CHAPTER XX.
A HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL.
"YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain. "It's easyto reconstruct the case. Durango was either concealed in the woods orelse hiding on board. More than likely he was stowed away somewhereon the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to havespotted him."
"But they didn't see him leave," objected Dacres.
"Quite true. Conversely they didn't see him come on board; but thatis a side issue. One thing is certain; he was aware of our presence.He must have been stalking us. Directly we left the cabin he creptin, knowing that there was a revolver and ammunition in his pocket.With these in his possession it would have been an easy matter forhim to shoot the pair of us, as we were quite in ignorance of hisbeing here; but fortunately, as far as we are concerned, I smashedthe revolver and threw the pieces over the side."
"With this possibility in your mind?"
Whittinghame shook his head.
"Don't credit me with too much, my friend. I saw the look on yourface when I deliberately destroyed a particularly neat little weapon.Had it been of the same calibre as ours I would have kept it. As itwasn't, I put it out of the way of others who might make use of itagainst our interests. Anyhow, Durango was foiled on that count. Hethen remembers that he had documents of importance in thosecoat-pockets, so he hurriedly turns them inside out. In the midst ofthe search he hears you coming along the alley-way, and being withouta weapon and afraid to tackle you on equal terms, makes a hurriedretreat. The door slams, and your suspicions are aroused."
"Perhaps he's still on board?" suggested Dacres.
"You heard him on deck."
"But there are other hatchways he could make use of besides goingover the side."
"There are; we'll investigate. I'll tell Callaghan to send up half adozen armed men, and then we'll search every nook and cranny."
The reinforcements were quick in responding to the call. First of allthe woods in the immediate vicinity of the after-part of the"Libertad" were searched; men were posted to prevent anyone leavingthe wreck without being seen, while the rest joined the two officersin exploring the still intact practical portion of the airship.
For an hour the search was kept up, but without result. Satisfied atlength that none of the original crew remained on board, Whittinghamegave orders for the whole of the documents to be removed.
This done the fore-part was examined. Under the wreckage were foundthe bodies of eight men, all terribly mangled, but sufficientlyrecognizable for the searchers to decide that Reno Durango was notamongst them.
The cunning rogue, instead of fighting his ship from the navigationroom for'ard, had delegated that duty to a subordinate, and had takenup his position in the after-part which, when the disaster occurred,had escaped the destruction meted out to the rest of the ill-fated"Libertad."
Upon returning to the crippled "Meteor" Whittinghame, assisted by Dr.Hambrough and Dacres, proceeded to examine the documents found inDurango's cabin. From the contents of the letters it was soon madeevident that the rascal had already entered into negotiations withseveral of the Great Powers for the disposal of the plans of theBritish submarines.
The original specifications and constructional drawings of theairship--those that had been appropriated by the Valderianauthorities when Gerald Whittinghame had been arrested--were foundintact.
"That's good," ejaculated Whittinghame. "It was more than I daredhope. I expected to find tracings of the original plans, but theserascals have evidently thought it unnecessary to make duplicates. Ifthey haven't--and judging by the state of these drawings I don'tthink they have--they will never be able to make another imitation ofthe 'Meteor.'"
"What do you propose to do with the wreck?" asked the doctor.
"We'll wait until the repairs to the 'Meteor' are complete and then,I think, we'll set fire to the trees around the 'Libertad.' I woulddo so earlier, but we must try, if possible, to prevent the alarmreaching Naocuanha."
"But surely Durango will make a dash for the capital?"
"I think not. The Valderians do not look favourably upon thoseleaders who have come to grief. He will, for a dead certainty, leaveZaypuru in the lurch, and try his luck elsewhere--unless we preventhim."
"And the submarine plans?" asked Dacres.
"I have not forgotten that point," replied Whittinghame; "since theyare not here nor in the wreck of the 'Libertad' it can be reasonablysurmised that Durango has them in his possession--unless he left themwith a trustworthy agent in Pernambuco. From the documents we foundon board we know that he had not got past the preliminarynegotiations. My immediate plans are as follows, gentlemen; if youhave any suggestions or objections to make I shall be pleased to hearthem:--
"In the first place we must make the 'Meteor' fit to resume herflight. Then, on the principle of striking while the iron's hot, wemust attempt the rescue of the British prisoners at Naocuanha.Whether we succeed or not we can then devote our attention to thecapture of Senor Reno Durango. Under the most favourable conditionsit will take him six weeks to reach the nearest railway station. Hehas to recross the Sierras and make a long journey across theVoyocama Desert. By that time we shall have either succeeded orfailed in our enterprise in Valderia. By making inquiries of any ofthe few Indians who exist in the Voyocama Desert we shall be able toget upon Durango's trail and run him to earth."
