THE LOWER PART OF THE FLYING MERMAID SCRAPED THE WHALE’S BACK.
THE LOWER PART OF THE FLYING MERMAID SCRAPED THE WHALE’S BACK.
It was only in the nick of time, for a second later and the big mammal of the ocean would have struck the ship and split it from stem to stern.
Higher and higher into the air mounted theFlying Mermaid, while in the water below, the whale, incensed by missing his prey, was lashing the waves to foam.
“Well, that was a narrow squeak; as close as I ever care to come to it!” exclaimed Andy as he let go of the steel rail to which he was clinging and entered the conning tower. “I had no idea of hitting the big fish.”
“I guess he would have taken after us whether you had fired at him or not,” said Mr. Henderson. “He was probably looking for trouble, and took the first thing that came in his way, which happened to be us. Some whales are like that, so I have read; big bull creatures, exiled from the school to which they once belonged, they get like mad creatures and know neither friend nor foe. Something like rogue elephants, I imagine.”
Now, having thus unexpectedly risen into the air, the professor decided to continue travel in that style for a while at least. It would require less force to propel the ship, and the going would be more comfortable, since in the upper regions theMermaidrode on an even keel, while in the water there was more or less rolling, due to the action of the waves.
Once recovered from their fright caused by the whale, and having lost sight of the enormous creature, for they were now far above the ocean, the adventurers began to think of something to eat.
Washington lost little time in preparing a meal, and it was eaten with a relish. The electric cooking stove worked to perfection, for the colored man had learned how to use that aboard thePorpoiseandMonarch, and could be depended on to turn out appetizing dishes.
“What do you say to traveling through the air at night?” asked Mr. Henderson, as he arose from the table.
“Suits me,” replied Mark. “There’s less danger than in the water, I think.”
Bill, Tom and Washington arranged to stand the night watch, and, when the professor had examined the engines and given orders about keeping the ship on her course through the air, he retired to his bunk. Jack and Mark soon followed.
It must have been about midnight when Mark was awakened by a movement that seemed to come from the storeroom next to where his sleeping place was located. At first he thought he had been dreaming, but, as he found he was wide awake, he knew it was no imagination that had affected him.
“I certainly heard something,” he said to himself. “It sounded just as it did the other night. I wonder if I ought to investigate.”
He thought over the matter carefully as he sat upright in his bunk in the darkness. True the noise might be a natural one, due to the vibration of the engine, or to some echo from the machinery. As Mark listened he heard it again.
This time he realized it was the slow movement of some heavy body. He felt a cold shiver run over him and his hair evinced an uncomfortable tendency to stand upright. But he conquered his feelings and resolved to keep cool and see if he could discover what had awakened him.
He got up and moved softly about the little room that contained his bunk. He could hear better now, and knew it was no echo or vibration that had come to his ears.
Once again he heard the strange sound. It was exactly the same as before; as if some big creature was pulling itself over the floor.
“Maybe it’s a snake; a water snake!” thought Mark. “It may have crawled aboard when we did not notice it.”
Then he remembered that the ship had not been open in any way that would enable a serpent to come on it, since it had been started on its ocean trip. Before that, he was sure no snake had entered theFlying Mermaid. Still it sounded more like a snake than anything else.
“I’m going to make a search,” decided the boy.
He took a small portable electric light, run by a storage battery, and, slipping on a pair of shoes and a bath robe, he left his stateroom.
He had decided that the noise came from the storage compartment and so made for that. The door he knew was not locked, since he had seen Mr. Henderson go in late that afternoon, and the professor had used no key.
Moving softly, Mark left his room and soon found himself in a corridor, on either side of which were located the sleeping quarters of the others. He did not want to awaken them, and, perhaps, be laughed at for his curiosity.
To get to the storeroom Mark had to go first from the corridor into the dining room. He soon reached the door that guarded what he thought might be a strange secret. Trying the knob softly he found it giving under his fingers.
“I wonder if I had better go in,” he thought. “Perhaps, after all, it was only rats, as Jack said.”
But, even as he listened he again heard the odd sound coming from the room. This determined him. He would solve the mystery if possible.
Cautiously he turned the knob. The door was slowly swinging open when Mark was startled by a noise from behind him. He turned suddenly to see Professor Henderson confronting him.
“What is it, Mark? Is the ship on fire? What’s the matter? Is any one hurt?”
“I was just going in this room to——” began Mark.
“Don’t do it! Don’t do it!” exclaimed the professor in an excited whisper. “No one must go in that room. I forgot to tell you and Jack about it. No one must enter. It contains a secret!”
“I heard a strange noise and——” Mark began again.
“It could make no noise! It would be impossible for it to make a noise!” the professor exclaimed.
“I heard something,” the boy insisted.
