Produced by Roger Frank and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
FRANK WAS LIFTED BY MAIN FORCE AND PLACED IN IT.--_Page228._]
THE BOY AVIATORS' FLIGHT FOR A FORTUNE
BY CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON
AUTHOR OF "THE BOY AVIATORS," "DREADNOUGHT BOYS," ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED BY_ _CHARLES L. WRENN_
NEW YORK HURST & COMPANY PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1912, BY HURST & COMPANY
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE I. On Brig Island 5 II. The Wireless 22 III. A Night Alarm 36 IV. Cut Adrift 45 V. Adventures on the Hulk 56 VI. Harry Meets an Old Friend 66 VII. A Puzzling Problem 80 VIII. The Derelict Destroyer 89 IX. The Flight of the "Sea Eagle" 97 X. "C. Q. D.!" 112 XI. "Good Luck!" 121 XII. Through the Night 129 XIII. A Twentieth-Century Rescue 137 XIV. Ben's Plan Stolen 148 XV. What Happened Ashore 158 XVI. Off on the "Air Route" 170 XVII. An Aerial Ambulance 180 XVIII. An Errand of Mercy 189 XIX. Plumbo Found Wanting 199 XX. Frank's Battle 209 XXI. A Rascally Trick 219 XXII. Reunited! 230 XXIII. Off Once More 237 XXIV. A Struggle for Life 246 XXV. A Race to Cloudland 253 XXVI. The Boy Aviators' Pluck 264 XXVII. Captured by Aeroplane 275
THE BOY AVIATORS' FLIGHT FOR A FORTUNE
CHAPTER I.--ON BRIG ISLAND.
The sharp bow of Zenas Daniels' green and red dory grazed the yellowbeach on the west shore of Brig Island, a wooded patch of land lyingabout a mile off the Maine Shore in the vicinity of Casco Bay. His sonZeb, a lumbering, uncouth-looking lad of about eighteen, with apronounced squint, leaped from the craft as it was beached, and seizedhold of the frayed painter preparatory to dragging her farther up thebeach.
In the meantime Zenas himself, brown and hatchetlike of face, and leanof figure--with a tuft of gray whisker on his sharp chin, like anold-fashioned knocker on a mahogany door--gathered up a pile of lobsterpots from the stern of the dory and shouldered them. A few lay loose,and those he flung out on the beach.
These last Zeb gathered up, and as his father stepped out of the dorythe pair began trudging up the steeply sloping beach, toward the woodswhich rimmed the islet almost to the water's edge. All this, seemingly,in defiance of a staring sign which faced them, for on it was printed inletters visible quite a distance off:
PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSING!
Instead, however, of checking the fisherman, it caused old Zenas tobreak into a harsh laugh as his deep-set, wrinkle-surrounded eyes dweltfor an instant on the inscription. His jaw seemed to set with a snap,and his thin lips formed a narrow, hairlike line as a second later hesaw something else. This was a stout wire fence, clearly of recentconstruction, which extended along the edge of the woods. Apparently itmust have encircled the island, for it ran as far as eye could see ineither direction.
"Waal, I'll be dummed-gosh dummed!" snorted Zenas, his thin nostrilsdilating angrily.
"Put up a fence now, have they?" he continued. "Waal, if thet ain't therbeatingest! A passel of city kids ter come hyar and think they kin runthings in Casco Bay!"
"I reckon thet fence ain't goin' ter hinder us powerful much, dad."
"Waal, I swan _not_. Come on, Zeb, look lively with them pots; we've gotter git across ther island an' back ez slippy ez we kin."
But as father and son resumed their journey, the thick brush suddenlyparted and down a narrow path a boyish figure came suddenly into view.The newcomer was a tall, muscular youth, with a face tanned to a healthybrown by constant outdoor life. His clean-cut figure and frank, opencountenance formed a striking contrast to Zenas' crabbed features andthe shifty look of his son.
"Where do you intend going?" demanded the boy, as he halted a few paceson the opposite side of the fence.
"You know waal enough, Frank Chester, or whatever yer name is," growledout Zenas, "we're goin' across ther Island ter stow our lobster pots,just as we've bin a-doin' fer years."
"I'm very sorry. I don't want to seem unfair, but, as I explained to youthe other day, this island is now private property. It was rented fromMr. Dunning of Portland on the express condition that we were not to beinterfered with."
"Land o' Goshen! So ye think yer kin come hyar an' run things ter suityerselves, do yer?"
"We rented the island for that purpose. As I said before, we are allvery sorry if it interferes with your convenience; but there's WoodyIsland half a mile below, and closer in to Motthaven, too, why won'tthat suit you as well?"
"'Cos it won't. Thet's why. Brig Island's bin here a sight longer thanyou er I, and it's goin' ter stay hyar arter we're gone, too."
"I don't quite see what that has to do with it."
"Waal, I do. We ain't used ter bein' dictated to by a passel of kids.I've bin usin' this island fer ten years or more. It suits me firstrate, and I propose ter go on using it, and ther ain't no kids kin stopme," spoke Zenas stubbornly.
