CHAPTER XXIX
IN THE CAVE
Steadying themselves against the swaying motion of the anchoredairship, our friends crowded to the windows to look out. They beheld aterrifying and wonderful scene.
Almost the whole of the island was under water. Only the high middlepart, with its tower of rock, was out of the flood. Securely held bythe anchor ropes, the _Comet_, as light as a chip on the surface of thewaves, floated on the bosom of the flood. Her very lightness, due tothe fact that the gas bag was partly filled, and the strength of theanchor ropes, had saved her. Then, too, the fact that she rested onhydroplanes, or pontoons, was in her favor. These were a new feature ofthe airship, which had only recently been added.
“Say, it’s lucky you thought to let the hydroplanes down,” spoke Bob,as he looked out at the flood sweeping past them.
“If he hadn’t, we’d probably be wrecked by this time,” was Ned’sopinion. The hydroplanes, I might explain, were light hollow boxes,made water tight, and attached to the _Comet_ by long toggle-jointedarms. They could be raised or lowered at will, and allowed the_Comet_ to float on the surface of water. If you boys have ever seena water-spider, or bug, skimming along on the brook or lake, as youdoubtless have, you will get a good idea of how the hydroplanes workedby recalling to mind the insect.
“Well, what are we going to do?” asked Ned, as he looked at the floodsweeping past. On the surface of the water floated all manner ofdébris, including much driftwood, and even whole trees. “We can’t stayhere,” went on the lad, “for we may have a hole punched in us anyminute.”
Even as he spoke there was a grinding sound, and a log scraped alongthe side of the _Comet_.
“Yes, we’d better get out,” agreed Jerry.
“I’ll get breakfast right away,” said Bob briskly, “and then----”
“No, you don’t!” cried Ned. “No breakfast until we’re out of danger.Why, we might be wrecked, and then I’d like to know how we could everget out of this canyon,” and he looked up at the towering cliffs oneither hand--cliffs that no mortal could scale. On each side--allaround them--was the raging flood, in which no craft, save one aslight as an airship, could have lived for a moment.
“It all depends on the airship,” agreed Jerry. “We must get away whilewe can.”
The words were hardly out of his mouth before there came a crash, andthe craft trembled from end to end. There was a splintering noise, andJerry sprang toward the stern.
“What’s the matter?” asked Ned.
“We’ve been hit! One of the hydroplanes is smashed and a bicycle wheelcrushed! We’ve got to go up right away! Start the gas machine, Ned.Bob, you come in the pilot house with me, and help. Professor, you seethat the motors get plenty of oil; will you? We’ll need all the powerwe’ve got.”
Instantly the interior of the _Comet_ was a scene of activity. Theeffect of the damage was at once apparent, for the craft had settled onone side. But as soon as the gas began flowing into the bag she beganto lift, until she was once more on a level keel.
“All ready now?” called Jerry to Ned, in the motor room.
“All ready--let her go! But what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to land on the high ground near the tower of sandstone. Ican see a good level place there, and the water can never get as highas that. Besides, I want to make some repairs before we try to makethe mainland, and we can make ’em there. We’ll stay on top of the hilluntil the flood goes down. Give me full speed, Ned. Tell the Professorto use lots of oil.”
As Ned turned to convey the request to the scientist, Uriah Snodgrass,who had been looking from a side window out on the flood, uttered a cryof delight. The next instant he caught up a small fish net, attachedto a long handle, and thrust it out of the window, into the swirlingwater. Then he cried:
“I’ve got it! I’ve got it! Oh, you little beauty! I’ve got you almostat the last minute, when I least expected you. Oh, what a rare find!”
“What is it?” cried Ned.
“The two-tailed toad! I saw it floating down on a log, and I madea grab for it. I have it!” and holding out the net he displayed aqueer-looking object--a hideous toad, covered with “warts,” but havingtwo unmistakable tails.
“Ugh! What a creature!” cried Ned.
“A most valuable acquisition to science,” declared the professorproudly.
There came a shrill whistle through the tube leading to the pilothouse.
“What is it?” asked Ned.
“Aren’t you going to start?” Jerry wanted to know. “The river is stillrising, and more logs are coming down! Get a move on!”
“Aye, aye!” answered Ned, and he yanked over the electrical switch.Instantly the propellers whizzed around, and the _Comet_ strained atthe mooring ropes.
“Now’s the time!” cried Jerry to Bob, who had been provided with alight, keen hatchet, for the purpose of severing the lines. “Cut!”
The little axe came down as the _Comet_ lifted her dripping hydroplanesout of the water, and, freed from the holding cables, she soared aloft.Jerry directed her toward the big hill in the middle of the island,where there was room to land. Fortunately there was scarcely any windto sway the craft, though the rain came down in torrents.
Well aloft now, over the raging flood of the Colorado, the _Comet_was more like herself, and, with Jerry to guide her, there wascomparatively little danger.
“You’ve got to be careful how you let her down,” suggested Ned, when,having set the machinery to working automatically, he joined his tallchum in the pilot house. “You don’t want to smash that hydroplane andwheel any more than they are.”
“Sure not. We’ll be down in a few minutes, and then we can get right towork.”
“What about the radium?” asked Ned.
“Oh, we’ll look for that, too, as long as we’re in no immediate danger.I hope we find it. The Professor got what he wanted, and it’s up to usto make good, too.”
It was but a short distance from where the flood had floated the_Comet_ to the place where Jerry proposed to anchor, and, a littlewhile after arising, the airship came gently down. It required no smallskill to make a landing without further damaging the broken parts, butJerry managed it.
“Make fast the ship! All hands out at anchor work!”
The professor rather disliked to leave off making notes about thetwo-tailed toad that the flood had brought him, but he finally put thespecimen away, and joined the boys in the work of making their craftsecure.
They had landed on a small plateau, which was, in a manner, cut in theside of the hill. Back of it arose a steep cliff of sandstone, whilethe surface of the shelf was covered with trees, grass and bushes.
Ned, taking one rope, walked off to the left to fasten it to a bigstump that he thought would hold. As he came near it he glanced behinda bush, and, as he did so he uttered a cry:
“Fellows, look here!” he shouted. “Here’s a big cave leading right intothe hill!”
Through the rain, splashing over the soaked ground, came Bob andJerry, the professor following. They stood grouped about a hole in theslope--a hole large enough to permit a man to enter upright.
“Let’s go in and see what’s there,” proposed Bob.
“I guess it’s safe,” came from Jerry. “There are hardly likely to beany bears on this island.”
Together they advanced into the cavern. It was dark, but their eyessoon became somewhat accustomed to the gloom.
“It’s too big to explore without a light,” remarked the professor.“This may be a place for valuable relics. Let’s fasten the airship, andthen come back with electrical torches.”
They turned to go, but, as they did so there came a sound whichstartled all of them. It was the sound of a human voice and, in crackedtones, as if the speaker had not used his vocal cords for some time.
“Who are you? What do you want?” was demanded in hollow accents. Andthen there came a faint glimmer of light, and in the rays of it theybeheld a man--apparent
ly a very old man--with matted beard, tangledhair and hollow, sunken eyes, who stood staring at them from the depthsof the cave.