“You were dreaming!” said the professor. “Now go back to bed, Mark, and don’t let this happen again. Remember, no one must enter that room unless I give permission!”
Somewhat crestfallen at the outcome of his investigations, but realizing that the professor could do what he wanted to aboard his own ship, Mark went back to bed. But he could not sleep. All the rest of the night he was wondering whether Mr. Henderson had some strange creature hidden aboard theMermaid. He feared lest the old scientist’s mind might be affected and, in his wildness he had made some infernal machine that would, in time, blow the whole ship apart.
But tired nature asserted itself at last, and, weary with vain imaginings, Mark fell into a slumber. The next morning he awoke with a start from a dream that he was being devoured by an immense water snake.
He said nothing to the others about his night’s adventure, for, as it transpired, no one else had been awakened by his investigations. The professor did not refer to his conversation with Mark.
“There’s something queer going on aboard the ship this trip,” said Mark to himself. “But I guess it’s none of my business. Professor Henderson seems to know what he is doing and I guess I can trust him.”
He resolved to think no more of the strange noises and movements, and, for several nights thereafter he was not disturbed by them.
The weather, which, up to this time had been fair, took a sudden turn for the worse about the fourth day after Mark’s little night expedition. One evening the sun sank in a mass of dull lead-colored clouds and a sharp wind sprang up.
“We’re going to have a storm,” said Mr. Henderson. “It’s liable to be a bad one, too, from the way the barometer is falling.”
He looked at the glass, and scanned the various instruments that told how high up theMermaidwas and how fast she was traveling.
“We’re pretty high up in the air,” he said, “and scooting along at about fifty miles an hour. We are going against the wind, too, but fortunately it is not blowing hard.”
At that moment there sounded from without a peculiar howling sound, as if a siren whistle was being blown.
“'Pears like there’s goin’ t’ be a tumultuous demonstration of sub-maxiliary contortions in th’ empherial regions contiguous t’ th’ upper atmosphere!” exclaimed Washington, entering from the engine room into the conning tower.
“What’s the trouble?” asked Mr. Henderson.
“Terrible big black cloud chasin’ us from behind!” exclaimed the colored man.
Noting the alarm in Washington’s voice the professor glanced from the rear window. What he saw caused him to exclaim:
“It’s a cyclone! We must drop down to avoid it!”
He sprang to a lever controlling the gas and yanked it toward him. There was a shrill hissing sound, and a second later theMermaidbegan to sink. The boys watching the gages on the wall of the tower, saw that the craft was falling rapidly.
But, with a rush and roar, the terrible wind was upon them. It caught the craft in its fearful grip and heeled it over as a ship careens to the ocean blast.
“It’s a storm in the upper regions! We’ll find it calm below!” cried the professor above the howling of the gale. He opened the gas outlet wider and the ship fell more rapidly.
“Are you sure we’re over the ocean?” asked Mark.
“Positive!” the professor called back. “We have been traveling straight south over the Atlantic for the last week. We will land in the midst of the waters and float safely.”
Lower and lower went theMermaid. The wind was now blowing with the force of a tornado, and, as the craft had to slant in order to descend, it felt the power of the gale more than if it had scudded before it. But, by skilful use of the directing tube, the professor was able to keep the boat from turning over. As they came further down toward the earth the force of the wind was felt less and less, until, as they came within two hundred feet of the water which they saw below them in the gathering dusk, it died out altogether.
“Now we are free from it,” said the professor as theMermaidcame down on the waves like an immense swan.
“Are you going ahead or going to stop here?” asked Mark.
“We’ll keep right on,” Mr. Henderson answered. “No telling when the storm may strike down here. We’ll go as far as we can to-night.”
Now that the fear and worriment was over they all began to feel hungry, and, while Mark and Jack took charge of the conning tower Washington got breakfast. The professor seemed preoccupied during the meal, and several times, when Mark spoke to him, he did not reply.
“I wonder if he is worried about something, or is thinking of something which seems to be concealed in the storeroom,” the boy thought.
But, after a while, the professor seemed to be more like himself. He was busy over several maps and charts, and then announced the ship would try air-sailing again for a while.
“We can make better time above than we can on the water,” he said, “and I am anxious to get to the mysterious island and learn what is in store for us.”
Perhaps if the professor had been able to look ahead, and see what was soon going to happen, he would not have been so anxious for it to occur.
It was shortly after dinner when, the gas container having been filled, the ship rose in the air, and began sailing over the ocean, about a mile up. The day was a fine one, and, as they were moving south, it was constantly growing warmer. Down on the water, in fact, it was quite hot, but in the air it was just right.
Like some immense bird theMermaidwent flying through the air. The boys and the professor sat upon the deck in easy chairs. It was like being on the top of some tall “sky-scraper” building which, by some strange power, was being moved forward. Below them the ocean tumbled in long, lazy swells.