"Well, we shan't keep you from it for more than a few weeks at most--atleast I hope so," rejoined Frank, with perfect good nature, "after that,although we have leased it for a year, we shall be glad to have you useit in any way you like."
"I want ter use it right now, I tell yer."
"Well, you can't!"
Frank's control of himself was beginning to ooze away in the face ofsuch mule-like obstinacy.
"Kain't, eh? We'll see. You're alone on the island ter-day, I seen therother kids go ashore this mornin'. Come on, Zeb, climb over thet fence."
"Thet's right, dad," applauded Zeb, "ef he gives yer any sass jes' hithim a clip in ther jaw. Reckon that 'ull stop him fer a while."
As his son spoke Zenas made as if to lay his hand on the top wire of thefence preparatory to scaling it. Frank Chester stepped hastily forward.
"Don't try to climb that fence!" he warned. His tone was so earnestthat, involuntarily, Zenas checked himself.
"Why not?" he demanded.
"Because if you do you are going to get hurt. I give you fair warning."
"Shucks! ez if a kid could bother me. Come on, Zeb."
As he called to his son, Zenas clapped his hand on the top wire. Zeb,with a contemptuous grimace at Frank, did the same.
"We'll show yer----" Zeb was beginning, when a singular thing happened.
"OUCH! WHAT IN THE NAME OF TIME HIT US!"]
Zenas, with a yell, sprang into the air and, tripping as he came down,alighted in a sprawling heap among the freshly-tarred lobster pots. Hisgray goatee wagged savagely as he la
y there impotently clenching hisfists, alternating this performance by vigorously rubbing his elbows. Inthe meantime his son, giving vent to a no less piercing cry, hadexecuted a backward bound from the fence with as much velocity as if hehad been a rubber ball.
"Ouch! What in ther name of time hit us!" he demanded.
"Dear land o' Goshen! What was thet?" shouted his parent.
Frank had some difficulty in steadying his voice to reply. The sight ofthe two lately militant figures sprawling there on the beach was toomuch for his gravity.
"_That_," he managed to gasp out at length, "that was a _mild_ currentof electricity running through those wires. You recollect I warned younot to touch them."
"You--you--you young villain!" roared Zenas, springing to his feet withgreat agility for one of his years, "I'll have ther law on yer!"
"Consarn you, yes!" echoed Zeb, "assault and battery!"
"No, not batteries--a dynamo," Frank could not resist saying. "If youthink of going to law over it," he added, more seriously, "pleaserecollect that I warned you not to touch those wires. Furthermore, youwere defiantly trespassing on private property, although you could seethat sign from quite a distance out on the water."
The elder Daniels' face was a study at this. But his son continued tobellow angrily.
"You may hev injured dad and me fer life!" he shouted.
"Oh, no; on the contrary, a mild shock of electricity is a fine thingfor the system. But," and Frank smiled, "don't take an overdose."
"Oh, y'er laughin' at us, are yer? Waal, maybe ther laugh 'ull be on theother side of yer face nex' time we meet."
All this time the elder Daniels had remained silent, gathering up hisscattered lobster pots. Evidently he did not meditate a second assaulton the fence. Now he turned the overboiling vials of his wrath on hisson.
"Pick up them pots, consarn ye!" he rumbled throatily, "and git out 'erthis."
Zeb obeyed, and then, with what dignity they could muster, the twoshuffled back down the beach to their dory. Then they shoved off andbegan pulling for Woody Island. Frank Chester watched them in silence.But they did not look his way once during the swift row. When theylanded on the distant islet, he saw Zeb turn and shake his fist in thedirection of Brig Island with vicious emphasis. The elder fisherman,however, simply strode off along the beach of the adjacent islandwithout turning.
"Well, the fence certainly served its purpose," said Frank to himself,as he turned away; "it proved as effectual as it did that night we usedthe same sort of contrivance to put to rout the rascals who wanted towreck the old Golden Eagle. Sorry I had to give those fellows such asevere lesson, though. They liked us little enough before. They'll havestill less use for us now."
He was about to retrace his steps up the path when his attention wasarrested by a sudden sound--the sharp "put-put-put!" of a motor boat.
"I'll bet that's Harry, Billy and Pudge coming now!" he exclaimed. "I'llgo round to the hulk and meet them."
So saying, he started off along the beach. In a few seconds he rounded awooded promontory and passed out of sight. Right here, perhaps, is agood place to give those readers who have not already formed theiracquaintance, some further idea of who Frank Chester and his companionsare, and how the quartet came to be on Brig Island, off the coast ofMaine, in the island-dotted Casco Bay region.
The first volume of this series related the adventures of Frank andHarry Chester, two bright, inventive New York lads of seventeen andsixteen, in the turbulent Central American Republic of Nicaragua. Inthis book was set down the part that their aeroplane, _The GoldenEagle_, played in the drama of revolution, and followed also thetempestuous career of their chum Billy Barnes, a young reporter whomthey met in the tropics. Mr. Chester, a New York man of affairs, owned aplantation in Nicaragua, and the boys and their aeroplane were the meansof saving this from the depredations of the revolutionaries. But in anelectric storm in which she was driven out to sea the _Golden Eagle_ waslost. By means of the wireless apparatus with which she was equipped,the lads, however, managed to communicate with a steamer which pickedthem up and saved their lives.
