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diff --git a/old/53302-0.txt b/old/53302-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c6a54a1..0000000 --- a/old/53302-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6170 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Inventor's Wireless Triumph, by -Richard Bonner and Charles L. Wrenn - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Boy Inventor's Wireless Triumph - -Author: Richard Bonner - -Illustrator: Charles L. Wrenn - -Release Date: October 17, 2016 [EBook #53302] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY INVENTOR'S WIRELESS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank - - - - - -[Illustration: Each clasped the gas-gun ready for instant use.] - - - - - The Boy Inventor’s Wireless Triumph - - By - RICHARD BONNER - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY - CHARLES L. WRENN - - M. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY - CHICAGO NEW YORK - - - - - Copyright 1929 - by - M. A. Donohue & Company - - Made in the U. S. A. - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS - - CHAPTER I—THE WIRELESS AT LONE ISLAND - CHAPTER II—THE MYSTERIOUS X. Y. Z. - CHAPTER III—THE CIPHER CODE - CHAPTER IV—A MARINE GAME OF BLIND-MAN’S BUFF - CHAPTER V—A SHOT IN THE NIGHT - CHAPTER VI—NED BANGS’ STORY - CHAPTER VII—THE THREE COLORED GEMS - CHAPTER VIII—ON BOARD “THE TARANTULA” - CHAPTER IX—THE CHADWICK GAS GUNS - CHAPTER X—DRAWING A RASCAL’S FANGS - CHAPTER XI—THE “FLYING ROAD RACER” - CHAPTER XII—HERRERA IS NOT CAUGHT NAPPING - CHAPTER XIII—A DARING PLAN - CHAPTER XIV—A MESSAGE FROM THE AIR - CHAPTER XV—A DASH ALOFT - CHAPTER XVI—INTO THE ENEMY’S CAMP - CHAPTER XVII—“DAD!—IT’S JACK!” - CHAPTER XVIII—HEMMED IN BY FLAMES - CHAPTER XIX—“STAND BY FOR A ROPE!” - CHAPTER XX—A RESCUE BY AIRSHIP - CHAPTER XXI—ALOFT IN THE STORM - CHAPTER XXII—A VOYAGE OF TERROR - CHAPTER XXIII—THE BOY INVENTORS SOLVE A PROBLEM - CHAPTER XXIV—AN APPEAL FOR HELP - CHAPTER XXV—“IT’S DEATH TO REMAIN HERE!” - CHAPTER XXVI—AN ASTOUNDING DISCOVERY - - - - - The Boy Inventor’s Wireless Triumph - - - - - CHAPTER I—THE WIRELESS AT LONE ISLAND - - -The book Jack Chadwick had been reading,—a volume dealing with some -rather dry experimental work,—slipped from his fingers and fell with a -crash on the floor of the veranda. At the sudden interruption to the -sleepy, breathless calm of Lone Island on a July noon, his cousin Tom -Jesson, sixteen, and more than a year Jack’s junior, looked up from the -steamer chair in which he, too, was extended, with one of his quiet -smiles. - -Suspending his task of wrapping some new condenser plates with -glittering tin-foil, he gazed about him. In front of the bungalow was a -strip of dazzling white sand,—the beach. Beyond shimmered the -cobalt-blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. At a small wharf lay a -capable-looking motor cruiser, painted white and about forty-five feet -in length. She had been moored thus for the past seven days—ever since -Jack and his cousin and their colored attendant, Jupe, had landed on the -island after an uneventful passage from Galveston. - -“Dozed off,” chuckled Tom, regarding Jack as the latter’s eyelids closed -drowsily; “well, I don’t know that I blame him. Waiting on Lone Island -with nothing to do but read, eat and sleep, does get monotonous after a -week of it.” - -Suddenly a gong, affixed to the freshly painted wall above their heads, -broke forth in a wild, insistent clamor. - -“Clang! C-l-a-n-g! Clang! Clang!—Clang! Clang!” - -The effect on Tom was electrical. - -“L-I in the Continental Code!” he exclaimed springing to his feet. -“Hurray, Jack, old boy! Wake up! It’s our call at last!” - -Jack Chadwick galvanized from his nap into vibrant action with hardly -less suddenness than had marked Tom’s arousing. Three times the gong, -connected by an ingenious arrangement of Jack’s with his detector, beat -out brazenly the call of Lone Island. Then came the signature: - -“S-K.” - -“Whoop! It really is the _Sea King_ at last!” exclaimed Jack, his blue -eyes dancing. The lees of sleep had cleared from them as if by magic. - -“Race you to the wireless station, Tom!” he shot out, jumping from the -veranda without bothering about the steps. - -“You’re on!” was the instant response. Like a flash Tom was at his side. - -The few dozen yards between the bungalow and the shed of raw, -resinous-smelling pine lumber that housed the wireless was covered in -less time than it takes to tell it. Panting from their dash through the -heavy sand the two lads flung themselves, shoulder to shoulder, at the -door. - -“Dead heat!” laughingly proclaimed Jack, as he opened the portal and -hastened to the array of shining instruments which occupied most of the -space within. - -All this time, behind them, the bell had kept up its insistent tocsin. -With a quick movement Jack “threw” a “knife-blade” switch. Instantly the -resonant drone of a dynamo filled the small sun-heated shack. Bending -forward. Jack depressed the sending key. - -Flash! C-r-a-s-h! - -A wriggling snake of blue flame leaped, like a live thing, between the -polished sparking points. - -Alternately pressing and releasing his key. Jack sent an answer to the -message. With nimble fingers he directed the powerful electric impulses, -which were winging into space from the lofty aerials stretched between -their masts above the shed. - -While he did this with one hand, with the other he deftly adjusted the -bright metal head band with its twin receivers that fitted over each -ear. This accomplished, he drew toward him a pencil and a pad of paper. - -“L-I! L-I! L-I!” - -Crackling and squealing the powerful spark volleyed across the gap, and -rushing into the aerials went flashing hundreds of miles through the -ether. - -Then came a pause. Tom, his hand on Jack’s shoulder, leaned eagerly -forward and over him, watching for the first words of the message from -space to be written on the pad. - -All at once Jack began to write. His fingers flew fast in response to -the flood of dots and dashes that came beating against his ear drums, -transmitted by the sensitive diaphragms of the receivers. - -To an untrained ear the soft tappings would have sounded as vague and -undefined as the footsteps of a fly on a sheet of sensitive matter. But -to Jack, the whisperings winging their way in three hundred meter waves -through space were as clear as a story read aloud. - -As he wrote, shoving his pencil over the sheets as fast as he could, Tom -began to gasp. - -“Great ginger-snaps!” he choked out, and then, “Well, we were sighing -for action, and it looks as if we’ll get it in big, juicy chunks before -we’re much older.” - -While the message, destined to have such an important effect on their -immediate future, is still pulsing through the air, we will take the -opportunity to place the reader in closer touch, so to speak, with our -two lads. Jack Chadwick, then, was the only son of Professor Chester -Chadwick, an inventor, whose various discoveries in many mechanical -fields had resulted in gaining him a handsome fortune. Jack’s mother had -died when he was a tiny lad, and, as he was an only son, he had been -brought up in constant association with his father. Almost as soon as he -had mastered his earliest lessons Jack was familiar with his parent’s -laboratory and workshop, and Mr. Chadwick, delighted at the interest the -boy displayed in science, had made him a close companion. - -When Jack was twelve years old a new interest entered his life. His -cousin, Tom Jesson, came to live with them at Mr. Chadwick’s handsome -home on the outskirts of Boston. Tom was the son of Jasper Jesson, the -noted traveler, and, like Jack, he was motherless. Mr. Jesson had, some -time before, accepted a commission from a scientific institute to travel -and collect antiquities in the then little-known territory of Yucatan. -From this expedition he did not return within the year allotted him to -complete his researches. - -Time went on and no word came from him, and at length he was given up -for lost even by the most hopeful of his friends. And thus it was that -his son Tom, then ten years old, came to High Towers, Mr. Chadwick’s -estate, even then known as the home of a famous inventor. - -And so Jack and Tom had practically grown up together in close -association and with kindred interests. - -To two lads of inventive mind, no more delightful field for their -experiments could have been imagined than High Towers. A park of some -fifty or sixty acres surrounded the house, which, among other features -of a country estate, possessed a small lake. On this sheet of water Jack -and Tom tried out models of a dozen different kinds of craft before they -were fourteen. Professor Chadwick gave them practically “the run” of his -workshops and experimental sheds, besides instructing them in scientific -investigations. - -Among other things, the lads had constructed a complete miniature -railroad on the grounds, and had also built gliders of various types. -But their most recent “craze” had been wireless telegraphy. With a dozen -lads of their own age they had formed a “Wireless Club,” which met at -High Towers every month. But, with the summer vacation, the members of -the body had scattered, leaving only Jack and Tom to carry on the work. -As Professor Chadwick stinted his son in nothing pertaining to his -chosen pursuits, the two lads had assembled as complete an amateur -station as could be found in the country. - -In addition to the latest instruments and appliances, their natural -ingenuity had enabled them to invent several additional features, some -of them patentable,—as, for instance, the call-bell which tapped out the -mysterious summons to the island station. - -Which brings us back to Lone Island and to an explanation of how the two -lads and Jupe, their faithful colored attendant, happened to be -quartered on this low-lying, sandy, rather desolate patch of land off -the coast of Texas, not far from the mouth of the Rio Grande. The islet -belonged to Professor Chadwick, being part of an estate which had been -owned by his wife, the daughter of a Texas cattle man. The lads had -already camped there a winter, and knew the vicinity well. - -About two months before this story opens, Professor Chadwick had left -home, bound, so he informed the lads, on a biological investigation -cruise among the Florida Keys and the West Indies. The lads had heard -nothing more of him, or of his steam yacht, the _Sea King_, with the -exception of a letter from Key West, and another from the island of -Jamaica, stating that all was going well. - -Imagine their bewildered astonishment and excitement therefore, when, -two weeks before, a brief letter came to High Towers telling them to -proceed, with Jupe, to Galveston, where the motor cruiser _Vagrant_ -would be awaiting them. Their instructions continued to inform them that -they were to equip the _Vagrant_ with wireless, and also purchase a -portable bungalow and shed, with which to establish a wireless station -on Lone Island. The letter, signed by Professor Chadwick, closed in his -customary abrupt manner, without vouchsafing any explanation of his -orders. - -But Jack and Tom hardly needed any. The letter opened up before them a -delightful vista of fun and adventure. - -“Just fancy, a wireless island all to ourselves!” Jack had exclaimed as -the boys joined hands in a wild war dance of delight. They had pleasant -recollections of former jolly days in camp on the Gulf. - -The letter enclosed a liberal draft on Professor Chadwick’s bank, and -within forty-eight hours after receiving the missive which was to mean -so much to them, the two cousins and chums, with the faithful Jupe -attending them like a black shadow, were off for Galveston. On arrival -there they went to the boatyard mentioned in the Professor’s letter, -where they found the _Vagrant_,—the smart craft already mentioned as -lying at the Lone Island wharf,—already equipped for sea, awaiting them. - -To install a wireless plant on board did not take long. The most -difficult part of their task lay in finding a suitable mast for the -support of the aerials. Jack solved this problem by constructing a -telescopic staff of steel tubing which, when not in use, could be -lowered to a height of twelve feet. In use it could be raised to an -altitude of sixty feet, giving a very fair radius of scope. - -The materials for the wireless on the island, like those for the -floating plant, had been brought from Boston. But the portable shack and -bungalow were purchased in Galveston. - -The Professor’s letter had instructed the lads to wait on the island for -a message by wireless. Now it had come; come, too, with a startling -suddenness that might be likened to a jolt. Tom, watching Jack’s fingers -with burning eyes, finally saw this message inscribed on the receiving -pad: - -“Lone Island Station.—Proceed with all speed to Long. 96° W. by Lat. 27° -N. Urgent. We are in dire peril.—Bangs, operator _Sea King_.” - -The patter of the electric waves against the receivers ceased. No -further word came, and Jack, after a brief interval, took off the -headpiece and laid it down beside him on the table. For an instant the -message, so utterly, wildly different from any they had expected, almost -deprived him of speech. - -Now his faculties rushed back, but he did not speak. Instead, he -grounded the aerials by throwing the switch, and leaped to his feet with -such impulsiveness that the stool on which he had been sitting went -careering to the floor. - -“Come on, Tom,” he cried, darting for the door. - -As he ran he stuffed the message into the pocket of his linen jacket. -Tom shot out of the shack after him. - -“You’d better lock——” he began. - -“Send Jupe to do it,” was the backward flung rejoinder, as Jack sprinted -for the bungalow, “we’ve got to get grub on board and fill the water -tanks within fifteen minutes.” - -“And then what?” - -“To sea—at top speed! The best the _Vagrant_ can do will be none too -quick! They need us out there,” he flung his arm seaward in an embracing -gesture, “need us mighty bad, and it’s up to us to make a record run to -the rescue.” - - - - - CHAPTER II—THE MYSTERIOUS X. Y. Z. - - -“They said nothing as to what was the matter?” - -Tom propounded the question ten minutes later as the two lads busied -themselves in the after cabin of the _Vagrant_, stowing provisions -hastily. “No, not a word. If only I could have got in communication with -them again I might——” - -At this point a very black, very round, very good-natured negro -countenance appeared in the companion way above them. - -“Ah’se done locked up, Marse Tom. Anyfing else yo’ all might be -requirmentin’ ob?” - -“No, Jupe. I guess we’re about ready for a start. Let’s see,” and Jack -rapidly ran over a mental list of what they had on board. - -“Yes, we’ve got everything. The water tanks are full, plenty of -gasolene,—it’s a good thing we brought that extra stock from -Galveston,—grub, O. K., and—better get forward and start the motor up, -Tom.” - -Tom needed no second bidding. He shot up the companion way three steps -at a time, almost upsetting Jupe, who stood at the summit on deck. He -scurried to a hatchway forward of amidships and dived below. A hasty -glance over the forty horse-power, four-cylindered, four-cycle engine -showed him that everything was in working order. An adjustment of the -force-feed lubricator, a swift examination of the magneto, a few turns -of the starting apparatus, and a rhythmic series of explosions as the -crank shaft began to revolve, and the _Vagrant_ was ready, so far as her -machinery was concerned, to begin her dash across the Gulf. - -In the meantime, Jupe had been hustled ashore by Jack, who had taken up -his position at the wheel, and in a very few seconds the lines that held -the motor cruiser to the wharf were cast off. Jupe made a flying leap -aboard as the tide swung the _Vagrant_ from her resting place. - -At the same instant Jack jerked the bell pull, which signaled Tom in the -engine-room below to throw in the clutch, and as the propeller began to -revolve the _Vagrant_ backed slowly out. In a few minutes Jack rang in -the “Go-ahead” signal, and swinging the doughty little craft in a short -semicircle, the young captain headed her almost due S. E. - -Tom emerged on deck wiping his hands on a bit of waste. - -“Everything all right below?” inquired Jack as his cousin took up a -position beside him. - -“Running like a dollar watch,” was the response. - -“How much speed can we get?” - -“Well, twelve knots is her registered gait, but I might coax a bit more -out of her.” - -“Try and get all you can.” - -“I will. What time do you think we ought to reach the vicinity of the -_Sea King_?” - -“It’s a trifle over a hundred miles to the spot at which she gave her -bearings,” was the response, with a glance at the chart which lay -exposed in the uncovered case in front of the wheel. “It’s now just one -o’clock. Say, about midnight.” - -“Phew! You propose to pick up a yacht, whose location you know only -vaguely, in the _dark_?” - -“Not so dark, either. There’ll be a moon at ten-thirty. Anyhow, if we -keep right on this course we’re bound to come within a few miles of the -given bearings.” - -“I guess that’s so. Well, I’m off below to watch the engines.” - -“Better start the dynamo and get some ‘juice’ into the storage -batteries. I mean to try the wireless again before long.” - -Tom nodded, and vanished below once more. Jupe came forward from the -stern, where he had been coiling lines and generally setting things to -rights. - -“Marse Tom,” he said, with some hesitation, “is dere any objection to -informationing me concerning de percise objec’ ob dis here -penguination?” - -“Why, no, Jupe,” rejoined Jack, with a smile at the old negro’s -remarkable choice of what he himself would have called “highfaluting” -words, “the _Sea King_, with my father on board, as you know, is in some -sort of trouble, and we are going to the rescue as fast as we can.” - -“How you find out dat, Marse Jack?” asked the old man, with a tinge of -suspicion in his voice. - -“By wireless, Jupe.” - -“What!” in a tone of frank unbelief, “yo’ all mean ter tell me dat dat -birdcage rigamarole ob yo’s done tell yo’ all dat?” - -“That’s right, Jupe.” - -“Sho’ now! Yo’ ain’t foolin’ de ole man, Marse Jack? Dat conjo’ wire -done tell yo’ all dat?” - -“Of course. I should have thought that you’d seen enough of it at High -Towers to know what it could do.” - -“Humph!” the old negro scratched his head in a puzzled way, “yo mean -dose eccentrical wabes, as yo’ call ’em, done come all de way frum Marse -Chadwick’s boat to de island?” - -“Just what I do, Jupe. It’s the same thing as chucking a stone in a -pond. You know how the waves and ripples spread out and out in circles -that get bigger and bigger?” - -“Ya’as, sah.” - -“Well, it’s the same thing in wireless. Instead of a pond you’ve got the -air, or the atmosphere; instead of a stone, you’ve got an electric -impulse from the antenna.” - -“An’ when dat eccentric ’pulse go ’way from dose—dose—aunties, it jes’ -spread and spread like de ripples on a pond?” - -“Yes. The waves spread till they strike another wireless apparatus ‘in -tune’ with them.” - -“An’ yo’ birdcage fiddle was tuned to de same pitch as de _Sea King’s_?” - -“That’s right, Jupe. You’re catching on fast We both use three hundred -meter waves. That was agreed upon. Thus, you see, our station caught the -message from the disabled yacht.” - -“Humph! But s’pose dere was some odder station dat had its fiddle tuned -de percise same way?” - -“Why, then they’d have caught the message, too.” - -“An’ dey’d know, too, dat de po’ _Sea King_ done busted?” - -“I suppose so,—yes. But why do you ask?” - -“Fo’ jes dis reason, Marse Jack,—if any ob dem ole wreckers dat used ter -hang about dese parts got dat message, maybe dey gwine ter go out dere, -too.” - -“I guess not, Jupe. I never heard of any such rascals who had a wireless -equipment.” - -“Den how ’bout dat po’ful mysterious X. Y. Z. I done heard yo’ an’ Marse -Tom talkin’ ’bout at supper de odder night?” - -“Oh, X. Y. Z.!” exclaimed Jack with a laugh; “well, he _is_ a mystery -for a fact. Some amateur on shore or some place, I suppose, who just -happened to get tangled up with our slaves when we were practicing.” - -The “X. Y. Z.” referred to had made himself manifest three days before, -while Jack and Tom were conducting some experiments with their sending -apparatus. In the midst of their work a confused sound had broken in -upon them, and Jack, on tuning his apparatus to catch the “stranger” -waves, had intercepted an apparently meaningless message signed X. Y. Z. -The message consisted of a jumble of numerals which, the two lads had -little difficulty in deciding, was a code of some sort. The catching of -such messages being common enough in the north, they gave the matter -little more thought and, in fact, till Jupe mentioned it. Jack had not -recollected the occurrence at all. Now, however, as Jupe moved off -forward to complete his work, he caught himself wondering who X. Y. Z. -might be. He wished that they had taken down the intercepted message and -devoted some of their leisure time to deciphering it; but the urgent -business now in hand soon drove such thoughts out of the young -navigator’s head. - -Tom reappeared on deck, the inevitable bit of waste in his hands. - -“I’ve adjusted the magneto,” he announced, “and I guess we’re turning -over a bit faster than ordinary.” - -“Good for you,” nodded Jack approvingly, “every minute counts on a job -like this.” - -At every turn of the shaft Jack’s heart was bounding with keen anxiety. -The same might be said of Tom’s condition. The very vagueness of the -message from the air, fraught as it was with the sense of disaster, -added to their mystification and eagerness to reach the scene. - -But mingled with all this, as the two lads stood side by side on the -miniature bridge of their speedy little cruiser, was a fierce sort of -pleasure as they sped through the rolling swells of the gulf, hurling -white masses of foam aside from the sharp “cutwater.” - -Behind them the coast line lay like a dim gray scarf stretched along the -blue horizon. The keen, ozone-laden wind struck their faces with an -invigorating tang. It was great, glorious, exciting to be out here on -the broad bosom of the gulf, guiding a speedy motor craft toward unknown -adventures. The zest of achievement, the glory of grappling with -obstacles as yet unseen and hardly guessed at, ran hot in both boys’ -veins. Fast as the _Vagrant_ was, she seemed to them to crawl, and yet, -thanks to Tom’s skill as an engineer, she was reeling off her thirteen -knots with the regularity of a sleeping infant’s breathing. - -“Jupe!” called Jack presently, “come aft and spell me at the wheel for a -while. I’m going to send a few questions into the air,” he added to Tom. - -“Good. We’ve got plenty of ‘juice.’ Shall I go below and send up the -mast?” - -“Yes. Better run it up to its full height. It won’t hurt in this light -breeze, and I want all the radius I can get.” - -“Right you are.” - -Tom descended once more. The base of the telescoping aerial mast was in -the forepart of the engine-room. A hand winch operated it much in the -same manner that a fire department’s extension ladders are sent aloft. -It did not take Tom long to extend the slender, yet pliant and strong -steel spar heavenward to its fullest length. - -At its truck, or summit, was a pulley, through which halyards attached -to the aerials had been rove. Jack had gotten these out while Tom had -been busy below, and in a remarkably short time the slender antenna, or -aerials, were strung from mast tip to deck. There were four separate -wires of stranded phosphor bronze attached to wooden spreads, and -properly insulated. From them a wire led back to the instruments -attached to a table in the forepart of the cabin. - -The aerials being up Jack, after satisfying himself that everything was -shipshape, made for the cabin. Seating himself at the wireless table he -sent a signal crashing out into space. - -“S-K! S-K! S-K!” - -Then, after a pause:— - -“L-I.” - -There followed a period of listenings with the receiving switch over and -the “watch-case” receivers closely clamped to the young operator’s ears. -But no answer came. - -A worried look crept over Jack’s countenance. This silence was ominous. -Once more he manipulated the key with nimble fingers. The spark -squealing and crackling shot bluely hither and thither. - -But to the electrical appeals sent broadcast into the atmosphere, space -vouchsafed no answer. - - - - - CHAPTER III—THE CIPHER CODE - - -A sudden break in the rhythmic pulse of the engine reached Tom’s alert -ears at this instant. Without speaking he hastened from the cabin to the -engine-room, using, for this purpose, a door cut in the forward -bulkhead. He found that one of the cylinders was missing fire and traced -the trouble to a badly sooted plug. - -While he was adjusting the trouble Jack stuck to his key. He would pound -out his “S-K” call furiously for an interval, and then listen intently -for even the faintest indication of a response. The lad tried various -adjustments, of the potentiometer, which regulates the voltage and -current supplied to the detector, and operated his receiving tuning coil -in various ways. But though he tried for wave lengths from two hundred -meters up to fifteen hundred, not a whisper came out of the void of -silence about them. - -“I’ll call once more,” said the lad to himself in a determined voice, -“it’s our duty to do all we can and keep at it all the time. Of course, -if the _Sea King_ has met with a really serious disaster her wireless -may be out of order and—Hullo! Here’s something coming now!” - -Something was coming, sure enough! - -As Jack clamped the receivers to his ears a hail of dots and dashes beat -against his organs of hearing. Somebody was transmitting a message at a -furious rate. Expert as the lad was, it was all he could do to make head -or tail of it. His pencil fairly flew over the recording pad, and when -he got through he had nothing for his pains but a sheet covered with -figures, and again that annoyingly mysterious signature X. Y. Z. - -Tom had returned to the cabin while Jack’s pencil was scurrying across -the paper. He leaned over, the other lad’s shoulder and watched -intently. When Jack stopped and affixed the signature X. Y. Z., he -looked up at his cousin wonderingly. - -“It’s X. Y. Z. again. He was sending like blue blazes, too. What do you -make of it?” - -“Blessed if I know. Using his cipher again, too, isn’t he? Say, Jack! -See here,—X. Y. Z.,—whoever he is,—is within our radius right now—at -this instant. Call him, and see if you can find out who or what he is -and where his station is. If the _Sea King_ is badly off he may be of -great assistance to us.” - -Jack switched his current over for sending out a call. With a puzzled -frown on his face he adopted Tom’s suggestion. - -“X-Y-Z! X-Y-Z! X-Y-Z!” he flashed out, and then added the signature -“L-I.” - -“Now to see if we get any result,” he said, adjusting the receivers to -his ears and throwing the switch for the detection of a reply. He had -not long to wait. - -“L-I! L-I! L-I!—X-Y-Z!” came billowing through the ether, “what do you -want?” - -“We are proceeding to rescue of disabled yacht _Sea King_,” flashed back -Jack. “Where are you? Can we rely on you for help?” - -A long silence followed. Then the Continental code began to throb and -beat in the receivers, once more. - -But it was another question that came. - -“Where is yacht _Sea King_?” - -Jack flashed the bearings as he had received them earlier in the day, -and then repeated his former question. But no reply came. For an instant -the lad thought he had got out of tune with the wireless mystery, but -although he ran the gamut of the tuning coil, nothing more came. For all -that was further heard of him, X. Y. Z. might have been as intangible as -the atmosphere out of which he had projected his questions. - -For half an hour or more Jack persisted in his endeavors to reach X. Y. -Z. again, but finally gave it up as a bad job. Grounding his current, he -laid down his head band and swung in his chair. - -“Lost him?” inquired Tom. - -“I’d rather say that he lost us,” responded Jack, “it must have been a -deliberate cut-out. One second he was coming strong and then—silence. -How do you figure it, Tom?” - -“I don’t attempt to. I give it up, unless X. Y. Z. is some sort of a -wireless lunatic.” - -Jack gave a rather mirthless laugh. - -“Hardly. Or, if so, I begin to fear there is some method in his madness. -You notice that he only seemed to want to find out the exact position of -the _Sea King_?” - -He indicated the writing pad on which the entire conversation was -recorded, as was the young inventor’s wont. - -Tom nodded. - -“I see that plain enough. I am inclined to think. Jack, that you made a -big mistake in giving that chap the location of the _Sea King_.” - -“You do? Why?” - -But as he spoke there came into Jack’s mind an uncomfortable -recollection of what Jupe had said about wreckers. - -“I don’t know just why,” was Tom’s frank response; “didn’t you ever have -a feeling that somehow something you had done had been,—quite -unintentionally,—a bad blunder?” - -“I know what you mean. I wish to goodness we knew who this X. Y. Z. -was,—or is.” - -“Easy to find out.” - -“Easy to find out!” echoed Jack with a fine note of scorn, “about as -easy as—as——” - -“Translating that cipher,” broke in Tom. “If we can read it we may have -a good clew to Mister X. Y. Z. and his doings.” - -Jack laughed aloud. - -“Yes, ‘if,’” he said mockingly, “and if——” - -“I think I can do it,” said Tom quietly. - -“You do! Well, tackle it at once, then. I’m kind of worried, I don’t -mind telling you, about that chap and his questions.” - -Tom picked up the sheet of paper with the numbers inscribed on it in a -seemingly hopeless jumble. - -“I’ll take it to the engine-room with me and try to work it out and keep -an eye on the motor at the same time. I like tackling propositions of -this kind.” - -“Yes, you always were a nutcracker at school; but I fancy you’ll find -that the toughest yet.” - -“I’m not so sure about that. Ciphers divide themselves up into groups -pretty well, and I’ve half an idea that this is a very common one. -Suppose you take a look at Jupe and take the wheel while he gets -supper.” - -“By ginger, I’d forgotten all about that till this moment.” - -Jack glanced up at the clock affixed to the bulkhead. - -“Almost five o’clock. Time has flown certainly. Well, good luck, Tom, -with that mess of figures, and if you find out anything from them about -X. Y. Z. you’re entitled to a big hunk of credit on a silver platter.” - -Jupe, so Jack found, had kept the _Vagrant_ on her course to a hair’s -breadth. The old fellow had been a sailor in his younger days, and the -waters they were now traversing were not unfamiliar to him. He hailed -the news that he was to get supper with pleasure, however. - -“Ah’ll cook yo’ boys as fine a meal as yo’ ebber sat down to,” he -promised, as with a broad grin he surrendered the wheel and made aft to -the galley, which was a small room forward of the cabin and between it -and the engine-room. - -It was an hour later that Tom appeared on deck with a knitted brow, and -several sheets of paper covered closely with cabalistic figuring. - -“Well?” said Jack. - -“Well, I’ve worked it out, and——” - -“You know who X. Y. Z. is, I hope?” - -“Why, no,” was the response in a puzzled tone, “I don’t know who he is, -but I’ve learned considerable of what he is,—and I don’t much like it.” - - - - - CHAPTER IV—A MARINE GAME OF BLIND-MAN’S BUFF - - -Jupe’s summons to supper ended the talk for the time being, and the two -lads went below to eat a hearty meal while the colored man took a spell -at the wheel. After supper they emerged on deck again, and as Jack took -the helm Tom drew up a camp stool beside him, and seating himself, -spread the figure-covered sheet of paper out on the chart case. He then -switched on the shaded light, which caused a soft glow