CHAPTER XIV.
THE AIRSHIP LAUNCHED AT LAST.
Frank came near following after the unknown member of the crew, when theother made that flying leap over the side of the boat. Not that hewanted to take a bath just then, but his forward progress had beenrapid, and he only saved himself by banging up against the taffrail,which was unusually high for so small a vessel, and holding on sturdily.
He had heard the splash as the fellow reached the water. Doubtless hewas a good swimmer, as about all these natives seemed to be, and barringhis falling a prey to some loitering alligator or other reptile, hewould be able to gain the neighboring shore further down.
At any rate it was folly to think of looking for him.
"What's all the row?" cried Andy, as he came plunging forth from hisstateroom.
Some of the crew were even then looking over the side, and Frankimagined they could give a pretty good guess as to what it meant. Buthe heard not a word from even old Quito, and while the absence of a manmust be noticed in the morning, there would probably be no complaint.
When Andy heard about the attempt to injure the monoplane he was in atremble.
"Did you ever?" he exclaimed. "Why, it seems as though everything justwants to knock us. When we give the government officials the merry ha!ha! and even slip past the revolutionary army, after being bombarded bytheir old cannon, here even our own men want to smash our preciousaeroplane, under the belief that it's an evil bird, come to bring badluck to the people."
"Better go back to your bunk and forget it," remarked Frank, who wastenderly rubbing his elbow where it had come in contact with the hardtaffrail at the time he stopped so suddenly, balking at a bath.
"Me? Not on your life, Frank!" declared Andy, with much emphasis. "I'mgoing to take a blanket and just lie down in front of that blesseddoor. Nobody can get in then without walking over my body. And if Icatch a fellow trying it on, believe me, I'll give him something hewon't forget in a hurry. It'll be touch and go with him, I bet you."
Which he actually did, much to Frank's secret amusement, camping outthere on the floor as close to the locked door as he could get, andbracing his back up against the same.
But then, fortunately, morning was not so far away and Andy would haveonly a couple of hours, more or less, of his self-imposed labor.
They knew that if the pilot of the river expedition said truly, theymust even now be drawing near the town of Magangue. Possibly it wouldbreak upon their vision with the coming of dawn.
Frank himself had no more intention of retiring to his bed than hadAndy, but continued to keep watch and ward until he saw the first peepof daylight over the port side of the vessel.
Then he communicated the glad intelligence to his chum, and togetherthey stood there, watching the slow unfolding of dawn. From an ashengray the sky began to be marked with brighter hues; pink flushestraveled along in lines that centered in the spot where the sun wouldpresently appear, and the gloom of night retreated once more back to itshiding places among the mountain passes.
"There's the dinky old town!" cried Andy, pointing with tremblingfinger.
"It is and no mistake," replied Frank, himself experiencing a sensationof considerable relief, for at times it had seemed more than doubtfulwhether the little expedition could ever overcome the many difficultiesthat beset its passage up the swollen river.
And so they came to land just as the glorious sun showed his smilingface. Andy declared that this was a harbinger of good luck, and hiscousin chose to readily agree with all he said, for it pleased him tosee Andy look more like his old self than he had been for many a day.
"Remember, only one of us ashore at a time until we land this cargo,"remarked Frank, as they came to bring the boat to the bank, where agroup of natives waited to see what it all meant, surprise writtenlargely on their dark faces.
"That's right," responded the other traveler. "But I'm going to havethe aeroplane carried out on deck at once, so it can be taken ashore assoon as we find where we are at. What we want first of all is to hearabout our friend, Carlos Mendoza, the cocoa planter. Perhaps he livesmiles away and we'll have to get some sort of conveyance to tote ourmachine out to his place."
"Yes," observed Frank, "I've been laying out plans along that line. Ifyou don't mind I'll drop ashore while you're having the crates broughton deck and make inquiries. Even away down here in this wilderness moneytalks. Colonel Josiah told us it did for him in the heart of darkestAfrica, you know. And a few bolivars will hire all the help we want."
Andy was perfectly agreeable that his companion should have taken uponhimself the task of engineering things.
"You can always discount me when it comes to bargaining," he said,laughingly; "so go ahead and fix things to suit yourself, Frank."
Upon reaching shore, Frank, who had taken old Felipe along with him toserve as interpreter, found that Carlos Mendoza had his home just on theborder of the town, though it was a little distance away. He soon madearrangements for hiring a native cart to be used in transporting theprecious aeroplane.
In less than half an hour they were on the way. The boat had been leftin charge of McClintock, the Scotch engineer, who would make sure thatthe crew remained on board or lost the wages coming to them.
Both of the boys were so excited that they paid little attention to thestrange scenes which now surrounded them in the valley town far back inthe interior of tropical Colombia. Indeed, one might even have suspectedthat they had always been accustomed to living in a region where allmanner of tropical fruits abounded, coffee and cocoa were raised ascrops, and birds of brilliant plumage flew overhead.
