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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b98412 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54034 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54034) diff --git a/old/54034-0.txt b/old/54034-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0226b69..0000000 --- a/old/54034-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7107 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Inventors' Electric Hydroaeroplane, by -Richard Bonner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Boy Inventors' Electric Hydroaeroplane - -Author: Richard Bonner - -Illustrator: Charles L. Wrenn - -Release Date: January 21, 2017 [EBook #54034] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOY INVENTORS' ELECTRIC HYDROAEROPLANE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Young Dill had seized Jupe by the back of the neck and -dragged him, half drowned, to the shore.--_Page 98_] - - - - - THE BOY INVENTORS’ - ELECTRIC - HYDROAEROPLANE - - BY - - RICHARD BONNER - - AUTHOR OF “THE BOY INVENTORS’ WIRELESS TRIUMPH,” “THE BOY - INVENTORS AND THE VANISHING GUN,” “THE BOY INVENTORS’ - DIVING TORPEDO BOAT,” “THE BOY INVENTORS’ - FLYING SHIP,” ETC., ETC. - - _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY_ - _CHARLES L. WRENN_ - - NEW YORK - HURST & COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - - Copyright, 1914, - BY - HURST & COMPANY - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. A NEW FRIEND MADE 5 - - II. AN INVENTION DESCRIBED 15 - - III. AN IMPORTANT DECISION 23 - - IV. NED TO THE RESCUE 33 - - V. THE UNLUCKY STORY 43 - - VI. HIS ENEMIES ON THE TRAIL 54 - - VII. NED MAKES AN ENEMY 62 - - VIII. THE PLANS ACCEPTED 71 - - IX. THE ARRIVAL OF TROUBLE 82 - - X. HEINY PUMPERNICK DILL 91 - - XI. THE CONVERTIBLE SAUSAGE MACHINE 98 - - XII. HANK AND MILES MEET THEIR MATCH 106 - - XIII. READY FOR FLIGHT 113 - - XIV. HEINY OVERHEARS THE PLOT 124 - - XV. THE BURGLAR TRAP 132 - - XVI. THE LOST LEVER 150 - - XVII. OFF AT LAST! 161 - - XVIII. NED’S TERRIBLE PERIL 169 - - XIX. THE DISGRUNTLED CRONIES 179 - - XX. TOM TO THE RESCUE 187 - - XXI. SALUTING A STEAMER 194 - - XXII. AN OLD FRIEND 202 - - XXIII. THE LOST PLANS 211 - - XXIV. A BAFFLING ROBBERY 220 - - XXV. OFF TO THE FAIR 227 - - XXVI. AN UNLUCKY MISHAP 237 - - XXVII. A DASH FOR LIBERTY 248 - - XXVIII. A DIRIGIBLE IN DANGER 258 - - XXIX. A DARING RESCUE 269 - - XXX. A STRANGE MEETING 277 - - XXXI. NED COMES INTO HIS OWN 283 - - - - -The Boy Inventors’ Electric Hydroaeroplane. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A NEW FRIEND MADE. - - -“Are either Mr. Chadwick or Mr. Jesson about?” - -“Humph!” and the gangling, rather disagreeable-looking youth who had -answered the summons to the door of the Boy Inventors’ workshop, gave a -supercilious look over the dusty and worn, although carefully mended, -clothes of the dark-eyed, dark-haired, slender youth who confronted him. - -“What do you want to know that for, anyhow?” and upon the personal -pronoun he placed a contemptuous emphasis. - -“That is a question to which I can only reply when I can see either -Jack Chadwick or Tom Jesson personally. My name is Ned Nevins,--not -that either of them knows me,--but will you be so kind as to find out -if they’ll see me?” - -“If you can’t tell me your business, you can’t see them. State what you -want to me. If it’s money----” - -“It is not!” - -The dark-eyed young visitor’s eyes held a warning flash which the other -lad, who was half a head taller and far stouter of build than Ned -Nevins, affected not to notice. - -“Well, you can’t speak to them.” This with an air of finality. - -“But you don’t understand----” - -“I do, perfectly. They are both far too busy to bother with any -inquisitive kind of tramp that happens along.” - -“Then you won’t let them know I would like to see them?” - -The other’s voice rose angrily. - -“I said ‘No’ once. N-O-_no_! Isn’t that enough?” - -“Quite enough.” - -Ned Nevins turned away. As he did so, the other lad, an employee of -the Boy Inventors, and a former school chum, noticed that he had under -his arm a box which he appeared to handle with unusual care. But Sam -Hinkley noted also Ned’s dejected and downcast air. He decided to -humiliate him still further. - -“Get a move on--you. Skip!” - -Ned hastened his pace. He felt too disappointed and tired to retort -to the bully as he should have done. Sam Hinkley interpreted this -as cowardice on Ned’s part, and being a natural bully he decided to -improve the occasion according to his own delight. He came up behind -Ned and gave the slightly-built lad a strong shove. - -Ned faced ’round, and his pale face flushed an angry crimson. - -“Don’t do that again, please!” - -Young Hinkley’s rejoinder was to make a rush at him. He extended both -his hands to shove the visitor, whom he had found so unwelcome, off the -premises. But the next instant he met with a setback. Still holding his -precious box under one arm, Ned’s fingers closed on the bully’s wrists. -They shut down with a grip like steel handcuffs. - -“Ow! Ouch! Leggo my hands,” roared Sam at the top of his voice. - -“From what I’ve heard of Jack Chadwick and Tom Jesson I don’t believe -they would tolerate for an instant the way you have behaved toward me,” -was the firm reply. “March!” - -“Where are we going?” inquired Sam, writhing painfully under the young -stranger’s powerful grip, unable to do anything, try as he would to -shake it off. - -“Straight into that workshop. From what I can hear, I believe we will -find those whom I wish to see inside.” - -Sam looked very uncomfortable. He was the son of fairly well-to-do -parents in the little town of Nestorville, on the outskirts of which -Mr. Chadwick’s home was situated. Jack and Tom had taken him on because -he was a youth who had always shown mechanical ability and had pleaded -persistently for a chance to work in the big experimental shop at High -Towers. - -But a fair trial of Sam Hinkley had not resulted in his rising in favor -with his young employers. He had been detected in several mean acts. -Besides, they felt he was hardly a lad to be trusted with the important -secrets of the workshop, in which most of the inventions of the boys -and their father and uncle were worked out. So that had Sam but known -it, he was by no means so important a factor at High Towers as he -imagined. - -“Lemmo go and I’ll take you in,” howled Sam. - -“Very well. You might have done so in the first place.” - -But no sooner were Sam’s hands released than he aimed a savage blow at -young Nevins. - -“I’ll trim you for this, you--you scarecrow, you!” he bawled out. “I’ll -fix you. I’ll----” - -“Here, here! What’s all the trouble about?” - -The question was asked by a tall, well-built youth with curly dark hair -and sparkling, intelligent eyes, who had just appeared at the door of -the workshop. - -“I--I wanted to find Mr. Chadwick, Jr.,” began the newcomer, while Sam -looked abashed. - -“Sure you weren’t looking for trouble?” asked Jack, but a twinkle in -his eyes belied the implied reproach in the question. He knew Sam -Hinkley from the soles of his shoes up. Besides, he had witnessed the -last part of the recent scene and realized how the land lay. - -“Go back on your job,” he ordered Sam brusquely, “those bolts must be -ready by noon at the latest.” - -“Bu-bu-but----” began Sam, and then, reading what he saw in Jack’s eye -aright, he obeyed, but not without a backward glance at Ned Nevins. - -“Why--why, you are Jack--I mean Mister----” - -“That’s all right,” was the smiling response, “I am Jack Chadwick. What -did you wish to see me about?” - -“Principally about getting a job. I----” - -“I’m afraid there’s nothing here for you,” was the reply, as Jack -glanced with interest at the intelligent face that gazed so eagerly -into his own, and then, as he saw the travel-stained lad’s countenance -fall he added, “You see this is an experimental shop mainly, and----” - -“I know. I’ve heard all about your inventions, the Sky-ship and the -diving Torpedo Boat and so on. I love mechanics and I’m sure I could -make good if you’d give me a chance.” - -“What is your name?” - -“Nevins is my name, sir.” - -“Ever had any experience along such lines?” - -“Yes, sir, my uncle was an inventor. He was poor and worked in a -machine-shop, but when he was at home he and I used to spend all our -time in a workshop he had fitted up. You see my folks died a long time -ago and I was brought up in my uncle’s home. He said that some day -I’d be famous if I worked hard and that I had a natural ability for -mechanics and----” - -Ned Nevins stopped short, flushed over what he felt had been a -conceited speech. But Jack glanced at him encouragingly. The young -inventor was quick to read character. He began to take an interest in -this ragged visitor, who had dropped down out of the skies, so to speak. - -“But you are not living with your uncle now, Nevins?” - -“Oh, no. He was killed a month or more ago in an accident in the -mills. My aunt didn’t want me ’round the house; no more did my cousin. -So I packed up what I had; it wasn’t much,” with a rueful smile, -“and--and----” - -“Set out to seek your fortune. So far, if you don’t mind my saying it, -you don’t appear to have succeeded very well. And so you want a job. -How have you been making your way?” - -“Doing odd jobs for farmers and so on. I’m clever at repairing -automobile machinery, and I earned a little that way. You see, my -object was to make my way here, otherwise I might have got two or three -jobs in garages or machine shops.” - -“Why were you so anxious to come here?” demanded Jack, beginning to -feel an interest in this persistent youngster. - -“Because of a strange legacy my uncle left me.” - -“That’s an odd reason.” - -“I know it; but may I explain?” - -“Surely. Go ahead.” - -“Well, it was a legacy that he said would bring me fame and fortune -some day. It may have been only an inventor’s dream. My poor uncle had -many such, or it may not be all that he thought of it. There were many -reasons why I couldn’t consult any one in my own town about it, and as -I’d read of you and felt I could trust you and your advice, I sought -you out. But if the invention, for that’s what the legacy was, is worth -anything or not, I want a job.” - -“Come on inside, Nevins. You seem to have the right stuff in you. We’ll -have a talk.” - -And with a wide-eyed youth behind him, Jack led the way into the -workshop. Sam Hinkley viewed his young employer and the latter’s -companion with marked disfavor from his work bench. - -“Wormed your way into the place already, have you?” he muttered. “I’ll -keep my eye on you, young fellow, and don’t you forget it.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -AN INVENTION DESCRIBED. - - -Ned Nevins had told nothing but the simple truth when he stated that -he had endured many hardships and much rough travel under unpleasant -conditions in order to obtain an interview with the Boy Inventors. - -He was a boy of singularly firm character and persistency or he would -never have triumphed over the obstacles he had conquered in order to -gain his ambition. When Ned’s uncle, Jeptha Nevins, had died, he had -entrusted to the boy the tin box which we have seen Ned guarding with -so much care. It contained plans and specifications of an invention -upon which the elder Nevins had spent all his spare time for many years. - -Whether the invention was a practical one or not, Ned, skillful as he -was in the line of mechanics, did not know. But his uncle’s faith in -the value of his invention was so great that he had inspired his nephew -with almost implicit confidence in the soundness of his judgment. - -Ned might have stayed in his home town and awaited a more favorable -opportunity for setting out on his travels but for one thing. Jeptha -Nevins had a son, a hulking ne’er-do-well sort of lad, or rather young -man, for he was some years the senior of Ned, who was sixteen. - -Following his father’s death, “Hank” Nevins, as he was known among -his cronies, made a big fuss when he learned that Ned had been left -the plans of Jeptha Nevins’ invention. There was little else but the -furniture in the house and a small sum of money in the savings bank; -and so Hank Nevins laid formal claim to the plans of the invention from -which Jeptha Nevins had hoped so much. - -But Ned refused absolutely to give them up to Hank. With almost his -dying words, Jeptha Nevins had entrusted the plans to his nephew, for -he had long since given up hopes of making anything out of Hank. In -fact Ned knew that it had been his uncle’s wish that Hank should know -nothing of the invention, but in some way the latter had discovered the -fact of its existence, and he hoped, that by selling it, (provided it -was in any way practical,) he might obtain some money which he could -expend in dissipation. - -When he found that Ned was unwilling, or rather refused absolutely, to -give up the plans, Hank had flung out of the house with all manner of -threats, among them being that he would force his cousin to give up the -coveted plans by process of law. Ned knew nothing of law and like many -persons similarly situated, the idea of Hank’s resorting to lawyers to -obtain possession of the plans alarmed him. Among Hank’s acquaintances -was a young law clerk of “sporty” proclivities. With the aid of this -young limb of the law, Hank had succeeded in thoroughly alarming -Ned as to the legality of his retention of the papers. Matters were -constituted thus when Ned determined not to risk the possession of his -uncle’s plans any longer but to leave the small cottage, where they all -lived, and seek counsel and aid elsewhere than in his native village. - -From the first time he had read of them, the Boy Inventors had -possessed a large place in Ned’s mind. In his extremity, therefore, he -had decided to seek them out and try to interest them in the untried -invention. - -“Sit down,” said Jack, when the two boys were inside a small room -at one end of the workshop which, for lack of a better word, was -called the office. It was a very business-like looking room. Books on -technical topics lined the shelves at one end of it. Models, samples of -materials, test-tubes and other apparatus occupied most of the rest of -the available space. - -Under the book shelves, however, was a desk. It was to one of the -chairs standing beside this latter piece of furniture that Jack -motioned his odd guest. - -Ned sank into the chair with an alacrity that made it plain that he was -tired. He had, in fact, come some miles from his last stopping place -that morning. - -“I’m sorry that you had that trouble with Sam Hinkley,” began Jack in a -kindly tone, “he should have known better than to treat you as he did.” - -“Oh, that’s all right,” the other assured him hastily, “I’d have stood -for a lot more than that in order to get a chance to see you and tell -you what I’ve traveled a good way to say.” - -“You said you had an invention, I think.” - -“Yes; but it is not, properly speaking, mine,” and then Ned Nevins went -on briefly to describe the circumstances by which he had come into -possession of the plans in which both he and his uncle set so much -store. But up to this point he had not mentioned the nature of the -invention and Jack brought him to the point by a question. - -“And just what may this invention be?” - -Ned Nevins hesitated a few seconds before replying. - -“I hardly know just what to call it,” he said, “but I guess an electric -hydroaeroplane about describes it.” - -Jack’s face betrayed his interest. - -“You mean a craft capable of air and water travel that is driven by -electricity?” he asked. - -“That’s just it. But there are many novel features about it, however. -My uncle set most store by one particular novelty in its construction, -and that was the fact that it was driven by electricity instead -of gasolene. Gasolene is bulky, dangerous and heavy to carry, and -sometimes hard to obtain, but by using an electric generator, worked -while the machine is in motion, the Nevins hydroaeroplane, as my uncle -called it, has plenty of cheap power always obtainable and is simpler -than gasolene-driven motors in a number of ways.” - -“But about your storage batteries--I suppose that’s the idea?” - -Ned Nevins nodded. - -“That’s just the point I was coming to,” he said; “one of the most -notable features of the Nevins hydroaeroplane is the fact that its -power is furnished by storage batteries many times lighter than any yet -constructed, and capable of developing many times the power. But the -plans will show you all that far better than I can explain.” - -“I should like to see them.” - -Although he was interested and showed it, Jack Chadwick had seen far -too many impracticable inventions to wax enthusiastic over any scheme -till he had examined into it for himself. But he knew that if young -Nevins had what he said he had, he was in possession of a big thing. - -So it was with considerable expectancy that he watched young Nevins -fumble with the lock of the battered tin case. Finally he opened the -receptacle and drew out a roll of papers. These proved to be blue -prints, and closely penned writings covering several foolscap sheets. - -Naturally, Jack’s attention was first directed to the blue prints that -young Nevins eagerly spread out on the table before him. Accustomed as -he was to such things, he read the intricate lines and tracings almost -as plainly as print. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -AN IMPORTANT DECISION. - - -“Well, what do you think of it?” - -Ned asked the question with almost pitiful eagerness. His tone clearly -betrayed how much the answer meant to him. - -“I think that the idea appears feasible, but of course, I can’t say -anything definite yet,” was Jack’s rejoinder. “I will have to consult -with my cousin, Tom Jesson----” - -Ned nodded that he had heard of young Jesson, who had had so much to do -with the Boy Inventors’ work. - -“And after we have gone over the plans together we can tell you just -what we think of it. Suppose that the idea appears to be possible to -work out, what would your plans be?” - -“That we each take an equal chance in the profits that may come from -it,” replied Ned in quick, certain tones that showed he had thought the -matter out all clearly in his own mind. - -“Well, that would come later. You would be clearly entitled to more -than a third share, for the invention practically belongs to you.” - -“Yes, but I have no capital to put into its manufacture. My idea was -that you would build the craft, with me to help, for I know my uncle’s -ideas in regard to the craft backward, almost.” - -Jack smiled. - -“I see you have every detail figured out.” - -“If you knew how much I have thought of it!” exclaimed Ned. - -“I can well imagine that. Well, Ned, I can promise you one thing--if -the invention offers any possibility of success we will undertake it. -We have nothing on hand just now and this is surely a big idea you have -brought us.” - -“I believe in it,” declared the boy fervently. - -“Well, that’s half the battle. Suppose you come and see us to-morrow -morning. We will go over the plans to-night and see what we think of -them. By the way, where are you staying?” - -“Nowhere just at present. I came straight up here as soon as I arrived -in Nestorville.” - -“You must have been eager to see us.” - -“I was, indeed. I had traveled a good many miles to do so, as I -explained.” - -“Well, Sam Hinkley’s father keeps a sort of hotel in Nestorville. It is -cheaper than a regular first-class place but I think you will find it -comfortable.” - -“Anything will suit me. I shan’t sleep much to-night, anyhow,” replied -Ned, taking no notice of the name that Jack had mentioned. - -“Don’t build too many hopes, Ned. I should hate to have to disappoint -you.” - -The boys shook hands and parted. Jack watched the dusty figure of Ned -Nevins as the boy wended his way down the hill. - -“There goes a boy with the right stuff in him,” he said to himself. -Although he was young in years, Jack Chadwick was ripe in experience, -as those of our readers who have followed the adventures of the Boy -Inventors through the various volumes know. - -For the benefit of those who are making their first acquaintance with -the two lads, we will briefly relate the careers of Jack Chadwick and -Tom Jesson, his cousin, up to the time that we resume our friendship -with them in the present book. - -Jack Chadwick’s father was the famous Professor Chadwick, whose various -inventions had made him well-to-do, and who was known throughout -the civilized world. The Chadwick method of steel reduction and the -same inventor’s ingenious devices for rock boring and drilling came -to the notice of the general public during the construction of the -Panama Canal. But Professor Chadwick had to his credit a host of other -inventions which, if not quite so well known to the world at large, -none the less played a large part in the history of civilization. - -The Professor, whose wife had died soon after Jack’s birth and before -fame came to him, had purchased the estate of High Towers, lying a -short distance from the pretty little town of Nestorville as a secluded -place in which to carry on his researches. Not long after he had -acquired it, Mr. Jasper Jesson, his brother-in-law and a well-known -explorer and biologist, was reported missing while on an expedition in -the tropics. As Mr. Jesson was also a widower, the care of young Tom -Jesson, the explorer’s only child, devolved upon Prof. Chadwick. - -Jack Chadwick and Tom Jesson had thus practically grown up together -and were more like brothers than cousins. As time went on, both lads -developed a strong liking for pursuits similar to the Professor’s, -and when still a young boy, Jack had invented a patent churn, which -came into wide use, as well as improving many household devices. -The Professor was delighted with the skill and adaptability of both -boys, and aided them all he could in their chosen pursuits. They both -took technical courses at a school in Boston, not far from which city -Nestorville was situated. - -Aeronautics before long began to engage their attention to the -exclusion of every other study. Professor Chadwick, too, was interested -in this topic, which was developed at High Towers, together with some -experiments in an improved wireless plant. - -In the first volume of this series, “The Boy Inventors’ Wireless -Triumph,” we saw how the boys’ hard work bore fruit in an adventurous -voyage to Yucatan. They participated in many thrilling adventures and -dangerous experiences which culminated in the finding of Tom Jesson’s -long missing father. - -The next volume showed the boys in a new field of endeavor. There is -brotherhood among inventors, and when a friend of Mr. Chadwick’s, who -was perplexed by problems connected with a new sort of gun, came to -them they were glad to aid him in any way they could. - -This work involved them in a surprising series of experiences, not all -of which were pleasant. In fact, at times, every ounce of resource, -courage and perseverance, which both lads possessed to a high degree, -was called into requisition to bring them out of their difficulties. -This volume was called “The Boy Inventors’ Vanishing Gun,” and related, -in considerable detail, the final triumphant outcome of the trials and -tribulations which had beset the youthful mechanics. - -In the third book dealing with our young friends, we found them -essaying triumphs in a new element. This volume was called “The -Boy Inventors’ Diving Torpedo Boat.” The boat was a masterpiece of -mechanical construction and a long cruise the boys took in her under -the surface of the waves provided a narrative of surpassing interest -and gripping power. By the aid of their submarine torpedo boat the boys -were enabled to play an important part in succoring some beleaguered -Americans, who were in peril of their lives at the hands of a band of -bloodthirsty Cuban revolutionists. The boys were put to a hard test -during this period of their lives, but after all, their experiences -endowed them with increased self-reliance and manliness which was to -prove of inestimable benefit to them later on, when these qualities -brought them successfully through adventures and trials more rigorous -than any they had yet faced. - -A Flying Ship was their next craft and in her the boys ventured on a -unique quest through the untrodden regions of the Upper Amazon. An odd -German professor was their companion and mentor. This was Professor -Bismarck Von Dinkelspeil, who was as kind-hearted as he was eccentric. -Professor Von Dinkelspeil was in search of an extraordinary inhabitant -of the remote Brazilian jungles. The boys met him in a strange -way and were enabled to offer him much assistance. Dick Donovan, a -lively young reporter, and Captain Abe Sprowl, a rough-and-ready New -England skipper, were others of their companions on what proved a -unique cruise, the details of which were fully set forth in the volume -immediately preceding the present, which was called “The Boy Inventors’ -Flying Ship.” - -Naturally interested in aeronautics as they were then, the two lads -went into “executive session” over the plans of Ned Nevins’ electrical -hydroaeroplane as soon as Tom Jesson returned from Boston, which was -late that afternoon. He had gone to the city to order some materials -needed in a new landing device the boys were working on. Far into -the night the two boys pored over the plans, waxing more and more -enthusiastic as they progressed. - -“It seems to me that this craft is as practical and as possible to -construct as an electric roadster,” declared Jack, as they concluded -their labors. - -“To build, yes, but how about it working when it is built?” said Tom -Jesson, who was less of an idealist than his enthusiastic cousin. - -“Are you willing to try it, Tom?” - -“I am, yes. How about you?” - -“I’m confident enough of success to risk some of the money we made out -of that Yucatan treasure chest.” - -“Then I’ll contribute my share, too. When do we start?” - -“Nothing to hinder us getting on the job right away. This is too big -a thing to keep waiting. We’ll send for Ned Nevins first thing in the -morning. If this invention turns out half as well as it looks, his -legacy will make him famous as well as relieve him from want.” - -Possibly, if the boys could have looked into the future, Jack would not -have spoken so confidently. Troubles they never dreamed of lay ahead of -them, and, at that, in the near future. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -NED TO THE RESCUE. - - -In the meantime, Ned Nevins had retraced his steps to Nestorville. -It was a pleasant little village, with neat, white houses lining its -elm-bordered streets, each with its trim lawn and flower beds. To the -boy who had been wandering in the dusty roads so long, it appeared -wonderfully homelike and pleasant, although his travel-stained garments -looked doubly distasteful to him in the midst of so much neatness and -unobtrusive prosperity. - -He passed the main hotel of the place and continued down High Street -till he came to a rather less pretentious-looking place, bearing over -its door the name, “The Hinkley House.” It was not until then that -Ned suddenly recollected that Hinkley was the name by which Jack had -referred to the disagreeable youth up at the workshop. - -“Wonder if he’s any relation?” thought Ned to himself as he ascended -the steps and entered the office. - -A man with bristly red hair, and a not over-pleasant expression of -countenance, stood behind the desk writing in a big book. - -“Well, boy?” he asked sharply, as Ned entered the place. “If you’re -selling anything we don’t want nothing.” - -And then he resumed his writing without taking any more notice of Ned, -who eyed him rather amusedly for a few seconds. Then he addressed him -in a pleasant tone. - -“I should like to get a room here, please.” - -“Humph!” the red-haired man looked up with a grunt rather suggestive of -a certain barnyard animal. “A room, did you say?” - -“Yes, sir. An inexpensive one. In fact, as cheap a one as you have.” - -“Sure _you_ can pay for it?” was the uncompromising reply. - -“I certainly can or I shouldn’t have asked you for it,” said Ned, with -the same flash in his eyes as had come there when Sam Hinkley had -addressed him so rudely that morning. - -Apparently the landlord of the Hinkley House concluded that he had gone -far enough, for in a more amiable tone he said: - -“I can let you have a good room for a dollar. Want your meals?” - -“For to-day anyway,” responded Ned, who had saved from his garage work -along the road enough to make him feel sure of himself for a short -time, anyhow. - -The business was soon concluded and Ned was at liberty to go up to -his room. As soon as he was alone, he drew a chair to the window and -sat there thinking deeply. Naturally his thoughts all reverted to one -subject, and that was: what would be the verdict at High Towers? - -“If they only knew how much depended upon it,” thought the boy to -himself, and then his fancy roamed back to that final scene when he -had looked on his uncle for the last time and had received what to -him was almost a sacred trust. From this his thoughts turned to his -ne’er-do-well cousin and the latter’s threats. His uncle had left no -will and Ned was not quite certain in his own mind if he had any legal -rights to the papers dealing with the electric hydroaeroplane. - -“If they were to find out where I had come, they might try to make it -unpleasant for me,” he thought with a momentary qualm, but the next -moment he put these thoughts aside, and when he descended to dinner he -was in a cheerful, hopeful frame of mind. - -Mine host Hinkley’s meals were not of the sort that could be described -as Lucullan, but they were solid, and Ned ate with the hearty appetite -of a growing boy. After he had finished, he decided to saunter out and -see what he could of the town. It would at least help to pass away the -time till the next day, upon which he felt his fate hung. For the life -of him he could not have settled down to read or write till he knew -definitely what the verdict upon his unique legacy was to be. - -In this frame of mind he wandered through the main street of the little -town, which did not take very long, and soon found himself out upon -the high road. The road was a pleasant winding one, and Ned walked on -briskly, turning over in his mind, as he went, the many events that -had recently transpired to work such a change in his career. He could -not help an exultant leap of the heart as he thought of the possible -outcome of a favorable opinion of the dead inventor’s great lifework. - -He was still revolving this thought in his mind when, on rounding a -turn in the winding road, he came across a sight which temporarily put -all other thoughts aside. - -Stalled in the center of the road was a fine looking automobile. Ned, -who, as we know, knew a lot about cars, recognized it as a machine of -expensive make and as an imported car. Bent over the engine was a man -who appeared to be trying to adjust whatever was the matter with the -motor. Standing about were two other men. As Ned came up, one of them -turned to him. - -“Here, boy, do you know if there’s a garage in Nestorville?” - -Now, Ned knew that there was not, for he had looked about for one, -thinking that if his mission at High Towers failed, he might chance -to get employment in such a place till he got money enough to find a -better job. So he replied in the negative. - -The man, who wore auto goggles, and was big and broad, turned to his -companion with a gesture of annoyance. - -“Too bad, Smithers,” he said in a vexed tone, “if Elmer there can’t -fix that motor we’ll have to leave the car here and telephone into -Boston for another.” - -The chauffeur straightened up from his labors over the refractory motor. - -“I’m afraid we’re stuck, sir,” he said, “this car is a Dolores. If it -was any American car now, I could----” - -“Never mind that,” interrupted the big man, with an impatient gesture. -“I hired you as a competent chauffeur and now the first break-down we -have----” - -“If it was an American car,” protested the man. “I don’t understand -these Dolores and----” - -“Maybe I can help you.” - -It was Ned who spoke and the big man faced round on him in surprise. - -“You!” he exclaimed. “What do you know about cars?” - -“A little, sir.” - -“Well, at any rate you can’t know less than Elmer,” said the big -man with a disgusted look at his chauffeur, who looked downcast and -abashed. “What do you want to do?” - -“See if I can get your car going for you. I’m interested in this sort -of thing, you know.” - -“Umph! don’t look as if you owned a car,” commented the man who had -been addressed as “Smithers.” - -“That’ll do, Smithers,” spoke up the big man sharply. “Elmer owns that -he’s up against it, so give the boy a chance to show what he can do.” - -In one garage where he had worked for a time the “big man of the place” -had owned, as it so happened, a Dolores car. Therefore Ned was not at -sea when, in the overalls he had borrowed from the chauffeur, he set to -work on the stubborn motor. - -“Think you can fix it?” asked the big man, after Ned had requested the -chauffeur to start the engine so that he could hear just what was the -matter with it. - -“I don’t know,” said Ned frankly. “It’s missing in two cylinders. -Carburetor trouble, I think. The Dolores has a special make of -carburetor, you know, a very sensitive and complicated variety.” - -“Go to it, kid,” muttered the chauffeur. “If you can fix that mixed-up -muss of springs and air-valves you’re a wonder.” - -“If you’ll slow down the engine a while, I’ll try,” said Ned, -determined to do his best. It was characteristic of him that he was as -interested in this vagrant bit of roadside trouble that had come his -way as he would have been in some problem directly concerning himself. -As it so happened, however, the problem he was about to try to solve -did concern him and, at that, in no very distant manner. - -Of this, however, he was not to become aware till later, and then -in a manner which startled and rather alarmed him, considering the -consequences it involved. But in blissful ignorance of all this, Ned -went to work, determined to do all in his power to convince the two -rather sceptical autoists that he was not boasting when he had said he -thought he could help them out of their difficulties. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE UNLUCKY STORY. - - -“Once more--that’s it!” - -Ned suspended his labors for a moment and listened to the tune of -the throbbing motor as the chauffeur started it up, following Ned’s -adjustment of the carburetor. - -“It’s working better already,” declared the big man. “Boy, you’re a -wizard.” - -Ned looked up smilingly. In the interest of the work, and the -fascination he always felt in conquering the whims of a stubborn bit -of machinery, he had quite forgotten for the moment all his trials and -perplexities. - -“I think I’m getting there all right,” he said confidently, “but it -will take a little more time to fix it just right.” - -“Ah! You believe in doing things thoroughly, I see.” - -“I do, sir. Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.” - -“That’s a belief that will get you a long way in life, my boy,” said -the big man. Ned hardly heard him, for the motor was once more roaring -and pulsing. He tuned it up, listening to its explosions as a skilled -musician might hearken critically to a piece of music. - -As he listened, he tightened up a connection here or loosened a valve -there till the big six-cylindered motor was humming with the even -pulsations of a sleeping baby. - -“You can shut her off,” said he, addressing the chauffeur, and then -turning to the big man he added, “I think you’ll find no more trouble, -sir.” - -“What! You have adjusted it, my boy?” - -“As well as I can, sir, and, without bragging, I guess you’ll find -everything all right now.” - -“How long will it remain so?” asked the sceptical Smithers. - -“For several weeks, at any rate.” “You may take the wheel again, -Elmer, and hustle us along. Young man, that you’re a mechanic of no -mean ability I could see by the way you went to work. What is your -name?” - -“Ned Nevins, sir.” - -“Live here?” - -“I do just now, but I come from Millville, N. Y.” - -The big man looked surprised. - -“Are you any relation to Jeptha Nevins?” - -“His nephew, sir. Did you know him?” - -“Very well. I am Vaughn Kessler, the owner of the Kessler Mill. Your -uncle was my foreman for many years. He was one of the best men we ever -had; I was very sorry to hear of his death. Is there anything I can do -for you?” - -“No, thank you, sir, except----” - -“Except what? Come, you’ll pardon my saying so, but you don’t -look--well, very prosperous.” - -“I am all right, thank you, sir, and have good prospects ahead of me,” -replied Ned. “What I was going to ask you was not to mention my name in -Millville or to say where you saw me if by any chance anyone should ask -you.” - -“But why? You are not under a cloud there surely, and if----” - -“Oh, no sir! It is for quite another reason,” said Ned earnestly. - -“Well, it shall be as you wish,” said Mr. Kessler, regarding the boy -with some curiosity, “though why in the world you should make the -request puzzles me. Good-bye, my boy, and thank you.” - -He held out his hand and took Ned’s. The next minute the car that the -boy had so cleverly placed back in running order moved swiftly off. -As it receded along the road, Ned became conscious that there was -something in his hand. It had been left by Mr. Kessler. - -“It’s money!” exclaimed the boy, unclasping his fist. “Well, it won’t -come amiss, although I wouldn’t have thought of charging him for that -little job.” - -He unfolded the bill and then gave a little cry of astonishment. It was -for twenty dollars,--a small fortune to Ned. - -“Well, I am in luck!” he exclaimed. “If only my fortunes have changed, -as this seems to indicate, I’ll be lucky to-morrow as well, and that is -the dearest wish of my heart.” - -It was well for Ned’s peace of mind that he did not know that Mr. -Kessler, while fully intending to keep his promise of not mentioning -Ned’s name or address at home in Millville, unconsciously let the cat -out of the bag when he arrived at Lowell, Mass., his destination. -His important interests, and those of his traveling companion, Mr. -Smithers, made him a big man there and the late arrival of his -automobile, which kept a momentous meeting waiting, called for -explanations. To the newspaper men of Lowell, Mr. Kessler told how -he had been aided by a shabbily clothed boy on a country road when a -trained chauffeur had failed to adjust his car. It made an interesting -story, and was telegraphed over the country by a correspondent of a -news association. In due course it appeared in the Millville papers -under this heading: - - MILLVILLE MAGNATE AIDED - BY A LAD FROM THIS CITY. - - Vaughn Kessler’s Stalled Auto Started - By Ned Nevins, Motor Genius. - -The article beneath these headlines described the whole incident -briefly, and stated that Ned was at present residing in the village of -Nestorville, Mass. With but few exceptions, the fact that Mr. Kessler -was concerned in the story was the chief feature of interest to readers -of the article. - -One individual in Millville read it with burning eyes. This was Hank -Nevins, Ned’s cousin. Following Ned’s disappearance, he had used every -means in his power to locate the boy. For this he had a good reason. -Not alone did he want to recover the plans and designs of the electric -hydroaeroplane, but he was prepared to offer a price for them. - -While Ned had been making his preparations to depart quietly from home, -Hank, on the advice of his lawyer friend, had visited the head of an -aeroplane manufacturing concern who happened to be visiting Millville. -Hank had laid before the stranger as full a description as he could -of his father’s invention. He left out many important points but the -stranger was quick to see possibilities in the idea and offered Hank a -substantial sum if he would bring him the plans. - -The offer aroused all of Hank’s cupidity. He saw a way, as he thought, -to a life of elegant leisure. Only one stumbling block interposed -itself, and that was a seemingly insurmountable one. - -Ned had vanished, and with him the papers that would have meant money -to Hank. On the advice of his legal friend, Hank had advertised for Ned -in the personal columns of half a dozen newspapers. But none of the -carefully worded appeals to the boy to reveal himself had borne fruit. -Hank was obliged to confess to Mr. Melville of the Blue Sky Aeroplane -Company that he would be delayed in producing the plans, not admitting -that it would be extremely unlikely that he could ever get possession -of them at all. - -“Well, any time you have them bring them to me,” said Mr. Melville -before he left Millville. “And my offer will hold good.” - -Hank’s thoughts were not very pleasant ones as he left the aeroplane -man’s presence. - -“The young blackguard, to run off like that,” he grumbled. “Those -plans mean dollars and cents now. How can I get them? If I could locate -that runaway brat, I’d soon find a way.” - -And now, through that unfortunate article in the _Millville Clarion_, -Ned Nevins’ hiding place had been revealed to the last person on earth -Ned would have wished to have known of it. - -That night, as soon as his work was done, Hank sought out his budding -lawyer friend. The law, like all other professions, has its black -sheep. Hank’s friend bade fair to become one of these when he should -ultimately be admitted to practice, which was his ambition. His eyes -glistened when he heard of Hank’s discovery. - -“If only we could get those papers,” muttered Hank, as the two sat -together that night. “We’d both have money to burn, Miles.” - -Miles Sharkey was the name of Hank’s crony, and the latter part of his -appellation suited him from the ground up. In his projecting yellow -teeth and undershot jaw, as well as in his fishy, shifting eyes, there -was something suggestive of the rapaciousness and treachery of a shark. - -“I think I can find a way to make him give them up, Hank,” said Miles, -after some moments spent in deep thought, “but it may take a little -time to work out the details. Have you any idea what he can be doing in -this Nestorville place?” - -“Not on the first guess. Just a crazy notion of his, I reckon. But -what’s your plan, Miles.” - -“I’ll have to think out the details,” rejoined the redoubtable limb of -the law, rubbing his tallowy hands together. “But I think we’ll be able -to make Cousin Ned disgorge before very long--for a consideration.” - -“On the day I get my money, you get yours,” Hank assured him. - -“Consider it settled then,” said Miles. “I’d have to be a pretty poor -lawyer if I couldn’t think of a way.” - -“I--I’m not particular about law,” blustered Hank, “anything to get -those plans. He’s only a kid, and once we’ve got ’em he can’t do -anything.” - -“It’s a great pity you didn’t get hold of them before he skipped out,” -said the worthy Miles. “Anyhow, it’s all right. I’m smart enough to -attend to that.” - -“Miles, you’re a true friend.” And as they parted, Hank clasped his -companion’s claw-like hand with a fervor worthy of being bestowed on a -better man. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HIS ENEMIES ON THE TRAIL. - - -Ned Nevins walked back to the hotel with his brain in a whirl. In the -first place, the twenty-dollar bill which he fondly fingered as it lay -in his pocket, provided a stop-gap between want and what he hardly -dared to consider, and that was, a refusal on the part of the Boy -Inventors to have anything to do with his cherished plans. - -In the second place, his encounter with Vaughn Kessler was a dubious -source of satisfaction to him. From one point of view it had, of -course, its pleasing side, but somehow, Ned could not free himself of -an uneasy feeling that in some way the news of his whereabouts would -get back to Millville. In what a devious way this was to happen he had, -of course, no conception, and it was just as well for his peace of mind -that he had not. - -He arrived at the hotel a little time before supper, and having cleaned -himself up as well as possible, and carefully brushed his hair and -his garments, he descended to the porch and sank down into the most -comfortable chair he could find, one commanding a good view of the -street. - -A boy came along with papers, and feeling that with his twenty-dollar -bill snugly tucked in his pocket he could afford to indulge in a few -luxuries, Ned bought two papers, one a local sheet, the other a Boston -daily. He looked through the latter first and as his eye traveled down -the columns it was caught by the Personal Column. - -In this section of the paper were published notices to missing -relatives and so forth. The type used was large and heavy and -calculated to catch the eye. - -What was Ned’s astonishment to suddenly spy his own name at the head of -a notice two or three paragraphs from the top of the list. He stared -at it in some wonder for a minute before he read the notice itself. - -“Why, who can be advertising for me?” he thought, and with the thought -came an uncomfortable sensation at the recollection of the legal -processes with which his cousin had threatened him. - -“I’ll read the notice, that’s the best way of solving the puzzle,” -reflected the boy. Casting his eye over the paragraph, he read as -follows: - -“Ned Nevins: It will be to your advantage to communicate at once with -your cousin at Millville, N. Y. Big opportunity.--H. Nevins.” - -“That’s Hank! what sort of a trick is he up to now?” wondered Ned. “To -‘my advantage,’” he musingly went on. “I’d like to know what there is -to ‘my advantage’ that Hank would be likely to take the trouble and -expense to advertise about. ‘Big opportunity’--yes, a ‘big opportunity’ -to get his hands on those papers. The idea of his thinking that I’d be -softy enough to answer such an ’ad’! No, indeed, you’ll never locate me -in that way. I’m glad I asked Mr. Kessler to say nothing about having -seen me. Hank is working harder than I thought possible for him to -locate me, but he won’t do it if I can help it.” - -Which shows that Ned, like most of the rest of us, placed undue -confidence in his own ability to avoid unpleasantness. We already know -how Fate was at work to over-reach him, playing with what appeared to -be malignant favoritism, into the hands of those who wished him harm. - -He was roused from his reverie by the sound of a quick step behind him, -and then a hand was placed none too gently on his shoulder. - -“It’s that fresh kid again!” exclaimed a grating, unpleasant voice. -“Get up out of that chair instantly--do you hear me?” - -“It’s Sam Hinkley!” exclaimed Ned to himself, without, however, looking -around. Aloud he demanded: - -“Well, what do you want?” - -“That chair.” - -“Unfortunately it is, as you see, occupied.” - -“I wish it at once!” - -“You do?” - -“Yes!” - -“You have a cool way of asking for it. Suppose I don’t give it to you?” - -“You’ll be made to!” - -“Who’ll make me?” - -“I will, I guess. You don’t know who I am?” - -“Oh, yes, I do. Your name is Sam Hinkley. I had a little argument with -you this morning in which you came out second best, I fancy.” - -“I’ll teach you a lesson, you tramp. Are you going to get up?” - -“When the supper bell rings, I mean to.” - -“Not till then?” - -“No thanks, I’m very comfortable where I am.” - -“That’s my chair.” - -“Indeed, I thought it was one of those placed out here for the benefit -of the guests.” - -“So it is.” - -“Well, I happen to be one.” - -This answer took the blustering Sam rather aback. He thought that Ned -had sought a chance to rest himself at the expense of the hotel’s -hospitality. But it suited his purpose to appear incredulous. - -“They don’t take in vagabonds here.” - -It was more than flesh and blood could stand. Ned was about to leap to -his feet when he was spared that trouble by the chair being yanked from -under him, and he fell sprawling on the floor of the porch. - -“Haw! haw! haw!” bawled Sam, in high good humor at seeing Ned in such -an undignified position. - -“Ho! ho! ho!” echoed half a dozen of Sam’s cronies, who had been -passing with him when he had spied Ned, to whom Sam had taken an -instinctive dislike. The “gang” had been invited by Sam to see the -“fun.” If it had not been on the porch of his father’s hotel that Sam -encountered Ned, he would have hesitated to try issues with him, for -his experience of the morning had shown him that Ned, slender and -rather delicate-looking as he was, was a foeman by no means to be -despised. But on home grounds he felt safe. - -He was rather taken aback, therefore, when Ned scrambled to his feet -and advanced toward him instead of retreating, as the bully had -expected Ned would do. There was a fire akindle in Ned’s eyes that Sam -by no means liked, for he was at heart a coward, although accustomed to -lording it over other boys of his own age not a little. - -But with the eyes of his cronies fixed upon him expectantly, he felt -that he could not retreat. - -“What do you want?” he asked, in a voice that he tried to make -belligerent, but which, somehow, did not hold quite the warlike note -he would have liked. - -“I want to give you something you need badly,” said Ned, without -raising his voice, but there still glowed that same dangerous light in -his eyes. - -“Are you ready?” - -“Rer-ready for what?” demanded Sam, in vain trying to look unimpressed -by this quiet, business-like lad with the steady voice. - -“For what I fancy is to be your first lesson in manners.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -NED MAKES AN ENEMY. - - -A wavering look of indecision crept into Sam Hinkley’s pug-nosed -countenance. He would have liked to have the last few moments over -again. He felt that he would have acted differently. But he tried to -brazen it out. - -“You strolling vagabond from goodness knows where, take that!” - -It was a vicious blow, with plenty of force behind it, for Sam, -although a bully and not possessed of an overabundance of courage, -was still wiry and well muscled. But to his surprise his blow did not -land. It should have collided with Ned’s chin, but when its force was -expended, Ned was not there. - -He had stepped neatly aside and allowed Sam to launch his thunderbolt -harmlessly. Sam’s friends, grouped beneath the veranda on the -sidewalk, closed into a compact little crowd. Plainly Sam was not going -to carry all before him as had been his habit hitherto. His cronies saw -this at once and some of them inwardly rejoiced. - -The office of the little hotel was deserted, and nobody interfered. Sam -gathered himself together to renew the combat. His brow grew black. Ned -stood waiting. He made no attempt to defend himself. He merely eyed Sam -Hinkley with a look of contempt that maddened that pugnacious bully. - -Sam eyed his opponent viciously. - -“Well?” queried Ned. - -“Thought you were going to fight!” roared Sam. - -“As I told you before, I’m not a fighter.” - -Sam rashly interpreted this as being a sign of weakness. He rushed in -once more, swinging his big fists with more vigor than science. Once -more Will-o’-the-Wisp Ned was not where he ought to have been, and Sam, -carried off his feet by the vigor of his unopposed onslaught, collided -with a chair, tripped, and fell headlong on the floor to the porch. - -This time the laugh that went up was not at Ned’s expense. The boy -stood in the same quiet attitude while Sam, his face crimson with anger -and mortification, gathered himself up. - -“This ain’t fighting!” he bellowed angrily. - -“You can call it anything you like--an acrobatic performance if you -wish,” rejoined Ned, without raising his voice or changing his position. - -Now there is nothing more irritating than to lose your temper and to -make an exhibition of yourself, while the one your rage is directed at -stands as steady and unmoved as a rock, hardly deigning to reply to -either threats or onslaughts. - -Sam was almost beside himself with rage as, with blazing eyes, he made -another dash at Ned. This time Ned did not step aside. He ducked under -Sam’s terrific left, and coming up, struck the bully a blow in the ribs -that caused that worthy to emit a sound resembling: - -“Oof!” - -Ned took advantage of the momentary pause in hostilities to speak. - -“Look here, Hinkley,” said he. “I’m not a ruffian, and I don’t like -fighting. We’ll call this off right here and now, if you say so. I’m -willing--what do you say?” - -“That I’m going to give you the licking of your life!” roared out the -enraged Sam. - -Again he rushed in, his arms working like twin piston rods. This time -Ned did not avoid the other’s rush. There was a rapid exchange of -blows, and then suddenly--so suddenly that nobody saw just how it had -happened, Sam Hinkley’s head was jerked back. - -Whack! Ned had taken advantage of a fraction of a second when the other -was off his guard and landed a stinging blow full on Sam’s pug nose. -With a roar of anger Sam rushed in to retaliate. This time Ned was not -quite quick enough. He stepped sideways to avoid the other’s onrush, -but his foot slipped, and before he could recover his balance a heavy -blow from Sam’s ponderous fist sent him spinning across the porch. - -Sam’s adherents in the crowd watching the two lads set up a shout of -delight. A broad grin overspread Sam’s face. - -“Guess that finishes the lesson,” he jeered. - -“On the contrary it’s only just begun,” retaliated Ned, and before Sam -knew just what had happened, two smart blows had rattled against his -ribs, the force of them making his teeth chatter as if with the cold. - -But Sam speedily recovered himself, and for the next few minutes it -was give and take, with the odds rather against Ned, who was lighter -of build than the bully, and who was constantly forced back by the -latter’s rushes. Sam began to think it was all over. - -“Well, Mr. Manners’ Teacher, how about you now?” he sneered tauntingly. - -Ned did not reply, but he watched Sam like a cat. He saw that the bully -was beginning to wear out under the fast work of the last few minutes. -His chest was heaving and his breath came pantingly. He guessed that -Sam would have been glad to have called “quits” then and there. - -But while Ned might have been willing enough not to fight at the -beginning of the battle, his blood was up now, and he was determined -to see the thing through. He despised fighting as being ruffianly -and unnecessary, but, in a case like the present, he felt that if he -allowed Sam Hinkley to walk over him, the latter would make it next to -impossible for him to remain in Nestorville. - -He avoided another of Sam’s bull-like rushes with an agile step -backward. As Sam’s blow missed, Ned could hear him give a loud grunt, -a sound that told he was tiring. - -“I’m wearing him down,” thought Ned, and watched carefully for an -opening that might afford him a chance of terminating the battle. - -Sam “rushed” Ned again. This time he, too, appeared to be desirous of -ending the fight by a blow that would take all the fight out of his -lightly built opponent. But his blow landed on thin air. - -Ned’s opportunity had come. His fist shot out like a streak of -lightning. It struck Sam under the chin, lifting him off his feet. He -toppled and fell backward, landing among the chairs with a crash that -sounded like a cook-stove falling downstairs. - -“That settles him!” cried some of the crowd of boys that had gathered, -and “settle” Sam it did, in more senses than one, for, aroused by the -crash of his fall, the bully’s father issued from the hotel and -seizing his offspring by the scruff of the neck, angrily bade him get -inside. - -[Illustration: “It wasn’t altogether his fault”, explained Ned.--_Page_ -69] - -“It wasn’t altogether his fault,” explained Ned. “I had his chair, you -see, and--” - -“That’ll do, young feller,” said the elder Hinkley brusquely, “that’s -not the first time it’s happened. Sam had a licking coming to him and -he got it. I ain’t got nothing to say, ’cepting that supper’s ready -when you are.” - -And in this eventful manner ended Ned’s first day in Nestorville. It -had surely been an eventful one, thought the boy, as he reviewed the -various experiences of the last twelve hours before turning into bed. - -He was just about to turn out the light when his attention was -attracted to the door-sill. Something white was being shoved under the -door into the room. It was a folded bit of paper. - -Ned sprang forward and picked it up. It was, as he had guessed, a note. -He opened it, and as he perused its contents, a smile of good-natured -contempt came over his face. This is what he read: - -“You think you are smart, but you ain’t through with me yet. I’ll fix -you and when I do I’ll fix you good. S. Hinkley.” - -“Too bad,” said Ned to himself, as he finished reading. “I’ve not -so many friends that I want to make any enemies. But after all, the -quarrel was not of my making and I don’t intend to allow Sam Hinkley’s -threats to worry me.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE PLANS ACCEPTED. - - -Ned presented himself at High Towers betimes the next morning. He -found Jack Chadwick and Tom Jesson awaiting him at the workshop. Mr. -Chadwick was in New York attending to some business connected with his -interests. Mr. Jesson was in Boston delivering a series of biological -lectures, so that the boys had the place to themselves. - -The eagerness of Ned to know the verdict of the two Boy Inventors must -have shown itself very plainly on his face, for almost as soon as he -had been introduced to Tom Jesson, Jack hastened to relieve the lad’s -anxiety. - -“I suppose you want to know if it’s good news or bad?” asked Jack. - -“I’ve hardly slept all night thinking of it.” - -“Then I have something to tell you that you will be glad to hear. We -will help you manufacture the craft your uncle designed and----” - -Ned’s glad outburst of thanks checked him for a moment, but Jack went -on to explain that he and his cousin would take only one-quarter -interest in the craft, leaving the remainder free and clear to Ned. -The cost of manufacturing would be borne by the Boy Inventors and the -patents, when the machine was completed, would rest in Ned’s name. - -“Is that satisfactory?” asked Jack when he had finished. - -“Satisfactory!” burst out Ned. “It’s generous--too generous!” - -“Not at all. So far as money is concerned, when you know more about us, -you will know that Tom and I have plenty, most of it realized from our -inventions.” - -“I know but----” - -“Hold on a minute. Here we are, just dying for a chance to get to work -on something really new and neither of us with brains enough to think -up anything. You come along with just what we are looking for and we -feel more like thanking you than considering we are doing anything -wonderful.” - -“Besides,” added Tom, “even one-quarter interest in the electric -hydroaeroplane ought to yield a handsome profit.” - -“If, and it’s a big ‘If,’” said Ned with a laugh, “we can get it to -work. If not----” - -“We wouldn’t tackle it if we didn’t think it was practicable,” said -Jack decisively. “So that ends that. Now come along, Ned, and be -initiated into the mysteries of the firm, for you know, you are now a -working partner.” - -“Say, fellows!” burst out Ned enthusiastically. “I don’t know how to -thank you----” - -“That’s all right. You help us out on building the machine and that -will be thanks enough. When we’ve got it working, we’ll shine in your -reflected glory and that will be satisfaction enough for us.” - -The next hour was one of unmixed delight for Ned, interested, nay -wrapped up in mechanics as he was. He had never seen a workshop fitted -up on such a scale as that of Jack Chadwick and Tom Jesson,--a private -workshop, that is. Lathes and all sorts of machinery of the latest -pattern were driven by a powerful gasolene engine. Facilities were at -hand for making the parts of many of the boys’ devices. Three skilled -machinists were also employed, and summoning them about him, Jack -Chadwick briefly outlined to the interested men the big task they were -about to undertake. - -He was in the midst of his explanations, when Sam Hinkley strolled in. -Jack looked at him sharply. One of his eyes was swollen and slightly -discolored. He glared at Ned savagely and the look was not lost on Jack -Chadwick. - -As soon as he had an opportunity, Sam drew Jack aside and demanded, in -an indignant and aggrieved voice, to know if Ned Nevins was to work in -the shop. - -“Yes, and on a partnership basis, too,” said Jack enthusiastically. “He -has been the means of introducing us to a wonderful invention. We are -going to start in on the work of its construction right away.” - -Sam did not appear interested in this information except that a jealous -look crept into his eyes. - -“I think you ought to know that he’s nothing but a rowdy,” he said. -“I’ll bet any invention he’s been telling you about is a fake.” - -“The plans look good to us,” responded Jack, “and we are going to risk -it. What have you got against the boy, anyhow?” - -“He’s a rowdy,” repeated Sam. “He blacked my eye last night.” - -Jack, who had a pretty good insight into Sam’s character, could not -repress a smile. - -“I thought you were invincible, Sam.” - -“He didn’t fight fair. He forced me into a row,” grumbled Sam. “I -could have licked him all right if----” - -“What had you been doing, Sam?” - -“Nothing. He took my chair away and when I wanted it back he said I’d -have to fight for it and----” - -“And you did,” commented Jack with a dry smile. “Well, Sam, my advice -is to forget it. If you think you’ve been injured I’m sorry, but Ned -Nevins appears to me to be an inoffensive sort of a lad, quiet and -unassuming.” - -“Oh, he just puts on that to fool you,” muttered Sam. - -At this juncture, Jack was called away by one of the machinists and -Sam, with a very bad grace, turned to some unfinished work at his -lathe. He was still engaged at this when Ned happened to pass by. - -“I got your note last night, Hinkley,” he said. “Why didn’t you give -it to me in person instead of slipping it under the door?” - -Sam made a sound resembling “G-r-r-r-r-r” and went on with what he was -doing. - -“As I suppose you know,” resumed Ned, “we shall see a good deal of each -other in the future. Why can’t we be friends?” - -Sam’s face contorted with rage as he dropped the tool he had been using -and faced round on Ned. - -“Because I hate you, that’s why. You’re nothing but an interloper and a -faker and Jack Chadwick will find it out before very long.” - -“I’m sorry you think that, Sam.” - -“Why?” asked Sam, surprised at the other’s calm, even tone. His -outburst appeared to have no effect whatever upon the lad he had -desired to impress with his enmity. - -“Because I am afraid you are going to be disappointed,” and with these -words Ned passed on. - -The next few weeks were busy ones about the workshop of the Boy -Inventors, but gradually, almost imperceptibly, the electric -hydroaeroplane began to take shape. The enthusiasm of the boys -infected the workmen and even Sam Hinkley appeared to work with more -than usual fervor. - -Briefly described, the hydroaeroplane portion of the craft consisted of -two twin boats, each about forty feet in length and constructed of a -special aluminum alloy jointed together by strong vanadium connections. -Between the pair of boats, which will be more fully described later, -the storage tanks, which were the novel feature of the Jeptha Nevins -craft, were placed. - -In the center of each of the boats was a small raised cabin, the cabins -being connected by a hollow passageway. At either end of the craft -the wings, of biplane pattern, were attached. The wing spread was -ninety-five feet which, with the craft’s electric engines of enormous -power, gave the giant air-craft a lifting capacity of two thousand -pounds. - -Above the storage batteries, and between the twin “boats,” were the -motors, each coupled to two sets of propellers placed fore and aft on -either end of the craft and outside of the wings. A light, but strong, -framework supported the outer bearings of the propellers and served -to give them sufficient projection to insure balance. The forward set -of propellers were so “pitched” as to pull the craft through the air, -while the after ones furnished a driving impulse. - -One of the most important features of the invention was the device -by which electricity was made while she was in flight or skimming -over the water. This was a generator of considerable power geared to -the shafts of the propellers. As the craft drove along, the storage -batteries were constantly recharged by this device. For the initial, -or starting “charge” the batteries were furnished with “juice” by a -small compressed air-driven generator which could also be used in case -of accident to the automatically driven device. Thus the necessity of -gasolene was done away with and the Nevins craft was equipped, so far -as power was concerned, to cross the Atlantic Ocean. But, of course, no -such project entered into the minds of her young constructors. - -The planes themselves were covered with sheets of aluminum attached to -frames of radiolite, a metal as light as aluminum and of great tensile -strength. Landing wheels, supported by powerful shock absorbers, -provided for alighting, and special balancing devices, attached to the -bow and to the stern of the novel craft, minimized the danger of coming -to earth with too great a shock to the weighty fabric. - -On the top of each cabin was a powerful search-light, and each was -fitted out with two bunks and other conveniences as in the stateroom of -an ocean liner. The pilot house was mounted above the covered passage, -or tube, already referred to, which connected the two parts of the -craft. It contained a wheel not unlike that of an ocean liner and -levers to control the balancing wings and the pitch of the planes. - -As for the engine-controls, the motor being electrically driven, the -machinery to control it was wonderfully simple. An apparatus not unlike -a switchboard, as may be seen in any powerhouse, was mounted within -convenient reach of the helmsman. The light controls also were affixed -to this board. Mastery of the huge craft was within instant power of -the driver. A signaling system to each cabin, in case of emergency, was -another feature added to the general completeness of the equipment. - -Such is a brief description of the Nevins electric hydroaeroplane, -a craft in which the Boy Inventors were destined to meet as strange -adventures as had ever fallen to their lot. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE ARRIVAL OF TROUBLE. - - -It would be tedious to dwell upon the details of the construction of -the craft which the boys, by unanimous vote, had decided to call the -Electric Monarch. The work went steadily on and Prof. Chadwick, who -had returned soon after the boys started work, rendered them valuable -assistance. The previous experience with aerial craft, which the Boy -Inventors had had, made the work progress far more rapidly than would -otherwise have been the case, although the plans and drawings left by -Jeptha Nevins were so detailed and exact that they encountered but few -very knotty problems. - -One day, not very long before the Electric Monarch, which had been -finished in scarlet and silver, was ready for her trial trip, two -strangers appeared at the Hinkley House. One was a broad-shouldered, -clumsy-looking young man with a shock of black hair and carelessly -brushed clothes, the other a tall, cadaverous-looking person of about -the same age with shifty, rat-like eyes and a general air of furtive -watchfulness. - -Some time before this event, Ned, as an active partner in the firm of -the Boy Inventors, had taken up his residence at High Towers. There -were two reasons for this. One was that it was far more convenient to -the work which was being rushed to completion, the other that as the -Electric Monarch neared the day for her trial trip, Ned grew more and -more nervous about leaving the craft unwatched. - -Accordingly, he had a small cot fixed up in the corner of the workshop -where he slept at night. Ned himself would have been at a loss to -account for this nervousness; nevertheless he felt a vague mistrust. -It was not that he feared any harm Sam Hinkley might do to the craft, -for although there was no love lost toward Ned on Sam’s part, Ned was -pretty sure that the Hinkley boy would not dare take active reprisals. -But yet he felt that it was well to observe caution. - -Sam came and went to his work as usual, and as he, as well as the other -workmen, had given their words not to let anything leak out about the -Electric Monarch till she was ready for a flight, no uneasiness was -felt about this circumstance. - -As a matter of fact, even if it had been known that a big air craft -was being constructed at High Towers, it would not have excited much -comment in the village. The inhabitants of Nestorville had grown too -used to hearing about strange inventions being built at the big house -on the hill to feel any undue curiosity about them. And yet, Ned -vaguely felt that danger threatened. - -The two strangers gave out at the Hinkley House that they were -traveling for a drug firm. They made themselves friendly with the -proprietor who, after being presented with cigars, voted them two -“good fellows.” Perhaps he might have thought them “inquisitive -fellows,” too, if soon after his new guests’ arrival, when he had been -summoned to answer a long-distance telephone, he had noticed one of -them slip up to the register, open it and search hurriedly for a name. - -“It’s there all right,” whispered the one who had examined the book -as he slipped out from behind the desk again. “‘Ned Nevins--Boston.’ -I suppose he registered from there because he didn’t want to run any -chances of being asked questions about Millville.” - -“Shouldn’t wonder, Miles,” was the rejoinder of Hank Nevins, “but he -didn’t reckon that we was just as slick as he is.” - -The two “drug drummers” were Hank and his unsavory lawyer friend, Miles -Sharkey. The two had been delayed in their pursuit of Ned by a very -important handicap, namely, lack of funds. But on Hank having written -to Mr. Mellville that they were on the track of the plans and had a -good chance of securing them, the money for their expenses, (much to -the surprise of both of them,) had been forwarded. They then lost no -time in heading for Nestorville and laying plans for the recovery of -the papers of the dead Jeptha Nevins. - -When Landlord Hinkley came out of the telephone-booth, one of his new -guests stepped up to him. - -“Recollect a young chap named Nevins?” he asked. It may be said here -that Hank and Miles had registered under assumed names. - -“Nevins?” repeated the landlord. “Nevins? Well, I should just say I -did.” - -“Stop here long?” asked Miles insinuatingly. - -“Quite a few days till he went to live with them Chadwick boys up on -the hill yonder.” - -Hank and Miles exchanged significant glances. They were on the trail -indeed now. - -“Um-er, the Chadwick boys,” began Miles at a venture. “Chums of his, -eh?” - -“Yes, I guess so, in a manner of speaking. My son Sam works for ’em, -too. He’s a bright lad, is Sam. Why, sir, I tell you around a bit of -machinery that boy’s a marvel. Only last week my wife’s sewing machine -went out of whack and gosh ter mighty ef that boy Sam didn’t have it -all fixed up hunky dory in two shakes of a duck’s tail. Nuther time----” - -There is no knowing how long Mr. Hinkley might have gone on extolling -his son’s virtues had it not been for the fact that Miles and Hank were -far too impatient to listen to a lengthy catalogue of Sam’s bright -doings. - -“Yes, yes,” rejoined Miles. “I’ve no doubt your son is a mighty bright -boy, Mr. Hinkley.” - -“Gets it from his father,” put in Hank with a clumsy attempt at a -compliment. - -Crude as the attempt at flattery was, Landlord Hinkley swallowed it -whole. He smirked his acknowledgments. - -“Thank you, Mr. Avery,” this was the name Hank had registered under. -“Very handsome of you, I’m sure. Won’t you gentlemen hev a cigar?” - -Both the gentlemen accepted with thanks, and while they puffed at -Landlord Hinkley’s aromatic weeds, they pursued further the subject -that was closest to their hearts. - -“Fine cigars, these, Mr. Hinkley,” commented Miles, with a wink at Hank -to show that the remark was ironical. - -“Oh, yes indeed,” responded the landlord, “Flor de Telphono, we call -’em. Telephone cigars, you know.” - -“Telephone cigars, that’s an odd name,” said Hank, with a wry face -over his weed. Hank was one of those hollow-chested, pale-faced youths -who think it smart to smoke but do so only with a great effort of will -power. - -“Yep, they calls ’em that, the boys says, because you can smoke ’em -here and smell ’em in Boston.” - -This choice witticism having being properly laughed at, Miles and Hank -went further on their “fishing expedition.” - -“These Chadwick boys now,” pursued Hank, “friends of young Nevins -likely?” - -“Wa’al, I dunno. I reckon he’s working for ’em on some sort of -contraption. You know these Chadwick boys is right smart lads on such -doodads. The Boy Inventors, they call ’em. Reckon maybe you’ve heard on -’em.” - -“No, I don’t know that I have,” rejoined Miles. “So young Nevins is -working for them, eh?” - -“Er-huh. Has bin fer quite a spell.” - -“Sort of mechanic, I suppose?” - -“Wa’al, thar’ you got me,” admitted Mr. Hinkley. “I hearn’,” he went -on, sinking his voice and growing confidential, “that them boys is -working on some sort of er flyin’ machine er some sech foolishness.” - -Miles and Hank flashed a glance of comprehension between them. They had -reached their goal, then. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -HEINY PUMPERNICK DILL. - - -“Hey, you black feller, dis be der place py vere der Poy Inventors -vork, I don’t dink?” - -Old Jupe, the Chadwicks’ colored factotum, paused on his way from the -village with a big basket and looked his questioner over from head to -foot. It was an odd figure that he inspected. He found himself facing a -blond-haired youth of about eighteen with apple-red cheeks and bright, -twinkling blue eyes. - -Perched on the top of the youth’s tow-colored head was a small derby -rakishly tilted to one side. A green bob-tailed coat--it had probably -once been black--was carefully buttoned over a striped blue and white -vest. The turned up ends of his baggy trousers were so far from the -tops of his low, yellow shoes that they showed about two inches of -startling red socks. - -“Who you done calling black feller?” demanded Jupe, with justifiable -indignation. “Ah’m a genelman ob color ah am, and I wants that -mistinctly undercunstumbled.” - -“Vell, dond go py geddin’ a mads, Mister Gentelemans vot vos colored,” -said the tow-headed youth in a conciliatory tone. “My name vos Heiny -Bumpernick Dill.” - -For answer Jupe threw back his woolly head and burst into a roar of -laughter that showed two rows of white, gleaming teeth between his -thick red lips. - -“Ho! Ho! Ho!--Ha! Ha! Ha!” he exploded. “Oh! gollyupmtions! ef dat -ain’t mostest funniest ting I eber heard.” - -The tow-headed youth gazed at the negro’s mirth with an expression that -was at first amazed and then grew rapidly indignant. - -“Vos ist los midt you?” he demanded wrathfully. - -“Loose? Der ain’t nutting loose wid me, am dere?” demanded Jupe, -fingering his waist band and in turn looking surprised. - -“I saidt idt ‘Vos ist los!’” yelled the German boy. “Vot is idt der -madder midt you anyvay?” - -“Oh, dat name! Golly to goodness, chile! Dat name suttinly got on mah -risibles. Heiny Pump it quick--oh! ha! ha! ha!” and throwing back his -head, old Jupe went off into another spasm of mirth. - -“I saidt idt Bumpernick----” - -“Was dat you say. Bumper----” - -“Nodt. Bumper-Bumper. P-U-M-P-ER--Bumper!” - -Jupe scratched his woolly thatch. This was getting too much for him. - -“P-U-M-P-E-R spells Pumper, chile,” he said. - -“Dots vot I saidt idt, aind’t it? Bumper--Bumbernick. Dot’s my name, -aind’t idt?” - -“Say, lookah hyah, Massa Bumper, is you all crazy or am I?” demanded -Jupe. - -“Vos dot you say? I am grazy?” bellowed Heiny Pumpernick. He dropped a -little wickerwork satchel he carried and doubled up his fists. - -“I been adtletic feller alretty yet,” he shouted. “You bed my life you -no comes making der funs by me, py chiminy, black feller!” - -“Was dat? Who yo’ all calls black fellers--you--you--yaller-headed -Dutchman,” ejaculated Jupe, thoroughly angry in his turn. - -Now there is nothing on earth better calculated to arouse a German’s -ire than to call him a Dutchman, and the same is the case when a negro -is addressed as a “black fellow” or a “nigger.” Both the German youth -and old Jupe were now fighting mad. - -“I calls idt to you, black fellers,” sputtered out young Dill, doubling -up his plump fists. “I’m an adtletic feller, I pet you mein lifes. You -calls me Mister Dill oder I pust you vun py der nose.” - -“Ho! ho! ef you all do dat you be a dill in er pickle, ho! ho!” - -“Who is dot vot you calls a bickle? By chiminy, nigger, look idt out -midt yourself!” - -Without more words the redoubtable Heiny Pumpernick Dill let fly -with his fists at Jupe who, for his part, was ready enough to begin -hostilities. Now it so happened that this Homeric battle took place on -the banks of the large lake mentioned in other volumes of this series. -It was a body of water used for experimenting with models of craft of -various kinds and had been the scene of the testing out of the diving -torpedo boat, as readers of the volume dealing with that invention will -recollect. - -The fist of the exasperated German youth, as it leaped out, landed on -a spot on Jupe’s anatomy which, while it was not calculated to do him -much injury, still gave him plenty to think about. - -“Woof! Wha’ fo’ yo’ alls hit me in der stomick?” indignantly roared out -Jupe. Without more ado he dropped the basket he had been burdened with -and the lid burst open. Instantly the ground was covered with a score -of lively hard-shell crabs, but in the heat of their anger neither of -the combatants noticed this. - -Jupe’s retaliation for the German youth’s blow was vigorous. - -“Gollyumptions! Ah makes yo’ all call me a genelman ob color befo’ ah -kicks yo’n off’n these hayar groun’s,” he cried indignantly. - -The next minute it was Mr. Dill’s turn to cry “Oof!” - -But he quickly recovered and then, closing in, the two pugilistic -heroes engaged in a tussle which speedily brought them in a rolling, -kicking, struggling heap to the ground. Over and over they rolled on -the banks of the lake and their struggles speedily brought them among -some of the escaped crabs. These lost no time in dealing with the -combatants. One fastened itself into young Dill’s long yellow hair -while another seized Jupe by the back of the neck. Two piercing yells -went up simultaneously. - -“Oh! Ouch! Help! De debbil am got hold ob me by de neck!” roared out -Jupe. - -“Leggo mein hairs, py chiminy!” screeched the German boy. “Himmel! -Donner! Blitzen!” - -Over and over they rolled, with the crabs holding fast with a tenacious -grip. Their struggles quickly brought them to the bank of the lake. -What with anger, and what with pain, they were past noticing anything -and just as Jack and Tom, who had been attracted by the uproar, came -running down the gravel walk to ascertain its cause, a loud splash and -a despairing yell announced the fact that the two doughty heroes had -plunged into an element calculated to cool their wrath. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE CONVERTIBLE SAUSAGE MACHINE. - - -Jack and Tom arrived at the brink of the lake just as the two -combatants, sputtering and splashing like a pair of grampuses, arose to -the surface. - -“It’s Jupe!” cried Jack, “but how in the name of time?” - -“But who is the other fellow?” shouted Tom. - -“Never mind that now. Jupe can’t swim and the water is deep there. -We’ve got to get him out.” - -The boys speedily stripped off their coats and kicked off their shoes -preparatory to plunging to the rescue, but before they could do this, -young Dill, who was a good swimmer, had seized Jupe by the back of the -neck and dragged him, half drowned, to the shore. Jupe, dripping with -water and mud, clambered out little the worse, except in appearance, -for his adventure. - -He was followed by young Dill, who was a sorry-looking object indeed. -The water had caused the gaudy dye of his vest to run in great streaks -down his light-colored pants. His hat, which had stuck to his head -throughout the struggle, was sending streams of green water down over -his rubicund face, while round his feet, as he emerged from the lake -and stood before the boys, was a crimson puddle. The dye on young -Dill’s socks was certainly not of the “fast” variety, except in color. - -At the sight of the two extraordinary figures Jack and Tom could hardly -refrain from bursting into roars of laughter. But they retained their -gravity and looked sternly at Jupe. - -“Perhaps you will explain what this means?” began Jack. - -“Ah-ah-ah-ah,” sputtered Jupe, opening and shutting his mouth like a -fish newly removed from the water. - -“Well, we are waiting,” said Jack, while Tom turned away, suddenly -overcome by a mysterious fit of coughing. - -“Vait idt a minutes undt I vill explanation idt to you,” volunteered -young Dill. “Dis is der vay idt vosn’t. I vos comin’ py der house to -see der Poy Inventors undt I asked idt ob dis black----” - -Jupe suddenly came to life. Shaking his woolly head like a poodle he -shouted out: - -“Don’ you alls done go fer ter call me no black feller,” he shouted. - -“You no call idt to me Dutchman, I no call idt to you black fellers, -aber no mans call me Dutchman.” - -“Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What’s all this about?” demanded Jack. -“How are we to understand anything with all this jabber? You there, -Mister----” - -“Dill is mein name, sir,” said the young German with a dignity which -assorted oddly with his weird appearance. - -“Well, Mr. Dill, you appear to be in a pickle,” said Jack with a grin -he could not repress. “Will you explain to me what was the cause of all -this?” - -“Ah-ah-ah,” began Jupe again, but Jack shook his head at him and the -voluble young Dill told the story of the causes leading to the combat. - -“Well, you both appear to have been well punished,” said Jack when he -concluded, “and now perhaps you will tell me what you wanted to see us -about.” - -“Vot I vanted to see you abodt ain’d it?” asked the German boy. - -“Yes.” - -“I vanted to see idt der Poy Inventors alretty.” - -“Well, you see them.” Young Dill’s face showed his astonishment, but he -wisely repressed any comment. “What can we do for you?” - -“You can do me for a fine inventions vot I haf,” responded the -German youth. “I used to vurk midt a delicatessens pefore I pecome -an inventors. I haf midt me in dis liddle satchel a motel of mein -inventions.” - -“Well, what is it? What is the nature of it?” demanded Jack. - -“Idt iss a new kindt of sissage machine,” explained the proud youth, -forgetting all about his recent immersion in the glow of the inventor’s -enthusiasm, “chust py touching a lefer idt vill make bolognas, -frankfurters, liebervurst, or any oder kindt of sissage dot is alretty. -Vot you dink of him?” - -“Huh!” grunted Jupe aside, “ah’s seed lots ob crazy inventors sense ah -wourk hyah, but dis am de fustest sausage machine inventor dot I ebber -clapped mah ole eyes on.” He stared at young Dill as if he had been a -natural curiosity of some sort. - -Jack bit his lip hard to keep from laughing. As for Tom, he exploded -into a roar of laughter which he could not restrain. Young Dill looked -bewildered. - -“I seel idt to you der Dill Convertible Sausage Machine for fif’ -dousandt tollars!” he exclaimed with the air of a person making an -unheard-of offer. - -“I am sorry, Mr. Dill,” said Jack, with exemplary gravity, “but we -couldn’t handle your invention if you made a much cheaper price on it. -However, you can no doubt dispose of it elsewhere.” - -“Ugh! Yo’ alls better try er butcher shop, Dutchy,” muttered Jupe, “an’ -ef dey don’ want it dere take it to a crazy house; maybe they kin use -it and yo’ alls, too.” - -“Budt don’d you tink idt iss a goodt inventions?” persisted young Dill. - -“Excellent! Fine!” declared Jack, with a side wink at Tom. “But we -couldn’t handle it at all. And now, Mr. Dill, we’ll have to say good -morning. We are very busy. I’m sorry for what happened, but really you -know you brought it partly on yourself.” - -“Himmel! oder you hadt bought idt my convertible sissage machine I -vould nodt haf cared if I hadt been drowned all over,” declared young -Dill. - -With a melancholy face he gathered up his little wicker satchel. The -boys were turning away when a sudden idea entered the young German’s -head. His face became irradiated with a ray of hope. - -“I haf idt here a motel of der convertible sissage machine,” he said, -“aber you dakes me py der house I show you how to make bolognas, -frankfurters, lieber----” - -“It wouldn’t be of the least use, Mr. Dill, you’d only be wasting your -time,” said Jack. “Excuse us now, please, we must hurry off.” - -The young German was left standing alone on the gravel walk in the -midst of his rubicund puddle. He looked after the retreating figures -of the two boys and Jupe with a melancholy countenance. But he was -gratified none the less to observe that Jupe appeared to be getting -what is commonly known as a “calling down.” - -“So dey don’d vant idt der convertible sissage machines,” he muttered. -“Vell dey don’d know dot dey let a fortune slip through dere fingers -der same as sissage slip through my machine, ain’d idt.” - -His eyes fixed themselves on Jupe’s humbled figure. - -“Chust der same,” he muttered in a low tone, “midt vun handt I can lick -you--nigger!” - -Having done this justice to his outraged feelings, young Dill wrung the -water out of his coat-tails and set out on the road to Nestorville. He -thought that he had seen the last of High Towers. Had he but known it -he was destined to do the boys a singular service ere long, but as he -trudged along singing “Hi-lee! hi-lo!” to himself in a melancholy voice -he was totally unaware of this. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -HANK AND MILES MEET THEIR MATCH. - - -“Mr. Avery” and “Mr. Reynolds,” the names by which Hank Nevins and -Miles Sharkey had chosen respectively to be known, were seated on -the porch of the Hinkley House taking their ease with their feet -elevated so as to afford a good view of the soles of their boots to any -passers-by, when young Dill came down the street. - -Having recovered from his first disappointment, the young German, who -came of a persevering race, determined to remain in Nestorville for a -time at any rate and try to see the Boy Inventors again, regarding the -Convertible Sausage Machine, at a more auspicious time. He had a small -sum of money saved up, quite sufficient for his needs, and he resolved -to buy some new clothes at the first opportunity and then make a more -imposing descent upon High Towers. - -As he rightly argued, his appearance that morning had not been -calculated to inspire confidence. - -“Der great inventors, aber Eddy’s son, aber Macaroni, der inventor of -der hairless telegraph, nefer fall py a pond midt a nigger,” he mused. -“Maype dose poys dink I am a faker. Aber I don’d plame dem. I gedt idt -me a new oudfit of clothes undt den call aroundt again. ‘No trouble to -show goodts’ as de used to say idt ven I vos in pisiness.” - -This train of thought brought him as far as the Hinkley House where our -Teutonic friend bethought him that after his strenuous exertions of the -morning some dinner would be the proper thing. - -“Dis looks idt like a goodt quiedt hotel, aindt idt?” he said to -himself. “I makes idt a pest (guest) of meinself here, py chiminy.” - -By some mischievous chance the odd figure of Mr. Dill, rendered doubly -striking since his immersion, caught the eye of Hank Nevins,--alias -Mr. Avery,--as he sat discussing, with his chum Miles, the best means -of carrying out their designs against Ned Nevins and his Electric -Monarch. - -There was nothing that Hank liked better than to tease some one who -looked as if he might prove an unresisting victim, and here was one -ready to his hand, at least so he judged. - -“Hello, Dutchy,” he remarked amiably, “been taking a bath with your -clothes on?” - -Young Dill faced round on him and looked him over from top to toe. - -“Aber I dink idt a bath do you no harm, mein freindt, aindt idt,” he -remarked blandly, “midt or midoudt clothes on.” - -This was not exactly what Hank had expected, and a subdued chuckle from -some hangers on about the hotel porch did not increase his good humor. - -“It’s a good thing we didn’t cross on the same boat,” observed Hank. -“If I’d seen you I’d never have landed.” - -“So----” observed young Dill amiably, “veel dere vos no chance of your -seeing me alretty.” - -Hank winked at the loungers in order to show them that he was now -prepared to have some fun with the queer-looking German youth. - -“Is that so? How was that, Dutchy?” he asked with a grin. - -“Pecos I come on a _passenger_ boat,” rejoined young Dill with all the -equanimity in the world. - -A look of intense discomfiture spread over Hank’s face. - -“The Dutchman’s too much for him,” he heard some one whisper. As might -be expected this remark did not tend to smooth over Hank’s feelings -toward the simple-looking young German. Instead he determined to launch -some shaft of wit at him that would squash him flatter than a pancake. -But so far all his attempts had proved boomerangs. - -“I suppose you know all about sausages?” he asked. - -Young Dill’s eyes glittered. Here was a subject in which he was deeply -interested. - -“Oh ches!” he burst out eagerly, “sissages und----” - -“Never mind that, Sauerkraut,” sneered Hank. “What kind of meat makes -the best bologna?” - -Young Dill, who was smart enough in his way, saw that some joke was -going to be had at his expense if he did not look out. The loungers -leaned forward expectantly. Hank looked triumphant. At last he thought -he had the “Dutchman” up a tree. - -“You vant to know vot kindt of meat makes idt pest bolognas?” he asked -innocently. - -“That’s what I said, Dutch,” grinned Hank. - -“You ought to know dot aber bedder dan me alretty,” said young Dill -gravely. - -“Is that so, old Sauerkraut? How’s that?” - -“Pecos der pest bologna is made midt calf’s headt, undt you vos veel -supplidt mid dot,” drawled out young Dill, and without waiting to hear -the roar of laughter that went up at Hank’s expense, he wandered into -the office and registered. His signature was a peculiar one. This is -how it read on the register: - -“Herr Heiny Pumpernick Dill,--Inventor At Large (and Small)--N. Y.” - -After ascertaining what time dinner would be ready, Herr Dill went to -his room and busied himself till the meal was served by tidying up as -well as he could, and removing the effects of his immersion. In this he -could not but admit that he was not very successful, and he resolved -immediately after dinner to saunter out and see what he could find in -the way of smart attire in the village. - -“I vunder now if I couldt gedt idt some yellow gloves,” mused young -Dill to himself as he carefully unpacked the model of the sausage -machine and placed it on the floor. - -“An inventor midt yellow gloves,--undt a redt necktie vould be some -class as an inventor. Aber he vould be as stylish as Macaroni oder -Eddy’s son.” - -He fussed over his invention for a while to pass away the time till the -dinner bell rang out its summons. It was an odd-looking contrivance. -From a cylindrical steel box projected several hooked steel arms -manipulated with springs in a way which no one but the inventor could -by any possibility have mastered. - -While young Dill was working on one of these arms, there came a sudden -sharp snap and he jerked his arm quickly out of the way and upwards. - -“Himmel!” he exclaimed, “dot machine makes idt a preddy goodt trap -alretty. Dot lefer nearly caught it mein fingers. Maype if I can’t -sell idt as a sissage machine, I make idt a purglar trap oudt of idt -alretty--Hi-lee! dere goes der dinner bell! Dinner! I am coming on der -ger-jump!” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -READY FOR FLIGHT. - - -“Well, fellows, the Electric Monarch is ready for her trial trip at -last.” - -Thus spoke Jack Chadwick the following day. The body of the great -land and water craft, looking like a butterfly with its wings off, -stood, resplendent in glittering paint and varnish, inside the big -construction shed. - -All that remained to be done to fit her for the air was to equip the -framework with the wings which were made detachable. This had been a -necessary modification of Jeptha Nevins’ plans, as the shed in which -the craft had been constructed was not wide enough to permit the wings -being attached while the Electric Monarch was still under cover. - -At first this had proved quite a problem, but with the aid of -Professor Chadwick who, as has been said, had taken an active part -in the work, the boys evolved a plan whereby the wings, (or planes,) -had been made detachable and could be bolted or unbolted at pleasure. -As the weight of each plane did not exceed fifty pounds, despite its -broad spread, the work of putting on or taking off the wings was a -comparatively easy one. - -It was an interested group that stood in the shed and surveyed their -completed work. The Electric Monarch, they knew, was without question -the most unique craft of its kind that had ever been constructed. -Perfect in every detail as the great craft was, the boys felt a thrill -of pride run through them as they viewed their completed handiwork. -Professor Chadwick had spared no expense in aiding the boys at their -task and the result was as perfect a bit of mechanism as had ever been -assembled. Outside the shed the great wings were ranged on special -racks ready for attachment. - -To fit the Electric Monarch for flight all that was required was the -charging of her powerful storage batteries. The craft would then be -ready for the crucial test which would prove whether she was to live -up to her name or be merely a mass of expensive junk fit only for the -scrap-pile. - -It was small wonder then, that with the boys’ feeling of glad pride, -there was mingled no little anxiety. They stood on the threshold of -either a monumental triumph or an ignoble failure. - -“Well, Ned,” said Jack, clapping their slender young assistant on the -shoulder, “there’s your Electric Monarch as fit for flight as she ever -will be.” - -Ned Nevins turned his large eyes gratefully upon the boy he had learned -within the past weeks to love and respect. - -“If she succeeds it will be owing to you, Jack, and you, Tom,” he said -happily; “as for Professor Chadwick, I owe him a debt of gratitude I -can never repay.” - -“Nonsense, my lad,” spoke the Professor, with a kindly smile, “win or -lose, we have all learned much during the last few weeks. Ned, your -uncle, had he lived, would have been one of the world’s great inventive -geniuses.” - -“I know it. I am sure of it,” said Ned gratefully. “My poor uncle! This -would have been a proud day for him if he had lived.” - -He resolutely fought back his momentary feeling of sadness, and in -order to regain his composure helped Jack adjust a brace and tighten -one or two bolts. - -“An’ you alls means ter tell me widout confabulation or fear ob -controversial flabbergumbugism dat dis yar monstrositfex am er gwine -ter fly er swim?” demanded Jupe, lapsing, as he always did under -excitement, into a perfect spasm of word coining. - -“We hope so, Jupe,” rejoined Tom. “Why, are you aching for a ride?” - -“Who, me?” and Jupe’s eyes grew wide. “No, sah! Ah’m nuthin’ but jes -er tumble-bug so far as de desirousness ob cirperambulatin’ de air am -consarned.” - -“So you wouldn’t care to go up, Jupe?” inquired Ned, with a smile. - -“No, sah! Wid emphaticness, ah says, N-O-No! Ef dat ting eber fall frum -de etarnal hebbins!--Laws-ee! What a confabulating smashup dere is -agwine ter be aroun’ hyar.” - -“But we don’t figure that it will fall, Jupe. At any rate we are going -to fly out over the water and then the twin boats will keep us afloat -whatever happens.” - -“Wa’al, sah, Massah Jack, be dat as it may, I’d rabber be on der groun’ -lookin’ up dan in der sky lookin’ down,” declared the old negro with -great positiveness. - -“Let us make a final trip of inspection,” suggested the Professor. -The idea was hailed gladly. Led by Mr. Chadwick, the lads, laughing -and chatting gaily, went through the cabins and the strong structure -designed to support the Electric Monarch when in flight. - -The staterooms were finished with glittering paint and everything -was spick and span as a new pin. Leaving the first cabin they passed -through the connecting tube into the other one. This having been -minutely examined, even down to the electric stove with which it was -provided, the professor led the way into what was, to the boys, the -most interesting part of the craft. - -This was the pilot house. It has been already described, so we shall -not go into any details further than to say that every appliance was in -place, the wiring perfect, and all in readiness for the pilot to take -the wheel and guide the most wonderful craft of the age on her initial -flight. - -Running fore-and-aft the entire length of the Electric Monarch, was a -narrow plank runway. This was so that any part of the craft might be -reached with ease when she was under way. The runway extended out to -the bearings of the propellers already mentioned, and it would be part -of the duty of whoever was entrusted with the oiling to venture out -occasionally within reach of the whirling blades and apply lubricants -to the bearings. On the water this would be a comparatively simple -matter. None of the boys was quite sure in his mind just how this duty -would appear when the craft was many hundreds of feet above the earth. - -However, they were not worrying about such details as this just then. -There was but one thought uppermost in the minds of each of the eager -young constructors of the Electric Monarch. - -Would she live up to expectations? - -Possibly Ned, who was new to aerial work, was more nervous than his -companions over the thought of the trial trip. This was not surprising. -It requires courage of a rare sort to attempt for the first time to -climb the air in an absolutely untried craft. Yet this was the ordeal -they had to face. Moreover, there was a strong possibility that a -failure might result in death. - -“Have you decided yet upon the course we will take on the trial trip?” -Jack inquired of his father as they finished their inspection, a tour, -by the way, on which Sam had not been invited, to his great chagrin. - -“Yes; if all goes well we will fly straight for the ocean, provided -it is calm. That will give us a fine opportunity to test out the -hydroplane devices.” - -“I feel sure enough of success to plan a voyage across the Atlantic,” -declared Tom confidently. - -“That would be a little bit premature, my boy,” said the Professor, -with a smile. - -“But provided the Electric Monarch is all we expect, wouldn’t it be -feasible?” - -“I see no reason why not,” responded Mr. Chadwick. “At any rate in the -present state of aeronautics, if the dream of a flight across the ocean -is to come true, it seems to me that the Electric Monarch will be the -first to make the adventurous voyage.” - -“Ned, you will be famous yet,” declared Jack. “I can see the name of -Ned Nevins in the Hall of Fame.” - -“Huh! Maybe you see it in de bottom ob de deep blue sea,” sniffed -Jupe sceptically. The old negro had no love for air craft since his -experiences in the electric storm in Yucatan. - -While the foregoing scene had been transpiring at High Towers, a far -different one had been taking place at the Hinkley House. Having -finished his dinner, a meal at which he caused much merriment by his -odd antics and remarks, young Dill had sauntered out in search of new -apparel. He had succeeded beyond his wildest hopes in finding some -striking attire. From the stock of the village tailor he had selected -a suit of green, red and black check, originally made for some amateur -theatricals, a red waistcoat and a funny little blue hat with what he -called a “rudder” stuck on behind. - -From the tailor shop, where he insisted on having his packages wrapped -up, young Dill passed to the haberdashery where he invested in a -startling necktie and some radiant socks. Then, with triumph in his -eye, and with his purchases under his arm, he retraced his way to the -hotel. - -“By chiminy,” he said to himself, as he hurried along quite unconscious -of the wondering glances cast his way. “Py chiminy grickets, I show dem -vot style is, I bet you my life!” - -The German youth went straight to his room to change into his gorgeous -raiment. He was still in the midst of this task, every now and then -stealing a look at himself in the mirror, when his attention was -arrested by the sound of voices in the next room. - -The partitions in the Hinkley House were not particularly thick, this -being caused by the fact that landlord Hinkley, being of an economical -turn of mind, had partitioned off all his large rooms into two -apartments when he became the proprietor of the hostelry. - -As a consequence, conversations carried on in even ordinary tones were -plainly audible in the adjoining rooms. - -“Py chiminy, I hope dose fellers in der next room don’d talk it py dere -schleep,” mused young Dill as he tied his rainbow cravat, “or I get no -schlumbers, ain’d idt?” - -The next instant his attention; was attracted to the speakers in the -adjoining room by a singular circumstance. It appeared that he himself -was the topic of their conversation. - -“That pig-headed Dutchman with the comedy clothes,” was what he heard. - -“Py chiminy, dot means me!” exclaimed young Dill, “der vind vos in -somedings. Dere vos a voodpile in der nigger in dot next room. I dink I -listen me a leedle closer, ain’d idt?” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -HEINY OVERHEARS THE PLOT. - - -Now, as my readers have no doubt seen by this time, Heiny Pumpernick -Dill was no fool. In fact, despite his eccentric outside, the German -youth possessed a keen, smart mind, which acted well in almost any -emergency. - -Giving a final flourish and grimace at himself in token of admiration -of his new necktie, young Dill crept silently across the room and laid -his ear against the partition. In this position he could hear every -word that was being said in the next room. - -“So you know that the Dutchman was at High Towers this morning?” said -one of the voices, that of Miles Sharkey, although, of course, young -Dill could not recognize it. - -But he recognized the voice that replied without hesitation: - -“Yes, I made it my business to find out about the sauerkraut-eating -Heiny,” was the rejoinder. - -“Ah-ha! Now comes it oudt!” exclaimed young Dill to himself. “Dot is -der feller vot dinks he get funny midt me and laughs midt der wrong -side of his face yet.” - -“Is he a friend of that High Towers bunch?” - -The voice that was unfamiliar to the German youth put the question. - -“Aber am I ein friendt or not?” muttered young Dill. “I vould like to -know dot.” - -“No, he’s no friend,” it was Hank speaking, “in fact, from what I hear, -he got into a row of some sort up there to-day.” - -“Aber dot’s right, budt idt vos in der lake vot I gedt,” said young -Dill to himself. - -“So he is not one of the crowd at all?” - -“No. He’s just a butter-in of some sort. I hear they get a lot of -cranks up there.” - -“Oh, ho! So I’m a ker-ank, am I?” muttered the German boy, shaking his -fist at the unconscious pair in the next room. “You vatch me! I bedt -you my life some day I ker-ank you der wrong vay, mein freindt.” - -“Well, crank or no crank, he certainly put it over on you before dinner -to-day, Hank. I’d advise you to leave him alone in future.” - -“So his name vos Hank,” murmured young Dill, as he listened. “All -righd, Hank, you gedt fixed by a ker-ank--by chiminy, dot’s boetry -de firstest vot I ever make!” exclaimed the lad, as he formed the -involuntary rhyme. - -“Oh, I’ll fix him, never fear,” rejoined Hank. “The tallow-headed -buttinski! But first we’ve got other things to attend to. The Dutchman -can wait.” - -“You chust bedt he can vait, Mister Hank,” muttered Heiny, on his side -of the partition, “vaiting is one of der best things he does, und ven -he gedts idt goodt undt retty den he yump--by chiminy!--he yump!” - -“That’s right, we had better discuss what we mean to do. If they make -that trial trip to-morrow we shall have to act quickly,” said Miles in -reply to Hank’s last remark. - -“What did you find out?” he added. - -“Well, I spent quite a bit of time snooping around up there. I found a -fool of a colored man who told me a lot.” - -“Dot vos der plack feller, I bedt you my life,” chuckled the German -boy, with his ear to the partition. “Veil he _iss_ a chump und dot’s -der first true word der feller in der next room has spoken.” - -“So the colored man was easy, eh?” - -“Easy? I should say. I told him I was from Edison’s place and was just -looking around. He didn’t loosen up much so I gave him a dollar and he -told me all he knew. He’s a bigger chump than that Dutch kid.” - -“So-o-o-o!” fairly hissed Heiny, on his side of the wall, “veel, -Mister Schmardty, maype dot der Tutch poy is not so much of chump as -you dink.” - -“Well, what did he tell you?” demanded Miles impatiently. - -“About all I wanted to know. I posed as being interested in young -Nevins, but not wanting him to know that I was around till the success -or failure of the Electric Hydroaeroplane was assured.” - -“Now comes it oudt,” muttered Heiny, pricking up his ears. - -“Yes, and then--upon my word you are slow. Hank,” came Miles’s voice. - -“Humph! that’s all the thanks I get after all the work I’ve done,” came -in an aggrieved voice from Hank. - -“That’s all right, Hank. Of course I know you’ve done well. But get -down to cases.” - -“Well, then,” continued Hank in a sulky tone, “I learned that the -Electric Monarch is completed. The trial trip will probably take place -to-morrow morning, or it may be delayed till night. If we mean to -strike, we must do so quickly.” - -“Yes, if we can’t get hold of the plans we must do all we can to -cripple the ship, for if once it is a proved success, our game is up.” - -“That’s right. Confound that young cousin of mine. He’s checkmated me.” - -“Not quite yet, Hank,” was the confident reply. “Even if we don’t get a -chance to injure the ship or steal the plans, I’ve yet another scheme -up my sleeve--a legal one.” - -“A legal one?” - -“Yes, I’m smart enough for that. But we won’t work it till the time -comes. In the meanwhile we must do what we can to stop this trial trip -from coming off.” - -“Have you any plans in that respect?” - -“No, I confess I hadn’t till you told me about that Dutch boy. Why -can’t we use him?” - -“What, that dunderhead!” - -“Ah-ha! So-o-o-o I am a dunderhead, too, iss idt?” growled Heiny -from his side of the partition. “I’m dunderheadt midt ears on my -dunderheadt, though, py chiminys!” - -He started counting on his pudgy fingers. - -“Chump! Dutchman! Dunderheadt! Dot makes three! Very veel, Hank, I -makes it all ger-skvare midt you before I gedts drough, I bet me.” - -“Of course he’s a bonehead,” came the other voice, which made poor -Heiny squirm. - -“But that’s all the better for our purpose. If he had any sense he -might suspect something. As it is----” - -“He don’d know somedings,” chuckled Heiny to himself. - -“Hanged if I can see what you are driving at,” growled Hank. “I -wouldn’t employ that Dutchman to mop off a floor.” - -“Of you did I mop idt midt you,” muttered the young German indignantly. - -“Now, listen, Hank,” said Miles, “the German got into trouble up there -to-day, you say? Very well, he’s naturally sore at the whole High -Towers crowd. All right. We go to him and offer him a chance to get -even. Nobody would suspect him of contemplating any harm to anything or -anybody; he hasn’t got sense enough.” - -“Py golly, I premeditate harm to you all righdt, mister,” grunted young -Dill angrily. - -“What do you mean to get him to do?” inquired Hank eagerly. - -“We’ll discuss that later. The thing to do now is to get him on our -side.” - -“I’ll attend to that,” said Hank, “leave it to me to fix that Dutchman -so that he’ll eat out of my hand.” - -“Vell now dot is nice of you,” said young Dill to himself as the two -men in the next room vacated it, closing the door behind them. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE BURGLAR TRAP. - - -The German lad finished his preparations for astonishing Nestorville -with elaborate care. Having adjusted his derby at what he considered a -fetching angle, he prepared to descend and to conquer. - -“Maype so I cotch idt an heiress,” he said to himself, “undt den I -bodder no more midt der convertible sissage machine.” - -Heiny was perfectly right when he concluded that he was about to -astonish Nestorville. The porch of the hotel was fairly well occupied -when he descended, and the street was also pretty well thronged. The -sight of the German youth in his tight-fitting check clothes, gaudy -socks, rainbow tie and yellow gloves created an amount of attention -which gratified Heiny to the full. - -“For der first time dey see idt in dis penighted village vot clothes -vears a chentleman,” he said to himself. - -His first jar came when a small boy stepped up to him. - -“Say, mister?” said the urchin. - -“Vel, vot idt iss, mein poy?” asked Heiny. - -“Wot cher sellin’?” - -“Sellin’? I do not comprehension you.” - -“What you advertisin’ then. Squirts Savory Soap or Odles Orient Oats?” - -“Mein leedle poy, I adtvertise idt nuddings.” - -“Nor sell nothing?” - -“Nein. I am a chentleman of leisure undt an inventor.” - -“Oh, climb back in der cage,” advised the rude urchin, and amidst a -shout of laughter from his cronies he dashed off. - -“Climb py der cage?” muttered young Dill, looking about. “I see no -cage, undt efen if I didt I vouldn’t climb in--no, sir, not vile I haf -nice room midt conversationings thrown in free of charge for nuddings.” - -“On a trip?” asked a tall gangling village youth of the “half-baked” -age, approaching the German boy. - -“No, I am oudt on der ocean sufferin’ seferely midt sea sickness,” -responded Heiny with withering scorn, and the village youth subsided. - -“I vonder vot is der madder midt me?” thought young Dill to himself, -seeing that he was the observed of all observers in and about the -hotel. “Oh, vell! I subbose dot a vell-dressed man is not often seen -hereabouts.” - -He sat down in a chair on the porch and before long a -cadaverous-looking individual, with lank, black hair and a solemn -countenance seated himself beside him. - -“A stranger in our city, sir, I take it?” began the newcomer. - -“Yes, dey all seem to dink I am stranger dan anydings dot dey see yet,” -rejoined Heiny good-naturedly. - -“A natural ignorance, my dear sir. You, I take it, come from the -centers of cosmopolitanism?” - -“Vell, I don’t know dot town. I come from New York,” was the German -youth’s reply. - -“A noble city, sir.” - -“Vell, I don’d know about dot. Dey vouldn’d buy mein convertible -sissage machine.” - -“What, you are an inventor?” - -“Ches, an inventor at large--(undt schmall)----” declared young Dill, -throwing out his chest proudly. - -“You must make a great deal of money.” - -“Oh, enough to lif py meinself--enough for dot! I don’d vant for -nuddings. Der best in clothes or foodt is none too goodt for me,” and -the German swelled with pride. He did not notice the glitter that had -come into the eyes of the cadaverous man at the mention of money. He -eyed young Dill cunningly and then asked: - -“A guest of this hotel, sir?” - -“Ches, I stop here. Idt iss nodt a badt blace but der pickles iss no -good,” said young Dill loftily, as if he had been used to hotels all -his life. - -The cadaverous man leaned over toward the German youth confidentially. - -“If you carry large sums with you I need not warn you of the danger of -thieves.” - -“Oh, no, I am careful midt mein money,” young Dill assured his -new-found friend, “I alvays schleep midt idt in der toe of vun of mein -shoes,” - -“Ah, indeed. May I ask why?” - -“Vell, you see, ker-ooks dey look under der pillow undt in der clothing -but dey nefer dink of lookin’ py der toes of mein shoes. A goodt -scheme, ain’d idt?” - -“Excellent. Good evening, my dear young man. I have much enjoyed our -conversation.” - -And the cadaverous-looking man bowed himself out, looking back as he -went with a covert smile on his face. - -“Thank you, my Teutonic friend,” he said to himself as he made his way -across the office. “I’m much obliged to you for confiding to ‘Deacon’ -Terry the place where you hide your roll. To judge by your clothes it -must be a fat one. I think I’ll investigate your shoes to-night.” - -So thinking, “Deacon” Terry, the notorious hotel thief, examined the -register, made sure of the location of “the inventor’s” room and then -politely requested that his baggage be transferred to a room on that -floor, as the room he had been assigned to did not please him. His -request was at once granted, for the “Deacon” possessed an impressive, -not to say ministerial manner, which gave not the least clue to his -real character. - -Without appearing to feel the slightest concern in them, young Dill -watched, with intense interest, the movements of Hank Nevins and Miles -Sharkey, following the conclusion of the evening meal. Matters were -further complicated in the German youth’s mind by the fact that they -did not approach him, as he had expected, but instead, engaged the -landlord’s son in conversation. - -By adroitly maneuvering, young Dill succeeded in getting into a -position where a pillar in the lobby hid him from view and afforded -a capital screen behind which to listen to the formation of the -plot which he was sure was going forward. He had learned earlier in -the day that Sam Hinkley worked at the High Towers workshop and was -considerably surprised when he saw the boy allow himself to be drawn -into talk with Hank and the man the German youth knew as “Der stranger.” - -“I’ll bedt idt er pretzel dot der iss some more crooked pisiness -going forvarts,” he thought to himself as he watched Sam in deep -conversation with the pair he already knew plotted mischief to the -Electric Monarch. “Does two fellers iss so crooked dey could behind a -corkscrew hide. I vatch undt lisden. Maybe I find idt oudt some more. -If I do, I tell der poys by der Electric Monarch and den maybe dey give -me a chob.” - -With this idea in mind, he worked his way to the position he adjudged -most favorable for his eavesdropping. Now young Dill was no friend to -sneaky ways, but in the present case he felt that the end justified -almost any means. He knew enough to realize that the Boy Inventors’ -project was threatened by two men whom he instinctively felt were bad -characters, even if he had not overheard their talk of the afternoon. - -He had not listened long when all his suspicions were confirmed. With -cunning skill Miles Sharkey was working on Sam Hinkley’s hatred of Ned -Nevins to enlist Sam in the plot against the Electric Monarch. But to -young Dill’s chagrin, he could not get close enough to hear all their -conversation without risking being discovered. He had, therefore, to -content himself with fragmentary bits. But such as these were, they -were quite sufficient to inform him that Sam Hinkley was ready to turn -traitor to his young employers. - -“Then you’ll do it?” were the last words the German youth heard Miles -address to Sam Hinkley. - -“You can depend on me to fix the young sneak,” he heard Sam answer. -“But when do I get my money?” - -“When we get ours from the party I told you about. Is that -satisfactory?” asked Miles, who appeared to act as spokesman. - -“That’s all right,” was Sam’s reply, as he strolled away, and the two -conspirators exchanged triumphant glances. - -“Now dey come py me, I bedt you my life,” muttered the young German -to himself as he flopped into a chair and appeared engrossed in a -newspaper which happened, by good luck, to be lying there. Sure enough -it was not many minutes before he heard a honey voice addressing him. - -It was Hank. He expressed great regret for the occurrences of the -morning. - -“I don’t know what got into me,” he said, “anyhow I apologize very -sincerely.” - -“Oh, dot’s all righdt,” said young Dill easily, “und at dot I don’d -dink dot you hadt very much on me.” - -Hank agreed, and then after some more conversation he approached the -subject that young Dill knew he had been leading up to all the time. - -“You know those Boy Inventors, as they call them, up at High Towers?” -he asked. - -“Vell, I can’t say dot I know dem,” replied Heiny truthfully, “but I -like to get a chob by dem.” - -“Oh, looking for a job, are you?” - -“Ches, I needt some money preddy badtly und I don’d mindt telling you -dot I aindt particular how I get idt alretty.” - -Hank fell into the trap readily. “This fellow’s easier than I thought,” -he chuckled to himself. He proceeded to “feel out” the German youth a -little more, and then made him a confidant in their plans, young Dill -appearing to fall in readily with all their schemes. - -Briefly the plot was this. Young Dill was to present himself at High -Towers in the morning. Seemingly he was to be in quest of work. But -his real mission was to take advantage of any opportunity that might -present itself to disconnect one of the wires leading from the storage -batteries to the motor. Failing in this, he was to injure the Electric -Monarch in any way that he could, Hank having previously found out that -young Dill understood considerable about machinery. - -To all this the young German appeared to agree. In fact he was even -enthusiastic. - -“I guess I make more money on dis chob dan I vouldt oudt of mein -sissage machine,” he said. - -“Money!” exclaimed Hank. “Why, if you can pull this thing off right -you’ll be able to buy a new suit every ten minutes.” - -“Den I’m your man,” said young Dill. - -Soon after this he went to bed. He would have liked to go to High -Towers that night but he knew that he was watched. Moreover, as there -was to be no attempt made to injure the machine till the next morning, -he would not have accomplished any useful purpose, except perhaps, to -scare the plotters away, which was the last thing he wished to do. - -Before turning in, the German youth expended a few loving caresses on -the convertible sausage machine, and then, placing it on the floor, he -tumbled into bed and soon his snores proclaimed that at least one guest -of the Hinkley House was enjoying peaceful slumber. - -It was after midnight that a door down the corridor from the German -youth’s room was cautiously opened and the cadaverous head and lank -black locks of “Deacon” Terry protruded themselves into the dimly -lighted passage. Apparently satisfied that every one was in bed, the -“Deacon” slipped out of his room and tip-toed down the passage to young -Dill’s door. - -Bending, he listened at the key-hole. The nasal music which greeted his -ears caused a satisfied smile to creep over his features. He fumbled in -his pocket for a minute and then a jingling sound proclaimed that he -had found what he was in search of--a bunch of skeleton keys. - -With a deftness born of long practice the “Deacon” inserted one of -the keys in the lock of young Dill’s door. There was the slightest -of clicks and then the Deacon cautiously pushed the portal open. An -instant’s pause, and then with the gliding motion of a snake, he -slipped through the door. - -“Snap!” - -A sound like the firing of a pistol was followed almost immediately by -a most appalling yell. - -“Help! Ouch! Help!” - -The next moment a figure came flying into the corridor. Attached to -it was what at first sight appeared to be a gigantic spider. Down the -corridor the figure fled, yelling at the top of his voice. - -All through the hotel, doors could be heard opening and shouts and -cries rang through the entire structure from office to garret! - -“It’s fire!” - -“There’s murder!” - -“Call the police!” - -“Thieves!” - -“Fire! Fire!” - -Mingling with these and a dozen other frantic cries from alarmed guests -came the clanging of gongs as the night clerk, aroused from his doze in -the office, sprang to the emergency alarm and pulled it. This redoubled -the confusion. - -In the midst of the pandemonium there came skyrocketing madly down -the stairs into the half-dressed crowd swarming in the lobby, an -extraordinary and alarming figure. It was that of a man clad only in -shirt and trousers upon whose face was stamped the wildest terror. -Frightened cries broke from his lips and the horrified onlookers -perceived that, attached to him, behind, was a gigantic spider, or such -at least the thing appeared. - -With a last frantic cry the victim of the repulsive-looking creature -gave a bound and fell headlong on the floor of the crowded lobby. As he -did so there was a metallic clang, the “spider” was detached from his -waistband and the excited crowd saw that it was in reality a metallic -device of some sort. - -It was just at this moment that the fire department and the police -department, the latter consisting of two men and a chief, with a -resplendent star of pie-plate proportions, burst into the thronged -lobby. The chief rushed up to the prostrate man and raised him to his -feet. - -The instant his eyes encountered the other’s face, the village -functionary gave a cry of astonishment. - -“It’s ‘Deacon’ Terry, the crook!” he exclaimed, with a firm grip on the -man. “There’s a description and a reward out for his capture.” - -“What have you been up to now?” asked one of the policemen, but before -the discomfited thief could reply, a strange figure in red and white -striped pajamas shoved its way through the excited throng that jammed -the lobby. - -“I can tell you dot. Dot feller dere vos try to make a robberies midt -mein room. Mein burglar trap--dot used to be a sissage machine--makes a -capture by him.” - -“Who in thunder are you?” demanded the chief, regarding the -wild-looking German youth with amazement. - -“I am Heiny Pumpernick Dill, inventor at large (undt schmall) of -der Convertible Sissage Machine. Dot iss, idt used to be a sissage -machine--now I make idt of him a burglar trap.” - -“Say, is this fellow crazy or what?” exclaimed the chief, who had been -unable, not unnaturally, to make head or tail of this jargon. - -“I think I can explain, chief,” said the night clerk, coming forward. -“It’s plain enough that this fellow,--the ‘Deacon’ as you call -him,--tried to get into Mr. Dill’s room. He succeeded, but instead of -robbing Dill he was seized by this what-you-may-call it.” - -He indicated the sausage machine lying in a heap of spider-like limbs -and springs on the floor near-by. - -“Dot is not a what-you-mighdt-call-idt----” began young Dill -indignantly, “idt is a sissage machine. I pudt him der door py ven I -go to mein schleep. I suppose dot dis feller got ger-grabbed by idt ven -he come to take all der money dot I told him early in der efenin’ I -hadt in mein shoes.” - -It was some time before things quieted down and the notorious “Deacon” -was taken off to the village lock-up. Young Dill was the recipient of -many congratulations on the success of his “burglar-trap.” But somehow -they did not please him. As he returned to his interrupted slumbers he -muttered to himself: - -“I am a preddy bum inventor alretty. I don’d know meinself vot I -invent. Here I go to vurk undt make idt a fine sissage machine undt now -I haf to turn idt into a burglar-trap--Himmel!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE LOST LEVER. - - -Bright and early the next morning the young inventors, and the workmen -attached to their “plant,” wheeled out the framework of the Electric -Monarch and the business of attaching the wings was begun. It was -just half an hour from the time the work began to the moment when the -last bolt was in place, and like a huge red and silver butterfly the -wonderful craft stood poised ready for flight. - -The boys had had but little sleep and their dreams had been of skimming -the air or gliding over the surface of the sea. Now, as they stood back -and gazed at their completed handiwork, they felt a proud thrill of -work well done. Come what might of the trial trip, they felt that they -had done their very best. - -Only one thing marred their delight at the completion of their long -task. Professor Chadwick, who from time to time suffered from severe -headaches, would be unable to accompany them on the initial voyage. -Instead, one of the workmen, a man named Joyce, was selected to go -along. - -When everything was in readiness for the start, Jack visited his -father’s study. He was in hopes that even at the eleventh hour the -Professor might feel well enough to accompany them. He well knew -what a disappointment it was to his father to have to remain behind. -But Professor Chadwick had been warned by his physician not to risk -excitement when suffering from one of his nervous headaches. - -Jack found his father lying on a lounge in the library. - -“No, Jack, my boy,” he said in answer to the boy’s anxious inquiries, -“I’m afraid the trial trip must be made without me. I am under doctor’s -orders and cannot disobey them.” - -“I wish you could come, father,” replied the boy, “but if everything -goes off all right you will have many opportunities to ride in the -Electric Monarch. Now, since you can’t come, I am going to entrust to -your care the plans and blue prints of the craft.” - -“Yes, they will be safer here.” - -“I have just brought them from the workshop. See, here they are,” and -Jack produced a voluminous roll of papers. “We are responsible to Ned -Nevins for the safety of these and we must see that they are looked -after carefully.” - -“Put them in the safe, my boy, and then give me the combination. If I -feel better later on I should like to look them over.” - -Jack went to a large wall safe in one corner of the room, opened it and -placed the papers within. He then gave the combination to his father on -a slip of paper. When this had been done he felt easier in his mind. - -“They are safe enough now,” he thought. He mixed his father a draught -of medicine and then, summoning a servant, he told her to be ready to -answer any call from the library, in which room Professor Chadwick -intended to spend the day. - -When this had been done Jack felt that further delay would be useless. -Bidding his father good-bye, and promising to give him every detail of -the trip on his return, the boy hurried out to join his comrades. - -It was a cloudless day. There was not a breath of wind to stir the -leaves. A better morning for the testing of the Electric Monarch could -not have been imagined. - -“Well, Tom, we’re all ready, I guess.” - -“As ready as we ever will be, Jack. The big moment is due. Everything -all right to your mind, Ned?” - -“Down to the last nut on the last bolt,” replied young Nevins -positively. - -“Then we had better climb on board and get ready for the start.” - -Joyce, a stalwart, middle-aged mechanic, followed the boys on board the -Electric Monarch. They first visited the pilot house. It had already -been decided that Jack, on account of his previous experience with -aerial craft, was to have the wheel. He gave a last look over the -equipment. The next instant he uttered an exclamation of dismay. - -“The landing lever is gone!” he exclaimed. - -“What!” the cry came from all three of his companions simultaneously. - -“It’s gone!” cried the boy. “Look here, it’s been unbolted from the -sector. Boys, the trial trip is off if we can’t find it.” - -As it was the landing lever that controlled the descending impetus -of the craft, it can readily be seen that it would have been -foolhardy--suicidal, in fact--to have attempted to start without it. - -“It was here the last thing last night,” cried Ned. “I know because I -looked the whole craft over before I turned in.” - -“Just the same, it is gone,” declared Tom. - -“Somebody has taken it,” struck in Joyce. - -“Yes, somebody with a spite against us,” added Ned, and in his mind the -thought of Sam Hinkley flashed up. - -“Has anybody seen Sam about this morning?” he asked. - -No, nobody had. The boy had not put in his usual appearance, which -seemed odd, for recently he had appeared to take more interest than -usual in the Electric Monarch. - -“You surely don’t suspect----” began Tom. - -“I don’t know what to say,” interrupted Jack, “it looks odd, that’s -all.” - -“But what object could he have had in taking it?” asked Tom. - -“Better ask Ned that,” was the response. “He told Ned he’d get even -with him some time for giving him a lesson on the porch of the Hinkley -House.” - -“Well, suspicions won’t find that lever,” said Ned. “Suppose we look -for it. Let’s start a hunt.” - -“Not much use,” declared Joyce. “Whoever took that lever has hidden it -where we can’t find it.” - -“I guess that’s so,” admitted Jack ruefully. “I don’t want to accuse -any one till we know, but it looks as if----” - -A shout from beside the ship interrupted him. It was Jupe. He was -pointing down the hill. - -“Gollyumption!” shouted the old negro, who had been an interested -though inactive onlooker. “Hyar comes dat crazy Dutch kid!” - -Sure enough, up the hill was coming, as fast as his pudgy legs would -carry him, the rotund form of the doughty inventor of the convertible -sausage machine. - -“Bother him. We don’t want that pest around now. Hullo! what’s the -matter with him?” - -For young Dill was waving his arms like a windmill. He dashed up, -puffing like a locomotive, the next minute. It was plain he was wildly -excited about something. But for some seconds he could only puff and -gesticulate while his eyes rolled as if he had eaten something that had -disagreed with him. - -“What’s the trouble, are you sick?” asked Jack, looking down from the -pilot house. - -“Aber-poof--Poys! You haf missed idt somedings--poof--from der--sheeps?” - -“Sheeps?” exclaimed Tom, puzzled. - -“He means ship,” exclaimed Jack. “Say, fellows, he knows something -about the missing lever. Is that it, Heiny?” - -“Ches. Der liver of der sheep iss gone, ain’d idt?” - -“It certainly has. Do you know anything about it?” - -By this time Heiny had recovered his breath. In a torrent of speech -that nothing could stop he rattled off the story of the overheard -conversation, of Sam’s treachery and of the way in which he had -seemingly fallen in with the conspirators’ plans. Early that morning -he had got out of bed and tracked Sam Hinkley to High Towers. He had -watched while the treacherous youth had unscrewed the lever and then -had followed him through the fields to an abandoned well into which the -rascally boy had thrown it. During his narrative, Heiny gave a good -description of Hank Nevins and Miles Sharkey, from which Ned had no -difficulty in identifying the plotters. The manner in which they had -discovered his whereabouts, though, was, of course, a mystery to the -lad. - -But there was no time to waste just then in discussing the best means -of ensuring the punishment of the conspirators. The main desire of all -the boys was to get back the lever and be off on the interrupted test. -Under young Dill’s guidance the old well was soon found. It was almost -filled up with rubbish and it was an easy matter to get the lever out. - -“I don’t know how we can reward you for this service,” Jack said to -young Dill as they made their way back to the Electric Monarch. - -“Dere is an easy vay to do dot,” said the young German, with the air of -one who already has his mind made up. - -“Well, what is it?” - -“Make me der mashed shot of der Elegdrig Monarch.” - -“The what?” Jack regarded the lad with a puzzled look. Young Dill had -certainly done them a splendid service and Jack, as they all did, -wished to reward him for it in some substantial way. - -“Der mashed shot--der goot luck--der----” - -“Oh, the mascot!” cried Jack. - -“Dot’s idt. I make idt a fine mashed shot. I am strong. I am villing. I -am an inventor, at large (undt schmall) und----” - -“But just what are the duties of a mascot? If I make you one I’d -like to be sure you understand them,” said Jack with a wink at his -companions. - -“Oh, dot vos easy. Der dooties of a mashed shot are to sit in a corner -undt keep making a noise like a rabbid’s foot oder a horse’s-boot.” - -“Horseshoe, I guess you mean. However, you seem to have a pretty good -idea of the job and we can use you, anyhow, I guess.” - -“Den I gedt der chob?” - -“Yes, you are one of the crew of the Electric Monarch.” - -“Hoch! Der Monarch!” shouted Heiny Dill, throwing his funny little -“rudder” hat high in the air, “ven do vee start?” - -“Thanks to your clever detective work, right away.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -OFF AT LAST! - - -The frame of the Electric Monarch thrilled to the first impulse of her -powerful motors. But that thrill was nothing to the sense of suppressed -excitement that ran through the boys’ veins as Jack, with throbbing -pulses, set the lever that sent the electric current into the driving -machinery. - -Outwardly calm, every person on board stood at his station waiting -the word for the start. Tom Jesson was in the bow, Joyce, oil can in -hand, was at the stern. Ned Nevins, pale but keeping a firm grip on his -nerves, stood by the motors. His “big moment” had come at last. The -dream of Jeptha Nevins was to be put to the test. - -Heiny Dill had had a special office created for him at the last moment. -He was, in addition to his self-conferred title of mascot, the “chief -cook and bottle washer”--in other words, the steward of the Electric -Monarch. He felt the responsibilities of his office to the full as he -stood with his rotund face stuck out of the port cabin window waiting -for the start. He already had the electric stove going and a big kettle -of boiling water on it. Just why, he could not have said, but he felt -that it was in line with his responsible position to be doing something. - -“Hold tight, everybody. We’re going up!” - -The shout from the pilot house was like a bugle call. Each boy -involuntarily straightened up at his post. The propellers beat the air -faster and faster. On the “bridge deck” the boys held tightly to their -caps. It was like being in a hurricane. The mighty power of the motors -made a roaring noise, like the voice of a cataract. The craft shook -from stem to stern like a live thing struggling against captivity. - -Suddenly there came a jerk and a yell from Heiny as, amidst a crashing -of pots and pans, he was flung to the floor. On the “bridge deck” the -crew hung on tight. Their faces showed the tense strain as Jack applied -full power. - -Off like an arrow from a bow shot the great craft across the smooth -slope leading down to the lake. The speed was terrific. The craft -pitched and swayed so that it was only by holding on for dear life that -the boys could keep their feet. - -“Ledt me oudt! Ledt me oudt!” shrieked Heiny, from amidst the wreckage -of his cooking utensils. “I don’d vant to be a mashed shot!” - -“Gracious, if we don’t rise in a second we’ll be in the lake!” cried -Tom in dismay, but above the roaring of the motors and propellers no -one heard him. But the same thought was in the minds of all. Ned, white -as ashes, peered straight ahead as the massive craft dashed down the -hill. Were all their hopes doomed to disaster, after all? - -In the pilot house Jack saw the impending disaster. He threw his -entire weight against the lever that set the wings at a rising -inclination. The device was new and stiff. His most strenuous exertions -failed to move it. - -He heard a voice at his shoulder. It was Ned Nevins. He had guessed -that something was the matter and had clawed his way into the pilot -house down the pitching, swaying bridge. - -“The rising lever! Quick!” he cried. - -“I can’t move it. It’s stuck!” shouted back Jack. - -Ned braced his foot against the sector and both boys threw the last -ounce of their strength into making the refractory bit of machinery -move. It did, with a suddenness that threw them both to the floor of -the pilot house. - -But the next instant they gave a glad shout of delight which echoed -from one end of the craft to the other. - -The Electric Monarch was rising, shooting straight upward toward the -blue heavens at tremendous speed! - -Jack scrambled to his feet like a shot. For one instant the Electric -Monarch was shooting skyward without a guiding hand at the wheel. The -next moment her young skipper, with a firm grasp of the spokes, was -directing her course due eastward toward the ocean. - -While he did this, Ned set to work with oil can and file on the lever -which had so nearly caused disaster. He soon had it fixed and had taken -to heart a lesson which had for its text, “It’s the little things that -count.” - -“Gracious,” he said to Jack, as they shot straight onward at a height -the barograph showed to be 2,500 feet, “that lever came near wrecking -us.” - -“Never mind that now,” was the response, “just see how splendidly she -is behaving. Ned, old boy, the Electric Monarch is a success. A bigger -success than we dared to hope.” - -“She is indeed,” said Ned, almost reverentially, as he glanced down -from the pilot house window at the landscape flying by far below them. -It was his first experience in the air and he felt just a bit creepy -and scared. - -But that feeling soon wore off, and before a glittering expanse of -water in the distance showed them that the ocean lay before them, Ned -Nevins, the virtual owner of the Electric Monarch, was at work on the -motors, oiling and adjusting as if he had been an engineer of a flying -ship all his life. - -The motion of the craft was delightfully smooth and even. If it had not -been for the furious wind of the propellers, and the roaring of the -motor, it would have been difficult to believe they were moving at all. -Yet the speed indicator showed that they had attained a velocity of -fifty miles an hour and their maximum speed had not by any means been -reached. - -Jack knew that with new machinery it would have been risking -over-heated bearings and all manner of engine trouble, to let the -Electric Monarch out to her full capacity. - -Jack’s cheeks glowed and his eyes shone as the craft drove onward, -with his firm hands on the controlling wheel. It was invigorating -and blood-quickening to feel the way in which the Electric Monarch -responded instantly to every move of the controlling devices. - -“Of course the Electric Monarch isn’t mine, nor have I any right to any -share in her but the builder’s, and yet I can’t help feeling that we -all have a part in her,” said the boy to himself. “That Jeptha Nevins -must have been a wonder. If he had only lived, this would have been a -proud day for him. He certainly left Ned a great legacy in those plans. -I wonder----” - -Jack broke off short in his ruminations. The plans! It was true they -were in the safe at High Towers, but it was also true that just the -moment before sailing they had learned that enemies were interested in -securing them. Enemies backed by powerful interests, too, judging by -what Heiny Dill had said. - -A troubled look crossed Jack’s face. His father was ill. In case -intruders gained access to the library, he could make but a feeble -resistance. But the next moment he dismissed the thought as ridiculous. -How could any one know where the plans had been placed? And even so, if -an attempt was made to blow open the safe, the servants would be bound -to hear. - -“Just the same,” thought the boy, “I wish we’d notified the police -before we started.” - -But at that moment a wind flaw struck the Electric Monarch and Jack’s -attention was fully occupied in handling the craft as she heeled over -like a ship in a heavy sea. When she was once more on an even keel, he -had other matters to occupy his mind. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -NED’S TERRIBLE PERIL. - - -Beneath the Electric Monarch, soaring eagle-like far above it, a -glimmering speck against the blue, lay the Atlantic. The ocean was in a -calm mood. Viewed from above, its surface appeared to be as smooth as a -mirror. - -But Jack knew that appearances were deceptive. The Atlantic is never -absolutely at rest. Even on the calmest days its bosom heaves with -long, swinging swells, running shoreward to break in heavy, thunderous -surf on the beach. He drew from a pocket beside the wheel the glasses -with which the receptacle was equipped. - -Controlling the wheel with one hand, he raised the glasses to his eyes -with the other. He gazed downward through them and saw that the sea -was lazily swelling in long, oily combers, which could be ridden with -ease even by a cockleshell of a boat, whereas the Electric Monarch was -actually two capable cabin cruisers fastened together Siamese-twin-like -by ligaments of vanadium and steel and aluminum alloy. - -“It’s safe enough to go down,” said Jack to himself and sounded two -blasts on the electric whistle. - -This was the signal to the engineer to come into the pilot house for a -consultation. Ned soon presented himself. He was grimy but happy. - -“How’s everything running?” asked Jack. - -“Smooth as oil. You’d think the motors had been in commission for a -long time instead of being on their initial trip.” - -“That’s good. I didn’t have much fear but they would work all right. -I’m going to try a drop, Ned.” - -Jack watched Ned narrowly to see if the news had any effect upon him -but Ned simply nodded his head in a business-like way and remarked: - -“Very well, sir.” - -At this juncture there came a shrill whistle on one of the speaking -tubes leading to the helmsman’s wheel. - -“Hullo, there’s Tom calling from the stern,” cried Jack, “wonder what’s -up now.” - -He placed the tube to his ear and then gave an exclamation of concern. - -“Oh, that’s too bad.” - -“What’s the trouble?” asked Ned. - -“Why, Tom has an attack of air-sickness. It’s pretty bad while it -lasts, but fortunately it is soon over. I’m going to call him in to lie -down in the cabin a while. Can you leave your motors and stand watch -astern, Ned?” - -“Certainly. They’re all right for half an hour, anyhow. The current’s -fine.” The boy glanced at the indicator, which showed a strong, steady -supply of “juice.” Jack hailed Tom through the speaking tube and -ordered him to come in at once and lie down. He then hailed Heiny, who -by this time had gotten over his first scare, and told him to get some -hot coffee ready. - -“Tom will be ready for duty before long,” said Jack, as Ned left the -pilot house, passing, as he made his way aft, Tom, who looked white -and ill. But he assured Ned it was nothing, simply an attack of -air-sickness which would soon pass over. - -Ned took up his place in the stern between the two long supporting -frameworks of the rear propellers. The wind was terrific but otherwise -he felt no inconvenience except from the excessive vibration. He had -not been standing there more than a few minutes, keeping a watchful eye -all about him, when he noticed that the port stern bearing of one of -the propellers was beginning to smoke. - -“Hullo! We’ll be having a hot box first thing we know,” said Ned to -himself. “I’ve got to oil that fellow and look sharp about it, too.” - -He glanced out over the path he would have to travel. Ned was a plucky -boy, but he felt a qualm pass through him as he looked. The propeller -was fully ten feet out from the main structure of the craft and was -supported by a thin framework of braces. - -The task in front of Ned was to straddle this framework and make his -way aft to the heated bearing, with nothing but 2,500 feet of space -beneath his shoe soles. For a minute he felt tempted to ask Jack for -instructions. But then his pride, always keen with Ned, came to his -rescue. - -“I’ll do it,” he determined, taking a firm grip on his faculties. “But -it’s going to be some job.” - -He gripped his oil can firmly, resolved to waste no more time. Then -clambering up to the framework, he straddled himself over the top part -of it, holding on to the lower part of it as best he could with his -feet. - -It was like riding a bucking broncho in mid-air. The gale from the big -propellers swept around Ned like a hurricane. He felt his cap swept off -his head and dared not look downward to watch it go hurtling toward -the sea. He knew that the sight would be too much for his nerves. - -Rallying himself with an effort, Ned began his dangerous crawl along -the framework. The further out from the main structure of the craft -he got the more nerve-racking became the task. The slender framework -shook and swayed as if it was determined to shake him off, and send him -flying into space. - -Ned gripped his handholds till the paint flaked off on his palms. But -little by little he managed to work his way toward the bearing. The -propeller, a whirring blur before his eyes, dazzled him. The wind from -it seemed to catch his breath and jam it back down his throat. He clung -to his perch with the courage of desperation. - -At last he reached a point from which he could reach the bearing. He -raised the oil cup and doused the smoking metal with oil. And then, his -duty done, he was horrified to feel a sudden wave of deadly nausea -sweep over him. The sea seemed to rush up toward him, and his senses -swam in a wild delirium. - -“I must get back! I must! I must!” he said to himself, and then the -terrible grip of air-sickness descended upon him again and again, and -deprived him of all power to move. - -Almost three thousand feet in the air, perched on a slender, bucking -framework, and a prey to the most severe form of air-sickness, Ned’s -position was perilous, indeed. - -Suddenly he felt his senses leaving him. For a second he fought against -insensibility with all the power he possessed. But it overmastered him. -Ned felt his head swimming round and round like a detached body in an -aurora of blazing light. All at once something seemed to give way. - -He felt himself falling! falling! - -Then a blackness like night shut down upon him and he knew no more. - -It was perhaps a quarter of an hour later when Tom presented himself to -Jack and announced that he was fit for duty. - -“Very well, Tom, go back to your post and send Ned to resume his.” - -Tom left the cabin. In less than ten seconds he was back. His face was -blanched and his lips white. Jack noticed he was trembling violently. - -“What in the world is the matter, are you ill?” demanded Jack. - -“No--no, it’s Ned.” - -“What’s up? Anything the matter with him?” - -“He’s--he’s g-g-g-gone!” - -“Gone!” - -“That’s right. I went aft and there was no sign of him. Joyce says -nothing has been seen of him up forward.” - -“Great Scott!” - -The boys faced each other with the fear of a great calamity on their -faces. If Ned was not on board he must have fallen from the Electric -Monarch while she was in mid-air. In such a case there was no need to -debate over the fate of the young comrade they had grown to love. - -“I can’t leave the wheel, Tom, you must do what you can,” said Jack, -his voice trembling in spite of himself. - -Tom stammered some reply and left the pilot house. He summoned young -Dill. - -“Come aft with me,” he ordered. “We’re afraid an accident has happened.” - -“An accidend! vot sort of an accidend?” blurted out the German youth. - -“We’re afraid that Ned Nevins has fallen overboard.” - -“Donnervetter!” - -“You must keep a cool head, Dill, and do what I tell you.” - -“I am as cool as a whole barrel of cucumbers,” was the reply. - -“Then come with me. There’s one chance in ten thousand that he may be -on board and alive.” - -Silently the two made their way aft along the heaving, swaying bridge, -a dreadful fear gnawing at their hearts. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE DISGRUNTLED CRONIES. - - -To say that the departure of the Electric Monarch from High Towers had -caused a sensation in Nestorville would be putting it mildly. The town -simply went wild. - -School was dismissed, business came to a standstill, and the streets -were thronged from end to end with excited townspeople. - -“What’s the trouble?” demanded Hank Nevins, as the waitress dropped -the plate of ham and eggs she was about to bring him and his worthy -companion, Miles Sharkey, and regardless of the crash and the spatter, -dashed into the street. - -“Hark, what’s that they’re calling out?” cried Hank suddenly. - -“Listen!” - -Miles put down his knife and fork which he had grasped expectantly and -pricked up his ears. In another minute the cry,--which had grown to a -roar,--came to their ears with the distinctness of a thunder clap and -with much the same effect. - -“Airship!--Airship!” - -The cry reverberated through the village like a call to arms. Men -shouted and women screamed while small boys went charging up and down -with their heads in the air regardless of whom they bumped into. - -“Great Juniper!” gasped out Hank, spilling his coffee in his agitation, -“do you suppose----?” - -“I don’t suppose anything. Let’s make sure,” cried Miles. - -Hatless they rushed into the street but nobody paid any attention -to their agitation. Everybody was equally excited. It was indeed a -thrilling sight. Far above the heads of the gaping crowd an immense -scarlet and silver shape was skimming on wings that shimmered in the -bright sunlight. - -“Hurrah!” yelled a man, and a hundred took up the cry half hysterically. - -“It’s flying!” cried out an old lady, as if there was any doubt about -it. - -“What is it?” asked somebody. - -“It’s an airship,” was the reply. - -“Wa’al, it ain’t like any I’ve ever saw,” came the response. “It looks -as big as a house. It’s got cabins on it, too.” - -“Must be some more of the work of them boys up at High Towers,” -hazarded Schultz, the blacksmith, who sometimes did odd jobs for the -boys. - -“Like as not it is,” agreed somebody else. “Them boys ’ull break their -necks some day, sure.” - -“You mean they’ll make Nestorville famous,” spoke up Schultz in the -capacity of the boys’ champion. “They’re the brainiest kids in America -to-day.” - -“Oh, they don’t amount to very much,” came a sneering voice behind the -sturdy blacksmith. - -He faced round instantly. The remark had come from Hank who, with Miles -at his side, was watching the successful flight with what feelings may -be imagined. - -Schultz looked angry and was not afraid to let his irritation show. -Hank began to wish he’d kept quiet. - -“What was that you said, mister?” asked the blacksmith. - -“I just said anybody could do that who had the time,” said Hank, -modifying his speech somewhat. - -“Well, you couldn’t do it, mister; it takes _brains_ to do anything -like that. That lets you out.” - -The crowd in the vicinity began to titter. Hank hated being laughed at, -and his anger made him imprudent. - -“That’s a stolen idea, anyhow,” he roared out at the top of his voice. -“The plans from which that airship was made belong to me.” - -“Hush! Are you crazy?” exclaimed Miles, jerking Hank’s sleeve. - -“No, I’m not! They do belong to me. That craft was designed by my -father, Jeptha Nevins, and I can prove it, what’s more.” - -“If that’s so, why didn’t you build one yourself?” demanded Schultz. - -“I didn’t have time to before thieves stole the plans. I’ll get even, -though. I’ll fix ’em. They won’t rob me!” - -“For heaven’s sake, be quiet. Everybody’s looking at you. You’ll ruin -our plans.” - -Miles Sharkey impatiently jerked at Hank’s sleeve. He would have liked -to put an emphatic hand over his noisy companion’s mouth. But Hank at -last saw reason. As the Electric Monarch soared off into the distance, -melting into the sky like a vanishing bird, he consented to allow Miles -to lead him away. - -They had not gone very far when round a corner came Sam Hinkley. He was -out of breath and much excited. - -“Did you see it?” he cried. - -“See it? Do you think we are blind?” roared Hank. “What kind of -bungling is this? Didn’t you get the lever? How did they come to start?” - -“Just what I’d like to know,” said Sam with equal heat. “I did my part -of the work all right. I detached the lever and hid it in an old well. -They must have had another one some place and put it on at the last -moment.” - -“I guess that’s it,” said Miles pacifically, but Hank refused to calm -down. It galled his bitter nature to the quick to see the Electric -Monarch in successful flight when he had hoped and schemed for a -failure. - -“I wonder what’s become of the Dutchman,” he snarled. “He’s ten times -brighter than you are, Hinkley,” which, as we know, was perfectly -correct, though not in just the way Hank meant it. - -“How do I know where your Dutchman is,” growled Sam, “I tell you I’m -through with you. I risked a lot to steal that lever and this is all -the thanks I get for it. Gimme my money.” - -Hank affected great surprise. So did Miles. They both stared at Sam as -if they thought he had suddenly taken leave of his senses. - -“Money? What money?” exclaimed Miles. - -“Why, the money for crippling the machine.” - -A cunning smile crept over Miles’s face. - -“Yes, the money for crippling the machine!” he sneered, “but you see, -my young friend, you didn’t do any such thing. In fact, for all we -know, you never went near it.” - -“So you’re going to cheat me out of it, eh?” roared Sam. “But you -won’t. I’ll see the police, I’ll----” - -But he stopped short as Miles burst into a roar of ironical laughter. - -“See the police and tell them you didn’t get money for doing some -crooked work! You’re considerable of a fool, Sam Hinkley, but I guess -you aren’t fool enough for that.” - -As this was so beyond doubt, Sam had to content himself with slinking -off, muttering threats about “getting even” which the two conspirators -did not much trouble themselves about. In fact they were beginning to -worry about young Dill. It was past the hour when he had said he would -meet them, and they began to feel uneasy. - -It was as well for their peace of mind that they did not know the -true state of affairs, otherwise they would have suffered still more -perturbation of spirit. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -TOM TO THE RESCUE. - - -With a feeling of anxiety such as he had never before known, Tom leaned -out over the stern framework. He had hazarded a guess that Ned might -have been rash enough to have attempted to gain the stern propeller -bearings. - -But his surprise and relief were not any the less on that account -when he saw, lying limp and senseless across the slender stern shaft -supports, the body of his young chum, for such Ned had grown to be in -their weeks of work and association. - -“Great Glory!” he exclaimed in his relief. “Heiny, hurray! he’s alive. -Had an attack of air-sickness I guess, and it’s knocked him out.” - -But in the midst of his jubilation came another thought,--a reflection -that sent the hot blood curdling like ice water through Tom’s veins. -Suppose the boy were suddenly to regain consciousness and, not -realizing where he was, attempt to raise himself? In such a case he -must inevitably be dashed to death through space. - -Still further reflection, after the first gush of his joy at finding -his comrade alive had subsided, convinced Tom that to get him on board -from his perilous position would be no mean undertaking in itself. Ned -lay some eight feet out from the end of the “running-bridge.” His inert -form was balanced across the swaying, vibrating framework. Would that -framework--it looked as slender as a spider’s web--bear the weight of -the two boys? - -Tom thought it would. He knew the care with which every section of the -Electric Monarch had been constructed. Every rivet and bolt in her had -been tested and retested to three times the strain that would be placed -upon it. - -“I’ll risk it,” decided Tom. “Here, Heiny, hold my coat.” - -He stripped off his khaki Norfolk swiftly and handed it to the German -who, too stupefied by the sight of Ned’s perilous position to say -anything, stood gaping, open-mouthed, powerless to speak or move. He -took Tom’s coat mechanically. Then speech came to him. - -“Vot you do, hein?” - -“Can’t you see I’m going out there to get Ned on board again?” - -“Himmel! You preak your neg.” - -“I don’t think so.” - -So saying Tom cautiously got astride of the framework, and began -worming his way toward Ned’s still form. It was terrible work, but Tom -knew that the return trip would be still more accompanied by peril. -Steeling himself to the task in hand, he worked slowly forward while -Heiny stood petrified watching him. - -Foot by foot, or inch by inch, as it seemed to Tom, he drew closer to -the form of the boy he had come to rescue. At last he could touch him -and look into his white face. - -The boy lay as limp as a bundle, and in Tom’s eyes it was better so. It -made his task so much the easier. He extended his hands and got a firm -grip on Ned’s body. - -Then he began to work his way backwards. It was agonizing work. In -order to keep Ned balanced on the narrow strut, he was compelled to use -only his feet to steady himself. Both hands were required to hold Ned -on the perilous perch. Tom dared not look downward. The thought of the -profundity of space that lay beneath them made him sick and dizzy. - -Tom could never tell just how that journey was made. It was only a few -feet, but it seemed like so many miles. Ever present in his mind, too, -was the danger of Ned’s regaining consciousness and making some sudden -move. In such a case they might both be doomed to death. - -[Illustration: He extended his hands and got a firm grip on Ned’s -body.--_Page_ 190] - -The wind from the propellers blew against Tom with vicious intensity. -His legs ached as if they would drop off, for he had them alone to -depend on both for balance and motion. But at last, somehow or other, -he came within reach of Heiny Dill’s grasp. - -The German lad was ready. As Tom felt the last ounce of his strength -oozing from him he felt, too, a strong grasp on his shoulders. - -“Stetty! Stetty!” came a voice in his ears. - -“I’m all right,” muttered Tom thickly. He helped Heiny drag Ned in to -safety and then he, too, almost gave out. But he knew that Jack in -the pilot house would be eagerly awaiting news. So putting aside his -weariness he seized the stern speaking tube and sent the good news -to the young commander. This done, Ned was taken to the cabin and -restoratives administered from the Electric Monarch’s medicine chest, -with which she had been provided in the anticipation that some day the -boys might want to take a long voyage. - -Ned, who was naturally full of vitality, was soon himself again and -insisted on taking his watch at the motors. As for Tom, his buoyant -nature took even less time in recovering from the strain that had been -put upon it. We will leave it to the imagination what the boys had to -say to each other when Ned learned that it was Tom who had saved his -life at the risk of his own. - -Not long after this Jack, who had taken the craft quite a distance out -to sea, determined to turn back landward and make a swift flight home. -He judged they had done quite enough to prove the Electric Monarch’s -worth and in this the others agreed with him. - -They were perhaps a mile off the shore when Joyce, on the lookout -forward, gave a sudden sharp hail through the speaking tube. - -“Ship below us, sir.” - -“What is she?” hailed back Jack. - -“Looks like a steamer. Passenger boat, I guess.” - -“I reckon I’ll give her a call,” said Jack to himself as he hung up the -tube. “My! won’t her passengers be surprised, though.” - -He took out the binoculars and had a look at the steamer Joyce had made -out. She was a fair-sized vessel with one black funnel amidships. Her -white upperworks showed she was a passenger craft. - -Jack hailed Ned Nevins on the engine platform. - -“Put on your best bib and tucker, Ned, we’re going calling.” - -“Calling!” came back the astonished exclamation. - -“Yes, deep sea calling. Hail Tom and tell him to look his prettiest. -Too bad we didn’t bring any cards.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -SALUTING A STEAMER. - - -The Electric Monarch gave a dive and a swoop that caused all Heiny -Dill’s qualms to come back tenfold. - -“Himmel! Ve are sinking. Man der boat-lifes!” he yelled, but nobody -paid any attention to him and he speedily recovered his equanimity, and -with his rotund face poked out of the cabin port watched, with as much -interest as any one else on board, the approach of the steamer. - -“She’s a Boston and Portland liner bound north,” declared Jack to Ned -Nevins who, as the motor did not need any attention just then, stood at -the young skipper’s side in the pilot house. - -“How can you tell?” - -“By her smokestack. Black with a white band.” - -On came the steamer as the Electric Monarch swooped downward in a -graceful curve to meet her. As the hydroaeroplane commenced her -dive, there burst from the steamer’s whistle a jet of white smoke. -Immediately after, the boys heard the booming greeting of the vessel’s -siren. - -Jack pressed the button that controlled the Electric Monarch’s siren -and the next moment the hydroaeroplane was screeching an answering -salute. They were now quite close to the steamer and could see her -uniformed officers on the bridge and her decks black with passengers, -their upturned faces looking like white discs. - -“My! I’ll bet there’s a tall lot of speculation going on on board that -craft right now,” said Ned, as the two boys gazed downward. - -“I guess you’re right. It isn’t every day that the passengers of a -liner have a chance to see a craft like this in action,” was the -response. - -Excitement did, indeed, appear to be rife on board the craft beneath -them. Passengers could be seen clambering to all sorts of points of -vantage. Handkerchiefs were frantically waved and the ship’s whistle -was kept constantly roaring salutes. - -Astern of the Electric Monarch fluttered the Stars and Stripes. Jack -snatched up the speaking tube connecting with the stern lookout post. -When Tom responded he ordered him to dip the colors in response to the -steamer’s salutes. - -A few moments afterward Jack and Ned saw the liner’s ensign glide -slowly down the jack-staff and then ascend again as she acknowledged -the mid-air courtesy. - -“Can’t we turn and follow her?” asked Ned, as the steamer, with a great -creamy bow wave curling away from her sharp cutwater, sped on her way. - -“Certainly. For a short distance, anyway. We might as well show them -our paces.” - -Jack swung the Electric Monarch in a sharp circle and they could -feel the equilibrium devices grate and vibrate as the big craft was -“banked” at a sharp angle. By this time the steamer had put quite an -interval between herself and the Electric Monarch. But Jack let the -hydroaeroplane out a notch more than he had been doing. - -The Electric Monarch answered the quickened impulses of her propellers -like a race horse. In a flash, as it seemed, she was once more abreast -of the steam vessel. - -“Look,” cried Ned, suddenly, “there’s a man clambering up on the -jack-staff.” - -The venturesome passenger had gained the stern railing. He hopped -to the top of it and then began to swarm up the jack-staff from the -summit of which fluttered the flag. Holding on with one hand he waved -frantically with the other. The boys were in the act of acknowledging -the salute when Jack gave a sharp cry. - -“Gracious! He’s overboard!” - -Like a stone the man had suddenly dropped from the jack-staff into the -swirling water astern of the steamer. How he had lost his hold was a -mystery. It all happened in a flash. One second he was waving, the next -they saw him falling down into the sea and then the waters closed over -him. - -The steamer’s whistle sounded in short quick jerks. It was the signal -to man the lifeboats. The boys could see the passengers and the crew -rushing about in seeming confusion, but in the case of the latter, as -they knew, the apparent chaos represented order. - -And now, amidst the white, boiling wake of the vessel, they could make -out the dark speck of a man’s head. He was swimming for his life, -swimming desperately to avoid being drawn into the suction of the -propeller. Jack’s hand sought a lever. - -Ned looked at him questioningly. But he did not speak. He was pretty -sure in his own mind what the young skipper of the Electric Monarch was -going to do. - -This belief was speedily verified. Jack drew back the lever and the -planes took a downward slant. Simultaneously Jack flashed on the red -lights that signaled to the stern and bow lookouts that a descent -was to be made. Joyce in the bow and Tom in the stern had seen the -accident, but of course had not left their posts. The flash of the red -lamps at their stations apprised them that the Electric Monarch was -about to make her first essay at saving life. - -Down shot the big craft with a swiftness that made it seem as if she -must inevitably shoot straight to the bottom of the sea. Even Ned, -secure as he felt while Jack had the wheel, flashed a doubtful look at -the young skipper. But he said nothing and the next moment he was to be -glad that he had remained silent. - -With iron nerve, Jack allowed the Electric Monarch to drop like a -swooping fish eagle, and then, without the quiver of a muscle, he -turned apparent disaster aside with a swift manipulation of the -leveling lever. The bow of the Electric Monarch raised and struck the -water at an angle that caused her to glide along the surface much as a -newly launched vessel might take to sea. - -It was a masterly bit of handling. The spray flew high above the -Electric Monarch, completely hiding her for an instant from the view of -those on board the steamer. A great cry went up when it was seen that -she was safe and riding like a duck on the heaving surface of the sea. -To many of those on board it had appeared as if the big craft must have -sunk. Their relief expressed itself in a mighty cheer. - -Those on board the Monarch felt no less relief. Tom and Joyce had stuck -grimly to their posts but both had felt their hearts beat quicker as -they neared the water. As it was, a good drenching was all they had -received, and they had but scant time to give any attention to that, -for Jack instantly headed the Electric Monarch in the direction in -which the bobbing head of the swimmer had last been seen. - -Presently Ned gave a shout. - -“There he is!” - -Sure enough, not twenty yards from the Electric Monarch as she lay on -the waves, was the form of the swimmer. - -“Stick it out! We’ll get you!” shouted Tom, from his post astern. - -The swimmer waved a confident hand in reply. He did not appear at all -incommoded by his accident. On the contrary, he was swimming leisurely -as if he rather enjoyed his bath than otherwise. The boys gazed at him -in astonishment. Within the next few minutes they were destined to be -yet more surprised. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -AN OLD FRIEND. - - -The surprise in store for them was this. The swimmer was an old friend -of theirs. - -“Captain Sprowl!” shouted Jack, as they neared him. - -“Aye! aye! my hearty!” came back the response, in the old New -Englander’s hearty voice, “lay alongside and I’ll come aboard.” - -“What, you know him!” demanded Ned. - -“Do we? I should say so. He was in command of Professor Dinkelspeil’s -yacht when the mutineers sunk her. After that he was with us all -through that Amazon country I told you about.” - -But it was no time to enter into explanations. The Electric Monarch was -skillfully maneuvered alongside the doughty old mariner before the -boats from the steamer had fairly left the vessel’s side. Tom, who had -also recognized Captain Sprowl, ran forward from his post in the stern -and threw him a line. Five minutes later they were all standing in the -pilot-house listening to the captain’s story of how he had come to -loosen his hold of the jack-staff and plunge into the sea. - -“You see, my hearties,” he said, “I was sure it was you in this here -sky-hooting, sea-scooting contraption and so I says to myself, ‘I’ll -give ’em a proper salute, I will, ship-shape, man-o-war fashion.’” - -“Well, you certainly did, Captain,” laughed Jack, “but what in the -world were you doing on that ship?” - -The captain looked knowing. - -“I am on my way to Portstown, Maine,” he said. “There’s a big fair -there next week and one of the features of it is to be an aerial -carnival. I’m to be in charge of the airship part of it and I’ve booked -some of the best aviators in the country.” - -The boys looked interested. Anything to do with airships always -appealed to them. - -“It’s just come to me,” resumed the captain, “that maybe you’d like to -bring this contraption up thar’ and try for some of the prizes. What do -you say?” - -It was characteristic of Captain Sprowl that, regardless of his wet -clothes and recent narrow escape, he made no more of it than if -everything was all right and he had come on board the Electric Monarch -in quite the ordinary course of events. - -“Well, you see, Captain, this ship, the Electric Monarch we call it, -isn’t ours at all. It really belongs to Ned Nevins here.” - -“That is, a share of it does,” spoke Ned modestly. - -“Well, what does Ned say?” inquired the captain, as Heiny entered the -pilot house with steaming hot coffee which Jack had ordered got ready -as soon as they struck the water. - -“Ned says--yes!” responded the lad, “but how about you, Jack and Tom?” - -“So far as I’m concerned I think it would be a splendid thing,” said -Jack. “It would give us a chance to try out the Electric Monarch in -competition with other air craft, and then, too, the voyage up there -would put her through her paces in great shape. My answer is--yes.” - -“Same here,” declared Tom with positiveness. - -“Ches, dot suids me,” said Heiny, balancing his tray like a born waiter -while the captain gulped down his steaming coffee. - -“Then we’ll call it settled,” said the captain. “I’ll send you entry -blanks on my arrival at Portstown. Be ready to start as soon as -possible.” - -“Don’t worry about that, Captain,” said Jack, “we certainly shall be -ready.” - -By this time the boats from the steamer had come alongside and the -singular interview had to be concluded. - -“Well, I think it is safe to say that a business deal was never -conducted under more curious auspices than this one,” laughed Jack, as -the captain prepared to board one of the boats. “I guess you’d be ready -to talk business if you fell out of a balloon, Captain.” - -“If there was an undertaker handy, I would,” said the captain. And with -a cheerful wave of his hand, the stout old seaman stepped into a boat -and was rowed back to the steamer. - -As the vessel got under way again the Electric Monarch took to the air, -rising as easily from the water as she had from the land. With parting -cheers and mutual salutes the two craft parted, the steamer to resume -her northward voyage, the Electric Monarch to turn homeward after an -eventful trial trip which, so far as the boys could see, had been a -success in every particular. - -On the homeward voyage some brisk breezes were encountered, but the -Electric Monarch behaved splendidly. A short distance outside the -village of Enderby, Jack, who had surrendered the wheel to Ned, in -order to initiate him into handling the craft that bore his name, spied -a black dot in the distance. - -It was high in the air and traveling rapidly toward them. It was some -minutes before they made out what it was. - -“A balloon!” They all made the discovery simultaneously. The big gas -bag was traveling fast and on a course which would bring it across the -Electric Monarch’s bows. As it came closer they saw that it was colored -a brilliant red and bore on the sides of its gas bag in huge letters, -“New Yorker.” - -“Why, that’s one of the balloons that went up in that contest at New -York,” cried Jack. “They started from Brooklyn last night. My! they’ve -made good time.” - -On came the balloon, driving fast. In it were two men clad in khaki -and wearing close-fitting caps. They waved frantically to the lads in -the Electric Monarch and the hydroaeroplane was brought close alongside -the balloon, keeping up with it easily. - -One of the men in the balloon basket snatched up a megaphone. Placing -it to his lips, he shouted: - -“Ahoy! what craft is that?” - -“The Electric Monarch of Nestorville, Mass.,” rejoined Jack, in true -air-sailor fashion. “What craft is that?” - -“The New Yorker, of New York, pilots Augustus Yost and Alan Frawley, -will you report us?” - -“We sure will. When are you coming down?” - -“We don’t know. This is an endurance race--we’ll keep up as long as -possible. Good-bye.” - -“Good-bye,” and so ended a scene which ten years ago would have been -scoffed at as impossible, yet it was only the other day that newspaper -readers perused the account of an aeroplane towing a disabled dirigible -into her hangar. - -But we must now hasten home to High Towers with the boys. They arrived -there without further incident, having made excellent time. The workmen -who had been left behind were there to help them make a landing, and -once more the Electric Monarch rested on dry land. - -Hardly had she touched the ground, however, before Jupe was seen -running from the house at top speed. He was shouting something, but -till he got close by they could not make out what it was. Then his -words became clearer. - -“It’s my father!” cried Jack, in an alarmed voice. - -“What can be the matter?” cried Tom. - -“I don’t know, but it must be something serious,” declared Jack, with a -pale face, as Jupe came panting up. - -“Oh, Massa Jack,” he wailed, “yo’ fadder am turrble sick, sah. Dey -heard de bell ring an’ hurry up to der liberry. Dey foun’ him lyin’ on -de flo’ widout his senses.” - -“Gracious!” cried Jack, “we must hurry to the house at once.” - -“An’--an’ dat ain’ de wustest,” stammered out Jupe. - -“Well, what else?” - -“De do’ ob de safe done be open an’ it look lak’ some papers bin done -taken out!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE LOST PLANS. - - -But, for the time being, the condition of the safe did not occupy any -place in Jack’s thoughts. His sole care was for his father. Hastening -to the house at top speed, he found that Professor Chadwick had been -placed in bed and a physician summoned. - -The doctor was coming out of the room just as Jack, with a pale, -agitated face, came flying in. - -“Oh! Dr. Goodenough,” he exclaimed, “how is dad? What has happened?” - -“Be calm, my lad,” said the doctor kindly, placing a hand on the -excited boy’s shoulder. “Your father has suffered nothing worse than -an attack of vertigo brought on by overwork and study. A few weeks’ -quiet will make him perfectly well again, and then I shall forbid him -overexerting himself.” - -“Can I see him?” asked Jack eagerly. - -“Not just now. He is still only partly conscious. From what I can -gather, the servant who answered the bell found him lying on the floor -of the library unconscious. He was carried to his room, and I was sent -for at once.” - -“When can I see him?” demanded Jack anxiously, and Tom, who had now -arrived, repeated the question. - -“Probably this evening, when I shall pay another visit.” - -“He is only suffering from vertigo, doctor?” asked Jack, with curious -insistence, “not from any--any injuries?” - -“Injuries? I don’t understand you.” - -“He had not been in any struggle, then? That’s what I mean.” - -“Of course not. What an odd question!” The doctor looked at Jack -quizzically. “I shall have you under my care next,” he said jokingly. - -“I thought that perhaps----” - -Jack hesitated. - -“Go on, my lad. I can see there is something on your mind. What is it?” - -“Just this, doctor. Old Jupe, our colored man, told me that the door -of the library safe, in which some valuable papers were deposited, was -open when my father was found.” - -The doctor’s face grew serious. - -“I knew nothing of this,” he said. “Were there any signs that a violent -entry had been effected?” - -“That I don’t know, doctor. Naturally I came here first to find out my -father’s condition.” - -“It need give you no worry, my boy. I can assure you of that. Let us -go to the library at once. What you have just told me may place a very -different light on the matter.” And the doctor’s face grew serious. - -“How is your father, Jack?” - -Jack turned, and saw Ned Nevins, who was, by this time, one of the -household, at his elbow. The boy’s face was troubled, for he had a -genuine affection and regard for the good Professor. - -“He has simply had a stroke of vertigo. It is nothing serious, Dr. -Goodenough says. But, Ned, the safe----” - -“I know. I heard what Jupe said.” - -“Ned, the papers--your papers--may be stolen. How can I----” - -“Say nothing about it, Jack. So long as your father has not been -injured I do not care. Do you think that gang of rascals would have -dared to break in here?” - -“We can’t tell anything till we have examined the library. We are going -there now. Come along.” - -In the library everything was in order. The servant who had answered -the bell was summoned and declared that things were exactly as they -were when she replied to the Professor’s summons. He was lying at the -foot of a desk when she entered the room and was quite unconscious. - -“Let us examine the safe,” said Dr. Goodenough. - -The door of the safe was ajar, and the servant declared that it had -not been touched by any one since the discovery of the Professor’s -unconscious form. - -“You are quite certain of this?” asked the doctor. - -“Oh, yes, sir. Positive.” - -“Jack, where were the papers put?” - -“In a drawer inside the safe, doctor.” - -The boy had swung the door of the safe open, and the next instant he -turned a white, startled face on the others. - -“The drawer is empty. It has been robbed!” he exclaimed excitedly. - -“Keep cool, my boy,” admonished the doctor. “You are sure the safe was -closed when you left?” - -“I shut it myself, doctor. There is not a chance that I could be -mistaken.” - -“And the combination?” - -“I gave it to my father with my own hands. It was the last thing I did -before I left.” - -“Then the safe could only have been forced open unless some one -possessing the combination opened it.” - -“That is the only way any one could have gained access to its contents.” - -“And yet there is not the slightest evidence that these doors have been -forced,” said the doctor, who had been examining the safe. “This is a -most mysterious occurrence.” - -“How could the robbers have opened it?” demanded Jack. - -“How did they get in, anyhow?” Tom wanted to know. The boy had been -looking about the room. “This window is closed and locked with a -snap-lock on the inside. Uncle must have felt chilly and closed it, or -was it shut when you left, Jack?” - -“It was shut,” said Jack positively. “I recollect that, because I asked -dad if he didn’t want it closed, and he asked me to shut it.” - -“There’s soft mould in the flower bed outside,” struck in Ned. “If any -one had come in that way they must have left their footprints on the -dirt.” - -“That is so,” agreed the doctor. “Let us look at the ground outside the -window.” - -But an examination of the flower bed only deepened the mystery. It was -a bed about five feet wide, and there was no possibility of any one’s -having stepped across it without leaving the imprint of his feet. It -had rained two days before, too, so that the ground was moist and would -have readily retained any impression. - -Yet there was not the slightest trace of a footprint to be seen. The -little group exchanged puzzled glances. - -“Perhaps somebody got in by the front door,” suggested Jack, but on -inquiry it was learned that Jupe had been busy polishing floors in the -front part of the house most of the day, and nobody could have got past -without being seen. The only other entrance to the house was by the -kitchen, and the cook was certain that nobody had come in through her -domain. - -As a last resort they examined the scuttle on the roof. It locked on -the inside, and the fastenings had not been tampered with. Completely -nonplussed, the investigators halted and talked matters over. Dr. -Goodenough eventually decided to question Professor Chadwick that -evening if he should be strong enough. - -As may be imagined, the mystery of the theft of the papers cast a gloom -over the household. Jack felt that he was partly responsible, and said -so to Ned Nevins. But the latter indignantly bade him to say nothing -about it. - -“Let us be glad that the robbers did not injure your father,” he said. -“The plans are gone and that is all there is to it.” - -“But if they are not recovered, Ned, how can we ever make restitution -to you?” - -“If they are not recovered we still have the Electric Monarch. We must -hurry and draw up another set of plans based upon her structure and -rush them through the patent office.” - -“That’s about the only thing to do,” agreed Jack ruefully, “but I can’t -tell you how bad I feel, Ned, over the loss of your property which you -entrusted to our care.” - -“Forget it,” said Ned boyishly, and, although the expression was -slangish, it conveyed to Jack a sense of consolation, for he felt that -Ned would never blame him for the loss of Jeptha Nevins’s lifework. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -A BAFFLING ROBBERY. - - -Dr. Goodenough’s visit that night did not serve to throw any light on -the mystery of the safe robbery. In the meantime the police had been -summoned, and investigated the premises without getting any nearer a -solution of the puzzle than the boys and Doctor Goodenough had done. - -Jack had taken it upon himself that afternoon before supper to -telephone to the Hinkley House. He learned there that Sam was out and -not expected back for some time. Heiny Dill was dispatched to the -village to learn further particulars, and returned with the report that -Hank Nevins and Miles Sharkey had both left the Hinkley House shortly -before his arrival on the scene. - -The young amateur detective had trailed them as far as the depot, only -to find that they had taken the train bound south a few moments before -he arrived. He had learned, however, that they had spent most of the -day previous to their departure in the hotel. This only served to make -matters the more baffling. - -By common consent, whether justly or unjustly, the boys had been -inclined to suspect either Hank or Miles with being concerned in the -robbery. But it seemed that they had a complete alibi. Sam Hinkley, -too, had been seen about the village on and off most of the day, and -thus he also was eliminated. But the boys had not suspected Sam in the -matter, anyway, so this information was not a surprise to them. - -“This is a mystery for fair,” declared Jack, when Heiny Dill had duly -reported the facts to him. “Fellows, we are stumped.” - -“Possibly to-night your father will be able to talk and throw some -light on the matter,” suggested Ned. - -“Perhaps so. I am sure I hope that he will. A mystery like this gets on -your nerves. The only people I can think of who knew of the existence -of the plans, except ourselves, are Hank and his friend Sharkey. From -what you say of them, Ned, I guess they wouldn’t stick at anything; -from what Heiny Dill has found out we know it was impossible for them -to be here at about the time of the robbery. Dad was found unconscious -about an hour after we left. At that time Hank and his friend were in -the village. They were seen there talking to Sam Hinkley.” - -“If we could get hold of Sam maybe he could tell us something,” -suggested Tom. - -When Dr. Goodenough arrived that evening he informed Jack that -Professor Chadwick had sufficiently recovered to be able to talk. With -what eagerness they all awaited the outcome of that interview may be -imagined. But so far as helping to clear up the mystery was concerned, -Professor Chadwick was as powerless as any of them. - -“After Jack had closed the window and left,” he said, “I lay down -upon the lounge. After a time I felt better and thought I would get -a book. I rose from the couch and went toward the bookcase. I can -recollect nothing more till I found myself in bed with Dr. Goodenough -in attendance on me.” - -“Nothing else at all?” gently urged the doctor. - -“Nothing except that Jupe came in to tell me that the Electric Monarch -had started successfully on her maiden voyage.” - -“You can recall nobody attempting to force the window or open the safe?” - -Professor Chadwick shook his head positively. - -“Nothing like that at all, doctor,” he said, with conviction. - -“And nobody but Jupe entered the room, to your knowledge?” - -“Nobody,” declared Professor Chadwick, “and I think we can safely -leave Jupe out of the question.” - -Late that night Jack called up the Hinkley House and discovered that -Sam had not returned. - -“I thought he was up to your place,” said Landlord Hinkley. “I’ve no -idee whar’ the boy hes gone. He ain’t often out this late at night. I -hope he ain’t up to any monkey shines. If he be, I’ll whale him good, -big as he be.” - -Jack decided that it was no use telling Sam’s father of all that had -occurred since the morning. But when he hung up the receiver he was a -sadly perplexed boy. When Heiny Dill departed for the hotel that night -he promised to find out what he could. On his return the next morning -he reported that a wire had been received from Sam, who said that he -was going to New York. Landlord Hinkley found, incidentally, that the -funds to finance Sam’s journey had been taken from his cash drawer. -This was the sum total of young Dill’s information, and it was not -enlightening. - -In fact, it complicated the puzzle, for if Sam was not implicated in -the robbery, and there was nothing to make them believe that he was, -there was no apparent reason why he should decamp so suddenly, unless -he feared that he might be prosecuted for the theft of the lever. The -boys, therefore, were forced to conclude that this was the reason for -Sam’s flight. - -As for the sudden departure of Hank and Miles Sharkey, that was more -understandable. They had practically hired Sam to make his desperate -attempt to cripple the Electric Monarch, and knew that their plans -must have been foiled when they saw the craft take to the air. This -being so, they had probably argued that Sam would be arrested and would -implicate them. Flight, then, must have seemed to them to be their -wisest course. - -And so, for the present, the mystery of the stolen plans had to be -given up by the police and those most interested in the recovery of the -papers, as an unsolvable puzzle. Of the startling way in which it was -to be cleared up, none of those concerned had the slightest inkling. -From day to day the boys feared to hear of the plans being filed in the -patent office. But, although through Prof. Chadwick’s patent lawyers -in Washington, they kept in constant touch with the National Capital, -no such papers turned up. In the meantime the boys busied themselves -making as complete a set of duplicate plans as possible, covering every -patentable feature of the Electric Monarch. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -OFF TO THE FAIR. - - -Two days after the mysterious disappearance of the plans of the -Electric Monarch the promised entry blanks for the Aëro Carnival at -Portstown arrived. Inclosed with them the worthy captain had sent a -copy of a Portstown newspaper in which there was announced in flaring -capitals the following: - -“Captain Abe Sprowl, in charge of the Aëro Carnival, announces that -he has engaged, at unprecedented expense, the newest marvel of the -air, the motor-driven hydroaeroplane, The Electric Monarch, owned and -invented by Ned Nevins, the youthful inventor. The machine will make a -flight from Nestorville to the show grounds, and will be on view daily -during the carnival.” - -“Well, what do you think of that?” gasped out Jack, as he read this -flamboyant announcement out aloud to his companions. “As a press agent -Captain Sprowl is certainly a wonder. It looks as if we’d have to go -now, boys, doesn’t it?” - -“It sure does,” agreed Tom, “but I wish he hadn’t run that fool notice. -We don’t want all that notoriety just now.” - -“No, indeed. Not till the plans are all safely filed in the patent -office,” agreed Ned, with a serious look. “Queer, that whoever took the -other set hasn’t tried to place them on record yet, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, I can’t understand it,” agreed Jack; “it looks as if they had -something up their sleeves that we know nothing about. However, there -is no use worrying over it. I guess we ought to be thankful that things -are as they are.” - -Heiny Dill arrived a few moments later. In honor of his new job he had -purchased a more flaring tie than ever, and his socks were of a lurid -purple. - -“Any news of Sam, Heiny?” inquired Jack, as the young German sauntered -up, whistling blithely, to where the lads stood grouped about the -Electric Monarch, on which some minor adjustments were being made. - -“Nodt a vord,” responded young Dill, “he hass made idt a vanishment as -if he hadt dropped der eardt off.” - -“Well, I don’t hear any complaints about his absence,” declared Tom. -“So far as we are concerned we don’t care if he never comes back. I’m -sorry for his father, though.” - -“Veil, der oldt man is bearing oop midt remargable composure alretty,” -declared Heiny, cocking his head on one side and giving a “yodle” more -remarkable for vigor than harmony. - -“When do we start, fellows?” asked Jack that afternoon when he had -filled out the entry blanks and they had been mailed by Heiny Dill. - -“The Electric Monarch is ready to go this minute,” said Tom. “I was -just talking to Joyce.” - -“Then what do you say about to-morrow?” asked Jack. - -“Suits me,” said Ned, who wanted nothing better than to be riding in -the Electric Monarch again. - -“Me, too,” said Tom. “I’m tired of being on _terra firma_.” - -So it was arranged that the start for the Portstown Fair should be made -the next morning. Professor Chadwick was still too weak to attempt to -accompany the boys, but he wished them all sorts of luck and a good -time. - -“We’re sure to have a good time, anyhow,” Tom assured him. - -Till late that night the boys worked on stocking up the larder of the -Electric Monarch with all manner of canned foods. Heiny Dill, who was -as fond of good things as most boys, watched these preparations with -glittering eyes. He smacked his lips visibly as he stowed away the -provisions on shelves in his domain. - -The boys slept little that night, awaking early to find it a slightly -overcast morning with a promise of fair weather later on. There was but -little wind, however, and everything appeared to be propitious for a -speedy, uneventful voyage to Portstown. - -Before leaving, Jack affixed to the “navigation-desk,” in the pilot -house, an “aërial map” of the route. This was a map on which various -landmarks, easily discernible from a height, were noted down, and it -was issued by the Aëronautical Society of America. Maps such as these -are of the utmost use to airmen who naturally would find little to -guide them in an ordinary map or chart. Marked in red ink on the aërial -map were various arrows showing the probable direction of the wind in -crossing various bits of high ground or in passing over cities. - -The air is by no means, as might be imagined, a smooth road to travel. -It is full of “billows,” aërial “cliffs” caused by up-drafts, and vast, -empty pockets wherein nothing but a vacuum exists, and which many -airmen claim are the greatest source of danger to aviators that the -atmosphere contains. - -As there was nothing to cause delay, the Electric Monarch’s motors were -started spinning almost as soon as it was broad daylight. Everything -proved to be in perfect order, and after the tuning-up process the -boys took their stations on the craft. As before, Joyce had the bow -lookout and Ned Nevins alternated between the pilot house and the -motor-platform. - -Professor Chadwick and Jupe waved them farewell as they shot upward, -and before very long the village of Nestorville and High Towers lay far -behind them. Jack sent the Electric Monarch straight up on an inclined -aërial staircase till she had gained the height of five thousand -feet. At this altitude they proceeded steadily along, the height being -sufficient to avoid any danger from upward thrusting air currents. - -The morning passed uneventfully, and shortly before noon Heiny Dill -announced that lunch was ready. They took this in relays, Ned relieving -Jack at the wheel while the young skipper ate. They passed over several -towns and small villages, and through the glasses they could plainly -see the flurry they were causing down below. It amused them to watch -the scurrying atoms which they knew were human beings rushing about and -pointing upward as the Electric Monarch passed high above their heads. - -Not long after lunch, as they were passing over what seemed to be a -large farm, they saw several men running along below them. Suddenly -one elevated and aimed a gun at the fast flying craft. Of course the -Electric Monarch was far too high for the charge to reach her, but the -boys could see the puff of smoke that accompanied the discharge, and -knew that if they had been lower they would have felt shot pattering -about them. - -“That’s a specimen of what Atwood, the trans-continental flier, had to -contend against,” said Jack. “The more ignorant people are, the more -they dislike to see modern inventions. I’ll bet if that fellow with the -gun could have hit us he would.” - -“His intentions seemed serious, anyhow,” laughed Ned, “but the Electric -Monarch is a hard bird to bring down.” - -About an hour later Jack decided to drop down closer to the earth. He -wished to test the effect of the currents near to the heated surface on -the Electric Monarch. Accordingly the craft was brought down till at -times she was rushing along at not more than two or three hundred feet -from the earth. - -They were flying over a large, prosperous-looking farm at a fair rate -of speed when there came a sudden check in the air craft’s movement. -She plunged violently and pitched forward as if about to capsize. - -“It’s the grapnel line!” shouted Ned, “it’s gotten loose and hooked on -to the roof of that barn!” - -At the same instant there came a sound of rending and tearing wood as -the steel points of the grapnel dug into the roof of a rickety old barn -and tore it loose from the rafters. Jack acted like a flash. He set his -descending planes and came to earth in a beautifully executed dive in a -stubble field just beyond the farm buildings. - -“The grapnel must have torn loose from its fastenings,” he said; “lucky -it was no worse. As it is----” - -He broke off short. Running toward them from the farmhouse came the -farmer and two of his hired men. The farmer carried in his hand a -formidable looking gun. As he drew close to the boys he leveled it at -them. At the same time he cried out angrily: - -“Stay right where ye be. Don’cher move, doggone yer, er I’ll shoot.” - -The look in his eye, as well as the menace in his voice, convinced -the boys that the threat was no idle one. The man was thoroughly -angry over the accidental damage to his barn. On he came with leveled -gun, shouting threats, while the two hired men kept up a steady -accompaniment. - -“Well, this is a fine fix,” commented Jack. “I guess we’ll have to -settle for that roof before we leave here.” - -“You kin jes’ bet ye’ll hev ter,” roared the farmer, who had overheard -him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -AN UNLUCKY MISHAP. - - -“That’s all right, sir. We’re willing to pay you whatever is right for -the damage we have done,” said Jack, in as pacific a voice as he could -assume. - -“Fine times these be when a passel of kids kin come along in a flyin’ -contraption an’ take off a man’s roof!” exclaimed the angry farmer, far -from being pacified. - -“It was an accident,” declared Jack; “we are just as sorry for it as -you are.” - -The farmer in his rage had paid not the slightest attention to the -Electric Monarch, but his two hired men stood looking at it with open -mouths. They had never seen anything like it, and the farmer’s orders -to them to “close up” fell upon deaf ears. - -“Accident be dol-dinged,” exclaimed Farmer Turpin angrily; “it warn’t -no accident. You done it a-pupose.” - -“We certainly did not,” replied Jack, with some heat. “Do you suppose -we’d want to wreck our craft for a rotten old roof?” - -“Rotten old roof!” bellowed the farmer furiously. “I’ll show yer how -rotten it was. It’ll cost yer a hundred dollars fer ther damage you’ve -done.” - -“Ridiculous,” said Jack, who had been looking at the damaged roof. It -was old and moss-grown and had covered one of the oldest buildings on -the farm. - -The boards of the antiquated structure were split and paintless. Wind -and weather must have had their way with it for many years. Jack -pointed out these facts to the irate farmer. But he proved recalcitrant. - -“I want a hundred dollars fer thet thar roof er you don’t go on,” said -he. - -“Rubbish. See here, we don’t want to do damage and not settle for it, -but that isn’t to say that we can be bled like that. We’re not so -foolish. I’ll give you twenty-five dollars for that six feet or so of -roof we’ve injured.” - -An obstinate look, an expression of fixed stubbornness, came over the -farmer’s face. - -“I got yer here an’ yer goin’ ter pay my price. Ther justice of ther -peace here ain’t friendly to automobuls and sich-like, an’ I reckon ef -I say so he’ll give yer all a week in jail as well as a fine. How’d you -like that, hey?” - -“Threats like that don’t frighten us,” said Jack stoutly, although -inwardly he began to feel somewhat worried over the prospects ahead. -If the farmer proved as pig-headed as seemed likely it might mean that -they would have to pay his outrageous price or else be sent to prison -by some cross-grained old justice of the peace. - -Of course the boy felt that the farmer’s threat was more or less of a -“bluff,” but still he knew from experience the prejudice that a great -many people, especially in remote parts of the country, still felt -against automobiles and every innovation of that type. - -“Don’t scare you, hey?” sneered the farmer. “Wa’al, I cal’kerlate ter -put quite a change in yer feelings afore long. Climb down out ‘er that -thar sky-buggy an’ look slippy.” - -The boys held a hasty consultation. Things began to look bad. - -“Maybe we’d better pay the old wooden-head his hundred and be getting -on,” said Ned. “We don’t want to be arrested or anything like that.” - -“I think that’s all a bluff,” said Jack. “Still, if we humor him it may -be better than to fight him.” - -“Wa’al, are yer comin’?” demanded the farmer. - -“Oh, dry up,” growled out Joyce, unable to contain himself any longer. - -“Dry up, hey?” snorted the farmer. “I guess you’ll do the dryin’ -yerselves. I wouldn’t take no money now. It’s satisfaction I want. I’ll -hev the whole passel of yer up afore the squire in the morning.” - -This certainly looked ominous. The man was clearly as stubborn as one -of his own oxen, and had made up his mind to be as ugly as he could. -Jack wished that Joyce had not made his unfortunate remark and tried to -smooth matters over. But it was no use attempting to calm the ruffled -feelings of the angry agriculturist. - -“Climb out of thar now and be right smart about it,” he snorted. “I’ll -show you thet you can’t sass Si Turpin and not suffer for it.” - -“But, see here----” began Jack. - -“It ain’t no use argyfyin’, young feller. The whole passel of yer goes -over to Mill Creek in ther mornin’ I reckin the squire ’ull give you a -lesson you won’t fergit.” - -“Can’t you be reasonable?” struck in Tom. “We’re on our way to -Portstown. It’s important that we hurry up. We’ve got to be there at a -certain time.” - -“I don’t give a hoop in Hannibal what ye’ve got ter do!” snorted the -farmer. “You’ve got to go afore the squire fust. Reckon he’ll soak -yer good. He gave a party of automobubblists a good dose last week. I -reckon he’ll be all cocked and primed fer you sky-buggy fellers.” - -“Well, I guess it’s a case of pile out,” said Jack, with a rueful grin. -“This old fellow is as obstinate as a mule. We can only hope to make a -good impression on this squire, whoever he is.” - -“To judge from his description,” said Tom, “he must be a nice, -whole-souled old party.” - -“No palaverin’, now. Git right out. I’ll fix you up with quarters in -the barn where you won’t git out, and give yer the rogues’ march in the -morning.” - -There was no help for it. One by one they clambered out, while the -hired men stood by with broad grins. They were delivered over to these -representatives of the enemy while Farmer Turpin marched grimly behind -with his gun. - -“Take ’em to the red barn, Reuben,” he ordered, and the boys were -presently marched into a large barn partially filled with hay. - -“Now I guess ye’ll stay put for a while,” remarked the farmer, with -grim humor, as he prepared to close the door. - -“You old clod-hopper, for two cents I’d bust that hook nose of yours -in,” roared out Joyce angrily. - -“That’ll be used agin’ yer at yer trial!” declared the farmer -malevolently. “Yes, sir, that’ll be used agin’ yer. Threats of -violence, hey? Oh, the squire will fix you fellers good and plenty.” - -The doors were banged to and padlocked on the outside. For some time -they could hear the farmer pacing up and down as if waiting to see -if they would not make some further complaint. But they all remained -silent. They were determined not to give him the satisfaction of -thinking that he had worried them. Heiny Dill even began to sing to -himself. - -By and by the steady pacing of the farmer’s feet outside died away. - -“I guess he’s gone to eat supper,” said Tom. “My! how hungry I am.” - -This reminded all the others of their appetites, too. - -“Maybe he’ll send us something to eat,” suggested Ned hopefully. - -But his optimism was not to be rewarded. It grew dark and the captives -in the barn sat supperless and disconsolate. They did not face a -pleasant prospect, supposing the squire to be all that he had been -represented by the malevolent old farmer. - -How long they sat thus they did not know, but on Jack’s suggestion they -were about to find themselves beds in the hay when there came a tapping -at the barn door. - -“Supper!” cried Tom, but it wasn’t, it was the man called Reuben, or -Reuben Rugg, as he announced himself. - -“What do you want?” asked Jack. - -“Be you fellers goin’ ter Portstown?” - -“We were.” - -“Well, if a feller let you fellers out would you give a feller a ride -to Portstown if a feller wanted ter git thar’?” - -“We sure would, Reuben. Who wants to go to Portstown?” - -“I’m ther feller that would like ter go with you fellers. I don’t want -ter work fer this feller any longer an’ if I got to Portstown I’ve -got a feller thar’ thet’s a kind uv er brother-in-law ter me. So if -you fellers want ter git out, this feller ’ull steal the key when old -Turpin’s asleep and turn you loose.” - -“Good for you, Reuben. How long will it be before old Turpin, as you -call him, goes to bed?” - -“Jes’ as soon as he gets through writing out what he calls a commitment -agin’ you fellers. I reckon it ‘ud go hard with you if you was ter be -taken afore the squire. He’s a larruper, the squire is. He give me a -month once fer takin’ too much red-eye and lickin’ ther constabule.” - -“Well, you watch and wait, Reuben,” said Jack; “we’ll be all ready when -you are.” - -They heard Reuben’s heavy footsteps retreating, and then followed a -period that seemed years in extent. But at its termination Reuben’s -cautious voice was heard. - -“I’m a-goin’ ter open ther door now. Be you fellers ready?” - -“We’ve been ready for the last ten years,” declared Tom, referring to -the length of time it appeared that Reuben had been gone. - -The lock clicked and the doors swung open. One by one they cautiously -filed out and tip-toed across the yard to the place where the Electric -Monarch lay bulked in dark shadow. Luckily, it was moonlight, and -the craft lay in a sixty-acre field so that there was plenty of -opportunity to get a good start. - -“Old Turpin didn’t monkey at all with the machine, did he, Reuben?” -asked Jack, as they crept along. He was not quite sure how far the -farmer’s malevolence might have led him. - -Reuben gave a suppressed chuckle. - -“Turpin touch it? Not him. He wanted to, but the old woman told him -thet ef he did as like as not he’d get electric--something or other.” - -“Electrocuted?” - -“Likely. Say, be you really going ter Portstown?” - -“Certainly. You’re not scared, are you?” said Jack with an inward smile. - -“Naw, but I got a funny kind ‘er prickly feelin’ down my back like what -I git when straw gits down my neck in threshing time,” admitted Reuben -with a nervous giggle. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -A DASH FOR LIBERTY. - - -As silently as possible the escaped captives made for the Electric -Monarch. They had almost gained the side of the craft when an -unexpected obstacle barred their further progress. The interruption was -in the form of a big white bulldog. - -“Gosh all hemlock!” gasped Reuben, “I plumb forgot about old Lion.” - -“Is he mean?” asked Tom. - -“Mean, wa’al he’s a sight meaner than old Turpin hisself, and thet’s -a-goin’ some.” - -As if to show that his character had been described correctly, Lion -gave a low growl and then, without any further warning, sprang straight -at Jack. The boy jerked up his foot and caught the animal under the -chin. With a yapping bark it tumbled back, but collected itself in -an instant for another spring. - -[Illustration: “Maw! Maw!” They heard him yell at the top of his lungs, -“the boys is got out”.--_Page 249_] - -At the same instant the boys heard a window go up in the farmhouse. - -“Wow!” exclaimed Tom, “about this time watch out for trouble.” - -“Lion! Lion!” came a voice which they recognized as Turpin’s. - -The dog gave a yapping bark. Simultaneously old Turpin must have -seen, by the moonlight, that the barn door in which the boys had been -confined was open. - -“Maw! Maw!” they heard him yell at the top of his lungs, “the boys is -got out, gimme my gun!” - -Lion at the same instant decided to make another attack, but in the -brief pause while he was listening to his master’s voice Tom had taken -time by the forelock and picked up a big rock. As Lion made another -spring Tom flung the rock. - -There was a howl of dismay from Lion, who rushed toward the house. -Shouts and cries filled the air. - -“Maw! the young varmints hev killed Lion!” - -“Paw, take arter ’em. Hev the law on ’em.” - -Then came another feminine voice. - -“Look out, paw, they’re des’prit characters. They might kill you.” - -“That’s the old man’s darter. Teaches school,” said Reuben laconically, -“we’d best be lighting out o’ here.” - -They scrambled on board in less time than it takes to tell it. Jack -jumped for the controls and turned full power into the motor. There was -a yell of dismay from Reuben as the Electric Monarch leaped forward -like a horse under the lash. The amazed farm hand would have rolled -overboard had it not been for Tom, who grabbed him by the collar as he -lost his balance and fell sprawling on the bridge. - -“Hey! Whoa thar’! Come back, you young varmints!” - -The voice of Farmer Turpin came shrilly out of the night. Then behind -them came a streak of flame and the roar of an explosion. Looking -backward they could see the figure of the farmer sprawling on his back, -kicking and yelling frantically. - -“Gosh ter mighty,” exclaimed Reuben, who was by this time on his feet, -“the old man fired both barrels of his scatter gun ter oncet.” - -“Up we go!” cried Jack, and almost simultaneously, with his -exclamation, the Electric Monarch shot up toward the star-sprinkled sky -at an angle that almost sent Reuben into hysterics. - -“Hey, stop this flying threshing machine,” he yelled, “lemme out! -Lemme----” - -Tom placed a hand over the frightened farm hand’s mouth. - -“You want to get to Portstown, don’t you?” - -“Yer--yer--yes, sir. - -“Well, you’re going there by the air-line express. Now be quiet. Heiny, -for goodness sake, cook us up some supper, and look lively about -it,--we’re almost famished.” - - * * * * * - -The next morning will be one long remembered in Portstown. Early rising -citizens saw, swooping down from the skies, a vast aerial craft manned -by a crew of youths anxiously looking over the side to descry the best -landing place. They had arrived above the town shortly before daylight -but Jack had decided to cruise about till the light grew stronger, not -wishing to risk a landing in the dark. He adopted, in fact, the same -tactics that the captain of a vessel about to enter a strange port -would employ. - -By the time the Electric Monarch swooped down into the twenty-acre park -in which the fair was to be held, there was a crowd of several hundred -people in the streets clamoring about the entrance to the fenced -grounds. The Electric Monarch was actually a fact, a circumstance -which was astonishing to a good many of the Portstown folks who had -thought that Captain Sprowl’s flowery advertisement was a good deal in -the nature of an exaggeration. But now they had seen, with their own -eyes, the most wonderful craft of its kind in existence, and the whole -town was wild with excitement and curiosity. - -Early as the hour was, Captain Sprowl, who had been on the lookout for -the boys, soon came dashing into the grounds in a runabout automobile. -He extended them a hearty welcome and showed them where they would be -quartered during the carnival, that is, if they wished to camp on the -grounds. The boys unanimously voted in favor of the camping proposal. -They decided that it would be much more fun than stopping at a hotel. - -They accompanied the captain to the hotel for breakfast, however, -a big crowd following them through the streets, much to the boys’ -embarrassment. The captain, however, gloried in the notoriety. - -“It shows what good advertising will do,” he said, glowing with pride, -as he escorted his young charges through the streets. Reuben did not -accompany them. He had gone out to find his brother-in-law. In the -meantime the captain, at the boys’ solicitation, had promised to get -him a job on the fair grounds if he did not find employment at anything -else, an offer which Reuben subsequently accepted. - -Breakfast was a merry meal, and the boys had much to tell of their -experiences on the trip. After they had finished, they returned to -the fair grounds and were shown round by the captain. Several of the -aviators who were to take part in the carnival had already arrived and -erected their tents with gay festoons of bunting floating over them. - -The boys were much disappointed, however, to learn that an air craft -they had been most anxious to see was not yet on the grounds. This was -the celebrated Sky Eagle, a big dirigible, equipped with wireless and -one of the first aërial craft to be so fitted. The captain told them -that the dirigible was on the way, however, and was expected ere long -on the grounds. - -“Have you been notified by them, then?” asked Jack, rather puzzled as -to how the captain could have such information. - -“Yes, they sent us a message by wireless not long since that they -expected to arrive to-day.” - -“Then there is a wireless plant in the town?” asked Tom, somewhat -surprised. - -“There’s one right on the grounds,” rejoined the captain, “it’s one of -the exhibits. See the aërials over yonder?” - -Sure enough, in one corner of the grounds the spider-like strands of -a vertical aërial mast could be seen leading into a hut about which a -small crowd was clustered. The captain explained that the operator of -the plant was even then trying to locate the Sky Eagle. He had hardly -finished explaining this when a boy came rushing out of the wireless -hut in hot haste. - -“There’s a messenger now. Maybe he’s looking for me!” cried the -captain. “Hey, boy!” - -The boy turned and came running toward them. - -“I was just looking for you, Captain,” he said. “Hutchings, the -operator, wants to see you.” - -“News from the Sky Eagle?” asked the captain. - -“I don’t know, but he said it was important.” - -The boys hurried after the captain to the wireless hut. Inside they -found Hutchings, the operator, greatly excited. - -“Bad news for you, Captain,” he said, holding out a yellow sheet of -paper, “a message from the Sky Eagle. She is disabled and drifting out -to sea.” - -“By the trident of Neptune!” exclaimed the captain, scanning the -message, “this is bad.” - -He read the message aloud: - - “On Board Sky Eagle.--We are disabled. Drifting out to sea off - Scatiute. Send help.--Jennings, operator.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -A DIRIGIBLE IN DANGER. - - -“Where is Scatiute?” asked Jack. - -“About twenty miles south of here,” responded the captain. Then turning -to the operator he asked, “Have you tried to get in communication with -the Sky Eagle again?” - -“Yes, sir, but with no success. Looks as if her wireless had gone out -of business. That message came in more than an hour ago. We’ve been -looking all over for you.” - -“Great guns, boys, this is serious!” exclaimed the captain in an -agitated voice. “Who knows what may have happened to those poor -fellows! I must try to get hold of them, somehow. But just how I don’t -know.” - -“There’s Alvin’s dirigible on the grounds,” suggested the operator. -“Maybe he’d go.” - -“I’ll try him,” declared the captain. “It’s in the cause of common -humanity. I should think he’d go.” - -But Lester Alvin, the owner of the Cloud Scooter, declared he had not -enough gasolene to make the trip. Two other dirigible operators were -appealed to, but both of them had excuses of one sort or another to -offer. The captain hastened back to the wireless hut where he had left -the boys. - -“Any news yet?” he asked anxiously of Hutchings the operator. - -Hutchings shook his head. - -“I can’t get in touch with them at all,” he said. “I can’t even raise a -station that’s seen them passing over.” - -The captain passed a bewildered hand across his forehead. - -“What under the heavens are we to do?” he said. “I’ve appealed to -those dirigible fellows in vain. They’ve all got one excuse or another -to offer. I guess, though, the main trouble with them is ‘cold feet’ to -put it into plain English.” - -“And in the meantime those poor fellows on the Sky Eagle may be -drifting helplessly over the ocean,” said Jack. - -“Yes, and the worst of it is that their wireless appears to be out of -order. If that was working they could summon help from some ship. But -as it is----” - -The captain broke off despairingly. He gazed up at the sky as if -seeking inspiration there and then down at the ground. But he remained -as perplexed as before. - -In the meantime Jack and his companions had been holding an eager -consultation. As the captain turned to Hutchings for the twentieth -time with a demand to know if he had heard anything yet, Jack stepped -forward. - -“Captain,” he said, “I guess that we can help you out.” - -“What do you mean, boy?” - -“That we will go out on a hunt for the Sky Eagle.” - -The captain looked dumfounded. Then he gave a vigorous shake of the -head. - -“No, my boy, I couldn’t allow that.” - -“Why not? We have----” - -“I wouldn’t be responsible for sending you boys on such a voyage.” - -“There would be no real danger. We have a capable ship. We know how to -handle her. She is as good on the water as on land.” - -“I know all that, Jack, but what would your father say?” - -“That it is our duty to go to the aid of those poor fellows on the Sky -Eagle.” - -The captain scratched his head in bewilderment. - -“I don’t know what to say,” he said hesitatingly, at length. - -Just then Hutchings interrupted. - -“Hold on, here’s a message coming now,” he said. - -“Ah! That’s the Sky Eagle,” said the captain. “We worried ourselves -unnecessarily, after all.” - -But it was not the Sky Eagle that was wirelessing. The captain’s -rejoicing had been premature. Hutchings held up his hand to enjoin -silence. - -Then as the dots and dashes came out of space into the watch-case -receivers at his ears he read off the message as it came. - - “Scatiute Wireless Station.--Big dirigible seen drifting east. Making - signals of distress. Do you know anything about her?” - -“Great guns!” puffed the captain. “Just as I thought, she’s drifting -out to sea sure enough. Raise ’em at Scatiute, Hutchings. Ask ’em what -appears to be the matter with her.” - -Hutchings applied himself to his key and in a few minutes he had this -answer. - -“Impossible to tell what is trouble. Appears to be in gas bag but not -sure. Should send help, if possible.” - -“That settles it!” cried Jack, “we’ll go after her.” - -“I ought to say no, but somehow, all I can say is ‘Go ahead, my boys, -and good luck’!” cried the captain, clasping the boy’s hand. - -No time was to be lost and the boys hastened from the wireless office -to where the Electric Monarch stood surrounded by an admiring crowd. -There was great excitement as the boys were seen climbing on board. -People came running from all parts of the grounds for, early as -the hour was, there was still quite a small crowd scattered about -inspecting the various air craft. - -“What is it?” “Are they going to make a flight?” - -These and a hundred other questions were bandied about from mouth to -mouth. The boys worked like beavers and it was evident even to the -dullest-witted onlooker that there was something unusual in the wind. - -In ten minutes everything was ready. At the last moment Jack had -requested a coil of good strong rope, which was loaned to him by one -of the dirigible men. When this had been taken on board all was ready -for the start. The boy took his place in the pilot house and the others -assumed their stations. Ned oiled up the motor and Tom saw that the -stern propeller bearings were in good working order. - -“Good-bye and good luck!” hailed the captain as Jack’s hand sought the -starting switch. - -At that moment, and just as the first impulses of the motor throbbed -through the frame of the Electric Monarch, there was a sudden motion in -the crowd. - -“Lemme through!” bawled a voice, which Ned Nevins recognized with a -start. It was Hank Nevins, his ne’er-do-well cousin. Close at Hank’s -heels came Miles Sharkey. The two elbowed their way through the crowd, -followed by a thickset man who bore the unmistakable stamp of an -officer of the law. Miles Sharkey was waving a paper above his head. - -“Hold on!” he bawled at the top of his voice, “don’t let that craft go -up!” - -“Why not?” yelled Captain Sprowl, his face purple. - -“This officer will explain,” cried Hank, “we got a conjunction.” - -“Injunction,” he means, explained Miles, the law sharp, with a grin. -“We’ve got an injunction prohibiting those boys from handling the -Electric Monarch.” - -The captain stood aghast. The boys on the Electric Monarch could -not catch just what was going on but they knew that the controversy -concerned them. - -“On what grounds did you obtain this injunction?” demanded the captain, -controlling himself with difficulty. - -“On the grounds that this craft belongs to Hank Nevins here. It was -built from plans left to him by his father,” cried Miles. - -“How do you know they were left to him?” - -“We have found a will. It was only discovered a few days ago after -that young thief on board the Monarch there had appropriated the plans -himself.” - -“Is this right, officer?” demanded the confused captain in a bewildered -way. “I ain’t much of a hand at the law myself.” - -“It’s right, all right,” said the officer stolidly. “They’ve got an -injunction restraining this craft from flying,--that’s the law.” - -“He! he! he!” chuckled Hank. “This is the time I’ve fixed my smart -young cousin. There was a will, after all.” - -Jack was becoming impatient. From the pilot house he shouted down to -the captain: - -“Shall we go ahead?” - -The captain was about to reply in the negative, explaining that the -law must be complied with, when Hank shoved rudely against the old -seaman, almost pushing him over. - -“Lemme by,” he snarled. “I’ll attend to this!” - -It was then that the vials of the captain’s wrath boiled over. - -“You young limb!” he bellowed. “D’ye think I’ll sacrifice human life -for a thousand injunctions? Go ahead, boys!” - -There was a roar and shout, and the Electric Monarch jumped forward. -The crowd scattered right and left. Hank and Miles leaped after the -craft. The wind from the propellers caught the former and hurled him to -the ground. - -“Stop ’em!” bellowed Miles, and then he turned furiously on the -officer. “Why don’t you stop ’em, you--you muttonhead?” - -“Keep a civil tongue in you, young feller,” warned the officer. -“There’s no power on earth’ll stop ’em now. That injunction will have -to wait.” - -A mighty cheer from the crowd drowned Miles’s furious reply. - -The Electric Monarch had taken the air in a graceful, sweeping slant. -The powerful craft was off on an errand of life or death. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -A DARING RESCUE. - - -Entirely unconscious of the fact that they were law breakers, the boys’ -hearts beat high with the love of adventure as the Electric Monarch -soared above Portstown, saluted by scores of whistles, and dashed off -south in the direction of Scatiute. - -The lads had been in many surprising adventures, but they had never -encountered such a crisis as the present one. Somewhere out above the -ocean, the glimmer of which they could catch to the eastward, was -drifting a crippled dirigible with three men on board. It was their -task to find that craft and rescue the men. - -The captain had confided to Jack the names of the men, and so, when Ned -put the question to him a short time after the start he was able to -inform him. - -“The owner of the Sky Eagle is Mr. Holmes Morse of New York,” he said; -“with him, acting as engineer, is a man named Tyler and the operator is -named Jennings.” - -“Tyler!” exclaimed Ned, as if the name struck a key in his memory. “It -is odd, but that was the name of one of my uncle’s closest friends. He -was an engineer who took up aërial work. I wonder if it could be the -same.” - -“It might be. But Tyler is a very common name.” - -“To be sure, but the coincidence in the names and occupations struck -me.” - -“By the way, talking of that, didn’t I hear you say that in the crowd -that gathered about us before we started, you saw your rascally cousin, -Hank?” - -“I did,” rejoined Ned, “but what in the world he could have been doing -here I can’t imagine. Miles Sharkey was with him, too. I’ll bet they -were up to some mischief.” - -“Connected with the Electric Monarch?” - -“Naturally; what else would they have been doing in Portstown.” - -“But how could they have known that we were there?” - -“I suppose they read that advertisement of the captain’s. He said he -had it put in every paper of any prominence.” - -“I guess that’s it. It was plain enough that they were kicking up some -sort of a rumpus just as we were leaving.” - -“So it looked to me. They were waving some sort of a paper.” - -“Well, it isn’t our funeral. The captain gave us the word to go, and -that’s all we’ve got to do with it. I’d give a good deal to know, -though, just what they were trying to do.” - -Perhaps it was just as well for Ned that he did not know. The knowledge -that the Electric Monarch was not his any longer but had been legally -left to his cousin would have made him absolutely miserable, for his -whole being was wrapped up in the craft. - -“Keep a bright lookout for the lighthouse at Scatiute, Ned--we ought to -be sighting it at almost any moment now.” - -“I’m watching for it,” rejoined Ned, as he went back to the motor -platform to oil the bearings. - -Not more than ten minutes later Jack’s sharp eyes caught sight of a -white finger pointing upward to the sky at the extremity of a rocky -point. He guessed that this must be Scatiute. The Electric Monarch had -been skirting the coast, but as they swung by the lighthouse, Jack -headed her straight out to sea. - -Then began a period of tension that was to endure for several hours. -Below them lay the glittering sea, calm and heaving gently, and -flashing in the bright sunlight. But from even that height, with the -extended horizon the elevation gave them, none of the watchers on the -Electric Monarch could detect any sign of the craft they had come in -search of. - -As hour after hour went by without a sign of her, Jack’s heart began to -sink. What if they were too late--if the Sky Eagle had sunk, carrying -with her, into the depths of the sea, her unfortunate crew? - -The thought was a serious one, and Jack, with a sober, thoughtful face -speeded up the Electric Monarch a trifle so as to lose no time in case -the Sky Eagle was yet above the surface of the sea. - -There was but little wind, but what there was, was off shore, so that -the Sky Eagle must have drifted seaward very rapidly. Her occupants -would naturally have kept as much gas as possible in the bag in order -to keep her above the waves. In such a case the drift would have been -even more rapid than if the bag had been partially deflated. - -Suddenly Joyce’s deep bass voice came booming from the forward lookout, -from which position he had been scanning the sea with binoculars. - -“There’s something dead ahead of us!” - -Instantly the Electric Monarch fairly vibrated excitement. Ned hastened -into the pilot house to Jack’s side. He found the young skipper with -the binoculars at his eyes. - -“Can you make out what it is?” he asked. - -“I’m not quite certain, yet. Whatever it is, it appears to be almost -floating on the sea. It may be a small craft, and the floating effect -may be caused by a refraction of the light or it may be----” - -“The Sky Eagle!” Ned finished for him. - -The next moment Joyce’s voice came thrilling through the speaking tube -from the foreward lookout. - -“It’s a balloon! She’s almost in the sea!” - -Simultaneously Jack had descried what the distant object was. “The -balloon” as Joyce called it was, without doubt, the Sky Eagle. But the -dirigible was perilously near to the water. In fact she appeared to be -almost touching the surface. Would they be in time? - -“Hold tight!” warned Jack. “I’m going to let her out every notch.” - -With a deep whirring roar the propellers began to beat the air faster. -As they churned the atmosphere at fifteen hundred revolutions a minute, -the Electric Monarch responded nobly to the powerful impulse. She was -making faster speed than ever before. The hand of the indicator crept -up and up. - -“Fifty--fifty-five--sixty--sixty-five--seventy!” - -“Seventy miles an hour!” gasped Ned. “Will she hold together?” - -“She’s got to,” said Jack grimly, as he grasped the spokes of his wheel -more firmly. At that speed the “pull” of the rudder was terrific. He -only hoped that it would not be dragged out of its fastenings. - -The Electric Monarch’s frame creaked and complained, and every brace -and wire in her structure hummed a separate song as they cut through -the air. Luckily, the wind was with them, or the craft, strong as she -was, might not have endured the cruel strain. - -Every second brought them closer to the stranded and disabled -dirigible. They could see the unfortunate craft quite plainly now. She -lay with a shriveled and collapsed gas bag almost on the surface of the -waves. A jagged rent in one side showed what had brought her down into -such perilous proximity to the waves. - -From time to time, so close was she to the water, a larger wave than -usual would lap up against the under part of the craft’s structure, and -drench the men marooned on board the sinking dirigible. - -“Only just in time!” exclaimed Jack, as he manipulated his descending -levers, cut down the power and landed in the water not twenty yards -from the sinking Sky Eagle, with skill that resulted in hardly a -splash. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -A STRANGE MEETING. - - -The work of rescue was not easily accomplished. The boys did not dare -attach a rope to the dirigible as there was a chance that the craft -would sink at any moment. But by good luck the occupants of the craft -had on board a plank which they used in climbing in and out of the -airship’s substructure. - -This came in useful now. Under Jack’s direction the plank was extended -between the two craft and one by one the luckless voyagers of the -Sky Eagle were transferred to the Electric Monarch. Great was their -wonderment at the surprising craft that had effected their rescue when -they had given up all hope. - -Greater still was their gratitude to the brave lads who, at the risk of -their lives, had followed the ocean air-lanes in search of the missing -dirigible. - -“We owe our lives to you, lads. I do not know how I can ever thank -you,” declared Mr. Morse, the owner of the craft. - -In the meantime Henry Tyler, the machinist and engineer of the Sky -Eagle, had been staring at Ned Nevins with an amazement that was akin -to unbelief. - -“Surely you are Ned, Jeptha Nevins’s nephew?” he exclaimed at length. - -“Yes, and you are Henry Tyler, his dearest friend!” replied Ned, as the -two warmly shook hands. - -“So it was the same Tyler after all,” smiled Jack, after they had all -been introduced. - -“It certainly is a small world,” declared Mr. Morse smilingly. “So -this is the lad whose uncle designed this wonderful craft and left him -the plans of it! My boy, you have a legacy worth more than a great deal -of money.” - -“_We_ think so at any rate,” said Ned, smiling at his chums. - -“But where in the world have you been hiding yourself?” asked Henry -Tyler of Ned Nevins as they prepared to get under way, having -transferred a few instruments, and so forth, from the Sky Eagle. - -“Why, have you been looking for me?” asked Ned in some surprise. - -“Yes, for weeks. But I could obtain no clew to your whereabouts. No one -in Millville appeared to know what had become of you.” - -“I have been at Nestorville with my two good friends, Jack Chadwick and -Tom Jesson. Had it not been for them the Electric Monarch would never -have been built,” said Ned, gratefully. - -“I wanted to deliver to you a package left in my care by your uncle not -long before he died,” said Tyler. “He charged me to give it to you -after his death, which, it seemed, he felt was not far off. I have kept -it with me always, hoping some time to meet you and now I can at last -deliver it into the hands of its rightful owner.” - -Ned, with some wonderment, took from Tyler’s hands a long yellow -envelope. He had no time to open it just then, for Jack ordered all -hands to their posts for the return voyage. They had hardly risen into -the air before the Sky Eagle was seen to settle down upon the water -with a sliding motion. - -Suddenly she gave a swoop downward and the next instant the sea had -hidden her from view. - -“Good-bye, old ship,” said Mr. Morse, with some emotion, “may you rest -well.” - -Such was the requiem of the Sky Eagle. As to the manner in which she -had become disabled, Mr. Morse explained to the boys that the heat -of the sun had burst the bag and that following that disaster the -engines had broken down. Helpless, and with the gas leaking from the -momentarily enlarging rent, the Sky Eagle drifted rapidly out to sea. - -Death stared the voyagers in the face, and they had prepared to meet -their fate as calmly as possible when, upon the horizon, they descried, -winging her way toward them, the form of the Electric Monarch. Mr. -Morse declared that words could not describe their emotions as they -sighted the outlines of the rescue ship. - -The run back to the shore was made without incident. The boys flew -straight for the Fair Grounds, where they were received with what -resembled an ovation. Word of their gallant voyage of rescue had leaked -out, and the town went wild over them. They surged about the Electric -Monarch as she landed and fairly mobbed the boys. Cheers rang out -deafeningly, and the band played, at the direction of Captain Sprowl, -“Hail to the Chief,” that being the most appropriate tune the old -captain could think of. - -It was in the midst of all this excitement that a stoutly built, -red-faced man came elbowing through the crowd that surrounded the boys -and made his way to where they stood in a blushing, embarrassed group. - -“Which of you is Ned Nevins?” he demanded. - -“Right here,” said Ned, stepping forward. “What do you want?” - -“You must come with me,” was the response. - -“But why? I----” - -“Young man, you are under arrest,” and the red-faced man threw back his -coat and disclosed a star. - -“Under arrest!” echoed Ned. “What for?” - -“For disobeying an injunction of the court. Come with me.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -NED COMES INTO HIS OWN. - - -Ned’s dismay may be imagined. He was taken straight to the magistrate’s -courtroom where the charge against him was heard. In the meantime, -Captain Sprowl had engaged a lawyer for him, and the courtroom was -thronged when Ned’s case was called. His lawyer cautioned Ned to let -him do all the talking and the boy, feeling very nervous and ill at -ease before the battery of eyes aimed in his direction, sat silent -while the attorney explained to the court the circumstances of the case. - -The magistrate heard him out and agreed with him that it seemed a -hardship that the boy should be held for disobeying an injunction in -order to save lives, but he declared that he had no powers in the -matter, as the injunction had been issued by the higher court. It -would be for that court to decide in the matter, and that therefore he -had no choice but to hold Ned in bonds of $2,000 for contempt of court. -Poor Ned turned pale when he heard this, but the lawyer hastily assured -him that it meant nothing, and was merely a formality. - -“I’ve got the money right here!” bellowed Captain Sprowl from the rear -of the courtroom, flourishing a bundle of bills like a madman. - -“Order in the court!” shouted the bailiffs frantically, for the -captain’s actions had caused a storm of applause. - -The next day Ned’s case came up before the court which had issued the -injunction. Hank and Miles Sharkey, with greedy, triumphant faces, sat -in front seats to witness the lad’s discomfiture. Ned, seeing their -eyes fixed on him, held himself together bravely. In his eyes there was -an almost excited light. However, he appeared to be awaiting some sort -of a climax. - -As for the other boys, they were openly shaking hands in the back of -the courtroom and slapping each other on the back. Captain Sprowl bore -a wide grin and Ned’s lawyer looked well pleased. - -Hank and Miles noted these signs of satisfaction, and they began to -grow uneasy. This uneasiness increased to positive alarm when Ned’s -lawyer, instead of opening the proceeding in the usual way, asked to -see a copy of the will, on the strength of which the injunction had -been granted. - -“Um-er-er, this is an unusual proceeding, may it please your honor,” -stammered Miles, who, not anticipating anything but plain sailing, had -decided to save a lawyer’s fee and act as his own attorney. - -But the court overruled him and Miles was compelled to produce what -purported to be the last will and testament of Jeptha Nevins, deceased, -in which he left, “all papers, plans, prints and designs of my -inventions whatsoever to my beloved son, Henry Nevins.” - -“If your honor pleases, may I examine that will?” asked Ned’s lawyer. - -The court bowed its assent. Miles, with trembling hands, passed the -paper over to the attorney. Hank rose to his feet and tried to tip-toe -out, but he was stopped by a bailiff who told him that he had orders -not to let witnesses in the case out of the courtroom. Miserable and -dejected, Hank slipped back into his seat. His face was pasty white and -his knees shook. But he did not look a whit more wretched and abject -than Miles Sharkey, who nervously fingered his face and drummed on the -table alternately, while Ned’s lawyer scanned the will Miles had handed -him. - -The lawyer finally ceased his examination of the paper, and then -clearing his throat solemnly, he said: - -“Acting for the defendant in this case I pronounce this will a -forgery.” There was a buzz of excitement through the courtroom. Miles -tried to speak, but words would not come from his dry lips. Hank looked -ghastly and sank back in his seat in a wilted, crumpled heap. - -“And furthermore,” relentlessly proceeded the attorney, “we have a -genuine will antedating this spurious one. If your honor will give me -permission I will produce it.” - -Forthwith he placed in evidence the will of Jeptha Nevins by which he -left specifically to Ned the plans of the Electric Monarch and the -proceeds of his other inventions. (The will had been contained in the -envelope which Henry Tyler had handed to Ned on board the Electric -Monarch the day before.) - -“We can prove that this is the genuine signature of Jeptha Nevins and -that the other is a base forgery,” continued the attorney, “and I -would ask your honor to make out a commitment for Miles Sharkey on the -charge of forgery in the first degree and to hold Henry Nevins on a -charge of aiding and abetting the same.” - -“I didn’t aid nor abet nothin’,” shrieked out Hank despairingly, “it -was Miles done it all, your honor.” - -“Shut up, you fool,” hissed Miles, but it was too late. Hank had let -the cat out of the bag with a vengeance. The commitments were made out -and in due course of time both Miles and Hank paid the penalty of their -rascality in the form of prison sentences. Hank, however, received a -light punishment, as it was clear that Miles Sharkey, who had hoped to -reap big profits from the Mellville concern, had been the ring leader -in the plot. - -We have no space here to relate how the Electric Monarch acquitted -herself at the big aëro carnival. But suffice it to say that she -won every event for which she was entered, and at the conclusion of -the meet Ned was approached by the representative of an aëro-craft -manufacturing concern with an offer to build ships of the Electric -Monarch type, paying him a handsome bonus and a royalty. - -On their return to High Towers, the boys found Prof. Chadwick very much -better, almost in his usual health, in fact, although Dr. Goodenough -laughingly said that he was “booked for a long vacation.” - -One day, not long after their return to their home, which, by the -way, was now also Ned Nevins’, the gentleman who had tried to make -negotiations with Ned at the carnival paid a visit to High Towers to -try to close a deal with the young inventor. - -Professor Chadwick and Dr. Goodenough were called into consultation, -and after a long conference, it was decided that it would be to Ned’s -advantage to accept the firm’s offer, more especially as he would, -under their terms, retain an interest in the Electric Monarch type of -hydroaeroplane. - -When these arrangements had been concluded, Professor Chadwick reached -into a drawer of his desk, at which he was seated, in order to produce -blotting paper to sign the contracts. But as he opened the drawer he -suddenly paused, turned deathly pale, and pressed his hand to his -forehead. - -“What is the matter, are you ill?” cried the doctor in a concerned -voice. - -The boys, full of anxiety and alarm, repeated the question. But -Professor Chadwick waved them aside. - -“No, not ill,” he exclaimed in a strange voice. “Wait--wait! It is -coming back to me now!” - -He pressed a spring in his desk, and a secret drawer flew open. As it -did so, they all uttered a shout of astonishment. - -It contained the long-missing plans! - -The mystery was soon explained. The Professor’s memory had come back to -him with a rush when he opened the drawer for the blotting paper. On -the day of the trial trip of the Electric Monarch, it will be recalled, -he had been left behind. After the boys’ departure, (as it came back to -him, he had begun to feel uneasy about the plans, secure though they -seemed to be in the safe.) - -He decided to find a better hiding place than the safe even, for them, -and with that object in view arose from the lounge and opened the -receptacle. Taking out the papers, he placed them in the secret drawer -of the desk. Hardly had he done so, however, when an attack of vertigo -seized him and he fell unconscious. Now that his memory had come back -suddenly, as he seated himself once more at the desk, all became clear. - -And so the mystery of the vanished plans was cleared up with -satisfaction to all of them. After all, they had wrongfully suspected -Hank and his allies, and they were glad to learn that their suspicions -had been unfounded. - -There is little more to tell. Heiny Dill finally evolved a burglar -trap out of his invention, but he makes more money working for the Boy -Inventors at High Towers than he does out of his numerous eccentric -contrivances. Sam Hinkley returned to Nestorville not long after his -invasion of New York, and after he had begged for forgiveness, his -father finally gave him the post of night clerk in the hotel, which he -fills admirably. Of the fate of Hank and Miles we are already informed. - -And so, with Ned Nevins prosperous and happy, and the Boy Inventors -broadened and improved by their experiences with the Electric Monarch, -we will, for the present, leave them with the best of wishes for -their future undertakings. Knowing them to be always on the alert for -the latest developments in scientific progress, we are not greatly -surprised to learn that their next experimental experiences will be -described in a volume entitled, “The Boy Inventors’ Radio Telephone.” - - - * * * * * - - -BOY AVIATORS’ SERIES - -By Captain Wilbur Lawton - -Absolutely Modern Stories for Boys - - Cloth Bound Price, 50c per volume - - -The Boy Aviators in Nicaragua - -Or, Leagued With Insurgents - -The launching of this Twentieth Century series marks the inauguration -of a new era in boys’ books--the “wonders of modern science” epoch. -Frank and Harry Chester, the Boy Aviators, are the heroes of this -exciting, red-blooded tale of adventure by air and land in the -turbulent Central American republic. The two brothers with their -$10,000 prize aeroplane, the Golden Eagle, rescue a chum from death in -the clutches of the Nicaraguans, discover a lost treasure valley of the -ancient Toltec race, and in so doing almost lose their own lives in the -Abyss of the White Serpents, and have many other exciting experiences, -including being blown far out to sea in their air-skimmer in a tropical -storm. It would be unfair to divulge the part that wireless plays in -rescuing them from their predicament. In a brand new field of fiction -for boys the Chester brothers and their aeroplane seem destined to fill -a top-notch place. These books are technically correct, wholesomely -thrilling and geared up to third speed. - - -The Boy Aviators on Secret Service - -Or, Working With Wireless - -In this live-wire narrative of peril and adventure, laid in the -Everglades of Florida, the spunky Chester Boys and their interesting -chums, including Ben Stubbs, the maroon, encounter exciting experiences -on Uncle Sam’s service in a novel field. One must read this vivid, -enthralling story of incident, hardship and pluck to get an idea of -the almost limitless possibilities of the two greatest inventions of -modern times--the aeroplane and wireless telegraphy. While gripping and -holding the reader’s breathless attention from the opening words to the -finish, this swift-moving story is at the same time instructive and -uplifting. As those readers who have already made friends with Frank -and Harry Chester and their “bunch” know, there are few difficulties, -no matter how insurmountable they may seem at first blush, that -these up-to-date gritty youths cannot overcome with flying colors. A -clean-cut, real boys’ book of high voltage. - - -The Boy Aviators in Africa - -Or, An Aerial Ivory Trail - -In this absorbing book we meet, on a Continent made famous by the -American explorer Stanley, and ex-President Roosevelt, our old friends, -the Chester Boys and their stalwart chums. In Africa--the Dark -Continent--the author follows in exciting detail his young heroes, -their voyage in the first aeroplane to fly above the mysterious forests -and unexplored ranges of the mystic land. In this book, too, for the -first time, we entertain Luther Barr, the old New York millionaire, -who proved later such an implacable enemy of the boys. The story of -his defeated schemes, of the astonishing things the boys discovered in -the Mountains of the Moon, of the pathetic fate of George Desmond, the -emulator of Stanley, the adventure of the Flying Men and the discovery -of the Arabian Ivory cache,--this is not the place to speak. It would -be spoiling the zest of an exciting tale to reveal the outcome of all -these episodes here. It may be said, however, without “giving away” -any of the thrilling chapters of this narrative, that Captain Wilbur -Lawton, the author, is in it in his best vein, and from his personal -experiences in Africa has been able to supply a striking background -for the adventures of his young heroes. As one newspaper says of this -book: “Here is adventure in good measure, pressed down and running -over.” - - -The Boy Aviators Treasure Quest - -Or, The Golden Galleon - -Everybody is a boy once more when it comes to the question of hidden -treasure. In this book. Captain Lawton has set forth a hunt for gold -that is concealed neither under the sea nor beneath the earth, but -is well hidden for all that. A garrulous old sailor, who holds the -key to the mystery of the Golden Galleon, plays a large part in the -development of the plot of this fascinating narrative of treasure -hunting in the region of the Gulf Stream and the Sargasso Sea. An -aeroplane fitted with efficient pontoons--enabling her to skim the -water successfully--has long been a dream of aviators. The Chester -Boys seem to have solved the problem. The Sargasso, that strange -drifting ocean within an ocean, holding ships of a dozen nations and -a score of ages, in its relentless grip, has been the subject of many -books of adventure and mystery, but in none has the secret of the ever -shifting mass of treacherous currents been penetrated as it has in the -BOY AVIATORS TREASURE QUEST. Luther Barr, whom it seemed the boys had -shaken off, is still on their trail, in this absorbing book and with -a dirigible balloon, essays to beat them out in their search for the -Golden Galleon. Every boy, every man--and woman and girl--who has ever -felt the stirring summons of adventure in their souls, had better get -hold of this book. Once obtained, it will be read and re-read till it -falls to rags. - - -The Boy Aviators in Record Flight - -Or, The Rival Aeroplane - -The Chester Boys in new field of endeavor--an attempt to capture a -newspaper prize for a trans-continental flight. By the time these lines -are read, exactly such an offer will have been spread broadcast by one -of the foremost newspapers of the country. In the Golden Eagle, the -boys, accompanied by a trail-blazing party in an automobile, make the -dash. But they are not alone in their aspirations. Their rivals for the -rich prize at stake try in every way that they can to circumvent the -lads and gain the valuable trophy and monetary award. In this they stop -short at nothing, and it takes all the wits and resources of the Boy -Aviators to defeat their devices. Among the adventures encountered in -their cross-country flight, the boys fall in with a band of rollicking -cow-boys--who momentarily threaten serious trouble--are attacked by -Indians, strike the most remarkable town of the desert--the “dry” town -of “Gow Wells,” encounter a sandstorm which blows them into strange -lands far to the south of their course, and meet with several amusing -mishaps beside. A thoroughly readable book. The sort to take out behind -the barn on the sunny side of the haystack, and, with a pocketful of -juicy apples and your heels kicking the air, pass happy hours with -Captain Lawton’s young heroes. - - -The Boy Aviators Polar Dash - -Or, Facing Death in the Antarctic - -If you were to hear that two boys, accompanying a South Polar -expedition in charge of the aeronautic department, were to penetrate -the Antarctic regions--hitherto only attained by a few daring -explorers--you would feel interested, wouldn’t you? Well, in Captain -Lawton’s latest book, concerning his Boy Aviators, you can not only -read absorbing adventure in the regions south of the eightieth -parallel, but absorb much useful information as well. Captain Lawton -introduces--besides the original characters of the heroes--a new -creation in the person of Professor Simeon Sandburr, a patient -seeker for polar insects. The professor’s adventures in his quest -are the cause of much merriment, and lead once or twice to serious -predicaments. In a volume so packed with incident and peril from cover -to cover--relieved with laughable mishaps to the professor--it is -difficult to single out any one feature; still, a recent reader of it -wrote the publishers an enthusiastic letter the other day, saying: -“The episodes above the Great Barrier are thrilling, the attack of -the condors in Patagonia made me hold my breath, the--but what’s the -use? The Polar Dash, to my mind, is an even more entrancing book than -Captain Lawton’s previous efforts, and that’s saying a good deal. The -aviation features and their technical correctness are by no means the -least attractive features of this up-to-date creditable volume.” - - - Sold by Booksellers Everywhere - HURST & CO. Publishers NEW YORK - - - - -OAKDALE ACADEMY SERIES - -Stories of Modern School Sports - -By MORGAN SCOTT. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid - - -BEN STONE AT OAKDALE. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Under peculiarly trying circumstances Ben Stone wins his way at Oakdale -Academy, and at the same time enlists our sympathy, interest and -respect. Through the enmity of Bern Hayden, the loyalty of Roger Eliot -and the clever work of the “Sleuth,” Ben is falsely accused, championed -and vindicated. - - -BOYS OF OAKDALE ACADEMY. - -“One thing I will claim, and that is that all Grants fight open and -square and there never was a sneak among them.” It was Rodney Grant, -of Texas, who made the claim to his friend, Ben Stone, and this story -shows how he proved the truth of this statement in the face of apparent -evidence to the contrary. - - -RIVAL PITCHERS OF OAKDALE. - -Baseball is the main theme of this interesting narrative, and that -means not only clear and clever descriptions of thrilling games, but -an intimate acquaintance with the members of the teams who played -them. The Oakdale Boys were ambitious and loyal, and some were even -disgruntled and jealous, but earnest, persistent work won out. - - -OAKDALE BOYS IN CAMP. - -The typical vacation is the one that means much freedom, little -restriction, and immediate contact with “all outdoors.” These -conditions prevailed in the summer camp of the Oakdale Boys and made it -a scene of lively interest. - - -THE GREAT OAKDALE MYSTERY. - -The “Sleuth” scents a mystery! He “follows his nose.” The plot -thickens! He makes deductions. There are surprises for the reader--and -for the “Sleuth,” as well. - - -NEW BOYS AT OAKDALE. - -A new element creeps into Oakdale with another year’s registration of -students. The old and the new standards of conduct in and out of school -meet, battle, and cause sweeping changes in the lives of several of the -boys. - - - - -BOY INVENTORS SERIES - -Stories of Skill and Ingenuity - -By RICHARD BONNER - -Cloth Bound, Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE BOY INVENTORS’ WIRELESS TELEGRAPH. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Blest with natural curiosity,--sometimes called the instinct of -investigation,--favored with golden opportunity, and gifted with -creative ability, the Boy Inventors meet emergencies and contrive -mechanical wonders that interest and convince the reader because they -always “work” when put to the test. - - -THE BOY INVENTORS’ VANISHING GUN. - -A thought, a belief, an experiment; discouragement, hope, effort and -final success--this is the history of many an invention; a history in -which excitement, competition, danger, despair and persistence figure. -This merely suggests the circumstances which draw the daring Boy -Inventors into strange experiences and startling adventures, and which -demonstrate the practical use of their vanishing gun. - - -THE BOY INVENTORS’ DIVING TORPEDO BOAT. - -As in the previous stories of the Boy Inventors, new and interesting -triumphs of mechanism are produced which become immediately valuable, -and the stage for their proving and testing is again the water. On the -surface and below it, the boys have jolly, contagious fun, and the -story of their serious, purposeful inventions challenge the reader’s -deepest attention. - - - - -BORDER BOYS SERIES - -Mexican and Canadian Frontier Series - -By FREMONT B. DEERING. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE BORDER BOYS ON THE TRAIL. - -[Illustration: Book] - -What it meant to make an enemy of Black Ramon De Barios--that is the -problem that Jack Merrill and his friends, including Coyote Pete, face -in this exciting tale. - - -THE BORDER BOYS ACROSS THE FRONTIER. - -Read of the Haunted Mesa and its mysteries, of the Subterranean River -and its strange uses, of the value of gasolene and steam “in running -the gauntlet,” and you will feel that not even the ancient splendors of -the Old World can furnish a better setting for romantic action than the -Border of the New. - - -THE BORDER BOYS WITH THE MEXICAN RANGERS. - -As every day is making history--faster, it is said, than ever -before--so books that keep pace with the changes are full of rapid -action and accurate facts. This book deals with lively times on the -Mexican border. - - -THE BORDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS. - -The Border Boys have already had much excitement and adventure in their -lives, but all this has served to prepare them for the experiences -related in this volume. They are stronger, braver and more resourceful -than ever, and the exigencies of their life in connection with the -Texas Rangers demand all their trained ability. - - - - -BUNGALOW BOYS SERIES - -LIVE STORIES OF OUTDOOR LIFE - -By DEXTER J. FORRESTER. - -Cloth. Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE BUNGALOW BOYS. - -[Illustration: Book] - -How the Bungalow Boys received their title and how they retained the -right to it in spite of much opposition makes a lively narrative for -lively boys. - - -THE BUNGALOW BOYS MAROONED IN THE TROPICS. - -A real treasure hunt of the most thrilling kind, with a sunken Spanish -galleon as its object, makes a subject of intense interest at any time, -but add to that a band of desperate men, a dark plot and a devil fish, -and you have the combination that brings strange adventures into the -lives of the Bungalow Boys. - - -THE BUNGALOW BOYS IN THE GREAT NORTH WEST. - -The clever assistance of a young detective saves the boys from the -clutches of Chinese smugglers, of whose nefarious trade they know too -much. How the Professor’s invention relieves a critical situation is -also an exciting incident of this book. - - -THE BUNGALOW BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES. - -The Bungalow Boys start out for a quiet cruise on the Great Lakes and a -visit to an island. A storm and a band of wreckers interfere with the -serenity of their trip, and a submarine adds zest and adventure to it. - - - - -DREADNOUGHT BOYS SERIES - -Tales of the New Navy - -By CAPT. WILBUR LAWTON - -Author of “BOY AVIATORS SERIES.” - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON BATTLE PRACTICE. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Especially interesting and timely is this book which introduces the -reader with its heroes, Ned and Herc, to the great ships of modern -warfare and to the intimate life and surprising adventures of Uncle -Sam’s sailors. - - -THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ABOARD A DESTROYER. - -In this story real dangers threaten and the boys’ patriotism is tested -in a peculiar international tangle. The scene is laid on the South -American coast. - - -THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON A SUBMARINE. - -To the inventive genius--trade-school boy or mechanic--this story has -special charm, perhaps, but to every reader its mystery and clever -action are fascinating. - - -THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON AERO SERVICE. - -Among the volunteers accepted for Areo Service are Ned and Herc. Their -perilous adventures are not confined to the air, however, although they -make daring and notable flights in the name of the Government; nor are -they always able to fly beyond the reach of their old “enemies,” who -are also airmen. - - - - -MOTOR RANGERS SERIES - -HIGH SPEED MOTOR STORIES - -By MARVIN WEST. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE MOTOR RANGERS’ LOST MINE. - -[Illustration: Book] - -This is an absorbing story of the continuous adventures of a motor -car in the hands of Nat Trevor and his friends. It does seemingly -impossible “stunts,” and yet everything happens “in the nick of time.” - - -THE MOTOR RANGERS THROUGH THE SIERRAS. - -Enemies in ambush, the peril of fire, and the guarding of treasure make -exciting times for the Motor Rangers--yet there is a strong flavor of -fun and freedom, with a typical Western mountaineer for spice. - - - THE MOTOR RANGERS ON BLUE WATER; or, The Secret of the Derelict. - -The strange adventures of the sturdy craft “Nomad” and the stranger -experiences of the Rangers themselves with Morello’s schooner and a -mysterious derelict form the basis of this well-spun yarn of the sea. - - -THE MOTOR RANGERS’ CLOUD CRUISER. - -From the “Nomad” to the “Discoverer,” from the sea to the sky, the -scene changes in which the Motor Rangers figure. They have experiences -“that never were on land or sea,” in heat and cold and storm, over -mountain peak and lost city, with savages and reptiles; their ship of -the air is attacked by huge birds of the air; they survive explosion -and earthquake; they even live to tell the tale! - - - - -FRANK ARMSTRONG SERIES - -Twentieth Century Athletic Stories - -By MATHEW M. COLTON. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid - - -FRANK ARMSTRONG’S VACATION. - -[Illustration: Book] - -How Frank’s summer experience with his boy friends make him into a -sturdy young athlete through swimming, boating, and baseball contests, -and a tramp through the Everglades, is the subject of this splendid -story. - - -FRANK ARMSTRONG AT QUEENS. - -We find among the jolly boys at Queen’s School, Frank, the -student-athlete, Jimmy, the baseball enthusiast, and Lewis, the -unconsciously-funny youth who furnishes comedy for every page that -bears his name. Fall and winter sports between intensely rival school -teams are expertly described. - - -FRANK ARMSTRONG’S SECOND TERM. - -The gymnasium, the track and the field make the background for the -stirring events of this volume, in which David, Jimmy, Lewis, the “Wee -One” and the “Codfish” figure, while Frank “saves the day.” - - -FRANK ARMSTRONG, DROP KICKER. - -With the same persistent determination that won him success in -swimming, running and baseball playing, Frank Armstrong acquired the -art of “drop kicking,” and the Queen’s football team profits thereby. - - - - -GIRL AVIATORS SERIES - -Clean Aviation Stories - -By MARGARET BURNHAM. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE GIRL AVIATORS AND THE PHANTOM AIRSHIP. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Roy Prescott was fortunate in having a sister so clever and devoted -to him and his interests that they could share work and play with -mutual pleasure and to mutual advantage. This proved especially true -in relation to the manufacture and manipulation of their aeroplane, -and Peggy won well deserved fame for her skill and good sense as an -aviator. There were many stumbling-blocks in their terrestrial path, -but they soared above them all to ultimate success. - - -THE GIRL AVIATORS ON GOLDEN WINGS. - -That there is a peculiar fascination about aviation that wins and holds -girl enthusiasts as well as boys is proved by this tale. On golden -wings the girl aviators rose for many an exciting flight, and met -strange and unexpected experiences. - - -THE GIRL AVIATORS’ SKY CRUISE. - -To most girls a coaching or yachting trip is an adventure. How much -more perilous an adventure a “sky cruise” might be is suggested by the -title and proved by the story itself. - - -THE GIRL AVIATORS’ MOTOR BUTTERFLY. - -The delicacy of flight suggested by the word “butterfly,” the -mechanical power implied by “motor,” the ability to control assured in -the title “aviator,” all combined with the personality and enthusiasm -of girls themselves, make this story one for any girl or other reader -“to go crazy over.” - - - - -MOTOR MAIDS SERIES - -Wholesome Stories of Adventure - -By KATHERINE STOKES. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE MOTOR MAIDS’ SCHOOL DAYS. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Billie Campbell was just the type of a straightforward, athletic girl -to be successful as a practical Motor Maid. She took her car, as she -did her class-mates, to her heart, and many a grand good time did they -have all together. The road over which she ran her red machine had many -an unexpected turning,--now it led her into peculiar danger; now into -contact with strange travelers; and again into experiences by fire and -water. But, best of all, “The Comet” never failed its brave girl owner. - - -THE MOTOR MAIDS BY PALM AND PINE. - -Wherever the Motor Maids went there were lively times, for these were -companionable girls who looked upon the world as a vastly interesting -place full of unique adventures--and so, of course, they found them. - - -THE MOTOR MAIDS ACROSS THE CONTINENT. - -It is always interesting to travel, and it is wonderfully entertaining -to see old scenes through fresh eyes. It is that privilege, therefore, -that makes it worth while to join the Motor Maids in their first -cross-country run. - - -THE MOTOR MAIDS BY ROSE, SHAMROCK AND HEATHER. - -South and West had the Motor Maids motored, nor could their education -by travel have been more wisely begun. But now a speaking acquaintance -with their own country enriched their anticipation of an introduction -to the British Isles. How they made their polite American bow and -how they were received on the other side is a tale of interest and -inspiration. - - - - -MOTOR CYCLE SERIES - -Splendid Motor Cycle Stories - -By LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON. - -Author of “Boy Scout Series.” - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid - - -THE MOTOR CYCLE CHUMS AROUND THE WORLD. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Could Jules Verne have dreamed of encircling the globe with a motor -cycle for emergencies he would have deemed it an achievement greater -than any he describes in his account of the amusing travels of Philias -Fogg. This, however, is the purpose successfully carried out by the -Motor Cycle Chums, and the tale of their mishaps, hindrances and -delays is one of intense interest, secret amusement, and incidental -information to the reader. - - -THE MOTOR CYCLE CHUMS OF THE NORTHWEST PATROL. - -The Great Northwest is a section of vast possibilities and in it the -Motor Cycle Chums meet adventures even more unusual and exciting than -many of their experiences on their tour around the world. There is not -a dull page in this lively narrative of clever boys and their attendant -“Chinee.” - - -THE MOTOR CYCLE CHUMS IN THE GOLD FIELDS. - -The gold fever which ran its rapid course through the veins of the -historic “forty-niners” recurs at certain intervals, and seizes its -victims with almost irresistible power. The search for gold is so -fascinating to the seekers that hardship, danger and failure are -obstacles that scarcely dampen their ardour. How the Motor Cycle Chums -were caught by the lure of the gold and into what difficulties and -novel experiences they were led, makes a tale of thrilling interest. - - - - -MOLLY BROWN SERIES - -College Life Stories for Girls - -By NELL SPEED. - -Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid - - -MOLLY BROWN’S FRESHMAN DAYS. - -[Illustration: Book] - -Would you like to admit to your circle of friends the most charming of -college girls--the typical college girl for whom we are always looking -but not always finding; the type that contains so many delightful -characteristics, yet without unpleasant perfection in any; the natural, -unaffected, sweet-tempered girl, loved because she is lovable? Then -seek an introduction to Molly Brown. You will find the baggage-master, -the cook, the Professor of English Literature, and the College -President in the same company. - - -MOLLY BROWN’S SOPHOMORE DAYS. - -What is more delightful than a re-union of college girls after -the summer vacation? Certainly nothing that precedes it in their -experience--at least, if all class-mates are as happy together as the -Wellington girls of this story. Among Molly’s interesting friends of -the second year is a young Japanese girl, who ingratiates her “humbly” -self into everybody’s affections speedily and permanently. - - -MOLLY BROWN’S JUNIOR DAYS. - -Financial stumbling blocks are not the only things that hinder the -ease and increase the strength of college girls. Their troubles and -their triumphs are their own, often peculiar to their environment. How -Wellington students meet the experiences outside the class-rooms is -worth the doing, the telling and the reading. - - Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. - HURST & COMPANY--Publishers--NEW YORK - - - - -BOY SCOUT SERIES - -BY - -LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON - -MODERN BOY SCOUT STORIES FOR BOYS - - Cloth Bound Price, 50¢ per volume. - - -The Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol. - -A fascinating narrative of the doings of some bright boys who become -part of the great Boy Scout movement. The first of a series dealing -with this organization, which has caught on like wild fire among -healthy boys of all ages and in all parts of the country. - -While in no sense a text-book, the volume deals, amid its exciting -adventures, with the practical side of Scouting. To Rob Blake and his -companions in the Eagle Patrol, surprising, and sometimes perilous -things happen constantly. But the lads, who are, after all, typical of -most young Americans of their type, are resourceful enough to overcome -every one of their dangers and difficulties. - -How they discover the whereabouts of little Joe, the “kid” of the -patrol, by means of smoke telegraphy and track his abductors to their -disgrace; how they assist the passengers of a stranded steamer and foil -a plot to harm and perhaps kill an aged sea-captain, one must read the -book to learn. A swift-moving narrative of convincing interest and -breathless incident. - - - Sold by Booksellers Everywhere. - Hurst & Co., Publishers New York - - - - -BIOGRAPHICAL LIBRARY - -Of the Lives of Great Men - -[Illustration: Book] - - -A limited line comprising subjects pertaining to the careers of men -who have helped to mould the world’s history. A library is incomplete -without the entire set. - - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, LIFE OF--American Statesman and Discoverer of - Electricity. - - CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, LIFE OF--Discoverer of America. - - DANIEL BOONE, LIFE OF--Famous Kentucky Explorer and Scout. - - DANIEL WEBSTER, LIFE OF--American Statesman and Diplomat. - - DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN ORATORS--Who Have Helped to Mould American - Events. - - EMINENT AMERICANS--Makers of United States History. - - JOHN GUTENBERG, LIFE OF--Inventor of Printing. - - NAPOLEON AND HIS MARSHALS--Celebrated French General and Commander. - - ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION--Whose Speeches Ring With - Patriotism. - - PAUL JONES, LIFE OF--American Naval Hero. - - PATRICK HENRY, LIFE OF--Distinguished American Orator and Patriot. - - PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, LIFE OF--“Little Phil”; Famous Union General - During the Civil War. - - WASHINGTON AND HIS GENERALS--First President of the United States, - Revolutionary Army General and Statesman. - - - Any book mailed, postage paid, upon receipt of 50c. - Send for Our Complete Book Catalogue. - HURST & CO. Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - -Log Cabin to White House Series - -[Illustration: Book] - - -A famous series of books, formerly sold at $2 00 per copy, are now -popularized by reducing the price less than half. The lives of these -famous Americans are worthy of a place in any library. A new book by -Edward S. Ellis--“From Ranch to White House”--is a life of Theodore -Roosevelt, while the author of the others, William M. Thayer, is a -celebrated biographer. - - FROM RANCH TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of Theodore Roosevelt. - - FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD; Life of Benjamin Franklin. - - FROM FARM HOUSE TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of George Washington. - - FROM LOG CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of James A. Garfield. - - FROM PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of Abraham Lincoln. - - FROM TANNERY TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of Ulysses S. Grant. - - SUCCESS AND ITS ACHIEVERS. - - TACT, PUSH AND PRINCIPLE. - -These titles, though by different authors, also belong to this series -of books: - - FROM COTTAGE TO CASTLE; The Story of Gutenberg, Inventor of Printing. - By Mrs. E. C. Pearson. - - CAPITAL FOR WORKING BOYS. By Mrs. Julia E. M’Conaughy. - -Price, postpaid, for any of the above ten books, 75c. - -A complete catalogue sent for the asking. - - HURST & CO. Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - -Oliver Optic Books - -[Illustration: Book] - - -Few boys are alive to-day who have not read some of the writings of -this famous author, whose books are scattered broadcast and eagerly -sought for. Oliver Optic has the faculty of writing books full of dash -and energy, such as healthy boys want and need. - - ALL ABOARD; or, Life on the Lake. - - BOAT CLUB; or, The Bunkers of Rippleton. - - BRAVE OLD SALT; or, Life on the Quarter Deck. - - DO SOMETHINGS; a Story for Little Folks. - - FIGHTING JOE; or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. - - IN SCHOOL AND OUT; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. - - LITTLE BY LITTLE; or, The Cruise of the Flyaway. - - LITTLE MERCHANT; a Story for Little Folks. - - NOW OR NEVER; or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright. - - POOR AND PROUD; or, The Fortunes of Katie Redburn. - - PROUD AND LAZY; a Story for Little Folks. - - RICH AND HUMBLE; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant. - - SAILOR BOY; or, Jack Somers in the Navy. - - SOLDIER BOY; or, Tom Somers in the Army. - - TRY AGAIN; or, The Trials and Triumphs of Harry West. - - WATCH AND WAIT; or, The Young Fugitives. - - WORK AND WIN; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise. - - THE YANKEE MIDDY; or, The Adventures of a Naval Officer. - - YOUNG LIEUTENANT; or, The Adventures of an Army Officer. - -Any of these books will be mailed, postpaid, upon receipt of 50c. - -Get our complete catalogue--sent anywhere. - - - HURST & CO., Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - -Works of - -J. T. - -Trowbridge - -[Illustration: Book] - - -Here is an author who is famous--whose writings delight both boys and -girls. Enthusiasm abounds on every page and interest never grows old. A -few of the best titles are given: - - COUPON BONDS. - CUDJO’S CAVE. - THE DRUMMER BOY. - MARTIN MERRYVALE, HIS X MARK. - FATHER BRIGHT HOPES. - LUCY ARLYN. - NEIGHBOR JACKWOOD. - THE THREE SCOUTS. - -Price, postage paid, for any of the above books, Fifty Cents. - - Have You Seen Our Complete Catalogue? - Send For It - - HURST & CO. Publishers NEW YORK - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Boy Inventors' Electric Hydroaeroplane - -Author: Richard Bonner - -Illustrator: Charles L. Wrenn - -Release Date: January 21, 2017 [EBook #54034] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOY INVENTORS' ELECTRIC HYDROAEROPLANE *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illus-001.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">Young Dill had seized Jupe by the back of the neck and<br /> -dragged him, half drowned, to the shore.—<i>Page 98</i></div> -</div> - - - - -<h1>THE BOY INVENTORS’<br /> -ELECTRIC<br /> -HYDROAEROPLANE</h1> - -<p class="center"><small>BY</small></p> - -<p class="center">RICHARD BONNER<br /> - -<span class="xs">AUTHOR OF “THE BOY INVENTORS’ WIRELESS TRIUMPH,” “THE BOY -INVENTORS AND THE VANISHING GUN,” “THE BOY INVENTORS’ -DIVING TORPEDO BOAT,” “THE BOY INVENTORS’<br /> -FLYING SHIP,” ETC., ETC.</span></p> - -<p class="center spaced"><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY<br /> -CHARLES L. WRENN</i></p> - - -<p class="center"><small>NEW YORK</small><br /> -HURST & COMPANY<br /> -<small>PUBLISHERS</small> -</p> - - -<p class="center spaced"> -<small>Copyright, 1914,<br /> -BY<br /></small> -HURST & COMPANY<br /> -</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><th align="right"><small>CHAPTER</small></th><th></th><th align="right"><small>PAGE</small></th></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A New Friend Made</span></td><td align="right">5</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">An Invention Described</span></td><td align="right">15</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">An Important Decision</span></td><td align="right">23</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Ned to the Rescue</span></td><td align="right">33</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Unlucky Story</span></td><td align="right">43</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">His Enemies on the Trail</span></td><td align="right">54</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Ned Makes an Enemy</span></td><td align="right">62</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Plans Accepted</span></td><td align="right">71</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Arrival of Trouble</span></td><td align="right">82</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Heiny Pumpernick Dill</span></td><td align="right">91</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Convertible Sausage Machine</span></td><td align="right">98</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Hank and Miles Meet Their Match</span></td><td align="right">106</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Ready for Flight</span></td><td align="right">113</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Heiny Overhears the Plot</span></td><td align="right">124 -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Burglar Trap</span></td><td align="right">132</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Lost Lever</span></td><td align="right">150</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Off at Last!</span></td><td align="right">161</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Ned’s Terrible Peril</span></td><td align="right">169</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Disgruntled Cronies</span></td><td align="right">179</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Tom to the Rescue</span></td><td align="right">187</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Saluting a Steamer</span></td><td align="right">194</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">An Old Friend</span></td><td align="right">202</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">XXIII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Lost Plans</span></td><td align="right">211</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">XXIV.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Baffling Robbery</span></td><td align="right">220</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">XXV.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Off to the Fair</span></td><td align="right">227</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">XXVI.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">An Unlucky Mishap</span></td><td align="right">237</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">XXVII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Dash for Liberty</span></td><td align="right">248</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">XXVIII.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Dirigible in Danger</span></td><td align="right">258</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">XXIX.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Daring Rescue</span></td><td align="right">269</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">XXX.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Strange Meeting</span></td><td align="right">277</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">XXXI.</a></td><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Ned Comes into his Own</span></td><td align="right">283</td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="half-title">The Boy Inventors’ Electric Hydroaeroplane.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a><br /> - -<small>A NEW FRIEND MADE.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Are either Mr. Chadwick or Mr. Jesson -about?”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” and the gangling, rather disagreeable-looking -youth who had answered the summons -to the door of the Boy Inventors’ workshop, -gave a supercilious look over the dusty and -worn, although carefully mended, clothes of the -dark-eyed, dark-haired, slender youth who confronted -him.</p> - -<p>“What do you want to know that for, anyhow?” -and upon the personal pronoun he placed -a contemptuous emphasis.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> -<p>“That is a question to which I can only reply -when I can see either Jack Chadwick or Tom -Jesson personally. My name is Ned Nevins,—not -that either of them knows me,—but will you -be so kind as to find out if they’ll see me?”</p> - -<p>“If you can’t tell me your business, you can’t -see them. State what you want to me. If it’s -money——”</p> - -<p>“It is not!”</p> - -<p>The dark-eyed young visitor’s eyes held a -warning flash which the other lad, who was half -a head taller and far stouter of build than Ned -Nevins, affected not to notice.</p> - -<p>“Well, you can’t speak to them.” This with -an air of finality.</p> - -<p>“But you don’t understand——”</p> - -<p>“I do, perfectly. They are both far too busy -to bother with any inquisitive kind of tramp that -happens along.”</p> - -<p>“Then you won’t let them know I would like -to see them?”</p> - -<p>The other’s voice rose angrily.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I said ‘No’ once. N-O-<em>no</em>! Isn’t that -enough?”</p> - -<p>“Quite enough.”</p> - -<p>Ned Nevins turned away. As he did so, the -other lad, an employee of the Boy Inventors, and -a former school chum, noticed that he had under -his arm a box which he appeared to handle with -unusual care. But Sam Hinkley noted also Ned’s -dejected and downcast air. He decided to humiliate -him still further.</p> - -<p>“Get a move on—you. Skip!”</p> - -<p>Ned hastened his pace. He felt too disappointed -and tired to retort to the bully as he -should have done. Sam Hinkley interpreted this -as cowardice on Ned’s part, and being a natural -bully he decided to improve the occasion according -to his own delight. He came up behind Ned -and gave the slightly-built lad a strong shove.</p> - -<p>Ned faced ’round, and his pale face flushed an -angry crimson.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> -<p>“Don’t do that again, please!”</p> - -<p>Young Hinkley’s rejoinder was to make a rush -at him. He extended both his hands to shove -the visitor, whom he had found so unwelcome, off -the premises. But the next instant he met with a -setback. Still holding his precious box under -one arm, Ned’s fingers closed on the bully’s -wrists. They shut down with a grip like steel -handcuffs.</p> - -<p>“Ow! Ouch! Leggo my hands,” roared Sam -at the top of his voice.</p> - -<p>“From what I’ve heard of Jack Chadwick and -Tom Jesson I don’t believe they would tolerate -for an instant the way you have behaved toward -me,” was the firm reply. “March!”</p> - -<p>“Where are we going?” inquired Sam, writhing -painfully under the young stranger’s powerful -grip, unable to do anything, try as he would to -shake it off.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> -<p>“Straight into that workshop. From what I -can hear, I believe we will find those whom I wish -to see inside.”</p> - -<p>Sam looked very uncomfortable. He was the -son of fairly well-to-do parents in the little town -of Nestorville, on the outskirts of which Mr. -Chadwick’s home was situated. Jack and Tom -had taken him on because he was a youth who -had always shown mechanical ability and had -pleaded persistently for a chance to work in the -big experimental shop at High Towers.</p> - -<p>But a fair trial of Sam Hinkley had not resulted -in his rising in favor with his young employers. -He had been detected in several mean -acts. Besides, they felt he was hardly a lad to -be trusted with the important secrets of the workshop, -in which most of the inventions of the boys -and their father and uncle were worked out. So -that had Sam but known it, he was by no means -so important a factor at High Towers as he -imagined.</p> - -<p>“Lemmo go and I’ll take you in,” howled Sam.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> -<p>“Very well. You might have done so in the -first place.”</p> - -<p>But no sooner were Sam’s hands released than -he aimed a savage blow at young Nevins.</p> - -<p>“I’ll trim you for this, you—you scarecrow, -you!” he bawled out. “I’ll fix you. I’ll——”</p> - -<p>“Here, here! What’s all the trouble about?”</p> - -<p>The question was asked by a tall, well-built -youth with curly dark hair and sparkling, intelligent -eyes, who had just appeared at the door of -the workshop.</p> - -<p>“I—I wanted to find Mr. Chadwick, Jr.,” began -the newcomer, while Sam looked abashed.</p> - -<p>“Sure you weren’t looking for trouble?” asked -Jack, but a twinkle in his eyes belied the implied -reproach in the question. He knew Sam Hinkley -from the soles of his shoes up. Besides, he had -witnessed the last part of the recent scene and -realized how the land lay.</p> - -<p>“Go back on your job,” he ordered Sam -brusquely, “those bolts must be ready by noon at -the latest.”</p> - -<p>“Bu-bu-but——” began Sam, and then, read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>ing -what he saw in Jack’s eye aright, he obeyed, -but not without a backward glance at Ned Nevins.</p> - -<p>“Why—why, you are Jack—I mean Mister——”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” was the smiling response, -“I am Jack Chadwick. What did you wish to see -me about?”</p> - -<p>“Principally about getting a job. I——”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid there’s nothing here for you,” was -the reply, as Jack glanced with interest at the intelligent -face that gazed so eagerly into his own, -and then, as he saw the travel-stained lad’s countenance -fall he added, “You see this is an experimental -shop mainly, and——”</p> - -<p>“I know. I’ve heard all about your inventions, -the Sky-ship and the diving Torpedo Boat and -so on. I love mechanics and I’m sure I could -make good if you’d give me a chance.”</p> - -<p>“What is your name?”</p> - -<p>“Nevins is my name, sir.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ever had any experience along such lines?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, my uncle was an inventor. He was -poor and worked in a machine-shop, but when -he was at home he and I used to spend all our -time in a workshop he had fitted up. You see -my folks died a long time ago and I was brought -up in my uncle’s home. He said that some day -I’d be famous if I worked hard and that I had a -natural ability for mechanics and——”</p> - -<p>Ned Nevins stopped short, flushed over what -he felt had been a conceited speech. But Jack -glanced at him encouragingly. The young inventor -was quick to read character. He began to -take an interest in this ragged visitor, who had -dropped down out of the skies, so to speak.</p> - -<p>“But you are not living with your uncle now, -Nevins?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no. He was killed a month or more ago -in an accident in the mills. My aunt didn’t want -me ’round the house; no more did my cousin. So -I packed up what I had; it wasn’t much,” with a -rueful smile,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> “and—and——”</p> - -<p>“Set out to seek your fortune. So far, if you -don’t mind my saying it, you don’t appear to have -succeeded very well. And so you want a job. -How have you been making your way?”</p> - -<p>“Doing odd jobs for farmers and so on. I’m -clever at repairing automobile machinery, and I -earned a little that way. You see, my object was -to make my way here, otherwise I might have got -two or three jobs in garages or machine shops.”</p> - -<p>“Why were you so anxious to come here?” demanded -Jack, beginning to feel an interest in this -persistent youngster.</p> - -<p>“Because of a strange legacy my uncle left -me.”</p> - -<p>“That’s an odd reason.”</p> - -<p>“I know it; but may I explain?”</p> - -<p>“Surely. Go ahead.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, it was a legacy that he said would -bring me fame and fortune some day. It may -have been only an inventor’s dream. My poor -uncle had many such, or it may not be all that -he thought of it. There were many reasons why -I couldn’t consult any one in my own town about -it, and as I’d read of you and felt I could trust -you and your advice, I sought you out. But if the -invention, for that’s what the legacy was, is -worth anything or not, I want a job.”</p> - -<p>“Come on inside, Nevins. You seem to have -the right stuff in you. We’ll have a talk.”</p> - -<p>And with a wide-eyed youth behind him, Jack -led the way into the workshop. Sam Hinkley -viewed his young employer and the latter’s companion -with marked disfavor from his work -bench.</p> - -<p>“Wormed your way into the place already, -have you?” he muttered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> “I’ll keep my eye on -you, young fellow, and don’t you forget it.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a><br /> - -<small>AN INVENTION DESCRIBED.</small></h2> - - -<p>Ned Nevins had told nothing but the simple -truth when he stated that he had endured many -hardships and much rough travel under unpleasant -conditions in order to obtain an interview -with the Boy Inventors.</p> - -<p>He was a boy of singularly firm character and -persistency or he would never have triumphed -over the obstacles he had conquered in order to -gain his ambition. When Ned’s uncle, Jeptha -Nevins, had died, he had entrusted to the boy -the tin box which we have seen Ned guarding -with so much care. It contained plans and specifications -of an invention upon which the elder -Nevins had spent all his spare time for many -years.</p> - -<p>Whether the invention was a practical one or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -not, Ned, skillful as he was in the line of mechanics, -did not know. But his uncle’s faith in -the value of his invention was so great that he -had inspired his nephew with almost implicit confidence -in the soundness of his judgment.</p> - -<p>Ned might have stayed in his home town and -awaited a more favorable opportunity for setting -out on his travels but for one thing. Jeptha Nevins -had a son, a hulking ne’er-do-well sort of lad, -or rather young man, for he was some years the -senior of Ned, who was sixteen.</p> - -<p>Following his father’s death, “Hank” Nevins, -as he was known among his cronies, made a big -fuss when he learned that Ned had been left the -plans of Jeptha Nevins’ invention. There was -little else but the furniture in the house and a -small sum of money in the savings bank; and so -Hank Nevins laid formal claim to the plans of the -invention from which Jeptha Nevins had hoped -so much.</p> - -<p>But Ned refused absolutely to give them up to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -Hank. With almost his dying words, Jeptha Nevins -had entrusted the plans to his nephew, for he -had long since given up hopes of making anything -out of Hank. In fact Ned knew that it had -been his uncle’s wish that Hank should know -nothing of the invention, but in some way the -latter had discovered the fact of its existence, and -he hoped, that by selling it, (provided it was in -any way practical,) he might obtain some money -which he could expend in dissipation.</p> - -<p>When he found that Ned was unwilling, or -rather refused absolutely, to give up the plans, -Hank had flung out of the house with all manner -of threats, among them being that he would -force his cousin to give up the coveted plans by -process of law. Ned knew nothing of law and -like many persons similarly situated, the idea of -Hank’s resorting to lawyers to obtain possession -of the plans alarmed him. Among Hank’s acquaintances -was a young law clerk of “sporty” -proclivities. With the aid of this young limb of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> -the law, Hank had succeeded in thoroughly -alarming Ned as to the legality of his retention of -the papers. Matters were constituted thus when -Ned determined not to risk the possession of his -uncle’s plans any longer but to leave the small -cottage, where they all lived, and seek counsel and -aid elsewhere than in his native village.</p> - -<p>From the first time he had read of them, the -Boy Inventors had possessed a large place in -Ned’s mind. In his extremity, therefore, he had -decided to seek them out and try to interest them -in the untried invention.</p> - -<p>“Sit down,” said Jack, when the two boys were -inside a small room at one end of the workshop -which, for lack of a better word, was called the -office. It was a very business-like looking room. -Books on technical topics lined the shelves at one -end of it. Models, samples of materials, test-tubes -and other apparatus occupied most of the -rest of the available space.</p> - -<p>Under the book shelves, however, was a desk.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -It was to one of the chairs standing beside this -latter piece of furniture that Jack motioned his -odd guest.</p> - -<p>Ned sank into the chair with an alacrity that -made it plain that he was tired. He had, in fact, -come some miles from his last stopping place that -morning.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry that you had that trouble with Sam -Hinkley,” began Jack in a kindly tone, “he should -have known better than to treat you as he did.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s all right,” the other assured him -hastily, “I’d have stood for a lot more than that -in order to get a chance to see you and tell you -what I’ve traveled a good way to say.”</p> - -<p>“You said you had an invention, I think.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but it is not, properly speaking, mine,” -and then Ned Nevins went on briefly to describe -the circumstances by which he had come into possession -of the plans in which both he and his uncle -set so much store. But up to this point he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> -not mentioned the nature of the invention and -Jack brought him to the point by a question.</p> - -<p>“And just what may this invention be?”</p> - -<p>Ned Nevins hesitated a few seconds before replying.</p> - -<p>“I hardly know just what to call it,” he said, -“but I guess an electric hydroaeroplane about describes -it.”</p> - -<p>Jack’s face betrayed his interest.</p> - -<p>“You mean a craft capable of air and water -travel that is driven by electricity?” he asked.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> -<p>“That’s just it. But there are many novel -features about it, however. My uncle set most -store by one particular novelty in its construction, -and that was the fact that it was driven by electricity -instead of gasolene. Gasolene is bulky, -dangerous and heavy to carry, and sometimes -hard to obtain, but by using an electric generator, -worked while the machine is in motion, the Nevins -hydroaeroplane, as my uncle called it, has -plenty of cheap power always obtainable and is -simpler than gasolene-driven motors in a number -of ways.”</p> - -<p>“But about your storage batteries—I suppose -that’s the idea?”</p> - -<p>Ned Nevins nodded.</p> - -<p>“That’s just the point I was coming to,” he -said; “one of the most notable features of the -Nevins hydroaeroplane is the fact that its power -is furnished by storage batteries many times -lighter than any yet constructed, and capable of -developing many times the power. But the plans -will show you all that far better than I can explain.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to see them.”</p> - -<p>Although he was interested and showed it, -Jack Chadwick had seen far too many impracticable -inventions to wax enthusiastic over any -scheme till he had examined into it for himself. -But he knew that if young Nevins had what he -said he had, he was in possession of a big thing.