Suddenly Mark, who was looking through a telescope at the expanse of water stretched out under them, gave a cry.
“There’s a ship! She’s on fire!”
“Where?” asked the professor, stretching out his hand for the glass.
“Just to the port of the forward tube. See the smoke!” exclaimed Mark.
Mr. Henderson looked. Through the lens he saw a column of black vapor rising skyward. Mingled with it were red flames.
“Lower theMermaid!” he cried. “We must save those on board if we can!”
Mark ran to the conning tower, where Washington was, to give the order. The colored man, who was looking ahead, intent on guiding the ship, did not at first hear what Mark called.
“Lower us! Send theMermaiddown!” Mark cried again.
The sudden shout and the excited voice of Mark so startled Washington, that, fearing some accident had happened, he pulled the lever, controlling the gas supply, with more force than necessary.
There was a loud explosion, followed by a crackling sound, a flash of light, and theMermaidcame to a sudden stop.
“What’s the matter?” cried Mark, feeling that something was wrong.
“I don’t know!” Washington replied, as he dashed toward the engine room.
TheMermaid, her forward flight checked, hung in the air, suspended, neither rising or falling.
“Why don’t we go on down?” the professor asked, hurrying to the tower.
“There has been an explosion—an accident!” exclaimed Mark. “I guess we can’t go down!”
“But we must!” Mr. Henderson insisted, seizing the lever which should have produced a downward motion. The handle swung to and fro. It was disconnected from the apparatus it operated.
The ship was now stationary in the air, moving neither forward nor backward, neither rising nor falling. Washington had stopped the air pumps as soon as he learned something was wrong.
When Mr. Henderson saw the useless lever, which had controlled the outlet of gas from the holder, he ran out on deck. One glance told him what had happened. One of the electric wires had become short-circuited,—that is, the insulation had worn off and allowed the current to escape. This had produced a spark, which had exploded the gas which was in the pipe leading from the generator up into the aluminum holder. Fortunately there was an automatic cut-off for the supply of vapor, or the whole tank would have gone up.
As it was, only a small quantity had blown up, but this was enough to break the machinery at the point where the lever in the conning tower joined the pipe. If it had not been for the automatic cut-off all the gas in the holder would have poured out in a great volume, and the ship would have fallen like a shot.
“Can we do nothing to save those on the burning vessel?” asked Mark, pointing to where a cloud of smoke hung over the ocean.
“I fear not, now,” answered the professor. “We are in a bad plight ourselves.”
“Are we in any danger?” asked Jack.
“Not specially,” Mr. Henderson replied. “But we must find a means of lowering ourselves gradually.”
“Then it will be too late to save any of those on the ship,” observed Mark.
“I’m afraid so,” the scientist made reply.
TheMermaidrested some distance above the surface of the waters. She moved slightly to and fro with the wind, and rocked gently. The professor was examining the broken machinery.
“I have a plan!” suddenly cried Mark.
“What is it?” asked Mr. Henderson.
“Can’t we bore a hole in the tank, insert a small faucet or tap, and let the gas out that way gradually?” asked the boy. “When we get down we can rescue those in danger of fire, and, later, can repair the break.”
“The very thing!” exclaimed Mr. Henderson. “I never thought of that! Here, Washington! Bring me a drill, and a small stop-cock!”
The drill was obtained from the engine room. Working rapidly Mr. Henderson bored a hole in the lower part of the holder. As soon as the metal was penetrated the gas, which was under considerable pressure, rushed from the tank with a hissing sound. At once theMermaidbegan to settle rapidly.
But the professor was prepared for this. He thrust the end of the stop-cock into the hole. It was screwed fast and the valve turned. This stopped the flow of gas and checked the descent of the ship. Then, by opening the tap the vapor was allowed to escape gradually, bringing theFlying Mermaidgently to the water.
As the adventurers approached they could see that the vessel was now a mass of flames. The wind was driving the fire toward the forecastle, and the crew had sought refuge aft. But this expedient could not last long, for, already the tongues of fire were licking the sides of the craft and coming nearer and nearer the seemingly doomed men. The vessel was a large one, and heavily laden.
As those in peril caught sight of theMermaidsettling down into the water, apparently from the clouds, their fears gave place to astonishment. So great was this that they ceased their cries of terror. Then, as they saw that the strange craft navigated the ocean, for the engines were started aboard theMermaid, they began to call for help.
“We’ll save you!” shouted Mr. Henderson, who was on the deck, while Mark was steering the craft. “Hold on a few minutes longer and we’ll be alongside!”
“They’re real! They’re real!” some of those aboard the burning ship could be heard to shout. Evidently more than one of them had taken theMermaidfor a delusion of their fear-crazed brain.
