Ben. -“If that’s the kind of information the telegrams contained, I guess the -Redfern bunch in this vicinity are pretty well posted about this time!” - -“I’m afraid so,” the millionaire replied gloomily. “Well,” he continued -in a moment, “we may as well get ready for our journey. I remember now,” -he said casually, “that Sam said last night that we ought to proceed on -our way without reference to him this morning. His idea then was that we -would come up with him somewhere between Quito and Lake Titicaca. So we -may as well be moving, and leave the investigation of the fraudulent or -copied telegrams to Mr. Mellen.” - -“Funny thing for them to go chasing off in that way!” declared Ben. - -But no one guessed the future as the aeroplanes started southward! - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - JIMMIE’S AWFUL HUNGER. - - -“You say,” Sam asked, as Pedro crouched in the corner of the temple -where the old fountain basin had been, “that the Indians will never -actually attack the temple?” - -“They never have,” replied Pedro, his teeth chattering in terror. “Since -I have been stationed here to feed and care for the wild animals in -captivity, I have known them to utter threats, but until to-night, so -far as I know, none of them ever placed a foot on the temple steps.” - -“They did it to-night, all right!” Jimmie declared. - -“Felix could tell us about that if they had left enough of his frame to -utter a sound!” Carl put in. - -The boys were both weak from loss of blood, but their injuries were not -of a character to render them incapable of moving about. - -“What I’m afraid of,” Pedro went on, “is that they’ll surround the -temple and try to starve us into submission.” - -“Jerusalem!” cried Jimmie. “That doesn’t sound good to me. I’m so hungry -now I could eat one of those jaguars raw!” - -“But they are not fit to eat!” exclaimed Pedro. - -“They wanted to eat us, didn’t they?” demanded Jimmie. “I guess turn and -turn about is fair play!” - -“Is there no secret way out of this place?” asked Sam, as the howls of -the savages became more imperative. - -Pedro shook his head doubtfully. There were rumors, he said, of secret -passages, but he had never been able to discover them. For his own part, -he did not believe they existed. - -“What sort of a hole is that den the jaguars came out of?” asked Jimmie. -“It looks like it might extend a long way into the earth.” - -“No,” answered Pedro, “it is only a subterranean room, used a thousand -years ago by the priests who performed at the broken altar you see -beyond the fountain. When the Gringoes came with their proposition to -hold wild animals here until they could be taken out to Caxamarca, and -thence down the railroad to the coast, they examined the walls of the -chamber closely, but found no opening by which the wild beasts might -escape. Therefore, I say, there is no passage leading from that -chamber.” - -“From the looks of things,” Carl said, glancing out at the Indians, now -swarming by the score on the level plateau between the front of the -ruined temple and the lake, “we’ll have plenty of time to investigate -this old temple before we get out of it.” - -“How are we going to investigate anything when we’re hungry?” demanded -Jimmie. “I can’t even think when I’m hungry.” - -“Take away Jimmie’s appetite,” grinned Carl, “and there wouldn’t be -enough left of him to fill an ounce bottle!” - -Pedro still sat in the basin of the old fountain, rocking his body back -and forth and wailing in a mixture of Spanish and English that he was -the most unfortunate man who ever drew the breath of life. - -“The animal industry,” he wailed, “is ruined. No more will the hunters -of wild beasts bring them to this place for safe keeping. No more will -the Indians assist in their capture. No more will the gold of the Gringo -kiss my palm. The ships came out of the sky and brought ruin. Right the -Indians are when they declare that the men who fly bring only disease -and disaster!” he continued, with an angry glance directed at the boys. - -“Cheer up!” laughed Jimmie. “Cheer up, old top, and remember that the -worst is yet to come! Say!” the boy added in a moment. “How would it do -to step out to the entrance and shoot a couple of those noisy savages?” - -“I never learned how to shoot with an empty gun!” Carl said scornfully. - -“How many cartridges have you in your gun?” asked Jimmie of Sam. - -“About six,” was the reply. “I used two out of the clip on the jaguars -and two were fired on the ride to Quito.” - -“And that’s all the ammunition we’ve got, is it?” demanded Carl. - -“That’s all we’ve got here!” answered Sam. “There’s plenty more at the -machine if the Indians haven’t taken possession of it.” - -“Little good that does us!” growled Jimmie. - -“You couldn’t eat ’em!” laughed Carl. - -“But I’ll tell you what I could do!” insisted Jimmie. “If we had plenty -of ammunition, I could make a sneak outside and bring in game enough to -keep us eating for a month.” - -“You know what always happens to you when you go out after something to -eat!” laughed Carl. “You always get into trouble!” - -“But I always get back, don’t I?” demanded Jimmie. “I guess the time -will come, before long, when you’ll be glad to see me starting out for -some kind of game! We’re not going to remain quietly here and starve.” - -“That looks like going out hunting,” said Sam, pointing to the savages -outside. “Those fellows might have something to say about it.” - -It was now broad daylight. The early sunshine lay like a mist of gold -over the tops of the distant peaks, and birds were cutting the clear, -sweet air with their sharp cries. Many of the Indians outside being sun -worshipers, the boys saw them still on their knees with hands and face -uplifted to the sunrise. - -The air in the valley was growing warmer every minute. By noon, when the -sun would look almost vertically down, it promised to be very hot, as -the mountains shut out the breeze. - -“I don’t think it will be necessary to look for game,” Sam went on in a -moment, “for the reason that the _Louise_ and _Bertha_, ought to be here -soon after sunset. It may possibly take them a little longer than that -to cover the distance, as they do not sail so fast as the _Ann_, but at -least they should be here before to-morrow morning. Then you’ll see the -savages scatter!” he added with a smile. “And you’ll see Jimmie eat, -too!” - -“Don’t mention it!” cried the boy. - -“Yes,” Carl suggested, “but won’t Mr. Havens and the boys remain in -Quito two or three days waiting for us to come back?” - -“I think not,” was the reply. “I arranged with Mr. Havens to pick us up -somewhere between Quito and Lake Titicaca in case we did not return -before morning. I have an idea that they’ll start out sometime during -the forenoon—say ten o’clock—and reach this point, at the latest, by -midnight.” - -“They can’t begin to sail as fast as we did!” suggested Carl. - -“If they make forty miles an hour,” Sam explained, “and stop only three -or four times to rest, they can get here before midnight, all right!” - -“Gee! That’s a long time to go without eating!” cried Jimmie. “And, even -at that,” he went on in a moment, “they may shoot over us like a couple -of express trains, and go on south without ever knowing we are here.” - -Sam turned to Pedro with an inquiring look on his face. - -“Where is Miguel?” he asked. - -Pedro shook his head mournfully. - -“Gone!” he said. - -“Well, then,” Sam went on, “what about the red and blue lights? Can you -stage that little drama for us to-night?” - -“What is stage?” demanded Pedro. “I don’t know what you mean.” - -“Chestnuts!” exclaimed Jimmie impatiently. “He wants to know if you can -work the lights as Miguel did. He wants to know if you can keep the -lights burning to-night in order to attract the attention of people who -are coming to drive the Indians away. Do you get it?” - -Pedro’s face brightened perceptibly. - -“Coming to drive the Indians away?” he repeated. “Yes, I can burn the -lights. They shall burn from the going down of the sun. Also,” he added -with a hopeful expression on his face, “the Indians may see the lights -and disappear again in the forest.” - -“Yes, they will!” laughed Carl. - -“Let him think so if he wants to,” cautioned Jimmie. “He’ll take better -care of the lights if he thinks that will in any way add to the -possibility of release. But midnight!” the boy went on. “Think of all -that time without anything to eat! Say,” he whispered to Carl, in a soft -aside, “if you can get Sam asleep sometime during the day and get the -gun away from him, I’m going to make a break for the tall timber and -bring in a deer, or a brace of rabbits, or something of that kind. -There’s plenty of cooking utensils in that other chamber and plenty of -dishes, so we can have a mountain stew with very little trouble if we -can only get the meat to put into it.” - -“And there’s the stew they left,” suggested Carl. - -“Not for me!” Jimmie answered. “I’m not going to take any chances on -being poisoned. I’d rather build a fire on that dizzy old hearth they -used, and broil a steak from one of the jaguars than eat that stew—or -anything they left for that matter.” - -“I don’t believe you can get out into the hills,” objected Carl. - -“I can try,” Jimmie suggested, “if I can only get that gun away from -Sam. He wouldn’t let me go. You know that very well! Look here,” he went -on, “suppose I fix up in the long, flowing robe, and dig up the wigs and -things Miguel must have worn, and walk in a dignified manner between the -ranks of the Indians? What do you know about that?” - -“That would probably be all right,” Carl answered, “until you began -shooting game, and then they’d just naturally put you into a stew. They -know very well that gods in white robes don’t have to kill game in order -to sustain life.” - -“Oh, why didn’t you let me dream?” demanded Jimmie. “I was just figuring -how I could get about four gallons of stew.” - -Abandoning the cherished hope of getting out into the forest for the -time being, Jimmie now approached Pedro and began asking him questions -concerning his own stock of provisions. - -“According to your own account,” the boy said, “you’ve been living here -right along for some weeks, taking care of the wild animals as the -collectors brought them in. Now you must have plenty of provisions -stored away somewhere. Dig ’em up!” - -Pedro declared that there were no provisions at all about the place, -adding that everything had been consumed the previous day except the -remnants left in the living chamber. He said, however, that he expected -provisions to be brought in by his two companions within two days. In -the meantime, he had arranged on such wild game as he could bring down. - -Abandoning another hope, Jimmie passed through the narrow passage and -into the chamber where he had come so near to death. The round eye of -his searchlight revealed the jaguars still lying on the marble floor. - -The roof above this chamber appeared to be comparatively whole, yet here -and there the warm sunlight streamed in through minute crevices between -the slabs. The boy crossed the chamber, not without a little shiver of -terror at the thought of the dangers he had met there, and peered into -the mouth of the den from which the wild beasts had made their -appearance. - -The odor emanating from the room beyond was not at all pleasant, but, -resolving to see for himself what the place contained, he pushed on and -soon stood in a subterranean room hardly more than twelve feet square. -There were six steps leading down into the chamber, and these seemed to -the boy to be worn and polished smooth as if from long use. - -“It’s a bet!” the lad chuckled, as he crawled through the opening and -slid cautiously down the steps, “that this stairway was used a hundred -times a day while the old priests lived here. In that case,” he argued, -“there must have been some reason for constant use of the room. And all -this,” he went on, “leads me to the conclusion that the old fellows had -a secret way out of the temple and that it opens from this very room.” - -While the boy stood at the bottom of the steps flashing his light around -the confined space, Carl’s figure appeared into the opening above. - -“What have you found?” the latter asked. - -“Nothing yet but bad air and stone walls!” replied Jimmie. - -“What are you looking for?” was the next question. - -“A way out!” answered Jimmie. - -Carl came down the steps and the two boys examined the chamber carefully -for some evidence of a hidden exit. They were about to abandon the quest -when Jimmie struck the handle of his pocket knife, which he had been -using in the investigation, against a stone which gave back a hollow -sound. Carl rushed to his side instantly. - -“Here you are!” Jimmie cried. “There’s a hole back of that stone. If we -can only get it out, we’ll kiss the savages ‘good-bye’ and get back to -the _Ann_ in quick time.” - -The boys pried and pounded at the stone until at last it gave way under -pressure and fell backward with a crash. - -“There!” Jimmie shouted. “I knew it!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - WHERE THE PASSAGE ENDED. - - -“Yes, you knew it all right!” Carl exclaimed, as the boy stood looking -into the dark passage revealed by the falling of the stone. “You always -know a lot of things just after they occur!” - -“Anyway,” Jimmie answered with a grin, “I knew there ought to be a -secret passage somewhere. Where do you suppose the old thing leads to?” - -“For one thing,” Carl answered, “it probably leads under the great stone -slab in front of the entrance, because when Miguel, the foxy boy with -the red and blue lights, disappeared he went down into the ground right -there. And I’ll bet,” he went on, “that it runs out to the rocky -elevation to the west and connects with the forest near where the -machine is.” - -“Those old chaps must have burrowed like rabbits!” declared Jimmie. - -“Don’t you think the men who operated the temples ever carried the -stones which weigh a hundred tons or cut passages through solid rocks!” -Carl declared. “They worked the Indians for all that part of the game, -just as the Egyptians worked the Hebrews on the lower Nile.” - -“Well, the only way to find out where it goes,” Jimmie suggested, “is to -follow it. We can’t stand here and guess it out.” - -“Indeed we can’t,” agreed Carl. “I’ll go on down the incline and you -follow along. Looks pretty slippery here, so we’d better keep close -together. I don’t suppose we can put the stone back,” he added with a -parting glance into the chamber. - -“What would we want to put it back for?” demanded Jimmie. - -“How do we know who will be snooping around here while we are under -ground?” Carl asked impatiently. “If some one should come along here and -stuff the stone back into the hole and we shouldn’t be able to find any -exit, we’d be in a nice little tight box, wouldn’t we?” - -“Well, if we can’t lift it back into the hole,” Jimmie argued, “I guess -we can push it along in front of us. This incline seems slippery enough -to pass it along like a sleighload of girls on a snowy hill.” - -The boys concentrated their strength, which was not very great at that -time because of their wounds, on the stone and were soon gratified to -see it sliding swiftly out of sight along a dark incline. - -“I wonder what Sam will say?” asked Jimmie. - -“He won’t know anything about it!” Carl declared. - -“Oh, yes, he will!” asserted Jimmie, “he’ll be looking around before -we’ve been absent ten minutes. Perhaps we’d ought to go back and tell -him what we’ve found, and what we’re going to do.” - -“Then he’d want to go with us,” Carl suggested, “and that would leave -the savages to sneak into the temple whenever they find the nerve to do -so, and also leave Pedro to work any old tricks he saw fit. Besides,” -the boy went on, “we won’t be gone more than ten minutes.” - -“You’re always making a sneak on somebody,” grinned Jimmie. “You had to -go and climb up on our machine last night, and get mixed up in all this -trouble. You’re always doing something of the kind!” - -“I guess you’re glad I stuck around, ain’t you?” laughed Carl. “You’d -’a’ had a nice time in that den of lions without my gun, eh?” - -“Well, get a move on!” laughed Jimmie. “And hang on to the walls as you -go ahead. This floor looks like one of the chutes under the newspaper -offices in New York. And hold your light straight ahead.” - -The incline extended only a few yards. Arrived at the bottom, the boys -estimated that the top of the six-foot passage was not more than a -couple of yards from the surface of the earth. Much to their surprise -they found the air in the place remarkably pure. - -At the bottom of the incline the passage turned away to the north for a -few paces, then struck out west. From this angle the boys could see -little fingers of light which probably penetrated into the passage from -crevices in the steps of the temple. - -Gaining the front of the old structure, they saw that one of the stones -just below the steps was hung on a rude though perfectly reliable hinge, -and that a steel rod attached to it operated a mechanism which placed -the slab entirely under the control of any one mounting the steps, if -acquainted with the secret of the door. - -“Here’s where Miguel drops down!” laughed Jimmie, his searchlight prying -into the details of the cunning device. “Well, well!” he went on, “those -old Incas certainly took good care of their precious carcasses. It’s a -pity they couldn’t have coaxed the Spaniards into some of their secret -passages and then sealed them up!” - -The passage ran on to the west after passing the temple for some -distance, and then turned abruptly to the north. The lights showed a -long, tunnel-like place, apparently cut in the solid rock. - -“I wonder if this tunnel leads to the woods we saw at the west of the -cove,” Carl asked. “I hope it does!” he added, “for then we can get to -the machine and get something to eat and get some ammunition and,” he -added hopefully, “we may be able to get away in the jolly old _Ann_ and -leave the Indians watching an empty temple.” - -“Do you suppose Miguel came into this passage when he dropped out of -sight in front of the temple?” asked Jimmie. - -“Of course, he did!” - -“Then where did he go?” - -“Why, back into the temple.” - -“Through the den of lions? I guess not!” - -“That’s a fact!” exclaimed Carl. “He wouldn’t go through the den of -lions, would he? And he never could have traveled this passage to the -end and hiked back over the country in time to drop the gate and lift -the bars in front of the den! It was Miguel that did that, wasn’t it?” -the boy added, turning enquiringly to his chum. “It must have been for -there was no one else there.” - -“What are you getting at?” asked Jimmie. - -“This,” replied Carl. “There must be a passage leading from this one -back into the temple on the west side. It may enter the room where the -bunks are, or it may come into the corridor back by the fountain, but -there’s one somewhere all right.” - -“You’re the wise little boy!” laughed Jimmie. “Let’s go and see.” - -The boys returned to the trap-like slab in front of the temple and from -that point examined every inch of the south wall for a long distance. -Finally a push on a stone brought forth a grinding noise, and then a -passage similar to that discovered in the den was revealed. - -“There you are!” said Carl. “There’s the passage that leads to the west -side of the temple. Shall we go on in and give Sam and Pedro the merry -ha, ha? Mighty funny,” he added, without waiting for his question to be -answered, “that all these trap doors are so easily found and work so -readily. They’re just about as easy to manipulate as one of the foolish -houses we see on the stage. It’s no trick to operate them at all.” - -“Well,” Jimmie argued, “these passages and traps are doubtless used -every day by a man who don’t take any precautions about keeping them -hidden. I presume Miguel is the only person here who knows of their -existence, and he just slams around in them sort of careless-like.” - -“That’s the answer!” replied Carl. “Let’s chase along and see where