CHAPTER XI
ANDY'S NEW AIRSHIP
Tom Swift tossed a quarter to the messenger boy, and leaped over therail to the deck of his airship, making his way toward the pilothouse.
"Start the motor, Ned," he called. "Are you all ready, Mr. Damon?"
"Bless my ancient history, yes. But--"
"Are you going, Tom?" asked Ned.
"Of course. That's why we're here; isn't it? We're going to startfor the border to catch the smugglers. Give me full speed, I wantthe motor to warm up."
"But that message from Mr. Whitford? He says he has a new clew tothe Fogers."
"That's all right. He may have, but he doesn't ask us to work it up.He says he will meet us in Logansville, and he can't if we don't gothere. We're off for Logansville. Good-bye dad. I'll bring you backa souvenir, Mrs. Baggert," he called to the housekeeper. "Sorryyou're not coming, Rad, but I'll take you next time."
"Dat's all right, Massa Tom. I doan't laik dem smugger-fellers,nohow. Good-bye an' good luck!"
"Bless my grab bag!" gasped Mr. Damon. "You certainly do things,Tom."
"That's the only way to get things done," replied the younginventor. "How about you, Ned? Motor all right?"
"Sure."
"Then let her go!"
A moment later Ned had started the machinery, and Tom, in the pilothouse, had pulled the lever of the elevating rudder. Whizzing along,but making scarcely any sound, the noiseless airship mounted upward,and was off on her flight to capture the men who were cheating UncleSam.
"What are you going to do first, when you get there, Tom?" askedNed, as he joined his chum in the pilot house, having set the motorand other apparatus to working automatically. "I mean inLogansville?"
"I don't know. I'll have to wait and see how things develop."
"That's where Mr. Foger lives, you know."
"Yes, but I doubt if he is there now. He and Andy are probably stillin the old house here, though what they are doing is beyond me toguess."
"What do you suppose this new clew is that Mr. Whitford wired youabout?"
"Haven't any idea. If he wants us to get after it he'll let us know.It won't take us long to get there at this rate. But I think I'llslow down a bit, for the motor is warmed up now, and there's no useracking it to pieces. But we're moving nicely; aren't we, Ned?"
"I should say so. This is the best all-around airship you've got."
"It is since I put the new motor in. Well, I wonder what will happenwhen we get chasing around nights after the smugglers? It isn'tgoing to be easy work, I can tell you."
"I should say not. How you going to manage it?"
"Well, I haven't just decided. I'm going to have a talk with thecustoms men, and then I'll go out night after night and cruisearound at the most likely place where they'll rush goods across theborder. As soon as I see the outlines of an airship in the darkness,or hear the throb of her motor, I'll take after her, and--"
"Yes, and you can do it, too, Tom, for she can't hear you coming andyou can flash the big light on her and the smugglers will think theend of the world has come. Cracky! Its going to be great, Tom! I'mglad I came along. Maybe they'll fight, and fire at us! If they haveguns aboard, as they probably will have, we'll--"
"Bless my armor plate!" interrupted Mr. Damon. "Please don't talkabout such hair-raising things, Ned! Talk about something pleasant."
"All right," agreed Tom's chum, and then, as the airship sailedalong, high above the earth, they talked of many things.
"I think when we sight Logansville." said Tom, after a while, "thatI will come down in some quiet spot, before we reach the city."
"Don't you want to get into a crowd?" asked Ned.
"No, it isn't that. But Mr. Foger lives there you know, and, thoughhe may not be at home, there are probably some men who areinterested in the thing he is working at."
"You mean smuggling?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that. At the same time it may have leaked outthat we are after the smugglers in an airship and it may be that Mr.Whitford doesn't want the Fogers to know I'm on the ground until hehas a chance to work up his clew. So I'll just go slowly, and remainin the background for a while."
"Well, maybe it's a good plan," agreed Ned.[Original text says "Tom". (note of etext transcriber.)]