“They are real persons!” they called again and again. “They are coming to save us!”
Mr. Henderson ran his ship as near the burning craft as he dared. Then he called to the crew to leap into the water and swim to him. He, with Washington, Jack, Bill and Tom, stood ready to haul aboard any who were too weak to help themselves.
In a few minutes all of those left alive on the sailing vessel—fourteen in all—had come safely aboard theMermaid. The ship was now completely enveloped in flames.
“Are there any more left on her?” asked Mr. Henderson of one who appeared to be a mate of the burning craft.
“Not a soul!” was the answer. “The captain and ten men perished in the flames. The fire broke out a week ago in the lower hold. We fought it as well as we could but it got the best of us. Then it suddenly broke through the decks, almost like an explosion, a little while ago, and the captain and others were lost, and so were our small boats. We managed to get aft but were about to give up when you appeared.”
“What ship is it and where are you from?”
“TheGood Hope, laden with logwood, hides, jute and other materials from South America,” the mate answered. “We were bound for New York.”
“It is more like theLast Hopeinstead of theGood Hope,” observed Mr. Henderson in a quiet voice, as he saw the flames mount higher and higher over the ship. A few seconds later the craft seemed rent by an internal explosion. It appeared to break in two parts, and, amid a shower of sparks and a cloud of black smoke, the vessel sank under the water and was seen no more.
The rescued men turned to behold the final end of their ship. They betrayed no particular emotion, and some of them even laughed, which the professor thought, at the time, was rather strange. But there was little opportunity for speculation. The men were in a sad plight. Few of them had more than the clothes they stood in, though each one wore about his waist a belt, and all of them seemed to guard the leather circlets jealously.
The professor and his crew were soon busy supplying remedies for burns, since several of the men were seared by the flames. Then, as it was learned they had eaten nothing for many hours, it having been impossible to use the galley, a meal was prepared and the survivors of the wreck were well fed.
The hunger of the newcomers having been appeased, they showed much curiosity over the strange craft that had so opportunely come to their rescue. Most of the sailors were ignorant men, and the professor had little fear of them learning anything concerning his secrets. He explained briefly about theMermaid, but said nothing of whither she was bound.
The addition of fourteen men to the rather small accommodations of theMermaidwas a serious matter to consider. The ship was able to hold them all, and even to sail through the air with them, since Mr. Henderson had provided an excess of power. But it was going to be a problem to feed so many, and still save enough provisions for the long voyage which lay ahead.
However, Mr. Henderson felt his first duty to be toward his fellowmen, even if his voyage must be delayed, or given up for a time, while he got more provisions. There would be no sleeping quarters for the sailors, but when this was explained to them they cheerfully said they would sleep on deck if necessary. In fact some of them had to, but as the weather was warm and clear this was no hardship. A few found quarters in the engine room and other apartments of theMermaid.
Finding, after an examination, that his ship was in good order save for the broken gas apparatus, Mr. Henderson gave orders to proceed along the surface of the ocean. The sailors wanted to see how it felt to mount into the air, but Mr. Henderson, refused to attempt a flight until he had made complete repairs, and this would take a day or more.
At this there appeared to be some discontent among the survivors, and they muttered to each other as they stood in a group on deck. But the professor and his assistants were too busy with their preparations for fixing the break to notice this.
While the men were gathered in a knot near the after part of the small deck, the mate separated from them, and, coming close to where Mark was standing, unscrewing some of the broken parts of the pipe said, in a low voice.
“Tell the captain to watch out.”
“What do you mean?” asked Mark quickly.
“Hush! Not so loud!” the mate exclaimed. “If the men hear me talking to you, or see me, they may kill me. Tell the captain to look out; that’s all. Be on guard, and watch the engine room carefully.”
“But why—?” Mark began, when, turning suddenly, the mate left him. It was well he did so, for, at that instant, one of the sailors, who had observed the two conversing, strolled in their direction.
Much alarmed, Mark sought Mr. Henderson and told him what he had heard.
“I suppose the fire may have turned the poor man’s head,” the scientist said. “I wonder if he thinks the men I rescued would mutiny and take possession of my ship? If they did they would not know how to work it, so what good would it do?”
“Hadn’t we better look out?” asked Mark.
“I’m not afraid,” replied the professor. “I will be too busy the next few days, repairing the break, to think of anything else. Besides, what would they want to harm us for? Didn’t we save their lives?”
Seeing the scientist placed no faith in what the mate had said, Mark went back to his task.
It soon became too dark to work, and it was decided, after supper, to halt the ship until morning as it would be less risky.
Mark did not sleep well, his dreams being disturbed by visions of pirates and black flags. But morning came and nothing had developed. The men seemed to recover their spirits with daybreak, and most of the crew, after breakfast, greeted Mr. Henderson pleasantly, and asked to be allowed to help fix the ship.