the -tunnel ends, and then get back to Sam. He may be crying his eyes out for -our polite society right now!” - -The boys followed the tunnel for what seemed to them to be a long -distance. At length they came to a turn from which a mist of daylight -could be seen. In five minutes more they stood looking out into the -forest. - -The entrance to the passage was concealed only by carelessly heaped-up -rocks, between the interstices of which grew creeping vines and -brambles. Looking from the forest side, the place resembled a heap of -rocks, probably inhabited by all manner of creeping things and covered -over with vines. - -As the boys peered out between the vines, Jimmie nudged his chum in the -side and whispered as he pointed straight out: - -“There’s the _Ann_.” - -“But that isn’t where we left her!” argued Carl. - -“Well, it’s the _Ann_, just the same, isn’t it?” - -“I suppose so,” was the reply. “I presume,” the boy went on, “the -Indians moved it to the place where it now is.” - -“Don’t you ever think they did!” answered Jimmie. “The Indians wouldn’t -touch it with a pair of tongs! Felix and Pedro probably moved it, the -idea being to hide it from view.” - -“I guess that’s right!” Carl agreed. “I’m going out,” he continued, in a -moment, “and see if I can find any savages. You lie low till I get back. -I won’t be gone very long.” - -“What you mean,” Jimmie grinned, “is that you’re going out to see if you -won’t find any savages. That is,” he went on, “you think of going out. -As a matter of fact, I’m the one that’s going out, because the wild -beasts chewed you up proper, and they didn’t hurt me at all.” - -The boy crowded past Carl as he spoke and dodged out into the forest. -Carl waited impatiently for ten minutes and was on the point of going in -quest of the boy when Jimmie came leisurely up to the curtain of vines -which hid the passage and looked in with a grin on his freckled face. - -“Come on out,” he said, “the air is fine!” - -“Any savages?” asked Carl. - -“Not a savage!” - -“Anything to eat?” demanded the boy. - -“Bales of it!” answered Jimmie. “The savages never touched the _Ann_.” - -Carl crept out of the opening and made his way to where Jimmie sat flat -on the bole of a fallen tree eating ham sandwiches. - -“Are there any left?” he asked. - -“Half a bushel!” - -“Then perhaps the others stand some chance of getting one or two.” - -“There’s more than we can all eat before to-morrow morning,” Jimmie -answered. “And if the relief train doesn’t come before that time we’ll -mount the _Ann_ and glide away.” - -While the boys sat eating their sandwiches and enjoying the clear sweet -air of the morning, there came an especially savage chorus of yells from -the direction of the temple. - -“The Indians seem to be a mighty enthusiastic race!” declared Jimmie. -“Suppose we go to the _Ann_, grab the provisions, and go back to the -temple just to see what they’re amusing themselves with now!” - -This suggestion meeting with favor, the boys proceeded to the aeroplane -which was only a short distance away and loaded themselves down with -provisions and cartridges. During their journey they saw not the -slightest indications of the Indians. It was quite evident that they -were all occupied with the _siege_ of the temple. - -On leaving the entrance, the boys restored the vines so far as possible -to their original condition and filled their automatics with cartridges. - -“No one will ever catch me without cartridges again,” Carl declared as -he patted his weapon. “The idea of getting into a den of lions with only -four shots between us and destruction!” - -“Well, hurry up!” cried Jimmie. “I know from the accent the Indians -placed on the last syllable that there’s something doing at the temple. -And Sam, you know, hasn’t got many cartridges.” - -“I wouldn’t run very fast,” declared Carl, “if I knew that the Indians -had captured Miguel. That’s the ruffian who shut us into the den of -lions!” - -When the boys came to the passage opening from the tunnel on the west of -the temple, they turned into it and proceeded a few yards south. Here -they found an opening which led undoubtedly directly to the rear of the -corridor in the vicinity of the fountain. - -The stone which had in past years concealed the mouth of this passage -had evidently not been used for a long time, for it lay broken into -fragments on the stone floor. - -When the boys came to the end of the passage, they saw by the slices of -light which lay between the stones that they were facing the corridor -from the rear. They knew well enough that somewhere in that vicinity was -a door opening into the temple, but for some moments they could not find -it. At last Jimmie, prying into a crack with his knife, struck a piece -of metal and the stone dropped backward. - -He was about to crawl through into the corridor when Carl caught him by -one leg and held him back. It took the lad only an instant to comprehend -what was going on. A horde of savages was crowding up the steps and into -the temple itself, and Sam stood in the middle of the corridor with a -smoking weapon in his hand. - -As the boys looked he threw the automatic into the faces of the -onrushing crowd as if its usefulness had departed. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE SAVAGES MAKE MORE TROUBLE. - - -“Pedro said the savages wouldn’t dare enter the temple!” declared Jimmie -as he drew back. - -Without stopping to comment on the situation, Carl called out: - -“Drop, Sam, drop!” - -The young man whirled about, saw the opening in the rear wall, saw the -brown barrels of the automatics, and instantly dropped to the floor. The -Indians advanced no farther, for in less time than it takes to say the -words a rain of bullets struck into their ranks. Half a dozen fell to -the floor and the others retreated, sneaking back in a minute, however, -to remove the bodies of their dead and wounded companions. - -The boys did not fire while this duty was being performed. - -In a minute from the time of the opening of the stone panel in the wall -there was not a savage in sight. Only for the smears of blood on the -white marble floor, and on the steps outside, no one would have imagined -that so great a tragedy had been enacted there only a few moments -before. Sam rose slowly to his feet and stood by the boys as they -crawled out of the narrow opening just above the basin of the fountain. - -“I’m glad to see you, kids,” he said, in a matter-of-fact tone, although -his face was white to the lips. “You came just in time!” - -“We usually do arrive on schedule,” Jimmie grinned, trying to make as -little as possible of the rescue. - -“You did this time at any rate!” replied Sam. “But, look here,” he went -on, glancing at the automatics in their hands, “I thought the ammunition -was all used up in the den of lions.” - -“We got some more!” laughed Carl. - -“More—where?” - -“At the _Ann_!” - -Sam leaned back against the wall, a picture of amazement. - -“You haven’t been out to the _Ann_ have you?” he asked. - -For reply Jimmie drew a great package of sandwiches and another of -cartridges out of the opening in the wall. - -“We haven’t, eh?” he laughed. - -“That certainly looks like it!” declared Sam. - -The boys briefly related the story of their visit to the aeroplane while -Sam busied himself with the sandwiches, and then they loaded the three -automatics and distributed the remaining clips about their persons. - -“And now what?” asked Carl, after the completion of the recital. - -“Are we going to take the _Ann_ and slip away from these worshipers of -the Sun?” asked Jimmie. “We can do it all right!” - -“I don’t know about that,” argued Sam. “You drove them away from the -temple, and the chances are that they will return to the forest and will -remain there until they get the courage to make another attack on us.” - -“It won’t take long to go and find out whether they are in the forest or -not!” Carl declared. - -“Perhaps,” Sam suggested, “we’d better wait here for the others to come -up. They ought to be here to-night.” - -“If it’s a sure thing that we can let them know where we are,” Carl -agreed, “that might be all right.” - -“What’s the matter with the red and blue lights?” asked Jimmie. - -“By the way,” Carl inquired looking about the place, “where is Pedro?” - -“He took to his heels when the savages made the rush.” - -“Which way did he go?” asked Jimmie. - -“I think he went in the direction of that little menagerie you boys -found last night!” replied Sam. - -“Then I’ll bet he knows where the tunnel is!” Carl shouted, dashing -away. “I’ll bet he’s lit out for the purpose of bringing a lot of his -conspirators in here to do us up!” - -Jimmie followed his chum, and the two searched the entire system of -tunnels known to them without discovering any trace of the missing man. - -“That’s a nice thing!” Jimmie declared. “We probably passed him -somewhere on our way back to the temple. By this time he’s off over the -hills, making signals for some one to come and help put us to the bad.” - -“I’m afraid you’re right!” replied Sam. - -The boys ate their sandwiches and discussed plans and prospects, -listening in the meantime for indications of the two missing men. -Several times they thought they heard soft footsteps in the apartments -opening from the corridor, but in each case investigation revealed -nothing. - -It was a long afternoon, but finally the sun disappeared over the ridge -to the west of the little lake and the boys began considering the -advisability of making ready to signal to the _Louise_ and _Bertha_. - -“They will surely be here?” said Carl hopefully. - -“I am certain of it!” answered Sam. - -“Then we’d better be getting something on top of the temple to make a -light,” advised Jimmie. “If I had Miguel by the neck, he’d bring out his -red and blue lights before he took another breath!” he added. - -“Perhaps we can find the lights,” suggested Sam. - -This idea being very much to the point, the boys scattered themselves -over the three apartments and searched diligently for the lamps or -candles which had been used by Miguel on the