</p> - -<p>So it was with considerable expectancy that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> -he watched young Nevins fumble with the lock -of the battered tin case. Finally he opened the -receptacle and drew out a roll of papers. These -proved to be blue prints, and closely penned writings -covering several foolscap sheets.</p> - -<p>Naturally, Jack’s attention was first directed to -the blue prints that young Nevins eagerly spread -out on the table before him. Accustomed as he -was to such things, he read the intricate lines and -tracings almost as plainly as print.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a><br /> - -<small>AN IMPORTANT DECISION.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Well, what do you think of it?”</p> - -<p>Ned asked the question with almost pitiful -eagerness. His tone clearly betrayed how much -the answer meant to him.</p> - -<p>“I think that the idea appears feasible, but of -course, I can’t say anything definite yet,” was -Jack’s rejoinder. “I will have to consult with -my cousin, Tom Jesson——”</p> - -<p>Ned nodded that he had heard of young Jesson, -who had had so much to do with the Boy Inventors’ -work.</p> - -<p>“And after we have gone over the plans together -we can tell you just what we think of it. -Suppose that the idea appears to be possible to -work out, what would your plans be?”</p> - -<p>“That we each take an equal chance in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> -profits that may come from it,” replied Ned in -quick, certain tones that showed he had thought -the matter out all clearly in his own mind.</p> - -<p>“Well, that would come later. You would be -clearly entitled to more than a third share, for -the invention practically belongs to you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I have no capital to put into its manufacture. -My idea was that you would build the -craft, with me to help, for I know my uncle’s -ideas in regard to the craft backward, almost.”</p> - -<p>Jack smiled.</p> - -<p>“I see you have every detail figured out.”</p> - -<p>“If you knew how much I have thought of it!” -exclaimed Ned.</p> - -<p>“I can well imagine that. Well, Ned, I can -promise you one thing—if the invention offers -any possibility of success we will undertake it. -We have nothing on hand just now and this is -surely a big idea you have brought us.”</p> - -<p>“I believe in it,” declared the boy fervently.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> -<p>“Well, that’s half the battle. Suppose you -come and see us to-morrow morning. We will -go over the plans to-night and see what we think -of them. By the way, where are you staying?”</p> - -<p>“Nowhere just at present. I came straight up -here as soon as I arrived in Nestorville.”</p> - -<p>“You must have been eager to see us.”</p> - -<p>“I was, indeed. I had traveled a good many -miles to do so, as I explained.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Sam Hinkley’s father keeps a sort of -hotel in Nestorville. It is cheaper than a regular -first-class place but I think you will find it comfortable.”</p> - -<p>“Anything will suit me. I shan’t sleep much -to-night, anyhow,” replied Ned, taking no notice -of the name that Jack had mentioned.</p> - -<p>“Don’t build too many hopes, Ned. I should -hate to have to disappoint you.”</p> - -<p>The boys shook hands and parted. Jack -watched the dusty figure of Ned Nevins as the -boy wended his way down the hill.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> -<p>“There goes a boy with the right stuff in him,” -he said to himself. Although he was young in -years, Jack Chadwick was ripe in experience, as -those of our readers who have followed the adventures -of the Boy Inventors through the various -volumes know.</p> - -<p>For the benefit of those who are making their -first acquaintance with the two lads, we will briefly -relate the careers of Jack Chadwick and Tom -Jesson, his cousin, up to the time that we resume -our friendship with them in the present book.</p> - -<p>Jack Chadwick’s father was the famous Professor -Chadwick, whose various inventions had -made him well-to-do, and who was known -throughout the civilized world. The Chadwick -method of steel reduction and the same inventor’s -ingenious devices for rock boring and drilling -came to the notice of the general public during -the construction of the Panama Canal. But -Professor Chadwick had to his credit a host of -other inventions which, if not quite so well<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -known to the world at large, none the less played -a large part in the history of civilization.</p> - -<p>The Professor, whose wife had died soon after -Jack’s birth and before fame came to him, had -purchased the estate of High Towers, lying a -short distance from the pretty little town of Nestorville -as a secluded place in which to carry on -his researches. Not long after he had acquired it, -Mr. Jasper Jesson, his brother-in-law and a well-known -explorer and biologist, was reported missing -while on an expedition in the tropics. As Mr. -Jesson was also a widower, the care of young -Tom Jesson, the explorer’s only child, devolved -upon Prof. Chadwick.</p> - -<p>Jack Chadwick and Tom Jesson had thus practically -grown up together and were more like -brothers than cousins. As time went on, both lads -developed a strong liking for pursuits similar to -the Professor’s, and when still a young boy, Jack -had invented a patent churn, which came into -wide use, as well as improving many household<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -devices. The Professor was delighted with the -skill and adaptability of both boys, and aided -them all he could in their chosen pursuits. They -both took technical courses at a school in Boston, -not far from which city Nestorville was situated.</p> - -<p>Aeronautics before long began to engage their -attention to the exclusion of every other study. -Professor Chadwick, too, was interested in this -topic, which was developed at High Towers, together -with some experiments in an improved -wireless plant.</p> - -<p>In the first volume of this series, “The Boy -Inventors’ Wireless Triumph,” we saw how the -boys’ hard work bore fruit in an adventurous -voyage to Yucatan. They participated in many -thrilling adventures and dangerous experiences -which culminated in the finding of Tom Jesson’s -long missing father.</p> - -<p>The next volume showed the boys in a new -field of endeavor. There is brotherhood among<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> -inventors, and when a friend of Mr. Chadwick’s, -who was perplexed by problems connected with -a new sort of gun, came to them they were glad to -aid him in any way they could.</p> - -<p>This work involved them in a surprising series -of experiences, not all of which were pleasant. -In fact, at times, every ounce of resource, courage -and perseverance, which both lads possessed -to a high degree, was called into requisition to -bring them out of their difficulties. This volume -was called “The Boy Inventors’ Vanishing Gun,” -and related, in considerable detail, the final triumphant -outcome of the trials and tribulations -which had beset the youthful mechanics.</p> - -<p>In the third book dealing with our young -friends, we found them essaying triumphs in a -new element. This volume was called “The Boy -Inventors’ Diving Torpedo Boat.” The boat was -a masterpiece of mechanical construction and a -long cruise the boys took in her under the surface -of the waves provided a narrative of surpassing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -interest and gripping power. By the aid of their -submarine torpedo boat the boys were enabled to -play an important part in succoring some beleaguered -Americans, who were in peril of their -lives at the hands of a band of bloodthirsty Cuban -revolutionists. The boys were put to a hard test -during this period of their lives, but after all, -their experiences endowed them with increased -self-reliance and manliness which was to prove -of inestimable benefit to them later on, when these -qualities brought them successfully through adventures -and trials more rigorous than any they -had yet faced.</p> - -<p>A Flying Ship was their next craft and in her -the boys ventured on a unique quest through -the untrodden regions of the Upper Amazon. -An odd German professor was their companion -and mentor. This was Professor Bismarck Von -Dinkelspeil, who was as kind-hearted as he was -eccentric. Professor Von Dinkelspeil was in -search of an extraordinary inhabitant of the re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>mote -Brazilian jungles. The boys met him in a -strange way and were enabled to offer him much -assistance. Dick Donovan, a lively young reporter, -and Captain Abe Sprowl, a rough-and-ready -New England skipper, were others of their -companions on what proved a unique cruise, the -details of which were fully set forth in the volume -immediately preceding the present, which -was called “The Boy Inventors’ Flying Ship.”</p> - -<p>Naturally interested in aeronautics as they -were then, the two lads went into “executive session” -over the plans of Ned Nevins’ electrical -hydroaeroplane as soon as Tom Jesson returned -from Boston, which was late that afternoon. He -had gone to the city to order some materials -needed in a new landing device the boys were -working on. Far into the night the two boys -pored over the plans, waxing more and more enthusiastic -as they progressed.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> -<p>“It seems to me that this craft is as practical -and as possible to construct as an electric roadster,” -declared Jack, as they concluded their -labors.</p> - -<p>“To build, yes, but how about it working when -it is built?” said Tom Jesson, who was less of an -idealist than his enthusiastic cousin.</p> - -<p>“Are you willing to try it, Tom?”</p> - -<p>“I am, yes. How about you?”</p> - -<p>“I’m confident enough of success to risk some -of the money we made out of that Yucatan treasure -chest.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll contribute my share, too. When -do we start?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing to hinder us getting on the job right -away. This is too big a thing to keep waiting. -We’ll send for Ned Nevins first thing in the -morning. If this invention turns out half as well -as it looks, his legacy will make him famous as -well as relieve him from want.”</p> - -<p>Possibly, if the boys could have looked into the -future, Jack would not have spoken so confidently. -Troubles they never dreamed of lay ahead of -them, and, at that, in the near future.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a><br /> - -<small>NED TO THE RESCUE.</small></h2> - - -<p>In the meantime, Ned Nevins had retraced his -steps to Nestorville. It was a pleasant little village, -with neat, white houses lining its elm-bordered -streets, each with its trim lawn and flower -beds. To the boy who had been wandering in the -dusty roads so long, it appeared wonderfully -homelike and pleasant, although his travel-stained -garments looked doubly distasteful to him -in the midst of so much neatness and unobtrusive -prosperity.</p> - -<p>He passed the main hotel of the place and continued -down High Street till he came to a rather -less pretentious-looking place, bearing over its -door the name, “The Hinkley House.” It was -not until then that Ned suddenly recollected that -Hinkley was the name by which Jack had re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>ferred -to the disagreeable youth up at the workshop.</p> - -<p>“Wonder if he’s any relation?” thought Ned -to himself as he ascended the steps and entered -the office.</p> - -<p>A man with bristly red hair, and a not over-pleasant -expression of countenance, stood behind -the desk writing in a big book.</p> - -<p>“Well, boy?” he asked sharply, as Ned entered -the place. “If you’re selling anything we don’t -want nothing.”</p> - -<p>And then he resumed his writing without taking -any more notice of Ned, who eyed him rather -amusedly for a few seconds. Then he addressed -him in a pleasant tone.</p> - -<p>“I should like to get a room here, please.”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” the red-haired man looked up with -a grunt rather suggestive of a certain barnyard -animal. “A room, did you say?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. An inexpensive one. In fact, as -cheap a one as you have.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Sure <em>you</em> can pay for it?” was the uncompromising -reply.</p> - -<p>“I certainly can or I shouldn’t have asked you -for it,” said Ned, with the same flash in his eyes -as had come there when Sam Hinkley had addressed -him so rudely that morning.</p> - -<p>Apparently the landlord of the Hinkley House -concluded that he had gone far enough, for in a -more amiable tone he said:</p> - -<p>“I can let you have a good room for a dollar. -Want your meals?”</p> - -<p>“For to-day anyway,” responded Ned, who had -saved from his garage work along the road -enough to make him feel sure of himself for a -short time, anyhow.</p> - -<p>The business was soon concluded and Ned was -at liberty to go up to his room. As soon as he -was alone, he drew a chair to the window and sat -there thinking deeply. Naturally his thoughts all -reverted to one subject, and that was: what -would be the verdict at High Towers?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> - -<p>“If they only knew how much depended upon -it,” thought the boy to himself, and then his fancy -roamed back to that final scene when he had -looked on his uncle for the last time and had received -what to him was almost a sacred trust. -From this his thoughts turned to his ne’er-do-well -cousin and the latter’s threats. His uncle had -left no will and Ned was not quite certain in his -own mind if he had any legal rights to the papers -dealing with the electric hydroaeroplane.</p> - -<p>“If they were to find out where I had come, -they might try to make it unpleasant for me,” he -thought with a momentary qualm, but the next -moment he put these thoughts aside, and when he -descended to dinner he was in a cheerful, hopeful -frame of mind.</p> - -<p>Mine host Hinkley’s meals were not of the sort -that could be described as Lucullan, but they were -solid, and Ned ate with the hearty appetite of a -growing boy. After he had finished, he decided -to saunter out and see what he could of the town.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> -It would at least help to pass away the time till -the next day, upon which he felt his fate hung. -For the life of him he could not have settled down -to read or write till he knew definitely what the -verdict upon his unique legacy was to be.</p> - -<p>In this frame of mind he wandered through the -main street of the little town, which did not take -very long, and soon found himself out upon the -high road. The road was a pleasant winding one, -and Ned walked on briskly, turning over in his -mind, as he went, the many events that had recently -transpired to work such a change in his -career. He could not help an exultant leap of -the heart as he thought of the possible outcome of -a favorable opinion of the dead inventor’s great -lifework.</p> - -<p>He was still revolving this thought in his mind -when, on rounding a turn in the winding road, he -came across a sight which temporarily put all -other thoughts aside.</p> - -<p>Stalled in the center of the road was a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>fine looking -automobile. Ned, who, as we know, -knew a lot about cars, recognized it as a machine -of expensive make and as an imported car. Bent -over the engine was a man who appeared to be -trying to adjust whatever was the matter with -the motor. Standing about were two other men. -As Ned came up, one of them turned to him.</p> - -<p>“Here, boy, do you know if there’s a garage in -Nestorville?”</p> - -<p>Now, Ned knew that there was not, for he had -looked about for one, thinking that if his mission -at High Towers failed, he might chance to get -employment in such a place till he got money -enough to find a better job. So he replied in the -negative.</p> - -<p>The man, who wore auto goggles, and was big -and broad, turned to his companion with a gesture -of annoyance.</p> - -<p>“Too bad, Smithers,” he said in a vexed tone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> -“if Elmer there can’t fix that motor we’ll have to -leave the car here and telephone into Boston for -another.”</p> - -<p>The chauffeur straightened up from his labors -over the refractory motor.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we’re stuck, sir,” he said, “this car -is a Dolores. If it was any American car now, I -could——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that,” interrupted the big man, -with an impatient gesture. “I hired you as a -competent chauffeur and now the first break-down -we have——”</p> - -<p>“If it was an American car,” protested the -man. “I don’t understand these Dolores and——”</p> - -<p>“Maybe I can help you.”</p> - -<p>It was Ned who spoke and the big man faced -round on him in surprise.</p> - -<p>“You!” he exclaimed. “What do you know -about cars?”</p> - -<p>“A little, sir.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, at any rate you can’t know less than -Elmer,” said the big man with a disgusted look -at his chauffeur, who looked downcast and -abashed. “What do you want to do?”</p> - -<p>“See if I can get your car going for you. I’m -interested in this sort of thing, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Umph! don’t look as if you owned a car,” -commented the man who had been addressed as -“Smithers.”</p> - -<p>“That’ll do, Smithers,” spoke up the big man -sharply. “Elmer owns that he’s up against it, so -give the boy a chance to show what he can do.”</p> - -<p>In one garage where he had worked for a time -the “big man of the place” had owned, as it so -happened, a Dolores car. Therefore Ned was not -at sea when, in the overalls he had borrowed from -the chauffeur, he set to work on the stubborn -motor.</p> - -<p>“Think you can fix it?” asked the big man, -after Ned had requested the chauffeur to start -the engine so that he could hear just what was -the matter with it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said Ned frankly. “It’s missing -in two cylinders. Carburetor trouble, I -think. The Dolores has a special make of carburetor, -you know, a very sensitive and complicated -variety.”</p> - -<p>“Go to it, kid,” muttered the chauffeur. “If -you can fix that mixed-up muss of springs and -air-valves you’re a wonder.”</p> - -<p>“If you’ll slow down the engine a while, I’ll -try,” said Ned, determined to do his best. It was -characteristic of him that he was as interested in -this vagrant bit of roadside trouble that had come -his way as he would have been in some problem -directly concerning himself. As it so happened, -however, the problem he was about to try to solve -did concern him and, at that, in no very distant -manner.</p> - -<p>Of this, however, he was not to become aware -till later, and then in a manner which startled -and rather alarmed him, considering the consequences -it involved. But in blissful ignorance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> -all this, Ned went to work, determined to do all -in his power to convince the two rather sceptical -autoists that he was not boasting when he had -said he thought he could help them out of their -difficulties.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a><br /> - -<small>THE UNLUCKY STORY.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Once more—that’s it!”</p> - -<p>Ned suspended his labors for a moment and -listened to the tune of the throbbing motor as the -chauffeur started it up, following Ned’s adjustment -of the carburetor.</p> - -<p>“It’s working better already,” declared the big -man. “Boy, you’re a wizard.”</p> - -<p>Ned looked up smilingly. In the interest of the -work, and the fascination he always felt in conquering -the whims of a stubborn bit of machinery, -he had quite forgotten for the moment all -his trials and perplexities.</p> - -<p>“I think I’m getting there all right,” he said -confidently,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> “but it will take a little more time to -fix it just right.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! You believe in doing things thoroughly, -I see.”</p> - -<p>“I do, sir. Whatever is worth doing is worth -doing well.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a belief that will get you a long way in -life, my boy,” said the big man. Ned hardly -heard him, for the motor was once more roaring -and pulsing. He tuned it up, listening to its explosions -as a skilled musician might hearken critically -to a piece of music.</p> - -<p>As he listened, he tightened up a connection -here or loosened a valve there till the big six-cylindered -motor was humming with the even -pulsations of a sleeping baby.</p> - -<p>“You can shut her off,” said he, addressing the -chauffeur, and then turning to the big man he -added, “I think you’ll find no more trouble, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What! You have adjusted it, my boy?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> - -<p>“As well as I can, sir, and, without bragging, I -guess you’ll find everything all right now.”</p> - -<p>“How long will it remain so?” asked the sceptical -Smithers.</p> - -<p>“For several weeks, at any rate.”</p> - -<p>“You may take the wheel again, Elmer, and -hustle us along. Young man, that you’re a mechanic -of no mean ability I could see by the way -you went to work. What is your name?”</p> - -<p>“Ned Nevins, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Live here?”</p> - -<p>“I do just now, but I come from Millville, -N. Y.”</p> - -<p>The big man looked surprised.</p> - -<p>“Are you any relation to Jeptha Nevins?”</p> - -<p>“His nephew, sir. Did you know him?”</p> - -<p>“Very well. I am Vaughn Kessler, the owner -of the Kessler Mill. Your uncle was my foreman -for many years. He was one of the best -men we ever had; I was very sorry to hear of his -death. Is there anything I can do for you?”</p> - -<p>“No, thank you, sir, except——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Except what? Come, you’ll pardon my saying -so, but you don’t look—well, very prosperous.”</p> - -<p>“I am all right, thank you, sir, and have good -prospects ahead of me,” replied Ned. “What I -was going to ask you was not to mention my name -in Millville or to say where you saw me if by -any chance anyone should ask you.”</p> - -<p>“But why? You are not under a cloud there -surely, and if——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no sir! It is for quite another reason,” -said Ned earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Well, it shall be as you wish,” said Mr. Kessler, -regarding the boy with some curiosity, -“though why in the world you should make the -request puzzles me. Good-bye, my boy, and -thank you.”</p> - -<p>He held out his hand and took Ned’s. The -next minute the car that the boy had so cleverly -placed back in running order moved swiftly off. -As it receded along the road, Ned became con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>scious -that there was something in his hand. It -had been left by Mr. Kessler.</p> - -<p>“It’s money!” exclaimed the boy, unclasping -his fist. “Well, it won’t come amiss, although I -wouldn’t have thought of charging him for that -little job.”</p> - -<p>He unfolded the bill and then gave a little cry -of astonishment. It was for twenty dollars,—a -small fortune to Ned.</p> - -<p>“Well, I am in luck!” he exclaimed. “If only -my fortunes have changed, as this seems to indicate, -I’ll be lucky to-morrow as well, and that -is the dearest wish of my heart.”</p> - -<p>It was well for Ned’s peace of mind that he -did not know that Mr. Kessler, while fully intending -to keep his promise of not mentioning -Ned’s name or address at home in Millville, unconsciously -let the cat out of the bag when he -arrived at Lowell, Mass., his destination. His -important interests, and those of his traveling -companion, Mr. Smithers, made him a big man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> -there and the late arrival of his automobile, -which kept a momentous meeting waiting, called -for explanations. To the newspaper men of -Lowell, Mr. Kessler told how he had been aided -by a shabbily clothed boy on a country road when -a trained chauffeur had failed to adjust his car. -It made an interesting story, and was telegraphed -over the country by a correspondent of a news -association. In due course it appeared in the -Millville papers under this heading:</p> - -<p class="center"> -MILLVILLE MAGNATE AIDED<br /> -BY A LAD FROM THIS CITY.</p> -<p class="center"> -Vaughn Kessler’s Stalled Auto Started<br /> -By Ned Nevins, Motor Genius.</p> - -<p>The article beneath these headlines described -the whole incident briefly, and stated that Ned -was at present residing in the village of Nestorville, -Mass. With but few exceptions, the fact -that Mr. Kessler was concerned in the story was -the chief feature of interest to readers of the -article.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> - -<p>One individual in Millville read it with burning -eyes. This was Hank Nevins, Ned’s cousin. -Following Ned’s disappearance, he had used -every means in his power to locate the boy. For -this he had a good reason. Not alone did he want -to recover the plans and designs of the electric -hydroaeroplane, but he was prepared to offer a -price for them.</p> - -<p>While Ned had been making his preparations -to depart quietly from home, Hank, on the advice -of his lawyer friend, had visited the head of an -aeroplane manufacturing concern who happened -to be visiting Millville. Hank had laid before -the stranger as full a description as he could of -his father’s invention. He left out many important -points but the stranger was quick to see possibilities -in the idea and offered Hank a substantial -sum if he would bring him the plans.</p> - -<p>The offer aroused all of Hank’s cupidity. He -saw a way, as he thought, to a life of elegant -leisure. Only one stumbling block interposed it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>self, -and that was a seemingly insurmountable -one.</p> - -<p>Ned had vanished, and with him the papers -that would have meant money to Hank. On the -advice of his legal friend, Hank had advertised -for Ned in the personal columns of half a dozen -newspapers. But none of the carefully worded -appeals to the boy to reveal himself had borne -fruit. Hank was obliged to confess to Mr. Melville -of the Blue Sky Aeroplane Company that he -would be delayed in producing the plans, not admitting -that it would be extremely unlikely that -he could ever get possession of them at all.</p> - -<p>“Well, any time you have them bring them to -me,” said Mr. Melville before he left Millville. -“And my offer will hold good.”</p> - -<p>Hank’s thoughts were not very pleasant ones -as he left the aeroplane man’s presence.</p> - -<p>“The young blackguard, to run off like that,” -he grumbled.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> “Those plans mean dollars and -cents now. How can I get them? If I could locate -that runaway brat, I’d soon find a way.”</p> - -<p>And now, through that unfortunate article in -the <cite>Millville Clarion</cite>, Ned Nevins’ hiding place -had been revealed to the last person on earth -Ned would have wished to have known of it.</p> - -<p>That night, as soon as his work was done, -Hank sought out his budding lawyer friend. The -law, like all other professions, has its black sheep. -Hank’s friend bade fair to become one of these -when he should ultimately be admitted to practice, -which was his ambition. His eyes glistened -when he heard of Hank’s discovery.</p> - -<p>“If only we could get those papers,” muttered -Hank, as the two sat together that night. “We’d -both have money to burn, Miles.”</p> - -<p>Miles Sharkey was the name of Hank’s -crony, and the latter part of his appellation suited -him from the ground up. In his projecting yellow -teeth and undershot jaw, as well as in his -fishy, shifting eyes, there was something sugges<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>tive -of the rapaciousness and treachery of a -shark.</p> - -<p>“I think I can find a way to make him give -them up, Hank,” said Miles, after some moments -spent in deep thought, “but it may take a little -time to work out the details. Have you any idea -what he can be doing in this Nestorville place?”</p> - -<p>“Not on the first guess. Just a crazy notion of -his, I reckon. But what’s your plan, Miles.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll have to think out the details,” rejoined the -redoubtable limb of the law, rubbing his tallowy -hands together. “But I think we’ll be able to -make Cousin Ned disgorge before very long—for -a consideration.”</p> - -<p>“On the day I get my money, you get yours,” -Hank assured him.</p> - -<p>“Consider it settled then,” said Miles. “I’d -have to be a pretty poor lawyer if I couldn’t think -of a way.”</p> - -<p>“I—I’m not particular about law,” blustered -Hank,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> “anything to get those plans. He’s only -a kid, and once we’ve got ’em he can’t do anything.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a great pity you didn’t get hold of them -before he skipped out,” said the worthy Miles. -“Anyhow, it’s all right. I’m smart enough to attend -to that.”</p> - -<p>“Miles, you’re a true friend.” And as they -parted, Hank clasped his companion’s claw-like -hand with a fervor worthy of being bestowed on -a better man.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br /> - -<small>HIS ENEMIES ON THE TRAIL.</small></h2> - - -<p>Ned Nevins walked back to the hotel with his -brain in a whirl. In the first place, the twenty-dollar -bill which he fondly fingered as it lay in -his pocket, provided a stop-gap between want and -what he hardly dared to consider, and that was, -a refusal on the part of the Boy Inventors to have -anything to do with his cherished plans.</p> - -<p>In the second place, his encounter with Vaughn -Kessler was a dubious source of satisfaction to -him. From one point of view it had, of course, -its pleasing side, but somehow, Ned could not -free himself of an uneasy feeling that in some -way the news of his whereabouts would get back -to Millville. In what a devious way this was to -happen he had, of course, no conception, and it -was just as well for his peace of mind that he -had not.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> - -<p>He arrived at the hotel a little time before supper, -and having cleaned himself up as well as -possible, and carefully brushed his hair and his -garments, he descended to the porch and sank -down into the most comfortable chair he could -find, one commanding a good view of the street.</p> - -<p>A boy came along with papers, and feeling that -with his twenty-dollar bill snugly tucked in his -pocket he could afford to indulge in a few luxuries, -Ned bought two papers, one a local sheet, -the other a Boston daily. He looked through the -latter first and as his eye traveled down the columns -it was caught by the Personal Column.</p> - -<p>In this section of the paper were published notices -to missing relatives and so forth. The type -used was large and heavy and calculated to catch -the eye.</p> - -<p>What was Ned’s astonishment to suddenly spy -his own name at the head of a notice two or three -paragraphs from the top of the list. He stared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> -at it in some wonder for a minute before he read -the notice itself.</p> - -<p>“Why, who can be advertising for me?” he -thought, and with the thought came an uncomfortable -sensation at the recollection of the legal -processes with which his cousin had threatened -him.</p> - -<p>“I’ll read the notice, that’s the best way of solving -the puzzle,” reflected the boy. Casting his -eye over the paragraph, he read as follows:</p> - -<p>“Ned Nevins: It will be to your advantage to -communicate at once with your cousin at Millville, -N. Y. Big opportunity.—H. Nevins.”</p> - -<p>“That’s Hank! what sort of a trick is he up to -now?” wondered Ned. “To ‘my advantage,’” -he musingly went on.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> “I’d like to know what -there is to ‘my advantage’ that Hank would be -likely to take the trouble and expense to advertise -about. ‘Big opportunity’—yes, a ‘big opportunity’ -to get his hands on those papers. The -idea of his thinking that I’d be softy enough to -answer such an ’ad’! No, indeed, you’ll never -locate me in that way. I’m glad I asked Mr. -Kessler to say nothing about having seen me. -Hank is working harder than I thought possible -for him to locate me, but he won’t do it if I can -help it.”</p> - -<p>Which shows that Ned, like most of the rest of -us, placed undue confidence in his own ability to -avoid unpleasantness. We already know how -Fate was at work to over-reach him, playing with -what appeared to be malignant favoritism, into -the hands of those who wished him harm.</p> - -<p>He was roused from his reverie by the sound -of a quick step behind him, and then a hand was -placed none too gently on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“It’s that fresh kid again!” exclaimed a grating, -unpleasant voice. “Get up out of that chair -instantly—do you hear me?”</p> - -<p>“It’s Sam Hinkley!” exclaimed Ned to himself, -without, however, looking around. Aloud he demanded:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, what do you want?”</p> - -<p>“That chair.”</p> - -<p>“Unfortunately it is, as you see, occupied.”</p> - -<p>“I wish it at once!”</p> - -<p>“You do?”</p> - -<p>“Yes!”</p> - -<p>“You have a cool way of asking for it. Suppose -I don’t give it to you?”</p> - -<p>“You’ll be made to!”</p> - -<p>“Who’ll make me?”</p> - -<p>“I will, I guess. You don’t know who I am?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I do. Your name is Sam Hinkley. -I had a little argument with you this morning -in which you came out second best, I fancy.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll teach you a lesson, you tramp. Are you -going to get up?”</p> - -<p>“When the supper bell rings, I mean to.”</p> - -<p>“Not till then?”</p> - -<p>“No thanks, I’m very comfortable where I -am.”</p> - -<p>“That’s my chair.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Indeed, I thought it was one of those placed -out here for the benefit of the guests.”</p> - -<p>“So it is.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I happen to be one.”</p> - -<p>This answer took the blustering Sam rather -aback. He thought that Ned had sought a chance -to rest himself at the expense of the hotel’s hospitality. -But it suited his purpose to appear incredulous.</p> - -<p>“They don’t take in vagabonds here.”</p> - -<p>It was more than flesh and blood could stand. -Ned was about to leap to his feet when he was -spared that trouble by the chair being yanked -from under him, and he fell sprawling on the -floor of the porch.</p> - -<p>“Haw! haw! haw!” bawled Sam, in high good -humor at seeing Ned in such an undignified position.</p> - -<p>“Ho! ho! ho!” echoed half a dozen of Sam’s -cronies, who had been passing with him when -he had spied Ned, to whom Sam had taken an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> -instinctive dislike. The “gang” had been invited -by Sam to see the “fun.” If it had not been on -the porch of his father’s hotel that Sam encountered -Ned, he would have hesitated to try issues -with him, for his experience of the morning had -shown him that Ned, slender and rather delicate-looking -as he was, was a foeman by no means to -be despised. But on home grounds he felt safe.</p> - -<p>He was rather taken aback, therefore, when -Ned scrambled to his feet and advanced toward -him instead of retreating, as the bully had expected -Ned would do. There was a fire akindle -in Ned’s eyes that Sam by no means liked, for -he was at heart a coward, although accustomed -to lording it over other boys of his own age not -a little.</p> - -<p>But with the eyes of his cronies fixed upon him -expectantly, he felt that he could not retreat.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” he asked, in a voice that -he tried to make belligerent, but which, somehow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> -did not hold quite the warlike note he would have -liked.</p> - -<p>“I want to give you something you need badly,” -said Ned, without raising his voice, but there -still glowed that same dangerous light in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Are you ready?”</p> - -<p>“Rer-ready for what?” demanded Sam, in vain -trying to look unimpressed by this quiet, business-like -lad with the steady voice.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> -<p>“For what I fancy is to be your first lesson in -manners.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a><br /> - -<small>NED MAKES AN ENEMY.</small></h2> - - -<p>A wavering look of indecision crept into Sam -Hinkley’s pug-nosed countenance. He would -have liked to have the last few moments over -again. He felt that he would have acted differently. -But he tried to brazen it out.</p> - -<p>“You strolling vagabond from goodness knows -where, take that!”</p> - -<p>It was a vicious blow, with plenty of force behind -it, for Sam, although a bully and not possessed -of an overabundance of courage, was still -wiry and well muscled. But to his surprise his -blow did not land. It should have collided with -Ned’s chin, but when its force was expended, Ned -was not there.</p> - -<p>He had stepped neatly aside and allowed Sam -to launch his thunderbolt harmlessly. Sa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>m’s -friends, grouped beneath the veranda on the -sidewalk, closed into a compact little crowd. -Plainly Sam was not going to carry all before -him as had been his habit hitherto. His cronies -saw this at once and some of them inwardly rejoiced.</p> - -<p>The office of the little hotel was deserted, and -nobody interfered. Sam gathered himself together -to renew the combat. His brow grew -black. Ned stood waiting. He made no attempt -to defend himself. He merely eyed Sam Hinkley -with a look of contempt that maddened that -pugnacious bully.</p> - -<p>Sam eyed his opponent viciously.</p> - -<p>“Well?” queried Ned.</p> - -<p>“Thought you were going to fight!” roared -Sam.</p> - -<p>“As I told you before, I’m not a fighter.”</p> - -<p>Sam rashly interpreted this as being a sign of -weakness. He rushed in once more, swinging -his big fists with more vigor than science. Once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> -more Will-o’-the-Wisp Ned was not where he -ought to have been, and Sam, carried off his feet -by the vigor of his unopposed onslaught, collided -with a chair, tripped, and fell headlong on the -floor to the porch.</p> - -<p>This time the laugh that went up was not at -Ned’s expense. The boy stood in the same quiet -attitude while Sam, his face crimson with anger -and mortification, gathered himself up.</p> - -<p>“This ain’t fighting!” he bellowed angrily.</p> - -<p>“You can call it anything you like—an acrobatic -performance if you wish,” rejoined Ned, -without raising his voice or changing his position.</p> - -<p>Now there is nothing more irritating than to -lose your temper and to make an exhibition of -yourself, while the one your rage is directed at -stands as steady and unmoved as a rock, hardly -deigning to reply to either threats or onslaughts.</p> - -<p>Sam was almost beside himself with rage as, -with blazing eyes, he made another dash at Ned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> -This time Ned did not step aside. He ducked -under Sam’s terrific left, and coming up, struck -the bully a blow in the ribs that caused that -worthy to emit a sound resembling:</p> - -<p>“Oof!”</p> - -<p>Ned took advantage of the momentary pause -in hostilities to speak.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Hinkley,” said he. “I’m not a ruffian, -and I don’t like fighting. We’ll call this off -right here and now, if you say so. I’m willing—what -do you say?”</p> - -<p>“That I’m going to give you the licking of your -life!” roared out the enraged Sam.</p> - -<p>Again he rushed in, his arms working like twin -piston rods. This time Ned did not avoid the -other’s rush. There was a rapid exchange of -blows, and then suddenly—so suddenly that nobody -saw just how it had happened, Sam Hinkley’s -head was jerked back.</p> - -<p>Whack! Ned had taken advantage of a fraction -of a second when the other was off his guard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> -and landed a stinging blow full on Sam’s pug -nose. With a roar of anger Sam rushed in to -retaliate. This time Ned was not quite quick -enough. He stepped sideways to avoid the other’s -onrush, but his foot slipped, and before he could -recover his balance a heavy blow from Sam’s -ponderous fist sent him spinning across the porch.</p> - -<p>Sam’s adherents in the crowd watching the two -lads set up a shout of delight. A broad grin overspread -Sam’s face.</p> - -<p>“Guess that finishes the lesson,” he jeered.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary it’s only just begun,” retaliated -Ned, and before Sam knew just what had -happened, two smart blows had rattled against -his ribs, the force of them making his teeth chatter -as if with the cold.</p> - -<p>But Sam speedily recovered himself, and for -the next few minutes it was give and take, with -the odds rather against Ned, who was lighter of -build than the bully, and who was constantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> -forced back by the latter’s rushes. Sam began -to think it was all over.</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Manners’ Teacher, how about you -now?” he sneered tauntingly.</p> - -<p>Ned did not reply, but he watched Sam like a -cat. He saw that the bully was beginning to wear -out under the fast work of the last few minutes. -His chest was heaving and his breath came pantingly. -He guessed that Sam would have been -glad to have called “quits” then and there.</p> - -<p>But while Ned might have been willing enough -not to fight at the beginning of the battle, his -blood was up now, and he was determined to see -the thing through. He despised fighting as being -ruffianly and unnecessary, but, in a case like -the present, he felt that if he allowed Sam Hinkley -to walk over him, the latter would make it -next to impossible for him to remain in Nestorville.</p> - -<p>He avoided another of Sam’s bull-like rushes -with an agile step backward. As Sam’s blow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> -missed, Ned could hear him give a loud grunt, a -sound that told he was tiring.</p> - -<p>“I’m wearing him down,” thought Ned, and -watched carefully for an opening that might afford -him a chance of terminating the battle.</p> - -<p>Sam “rushed” Ned again. This time he, too, -appeared to be desirous of ending the fight by -a blow that would take all the fight out of his -lightly built opponent. But his blow landed on -thin air.</p> - -<p>Ned’s opportunity had come. His fist shot out -like a streak of lightning. It struck Sam under -the chin, lifting him off his feet. He toppled and -fell backward, landing among the chairs with a -crash that sounded like a cook-stove falling -downstairs.</p> - -<p>“That settles him!” cried some of the crowd -of boys that had gathered, and “settle” Sam it -did, in more senses than one, for, aroused by the -crash of his fall, the bully’s father issued from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a><br /><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a><br /><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -the hotel and seizing his offspring by the scruff -of the neck, angrily bade him get inside.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illus-070.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">“It wasn’t altogether his fault”, explained Ned.—<i>Page</i> 69</div> -</div> - -<p>“It wasn’t altogether his fault,” explained Ned. -“I had his chair, you see, and—”</p> - -<p>“That’ll do, young feller,” said the elder Hinkley -brusquely, “that’s not the first time it’s happened. -Sam had a licking coming to him and he -got it. I ain’t got nothing to say, ’cepting that -supper’s ready when you are.”</p> - -<p>And in this eventful manner ended Ned’s first -day in Nestorville. It had surely been an eventful -one, thought the boy, as he reviewed the various -experiences of the last twelve hours before -turning into bed.</p> - -<p>He was just about to turn out the light when -his attention was attracted to the door-sill. Something -white was being shoved under the door into -the room. It was a folded bit of paper.</p> - -<p>Ned sprang forward and picked it up. It was, -as he had guessed, a note. He opened it, and as -he perused its contents, a smile of good-natured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> -contempt came over his face. This is what he -read:</p> - -<p>“You think you are smart, but you ain’t -through with me yet. I’ll fix you and when I do -I’ll fix you good. S. Hinkley.”</p> - -<p>“Too bad,” said Ned to himself, as he finished -reading.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> “I’ve not so many friends that I want -to make any enemies. But after all, the quarrel -was not of my making and I don’t intend to allow -Sam Hinkley’s threats to worry me.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br /> - -<small>THE PLANS ACCEPTED.</small></h2> - - -<p>Ned presented himself at High Towers betimes -the next morning. He found Jack Chadwick -and Tom Jesson awaiting him at the workshop. -Mr. Chadwick was in New York attending -to some business connected with his interests. -Mr. Jesson was in Boston delivering a series of -biological lectures, so that the boys had the place -to themselves.</p> - -<p>The eagerness of Ned to know the verdict of -the two Boy Inventors must have shown itself -very plainly on his face, for almost as soon as he -had been introduced to Tom Jesson, Jack hastened -to relieve the lad’s anxiety.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you want to know if it’s good news -or bad?” asked Jack.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> -<p>“I’ve hardly slept all night thinking of it.”</p> - -<p>“Then I have something to tell you that you -will be glad to hear. We will help you manufacture -the craft your uncle designed and——”</p> - -<p>Ned’s glad outburst of thanks checked him for -a moment, but Jack went on to explain that he -and his cousin would take only one-quarter interest -in the craft, leaving the remainder free and -clear to Ned. The cost of manufacturing would -be borne by the Boy Inventors and the patents, -when the machine was completed, would rest in -Ned’s name.</p> - -<p>“Is that satisfactory?” asked Jack when he had -finished.</p> - -<p>“Satisfactory!” burst out Ned. “It’s generous—too -generous!”</p> - -<p>“Not at all. So far as money is concerned, -when you know more about us, you will know -that Tom and I have plenty, most of it realized -from our inventions.”</p> - -<p>“I know but——”</p> - -<p>“Hold on a minute. Here we are, just dying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> -for a chance to get to work on something really -new and neither of us with brains enough to -think up anything. You come along with just -what we are looking for and we feel more like -thanking you than considering we are doing anything -wonderful.”</p> - -<p>“Besides,” added Tom, “even one-quarter interest -in the electric hydroaeroplane ought to -yield a handsome profit.”</p> - -<p>“If, and it’s a big ‘If,’” said Ned with a laugh, -“we can get it to work. If not——”</p> - -<p>“We wouldn’t tackle it if we didn’t think it was -practicable,” said Jack decisively. “So that ends -that. Now come along, Ned, and be initiated into -the mysteries of the firm, for you know, you are -now a working partner.”</p> - -<p>“Say, fellows!” burst out Ned enthusiastically. -“I don’t know how to thank you——”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right. You help us out on building -the machine and that will be thanks enough. -When we’ve got it working, we’ll shine in your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -reflected glory and that will be satisfaction -enough for us.”</p> - -<p>The next hour was one of unmixed delight for -Ned, interested, nay wrapped up in mechanics as -he was. He had never seen a workshop fitted up -on such a scale as that of Jack Chadwick and Tom -Jesson,—a private workshop, that is. Lathes and -all sorts of machinery of the latest pattern were -driven by a powerful gasolene engine. Facilities -were at hand for making the parts of many of the -boys’ devices. Three skilled machinists were also -employed, and summoning them about him, Jack -Chadwick briefly outlined to the interested men -the big task they were about to undertake.</p> - -<p>He was in the midst of his explanations, when -Sam Hinkley strolled in. Jack looked at him -sharply. One of his eyes was swollen and slightly -discolored. He glared at Ned savagely and -the look was not lost on Jack Chadwick.</p> - -<p>As soon as he had an opportunity, Sam drew -Jack aside and demanded, in an indignant and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> -aggrieved voice, to know if Ned Nevins was to -work in the shop.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and on a partnership basis, too,” said -Jack enthusiastically. “He has been the means of -introducing us to a wonderful invention. We are -going to start in on the work of its construction -right away.”</p> - -<p>Sam did not appear interested in this information -except that a jealous look crept into his eyes.</p> - -<p>“I think you ought to know that he’s nothing -but a rowdy,” he said. “I’ll bet any invention -he’s been telling you about is a fake.”</p> - -<p>“The plans look good to us,” responded Jack, -“and we are going to risk it. What have you got -against the boy, anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“He’s a rowdy,” repeated Sam. “He blacked -my eye last night.”</p> - -<p>Jack, who had a pretty good insight into Sam’s -character, could not repress a smile.</p> - -<p>“I thought you were invincible, Sam.”</p> - -<p>“He didn’t fight fair. He forced me into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -row,” grumbled Sam. “I could have licked him -all right if——”</p> - -<p>“What had you been doing, Sam?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing. He took my chair away and when -I wanted it back he said I’d have to fight for it -and——”</p> - -<p>“And you did,” commented Jack with a dry -smile. “Well, Sam, my advice is to forget it. If -you think you’ve been injured I’m sorry, but Ned -Nevins appears to me to be an inoffensive sort of -a lad, quiet and unassuming.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he just puts on that to fool you,” muttered -Sam.</p> - -<p>At this juncture, Jack was called away by one -of the machinists and Sam, with a very bad grace, -turned to some unfinished work at his lathe. He -was still engaged at this when Ned happened to -pass by.</p> - -<p>“I got your note last night, Hinkley,” he said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> -“Why didn’t you give it to me in person instead -of slipping it under the door?”</p> - -<p>Sam made a sound resembling “G-r-r-r-r-r” -and went on with what he was doing.</p> - -<p>“As I suppose you know,” resumed Ned, “we -shall see a good deal of each other in the future. -Why can’t we be friends?”</p> - -<p>Sam’s face contorted with rage as he dropped -the tool he had been using and faced round on -Ned.</p> - -<p>“Because I hate you, that’s why. You’re nothing -but an interloper and a faker and Jack -Chadwick will find it out before very long.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry you think that, Sam.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” asked Sam, surprised at the other’s -calm, even tone. His outburst appeared to have -no effect whatever upon the lad he had desired to -impress with his enmity.</p> - -<p>“Because I am afraid you are going to be disappointed,” -and with these words Ned passed on.</p> - -<p>The next few weeks were busy ones about the -workshop of the Boy Inventors, but gradually, -almost imperceptibly, the electric hydroaero<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>plane -began to take shape. The enthusiasm of -the boys infected the workmen and even Sam -Hinkley appeared to work with more than usual -fervor.</p> - -<p>Briefly described, the hydroaeroplane portion -of the craft consisted of two twin boats, each -about forty feet in length and constructed of a -special aluminum alloy jointed together by strong -vanadium connections. Between the pair of -boats, which will be more fully described later, -the storage tanks, which were the novel feature -of the Jeptha Nevins craft, were placed.</p> - -<p>In the center of each of the boats was a small -raised cabin, the cabins being connected by a -hollow passageway. At either end of the craft -the wings, of biplane pattern, were attached. -The wing spread was ninety-five feet which, with -the craft’s electric engines of enormous power, -gave the giant air-craft a lifting capacity of two -thousand pounds.</p> - -<p>Above the storage batteries, and between the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> -twin “boats,” were the motors, each coupled to -two sets of propellers placed fore and aft on -either end of the craft and outside of the wings. -A light, but strong, framework supported the -outer bearings of the propellers and served to -give them sufficient projection to insure balance. -The forward set of propellers were so “pitched” -as to pull the craft through the air, while the after -ones furnished a driving impulse.</p> - -<p>One of the most important features of the invention -was the device by which electricity was -made while she was in flight or skimming over -the water. This was a generator of considerable -power geared to the shafts of the propellers. As -the craft drove along, the storage batteries were -constantly recharged by this device. For the -initial, or starting “charge” the batteries were -furnished with “juice” by a small compressed air-driven -generator which could also be used in case -of accident to the automatically driven device. -Thus the necessity of gasolene was done away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -with and the Nevins craft was equipped, so far -as power was concerned, to cross the Atlantic -Ocean. But, of course, no such project entered -into the minds of her young constructors.</p> - -<p>The planes themselves were covered with -sheets of aluminum attached to frames of radiolite, -a metal as light as aluminum and of great -tensile strength. Landing wheels, supported by -powerful shock absorbers, provided for alighting, -and special balancing devices, attached to the -bow and to the stern of the novel craft, minimized -the danger of coming to earth with too -great a shock to the weighty fabric.</p> - -<p>On the top of each cabin was a powerful -search-light, and each was fitted out with two -bunks and other conveniences as in the stateroom -of an ocean liner. The pilot house was mounted -above the covered passage, or tube, already referred -to, which connected the two parts of the -craft. It contained a wheel not unlike that of an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> -ocean liner and levers to control the balancing -wings and the pitch of the planes.</p> - -<p>As for the engine-controls, the motor being -electrically driven, the machinery to control it -was wonderfully simple. An apparatus not unlike -a switchboard, as may be seen in any powerhouse, -was mounted within convenient reach of -the helmsman. The light controls also were affixed -to this board. Mastery of the huge craft -was within instant power of the driver. A signaling -system to each cabin, in case of emergency, -was another feature added to the general completeness -of the equipment.</p> - -<p>Such is a brief description of the Nevins electric -hydroaeroplane, a craft in which the Boy -Inventors were destined to meet as strange adventures -as had ever fallen to their lot.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a><br /> - -<small>THE ARRIVAL OF TROUBLE.</small></h2> - - -<p>It would be tedious to dwell upon the details of -the construction of the craft which the boys, by -unanimous vote, had decided to call the Electric -Monarch. The work went steadily on and Prof. -Chadwick, who had returned soon after the boys -started work, rendered them valuable assistance. -The previous experience with aerial craft, which -the Boy Inventors had had, made the work progress -far more rapidly than would otherwise have -been the case, although the plans and drawings -left by Jeptha Nevins were so detailed and exact -that they encountered but few very knotty problems.</p> - -<p>One day, not very long before the Electric -Monarch, which had been finished in scarlet and -silver, was ready for her trial trip, two strangers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> -appeared at the Hinkley House. One was a -broad-shouldered, clumsy-looking young man -with a shock of black hair and carelessly brushed -clothes, the other a tall, cadaverous-looking person -of about the same age with shifty, rat-like -eyes and a general air of furtive watchfulness.</p> - -<p>Some time before this event, Ned, as an active -partner in the firm of the Boy Inventors, had -taken up his residence at High Towers. There -were two reasons for this. One was that it was -far more convenient to the work which was being -rushed to completion, the other that as the Electric -Monarch neared the day for her trial trip, -Ned grew more and more nervous about leaving -the craft unwatched.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, he had a small cot fixed up in the -corner of the workshop where he slept at night. -Ned himself would have been at a loss to account -for this nervousness; nevertheless he felt a vague -mistrust. It was not that he feared any harm -Sam Hinkley might do to the craft, for although<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -there was no love lost toward Ned on Sam’s part, -Ned was pretty sure that the Hinkley boy would -not dare take active reprisals. But yet he felt -that it was well to observe caution.</p> - -<p>Sam came and went to his work as usual, and -as he, as well as the other workmen, had given -their words not to let anything leak out about the -Electric Monarch till she was ready for a flight, -no uneasiness was felt about this circumstance.</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, even if it had been known -that a big air craft was being constructed at -High Towers, it would not have excited much -comment in the village. The inhabitants of Nestorville -had grown too used to hearing about -strange inventions being built at the big house -on the hill to feel any undue curiosity about them. -And yet, Ned vaguely felt that danger threatened.</p> - -<p>The two strangers gave out at the Hinkley -House that they were traveling for a drug firm. -They made themselves friendly with the proprie<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>tor -who, after being presented with cigars, voted -them two “good fellows.” Perhaps he might -have thought them “inquisitive fellows,” too, if -soon after his new guests’ arrival, when he had -been summoned to answer a long-distance telephone, -he had noticed one of them slip up to the -register, open it and search hurriedly for a name.</p> - -<p>“It’s there all right,” whispered the one who -had examined the book as he slipped out from behind -the desk again. “‘Ned Nevins—Boston.’ I -suppose he registered from there because he -didn’t want to run any chances of being asked -questions about Millville.”</p> - -<p>“Shouldn’t wonder, Miles,” was the rejoinder -of Hank Nevins, “but he didn’t reckon that we -was just as slick as he is.”</p> - -<p>The two “drug drummers” were Hank and his -unsavory lawyer friend, Miles Sharkey. The two -had been delayed in their pursuit of Ned by a -very important handicap, namely, lack of funds. -But on Hank having written to Mr. Mellville<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -that they were on the track of the plans and had -a good chance of securing them, the money for -their expenses, (much to the surprise of both of -them,) had been forwarded. They then lost no -time in heading for Nestorville and laying plans -for the recovery of the papers of the dead Jeptha -Nevins.</p> - -<p>When Landlord Hinkley came out of the telephone-booth, -one of his new guests stepped up to -him.</p> - -<p>“Recollect a young chap named Nevins?” he -asked. It may be said here that Hank and Miles -had registered under assumed names.</p> - -<p>“Nevins?” repeated the landlord. “Nevins? -Well, I should just say I did.”</p> - -<p>“Stop here long?” asked Miles insinuatingly.</p> - -<p>“Quite a few days till he went to live with -them Chadwick boys up on the hill yonder.”</p> - -<p>Hank and Miles exchanged significant glances. -They were on the trail indeed now.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Um-er, the Chadwick boys,” began Miles at a -venture. “Chums of his, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I guess so, in a manner of speaking. My -son Sam works for ’em, too. He’s a bright lad, is -Sam. Why, sir, I tell you around a bit of machinery -that boy’s a marvel. Only last week my -wife’s sewing machine went out of whack and -gosh ter mighty ef that boy Sam didn’t have it -all fixed up hunky dory in two shakes of a duck’s -tail. Nuther time——”</p> - -<p>There is no knowing how long Mr. Hinkley -might have gone on extolling his son’s virtues had -it not been for the fact that Miles and Hank were -far too impatient to listen to a lengthy catalogue -of Sam’s bright doings.</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,” rejoined Miles. “I’ve no doubt -your son is a mighty bright boy, Mr. Hinkley.”</p> - -<p>“Gets it from his father,” put in Hank with a -clumsy attempt at a compliment.</p> - -<p>Crude as the attempt at flattery was, Landlord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> -Hinkley swallowed it whole. He smirked his acknowledgments.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mr. Avery,” this was the name -Hank had registered under. “Very handsome of -you, I’m sure. Won’t you gentlemen hev a -cigar?”</p> - -<p>Both the gentlemen accepted with thanks, and -while they puffed at Landlord Hinkley’s aromatic -weeds, they pursued further the subject that was -closest to their hearts.</p> - -<p>“Fine cigars, these, Mr. Hinkley,” commented -Miles, with a wink at Hank to show that the remark -was ironical.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes indeed,” responded the landlord, -“Flor de Telphono, we call ’em. Telephone -cigars, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Telephone cigars, that’s an odd name,” said -Hank, with a wry face over his weed. Hank was -one of those hollow-chested, pale-faced youths -who think it smart to smoke but do so only with -a great effort of will power.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yep, they calls ’em that, the boys says, because -you can smoke ’em here and smell ’em in -Boston.”</p> - -<p>This choice witticism having being properly -laughed at, Miles and Hank went further on their -“fishing expedition.”</p> - -<p>“These Chadwick boys now,” pursued Hank, -“friends of young Nevins likely?”</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, I dunno. I reckon he’s working for -’em on some sort of contraption. You know these -Chadwick boys is right smart lads on such doodads. -The Boy Inventors, they call ’em. Reckon -maybe you’ve heard on ’em.”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t know that I have,” rejoined Miles. -“So young Nevins is working for them, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Er-huh. Has bin fer quite a spell.”</p> - -<p>“Sort of mechanic, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, thar’ you got me,” admitted Mr. Hinkley. -“I hearn’,” he went on, sinking his voice and -growing confidential,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> “that them boys is working -on some sort of er flyin’ machine er some sech -foolishness.”</p> - -<p>Miles and Hank flashed a glance of comprehension -between them. They had reached their goal, -then.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a><br /> - -<small>HEINY PUMPERNICK DILL.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Hey, you black feller, dis be der place py vere -der Poy Inventors vork, I don’t dink?”</p> - -<p>Old Jupe, the Chadwicks’ colored factotum, -paused on his way from the village with a big -basket and looked his questioner over from head -to foot. It was an odd figure that he inspected. -He found himself facing a blond-haired youth -of about eighteen with apple-red cheeks and -bright, twinkling blue eyes.</p> - -<p>Perched on the top of the youth’s tow-colored -head was a small derby rakishly tilted to one side. -A green bob-tailed coat—it had probably once -been black—was carefully buttoned over a striped -blue and white vest. The turned up ends of his -baggy trousers were so far from the tops of his -low, yellow shoes that they showed about two -inches of startling red socks.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Who you done calling black feller?” demanded -Jupe, with justifiable indignation. “Ah’m a -genelman ob color ah am, and I wants that mistinctly -undercunstumbled.”</p> - -<p>“Vell, dond go py geddin’ a mads, Mister Gentelemans -vot vos colored,” said the tow-headed -youth in a conciliatory tone. “My name vos -Heiny Bumpernick Dill.”</p> - -<p>For answer Jupe threw back his woolly head -and burst into a roar of laughter that showed two -rows of white, gleaming teeth between his thick -red lips.</p> - -<p>“Ho! Ho! Ho!—Ha! Ha! Ha!” he exploded. -“Oh! gollyupmtions! ef dat ain’t mostest -funniest ting I eber heard.”</p> - -<p>The tow-headed youth gazed at the negro’s -mirth with an expression that was at first amazed -and then grew rapidly indignant.</p> - -<p>“Vos ist los midt you?” he demanded wrathfully.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> -<p>“Loose? Der ain’t nutting loose wid me, am -dere?” demanded Jupe, fingering his waist band -and in turn looking surprised.</p> - -<p>“I saidt idt ‘Vos ist los!’” yelled the German -boy. “Vot is idt der madder midt you anyvay?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, dat name! Golly to goodness, chile! Dat -name suttinly got on mah risibles. Heiny Pump -it quick—oh! ha! ha! ha!” and throwing back -his head, old Jupe went off into another spasm of -mirth.</p> - -<p>“I saidt idt Bumpernick——”</p> - -<p>“Was dat you say. Bumper——”</p> - -<p>“Nodt. Bumper-Bumper. P-U-M-P-ER—Bumper!”</p> - -<p>Jupe scratched his woolly thatch. This was -getting too much for him.</p> - -<p>“P-U-M-P-E-R spells Pumper, chile,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Dots vot I saidt idt, aind’t it? Bumper—Bumbernick. -Dot’s my name, aind’t idt?”</p> - -<p>“Say, lookah hyah, Massa Bumper, is you all -crazy or am I?” demanded Jupe.</p> - -<p>“Vos dot you say? I am grazy?” bellowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> -Heiny Pumpernick. He dropped a little wickerwork -satchel he carried and doubled up his fists.</p> - -<p>“I been adtletic feller alretty yet,” he shouted. -“You bed my life you no comes making der funs -by me, py chiminy, black feller!”</p> - -<p>“Was dat? Who yo’ all calls black fellers—you—you—yaller-headed -Dutchman,” ejaculated -Jupe, thoroughly angry in his turn.</p> - -<p>Now there is nothing on earth better calculated -to arouse a German’s ire than to call him a -Dutchman, and the same is the case when a negro -is addressed as a “black fellow” or a “nigger.” -Both the German youth and old Jupe were now -fighting mad.</p> - -<p>“I calls idt to you, black fellers,” sputtered out -young Dill, doubling up his plump fists. “I’m -an adtletic feller, I pet you mein lifes. You calls -me Mister Dill oder I pust you vun py der nose.”</p> - -<p>“Ho! ho! ef you all do dat you be a dill in er -pickle, ho! ho!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Who is dot vot you calls a bickle? By chiminy, -nigger, look idt out midt yourself!”</p> - -<p>Without more words the redoubtable Heiny -Pumpernick Dill let fly with his fists at Jupe who, -for his part, was ready enough to begin hostilities. -Now it so happened that this Homeric battle -took place on the banks of the large lake mentioned -in other volumes of this series. It was a -body of water used for experimenting with models -of craft of various kinds and had been the -scene of the testing out of the diving torpedo boat, -as readers of the volume dealing with that invention -will recollect.</p> - -<p>The fist of the exasperated German youth, as -it leaped out, landed on a spot on Jupe’s anatomy -which, while it was not calculated to do him -much injury, still gave him plenty to think about.</p> - -<p>“Woof! Wha’ fo’ yo’ alls hit me in der stomick?” -indignantly roared out Jupe. Without -more ado he dropped the basket he had been burdened -with and the lid burst open. Instantly the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> -ground was covered with a score of lively hard-shell -crabs, but in the heat of their anger neither -of the combatants noticed this.</p> - -<p>Jupe’s retaliation for the German youth’s blow -was vigorous.</p> - -<p>“Gollyumptions! Ah makes yo’ all call me a -genelman ob color befo’ ah kicks yo’n off’n these -hayar groun’s,” he cried indignantly.</p> - -<p>The next minute it was Mr. Dill’s turn to cry -“Oof!”</p> - -<p>But he quickly recovered and then, closing in, -the two pugilistic heroes engaged in a tussle -which speedily brought them in a rolling, kicking, -struggling heap to the ground. Over and over -they rolled on the banks of the lake and their -struggles speedily brought them among some of -the escaped crabs. These lost no time in dealing -with the combatants. One fastened itself into -young Dill’s long yellow hair while another seized -Jupe by the back of the neck. Two piercing yells -went up simultaneously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Oh! Ouch! Help! De debbil am got hold -ob me by de neck!” roared out Jupe.</p> - -<p>“Leggo mein hairs, py chiminy!” screeched the -German boy. “Himmel! Donner! Blitzen!”</p> - -<p>Over and over they rolled, with the crabs holding -fast with a tenacious grip. Their struggles -quickly brought them to the bank of the lake. -What with anger, and what with pain, they were -past noticing anything and just as Jack and Tom, -who had been attracted by the uproar, came running -down the gravel walk to ascertain its cause, -a loud splash and a despairing yell announced the -fact that the two doughty heroes had plunged into -an element calculated to cool their wrath.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a><br /> - -<small>THE CONVERTIBLE SAUSAGE MACHINE.</small></h2> - - -<p>Jack and Tom arrived at the brink of the lake -just as the two combatants, sputtering and splashing -like a pair of grampuses, arose to the surface.</p> - -<p>“It’s Jupe!” cried Jack, “but how in the name -of time?”</p> - -<p>“But who is the other fellow?” shouted Tom.</p> - -<p>“Never mind that now. Jupe can’t swim and -the water is deep there. We’ve got to get him -out.”</p> - -<p>The boys speedily stripped off their coats and -kicked off their shoes preparatory to plunging -to the rescue, but before they could do this, -young Dill, who was a good swimmer, had seized -Jupe by the back of the neck and dragged him, -half drowned, to the shore. Jupe, dripping with -water and mud, clambered out little the worse, -except in appearance, for his adventure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> - -<p>He was followed by young Dill, who was a -sorry-looking object indeed. The water had -caused the gaudy dye of his vest to run in great -streaks down his light-colored pants. His hat, -which had stuck to his head throughout the -struggle, was sending streams of green water -down over his rubicund face, while round his -feet, as he emerged from the lake and stood before -the boys, was a crimson puddle. The dye on -young Dill’s socks was certainly not of the “fast” -variety, except in color.</p> - -<p>At the sight of the two extraordinary figures -Jack and Tom could hardly refrain from bursting -into roars of laughter. But they retained -their gravity and looked sternly at Jupe.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you will explain what this means?” -began Jack.</p> - -<p>“Ah-ah-ah-ah,” sputtered Jupe, opening and -shutting his mouth like a fish newly removed -from the water.</p> - -<p>“Well, we are waiting,” said Jack, while Tom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> -turned away, suddenly overcome by a mysterious -fit of coughing.</p> - -<p>“Vait idt a minutes undt I vill explanation idt -to you,” volunteered young Dill. “Dis is der vay -idt vosn’t. I vos comin’ py der house to see der -Poy Inventors undt I asked idt ob dis black——”</p> - -<p>Jupe suddenly came to life. Shaking his woolly -head like a poodle he shouted out:</p> - -<p>“Don’ you alls done go fer ter call me no black -feller,” he shouted.