"Of course," began Tom, "it would be--"
He was interrupted by a shout from Koku, who had gone to the motorroom, for the giant was as fascinated over machinery as a child. Ashe yelled there came a grinding, pounding noise, and the big shipseemed to waver, to quiver in the void, and to settle toward theearth.
"Something's happened!" cried Ned, as he sprang for the place wheremost of the mechanism was housed.
"Bless my toy balloon!" shouted Mr. Damon. "We're falling, Tom!"
It needed but a glance at the needle of the barograph, to show this.Tom followed Ned at top speed, but ere either of them reached theengine room the pounding and grinding noises ceased, the airshipbegan to mount upward again, and it seemed that the danger hadpassed.
"What can have happened?" gasped Tom.
"Come on, we'll soon see," said Ned, and they rushed on, followed byMr. Damon, who was blessing things in a whisper.
The chums saw a moment later--saw a strange sight--for there wasKoku, the giant, kneeling down on the floor of the motor room, withhis big hands clasped over one of the braces of the bed-plate of thegreat air pump, which cooled the cylinders of the motor. The pumphad torn partly away from its fastenings. Kneeling there, pressingdown on the bed-plate with all his might, Koku was in grave danger,for the rod of the pump, plunging up and down, was within a fractionof an inch of his head, and, had he moved, the big taper pin, whichheld the plunger to the axle, would have struck his temple andprobably would have killed him, for the pin, which held the plungerrigid, projected several inches from the smooth side of the rod.
"Koku, what is the matter? Why are you there?" cried Tom, for hecould see nothing wrong with the machinery now. The airship wassailing on as before.
"Bolt break," explained the giant briefly, for he had learned someengineering terms since he had been with Tom. "Bolt that hold pumpfast to floor crack off. Pump him begin to jump up. Make bad noise.Koku hold him down, but pretty hard work. Better put in new bolt,Mr. Tom."
They could see the strain that was put upon the giant in hisswelling veins and the muscles of his hands and arms, for they stoodout knotted, and in bunches. With all his great strength it was allKoku could do to hold the pump from tearing completely loose.
"Quick, Ned!" cried Tom. "Shut off all the power! Stop the pump!I've got to bolt it fast. Start the gas machine, Mr. Damon. You knowhow to do it. It works independent of the motor. You can let go in aminute, Koku!"
It took but a few seconds to do all this. Ned stopped the mainmotor, which had the effect of causing the propellers to ceaserevolving. Then the airship would have gone down but for the factthat she was now a balloon, Mr. Damon having started the generatingmachine which sent the powerful lifting gas into the big bag overhead.
"Now you can let go, Koku," said Tom, for with the stooping of themotor the air pump ceased plunging, and there was no danger of ittearing loose.
"Bless my court plaster!" cried Mr. Damon. "What happened, Tom?"
As the giant arose from his kneeling position the cause of theaccident could easily be seen. Two of the big bolts that held downone end of the pump bed-plate to the floor of the airship, hadcracked off, probably through some defect, or because of the longand constant vibration on them.
This caused a great strain on the two forward bolts, and the pumpstarted to tear itself loose. Had it done so there would have beena serious accident, for there would have been a tangle in themachinery that might never have been repairable. But Koku, who, itseems, had been watching the pump, saw the accident as soon as itoccurred. He knew that the pump must be held down, and kept rigid,and he took the only way open to him to accomplish this.
He pressed his big hands down over the place where th
e bolts hadbroken off, and by main strength of muscle he held the bed-plate inplace until the power was shut off.
"Koku, my boy, you did a great thing!" cried Tom, when he realizedwhat had happened. "You saved all our lives, and the airship aswell."
"Koku glad," was the simple reply of the giant.
"But, bless my witch hazel!" cried Mr. Damon. "There's blood on yourhands, Koku!"
They looked at the giant's palms. They were raw and bleeding.
"How did it happen?" asked Ned.
"Where belts break off, iron rough-like," explained Koku.
"Rough! I should say it was!" cried Tom. "Why, he just pressed withall his might on the jagged end of the belts. Koku you're a hero!"
"Hero same as giant?" asked Koku, curiously.