It took the skilled labor of the professor, Washington and the boys to mend the break, and, even at that, it was four days in the repairing. But at last the final bolt was in place, and theMermaidwas able to resume her trips through the air.
“We will rise the first thing in the morning,” said the professor to Mark and Jack that night. “I am anxious to see how the ship behaves with a big load aboard.”
Mark was awakened that night by feeling some one trying to turn him over. At first he thought it was Jack, and sleepily muttered that he wanted to be let alone.
“Sorry I can’t oblige ye, my hearty!” exclaimed a rough voice in his ear, “but I got particular orders t’ tie you up!”
At that Mark tried to sit up, but he found he could not. He discovered that he was closely bound with many turns of a rope, while in front of his bunk stood one of the rescued sailors.
“There,” said the man, with a final tightening of the ropes. “I guess you’re safe.”
“What’s the matter? What does it all mean?” asked Mark, much bewildered.
“It means that we have possession of the ship,” the sailor answered, “and, if you’re wise you’ll not make a fuss. It wouldn’t do any good, anyhow, as all your friends are in the same condition.”
Then, picking Mark up, as if he was a baby, the man slung him over his shoulder and carried him to the living room. There Mark saw Jack, the professor, Washington, and the others similarly bound.
“Do you realize what you are doing?” asked the professor angrily of his captors. “You are mutinying, and are liable to severe punishment.”
“If they ever get us,” added one of the men. “We’ve got the ship now, and we mean to keep her. You’ll have to run her or show us how.”
“Never!” cried the professor.
“I guess he will when he feels this,” said one of the men, as he dragged from a recess two wires. “I happen to know something of electricity, and when he feels these perhaps he’ll change his mind. I’ll start the dynamo.”
The sailor showed that he was acquainted with machinery, for soon the hum of the electric apparatus was heard.
“Now to make him tell!” the man with the wires exclaimed, advancing toward the professor, who turned pale.
“Stop! You must not torture the old man!” cried a voice, and the mate of theGood Hopestepped in front of the sailor with the electrified wires.
“Who’s going to stop me?” asked the man.
“I will. It’s not necessary,” the mate went on quickly. “If we make him weak we may kill him, and he can not tell us what we want to know. One of the boys can tell us how to run the ship.”
The mate came quickly over to where Mark lay, and whispered:
“Consent to tell. It is the only way of saving his life. Tell ’em how to raise the craft. Then leave all to me. I will save you all and the ship, too, if I can. But consent.”
Mark nodded his head, and the mate cried:
“I knew I could fetch ’em. I have hypnotic power. This boy will raise the ship for us. Loosen his bonds, some of you.”
Satisfied that they were now on the way to experiencing a new sensation, the sailors took the ropes off Mark’s arms and legs, and he was allowed to rise. With a reassuring nod toward the professor he led the way to the engine room, followed by half the men. He resolved to start the gas machine slowly, so as to make the upward trip last longer, thinking before it had gone far, some way of escape from the mutineers might be found.
While a crowd of the sailors stood near him, Mark operated the machinery in the engine room that started the gas generating, and set the negative gravity apparatus working.
“You’d better not try any tricks on us,” said one of the men in an ugly tone of voice.
“I’m not going to,” replied Mark. “If you go out on deck you will soon see the ship leaving the water and mounting into the air.”
“Some of you go,” ordered a man with a big bushy red beard. “See if the ship rises. When she begins to go up sing out. I’m going to stay here and see how the young cub does it so I can work it myself.”
Obeying the red-bearded man, who seemed to be a leader, several of the sailors went out on the deck. It was quite dark, but there was a phosphorous glow to the water which made the rolling waves visible.
The gas was being generated, as could be told by the hissing sound. Mark watched the machinery anxiously, for he knew much depended on him, and the professor was not at hand to guide and instruct him. He watched the dial of the gage which registered the gas pressure and saw it slowly moving. In a little while it would be at the point at which the ship ought to rise.
Presently a quiver seemed to run through theMermaid. Now a shout came from the watchers on deck.
“She’s going up!”
The ship was indeed rising. The red-bearded man, who was addressed as Tony, ran from the engine room to the deck. He saw that the ship was now ten feet above the water. Back he came to where Mark stood by the gas machine.
“Lucky for you that you didn’t fool us, lad,” he said with a leer. “See that you mind me hereafter. Now show me how the shebang works.”
When the ship had risen as far as Tony desired he made Mark send it straight ahead. The boy adjusted the air tube to carry the craft toward the south, but Tony, seeing by a compass in which direction they were headed, ordered Mark to steer due east.