</p> - -<p>“You no call idt to me Dutchman, I no call idt -to you black fellers, aber no mans call me Dutchman.”</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What’s all -this about?” demanded Jack. “How are we to -understand anything with all this jabber? You -there, Mister——”</p> - -<p>“Dill is mein name, sir,” said the young German -with a dignity which assorted oddly with his -weird appearance.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> -<p>“Well, Mr. Dill, you appear to be in a pickle,” -said Jack with a grin he could not repress. “Will -you explain to me what was the cause of all this?”</p> - -<p>“Ah-ah-ah,” began Jupe again, but Jack shook -his head at him and the voluble young Dill told -the story of the causes leading to the combat.</p> - -<p>“Well, you both appear to have been well punished,” -said Jack when he concluded, “and now -perhaps you will tell me what you wanted to see -us about.”</p> - -<p>“Vot I vanted to see you abodt ain’d it?” -asked the German boy.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I vanted to see idt der Poy Inventors alretty.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you see them.” Young Dill’s face -showed his astonishment, but he wisely repressed -any comment. “What can we do for you?”</p> - -<p>“You can do me for a fine inventions vot I haf,” -responded the German youth.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> “I used to vurk -midt a delicatessens pefore I pecome an inventors. -I haf midt me in dis liddle satchel a motel -of mein inventions.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what is it? What is the nature of it?” -demanded Jack.</p> - -<p>“Idt iss a new kindt of sissage machine,” explained -the proud youth, forgetting all about his -recent immersion in the glow of the inventor’s enthusiasm, -“chust py touching a lefer idt vill make -bolognas, frankfurters, liebervurst, or any oder -kindt of sissage dot is alretty. Vot you dink of -him?”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” grunted Jupe aside, “ah’s seed lots ob -crazy inventors sense ah wourk hyah, but dis am -de fustest sausage machine inventor dot I ebber -clapped mah ole eyes on.” He stared at young -Dill as if he had been a natural curiosity of some -sort.</p> - -<p>Jack bit his lip hard to keep from laughing. As -for Tom, he exploded into a roar of laughter -which he could not restrain. Young Dill looked -bewildered.</p> - -<p>“I seel idt to you der Dill Convertible Sausage -Machine for fif’ dousandt tollars!” he exclaimed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> -with the air of a person making an unheard-of -offer.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry, Mr. Dill,” said Jack, with exemplary -gravity, “but we couldn’t handle your invention -if you made a much cheaper price on it. -However, you can no doubt dispose of it elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>“Ugh! Yo’ alls better try er butcher shop, -Dutchy,” muttered Jupe, “an’ ef dey don’ want it -dere take it to a crazy house; maybe they kin use -it and yo’ alls, too.”</p> - -<p>“Budt don’d you tink idt iss a goodt inventions?” -persisted young Dill.</p> - -<p>“Excellent! Fine!” declared Jack, with a side -wink at Tom. “But we couldn’t handle it at all. -And now, Mr. Dill, we’ll have to say good morning. -We are very busy. I’m sorry for what happened, -but really you know you brought it partly -on yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Himmel! oder you hadt bought idt my convertible -sissage machine I vould nodt haf cared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> -if I hadt been drowned all over,” declared young -Dill.</p> - -<p>With a melancholy face he gathered up his -little wicker satchel. The boys were turning -away when a sudden idea entered the young German’s -head. His face became irradiated with a -ray of hope.</p> - -<p>“I haf idt here a motel of der convertible sissage -machine,” he said, “aber you dakes me py -der house I show you how to make bolognas, -frankfurters, lieber——”</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t be of the least use, Mr. Dill, you’d -only be wasting your time,” said Jack. “Excuse -us now, please, we must hurry off.”</p> - -<p>The young German was left standing alone on -the gravel walk in the midst of his rubicund puddle. -He looked after the retreating figures of -the two boys and Jupe with a melancholy countenance. -But he was gratified none the less to -observe that Jupe appeared to be getting what is -commonly known as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> “calling down.”</p> - -<p>“So dey don’d vant idt der convertible sissage -machines,” he muttered. “Vell dey don’d know -dot dey let a fortune slip through dere fingers der -same as sissage slip through my machine, ain’d -idt.”</p> - -<p>His eyes fixed themselves on Jupe’s humbled -figure.</p> - -<p>“Chust der same,” he muttered in a low tone, -“midt vun handt I can lick you—nigger!”</p> - -<p>Having done this justice to his outraged feelings, -young Dill wrung the water out of his coat-tails -and set out on the road to Nestorville. He -thought that he had seen the last of High Towers. -Had he but known it he was destined to do the -boys a singular service ere long, but as he trudged -along singing “Hi-lee! hi-lo!” to himself in a -melancholy voice he was totally unaware of this.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a><br /> - -<small>HANK AND MILES MEET THEIR MATCH.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Mr. Avery” and “Mr. Reynolds,” the names -by which Hank Nevins and Miles Sharkey had -chosen respectively to be known, were seated on -the porch of the Hinkley House taking their ease -with their feet elevated so as to afford a good -view of the soles of their boots to any passers-by, -when young Dill came down the street.</p> - -<p>Having recovered from his first disappointment, -the young German, who came of a persevering -race, determined to remain in Nestorville -for a time at any rate and try to see the Boy Inventors -again, regarding the Convertible Sausage -Machine, at a more auspicious time. He had a -small sum of money saved up, quite sufficient for -his needs, and he resolved to buy some new -clothes at the first opportunity and then make -a more imposing descent upon High Towers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> - -<p>As he rightly argued, his appearance that -morning had not been calculated to inspire confidence.</p> - -<p>“Der great inventors, aber Eddy’s son, aber -Macaroni, der inventor of der hairless telegraph, -nefer fall py a pond midt a nigger,” he mused. -“Maype dose poys dink I am a faker. Aber I -don’d plame dem. I gedt idt me a new oudfit of -clothes undt den call aroundt again. ‘No trouble -to show goodts’ as de used to say idt ven I vos -in pisiness.”</p> - -<p>This train of thought brought him as far as the -Hinkley House where our Teutonic friend bethought -him that after his strenuous exertions of -the morning some dinner would be the proper -thing.</p> - -<p>“Dis looks idt like a goodt quiedt hotel, aindt -idt?” he said to himself. “I makes idt a pest -(guest) of meinself here, py chiminy.”</p> - -<p>By some mischievous chance the odd figure of Mr. -Dill, rendered doubly striking since his immer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>sion, -caught the eye of Hank Nevins,—alias Mr. -Avery,—as he sat discussing, with his chum -Miles, the best means of carrying out their designs -against Ned Nevins and his Electric Monarch.</p> - -<p>There was nothing that Hank liked better than -to tease some one who looked as if he might prove -an unresisting victim, and here was one ready to -his hand, at least so he judged.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Dutchy,” he remarked amiably, “been -taking a bath with your clothes on?”</p> - -<p>Young Dill faced round on him and looked him -over from top to toe.</p> - -<p>“Aber I dink idt a bath do you no harm, mein -freindt, aindt idt,” he remarked blandly, “midt -or midoudt clothes on.”</p> - -<p>This was not exactly what Hank had expected, -and a subdued chuckle from some hangers on -about the hotel porch did not increase his good -humor.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p> -<p>“It’s a good thing we didn’t cross on the same -boat,” observed Hank. “If I’d seen you I’d never -have landed.”</p> - -<p>“So——” observed young Dill amiably, “veel -dere vos no chance of your seeing me alretty.”</p> - -<p>Hank winked at the loungers in order to show -them that he was now prepared to have some fun -with the queer-looking German youth.</p> - -<p>“Is that so? How was that, Dutchy?” he asked -with a grin.</p> - -<p>“Pecos I come on a <em>passenger</em> boat,” rejoined -young Dill with all the equanimity in the world.</p> - -<p>A look of intense discomfiture spread over -Hank’s face.</p> - -<p>“The Dutchman’s too much for him,” he heard -some one whisper. As might be expected this -remark did not tend to smooth over Hank’s feelings -toward the simple-looking young German. -Instead he determined to launch some shaft of -wit at him that would squash him flatter than a -pancake. But so far all his attempts had proved -boomerangs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I suppose you know all about sausages?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>Young Dill’s eyes glittered. Here was a subject -in which he was deeply interested.</p> - -<p>“Oh ches!” he burst out eagerly, “sissages und——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that, Sauerkraut,” sneered Hank. -“What kind of meat makes the best bologna?”</p> - -<p>Young Dill, who was smart enough in his way, -saw that some joke was going to be had at his -expense if he did not look out. The loungers -leaned forward expectantly. Hank looked triumphant. -At last he thought he had the “Dutchman” -up a tree.</p> - -<p>“You vant to know vot kindt of meat makes idt -pest bolognas?” he asked innocently.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I said, Dutch,” grinned Hank.</p> - -<p>“You ought to know dot aber bedder dan me alretty,” -said young Dill gravely.</p> - -<p>“Is that so, old Sauerkraut? How’s that?”</p> - -<p>“Pecos der pest bologna is made midt cal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>f’s -headt, undt you vos veel supplidt mid dot,” -drawled out young Dill, and without waiting to -hear the roar of laughter that went up at Hank’s -expense, he wandered into the office and registered. -His signature was a peculiar one. This -is how it read on the register:</p> - -<p>“Herr Heiny Pumpernick Dill,—Inventor At -Large (and Small)—N. Y.”</p> - -<p>After ascertaining what time dinner would be -ready, Herr Dill went to his room and busied -himself till the meal was served by tidying up as -well as he could, and removing the effects of his -immersion. In this he could not but admit that he -was not very successful, and he resolved immediately -after dinner to saunter out and see what -he could find in the way of smart attire in the -village.</p> - -<p>“I vunder now if I couldt gedt idt some yellow -gloves,” mused young Dill to himself as he carefully -unpacked the model of the sausage machine -and placed it on the floor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> - -<p>“An inventor midt yellow gloves,—undt a redt -necktie vould be some class as an inventor. Aber -he vould be as stylish as Macaroni oder Eddy’s -son.”</p> - -<p>He fussed over his invention for a while to -pass away the time till the dinner bell rang out its -summons. It was an odd-looking contrivance. -From a cylindrical steel box projected several -hooked steel arms manipulated with springs in a -way which no one but the inventor could by any -possibility have mastered.</p> - -<p>While young Dill was working on one of these -arms, there came a sudden sharp snap and he -jerked his arm quickly out of the way and upwards.</p> - -<p>“Himmel!” he exclaimed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> “dot machine makes -idt a preddy goodt trap alretty. Dot lefer nearly -caught it mein fingers. Maype if I can’t sell -idt as a sissage machine, I make idt a purglar trap -oudt of idt alretty—Hi-lee! dere goes der dinner -bell! Dinner! I am coming on der ger-jump!”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br /> - -<small>READY FOR FLIGHT.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Well, fellows, the Electric Monarch is ready -for her trial trip at last.”</p> - -<p>Thus spoke Jack Chadwick the following day. -The body of the great land and water craft, looking -like a butterfly with its wings off, stood, resplendent -in glittering paint and varnish, inside -the big construction shed.</p> - -<p>All that remained to be done to fit her for the -air was to equip the framework with the wings -which were made detachable. This had been a -necessary modification of Jeptha Nevins’ plans, -as the shed in which the craft had been constructed -was not wide enough to permit the wings being -attached while the Electric Monarch was still -under cover.</p> - -<p>At first this had proved quite a problem, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> -with the aid of Professor Chadwick who, as has -been said, had taken an active part in the work, -the boys evolved a plan whereby the wings, (or -planes,) had been made detachable and could be -bolted or unbolted at pleasure. As the weight of -each plane did not exceed fifty pounds, despite its -broad spread, the work of putting on or taking off -the wings was a comparatively easy one.</p> - -<p>It was an interested group that stood in the -shed and surveyed their completed work. The -Electric Monarch, they knew, was without question -the most unique craft of its kind that had -ever been constructed. Perfect in every detail -as the great craft was, the boys felt a thrill of -pride run through them as they viewed their completed -handiwork. Professor Chadwick had -spared no expense in aiding the boys at their -task and the result was as perfect a bit of mechanism -as had ever been assembled. Outside the -shed the great wings were ranged on special racks -ready for attachment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> - -<p>To fit the Electric Monarch for flight all that -was required was the charging of her powerful -storage batteries. The craft would then be ready -for the crucial test which would prove whether -she was to live up to her name or be merely a -mass of expensive junk fit only for the scrap-pile.</p> - -<p>It was small wonder then, that with the boys’ -feeling of glad pride, there was mingled no little -anxiety. They stood on the threshold of either a -monumental triumph or an ignoble failure.</p> - -<p>“Well, Ned,” said Jack, clapping their slender -young assistant on the shoulder, “there’s your -Electric Monarch as fit for flight as she ever will -be.”</p> - -<p>Ned Nevins turned his large eyes gratefully -upon the boy he had learned within the past weeks -to love and respect.</p> - -<p>“If she succeeds it will be owing to you, Jack, -and you, Tom,” he said happily;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> “as for Professor -Chadwick, I owe him a debt of gratitude I -can never repay.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, my lad,” spoke the Professor, with -a kindly smile, “win or lose, we have all learned -much during the last few weeks. Ned, your -uncle, had he lived, would have been one of the -world’s great inventive geniuses.”</p> - -<p>“I know it. I am sure of it,” said Ned gratefully. -“My poor uncle! This would have been -a proud day for him if he had lived.”</p> - -<p>He resolutely fought back his momentary feeling -of sadness, and in order to regain his composure -helped Jack adjust a brace and tighten one -or two bolts.</p> - -<p>“An’ you alls means ter tell me widout confabulation -or fear ob controversial flabbergumbugism -dat dis yar monstrositfex am er gwine ter fly er -swim?” demanded Jupe, lapsing, as he always did -under excitement, into a perfect spasm of word -coining.</p> - -<p>“We hope so, Jupe,” rejoined Tom. “Why, are -you aching for a ride?”</p> - -<p>“Who, me?” and Jupe’s eyes grew wide.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> “No, -sah! Ah’m nuthin’ but jes er tumble-bug so far -as de desirousness ob cirperambulatin’ de air am -consarned.”</p> - -<p>“So you wouldn’t care to go up, Jupe?” inquired -Ned, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“No, sah! Wid emphaticness, ah says, N-O-No! -Ef dat ting eber fall frum de etarnal hebbins!—Laws-ee! -What a confabulating smashup -dere is agwine ter be aroun’ hyar.”</p> - -<p>“But we don’t figure that it will fall, Jupe. At -any rate we are going to fly out over the water -and then the twin boats will keep us afloat whatever -happens.”</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, sah, Massah Jack, be dat as it may, -I’d rabber be on der groun’ lookin’ up dan in der -sky lookin’ down,” declared the old negro with -great positiveness.</p> - -<p>“Let us make a final trip of inspection,” suggested -the Professor. The idea was hailed gladly. -Led by Mr. Chadwick, the lads, laughing and -chatting gaily, went through the cabins and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> -strong structure designed to support the Electric -Monarch when in flight.</p> - -<p>The staterooms were finished with glittering -paint and everything was spick and span as a new -pin. Leaving the first cabin they passed through -the connecting tube into the other one. This having -been minutely examined, even down to the -electric stove with which it was provided, the professor -led the way into what was, to the boys, the -most interesting part of the craft.</p> - -<p>This was the pilot house. It has been already -described, so we shall not go into any details -further than to say that every appliance was in -place, the wiring perfect, and all in readiness for -the pilot to take the wheel and guide the most -wonderful craft of the age on her initial flight.</p> - -<p>Running fore-and-aft the entire length of the -Electric Monarch, was a narrow plank runway. -This was so that any part of the craft might be -reached with ease when she was under way. The -runway extended out to the bearings of the pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>pellers -already mentioned, and it would be part -of the duty of whoever was entrusted with the -oiling to venture out occasionally within reach of -the whirling blades and apply lubricants to the -bearings. On the water this would be a comparatively -simple matter. None of the boys was quite -sure in his mind just how this duty would appear -when the craft was many hundreds of feet -above the earth.</p> - -<p>However, they were not worrying about such -details as this just then. There was but one -thought uppermost in the minds of each of the -eager young constructors of the Electric Monarch.</p> - -<p>Would she live up to expectations?</p> - -<p>Possibly Ned, who was new to aerial work, was -more nervous than his companions over the -thought of the trial trip. This was not surprising. -It requires courage of a rare sort to attempt for -the first time to climb the air in an absolutely untried -craft. Yet this was the ordeal they had to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -face. Moreover, there was a strong possibility -that a failure might result in death.</p> - -<p>“Have you decided yet upon the course we will -take on the trial trip?” Jack inquired of his father -as they finished their inspection, a tour, by the -way, on which Sam had not been invited, to his -great chagrin.</p> - -<p>“Yes; if all goes well we will fly straight for -the ocean, provided it is calm. That will give us -a fine opportunity to test out the hydroplane devices.”</p> - -<p>“I feel sure enough of success to plan a voyage -across the Atlantic,” declared Tom confidently.</p> - -<p>“That would be a little bit premature, my boy,” -said the Professor, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“But provided the Electric Monarch is all we -expect, wouldn’t it be feasible?”</p> - -<p>“I see no reason why not,” responded Mr. -Chadwick.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> “At any rate in the present state of -aeronautics, if the dream of a flight across the -ocean is to come true, it seems to me that the -Electric Monarch will be the first to make the adventurous -voyage.”</p> - -<p>“Ned, you will be famous yet,” declared Jack. -“I can see the name of Ned Nevins in the Hall -of Fame.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Maybe you see it in de bottom ob de -deep blue sea,” sniffed Jupe sceptically. The old -negro had no love for air craft since his experiences -in the electric storm in Yucatan.</p> - -<p>While the foregoing scene had been transpiring -at High Towers, a far different one had been -taking place at the Hinkley House. Having finished -his dinner, a meal at which he caused much -merriment by his odd antics and remarks, young -Dill had sauntered out in search of new apparel. -He had succeeded beyond his wildest hopes in -finding some striking attire. From the stock of -the village tailor he had selected a suit of green, -red and black check, originally made for some -amateur theatricals, a red waistcoat and a funny<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> -little blue hat with what he called a “rudder” -stuck on behind.</p> - -<p>From the tailor shop, where he insisted on having -his packages wrapped up, young Dill passed -to the haberdashery where he invested in a startling -necktie and some radiant socks. Then, with -triumph in his eye, and with his purchases under -his arm, he retraced his way to the hotel.</p> - -<p>“By chiminy,” he said to himself, as he hurried -along quite unconscious of the wondering -glances cast his way. “Py chiminy grickets, I -show dem vot style is, I bet you my life!”</p> - -<p>The German youth went straight to his room -to change into his gorgeous raiment. He was -still in the midst of this task, every now and then -stealing a look at himself in the mirror, when his -attention was arrested by the sound of voices in -the next room.</p> - -<p>The partitions in the Hinkley House were not -particularly thick, this being caused by the fact -that landlord Hinkley, being of an economical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> -turn of mind, had partitioned off all his large -rooms into two apartments when he became the -proprietor of the hostelry.</p> - -<p>As a consequence, conversations carried on in -even ordinary tones were plainly audible in the -adjoining rooms.</p> - -<p>“Py chiminy, I hope dose fellers in der next -room don’d talk it py dere schleep,” mused young -Dill as he tied his rainbow cravat, “or I get no -schlumbers, ain’d idt?”</p> - -<p>The next instant his attention; was attracted -to the speakers in the adjoining room by a singular -circumstance. It appeared that he himself -was the topic of their conversation.</p> - -<p>“That pig-headed Dutchman with the comedy -clothes,” was what he heard.</p> - -<p>“Py chiminy, dot means me!” exclaimed -young Dill,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> “der vind vos in somedings. Dere -vos a voodpile in der nigger in dot next room. I -dink I listen me a leedle closer, ain’d idt?”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br /> - -<small>HEINY OVERHEARS THE PLOT.</small></h2> - - -<p>Now, as my readers have no doubt seen by this -time, Heiny Pumpernick Dill was no fool. In -fact, despite his eccentric outside, the German -youth possessed a keen, smart mind, which acted -well in almost any emergency.</p> - -<p>Giving a final flourish and grimace at himself -in token of admiration of his new necktie, young -Dill crept silently across the room and laid his -ear against the partition. In this position he -could hear every word that was being said in the -next room.</p> - -<p>“So you know that the Dutchman was at High -Towers this morning?” said one of the voices, -that of Miles Sharkey, although, of course, young -Dill could not recognize it.</p> - -<p>But he recognized the voice that replied without -hesitation:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes, I made it my business to find out about -the sauerkraut-eating Heiny,” was the rejoinder.</p> - -<p>“Ah-ha! Now comes it oudt!” exclaimed -young Dill to himself. “Dot is der feller vot -dinks he get funny midt me and laughs midt der -wrong side of his face yet.”</p> - -<p>“Is he a friend of that High Towers bunch?”</p> - -<p>The voice that was unfamiliar to the German -youth put the question.</p> - -<p>“Aber am I ein friendt or not?” muttered -young Dill. “I vould like to know dot.”</p> - -<p>“No, he’s no friend,” it was Hank speaking, -“in fact, from what I hear, he got into a row of -some sort up there to-day.”</p> - -<p>“Aber dot’s right, budt idt vos in der lake vot -I gedt,” said young Dill to himself.</p> - -<p>“So he is not one of the crowd at all?”</p> - -<p>“No. He’s just a butter-in of some sort. I -hear they get a lot of cranks up there.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, ho! So I’m a ker-ank, am I?” muttered -the German boy, shaking his fist at the uncon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>scious -pair in the next room. “You vatch me! I -bedt you my life some day I ker-ank you der -wrong vay, mein freindt.”</p> - -<p>“Well, crank or no crank, he certainly put it -over on you before dinner to-day, Hank. I’d advise -you to leave him alone in future.”</p> - -<p>“So his name vos Hank,” murmured young -Dill, as he listened. “All righd, Hank, you gedt -fixed by a ker-ank—by chiminy, dot’s boetry de -firstest vot I ever make!” exclaimed the lad, as -he formed the involuntary rhyme.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ll fix him, never fear,” rejoined Hank. -“The tallow-headed buttinski! But first we’ve -got other things to attend to. The Dutchman can -wait.”</p> - -<p>“You chust bedt he can vait, Mister Hank,” -muttered Heiny, on his side of the partition, -“vaiting is one of der best things he does, und -ven he gedts idt goodt undt retty den he yump—by -chiminy!—he yump!”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, we had better discuss what we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -mean to do. If they make that trial trip to-morrow -we shall have to act quickly,” said Miles in -reply to Hank’s last remark.</p> - -<p>“What did you find out?” he added.</p> - -<p>“Well, I spent quite a bit of time snooping -around up there. I found a fool of a colored man -who told me a lot.”</p> - -<p>“Dot vos der plack feller, I bedt you my life,” -chuckled the German boy, with his ear to the partition. -“Veil he <em>iss</em> a chump und dot’s der first -true word der feller in der next room has -spoken.”</p> - -<p>“So the colored man was easy, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Easy? I should say. I told him I was from -Edison’s place and was just looking around. He -didn’t loosen up much so I gave him a dollar and -he told me all he knew. He’s a bigger chump -than that Dutch kid.”</p> - -<p>“So-o-o-o!” fairly hissed Heiny, on his side of -the wall,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> “veel, Mister Schmardty, maype dot der -Tutch poy is not so much of chump as you -dink.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what did he tell you?” demanded Miles -impatiently.</p> - -<p>“About all I wanted to know. I posed as being -interested in young Nevins, but not wanting him -to know that I was around till the success or failure -of the Electric Hydroaeroplane was assured.”</p> - -<p>“Now comes it oudt,” muttered Heiny, pricking -up his ears.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and then—upon my word you are slow. -Hank,” came Miles’s voice.</p> - -<p>“Humph! that’s all the thanks I get after all -the work I’ve done,” came in an aggrieved voice -from Hank.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right, Hank. Of course I know -you’ve done well. But get down to cases.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” continued Hank in a sulky tone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> -“I learned that the Electric Monarch is completed. -The trial trip will probably take place to-morrow -morning, or it may be delayed till night. If we -mean to strike, we must do so quickly.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, if we can’t get hold of the plans we must -do all we can to cripple the ship, for if once it is -a proved success, our game is up.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. Confound that young cousin of -mine. He’s checkmated me.”</p> - -<p>“Not quite yet, Hank,” was the confident reply. -“Even if we don’t get a chance to injure the ship -or steal the plans, I’ve yet another scheme up my -sleeve—a legal one.”</p> - -<p>“A legal one?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’m smart enough for that. But we -won’t work it till the time comes. In the meanwhile -we must do what we can to stop this trial -trip from coming off.”</p> - -<p>“Have you any plans in that respect?”</p> - -<p>“No, I confess I hadn’t till you told me about -that Dutch boy. Why can’t we use him?”</p> - -<p>“What, that dunderhead!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ah-ha! So-o-o-o I am a dunderhead, too, iss -idt?” growled Heiny from his side of the partition. -“I’m dunderheadt midt ears on my dunderheadt, -though, py chiminys!”</p> - -<p>He started counting on his pudgy fingers.</p> - -<p>“Chump! Dutchman! Dunderheadt! Dot -makes three! Very veel, Hank, I makes it all -ger-skvare midt you before I gedts drough, I bet -me.”</p> - -<p>“Of course he’s a bonehead,” came the other -voice, which made poor Heiny squirm.</p> - -<p>“But that’s all the better for our purpose. If -he had any sense he might suspect something. -As it is——”</p> - -<p>“He don’d know somedings,” chuckled Heiny -to himself.</p> - -<p>“Hanged if I can see what you are driving at,” -growled Hank. “I wouldn’t employ that Dutchman -to mop off a floor.”</p> - -<p>“Of you did I mop idt midt you,” muttered the -young German indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Now, listen, Hank,” said Miles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> “the German -got into trouble up there to-day, you say? Very -well, he’s naturally sore at the whole High Towers -crowd. All right. We go to him and offer -him a chance to get even. Nobody would suspect -him of contemplating any harm to anything -or anybody; he hasn’t got sense enough.”</p> - -<p>“Py golly, I premeditate harm to you all righdt, -mister,” grunted young Dill angrily.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean to get him to do?” inquired -Hank eagerly.</p> - -<p>“We’ll discuss that later. The thing to do now -is to get him on our side.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll attend to that,” said Hank, “leave it to me -to fix that Dutchman so that he’ll eat out of my -hand.”</p> - -<p>“Vell now dot is nice of you,” said young Dill -to himself as the two men in the next room vacated -it, closing the door behind them.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a><br /> - -<small>THE BURGLAR TRAP.</small></h2> - - -<p>The German lad finished his preparations for -astonishing Nestorville with elaborate care. -Having adjusted his derby at what he considered -a fetching angle, he prepared to descend and to -conquer.</p> - -<p>“Maype so I cotch idt an heiress,” he said to -himself, “undt den I bodder no more midt der -convertible sissage machine.”</p> - -<p>Heiny was perfectly right when he concluded -that he was about to astonish Nestorville. The -porch of the hotel was fairly well occupied when -he descended, and the street was also pretty well -thronged. The sight of the German youth in -his tight-fitting check clothes, gaudy socks, rainbow -tie and yellow gloves created an amount of -attention which gratified Heiny to the full.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> - -<p>“For der first time dey see idt in dis penighted -village vot clothes vears a chentleman,” he said -to himself.</p> - -<p>His first jar came when a small boy stepped -up to him.</p> - -<p>“Say, mister?” said the urchin.</p> - -<p>“Vel, vot idt iss, mein poy?” asked Heiny.</p> - -<p>“Wot cher sellin’?”</p> - -<p>“Sellin’? I do not comprehension you.”</p> - -<p>“What you advertisin’ then. Squirts Savory -Soap or Odles Orient Oats?”</p> - -<p>“Mein leedle poy, I adtvertise idt nuddings.”</p> - -<p>“Nor sell nothing?”</p> - -<p>“Nein. I am a chentleman of leisure undt an -inventor.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, climb back in der cage,” advised the rude -urchin, and amidst a shout of laughter from his -cronies he dashed off.</p> - -<p>“Climb py der cage?” muttered young Dill, -looking about.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> “I see no cage, undt efen if I didt -I vouldn’t climb in—no, sir, not vile I haf nice -room midt conversationings thrown in free of -charge for nuddings.”</p> - -<p>“On a trip?” asked a tall gangling village youth -of the “half-baked” age, approaching the German -boy.</p> - -<p>“No, I am oudt on der ocean sufferin’ seferely -midt sea sickness,” responded Heiny with withering -scorn, and the village youth subsided.</p> - -<p>“I vonder vot is der madder midt me?” thought -young Dill to himself, seeing that he was the -observed of all observers in and about the hotel. -“Oh, vell! I subbose dot a vell-dressed man is -not often seen hereabouts.”</p> - -<p>He sat down in a chair on the porch and before -long a cadaverous-looking individual, with lank, -black hair and a solemn countenance seated himself -beside him.</p> - -<p>“A stranger in our city, sir, I take it?” began -the newcomer.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p> -<p>“Yes, dey all seem to dink I am stranger dan -anydings dot dey see yet,” rejoined Heiny good-naturedly.</p> - -<p>“A natural ignorance, my dear sir. You, I -take it, come from the centers of cosmopolitanism?”</p> - -<p>“Vell, I don’t know dot town. I come from -New York,” was the German youth’s reply.</p> - -<p>“A noble city, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Vell, I don’d know about dot. Dey vouldn’d -buy mein convertible sissage machine.”</p> - -<p>“What, you are an inventor?”</p> - -<p>“Ches, an inventor at large—(undt schmall)——” -declared young Dill, throwing out his chest -proudly.</p> - -<p>“You must make a great deal of money.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, enough to lif py meinself—enough for -dot! I don’d vant for nuddings. Der best in -clothes or foodt is none too goodt for me,” and -the German swelled with pride. He did not notice -the glitter that had come into the eyes of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> -cadaverous man at the mention of money. He -eyed young Dill cunningly and then asked:</p> - -<p>“A guest of this hotel, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Ches, I stop here. Idt iss nodt a badt blace -but der pickles iss no good,” said young Dill -loftily, as if he had been used to hotels all his -life.</p> - -<p>The cadaverous man leaned over toward the -German youth confidentially.</p> - -<p>“If you carry large sums with you I need not -warn you of the danger of thieves.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, I am careful midt mein money,” -young Dill assured his new-found friend, “I alvays -schleep midt idt in der toe of vun of mein -shoes,”</p> - -<p>“Ah, indeed. May I ask why?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Vell, you see, ker-ooks dey look under der -pillow undt in der clothing but dey nefer dink of -lookin’ py der toes of mein shoes. A goodt -scheme, ain’d idt?”</p> - -<p>“Excellent. Good evening, my dear young -man. I have much enjoyed our conversation.”</p> - -<p>And the cadaverous-looking man bowed himself -out, looking back as he went with a covert -smile on his face.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, my Teutonic friend,” he said to -himself as he made his way across the office. -“I’m much obliged to you for confiding to ‘Deacon’ -Terry the place where you hide your roll. -To judge by your clothes it must be a fat one. -I think I’ll investigate your shoes to-night.”</p> - -<p>So thinking, “Deacon” Terry, the notorious -hotel thief, examined the register, made sure of -the location of “the inventor’s” room and then -politely requested that his baggage be transferred -to a room on that floor, as the room he had been -assigned to did not please him. His request was -at once granted, for the “Deacon” possessed an -impressive, not to say ministerial manner, which -gave not the least clue to his real character.</p> - -<p>Without appearing to feel the slightest con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>cern -in them, young Dill watched, with intense interest, -the movements of Hank Nevins and -Miles Sharkey, following the conclusion of the -evening meal. Matters were further complicated -in the German youth’s mind by the fact that they -did not approach him, as he had expected, but instead, -engaged the landlord’s son in conversation.</p> - -<p>By adroitly maneuvering, young Dill succeeded -in getting into a position where a pillar in the -lobby hid him from view and afforded a capital -screen behind which to listen to the formation of -the plot which he was sure was going forward. -He had learned earlier in the day that Sam Hinkley -worked at the High Towers workshop and -was considerably surprised when he saw the boy -allow himself to be drawn into talk with Hank -and the man the German youth knew as “Der -stranger.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bedt idt er pretzel dot der iss some more -crooked pisiness going forvarts,” he thought to -himself as he watched Sam in deep conversation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> -with the pair he already knew plotted mischief to -the Electric Monarch. “Does two fellers iss so -crooked dey could behind a corkscrew hide. I -vatch undt lisden. Maybe I find idt oudt some -more. If I do, I tell der poys by der Electric -Monarch and den maybe dey give me a chob.”</p> - -<p>With this idea in mind, he worked his way to -the position he adjudged most favorable for his -eavesdropping. Now young Dill was no friend -to sneaky ways, but in the present case he felt -that the end justified almost any means. He -knew enough to realize that the Boy Inventors’ -project was threatened by two men whom he instinctively -felt were bad characters, even if he -had not overheard their talk of the afternoon.</p> - -<p>He had not listened long when all his suspicions -were confirmed. With cunning skill -Miles Sharkey was working on Sam Hinkley’s -hatred of Ned Nevins to enlist Sam in the plot -against the Electric Monarch. But to young -Dill’s chagrin, he could not get close enough to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -hear all their conversation without risking being -discovered. He had, therefore, to content himself -with fragmentary bits. But such as these -were, they were quite sufficient to inform him that -Sam Hinkley was ready to turn traitor to his -young employers.</p> - -<p>“Then you’ll do it?” were the last words the -German youth heard Miles address to Sam -Hinkley.</p> - -<p>“You can depend on me to fix the young -sneak,” he heard Sam answer. “But when do I -get my money?”</p> - -<p>“When we get ours from the party I told you -about. Is that satisfactory?” asked Miles, who -appeared to act as spokesman.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” was Sam’s reply, as he -strolled away, and the two conspirators exchanged -triumphant glances.</p> - -<p>“Now dey come py me, I bedt you my life,” -muttered the young German to himself as he -flopped into a chair and appeared engrossed in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> -newspaper which happened, by good luck, to be -lying there. Sure enough it was not many minutes -before he heard a honey voice addressing -him.</p> - -<p>It was Hank. He expressed great regret for -the occurrences of the morning.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what got into me,” he said, “anyhow -I apologize very sincerely.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, dot’s all righdt,” said young Dill easily, -“und at dot I don’d dink dot you hadt very much -on me.”</p> - -<p>Hank agreed, and then after some more conversation -he approached the subject that young -Dill knew he had been leading up to all the time.</p> - -<p>“You know those Boy Inventors, as they call -them, up at High Towers?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Vell, I can’t say dot I know dem,” replied -Heiny truthfully, “but I like to get a chob by -dem.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, looking for a job, are you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ches, I needt some money preddy badtly und -I don’d mindt telling you dot I aindt particular -how I get idt alretty.”</p> - -<p>Hank fell into the trap readily. “This fellow’s -easier than I thought,” he chuckled to himself. -He proceeded to “feel out” the German youth a -little more, and then made him a confidant in their -plans, young Dill appearing to fall in readily with -all their schemes.</p> - -<p>Briefly the plot was this. Young Dill was to -present himself at High Towers in the morning. -Seemingly he was to be in quest of work. But -his real mission was to take advantage of any opportunity -that might present itself to disconnect -one of the wires leading from the storage batteries -to the motor. Failing in this, he was to injure -the Electric Monarch in any way that he -could, Hank having previously found out that -young Dill understood considerable about machinery.</p> - -<p>To all this the young German appeared to -agree. In fact he was even enthusiastic.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I guess I make more money on dis chob dan I -vouldt oudt of mein sissage machine,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Money!” exclaimed Hank. “Why, if you can -pull this thing off right you’ll be able to buy a new -suit every ten minutes.”</p> - -<p>“Den I’m your man,” said young Dill.</p> - -<p>Soon after this he went to bed. He would -have liked to go to High Towers that night but -he knew that he was watched. Moreover, as -there was to be no attempt made to injure the machine -till the next morning, he would not have -accomplished any useful purpose, except perhaps, -to scare the plotters away, which was the last -thing he wished to do.</p> - -<p>Before turning in, the German youth expended -a few loving caresses on the convertible sausage -machine, and then, placing it on the floor, he tumbled -into bed and soon his snores proclaimed that -at least one guest of the Hinkley House was enjoying -peaceful slumber.</p> - -<p>It was after midnight that a door down the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> -corridor from the German youth’s room was cautiously -opened and the cadaverous head and lank -black locks of “Deacon” Terry protruded themselves -into the dimly lighted passage. Apparently -satisfied that every one was in bed, the “Deacon” -slipped out of his room and tip-toed down -the passage to young Dill’s door.</p> - -<p>Bending, he listened at the key-hole. The nasal -music which greeted his ears caused a satisfied -smile to creep over his features. He fumbled -in his pocket for a minute and then a jingling -sound proclaimed that he had found what he was -in search of—a bunch of skeleton keys.</p> - -<p>With a deftness born of long practice the -“Deacon” inserted one of the keys in the lock of -young Dill’s door. There was the slightest of -clicks and then the Deacon cautiously pushed the -portal open. An instant’s pause, and then with -the gliding motion of a snake, he slipped through -the door.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> -<p>“Snap!”</p> - -<p>A sound like the firing of a pistol was followed -almost immediately by a most appalling yell.</p> - -<p>“Help! Ouch! Help!”</p> - -<p>The next moment a figure came flying into the -corridor. Attached to it was what at first sight -appeared to be a gigantic spider. Down the corridor -the figure fled, yelling at the top of his voice.</p> - -<p>All through the hotel, doors could be heard -opening and shouts and cries rang through the -entire structure from office to garret!</p> - -<p>“It’s fire!”</p> - -<p>“There’s murder!”</p> - -<p>“Call the police!”</p> - -<p>“Thieves!”</p> - -<p>“Fire! Fire!”</p> - -<p>Mingling with these and a dozen other frantic -cries from alarmed guests came the clanging of -gongs as the night clerk, aroused from his doze -in the office, sprang to the emergency alarm and -pulled it. This redoubled the confusion.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the pandemonium there came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> -skyrocketing madly down the stairs into the half-dressed -crowd swarming in the lobby, an extraordinary -and alarming figure. It was that of a man -clad only in shirt and trousers upon whose face -was stamped the wildest terror. Frightened cries -broke from his lips and the horrified onlookers -perceived that, attached to him, behind, was a -gigantic spider, or such at least the thing appeared.</p> - -<p>With a last frantic cry the victim of the repulsive-looking -creature gave a bound and fell headlong -on the floor of the crowded lobby. As he -did so there was a metallic clang, the “spider” -was detached from his waistband and the excited -crowd saw that it was in reality a metallic device -of some sort.</p> - -<p>It was just at this moment that the fire department -and the police department, the latter consisting -of two men and a chief, with a resplendent -star of pie-plate proportions, burst into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> -thronged lobby. The chief rushed up to the prostrate -man and raised him to his feet.</p> - -<p>The instant his eyes encountered the other’s -face, the village functionary gave a cry of astonishment.</p> - -<p>“It’s ‘Deacon’ Terry, the crook!” he exclaimed, -with a firm grip on the man. “There’s a description -and a reward out for his capture.”</p> - -<p>“What have you been up to now?” asked one -of the policemen, but before the discomfited thief -could reply, a strange figure in red and white -striped pajamas shoved its way through the excited -throng that jammed the lobby.</p> - -<p>“I can tell you dot. Dot feller dere vos try to -make a robberies midt mein room. Mein burglar -trap—dot used to be a sissage machine—makes a -capture by him.”</p> - -<p>“Who in thunder are you?” demanded the -chief, regarding the wild-looking German youth -with amazement.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> -<p>“I am Heiny Pumpernick Dill, inventor at -large (undt schmall) of der Convertible Sissage -Machine. Dot iss, idt used to be a sissage machine—now -I make idt of him a burglar trap.”</p> - -<p>“Say, is this fellow crazy or what?” exclaimed -the chief, who had been unable, not unnaturally, -to make head or tail of this jargon.</p> - -<p>“I think I can explain, chief,” said the night -clerk, coming forward. “It’s plain enough that -this fellow,—the ‘Deacon’ as you call him,—tried -to get into Mr. Dill’s room. He succeeded, -but instead of robbing Dill he was seized by this -what-you-may-call it.”</p> - -<p>He indicated the sausage machine lying in a -heap of spider-like limbs and springs on the floor -near-by.</p> - -<p>“Dot is not a what-you-mighdt-call-idt——” -began young Dill indignantly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> “idt is a sissage -machine. I pudt him der door py ven I go to -mein schleep. I suppose dot dis feller got ger-grabbed -by idt ven he come to take all der money -dot I told him early in der efenin’ I hadt in mein -shoes.”</p> - -<p>It was some time before things quieted down -and the notorious “Deacon” was taken off to the -village lock-up. Young Dill was the recipient of -many congratulations on the success of his -“burglar-trap.” But somehow they did not -please him. As he returned to his interrupted -slumbers he muttered to himself:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> -<p>“I am a preddy bum inventor alretty. I don’d -know meinself vot I invent. Here I go to vurk -undt make idt a fine sissage machine undt now I -haf to turn idt into a burglar-trap—Himmel!”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br /> - -<small>THE LOST LEVER.</small></h2> - - -<p>Bright and early the next morning the young -inventors, and the workmen attached to their -“plant,” wheeled out the framework of the Electric -Monarch and the business of attaching the -wings was begun. It was just half an hour from -the time the work began to the moment when the -last bolt was in place, and like a huge red and silver -butterfly the wonderful craft stood poised -ready for flight.</p> - -<p>The boys had had but little sleep and their -dreams had been of skimming the air or gliding -over the surface of the sea. Now, as they stood -back and gazed at their completed handiwork, -they felt a proud thrill of work well done. Come -what might of the trial trip, they felt that they -had done their very best.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p> - -<p>Only one thing marred their delight at the completion -of their long task. Professor Chadwick, -who from time to time suffered from severe headaches, -would be unable to accompany them on the -initial voyage. Instead, one of the workmen, a -man named Joyce, was selected to go along.</p> - -<p>When everything was in readiness for the -start, Jack visited his father’s study. He was in -hopes that even at the eleventh hour the Professor -might feel well enough to accompany them. He -well knew what a disappointment it was to his -father to have to remain behind. But Professor -Chadwick had been warned by his physician not -to risk excitement when suffering from one of his -nervous headaches.</p> - -<p>Jack found his father lying on a lounge in the -library.</p> - -<p>“No, Jack, my boy,” he said in answer to the -boy’s anxious inquiries,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> “I’m afraid the trial trip -must be made without me. I am under doctor’s -orders and cannot disobey them.”</p> - -<p>“I wish you could come, father,” replied the -boy, “but if everything goes off all right you will -have many opportunities to ride in the Electric -Monarch. Now, since you can’t come, I am going -to entrust to your care the plans and blue prints -of the craft.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, they will be safer here.”</p> - -<p>“I have just brought them from the workshop. -See, here they are,” and Jack produced a voluminous -roll of papers. “We are responsible to Ned -Nevins for the safety of these and we must see -that they are looked after carefully.”</p> - -<p>“Put them in the safe, my boy, and then give -me the combination. If I feel better later on I -should like to look them over.”</p> - -<p>Jack went to a large wall safe in one corner of -the room, opened it and placed the papers within. -He then gave the combination to his father on a -slip of paper. When this had been done he felt -easier in his mind.</p> - -<p>“They are safe enough now,” he thought. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> -mixed his father a draught of medicine and then, -summoning a servant, he told her to be ready to -answer any call from the library, in which room -Professor Chadwick intended to spend the day.</p> - -<p>When this had been done Jack felt that further -delay would be useless. Bidding his father good-bye, -and promising to give him every detail of -the trip on his return, the boy hurried out to join -his comrades.</p> - -<p>It was a cloudless day. There was not a -breath of wind to stir the leaves. A better morning -for the testing of the Electric Monarch could -not have been imagined.</p> - -<p>“Well, Tom, we’re all ready, I guess.”</p> - -<p>“As ready as we ever will be, Jack. The big -moment is due. Everything all right to your -mind, Ned?”</p> - -<p>“Down to the last nut on the last bolt,” replied -young Nevins positively.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> -<p>“Then we had better climb on board and get -ready for the start.”</p> - -<p>Joyce, a stalwart, middle-aged mechanic, followed -the boys on board the Electric Monarch. -They first visited the pilot house. It had already -been decided that Jack, on account of his -previous experience with aerial craft, was to -have the wheel. He gave a last look over the -equipment. The next instant he uttered an exclamation -of dismay.</p> - -<p>“The landing lever is gone!” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“What!” the cry came from all three of his -companions simultaneously.</p> - -<p>“It’s gone!” cried the boy. “Look here, it’s -been unbolted from the sector. Boys, the trial -trip is off if we can’t find it.”</p> - -<p>As it was the landing lever that controlled the -descending impetus of the craft, it can readily be -seen that it would have been foolhardy—suicidal, -in fact—to have attempted to start without it.</p> - -<p>“It was here the last thing last night,” cried -Ned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> “I know because I looked the whole craft -over before I turned in.”</p> - -<p>“Just the same, it is gone,” declared Tom.</p> - -<p>“Somebody has taken it,” struck in Joyce.</p> - -<p>“Yes, somebody with a spite against us,” added -Ned, and in his mind the thought of Sam Hinkley -flashed up.</p> - -<p>“Has anybody seen Sam about this morning?” -he asked.</p> - -<p>No, nobody had. The boy had not put in his -usual appearance, which seemed odd, for recently -he had appeared to take more interest than usual -in the Electric Monarch.</p> - -<p>“You surely don’t suspect——” began Tom.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to say,” interrupted Jack, -“it looks odd, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“But what object could he have had in taking -it?” asked Tom.</p> - -<p>“Better ask Ned that,” was the response. “He -told Ned he’d get even with him some time for -giving him a lesson on the porch of the Hinkley -House.”</p> - -<p>“Well, suspicions won’t find that lever,” said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> -Ned. “Suppose we look for it. Let’s start a -hunt.”</p> - -<p>“Not much use,” declared Joyce. “Whoever -took that lever has hidden it where we can’t find -it.”</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s so,” admitted Jack ruefully. -“I don’t want to accuse any one till we know, but -it looks as if——”</p> - -<p>A shout from beside the ship interrupted him. -It was Jupe. He was pointing down the hill.</p> - -<p>“Gollyumption!” shouted the old negro, who -had been an interested though inactive onlooker. -“Hyar comes dat crazy Dutch kid!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, up the hill was coming, as fast -as his pudgy legs would carry him, the rotund -form of the doughty inventor of the convertible -sausage machine.</p> - -<p>“Bother him. We don’t want that pest around -now. Hullo! what’s the matter with him?”</p> - -<p>For young Dill was waving his arms like a -windmill. He dashed up, puffing like a locomo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>tive, -the next minute. It was plain he was wildly -excited about something. But for some seconds -he could only puff and gesticulate while his -eyes rolled as if he had eaten something that had -disagreed with him.</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble, are you sick?” asked Jack, -looking down from the pilot house.</p> - -<p>“Aber-poof—Poys! You haf missed idt somedings—poof—from -der—sheeps?”</p> - -<p>“Sheeps?” exclaimed Tom, puzzled.</p> - -<p>“He means ship,” exclaimed Jack. “Say, fellows, -he knows something about the missing -lever. Is that it, Heiny?”</p> - -<p>“Ches. Der liver of der sheep iss gone, ain’d -idt?”</p> - -<p>“It certainly has. Do you know anything -about it?”</p> - -<p>By this time Heiny had recovered his breath. -In a torrent of speech that nothing could stop -he rattled off the story of the overheard conversation, -of Sam’s treachery and of the way in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> -which he had seemingly fallen in with the conspirators’ -plans. Early that morning he had got -out of bed and tracked Sam Hinkley to High -Towers. He had watched while the treacherous -youth had unscrewed the lever and then had followed -him through the fields to an abandoned -well into which the rascally boy had thrown it. -During his narrative, Heiny gave a good description -of Hank Nevins and Miles Sharkey, -from which Ned had no difficulty in identifying -the plotters. The manner in which they had discovered -his whereabouts, though, was, of course, -a mystery to the lad.</p> - -<p>But there was no time to waste just then in -discussing the best means of ensuring the punishment -of the conspirators. The main desire of all -the boys was to get back the lever and be off on -the interrupted test. Under young Dill’s guidance -the old well was soon found. It was almost filled -up with rubbish and it was an easy matter to get -the lever out.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know how we can reward you for this -service,” Jack said to young Dill as they made -their way back to the Electric Monarch.</p> - -<p>“Dere is an easy vay to do dot,” said the young -German, with the air of one who already has his -mind made up.</p> - -<p>“Well, what is it?”</p> - -<p>“Make me der mashed shot of der Elegdrig -Monarch.”</p> - -<p>“The what?” Jack regarded the lad with a puzzled -look. Young Dill had certainly done them a -splendid service and Jack, as they all did, wished -to reward him for it in some substantial way.</p> - -<p>“Der mashed shot—der goot luck—der——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the mascot!” cried Jack.</p> - -<p>“Dot’s idt. I make idt a fine mashed shot. I -am strong. I am villing. I am an inventor, at -large (undt schmall) und——”</p> - -<p>“But just what are the duties of a mascot? If -I make you one I’d like to be sure you understand -them,” said Jack with a wink at his companions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Oh, dot vos easy. Der dooties of a mashed -shot are to sit in a corner undt keep making a -noise like a rabbid’s foot oder a horse’s-boot.”</p> - -<p>“Horseshoe, I guess you mean. However, you -seem to have a pretty good idea of the job and we -can use you, anyhow, I guess.”</p> - -<p>“Den I gedt der chob?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you are one of the crew of the Electric -Monarch.”</p> - -<p>“Hoch! Der Monarch!” shouted Heiny Dill, -throwing his funny little “rudder” hat high in the -air, “ven do vee start?”</p> - -<p>“Thanks to your clever detective work, right -away.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a><br /> - -<small>OFF AT LAST!</small></h2> - - -<p>The frame of the Electric Monarch thrilled to -the first impulse of her powerful motors. But -that thrill was nothing to the sense of suppressed -excitement that ran through the boys’ veins as -Jack, with throbbing pulses, set the lever that sent -the electric current into the driving machinery.</p> - -<p>Outwardly calm, every person on board stood -at his station waiting the word for the start. -Tom Jesson was in the bow, Joyce, oil can in -hand, was at the stern. Ned Nevins, pale but -keeping a firm grip on his nerves, stood by the -motors. His “big moment” had come at last. -The dream of Jeptha Nevins was to be put to the -test.</p> - -<p>Heiny Dill had had a special office created for -him at the last moment. He was, in addition to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> -his self-conferred title of mascot, the “chief cook -and bottle washer”—in other words, the steward -of the Electric Monarch. He felt the responsibilities -of his office to the full as he stood with his -rotund face stuck out of the port cabin window -waiting for the start. He already had the electric -stove going and a big kettle of boiling water -on it. Just why, he could not have said, but he -felt that it was in line with his responsible position -to be doing something.</p> - -<p>“Hold tight, everybody. We’re going up!”</p> - -<p>The shout from the pilot house was like a bugle -call. Each boy involuntarily straightened up at -his post. The propellers beat the air faster and -faster. On the “bridge deck” the boys held -tightly to their caps. It was like being in a hurricane. -The mighty power of the motors made a -roaring noise, like the voice of a cataract. The -craft shook from stem to stern like a live thing -struggling against captivity.</p> - -<p>Suddenly there came a jerk and a yell from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -Heiny as, amidst a crashing of pots and pans, he -was flung to the floor. On the “bridge deck” the -crew hung on tight. Their faces showed the -tense strain as Jack applied full power.</p> - -<p>Off like an arrow from a bow shot the great -craft across the smooth slope leading down to -the lake. The speed was terrific. The craft -pitched and swayed so that it was only by holding -on for dear life that the boys could keep their -feet.</p> - -<p>“Ledt me oudt! Ledt me oudt!” shrieked -Heiny, from amidst the wreckage of his cooking -utensils. “I don’d vant to be a mashed shot!”</p> - -<p>“Gracious, if we don’t rise in a second we’ll be -in the lake!” cried Tom in dismay, but above the -roaring of the motors and propellers no one heard -him. But the same thought was in the minds of -all. Ned, white as ashes, peered straight ahead -as the massive craft dashed down the hill. Were -all their hopes doomed to disaster, after all?</p> - -<p>In the pilot house Jack saw the impending dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>aster. -He threw his entire weight against the -lever that set the wings at a rising inclination. -The device was new and stiff. His most strenuous -exertions failed to move it.</p> - -<p>He heard a voice at his shoulder. It was Ned -Nevins. He had guessed that something was -the matter and had clawed his way into the pilot -house down the pitching, swaying bridge.</p> - -<p>“The rising lever! Quick!” he cried.</p> - -<p>“I can’t move it. It’s stuck!” shouted back -Jack.</p> - -<p>Ned braced his foot against the sector and both -boys threw the last ounce of their strength into -making the refractory bit of machinery move. It -did, with a suddenness that threw them both to -the floor of the pilot house.</p> - -<p>But the next instant they gave a glad shout of -delight which echoed from one end of the craft to -the other.</p> - -<p>The Electric Monarch was rising, shooting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> -straight upward toward the blue heavens at tremendous -speed!</p> - -<p>Jack scrambled to his feet like a shot. For one -instant the Electric Monarch was shooting skyward -without a guiding hand at the wheel. The -next moment her young skipper, with a firm -grasp of the spokes, was directing her course due -eastward toward the ocean.</p> - -<p>While he did this, Ned set to work with oil can -and file on the lever which had so nearly caused -disaster. He soon had it fixed and had taken to -heart a lesson which had for its text, “It’s the little -things that count.”</p> - -<p>“Gracious,” he said to Jack, as they shot -straight onward at a height the barograph -showed to be 2,500 feet, “that lever came near -wrecking us.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that now,” was the response,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> -“just see how splendidly she is behaving. Ned, -old boy, the Electric Monarch is a success. A -bigger success than we dared to hope.”</p> - -<p>“She is indeed,” said Ned, almost reverentially, -as he glanced down from the pilot house window -at the landscape flying by far below them. It -was his first experience in the air and he felt just -a bit creepy and scared.</p> - -<p>But that feeling soon wore off, and before a -glittering expanse of water in the distance -showed them that the ocean lay before them, Ned -Nevins, the virtual owner of the Electric Monarch, -was at work on the motors, oiling and adjusting -as if he had been an engineer of a flying -ship all his life.</p> - -<p>The motion of the craft was delightfully -smooth and even. If it had not been for the furious -wind of the propellers, and the roaring of the -motor, it would have been difficult to believe they -were moving at all. Yet the speed indicator -showed that they had attained a velocity of fifty -miles an hour and their maximum speed had not -by any means been reached.</p> - -<p>Jack knew that with new machinery it would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> -have been risking over-heated bearings and all -manner of engine trouble, to let the Electric Monarch -out to her full capacity.</p> - -<p>Jack’s cheeks glowed and his eyes shone as the -craft drove onward, with his firm hands on the -controlling wheel. It was invigorating and -blood-quickening to feel the way in which the -Electric Monarch responded instantly to every -move of the controlling devices.</p> - -<p>“Of course the Electric Monarch isn’t mine, -nor have I any right to any share in her but the -builder’s, and yet I can’t help feeling that we all -have a part in her,” said the boy to himself. “That -Jeptha Nevins must have been a wonder. If he -had only lived, this would have been a proud day -for him. He certainly left Ned a great legacy -in those plans. I wonder——”</p> - -<p>Jack broke off short in his ruminations. The -plans! It was true they were in the safe at High -Towers, but it was also true that just the moment -before sailing they had learned that enemies were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> -interested in securing them. Enemies backed by -powerful interests, too, judging by what Heiny -Dill had said.</p> - -<p>A troubled look crossed Jack’s face. His father -was ill. In case intruders gained access to -the library, he could make but a feeble resistance. -But the next moment he dismissed the thought as -ridiculous. How could any one know where the -plans had been placed? And even so, if an attempt -was made to blow open the safe, the servants -would be bound to hear.</p> - -<p>“Just the same,” thought the boy, “I wish we’d -notified the police before we started.”</p> - -<p>But at that moment a wind flaw struck the -Electric Monarch and Jack’s attention was fully -occupied in handling the craft as she heeled over -like a ship in a heavy sea. When she was once -more on an even keel, he had other matters to occupy -his mind.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a><br /> - -<small>NED’S TERRIBLE PERIL.</small></h2> - - -<p>Beneath the Electric Monarch, soaring eagle-like -far above it, a glimmering speck against the -blue, lay the Atlantic. The ocean was in a calm -mood. Viewed from above, its surface appeared -to be as smooth as a mirror.</p> - -<p>But Jack knew that appearances were deceptive. -The Atlantic is never absolutely at rest. -Even on the calmest days its bosom heaves with -long, swinging swells, running shoreward to -break in heavy, thunderous surf on the beach. He -drew from a pocket beside the wheel the glasses -with which the receptacle was equipped.</p> - -<p>Controlling the wheel with one hand, he raised -the glasses to his eyes with the other. He gazed -downward through them and saw that the sea -was lazily swelling in long, oily combers, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> -could be ridden with ease even by a cockleshell of -a boat, whereas the Electric Monarch was actually -two capable cabin cruisers fastened together -Siamese-twin-like by ligaments of vanadium and -steel and aluminum alloy.</p> - -<p>“It’s safe enough to go down,” said Jack to -himself and sounded two blasts on the electric -whistle.</p> - -<p>This was the signal to the engineer to come -into the pilot house for a consultation. Ned soon -presented himself. He was grimy but happy.</p> - -<p>“How’s everything running?” asked Jack.</p> - -<p>“Smooth as oil. You’d think the motors had -been in commission for a long time instead of being -on their initial trip.”</p> - -<p>“That’s good. I didn’t have much fear but -they would work all right. I’m going to try a -drop, Ned.”</p> - -<p>Jack watched Ned narrowly to see if the news -had any effect upon him but Ned simply nodded -his head in a business-like way and remarked:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Very well, sir.”</p> - -<p>At this juncture there came a shrill whistle on -one of the speaking tubes leading to the helmsman’s -wheel.</p> - -<p>“Hullo, there’s Tom calling from the stern,” -cried Jack, “wonder what’s up now.”</p> - -<p>He placed the tube to his ear and then gave an -exclamation of concern.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s too bad.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble?” asked Ned.</p> - -<p>“Why, Tom has an attack of air-sickness. It’s -pretty bad while it lasts, but fortunately it is soon -over. I’m going to call him in to lie down in the -cabin a while. Can you leave your motors and -stand watch astern, Ned?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. They’re all right for half an hour, -anyhow. The current’s fine.” The boy glanced -at the indicator, which showed a strong, steady -supply of “juice.” Jack hailed Tom through the -speaking tube and ordered him to come in at once -and lie down. He then hailed Heiny, who by this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> -time had gotten over his first scare, and told him -to get some hot coffee ready.</p> - -<p>“Tom will be ready for duty before long,” said -Jack, as Ned left the pilot house, passing, as he -made his way aft, Tom, who looked white and ill. -But he assured Ned it was nothing, simply an attack -of air-sickness which would soon pass over.</p> - -<p>Ned took up his place in the stern between the -two long supporting frameworks of the rear propellers. -The wind was terrific but otherwise he -felt no inconvenience except from the excessive -vibration. He had not been standing there more -than a few minutes, keeping a watchful eye all -about him, when he noticed that the port stern -bearing of one of the propellers was beginning to -smoke.</p> - -<p>“Hullo! We’ll be having a hot box first thing -we know,” said Ned to himself. “I’ve got to oil -that fellow and look sharp about it, too.”</p> - -<p>He glanced out over the path he would have to -travel. Ned was a plucky boy, but he felt a qualm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> -pass through him as he looked. The propeller -was fully ten feet out from the main structure of -the craft and was supported by a thin framework -of braces.</p> - -<p>The task in front of Ned was to straddle this -framework and make his way aft to the heated -bearing, with nothing but 2,500 feet of space beneath -his shoe soles. For a minute he felt tempted -to ask Jack for instructions. But then his pride, -always keen with Ned, came to his rescue.</p> - -<p>“I’ll do it,” he determined, taking a firm grip -on his faculties. “But it’s going to be some job.”</p> - -<p>He gripped his oil can firmly, resolved to waste -no more time. Then clambering up to the framework, -he straddled himself over the top part of it, -holding on to the lower part of it as best he could -with his feet.</p> - -<p>It was like riding a bucking broncho in mid-air. -The gale from the big propellers swept -around Ned like a hurricane. He felt his cap -swept off his head and dared not look downward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> -to watch it go hurtling toward the sea. He knew -that the sight would be too much for his nerves.</p> - -<p>Rallying himself with an effort, Ned began his -dangerous crawl along the framework. The -further out from the main structure of the craft -he got the more nerve-racking became the task. -The slender framework shook and swayed as if -it was determined to shake him off, and send him -flying into space.</p> - -<p>Ned gripped his handholds till the paint flaked -off on his palms. But little by little he managed -to work his way toward the bearing. The propeller, -a whirring blur before his eyes, dazzled -him. The wind from it seemed to catch his -breath and jam it back down his throat. He -clung to his perch with the courage of desperation.</p> - -<p>At last he reached a point from which he could -reach the bearing. He raised the oil cup and -doused the smoking metal with oil. And then, -his duty done, he was horrified to feel a sudden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> -wave of deadly nausea sweep over him. The sea -seemed to rush up toward him, and his senses -swam in a wild delirium.</p> - -<p>“I must get back! I must! I must!” he said -to himself, and then the terrible grip of air-sickness -descended upon him again and again, and deprived -him of all power to move.</p> - -<p>Almost three thousand feet in the air, perched -on a slender, bucking framework, and a prey to -the most severe form of air-sickness, Ned’s position -was perilous, indeed.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he felt his senses leaving him. For -a second he fought against insensibility with all -the power he possessed. But it overmastered -him. Ned felt his head swimming round and -round like a detached body in an aurora of blazing -light. All at once something seemed to give -way.</p> - -<p>He felt himself falling! falling!</p> - -<p>Then a blackness like night shut down upon -him and he knew no more.