Frank Walton

“ The next instant the maul-like fist of the garage man shot out with lightning rapidity, and the clerk and the house detective tumbled over on the floor. Before the clerk could straighten his necktie, or the house detective staunch the flow of blood from his nose, Havens and Stroup were well out of the house and on their way toward the threatened flying machine, both looking rather sober.
As luck would have it, the hotel ’bus was just backing up to the walk a short distance away, and the two fugitives immediately boarded her.
“Drive to the aeroplane!” shouted Stroup. ”

“ Ben went on, “Toluca took me to a point on the cliff to the south from which the ghost lights of the mysterious fortress can be seen, but we don’t know any more about the origin of the lights than we did before we saw them.”
“Then there really are lights?” asked Carl.
“There certainly are!” replied Ben.
“What kind of an old shop, is it?” asked Jimmie.
“It’s one of the old-time fortresses,” replied Ben. “It is built on a steep mountainside and guards a pass between this valley and one beyond. ”

“ You always do seem to blunder into the right procession. You located the outlaws for us, and now you’re going out to be the candy boy in the sleuth game. You’re all right, Kit!”
“What are you going to do?” demanded the boy.
“Look here,” Jimmie declared. “We came out here to do some flying machine stunts, didn’t we?”
“That’s the idea!” answered Kit.
“Well, we haven’t done any stunts yet,” Jimmie went on. “We just plugged across the continent, half asleep all the time, like an old horse pulling a cross-town car in New York. ”

“ Jimmie suggested, “if I can only get that gun away from Sam. He wouldn’t let me go. You know that very well! Look here,” he went on, “suppose I fix up in the long, flowing robe, and dig up the wigs and things Miguel must have worn, and walk in a dignified manner between the ranks of the Indians? What do you know about that?”
“That would probably be all right,” Carl answered, “until you began shooting game, and then they’d just naturally put you into a stew. They know very well that gods in white robes don’t have to kill game in order to sustain life.” ”

“ And so, flying swiftly, stopping only to rest for a few hours at time, and for gasoline and provisions, Havens crossed the continent in his powerful machine, and, one morning, caught sight of the pretty little city of Monterey, nestling on the border of the bay of the same name. ”

“ The air in the valley was growing warmer every minute. By noon, when the sun would look almost vertically down, it promised to be very hot, as the mountains shut out the breeze.
“I don’t think it will be necessary to look for game,” Sam went on in a moment, “for the reason that the Louise and Bertha, ought to be here soon after sunset. It may possibly take them a little longer than that to cover the distance, as they do not sail so fast as the Ann, but at least they should be here before to-morrow morning. Then you’ll see the savages scatter!” ”

“ A MASTERLY RETREAT. “I don’t see any savages!” replied Glenn.
“Can’t you hear them?” demanded Jimmie.
“I think I can smell something!” Carl exclaimed.
“Don’t get gay, now!” Jimmie answered. “This is no funny business! If you’ll listen, you’ll hear the snakes creeping through the grass.”
The boys listened intently for an instant and then, without looking into the tents, sprang toward the machines. It seemed for a moment as if a thousand voices were shouting at them. They seemed to be in the center of a circle of men who were all practicing a different style of war-whoop. ”

“ Kit replied.
“They would take me along while they could use me,” answered Jimmie, “and that would be the last of yours truly. Those fellows are cold-blooded murderers! I wish the other boys would come!”
“I’m afraid something has happened to them,” Kit replied soberly.
Twilight fell as the outlaws planned murder and the boys planned capture. As the latest finger of light touched a summit to the southwest an aeroplane was seen slowly moving toward the valley. It was plain even to the outlaws that she was seriously crippled. ”

“ Realizing that it would be impossible for him to pass through the open moonlight without being observed by those responsible for the erratic motions of the Ann, the young man remained standing perfectly still in a deep shadow against the face of the cliff.
The Ann moved on toward the thicket, and presently reached the shelter of trees growing there. In a moment she was entirely hidden from view.
“Now,” thought Sam, “the people who have been kind enough to change the position of the machine will doubtless show themselves in the moonlight.” ”