previous night. - -“Nothing doing!” Jimmie declared, returning to the corridor. - -“Nothing doing!” echoed Carl, coming in from the other way. - -Sam joined the group in a moment looking very much discouraged. - -“Boys,” he said, “I’ve been broke in nearly all the large cities on both -Western continents. I’ve been kicked out of lodging houses, and I’ve -walked hundreds of miles with broken shoes and little to eat, but of all -the everlasting, consarned, ridiculous, propositions I ever butted up -against, this is the worst!” - -The boys chuckled softly but made no reply. - -“We know well enough,” he went on, “that there are rockets, or lamps, or -torches, or candles, enough hidden about this place to signal all the -transcontinental trains in the world but we can’t find enough of them to -flag a hand-car on an uphill grade!” - -“What’s the matter with the searchlights?” asked Jimmie. - -“Not sufficiently strong!” - -Without any explanation, Jimmie darted away from the group and began a -tour of the temple. First he walked along the walls of the corridor then -darted to the other room, then out on the steps in front. - -“His trouble has turned his head!” jeered Carl. - -“Look here, you fellows!” Jimmie answered darting back into the temple. -“There’s a great white rock on the cliff back of the temple. It looks -like one of these memorial stones aldermen put their names on when they -build a city hall. All we have to do to signal the aeroplanes is to put -red caps over our searchlights and turn them on that cliff. They will -make a circle of fire there that will look like the round, red face of a -harvest moon.” - -“That’s right!” agreed Carl. - -“A very good idea!” Sam added. - -“I’ve been trying to find a way to get up on the roof,” Jimmie -continued, “but can’t find one. You see,” he went on, “we can operate -our searchlights better from the top of the temple.” - -“We’ll have to find a way to get up there!” Sam insisted. - -“Unless we can make the illumination on the cliff through the hole in -the roof,” Jimmie proposed. - -“And that’s another good proposition!” Sam agreed. - -“And so,” laughed Carl, “the stage is set and the actors are in the -wings, and I’m going to crawl into one of the bunks in the west room and -go to sleep.” - -“You go, too, Jimmie,” Sam advised. “I’ll wake you up if anything -happens. I can get my rest later on.” - -The boys were not slow in accepting the invitation, and in a very short -time were sound asleep. It would be time for the _Bertha_ and _Louise_ -to show directly, and so Sam placed the red caps over the lamps of two -of the electrics and sat where he could throw the rays through the break -in the roof. Curious to know if the result was exactly as he -anticipated, he finally propped one of the lights in position on the -floor and went out to the entrance to look up at the rock. - -As he stepped out on the smooth slab of marble in front of the entrance -something whizzed within an inch of his head and dropped with a crash on -the stones below. Without stopping to investigate the young man dodged -into the temple again and looked out. - -“Now, I wonder,” he thought, as he lifted the electric so that its red -light struck the smooth face of the rock above more directly, “whether -that kind remembrance was from our esteemed friends Pedro and Miguel, or -whether it came from the Indians.” - -He listened intently for a moment and presently heard the sound of -shuffling feet from above. It was apparent that the remainder of the -evening was not to be as peaceful and quiet as he had anticipated. - -Realizing that the hostile person or persons on the roof might in a -moment begin dropping their rocks down to the floor of the corridor, he -passed hastily into the west chamber and stood by the doorway looking -out. - -This interference, he understood, would effectually prevent any -illumination of the white rock calculated to serve as a signal to Mr. -Havens and the boys. Some other means of attracting their attention must -be devised. The corridor lay dim in the faint light of the stars which -came through the break in the roof, and he threw the light of his -electric up and down the stone floor in order to make sure that the -enemy was not actually creeping into the temple from the entrance. - -While he stood flashing the light about he almost uttered an exclamation -of fright as a grating sound in the vicinity of the fountain came to his -ears. He cast his light in that direction and saw the stone which had -been replaced by the boys retreating slowly into the wall. - -Then a dusky face looked out of the opening, and, without considering -the ultimate consequences of his act, he fired full at the threatening -eyes which were searching the interior. There was a groan, a fall, and -the stone moved back to its former position. - -He turned to awaken Jimmie and Carl but the sound of the shot had -already accomplished that, and the boys were standing in the middle of -the floor with automatics in their hands. - -“What’s coming off?” asked Jimmie. - -“Was that thunder?” demanded Carl. - -“Thunder don’t smell like that,” suggested Jimmie, sniffing at the -powder smoke. “I guess Sam has been having company.” - -“Right you are,” said Sam, doing his best to keep the note of -apprehension out of his voice. “Our friends are now occupying the tunnel -you told me about. At least one of them was, not long ago.” - -“Now, see here,” Jimmie broke in, “I’m getting tired of this -hide-and-seek business around this blooming old ruin. We came out to -sail in the air, and not crawl like snakes through underground -passages.” - -“What’s the answer?” asked Carl. - -“According to Sam’s story,” Jimmie went on, “we won’t be able to signal -our friends with our red lights to-night. In that case, they’re likely -to fly by, on their way south, without discovering our whereabouts.” - -“And so you want to go back to the machine, eh?” Sam questioned. - -“That’s the idea,” answered Jimmie. “I want to get up into God’s free -air again, where I can see the stars, and the snow caps on the -mountains! I want to build a roaring old fire on some shelf of rock and -build up a stew big enough for a regiment of state troops! Then I want -to roll up in a blanket and sleep for about a week.” - -“That’s me, too!” declared Carl. - -“It may not be possible to get to the machine,” suggested Sam. - -“I’ll let you know in about five minutes!” exclaimed Jimmie darting -recklessly across the corridor and into the chamber which had by mutual -consent been named the den of lions. - -Sam called to him to return but the boy paid no heed to the warning. - -“Come on!” Carl urged the next moment. “We’ve got to go with him.” - -Sam seized a package of sandwiches which lay on the roughly constructed -table and darted with the boy across the corridor, through the east -chamber, into the subterranean one, and passed into the tunnel, the -entrance to which, it will be remembered, had been left open. - -Some distance down in the darkness, probably where the passage swung -away to the north, they saw a glimmer of light. Directly they heard -Jimmie’s voice calling softly through the odorous darkness. - -“Come on!” he whispered. “We may as well get out to the woods and see -what’s doing there.” - -The two half-walked, half-stumbled, down the slippery incline and joined -Jimmie at the bottom. - -“Now we want to look out,” the boy said as they came to the angle which -faced the west. “There may be some of those rude persons in the tunnel -ahead of us.” - -Not caring to proceed in the darkness, they kept their lights burning as -they advanced. When they came to the cross passage which led to the rear -of the corridor they listened for an instant and thought they detected a -low murmur of voices in the distance. - -“Let’s investigate!” suggested Carl. - -“Investigate nothing!” replied Jimmie. “Let’s move for the machine and -the level of the stars. If the savages are there, we’ll chase ’em out.” - -But the savages were not there. When the three came to the curtain of -vines which concealed the entrance to the passage, the forest seemed as -still as it had been on the day of creation. - -They moved out of the tangle and crept forward to the aeroplane, their -lights now out entirely, and their automatics ready for use. They were -soon at the side of the machine. - -After as good an examination as could possibly be made in the -semi-darkness, Sam declared that nothing had been molested, and that the -_Ann_ was, apparently, in as good condition for flight as it had been at -the moment of landing. - -“Why didn’t we do this in the afternoon, while the niggers were out of -sight?” asked Carl in disgust. - -“Sam said we couldn’t!” grinned Jimmie. - -“Anyhow,” Sam declared, “we’re going to see right now whether we can or -not. We’ll have to push the old bird out into a clear place first, -though!” - -Here the talk was interrupted by a chorus of savage shouts. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - THE MYSTERY OF THE ANDES. - - -The _Louise_ and the _Bertha_ left the field near Quito amid the shouts -of a vast crowd which gathered in the early part of the day. As the -aeroplanes sailed majestically into the air, Mr. Havens saw Mellen -sitting in a motor-car waving a white handkerchief in farewell. - -The millionaire and Ben rode in the _Louise_, while Glenn followed in -the _Bertha_. For a few moments the clatter of the motors precluded -conversation, then the aviator slowed down a trifle and asked his -companion: - -“Was anything seen of Doran to-day?” - -Ben shook his head. - -“I half believe,” Mr. Havens continued, “that the code despatches were -stolen by him last night from the hotel, copied, and the copies sent out -to the field to be delivered to some one of the conspirators.” - -“But no one could translate them,” suggested Ben. - -“I’m not so sure of that,” was the reply. “The code is by no means a new -one. I have often reproached myself for not changing it after Redfern -disappeared with the money.” - -“If it’s the same code you used then,” Ben argued, “you may be sure -there is some one of the conspirators who can do the translating. Why,” -he went on, “there must be. They wouldn’t have stolen code despatches -unless they knew how to read them.” - -“In that case,” smiled Mr. Havens grimly, “they have actually secured -the information they desire from the men they are fighting.” - -“Were the messages important?” asked Ben. - -“Duplicates of papers contained in deposit box A,” was the answer. - -“What can they learn from them?” - -“The route mapped out for our journey south!” was the reply. “Including -the names of places where Redfern may be in hiding.” - -“And so they’ll be apt to guard all those points?” asked Ben. - -As the reader will understand, one point, that at the ruined temple, had -been very well guarded indeed! - -“Yes,” replied the millionaire. “They are likely to look out for us at -all the places mentioned in the code despatches.” - -Ben gave a low whistle of dismay, and directly the motors were pushing -the machine forward at the rate of fifty or more miles an hour. - -The aviators stopped on a level plateau about the middle of the -afternoon to prepare dinner, and then swept on again. At nightfall, they -were in the vicinity of a summit which lifted like a cone from a -circular shelf of rock which almost completely surrounded it. - -The millionaire aviator encircled the peak and finally decided that a -landing might be made with safety. He dropped the _Louise_ down very -slowly and was gratified to find that there would be little difficulty -in finding a resting-place below. As soon as he landed he turned his -eyes toward the _Bertha_, still circling above. - -The machine seemed to be coming steadily toward the shelf, but as he -looked the great planes wavered and tipped, and when the aeroplane -actually landed it was with a crash which threw Glenn from his seat and -brought about a great rattling of machinery. - -Glenn arose from the rock wiping blood from his face. - -“I’m afraid that’s the end of the _Bertha_!” he exclaimed. - -“I hope not,” replied Ben. “I think a lot of that old machine.” - -Mr. Havens, after learning that Glenn’s injuries were not serious, -hastened over to the aeroplane and began a careful examination of the -motors. - -“I think,” he said in a serious tone, “that the threads on one of the -turn-buckles on one of the guy wires stripped so as to render the planes -unmanageable.” - -“They were unmanageable, all right!” Glenn said, rubbing the sore spots -on his knees. - -“Can we fix it right here?” Ben asked. - -“That depends on whether we have a supply of turn-buckles,” replied -Havens. “They certainly ought to be in stock somewhere.” - -“Glory be!” cried Glenn. “We sure have plenty of turn-buckles!” - -“Get one out, then,” the millionaire directed, “and we’ll see what we -can do with it.” - -The boys hunted everywhere in the tool boxes of both machines without -finding what they sought. - -“I know where they are!” said Glenn glumly in a moment. - -“Then get one out!” advised Ben. - -“They’re on the _Ann_!” explained Glenn. “If you remember we put the -spark plugs and a few other things of that sort on the _Louise_ and put -the turn-buckles on the _Ann_.” - -“Now, you wait a minute,” Mr. Havens advised. “Perhaps I can use the old -turn-buckle on the sharp threads of the _Louise_ and put the one which -belongs there in the place of this worn one. Sometimes a transfer of -that kind can be made to work in emergencies.” - -“That’ll be fine!” exclaimed Ben. “I remember seeing that tried myself. -I’ll hold the light while you take the buckle off the _Louise_.” - -Ben turned his flashlight on the guy wires and the aviator began turning -the buckle. The wires were very taut, and when the last thread was -reached one of them sprang away so violently that the turn-buckle was -knocked from his hand. The next moment they heard it rattling in the -gorge below. - -Mr. Havens sat flat down on the shelf of rocks and looked at the parted -wires hopelessly. The boys had nothing to say. - -“Well,” the millionaire said presently, “I guess we’re in for a good -long cold night up in the sky.” - -“Did you ever see such rotten luck?” demanded Glenn. - -“Cheer up!” cried Ben. “We’ll find some way out of it.” - -“Have you got any fish-lines, boys?” asked the aviator. - -“You bet I have!” replied Ben. “You wouldn’t catch me off on a -flying-machine trip without a fish-line. We’re going to have some fish -before we get off the Andes.” - -“Well,” said Mr. Havens, “pass it over and I’ll see if I can fasten -these wires together with strong cord and tighten them up with a -twister.” - -“Why not?” asked Ben. - -“I’ve seen things of that kind done often enough!” declared Glenn. - -“And, besides,” Glenn added, “we may be able to use the worn turn-buckle -on the _Louise_ and go after repairs, leaving the _Bertha_ here.” - -“I don’t like to do that!” objected the millionaire aviator. “I believe -we can arrange to take both machines out with us.” - -But it was not such an easy matter fastening the cords and arranging the -twister as had been anticipated. They all worked over the problem for an -hour or more without finding any method of preventing the fish-line from -breaking when the twister was applied. When drawn so tight that it was -impossible to slip, the eyes showed a disposition to cut the strands. - -At last they decided that it would be unsafe to use the _Bertha_ in that -condition and turned to the _Louise_ with the worn turn-buckle. - -To their dismay they found that the threads were worn so that it would -be unsafe to trust themselves in the air with any temporary expedient -which might be used to strengthen the connection. - -“This brings us back to the old proposition of a night under the -clouds!” the millionaire said. - -“Or above the clouds,” Ben added, “if this fog keeps coming.” - -Leaving the millionaire still studying over the needed repairs, Ben and -his chum followed the circular cliff for some distance until they came -to the east side of the cone. They stood looking over the landscape for -a moment and then turned back to the machines silently and with grave -faces. - -“Have you got plenty of ammunition, Mr. Havens?” Ben asked. - -“I think so,” was the reply. - -“That’s good!” answered Ben. - -“Why the question?” Mr. Havens asked, with a surprised look. - -“Because,” Ben replied, “there’s a lot of Peruvian miners down on a -lower shelf of this cone and they’re drunk.” - -“Well, they can’t get up here, can they?” asked Mr. Havens. - -“They’re making a stab at it!” answered Ben. - -“There seems to be a strike or something of that sort on down there,” -Glenn explained, “and it looks as if the fellows wanted to get up here -and take possession of the aeroplanes.” - -“Perhaps we can talk them out of it!” smiled the millionaire. - -“I’m afraid we’ll have to do something more than talk,” Glenn answered. - -The three now went to the east side of the cone and looked down. There -was a gully leading from the shelf to a plateau below. At some past time -this gully had evidently been the bed of a running mountain stream. On -the plateau below were excavations and various pieces of crude mining -machinery. - -Between the excavations and the bottom of the gully at least a hundred -men were racing for the cut, which seemed to offer an easy mode of -access to the shelf where the flying machines lay. - -“We’ll have to stand here and keep them back!” Mr. Havens decided. - -“I don’t believe we can keep them back,” Glenn answered, “for there may -be other places similar to this. Those miners can almost climb a -vertical wall.” - -The voices of the miners could now be distinctly heard, and at least -three or four of them were speaking in English. - -“Keep back!” Mr. Havens warned as they came nearer. - -His words were greeted by a howl of derision. - -“Perhaps,” Mr. Havens said in a moment, “one of you would better go back -to the machines and see if there is danger from another point.” - -Ben started away, but paused and took his friend by the arm. - -“What do you think of that?” he demanded, pointing away to the south. - -Mr. Havens grasped the boy’s hand and in the excitement of the moment -shook it vigorously. - -“I think,” he answered, “that those are the lights of the _Ann_, and -that we’ll soon have all the turn-buckles we want.” - -The prophesy was soon verified. The _Ann_ landed with very little -difficulty, and the boys were soon out on the ledge. - -The miners drew back grumbling and soon disappeared in the excavations -below. - -As may well be imagined the greetings which passed between the two -parties were frank and heartfelt. The repair box of the _Ann_ was well -supplied with turn-buckles, and in a very short time the three machines -were on their way to the south. - -Mr. Havens and Sam sat together on the _Ann_, and during the long hours -after midnight while the machines purred softly through the chill air of -the mountains, the millionaire was informed of all that had taken place -at the ruined temple. - -“And that ruined temple you have described,” Mr. Havens said, with a -smile, “is in reality one of the underground stations on the way to the -Mystery of the Andes at Lake Titicaca.” - -“And why?” asked Sam, “do they call any special point down there the -mystery of the Andes? There are plenty of mysteries in these tough old -mountain ranges!” he added with a smile. - -“But this is a particularly mysterious kind of a mystery,” replied Mr. -Havens. “I’ll tell you all about it some other time.