Clarence Young

“ Suppose the hydroplanes should not work?
“Here we go then!” announced the tall lad. He yanked the lever toward him. There was a hissing sound, and the Comet, whose propellers had ceased revolving, shot downward.
With a quick motion Jerry straightened out the toggle-jointed arms that held the hydroplanes. They slipped into place, as the bicycle wheels moved out of the way.
A few seconds later the Comet, with a little splash, had settled down upon the surface of the lake as gracefully as a wild swan, and floated as gently and as lightly as a cork.
“Hurrah!” cried Jerry. “She floats! She floats!” ”

“ Only the new fin-keels Jerry had put on, and the automatic equilibrium machine, saved them from being turned over.
“What’s the matter?” cried Professor Snodgrass, coming into the steering tower.
“It must be an upper-air hurricane!” gasped Jerry. “The same kind that caught the Manhattan! We’re in its power!”
The wind was now howling and roaring outside the motor-ship, which plunged and careened in the air like a ship in a storm on the ocean. Faster and faster she scudded along in the gale, [192] more rapidly than her motors could take her, even at top speed. ”

“ Down the road, dimly seen through the mist of the rain, was a bobbing light.
“If that’s an auto it’s either got the blind staggers, or else it’s steering itself,” remarked Ned.
“It’s a man with a lantern,” declared Bob.
“And he’s coming this way,” added Jerry.
“That settles it,” went on Ned, throwing the jack back into the tonneau.
“Settles what?” demanded Jerry.
“This repair job. I’m going to wait until morning. We can’t do anything in the storm and darkness.”
“What are we going to do? Stay out here all night, stuck in the mud?” asked the tall lad. ”

“ Jackson, on whom so much depended, and yet not able to reach him and his companions, was tantalizing. Yet they all recognized the truth of what Jerry said. It would be death for them all to venture nearer.
Professor Snodgrass, who had been curiously sniffing the air, as though to determine the nature of the gas, suddenly gave an exclamation.
“Boys, I think I have it!” he cried eagerly. “I am not sure, but I think I know the composition of the gas used in the bag of that balloon. If I am right, I can easily manufacture, from the chemicals I have, something that will neutralize it.” ”

“ He started the big propellers, and soon the motor-ship, instead of shooting straight up, like a balloon, darted forward, like an aeroplane. Faster and faster she went, until the cheers of the little crowd below could be no longer heard.
“Where are you heading?” asked Bob, as, followed by Andy Rush, he entered the steering house, where Jerry was busy with various levers, handles and valve wheels.
“Straight for Lake Hammond,” was the answer. “We’ll be there in half an hour, and then we can see how the hydroplanes work.” ”

“ Airship travel was scarcely a novelty to our heroes now, but, like many other things, there was always some new feature to it. Just as on an auto trip you never can tell what is going to happen, and just as two auto trips are never the same, so with travel in a motor-ship.
“We may start off all right, and we may get there all right,” said Jerry, “but you never can tell what is going to happen in the meanwhile.” ”

“ Suddenly, from the lee of a large sailing yacht that had come to anchor out of the path of the Comet to watch the test, there shot a rowboat containing a girl and a lady. Right in the path of the oncoming motor-ship was the small boat.
“Look out!” yelled Jerry through a megaphone.
“Pull to one side,” added Ned, though they could not hear his voice above the noise of the engine.
“Row out! Row to one side!” cried Jerry again. “We’ll run you down! We can’t steer to the right or left without capsizing!” ”

“ This he focused on the black object, which seemed to increase in size as the Comet, shooting upward, came nearer and nearer to it.
“Well?” asked Jerry anxiously.
“I can’t make out any name on it,” replied Ned, “but it’s a dirigible balloon, all right, and it’s hardly likely to be any other than the disabled Manhattan.”
“Can you see any one on board?” asked Bob.
“No; I can’t make out a soul. But they may be all inside the cabin.”
“Or dead,” thought Jerry grimly, but he did not say so. He would hope for the best.
“Let’s get there as fast as we can!” proposed Ned eagerly. ”