The truth of the matter was, they knew they would presently come face toface with the planter who had actually picked up the little messengersent out of his cliff bordered prison by Professor Bird. And this factset their nerves to trembling with eager anticipations.
In due time the cart on which the aeroplane had been secured, togetherwith the luggage which the young aviators wished to carry along, drew upbefore a long, low white building, back of which could be seen orangetrees and other evidences of a real tropical home.
Their coming must have been noted, for a gentleman was advancing fromthe grove at the rear. Senor Carlos looked surprised at seeing thecaravan bringing up before his door, but that was as nothing incomparison with his amazement upon learning how one of the two youngAmericanos was the same Andrew Bird to whom he had desired his friend,Senor Almirez, to forward the strange message picked up in his cocoagrove one day several months back.
The boys had learned from Senor Jose that the owner of the plantationcould understand English and even speak it fairly well. Thus they had noneed of fetching Felipe along to act as interpreter.
"Oh, please first of all let me see the remains of the silk parachutethat was attached to the bark letter!" said Andy, after they hadconversed for a short time and some of the planter's hired servants hadunloaded the boxed aeroplane, which was stowed away in a place ofsecurity.
Doubtless the planter understood the reason for the boy's solicitude. Heimmediately took them inside the house and in another minute had thrustinto Andy's eager hands a discolored piece of silk, such as is used inthe making of balloons.
Nor did either Frank or the Colombian planter think it strange that theboy should press the token again and again to his lips, while tears randown his face. They could understand the feelings that filled his heart,and no matter what the nationality may be, the honest love of a lad forhis father cannot but provoke admiration and respect.
"And now," said Frank, presently, when his cousin had in a measurerecovered from his first emotion, "will you tell us, Senor Mendoza, justhow you found this strange communication? I hope you remember the exactday, because it is of the greatest importance to us that we learn, asnear as possible, from just what quarter it came."
"Si, senor, I understand that," replied the planter, eagerly, his darkface aglow with enthusiasm. "I made note of the day in my diary, alsothe fact that it was the
third day in succession when the wind blewdirect from the south, with just a faint turn to the west."
"Splendid!" cried Frank, turning to give his chum a reassuringnod. "What did I tell you, Andy? The forethought of Senor Carlos hasmade our task much easier. There can be little doubt, then, that the hotair balloon must have started in a region that lies almost due south ofhere, possibly with a slant, as he says, toward the south by westquarter, as a sailor would call it. And now, senor, can you tell us justwhere a direct line that way would bring us?"
"First over the lowland and the forests. Then, if you go far enoughamigos, it is the Sierra San Jeronimo mountains you would strike,"replied the planter.
"Yes, I remember them on the map we have, and that corresponds exactlywith all I had in my mind," Frank observed, his forehead wrinkled withserious thought.
"What sort of country is it up in those mountains?" asked Andy.
The planter shrugged his shoulders.
"That I am unable to tell you, amigos, since I have never beenthere. From all I have heard I believe it is one of the wildest and mostinaccessible regions in all our country. Lofty peaks warn back the mostdaring explorer. Few have ever ventured to attempt to go amongthem. Some never came back, they say. The superstitious declare thosemountains are filled with evil things. Nothing on earth could tempt oneof my peons to accompany an expedition thither."
"Then it is lucky that we will not need any assistance in ouradventure," remarked Frank. "With an aeroplane one may be independentof help. And now, Andy, what shall we do? It will take us the betterpart of the day to assemble our little flier and get things ready for anascent."
"That means another horrible night of waiting before we can make astart," said Andy, looking quite forlorn.
But he soon understood that it could not be helped. Both boys werepresently hard at work, with the deeply interested planter watchingevery move. All the while they conversed and the subject of pretty muchall their talk had more or less to do with the country, thepeculiarities of climate, what sort of weather they might expect to haveand dozens of similar matters.
Doubtless Senor Mendoza would like to hear of things connected with thegreat outside world, which he seldom saw anything of, but he realizedthat these would keep until after the brave young senors had completedtheir task of humanity.
Before evening came they had everything arranged to suit the criticalFrank. Both boys were pleased to find that the monoplane had comethrough its long journey without any damage having been done.
That night they were uneasy about the precious airship, and at theirrequest the planter had their beds made up in the shed where the "Bug"lay. But there was no attempt made to injure it in the least.
Then came the morning. Andy could hardly eat a bite of breakfast, forthe eagerness that possessed his soul. Every servant on the plantationhad gathered to look with awe upon the wonderful bird-like machine, onwhich, it was whispered, these two venturesome young Americanos meant tosoar among the clouds.
Finally the last word was spoken, the planter shook hands with each ofhis visitors, Frank turned on the power, the aeroplane with the motorexhaust sounding like a volley of musketry started to run along thelevel ground, and presently, to the consternation of the entiregathering, began to climb upward, just like a creature of magic!
Cries of awe arose from scores of throats and to a man the peons threwthemselves flat on their faces, hardly daring to look at the terrifyingspectacle.