“ A few moments later, when Jimmie and Kit were awakened by the clatter of the Louise’s motors, they crawled sleepily out of their shelter-tent and looked up into the starry sky.
“That’s a joke on us!” Jimmie said.
“Yes,” Kit admitted. “We didn’t understand that they could operate the machine themselves, so we went to sleep. Now we’ve lost the murderers and what’s worse, we have lost the Louise!”
“And the Bertha,” added Jimmie, “and Ben, and Carl, and Mr. Havens, and the whole bunch!” ”

“ To this day the boys assert that it was the whirling of the electric searchlights which kept the savages from advancing upon them. At any rate, for a time, the unseen visitors contented themselves with verbal demonstrations.
“We’ll have to jump out on the machines!” advised Glenn. “We can’t fight a whole army!”
24“Why, there’s only two!” Jimmie taunted. “You said yourself that we saw all the black men there were in this neighborhood!”
“Aw, keep still,” Ben cried. “We haven’t got time to listen to you boys joke each other! Come on, Jimmie! You and I for the Louise!” ”

“ As Ben explained about the first stopping-place, the two beacons, the schooner, the caves, and the swarm of Celestials, Gilmore drew him into the hotel and into the smoking room. Here he seated the entire party notwithstanding the frowns of the clerk, and closed and locked the door.
“Do you know,” he asked, after a moment’s thought, “that you boys have made a discovery which is likely to bring you a large amount of money?”
[223] “I guess they can use it, all right,” laughed Havens. “They want a new flying machine every time they see a new model!” ”

“ Jimmie said, after a time, “and they’re coming out! Hold your light steady when they reach the center of the room. I can’t afford to miss my aim.”
“Is your arm steady?” almost whispered Carl.
“Never better!” answered Jimmie.
Four powerful, hungry, jaguars, instead of two, crept out of the opening! Jimmie tried to cheer his companion with the whispered hope that there might possibly be bullets enough for them all, and raised his weapon. Two shots came in quick succession, and two jaguars crumpled down on the floor. Nothing daunted, the other brutes came on, and Jimmie seized Carl’s automatic. ”

“ Jimmie called out, as Ben pressed the starter and the wheels under the aeroplane began to revolve. “Hold her tight and steady, and push on the bottom of the seat when you get over the ocean. If you drop, whistle!”
“Cut it out, you little idiot!” stormed Carl. “That’s no fool of a trick Ben’s trying to do! The air massed before and under the machine as it moves along over the ground will push over the precipice, and then the aeroplane will shoot downward, no matter if the wheels do leave the surface before she comes to the edge.” ”

“ Fearful that Felix might return at any moment, or that the savages, enraged beyond control, might break away in the direction of the temple, Sam pushed the fellow along as rapidly as possible, and the two soon came to the great entrance of that which, centuries before, had been a sacred edifice. The fellow shuddered as he stepped into the musty interior.
“It is not for me to enter!” he said.
“And now,” Sam began, motioning his captive toward the chamber where the bunks and provisions had been discovered, “tell me about this trap which was set to-night for my chums.” ”

“ The boys circled about for an hour or more, and then, weary of remaining so long in one position, dropped down to a peak which, far above the clouds, glimmered in the light of the rising moon.
“We can see from here just as well as from the seats,” Kit suggested, “and we may as well get all the rest we can.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Jimmie answered, “that we ought to go to the south, but I’m going to break this for once and stay right here. We’re not far from the home of the smugglers, and, on the theory that thieves flock together, our outlaws ought to be in the vicinity.” ”

“ The Chinaman gazed stupidly from one boy to the other and then turned away. The lads gazed after him in amazement.
“Where are you going?” asked Ben, and the Chinaman turned back.
“Savvee you, alle same!” he replied and pointed off to the north. “Savvee you, alle same,” he repeated. “No can do.”
“Go to it!” shouted Carl. “Trot along and play you’re in a Chinese laundry on Pell street. We love to see you eat, but we don’t like the exuberance of your conversation!”
In ten minutes’ time the Chinaman, climbing the steep dip of the bowl toward the north, disappeared from view in a thicket. ”