“Fix things so they will stay so, too,” added Tony. “I don’t want to stop until I get a thousand miles away. Then we’ll come down, sail to some sunny island, and enjoy life.”
Mark locked the steering apparatus so as to keep theMermaidheaded due east.
“Now you can go back to your friends,” Tony said. “When I want you I’ll send for you.”
With a heavy heart Mark rejoined the professor and others. He found them with their bonds removed. But to guard against their escape several men were on watch outside the door.
“What are they doing?” asked the professor eagerly as Mark entered, and the boy told him what had taken place.
“They will ruin my ship and spoil the whole trip,” cried the old scientist. “Oh, why did I ever go to the rescue of the scoundrels?”
“Never mind,” said Jack. “Perhaps we may yet outwit them.”
Morning came at last. The ship was still shooting forward at fast speed, in an easterly direction. The sailors had learned, in their short stay aboard, where the food and stores were kept, and they lost little time in getting breakfast. They sent some in to their captives, including a big pot of hot coffee, and, after partaking of this the professor and his friends felt better.
The mate of theGood Hopecame in to help clear away the dishes. As he passed Mark he slipped into the boy’s hand a note.
“Don’t read it until you are alone,” he said in a low voice, as he hurried from the room.
As soon as the other sailors had left, Mark glanced at the slip of paper. It bore these words:
“Open when you hear three raps, then two, then three, and keep silent.”
“What is it?” asked Mr. Henderson.
Mark showed him the paper.
“I wonder what it means,” the boy said.
“Do you think he is a friend of ours?” the professor asked.
Mark told him of the mate’s conversation the night previous.
“I think we can trust him,” the scientist went on. “He must intend to pay us a visit when the others are asleep. When we hear the knocks as he specifies we must open the door and let him in.”
All that day the captives were kept in the living room. Once or twice Mark was sent for to make some adjustment to the machinery, but the apparatus, for the most part, was automatic, and needed little attention. The professor, as well as the others, were all impatience for the promised visit of the mate. Still they felt he would not come until night.
In fact it was long past midnight before Mark, Jack and the professor, who were anxiously listening, heard the three raps, then two, then three more. Mark quickly opened the door, and the mate stepped inside, holding his finger to his lips as a sign of caution. Old Andy, Washington, Bill and Tom had fallen asleep.
“I have only time for a few words,” the mate said. “I am closely watched. Tony mistrusts me. I will save you if I can.”
“Why have they repaid my kindness with such actions?” asked Mr. Henderson.
“Because they are desperate men,” replied the mate. “They are nothing more than pirates. They mutinied on the other ship, killed the captain and those of the crew who would not join them, and started off to seek their fortunes. I pretended to join them to save my life, but I have only been watching for a chance to escape.
“Because of lax discipline the ship was sent on fire. We tried to put it out but could not. The rest you know.
“I heard them plan to capture this airship, but could do nothing to stop them. Then I resolved to pretend to act with them. They fear pursuit for their other mutiny, and are anxious to get as far away as possible.”
“Do you think they will abandon the ship in a little while?” asked the professor hopefully.
“I’m afraid not,” answered the mate. “I think they want to get rid of all of you, so they can sail about as they please. Tony is a smart man. He could soon learn to run this ship, he thinks.”
“I doubt it,” Mr. Henderson answered. “But how are you going to help us?”
“I have not fully made up my plans,” the mate answered. “However I wanted you to know I would do my best to save you. Now I must go. Be on the watch and when I can I will let you know what I have decided on. I will hand Mark a note when I bring your meals, just as I did to-day. I think——”
“Hark! What was that?” asked the professor.
There was a noise outside the door, as if some one was listening.
“Put out the lights!” whispered the mate, and Jack switched off the electric incandescents.
A knock sounded on the door and the voice of Tony called:
“Mark! Come here! I want you to look at the gas machine. It has stopped working, and we are falling!”
Mark hurried into the corridor, taking care to close the door after him, so Tony could get no glimpse of the mate who had risked so much to save his friends. But he need not have been alarmed for the leader of the mutineers was too excited over the stopping of the gas apparatus to give any heed to who was in with the captives.
“Do you think you can fix it?” he asked the boy.
“I guess so,” Mark replied confidently. “If I can’t there is no danger, for we will fall gradually and land in the water.”
“But I don’t want to do that,” Tony objected. “I want to keep on through the air.”
Mark did not reply. By this time he was at the gas machine. He soon saw nothing was the matter save that new material must be placed in the retort where the vapor was generated. He refilled it, the gas was manufactured once more, and the ship began to rise.
“I will know how to do it next time,” Tony said with a grin. Mark realized that every time he showed the leader of the mutineers something about the ship it was putting the professor and his friends more and more into the power of the scoundrels. But there was no help for it.