“ Ned, too, felt the seriousness of the situation, but he was not going to give up so soon. Once more the instruments clicked.
“It’s a message for you,” spoke the operator. Ned read the dots and dashes, for he and his chums could both send and receive wireless and ordinary telegraphic messages.
“Go ahead,” wired Mr. Slade to his son. “We all send our best wishes to you boys. Do your best to see Mr. Jackson, Ned. Vitally necessary to rescue him, for our own sakes. My business is in very poor shape. I am ruined unless Mr. Jackson lends me his aid and influence. ”

“ Jerry Hopkins made up his mind that there was but one thing to do. It was utterly out of the question to stop in time now, or to swerve from the direct path, in which was the small boat.
“We’ve got to jump over them!” murmured the tall lad to himself. “We’ve hardly speed enough to rise, yet I’ve got to chance it. If I don’t——”
He dared not think of the alternative. With a quick motion he threw the lever of the motor over as far as it would go. It meant full speed ahead, and with a rush and a roar, a rumbling and trembling, the powerful machine took up the extra fuel that was thrown into it. ”

“ In the small boat crouched the woman and girl, while on board the sailing yacht a man was vainly reaching out with [112] a landing hook, endeavoring to pull the little craft out of danger.
“Now!” suddenly shouted Jerry as if he was calling to some one, and he yanked the elevation rudder lever toward him.
Like a thing alive the Comet seemed to lift herself from the surface of the water. The front end was elevated, the forward hydroplanes emerging dripping from the liquid element. ”

“ A stream of vivid, violet-colored sparks were emanating from the contact points.
“By Jove, we must get away from here in a hurry!” cried the tall lad.
[234]
“Why?” asked Ned, pausing in the act of lifting the feet of an unconscious man.
“Those sparks!” gasped Jerry. “They may explode the gas any minute, and we’ll be blown to atoms! Lively, Ned!”
Ned needed no urging. Rapidly he and Jerry once more crossed the plank in mid-air with the unfortunate man. On their next trip Jerry noticed that a blue light was playing about the machine whence the sparks came. ”

“ But they heard the bullet sing through the air, high over their heads.
“He isn’t shooting at us!” cried Bob in a hoarse whisper. “He’s aiming high!”
“That’s just the trouble!” murmured Jerry. “He may put a hole through the gas bag! Hang it all. What’s the matter with this lever, anyhow?”
As he spoke he gave it another sudden yank. There was a clicking sound, a hum and purr that became a muffled roar and then the motor started. The big propellers whirled around and the Comet shot ahead.
“Now we’re safe!” cried Ned. “Shoot away, old man; you can’t hit us now!” ”

“ Then, seeing that they were going fast enough to rise in the air, he pulled the elevating rudder lever.
Up shot the Comet, while the crowd cheered. Up and up she went, leaving a much chagrined farmer running breathlessly and uselessly after it, meanwhile shaking his fists at our heroes in the air.
“Off at last!” murmured Ned with a sigh of relief. “Off to the rescue!”
“Yes, and I hope we’ll be in time to save them,” added Jerry somewhat solemnly.
“I hope we get the singing fish,” spoke the professor. “That is,” he went on quickly, “after we save those poor people in the balloon!” ”

“ A SURPRISED INTRUDER
“Going to stand here looking at it all night?” demanded Jerry after a pause, during which his two chums had vainly sought to prevent the rain from trickling down inside the collars of their coats. “Do you think the tire is going to mend itself, Bob?”
“I only wish it would!” devoutly exclaimed Chunky. “Wow! This is fierce!”
“No help for it,” mumbled Ned, as he wiped the dashing rain drops from his eyes. “Hand me the jack, Jerry, I’ll get the car up, you can take off the tire and we’ll make Bob put on the new shoe and tube. That’s a fair division of labor.” ”

“ Snodgrass. “We’re sailing along on an almost solidified bank of air, which is compressed by great pressure. To go below, into an area where there is no storm, it is like cutting through a layer of thick ice to get to the water beneath. But the air buoys us up so that we’re having difficulties.”
“What are we going to do?” inquired Ned anxiously.
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“We’ve got to do something, that’s evident,” responded the tall lad, as a sudden burst of the storm once more nearly made the Comet turn turtle. “We’ve got to get out of this.” ”