to reveal the -cabalistic scribbling clearly. - -“Now then,” he began, “in figuring out a cipher of this sort the first -thing to do is to note what figure appears most frequently. Having -ascertained this, it is safe to assume that such a figure stands for the -most frequently occurring letter in the language,—always provided, of -course, the message is in English.” - -“Well?” interrogated Jack. - -“We know that the most frequently used vowel in English is _E_. And, by -the way, this translation proved fairly easy, because the transmitter of -the message made a gap between each of his groups of figures, showing -that each collection stood for a separate word.” - -“I noticed that,—go ahead.” - -“I was trying to show you something of the method; but I guess you’ve -about grasped it. In figuring out the cipher I made groups of all the -numerals occurring in your transcript of the message, and found that the -number ‘five’ appeared most often. I assumed, then, that it stood for H. -Working in this way, I found that the first word of the message was -_The_. That _Th_ stuck for some time, till I saw that the figures -‘twenty-five’ had been used to express the phonetic sound of _Th_. - -“This gave me a valuable clew. I wrote down _The_ and then passed on to -the next words. Figuring as before, I assigned the number ‘three,’ which -appeared alone, to the letter _C_. I was puzzled for a minute. ‘_The C_’ -didn’t seem to mean a whole lot, but I let it go and passed on to the -next word. Using my system I spelled out _King_, and then, of course, I -realized that the _C_ was a phonetic rendering for the first part of the -yacht _Sea King’s_ name.” - -“Great guns!” gasped Jack, “then they are interested in dad’s craft -and——” - -“Wait a while; let me get the rest of it off my chest. I’m not going to -tire your patience out by going through every step. I’ve told you enough -to show you my method. As I got further combinations it became more and -more simple till I finally had this message figured out: - -“‘The _Sea King_ is disabled. Trying to get bearings from you know who. -_Vagrant_ left Lone Island this P. M. going to rescue. You had better -make all speed or they will beat you out. Am proceeding. X. Y. Z.’” - -Jack’s lips emitted an amazed whistle. - -“What sort of a maze have we blundered into?” he exclaimed. “This X. Y. -Z., who is he? Who was he talking to? What are they after?” - -“All of which questions will be answered by the time we arrive at the -scene of the wreck, I imagine,” quoth Tom with a dry intonation; “in the -meantime, it looks as if we are ‘it’ in this marine game of blind-man’s -buff.” - -“That’s the name for it, all right,” assented Jack, peering at his -compass card. “Tom, old lad, I’ve a presentiment that we are going to -blunder into something that will call for every bit of ingenuity and -courage we possess.” - -“And in the meantime,” said Tom, “it’s up to me to keep that motor -turning over as she never turned before.” - -“Um,—well, beyond knowing that X. Y. Z. is a dangerous factor, or -seemingly so,” mused Jack, “we are about as far off as ever from knowing -just where he fits into the problem.” - -The night wore on, and still the _Vagrant_ churned her way steadily -across the dark waters of the gulf under the brilliant white stars of -the southern sky. The phosphorescence slid by her in fiery green streaks -as she cut her way along, and from time to time Tom emerged from below -and “spelled” his cousin, and comrade, at the wheel. At ten o’clock Jupe -served coffee and biscuits on the bridge, and shortly thereafter Jack -had another try with the wireless. But space, as before, was mute as the -Sphinx. From out of the darkness came no whisper as to the nature of the -enigma into which the situation, evolved by that first message from the -air, had developed itself. - -Eleven o’clock came, and both boys commenced to strain their eyes into -the velvety blackness ahead. - -“We ought to be picking something up before long,” observed Jack, -“unless—unless——” - -His voice shook a bit. Between this lad and his father there was a deep -bond of affection. Their close association had riveted the lad’s love -for his parent even more strongly than is the case with most boys. As -they neared the location where the yacht ought to be discovered, a -feeling of painful suspense clutched coldly at his heart. Nor was Tom’s -agitation much less. But the younger lad was more accustomed to suppress -his feelings than Jack. He stood by his cousin’s side with tightly -closed lips, as the _Vagrant_ throbbed onward, but through his brain, -like fires in a blast furnace, a constant succession of anxious thoughts -flashed and agitated. - -“Unless what. Jack?” said Tom at length. - -“Unless—gracious, Tom, suppose—suppose that the _Sea King_ has——” - -There was no need for him to conclude the sentence. Tom knew well enough -what the other dreaded. The ominous silence after that first message, -the lack of any signals from the disabled craft whose vicinity they must -be close to now if she were still afloat—all these things induced a -gloomy presentiment of evil which Tom, no more than Jack, was able to -shake off. - -“It isn’t possible that she has proceeded?” mused Tom. - -“Not likely. As I understood that message the location was given us so -that we could make direct for her. If she had been capable of proceeding -under her own steam, surely she would have made for Lone Island.” - -“If only we knew something of the object of Uncle Chester’s mission, we -might form a clearer idea of what has happened out here,” ventured Tom. -“One thing is certain, the _Sea King_ hasn’t struck a rock——” - -Jack laughed mirthlessly. - -“There isn’t a reef or a shoal within a hundred miles of her bearings, -as given to us,” he said; “that’s what makes the whole thing such a -baffling puzzle. Her boilers and machinery were new. I don’t see what -can have happened to them, and surely if the accident had been of that -nature, the despatch would have said so. It’s just the vagueness of the -whole thing that worries me.” - -“Complicated by Mister X. Y. Z., whoever he may be,” supplemented Tom. -“Do you know, Jack, I’ve got a hunch that we, are destined to see that -individual before very long?” - -A sudden yell from Jupe, who was at the bow keeping a keen lookout -according to instructions, cut the night. - -“Marse Jack! Marse Tom! Look! Look dere, yondah!” - -There was no need for Jupe to explain himself. Dead ahead, and directly -on the _Vagrant’s_ course, a bright streamer of flame slashed the sky -like a scimitar of fire. - -“A rocket!” exploded Jack. - -As he uttered the exclamation the skyward end of the flaming ribbon -burst into a diadem of brilliant scarlet stars. - -“Here, take the wheel,” choked out Jack, seizing Tom by the shoulder and -shoving him into the helmsman’s place. - -With nimble fingers he unlaced the canvas covering of the _Vagrant’s_ -searchlight, snapped the switch on with a tiny sputter of green sparks. -and the next instant a pencil of white light was sweeping the darkness -ahead. - -Back and forth it swept and suddenly steadied. As it did so the boys -uttered a simultaneous exclamation of amazement. Into the field of light -had suddenly swung, not the expected outlines of the _Sea King_, but the -form of a low craft without masts or funnels, rushing, at what appeared -to be terrific speed, toward the northeast. - - - - - CHAPTER V—A SHOT IN THE NIGHT - - -“Jove!” burst from Jack’s lips, “what on earth is this fresh -complication?” - -He had hardly spoken before there came a crash of glass close to his -hand, and something flew whistling by him. At the same instant the -searchlight was extinguished, and from seaward, where they had last seen -the speeding craft, came a dull “B-o-o-m!” - -“Knocked that searchlight into smithereens,” was Tom’s exclamation as -old Jupe, with an alarmed cry, came running forward at the sound of the -screaming projectile and the splintering glass. - -“At any rate,” was Jack’s grim retort, “they’ve shown us their hands. -Tom, old chap, this thing is going to be bigger than we thought.” - -“You think then——” - -“That we are not the only persons interested in the _Sea King_. If I -don’t make a big mistake, that shot was a message from our friend X. Y. -Z.” - -“It looks like it,” admitted Tom; “oh, if we could only glimpse the _Sea -King_!” - -“The rocket cattle from her. I’m sure of it. She must have mistaken the -lights of that marine raceabout for our signals.” - -“Let’s try an answering rocket,” suggested Tom. - -“Won’t do any harm. Jupe, quit shivering like a jellyfish and get the -rockets out. Two will be enough. Tom, you rig the tube.” - -The firing apparatus, a cylinder of galvanized iron, was speedily rigged -in place, and by that time Jupe, whose face was an ashen gray tinge, -reappeared with the rockets, two powerful signaling instruments, two -feet or more in length. - -“All right, Tom, touch them off,” came from Jack, as the younger lad -proclaimed that all was ready. - -There was the sputter of a match, a burst of yellow flame and then, -almost instantly, a roar and a shriek as the first of the signals shot -aloft, trailing a long tail of golden fire. At two hundred feet it -exploded in a shower of blue stars. Almost simultaneously, it seemed, -another cluster of red stars were spattered over the sky. - -“Hurray! That’s the _Sea King_, sure enough!” cried Jack; “see, they’ve -answered us. Crowd her as much as you can, Tom, it’s a race for all -we’re worth now.” - -“I can get a bit more speed, but it means overheating the engines,” -warned Tom. - -“Never mind that. Put us alongside the _Sea King_ ahead of that other -chap, and I don’t care if you blow the engines up,” was the curt -rejoinder. - -Tom shrugged his shoulders as he went below, but a few seconds later the -dial hand of the patent log crept up a notch. - -“Fourteen knots!” exclaimed Jack, with a note of satisfaction, “we’ll -beat her out yet.” - -All at once, from out of the obscurity, a grim possibility materialized. -Rushing straight for the _Vagrant_ came a sharp bow, with a wave of -white phosphorescent foam curling away from it on each side as it -cleaved the swells. - -“Great guns! They’re trying to ram us!” gasped out Jack as he sensed the -meaning of this new peril. - -He seized up the speaking tube and bellowed down to Tom with all the -force of his lungs. - -“Back! Back her for our lives!” - -Round spun the spokes of the wheel fast as a revolving squirrel’s cage. -The _Vagrant’s_ forward way was checked, but not wholly. To Jack’s -horror it seemed impossible that the other vessel could fail in her -evident object of ramming the smaller craft. - -Less than a few score of feet separated them now. He could hear the hiss -of the other craft’s cutwater as it rushed down on them. - -“Golly to goodness, Marse Jack, dey sink us fo’ sho’,” wailed Jupe, -dropping to his knees in terror on the bridge. - -Jack vouchsafed no reply. But the next instant he felt like giving a -shout of joy. The backward revolving propeller of the _Vagrant_ was -“biting” the water. The motor craft’s forward impulse was checked. She -hesitated, stopped, and slowly her bow began to swing. It was not a -second too soon. As the _Vagrant_ swung off, the other craft tore by at -a vicious speed, and Jack saw that her bow was shaped like a -man-of-war’s “ram.” So closely did she race across the _Vagrant’s_ bow -that he could see dim figures on her bridge, and could catch a torrent -of maledictions, as those in command of the strange vessel saw that -their evident purpose had been frustrated. - -At the pace she was going. Jack realized that it would be some moments -before she could be put on another tack for a fresh onslaught. - -“Ahead! Come ahead!” he shouted down the tube, and the propeller of the -_Vagrant_ began to churn in a forward direction once more. The lads’ -craft forged forward, crossing the troubled wake of the vindictive -stranger. - -“Glory be!” breathed old Jupe fervently; “ah could heah de angels’ harps -dat time, Marse Jack.” - -“I don’t know that I wasn’t in the same mental condition myself,” -rejoined Jack, with a nervous laugh. His hands shook and his heart beat -thickly. The escape had been narrow enough to unnerve older and more -experienced persons than this boyish captain. - -“Ahoy!” came a sudden voice out of the darkness ahead, “what craft’s -that?” - -“The _Vagrant_!” hailed back Jack, with a glad ring in his tones; “is -that the _Sky King_?” - -“Aye! aye! Thank heaven, you’ve come—in time,” was the answering hail -from the yacht. - -A moment later, against the stars. Jack could trace the spidery outlines -of the larger vessel’s spars and wireless aerials and rigging. - -“This is Jack Chadwick,” he shouted, not giving a thought to the -stranger craft now, but in a torment of anxiety to know what it all -portended, “is my father on board?” - -There was a pause. Across the water there came a confused murmur of -voices, but what they said was not audible. - -“_Sea King_, ahoy!” hailed Jack impatiently, “is my father on board and -well?” - -“Your father is well, we hope, but he’s not on board,” came back the -reply in somewhat hesitating tones. - -“Not on board!” stammered Jack, feeling for an instant as if he had been -struck a heavy blow, “then where is he?” - -“Come alongside. Master Jack,” was the response, “there’s a lot to be -told.” - -The black hulk of the _Sea King_ was plainly visible now, and Jack, -steering carefully, with one hand on the engine-room signaling device, -skillfully maneuvered the _Vagrant_ alongside of the bigger craft. As he -did so an accommodation ladder was lowered, and several heads appeared -along the yacht’s rail. - -“Stop her,” chimed the signal. - -Then came the order to reverse and then “stop” once more. Jupe, with a -line in his hand, leaped for the accommodation ladder. Tom, emerging on -deck, took in the situation in a glance and made for the stern. He -hurled another line, which was caught from above. In as short a time as -it takes to tell it, the _Vagrant_ was snugly moored alongside her -larger consort. - -Jack, with his head in a whirl, stepped from the bridge. Tom was at his -side in an instant. - -“Is all well with Uncle Chester?” he demanded impatiently. “Is he on -board?” - -“No, he isn’t,” came the staggering reply, in a voice that was half a -sob. It was a bolt from the blue that had assailed the lad, and who will -blame him for being utterly unnerved by the blow fate had just dealt -him. - -Tom was silent for an instant. Tidings that stun have a way of sinking -in slowly. Then, as the two lads stood at the foot of the ladder, he -flung his arm around Jack’s shoulder, and from his gritted teeth came -speech: - -“If harm has come to him. Jack, those who have caused it will have to -pay—_and pay big!_” - -And so the two lads ascended the ladder to the _Sea King’s_ deck, -followed by the awe-struck Jupe. - - - - - CHAPTER VI—NED BANGS’ STORY - - -It was Ned Bang’s, the boyish wireless operator of the _Sea King_, who -met them at the head of the ladder. Behind him pressed a ring of curious -faces, the bronzed countenances of seamen. Some incandescents had been -switched on as the newcomers gained the deck, and in the yellow light -Jack saw that all the faces that gazed into his bore the unmistakable -stamp of agitation. - -Bangs, besides being the wireless operator of the _Sea King_, was -something more. He had been a pupil of Professor Chadwick’s and a school -fellow of Jack’s, and was quite a scientific adept along the lines he -had chosen to follow. - -But Jack and Tom exchanged merely hasty words of greeting with the -youngster who stood facing them, pallid-faced under his coat of tan and -shaken evidently by some recent shock. - -“What is it, Ned? What has happened?” demanded Jack eagerly, as soon as -the boys had clasped hands. “Where is father? Why are you out here -alone?” - -“It’s—it’s a long story. Jack,” half-stammered Ned. “I—I’m afraid that -we who are here on board don’t show up to very good advantage in it. But -you must be the judge of that. Shall we go below, where we can talk?” - -There was a reticence, a hesitancy in his tones that irritated Jack, -overwrought as he already was. - -“I asked you a question, Ned,” he said in sharp tones, very unlike his -usual affable ones, “where is my father?” - -“I saw him last near Yucatan,” burst forth Ned miserably. - -The reply was so utterly unexpected that it fairly took Jack and Tom off -their feet. Ned had not seen fit to supplement his statement, but stood -there with that same shamefaced expression playing over his visage. - -“And you—you left him behind there?” broke out Jack, guessing part of -the truth. - -“We couldn’t help it,” wailed Ned wretchedly. “Wait till I tell you -about it.” - -Jack’s head swam. Behind the vague words he sensed a tragedy of some -sort in that mysterious country which had already, so it was thought, -claimed the life of Tom’s father, Mr. Jesson. - -“How did the _Sea King_ come to be off Yucatan?” inquired Jack, “her -course, as laid out, was far to the east of that country.” - -“I know that,” replied Ned; “but a gale blew us off our reckonings, and -into as strange and terrible a series of adventures as you ever heard of -in the wildest fiction.” - -“Tell us about it,” demanded Tom crisply, cutting short Ned’s rather -hysterical outburst. “Come below, into the cabin. It is important that -we should know everything as soon as possible.” - -“This way,” said Ned, stepping toward the stern. - -But Jack paused. - -“An attempt was made to ram the _Vagrant_ to-night,” he said, “by a -queer, but extremely speedy craft. Do you know anything about her, Ned?” - -“Do I know anything about her?” - -A quaver of indignation injected itself into Ned’s voice. - -“Well, I should say so,” he went on; “that’s the vessel of that -scoundrel Herrera, the cousin of the governor of Yucatan, which, as you -know, is at present a province of Mexico, but, so far as civilization is -concerned, parts of it might as well be in the wilds of Africa.” - -Tom had been fidgeting excitedly. The name of Yucatan had called up a -swarming crowd of memories of his father, the long missing explorer. - -“Had my uncle’s visit to Yucatan anything to do with my father’s -disappearance?” he asked. - -“Everything,” was the rejoinder, in steadier tones than Ned Bangs had -yet assumed. The presence of the self-possessed cousins, and their -infectious manner of quiet ability, had braced the unstrung lad up -wonderfully. - -“It was to rescue your father from——” - -“Then he is alive?” burst in Tom, aglow at the wonderful news. - -“So there is every reason to suppose,” was Ned’s reply. - -Without giving him time to say more, the cousins, having ordered the -crew to keep a keen lookout for the speedy “ram” craft and notify them -instantly of its appearance, half dragged Ned below, and shoved him into -a chair in the comfortably furnished main cabin of the _Sea King_. - -“Now then,” said Jack, “tell us everything, Ned, from the beginning. But -first you are reasonably certain that both my father and my uncle are -alive?” - -“There is practically no doubt of that,” was Ned’s response. - -“Then fire away,” ordered Tom, seating himself beside Jack, opposite the -still badly shaken Ned Bangs. - -“We left New York at the time you know,” commenced Ned, “and cruised for -some time in the West Indies, your father. Jack, making stacks of -observations and records. We met many interesting adventures, but I’m -not going to detail all those now. But, although your father seemed to -be immersed in his scientific observations, there were several things -unexplained about the _Sea King’s_ equipment. - -“In a sort of well amidships was stored the aero-auto with which you had -been experimenting before he left High Towers.” - -Jack nodded. He knew the wonderful craft had been placed aboard, but had -understood it had been taken along for private demonstration purposes. - -“You mean the air and land craft driven by the gas generated from -radolite crystals?” he asked. “The Flying Road Racer, as we called it.” - -“Yes,” rejoined Ned, “I guess that’s it. But I reckon you know more -about that than I do since you invented it. Anyhow, the aero-auto, as -Professor Chadwick called it, was installed in this well, or pit, -amidships, which had evidently been prepared for its reception in -advance.” - -“And it’s still there?” inquired Tom sharply. - -“Still there. Whatever Professor Chadwick intended to use it for, he had -no opportunity to try it out before—before what I’m going to tell you -occurred. Then, too, I noticed that several chests containing articles -whose nature was a mystery to me were stored in a sort of lazaretto -under the cabin floor. Whatever their contents, they were evidently too -precious for Professor Chadwick to let them out of his sight.” - -“Wait a second,” interrupted Tom, “I want to take a look outside.” - -In a moment he was back, anti dropped into his place with an “All’s -well!” - -“Never mind details now. Get ahead to Yucatan,” exclaimed Jack -impatiently. - -“I’m getting there,” protested Ned, a look of what was almost horror -passing over his face at the mere mention of the name. “The storm I -referred to before, struck us when we were off the southernmost point of -Florida. It was a terror of a rip-roaring hurricane. All we could do was -to head up into the mountainous seas and run the engines at a quarter -speed. We battled with the hurricane thus for four days, and then -MacDuffy, the engineer, came on deck one morning with a white face and -the news that the main shaft was cracked. It had been unable to -withstand the pressure of the racing propeller every time the _Sea -King’s_ stern lifted out of the seas. - -“Luckily, the wind had moderated a bit by that time, and we set the try -sails. Under these we staggered along at a four-knot gait for what -seemed an eternity of time. In reality it was about five days. One -morning, when the storm had about blown itself out, the lookout shouted -that land lay ahead. Sure enough it did. A strip of gray on the horizon; -and I can tell you it was a mighty welcome sight. - -“Captain Andrews, our sailing master, announced that the coast was, in -all probability, that of Yucatan, and from what he told us of it we -could not well have struck a more useless stretch of country to us, -situated as we were. But it’s ‘any port in a storm’ said the skipper, -and we made for the land, staggering along under our clumsy rig. - -“That night we anchored off a wild, desolate-looking coast, without a -trace of human habitations being visible anywhere. However, we found a -bay which, after careful soundings from the boats, proved to have -sufficient depth of water to harbor the _Sea King_ snugly. Here we -dropped anchor, and mighty glad we were to have struck a haven at last, -I can tell you. - -“Next day the chief came to your father and told him that he thought he -could clamp a metal collar round the break in the shaft and make it -practically as good as new. To our astonishment, Professor Chadwick did -not greet the news with any special enthusiasm. - -“‘You may as well take your time, Mr. MacDuffy,’ says he, ‘for it is -probable that we shall remain here for quite a considerable period.’ - -“‘A considerable period, sir!’ exclaimed MacDuffy in some surprise. ‘Do -you mean to explore yon forsaken land in the interests of science?’ - -“‘It seems to me, MacDuffy,’ answered Professor Chadwick (MacDuffy told -me all this later), ‘that fate has brought me here. A very dear and a -very near relative of mine vanished in this part of Yucatan many years -ago. When we set out on this cruise I had an idea that perhaps I might -undertake to go in search of him, or, at least, to discover some trace -of his fate. That accounts for the aero-auto which, as you know, my son -Jack and I invented, and also explains those chests which contain -several more of our inventions suitable to such an expedition.’ - -“The Professor went on to say that now that he found himself off the -very land which held the secret of Mr. Jesson’s fate, he didn’t mean to -leave without making an attempt to solve it. From this determination he -was not to be swayed, and the next day one of the boats set him and -three of the crew, Abner Jennings, the boatswain; Jack Allworthy, the -second engineer; and Ezra Kettle, a Maine man and a staunch seaman, -ashore. We watched them from the _Sea King_ as they dragged the boat up -on the beach and set off into the jungle, beyond which lay the misty -blue outline of a range of huge hills. - -“Without the slightest warning, and just as they were about to plunge -into the thick brush, the mangroves and scrub vegetation parted, and a -score of savage-looking Indians rushed out. We saw your father and the -others try to parley with them, and then, before we could even train a -gun on the scene, the thing happened.” - -He paused for an instant, overcome by the recollection of that tragedy -on the Yucatan beach. Immediately Jack jumped to his feet. - -“I’ve forgotten the ‘enemy’ outside. Hold on a minute,” he called as he -dashed away to the deck. “The watch may be all right,” he continued, -when he returned, “but there’s nothing like one’s own eyes. Go on, Ned.” - -“Poor Kettle went down, transfixed by a spear in the first few seconds -after the encounter. Professor Chadwick’s intention had merely been to -reconnoitre in preparation for an expedition later on. Not expecting -trouble, none of the party was armed. Allworthy dashed back to the boat -and seized up an oar. He did valiant service with it before he, too, was -felled by a spear-thrust. In the meantime, Professor Chadwick and Abner -Jennings had been captured, notwithstanding their stout resistance. Then -they were dragged off into the jungle, while we stood half-paralyzed -with horror at the suddenness and disastrous consequences of the attack. - -“The last we saw of your father. Jack, he was motioning back to us to -put out to sea. Brave to the last, he thought of us before himself.” - -Ned stooped and placed his hands over his eyes as if to shut out the -picture his words called up. Jack Chadwick sat staring vacantly at the -paneling of the cabin, not daring to trust his voice to speech. Tom, not -less affected, gripped his cousin’s hand. - -“Remember, old chap,” he murmured, “that Ned told us some time ago that -there was reason to believe that your father was still alive.” - -“I’m coming to that,” said Ned, raising his head and proceeding with his -narrative. - - - - - CHAPTER VII—THE THREE COLORED GEMS - - -“It was MacDuffy,” continued the lad, “who organized an expedition to go -to your father’s rescue. There was MacDuffy, Captain Andrews, four -seamen and myself. The rest were left in charge of the _Sea King_, the -engine-room force having instructions to proceed with the repairs to the -shaft, which were really simple enough, consisting only of bolting a -collar of metal around the split. - -“We were heavily armed, as you may imagine, and after we had landed in -the light boat, we stowed it in the brush where it would not be likely -to be discovered by marauders. The other boat, the one in which your -father landed, had been stove in by those rascally natives. Our first -task after this, was to bury poor Kettle as decently as we could. This -done, we took up the trail, which was plain enough to follow. In fact, -we learned afterward, it was a regular path that the natives followed -when they came to the coast after turtles and fish. - -“Danger? Well, we knew we were going into a desperate game, but, as -MacDuffy said, we couldn’t do otherwise than our best to rescue your -father. As we made our way through the jungle we discussed the -situation. It looked black and no mistake. In the first place, as -Captain Andrews pointed out, the revolution was raging in northern -Mexico, and Diaz, in his last desperate stand, had withdrawn troops from -every province in Mexico. Captain Andrews told us that the descendants -of the Mayas, who inhabited this part of Yucatan, were endowed with a -fierce hatred of Mexicans and white men in general, and that they had -been kept in subjugation solely by the presence of large bodies of -troops. With this menace to their warlike ideas withdrawn, the Mayas -were probably ripe for any mischief. - -“All this, as you can imagine, didn’t tend to raise our spirits, and the -prospect of rescuing your father began to seem remote indeed. Well, to -cut a long story short, we followed the trail for two days till we began -to arrive in the foothills of the range we had seen. Occasionally we -came across what were evidently the sites of recent camps, so we knew -that we were on the track all right. - -“The third day, about noon, we marched right out of a canyon, threaded -by a swift river, into an Indian settlement. Before we could say -‘knife,’ or raise a weapon, we were surrounded and made captives. We -were thrown into a palm-thatched hut and placed under strict guard, and -we faced the prospect of a speedy death. But at the moment we thought -little of these matters, for the hut already contained three other -captives, and they were Professor Chadwick, Abner Jennings and Jack -Allworthy, the last wounded in the shoulder by the spear thrust that had -knocked him down, but luckily not seriously. - -“You can guess how delighted we were in the first few moments, and then -how depressed we all became as we began to realize that so far as an -escape was concerned we might as well have been imprisoned in an -iron-walled dungeon. We were deprived of nothing in the way of food, and -were not bound in any way, but the hut was surrounded by too strong a -guard to make any idea of escape practicable. So the night passed, a -night that we spent in discussing and rejecting a hundred plans of -escape, for each, in turn, was discarded as hopeless. - -“But, although we did not realize it, freedom for some of us was close -at hand. Shortly before noon the sky became black as night. A screaming -sort of wind arose, and suddenly we felt the ground under our feet -beginning to rock. It didn’t take us long to catch on that the -disturbance was caused by an earthquake of uncommon severity. The -natives began to howl and yell, and rushed about like madmen. That wind -suddenly picked up our prison and whisked it off, just as it might have -dealt with an umbrella. And there we stood, in the middle of all this -commotion, unbound and practically free to go where we would, for the -natives were far too busy attending to their own affairs to worry about -us. - -“In the middle of the uproar and the convulsions of the earth, a whole -section of the cliff which upreared itself at the back of the -settlement, slid down with a roar like a hundred Niagaras. It caught -that village, just as a big rock would smash an anthill. We escaped by -the skin of our teeth, but, as it was, we were showered with flying -rocks and earth. Luckily, none of us was injured. - -“But those poor natives fared otherwise. Of the scores that had been -rushing about an instant before hardly twenty remained. One of these was -a big fellow, with a beautiful copper-colored skin, clad in a sort of -garment made out of jaguar hide. He separated from the rest, and we saw -that he carried under his arm a large box, or case, which gleamed dully -in the gloom. - -“‘He’s making for the canoes!’ shouted MacDuffy suddenly, and then, sure -enough, we saw what we hadn’t noticed before in all that hurly-burly, -namely, that several dugouts were moored to the river bank. I guess we -all caught the inspiration at the same instant. Anyhow, we began running -for the bank at top speed. But suddenly that copper-colored giant faced -about, and we now saw that he carried a whole quiver full of those -poisoned darts that the Maya tribes use with deadly effect. - -“Before he could aim one, or shout to the rest of the villagers, who -hadn’t noted our escape, Abner Jennings flew at him like a wildcat. Down -he went, bowled over like a ninepin, under a crashing blow from -Jennings’ fist. - -“‘Hurray, lads! Now for the boats!’ shouted Allworthy, and we scampered -after him toward them. But at that instant a queer thing happened. A man -came racing toward us from amidst the ruins of the village. - -“‘Get him!’ yelled Allworthy savagely, as Jennings stooped and picked up -a big rock. - -“But the next instant his hand dropped to his side. The man was white! -In spite of his half-naked condition and sun-browned skin, it was clear -enough that he was as much of a Caucasian as any of us, and then came -the wonderful part of it all. - -“‘In the name of heaven, white men, stop!’ he shouted, ‘take me with -you. I am——’” - -“Jasper Jesson!” - -It was Tom Jesson who had uttered the exclamation. In a flash of -intuition he had seen what was coming before Ned uttered it. The lad -literally quivered with excitement as he spoke. - -“Right. It was your father, Tom,” rejoined Ned. “Professor Chadwick -stopped, ran back and embraced him. For a minute we all stood stock -still, rooted there by sheer amazement, I guess. Well, we got to the -canoes and set out down the river. There were four dugouts, and the way -they dashed down that stretch of water was a caution. No need to paddle. -The current just tore along for several miles. I don’t see how it was we -didn’t upset, but the fact remains that we didn’t. Pretty soon we -reached a part of the stream where another flowed into it, and it -broadened out and grew calmer. - -“Then, for the first time, we felt free to talk. We hauled the canoes -ashore and camped while we discussed plans. But first, you may imagine, -we heard Mr. Jesson’s story. He had been captured by the tribe who had -trapped us, soon after his arrival in the country. And their prisoner he -had remained since. Undoubtedly he would have been put to death, but he -had by great good luck managed to translate some cryptograms carved in -the marble stones of some ruins in the mountains, and after that they -looked on him as a sort of god. At any rate, he was well treated, but -given no chance to escape. The earthquake that had set us loose had -proved his opportunity, too. Of course, it’s no use my trying to give -you any idea of his delight and astonishment at finding his -brother-in-law and getting news of you, Tom, and of the old home. - -“He had just about concluded his story, when Mr. Chadwick drew from -under his coat that same metal box that we had seen the big -copper-colored fellow skedaddling with. He had taken it from the chap as -he lay stunned, rightly guessing that it was of immense value. But he -was far from surmising what it was he had really discovered, till a few -moments later. - -“‘Maybe, Jesson,’ he said, ‘you can tell me what kind of a box this is. -It’s silver, all right, for one thing, but it’s covered with some sort -of picture writing, too, and——’ - -“But Tom’s father interrupted him with a shout. - -“‘Good heavens, man!’ he exclaimed, ‘you’ve got hold of the holy of -holies of the Zakaks,’——that’s the name of the tribe that had hooked us. - -“While we all looked on with open mouths, Mr. Jesson broke a long thorn -off a prickly bush growing near at hand and shoved it into a small hole -in the front of the box. The lid flew open, and there inside was -something that made us blink our eyes,—a blood-red stone, a blue one, -and a gorgeous green gem. - -“We all caught our breath, I can tell you. Each stone was as big as a -pigeon’s egg, and it didn’t take an expert to tell that we had before us -a ruby, a turquoise and an emerald that had, probably, not their equals -in the world. - -“Then Mr. Jesson told us how the tribe had a legend that those stones -were brought from some, mysterious land beyond the seas by their -fore-runners, and that if they were stolen or lost disaster would -overtake them. At certain phases of the moon, he said, the stones were -worshiped with all sorts of queer rites that he had not been permitted -to witness. - -“We, none of us, could guess what they were worth, but it was a safe -estimate that they represented a snug fortune. As for the box itself, it -was, as I said, of dull silver, with three sort of oval bosses or bumps -on its cover. These were of a reddish color, and were evidently of no -value except as ornaments. After some more talk it was decided to make -for the Texan coast, and as soon as we had regained the yacht, get into -wireless communication with you lads. - -“Professor Chadwick explained that he had had a half-formed intention of -attempting to find Mr. Jesson before he left America, and for that -reason had sent you boys to Lone Island so that he might notify you of -his success by wireless as soon as possible, without letting the general -public know, and also have you handy in case of an emergency.” - -“So that explains Lone Island,” struck in Jack, “but go on, Ned. I can -hardly wait for the rest of your story.” - -“Neither can I,” added Tom; “but aren’t you fellows surprised that we -don’t hear anything from outside?” - -“It is strange,” agreed Jack. “I’ll run up again soon.” - -“Well,” continued Ned, “we knew that by following the river we must -emerge on the coast, probably near to the spot where the yacht was -anchored. We therefore lost no time in re-embarking and getting on our -way once more. Luckily, there was some food, bananas and dried flesh of -some animal,—deer, most likely,—in the canoes, which must have been -provisioned for a trip. So that night, when we camped, we had a good -supper, with something left over for the next day. - -“We slept under the canoes, turning them keel up to form a protection -from the dews, and also from any prowling animals. The spot we had -chosen was well back in the brush, so that in case of pursuit we had a -good hiding place. But we slept without interruption, taking watch in -turn. The next morning, before it was well light, we set out down the -river again, and that afternoon we had reason to think we were close to -the coast. The character of the jungle on either side of the river -changed and the stream grew wider and more sluggish. - -“So far we had had no indication that we were not the only human beings -in that part of the country, so you can imagine our astonishment when, -about mid-afternoon, on rounding a bend in the stream, we beheld a -squat, drab-colored craft, without spars or funnel, moored to the bank. -It didn’t need a second glance to tell us that she was a fighting craft -of some kind. On her decks were the outlines of several rapid-fire guns -shrouded under canvas covers. Her bow was shaped like a ram, and we -could see by the rows of rivets along her sides that she was built of -steel. - -“‘That’s one of the new shoal-draft, gasolene gunboats, built for the -Diaz government at the Vulcan yards in Charlestown,’ declared Professor -Chadwick at once. - -“He had hardly spoken when several of the crew, who had been lounging -about the decks, saw us coming. There was an instant stir on board the -ugly-looking craft, and presently the figure of a small, dark-skinned -man, with a black, pointed beard and moustache, and heavy, sinister -eyebrows, appeared on the bridge, which was just forward of a sort of -conning tower. - -“He wore white garments and a broad-brimmed Panama hat. As soon as he -appeared he hailed us. - -“‘Come alongside, gentlemen,’ he said, using almost perfect English. ‘I -welcome you to _El Tarantula_.’” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII—ON BOARD “THE TARANTULA” - - -“A few moments later,” continued Ned, “we were standing on the deck of -the sinister-looking craft, confronted by her equally sinister-looking -owner, for such we soon found he was, in fact, if not in name. From him -we speedily learned that not only was he the governor of that part of -the province of Yucatan, but that he also controlled large plantations -near the mouth of the river. The principal produce of these was sisal -hemp, a well-known and valuable product of the country. - -“Naturally, we supposed that as soon as we had told our story, the first -act of Ramon Herrera, for such he informed us was his name, would be to -aid us in reaching our yacht. But the event proved exactly to the -contrary. - -“‘You will take up quarters for the present on my yacht, gentlemen,’ he -said, in a tone almost of command. - -[Illustration: General Herrera, commander of _El Tarantula_, the Mexican -gasolene gunboat.] - -“Professor Chadwick started to protest, but met with a stern -interruption. - -“‘My country is in the throes of a revolution,’ Herrera said, ‘and at -the present time it is unknown to me whether your United States of North -America is involved in the trouble or not. It is my belief, and that of -many of my countrymen, that the massing of troops on the Texan border, -by orders of your President Taft, is a menace to the Diaz government, -and an encouragement to the revolutionaries. This being so, you must -regard yourselves as my guests,—I will not use an uglier word,—till such -time as I receive further advices. Furthermore, I do not mean to make -any secret of my dislike for meddling Yankees.’ - -“‘Sir,’ exclaimed Professor Chadwick, ‘you are deliberately insulting.’ - -“‘Senor Yankee,’ was the calm reply, ‘you have deliberately intruded -yourself into a country where you and your inquisitive countrymen are -not wanted.’ - -“‘I am not aware by what right you dare to assume such an attitude -toward us,’ resumed Professor Chadwick, now thoroughly aroused, and, -indeed, we were all at the boiling-point, as you can imagine. Herrera’s -every word seemed to be a deliberate taunt. - -“‘I assume my attitude, as you call it, by right of might,’ was the cold -reply, ‘my ancestor. General Jose de Guzman Herrera, was slain by your -Yankee soldiers in the Mexican war. Judge, then, if I have any reason to -favor Yankees.’ - -“‘You are likely to pay dearly for this forcible detention of peaceful -citizens of a republic at peace with your country,’ warned Allworthy. - -“Herrera shrugged his shoulders. - -“‘I’ll take my chance of that,’ he said, ‘besides, as I remarked before, -I am not so certain that my country and your country are not by this -time at war.’ - -“Well, there was nothing more to be said, and determined to make the -best of our situation we went docilely enough to the quarters that -Herrera had provided for us, which consisted of three cabins in the -extreme stern of the ship. Captain Andrews, MacDuffy and I were thrust -into one cabin, your father and Mr. Jesson into the next compartment, -and Abner Jennings and the two sailors into a third stateroom. - -“Here was a pretty kettle of fish, and a fine ending to our hopes of -reaching the coast, which, we were confident, was not far distant. From -scraps of conversation we overheard, for there were gratings above each -stateroom door, we learned that the _Tarantula_ was tied up to the shore -bordering on one of Herrera’s plantations. We heard later that the -slaves,—most of them Mosquito Coast negroes illegally impressed as -slaves,—had made some trouble, and that Herrera was here with his armed -craft to suppress the uprising by stern means. What these means were we -found out later, and without going into detail, we heard enough to know -that the monster,—as we subsequently found him to be,—spared no form of -cruelty to browbeat his luckless servitors into submission. All this was -translated for us by Captain Andrews, who spoke Spanish fluently. - -“We might have been confined in our narrow quarters for an hour, or it -might have been longer, when we heard the door of the adjoining -stateroom unlocked, and presently voices came to us through the grating. -It was easy to recognize Herrera’s tones as he cross-examined Professor -Chadwick. One of the Mexican sailors had noticed that when the professor -came on board he had slipped a silver chest—the treasure box—under his -coat. The fellow had informed Herrera, and now that arch-scoundrel was -demanding that Professor Chadwick and Mr. Jesson submit to being -searched. - -“I can tell you we exchanged blank glances when we overheard this. It -seemed pretty tough that, after all we had gone through, we were to be -robbed of what was bound to prove a substantial reward, for Professor -Chadwick had insisted that we agree to take an equal share with him -having participated in his dangers. - -“But to our astonishment the search evidently resulted in nothing being -found. For before long we heard Herrera bursting out into Spanish oaths. -He wanted to know what had become of the box. - -“‘If you had asked me before,’ Professor Chadwick replied, ‘I would have -told you. I threw it overboard rather than let it fall into your hands.’ - -“We listened for an outburst or worse right then. But none came. The -rascal, in whose power we were, evidently didn’t know the value of the -silver box, for he merely remarked that Professor Chadwick’s act would -not improve our situation, and left the cabin. But we, in the adjoining -stateroom, again exchanged blank glances. It was no joke to think of -that fortune in magnificent stones being consigned to the muddy depths -of that Yucatan stream. - -“A short time after Herrera left the cabin, however. Professor Chadwick -climbed up on a bunk in his stateroom, and placing his lips to the -grating informed us that he had not, in reality, hurled the box -overboard, but that it was suspended outside the porthole of his cabin -by a fine bit of cord which he had happened to have in his pockets. The -porthole was beneath the overhang of the stern of the gunboat, and -unless any sailor went prying about under the vessel’s counter there was -not much likelihood of its being discovered. The Professor informed us -also that he was determined not to purchase our liberty at the price of -the precious stones. - -“‘This is the twentieth century,’ he said, ‘and I refuse to believe that -this rascal, for such Herrera has shown himself to be, will dare to hold -captive free American citizens for any length of time.’ - -“We agreed with him in this, but MacDuffy, who, as an engineer, -possessed with an investigating turn of mind, still busied himself, as -he had since the moment of our imprisonment, with trying to find some -means of escape. There was a nine-inch porthole in our stateroom, and -also in the other two. But, of course, this offered no opportunity for -escape. By peeping out through it, however, we could see that our -dugouts had been attached to the stern of the _Tarantula_ by a line. If -we could only reach them we might be able to attain freedom. - -“All at once MacDuffy uttered an exclamation. He had discovered that -under the porthole was a square plate, bolted into the stern frames, and -seemingly devised, when removed, to permit of a gun being thrust through -the opening. The nuts which held the bolts in place were inside the -cabin, and MacDuffy produced from his pockets a serviceable-looking -monkey wrench, which was the engineer’s constant companion. - -“‘I’ll undertake to have those nuts unscrewed in half an hour,’ said he -in a low, excited tone, ‘and then what’s to prevent us dropping through -the stern to-night, hooking the dugouts and floating down to the coast?’ - -“What indeed? we thought. The plan looked feasible enough. But, -naturally, we did not, for a minute, countenance the idea of making good -our own escape and leaving the rest to their fate. But Professor -Chadwick, when we communicated our plan, decided at once that we must -make the attempt that night, and, if we succeeded in reaching the coast -and the _Sea King_, must summon help. - -“After a lot of persuasion we agreed to do this. Then we waited, with as -much patience as we could muster, for the night to fall. Food and drink -was brought us at dusk, and we ate all we could, knowing that we might -have strenuous work before us. After dark MacDuffy fell to work on the -bolts. It took scarcely an hour to loosen them. This much accomplished, -we waited till all grew quiet about the _Tarantula_, which was not -before midnight. - -“Whispering a good-by to Professor Chadwick and Mr. Jesson, we dropped -through the opening, after MacDuffy had removed the plate which left a -hole some four feet square. The rope by which the dugouts trailed astern -was just above our heads. Captain Andrews seized it and pulled the first -of the frail craft toward the _Tarantula_ till it was under the opening -we had made. Then they told me to drop down as silently as possible. -When I was on board MacDuffy followed, stuffing his wrench into his hip -pocket, and last came Captain Andrews. Before we cut loose we, according -to Professor Chadwick’s instructions, cut the string by which the jewel -casket was suspended, and stowed it safely on board the dugout. - -“This done, I cut the painter with a slash of my knife, and the dugout -drifted silently off down the current into the darkness. Our escape had -been made in safety. We reached the coast, and after paddling northward -for half a day, sighted the _Sea King_. All was as we had left it, and -mighty glad every one was to see us. I can tell you. But the plight of -Professor Chadwick, Mr. Jesson and the rest, cast a gloom over us all.” - -“Tell me,” begged Tom, interrupting again, “are they still on the -_Tarantula_?” - -“I don’t know,” replied Ned. - -“Well, hurry your story,” exclaimed Jack. “We must go to their rescue -wherever they are!” - -“Captain Andrews lost no time in ordering me to the wireless,” continued -Ned hastily, “and as we steamed northward I kept pumping away at my key. -At length, as you know, I got into communication with you. But as I did -so there was a sharp and sudden shock through the _Sea King_, and she -came to an abrupt stop. That shaft had parted again. There was nothing -for us to do but to anchor. At almost the same time one of the crew -shouted that a craft resembling the _Tarantula_ was on the southern -horizon and overhauling us fast. It didn’t need a second look to show us -that the strange vessel was indeed the _Tarantula_. As she drew close to -us there was a flash and a puff of smoke from her bow, and ‘crash!’ our -aerials parted,—shot through at the foremast. - -“There we were, crippled and helpless, and I didn’t even know for sure -if my message to you was clear or no.” - -“One question,” put in Jack, “has the _Tarantula_ a wireless?” - -“Yes; I meant to tell you about that. She is fitted with a collapsible -military mast, and, from what we overheard, Herrera has a complete plant -at his plantation ashore likewise.” - -“That disposes of X. Y. Z.,” said Jack, glancing at Tom. “It’s plain -enough now that some one ashore intercepted our message, just as we -caught theirs, and flashed it to Herrera.” - -“Guess you’re right,” agreed Tom gloomily, “and we are responsible for -giving away the exact location of the _Sea King_.” - -“How’s that?” asked Ned, in a wondering tone. - -“I’ll explain all about it later,” said Jack, “the thing is now to -formulate some sort of plan to get out of this tangle. Is Captain -Andrews or Chief MacDuffy about?” - -“MacDuffy is below, trying to fix the break in the shaft,” was the -response. “Captain Andrews is asleep in his cabin. He was worn out, and -I didn’t wake him when our rocket signals were answered by you.” - -“Well, I think we’d better rouse him now,” Jack was beginning, when the -cabin door was flung open and a sailor, whose face was chalky beneath -his tan, burst in. The group at the table looked up, startled and alert. -Ned’s narration had taken almost an hour, and although they had not -forgotten the dangerous proximity of the _Tarantula_, they had had no -way of guessing in what way their enemy would next become active. - -“That yaller-faced Greaser’s craft is bearing down on us. Mister Bangs!” -exclaimed the man. “She looks as if——” - -There was a sharp crash overhead, and the booming detonation of a gun -resounded an instant later. The boys sprang to their feet and scrambled -up the companion way, headed for the deck. - - - - - CHAPTER IX—THE CHADWICK GAS GUNS - - -As they went Jack flashed a swift word to Ned. - -“You say that the chests my father took such care of are still in the -cabin?” - -“Yes; in the Professor’s stateroom.” - -“Good. I’ve a notion they contain something that may prove valuable to -us right now. Open them up and see if one of them contains some -queer-looking guns. If it does, bring the weapons on deck right away, -and—summon Captain Andrews.” - -Ned retraced his steps and Jack ran swiftly up after Tom. On deck they -found the sailors running about distractedly. The shot they had heard -had carried away part of the foremast of the _Sea King_. The wreckage -lay in a tangle, about which the seamen hovered confusedly. - -While the boys still stood regarding the scene, hardly knowing for the -moment what to do, a stoutly-built man, with an overcoat hastily thrown -on over a suit of pajamas, joined them. It was Captain Andrews. The -light from the incandescents fell on his bronzed, blonde-bearded face, -and Jack felt, as he clasped the newcomer’s hand, that here was a man -who could be relied on to the last ditch. - -“Ned Bangs told me I would find you here,” he said. “I hastened on deck -right away. I should have been out and about long ago; but——” - -“That’s all right, captain,” spoke Jack swiftly, “you had earned your -rest and no mistake. The thing is, what are we going to do now?” - -“The rascal Herrera has attacked us, Ned told me.” - -“Yes. His craft is in the offing now. He has shot away part of the -foremast. The riding-light on it must have acted as a target for him.” - -As the lad spoke a voice came cut of the darkness: - -“We want that silver casket. Are you going to give it up peaceably, or -do we have to blow your vessel out of the water?” - -“You infernal scoundrels!” shouted Andrews, before Jack could check him. - -The captain bounded forward to a machine gun. With quick, nervous -fingers he was ripping off its cover when Jack laid a hand on his arm. - -“Hold on a minute, captain,” he said, “I’ve another plan. We shall know -in a few seconds now if it will succeed.” - -The captain looked at him wonderingly. - -“They outnumber and outarm us,” he began. But Jack broke in: - -“I’ve an idea that one of those chests in my father’s cabin contains -some novel weapons,” he said, “a new kind of gun, the invention of Tom -and myself. They contain a magazine of shells loaded with a gas which -will paralyze any form of animal life with which they come in contact.” - -The captain gasped. - -“Well,” he said, “I’d heard that you kids were inventive wonders, but -this——” - -“Oh, we didn’t invent the gas,” interposed Tom, who had been an -interested listener to Jack’s last words, “Professor Chadwick did that. -But we applied it to use in the guns.” - -“And they work?” - -“Well, we’ve tried them on rabbits and small game, and brought down -whatever we aimed at. You see, the shells are loaded with this gas in a -semi-solid form. When the gun is fired a fuse is lighted, which releases -the gases, and they fill the atmosphere, surrounding anything they -strike with a vapor that causes temporary helplessness.” - -As Jack spoke there came another hail out of the darkness. - -“We are waiting. Resistance is useless. We know you have that casket -with you. What is your answer?” - -“Will you give us a few moments to consider?” shouted back Jack. - -A pause followed. - -“I wonder how on earth they know that Ned and the rest secured the -casket?” wondered Tom. - -This was a poser. It was not till long afterward that they found out -that, following the discovery of their escape from the _Tarantula_, a -sailor had noticed the severed string hanging from the porthole of the -Professor’s cabin prison. Herrera’s keen mind at once guessed the -purpose it had served, and also surmised that the casket must be very -valuable. Professor Chadwick, on being questioned, admitted,—thinking of -course that the _Sea King_ was by that time out of danger of -pursuit,—the manner in which he had tricked the Mexican and the contents -of the box. - -Suddenly, out of the darkness, ranged the ghostly outlines of _El -Tarantula_. Hardly twenty-five yards separated her from the _Sea King_. -She was moving slowly, far below her usual swift motion. Her dash from -the mainland had resulted in overheated engines, which accounted for the -space of time those on board the _Sea King_ had been free from her -presence. - -“We’ll give you five minutes and no more,” came a voice from her -midships. - -“Good,” murmured Jack, as he heard the terms of the armistice, “that -ought to be plenty of time and—Oh, glory be!” - -Ned had come on deck while the young leader was speaking. In his arms he -carried a collection of as strange-looking weapons as were ever seen -outside of a museum. Yet they represented a type of gun destined to -become famous. - -“Hurray!” muttered Tom under his breath, “they’re the gas-guns, sure -enough.” - -While Captain Andrews’ eyes fairly bulged. Jack took one of the guns. -They were of a dull colored metal, allowing no light to glint from any -bright surfaces. A barrel about three and a half feet in length, -terminated in a cylinder of greater diameter than the barrel itself. -This was a muffler, which effectually silenced the sound of the spring -that was used to send the gas globes on their way and snap the fuses. -The stocks of these odd firearms, if such they could be called, were -large, and contained sixteen “gas globes”—spheres of a tough and -glutinous kind of gelatine, filled with the destructive gas—a compound -of ammonium nitrate,—in a semi-liquid form. - -“How do you fire them?” asked Captain Andrews. - -“Handle them just as you would an ordinary gun,” rejoined Jack. “The -globes will burst when they strike the _Tarantula_ and spread the gas -they contain broadcast. Luckily, the craft is to leeward of us, or we -might be in danger of getting a dose of our own medicine when the gas -globes detonate.” - -“Will the gas kill them?” asked Captain Andrews, in such a vindictive -tone that Jack couldn’t help smiling. - -“Hardly,” he said; “but it will take the fight out of them for a while, -I imagine.” - -Acting under the lad’s instructions. Captain Andrews summoned some of -the interested sailors to him. There were twelve of the guns “and a -chest full of ammunition below,” whispered Ned. - -Eight of the men were given a gas-gun each. Their faces expanded in -grins as they learned the nature of the novel weapons. - -“First time I ever heard of knocking a feller out with a gas pill,” said -one of them in an undertone. - -The serving out of the gas-guns had hardly been completed when the voice -from the _Tarantula_ hailed them again: - -“Five minutes is up,” it said; “we’re going to board you.” - -At the same instant the _Tarantula_ began to range in alongside. -Evidently those on board her did not fear resistance, for as she drew -closer her decks blazed with light, and those on board the _Sea King_ -could see that her machine guns were trained full on the yacht. - -Under Jack’s orders the armed portion of the _Sea King’s_ company had -dropped behind the bulwarks, aiming their guns through scupper holes. -Thus, of course, all that was revealed to the enemy was a group of -flurried-looking sailors standing about the wreckage of the mast -forward. Hardly ten yards separated the two vessels when Jack gave the -whispered command: “Fire!” - -What followed, so Tom described it afterward to the author, “was like -watching a moving picture.” - -There was no sound as the triggers on the gas-guns were pulled, but as -the collapsible globes struck the _Tarantula’s_ decks and superstructure -and burst with a soft, pattering sound, her crew began to roll about -like drunken men. - -As the stupefying vapors impregnated the air with their fumes, one after -another the men began to drop like flies. The resistance of the stoutest -didn’t endure for more than a space of five minutes. Herrera himself, -the last to succumb, fell beside the wheel house as he was shouting at -the helmsman to withdraw from the infected air. - -The young inventors’ wonderful gas-guns had received their first real -test, and had surely not been found wanting in efficiency. The -_Tarantula_, a few moments since the scene of feverish activity, now lay -a drifting hulk. Her engines were still slowly revolving, but there was -no hand to govern them. Several of the gas globes had been aimed at the -engine-room hatches, which were open. Deflecting thence they had burst -into the machinery space, stupefying the force at work there. - -The victory was complete and sweeping. - - - - - CHAPTER X—DRAWING A RASCAL’S FANGS - - -“Well, what next?” - -It was Tom who spoke, and his voice broke the spell that had held all -hands as they gazed at the silent craft drifting away from them into the -darkness. - -“We must overhaul the _Tarantula_ and set my father and yours free, Tom, -if they are still there,” came from Jack. - -“A good suggestion; but how are we to do it?” inquired Captain Andrews, -who was not aware of the readiness of the _Vagrant_ to be placed in -active service at once. - -“We’ll board the _Vagrant_. At the pace that spider-craft is going it -won’t take long to lay alongside her,” decided Jack. - -Before many minutes had passed Jack, Tom Jesson and Ned were on board -the _Vagrant_. Jupe, much against his wishes, was left behind on the -_Sea King_. - -“Ah’d hev liked jes ter hev one good, big kick at dat Mexican tamale,” -he argued; but it was decided to go without him. - -The _Vagrant’s_ engines, despite the recent strain placed on them, were -found to be working perfectly. Amidst a shower of good wishes from those -left on board the _Sea King_, she moved off into the darkness in pursuit -of their recently vindictive enemy. As Jack had foretold, it did not -take long to overhaul the craft with which Herrera had hoped to -intimidate those on board Professor Chadwick’s yacht. - -It gave the boys a somewhat uncanny sensation as they stole silently -alongside the slowly moving _Tarantula_, and then made fast by throwing -a grappling iron on her decks. This feeling was not changed when, -clambering on board, they gazed on the decks strewn with senseless -forms, lying as they had fallen. They appeared to be wrapped in deep, -dreamless slumber. The gas had operated on them much as if they had been -patients in a hospital under the influence of an anæsthetic. - -Stopping only to make sure that all on board were dead to outward -impressions for an hour at least,—after which time Jack calculated they -would begin to stir,—the trio of lads made no more delay about seeking -out the stern cabins, in which, they believed. Professor Chadwick and -the rest were confined. - -Jack was the first to make the alarming discovery that the staterooms -which had been the scene of their captivity were empty. - -It was a bitter pill to swallow indeed. The boys, perhaps despite their -better judgment, had confidently calculated on finding and delivering -their friends. Now, however, it appeared that they were as far from -accomplishing this as ever. - -“There’s only one conclusion to draw,” said Jack at length. “Herrera, -for reasons best known to himself, has left them some place ashore.” - -“Unless he——” began Ned, but Jack cut him short. - -“I guess even Herrera wouldn’t dare to go much further than that,” he -declared stoutly, “the question now is,—where has he left them?” - -“Judging from the speed with which he overtook the _Sea King_ he could -not have proceeded far from the spot where we first encountered the -_Tarantula_,” decided Ned, “according to my ideas then, our friends have -most probably been set ashore on his plantation.” - -“Cracky! I believe you are right, Ned,” cried Tom in a jubilant tone. - -His voice became more sober the next minute, though. - -“In that case they will be under a strong guard,” he added despondently. - -“I don’t see that that follows,” struck in Jack. “I’ve just been -thinking that Herrera, judging from his large crew, must have most of -his fighting men right here on board the _Tarantula_. In such a case, -the ones left at the plantation can’t be much more formidable than those -slaves Ned told us about a while back.” - -“That does sound reasonable,” assented Tom, “so then it will be our best -plan to make for the coast at once. Do you think you could find the -mouth of that river