In The Boy Aviators on Secret Service, the second volume of the BoyAviators' series, we find them in the mysterious region of theEverglades. Once again they demonstrated--this time for Uncle Sam--thealmost limitless possibilities of the two greatest inventions of moderntimes--the aeroplane and wireless telegraphy. In this book we related howthe secret explosive factory was located and put out of commission, andwhat dangers and difficulties surrounded the boys during the process.
Not long after this a strange combination of circumstances resulted inthe boys taking a voyage to Africa. In The Boy Aviators In Africa youmay read how they discovered the ivory hoard in the Moon Mountains, andhow the Arab slave trader, who had cause to fear them, made all sorts oftrouble for them. The first aeroplane to soar above the tracklessforests of the Dark Continent conveyed them safely out of theirdilemmas, and indirectly was the cause of their being able to voyageback to America on a fine yacht.
The boys had figured on resting up after this, but the love of adventurethat stirred in their blood, as well as their warm friendship for BillyBarnes, prompted them to take part in a cross-continent flight againstgreat odds. The story of the contest, The Boy Aviators in Record Flight,related stirring incidents from coast to coast. Readers of that volumewill readily summon to mind the ruse by which the lads escaped thecowboys and baffled some renegade Indians and, finally, their fearfulbattle in midair with the sand storm.
The story of an old Spanish galleon enthralled in the deadly grip of theSargasso Sea furnished the inspiration for the tale of the Boy Aviators'Treasure Quest. But they were not alone on their hunt for the long-losttreasure trove. Luther Barr, a bad old man who had caused them muchtrouble before, fitted out a rival expedition. High above the vast oceanof Sargasso weed the boys had to fight for their lives with a crew ofdesperate men in a powerful dirigible craft. How they won out, andthrough what other adventures they passed--including the surprising oneof the "rat ship,"--you must read the volume to discover, as we have notspace to detail all that befell them on that voyage.
Then came what was, in many respects, their queerest voyage of all--theflight above the Antarctic fields of eternal ice, in search of the goalof discoverers of half a dozen nationalities, the South Pole. The BoyAviators' Polar Dash was a volume full of swift action and enterprise.Many hardships were endured and dangers faced, but the boys did notflinch when duty required their best of them. They emerged from thefrozen regions having achieved a signal triumph, but one which would nothave been possible of accomplishment without their aeroplane.
Having thus briefly sketched the previous careers of the Boy Aviators,we shall give a short account of how they came to be on Brig Island, andthen press on with our story. About a month before the present storyopens then, a scientific friend of Mr. Chester's, Dr. Maxim Perkins, hadcalled on the Boy Aviators' father and requested the aid of the youngaerial inventors in some problems that were bothering him. Dr. Perkinswas already an aviator of some note, but his achievements had not foundtheir way into the newspapers as, like most scientific men, he did notcare for publicity in connection with his experiments.
In common with the rest of the civilized world Dr. Perkins--horrified ata mid-ocean tragedy in which hundreds of lives were sacrificed--had sethis wits to work to devise some means of life saving--in addition to theregular boat equipment--which might be easily carried by ocean liners. Hewas convinced that it would be feasible for vessels of that descriptionto carry an auxiliary fleet of what he termed"dirigible-hydro-aeroplanes." By this rather clumsy name he meant acombination of the hydroplane, dirigible and aeroplane. But although hisideas on the subject were clear enough in theory, he was rather hazyabout the practical side of the matter, and this was the object of hiscall on Mr. Chester--to ask the aid of the Boy Aviators in carrying outhis experiments.
To make a long story short, arrangements were finally completed by whichthe doctor had leas
ed Brig Island, and had set up on it such sheds andappliances as would be needed by the boys in their work. These includeda wireless, by means of which communication with the mainland might bekept up--via Portland--and also a unique piece of apparatus (if such itcould be called) of which we shall learn in the next chapter.
The boys had now spent two busy weeks on the island, and the work thatthey had mapped out for themselves was so nearly completed that they hadfelt justified that morning in wirelessing Dr. Perkins to come and seehow things were going on. As we have seen, their stay on the island hadnot been altogether tranquil. The spot had been used for years by thefishermen as a sort of stowage place for their apparatus, and also,sometimes, as a summer residence. With the coming of the boys and theirnecessarily private work, all this had been changed, and the resentmentof the fishermen had been bitter. Of all the complainers, Zenas and hisson were the most aggressive, however, and had openly threatened todrive the boys off the island.
To avoid being taken by surprise the lads had rigged up the electricfence, which device, as readers of The Boy Aviators on Secret Servicewill recall, had been used by them before with success to repelunwelcome visitors.
Let us now rejoin Frank Chester as he goes to meet the approaching motorboat on which his brother Harry, Billy Barnes and Pudge Perkins, thedoctor's son, had visited the mainland for provisions and mail thatmorning.