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was perhaps a quarter of an hour later when -Tom presented himself to Jack and announced -that he was fit for duty.</p> - -<p>“Very well, Tom, go back to your post and send -Ned to resume his.”</p> - -<p>Tom left the cabin. In less than ten seconds -he was back. His face was blanched and his lips -white. Jack noticed he was trembling violently.</p> - -<p>“What in the world is the matter, are you ill?” -demanded Jack.</p> - -<p>“No—no, it’s Ned.”</p> - -<p>“What’s up? Anything the matter with him?”</p> - -<p>“He’s—he’s g-g-g-gone!”</p> - -<p>“Gone!”</p> - -<p>“That’s right. I went aft and there was no -sign of him. Joyce says nothing has been seen of -him up forward.”</p> - -<p>“Great Scott!”</p> - -<p>The boys faced each other with the fear of a -great calamity on their faces. If Ned was not on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> -board he must have fallen from the Electric -Monarch while she was in mid-air. In such a -case there was no need to debate over the fate of -the young comrade they had grown to love.</p> - -<p>“I can’t leave the wheel, Tom, you must do -what you can,” said Jack, his voice trembling in -spite of himself.</p> - -<p>Tom stammered some reply and left the pilot -house. He summoned young Dill.</p> - -<p>“Come aft with me,” he ordered. “We’re -afraid an accident has happened.”</p> - -<p>“An accidend! vot sort of an accidend?” blurted -out the German youth.</p> - -<p>“We’re afraid that Ned Nevins has fallen overboard.”</p> - -<p>“Donnervetter!”</p> - -<p>“You must keep a cool head, Dill, and do what -I tell you.”</p> - -<p>“I am as cool as a whole barrel of cucumbers,” -was the reply.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Then come with me. There’s one chance in -ten thousand that he may be on board and alive.”</p> - -<p>Silently the two made their way aft along the -heaving, swaying bridge, a dreadful fear gnawing -at their hearts.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a><br /> - -<small>THE DISGRUNTLED CRONIES.</small></h2> - - -<p>To say that the departure of the Electric Monarch -from High Towers had caused a sensation in -Nestorville would be putting it mildly. The town -simply went wild.</p> - -<p>School was dismissed, business came to a -standstill, and the streets were thronged from -end to end with excited townspeople.</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble?” demanded Hank Nevins, -as the waitress dropped the plate of ham and eggs -she was about to bring him and his worthy companion, -Miles Sharkey, and regardless of the -crash and the spatter, dashed into the street.</p> - -<p>“Hark, what’s that they’re calling out?” cried -Hank suddenly.</p> - -<p>“Listen!”</p> - -<p>Miles put down his knife and fork which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> -had grasped expectantly and pricked up his ears. -In another minute the cry,—which had grown -to a roar,—came to their ears with the distinctness -of a thunder clap and with much the same -effect.</p> - -<p>“Airship!—Airship!”</p> - -<p>The cry reverberated through the village like -a call to arms. Men shouted and women -screamed while small boys went charging up and -down with their heads in the air regardless of -whom they bumped into.</p> - -<p>“Great Juniper!” gasped out Hank, spilling his -coffee in his agitation, “do you suppose——?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t suppose anything. Let’s make sure,” -cried Miles.</p> - -<p>Hatless they rushed into the street but nobody -paid any attention to their agitation. Everybody -was equally excited. It was indeed a thrilling -sight. Far above the heads of the gaping crowd -an immense scarlet and silver shape was skim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>ming -on wings that shimmered in the bright sunlight.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” yelled a man, and a hundred took -up the cry half hysterically.</p> - -<p>“It’s flying!” cried out an old lady, as if there -was any doubt about it.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked somebody.</p> - -<p>“It’s an airship,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, it ain’t like any I’ve ever saw,” came -the response. “It looks as big as a house. It’s -got cabins on it, too.”</p> - -<p>“Must be some more of the work of them boys -up at High Towers,” hazarded Schultz, the blacksmith, -who sometimes did odd jobs for the boys.</p> - -<p>“Like as not it is,” agreed somebody else. -“Them boys ’ull break their necks some day, -sure.”</p> - -<p>“You mean they’ll make Nestorville famous,” -spoke up Schultz in the capacity of the boys’ -champion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> “They’re the brainiest kids in -America to-day.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, they don’t amount to very much,” came a -sneering voice behind the sturdy blacksmith.</p> - -<p>He faced round instantly. The remark had -come from Hank who, with Miles at his side, was -watching the successful flight with what feelings -may be imagined.</p> - -<p>Schultz looked angry and was not afraid to let -his irritation show. Hank began to wish he’d -kept quiet.</p> - -<p>“What was that you said, mister?” asked the -blacksmith.</p> - -<p>“I just said anybody could do that who had the -time,” said Hank, modifying his speech somewhat.</p> - -<p>“Well, you couldn’t do it, mister; it takes -<em>brains</em> to do anything like that. That lets you out.”</p> - -<p>The crowd in the vicinity began to titter. -Hank hated being laughed at, and his anger made -him imprudent.</p> - -<p>“That’s a stolen idea, anyhow,” he roared out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> -at the top of his voice. “The plans from which -that airship was made belong to me.”</p> - -<p>“Hush! Are you crazy?” exclaimed Miles, -jerking Hank’s sleeve.</p> - -<p>“No, I’m not! They do belong to me. That -craft was designed by my father, Jeptha Nevins, -and I can prove it, what’s more.”</p> - -<p>“If that’s so, why didn’t you build one yourself?” -demanded Schultz.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t have time to before thieves stole the -plans. I’ll get even, though. I’ll fix ’em. They -won’t rob me!”</p> - -<p>“For heaven’s sake, be quiet. Everybody’s -looking at you. You’ll ruin our plans.”</p> - -<p>Miles Sharkey impatiently jerked at Hank’s -sleeve. He would have liked to put an emphatic -hand over his noisy companion’s mouth. But -Hank at last saw reason. As the Electric Monarch -soared off into the distance, melting into the -sky like a vanishing bird, he consented to allow -Miles to lead him away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> - -<p>They had not gone very far when round a -corner came Sam Hinkley. He was out of breath -and much excited.</p> - -<p>“Did you see it?” he cried.</p> - -<p>“See it? Do you think we are blind?” roared -Hank. “What kind of bungling is this? Didn’t -you get the lever? How did they come to start?”</p> - -<p>“Just what I’d like to know,” said Sam with -equal heat. “I did my part of the work all right. -I detached the lever and hid it in an old well. -They must have had another one some place and -put it on at the last moment.”</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s it,” said Miles pacifically, but -Hank refused to calm down. It galled his bitter -nature to the quick to see the Electric Monarch -in successful flight when he had hoped and -schemed for a failure.</p> - -<p>“I wonder what’s become of the Dutchman,” -he snarled. “He’s ten times brighter than you -are, Hinkley,” which, as we know, was perfectly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> -correct, though not in just the way Hank meant -it.</p> - -<p>“How do I know where your Dutchman is,” -growled Sam, “I tell you I’m through with you. -I risked a lot to steal that lever and this is all the -thanks I get for it. Gimme my money.”</p> - -<p>Hank affected great surprise. So did Miles. -They both stared at Sam as if they thought he -had suddenly taken leave of his senses.</p> - -<p>“Money? What money?” exclaimed Miles.</p> - -<p>“Why, the money for crippling the machine.”</p> - -<p>A cunning smile crept over Miles’s face.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the money for crippling the machine!” -he sneered, “but you see, my young friend, you -didn’t do any such thing. In fact, for all we -know, you never went near it.”</p> - -<p>“So you’re going to cheat me out of it, eh?” -roared Sam. “But you won’t. I’ll see the police, -I’ll——”</p> - -<p>But he stopped short as Miles burst into a roar -of ironical laughter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> - -<p>“See the police and tell them you didn’t get -money for doing some crooked work! You’re -considerable of a fool, Sam Hinkley, but I guess -you aren’t fool enough for that.”</p> - -<p>As this was so beyond doubt, Sam had to content -himself with slinking off, muttering threats -about “getting even” which the two conspirators -did not much trouble themselves about. In fact -they were beginning to worry about young Dill. -It was past the hour when he had said he would -meet them, and they began to feel uneasy.</p> - -<p>It was as well for their peace of mind that they -did not know the true state of affairs, otherwise -they would have suffered still more perturbation -of spirit.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a><br /> - -<small>TOM TO THE RESCUE.</small></h2> - - -<p>With a feeling of anxiety such as he had never -before known, Tom leaned out over the stern -framework. He had hazarded a guess that Ned -might have been rash enough to have attempted -to gain the stern propeller bearings.</p> - -<p>But his surprise and relief were not any the -less on that account when he saw, lying limp and -senseless across the slender stern shaft supports, -the body of his young chum, for such Ned had -grown to be in their weeks of work and association.</p> - -<p>“Great Glory!” he exclaimed in his relief. -“Heiny, hurray! he’s alive. Had an attack of -air-sickness I guess, and it’s knocked him out.”</p> - -<p>But in the midst of his jubilation came another -thought,—a reflection that sent the hot blood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> -curdling like ice water through Tom’s veins. Suppose -the boy were suddenly to regain consciousness -and, not realizing where he was, attempt to -raise himself? In such a case he must inevitably -be dashed to death through space.</p> - -<p>Still further reflection, after the first gush of -his joy at finding his comrade alive had subsided, -convinced Tom that to get him on board from his -perilous position would be no mean undertaking -in itself. Ned lay some eight feet out from the -end of the “running-bridge.” His inert form was -balanced across the swaying, vibrating framework. -Would that framework—it looked as -slender as a spider’s web—bear the weight of the -two boys?</p> - -<p>Tom thought it would. He knew the care with -which every section of the Electric Monarch had -been constructed. Every rivet and bolt in her -had been tested and retested to three times the -strain that would be placed upon it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I’ll risk it,” decided Tom. “Here, Heiny, hold -my coat.”</p> - -<p>He stripped off his khaki Norfolk swiftly and -handed it to the German who, too stupefied by -the sight of Ned’s perilous position to say anything, -stood gaping, open-mouthed, powerless to -speak or move. He took Tom’s coat mechanically. -Then speech came to him.</p> - -<p>“Vot you do, hein?”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you see I’m going out there to get Ned -on board again?”</p> - -<p>“Himmel! You preak your neg.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so.”</p> - -<p>So saying Tom cautiously got astride of the -framework, and began worming his way toward -Ned’s still form. It was terrible work, but Tom -knew that the return trip would be still more accompanied -by peril. Steeling himself to the task -in hand, he worked slowly forward while Heiny -stood petrified watching him.</p> - -<p>Foot by foot, or inch by inch, as it seemed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> -Tom, he drew closer to the form of the boy he had -come to rescue. At last he could touch him and -look into his white face.</p> - -<p>The boy lay as limp as a bundle, and in Tom’s -eyes it was better so. It made his task so much -the easier. He extended his hands and got a firm -grip on Ned’s body.</p> - -<p>Then he began to work his way backwards. It -was agonizing work. In order to keep Ned balanced -on the narrow strut, he was compelled to -use only his feet to steady himself. Both hands -were required to hold Ned on the perilous perch. -Tom dared not look downward. The thought of -the profundity of space that lay beneath them -made him sick and dizzy.</p> - -<p>Tom could never tell just how that journey was -made. It was only a few feet, but it seemed like -so many miles. Ever present in his mind, too, was -the danger of Ned’s regaining consciousness and -making some sudden move. In such a case they -might both be doomed to death.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illus-194.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">He extended his hands and got a firm grip on Ned’s body.—<i>Page</i> 190</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> - -<p>The wind from the propellers blew against -Tom with vicious intensity. His legs ached as if -they would drop off, for he had them alone to depend -on both for balance and motion. But at -last, somehow or other, he came within reach of -Heiny Dill’s grasp.</p> - -<p>The German lad was ready. As Tom felt the -last ounce of his strength oozing from him he -felt, too, a strong grasp on his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Stetty! Stetty!” came a voice in his ears.</p> - -<p>“I’m all right,” muttered Tom thickly. He -helped Heiny drag Ned in to safety and then he, -too, almost gave out. But he knew that Jack in -the pilot house would be eagerly awaiting news. -So putting aside his weariness he seized the stern -speaking tube and sent the good news to the -young commander. This done, Ned was taken to -the cabin and restoratives administered from the -Electric Monarch’s medicine chest, with which -she had been provided in the anticipation that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> -some day the boys might want to take a long voyage.</p> - -<p>Ned, who was naturally full of vitality, was -soon himself again and insisted on taking his -watch at the motors. As for Tom, his buoyant -nature took even less time in recovering from the -strain that had been put upon it. We will leave -it to the imagination what the boys had to say to -each other when Ned learned that it was Tom -who had saved his life at the risk of his own.</p> - -<p>Not long after this Jack, who had taken the -craft quite a distance out to sea, determined to -turn back landward and make a swift flight home. -He judged they had done quite enough to prove -the Electric Monarch’s worth and in this the -others agreed with him.</p> - -<p>They were perhaps a mile off the shore when -Joyce, on the lookout forward, gave a sudden -sharp hail through the speaking tube.</p> - -<p>“Ship below us, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What is she?” hailed back Jack.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Looks like a steamer. Passenger boat, I -guess.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon I’ll give her a call,” said Jack to himself -as he hung up the tube. “My! won’t her passengers -be surprised, though.”</p> - -<p>He took out the binoculars and had a look at -the steamer Joyce had made out. She was a fair-sized -vessel with one black funnel amidships. -Her white upperworks showed she was a passenger -craft.</p> - -<p>Jack hailed Ned Nevins on the engine platform.</p> - -<p>“Put on your best bib and tucker, Ned, we’re -going calling.”</p> - -<p>“Calling!” came back the astonished exclamation.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> -<p>“Yes, deep sea calling. Hail Tom and tell him -to look his prettiest. Too bad we didn’t bring -any cards.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /><div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a><br /> - -<small>SALUTING A STEAMER.</small></h2> - - -<p>The Electric Monarch gave a dive and a swoop -that caused all Heiny Dill’s qualms to come back -tenfold.</p> - -<p>“Himmel! Ve are sinking. Man der boat-lifes!” -he yelled, but nobody paid any attention -to him and he speedily recovered his equanimity, -and with his rotund face poked out of the cabin -port watched, with as much interest as any one -else on board, the approach of the steamer.</p> - -<p>“She’s a Boston and Portland liner bound -north,” declared Jack to Ned Nevins who, as the -motor did not need any attention just then, stood -at the young skipper’s side in the pilot house.</p> - -<p>“How can you tell?”</p> - -<p>“By her smokestack. Black with a white -band.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> - -<p>On came the steamer as the Electric Monarch -swooped downward in a graceful curve to meet -her. As the hydroaeroplane commenced her -dive, there burst from the steamer’s whistle a jet -of white smoke. Immediately after, the boys -heard the booming greeting of the vessel’s siren.</p> - -<p>Jack pressed the button that controlled the -Electric Monarch’s siren and the next moment -the hydroaeroplane was screeching an answering -salute. They were now quite close to the -steamer and could see her uniformed officers on -the bridge and her decks black with passengers, -their upturned faces looking like white discs.</p> - -<p>“My! I’ll bet there’s a tall lot of speculation -going on on board that craft right now,” said -Ned, as the two boys gazed downward.</p> - -<p>“I guess you’re right. It isn’t every day that -the passengers of a liner have a chance to see a -craft like this in action,” was the response.</p> - -<p>Excitement did, indeed, appear to be rife on -board the craft beneath them. Passengers could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> -be seen clambering to all sorts of points of vantage. -Handkerchiefs were frantically waved and -the ship’s whistle was kept constantly roaring salutes.</p> - -<p>Astern of the Electric Monarch fluttered the -Stars and Stripes. Jack snatched up the speaking -tube connecting with the stern lookout post. -When Tom responded he ordered him to dip the -colors in response to the steamer’s salutes.</p> - -<p>A few moments afterward Jack and Ned saw -the liner’s ensign glide slowly down the jack-staff -and then ascend again as she acknowledged the -mid-air courtesy.</p> - -<p>“Can’t we turn and follow her?” asked Ned, as -the steamer, with a great creamy bow wave curling -away from her sharp cutwater, sped on her -way.</p> - -<p>“Certainly. For a short distance, anyway. We -might as well show them our paces.”</p> - -<p>Jack swung the Electric Monarch in a sharp -circle and they could feel the equilibrium devices<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> -grate and vibrate as the big craft was “banked” -at a sharp angle. By this time the steamer had -put quite an interval between herself and the -Electric Monarch. But Jack let the hydroaeroplane -out a notch more than he had been doing.</p> - -<p>The Electric Monarch answered the quickened -impulses of her propellers like a race horse. In -a flash, as it seemed, she was once more abreast -of the steam vessel.</p> - -<p>“Look,” cried Ned, suddenly, “there’s a man -clambering up on the jack-staff.”</p> - -<p>The venturesome passenger had gained the -stern railing. He hopped to the top of it and -then began to swarm up the jack-staff from the -summit of which fluttered the flag. Holding on -with one hand he waved frantically with the -other. The boys were in the act of acknowledging -the salute when Jack gave a sharp cry.</p> - -<p>“Gracious! He’s overboard!”</p> - -<p>Like a stone the man had suddenly dropped -from the jack-staff into the swirling water astern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> -of the steamer. How he had lost his hold was -a mystery. It all happened in a flash. One second -he was waving, the next they saw him falling -down into the sea and then the waters closed -over him.</p> - -<p>The steamer’s whistle sounded in short quick -jerks. It was the signal to man the lifeboats. -The boys could see the passengers and the crew -rushing about in seeming confusion, but in the -case of the latter, as they knew, the apparent -chaos represented order.</p> - -<p>And now, amidst the white, boiling wake of the -vessel, they could make out the dark speck of a -man’s head. He was swimming for his life, -swimming desperately to avoid being drawn into -the suction of the propeller. Jack’s hand sought -a lever.</p> - -<p>Ned looked at him questioningly. But he did -not speak. He was pretty sure in his own mind -what the young skipper of the Electric Monarch -was going to do.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> - -<p>This belief was speedily verified. Jack drew -back the lever and the planes took a downward -slant. Simultaneously Jack flashed on the red -lights that signaled to the stern and bow lookouts -that a descent was to be made. Joyce in the bow -and Tom in the stern had seen the accident, but of -course had not left their posts. The flash of the -red lamps at their stations apprised them that -the Electric Monarch was about to make her first -essay at saving life.</p> - -<p>Down shot the big craft with a swiftness that -made it seem as if she must inevitably shoot -straight to the bottom of the sea. Even Ned, -secure as he felt while Jack had the wheel, flashed -a doubtful look at the young skipper. But he -said nothing and the next moment he was to be -glad that he had remained silent.</p> - -<p>With iron nerve, Jack allowed the Electric -Monarch to drop like a swooping fish eagle, and -then, without the quiver of a muscle, he turned -apparent disaster aside with a swift manipula<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>tion -of the leveling lever. The bow of the Electric -Monarch raised and struck the water at an -angle that caused her to glide along the surface -much as a newly launched vessel might take to -sea.</p> - -<p>It was a masterly bit of handling. The spray -flew high above the Electric Monarch, completely -hiding her for an instant from the view of those -on board the steamer. A great cry went up when -it was seen that she was safe and riding like a -duck on the heaving surface of the sea. To many -of those on board it had appeared as if the big -craft must have sunk. Their relief expressed -itself in a mighty cheer.</p> - -<p>Those on board the Monarch felt no less relief. -Tom and Joyce had stuck grimly to their posts -but both had felt their hearts beat quicker as they -neared the water. As it was, a good drenching -was all they had received, and they had but scant -time to give any attention to that, for Jack instantly -headed the Electric Monarch in the di<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>rection -in which the bobbing head of the swimmer -had last been seen.</p> - -<p>Presently Ned gave a shout.</p> - -<p>“There he is!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, not twenty yards from the Electric -Monarch as she lay on the waves, was the -form of the swimmer.</p> - -<p>“Stick it out! We’ll get you!” shouted Tom, -from his post astern.</p> - -<p>The swimmer waved a confident hand in reply. -He did not appear at all incommoded by his accident. -On the contrary, he was swimming -leisurely as if he rather enjoyed his bath than -otherwise. The boys gazed at him in astonishment. -Within the next few minutes they were -destined to be yet more surprised.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a><br /> - -<small>AN OLD FRIEND.</small></h2> - - -<p>The surprise in store for them was this. The -swimmer was an old friend of theirs.</p> - -<p>“Captain Sprowl!” shouted Jack, as they -neared him.</p> - -<p>“Aye! aye! my hearty!” came back the response, -in the old New Englander’s hearty voice, -“lay alongside and I’ll come aboard.”</p> - -<p>“What, you know him!” demanded Ned.</p> - -<p>“Do we? I should say so. He was in command -of Professor Dinkelspeil’s yacht when the -mutineers sunk her. After that he was with us -all through that Amazon country I told you -about.”</p> - -<p>But it was no time to enter into explanations. -The Electric Monarch was skillfully maneuvered -alongside the doughty old mariner before the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> -boats from the steamer had fairly left the vessel’s -side. Tom, who had also recognized Captain -Sprowl, ran forward from his post in the stern -and threw him a line. Five minutes later they -were all standing in the pilot-house listening to -the captain’s story of how he had come to loosen -his hold of the jack-staff and plunge into the sea.</p> - -<p>“You see, my hearties,” he said, “I was sure it -was you in this here sky-hooting, sea-scooting -contraption and so I says to myself, ‘I’ll give ’em -a proper salute, I will, ship-shape, man-o-war -fashion.’”</p> - -<p>“Well, you certainly did, Captain,” laughed -Jack, “but what in the world were you doing on -that ship?”</p> - -<p>The captain looked knowing.</p> - -<p>“I am on my way to Portstown, Maine,” he -said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> “There’s a big fair there next week and -one of the features of it is to be an aerial carnival. -I’m to be in charge of the airship part of it and -I’ve booked some of the best aviators in the -country.”</p> - -<p>The boys looked interested. Anything to do -with airships always appealed to them.</p> - -<p>“It’s just come to me,” resumed the captain, -“that maybe you’d like to bring this contraption -up thar’ and try for some of the prizes. What do -you say?”</p> - -<p>It was characteristic of Captain Sprowl that, -regardless of his wet clothes and recent narrow -escape, he made no more of it than if everything -was all right and he had come on board the -Electric Monarch in quite the ordinary course of -events.</p> - -<p>“Well, you see, Captain, this ship, the Electric -Monarch we call it, isn’t ours at all. It really -belongs to Ned Nevins here.”</p> - -<p>“That is, a share of it does,” spoke Ned modestly.</p> - -<p>“Well, what does Ned say?” inquired the captain, -as Heiny entered the pilot house with steam<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>ing -hot coffee which Jack had ordered got ready -as soon as they struck the water.</p> - -<p>“Ned says—yes!” responded the lad, “but how -about you, Jack and Tom?”</p> - -<p>“So far as I’m concerned I think it would be -a splendid thing,” said Jack. “It would give us -a chance to try out the Electric Monarch in competition -with other air craft, and then, too, the -voyage up there would put her through her paces -in great shape. My answer is—yes.”</p> - -<p>“Same here,” declared Tom with positiveness.</p> - -<p>“Ches, dot suids me,” said Heiny, balancing his -tray like a born waiter while the captain gulped -down his steaming coffee.</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll call it settled,” said the captain. -“I’ll send you entry blanks on my arrival at -Portstown. Be ready to start as soon as possible.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry about that, Captain,” said Jack, -“we certainly shall be ready.”</p> - -<p>By this time the boats from the steamer had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> -come alongside and the singular interview had to -be concluded.</p> - -<p>“Well, I think it is safe to say that a business -deal was never conducted under more curious -auspices than this one,” laughed Jack, as the captain -prepared to board one of the boats. “I guess -you’d be ready to talk business if you fell out of -a balloon, Captain.”</p> - -<p>“If there was an undertaker handy, I would,” -said the captain. And with a cheerful wave of -his hand, the stout old seaman stepped into a -boat and was rowed back to the steamer.</p> - -<p>As the vessel got under way again the Electric -Monarch took to the air, rising as easily from the -water as she had from the land. With parting -cheers and mutual salutes the two craft parted, -the steamer to resume her northward voyage, the -Electric Monarch to turn homeward after an -eventful trial trip which, so far as the boys could -see, had been a success in every particular.</p> - -<p>On the homeward voyage some brisk breezes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> -were encountered, but the Electric Monarch behaved -splendidly. A short distance outside the -village of Enderby, Jack, who had surrendered -the wheel to Ned, in order to initiate him into -handling the craft that bore his name, spied a -black dot in the distance.</p> - -<p>It was high in the air and traveling rapidly -toward them. It was some minutes before they -made out what it was.</p> - -<p>“A balloon!” They all made the discovery -simultaneously. The big gas bag was traveling -fast and on a course which would bring it across -the Electric Monarch’s bows. As it came closer -they saw that it was colored a brilliant red and -bore on the sides of its gas bag in huge letters, -“New Yorker.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that’s one of the balloons that went up -in that contest at New York,” cried Jack. “They -started from Brooklyn last night. My! they’ve -made good time.”</p> - -<p>On came the balloon, driving fast. In it were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> -two men clad in khaki and wearing close-fitting -caps. They waved frantically to the lads in the -Electric Monarch and the hydroaeroplane was -brought close alongside the balloon, keeping up -with it easily.</p> - -<p>One of the men in the balloon basket snatched -up a megaphone. Placing it to his lips, he -shouted:</p> - -<p>“Ahoy! what craft is that?”</p> - -<p>“The Electric Monarch of Nestorville, Mass.,” -rejoined Jack, in true air-sailor fashion. “What -craft is that?”</p> - -<p>“The New Yorker, of New York, pilots Augustus -Yost and Alan Frawley, will you report -us?”</p> - -<p>“We sure will. When are you coming down?”</p> - -<p>“We don’t know. This is an endurance race—we’ll -keep up as long as possible. Good-bye.”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” and so ended a scene which ten -years ago would have been scoffed at as impossible, -yet it was only the other day that news<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>paper -readers perused the account of an aeroplane -towing a disabled dirigible into her hangar.</p> - -<p>But we must now hasten home to High Towers -with the boys. They arrived there without further -incident, having made excellent time. The -workmen who had been left behind were there to -help them make a landing, and once more the -Electric Monarch rested on dry land.</p> - -<p>Hardly had she touched the ground, however, -before Jupe was seen running from the house -at top speed. He was shouting something, but till -he got close by they could not make out what it -was. Then his words became clearer.</p> - -<p>“It’s my father!” cried Jack, in an alarmed -voice.</p> - -<p>“What can be the matter?” cried Tom.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but it must be something serious,” -declared Jack, with a pale face, as Jupe -came panting up.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Massa Jack,” he wailed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> “yo’ fadder am -turrble sick, sah. Dey heard de bell ring an’ -hurry up to der liberry. Dey foun’ him lyin’ on -de flo’ widout his senses.”</p> - -<p>“Gracious!” cried Jack, “we must hurry to the -house at once.”</p> - -<p>“An’—an’ dat ain’ de wustest,” stammered out -Jupe.</p> - -<p>“Well, what else?”</p> - -<p>“De do’ ob de safe done be open an’ it look lak’ -some papers bin done taken out!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a><br /> - -<small>THE LOST PLANS.</small></h2> - - -<p>But, for the time being, the condition of the -safe did not occupy any place in Jack’s thoughts. -His sole care was for his father. Hastening to -the house at top speed, he found that Professor -Chadwick had been placed in bed and a physician -summoned.</p> - -<p>The doctor was coming out of the room just -as Jack, with a pale, agitated face, came flying in.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Dr. Goodenough,” he exclaimed, “how -is dad? What has happened?”</p> - -<p>“Be calm, my lad,” said the doctor kindly, -placing a hand on the excited boy’s shoulder.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> -“Your father has suffered nothing worse than -an attack of vertigo brought on by overwork and -study. A few weeks’ quiet will make him perfectly -well again, and then I shall forbid him -overexerting himself.”</p> - -<p>“Can I see him?” asked Jack eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Not just now. He is still only partly conscious. -From what I can gather, the servant who -answered the bell found him lying on the floor -of the library unconscious. He was carried to -his room, and I was sent for at once.”</p> - -<p>“When can I see him?” demanded Jack anxiously, -and Tom, who had now arrived, repeated -the question.</p> - -<p>“Probably this evening, when I shall pay another -visit.”</p> - -<p>“He is only suffering from vertigo, doctor?” -asked Jack, with curious insistence, “not from -any—any injuries?”</p> - -<p>“Injuries? I don’t understand you.”</p> - -<p>“He had not been in any struggle, then? -That’s what I mean.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not. What an odd question!” The -doctor looked at Jack quizzically. “I shall have -you under my care next,” he said jokingly.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p> -<p>“I thought that perhaps——”</p> - -<p>Jack hesitated.</p> - -<p>“Go on, my lad. I can see there is something -on your mind. What is it?”</p> - -<p>“Just this, doctor. Old Jupe, our colored man, -told me that the door of the library safe, in which -some valuable papers were deposited, was open -when my father was found.”</p> - -<p>The doctor’s face grew serious.</p> - -<p>“I knew nothing of this,” he said. “Were -there any signs that a violent entry had been effected?”</p> - -<p>“That I don’t know, doctor. Naturally I came -here first to find out my father’s condition.”</p> - -<p>“It need give you no worry, my boy. I can -assure you of that. Let us go to the library at -once. What you have just told me may place a -very different light on the matter.” And the -doctor’s face grew serious.</p> - -<p>“How is your father, Jack?”</p> - -<p>Jack turned, and saw Ned Nevins, who was, -by this time, one of the household, at his elbow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> -The boy’s face was troubled, for he had a genuine -affection and regard for the good Professor.</p> - -<p>“He has simply had a stroke of vertigo. It is -nothing serious, Dr. Goodenough says. But, -Ned, the safe——”</p> - -<p>“I know. I heard what Jupe said.”</p> - -<p>“Ned, the papers—your papers—may be -stolen. How can I——”</p> - -<p>“Say nothing about it, Jack. So long as your -father has not been injured I do not care. Do -you think that gang of rascals would have dared -to break in here?”</p> - -<p>“We can’t tell anything till we have examined -the library. We are going there now. Come -along.”</p> - -<p>In the library everything was in order. The -servant who had answered the bell was summoned -and declared that things were exactly as -they were when she replied to the Professor’s -summons. He was lying at the foot of a desk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> -when she entered the room and was quite unconscious.</p> - -<p>“Let us examine the safe,” said Dr. Goodenough.</p> - -<p>The door of the safe was ajar, and the servant -declared that it had not been touched by any one -since the discovery of the Professor’s unconscious -form.</p> - -<p>“You are quite certain of this?” asked the -doctor.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir. Positive.”</p> - -<p>“Jack, where were the papers put?”</p> - -<p>“In a drawer inside the safe, doctor.”</p> - -<p>The boy had swung the door of the safe open, -and the next instant he turned a white, startled -face on the others.</p> - -<p>“The drawer is empty. It has been robbed!” -he exclaimed excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Keep cool, my boy,” admonished the doctor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> -“You are sure the safe was closed when you -left?”</p> - -<p>“I shut it myself, doctor. There is not a chance -that I could be mistaken.”</p> - -<p>“And the combination?”</p> - -<p>“I gave it to my father with my own hands. -It was the last thing I did before I left.”</p> - -<p>“Then the safe could only have been forced -open unless some one possessing the combination -opened it.”</p> - -<p>“That is the only way any one could have -gained access to its contents.”</p> - -<p>“And yet there is not the slightest evidence -that these doors have been forced,” said the -doctor, who had been examining the safe. “This -is a most mysterious occurrence.”</p> - -<p>“How could the robbers have opened it?” demanded -Jack.</p> - -<p>“How did they get in, anyhow?” Tom wanted -to know. The boy had been looking about the -room.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> “This window is closed and locked with -a snap-lock on the inside. Uncle must have felt -chilly and closed it, or was it shut when you left, -Jack?”</p> - -<p>“It was shut,” said Jack positively. “I recollect -that, because I asked dad if he didn’t want -it closed, and he asked me to shut it.”</p> - -<p>“There’s soft mould in the flower bed outside,” -struck in Ned. “If any one had come in -that way they must have left their footprints on -the dirt.”</p> - -<p>“That is so,” agreed the doctor. “Let us look -at the ground outside the window.”</p> - -<p>But an examination of the flower bed only -deepened the mystery. It was a bed about five -feet wide, and there was no possibility of any -one’s having stepped across it without leaving the -imprint of his feet. It had rained two days before, -too, so that the ground was moist and would -have readily retained any impression.</p> - -<p>Yet there was not the slightest trace of a footprint -to be seen. The little group exchanged -puzzled glances.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Perhaps somebody got in by the front door,” -suggested Jack, but on inquiry it was learned -that Jupe had been busy polishing floors in the -front part of the house most of the day, and -nobody could have got past without being seen. -The only other entrance to the house was by the -kitchen, and the cook was certain that nobody -had come in through her domain.</p> - -<p>As a last resort they examined the scuttle on -the roof. It locked on the inside, and the fastenings -had not been tampered with. Completely -nonplussed, the investigators halted and talked -matters over. Dr. Goodenough eventually decided -to question Professor Chadwick that evening -if he should be strong enough.</p> - -<p>As may be imagined, the mystery of the theft -of the papers cast a gloom over the household. -Jack felt that he was partly responsible, and said -so to Ned Nevins. But the latter indignantly -bade him to say nothing about it.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> -<p>“Let us be glad that the robbers did not injure -your father,” he said. “The plans are gone and -that is all there is to it.”</p> - -<p>“But if they are not recovered, Ned, how can -we ever make restitution to you?”</p> - -<p>“If they are not recovered we still have the -Electric Monarch. We must hurry and draw up -another set of plans based upon her structure -and rush them through the patent office.”</p> - -<p>“That’s about the only thing to do,” agreed -Jack ruefully, “but I can’t tell you how bad I -feel, Ned, over the loss of your property which -you entrusted to our care.”</p> - -<p>“Forget it,” said Ned boyishly, and, although -the expression was slangish, it conveyed to Jack -a sense of consolation, for he felt that Ned would -never blame him for the loss of Jeptha Nevins’s -lifework.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a><br /> - -<small>A BAFFLING ROBBERY.</small></h2> - - -<p>Dr. Goodenough’s visit that night did not serve -to throw any light on the mystery of the safe -robbery. In the meantime the police had been -summoned, and investigated the premises without -getting any nearer a solution of the puzzle -than the boys and Doctor Goodenough had done.</p> - -<p>Jack had taken it upon himself that afternoon -before supper to telephone to the Hinkley House. -He learned there that Sam was out and not expected -back for some time. Heiny Dill was dispatched -to the village to learn further particulars, -and returned with the report that Hank -Nevins and Miles Sharkey had both left the -Hinkley House shortly before his arrival on the -scene.</p> - -<p>The young amateur detective had trailed them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> -as far as the depot, only to find that they had -taken the train bound south a few moments before -he arrived. He had learned, however, that -they had spent most of the day previous to their -departure in the hotel. This only served to make -matters the more baffling.</p> - -<p>By common consent, whether justly or unjustly, -the boys had been inclined to suspect either -Hank or Miles with being concerned in the robbery. -But it seemed that they had a complete -alibi. Sam Hinkley, too, had been seen about -the village on and off most of the day, and thus -he also was eliminated. But the boys had not -suspected Sam in the matter, anyway, so this -information was not a surprise to them.</p> - -<p>“This is a mystery for fair,” declared Jack, -when Heiny Dill had duly reported the facts to -him. “Fellows, we are stumped.”</p> - -<p>“Possibly to-night your father will be able to -talk and throw some light on the matter,” suggested -Ned.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Perhaps so. I am sure I hope that he will. -A mystery like this gets on your nerves. The -only people I can think of who knew of the existence -of the plans, except ourselves, are Hank -and his friend Sharkey. From what you say of -them, Ned, I guess they wouldn’t stick at anything; -from what Heiny Dill has found out we -know it was impossible for them to be here at -about the time of the robbery. Dad was found -unconscious about an hour after we left. At -that time Hank and his friend were in the village. -They were seen there talking to Sam Hinkley.”</p> - -<p>“If we could get hold of Sam maybe he could -tell us something,” suggested Tom.</p> - -<p>When Dr. Goodenough arrived that evening -he informed Jack that Professor Chadwick had -sufficiently recovered to be able to talk. With -what eagerness they all awaited the outcome of -that interview may be imagined. But so far as -helping to clear up the mystery was concerned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> -Professor Chadwick was as powerless as any of -them.</p> - -<p>“After Jack had closed the window and left,” -he said, “I lay down upon the lounge. After a -time I felt better and thought I would get a book. -I rose from the couch and went toward the bookcase. -I can recollect nothing more till I found -myself in bed with Dr. Goodenough in attendance -on me.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing else at all?” gently urged the doctor.</p> - -<p>“Nothing except that Jupe came in to tell me -that the Electric Monarch had started successfully -on her maiden voyage.”</p> - -<p>“You can recall nobody attempting to force the -window or open the safe?”</p> - -<p>Professor Chadwick shook his head positively.</p> - -<p>“Nothing like that at all, doctor,” he said, with -conviction.</p> - -<p>“And nobody but Jupe entered the room, to -your knowledge?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody,” declared Professor Chadwick,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> “and -I think we can safely leave Jupe out of the question.”</p> - -<p>Late that night Jack called up the Hinkley -House and discovered that Sam had not returned.</p> - -<p>“I thought he was up to your place,” said Landlord -Hinkley. “I’ve no idee whar’ the boy hes -gone. He ain’t often out this late at night. I -hope he ain’t up to any monkey shines. If he be, -I’ll whale him good, big as he be.”</p> - -<p>Jack decided that it was no use telling Sam’s -father of all that had occurred since the morning. -But when he hung up the receiver he was -a sadly perplexed boy. When Heiny Dill departed -for the hotel that night he promised to -find out what he could. On his return the next -morning he reported that a wire had been received -from Sam, who said that he was going -to New York. Landlord Hinkley found, incidentally, -that the funds to finance Sam’s journey -had been taken from his cash drawer. This was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> -the sum total of young Dill’s information, and -it was not enlightening.</p> - -<p>In fact, it complicated the puzzle, for if Sam -was not implicated in the robbery, and there was -nothing to make them believe that he was, there -was no apparent reason why he should decamp so -suddenly, unless he feared that he might be prosecuted -for the theft of the lever. The boys, -therefore, were forced to conclude that this was -the reason for Sam’s flight.</p> - -<p>As for the sudden departure of Hank and -Miles Sharkey, that was more understandable. -They had practically hired Sam to make his desperate -attempt to cripple the Electric Monarch, -and knew that their plans must have been foiled -when they saw the craft take to the air. This -being so, they had probably argued that Sam -would be arrested and would implicate them. -Flight, then, must have seemed to them to be -their wisest course.</p> - -<p>And so, for the present, the mystery of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> -stolen plans had to be given up by the police and -those most interested in the recovery of the -papers, as an unsolvable puzzle. Of the startling -way in which it was to be cleared up, none of -those concerned had the slightest inkling. From -day to day the boys feared to hear of the plans -being filed in the patent office. But, although -through Prof. Chadwick’s patent lawyers in -Washington, they kept in constant touch with -the National Capital, no such papers turned up. -In the meantime the boys busied themselves making -as complete a set of duplicate plans as possible, -covering every patentable feature of the -Electric Monarch.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a><br /> - -<small>OFF TO THE FAIR.</small></h2> - - -<p>Two days after the mysterious disappearance -of the plans of the Electric Monarch the promised -entry blanks for the Aëro Carnival at Portstown -arrived. Inclosed with them the worthy -captain had sent a copy of a Portstown newspaper -in which there was announced in flaring -capitals the following:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> -<p>“Captain Abe Sprowl, in charge of the Aëro -Carnival, announces that he has engaged, at unprecedented -expense, the newest marvel of the -air, the motor-driven hydroaeroplane, The Electric Monarch, -owned and invented by Ned -Nevins, the youthful inventor. The machine will -make a flight from Nestorville to the show -grounds, and will be on view daily during the -carnival.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you think of that?” gasped out -Jack, as he read this flamboyant announcement -out aloud to his companions. “As a press agent -Captain Sprowl is certainly a wonder. It looks -as if we’d have to go now, boys, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“It sure does,” agreed Tom, “but I wish he -hadn’t run that fool notice. We don’t want all -that notoriety just now.”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed. Not till the plans are all safely -filed in the patent office,” agreed Ned, with a -serious look. “Queer, that whoever took the -other set hasn’t tried to place them on record -yet, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I can’t understand it,” agreed Jack; “it -looks as if they had something up their sleeves -that we know nothing about. However, there -is no use worrying over it. I guess we ought to -be thankful that things are as they are.”</p> - -<p>Heiny Dill arrived a few moments later. In -honor of his new job he had purchased a more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> -flaring tie than ever, and his socks were of a -lurid purple.</p> - -<p>“Any news of Sam, Heiny?” inquired Jack, as -the young German sauntered up, whistling -blithely, to where the lads stood grouped about -the Electric Monarch, on which some minor adjustments -were being made.</p> - -<p>“Nodt a vord,” responded young Dill, “he hass -made idt a vanishment as if he hadt dropped der -eardt off.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t hear any complaints about his -absence,” declared Tom. “So far as we are concerned -we don’t care if he never comes back. -I’m sorry for his father, though.”</p> - -<p>“Veil, der oldt man is bearing oop midt remargable -composure alretty,” declared Heiny, -cocking his head on one side and giving a “yodle” -more remarkable for vigor than harmony.</p> - -<p>“When do we start, fellows?” asked Jack that -afternoon when he had filled out the entry blanks -and they had been mailed by Heiny Dill.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The Electric Monarch is ready to go this -minute,” said Tom. “I was just talking to -Joyce.”</p> - -<p>“Then what do you say about to-morrow?” -asked Jack.</p> - -<p>“Suits me,” said Ned, who wanted nothing better -than to be riding in the Electric Monarch -again.</p> - -<p>“Me, too,” said Tom. “I’m tired of being on -<i lang="la">terra firma</i>.”</p> - -<p>So it was arranged that the start for the Portstown -Fair should be made the next morning. -Professor Chadwick was still too weak to attempt -to accompany the boys, but he wished them all -sorts of luck and a good time.</p> - -<p>“We’re sure to have a good time, anyhow,” -Tom assured him.</p> - -<p>Till late that night the boys worked on stocking -up the larder of the Electric Monarch with -all manner of canned foods. Heiny Dill, who -was as fond of good things as most boys, watched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> -these preparations with glittering eyes. He -smacked his lips visibly as he stowed away the -provisions on shelves in his domain.</p> - -<p>The boys slept little that night, awaking early -to find it a slightly overcast morning with a -promise of fair weather later on. There was -but little wind, however, and everything appeared -to be propitious for a speedy, uneventful -voyage to Portstown.</p> - -<p>Before leaving, Jack affixed to the “navigation-desk,” -in the pilot house, an “aërial map” of -the route. This was a map on which various -landmarks, easily discernible from a height, -were noted down, and it was issued by the Aëronautical -Society of America. Maps such as these -are of the utmost use to airmen who naturally -would find little to guide them in an ordinary -map or chart. Marked in red ink on the aërial -map were various arrows showing the probable -direction of the wind in crossing various bits of -high ground or in passing over cities.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p> - -<p>The air is by no means, as might be imagined, -a smooth road to travel. It is full of “billows,” -aërial “cliffs” caused by up-drafts, and vast, -empty pockets wherein nothing but a vacuum exists, -and which many airmen claim are the greatest -source of danger to aviators that the atmosphere -contains.</p> - -<p>As there was nothing to cause delay, the Electric -Monarch’s motors were started spinning almost -as soon as it was broad daylight. Everything -proved to be in perfect order, and after the -tuning-up process the boys took their stations on -the craft. As before, Joyce had the bow lookout -and Ned Nevins alternated between the pilot -house and the motor-platform.</p> - -<p>Professor Chadwick and Jupe waved them -farewell as they shot upward, and before very -long the village of Nestorville and High Towers -lay far behind them. Jack sent the Electric Monarch -straight up on an inclined aërial staircase -till she had gained the height of five thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> -feet. At this altitude they proceeded steadily -along, the height being sufficient to avoid any -danger from upward thrusting air currents.</p> - -<p>The morning passed uneventfully, and shortly -before noon Heiny Dill announced that lunch -was ready. They took this in relays, Ned relieving -Jack at the wheel while the young skipper -ate. They passed over several towns and small -villages, and through the glasses they could -plainly see the flurry they were causing down -below. It amused them to watch the scurrying -atoms which they knew were human beings rushing -about and pointing upward as the Electric -Monarch passed high above their heads.</p> - -<p>Not long after lunch, as they were passing over -what seemed to be a large farm, they saw several -men running along below them. Suddenly one -elevated and aimed a gun at the fast flying craft. -Of course the Electric Monarch was far too high -for the charge to reach her, but the boys could -see the puff of smoke that accompanied the dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>charge, -and knew that if they had been lower -they would have felt shot pattering about them.</p> - -<p>“That’s a specimen of what Atwood, the trans-continental -flier, had to contend against,” said -Jack. “The more ignorant people are, the more -they dislike to see modern inventions. I’ll bet -if that fellow with the gun could have hit us he -would.”</p> - -<p>“His intentions seemed serious, anyhow,” -laughed Ned, “but the Electric Monarch is a hard -bird to bring down.”</p> - -<p>About an hour later Jack decided to drop down -closer to the earth. He wished to test the effect -of the currents near to the heated surface on the -Electric Monarch. Accordingly the craft was -brought down till at times she was rushing along -at not more than two or three hundred feet from -the earth.</p> - -<p>They were flying over a large, prosperous-looking -farm at a fair rate of speed when there -came a sudden check in the air craft’s movement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> -She plunged violently and pitched forward as -if about to capsize.</p> - -<p>“It’s the grapnel line!” shouted Ned, “it’s gotten -loose and hooked on to the roof of that barn!”</p> - -<p>At the same instant there came a sound of -rending and tearing wood as the steel points of -the grapnel dug into the roof of a rickety old -barn and tore it loose from the rafters. Jack -acted like a flash. He set his descending planes -and came to earth in a beautifully executed dive -in a stubble field just beyond the farm buildings.</p> - -<p>“The grapnel must have torn loose from its -fastenings,” he said; “lucky it was no worse. -As it is——”</p> - -<p>He broke off short. Running toward them -from the farmhouse came the farmer and two of -his hired men. The farmer carried in his hand -a formidable looking gun. As he drew close to -the boys he leveled it at them. At the same time -he cried out angrily:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Stay right where ye be. Don’cher move, doggone -yer, er I’ll shoot.”</p> - -<p>The look in his eye, as well as the menace in -his voice, convinced the boys that the threat was -no idle one. The man was thoroughly angry -over the accidental damage to his barn. On he -came with leveled gun, shouting threats, while -the two hired men kept up a steady accompaniment.</p> - -<p>“Well, this is a fine fix,” commented Jack. “I -guess we’ll have to settle for that roof before we -leave here.”</p> - -<p>“You kin jes’ bet ye’ll hev ter,” roared the -farmer, who had overheard him.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a><br /> - -<small>AN UNLUCKY MISHAP.</small></h2> - - -<p>“That’s all right, sir. We’re willing to pay -you whatever is right for the damage we have -done,” said Jack, in as pacific a voice as he could -assume.</p> - -<p>“Fine times these be when a passel of kids kin -come along in a flyin’ contraption an’ take off a -man’s roof!” exclaimed the angry farmer, far -from being pacified.</p> - -<p>“It was an accident,” declared Jack; “we are -just as sorry for it as you are.”</p> - -<p>The farmer in his rage had paid not the slightest -attention to the Electric Monarch, but his -two hired men stood looking at it with open -mouths. They had never seen anything like it, -and the farmer’s orders to them to “close up” -fell upon deaf ears.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Accident be dol-dinged,” exclaimed Farmer -Turpin angrily; “it warn’t no accident. You -done it a-pupose.”</p> - -<p>“We certainly did not,” replied Jack, with -some heat. “Do you suppose we’d want to wreck -our craft for a rotten old roof?”</p> - -<p>“Rotten old roof!” bellowed the farmer furiously. -“I’ll show yer how rotten it was. It’ll -cost yer a hundred dollars fer ther damage you’ve -done.”</p> - -<p>“Ridiculous,” said Jack, who had been looking -at the damaged roof. It was old and moss-grown -and had covered one of the oldest buildings on -the farm.</p> - -<p>The boards of the antiquated structure were -split and paintless. Wind and weather must -have had their way with it for many years. Jack -pointed out these facts to the irate farmer. But -he proved recalcitrant.</p> - -<p>“I want a hundred dollars fer thet thar roof er -you don’t go on,” said he.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Rubbish. See here, we don’t want to do damage -and not settle for it, but that isn’t to say that -we can be bled like that. We’re not so foolish. -I’ll give you twenty-five dollars for that six feet -or so of roof we’ve injured.”</p> - -<p>An obstinate look, an expression of fixed stubbornness, -came over the farmer’s face.</p> - -<p>“I got yer here an’ yer goin’ ter pay my price. -Ther justice of ther peace here ain’t friendly to -automobuls and sich-like, an’ I reckon ef I say -so he’ll give yer all a week in jail as well as a -fine. How’d you like that, hey?”</p> - -<p>“Threats like that don’t frighten us,” said -Jack stoutly, although inwardly he began to feel -somewhat worried over the prospects ahead. If -the farmer proved as pig-headed as seemed likely -it might mean that they would have to pay his -outrageous price or else be sent to prison by -some cross-grained old justice of the peace.</p> - -<p>Of course the boy felt that the farmer’s threat -was more or less of a “bluff,” but still he knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> -from experience the prejudice that a great many -people, especially in remote parts of the country, -still felt against automobiles and every innovation -of that type.</p> - -<p>“Don’t scare you, hey?” sneered the farmer. -“Wa’al, I cal’kerlate ter put quite a change in yer -feelings afore long. Climb down out ‘er that -thar sky-buggy an’ look slippy.”</p> - -<p>The boys held a hasty consultation. Things -began to look bad.</p> - -<p>“Maybe we’d better pay the old wooden-head -his hundred and be getting on,” said Ned. “We -don’t want to be arrested or anything like that.”</p> - -<p>“I think that’s all a bluff,” said Jack. “Still, -if we humor him it may be better than to fight -him.”</p> - -<p>“Wa’al, are yer comin’?” demanded the -farmer.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dry up,” growled out Joyce, unable to -contain himself any longer.</p> - -<p>“Dry up, hey?” snorted the farmer.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> “I guess -you’ll do the dryin’ yerselves. I wouldn’t take -no money now. It’s satisfaction I want. I’ll hev -the whole passel of yer up afore the squire in the -morning.”</p> - -<p>This certainly looked ominous. The man was -clearly as stubborn as one of his own oxen, and -had made up his mind to be as ugly as he could. -Jack wished that Joyce had not made his unfortunate -remark and tried to smooth matters over. -But it was no use attempting to calm the ruffled -feelings of the angry agriculturist.</p> - -<p>“Climb out of thar now and be right smart -about it,” he snorted. “I’ll show you thet you -can’t sass Si Turpin and not suffer for it.”</p> - -<p>“But, see here——” began Jack.</p> - -<p>“It ain’t no use argyfyin’, young feller. The -whole passel of yer goes over to Mill Creek in -ther mornin’ I reckin the squire ’ull give you a -lesson you won’t fergit.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you be reasonable?” struck in Tom.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> -“We’re on our way to Portstown. It’s important -that we hurry up. We’ve got to be there at a -certain time.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t give a hoop in Hannibal what ye’ve -got ter do!” snorted the farmer. “You’ve got -to go afore the squire fust. Reckon he’ll soak yer -good. He gave a party of automobubblists a -good dose last week. I reckon he’ll be all cocked -and primed fer you sky-buggy fellers.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess it’s a case of pile out,” said -Jack, with a rueful grin. “This old fellow is as -obstinate as a mule. We can only hope to make -a good impression on this squire, whoever he is.”</p> - -<p>“To judge from his description,” said Tom, -“he must be a nice, whole-souled old party.”</p> - -<p>“No palaverin’, now. Git right out. I’ll fix -you up with quarters in the barn where you won’t -git out, and give yer the rogues’ march in the -morning.”</p> - -<p>There was no help for it. One by one they -clambered out, while the hired men stood by with -broad grins. They were delivered over to these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> -representatives of the enemy while Farmer Turpin -marched grimly behind with his gun.</p> - -<p>“Take ’em to the red barn, Reuben,” he ordered, -and the boys were presently marched into -a large barn partially filled with hay.</p> - -<p>“Now I guess ye’ll stay put for a while,” remarked -the farmer, with grim humor, as he prepared -to close the door.</p> - -<p>“You old clod-hopper, for two cents I’d bust -that hook nose of yours in,” roared out Joyce -angrily.</p> - -<p>“That’ll be used agin’ yer at yer trial!” declared -the farmer malevolently. “Yes, sir, that’ll -be used agin’ yer. Threats of violence, hey? Oh, -the squire will fix you fellers good and plenty.”</p> - -<p>The doors were banged to and padlocked on -the outside. For some time they could hear the -farmer pacing up and down as if waiting to see -if they would not make some further complaint. -But they all remained silent. They were determined -not to give him the satisfaction of thinking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> -that he had worried them. Heiny Dill even began -to sing to himself.</p> - -<p>By and by the steady pacing of the farmer’s -feet outside died away.</p> - -<p>“I guess he’s gone to eat supper,” said Tom. -“My! how hungry I am.”</p> - -<p>This reminded all the others of their appetites, -too.</p> - -<p>“Maybe he’ll send us something to eat,” suggested -Ned hopefully.</p> - -<p>But his optimism was not to be rewarded. It -grew dark and the captives in the barn sat supperless -and disconsolate. They did not face a -pleasant prospect, supposing the squire to be all -that he had been represented by the malevolent -old farmer.</p> - -<p>How long they sat thus they did not know, but -on Jack’s suggestion they were about to find -themselves beds in the hay when there came a -tapping at the barn door.</p> - -<p>“Supper!” cried Tom, but it wasn’t, it was the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> -man called Reuben, or Reuben Rugg, as he announced -himself.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” asked Jack.</p> - -<p>“Be you fellers goin’ ter Portstown?”</p> - -<p>“We were.”</p> - -<p>“Well, if a feller let you fellers out would you -give a feller a ride to Portstown if a feller wanted -ter git thar’?”</p> - -<p>“We sure would, Reuben. Who wants to go -to Portstown?”</p> - -<p>“I’m ther feller that would like ter go with -you fellers. I don’t want ter work fer this feller -any longer an’ if I got to Portstown I’ve got a -feller thar’ thet’s a kind uv er brother-in-law ter -me. So if you fellers want ter git out, this feller -’ull steal the key when old Turpin’s asleep and -turn you loose.”</p> - -<p>“Good for you, Reuben. How long will it be -before old Turpin, as you call him, goes to bed?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Jes’ as soon as he gets through writing out -what he calls a commitment agin’ you fellers. I -reckon it ‘ud go hard with you if you was ter be -taken afore the squire. He’s a larruper, the -squire is. He give me a month once fer takin’ -too much red-eye and lickin’ ther constabule.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you watch and wait, Reuben,” said -Jack; “we’ll be all ready when you are.”</p> - -<p>They heard Reuben’s heavy footsteps retreating, -and then followed a period that seemed years -in extent. But at its termination Reuben’s cautious -voice was heard.</p> - -<p>“I’m a-goin’ ter open ther door now. Be you -fellers ready?”</p> - -<p>“We’ve been ready for the last ten years,” declared -Tom, referring to the length of time it appeared -that Reuben had been gone.</p> - -<p>The lock clicked and the doors swung open. -One by one they cautiously filed out and tip-toed -across the yard to the place where the Electric -Monarch lay bulked in dark shadow. Luckily, it -was moonlight, and the craft lay in a sixty-acre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> -field so that there was plenty of opportunity to -get a good start.</p> - -<p>“Old Turpin didn’t monkey at all with the machine, -did he, Reuben?” asked Jack, as they crept -along. He was not quite sure how far the farmer’s -malevolence might have led him.</p> - -<p>Reuben gave a suppressed chuckle.</p> - -<p>“Turpin touch it? Not him. He wanted to, -but the old woman told him thet ef he did as like -as not he’d get electric—something or other.”</p> - -<p>“Electrocuted?”</p> - -<p>“Likely. Say, be you really going ter Portstown?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. You’re not scared, are you?” said -Jack with an inward smile.</p> - -<p>“Naw, but I got a funny kind ‘er prickly feelin’ -down my back like what I git when straw gits -down my neck in threshing time,” admitted Reuben -with a nervous giggle.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.</a><br /> - -<small>A DASH FOR LIBERTY.</small></h2> - - -<p>As silently as possible the escaped captives -made for the Electric Monarch. They had almost -gained the side of the craft when an unexpected -obstacle barred their further progress. -The interruption was in the form of a big white -bulldog.</p> - -<p>“Gosh all hemlock!” gasped Reuben, “I plumb -forgot about old Lion.”</p> - -<p>“Is he mean?” asked Tom.</p> - -<p>“Mean, wa’al he’s a sight meaner than old -Turpin hisself, and thet’s a-goin’ some.”</p> - -<p>As if to show that his character had been described -correctly, Lion gave a low growl and -then, without any further warning, sprang -straight at Jack. The boy jerked up his foot and -caught the animal under the chin. With a yap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>ping -bark it tumbled back, but collected itself in -an instant for another spring.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illus-254.jpg" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">“Maw! Maw!” They heard him yell at the top of his lungs,<br /> -“the boys is got out”.—<i>Page 249</i></div> -</div> - -<p>At the same instant the boys heard a window -go up in the farmhouse.</p> - -<p>“Wow!” exclaimed Tom, “about this time -watch out for trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Lion! Lion!” came a voice which they recognized -as Turpin’s.</p> - -<p>The dog gave a yapping bark. Simultaneously -old Turpin must have seen, by the moonlight, that -the barn door in which the boys had been confined -was open.</p> - -<p>“Maw! Maw!” they heard him yell at the top -of his lungs, “the boys is got out, gimme my -gun!”</p> - -<p>Lion at the same instant decided to make another -attack, but in the brief pause while he was -listening to his master’s voice Tom had taken -time by the forelock and picked up a big rock. -As Lion made another spring Tom flung the -rock.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p> - -<p>There was a howl of dismay from Lion, who -rushed toward the house. Shouts and cries filled -the air.</p> - -<p>“Maw! the young varmints hev killed Lion!”</p> - -<p>“Paw, take arter ’em. Hev the law on ’em.”</p> - -<p>Then came another feminine voice.</p> - -<p>“Look out, paw, they’re des’prit characters. -They might kill you.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the old man’s darter. Teaches school,” -said Reuben laconically, “we’d best be lighting -out o’ here.”</p> - -<p>They scrambled on board in less time than it -takes to tell it. Jack jumped for the controls and -turned full power into the motor. There was a -yell of dismay from Reuben as the Electric Monarch -leaped forward like a horse under the lash. -The amazed farm hand would have rolled overboard -had it not been for Tom, who grabbed him -by the collar as he lost his balance and fell sprawling -on the bridge.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Hey! Whoa thar’! Come back, you young -varmints!”</p> - -<p>The voice of Farmer Turpin came shrilly out -of the night. Then behind them came a streak of -flame and the roar of an explosion. Looking -backward they could see the figure of the farmer -sprawling on his back, kicking and yelling frantically.</p> - -<p>“Gosh ter mighty,” exclaimed Reuben, who -was by this time on his feet, “the old man fired -both barrels of his scatter gun ter oncet.”</p> - -<p>“Up we go!” cried Jack, and almost simultaneously, -with his exclamation, the Electric Monarch -shot up toward the star-sprinkled sky at an -angle that almost sent Reuben into hysterics.</p> - -<p>“Hey, stop this flying threshing machine,” he -yelled, “lemme out! Lemme——”</p> - -<p>Tom placed a hand over the frightened farm -hand’s mouth.</p> - -<p>“You want to get to Portstown, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yer—yer—yes, sir.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, you’re going there by the air-line express. -Now be quiet. Heiny, for goodness sake, -cook us up some supper, and look lively about it,—we’re -almost famished.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The next morning will be one long remembered -in Portstown. Early rising citizens saw, swooping -down from the skies, a vast aerial craft -manned by a crew of youths anxiously looking -over the side to descry the best landing place. -They had arrived above the town shortly before -daylight but Jack had decided to cruise about till -the light grew stronger, not wishing to risk a -landing in the dark. He adopted, in fact, the -same tactics that the captain of a vessel about -to enter a strange port would employ.</p> - -<p>By the time the Electric Monarch swooped -down into the twenty-acre park in which the fair -was to be held, there was a crowd of several hundred -people in the streets clamoring about the entrance -to the fenced grounds. The Electric Mon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>arch -was actually a fact, a circumstance which -was astonishing to a good many of the Portstown -folks who had thought that Captain Sprowl’s -flowery advertisement was a good deal in the nature -of an exaggeration. But now they had seen, -with their own eyes, the most wonderful craft -of its kind in existence, and the whole town was -wild with excitement and curiosity.</p> - -<p>Early as the hour was, Captain Sprowl, who -had been on the lookout for the boys, soon came -dashing into the grounds in a runabout automobile. -He extended them a hearty welcome and -showed them where they would be quartered during -the carnival, that is, if they wished to camp -on the grounds. The boys unanimously voted in -favor of the camping proposal. They decided -that it would be much more fun than stopping at -a hotel.</p> - -<p>They accompanied the captain to the hotel for -breakfast, however, a big crowd following them -through the streets, much to the boys’ embarrass<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>ment. -The captain, however, gloried in the notoriety.</p> - -<p>“It shows what good advertising will do,” he -said, glowing with pride, as he escorted his young -charges through the streets. Reuben did not accompany -them. He had gone out to find his -brother-in-law. In the meantime the captain, at -the boys’ solicitation, had promised to get him a -job on the fair grounds if he did not find employment -at anything else, an offer which Reuben subsequently -accepted.</p> - -<p>Breakfast was a merry meal, and the boys had -much to tell of their experiences on the trip. -After they had finished, they returned to the fair -grounds and were shown round by the captain. -Several of the aviators who were to take part in -the carnival had already arrived and erected -their tents with gay festoons of bunting floating -over them.</p> - -<p>The boys were much disappointed, however, to -learn that an air craft they had been most anx<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>ious -to see was not yet on the grounds. This was -the celebrated Sky Eagle, a big dirigible, equipped -with wireless and one of the first aërial craft to -be so fitted. The captain told them that the -dirigible was on the way, however, and was expected -ere long on the grounds.