“ Jimmie observed glancing hastily in the direction pointed out by Sam, “looks to me like the Bertha.”
“Can you identify an aeroplane at that distance in the night-time?” asked Sam. “I’m sure I couldn’t do anything of the kind!”
“I don’t know as I can express it,” Jimmie replied, “but to me every flying machine has a method and manner of its own. There is something in the way an aeroplane carries itself in the sky which reminds me somewhat of the manner of a man in walking. ”

“ Glenn went on. “They ruled all that part of the world until the Spaniards came. They were very superstitious, the sun being an object of worship. The Temple of the Sun, on the island of Titicaca, was one of the most magnificent structures ever erected. Outside and inside the walls were lined with gold and precious stones. The temple was the pride of the Incas, but it was stripped of its rich covering by the Spaniards. The walls were torn down and rifled, and the sacred sun was seized and gambled for by the covetous invaders. Nothing that could be converted into money was overlooked. ”

“ After exacting the promise from the surgeon and the night matron, Havens ordered every workman about the place to remain on guard until morning and, calling his chauffeur, departed for New York in a high-powered touring car. Worn out with the anxiety and exertions of the night, he fell asleep on the soft cushions of the machine, and awoke only when the chauffeur shook him gently by the shoulder and announced that they were at the Grand Central station. ”

“ There was no moon as yet, although there would be one later on, but the light of the stars was quite sufficient for them to look over the entire valley in which the Louise lay.
Once beyond the circle of fire they could see quite distinctly up to the rim of the thicket at the sides of the bowl. They conferred together for a moment, and then Mendoza crouched down on the ground, drawing Phillips with him and drew a revolver.
“What is it?” asked Phillips.
“There, at the edge of the thicket!” replied Mendoza. “There is some one creeping along the ground!” ”

“ When they came to the cross passage which led to the rear of the corridor they listened for an instant and thought they detected a low murmur of voices in the distance.
“Let’s investigate!” suggested Carl.
“Investigate nothing!” replied Jimmie. “Let’s move for the machine and the level of the stars. If the savages are there, we’ll chase ’em out.”
But the savages were not there. When the three came to the curtain of vines which concealed the entrance to the passage, the forest seemed as still as it had been on the day of creation. ”

“ JUST A CLEVER GAME. When the old hag glanced cautiously about the disreputable apartment, Havens began to hope that the bribe of twenty thousand dollars which he had offered her might secure his release. It seemed to him that the old woman was strongly tempted to accept the money.
“You can do it easy enough,” the young millionaire said, as the woman helped herself to a drink of liquor and restored the bottle to a pocket. “You can get me out of here without danger to yourself, and then you can disappear with the money. No one will ever know.”
Havens had been born and reared in New York. ”

“ Ben said, “Jimmie and I will go back in the Louise, and Glenn and Carl can take the Bertha. You, Mr. Mellen, and Sam can return in the automobile, and we’ll fly just above you along the river trail. If you tumble over a precipice,” he added, with a smile, “we may be able to pick you up, or you may be able to help us!”
“There is one thing about it,” Carl suggested, “and that is that we won’t have to use the flying machines for freight wagons. The automobile can carry the tents and provisions and everything of that sort back to Quito. ”

“ Jimmie answered. “I got a view of his face from almost every angle! He’s a low-browed brute, with ears like wings, and a hunch in his shoulders which makes you think of one of the muckers at Croton dam.”
“He certainly can run a machine, though!” Carl Nichols declared, “and he has an aeroplane that can go some, too!”
“But what’s the idea?” asked Ben. “Why should he be chasing you around in that impudent way?”
“I’ve got a notion,” Jimmie replied, “that he wanted to try out the Louise. He resorted to every trick known to airmen to induce me to make some kind of an error in handling the machine. ”

“ It appeared to me then that the last morsel of food that had passed my lips had exhausted itself at a period farther away than the birth of Adam!”
“You must have been good and hungry!” laughed Mellen.
“What did you wander off into that country for?” asked Jimmie. “You might have known better.”
“I couldn’t remain in the Canal Zone,” replied Sam, “because no one would give me a job. Everybody seemed to want to talk to me for my own good. Even the chief in charge of the Gatun dam contract told me——”
“Do you know the chief in charge of the Gatun dam contract?” asked Havens, casually. ”