again, Ned?” - -“Captain Andrews has its exact bearings,” rejoined the “wireless” lad. -“I guess we could pick it up with no more trouble than we’d have in -making any other port.” - -“That sounds good,” gleefully exclaimed Jack. “I reckon it will be our -best plan of action, too.” - -“More especially as Herrera and company are going to have bad headaches -when they do wake up, and will take some time to get their wits -together,” said Tom with a grin. “By that time, if all goes well, we -ought to have secured the freedom of our party.” - -“Jove! But there’s one thing we were almost forgetting,” cried Ned -suddenly. - -“What’s that?” - -The question proceeded from Tom. - -“This craft has wireless. When the bunch comes back to life they can -flash a message to the plantation telling them to be on the lookout for -us. That is, if they guess where we’ve gone, and there isn’t much doubt -that they will.” - -“Right you are, Ned Bangs,” agreed Jack; “but I guess with what we know -about wireless it won’t take over and above long to fix the -_Tarantula’s_ apparatus so that it won’t be any more good than a bunch -of junk.” - -“Seems a shame,” commented Tom. - -Jack and Ned stared at him. - -“Yes, and it would have been a shame if Herrera had sent the _Sea King_ -to the bottom, as he fully intended to do,” indignantly exclaimed the -latter. “I don’t see where he comes in to be entitled to any more -consideration than a rattlesnake.” - -“No more do I,” assented Jack. “Come on, let’s find the wireless room of -this craft and get busy with it.” - -It took but a few minutes to locate the wireless room of the speedy -gunboat. It took still less time for Jack to sever the wires and render -the condensers and helix useless. - -“There,” he said, with a deep breath, as he concluded his task, “I guess -it will be quite a while before any messages can be flashed from this -craft.” - -“Unless they have extra apparatus on board,” came from Tom. - -“Gee whiz! That didn’t occur to me. Wonder if they have?” - -“Well, we can’t waste time looking for it,” struck in Ned. “You said the -effects of that gas would wear off in about an hour, didn’t you. Jack?” - -“Yes.” - -“Then I suggest we get a move on.” - -“Right you are,” agreed Jack, and then, looking around for Tom, he -missed him. The lad had slipped silently out of the place. - -“What can have become of him?” gasped Jack, somewhat astounded at Tom’s -quick disappearance act. - -It was not till they emerged on deck a few seconds later that they heard -sounds from the engine-room, and presently Tom showed up. He had a -wrench in his hand, and bore a well-satisfied grin on his round face. - -“What on earth have you been up to?” asked Jack. - -“I’ve been administering much the same treatment to the engines of this -craft that you have to the wireless,” chuckled Tom. “Gee whillikers! -what an astonished outfit of tamale-eaters there’s going to be on this -ship when they come to life!” - - - - - CHAPTER XI—THE “FLYING ROAD RACER” - - -Leaving the _Tarantula_ to drift at her sweet will, all haste was made -by the youthful adventurers in regaining the side of the _Sea King_. -When they reascended to the deck of that craft, after making fast the -_Vagrant_, they found a newcomer among the crew to greet them,—namely, -MacDuffy, the engineer, who announced that he had made temporary -repairs. - -“But they willna be lastin’ lang, I’m thinkin’,” he said ruefully, “I -dinna ken if they will carry us a hundred miles.” - -“And it’s a good three hundred or more back to that river mouth,” cried -Ned in dismay. - -“Aye, lad, it wull be all of that,” agreed the Scotchman. - -A sudden idea struck Jack. - -“Is there any one on board who understands wireless besides Ned Bangs?” -he asked abruptly. - -Sam Serviss, a youngish-looking seaman,—he was third officer of the _Sea -King_,—stepped forward. - -“I can read Morse and Continental,” he said simply, “and I’ve taken -lessons from Ned Bangs here. I guess at a pinch I could operate a -wireless all right.” - -“Good. That puts my plan on a feasible basis,” exclaimed Jack. - -“What may the plan be?” asked Captain Andrews interestedly. - -“Just this: The _Sea King_ will proceed to Lone Island, navigated by Mr. -Serviss here. On the island, as you know, is a wireless plant. The -generator is not a very powerful one, but you can harness the island -apparatus to the generators of the _Sea King_, and obtain as much -current as you want,—two kilowatts if necessary. I have a plan to -increase the power of the _Vagrant’s_ outfit, so that we can keep in -touch with you.” - -Captain Andrews and MacDuffy nodded. Jack went on, while they all -listened with deep attention. - -“The _Sea King_ carries a gasolene launch. On arrival at Lone Island you -can try to get into communication with us. In the meantime the launch -can be despatched to Galveston for the supplies and tools needful to -mend that shaft properly. This being done, Mr. Serviss will watch the -wireless for further instructions, or, in case of need, proceed to our -rescue.” - -“Then you mean to go back to Yucatan the noo?” inquired MacDuffy. - -“Of course,” rejoined Jack, quick as a flash, and in a tone that showed -he had indeed arrived at a definite conclusion in the matter. “It’s my -duty and Tom’s to rescue our relatives, and that as soon as possible.” - -“And you’ll no be countin’ on taking me?” asked MacDuffy, rather -piteously. - -Jack shook his head. - -“The capacity of the _Vagrant_ is limited, Mr. MacDuffy,” he said, “and -we may have to adopt another means of transportation before we get -through—I mean the aero-auto.” - -“Good. The very thing,” was Ned’s enthusiastic comment. - -“I guess Captain Andrews, Tom, Ned, Jupe and myself will be a big enough -force to take along,” went on Jack; “of course, we’ll carry the gas-guns -and a supply of ordinary firearms and ammunition.” - -The boy’s plans were so clear and well-defined that there was no -opposition. By this time the sky was streaked with gray and rose color -in the east, and a wan light overspread the sea. It showed them the -faint and distant outlines of the _Tarantula_, drifting seaward in the -clutch of some strong ocean current. Evidently, then, they had nothing -to fear from that source. - -The work of hoisting the aero-auto from its well on the _Sea King_, and -transferring the odd land-and-air traveler to the _Vagrant_ was set -about at once. Blocks and tackles were reeved on the derrick boom of the -after mast of the _Sea King_, and with wondrously little effort, the -vehicle the Boy Inventors had evolved was transferred to the flush after -deck of the _Vagrant_, where it was lashed in place, the ropes that -bound it being affixed to ringbolts on the deck. - -The Flying Road Racer must be described in some detail here, as it is -destined to figure largely in after events of the Boy Inventors’ lives. -The auto part of the wonderful machine, then, was a cigar-shaped affair -of aluminum, with four wheels of the “disc” type. It was fitted much -like an ordinary auto, with padded seats in front and in the tonneau, -equipped with shock absorbers, and was twelve feet in length. - -In the front of the car the engine, a hundred horse-power, -eight-cylinder, four-cycle machine, was installed. The controls led to -the steering wheel, just as is the case in ordinary cars. The crank -shaft, however, projected through the front of the car, and was provided -with a slotted terminal, by means of which an eight-foot aerial -propeller, carried in sections in the car itself, might be affixed at -will. - -Above the main body of the car was a light, but strong, framework -supporting a balloon bag,—also cigar-shaped, and of the finest oiled -silk,—of a capacity of about fifty thousand cubic feet of gas, and with -a theoretical lifting power of forty-five hundred pounds. The method of -inflating this bag at will, and thus converting the auto into a -practicable dirigible, was the most startling innovation about the -invention. - -The body of the car, as has been said, was cylindrical, with sharp ends, -like a mammoth perfecto cigar. This cylinder was divided in half, -longitudinally, by a floor of aluminum alloy. The entire lower chamber -thus formed was a big generating tank for a gas having a lifting -capacity exceeding hydrogen vapor by a ratio of three to one. This gas -was generated from brownish crystals formed of a compound of -hydrogen-saturated alum and another chemical akin to radium, which the -boys, for the present, kept a close secret. - -Two pounds of these crystals, when forty gallons of water were added to -them, formed close to sixty thousand cubic feet of the powerful -inflation gas. One hundred pounds of the crystals were carried in a -special compartment of the aero-auto, and constituted an ample supply -for all emergencies. To inflate the bag, then, all that had to be done -was to unbolt a metal hand-hole in the floor of the front section of the -car. Through this the crystals were dumped into the tank beneath and the -water added. The opening of the generator was then closed and clamped -down tight, hermetically sealing the tank. The gas, under compression, -was explosive, and was utilized to run the motor as well as for -inflation purposes. - -Immediately in front of the operator of the car was a gauge showing at -all times the pressure in the tank, and when the gas bag was in -operation the amount of gas in that also was indicated. When sufficient -gas was generated, the operator turned a valve and the gas from the tank -instantly began rushing into the bag carried on the framework above him. -The bag was so folded that it inflated without necessitating much -attention. Three broad bands of rubberized fabric of great strength -encircled the gas bag proper. - -To these were attached wires of a tensile strength exceeding anything -hitherto known. The other ends of the wires, of course, were fastened to -the body of the aero-auto, so that when the bag was sufficiently buoyant -the entire car and its occupants were borne aloft. By means of an -exhaust pump connected with the motor, the volume of gas could be -reduced at will, causing the entire aero-auto to sink at the pleasure of -those directing the machine. - -“Astern” of this wonderful invention was a rudder of vulcanized silk and -vanadium steel framework, which, when the invention was in use as a land -vehicle, was folded. When it was desired to take the air the release of -a simple clutch caused the rudder to assume its proper position. At the -same time, two long planes could be attached to the sides of the car, to -be used in ascending or descending. The machine had two steering and -governing devices. One wheel was used for the auto control, and another -“tiller” was put in use when it was soaring through the air. The control -of the aerial rudder, planes and engine, all centered in this second -wheel, thus putting the craft, at all times, under one man—or -boy—management. In conclusion, it may be mentioned that the craft was -equipped with speedometer, barometer, barograph and patent self-starting -devices, doing away with the old-fashioned “cranking” of the engine. The -wheels were fitted with semi-solid tires of great size and strength, and -the shock-absorbers before mentioned obviated any danger of a severe jar -or jounce on landing. The machine had been given several trials at High -Towers and had been found to work perfectly. - -It is not necessary here to give a description of the loading of the -aero-auto, the leave takings, and the final instructions and messages -that passed between the _Vagrant_ and the _Sea King_. Suffice it to say, -that at eight o’clock that morning all preparations on both sides were -completed and that at eight-ten precisely the two vessels parted -company. The _Sea King_ steamed northward slowly, bound for Lone Island, -and the _Vagrant_ headed for the mouth of the river on which the -plantations of the rascally Mexican were situated. At that time the -_Tarantula_ had drifted out of the adventurers’ ken altogether, over the -eastern horizon. - -Leaving Captain Andrews and Jupe in charge of the _Vagrant_, the lads, -thoroughly exhausted now that the strain and care of the long night were -over, sought their bunks and were soon wrapped in slumber. In their -dreams they flew high above the plateaus and rugged ranges of the -mysterious land for which they were bound, questing the unknown in -search of the lost ones. - - - - - CHAPTER XII—HERRERA IS NOT CAUGHT NAPPING - - -It was noon of the next day when Captain Andrews announced that they -were still some two hundred miles from their destination. But, as the -boys were all three of them busy over the aero-auto, adjusting and -examining every part of the queer craft, the time flew swiftly. The dawn -of the third day found them anchored off the jungle-clad coast, while -not a mile from them the waves were breaking on the bar that marked the -mouth of the shallow river, which, they subsequently learned, was called -the Apak. - -It would be two hours, so Captain Andrews calculated, before the tide -turned and made the passage of the bar possible. In the meantime. Jack -brought on deck the silver chest, which he had, of course, taken -possession of, pending the time when he could deliver it to his father. -The adventurers spread the three blazing gems it contained out on the -deck, and revelled in the glow of light and wonderful inward fires the -precious stones revealed as the bright sunlight played upon them. - -The _Vagrant_ had once been used as a passenger craft at Galveston, and -her former owners had installed an iron safe in the cabin for the -protection of valuables. In this receptacle Jack replaced the silver -casket after they had examined the gems to their hearts content. - -By this time Captain Andrews was ready to pronounce the crossing of the -bar at the river mouth feasible. The tide had risen till the tempestuous -breakers had subsided into long swells, with a narrow passage of smooth -water marking the channel. Carefully following this, the skipper of the -_Sea King_ piloted the _Vagrant_ through into the calm water of the -estuary beyond. - -The boys, grouped forward, gazing at the surroundings with eager eyes, -beheld a scene full of wild, tropic beauty. The white beach, blazingly -radiant in the strong light, was bordered by a dense jungle of dark, -melancholy looking mangroves. Beyond these came a tangle of brilliantly -green jungle, in which the broad fronds of the banana plant -predominated, while here and there a tall palm reared its feathery head. - -Further back still the foliage changed again. Lordly groves of mahogany -trees, rosewood, and giant royal palms raised their crests. In the -distant background, far withdrawn, the misty blue outlines of a range of -majestic, rugged-looking mountains showed against the steely blue sky. -They looked as if they were hundreds of miles off at least; but Captain -Andrews explained that the distance from the shore to the foothills was -not so considerable, by a great deal, as it looked. The condition of the -atmosphere, laden with the moisture of the lowlands, lent them this -appearance of tremendous remoteness. - -“It is in those mountains,” said Captain Andrews, “that the remnants of -the most ancient of the Maya tribes still live. They tell stories up the -coast, in the civilized portions of Yucatan, about vast ruins and -remains of splendid cities to be found back there.” - -The boys gazed up at him as he stood at the wheel. A magic world of -romance and adventure seemed suddenly opened before them by his words. - -“I recall reading once,” said Tom, the studious, “that the Mayas were -civilized long before the Aztecs or Toltecs, and that their knowledge of -the building arts exceeded that of either of those races.” - -“Sort of pioneer real-estate men,” chuckled Ned Bangs, who in moments -when he was not oppressed by trouble, as he had been recently, possessed -a whimsical vein of humor. - -“Ho! ho! ho! ah reckon dat’s right, Marse Ned,” roared Jupe, opening his -big lips and exposing his ivories. - -“Has any one ever penetrated into their country?” went on Tom, -addressing Captain Andrews. - -“I guess your father went as far as anybody,” was the response, “and you -know how far he got. I have heard that the remnants of the ancient -tribes have a law, making it death for the man who dares to advance into -their territory.” - -“But the natives that caught you didn’t seem disposed to kill you,” -objected Jack. - -“Oh, those fellows; they are of the inferior coast tribes,” was the -rejoinder. “The ancient races regarded them as dirt under their feet. I -guess they don’t know any more about the interior of those mountains -than we do.” - -The current of the river, discolored and yellow from the recent -earthquake back in the foothills, was so swift as they ascended that -Captain Andrews found no opportunity for further talk. It required all -his attention to keep the _Vagrant’s_ bow pointed upstream. The river -narrowed considerably after passing its mouth. Its turbid current rolled -seaward between two low and densely wooded banks, not more than sixty -feet apart. - -“How far is it to the spot where that craft of Herrera’s was moored?” -asked Jack, when he found an opportunity. - -“Fully fifteen or twenty miles, I should say,” was the response, “and if -we are making two miles an hour against this current we are doing well. -This river runs mighty near as fast as the Lachine Rapids back home.” - -“You’re not far out on that, Cap,” remarked the volatile Ned Bang’s, who -had quite recovered his usual flow of spirits. - -The lad had not as much at stake as Jack and Tom, and, moreover, he did -not quite realize the seriousness of the undertaking before them to the -same extent that they did. - -Hour after hour they fought their way up the coffee-colored river. The -character of the vegetation on the banks had begun to change by this -time. Here and there stood a majestic clump of mahogany trees; but -logwood, a valuable article of commerce in the dyeing industry, formed -the major part of the growth. Once, as they rounded a bend, the flash of -a lithe body was seen among the trees, as a beautifully spotted jaguar -slunk away from the overhanging limb where it had been lying. - -“Let’s try the gas-guns on the next one we see,” suggested Tom, and the -lads hastened below and returned armed with the odd weapons. - -An opportunity to use them soon presented itself. From a thick mass of -brake there came a mighty squealing and grunting, as the _Vagrant_ came -slowly around one of the numerous bends in the stream. All at once -several small, bristly animals, like miniature pigs, dashed out with a -mighty commotion. - -Three gas-guns flashed to three shoulders simultaneously. It was an odd -and rather uncanny sight to behold an instant later, six little wild -piggies lying with their toes turned up, “dead to the world,” as the -slangy Ned Bangs put it. - -The boys were keen for going ashore and gathering in the victims of the -ammonium nitrate compound. But Captain Andrews vetoed the proposal as -impossible. - -“There’s hardly a foot of water in shore there,” he said, “it’s a case -of ‘keep in de middle ob de road’ in this river.” - -Dinner was eaten at one o’clock. Jack “spelling” Captain Andrews at the -wheel while the skipper partook of a hearty meal, after which he -indulged in a nap while Tom, in his turn, relieved Jack. - -The latter was still below enjoying Jupe’s cookery, when there came a -sudden hail from above: - -“Say, Jack, hurry up on deck, won’t you? There’s something odd about the -water just ahead of us.” - -Ned it was who uttered the summons, poking his head down the companion -way. - -Jack finished his meal in a jiffy, and was on deck in another two -seconds. He found the _Vagrant’s_ nose still pointed up stream, but Tom, -using the bridge controls, had slowed down the engines till the craft -was almost stationary in the swift current. - -Right ahead of them lay the cause of Jack’s abrupt summons to the deck. - -A chain, composed of huge iron links, was stretched from bank to bank of -the river, effectually barring further progress. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII—A DARING PLAN - - -“Well,” said Jack, after a moment spent in surveying the obstruction, -“we might have expected something like that. The question is, what are -we going to do?” - -“We might land and remove it,” hazarded Ned. - -But Jack shook his head. - -“Jupe, go below and call Captain Andrews,” he said, in as calm a voice -as he could muster. “We won’t risk landing and trying to lower the chain -for two reasons. One is, that Herrera, having been cunning enough to put -up the barrier, is not likely to have left it unguarded. There may be -hidden eyes watching us right now. The second reason is, that it has -just occurred to me that a man who is playing the game he is, may have -placed other more dangerous obstacles in our path.” - -“For instance?” came from Tom. - -“For instance,—mines.” - -“By the holy poker! That’s so,” exclaimed Ned, “I guess we’d better turn -back and make our advance by land.” - -“Here’s Captain Andrews now,” struck in Tom, as the skipper of the _Sea -King_ came on deck, hastily adjusting his white pith helmet. - -There was no need to tell that veteran seaman what had happened. He took -in the situation at a glance. - -“It would have been funny if we hadn’t run up against something like -this,” he remarked, almost in Jack’s words. - -“The point is,—what now?” said Tom. - -Captain Andrews agreed with Jack that it would be a foolish risk to land -and try to remove the chain. - -“I’ve quite a notion that there are some rifles in that brush, all ready -for use in case we try to proceed,” he said reflectively, “my advice is -to drop back down stream and hold a council of war.” - -All agreed that this did seem about the only thing to do under the -circumstances, and accordingly Tom handed the wheel over to the sailor -while he went below to “stand by” the engines. - -In that muddy stream, with its sand banks and shoals, the maneuver they -were going to try would call for some delicate seamanship and swift -handling of the motor. - -Captain Andrews, with his lips grimly compressed, grasped the wheel and -sounded a signal. Slowly the _Vagrant_, which had been “hanging” -motionless, began to drop back with the current. - -“Too bad we can’t turn around,” complained Jack. - -“Wouldn’t dare to chance it,” rejoined the captain, “for all we know -there may be a sandbank on either side of us right now.” - -A deathlike silence hung over the _Vagrant_ as she drifted stern first -down the river. The wheel spun swiftly this way and that under the -helmsman’s muscular direction. - -“She goes as well backward as she does forward,” Ned was beginning, when -there came a sudden shock that almost threw them off their feet. Jupe, -in fact, did fall sprawling on the bridge. - -At almost precisely the same instant a shower of bullets whizzed above -them, singing a sinister song as they screeched about the motor craft. -Dense brush lined the banks, and the shooters were well concealed in it. -Not even a puff of smoke betrayed their exact whereabouts. - -And, while this hailstorm of lead whistled about the adventurers, they -realized all too clearly that the _Vagrant_ had run hard and fast on one -of the very sandbanks the captain had dreaded. One thing, however, -speedily became evident, and that was that the bullets had not harmed -them, because they were not intended to—yet. The shower of lead was -aimed high above their heads. Presently it ceased altogether. - -“That was a warning,” decided Captain Andrews. “Boys, your folks are -certainly surrounded by a barb-wire fence.” - -The lads did not answer. But as they sensed the nature of the obstacles -that were piling up in the way of their enterprise, a look of -consternation came over their faces. “The Chadwick Relief Expedition,” -as they had christened it, appeared to have run up against a stone wall. - -“I guess we are not in any danger of another fusillade if we stay where -we are, or keep on dropping back,” said Captain Andrews after an -interval of thought, “but if we try to keep on going we’ve had a sample -of what to expect.” - -The boys could not but agree with him. At length Jack spoke. - -“Hadn’t we better try to get the _Vagrant_ off whatever we’ve struck?” -he said. “I’ve got a plan in my head in that case; but I don’t think -this is the healthiest place to discuss it.” - -“We can put out a light anchor and try to warp off,” said Captain -Andrews. - -It was agreed to try this plan for rescuing the _Vagrant_ from her -uncomfortable berth. The dinghy was lowered and manned by Jack and Tom, -who took with them the light anchor which was attached to two hundred -feet of line. A hundred feet down stream they dropped the mud-hook, and -then rowed back to the _Vagrant_. - -When they were once more on board the winch was manned and, to their -delight, as the rope tightened the _Vagrant’s_ stern began to swing. - -“Keep at it, lads,” cried Captain Andrews to the perspiring laborers, -“if that anchor will only hold I believe we can get off.” - -The anchor did hold, and after ten minutes more of back-breaking work -the craft’s bow slid out of the mud bank with a sucking sound, and she -was once more free. The anchor was hauled on board, and, without further -mishap, the _Vagrant_ was set once more on her down-stream course. - -The first attempt of the courageous little band to rescue their comrades -had met with a rather ignominious failure. Captain Andrews said as much -that evening, as they found themselves anchored near the mouth of the -river they had fruitlessly ascended with so much pains. - -The skipper voiced this opinion after supper, while they sat on deck -casting anxious eyes to seaward now and again, for the recollection of -the _Tarantula_ was strong upon them. Above all things, they dreaded the -reappearance of that drab-colored craft. - -“You said you had a plan, Jack,” said Tom, as the skipper disconsolately -drew on his pipe, “Now’s the time to broach it. What is it?” - -“Just this,” was the simple reply, “we’ve got the aero-auto. It looks as -if the time had come to use her.” - -“And leave the _Vagrant_ here to be destroyed when Herrera happens -along?” demanded Tom. - -“That doesn’t follow. Did you notice that small creek almost overgrown -with brush that branches off about a mile above here?” - -“Yes, lad,” came from Captain Andrews, whose tones gave evidence of his -intense interest, “you’re planning to hide the _Vagrant_ there till we -come back again?” - -“You’ve caught my idea exactly,” said the lad. “What do you think of -it?” - -“That it’s a dumb-gasted good one, and that I, for one, am willing to -risk my neck in that flying automobubble of yours any time you say the -word.” - -“Then I say it right now,” shot out Jack, with flashing eyes. “We can’t -ascend this river by water; we’ll try the air route.” - -It was while they were still buzzing with the enthusiasm that Jack’s -fiery words had created that Tom uttered a sharp exclamation. - -“Jupiter!” he exclaimed, pointing seaward. “Look yonder. We’re not -playing a lone hand in this thing now.” - -Some distance off apparently, but rushing across the water at a swift -pace, was a bright white gleam,—the light of a vessel approaching the -bar at top speed. - -“The _Tarantula_, for all I’m worth!” exploded Captain Andrews. -“Confound her, why couldn’t she have kept her hands off for twelve hours -longer?” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV—A MESSAGE FROM THE AIR - - -Fortunately, there was no ray of light visible about the _Vagrant_. The -incandescents had been switched off in every part of her, with the -exception of the engine room. In this compartment Tom, by some -inspiration, had closed the deadlights, and therefore not a gleam of -light leaked out to betray the whereabouts of the craft. - -“Do you think the _Tarantula_ will cross the bar to-night?” asked Jack -presently. - -“I don’t imagine so,” was the rejoinder. “They wouldn’t be idiots enough -to take such a chance as that on this tide. No, if you ask me, we’ve got -the night ahead of us till the first streak of daylight.” - -“Good enough,” said Jack, with much inward satisfaction; “and now, I’ve -been thinking, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to keep watch by the -wireless. It’s likely enough that Herrera will try to send a message to -his plantation up the river, provided he’s managed to get his apparatus -repaired.” - -“I’ve been thinking that, too,” said Tom. “I’ll go below and start up -the generator.” - -“You might as well,” said Jack, “although I don’t think that we’ll send -out any messages to-night. Our job is to catch what we can from the -air.” - -While Tom hastened to the engine-room to start up the dynamo. Jack made -his way to the cabin, accompanied by Ned Bangs. Captain Andrews and Jupe -remained on watch on deck. - -Seating himself at the wireless table. Jack adjusted the head band, -placed the receivers at his ears, and then threw the switch for -receiving. Ned, in the meantime, had run up the wireless mast with its -slender antennæ, or aerials. - -This done, Ned rejoined his chum, seating himself beside him. After an -interval he spoke. - -“Anything yet?” - -“No; silent as the grave. Suppose you go on deck and see what Captain -Andrews and Jupe have observed.” - -Ned was back from his errand in a short space of time. His face bore a -well-pleased grin, as Jack could see in the light of the solitary -incandescent which illumined the cabin, the shades having, of course, -been drawn across the portholes before it was switched on. - -“Well?” questioned Jack. - -“Well,” echoed Ned, “everything is going famously. The light stopped -moving outside the bar, and presently Captain Andrews heard the rattle -of her anchor chains as she let go her mud-hooks. Everything has been -quiet since.” - -“Too quiet. I wish——” - -Jack broke off suddenly, holding up a hand to Ned to command silence. -Out of space the electric waves were beginning to break against the -aerials above. The _Tarantula_ was talking to some one on shore in a -rapid stream of dots and dashes. Jack’s hand flew across the recording -pad. As before, the paper was soon covered with figures—the code which -Tom had exploded. - -After half an hour, during which his hand had frequently sought the -tuning apparatus. Jack’s labors ceased; but his face bore a radiant -expression. - -“The message had a lot in it about us, and my father and the rest,” he -said. “They did not codify our names, but spelled them right out. That’s -how I know. They——” - -“Hadn’t you better listen in case there’s any more coming?” asked Ned. - -“No; they’re through for to-night. They exchanged the good-bye signal. -Now to find Tom and get him to translate this jumble of figures.” - -But Tom, after expending a lot of fruitless labor on the papers, -declared he could make nothing of them. - -“Maybe they’ve changed the code, or maybe——” - -“They’ve been using Spanish this time,” exclaimed Jack, struck by a -happy inspiration. - -“Cracky! I’ll bet that’s just what they have been doing,” cried Ned. -“Say, fellows, you just copy out those messages while I get Captain -Andrews below in two shakes of a duck’s tail.” - -He bounded off up the companion way, while Tom busily transcribed. So -fast did he work that he had a lot of words written out when the skipper -appeared. - -“So you’ve been catching something out of the air, have you?” he asked -as he entered the cabin. - -“Yes; and I guess it’s important, too,” declared Jack, “but you’ll have -to translate Tom’s notes. Captain, because it’s all in Spanish.” - -“That will be simple enough,” said Captain Andrews, sitting down and -drawing toward him the scattered sheets which Tom had already rendered -from the figures of the code. - -The veteran seaman began stolidly to con over the Spanish words, not all -of which, owing to Tom’s unfamiliarity with the language, were written -in correct form. But before long his composed attitude gave way to -excitement. - -“Jove, lads!” he exclaimed, “this wireless is a wonderful thing. It’s -tipped off that greaser’s hand to us in great shape. He——” - -“Wait till you get the whole message and then you can read it out to -us,” suggested Jack. - -Both the sailor and Tom worked like beavers at their task, and ere long -Captain Andrews leaned back in his chair and announced that he was ready -to read the messages as he had translated them. - -As he had hinted, they caused a sensation. Herrera had wirelessed his -plantation, and after a short interval had received a reply. He,—or, -rather, his operator,—then proceeded to relate all that had occurred; -and told,—the boys had to smile at this,—how the accursed gringos had -tricked them by some sort of hypnotism! - -However, so the message ran on, the capable Senor Herrera had managed to -rally his men on their recovery from the spell of witchcraft, and had -speedily organized a force to repair the damaged machinery and wireless -apparatus. This done, all speed had been made at once for the coast -whither, as they guessed, the gringos had preceded them. - -“Well, Herrera’s, man ashore soon informed them on board the _Tarantula_ -that such was the case,” continued Captain Andrews, “and gave him a -full, true and particular account of how they stopped us with that chain -and that fusillade. He told Herrera that he had confined the gringos in -one of the buildings used for the hemp crushers, and that they were as -safe as if they were in a safe deposit vault. Friend Herrera then -congratulated him on his astuteness, and said that he would run the bar -first thing in the morning, only stopping, by the way, to blow the -_Vagrant_ out of the water and send us all to Kingdom Come.” - -“Reckon he’s got another guess coming on that,” grinned Ned Bangs, -looking at Jack. - -“I hope so,” said that lad; “but now that we are in possession of these -facts it’s up to us to move quickly. Captain, do you think we can find -that branch creek in the night?” - -“We’ve got to,” was the grim response, “if we don’t want to part with -the good old _Vagrant_, and I’d hate to lose any ship I’ve trod the deck -of.” - -“Then, let’s up anchor and get out of here,” said Jack. - -“Intercepting that wireless,” he went on, “has taken one great load off -my mind. We know that those we are in search of are safe, and we know, -in addition, that they are confined in one of the hemp-making -buildings.” - -“And that’s a whole lot important to us right now,” supplemented Captain -Andrews. “Whole campaigns have been won with less knowledge of the -enemy’s country than we have.” - -They went on deck. Outside the bar a light showed where the _Tarantula_ -lay at anchor. Herrera must have been chuckling to himself at that very -instant. According to his knowledge of the situation, he had his foes -completely “bottled up.” All that remained for him to do was to capture -them and attain possession; of the coveted precious stones at his -leisure. - -While the Mexican was pondering such thoughts as these and nursing his -revenge, the company of the _Vagrant_ were busy,—very busy. - -It was too risky a thing to chance making the noise that raising the -anchor would have caused. So the cable was slashed and the engine -started with the underwater exhaust in operation. Noiselessly the little -craft glided up the stream and then turned her nose toward the bank. A -break in the line of trees, showing against the star-sprinkled sky, gave -the location of the creek mouth, and, feeling his way with the utmost -caution, Captain Andrews drove his temporary command into it. It was -driving, in a literal sense, for the brush and trees overhung the creek -so densely that the _Vagrant_ had to push her way among them. When she -had proceeded about a hundred yards up the stream she was masked from -the view of the river with complete effectiveness. - -“Glory be!” sighed Jupe, in a voice of intense relief, when Captain -Andrews ordered the second anchor “let go.” - - - - - CHAPTER XV—A DASH ALOFT - - -“It will be safe enough to light up now, I guess,” announced Captain -Andrews, when the anchorage had been accomplished. Jack had told him -previously that they would need deck lights to work by when it was -possible to use them without danger of detection. - -When the incandescents on the after deck were switched on the boys at -once fell to work on their “Flying Road Racer,” as Jack and Tom had -christened the craft. There was much to be done, and they worked -quickly. The tank was supplied with crystals and water, and the gauge -before long showed a pressure which the lads knew was sufficient to -inflate the bag when occasion arose. - -This done. Jack determined to make a test of the engines. First, seeing -that the neutral clutch was in working order, he pressed a button which -set the self-starting apparatus,—run by electricity from a storage -battery of great power and lightness,—into action. With a buzz and a -whirr the machinery started, and bit by bit the lad speeded the motor up -to its maximum number of revolutions per minute,—namely, two thousand. -While the crank shafts whirled round he carefully examined the -lubricating appliances. They worked as well as everything else, and -fully satisfied with his test, the young inventor shut down the engine, -with the announcement that so far as the machinery was concerned -everything was in readiness for an immediate flight, or ground cruise. - -While this had been going on, Jupe had been placing a stock of -provisions on board, and Captain Andrews had assembled his navigating -instruments and chronometers, which he had brought with him from the -_Sea King_. By midnight Jack declared that it was time for the -aero-auto’s passengers to get aboard. - -A thrill of excitement ran through the whole party at these words; but -Tom seemed suddenly to recollect something and stepped to Jack’s side, -talking in a low voice. - -The young leader nodded his assent to Tom’s proposal, whatever it was, -and Tom vanished below, summoning Jupe to help him. When he returned, he -had his arms full of mechanical apparatus, and the same was true of -Jupe, who grunted under his burdens. All this impedimenta was placed in -the tonneau, in lockers under the seats. - -It now only remained to bolt on the aerial propeller, adjust the -side-planes and fix the rudder. This was speedily done. - -At twelve-thirty o’clock the party cast off the lashings which had bound -the Flying Road Racer to the _Vagrant’s_ deck. Jack climbed into the -driver’s seat, taking his place at the aerial steering wheel. Tom sat -beside him. - -Captain Andrews, Ned Bangs and Jupe, whose eyes were almost popping out -of his head, seated themselves in the broad, roomy tonneau. - -The lights had already been switched off on I board the _Vagrant_ and -everything made snug. The silver casket, the gas-guns, the ammunition, -and the other accessories from the Professor’s cabin which had not yet -been opened, were, of course, on board the Flying Road Racer. - -Jack bent forward and snapped a button switch. A hooded light above the -various gauges and instruments on the dashboard shone out, shedding a -soft but bright light on the appliances, but not striking up into the -young leader’s eyes. - -“All ready?” queried the lad, giving a backward glance. - -“Ready as we ever will be, old top,” quoth the slangy Mr. Bangs. - -“Let her go,” said Tom in a tense voice. - -Jack’s pulses throbbed, and his heart beat a bit quicker than was -comfortable as he turned the valve that admitted gas to the bag above -them. - -With a swishing sound, not unlike escaping steam, the folds of the great -gas container began to fill out. It gradually assumed shape, swelling -till it reached what appeared to be vast proportions. When Jack shut off -the gas the huge, cigar-shaped balloon above them looked like an immense -dark cloud, superimposed over their heads. - -The bag took just fifteen minutes to inflate. During this time not a -word was spoken on board the Flying Road Racer. The tension was far too -great for speech. - -As Jack shut off the gas a tremor ran all through the novel craft. She -tugged and swayed at the single rope, reeved through a ringbolt, that -still bound her to the deck. The suspension wires thrummed musically -under the pressure. - -“Let go!” yelled Jack suddenly. - -Tom, who had been holding the end of the rope, dropped it. Instantly the -Flying Road Racer gave a bound upward. - -“Bust my toplights!” bellowed Captain Andrews in excitement at the novel -sensation. - -Jupe’s lips might have been seen to move. He appeared to be praying. Ned -Bangs’ hands were clenched tightly. He was very pale. - -“Look out for the tree tops!” cried Tom suddenly. - -The wonderful craft, with her precious freight, swayed drunkenly toward -the crests of a group of giant ceiba trees. For one instant disaster, at -the very outset of their voyage, appeared inevitable. - -But suddenly there was a whirring sound, like the drone of a monstrous -night beetle. The engine was driving the propeller round at top speed. - -Jack twisted the steering wheel over, and the Flying Road Racer, rising -at the rate of a hundred feet a minute, shot clear of the menacing tree -tops. - -Up and up into the night she rose, while her occupants, forgetting their -first alarm in their enthusiasm, gave a mighty cheer, careless, for the -minute, of who might hear it. - -The voyage of the Flying Road Racer had begun under a fortunate star -indeed. - -Directly the tree tops were cleared Jack set the planes at a rising -angle, and the upward course of the Flying Road Racer was more rapid. -She seemed fairly to shoot up into the ether. - -“How do you like it?” asked Tom, turning his head-to speak to those in -the tonneau. - -“Ah’d like it better, Marse Tom, ef I didn’t feel I done lef’ mah -insides behin’ me,” faltered Jupe. - -“You’ll soon get over that feeling,” declared Tom confidently. “Just -hark at that engine! She’s running as true as a human heart.” - -“She is that,” agreed Jack, enthusiastically, “Tom, old boy, we’ve got -the greatest land-and-air-craft ever put together.” - -“And to think that you two lads, hardly more than schoolboys, invented -her,” struck in Captain Andrews admiringly. - -“I guess my father had a whole lot to do with it,” rejoined Jack -modestly; “we could never have mastered a lot of knotty points without -his aid.” - -“Well, that doesn’t detract from what you’ve accomplished one bit,” -declared Ned with enthusiasm. “This is the mode of traveling of the -future all right.” - -“We hope to make it so some day,” was Tom’s reply. - -The night was almost windless, save for a slight puff now and then. But -this didn’t bother the Flying Road Racer once she was under control, and -Jack had managed to climb upward on an almost straight course. - -Now he peered over the edge of the aluminum body. Beneath him he could -see the gleam of the river in the starlight. - -“We’ll follow the stream,” he decided. “It is bound to bring us to -Herrera’s plantation.” - -“Keep at a good height, though,” admonished Captain Andrews. “We know -that those fellows have high-powered rifles.” - -“We are now twenty-five hundred feet above the earth,” said Jack, -glancing at the barograph. “We’ll go higher.” - -He pulled a lever, setting the rising planes at a more acute angle. Up -the aerial staircase they climbed, till the barograph’s indicator -pointed to the figures five thousand. - -Then Jack turned the prow of the craft in a westerly direction, while -Tom, through night glasses, watched the earth so far below them, -following the course of the river through the binoculars. - -At forty miles an hour the Flying Road Racer swept through the air on -her momentous errand. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI—INTO THE ENEMY’S CAMP - - -When the Flying Road Racer took the air the weight that the craft -carried was distributed as follows: - -Aluminum body, wheels, motor, suspension wires, etc. 900 pounds. - -Five passengers. (approx.) 800 pounds. - -Provisions, water, etc. 250 pounds. - -(The provisions included canned goods, preserved butter, tea and cocoa, -flour, sugar, salt and a few delicacies.) - -Radolite crystals, instruments, etc. 275 pounds. - -Other articles,—including Ned’s last-minute contributions. 300 pounds. - -Total 2,525 pounds. - -This left lifting power to raise 2,475 lbs., which, however, could be -increased to a considerable extent by utilizing the reserve sections of -the gas bag. - -Jack roughly estimated the combined weights of those they were to -rescue,—his father, his uncle, Abner Jennings and the two sailors,—at a -little over one thousand pounds. Thus, it will be seen, that there was -no reason why the Flying Road Racer should not be able to perform all -that was required of her, with some lifting power left over for -emergencies. - -The boy inventors’ craft had been in the air about an hour when Tom -descried, far below them, the gleam of a light. In that wild country it -was not likely to betoken anything else but the site of Herrera’s -plantation houses. - -They all agreed on this, and Jack, after a consultation with his -comrades, decided that the time had come to descend. The plan they -arrived at, after threshing the situation over in all its bearings, was -to drop in the most suitable place they could find, adjacent to the -plantation buildings. - -Then the gas bag was to be reinflated, ready for emergencies, and two of -the party were to reconnoiter the ground as carefully as possible. The -remainder of the rescue was to be left to circumstances. At one hour and -ten minutes after midnight. Jack started the exhaust engine up. - -Instantly the Flying Road Racer began to drop downward through space -with her planes set at a slight angle, as Jack did not want to coast to -earth too rapidly. This course soon brought the craft above the summits -of the forest trees, at a safe distance from the light they had -perceived from aloft. To make assurance of being unnoticed doubly sure. -Jack had shut off the motor. Silently as a night bird the great bulk of -the flying auto settled earthward. - -All this time their eyes had been strained to sight an open space in -which they might land without risk of damaging the balloon bag. Tom was -the first to see, through the night glasses, such an area of cleared -land amid the forest. - -It was a tract about ten acres in extent, and formed, as they surmised -later, one of the outlying fields of Herrera’s plantation. It had not -yet been put into cultivation, however, and afforded as fine a spot for -an air craft to ground as could be imagined. Half an hour after the -descent had begun the Flying Road Racer settled as lightly as a bit of -breeze-blown down on earth once more. - -Thanks to her shock absorbers, hardly a jar was felt by those on board -as she landed with her bag half deflated and limp and wrinkled. No time -was lost in alighting and throwing out the anchors, contrived by Jack, -used for securing the craft to earth in case of a sudden wind springing -up. These anchors differed considerably from the sea type of “mud hook.” -They consisted, in fact, merely of discs of iron shaped like an inverted -mushroom. One edge of the disc was driven into the ground, and the shape -of the holding appliances was such that an upward tug merely served to -force them more deeply into the earth. - -The adventurers figured that they were about half a mile to the west of -the spot where they had seen the light, which they believed marked the -site of Herrera’s plantation houses. They also estimated that there were -left to them about two hours and a half more of darkness. There was -urgent necessity then for immediate action. - -Much to the chagrin of Tom and Ned, but to the huge delight of Jupe, who -had no great fancy for the work in hand. Jack and Captain Andrews were -to be the ones to do the reconnoitering. Tom and Ned were ordered to -stand by the Flying Road Racer and be ready for any sudden development -that might occur. - -While Captain Andrews and Jack were absent, it would be the others’ duty -also to refill the gas bag, so that the aero-auto might be ready for an -instant ascent in case of need. - -These preparations completed, the two who were to assume the most risky -part of the night’s work each selected a fully loaded gas-gun. In -addition. Captain Andrews carried an automatic revolver; but it was on -the former weapons that they would largely depend. - -There remained nothing more but the leave-takings, and the fervent -wishes for success in the daring enterprise, coming from the lads who -were to be left behind. These final ceremonies being disposed of, the -grizzled old sailor and his young companion set off. Tom and Ned watched -them till the shadows of the forest swallowed them up. - -By good fortune, the two, upon whom so much depended, struck a trail -almost immediately after their first plunge into the blackness that -prevailed under the tropical trees. The path had evidently been used by -the laborers who had made the clearing beyond. It was a broad, -well-defined track, and their progress was rapid and almost noiseless. - -Neither of them spoke as they made their way along the path. The -situation was too critical for words, and Jack crept along behind -Captain Andrews, hardly daring to breathe. - -He was on the tip-toe of excitement and anxiety, as was natural. At the -end of the trail they were following’ lay either success or dire -failure. There was no middle ground. In the event of their failing in -their mission. Jack could not disguise from himself that the -consequences would be awful indeed. He had come in contact with Herrera -only once, but that single occasion had amply sufficed to show him the -character of the man. - -From time to time, as they advanced, they paused and listened intently. -But, except for the drone of the night insects of the jungle, and the -occasional scream of a nocturnal bird, there was no sound other than the -sighing of the breeze in the tree tops far above. - -There is no place more mysterious than the jungle at night. The dense -thickets seem to the nervous traveler to hold all manner of hidden -perils. Some of these are not altogether imaginary, either. The cunning, -cruel jaguar, the huge serpents, and a score of other dangers lurk in -the shadows. - -Fortunately, neither of our friends was burdened with sensitive nerves, -and it was well they were not, for their errand was not one for timid -folk to embark upon. - -They glided along after all these pauses, making as fast time as -possible. All at once Captain Andrews, who was in the lead, as we know, -stopped abruptly. - -So abruptly, in fact, that Jack almost collided with him. - -“What’s the——” began Jack. - -But instantly the Captain clapped a hand over his mouth. He raised the -other in a gesture that Jack read instantly: “Silence!” - -Just ahead of them. Jack now perceived, the path broadened and emerged -on a considerable clearing. The black outlines of several buildings, -were scattered about this open space. - -From one of them hung a lantern, shedding a yellow patch of light all -about it. This, evidently, was the light they had seen from above. - -As they stood, still as graven images in the protecting shadows of the -forest, a stalwart figure, with a rifle over its shoulder, paced into -the circle of light and then vanished again. - -“A sentry!” huskily breathed Captain Andrews. “If we thought we’d catch -them napping we’ve been badly mistaken.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII—“DAD!—IT’S JACK!” - - -Jack gave a step forward the better to survey the scene before them. As -he did so his right foot struck something, and the next instant there -was a sudden sharp jangling of a bell. - -In a flash he realized what had happened. A wire connected with the bell -had been stretched across the path,—Herrera’s dead line. His forward -step had given the alarm, and might prove their undoing and cause the -total failure of their plans. Captain Andrews’ arm shot out and dragged -the boy back into a clump of brush. He made Jack lie down flat, doing so -himself. - -“The whole pack will be about our ears in a minute,” he whispered; but -he did not reproach Jack, whose face was burning with humiliation. - -Sure enough, almost simultaneously there came from the direction of the -houses and sheds an excited clamor of voices. Lights flashed and figures -could be seen rushing about. Presently they gathered in a knot, and some -one appeared to be giving directions; then they scattered in a -fan-shaped formation, and moved toward the woods in which the two -adventurers lay concealed. - -Jack’s heart beat like a trip hammer. Beside him he could hear Captain -Andrews breathing heavily. Their discovery, within the next few minutes, -appeared inevitable. Flashing their lanterns hither and thither the -searching party, which they could now see was composed of negroes, from -the Mosquito coast in all probability, advanced toward the jungle. - -There were a dozen or more of them, headed by the big fellow whom they -had noticed on sentry duty. Almost all of them carried the universal -weapon of the negro in the tropics, long, glittering-bladed machetes. -Some of them took to the path by which Captain Andrews and Jack had -reached their present position. Others plunged into the jungle, cutting -away the thick growth with their steel blades. - -Their leader shouted something in Spanish. “He’s ordering them to search -every inch of the jungle hereabouts,” interpreted Captain Andrews in a -whisper. “The precious rascal! I’d like to have my hands on him.” - -“It wouldn’t do much good,” was the mournful response; “the odds against -us are too heavy for us to do much in case of our discovery.” - -“Well, we’ve got the gas-guns, and from what I’ve already seen of them I -reckon that they may prove mighty useful in a few minutes.” - -As he spoke there came a crashing sound in the undergrowth a few feet -from them. The next moment they saw the form of a giant black looming up -directly in front of them. The fellow was grunting from his exertions in -cutting his way through the underwood, and paused for an instant to -catch his breath. - -It was a fatal pause for him. Jack gently drew his gas-gun toward him -and fired. The negro threw both his hands into the air and dropped with -a loud “Oof!” - -But the shot had been at such close range that the powerful gas -impregnated the air that Captain Andrews and his young companion were -breathing. The reek of it stung their nostrils. - -“We’ve got to get out of here,” whispered Jack, “or we’ll be as dead to -the world as that fellow is.” - -Painfully they crept on their stomachs through the thick brush, moving -as silently as cats. A single mistake in their movements, the crack of a -branch snapped by carelessness might, as they both knew, prove fatal. -But they managed to gain a small clearing under some big trees without -mishap. - -It was at this moment that Jack had a sudden inspiration. - -“See here,” he said excitedly, under his breath, “those chaps have -worked past us now, to judge by the sounds. They think that we have fled -through the woods. What’s the matter with our doubling back on our -tracks and marching right into the settlement?” - -Captain Andrews, ungiven as he was to emotion, fairly gasped. - -“By the beard of Neptune, boy!” he exclaimed, and then, in the same -breath, “but it’s not as mad a plan as it sounds. In all likelihood, -almost the entire force of guards from the plantation buildings are out -after us, and we ought to be more than a match for half a dozen with the -gas-guns.” - -“Then we’ll do it?” throbbed Jack, with a catch of his breath. - -“Yes. We came here to rescue those poor chaps, and, by the Polar Star, -we’ll do it if it’s possible.” - -Jack impulsively held out his hand. Captain Andrews clasped it warmly. -The next moment they were stealthily creeping through the undergrowth, -but advancing far more quickly than they had retreated a moment before. - -When they once more gained the edge of the jungle. Jack perceived, to -his intense satisfaction, that everything was quiet about the handful of -buildings before them. So far as could be seen, there was no one about. -Evidently then, his surmise had been correct. The majority, if not all -of the residents, were abroad in search of the persons who had sounded -the alarm bell. - -“Which building do you think it likely they are in?” asked Jack, as they -paused an instant before plunging from the protection of the woods. - -“The one that has that lantern hanging on it, - -“I imagine,” was the response from the veteran seaman, “we’ll try that -first, anyway. Are you ready?” - -Jack nodded. He did not speak, however. It was not a time for mere -words. The next moment they had passed from the dark shadows of the -jungle into the open space about the plantation buildings. Each clasped -his gas-gun ready for instant use. But nobody appeared to bar their -progress. - -When they gained the structure from which the lamp was hanging, they -found that it was a tall building of wood, and seemingly three stories -in height. - -It was used, though they did not know this at the time, as a drying -house for the hemp after it had been through the crushing and separating -processes. The door was secured on the outside by a weighty bar of wood. -Captain Andrews lifted this out of its sockets, and in a jiffy had flung -the door open. Inside was pitchy darkness, so black that it could almost -be felt. - -Jack had brought along his electric pocket lamp. He drew it out and -switched on the current. The rays revealed a large, bare chamber, empty, -except for a pile of dry hemp in one corner, and in another a few bales -of the product stacked ready for shipment. - -“Nothing here,” said Captain Andrews briefly. - -“No; but see, there’s a flight of steps in that corner. Let’s go higher -and find out what’s on the floor above.” - -“It may be wasting precious time, lad.” - -“On the other hand, this was the building that was guarded by the -sentry. It’s fair to assume, then, that it is in this structure that our -friends are confined.” - -Captain Andrews had nothing to reply to this logic, and followed Jack up -the steps. - -At the summit of the rickety staircase was another door, secured, as had -been the one below, by a stout bar of wood. Jack tackled this and -wrenched it free. As he did so a voice that thrilled him in every fiber -came from within the portal. - -“Who is it?” - -“Dad! It’s me—Jack—I’ve come to save you!” blurted out Jack, tears of -sheer gladness springing to his eyes. He flung the door open. - -The next instant Jack was clasped in his father’s arms, while about him -and Captain Andrews, pressed the other captives, all well and unharmed -and half wild with delight as they greeted the lad whose pluck had -conquered Herrera’s “deadline.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII—HEMMED IN BY FLAMES - - -Naturally, after the first greeting’s had been exchanged, Mr. Jesson’s -principal anxiety was for his son Tom. Jack soon set his mind at rest on -this subject. - -“Tom and Ned Bangs are back on the other side of the woods, with the -aero-auto,” he explained. - -“Ah, then it has proved a success?” eagerly interjected Mr. Chadwick. - -“It is even better than we hoped it would be,” rejoined Jack -enthusiastically. - -“I wouldn’t be scared to trust myself to that aerial wind-jammer for a -voyage to China,” stoutly declared Captain Andrews. “I reckon if Wellman -had had a craft like that he’d have crossed the Atlantic easy as -shooting.” - -“I don’t know but what you’re right,” said Jack; “but the thing to -discuss now is how to get out of here. Dad, do you know much about this -place?” - -“Nothing, except that there is a floor above this. We were confined -there the first day of our captivity. But the sheet iron roof used for -drying hemp made it so insufferably hot that we would have died if they -hadn’t moved us down here,” was the reply. - -“Then, so far as you know, there is no way of getting out but by the -door we entered?” - -“That’s the only way, I guess. We had better make good our escape while -those rascally hangers-on about the settlement are off hunting for the -fellows who rang their alarm bell.” - -Professor Chadwick, to whom Jack had given a hasty outline of the events -of the night, moved toward the door as he spoke. But he had not taken -more than two steps toward the head of the stairs when he stopped -abruptly. - -“Hark!” he exclaimed, standing stock still in an attitude of close -attention. - -The murmur of voices came toward the party. It didn’t take any of them -long to surmise what had happened. The searching party was coming back. -In a few moments their egress would be cut off and it would be -impossible to escape without a fight, the outcome of which was doubtful. - -In this emergency Captain Andrews acted quickly. Gas-gun in hand, he ran -down the stairway, shouting to the others to “come on.” - -They pressed close behind him, each with a grim determination to reach -the doorway before the guardians of the plantation noticed that it was -open. - -But in this they were disappointed. Hardly had Captain Andrews reached -the doorway before several forms blocked it. As the doughty sea captain -sprang at the foremost of them, at least a dozen of the husky henchmen -of Herrera leaped on him. - -Before either he or Jack could use their gas-guns, Captain Andrews was -borne to the ground, while on top of him were piled half a dozen of the -returned search party. - -“Back to the upper room,” ordered Jack, “I’m going to fire my gas-gun.” - -The boy shouted this warning because he knew that in that narrow space -the fumes of the stupefying gas were likely to prove as disastrous to -the white men as to the brawny negroes. Professor Chadwick, who well -knew the qualities of the gas, retreated with the others. As he did so. -Jack saw a rifle aimed at him by one of the negroes who crowded the -doorway. - -In a moment he had the gas-gun at his shoulder. He pressed the trigger -and one of the sleep-laden globules shot out. It struck the armed negro -in the chest, and the fellow threw up his arms with a sharp exhalation -of his breath. Then he fell, as if his legs had been pulled from under -him. - -The fellows who were piled on top of Captain Andrews released him and -dashed toward their other foe. As they left him the skipper of the _Sea -King_ sprang to his feet and discharged his weapon. The air became -impregnated with stifling fumes. - -Through the reek the seaman struggled to Jack’s side, and before the -dazed negroes could realize what had occurred the two whites were -shoulder to shoulder on the stairway. - -Almost simultaneously the contents of the gas spheres began to have -their effect. Man after man of those who remained, for several had fled, -staggered and fell, while Jack and the captain retreated up the -stairway. They lost no time in reaching the door at the head of the -stairs and shutting it to keep out the fumes. They were none too soon. -The gas had already affected them, and their heads throbbed and their -eyelids felt leaden. - -In the corner of the room was a big earthen pitcher of water. The -Professor threw the contents of this over his son and Captain Andrews, -and though still heavy from the effects of the gas, the shock revived -them wonderfully. - -“What now?” asked the Professor, after Jack and Captain Andrews had -“come back to life” a little. - -“Wait till the fumes of the gas have evaporated through the open door -downstairs, and then make a dash for freedom,” said Captain Andrews. - -“How long will it be before the air is good to breathe?” inquired Mr. -Jesson. - -“About fifteen minutes,” said the Professor; “the gas is of a very -volatile nature, and the fumes will soon clear off. It will be an hour -or so at least, however, before the negroes recover.” - -“I would suggest, then, that Jack gives us a more detailed account of -what occurred after he left Lone Island,” said Mr. Jesson. - -Falling in with this idea, they seated themselves about the lad, who at -once plunged into the details of the narrative, which, as may be -imagined, proved of engrossing interest to all who heard him. - -He was interrupted several times by questions and requests for -information concerning the operation of the aero-auto, and the relation -of his story took longer than had been anticipated. However, even in -their critical situation, no one wanted to miss a word of it. - -“And so the three gems are safe?” said Professor Chadwick, with a sigh -of relief, as the lad concluded. - -“Yes. They are at this moment in the Flying Road Racer’s locker, in -charge of Tom and Ned,” was the reply. - -As Jack spoke they all, by mutual consent, rose and made for the door. - -“I shall be glad to get to the air,” remarked Professor Chadwick. - -“Yes; it is insufferably hot in here,” agreed Mr. Jesson. “I had not -noticed the heat so much while Jack was talking; but now,—phew! It’s -like a furnace.” - -As he spoke. Jack flung the door open. The next instant he staggered -back, the hot blood in his veins frozen with horror. - -A rush of air, hot and arid as a blast from a coke oven, struck him in -the face. A great puff of smoke followed. - -The room below was a vast furnace of red flame. In falling, one of the -negro’s lanterns had overturned and rolled against the bales of dried -hemp. All the time they had been talking the fire had been waxing more -and more furious. - -By this time the lower part of the stairway was in flames, and, as Jack -held the door open, a tongue of fire, sucked upward by the draft, shot -hungrily toward him. - -He slammed the door instantly. But the heat of the seething furnace -below rendered the air almost unbreathable. - -It looked as if, in the very moment of their triumph, the adventurers -were doomed to death in the burning building. Trapped and helpless, for -an instant they were deprived of words. Was this to be their appalling -destiny, their fate,—to be roasted alive without a chance of escape? - - - - - CHAPTER XIX—“STAND BY FOR A ROPE!” - - -There are some situations so overwhelming that the strongest and coolest -may well be temporarily stunned by them. The springs of action paralyze, -while the mind becomes a blank. - -This was the case with our party of adventurers. Added to this, was the -horror of knowing that many of the negroes in the room below must have -perished in the flames. Jack felt a sickening feeling of panic clutching -at his heart. - -In one corner of the room the two sailors crouched, stolidly awaiting -death. Professor Chadwick and Mr. Jesson alone remained calm. Even -Captain Andrews and Abner Jennings appeared dazed and helpless with the -sickening sense of the disaster that had overtaken them. - -“We must leave this room at once.” - -It was Professor Chadwick who spoke, in a voice that did not falter in -its resolute tones. - -His calmness, in the face of death, restored Jack’s pluck and heartened -Captain Andrews and Abner Jennings. Even the two sailors appeared to be -less panic-stricken. - -“We can only leave it for the room above,” objected one of them, -however; “the flames will reach there afore long. Might as well die now -as an hour later.” - -“Shame on you for American seamen!” burst out Captain Andrews, “rouse up -there! While there’s life there’s hope.” - -His words were effective. At any rate, no more grumbling was heard as -the beleaguered party ascended to the upper chamber. Like the one below -it, the place was bare, and Jack flashed his electric searchlight about -without discovering any loophole of escape. As was the case in the lower -chamber, the walls were unpierced by windows, and the timbers were too -solid for it to be feasible to knock them out, except with heavy -sledges. - -All at once, however, Jack noticed, as he flashed his light about, that -in one corner there seemed to be a sort of trap-door in the roof. - -He hailed his discovery with a cry of delight. If they could only reach -the roof it might be possible for them to attract the attention of some -one below who could get a ladder. - -Of course, in that event, they would be likely to be made captives, but -anything was preferable to a tomb in the flames. - -Jack’s discovery acted like a tonic on the despairing feelings of the -party. The iron roof was two feet beyond the reach of the tallest of -them, but this difficulty was gotten over by Jack clambering to Captain -Andrews’ shoulders, and from that situation he was able to reach the -trap-door and to open it, for his first fear that it might be locked -proved to be without foundation. - -Having opened it. Jack clambered through, and lying flat on the roof -extended his hands to his father, who, in turn, used Captain Andrews as -a ladder. Then came Mr. Jesson, followed by the two sailors. Abner -Jennings demurred to taking precedence of the Captain. But,—— - -“The skipper’s the last to leave the ship, my lad,” declared Captain -Andrews, and Jennings, unwillingly enough, clambered on his back and was -drawn up. - -Then came the Captain’s turn. Abner Jennings, as the strongest of the -party, lay flat on his stomach and extended his arms down within the -room. To his legs clung the others, acting as anchors. With a mighty -heave Captain Andrews, no lightweight, was raised high enough for him to -clutch the edge of the trap, after which he completed the operation of -getting through for himself. - -As he gained the roof they heard a crash beneath them. - -“The floor of your jail has fallen through, I reckon. Professor,” grimly -spoke the captain. - -As Jack heard the angry roar and crackle of the flames beneath them he -could not repress a shudder. It was a drop of fifty feet or more to the -ground, and they were by no means out of danger. - -“Let’s see if any of those black rascals are about,” said Captain -Andrews, “if they are we may be able to induce them to get a ladder.” - -“Surely they wouldn’t be inhuman enough to let us remain here,” -exclaimed the Professor. - -“I don’t know,” was the response, “like master, like man, you know; and -this might strike Herrera as a very neat way of disposing of us.” - -Several forms could be seen flitting about below them. The flames were -pouring through the windows of the lower story of the hemp-drying -building, casting a ruddy glow in which near-by objects could be seen as -plainly as if by daylight. - -But the negroes appeared to be giving no thought to the burning -structure. Instead, they could be seen dragging piled bales of hemp out -of danger of flying sparks. Nor did they pay the slightest attention to -the frantic shouts of the party marooned on the top of the blazing -building. - -“Great heavens! they mean to leave us here to roast to death,” groaned -the Professor. - -As he spoke there came another crash below them, and the building -trembled. - -“The floor of the second room has fallen!” cried Mr. Jesson, rightly -guessing the cause of the crash. “In a few seconds this roof will become -red-hot, and——” - -He stopped short. There are some things that cannot be put into words. - -The trap-door had been closed, but before long they could distinctly -feel the roof under their feet becoming warmer and warmer. - -Suddenly Jack espied a great mass of green hemp piled off in one corner, -ready to be raked out on the iron roof for drying when the sun arose. - -“We can put that under our feet,” he said, “and stick it out a while -longer that way.” - -So tenacious is the instinct of clinging to life, that even though they -knew it would only avert the end by a very short time,—unless a miracle -came to aid them,—they adopted Jack’s idea. - -But before long the hemp began to smoke and steam. The heat was rapidly -drying out the moisture, and then—— - -Suddenly one of the sailors gave a yell, and shouting,—“I’m going to end -it all right now,” made a plunge for the edge of the roof. - -His evident intention was to hurl himself down to death. - -But before the crazed man could carry out his plan Captain Andrews -sprang at the fellow and brought him down with a crash. - -“If Providence means us to die, we’ll meet death like men,” he said -stoutly; “but it’s not like Americans to give up the ship while there’s -a shred of hope.” - -The frenzied sailor fought and struggled on the pile of steaming hemp on -which the skipper held him. But Captain Andrews’ strong arms pinned him -down. - -Jack felt his senses reeling. The hot breath of the fire had reached -them by this time. The roof gave off heat like the top of a stove. If it -had not been for the damp, green hemp they could not have held the -situation for an eighth of the space of time that they did. - -Their throats grew parched and their tongues swelled till they were -painful, and they could shout for aid no longer. For all the attention -the negroes below paid to their cries, they might as well have remained -silent. The blacks seemed to consider the removal of the hemp to a safe -place of far more importance than the lives of the flame-marooned white -men. - -Just when Jack’s hope had flickered out and a sort of coma of despair -was creeping over him the miracle happened. - -It was Professor Chadwick who saw it first. - -Through the red glow that crimsoned the sky came a huge floating form. - -The Professor shouted and pointed upward. Jack raised a pair of dimmed -eyes; but the next instant they cleared as if by magic. - -“It’s the Flying Road Racer!” he shouted, yelling like a madman. -“Hurray! We’re saved! we’re saved!” - -And then something in his head seemed to snap with a loud report. He -swayed, and would have fallen heavily on the hot roof if his father had -not caught him in his arms. - -Then he was startled into alertness again by a sharp hail which came -from above them. - -“Stand by for a rope. We’ll drop as low as we dare!” - - - - - CHAPTER XX—A RESCUE BY AIRSHIP - - -Just what happened in the moments that followed neither Jack nor any of -his companions has ever been able to describe in detail. It was a time -in which every second counted, while under their feet the flames roared -and crackled hungrily. - -From the Flying Road Racer a rope came snaking down, and Professor -Chadwick caught it. At the corner of the roof in which the adventurers -were huddled was a stout post, used sometimes, apparently, for hoisting -things from the ground, for a pulley hung from it. - -With a flash of inspiration the Professor, with Mr. Jesson and Jack -aiding, rove the rope through this pulley. Then, while Tom and Ned -maneuvered the Flying Road Racer so that her “bow” pointed downward, all -of the marooned adventurers who were able to do so heaved on the rope. -In this way the air craft was brought to within three feet of the roof. - -Another length of rope was then looped over the side by Tom and made -fast to two of the stanchions of the balloon support. The first to test -the loop was the companion of the crazed sailor. Half dragged, he -scrambled into the body of the suspended car. Professor Chadwick -followed, and then came Mr. Jesson, while a delighted cry at his -father’s safety came from Tom. - -Abner Jennings was the next to be taken on board, and then came Jack. In -the meantime Captain Andrews had buckled his belt around the limbs of -the crazed sailor and had borrowed Jack’s for the purpose of confining -his prisoner’s arms. - -Trussed up in this manner the poor fellow was handed up to those on the -Flying Road Racer, and then the gallant Captain Andrews made a spring -for the swaying loop. - -He was in the nick of time. As he gained the tonneau and sank to the -floor almost exhausted, there was a deafening roar, and, as if it had -suddenly melted away, the entire building collapsed. Jack turned away -shuddering as the flame and sparks shot up above the ruins. - -The ideas it suggested of the fate that might have been theirs if help -had not arrived in the very nick of time, were almost overwhelming. - -Tom was at the helm, and Ned it was who had cast off the rope. Slowly, -almost Phoenix-like, from amidst the flames rose the Flying Road Racer -with her heavy burden. - -There was danger in the situation, too. The gas in the bag was -inflammable, and the heat of the fire might expand it so that at any -minute it might burst the container, and cause an appalling catastrophe. -This danger Tom and Ned had willingly faced when they brought the Flying -Road Racer to the rescue. But now, all their desires were centered on -getting as far away from the fire zone as was possible. - -Laden as she was, the great air craft had not the same buoyancy that had -been hers when she set out at midnight from the _Vagrant_. She rose -slowly, and although her propeller was whirring at top speed, and her -rising planes were set, she once or twice sagged dangerously. - -While this behavior on the air craft’s part was worrying her navigators -seriously, there came a sudden fresh cause for disquiet. Bullets from -the negroes below began to whiz about them. - -The fellows had luckily been too much astonished to fire while the task -of rescue was going on. The apparition of the sky-ship had taken them so -much by surprise that they had temporarily been unable to take any -hostile action. - -Now, however, they had recovered their senses and were doing all in -their power to render the escape of their late prisoners an -impossibility. Luckily, however, they did not have enough sense to fire -at the balloon bag, or their endeavors might have been crowned with -success. Instead, they aimed at the occupants of the suspended car, and -what with bad marksmanship and excitement failed to hit any of them. -True, a few bullets pinged against the suspension wires and struck the -sides of the car; but none punctured the tank, as the boys feared might -be the case, or caused any serious injury. - -A breeze springing up presently wafted the overladen airship into an -upper air current, and before long she was rising merrily. More gas had -been turned into the bag, increasing its buoyancy, and by the time the -dawn began to show grayly the adventurers were far from the scene of -their fearfully narrow escape. - -Behind them, however, they could see, as the light grew stronger, a -pillar of dark smoke soaring heavenward and marking the site of what had -almost proved their funeral pyre. - -What with the coming of daylight and the feeling that they had been -saved from their greatest peril, the adventurers’ spirits rose -wonderfully as they sailed along. Even the crazed sailor showed symptoms -of returning sanity, and, as Professor Chadwick expected, his mental -disengagement soon passed away. Oddly enough, though, he could never -recall the events of that night. They had been wiped from his -recollection as an old sum is washed off a slate. - -Jupe got out canned goods and made a fairly good breakfast, while they -were in mid-air. To some of the party it was the most novel meal they -had ever eaten. But neither their recent hardships nor unusual -surroundings impaired their appetites. All ate ravenously and felt much -better after the meal, which included hot coffee cooked on an electric -radiator. This radiator was connected with the dynamo that filled the -storage batteries and provided engine ignition and light. - -During the meal, Tom told them how he and Ned and Jupe had waited beside -the Flying Road Racer after the departure of Tom and Captain Andrews on -their scouting expedition. For some time they stood their ground -patiently enough, and occupied their time, according to instructions, by -reinflating the bag. - -This done, there was nothing to do but await the progress of events. Of -the search in the jungle they knew nothing. But the sound of shots from -the direction of the plantation had first roused their fears that -something was wrong. - -Then they had perceived the red glare of the fire on the night sky. -Certain then that something serious was wrong, Tom took it upon himself -to get up the anchors and fly to the rescue. Little did he imagine, -however, he confessed, what dire straits his friends were in. - -“We owe you a great debt of gratitude, you and Ned Bangs, for your -prompt and brave action,” warmly declared Professor Chadwick. - -That the others heartily seconded the motion may be imagined. In fact, -as they all realized to the full, they owed their lives directly to Tom -Jesson’s pluck and brains and his able assistant, Ned Bangs. Jupe, too, -came in for his share of praise, for the old colored man had behaved in -the great emergency through which they had passed, with remarkable -coolness and ability. - -As Tom concluded his story. Jack glanced at the barograph. They had -risen to three thousand feet, and were moving in a westerly direction. -So engrossed had they all been in discussing their wonderful escape, -that they had really hardly noticed in what course they were sailing. - -“I think it’s time that we decided on a destination,” said Jack, as he -noted these things. - -“Why not try for Lone Island?” said Mr. Jesson. “The _Sea King_ should -be there, and——” - -Jack shook his head. - -“The Flying Road Racer couldn’t fly as far as that?” asked Captain -Andrews, who had been glancing about him at all points of the compass -while this talk was going on. - -“She could fly as far as that under normal conditions,” was the reply; -“but not with such a load on board. We are using up fuel at twice the -usual rate, and might have to descend to make more gas for running -purposes.” - -“Can’t we refill the reservoir in mid-air?” - -Mr. Jesson asked the question. - -“Too dangerous, except in case of absolute necessity,” said Jack; “it -could be done, but there is a certain amount of risk.” - -“I think, then, that we had better head about and make for the sea-coast -where the _Vagrant_ is hidden,” said Professor Chadwick. - -“I don’t agree with you there,” said Captain Andrews positively. - -“Why not?” - -“Well, in the first place, during the next few days Herrera is going to -go through all that vicinity with a fine-tooth comb. He won’t let the -gems slip through his fingers without some sort of a battle for them, -you can bet.” - -“What would your advice be, then?” - -“To make for the mountains yonder with all speed. We can lie snugly -hidden there for a short time, and can form some definite plan. We are -all too much tired and overwrought now to discuss such things -intelligently.” - -“I think you are right. I know that, now that the strain is over, I feel -like taking a long sleep,” said Mr. Jesson. - -“Then let us head right on as we are going,” suggested Jack. “That range -of hills doesn’t look so very far off. We ought to get there before -afternoon. That will give us time to make camp and get things snug for -the night.” - -And so it was arranged. But Captain Andrews still kept casting anxious -glances back toward the coast line. - -“What’s the trouble. Captain?” asked Jack presently, noting a trace of -uneasiness on the old sailor’s countenance. - -“Why, lad, I don’t much like the look of the weather yonder. See that -gray haze that’s spreading over the sky so quick? That means wind, and -maybe worse, or my name ain’t Sam Andrews.” - -“Good gracious!” exclaimed Jack, “we’re in no fix to battle with a -storm.” - -As he spoke a sharp puff of wind shook the Flying Road Racer. - -“Could we land if anything very bad comes on?” asked Captain Andrews, -with a yet stronger tincture of anxiety in his tones. - -Jack peered over the edge of the car. - -“Nothing but dense forests are below us,” he said; “it would be courting -death to try to land among them.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI—ALOFT IN THE STORM - - -In an almost unbelievably short time the wind had increased to a gale. -It shrieked and moaned among the wire supports of the car, and the great -bag that held it in mid-air swayed and tore furiously at its fastenings. - -Jack kept a sharp lookout for a good spot to land, while Tom relieved -Ned at the wheel. Once they saw beneath them a big area of smooth, -park-like land, almost devoid of trees. It would have made an ideal -landing place, but as they tried to force the Flying Road Racer around -to head for it the full force of the wind struck them. - -While traveling with the gale they had not noticed its full fury. Now, -however, it battered them viciously, tearing at the gas bag as if it had -been some monster bent on its destruction. The car swung wildly -underneath its support, and they had to cling on to avoid being hurled -out into space. - -Their intention of battling with the wind was quickly given up. Tom -brought the helm around and the Flying Road Racer hurtled off before the -blast at a speed the indicator showed to be sixty-five miles. - -“Is there no possibility of turning around and landing?” asked Mr. -Jesson somewhat anxiously. - -“It is out of the question,” declared Jack; “we’d rip this craft to -pieces if we even attempted to buffet the storm.” - -“It’s a bad one, all right,” said Abner Jennings. - -“And may be worse afore it’s better,” said Captain Andrews, casting an -anxious eye aloft at the scudding clouds among which they were sailing. - -“The wind is blowing about sixty miles an hour,” said Jack, looking at -the anemometer. “That means practically a hurricane speed.” - -“Are we in danger?” asked Mr. Jesson. - -“Not as long as we can keep in the air,” said Jack; “but if anything -should go wrong it would be awkward, to say the least of it.” - -“Then something may happen at any minute?” - -“I didn’t say so. Uncle; but, as Captain Andrews said, the wind may grow -stronger.” - -“It’s hard to tell what these tropical hurricanes will do, once they get -started,” said the burly captain. “I’ve seen ’em blow for a week and -flatten out whole groves of cocoanuts.” - -It grew blacker and blacker. The Flying Road Racer was now scudding -through ragged white clouds that drove as fast as she did under a -panoply of inky black. The scream of the rigging as the wind rushed -against the taut, straining wires, sounded almost like the cries of some -live thing in pain. - -Every now and again there would come a sudden burst of vicious fury, and -once or twice it actually appeared as if the great air craft would be -ripped in pieces. But so far every wire and brace and turnbuckle in her -construction had held bravely. - -Jack watched the engine anxiously, attending to the lubricating devices -and adjusting the gas mixers. The machine was behaving splendidly, and -Jack felt that if only the connections between the gas bag and the car -would hold they might still weather the fury of the gale. - -He knew that these tropical hurricanes while furious are often not of -very long duration. He stuck to his post, keeping hope alive in his -heart, while the others pluckily enough endured the situation without -flinching. - -All at once, the wind stopped as suddenly as if it had been cut off at a -gigantic spigot. - -The calm, after that raging, furious gale, was positively startling. - -“Is the storm over?” asked Ned. - -“No. It’s only just beginning,” was the alarming response from Captain -Andrews. - -“I understand you now,” came from Mr. Jesson suddenly; “it’s a circular -storm.” - -“That’s it, sir. In a few minutes it will be blowing just as hard out of -the west as a few minutes ago it was blowing from seaward.” - -“We’d better put the craft about,” said Tom. - -“Yes; bring her round as quick as you can,” said Jack. “Goodness! how -queer this sudden calm feels.” - -It was indeed an uncanny feeling. So still had the air become that a -candle might have been lighted and its flame would hardly have -flickered. - -Through this stagnant atmosphere the Flying Road Racer was worked around -till her bow was pointing seaward. - -“Gracious!” exclaimed Tom, “if the wind doesn’t come from the quarter -Captain Andrews expected we’ll be blown to bits.” - -Jack said nothing. Any reply he might have made was, in fact, cut short -at this moment by a moaning sound from the direction of the mountains. -It was caused by the wind sweeping through the canyons and deep abysses -that scared them. - -“Put on full speed, Tom,” urged Jack; “the faster we are going when that -wind strikes us the less chance there will be of our being ripped to -bits.” - -The greatest speed of which she was capable was placed on the Flying -Road Racer. The indicator showed in turn fifty, sixty, sixty-five and -then seventy miles! - -Just as she attained this remarkable speed the wind struck the straining -air craft with its full velocity. - -“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” shrilled out Jupe, “we done bin gone dis time fo’ -shoh.” - -But he was wrong. The stout fabric of the wonderful craft withstood even -the terrific assault now made upon her. But her forward motion suddenly -ceased. Caught in the vortex created by the meeting point of the two -conflicting storms, she was whirled round and round as if she had been -gripped in a maelstrom of the winds. - -The boys could do nothing to control this nauseating, dizzying, rotating -motion. Upward and forward the Flying Road Racer was forced, climbing at -terrifying speed the aerial circular staircase. One by one her occupants -succumbed to the effects of the rapid circling. It caused a helpless, -miserable feeling similar to seasickness and quite as prostrating. - -“Back! back! Go down lower!” shouted Captain Andrews in Tom’s ear. - -“We can’t,” yelled the lad; “we’re being dragged to the sky. We’ve lost -all control.” - -“Oh, but this is fearful!” exclaimed Mr. Jesson. “Nothing made by human -hands can stand this much longer.” - -Truly it seemed a marvel that the craft had held together as long as it -had. So fast were they being swung round and round by this time that the -car was suspended at quite a sharp angle, swinging outward from the gas -bag by the force of the centrifugal motion. - -It was terrifying, awe-inspiring, prostrating. Not one of those clinging -for dear life to the dizzy car had ever had such an experience, and one -or two among them had faced death not a few times. - -All at once there came a sharp snap from above them. - -To their overstrung nerves it sounded like a pistol shot. - -“One of the wires has parted!” cried Ned in a terror-stricken tone. - -“It is the beginning of the end,” groaned Captain Andrews, sinking his -head in his hands. - -“Can nothing be done?” gasped out Mr. Jesson, who alone of all that -pallid-faced crew could find his voice at that instant. - -“Nothing,” was the reply. “In ten minutes or less every wire holding us -to that gas bag will have parted like that one.” - -“And then?” - -“And then, my friend, we shall be dropped five thousand feet through -space.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXII—A VOYAGE OF TERROR - - -This dire prophecy was, however, not destined to be fulfilled. To the -intense joy of the air travelers, the circular motion ceased almost as -suddenly as it had begun, and the rest of the wires remained intact. -Evidently, the Flying Road Racer had encountered a cross current of wind -at the great altitude she had now attained, which brought her safely out -of the aerial whirlpool. - -It was an almost miraculous escape, and they were all duly thankful when -once more their voyage was resumed on an even keel. - -But the wind still blew hard, and it was impossible for them to stem it -without running too grave a risk to attempt such a task. - -In this way an hour or more passed, and then suddenly Jack, who had been -looking out ahead, gave a startled cry. - -“What’s the matter?” asked his father. - -“Matter? Good heavens, we are being blown out to sea!” - -While he spoke the Flying Road Racer was being hurtled along at a dizzy -sped above bending tree tops and a storm-stressed expanse of country. -Tom had brought the craft much lower, and it was now not more than five -hundred feet above the earth. Beneath them the landscape whizzed by like -a colored moving picture. - -But the peril Jack had called attention to lay directly in front of -them. Beyond the trees came a strip of white beach, and beyond that -again the vast troubled expanse of the heaving ocean billows, lashed -into fury by the storm. - -Their situation was indeed critical. - -“We’re going from bad to worse,” exclaimed Mr. Jesson. “Is there no way -of landing?” - -“Not without the risk of killing or injuring most of us,” rejoined Jack -soberly. - -“Why—why, then we’ll be compelled to fly above the ocean?” - -“It looks that way. I don’t see what else we can do.” - -“But in that case we shall be in grave danger?” - -“I don’t think the danger will be much greater than the one we have -faced. We have plenty of gas still, and can keep in the air for a long -time if need be.” - -“A week?” asked Captain Andrews. “These hurricanes sometimes last as -long as that.” - -“I don’t know that we could hold out for a week,” admitted Jack; “but I -do know that we cannot avoid being blown out to sea. If the storm does -not abate we are likely to be compelled to spend some time above the -water.” - -“Well, the wind is coming out of the southwest now. If we keep on this -way we ought to be blown clear across the Gulf of Mexico and on to the -western shore of Florida.” - -It was Captain Andrews who vouchsafed this last remark. - -“I don’t know that that would be a bad idea,” commented Professor -Chadwick. - -“How long ought it to take us, going at this rate of speed?” inquired -Abner Jennings. - -“Let’s see, the least distance across would be about fifteen hundred -miles.” - -“Then, at the rate we are being driven, it would take about twenty-four -hours to make the passage,” calculated Mr. Jesson. - -“About that time—yes,” agreed Jack. “I really think we had better try to -do that.” - -All agreed that it appeared to be the best plan. While they had been -discussing this, they had passed over the last few miles of dry land. -Looking down now they saw beneath them a vast expanse of gray, tumbling -billows, tossing and rolling before the wind. - -“If we ever took a tumble into the sea it would be all up with us,” -commented Jack in a low voice to Tom. - -“Yes; even a ship could hardly live in such a storm, and yet—look. Jack, -back yonder,—isn’t that,—yes, surely it’s a craft of some sort!” - -The lad indicated a point to the southward of them. Rising and falling -in the great trough of the billows was a small vessel of some sort. For -an instant Jack thought it was the _Tarantula_, but the next moment he -made out that the vessel they were looking at had two masts and a yellow -funnel amidships. - -But another shift of the wind gave them something else to think of right -then. - -The blast “hauled round,” as mariners call it, and shifted to the south. -The Flying Road Racer’s head was twisted around to the north and she was -deflected from her course to the eastward and the hoped-for Florida -coast. - -“What shall we do now?” cried Ned Bangs, when he observed this. - -“Keep on running before the wind. It’s all we can do,” rejoined Jack. - -The storm-beaten air craft, with its heavy human freight, was now being -driven almost due north along the coast. Tom kept the prow pointed so as -to bring the course almost parallel with the coast. All the time both he -and Jack kept a keen lookout for a possible landing place. - -But none appeared. The wind, instead of dying down, grew stronger as the -day went on. - -“What will be the end of this?” was the thought that crossed the minds -of all of them in one form or another. - -The sun was obscured by scudding clouds, below them rolled the dismal, -desolate expanse of salt water, for by this time they had passed over -the peninsula of Yucatan and were out over the open gulf. In the -distance to the westward, however, lay a dim coast line, and Tom steered -toward it. - -Suddenly there came a loud, ripping, crashing sound. - -As he heard it Jack gave a cry of dismay. It was echoed by Tom and Ned, -who both instantly guessed what had occurred. - -The rudder had given way under the strain. - -Looking over the side of the car they could see it being swept away by -the wind, while astern of the tonneau hung a mass of tangled wreckage. - -“Good heavens! This is the worst yet,” groaned Captain Andrews. “Adrift -in an airship without a rudder! What under the starry dome can we do -now?” - -“Nothing but hope and pray for the best,” rejoined Jack. “We are -helpless indeed without the rudder.” - -Fortunately, however, the propeller still worked, and Tom, abandoning -the now useless steering wheel, gave