"Perfectly straightforward, sir," observed Setchell.
"Unless anything should go wrong," added Whittinghame guardedly."Now, having settled these points, suppose we make an examination ofour own craft?"
It did not require much inspection from the Captain to decide thatNo. 4 section was useless for further service. It had borne the bruntof the "Libertad's" fire. Only one ballonette retained its supply ofultra-hydrogen. The others, pierced through and through, resembledgigantic colanders, being completely riddled by the small calibreshell. Since the "Libertad's" magazine was situated in thecorresponding section her crew had come to the conclusion that thesame state of affairs existed in the "Meteor," and had hoped bydirecting most of their fire upon No. 4 section to destroy utterlytheir antagonist by exploding her ammunition-room.
In the other sections the damage was comparatively slight. Wherever aballonette was pierced the high velocity of the projectiles had madea clean circular hole. All that was required to be done--for theultra-hydrogen had already been exhausted from the intact ballonettesand stored in the high-pressure cylinders--was to patch the silkeninner envelopes, rivet aluminium plates on the outer plating and testeach gas compartment by forcing air into it. Should an escape stillexist the hissing of the compressed air would be a sure indication ofthe precise position of the leak.
Officers and men worked with desperate haste, yet without sacrificingefficiency. In order to guard against a surprise attack sentries wereposted at some distance from the stranded "Meteor," while several ofher quick-firing guns were unshipped and remounted in positionscommanding the approach from the Valderian capital.
Nevertheless, had Durango and his surviving comrades been men ofpluck and determination, they might have entirely prevented the workof repairing the "Meteor." Under cover of darkness it would have beena comparatively easy matter to fire the dry grass, and thedestruction of the British airship would have been a foregoneconclusion. But the Mexican was a man to run no great risk. As soonas he had secured certain property from his wrecked cabin he hadresolutely set out towards the Brazilian frontier.
Being a born gambler he realized that as far as Naocuanha andValderia were concerned his luck was out. He still had the means ofrecouping his losses, but he was too wily to tempt fate in thecountry that had already proved so disastrous to his projects.Whittinghame was perfectly correct in his surmise. The Mexican wasalready on his way to pastures which, if not new, could provideabundant sustenance for his cupidity and cunning.
The day passed without any signs of Valderian activity. The news ofthe disaster had not reached Naocuanha, and as the mountain pass wasan
unfrequented one there was little risk of detection from passingtravellers.
At daybreak on the following morning work was renewed. The condemnedsection, stripped of everything of value that had escaped the hail ofhostile shot, had been removed from the adjoining divisions. Most ofthe leaks had been stopped, and Whittinghame had good reasons forhoping that the air test could be applied that afternoon.
Just before noon one of the outposts signalled that three armed menwere approaching, but whether they were alone or merely the advanceguard of a force of Valderian troops he could not determine.
Whittinghame, Dacres and Setchell were quickly on the spot, where,sheltered behind a ridge of rocks, they could command the approach ofthe three strangers.
Bringing their glasses to bear the officers saw that the partyconsisted of an elderly man and two who might be anything betweeneighteen and twenty-five, even when taking into account the effect ofthe climate. Each had a rifle slung across his back and a shortnative knife, somewhat resembling the Mexican machete, in a sheath onthe right hip.
They had naturally seen the several separated portions of the"Meteor" as well as the after-part of the wreck of the "Libertad,"and had left the beaten track with the evident intention of making acloser inspection.
"Not much strategy shown there," observed Dacres. "They make noattempt to conceal themselves. Who and what are they, I wonder?"
"We'll soon find out," replied Whittinghame, and beckoning to six ofthe crew he ordered them to make a detour in order to cut off thestrangers' retreat.
Nearer and nearer came the three men, chatting unrestrainedly andgesticulating excitedly. Whittinghame, who spoke Spanish withtolerable fluency, strained his ears to catch the drift of theirconversation.
"Frenchmen, by Jove!" ejaculated Dacres.
"I think not," whispered his chief. "Now!"
Simultaneously the officers and several of the "Meteor's" crew sprangto their feet, while at the signal those in ambush stepped into thepath which the strangers had traversed.
In spite of the odds against them the three men were not wanting incourage, although deficient in strategy.