“ Shivering from his bath in the river, faint from the excitement and exertion of the night, the millionaire waited at the head of the pier on the chance of seeing a taxicab.
None appeared, however, and he was obliged to walk some distance before seeing one of the nighthawks which prowl the streets of New York between midnight and morning. Without stopping a moment for refreshment, he ordered the chauffeur to drive with all speed to his city garage. His own chauffeur was awakened with difficulty, but finally the journey to the hangar in Westchester county was fairly begun. ”

“ Laying his automatic down on the floor, Havens walked deliberately to a great easy-chair which stood not far away and sat down. No one would judge from the manner of the man that he was not resting himself in one of his own cosy rooms at his New York hotel. Sam was not slow in following the example of his employer. Redfern frowned slightly at the nonchalance of the man. ”

“ Havens sprang to the ground and opened a conversation with the first man he saw.
“I understand that the man who took the machine claims to be an officer,” he said. “Will you point him out to me?”
“I am the officer!” said the fellow sticking out his chest.
“Where are your papers?” demanded Havens.
“A man don’t need no papers,” was the insulting reply, “in order to take possession of stolen property, wherever he can find it!”
Stroup now pushed his way through the crowd to Havens’ side and looked the fellow over with threatening eyes. ”

“ Ben asserted. “I don’t believe any one could get out without using a flying machine!”
“Of course, he’s here!” Carl answered.
The boys walked closer to the face of the crag and turned their lights on the broken walls.
“It would be just like him to follow Jimmie in there,” Carl observed.
“Sure it would!” replied Ben.
“But what gets me,” Carl went on, “is that he went away without asking for anything to eat! The kid is second only to Jimmie in the capacity of his stomach. He’s always hungry, especially after a short sleep.” ”

“ We thought he was dead.”
“Did one of my men shoot him?” asked Havens, angrily.
“No, sir,” replied Hilton. “Your men were all gathered in the engine-house. The shot came from a point south of the hangar.”
“Is the man dead?”
“That’s what we can’t exactly make out, sir,” the night-watchman answered. “He lies perfectly still, but sometimes we think we can detect a flutter of breath at his lips. No, sir, you may be sure that none of your men shot the fellow.”
“Who did shoot him, then?” demanded Jimmie, excitedly.
[17] “Wait a moment,” said Havens addressing the night-watchman. ”

“ Then he turned straight south and passed the second promontory. He saw that the schooner which had been seen the night before still lay at anchor, and that her deck was crowded with humanity.
“Chinks!” he thought. “Waiting to be taken to the land of promise!”
The same thought occurred to Kit, and the boy pointed downward as they cut the air above the deck.
“Smugglers!” the boy said.
Jimmie heard the word only faintly and nodded. Back from the ocean, they swung almost to the right of way of the Southern Pacific railroad. Below them opened great gorges in which a city might be hidden. ”

“ Carl said in a moment, “we don’t want to go away and leave the machines, not even for a minute, not even if we are in a lonely spot, but some one ought to go and look for Jimmie. You know there’s a lot of places a boy might fall into in these mountain caverns!”
“All right,” Ben said, rising from the ground, “I’ll go and wake Kit. He was so sleepy when I brought the Bertha down that I lifted him out of the seat and laid him away against a wall! I don’t think he ever knew when I took him off the machine. I’ll give him a searchlight and send him to look after Jimmie.” ”

“ Jimmie asserted. “There’s always trees falling down from the timber line and rotting in the canyons. I’ll find wood, all right, if we can find a place where it’s safe to build a fire,” he added with a chuckle of delight at the thought of a large meal. “What I need right now is plenty of sustenance!”
“Go to it!” laughed Ben. “Mr. Havens advised us to camp out in some spot about like this, and make excursions over the mountains in search of Phillips and Mendosa, so I don’t see why we’ll have to move our camp at all. Therefore, a neat little kitchen won’t come amiss.” ”