The ship was still plunging ahead, and kept about a mile above the earth. As there was no further need of Mark, he was told he could go back to his friends. When he reached the room where they were held prisoners, he found the mate had gone away, promising again to do all he could for them.
The next night, which it seemed would never come, for the day, locked as the captives were in their room, seemed endless, finally closed in. Mark, Jack and the professor were anxious to know whether the mate would pay them another visit. As for Andy, Tom and Bill, while they were interested in the ship, and wanted to be free from the power of the mutineers, they did not lose any sleep over it.
Shortly after midnight, there came again the peculiar knock, and the mate entered the room. He seemed much excited over something, and, as soon as the portal was securely closed he said to Professor Henderson:
“Is there an island any where near here where men could live for a time?”
“What do you mean?” asked the scientist. “Do you want us to desert the ship and leave these scoundrels in charge?”
“Nothing of the sort,” replied the mate, who, had said his name was Jack Rodgers. “But first answer my question. A great deal may depend on it.”
Seeing Rodgers was in earnest, the professor looked over some maps and charts, and announced that they were within a few hundred miles of a group of islands.
“When would we reach them?” was Rodgers’ next question.
Mr. Henderson made a few rapid calculations on a piece of paper.
“At the present rate of sailing,” he said, “we should be there about ten o’clock to-morrow. That is, provided the ship does not slacken speed or increase it.”
“There is no danger of either of those two things happening,” said the mate. “Tony is too afraid of the machinery to do anything to it. So you may safely figure that our speed will continue the same.”
“Then I can guarantee, with all reasonable certainty,” the professor said, “that about ten o’clock to-morrow we will be less than a mile from the islands. They are a group where friendly natives live, and where many tropical fruits abound. One could scarcely select a better place to be shipwrecked. But I hope the plans of Tony and his friends do not include landing us there.”
“No, nothing like that,” the mate answered. “Quite the contrary. But I had better be going. I will try and see Mark some time to-morrow. Tony does not mind when I speak to him.”
With this Rodgers left the captives, as he heard some of the sailors moving about and did not want to be discovered. The professor and the boys wondered what the mate’s plan might be, but they had to be content to wait and see.
The night passed without incident. About nine o’clock the next morning the mate came to the door of the room where the professor and his friends were prisoners. He made no secret of his approach, but knocked boldly.
“Tell Mark I want to see him,” he said, as the professor answered. “All of you keep quiet,” he added in a whisper. “There may be good news soon.”
Mark slipped from the room. He followed the mate to the upper deck which, at that time was deserted as all the sailors were in the dining room eating, which practice they indulged in as often as they could.
“I have a plan to get rid of these rough men,” the mate said to Mark. “It may work, and, again it may not. At any rate it is worth trying. It all depends on you with what help I can give you.”
“I’m willing to do my share,” Mark said, and for the next ten minutes the boy and the mate were in earnest conversation.
It was about thirty-five minutes later when there arose a sudden commotion in the ship. Mark had returned to his friends and the mate had disappeared. The confusion seemed to come from the engine room where Tony had posted some of his men.
“We’re falling down! We’ll all be killed!” shouted the men. “The ship is falling into the sea!”
“What is the trouble?” asked the professor as he heard the commotion.
“It is part of the mate’s plan,” said Mark. “He told me to tell you to do nothing. If Tony or any of the other men come to you just refer them to me.”
Two minutes later Tony came rushing into the apartment where the captives were held prisoners.
“Here! Come quickly, Mark!” he exclaimed. “Something has gone wrong with the gas machine again, and you must come and fix it before we are all dashed to pieces!”
With every appearance of haste Mark rushed from the apartment, following Tony. The latter led the way to the engine room.
“Can anything be done?” he asked.
Mark took a survey of the machinery.
“It is too late,” he said as though much excited. “The ship is falling down toward the sea with terrific force.”
It needed but a glance at the height gage to show this. The pointer was revolving rapidly about the face of the dial.
“Will the ship stand the blow?” asked Tony.
“Not at the rate it is falling,” replied Mark. “She will go all to pieces when she strikes the water, and she may explode!”
“What are we to do then?” asked the leader of the mutineers.
“We must save ourselves!” cried the mate, running in at this juncture. “Let our prisoners shift for themselves as best they can. Let’s all leap into the sea. There we at least have a chance for our lives. But if we stay on this ship we will all be drowned like cats in a bag.”
“What do you propose?” asked Tony, his face white with fear.
“When the ship comes near enough the surface of the water to make it safe we should all drop overboard!” the mate exclaimed. “We are near some islands, I understand, and we can thus save our lives by swimming ashore.”
This plan seemed to meet with instant favor, and a little later there was a rush for the deck, as each one wished to be the first to escape from the boat they believed to be doomed.