They stopped, unslung their rifles, and having given their opponentsample opportunity to shoot them down had the Englishmen felt soinclined, they flopped down on the rocky path and took what coverthey could behind the small boulders.
"_Amigos!_" shouted Whittinghame.
"_Si, senor_," replied the elder man, and without any hesitation hejumped up, spoke a few words to his companions, and then strodetowards the spot where Whittinghame stood.
"_Americanos?_" he asked interrogatively.
Whittinghame shook his head.
"_Inglese,_" he replied.
"_Bien,_" rejoined the stranger, removing his hat and making aprofound bow. "I am ver' pleased to speak with you, monsieur."
"You are a Frenchman, then?"
"Assuredly. I am called Antoine de la Fosse, I am an engineer ofelectricity. Gaston, Henri!" he shouted in his native tongue; "comehere and make the acquaintance of these English airmen."
De la Fosse required but little "pumping." He seemed bursting withanxiety to explain his presence to Whittinghame and the rest of theofficers.
He lived at Adiovonta, a small town about thirty miles fromNaocuanha and nearly forty from the scene of the combat between therival airships. He was on his way to San Carlos, where he had toinspect the electric-lighting apparatus of a newly openedcopper-mine. Accompanied by his two sons and twenty Indian porters hewas within ten miles of the mountain pass when he heard the dulldetonations of the "Libertad's" guns. At first he did not know whatto make of it, for he was in ignorance of the fact that hostilitieshad broken out between Great Britain and Valderia.
During his journey upon the succeeding day he made good use of a pairof binoculars, and at length spotted what appeared to be the wreckageof half a dozen airships. Leaving his men on the beaten track he setout with his two sons to investigate the scene of the disaster.
"So there is war between Great Britain and Valderia, eh? And the portof Zandovar is taken? Then I think I will not go to Naocuanha just _al'instant._"
"Were you bound for the capital, then?" asked Dacres.
"As soon as I finish the work at San Carlos. I have to see theinstallation of the electric light at several of the buildingspublic--the Cathedral and the Cavarale, for example, but I think itwill wait."
Whittinghame was too good a diplomat to come straight to the pointand ask for direct information concerning the Cavarale--the prisonwhere his brother and the British officers were confined. But thechance was too good to be thrown aside. He would put the questionindirectly at a more opportune moment.
"Come and have lunch with us," he said courteously. "We cannot,unfortunately, offer you of the wines of _la belle France_, but ourstores are by no means exhausted. After we have lunched we will showyou the airships, or rather ours and the remains of the Valderianone."
"The Valderian one?" replied de la Fosse incredulously. "I did notknow that Valderia possessed an airship. _Mais,_ perhaps it is wellnot to show too much interest in a country that is not ones own."
During the meal Whittinghame, who attended to his guests' wants withthe utmost politeness, related the salient facts of the disputebetween the two countries and the events leading up to the chase ofSenor Reno Durango.
"_Nom de Chien!_" ejaculated de la Fosse excitedly, bringing his handdown violently upon the edge of his plate, and sending the contentsinto his lap. "Reno Durango! Is it possible?"
"A friend of yours, monsieur?" asked Whittinghame.
"He is no friend to me," retorted the indignant Frenchman. "Iremember well his master, the pirate Karl von Harburg, who captured'La Touraine' and stole fifty thousand francs from me. Again, SenorDurango--_que le diable l'importe_--did his best to kill me atZandovar a little more than a year ago. _Peste!_ I have no love forSenor Durango. _Voyons_, let me rejoice over the debris of hisairship."
Accordingly Whittinghame, Dacres, and the doctor accompanied theFrenchman and his two sons to the scene of the disaster. De la Fosse,with a Frenchman's typical sagacity, took the greatest interest inall he saw, and asked innumerable questions, while his two sonsjoined vivaciously in the conversation.
Suddenly a sharp report, unlike that of a rifle, came from thedirection of the "Meteor." The three officers exchanged glances.
"Something gone this time!" exclaimed Whittinghame.
Something had gone. One of the ballonettes in No. 3 section had burstunder the pressure of the compressed air introduced for the purposeof testing its non-porosity. The explosion resulted in the partialwreckage of the wireless room. Until the damage could be made goodthe "Meteor" was practically cut off from intercourse with theoutside world. Before the days of wireless, isolation counted forlittle, but once having enlisted the aid of the Italian wizard,Marconi, the exigencies of civilization could ill bear being deprivedof this means of communication.
"Anyone hurt?" asked Whittinghame anxiously, as he and his companionsarrived on the scene of the accident.