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - TWO RUNAWAY BOYS! - - -A great camp-fire blazed in one of the numerous valleys which nestle in -the Andes to the east of Lake Titicaca. The three flying machines, the -_Ann_, the _Louise_ and the _Bertha_, lay just outside the circle of -illumination. It was the evening of the fourth day after the incidents -recorded in the last chapter. - -The Flying Machine Boys had traveled at good speed, yet with frequent -rests, from the mountain cone above the Peruvian mines to the little -valley in which the machines now lay. - -Jimmie and Carl, well wrapped in blankets, were lying with their feet -extended toward the blaze, while Glenn was broiling venison steak at one -corner of the great fire, and, also, as he frequently explained, -broiling his face to a lobster finish while he turned the steaks about -in order to get the exact finish. - -The millionaire aviator and Sam sat some distance away discussing -prospects and plans for the next day. While they talked an Indian -accompanied by Ben came slowly out of the shadows at the eastern edge of -the valley and approached the fire. - -“Have you discovered the Mystery of the Andes?” asked Havens with a -laugh as the two came up. - -“We certainly have discovered the Mystery of the Andes!” cried Ben -excitedly. “But we haven’t discovered the mystery of the mystery!” - -“Come again!” shouted Jimmie springing to his feet. - -“You see,” Ben went on, “Toluca took me to a point on the cliff to the -south from which the ghost lights of the mysterious fortress can be -seen, but we don’t know any more about the origin of the lights than we -did before we saw them.” - -“Then there really are lights?” asked Carl. - -“There certainly are!” replied Ben. - -“What kind of an old shop, is it?” asked Jimmie. - -“It’s one of the old-time fortresses,” replied Ben. “It is built on a -steep mountainside and guards a pass between this valley and one beyond. -It looks as if it might have been a rather formidable fortress a few -hundred years ago, but now a shot from a modern gun would send the -battlements flying into the valley.” - -“But why the lights?” demanded Jimmie. - -“That’s the mystery!” Ben answered. “They’re ghost lights!” - -“Up to within a few months,” Mr. Havens began, “this fortress has never -attracted much attention. It is said to be rather a large fortification, -and some of the apartments are said to extend under the cliff, in the -same manner as many of the gun rooms on Gibraltar extend into the -interior of that solid old rock.” - -“More subterranean passages!” groaned Jimmie. “I never want to see or -hear of one again. Ever since that experience at the alleged temple they -will always smell of wild animals and powder smoke.” - -“A few months ago,” the millionaire aviator continued, smiling -tolerantly at the boy, “ghostly lights began making their appearance in -the vicinity of the fort. American scientists who were in this part of -the country at that time made a careful investigation of the -demonstrations, and reported that the illuminations existed only in the -imaginations of the natives. And yet, it is certain that the scientists -were mistaken.” - -“More bunk!” exclaimed Carl. - -“At first,” Mr. Havens went on, “the natives kept religiously away from -the old fort, but now they seem to be willing to gather in its vicinity -and worship at the strange fires which glow from the ruined battlements. -It is strange combination, and that’s a fact.” - -“How long have these lights been showing?” asked Sam. - -“Perhaps six months,” was the reply. - -The young man regarded his employer significantly. - -“I apprehend,” he said, “that you know exactly what that means.” - -“I think I do!” was the reply. - -“Put us wise to it!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -“Perhaps,” smiled the millionaire, “I would better satisfy myself as to -the truth of my theory before I say anything more about it.” - -“All right,” replied the boy with the air of a much-abused person, “then -I’ll go back to my blanket and sleep for the rest of my three weeks!” - -“If you do,” Glenn cut in, “you’ll miss one of these venison steaks.” - -Jimmie was back on his feet in a minute. - -“Lead me to it!” he cried. - -The boys still declare that that was the most satisfying meal of which -they ever partook. The broiled steaks were excellent, and the tinned -goods which had been purchased at one of the small Peruvian mining towns -on the way down, were fresh and sweet. - -As may be understood without extended description, the work of washing -the dishes and cleaning up after the meal was not long extended! - -In an hour every member of the party except Toluca was sound asleep. The -Indian had been engaged on the recommendation of an acquaintance at one -of the towns on the line of the interior railroad, and was entirely -trustworthy. He now sat just outside the circle of light, gazing with -rapt attention in the direction of the fortress which for some time past -had been known as the Mystery of the Andes. - -A couple of hours passed, and then Ben rolled over to where Jimmie lay -asleep, his feet toasting at the fire, his head almost entirely covered -by his blanket. - -“Wake up, sleepy-head!” Ben whispered. - -Jimmie stirred uneasily in his slumber and half opened his eyes. - -“Go on away!” he whispered. - -“But look here!” Ben insisted. “I’ve got something to tell you!” - -Toluca arose and walked over to where the two boys were sitting. - -“Look here!” Ben went on. “Here’s Toluca now, and I’ll leave it to him -if every word I say isn’t true. He can’t talk much United States, but he -can nod when I make a hit. Can’t you, Toluca?” - -The Indian nodded and Ben went on: - -“Between this valley,” the boy explained, “and the face of the mountain -against which the fort sticks like a porous plaster is another valley. -Through this second valley runs a ripping, roaring, foaming, mountain -stream which almost washes the face of the cliff against which the -fortress stands. This stream, you understand, is one of the original -defences, as it cuts off approach from the north.” - -“I understand,” said Jimmie sleepily. - -“Now, the only way to reach this alleged mystery of the Andes from this -direction seems to be to sail over this valley in one of the machines -and drop down on the cliff at the rear.” - -“But is there a safe landing there?” asked the boy. - -“Toluca says there is!” - -“Has he been there?” asked Jimmie. - -“Of course he has!” answered Ben. “He doesn’t believe in the Inca -superstitions about ghostly lights and all that.” - -“Then why don’t we take one of the machines and go over there?” demanded -Jimmie. “That would be fun!” - -“That’s just what I came to talk with you about?” - -“I’m game for it!” the boy asserted. - -“As a matter of fact,” Ben explained as the boys arose and softly -approached the _Louise_, “the only other known way of reaching the -fortress is by a long climb which occupies about two days. Of course,” -he went on, “the old fellows selected the most desirable position for -defence when they built the fort. That is,” he added, “unless we reach -it by the air route.” - -“The air line,” giggled Jimmie, “is the line we’re patronizing -to-night.” - -“Of course!” Ben answered. “All previous explorers, it seems, have -approached the place on foot, and by the winding ledges and paths -leading to it. Now, naturally, the people who are engineering the ghost -lights and all that sort of thing there see the fellows coming and get -the apparatus out of sight before the visitors arrive.” - -“Does Mr. Havens know all about this?” asked Jimmie. - -“You’re dense, my son!” whispered Ben. “We’ve come all this way to light -down on the fortress in the night-time without giving warning of our -approach. That’s why we came here in the flying machines.” - -“He thinks Redfern is here?” asked Jimmie. - -“He thinks this is a good place to look for him!” was the reply. - -“Then we’ll beat him to it!” Jimmie chuckled. - -Toluca seemed to understand what the boys were about to do and smiled -grimly as the machine lifted from the ground and whirled softly away. As -the _Louise_ left the valley, Mr. Havens and Sam turned lazily in their -blankets, doubtless disturbed by the sound of the motors, but, all being -quiet about the camp, soon composed themselves to slumber again. - -“Now, we’ll have to go slowly!” Ben exclaimed as the machine lifted so -that the lights of the distant mystery came into view, “for the reason -that we mustn’t make too much noise. Besides,” he went on, “we’ve got to -switch off to the east, cut a wide circle around the crags, and come -down on the old fort from the south.” - -“And when we get there?” asked Jimmie. - -“Why,” replied Ben, “we’re going to land and sneak into the fort! That’s -what we’re going for!” - -“I hope we won’t tumble into a lot of jaguars, and savages, and -half-breed Spaniards!” exclaimed Jimmie. - -“Oh, we’re just going to look now,” Ben answered, “and when we find out -what’s going on there we’re coming back and let Mr. Havens do the rest. -We wouldn’t like to take all the glory away from him.” - -Following this plan, the boys sent the machine softly away to the east, -flying without lights, and at as low altitude as possible, until they -were some distance away from the camp. Then they turned to the south. - -In an hour the fortress showed to the north, or at least the summit -under which it lay did. - -“There’s the landing-place just east of that cliff,” Ben exclaimed, as -he swung still lower down. “I’ll see if I can hit it.” - -The _Louise_ took kindly to the landing, and in ten minutes more the -boys were moving cautiously in the direction of the old fort, now lying -dark and silent under the starlight. It seemed to Jimmie that his heart -was in his throat as the possible solution of the mystery of the Andes -drew near! - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - TWO RUNAWAY AVIATORS! - - -Half an hour after the departure of the _Louise_, Sam awoke with a start -and moved over to where the millionaire aviator was sleeping. - -“Time to be moving!” he whispered in his ear. - -Mr. Havens yawned, stretched himself, and threw his blanket aside. - -“I don’t know,” he said with a smile, “but we’re doing wrong in taking -all the credit of this game. The boys have done good work ever since -leaving New York, and my conscience rather pricks me at the thought of -leaving them out of the closing act.” - -“Well,” Sam answered, “the boys are certainly made of the right -material, if they are just a little too much inclined to take -unnecessary risks. I wouldn’t mind having them along, but, really, -there’s no knowing what one of them might do.” - -“Very well,” replied Mr. Havens, “we’ll