all his efforts to aiding Jack in -attending to the engines. - -The aerial screw helped to keep the Flying Road Racer on a straight -course, and onward she flew, a disabled but still staunch craft. - -“Is there anything that we can do to help you?” asked Professor -Chadwick, after a while. - -“Dere ain’t nuffin’ would help now but about a squar’ mile ob good dry -lan’,” gloomily remarked Jupe. - -Tom shook his head, and so did Jack. - -“No, Father,” said the latter, “there isn’t a thing to be done. So long -as we can keep the engine going, though, we can manage, at least, to -keep before the wind.” - -“We’re getting closer to the coast,” cried Mr. Jesson suddenly. - -They were indeed. The forms of distant hills and forests could now be -made out, and hope began to revive that they might, after all, find a -spot to make a safe landing. - -“The wind has shifted again,” announced Captain Andrews, glancing over -Tom’s shoulder at the compass. “It’s blowing out of the east now, and if -it holds will drive us upon the Mexican coast.” - -Hardly had he made this announcement than there was an alarming -cracking, snapping sound from the bow of the Flying Road Racer. - -A dark, sharp-pointed object whizzed through the air, and the next -instant there came a sudden sound of ripping fabric, followed by a -hissing noise as of escaping steam. - -“Great jumping sea serpents, what’s happened now?” bellowed Captain -Andrews. - -“A blade of the propeller has torn loose from its hub and pierced the -gas bag,” shouted Jack in an alarmed tone. - -“We’re falling!” suddenly screamed out Abner Jennings. - -“Bound for Davy Jones’ locker, sure as fate!” bawled one of the sailors. - -“Get out the life jackets!” yelled Tom at the top of his voice. “They -are in that locker on the right-hand side of the tonneau.” - -All this time the Flying Road Racer was slowly descending. The broken -propeller blade had ripped a big hole in the side of the gas bag, -through which the vapor was rushing forth. - -“Isn’t it possible to repair it?” cried Mr. Jesson. - -Jack shook his head. - -“Impossible,” he said. “We had better all get on life jackets as quickly -as possible. It’s lucky I had them put in that locker; but something I -read about an airship being blown out to sea some months ago made me -think of it.” - -As quickly as possible all of them invested themselves in the cork-lined -jackets, which were covered with stout canvas. - -“Look! look!” cried Jack suddenly, “isn’t that an island ahead of us!” - -Captain Andrews pierced the gloom with his keen eyes. - -“It is! It’s an island, sure enough!” he cried joyfully. “If we can make -it we are saved.” - -But the Flying Road Racer settled lower even as he spoke. - -The angry sea beneath looked savage and cruel as it leaped upward toward -them, as if impatient for the end to come swiftly. - -Ahead lay the island; a large one, with a sandy beach extending in their -direction. Could they reach it before the air craft sank into the waves? - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII—THE BOY INVENTORS SOLVE A PROBLEM - - -The engine had been shut off, and amidst a dead silence, so far as any -talk was concerned, the Flying Road Racer drifted down toward the -island. - -But the gas had escaped so rapidly and the weight in the car was so -great, that the island was still a few hundred feet off when they first -felt the wind-driven spray dashing against their faces. - -“Can we make it?” asked Mr. Jesson in a low, tense voice. - -“I think so,” replied Jack; “at any rate, if we can’t, we have the cork -jackets on and must swim for it.” - -As he spoke, though, the disabled flying craft settled suddenly -downward. Above her the collapsed gas envelope was wrinkled and flabby, -and barely kept her up. - -All at once the crest of a huge wave dashed against the bottom of the -aluminum tank. The Flying Road Racer careened so far over that for a -moment it looked as if her end had come. - -But at the same moment the wind blew stronger and caught the half-empty -gas bag. This raised the crippled craft a few feet and drove her -forward. The impetus thus given was sufficient to save the adventurers -from a dangerous swim. - -With a crash that might have been audible at some distance had there -been any one to hear it the Flying Road Racer landed in the sand of the -island beach at precisely one-thirty on that day of stirring events in -the young inventors lives. - -Thanks to the shock absorbers, the auto part was not harmed seriously. -Five minutes after they had landed the adventurers stood in a group -surveying the stranded craft. - -“What a wreck!” exclaimed Mr. Jesson, gazing the flabby wrinkles of the -gas envelope and at the wound in its side. - -The Flying Road Racer did, indeed, look different from the trim craft -that had arisen from the deck of the _Vagrant_ not so very long before. - -But how much had transpired in those few hours! If time might be -reckoned by events the boys could record that they had passed through -years of experience since Jack and Captain Andrews struck out on the -forest path leading to the plantation houses. - -“What a mess!” breathed Abner Jennings, echoing in part Mr. Jesson’s -remark. - -“It’s my opinion that we ought to thank Providence for getting off with -our lives,” said Captain Andrews stoutly. And to this sentiment they all -heartily agreed. - -“Can you ever repair her. Jack, do you think?” asked his father -anxiously. - -Jack, who had been surveying the wreck carefully, was not yet ready to -give an opinion, however. - -“If we could fix that rip in the gas bag it might be possible to patch -her up,” he said dubiously. “There is,—or ought to be,—a spare propeller -on board, and if the engine is working, it might be feasible to put the -craft in order once more.” - -“Well, we’d better run her up out of the reach of the waves anyhow,” -said Tom. - -The air craft had grounded at the margin of the beach, and the spray of -the thunderous waves showered her as each broke. - -The two sailors and the others came forward to lay hands on the Flying -Road Racer, and shove her up the beach. But Jack had a better plan in -mind. - -“If the motor is working. I’ll run her up under her own power,” he said. - -He followed up these words by getting into the driver’s seat, and after -Tom had removed the wreck of the propeller, his cousin started up the -engine and threw in the clutch connecting it with the driving machinery. - -The rear wheels flew round in the sand for a minute, but as the boy -applied more power they gripped the surface and the Flying Road Racer—an -automobile now—moved rapidly up the beach. Jack ran her in under a grove -of trees and then shut off the engine. - -“If only we weren’t on an island,” he said, “we could run right through -to the city of Mexico!” - -“Gee, I wish we could,” said Ned Bangs, “it’s a question of how long the -grub will hold out on this island, and we don’t know if any ships come -this way.” - -“Easy enough to find out,” said Tom rather carelessly. - -“Easy enough?” echoed Ned. “Well, Tom Jesson, you’ll have to show me. -Here we are, cut off from all communication——” - -Tom smiled and shook his head. - -“Not while we’ve got the wireless,” he said. - -“What do you mean, Tom?” asked Mr. Jesson. - -“That when I left the _Vagrant_ I brought her wireless apparatus with -me,” said Tom in a quiet tone. “That’s what those bundles were.” - -“Good,” exclaimed Mr. Jesson. “We’ll have something to eat and some hot -coffee, and then we’ll try to get into communication with the shore, or -some vessel, and get them to take us off this desolate place.” - -But Jack, who had been looking about the island in their vicinity, -dampened their enthusiasm by a sudden question. - -“How are you going to fix an aerial?” he asked. - -“Easy enough,” said Tom confidently; “some tree will do. Ned Bangs, -here, can climb it. Luckily I loaded a lot of copper wire with the other -stuff. We can use that for antenna.” - -“Why, you monkey!” cried Jack, half laughing, “there isn’t a tree on the -island.” - -This fact, which none of them had noticed before, was evidently so. The -island was covered with a scrub growth, but nowhere did the bushes -exceed a height of ten feet. - -Professor Chadwick broke in on their dejection. - -“Come,” he said, “it’s no use our discussing anything now. Let us have a -good meal and then, maybe, we’ll hit upon some plan.” - -While Jupe made his preparations for a warm meal, selecting a spot -sheltered by brush not far from the remains of the Flying Road Racer, -the boys gathered driftwood, of which there seemed to be plenty on the -beach, and made a big pile of it. This was lighted, and the warmth of -the blaze proved very comforting to the chilled castaways. - -As Professor Chadwick had predicted, the meal served to put new heart -into them. As they ate they discussed their situation in all its -bearings, but without arriving at any conclusion as to their future -course. - -If they could not get a wireless message to some station on land or -ship, their situation looked as if it might speedily become serious. -They did not dwell on this aspect of the case, however, but made a -determined effort to be as cheerful as possible. - -After dinner, if such the meal could be called. Professor Chadwick and -Mr. Jesson set out to explore the island. The others, except Jack and -Tom, lay down to sleep, being’ thoroughly exhausted by what they had -gone through. - -The two lads, however, felt too excited to sleep. Instead, they fell to -figuring how it would be possible to send out a message telling of their -plight, without having a tall pole or tree to which to string their -aerials. - -The problem was perplexing, and they threshed it over and over for an -hour without arriving any nearer a plan for getting their wires into the -air. It was Jack who finally hit upon what was literally an inspiration. - -Close to them, while they had been talking, lay the pile of life jackets -they had taken off when they landed. - -“Is there any of that liquid rubber for repairing the tires in the -Flying Road Racer?” he inquired of Tom, with seeming meaningless -curiosity. - -“Why, yes; there’s a gallon can of it. But why?” - -“You’ll see directly. Will you get it?” - -“Yes, of course,” rejoined Tom, rising from his seat on the sand. -“Anything else?” - -“That needle and stout thread in the gas bag tool kit and—well, I guess -that will be all for now.” - -“I wish I knew what you are driving at,” said Tom, as he moved off to -get the things Jack had asked for. - -“I’m driving at a way to get those aerials up,” rejoined the young -inventor briefly. - -When Tom returned with the articles Jack had asked for, he found his -cousin busily engaged in taking the cork out of one of the life jackets. -This was easily done, as it was in granulated form. - -Having emptied the jacket, the boy heated some of the liquid rubber over -Jupe’s fire till it was about the consistency of cream. This done, he -proceeded to coat the canvas of the empty life jacket with the compound. -Before he did this, however, he sewed a patch on over the hole he had -made to drain the cork, leaving a bit of rubber tube, also found in the -supply locker of the Flying Road Racer, sticking out. - -Tom, after a few minutes, began to realize dimly what the ingenious lad -was doing; but he didn’t get the full understanding of Jack’s idea till -the latter, having allowed the rubber coating to dry, walked toward the -Flying Road Racer with it. - -“I see what you’ve made now. Jack,” he cried. “It’s an airproof canvas -bag, and you’re——” - -“Going to fill it with gas and see if it will rise,” said Jack. - -As he spoke he placed the end of the rubber tube he had left protruding -from the canvas life jacket, over a small stop-cock on the gas tank of -the Flying Road Racer. When he turned the valve a hissing sound followed -and the rubber-coated life jacket began to fill, just as any air-tight -envelope would have done. - -When it was half full a laughable thing occurred, giving abundant -evidence of the bag’s buoyancy. Jack, who was holding it, was suddenly -lifted off his feet as the bag began to rise, tearing the end of the -rubber tube off the valve as it did so. Just as he was lifted into the -air, for he actually couldn’t make up his mind to let go of his -invention, Tom seized his feet and dragged him to the sand again. A rope -was secured and the bag lashed to a bush after the end of the tube had -been tied. - -“By cracky!” cried Tom, “that’s the invention of the century. How on -earth did you come to think of it?” - -“I suppose old Mother Necessity had something to do with it,” said Jack; -“but the fact that those life jackets lay right close to us helped a -lot. I reasoned it out that they would float on the water, and -therefore, if they could be emptied and made air-tight, they would rise -when filled with gas equally well.” - -“And you’re going to hitch the aerials on to that one and send them up?” - -“I’m not sure that one of them will be enough to raise such a weight of -copper wire. I guess we’ll make another one.” - -“And I’ll help you,” cried Tom enthusiastically. - -Half an hour later when Mr. Jesson and his brother-in-law returned from -exploring the island, which they had found to be a desolate spot some -five miles off shore, they found two busy lads. - -The wires had been strung on “spreaders” cut from the brush. Then one of -the ends was connected to each of the buoyant “balloons” that were to -carry the antenna aloft. - -In the lee of the Flying Road Racer the boys had arranged the wireless -equipment, and were now occupied in securing the lower end of the -antenna and adjusting the connecting wires from aerials to the -instruments. - -At last all was ready, and the two canvas “balloons” were cut loose. -Slowly but steadily they rose, carrying with them the strands of copper -wire,—five of them, each one hundred feet in length. The wind had died -down quite a lot, and there was not much strain on the wires as they -were pulled skyward like the string of a kite. - -As the wires tightened and became extended to their full length the boys -broke into a cheer. Held by the captive “balloons,” the five parallel -wires made as effective an aerial as if they had been rigged to a lofty -pole. - -“Boys,” exclaimed Professor Chadwick proudly, “that’s what I call a real -wireless triumph!” - -“Wait and see if it works first, father,” said Jack, with a happy smile. -He had not much doubt on this point, having solved the vexatious problem -of getting his wires aloft. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV—AN APPEAL FOR HELP - - -“What are you going to do now?” asked Tom of Jack, who, with the -receivers clamped over his ears, was seated at the wireless apparatus. - -It was the middle of the afternoon, the storm had blown itself out and -the sun was shining cheerfully. - -About the young inventors pressed the castaways,—for they had been -awakened,—Captain Andrews, so that he might make an observation and get -their exact position, and the rest to be on hand if need arose. - -Jack had just flashed out the location of the island, and with it a -fervent appeal for help. From the balloon-supported wires above him, the -message had gone shooting forth into space. - -But as yet no answer had come, though the lad sat with the transmitting -switch open, waiting for a reply. - -“Maybe there are no ships in this part of the Gulf,” said Tom. - -“Well, with the power we have from that dynamo we ought to have gotten -into communication with something before this,” said Jack impatiently. -He turned his head toward the dynamo of the Flying Road Racer, which had -been connected with the wireless apparatus and was whizzing away -merrily. The motor, fed by a fresh supply of gas obtained by dumping in -a new lot of crystals, of course supplied the motive power for the -current maker. - -“Try again,” suggested Professor Chadwick. - -Jack threw over the switch to connect the transmitting appliances, and -began manipulating the key once more. - -The message of distress crackled and flashed, like the snapping of a -whip lash,—or, more truly, a thousand of them. - -Jack was utilizing every atom of power he could obtain. He calculated -that he had at least one hundred and ten volts of current, which should -be ample to send his messages for a great distance. - -After sending for a while he stopped and listened. But no message came -beating against his ears, breathing a spirit of hope. - -“Try sending out a C. Q. D.,” said Abner Jennings. - -“You mean S. O. S.,” rejoined Jack. “C. Q. D. isn’t used as an urgent -call any more. Too many would-be jokers used to send it out and cause -endless confusion.” - -He threw the switch again into a sending position, and began to flash -out another message. - -“o o o —— —— —— o o o” “S. O. S.” - -It was the most urgent call known to seamen. The despairing cry of the -wrecked the lost. - -Again and again Jack volleyed it out, and the far-flung appeal went -skyrocketing off on the electric waves, spreading like the ripples on a -pond from the tightly stretched aerials. It was signed “The Chadwick -Party.” - -Then the lad tried listening again. - -Suddenly a look of joy flashed over his face. - -“He’s getting an answer!” yelled Tom in huge excitement. Ned Banks, -hardly less enthusiastic, capered about. - -Jack’s pencil traced the message from space on a pad of paper placed on -an empty box before him. - -“What is it? What’s the matter?” - -Once more he began sending furiously. - -“We have been driven on a desert island off the Mexican coast.” - -“Where is it?” came the reply. “Give latitude and longitude.” - -Jack swiftly flashed back the required information. Then he asked a -question. - -“Who is this?” - -“The _Sea King_,” was the astonishing reply. - -“We are coming to your aid. Have you got the gems?” - -“Yes. They are safe, and we are all well, but in need of help,” the lad -sent back with a joyous heart. - -He listened for a reply, but none came. In fact, there was no need for -more communication. The castaways knew what they wanted to know most of -all, namely, that they would be taken off the island as soon as -possible. In the meantime. Professor Chadwick ordered Jupe to prepare a -royal spread in celebration of the event. - -“We look like a lot of pirates,” commented Jack, as, after a hearty -meal, they lay stretched about the fire. - -“I suppose that, like most boys, you have a sort of admiration for those -gentry?” inquired Captain Andrews. - -“Well, he’s stuffed his head with enough books about them,” chuckled -Tom. - -“Guess that applies to you, too,” parried Jack, with a grin. - -“I don’t suppose, though, that either of you ever saw a real pirate,” -commented the captain quietly. “I can tell you they are mighty different -beings from the red-sashed, romantic sort of chaps you read about.” - -“Why, have you ever seen any?” asked Jack, sitting up eagerly. - -“Yes, and fought with ’em, too. Care to hear the yarn?” responded the -seaman. - -The boys’ prompt affirmative removed all doubts on this score and -Captain Andrews, without further preliminaries, struck into his tale. - -“It was a good many years ago,” he said, “when I wasn’t much bigger than -you lads. But for all that I was acting as third mate on a sailing -packet running from Liverpool to the West Indies. The skipper, whose -name was David Munson, was a stern man, but kind enough. He had a -curious way of keeping to himself, though, and the men said that some -time before he had been attacked by sea-robbers, who had cut him down -and captured his wife and child, who sailed with him. But the rascals -had not thought it worth while to take him and left him for dead on his -burning vessel. For they, according to their usual custom, had set it on -fire before they sailed away. - -“Captain Munson recovered consciousness in the nick of time to stagger -out of the path of the flames. A boat lay astern of his craft and he had -just strength enough left to slide down a rope into this and cast off. -Then he lost consciousness once more. - -“For three days he drifted in this way, lying all the time in a dead -swoon. On the third day he was picked up, more dead than alive, by a -Bristol line clipper, which brought him back to England. - -“It was many a long day before he got about again and it was then found -that he had lost all recollection of the tragedy and appeared to think -that his vessel had perished in a storm. But, except for this, his mind -was clear enough and he found little difficulty in getting a new -command. This was the West Indiaman _Cambrian Hills_, of which I was -third mate. Captain Munson’s story was related to me by the first mate, -a man named Sterling, a fine seaman and a good fellow. This Sterling had -been on board the ship that the pirates had captured and had been made -prisoner by them. But later he had managed to make his escape from the -South American city to which they had taken him to be sold as a slave. - -“Reaching England, he found that his former skipper, whom he had thought -dead, was alive and in good health, but that his mind was hopelessly -clouded as to the past. In fact, he did not recognize Sterling, and -Sterling, fearing the consequences of reminding him of what had occurred -on the Spanish main, made no move to awaken his slumbering memory. This -was the strange story Mate Sterling told me one stormy night on watch. - -“Well, on this particular voyage the _Cambrian Hills_ came in for the -buffeting of their life. Heavy gales, head seas, and violent squalls -beat the craft about day after day. And at last up came a terrific gale -from the northeast, which carried us away off our course and down off -the coast of Brazil. - -“Now, as it so happened, this was the very worst place we could have -been driven to at this particular time. One of those little wars that -were then eternally harassing the South American republics had just come -to an end and the seas thereabouts were swarming with piratical craft. -These gentry called themselves privateers and carried government papers, -but were, to all intents and purposes, pirates and nothing more nor -less. - -“Following the gale, the weather fell into a regular condition of -doldrums. Sometimes it blew a light wind, but more often a dead calm -till it seemed that we were doomed to haunt the Brazilian coast for the -rest of our lives. The men grew restive. It was insufferably hot and the -calking in the deck seams fairly bubbled and boiled. - -“Thus passed an entire week and the only man or board whose nerves were -not on edge was Captain Munson. He appeared not to worry or chafe over -our situation in the least. This was the more curious, inasmuch as -Sterling had informed me that the seas in which we lay were the very -identical ones in which the fatal battle with the pirates who had looted -Captain Munson’s last command had taken place. - -“One morning just after breakfast I was standing against the taffrail, -with Sterling by my side, idly gazing horizonward for a sign of coming -wind. All at once I saw Sterling clap his telescope to his eye and gaze -intently off into the southeast. - -“‘Wind?’ says I. - -“‘No,’ says he. - -“‘Well, what then?’ says I. - -“‘A sail,’ says he. - -“‘Then they must be getting more wind than we are,’ says I. ‘What do you -make her out to be?’ - -“‘Can’t tell yet; but somehow I don’t much like the look of her.’ - -“He handed me the glass. - -“‘Take a look yourself,’ he said. - -“I squinted through the telescope and at last made out the distant sail. -She was a black brigantine, low in the water and with a rakish sort of -look about her masts and spars. The water over around her was dark -blue—of a deeper tinge than the ocean surrounding us—showing that the -wind was blowing off in that direction. - -“‘She doesn’t show any colors,’ says I, handing the glass back to -Sterling. ‘What do you make her out to be?’ - -“He shrugged his shoulders. - -“‘I don’t know, laddie,’ he said, ‘but she looks to me like a war vessel -of some sort. Maybe a Brazilian craft.’ - -“‘Well, whatever she is,’ says I, ‘she’s got the wind with her and it’ll -hit us in a minute.’ - -“‘That’s right,’ says he, coming out of a sort of a reverie. ‘Get your -yards squared and your courses braced up.’ - -“I hastened to put these orders into execution, and hardly had they been -completed when the long awaited wind struck us. The _Cambrian Hills_ -heeled over and began to move through the water. - -“The crew set up a cheer as we began to get under way and the noise -brought the skipper on deck. He looked more than usually grave and had a -Bible, which he had evidently been reading, in his hand. - -“‘Wind at last, Mr. Sterling?’ he said quietly. - -“‘Aye! aye, sir,’ said the mate. ‘I knew the luck was bound to turn,’ he -added. - -“‘There is no such thing as luck, Mr. Sterling,’ said the captain in his -quiet, grave way. ‘All is the doings of Providence.’ - -“Then he turned and moved away, but Sterling was at his side in a -minute. - -“‘There’s a sail off there to windward, sir. Will you take a look at her -and tell us what you think of her? You know it pays to be suspicious in -these waters, and I don’t much like her looks.’ - -“In his usual serious manner the skipper took the glass and gazed -through it at the brigantine, which, to my eye, was sailing two feet to -our one, and overhauling us fast. He gazed at her a long time and when -he set the glass down his face was working curiously. He clapped his -hand to his forehead as if something there hurt him. - -“‘I—I—There’s something strangely familiar about that craft, Mr. -Sterling,’ says he, ‘but, for the life of me, I can’t tell what it is.’ - -“‘Looks to me like a man-o’-war of some sort, sir,’ says Sterling. - -“He took up the glass again and scrutinized the stranger. Then I saw the -color begin to die out of his red, good-natured face till it grew white -as a corpse. - -“‘It’s an armed vessel, sir,’ he grated out through his clenched teeth, -‘and—and she’s just broken out the Black Flag,—the skull and cross -bones, sir!’ - -“‘A pirate, eh?’ said Munson quietly, and I noticed the same curious -expression pass across his face. It was the strained look of a man -trying to recall something that eludes him persistently. ‘Well, Mr. -Sterling, she’s faster than us. We must fight for it, sir,’ he said at -length. - -“‘Aye, sir,’ says Sterling gravely, ‘I’ll call the men aft and explain -to them. Andrews, my lad, you attend to distributing the weapons.’ - -“Every West Indiaman in those days carried a small arsenal of -weapons—blunderbusses and cutlasses—for attacks by roving bands of -sea-robbers were not infrequent. The men took the news well enough, -although one or two of them went white. But there were enough old -veterans among them to keep them steady and prevent a panic. - -“I guess the resolute bearing of Captain Munson and Mr. Sterling had a -good deal to do with putting heart into them. As for myself, I was -horribly scared inside, but I trust that my alarm did not appear too -conspicuously on my countenance. - -“The men gave a cheer as Captain Munson concluded his little speech and -I summoned three of them below to assist in the distribution of the -arms. In the meantime Mr. Sterling gave orders to the men to rig up as -many dummies as possible and station them along the bulwarks so that we -might seem to be more in number than we actually were. This was a common -enough trick in those days. - -“I have to smile even now when I think of it, but one good fellow in his -zeal even clapped a cap on top of the galley chimney, although what a -man would have been doing poking his head out of ‘Charley Noble’—as the -cook-house stack is called by seamen—is hard to say. By the time all our -preparations were completed the craft that was overhauling us was not -more than half a mile astern. - -“She was a handsome craft and a witch at sailing. The _Cambrian Hills_ -was accounted a fast vessel; but we weren’t in it with our pursuer. If -we had had any doubt as to her intentions toward us till then she soon -dispelled it. From her bow came a flash and a puff of smoke and a ball -screamed through our rigging. It did no harm—wasn’t meant to, -probably—but it showed us that they ‘meant business.’ - -“The _Cambrian Hills_ carried an old brass cannon, more for saluting -purposes than anything else. But we had slugs on board and the piece of -artillery was loaded up. But the enemy, as we now rightfully regarded -her, was too far off for our carronade to be effective as yet. She, on -the other hand, appeared to have a serviceable heavy gun. All this was -not encouraging, but the prospect grew worse as we swept their decks -with the glass. Fully forty men lined her bulwarks and we numbered only -twenty, including the cook, who was not accounted a first class fighting -man. Of him, however, more anon. - -“I was a young fellow then and had always thought of pirates as being -chaps all covered with finery, gold lace and jewels and such. I was -stricken with astonishment to see that no such men appeared on the -brigantine. They were all filthy, wretched looking things, many of them -being coal-black negroes. Among them were even one or two Chinese. Such -a mixture of races I never saw before or since. - -“Suddenly Captain Munson, to my astonishment, snatched up his speaking -trumpet and hailed the pirate, who was now almost alongside and to -windward. - -“‘Ship ahoy!’ - -“His voice was as bold as if he had been skipper of a man-o’-war hailing -a sea criminal. It was a bold move, but it was successful in producing -some confusion among the pirates. All at once a giant of a man with a -black beard stepped up on the pirate’s rail, holding on by the lee -forestays. - -“‘Hullo!’ he hailed in a foreign accent. - -“‘What ship’s that?’ hailed Captain Munson again. - -“‘None of your business. Heave to. I want to board you,’ was the reply -in an insolent voice. - -“‘You go plumb to blazes!’ came from Sterling, who was a hot-tempered -chap and could contain himself no longer. - -“At that very instant a puff of wind blew the man’s black beard aside. -He clutched at it desperately, but somehow he bungled the job, and to my -utter astonishment—it came off! He stood revealed as a man of huge frame -with a brutal bull-dog jaw and unmistakable Latin cast of features. But -I had little time to notice this, for a strange cry had broken from -Captain Munson’s lips as the man’s disguise blew off. He turned deathly -pale and staggered like a drunken man. - -“Sterling and I rushed to his side. We thought for a minute that he was -about to faint. But he rallied and stared at us for a moment wildly. - -“‘Good Lord!’ exclaimed Sterling, ‘it’s all come back to him!’ - -“Then I understood. That man who had hailed us was the captain of the -same piratical band that had attacked Captain Munson’s other ship and -carried off his wife and child. The next instant following Sterling’s -exclamation was a dramatic one. - -“‘You know me, sir?’ asked the mate. - -“‘Yes! Yes! You’re Robert Sterling,’ burst from the captain’s lips. ‘I -recall it all now. The fight! That ruffian struck me down. I woke up to -find you all gone. But, Sterling, how do you come to be here,—and—and -where are Bess and the baby?’ - -“I felt sorry for Sterling then. His face went as white as the captain’s -visage and he actually shook as if from cold. But he had to answer. - -“‘Better off than if they were in the hands of those ruffians, sir,’ he -replied in a low voice which shook perilously, ‘they are——’ - -“‘Dead!’ burst out the captain, with a terrible cry. - -“Sterling bowed his head. - -“‘Your wife leaped overboard rather than be sold down the coast as a -slave,’ he said slowly, ‘and—and she took the baby with her.’ - -“I did not dare to look at Captain Munson’s face. But I could hear his -breath come short and quick, just like a man breathes after a long, hard -swim. But the next instant we had other things to think of. A volley of -small arms from the pirate craft whistled about our ears. She was up to -windward and evidently meant to grapple and board us. What followed is -hard to describe. I don’t know how most men feel in a fight of that -character, but it seemed to me that I was in a dream. I fired and -loaded, and fired and loaded, while all about me bullets were flying and -fallen men groaning. Splinters flew as the pirate’s volleys raked our -rails. I was suddenly conscious of being wounded, but I fought on, -actually hardly knowing what I was doing. - -“Suddenly the pirate’s sails loomed close alongside. Our yardarms locked -with his. Grappling irons were thrown aboard us and the whole horde of -ruffians tried to board us by main force. But they met with such -desperate resistance that they were compelled to retreat for the time. -Right here is where the cook figured. Just as things looked most -critical he turned the tide for us. Attached to a huge boiler in his -domain was a hose, used for washing stains out of the decks. - -“While we had been arming he had made up a roaring fire. By the time the -pirates boarded us there was enough boiling water in the boiler to make -that hose an effective weapon. Yelling like an Indian, the cook turned -it on the scrambling mass of rascals. The stream of boiling water was -more effective than bullets. With yells and cries they fell back, some -of them scalded horribly. - -“All this time I had lost sight of Captain Munson. Now I glimpsed him, -just in time to see him leap into the main chains and from thence on to -the bulwarks of the pirate ship. His face was fixed and terrible and -held an expression of desperate resolve. Cutlass in hand, he fought his -way through the demoralized pirates and at last I saw, in a flash of -understanding, his purpose. His object was to find out, and kill with -his own hands, the pirate chief. Hardly had I realized this before the -men encountered each other. Apparently the pirate recognized Munson -instantly, for I saw him recoil as if he had seen a ghost. But the next -instant he had recovered and began to fight desperately for his life. - -“In the meantime some of our crew had cut the two vessels apart, and -before any of us recovered his wits and started to the captain’s rescue -the two craft had drifted so far asunder that it was impossible. With -horrified fascination we watched the fight, and if it held us spellbound -it appeared to have the same effect on the pirate crew; at any rate, -none of them interfered. - -“Such a furious fight could not, in the nature of things, last long, but -it came to an altogether unexpected conclusion. Captain Munson’s cutlass -had broken off short and he closed with his enemy, grasping him about -the waist. They both reeled backward—and suddenly vanished from sight. A -hatchway had been left open, and in their blind fury neither had noticed -it. Tripping on the coaming, they had plunged into it. - -“Suddenly we heard a shot from the pirate craft, and then came a great -cry. I could not make out what all the yelling was about, and turned to -Sterling who seemed equally spellbound at the horror of the thing we had -just witnessed. - -“‘What is it? What are they saying?’ I demanded. - -“‘They are shouting that the magazine is on fire!’ he exclaimed, ‘that a -shot fired by the Englishman has ignited the powder!’” - -“The words had hardly left his lips before a hot blast rushed full at -me. I was knocked from my feet, saw a vast sheet of flame before me, and -knew no more. When I came to I discovered Sterling bending over me. His -face was very grave and serious. - -“‘What has happened?’ I asked weakly. - -“‘The pirate ship is blown up,’ he replied; ‘not a vestige of her is -left.’ - -“‘And Captain Munson?’ I demanded, although I knew what the reply would -be. - -“Sterling removed his cap; a last tribute to a brave man. - -”‘Has gone with her to Jones’ locker,’ he rejoined; ‘maybe it was better -so. It would be just about here that his wife and baby died.’” - -Captain Andrews paused. So ended his story, which cast a gloom over the -party that was not to be dispelled. Soon after, therefore, they retired, -with the picture of the sea captain’s tragic death still vividly before -their eyes. - -Before joining the others. Jack tried to get into communication with the -_Sea King_ by wireless once more. But he failed. However, this did not -worry them, as they knew that their friends must know where to find -them. - -“I wonder when they’ll arrive here,” said Professor Chadwick, as they -prepared to spend as comfortable a night as they could on the sand. -“Those repairs were surely effected quickly,” he added. - -“Very quickly,” said Captain Andrews, who alone of the party had not -been almost wild with delight at the prospect of the rescue. “By the -way. Jack, you are quite sure that it was the _Sea King_ that you were -in communication with?” - -“Of course,” rejoined the lad rather impatiently, “who else could it -have been? Who would have had any object in trying to pass themselves -off as the _Sea King_ unless they——” - -He stopped short and looked rather blank all of a sudden. The idea of -Herrera had just crossed his mind. And then that ship that they had seen -laboring in the stormy sea that afternoon? - -“Pshaw!” said the lad to himself; “she had two masts and a yellow -funnel, there’s no chance of that being the _Tarantula_.” - -When he voiced this belief aloud later on, the others agreed with him. -But Captain Andrews, still suspicious, determined, he said, to keep -watch. The others, almost too tired to keep their eyes open, rather -ridiculed this precaution, and soon sleep enwrapped every one on that -desolate island. - -Every one? Yes; for tired nature had asserted herself and Captain -Andrews, after a hard struggle to keep awake, dozed off, woke with a -start, dozed off again and finally slumbered profoundly. - -Had he kept his eyes open a while longer he would have seen something -approaching the island that would have caused him to keep awake with a -vengeance. This object was nothing more nor less than the _Tarantula_, -disguised cunningly by a canvas smokestack painted yellow, and two -masts. - -Herrera early that day had ascended the river and heard of the flight of -the prisoners and the destruction of his hemp-drying plant. Half crazy -with fury he kept a watch on the skies and saw the Flying Road Racer, -high in air as she was driven seaward after her perilous experience in -the circular storm. - -In defiance of the wild weather he at once prepared to put to sea -disguising his ship, as he had done on other occasions, as she dropped -down the river. - -Me had seen the storm-racked air craft as she flew above him. He had -observed her, in fact, at the very moment that the adventurers espied -his tossing craft. To his chagrin, however, she passed out of sight. But -he held on in the direction she had vanished determined not to give up -the chase of those precious stones till he had exhausted every means of -trying to obtain them. - -Just as he was despairing of ever hearing of the Flying Road Racer -again. Jack’s “S. O. S.” message had come winging across the sea. As -soon as his operator gave him the despatch the rascal conceived the -daring plan of impersonating the _Sea King_ and in this guise he flashed -back the message inquiring the position of the castaways. He took care -to ascertain that the gems were safe. - -While profound and peaceful sleep wrapped the party of adventurers, a -boat landed on the beach, crowded with men. It came from the -_Tarantula_, which had anchored about two hundred yards to seaward. -Every man was armed and among them was Herrera with one or two of his -chosen aides. - -Their plans had been formed before they landed and they silently sneaked -up on the castaways’ camp. They were agreeably surprised to find no -sentries posted. - -According to previous plans, each man of the crew carried ropes and -gags. The sleeping party was surprised without warning and tied and -gagged without a chance of their presenting any opposition. Each of the -Chadwick party, as they awakened under the rough handling of the -henchmen of Herrera, was given a strong hint not to resist, in the form -of a pistol barrel pressed to the nape of his neck. - -As resistance would have been worse than useless all submitted quietly -to the outrage, and Herrera’s triumph appeared to be complete. When they -all had been secured the marauders commenced a frantic search for the -great silver jewel casket. They found it without much difficulty under -the professor’s coat which he had used as a pillow. Not expecting any -attack he had not taken much pains to conceal it. - -Herrera burst into a loud laugh as he opened the casket and took out the -three great flashing stones it contained. - -“So you thought that you could trick Herrera, eh, you stupid Yankee,” he -snarled, “but I caught your message by wireless, you dogs of gringos. I -spit on you and despise you. The jewels you thought to steal are now -mine. But see—Herrera is generous. He leaves you the box!” - -As he spoke the ruffian flung the silver casket to the sand and then, -with some gruff orders to his men, strode off across the beach. A few -minutes later the splash of oars informed the marooned castaways that -their foe had departed taking with him the gems they had gone through so -much to save intact; and not only that, he took with him also their -hopes of being rescued. From what he had said about the wireless, it was -clear that he had intercepted the message for aid, and thus been guided -to the island. The _Sea King_ had not received word from them at all. - -With what bitter feelings they reviewed the situation may be imagined. -And it did not relieve the misery of their present position, as they lay -gagged and helpless, to reflect that if they had kept a guard, the -disaster might not have happened. They had been trapped like so many -unthinking children. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV—“IT’S DEATH TO REMAIN HERE!” - - -Jack struggled and strained at his bonds, as, in fact, all the rest of -the party were doing. To his delight, after a brief period of -struggling, he managed to loosen them considerably. The work of tying up -the party had been done hastily, and, consequently, the knots were not -very hard to loosen. In fact, all that Herrera had wanted, was to keep -them quiet till he had looted the treasure of the gems. - -When Jack had worked his hands free he pulled the gag out of his mouth, -and then, after undoing his ankle bonds, he drew out his knife and -rapidly liberated his companions. - -“Well, a fine mess I’ve made of it,” grumbled out Captain Andrews, as -soon as he was free. - -“I don’t see that you were any worse than the rest of us,” said -Professor Chadwick; “in fact, it was you who had a keen enough mind to -guess that our message might have been received and answered by another -craft than the _Sea King_.” - -“Which it was,” put in Mr. Jesson. - -“Yes; but I kept watch for a while,” contritely said the captain, -“and—I’m bitterly ashamed to say it,—I fell asleep at my post of duty.” - -“For which we don’t attach a bit of blame to you,” said Professor -Chadwick; “what we had passed through was enough to exhaust a giant. To -tell you the truth, I almost feel relieved now that the gems are gone.” - -“The natives had a legend that they brought bad luck,” said Mr. Jesson, -“and indeed they seemed to.” - -“I hope they bring evil fortune to that greaser who has them now,” -struck in Abner Jennings. - -The two sailors added their growling assent to this wish, nor could any -of the party refrain from echoing it. - -[Illustration: Jack liberated Captain Andrews.] - -“I suppose he’s got clear away,” hazarded Ned presently. - -“Of course he has,” grunted Captain Andrews. “I’ll bet there’s twenty -miles between him and this island right now. And, incidentally, I’m -ready to bet as to his future.” - -“What will it be?” asked Jack, with some curiosity. - -“Why, he’ll throw up his governorship,—the Diaz government is on its -last legs, anyhow,—and skip out to Paris. He’ll sell those gems over -there and—live happy ever afterward.” - -“Why Paris?” asked Mr. Jesson. - -“Oh, all those scallywags go over there when they’ve made their graft,” -laughed Ned; “they won’t tolerate them any other place, I guess. When I -was over there with my folks two years ago we saw more princes and -exiled presidents from South America than you could shake a stick at. -You couldn’t have thrown a brick on the main boulevards without hitting -some ruler who had left his country for his country’s good.” - -“All of which disquisition,” said Professor Chadwick dryly, “doesn’t -solve our problem.” - -“No, indeed,” said Mr. Jesson; “we are as badly off as before.” - -“Worse,” exclaimed Jack. - -“How’s that?” asked Tom. - -“Well, haven’t we lost those gems?” - -“Oh, bother the old gems,” said Tom, “we’ve got the box, haven’t we? If -any one in the States doesn’t believe we ever had the three gems we can -show them the casket as proof that we really did have them once.” - -As he spoke he picked up the box from the sand where Herrera had flung -it, and handed it to the Professor. - -“It will make a handsome relic of our trip at all events,” said that -gentleman, with half a sigh. “I guess I’ll present it to some institute -interested in such things.” - -“Pity those bumps on the cover aren’t precious stones,” said Ned, -indicating the three dull-colored knobs on the cover. “Wonder what they -are there for?” - -“To make the box look nobby,” ventured Tom, a pun which almost cost him -a clip on the side of the head. - -But they were soon recalled to the seriousness of their situation. In -the east the day was beginning to dawn, and a return to sleep was out of -the question after all that had occurred. - -“I guess I’ll get to work with the wireless,” said Jack, “it’s our only -hope.” - -“Unless we could swim ashore,” said Captain Andrews. “It isn’t more than -five miles off.” - -“True. But from what we could see yesterday it is a rugged, inhospitable -shore,” said Mr. Jesson. - -“Most anything would be better than this, though, so long as it was the -mainland,” said Ned. - -“Yes, if only the old Flying Road Racer would have kept in the air half -an hour longer,” groaned Tom, “we might have used her as an auto to -reach some civilized spot.” - -“We could easily have done that,” struck in Jack. “The engine and -running gear are in perfect order. So far as that is concerned, she is -ready for a road trip of a thousand miles right now.” - -“You ought to have fixed it so she could swim, while you were about it,” -said Ned. - -He meant the remark as a joke; but Jack answered quite seriously. - -“I’ve been thinking over such a plan,” he said; “maybe some day I’ll get -to work and invent something that will make the good old craft as -capable in the water as she is on land and in the air.” - -“Wish you could invent it right now,” began Ned with a laugh. “I——” - -He stopped short with a puzzled look, which, oddly enough, was reflected -on all their races the next moment. - -“My legs are wobbly!” cried Tom. - -“By the trident of Neptune,” roared Captain Andrews, “so are mine!” - -“It’s not our legs!” cried Mr. Jesson, “it’s the ground that’s moving!” - -“The whole island is quivering like jelly!” cried Ned. - -“Good land, what ails de place? It’s done got chills and feber!” shouted -Jupe from his pots and pans, which were now rolling in every direction. - -The tremor grew stronger. Accompanying it was a queer, moaning sort of -sound. All at once there came a violent convulsion, and they were all -thrown flat. The roaring noise increased till it was almost deafening. - -“It’s an earthquake!” called out Professor Chadwick. - -“An earthquake?” cried the others in terrified tones as they rolled -about. - -Suddenly, not far from them, a great ragged fissure yawned in the earth -and almost instantly closed again. From that moment, for the ensuing ten -minutes, the castaways were in a condition bordering on panic. With the -very earth under their feet refusing them support they felt that they -were, indeed, in a sorry plight. - -At the conclusion of the period of time mentioned, the shocks stopped as -suddenly as they had begun. - -“Do you think there’ll be any more of them?” asked Tom in rather a -quavery voice. - -“Impossible to say,” said Mr. Jesson. “I imagine that this is a -continuation of the one that caused that cliff to collapse, which -resulted in my escape from those Indians.” - -“I suspect that is it,” said Professor Chadwick. “The great storm may -have also resulted from the generally disturbed conditions. We may have -no more shocks and we may have a dozen.” - -“I’ve known cases of whole islands being swallowed in the South Seas——” -began Abner Jennings gloomily. - -But Professor Chadwick stopped him. - -“If you can’t talk of something more cheerful, my man, don’t talk at -all,” he said. - -“And tidal waves, too, that wiped out whole cities like Galveston,” -muttered Jennings, in a low tone, however. - -“There is no reason to expect that another shock will occur,” resumed -the Professor; “the very nature of these seismic disturbances results -in——” - -“Wow! Glory to Goshen, here comes annudder one!” bellowed Jupe, dropping -a frying pan with a clatter and throwing himself flat on his face. - -The others followed his example. Indeed, it was impossible to remain on -one’s feet. The mighty earth waves undulated like the billows of the -sea. - -This shock lasted longer than the other, and was more severe. When it -was over they arose to their feet considerably unnerved by the -convulsion of nature. - -“Do——do you think there is any danger of this island sinking. -Professor?” asked Ned in a shaky voice. - -“I do not,” rejoined the other with a confidence that he was very far -from actually feeling, however. “I see no evidence of any volcanic -formation hereabouts.” - -“Maybe de ole Mudder Earth done got a bad tummy ache,” hazarded Jupe. - -“I wish she’d get it in her foot, then,” grumbled Ned. “I don’t—say, -Jack,” he broke off suddenly, “am I seeing things or is that beach -narrower than it was?” - -A worried look passed over Jack’s face. - -“I’m afraid your eyesight is all right, Ned,” he said. “The water is -closer than it was, beyond a doubt.” - -“And that means?” gasped Captain Andrews. “That we are sinking,” calmly -said Professor Chadwick. “There is no use deceiving ourselves. Jack, -send out a call for aid. There may be a chance of some ship catching the -message.” - -Jack sent an appeal flashing forth from the wireless. Then he listened -as usual for an answer. - -It came, but not in the way he had expected. He flung the receivers from -his ears with an angry expression. - -“It’s that rascal Herrera,” he said. “He intercepted the call.” - -“The villain! What did he say?” demanded Mr. Jesson. - -“He said that we could stay here till the island sank, for all he cared, -and added that Diaz had been driven out of Mexico, and that he was off -to Europe with those gems.” - -“Dat dere coffee-colored man is de worst no ’count trash I ebber done -heard of,” announced Jupe solemnly, while the others stood thunderstruck -at such pitiless behavior. - -Before they could utter a word of comment, however, another shock struck -the island. And this time it caused an amazing thing to happen. The -centre of the isolated spot of land had been quite an elevation. During -this spasm of the earth, however, an astonishing change took place in -the form of the island. The “crown” of the sandy little place sank until -it was depressed into a sort of cup. On the outer rim of this odd -subsidence of the island, were the adventurers who looked with alarmed -eyes on this freak of the earthquake. It mean only one thing, and that -was that if another shock occurred and the land sank any further, that -the sea must overwhelm it utterly. - -While they were still looking over the altered scene. Captain Andrews -gave a shout. - -“Shiver my timbers,” he cried, “look yonder, will you?” - -The subsidence of the centre of the island, of course, gave them a clear -view of the distant shore and of the neck of water between it and the -island. - -An astounding thing had happened, as the adventurers could now see. -Although they had not known it, the island had once formed part of the -mainland, and a narrow neck still connected it at a depth of only a few -feet at low water. It was now low tide, and the earthquake, while it -depressed the central part of the island, had performed a still more -astonishing freak. - -It had raised this narrow neck linking it to the shore till it was quite -a few inches above the level of the water, making a causeway of wet sand -between the island and the mainland! - -Jack was the first to grasp the significance of this. He gave a glad -shout as he did so. - -“Hurrah! We are saved!” he cried. “The earthquake has saved us!” - -“What?” demanded his hearers, not quite so quick-thinking as Jack. - -“Don’t you see?” exclaimed the boy. “We can drive the Flying Road Racer -ashore over that neck of sand as easily as if we were taking a spin in -the park.” - -“But suppose another shock causes the neck of sand to subside again?” -asked Mr. Jesson skeptically. - -“We must take our chances of that,” Tom answered him. “In any case, it -means death to remain where we are.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI—AN ASTOUNDING DISCOVERY - - -As Jack spoke, the island gave another trembling shake. It was only a -slight one, but it warned them that, in all probability, there were to -be more violent shocks succeeding it. - -It was plain enough that their escape, if it was to be made at all, must -be made quickly. Jack and Tom at once set about dismantling the wireless -station and packing the apparatus. - -The hastily extemporized life jacket balloons were hauled down and the -wires coiled. When this had been done. Jack told everybody to take their -seats in the car, on the top of which the dismantled gas bag had been -folded by the captain and the two sailors, while Abner Jennings helped -Jupe to pack up. - -Jack took his seat last of all and started the engine going. It worked -without a hitch, and the auto,—a flying machine no longer,—moved off -across the sand, heavily laden as it was, without difficulty. - -The rim about the submerged centre of the island was soon -circumnavigated, and the beginning of the narrow neck of land reached. -Then Jack fairly “let the car out.” - -The newly formed isthmus was hard, and the car flew over it under the -full power of its engines. - -“Mighty good t’ing dere ain’t no speed laws in dis part ob de world,” -grunted Jupe as they flew along. - -The shore appeared to rush toward them, but if they had hoped to see any -signs of human habitation as they drew close to it they were mistaken. -Nothing but a mass of trees, backed by rising ground, appeared along the -coast as far as the eye could reach in either direction. - -As they sped along they heard behind them a sudden mighty uproar. Gazing -back they saw the ocean heaving and boiling all about the island they -had left, as if it had been a witches’ caldron. Great jets of water shot -up, and the surface of the sea was flecked with foam and spume. - -The sight fascinated every one of them but Jack, who had to be intent on -his driving. - -“The whole island is going!” shouted the Professor. - -He was right. - -With a sudden booming roar and upheaval of the ocean, the entire mass of -land sank under the waves, which for a long time boiled and simmered -above it. Just as the last vestige of the island vanished, leaving only -the newly created peninsula projecting from the land, they reached the -solid earth. - -Their dash to the mainland had taken place only just in time. A little -more delay, they realized with shudders, would have meant their total -annihilation. - -“I said the island would go,” cried Abner Jennings triumphantly. “I’ve -’em vanish like that in the South Seas.” - -No one had any comment to make. The horror of what they had just -witnessed struck them all dumb. The gratitude they felt to Divine -Providence for their lucky rescue filled their hearts to overflowing, -and left no room for speech. - -The Flying Road Racer was stopped, and they silently gazed for a long -time at the bubbling, heaving waters. - -The sight was impressive, even if it did cause a shiver and inspire a -feeling that bordered on fear. - -After a while the Professor spoke. His tone was as solemn as his words. - -“Boys,” he said, addressing his young friends, “we have just witnessed -something that many scientists would give a great deal to behold.” - -“Well, candidly,” said Tom, “I’ve seen enough of it.” - -So had they all, in fact, and the Flying Road Racer was soon turned -north, following a rough road that ran parallel with the sea-coast. - -It was now late afternoon, and the shadows were lengthening apace. -Before long the swift tropic night would overtake them. Although they -had arrived at a determination to continue traveling north till they -arrived at a large city, where a telegraph wire could be found, they did -not care to risk advancing over the rough, half-formed road in the -darkness, so a halt was made where a small stream of fresh water ran -down to the sea, and they prepared to spend the night there. - -It was somewhat chilly and a roaring fire was built around which they -seated themselves after the evening meal. All were rather silent and -abstracted, and there was no inclination for conversation. The Professor -had brought out the silver casket and was examining some queer marks -like hieroglyphics on its cover. - -“I’m sure they have some sort of meaning,” he remarked to Mr. Jesson, -“but it’s beyond me to make out what it can be. See if you can do any -better.” - -He handed the box to his brother-in-law to examine. But in the transfer -it was fumbled, and before Mr. Jesson could save it the silver casket -rolled toward the fire, only stopping when it was embedded in a mass of -embers. - -It was raked out with a stick by Mr. Jesson before it was damaged. He -set it aside to cool before examining it, and in the meantime the boys -took occasion to observe it more narrowly than they had yet found -opportunity to do. - -“Say, I thought that those knobs on the top were dull-colored!” -exclaimed Jack Chadwick suddenly. - -“Why, so they are!” rejoined Mr. Jesson. “Some sort of inferior stone, I -guess. They——” - -“But they are not dull! Look!” - -Risking burning his fingers. Jack seized the still warm casket and held -it toward his elders. - -On the cover, embedded in the silver, flashed and winked in the -firelight, three magnificent gems, red, blue, green! - -“Let me look at that a minute. Jack,” exclaimed Professor Chadwick in -sharp, excited tones. - -He took the box from his son, and an instant later his head and Mr. -Jesson’s were close together over the rifled silver casket. - -“Well, gentlemen?” said Ned after a while. - -“Well,” echoed Professor Chadwick, “we have made a most astounding -discovery. These gems which Jack discovered,—for they are genuine, -there’s not a doubt of it,—must have been covered with wax of some sort. -The heat of the fire, when the box fell into it, melted this substance, -and—well, here are three gems worth, conservatively, two hundred and -fifty thousand dollars; probably a great deal more.” - -The listeners looked at him in amazement. - -“But what were the gems that Herrera took out of the casket, then?” -demanded Jack, when he found his voice. - -“Imitations, undoubtedly,” was the reply of Mr. Jesson. “The tribe that -owned the genuine stones adopted this cunning means of concealing the -real ones by coating them with wax of some sort. Then they placed -inferior gems, or cunning imitations, within the box, trusting to the -cupidity of any one who stole them not to investigate further.” - -And so it proved afterward. The stones, which the strange and seemingly -trivial accident had revealed, turned out to be as fine specimens of -their respective kinds as there are in existence. They were appraised at -six hundred and eighty thousand dollars, but cryptic carvings on the -back of them made them of infinitely more value to science as specimens -of the treasures of a vanished race. - -Despite their keen excitement over the discovery that, after all, -Herrera had not decamped with the precious stones, the adventurers slept -soundly and peacefully that night. - -When they awakened the daylight was sparkling on land and sea, and Jupe -was filling the air with appetizing aromas proceeding from his cooking -fire. - -It was while they were in the midst of the morning meal that Jack sprang -to his feet with a shout. - -“The _Sea King_! the _Sea King_!” he cried, pointing seaward. - -About half a mile off shore, steaming leisurely along, was a -fine-looking white yacht that the Professor speedily pronounced to be, -indeed, the _Sea King_. - -“The wireless, Tom, as quick as you can,” called Jack, and the two lads -at once set about sending their life-jacket balloons aloft. - -This time the message that Jack sent out reached the persons it was -intended for, and an hour later a boat came ashore and the castaways -found themselves among their friends. - -Repairs had been effected in record time on the yacht, and those in -charge of her had determined not to wait longer at Lone Island, but -proceed south at once. They were urged to this course, also, by news -from Mexico that the revolutionists had triumphed, and that Diaz had -abdicated. - -We should like to chronicle more of the adventures of the Boy Inventors -on this trip, but the exigencies of space forbid it. Suffice it to say -then, that while the Professor, the rescued explorer and the rest, -including Captain Andrews, voyaged to Lone Island and thence home on the -_Sea King_, the boys drove the Flying Road Racer through Mexico, and -reached home in that way by the overland route. They had many exciting -times, but none so filled with peril and incident as their career on the -gulf had been. - -In due time the _Vagrant_ was also recovered and sent home by the newly -formed Madero government. Of Herrera, all trace was lost for a time. But -ultimately he was heard from in Paris, whither, as had been prophesied, -he had fled when the Diaz government fell. But he is not leading the -life of a luxurious refugee there. Far from it. The gems he had stolen -with the exercise of so much villainy and planning, proved to be, as -Professor Chadwick had conjectured, mere cheap imitations worth very -little except as specimens of Maya workmanship. Herrera, when last heard -from, was acting as a head waiter in an humble Mexican restaurant in the -Latin quarter of the French capital. - -The genuine gems were sold to a New York millionaire, and when he dies -will be seen in his private museum, which will then be opened to the -public. The proceeds were shared, by the wishes of Professor Chadwick -and Mr. Jesson, with the faithful crew of the _Sea King_, each, from -Captain Andrews down, receiving a due portion. A handsome monument was -also erected above the grave of poor Kettle, who fell in the battle with -the Mayas. - -Professor Chadwick did not fulfill the object of his cruise in finding a -new form of biologic life; but he often says that he established -something far more precious,—namely, the safety of his long-lost -brother-in-law, Tom Jesson’s father. - -One morning, not long after the household at High Towers had settled -down to its ordinary routine, a telegram came for Jack. It contained -astonishing things, things which were—though he didn’t guess it at the -time,—to open up an entirely new field of invention for him and his -chums, Tom Jesson and Ned Bangs. - -The message stated,—but positively, we must keep all that for another -telling. In our next volume we will relate further astonishing and -stirring occurrences in the lives of our ingenious, progressive young -friends. The title of the forthcoming book will be _The Boy Inventors -and the Vanishing Gun_,—a tale which promises to be of extraordinary -interest to every American boy, brimful and running over, as it will be, -with experiment and achievement along new and significant lines. - - THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Inventor's Wireless Triumph, by -Richard Bonner and Charles L. 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