“ Jimmie declared. “It’s all right to rescue the perishing, and all that, but if some forest ranger should come along here and find us mixed up with a Chinaman, we’d all be pinched!”
“Do they smuggle on this coast?” asked Carl.
“Of course they do!” replied Jimmie scornfully.
“Smuggle what?”
“Chinks and opium!”
“Then I see myself owning the Night and Day bank when I get back to New York!” Carl exclaimed. “There’s a government reward for the capture of men who run in Chinks and smuggle opium!”
“Well, we may as well be getting back to the machines,” urged Ben. ”

“ Well he knew the law of club and fang which governed the underworld on the East Side. He knew that death follows betrayal as surely as night follows day. He understood that the old woman was taking long chances in even considering his release.
“It ain’t enough!” the hag declared in a moment, her vicious eyes showing both greed and terror. “It ain’t enough for a poor old woman like me. I’d have to leave New York forever!”
[97] “I don’t doubt it!” Havens replied. “Still,” he went on, “judging from appearances, your life here hasn’t been one to be much mourned. ”

“ Carl explained, “is how we’re going to get off this bald-headed old peak. We might be able to tumble down into one of the valleys below, but we wouldn’t be any better off there than we are here. Besides,” he went on, “our making our way down wouldn’t help us any with the machine.”
“If Jimmie would only show up with the Louise, now, we might borrow enough gasoline to get us back to level ground again. And still,” Ben went on, “we wouldn’t have fuel enough to do much racing until the tanks were filled. It’s a rotten scrape we’re in, and that’s no fairy tale.” ”

“ After speaking most respectfully to the millionaire and nodding carelessly to the boys, he proceeded to make an examination of the injured man. Havens and the lads stood by waiting anxiously for his decision.
If the man was really likely to die from his wound, that would end all hope of learning from him the names of those associated with him in the crime. If the fellow would soon recover, then a clue to the whole chain forged by the friends of the murderers for the destruction of the boys might be discovered.
[22] “Well?” asked Havens as the surgeon lifted his face in a moment. ”

“ Jimmie circled about the canyon for a moment, caught sight of the crag under the flashlight, and passed its sharp edge with only a foot to spare. In a moment more, directed by the light in Ben’s hand, he drove the Louise along the hard floor until she stood at rest by the side of the Bertha.
Jimmie and Carl hastened to make themselves acquainted with the situation in the canyon by means of their electric searchlights. They ran here and there glancing up at the almost vertical walls to the north and south and throwing long fingers of light into the depressions in the crag. ”

“ However, he poured out a small portion of whiskey and waited for an opportunity to toss it away. The captain of the schooner eyed him maliciously, his undershot jaw set like that of a bulldog.
“So you don’t drink, eh?” the captain said, with a snarl.
“You may be mistaken!” answered Havens.
“Sometimes I do.”
“Mistaken, yourself!” shouted the captain. “You thought you’d bribed Mother DeMott, didn’t you? You thought you’d be dropping off the Nancy in the morning and turning us all over to the police, didn’t you?”
Havens eyed the man for a moment, too dazed to speak. ”

“ As the farmer concluded his threatening sentence, Jimmie and Carl sprang to the Louise and pressed the button which set the motors in motion. For a moment the farmers were too dazed to do more than follow the swiftly departing machine with their eyes. ”

“ Louis!”
“I’d like to know where Havens is!” whispered Carl.
“We haven’t got time to consider that,” suggested Ben. “When that aeroplane gets a little closer, these two fellows will be watching her and perhaps signaling. That will be the time for us to act. Jump on the Ann and press the button and I’ll do the same with the Bertha. We may get dumped down the mountainside, or we may catch a couple of bullets, but anything is better than being tricked by these Japs and losing our machine and Havens’, too! Watch for the chance.” ”

“ Ben agreed, “it does seem that the first thing the crooks would do would be to prevent our departure for the Pacific Coast. A group of flying machine boys certainly represents a new element in secret service work! We must watch our machines after this!”
“If the fresh aviator really belongs to the crowd of crooks connected with the murderers,” Carl broke in, “we’ll hear from him again. He’ll follow us to the coast! He wouldn’t cease his efforts after chasing the Louise up New York bay.” ”