"No, it's a heap sight better," spoke Tom, and there was a trace oftears in his eyes.
"Bless my vaseline!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, blowing his nose harderthan seemed necessary. "Come over here, Koku, and I'll bandage upyour hands. Poor fellow, it must hurt a lot!"
"Oh, not so bad," was the simple reply.
While Mr. Damon gave first aid to the injured, Tom and Ned put newbolts in place of the broken ones on the bed-plate, and they testedthem to see that they were perfect. New ones were also substitutedfor the two that had been strained, and in the course of an hour therepairs were made.
"Now we can run as an aeroplane again," said Tom. "But I'm not goingto try such speed again. It was the vibration that did it I guess."
They were now over a wild and desolate stretch of country, for theregion lying on either side of the imaginary line dividing Canada andNew York State, at the point where the St. Lawrence flows north-east,is sparsely settled.
There were stretches of forest that seemed never to have beenpenetrated, and here and there patches of stunted growth, withlittle lakes dotted through the wilderness. There were hills andvalleys, small streams and an occasional village.
"Just the place for smuggling," observed Tom, as he looked at a map,consulted a clock and figured out that they must be nearLogansville. "We can go down here in one of these hollows,surrounded by this tangled forest, and no one would ever know wewere here. The smugglers could do the same."
"Are you going to try it?" asked Ned.
"I think I will. We'll go up to quite a height now, and I'll see ifI can pick out Logansville. That isn't much of a place I guess. WhenI sight it I'll select a good place to lay hidden for a day or two,until Mr. Whitford has had a chance to work up his clew."
The airship machinery was now working well again, and Tom sent hiscraft up about three miles. From there, taking observations througha powerful telescope, he was able, after a little while, to pick outa small town. From its location and general outline he knew it to beLogansville.
"We'll go down about three miles from it," he said to his chum."They won't be likely to see us then, and we'll stay concealed for awhile."
This plan was put into operation, and, a little later the Falconcame to rest in a little grassy clearing, located in among a numberof densely wooded hills. It was an ideal place to camp, though verylonesome.
"Now, Ned, let's cut a lot of branches, and pile them over theairship," suggested Tom.
"Cover over the airship? What for?"
"So that in case anyone flies over our heads they won't look downand see us. If the Fogers, or any of the smugglers, should happen topass over this place, they'd spot us in a minute. We've got to playfoxy on this hunt."
"That's so," agreed his chum; and soon the three of them were busymaking the airship look like a tangled mass of underbrush. Kokuhelped by dragging big branches along under his arm, but he couldnot use his hands very well.
They remained in the little grassy glade three days, thoroughlyenjoying their camp and the rest. Tom and Ned went fishing in anearby lake and had some good luck. They also caught trout in asmall stream and broiled the speckled beauties with bacon insidethem over live coals at a campfire.
"My! But that's good!" mumbled Ned, with his mouth full of hottrout, and bread and butter.
"Yes, I'd rather do this than chase smugglers," said Tom, stretchingout on his back with his face to the sky. "I wish--"
But he did not finish the sentence. Suddenly from the air above themcame a curious whirring, throbbing noise. Tom sat up with a jump! Heand Ned gazed toward the zenith. The noise increased and, a momentlater, there came into view a big airship, sailing right over theirheads.
"Look at that!" cried Tom.
"Hush! They'll hear you," cautioned Ned.
"Nonsense! They're too high up," was Tom's reply. "Mr. Damon, bringme the big binoculars, please!" he called.
"Bless my spectacles, what's up?" asked the odd gentleman as he ranwith the glasses toward Tom.
Our hero focused them on the airship that was swiftly sailing acrossthe open space in the wilderness but so high up that there was nodanger of our friends being recognized. Then the young inventoruttered a cry of astonishment.
"It's Andy Foger!" he cried. "He's in that airship, and he's got twomen with him. Andy Foger, and it's a new biplane. Say, maybe that'sthe new clew Mr. Whitford wired me about. We must get ready foraction! Andy in a new airship means business, and from the whitenessof the canvas planes, I should say that craft was on its firsttrip."