"No one, sir," replied Callaghan saluting.
"That's a blessing," said the Captain fervently. "One man down is onetoo many; we don't want any more casualties to our small crew. Nowlet us see the extent of the damage to the wireless room."
"_Ciel!_ It is of little consequence to one who knows," replied de laFosse, after a brief yet comprehensive examination. "I know not howyou call this----"
"The magnetic detector, sir," volunteered Callaghan.
"Ah! the magnetic detector: it is out of--how you call it?--tune, _nec'est pas?_ The air-gap around the edge of this plate is destroyed.In two days the damage is made good."
"To anyone who understands the business," added Whittinghame.
"_Oui, monsieur._ Very well, then: I do you good turn. I will stop.Gaston will take my men to San Jose. Then in a few days I follow."
"It's awfully good of you, monsieur," said the Captain gratefully.
"_Pouf!_" ej
aculated the Frenchman, throwing out his hands in adeprecatory gesture. "It is nothing. I will help you set it right."
This latest accident, coming on top of the previous misfortunes tothe "Meteor," meant that the airship would not be ready to resume herflight for at least a week; and during a week history might be madein Valderia without Whittinghame and his companions being aware ofwhat was going on.
Dacres got on excellent terms with Antoine de la Fosse and his sonHenri, and before the end of the week he felt emboldened to tacklethe Frenchmen on the subject of the Cavarale Prison.
"You seem very anxious to know all about the prison, _mon ami,_"remarked the elder de la Fosse. "One would think that you would liketo pay it a visit."
"That I should," replied Dacres. "Not as a prisoner, monsieur, butjust to find my way about. You remember Mr. Whittinghame told you wewere making an attempt to rescue some English prisoners there."
"And I showed you the plan of the Cavarale," said de la Fosse. "Aplan like that to a man with ordinary intelligence is worth a hundredthousand books of direction."
"Quite true," assented Dacres. "But I have a strong desire to seewhat the prison is like. To put the matter bluntly, could you get mea pass to enter the Cavarale?"
The Frenchman did not reply for a few moments. "See you here," heexclaimed. "I would help you, for I like not the President Zaypuru.But it is too difficult. If they catch you, then you are shot as aspy, and I am arrested for assisting an Englishman to spy. Youunderstand?"
"I quite see your point, monsieur," said Dacres. "You would bebetraying the country which you have made your temporary home."
"You do not see the point, Monsieur Dacres," corrected the Frenchman."It is not a question of betray: it is revenge. I have no cause tolike the present government, for when Zaypuru made the insurrectionhis soldiers looted my house. I was then living close to Naocuanha.It is a long story and I will not now tell it you. But if I could Iwould help you."
He paused and puffed vigorously at his cigar. Dacres watched his faceeagerly. De la Fosse was pondering the question over in his mind.Dacres let him think undisturbed. He realized that he had stirred theFrenchman's passions. He was brooding under a heavy grievance. De laFosse, like many other Europeans, had good cause to hate PresidentZaypuru and all his works.
"I have a plan," exclaimed de la Fosse suddenly. "I tell you. SupposeI send Henri to inspect the Cavarale? It must be examined before Ican start work with the electric light installation."
"Well?"
"Then Henri must have an assistant, _bien entendu?_ Suppose you go asassistant to my son? I give your name on the pass as Monsieur----"
"As Monsieur le Plaisant," added Dacres, a thought flashing acrosshis mind.
"You, then, know a Monsieur le Plaisant?" asked the Frenchman.
"Yes, I believe I do," replied Dacres grimly, with a livelyrecollection of his prank on the midshipmen on H.M.S "Repulse."
"_Bien!_ Then I will inform Henri. Only, monsieur, if you aredetected you will be shot."
"That I quite understand," replied Dacres coolly.
"If you are detected," continued de la Fosse, "I know that you are anEnglish gentleman and will absolve Henri from blame."
"Of course," agreed Dacres. "I promise on my honour that if anythinggoes wrong--I don't think it will, by the by--I will make out that Ideliberately deceived your son. He, of course, must be told torepudiate me, should the Valderians spot me."
"You are a good impersonator, Monsieur Dacres?"
"Fairly," replied Dacres modestly. "I bluffed a flagship's officersonce, only----"
He pulled himself up. It was not desirable, on the eve of a similarepisode, to proclaim the failure of the former attempt.
"Very well," agreed de la Fosse. "I will put the name of Monsieur lePlaisant on the pass, and Henri will show you the road toNaocuanha."