</p> - -<p>“Have you been notified by them, then?” asked -Jack, rather puzzled as to how the captain could -have such information.</p> - -<p>“Yes, they sent us a message by wireless not -long since that they expected to arrive to-day.”</p> - -<p>“Then there is a wireless plant in the town?” -asked Tom, somewhat surprised.</p> - -<p>“There’s one right on the grounds,” rejoined -the captain, “it’s one of the exhibits. See the -aërials over yonder?”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, in one corner of the grounds the -spider-like strands of a vertical aërial mast could -be seen leading into a hut about which a small -crowd was clustered. The captain explained that -the operator of the plant was even then trying to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> -locate the Sky Eagle. He had hardly finished explaining -this when a boy came rushing out of the -wireless hut in hot haste.</p> - -<p>“There’s a messenger now. Maybe he’s looking -for me!” cried the captain. “Hey, boy!”</p> - -<p>The boy turned and came running toward -them.</p> - -<p>“I was just looking for you, Captain,” he said. -“Hutchings, the operator, wants to see you.”</p> - -<p>“News from the Sky Eagle?” asked the captain.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but he said it was important.”</p> - -<p>The boys hurried after the captain to the wireless -hut. Inside they found Hutchings, the operator, -greatly excited.</p> - -<p>“Bad news for you, Captain,” he said, holding -out a yellow sheet of paper, “a message from the -Sky Eagle. She is disabled and drifting out to -sea.”</p> - -<p>“By the trident of Neptune!” exclaimed the -captain, scanning the message,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> “this is bad.”</p> - -<p>He read the message aloud:</p> - - -<p>“On Board Sky Eagle.—We are disabled. -Drifting out to sea off Scatiute. Send help.—Jennings, -operator.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a><br /> - -<small>A DIRIGIBLE IN DANGER.</small></h2> - - -<p>“Where is Scatiute?” asked Jack.</p> - -<p>“About twenty miles south of here,” responded -the captain. Then turning to the operator he -asked, “Have you tried to get in communication -with the Sky Eagle again?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, but with no success. Looks as if her -wireless had gone out of business. That message -came in more than an hour ago. We’ve been -looking all over for you.”</p> - -<p>“Great guns, boys, this is serious!” exclaimed -the captain in an agitated voice. “Who knows -what may have happened to those poor fellows! -I must try to get hold of them, somehow. But -just how I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“There’s Alvin’s dirigible on the grounds,” -suggested the operator.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> “Maybe he’d go.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll try him,” declared the captain. “It’s in -the cause of common humanity. I should think -he’d go.”</p> - -<p>But Lester Alvin, the owner of the Cloud -Scooter, declared he had not enough gasolene to -make the trip. Two other dirigible operators -were appealed to, but both of them had excuses -of one sort or another to offer. The captain hastened -back to the wireless hut where he had left -the boys.</p> - -<p>“Any news yet?” he asked anxiously of Hutchings -the operator.</p> - -<p>Hutchings shook his head.</p> - -<p>“I can’t get in touch with them at all,” he said. -“I can’t even raise a station that’s seen them -passing over.”</p> - -<p>The captain passed a bewildered hand across -his forehead.</p> - -<p>“What under the heavens are we to do?” he -said.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> “I’ve appealed to those dirigible fellows in -vain. They’ve all got one excuse or another to -offer. I guess, though, the main trouble with -them is ‘cold feet’ to put it into plain English.”</p> - -<p>“And in the meantime those poor fellows on -the Sky Eagle may be drifting helplessly over -the ocean,” said Jack.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and the worst of it is that their wireless -appears to be out of order. If that was working -they could summon help from some ship. But as -it is——”</p> - -<p>The captain broke off despairingly. He gazed -up at the sky as if seeking inspiration there and -then down at the ground. But he remained as -perplexed as before.</p> - -<p>In the meantime Jack and his companions had -been holding an eager consultation. As the captain -turned to Hutchings for the twentieth time -with a demand to know if he had heard anything -yet, Jack stepped forward.</p> - -<p>“Captain,” he said, “I guess that we can help -you out.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, boy?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That we will go out on a hunt for the Sky -Eagle.”</p> - -<p>The captain looked dumfounded. Then he -gave a vigorous shake of the head.</p> - -<p>“No, my boy, I couldn’t allow that.”</p> - -<p>“Why not? We have——”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t be responsible for sending you boys -on such a voyage.”</p> - -<p>“There would be no real danger. We have a -capable ship. We know how to handle her. She -is as good on the water as on land.”</p> - -<p>“I know all that, Jack, but what would your -father say?”</p> - -<p>“That it is our duty to go to the aid of those -poor fellows on the Sky Eagle.”</p> - -<p>The captain scratched his head in bewilderment.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to say,” he said hesitatingly, -at length.</p> - -<p>Just then Hutchings interrupted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Hold on, here’s a message coming now,” he -said.</p> - -<p>“Ah! That’s the Sky Eagle,” said the captain. -“We worried ourselves unnecessarily, after all.”</p> - -<p>But it was not the Sky Eagle that was wirelessing. -The captain’s rejoicing had been premature. -Hutchings held up his hand to enjoin silence.</p> - -<p>Then as the dots and dashes came out of space -into the watch-case receivers at his ears he read -off the message as it came.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>“Scatiute Wireless Station.—Big dirigible seen -drifting east. Making signals of distress. Do -you know anything about her?”</p></blockquote> - -<p>“Great guns!” puffed the captain. “Just as I -thought, she’s drifting out to sea sure enough. -Raise ’em at Scatiute, Hutchings. Ask ’em what -appears to be the matter with her.”</p> - -<p>Hutchings applied himself to his key and in -a few minutes he had this answer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Impossible to tell what is trouble. Appears -to be in gas bag but not sure. Should send help, -if possible.”</p> - -<p>“That settles it!” cried Jack, “we’ll go after -her.”</p> - -<p>“I ought to say no, but somehow, all I can say -is ‘Go ahead, my boys, and good luck’!” cried the -captain, clasping the boy’s hand.</p> - -<p>No time was to be lost and the boys hastened -from the wireless office to where the Electric -Monarch stood surrounded by an admiring -crowd. There was great excitement as the boys -were seen climbing on board. People came running -from all parts of the grounds for, early as -the hour was, there was still quite a small crowd -scattered about inspecting the various air craft.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” “Are they going to make a -flight?”</p> - -<p>These and a hundred other questions were -bandied about from mouth to mouth. The boys -worked like beavers and it was evident even to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> -the dullest-witted onlooker that there was something -unusual in the wind.</p> - -<p>In ten minutes everything was ready. At the -last moment Jack had requested a coil of good -strong rope, which was loaned to him by one of -the dirigible men. When this had been taken on -board all was ready for the start. The boy took -his place in the pilot house and the others assumed -their stations. Ned oiled up the motor -and Tom saw that the stern propeller bearings -were in good working order.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye and good luck!” hailed the captain -as Jack’s hand sought the starting switch.</p> - -<p>At that moment, and just as the first impulses -of the motor throbbed through the frame of the -Electric Monarch, there was a sudden motion in -the crowd.</p> - -<p>“Lemme through!” bawled a voice, which Ned -Nevins recognized with a start. It was Hank -Nevins, his ne’er-do-well cousin. Close at Hank’s -heels came Miles Sharkey. The two elbowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> -their way through the crowd, followed by a thickset -man who bore the unmistakable stamp of an -officer of the law. Miles Sharkey was waving a -paper above his head.</p> - -<p>“Hold on!” he bawled at the top of his voice, -“don’t let that craft go up!”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” yelled Captain Sprowl, his face -purple.</p> - -<p>“This officer will explain,” cried Hank, “we got -a conjunction.”</p> - -<p>“Injunction,” he means, explained Miles, the -law sharp, with a grin. “We’ve got an injunction -prohibiting those boys from handling the -Electric Monarch.”</p> - -<p>The captain stood aghast. The boys on the -Electric Monarch could not catch just what was -going on but they knew that the controversy concerned -them.</p> - -<p>“On what grounds did you obtain this injunction?” -demanded the captain, controlling himself -with difficulty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p> - -<p>“On the grounds that this craft belongs to -Hank Nevins here. It was built from plans left -to him by his father,” cried Miles.</p> - -<p>“How do you know they were left to him?”</p> - -<p>“We have found a will. It was only discovered -a few days ago after that young thief on -board the Monarch there had appropriated the -plans himself.”</p> - -<p>“Is this right, officer?” demanded the confused -captain in a bewildered way. “I ain’t much of a -hand at the law myself.”</p> - -<p>“It’s right, all right,” said the officer stolidly. -“They’ve got an injunction restraining this craft -from flying,—that’s the law.”</p> - -<p>“He! he! he!” chuckled Hank. “This is the -time I’ve fixed my smart young cousin. There -was a will, after all.”</p> - -<p>Jack was becoming impatient. From the pilot -house he shouted down to the captain:</p> - -<p>“Shall we go ahead?”</p> - -<p>The captain was about to reply in the negative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>, -explaining that the law must be complied with, -when Hank shoved rudely against the old seaman, -almost pushing him over.</p> - -<p>“Lemme by,” he snarled. “I’ll attend to this!”</p> - -<p>It was then that the vials of the captain’s wrath -boiled over.</p> - -<p>“You young limb!” he bellowed. “D’ye think -I’ll sacrifice human life for a thousand injunctions? -Go ahead, boys!”</p> - -<p>There was a roar and shout, and the Electric -Monarch jumped forward. The crowd scattered -right and left. Hank and Miles leaped after the -craft. The wind from the propellers caught the -former and hurled him to the ground.</p> - -<p>“Stop ’em!” bellowed Miles, and then he turned -furiously on the officer. “Why don’t you stop -’em, you—you muttonhead?”</p> - -<p>“Keep a civil tongue in you, young feller,” -warned the officer.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> “There’s no power on earth’ll -stop ’em now. That injunction will have to wait.”</p> - -<p>A mighty cheer from the crowd drowned -Miles’s furious reply.</p> - -<p>The Electric Monarch had taken the air in a -graceful, sweeping slant. The powerful craft -was off on an errand of life or death.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.</a><br /> - -<small>A DARING RESCUE.</small></h2> - - -<p>Entirely unconscious of the fact that they were -law breakers, the boys’ hearts beat high with the -love of adventure as the Electric Monarch soared -above Portstown, saluted by scores of whistles, -and dashed off south in the direction of Scatiute.</p> - -<p>The lads had been in many surprising adventures, -but they had never encountered such a -crisis as the present one. Somewhere out above -the ocean, the glimmer of which they could catch -to the eastward, was drifting a crippled dirigible -with three men on board. It was their task to -find that craft and rescue the men.</p> - -<p>The captain had confided to Jack the names of -the men, and so, when Ned put the question to -him a short time after the start he was able to -inform him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The owner of the Sky Eagle is Mr. Holmes -Morse of New York,” he said; “with him, acting -as engineer, is a man named Tyler and the operator -is named Jennings.”</p> - -<p>“Tyler!” exclaimed Ned, as if the name struck -a key in his memory. “It is odd, but that was the -name of one of my uncle’s closest friends. He -was an engineer who took up aërial work. I -wonder if it could be the same.”</p> - -<p>“It might be. But Tyler is a very common -name.”</p> - -<p>“To be sure, but the coincidence in the names -and occupations struck me.”</p> - -<p>“By the way, talking of that, didn’t I hear you -say that in the crowd that gathered about us before -we started, you saw your rascally cousin, -Hank?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” rejoined Ned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> “but what in the world -he could have been doing here I can’t imagine. -Miles Sharkey was with him, too. I’ll bet they -were up to some mischief.”</p> - -<p>“Connected with the Electric Monarch?”</p> - -<p>“Naturally; what else would they have been -doing in Portstown.”</p> - -<p>“But how could they have known that we were -there?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose they read that advertisement of the -captain’s. He said he had it put in every paper of -any prominence.”</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s it. It was plain enough that -they were kicking up some sort of a rumpus just -as we were leaving.”</p> - -<p>“So it looked to me. They were waving some -sort of a paper.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it isn’t our funeral. The captain gave -us the word to go, and that’s all we’ve got to do -with it. I’d give a good deal to know, though, -just what they were trying to do.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps it was just as well for Ned that he did -not know. The knowledge that the Electric Monarch -was not his any longer but had been legally -left to his cousin would have made him absolutely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> -miserable, for his whole being was wrapped up -in the craft.</p> - -<p>“Keep a bright lookout for the lighthouse at -Scatiute, Ned—we ought to be sighting it at almost -any moment now.”</p> - -<p>“I’m watching for it,” rejoined Ned, as he went -back to the motor platform to oil the bearings.</p> - -<p>Not more than ten minutes later Jack’s sharp -eyes caught sight of a white finger pointing upward -to the sky at the extremity of a rocky point. -He guessed that this must be Scatiute. The -Electric Monarch had been skirting the coast, but -as they swung by the lighthouse, Jack headed her -straight out to sea.</p> - -<p>Then began a period of tension that was to endure -for several hours. Below them lay the glittering -sea, calm and heaving gently, and flashing -in the bright sunlight. But from even that -height, with the extended horizon the elevation -gave them, none of the watchers on the Electric<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> -Monarch could detect any sign of the craft they -had come in search of.</p> - -<p>As hour after hour went by without a sign of -her, Jack’s heart began to sink. What if they -were too late—if the Sky Eagle had sunk, carrying -with her, into the depths of the sea, her unfortunate -crew?</p> - -<p>The thought was a serious one, and Jack, with -a sober, thoughtful face speeded up the Electric -Monarch a trifle so as to lose no time in case the -Sky Eagle was yet above the surface of the sea.</p> - -<p>There was but little wind, but what there was, -was off shore, so that the Sky Eagle must have -drifted seaward very rapidly. Her occupants -would naturally have kept as much gas as possible -in the bag in order to keep her above the -waves. In such a case the drift would have been -even more rapid than if the bag had been partially -deflated.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Joyce’s deep bass voice came booming -from the forward lookout, from which posi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>tion -he had been scanning the sea with binoculars.</p> - -<p>“There’s something dead ahead of us!”</p> - -<p>Instantly the Electric Monarch fairly vibrated -excitement. Ned hastened into the pilot house to -Jack’s side. He found the young skipper with the -binoculars at his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Can you make out what it is?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I’m not quite certain, yet. Whatever it is, it -appears to be almost floating on the sea. It may -be a small craft, and the floating effect may be -caused by a refraction of the light or it may be——”</p> - -<p>“The Sky Eagle!” Ned finished for him.</p> - -<p>The next moment Joyce’s voice came thrilling -through the speaking tube from the foreward -lookout.</p> - -<p>“It’s a balloon! She’s almost in the sea!”</p> - -<p>Simultaneously Jack had descried what the distant -object was. “The balloon” as Joyce called it -was, without doubt, the Sky Eagle. But the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> -dirigible was perilously near to the water. In -fact she appeared to be almost touching the surface. -Would they be in time?</p> - -<p>“Hold tight!” warned Jack. “I’m going to let -her out every notch.”</p> - -<p>With a deep whirring roar the propellers began -to beat the air faster. As they churned the -atmosphere at fifteen hundred revolutions a minute, -the Electric Monarch responded nobly to the -powerful impulse. She was making faster speed -than ever before. The hand of the indicator -crept up and up.</p> - -<p>“Fifty—fifty-five—sixty—sixty-five—seventy!”</p> - -<p>“Seventy miles an hour!” gasped Ned. “Will -she hold together?”</p> - -<p>“She’s got to,” said Jack grimly, as he grasped -the spokes of his wheel more firmly. At that -speed the “pull” of the rudder was terrific. He -only hoped that it would not be dragged out of -its fastenings.</p> - -<p>The Electric Monarch’s frame creaked and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> -complained, and every brace and wire in her -structure hummed a separate song as they cut -through the air. Luckily, the wind was with -them, or the craft, strong as she was, might not -have endured the cruel strain.</p> - -<p>Every second brought them closer to the -stranded and disabled dirigible. They could see -the unfortunate craft quite plainly now. She -lay with a shriveled and collapsed gas bag almost -on the surface of the waves. A jagged rent in -one side showed what had brought her down into -such perilous proximity to the waves.</p> - -<p>From time to time, so close was she to the -water, a larger wave than usual would lap up -against the under part of the craft’s structure, -and drench the men marooned on board the sinking -dirigible.</p> - -<p>“Only just in time!” exclaimed Jack, as he manipulated -his descending levers, cut down the -power and landed in the water not twenty yards -from the sinking Sky Eagle, with skill that resulted -in hardly a splash.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.</a><br /> - -<small>A STRANGE MEETING.</small></h2> - - -<p>The work of rescue was not easily accomplished. -The boys did not dare attach a rope to -the dirigible as there was a chance that the craft -would sink at any moment. But by good luck the -occupants of the craft had on board a plank -which they used in climbing in and out of the airship’s -substructure.</p> - -<p>This came in useful now. Under Jack’s direction -the plank was extended between the two -craft and one by one the luckless voyagers of the -Sky Eagle were transferred to the Electric Monarch. -Great was their wonderment at the surprising -craft that had effected their rescue when -they had given up all hope.</p> - -<p>Greater still was their gratitude to the brave -lads who, at the risk of their lives, had followed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> -the ocean air-lanes in search of the missing dirigible.</p> - -<p>“We owe our lives to you, lads. I do not know -how I can ever thank you,” declared Mr. Morse, -the owner of the craft.</p> - -<p>In the meantime Henry Tyler, the machinist -and engineer of the Sky Eagle, had been staring -at Ned Nevins with an amazement that was akin -to unbelief.</p> - -<p>“Surely you are Ned, Jeptha Nevins’s -nephew?” he exclaimed at length.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and you are Henry Tyler, his dearest -friend!” replied Ned, as the two warmly shook -hands.</p> - -<p>“So it was the same Tyler after all,” smiled -Jack, after they had all been introduced.</p> - -<p>“It certainly is a small world,” declared Mr. -Morse smilingly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> “So this is the lad whose uncle -designed this wonderful craft and left him the -plans of it! My boy, you have a legacy worth -more than a great deal of money.”</p> - -<p>“<em>We</em> think so at any rate,” said Ned, smiling at -his chums.</p> - -<p>“But where in the world have you been hiding -yourself?” asked Henry Tyler of Ned Nevins as -they prepared to get under way, having transferred -a few instruments, and so forth, from the -Sky Eagle.</p> - -<p>“Why, have you been looking for me?” asked -Ned in some surprise.</p> - -<p>“Yes, for weeks. But I could obtain no clew -to your whereabouts. No one in Millville appeared -to know what had become of you.”</p> - -<p>“I have been at Nestorville with my two good -friends, Jack Chadwick and Tom Jesson. Had it -not been for them the Electric Monarch would -never have been built,” said Ned, gratefully.</p> - -<p>“I wanted to deliver to you a package left in -my care by your uncle not long before he died,” -said Tyler.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> “He charged me to give it to you -after his death, which, it seemed, he felt was -not far off. I have kept it with me always, hoping -some time to meet you and now I can at last -deliver it into the hands of its rightful owner.”</p> - -<p>Ned, with some wonderment, took from Tyler’s -hands a long yellow envelope. He had no time to -open it just then, for Jack ordered all hands to -their posts for the return voyage. They had -hardly risen into the air before the Sky Eagle -was seen to settle down upon the water with a -sliding motion.</p> - -<p>Suddenly she gave a swoop downward and the -next instant the sea had hidden her from view.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, old ship,” said Mr. Morse, with -some emotion, “may you rest well.”</p> - -<p>Such was the requiem of the Sky Eagle. As -to the manner in which she had become disabled, -Mr. Morse explained to the boys that the heat of -the sun had burst the bag and that following that -disaster the engines had broken down. Helpless, -and with the gas leaking from the momentarily -enlarging rent, the Sky Eagle drifted rapidly out -to sea.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p> - -<p>Death stared the voyagers in the face, and they -had prepared to meet their fate as calmly as possible -when, upon the horizon, they descried, winging -her way toward them, the form of the Electric -Monarch. Mr. Morse declared that words -could not describe their emotions as they sighted -the outlines of the rescue ship.</p> - -<p>The run back to the shore was made without -incident. The boys flew straight for the Fair -Grounds, where they were received with what -resembled an ovation. Word of their gallant -voyage of rescue had leaked out, and the town -went wild over them. They surged about the -Electric Monarch as she landed and fairly -mobbed the boys. Cheers rang out deafeningly, -and the band played, at the direction of Captain -Sprowl, “Hail to the Chief,” that being the most -appropriate tune the old captain could think of.</p> - -<p>It was in the midst of all this excitement that -a stoutly built, red-faced man came elbowing -through the crowd that surrounded the boys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> -and made his way to where they stood in a blushing, -embarrassed group.</p> - -<p>“Which of you is Ned Nevins?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“Right here,” said Ned, stepping forward. -“What do you want?”</p> - -<p>“You must come with me,” was the response.</p> - -<p>“But why? I——”</p> - -<p>“Young man, you are under arrest,” and the -red-faced man threw back his coat and disclosed -a star.</p> - -<p>“Under arrest!” echoed Ned. “What for?”</p> - -<p>“For disobeying an injunction of the court. -Come with me.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.</a><br /> - -<small>NED COMES INTO HIS OWN.</small></h2> - - -<p>Ned’s dismay may be imagined. He was -taken straight to the magistrate’s courtroom -where the charge against him was heard. In the -meantime, Captain Sprowl had engaged a lawyer -for him, and the courtroom was thronged when -Ned’s case was called. His lawyer cautioned Ned -to let him do all the talking and the boy, feeling -very nervous and ill at ease before the battery -of eyes aimed in his direction, sat silent while the -attorney explained to the court the circumstances -of the case.</p> - -<p>The magistrate heard him out and agreed with -him that it seemed a hardship that the boy should -be held for disobeying an injunction in order to -save lives, but he declared that he had no powers -in the matter, as the injunction had been issued<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> -by the higher court. It would be for that court -to decide in the matter, and that therefore he -had no choice but to hold Ned in bonds of $2,000 -for contempt of court. Poor Ned turned pale -when he heard this, but the lawyer hastily assured -him that it meant nothing, and was merely a formality.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got the money right here!” bellowed Captain -Sprowl from the rear of the courtroom, -flourishing a bundle of bills like a madman.</p> - -<p>“Order in the court!” shouted the bailiffs frantically, -for the captain’s actions had caused a -storm of applause.</p> - -<p>The next day Ned’s case came up before the -court which had issued the injunction. Hank and -Miles Sharkey, with greedy, triumphant faces, sat -in front seats to witness the lad’s discomfiture. -Ned, seeing their eyes fixed on him, held himself -together bravely. In his eyes there was an almost -excited light. However, he appeared to be awaiting -some sort of a climax.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> - -<p>As for the other boys, they were openly shaking -hands in the back of the courtroom and slapping -each other on the back. Captain Sprowl -bore a wide grin and Ned’s lawyer looked well -pleased.</p> - -<p>Hank and Miles noted these signs of satisfaction, -and they began to grow uneasy. This uneasiness -increased to positive alarm when Ned’s -lawyer, instead of opening the proceeding in the -usual way, asked to see a copy of the will, on the -strength of which the injunction had been -granted.</p> - -<p>“Um-er-er, this is an unusual proceeding, may -it please your honor,” stammered Miles, who, not -anticipating anything but plain sailing, had decided -to save a lawyer’s fee and act as his own -attorney.</p> - -<p>But the court overruled him and Miles was -compelled to produce what purported to be the -last will and testament of Jeptha Nevins, deceased, -in which he left,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> “all papers, plans, prints -and designs of my inventions whatsoever to my -beloved son, Henry Nevins.”</p> - -<p>“If your honor pleases, may I examine that -will?” asked Ned’s lawyer.</p> - -<p>The court bowed its assent. Miles, with trembling -hands, passed the paper over to the attorney. -Hank rose to his feet and tried to tip-toe -out, but he was stopped by a bailiff who told him -that he had orders not to let witnesses in the case -out of the courtroom. Miserable and dejected, -Hank slipped back into his seat. His face was -pasty white and his knees shook. But he did not -look a whit more wretched and abject than Miles -Sharkey, who nervously fingered his face and -drummed on the table alternately, while Ned’s -lawyer scanned the will Miles had handed him.</p> - -<p>The lawyer finally ceased his examination of -the paper, and then clearing his throat solemnly, -he said:</p> - -<p>“Acting for the defendant in this case I pronounce -this will a forgery.” There was a buzz<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> -of excitement through the courtroom. Miles -tried to speak, but words would not come from -his dry lips. Hank looked ghastly and sank back -in his seat in a wilted, crumpled heap.</p> - -<p>“And furthermore,” relentlessly proceeded the -attorney, “we have a genuine will antedating this -spurious one. If your honor will give me permission -I will produce it.”</p> - -<p>Forthwith he placed in evidence the will of -Jeptha Nevins by which he left specifically to Ned -the plans of the Electric Monarch and the proceeds -of his other inventions. (The will had been -contained in the envelope which Henry Tyler had -handed to Ned on board the Electric Monarch -the day before.)</p> - -<p>“We can prove that this is the genuine signature -of Jeptha Nevins and that the other is a base -forgery,” continued the attorney,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> “and I would -ask your honor to make out a commitment for -Miles Sharkey on the charge of forgery in the -first degree and to hold Henry Nevins on a charge -of aiding and abetting the same.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t aid nor abet nothin’,” shrieked out -Hank despairingly, “it was Miles done it all, your -honor.”</p> - -<p>“Shut up, you fool,” hissed Miles, but it was -too late. Hank had let the cat out of the bag with -a vengeance. The commitments were made out -and in due course of time both Miles and Hank -paid the penalty of their rascality in the form of -prison sentences. Hank, however, received a -light punishment, as it was clear that Miles Sharkey, -who had hoped to reap big profits from the -Mellville concern, had been the ring leader in the -plot.</p> - -<p>We have no space here to relate how the Electric -Monarch acquitted herself at the big aëro -carnival. But suffice it to say that she won every -event for which she was entered, and at the conclusion -of the meet Ned was approached by the -representative of an aëro-craft manufacturing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> -concern with an offer to build ships of the Electric -Monarch type, paying him a handsome bonus -and a royalty.</p> - -<p>On their return to High Towers, the boys -found Prof. Chadwick very much better, almost -in his usual health, in fact, although Dr. Goodenough -laughingly said that he was “booked for -a long vacation.”</p> - -<p>One day, not long after their return to their -home, which, by the way, was now also Ned Nevins’, -the gentleman who had tried to make negotiations -with Ned at the carnival paid a visit to -High Towers to try to close a deal with the young -inventor.</p> - -<p>Professor Chadwick and Dr. Goodenough were -called into consultation, and after a long conference, -it was decided that it would be to Ned’s -advantage to accept the firm’s offer, more especially -as he would, under their terms, retain an -interest in the Electric Monarch type of hydroaeroplane.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p> - -<p>When these arrangements had been concluded, -Professor Chadwick reached into a drawer of his -desk, at which he was seated, in order to produce -blotting paper to sign the contracts. But as he -opened the drawer he suddenly paused, turned -deathly pale, and pressed his hand to his forehead.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, are you ill?” cried the -doctor in a concerned voice.</p> - -<p>The boys, full of anxiety and alarm, repeated -the question. But Professor Chadwick waved -them aside.</p> - -<p>“No, not ill,” he exclaimed in a strange voice. -“Wait—wait! It is coming back to me now!”</p> - -<p>He pressed a spring in his desk, and a secret -drawer flew open. As it did so, they all uttered a -shout of astonishment.</p> - -<p>It contained the long-missing plans!</p> - -<p>The mystery was soon explained. The Professor’s -memory had come back to him with a -rush when he opened the drawer for the blotting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> -paper. On the day of the trial trip of the Electric -Monarch, it will be recalled, he had been left -behind. After the boys’ departure, (as it came -back to him, he had begun to feel uneasy about -the plans, secure though they seemed to be in the -safe.)</p> - -<p>He decided to find a better hiding place than -the safe even, for them, and with that object in -view arose from the lounge and opened the receptacle. -Taking out the papers, he placed them in -the secret drawer of the desk. Hardly had he -done so, however, when an attack of vertigo -seized him and he fell unconscious. Now that his -memory had come back suddenly, as he seated -himself once more at the desk, all became clear.</p> - -<p>And so the mystery of the vanished plans was -cleared up with satisfaction to all of them. After -all, they had wrongfully suspected Hank and his -allies, and they were glad to learn that their suspicions -had been unfounded.</p> - -<p>There is little more to tell. Heiny Dill finally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> -evolved a burglar trap out of his invention, but -he makes more money working for the Boy Inventors -at High Towers than he does out of his -numerous eccentric contrivances. Sam Hinkley -returned to Nestorville not long after his invasion -of New York, and after he had begged for -forgiveness, his father finally gave him the post -of night clerk in the hotel, which he fills admirably. -Of the fate of Hank and Miles we are already -informed.</p> - -<p>And so, with Ned Nevins prosperous and -happy, and the Boy Inventors broadened and improved -by their experiences with the Electric -Monarch, we will, for the present, leave them -with the best of wishes for their future undertakings. -Knowing them to be always on the alert -for the latest developments in scientific progress, -we are not greatly surprised to learn that their -next experimental experiences will be described -in a volume entitled, “The Boy Inventors’ Radio -Telephone.”</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="BOY_AVIATORS_SERIES" id="BOY_AVIATORS_SERIES">BOY AVIATORS’ SERIES</a></h3> - -<p class="center">By Captain Wilbur Lawton</p> - -<p class="center small">Absolutely Modern Stories for Boys</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound<span class="pad3">Price, 50c per volume</span></p> -<div class="small"> -<div class="box"> - -<p class="center large">The Boy Aviators in Nicaragua</p> - -<p class="center">Or, Leagued With Insurgents</p> - -<p>The launching of this Twentieth Century series marks -the inauguration of a new era in boys’ books—the -“wonders of modern science” epoch. Frank and Harry -Chester, the Boy Aviators, are the heroes of this exciting, -red-blooded tale of adventure by air and land in -the turbulent Central American republic. The two -brothers with their $10,000 prize aeroplane, the Golden -Eagle, rescue a chum from death in the clutches of the -Nicaraguans, discover a lost treasure valley of the ancient -Toltec race, and in so doing almost lose their own -lives in the Abyss of the White Serpents, and have many -other exciting experiences, including being blown far -out to sea in their air-skimmer in a tropical storm. It -would be unfair to divulge the part that wireless plays -in rescuing them from their predicament. In a brand -new field of fiction for boys the Chester brothers and -their aeroplane seem destined to fill a top-notch place. -These books are technically correct, wholesomely thrilling -and geared up to third speed.</p> -</div> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="box"> - -<p class="center large">The Boy Aviators on Secret Service</p> - -<p class="center">Or, Working With Wireless</p> - -<p>In this live-wire narrative of peril and adventure, -laid in the Everglades of Florida, the spunky Chester -Boys and their interesting chums, including Ben Stubbs, -the maroon, encounter exciting experiences on Uncle -Sam’s service in a novel field. One must read this -vivid, enthralling story of incident, hardship and pluck -to get an idea of the almost limitless possibilities of -the two greatest inventions of modern times—the aeroplane -and wireless telegraphy. While gripping and -holding the reader’s breathless attention from the opening -words to the finish, this swift-moving story is at -the same time instructive and uplifting. As those -readers who have already made friends with Frank and -Harry Chester and their “bunch” know, there are few -difficulties, no matter how insurmountable they may -seem at first blush, that these up-to-date gritty youths -cannot overcome with flying colors. A clean-cut, real -boys’ book of high voltage.</p> -</div> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="box"> - -<p class="center large">The Boy Aviators in Africa</p> - -<p class="center">Or, An Aerial Ivory Trail</p> - -<p>In this absorbing book we meet, on a Continent made -famous by the American explorer Stanley, and ex-President -Roosevelt, our old friends, the Chester Boys and -their stalwart chums. In Africa—the Dark Continent—the -author follows in exciting detail his young heroes, -their voyage in the first aeroplane to fly above the mysterious -forests and unexplored ranges of the mystic land. -In this book, too, for the first time, we entertain Luther -Barr, the old New York millionaire, who proved later -such an implacable enemy of the boys. The story of his -defeated schemes, of the astonishing things the boys discovered -in the Mountains of the Moon, of the pathetic -fate of George Desmond, the emulator of Stanley, the -adventure of the Flying Men and the discovery of the -Arabian Ivory cache,—this is not the place to speak. It -would be spoiling the zest of an exciting tale to reveal -the outcome of all these episodes here. It may be said, -however, without “giving away” any of the thrilling -chapters of this narrative, that Captain Wilbur Lawton, -the author, is in it in his best vein, and from his personal -experiences in Africa has been able to supply a striking -background for the adventures of his young heroes. As -one newspaper says of this book: “Here is adventure in -good measure, pressed down and running over.”</p> -</div> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="box"> - -<p class="center large">The Boy Aviators Treasure Quest</p> - -<p class="center">Or, The Golden Galleon</p> - -<p>Everybody is a boy once more when it comes to the -question of hidden treasure. In this book. Captain Lawton -has set forth a hunt for gold that is concealed neither -under the sea nor beneath the earth, but is well hidden -for all that. A garrulous old sailor, who holds the key -to the mystery of the Golden Galleon, plays a large -part in the development of the plot of this fascinating -narrative of treasure hunting in the region of the Gulf -Stream and the Sargasso Sea. An aeroplane fitted with efficient -pontoons—enabling her to skim the water successfully—has -long been a dream of aviators. The Chester -Boys seem to have solved the problem. The Sargasso, -that strange drifting ocean within an ocean, holding ships -of a dozen nations and a score of ages, in its relentless -grip, has been the subject of many books of adventure -and mystery, but in none has the secret of the ever -shifting mass of treacherous currents been penetrated as -it has in the BOY AVIATORS TREASURE QUEST. -Luther Barr, whom it seemed the boys had shaken off, -is still on their trail, in this absorbing book and with a -dirigible balloon, essays to beat them out in their search -for the Golden Galleon. Every boy, every man—and -woman and girl—who has ever felt the stirring summons -of adventure in their souls, had better get hold of this -book. Once obtained, it will be read and re-read till -it falls to rags.</p> -</div> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="box"> - -<p class="center large">The Boy Aviators in Record Flight</p> - -<p class="center">Or, The Rival Aeroplane</p> - -<p>The Chester Boys in new field of endeavor—an attempt -to capture a newspaper prize for a trans-continental flight. -By the time these lines are read, exactly such an offer -will have been spread broadcast by one of the foremost -newspapers of the country. In the Golden Eagle, the -boys, accompanied by a trail-blazing party in an automobile, -make the dash. But they are not alone in their -aspirations. Their rivals for the rich prize at stake try -in every way that they can to circumvent the lads and -gain the valuable trophy and monetary award. In this -they stop short at nothing, and it takes all the wits and -resources of the Boy Aviators to defeat their devices. -Among the adventures encountered in their cross-country -flight, the boys fall in with a band of rollicking cow-boys—who -momentarily threaten serious trouble—are attacked -by Indians, strike the most remarkable town of the -desert—the “dry” town of “Gow Wells,” encounter a -sandstorm which blows them into strange lands far to the -south of their course, and meet with several amusing -mishaps beside. A thoroughly readable book. The sort -to take out behind the barn on the sunny side of the haystack, -and, with a pocketful of juicy apples and your heels -kicking the air, pass happy hours with Captain Lawton’s -young heroes.</p> -</div> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="box"> - -<p class="center large">The Boy Aviators Polar Dash</p> - -<p class="center">Or, Facing Death in the Antarctic</p> - -<p>If you were to hear that two boys, accompanying a South -Polar expedition in charge of the aeronautic department, -were to penetrate the Antarctic regions—hitherto only -attained by a few daring explorers—you would feel interested, -wouldn’t you? Well, in Captain Lawton’s latest -book, concerning his Boy Aviators, you can not only read -absorbing adventure in the regions south of the eightieth -parallel, but absorb much useful information as well. -Captain Lawton introduces—besides the original characters -of the heroes—a new creation in the person of Professor -Simeon Sandburr, a patient seeker for polar insects. -The professor’s adventures in his quest are the -cause of much merriment, and lead once or twice to -serious predicaments. In a volume so packed with incident -and peril from cover to cover—relieved with laughable -mishaps to the professor—it is difficult to single out any -one feature; still, a recent reader of it wrote the publishers -an enthusiastic letter the other day, saying: “The -episodes above the Great Barrier are thrilling, the attack -of the condors in Patagonia made me hold my breath, -the—but what’s the use? The Polar Dash, to my mind, -is an even more entrancing book than Captain Lawton’s -previous efforts, and that’s saying a good deal. The aviation -features and their technical correctness are by no -means the least attractive features of this up-to-date -creditable volume.”</p> -</div> - -<p class="center"> -Sold by Booksellers Everywhere<br /> -HURST & CO.<span class="pad3">Publishers</span><span class="pad3">NEW YORK</span> -</p> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="OAKDALE_ACADEMY_SERIES" id="OAKDALE_ACADEMY_SERIES">OAKDALE ACADEMY SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Stories of Modern School Sports</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By MORGAN SCOTT.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill1.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> -<p>BEN STONE AT OAKDALE.</p> - -<p class="small">Under peculiarly trying circumstances -Ben Stone wins his way at -Oakdale Academy, and at the -same time enlists our sympathy, -interest and respect. Through the -enmity of Bern Hayden, the loyalty -of Roger Eliot and the clever work -of the “Sleuth,” Ben is falsely accused, -championed and vindicated.</p> - - -<p>BOYS OF OAKDALE ACADEMY.</p> - -<p class="small">“One thing I will claim, and that -is that all Grants fight open and -square and there never was a sneak among them.” It was -Rodney Grant, of Texas, who made the claim to his friend, -Ben Stone, and this story shows how he proved the truth -of this statement in the face of apparent evidence to the -contrary.</p> - - -<p>RIVAL PITCHERS OF OAKDALE.</p> - -<p class="small">Baseball is the main theme of this interesting narrative, -and that means not only clear and clever descriptions of -thrilling games, but an intimate acquaintance with the -members of the teams who played them. The Oakdale -Boys were ambitious and loyal, and some were even disgruntled -and jealous, but earnest, persistent work won out.</p> - - -<p>OAKDALE BOYS IN CAMP.</p> - -<p class="small">The typical vacation is the one that means much freedom, -little restriction, and immediate contact with “all outdoors.” -These conditions prevailed in the summer camp of -the Oakdale Boys and made it a scene of lively interest.</p> - - -<p>THE GREAT OAKDALE MYSTERY.</p> - -<p class="small">The “Sleuth” scents a mystery! He “follows his nose.” -The plot thickens! He makes deductions. There are -surprises for the reader—and for the “Sleuth,” as well.</p> - - -<p>NEW BOYS AT OAKDALE.</p> - -<p class="small">A new element creeps into Oakdale with another year’s -registration of students. The old and the new standards -of conduct in and out of school meet, battle, and cause -sweeping changes in the lives of several of the boys.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="BOY_INVENTORS_SERIES" id="BOY_INVENTORS_SERIES">BOY INVENTORS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Stories of Skill and Ingenuity</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By RICHARD BONNER</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound, Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill2.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE BOY INVENTORS’ WIRELESS TELEGRAPH.</p> - -<p class="small">Blest with natural curiosity,—sometimes -called the instinct of investigation,—favored -with golden -opportunity, and gifted with creative -ability, the Boy Inventors -meet emergencies and contrive -mechanical wonders that interest -and convince the reader because -they always “work” when put to -the test.</p> - - -<p>THE BOY INVENTORS’ VANISHING GUN.</p> - -<p class="small">A thought, a belief, an experiment; discouragement, -hope, effort and final success—this is the history of many -an invention; a history in which excitement, competition, -danger, despair and persistence figure. This merely suggests -the circumstances which draw the daring Boy Inventors -into strange experiences and startling adventures, -and which demonstrate the practical use of their vanishing -gun.</p> - - -<p>THE BOY INVENTORS’ DIVING TORPEDO BOAT.</p> - -<p class="small">As in the previous stories of the Boy Inventors, new -and interesting triumphs of mechanism are produced -which become immediately valuable, and the stage for -their proving and testing is again the water. On the -surface and below it, the boys have jolly, contagious fun, -and the story of their serious, purposeful inventions -challenge the reader’s deepest attention.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="BORDER_BOYS_SERIES" id="BORDER_BOYS_SERIES">BORDER BOYS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Mexican and Canadian Frontier Series</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By FREMONT B. DEERING.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill3.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE BORDER BOYS ON THE TRAIL.</p> - -<p class="small">What it meant to make an enemy -of Black Ramon De Barios—that is -the problem that Jack Merrill and -his friends, including Coyote Pete, -face in this exciting tale.</p> - - -<p>THE BORDER BOYS ACROSS THE FRONTIER.</p> - -<p class="small">Read of the Haunted Mesa and its -mysteries, of the Subterranean River -and its strange uses, of the value of -gasolene and steam “in running the gauntlet,” and you will -feel that not even the ancient splendors of the Old World -can furnish a better setting for romantic action than the -Border of the New.</p> - - -<p>THE BORDER BOYS WITH THE MEXICAN RANGERS.</p> - -<p class="small">As every day is making history—faster, it is said, than -ever before—so books that keep pace with the changes -are full of rapid action and accurate facts. This book -deals with lively times on the Mexican border.</p> - - -<p>THE BORDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS.</p> - -<p class="small">The Border Boys have already had much excitement -and adventure in their lives, but all this has served to -prepare them for the experiences related in this volume. -They are stronger, braver and more resourceful than ever, -and the exigencies of their life in connection with the -Texas Rangers demand all their trained ability.</p> - - -<hr class="tb" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="BUNGALOW_BOYS_SERIES" id="BUNGALOW_BOYS_SERIES">BUNGALOW BOYS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>LIVE STORIES OF OUTDOOR LIFE</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By DEXTER J. FORRESTER.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth. Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill4.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE BUNGALOW BOYS.</p> - -<p class="small">How the Bungalow Boys received -their title and how they retained the -right to it in spite of much opposition -makes a lively narrative for lively boys.</p> - - -<p>THE BUNGALOW BOYS MAROONED IN THE TROPICS.</p> - -<p class="small">A real treasure hunt of the most -thrilling kind, with a sunken Spanish -galleon as its object, makes a -subject of intense interest at any -time, but add to that a band of desperate men, a dark plot -and a devil fish, and you have the combination that brings -strange adventures into the lives of the Bungalow Boys.</p> - - -<p>THE BUNGALOW BOYS IN THE GREAT NORTH WEST.</p> - -<p class="small">The clever assistance of a young detective saves the boys -from the clutches of Chinese smugglers, of whose nefarious -trade they know too much. How the Professor’s invention relieves -a critical situation is also an exciting incident of this book.</p> - - -<p>THE BUNGALOW BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES.</p> - -<p class="small">The Bungalow Boys start out for a quiet cruise on the -Great Lakes and a visit to an island. A storm and a band -of wreckers interfere with the serenity of their trip, and a -submarine adds zest and adventure to it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="DREADNOUGHT_BOYS_SERIES" id="DREADNOUGHT_BOYS_SERIES">DREADNOUGHT BOYS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Tales of the New Navy</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By CAPT. WILBUR LAWTON<br /> - -Author of “BOY AVIATORS SERIES.”</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill5.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON BATTLE PRACTICE.</p> - -<p class="small">Especially interesting and timely -is this book which introduces the -reader with its heroes, Ned and Herc, -to the great ships of modern warfare -and to the intimate life and surprising -adventures of Uncle Sam’s sailors.</p> - - -<p>THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ABOARD A DESTROYER.</p> - -<p class="small">In this story real dangers threaten -and the boys’ patriotism is tested in -a peculiar international tangle. The scene is laid on the -South American coast.</p> - - -<p>THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON A SUBMARINE.</p> - -<p class="small">To the inventive genius—trade-school boy or mechanic—this -story has special charm, perhaps, but to every reader its -mystery and clever action are fascinating.</p> - - -<p>THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON AERO SERVICE.</p> - -<p class="small">Among the volunteers accepted for Areo Service are Ned -and Herc. Their perilous adventures are not confined to the -air, however, although they make daring and notable flights -in the name of the Government; nor are they always able -to fly beyond the reach of their old “enemies,” who are also -airmen.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="MOTOR_RANGERS_SERIES" id="MOTOR_RANGERS_SERIES">MOTOR RANGERS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>HIGH SPEED MOTOR STORIES</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By MARVIN WEST.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill6.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE MOTOR RANGERS’ LOST MINE.</p> - -<p class="small">This is an absorbing story of the -continuous adventures of a motor -car in the hands of Nat Trevor and -his friends. It does seemingly impossible -“stunts,” and yet everything -happens “in the nick of time.”</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR RANGERS THROUGH THE SIERRAS.</p> - -<p class="small">Enemies in ambush, the peril of -fire, and the guarding of treasure -make exciting times for the Motor -Rangers—yet there is a strong flavor of fun and freedom, -with a typical Western mountaineer for spice.</p> - - -<p class="hang">THE MOTOR RANGERS ON BLUE WATER; <small>or, -The Secret of the Derelict.</small></p> - -<p class="small">The strange adventures of the sturdy craft “Nomad” and -the stranger experiences of the Rangers themselves with -Morello’s schooner and a mysterious derelict form the basis -of this well-spun yarn of the sea.</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR RANGERS’ CLOUD CRUISER.</p> - -<p class="small">From the “Nomad” to the “Discoverer,” from the sea to -the sky, the scene changes in which the Motor Rangers figure. -They have experiences “that never were on land or sea,” -in heat and cold and storm, over mountain peak and lost -city, with savages and reptiles; their ship of the air is attacked -by huge birds of the air; they survive explosion and -earthquake; they even live to tell the tale!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="FRANK_ARMSTRONG_SERIES" id="FRANK_ARMSTRONG_SERIES">FRANK ARMSTRONG SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Twentieth Century Athletic Stories</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By MATHEW M. COLTON.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill7.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>FRANK ARMSTRONG’S VACATION.</p> - -<p class="small">How Frank’s summer experience -with his boy friends make -him into a sturdy young athlete -through swimming, boating, and -baseball contests, and a tramp -through the Everglades, is the -subject of this splendid story.</p> - - -<p>FRANK ARMSTRONG AT QUEENS.</p> - -<p class="small">We find among the jolly boys -at Queen’s School, Frank, the student-athlete, Jimmy, the -baseball enthusiast, and Lewis, the unconsciously-funny -youth who furnishes comedy for every page that bears -his name. Fall and winter sports between intensely rival -school teams are expertly described.</p> - - -<p>FRANK ARMSTRONG’S SECOND TERM.</p> - -<p class="small">The gymnasium, the track and the field make the background -for the stirring events of this volume, in which -David, Jimmy, Lewis, the “Wee One” and the “Codfish” -figure, while Frank “saves the day.”</p> - - -<p>FRANK ARMSTRONG, DROP KICKER.</p> - -<p class="small">With the same persistent determination that won him -success in swimming, running and baseball playing, Frank -Armstrong acquired the art of “drop kicking,” and the -Queen’s football team profits thereby.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="GIRL_AVIATORS_SERIES" id="GIRL_AVIATORS_SERIES">GIRL AVIATORS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Clean Aviation Stories</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By MARGARET BURNHAM.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill8.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE GIRL AVIATORS AND THE PHANTOM AIRSHIP.</p> - -<p class="small">Roy Prescott was fortunate in -having a sister so clever and devoted -to him and his interests that -they could share work and play -with mutual pleasure and to mutual -advantage. This proved especially -true in relation to the manufacture -and manipulation of their aeroplane, -and Peggy won well deserved -fame for her skill and good -sense as an aviator. There were -many stumbling-blocks in their terrestrial path, but they -soared above them all to ultimate success.</p> - - -<p>THE GIRL AVIATORS ON GOLDEN WINGS.</p> - -<p class="small">That there is a peculiar fascination about aviation that -wins and holds girl enthusiasts as well as boys is proved -by this tale. On golden wings the girl aviators rose for -many an exciting flight, and met strange and unexpected -experiences.</p> - - -<p>THE GIRL AVIATORS’ SKY CRUISE.</p> - -<p class="small">To most girls a coaching or yachting trip is an adventure. -How much more perilous an adventure a “sky -cruise” might be is suggested by the title and proved by -the story itself.</p> - - -<p>THE GIRL AVIATORS’ MOTOR BUTTERFLY.</p> - -<p class="small">The delicacy of flight suggested by the word “butterfly,” -the mechanical power implied by “motor,” the ability to -control assured in the title “aviator,” all combined with -the personality and enthusiasm of girls themselves, make -this story one for any girl or other reader “to go crazy -over.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="MOTOR_MAIDS_SERIES" id="MOTOR_MAIDS_SERIES">MOTOR MAIDS SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Wholesome Stories of Adventure</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By KATHERINE STOKES.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill9.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE MOTOR MAIDS’ SCHOOL DAYS.</p> - -<p class="small">Billie Campbell was just the type -of a straightforward, athletic girl -to be successful as a practical -Motor Maid. She took her car, as -she did her class-mates, to her -heart, and many a grand good time -did they have all together. The -road over which she ran her -red machine had many an unexpected -turning,—now it led her -into peculiar danger; now into contact -with strange travelers; and again into experiences -by fire and water. But, best of all, “The Comet” never -failed its brave girl owner.</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR MAIDS BY PALM AND PINE.</p> - -<p class="small">Wherever the Motor Maids went there were lively times, -for these were companionable girls who looked upon the -world as a vastly interesting place full of unique adventures—and -so, of course, they found them.</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR MAIDS ACROSS THE CONTINENT.</p> - -<p class="small">It is always interesting to travel, and it is wonderfully -entertaining to see old scenes through fresh eyes. It is -that privilege, therefore, that makes it worth while to join -the Motor Maids in their first cross-country run.</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR MAIDS BY ROSE, SHAMROCK AND HEATHER.</p> - -<p class="small">South and West had the Motor Maids motored, nor -could their education by travel have been more wisely -begun. But now a speaking acquaintance with their own -country enriched their anticipation of an introduction to -the British Isles. How they made their polite American -bow and how they were received on the other side is a -tale of interest and inspiration.</p> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="MOTOR_CYCLE_SERIES" id="MOTOR_CYCLE_SERIES">MOTOR CYCLE SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>Splendid Motor Cycle Stories</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON.<br /> - -<small>Author of “Boy Scout Series.”</small></p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft"> -<img src="images/ill10.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>THE MOTOR CYCLE CHUMS AROUND THE WORLD.</p> - -<p class="small">Could Jules Verne have dreamed -of encircling the globe with a motor -cycle for emergencies he would have -deemed it an achievement greater -than any he describes in his account -of the amusing travels of Philias -Fogg. This, however, is the purpose -successfully carried out by the Motor -Cycle Chums, and the tale of their -mishaps, hindrances and delays is -one of intense interest, secret amusement, -and incidental information to -the reader.</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR CYCLE CHUMS OF THE NORTHWEST PATROL.</p> - -<p class="small">The Great Northwest is a section of vast possibilities -and in it the Motor Cycle Chums meet adventures even -more unusual and exciting than many of their experiences -on their tour around the world. There is not a dull page -in this lively narrative of clever boys and their attendant -“Chinee.”</p> - - -<p>THE MOTOR CYCLE CHUMS IN THE GOLD FIELDS.</p> - -<p class="small">The gold fever which ran its rapid course through the -veins of the historic “forty-niners” recurs at certain intervals, -and seizes its victims with almost irresistible -power. The search for gold is so fascinating to the -seekers that hardship, danger and failure are obstacles -that scarcely dampen their ardour. How the Motor Cycle -Chums were caught by the lure of the gold and into what -difficulties and novel experiences they were led, makes a -tale of thrilling interest.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="MOLLY_BROWN_SERIES" id="MOLLY_BROWN_SERIES">MOLLY BROWN SERIES</a><br /> - -<small>College Life Stories for Girls</small></h3> - -<p class="center">By NELL SPEED.</p> - -<p class="center small">Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid</p> - -<div class="figleft" > -<img src="images/ill12.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p>MOLLY BROWN’S FRESHMAN DAYS.</p> - -<p class="small">Would you like to admit to your -circle of friends the most charming -of college girls—the typical college -girl for whom we are always looking -but not always finding; the type -that contains so many delightful -characteristics, yet without unpleasant -perfection in any; the -natural, unaffected, sweet-tempered -girl, loved because she is lovable? -Then seek an introduction to Molly -Brown. You will find the baggage-master, the cook, the -Professor of English Literature, and the College President -in the same company.</p> - - -<p>MOLLY BROWN’S SOPHOMORE DAYS.</p> - -<p class="small">What is more delightful than a re-union of college girls -after the summer vacation? Certainly nothing that precedes -it in their experience—at least, if all class-mates -are as happy together as the Wellington girls of this -story. Among Molly’s interesting friends of the second -year is a young Japanese girl, who ingratiates her “humbly” -self into everybody’s affections speedily and permanently.</p> - - -<p>MOLLY BROWN’S JUNIOR DAYS.</p> - -<p class="small">Financial stumbling blocks are not the only things that -hinder the ease and increase the strength of college girls. -Their troubles and their triumphs are their own, often -peculiar to their environment. How Wellington students -meet the experiences outside the class-rooms is worth the -doing, the telling and the reading.</p> - -<p class="center small">Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price.</p> -<p class="center">Hurst & Co.,<span class="pad3">Publishers</span><span class="pad3">New York</span> -</p> -<hr class="tb" /> - - - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="box"> -<h3><a name="BOY_SCOUT_SERIES" id="BOY_SCOUT_SERIES">BOY SCOUT SERIES</a></h3> -<div class="bb"> -<p class="center small">BY</p> - -<p class="center">LIEUT. HOWARD PAYSON<br /> - -MODERN BOY SCOUT STORIES FOR BOYS<br /> - -Cloth Bound<span class="pad3">Price, 50¢ per volume.</span></p> -</div> - -<p class="center small">The Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol.</p> - -<p class="small">A fascinating narrative of the doings of some -bright boys who become part of the great Boy -Scout movement. The first of a series dealing -with this organization, which has caught on like -wild fire among healthy boys of all ages and in -all parts of the country.</p> - -<p class="small">While in no sense a text-book, the volume -deals, amid its exciting adventures, with the -practical side of Scouting. To Rob Blake and -his companions in the Eagle Patrol, surprising, -and sometimes perilous things happen constantly. -But the lads, who are, after all, typical -of most young Americans of their type, are -resourceful enough to overcome every one of -their dangers and difficulties.</p> - -<p class="small">How they discover the whereabouts of little -Joe, the “kid” of the patrol, by means of smoke -telegraphy and track his abductors to their disgrace; -how they assist the passengers of a stranded -steamer and foil a plot to harm and perhaps -kill an aged sea-captain, one must read the book -to learn. A swift-moving narrative of convincing -interest and breathless incident.</p> - -<div class="bt"> -<p class="center"> -<small>Sold by Booksellers Everywhere.</small><br /> -Hurst & Co.,<span class="pad3"><small>Publishers</small></span><span class="pad3">New York</span> -</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h3><a name="BIOGRAPHICAL" id="BIOGRAPHICAL">BIOGRAPHICAL -LIBRARY</a><br /> - -<small>Of the Lives of Great Men</small></h3> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill12.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> -<p class="small">A limited line comprising -subjects pertaining to the -careers of men who have -helped to mould the world’s -history. A library is incomplete -without the entire set.</p> - -<div class="box"> -<div class="hang"> -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Benjamin Franklin, Life of</span>—American Statesman and -Discoverer of Electricity.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Christopher Columbus, Life of</span>—Discoverer of America.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Daniel Boone, Life of</span>—Famous Kentucky Explorer -and Scout.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Daniel Webster, Life of</span>—American Statesman and -Diplomat.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Distinguished American Orators</span>—Who Have Helped -to Mould American Events.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Eminent Americans</span>—Makers of United States History.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">John Gutenberg, Life of</span>—Inventor of Printing.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Napoleon and His Marshals</span>—Celebrated French General -and Commander.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Orators of the American Revolution</span>—Whose -Speeches Ring With Patriotism.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Paul Jones, Life of</span>—American Naval Hero.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Patrick Henry, Life of</span>—Distinguished American -Orator and Patriot.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Philip H. Sheridan, Life of</span>—“Little Phil”; Famous -Union General During the Civil War.</p> - -<p class="small"><span class="smcap">Washington and His Generals</span>—First President of -the United States, Revolutionary Army General and -Statesman.</p> -</div></div> - - -<p class="center small"> -Any book mailed, postage paid, upon receipt of 50c.<br /> -Send for Our Complete Book Catalogue.</p> -<p class="center">Hurst & Co.,<span class="pad3"><small>Publishers</small></span><span class="pad3">New York</span> -</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="Log_Cabin_to_White" id="Log_Cabin_to_White">Log Cabin to White -House Series</a></h3> -<div class="figcenter" > -<img src="images/ill13.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> - -<p class="small">A famous series of books, -formerly sold at $2 00 per -copy, are now popularized -by reducing the price less -than half. The lives of these -famous Americans are worthy -of a place in any library. A -new book by Edward S. Ellis—“From -Ranch to White House”—is a life of -Theodore Roosevelt, while the author of the -others, William M. Thayer, is a celebrated -biographer.</p> - -<div class="hang"> - -<p class="small">FROM RANCH TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of Theodore Roosevelt.</p> - -<p class="small">FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD; Life of Benjamin Franklin.</p> - -<p class="small">FROM FARM HOUSE TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of George -Washington.</p> - -<p class="small">FROM LOG CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of James A. -Garfield.</p> - -<p class="small">FROM PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of Abraham -Lincoln.</p> - -<p class="small">FROM TANNERY TO WHITE HOUSE; Life of Ulysses S. Grant.</p> - -<p class="small">SUCCESS AND ITS ACHIEVERS.</p> - -<p class="small">TACT, PUSH AND PRINCIPLE.</p></div> - -<p class="small">These titles, though by different authors, also -belong to this series of books:</p> - -<div class="hang"> -<p class="small">FROM COTTAGE TO CASTLE; The Story of Gutenberg, Inventor -of Printing. By Mrs. E. C. Pearson.</p> - -<p class="small">CAPITAL FOR WORKING BOYS. By Mrs. Julia E. M’Conaughy.</p></div> - -<p class="small">Price, postpaid, for any of the above ten -books, <b>75c.</b></p> - -<p class="small">A complete catalogue sent for the asking.</p> - -<p> -HURST & CO.<span class="pad3">Publishers,</span><span class="pad3">NEW YORK</span> -</p> - - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div> -<h3><a name="Oliver_Optic" id="Oliver_Optic">Oliver Optic -Books</a></h3> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill14.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> -<p class="small">Few boys are alive to-day -who have not read some of -the writings of this famous -author, whose books are -scattered broadcast and -eagerly sought for. Oliver -Optic has the faculty of writing books full of -dash and energy, such as healthy boys want -and need.</p> - -<div class="box"> -<div class="hang small"> -<p class="small">ALL ABOARD; or, Life on the Lake.</p> - -<p>BOAT CLUB; or, The Bunkers of Rippleton.</p> - -<p>BRAVE OLD SALT; or, Life on the Quarter Deck.</p> - -<p>DO SOMETHINGS; a Story for Little Folks.</p> - -<p>FIGHTING JOE; or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer.</p> - -<p>IN SCHOOL AND OUT; or, The Conquest of Richard -Grant.</p> - -<p>LITTLE BY LITTLE; or, The Cruise of the Flyaway.</p> - -<p>LITTLE MERCHANT; a Story for Little Folks.</p> - -<p>NOW OR NEVER; or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright.</p> - -<p>POOR AND PROUD; or, The Fortunes of Katie Redburn.</p> - -<p>PROUD AND LAZY; a Story for Little Folks.</p> - -<p>RICH AND HUMBLE; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant.</p> - -<p>SAILOR BOY; or, Jack Somers in the Navy.</p> - -<p>SOLDIER BOY; or, Tom Somers in the Army.</p> - -<p>TRY AGAIN; or, The Trials and Triumphs of Harry -West.</p> - -<p>WATCH AND WAIT; or, The Young Fugitives.</p> - -<p>WORK AND WIN; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise.</p> - -<p>THE YANKEE MIDDY; or, The Adventures of a Naval -Officer.</p> - -<p>YOUNG LIEUTENANT; or, The Adventures of an -Army Officer.</p> -</div></div> - -<p class="center small">Any of these books will be mailed, postpaid, -upon receipt of 50c.<br /> - -Get our complete catalogue—sent anywhere.</p> - -<p class="center"> -HURST & CO.,<span class="pad3">Publishers,</span><span class="pad3">NEW YORK</span> -</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> -<div class="box"> -<h3><a name="Works_of" id="Works_of">Works of</a><br /> - -J. T.<br /> - -Trowbridge</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill15.jpg" alt="Image of a book" /> -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<p class="small">Here is an author who is famous—whose -writings delight both boys and -girls. Enthusiasm abounds on every -page and interest never grows old. -A few of the best titles are given:</p> - -<p class="small"> -COUPON BONDS.<br /> -<span class="pad5">CUDJO’S CAVE.</span><br /> -<span class="pad10">THE DRUMMER BOY.</span><br /> -<span class="pad15">MARTIN MERRYVALE, HIS X MARK.</span><br /> -<span class="pad20">FATHER BRIGHT HOPES.</span><br /> -<span class="pad25">LUCY ARLYN.</span><br /> -<span class="pad30">NEIGHBOR JACKWOOD.</span><br /> -<span class="pad35">THE THREE SCOUTS.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="small">Price, postage paid, for any of the -above books, Fifty Cents.</p> - -<p class="center small"> -Have You Seen Our Complete Catalogue?<br /> -Send For It</p> - -<p> -HURST & CO.<span class="pad3">Publishers</span><span class="pad3">NEW YORK</span> -</p></div> - -<div class="transnote"> -<h3>Transcriber's Notes</h3> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. 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