CHAPTER XXVII.
WINNING THE PRIZE.--_Conclusion._
It was at four o'clock in the morning by the auto clock affixed to thechassis that Frank noticed the wind begin to drop. At the same time thestinging of the sand decreased perceptibly. The storm was waning.
He awakened Harry, who had fallen into a troubled doze, and gave him thecheering news. But even if the storm had blown itself out with thecoming of daylight there was not much else to cheer the boys' hearts,for as it grew lighter and the air cleared and they found themselvesable to make out what was beneath them, Harry uttered an exclamation ofdismay:
"Look there!" he shouted, pointing downward.
The aeroplane was traveling over a gray waste which Frank at oncerealized was the sea. The question was: Was it the open ocean or theGulf of California? It did not seem possible it could be the Pacific as,even at the terrific pace they had been carried along in the precedingtwelve hours, it seemed hardly possible that they could have been blownacross the long peninsula of Lower California.
On either hand, they could make out, as the light grew stronger, a thin,faint line of coast, and therefore Frank's surmise was proven correct.The boys decided to make for the land on their left, as Frank had heardthat the natives of the peninsula itself were little better thansavages, and not overpleased to see strangers. The land to the left onthe contrary must be Mexico, where they could probably find a railroador at least the means of transportation to one.
It was afternoon when they drew near to the coast. Not far inland theycould see among the barren hills, dotted here and there with cattle, asmall village. It was a mere huddle of roofs, but at least it meant foodand shelter, and the boys relied on being able to find a telegraphstation from which they could send out a message to relieve the anxietyof the friends they knew must be extremely concerned for their safety bythis time.
Suddenly as the outlines of the melancholy-looking hills grew plainerand plainer the engine, which had been working badly, gave symptoms ofstopping altogether.
The boys exchanged worried looks. Beneath them was an expanse of waterwithout a boat on its surface, and though both of them were strongswimmers, they could not dream of reaching the shore should theiraeroplane plunge downward.
It was a serious situation.
Harry tinkered with the engine, and it began to run a little better fora short time, but soon began to gasp and cough, as if in mortaldistress.
"What can be the matter with it?" puzzled Harry. "Everything, ignition,lubrication and all seems to be all right."
"I have it," suddenly cried Frank.
"What is it?"
"The gasolene is running out!"
Sure enough there was hardly more than a few spoonfuls of the fuel left.
"There's some alcohol in the locker. We had it for the stove. Let's trythat," suggested Harry.
The alcohol was dumped into the tank and gave them a little more fuel,but the shore still looked far away.
Lower and lower sagged the aeroplane under her decreased speed, till asthey reached the shore it seemed that she was hardly skimming the waves,but she bravely struggled on, and as the engine gave a final gasp andcame to an abrupt stop, the _Golden Eagle_ settled down on a sandybeach.
"Well, here we are," said Frank, "and none too soon."
"Now, let's go and see what sort of folks they are in that village,"said Harry. "I'm famished, and my mouth is as parched as a bit of driedorange peel."
"Same here," said Frank, as the boys set out for the interior which washidden from them by sand dunes, topped with a sort of sharp bladed grassthat cut like a knife.
The village they found to be a mere collection of shacks, with pigsroaming about its streets, and skinny cattle poking their noses into thehouse doors. They were received hospitably enough, however, and althoughthey could not talk Spanish, managed to make their wants understood,more especially when they showed some gold.
The wonder of the villagers knew no bounds when, after they hadrefreshed themselves, the boys showed them the aeroplane and pointed tothe sky. The Mexicans were too polite to say so, but it was clear thatthey thought the boys were fabricators, though how they imagined theyhad landed in their village was a matter of speculation.
That night they managed to secure a cart and, having packed the _GoldenEagle_, set out for the railroad, which the Mexicans assured them was"far, far away," as a matter of fact, it was not more than sixty miles,and the next day, late in the evening, two very dusty, very ragged, verytired boys got out of the plodding ox cart at Torres, a small town onthe Sonora Railroad, and almost frightened the native operator to deathby their vehement demands to file messages.
"To-morrow, to-morrow," he kept saying, but the talisman of a good, bigtip kept him at work.
In the meantime the auto had gone as far adrift in the sand storm as theboys, very nearly, and the state of mind of its occupants can beimagined when they found after the storm had cleared that they hadtraveled miles in the wrong direction and were near to Gila Bend on theSouthern Pacific Railway, with no more idea as to what had become oftheir young companions than they had of the direction in which theaeroplane had been blown.
Telegrams were sent out broadcast by Billy and Lathrop, but no news washad of the _Golden Eagle_. Lathrop suggested sending word east of theboys' plight, but Billy overruled this.
"They may turn up all right," he said, "and if they do, we shall havealarmed their parents for nothing."
The next day, however, while Frank and Harry were plodding across Mexicoin their ox cart, Billy became so anxious that he sent word to the_Planet_, asking them to notify him at once if word was heard of theboys, as he knew that they would wire the paper as soon as they landedanywhere. No word had been received by the paper, however, and it was agloomy party that sat on the porch of the little hotel at Gila Bend thatafternoon and evening. After a troubled sleep Billy emerged onto thestreet in the early morning and was met by a ragged station agent.
"Be your name Barnes?" he asked.
"That's me," said Billy, wondering what the man could want.
"Then I've got a message for yer. It come late last night, but I didn'twant to wake yer."
"And you've been holding it all this time?" indignantly demanded Billy,guessing at once that it was news.
"Wall, yer wanted yer sleep, didn't ye?" demanded the man.
Eagerly Billy tore the envelope open. It was from Mr. Stowe.
"Great news. Boys safe. Win the prize for longest flight. Dirigible smashed in storm near Parkerville, Arizona. McArthur and crew safe. Congratulations.
Stowe."
There is little more to tell. My readers can imagine for themselves thescene when two days later the boys met at Tucson. Over a merry meal they"fought their battles o'er again," and discussed every strange adventureof their record flight a dozen times. Their parents had been notified oftheir safety, and were to meet them in Los Angeles.
"Well, this trip certainly has panned out," said Frank, as the subjectof Bart Witherbee and his mine came up.
"And here we are, all together, safe and sound. At one time I thought wewere goners sure," remarked Harry.
"_One_ time!" exclaimed Billy with a laugh. "A dozen at least."
"I'd like to start out on another trip to-morrow," exclaimed Lathropenthusiastically.
"I'd make some new inventions for it," said Mr. Joyce.
"Here, too," cried Billy. "Do you think we will have any moreadventures?"
"Sure to," said Frank.
The boys did, and sooner than they expected to. As they were talkingthere came a rap at the door.
"Telegram from Captain Robert Hazzard for Mr. Chester," said a grinningbell boy.
"Captain Hazzard?" said Harry, puzzled.
"Oh, I remember now!" exclaimed Frank as he glanced over the message."It's that army officer who was chasing the Indians, and who spoke aboutthe
South Pole. I suppose he got our address from the papers."
"What does he say?" demanded Billy.
"Look here," cried Frank enthusiastically. "What do you think of that?"
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