get underway in the _Ann_ and -land on top of the fortress before the occupants of that musty old -fortification know that we are in the air.” - -“That’s the talk!” Sam agreed. “We’ll make a wide circuit to the west -and come up on that side of the summit which rises above the fort. I’m -certain, from what I saw this afternoon, that there is a good -landing-place there. Most of these Peruvian mountain chains,” he went -on, “are plentifully supplied with good landings, as the shelves and -ledges which lie like terraces on the crags were formerly used as -highways and trails by the people who lived here hundreds of years ago.” - -“We must be very careful in getting away from the camp,” Mr. Havens -suggested. “We don’t want the boys to suspect that we are going off on a -little adventure of our own.” - -“Very well,” replied the other, “I’ll creep over in the shadows and push -the _Ann_ down the valley so softly that they’ll never know what’s taken -place. If you walk down a couple of hundred yards, I’ll pick you up. -Then we’ll be away without disturbing any one.” - -So eager were the two to leave the camp without their intentions being -discovered by the others, that they did not stop to see whether all the -three machines were still in place. The _Ann_ stood farthest to the -east, next to the _Bertha_, and Sam crept in between the two aeroplanes -and began working the _Ann_ slowly along the grassy sward. - -Had he lifted his head for a moment and looked to the rear, he must have -seen that only the _Bertha_ lay behind him. Had he investigated the two -rolls of blankets lying near the fire, he would have seen that they -covered no sleeping forms! - -But none of these precautions were taken. The _Ann_ moved noiselessly -down the valley to where Mr. Havens awaited her and was sent into the -air. The rattle of the motors seemed to the two men to be loud enough to -bring any one within ten miles out of a sound sleep, but they saw no -movements below, and soon passed out of sight. - -Wheeling sharply off to the west, they circled cliffs, gorges and grassy -valleys for an hour until they came to the western slope of the mountain -which held the fortress. It will be remembered that the _Louise_ had -circled to the east. - -“And now,” Mr. Havens said as he slowed down, “if we find a -landing-place here, even moderately secure, down we go. If I don’t, I’ll -shoot up again and land squarely on top of the fort.” - -“I don’t believe it’s got any roof to land on!” smiled Sam. - -“Yes, it has!” replied Mr. Havens. “I’ve had the old fraud investigated. -I know quite a lot about her!” - -“You have had her investigated?” asked Sam, in amazement. - -“You know very well,” the millionaire went on, “that we have long -suspected Redfern to be hiding in this part of Peru. I can’t tell you -now how we secured all the information we possess on the subject. It -would take too much time. - -“However, it is enough to say that by watching the mails and sending out -messengers we have connected the rival trust company of which you have -heard me speak with mysterious correspondents in Peru. The work has been -long, but rather satisfying.” - -“Why,” Sam declared, “I thought this expedition was a good deal of a -guess! I hadn’t any idea you knew so much about this country.” - -“We know more about it than is generally believed,” was the answer. -“Deposit box A, which was robbed on the night Ralph Hubbard was -murdered, contained, as I have said, all the information we possessed -regarding this case. When the papers were stolen I felt like giving up -the quest, but the code telegrams cheered me up a bit, especially when -they were stolen.” - -“I don’t see anything cheerful in having the despatches stolen.” - -“It placed the information I possessed in the hands of my enemies, of -course,” the other went on, “but at the same time it set them to -watching the points we had in a way investigated, and which they now -understood that we intended to visit.” - -“I don’t quite get you!” Sam said. - -“You had an illustration of that at the haunted temple,” Mr. Havens -continued. “The Redfern group knew that that place was on my list. By -some quick movement, understood at this time only by themselves, they -sent a man there to corrupt the custodian of the captive animals. You -know what took place then. Only for courage and good sense, the machines -would have been destroyed.” - -“The savages unwittingly helped some!” suggested Sam. - -“Yes, everything seemed to work to your advantage,” Mr. Havens -continued. “At the mines, now,” he continued, “we helped ourselves out -of the trap set for us.” - -“You don’t think the miners, too, were working under instructions?” -asked Sam. “That seems impossible!” - -“This rival trust company,” Mr. Havens went on, “has agents in every -part of the world. In Peru as elsewhere; especially in Peru. It is my -belief that not only the men of the mine we came upon, but the men of -every other mine along the Andes, were under instructions to look out -for, and, under some pretense, destroy any flying machines which made -their appearance.” - -“They are nervy fighters, anyway, if this is true!” Sam said. - -“They certainly are, and for the very good reason that the arrest and -conviction of Redfern would place stripes on half a dozen of the -directors of the new company. As you have heard me say before, the proof -is almost positive that the money embezzled from us was placed in this -new company. Redfern is a sneak, and will confess everything to protect -himself. Hence, the interest of the trust company in keeping him out of -sight.” - -“Well, I hope he won’t get out of sight after to-night,” suggested Sam. -“I hope we’ll have him good and tight before morning.” - -“I firmly believe that he will be taken to-night!” was the reply. - -The machine was now only a short distance above the ledge upon which the -aviator aimed to land. Even in the dim light they could see a level -stretch of rock, and the _Ann_ was soon resting easily within a short -distance of the fort, now hidden only by an angle of the cliff. - -Presently the two moved forward together and looked around the base of -the cliff. The fort lay dark and silent in the night. So far as -appearances were concerned, there had never been any lights displayed -from her battlements during the long years which had passed away since -her construction! - -There was only a very narrow ledge between the northern wall of the fort -and the precipice which struck straight down into the valley, three -hundred feet below. In order to reach the interior of the fortification -from the position they occupied, it would be necessary for Havens and -his companion to pass along this ledge and creep into an opening which -faced the valley. - -At regular intervals on the outer edge of this ledge were balanced great -boulders, placed there in prehistoric times for use in case an attempt -should be made to scale the precipice. A single one of these rocks, if -cast down at the right moment, might have annihilated an army. - -The two men passed along the ledge gingerly, for they understood that a -slight push would send one of these boulders crashing down. At last they -came to what seemed to be an entrance into the heart of the fortress. -There were no lights in sight as they looked in. The place seemed -utterly void of human life. - -Sam crept in first and waited for his companion to follow. Mr. Havens -sprang at the ledge of the opening, which was some feet above the level -of the shelf on which he stood, and lifted himself by his arms. As he -did so a fragment of rock under one hand gave way and he dropped back. - -In saving himself he threw out both feet and reached for a crevice in -the wall. This would have been an entirely safe procedure if his feet -had not come with full force against one of the boulders overlooking the -valley. - -He felt the stone move under the pressure, and the next instant, with a -noise like the discharge of a battery of artillery, the great boulder -crashed down the almost perpendicular face of the precipice and was -shattered into a thousand fragments on a rock which lay at the verge of -the stream below. - -With a soft cry of alarm, Sam bent over the ledge which protected the -opening and seized his employer by the collar. It was quick and -desperate work then, for it was certain that every person within a -circuit of many miles had heard the fall of the boulder. - -Doubtless in less than a minute the occupants of the fortress—if such -there were—would be on their feet ready to contest the entrance of the -midnight visitors. - -“We’ve got to get into some quiet nook mighty quick,” Sam whispered in -Mr. Havens’ ear as the latter was drawn through the opening. “I guess -the ringing of that old door-bell will bring the ghost out in a hurry!” - -The two crouched in an angle of the wall at the front interior of the -place and listened. Directly a light flashed out at the rear of what -seemed to the watchers to be an apartment a hundred yards in length. -Then footsteps came down the stone floor and a powerful arc light filled -every crevice and angle of the great apartment with its white rays. - -There was no need to attempt further concealment. The two sprang -forward, reaching for their automatics, as three men with weapons -pointing towards them advanced under the light. - -“I guess,” Sam whispered, “that this means a show-down.” - -“There’s no getting out of that!” whispered Havens. “We have reached the -end of the journey, for the man in the middle is Redfern!