“ I can’t come to a stop without falling into the sea. What is needed is a balloon or aeroplane that can remain stationary in the air.”
As if by common consent the eyes of nearly every person in the crowd were turned toward the motor boys. Their craft which had been put through her paces that day, travelling on the water as well as through the air—which had come to a halt while nearly a mile high and had floated as easily as a feather—that craft—the Comet seemed to offer a solution of the problem. ”

“ The smell of escaping gas from the bag of the big balloon became more pronounced as the Comet approached. Eagerly the boys and Professor Snodgrass looked toward the disabled craft which was slowly drifting ahead of them, but which they were rapidly overhauling.
“We hadn’t better go too close; had we?” suggested Bob.
“Why not?” asked Jerry. “We’ve got to get pretty close or we can’t rescue them. The planks are about fifteen feet long, and we’ll have to come within that distance, anyhow, to make a bridge from the Manhattan to our deck.” ”

“ Fairly running, Jerry made his way back to the stern, followed by his two chums. The smell of smoke became stronger as they neared the after-deck, and, once they were beyond the deck superstructures, they caught fleeting glimpses of darting tongues of fire.
“Quick! Bring the extinguishers! They’re in the main cabin!” cried Jerry. Bob and Ned started back after them, while the tall lad kept on, to discover the location of the fire, which seemed to be in the very stern of the craft. ”

“ That afternoon saw the three chums speeding down a quiet highway that led out of Cresville. The auto ran well, but they discovered a few defects and arranged to have them remedied at a garage.
“Then we’ll start for Durham the first thing to-morrow, fellows!” cried Bob enthusiastically. “Say, it’s fun to be doing something again. It’s like old times!”
“It sure is,” agreed Jerry. “Can’t you put on a little more speed, Ned?” For the merchant’s son was at the wheel. “Cut out the muffler, and use the accelerator pedal more. Make believe we’re after Noddy Nixon, and that he’s getting away from us. ”

“ Slowly another great form approached the Comet. Then the boys saw that there were two parts to the second shadow.
“It’s a whale and her calf!” exclaimed the professor. “Boys, you are looking at a very rare sight. Make the most of it!”
“It will be a good thing if they don’t make [215] mince-meat of us,” remarked Ned grimly. “I’d hate to fall overboard now.”
As he spoke, there was a sudden swirl in the water, a smother of foam, and then a tinge of red.
“Look!” cried Bob. “The shark has attacked the whale!”
“Not the whale, but the little calf!” yelled Jerry. ”

“ Our friends were now out of reach of the pyrotechnics, and ventured to turn on their lights again. Down below could be seen the place of the celebration, brilliantly illuminated, but the glow soon died out, and it was evident that the destruction of the miniature airship brought the affair to a close.
They did not get to sleep early, on account of the excitement, but finally Jerry suggested that they take turns going on duty in the motor room.
“For,” said the tall lad, “we’re flying low, and the machinery is so new that we can’t altogether depend on the automatic steering gear. ”

“ Oh, don’t get funny, Bob! I’m serious. What I want to do is to add the hydroplane feature. That’s the biggest improvement, though there are several smaller ones to be put in. But it won’t be much work to attach the hydroplanes. All we need to do is to build on some air-tight floats, or boxes, which will do on the water exactly what the bicycle wheels of an aeroplane do on land—support it. Then, in case we have an accident, say over the ocean, we can just drop down, and float until we make repairs. ”

“ Bob came from the galley to join his chums. As he reached them he sniffed the air suspiciously.
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“What’s that funny smell?” he asked. “It’s like gas. Have you started our gas-machine, Jerry?”
“Our gas-machine? No, but—I have it!” he cried suddenly.
“What is it?” demanded Ned, catching a gleam of hope in Jerry’s tone.
“It is gas! It’s gas escaping from the disabled balloon! That’s what has made the crew of the Manhattan unconscious. Perhaps they’re not dead at all, but overcome by gas. We must keep on to the rescue!” ”