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - THE END OF THE MYSTERY. - - -As Redfern and his two companions advanced down the apartment, their -revolvers leveled, Havens and Sam dropped their hands away from their -automatics. - -“Hardly quick enough, Havens,” Redfern said, advancing with a wicked -smile on his face. “To tell you the truth, old fellow, we have been -looking for you for a couple of days!” - -“I’ve been looking for you longer than that!” replied Mr. Havens. - -“Well,” Redfern said with a leer, “it seems that we have both met our -heart’s desire. How are your friends?” - -“Sound asleep and perfectly happy,” replied the millionaire. - -“You mean that they were asleep when you left them.” - -“Certainly!” - -“Fearful that they might oversleep themselves,” Redfern went on, “I sent -my friends to awake them. They may be here at any moment now. I expect -to hold quite a reception to-night.” - -Laying his automatic down on the floor, Havens walked deliberately to a -great easy-chair which stood not far away and sat down. No one would -judge from the manner of the man that he was not resting himself in one -of his own cosy rooms at his New York hotel. Sam was not slow in -following the example of his employer. Redfern frowned slightly at the -nonchalance of the man. - -“You make yourself at home!” he said. - -“I have a notion,” replied Mr. Havens, “that I paid for most of this -furniture. I think I have a right to use it.” - -“Look here, Havens,” Redfern said, “you have no possible show of getting -out of this place alive unless you come to terms with me.” - -“From the lips of any other man in the world I might believe the -statement,” Mr. Havens replied. “But you, Redfern, have proven yourself -to be such a consummate liar that I don’t believe a word you say.” - -“Then you’re not open to compromise?” - -Havens shook his head. - -There was now a sound of voices in what seemed to be a corridor back of -the great apartment, and in a moment Glenn and Carl were pushed into the -room, their wrists bound tightly together, their eyes blinking under the -strong electric light. Both boys were almost sobbing with rage and -shame. - -“They jumped on us while we were asleep!” cried Carl. - -Redfern went to the back of the room and looked out into the passage. - -“Where are the others?” he asked of some one who was not in sight. - -“These boys were the only ones remaining in camp,” was the reply. - -“Redfern,” said Havens, as coolly as if he had been sitting at his own -desk in the office of the Invincible Trust Company, “will you tell me -how you managed to get these boys here so quickly?” - -“Not the slightest objection in the world,” was the reply. “There is a -secret stairway up the cliff. You took a long way to get here in that -clumsy old machine.” - -“Thank you!” said Mr. Havens. - -“Now, if you don’t mind,” Redfern said, “we’ll introduce you to your new -quarters. They are not as luxurious as those you occupy in New York, but -I imagine they will serve your purpose until you are ready to come to -terms.” - -He pointed toward the two prisoners, and the men by his side advanced -with cords in their hands. Havens extended his wrists with a smile on -his face and Sam did likewise. - -“You’re good sports,” cried Redfern. “It’s a pity we can’t come to -terms!” - -“Never mind that!” replied Havens. “Go on with your program.” - -Redfern walked back to the corridor and the prisoners heard him -dismissing some one for the night. - -“You may go to bed now,” he said. “Your work has been well done. The two -men with me will care for the prisoners.” - -The party passed down a stone corridor to the door of a room which had -evidently been used as a fortress dungeon in times past. Redfern turned -a great key in the lock and motioned the prisoners inside. - -At that moment he stood facing the prisoners with the two others at his -sides, all looking inquiringly into the faces of those who were taking -their defeat so easily. - -As Redfern swung his hand toward the open door he felt something cold -pressing against his neck. He turned about to face an automatic revolver -held in the hands of Ben Whitcomb! His two accomplices moved forward a -pace in defense, but drew back when they saw the automatic in Jimmie’s -hand within a foot of their breasts. - -“And now,” said Mr. Havens, as coolly as if the situation was being put -on in a New York parlor, “you three men will please step inside.” - -“I’m a game loser, too!” exclaimed Redfern. - -In a moment the door was closed and locked and the cords were cut from -the hands of the four prisoners. - -“Good!” said Jimmie. “I don’t know what you fellows would do without me. -I’m always getting you out of scrapes!” - -What was said after that need not be repeated here. It is enough to say -that Mr. Havens thoroughly appreciated the service which had been -rendered. - -“The game is played to the end, boys,” he said in a moment. “The only -thing that remains to be done is to get Redfern down the secret stairway -to the machines. The others we care nothing about.” - -“I know where that secret stairway is,” Ben said. “While we were -sneaking around here in the darkness, a fellow came climbing up the -stairs, grunting as though he had reached the top of the Washington -monument.” - -“Where were the others put to bed?” asked Sam. “We heard Redfern dismiss -them for the night. Did you see where they went?” - -“Sure!” replied Jimmie. “They’re in a room opening from this corridor a -little farther down.” - -Mr. Havens took the key from the lock of the door before him and handed -it to Jimmie. - -“See if you can lock them in with this,” he said. - -The boy returned in a moment with a grin on his face. - -“They are locked in!” he said. - -“Are there any others here?” asked Havens. - -Jimmie shook his head. - -“They all go away at night,” he declared, “after they turn out the ghost -lights. Redfern it seems keeps only those two with him for company. -Their friends will unlock them in the morning.” - -Mr. Havens opened the door and called out to Redfern, who immediately -appeared in the opening. - -“Search his pockets and tie his hands,” the millionaire said, turning to -Sam. “You know what this means, Redfern?” he added to the prisoner. - -“It means Sing Sing,” was the sullen reply, “but there are plenty of -others who will keep me company.” - -“That’s the idea!” cried Havens. “That’s just why I came here! I want -the officials of the new trust company more than I want you.” - -“You’ll get them if I have my way about it!” was the reply. - -An hour later the _Ann_ and the _Louise_ dropped down in the green -valley by the camp-fire. Redfern was sullen at first, but before the -start which was made soon after sunrise he related to Havens the -complete story of his embezzlement and his accomplices. He told of the -schemes which had been resorted to by the officials of the new trust -company to keep him out of the United States, and to keep Havens from -reaching him. - -The Flying Machine Boys parted with Havens at Quito, the millionaire -aviator going straight to Panama with his prisoner, while the boys -camped and hunted and fished in the Andes for two weeks before returning -to New York. - -It had been the intention of the lads to bring Doran and some of the -others at Quito to punishment, but it was finally decided that the -victory had been so complete that they could afford to forgive their -minor enemies. They had been only pawns in the hands of a great -corporation. - -“The one fake thing about this whole proposition,” Jimmie said as the -boys landed in New York, sunburned and happy, “is that alleged Mystery -of the Andes! It was too commonplace—just a dynamo in a subterranean -mountain stream, and electric lights! Say,” he added, with one of his -inimitable grins, “electricity makes pretty good ghost lights, though!” - -“Redfern revealed his residence by trying to conceal it!” declared Ben. -“That is the usual way. Still,” he went on, “the Mystery was some -mystery for a long time! It must have cost a lot to set the stage for -it.” - -The next day Mr. Havens called to visit the boys at their hotel. - -“While you were loafing in the mountains,” he said, after greetings had -been exchanged, “the murderer of Hubbard confessed and was sentenced to -die in the electric chair. Redfern and half a dozen directors of the new -trust company have been given long sentences at Sing Sing.” - -“There are associates that ought to go, too!” Jimmie cried. - -“We’re not going to prosecute them,” Mr. Havens answered. “But this is -not to the point. The Federal Government wants you boys to undertake a -little mission for the Secret Service men. You see,” he went on, “you -boys made quite a hit in that Peruvian job.” - -“Will Sam go?” asked Ben. - -“Sam is Sam no longer,” replied Mr. Havens, with a laugh. “He is now -Warren P. King, son of the banker! What do you think of that?” - -“Then what was he doing playing the tramp?” asked Carl. - -“Oh, he quarreled with his father, and it was the old story, but it is -all smooth sailing for him now. He may go with you, but his father -naturally wants him at home for a spell.” - -“Where are we to go?” asked Ben. - -“I’ll tell you that later,” was the reply. “Will you go?” - -The boys danced around the room and declared that they were ready to -start that moment. The story of their adventures on the trip will be -found in the next volume of this series, entitled: - -“The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service; or, the Capture in the Air!” - - - THE END. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with - _underscores_. Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals. - - Table of contents added by the transcriber. - - Minor spelling, punctuation and typographic errors were corrected - silently, except as noted below. Hyphenated words have been retained - as they appear in the original text. - - On page 3, "smoldered" was left as is (rather than changed to - "smouldered"), as both spellings were used in the time period. - - On page 99, "say" was added to "I don't care what you about Sam". - - On page 197, "good-by" was changed to "good-bye" to be consistent - with other usage in the book. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Flying Machine Boys in the Wilds, by -Frank Walton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FLYING MACHINE BOYS IN THE WILDS *** - -***** This file should be named 50287-0.txt or 50287-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/2/8/50287/ - -Produced by Rick Morris and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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