Lower and lower fell theMermaid. She was like a wounded bird which the shot of the hunter has crippled. Down and down she fluttered.
By this time all the sailors, save the mate were on deck. He and Mark remained in the engine room.
“Don’t let her get too low,” the mate whispered.
“I’ll watch out,” Mark replied. “I want to give them a good scare while I’m at it.”
The ship was now within fifty feet of the water. There was a cry of terror from the sailors. Some of them leaped over the rail and started to swim ashore, as the ship was by this time close to a group of islands.
Suddenly, from the engine room the mate rushed.
“Jump! Jump for your lives!” he exclaimed. “The ship is about to blow up!”
The voice of the mate echoed through theMermaid. Those on deck heard it, as did Tony in the engine room, where he was vainly trying to understand the complicated machinery.
An instant later there sounded from beneath the ship a series of splashes. More sailors were leaping from the deck of the craft to the ocean. The distance was not great, particularly as they all landed in water.
“Quick!” cried the mate to a group of sailors that hesitated before taking the jump. “The ship may blow up any minute now.”
The men needed no second urging. As soon as they struck the water they began to swim ashore, as it was not far away. One after another they jumped over the rail. Tony was the last to go. He urged the captives to follow him, but they all refused.
A minute later the only one of the pirate crew left on the ship was the mate. The others were all struggling in the sea. Eventually they all reached shore in safety.
The airship was now within about twenty feet of the water. It was still falling but not so rapidly.
“Better send her up, now,” said the mate to Mark, and the boy turned the necessary levers to accomplish this.
Dipping into the water as a sea gull does when searching for food on the wing, for she had come quite low, theMermaidmounted once more into the air, and was soon sailing along over the heads of Tony and his gang.
“What’s it all about?” asked Mr. Henderson, who seemed in a sort of stupor. “I thought the ship was broken. How, then, can it rise?”
“It was only a trick of mine,” Rodgers said. “The gas machine is not broken. I had Mark fix it so that only a little vapor would be generated. When the supply in the holder was not enough, and no more was being made, the ship had to sink. Mark and I pretended it was worse than it really was just to scare the scoundrels.”
“And you evidently succeeded,” observed Mr. Henderson. “They have all left us. I am glad you stayed.”
“So am I,” said Rodgers. “I was just waiting for a chance to escape from that crowd. This was the plan I thought of that night. I wanted to see the men put on some island where they could manage to live, and which was not too far away.”
TheMermaidwas now mounting upward rapidly, as Mark had adjusted the machinery properly. The craft was well rid of the pirate crew, and was able to proceed on its way, and enable Mr. Henderson to carry out his plans.
When theMermaidhad reached a certain height her prow was turned the other way, and she was sent back racing over the ground she had just covered. But now the ship was in the hands of friends. Fortunately no great damage had been done by the sailors, and the professor was soon able to get things in ship-shape. The engines had not been molested and were working better than ever.
“Now to make another attempt to reach the big hole in the earth,” the professor cried. “We will be careful next time, who we rescue from ships at sea.”
The island was soon left behind, becoming a mere speck on the ocean. Those aboard theMermaidknew no harm could befall the sailors, as there were no savage tribes on the little spot of land. Eventually the sailors were picked up by a passing vessel and taken to their homes. The story of their first mutiny leaked out and they were properly punished.
It required several days travel before the airship regained the distance she had lost because of the plans of the pirates. Also, there were a number of minor repairs to make, and the professor and his friends were kept busy.
“How much longer before we come to the big hole?” asked Jack, one day.
“I think we ought to be near it in about two weeks,” the professor replied. “I only hope we shall not be disappointed, and will be able to explore it.”
“'Tain’t goin’ t’ be no fun t’ be decimated an’ expurgitated inter a conglomerous aggregation of elements constituting th’ exterior portion of human anatomy,” said Washington in dubious tones.
“You mean you’re afraid of being boiled in the steam from the big hole?” asked Mark.
“Jest so,” replied the colored man.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” put in the professor. “I will not take the ship down if there is any danger, though of course there will be some risk.”
The ship, having been fully repaired, was now able to be speeded up, and was sent scudding along toward her destination. Rodgers proved a valuable acquisition toward the crew, for he had sailed many years in the waters over which they were flying, and was able to give the professor many valuable hints. He had heard vague stories of the island with the big hole, but had never been near it. He did not make the trip however, as, at his request, he was put off at an inhabited island one night.
It was about a week after the sailors were frightened from the ship, that a curious experience befell Mark. Washington was on duty in the conning tower, attending to the apparatus as the ship flew through the air, and all the others had gone to bed. Mark had remained up, later than the others as he was interested in reading a book on science.
About ten o’clock he became hungry, and going to the pantry got some bread and cold meat. He set these on a table, and then, remembering he would need some water to drink, started after some in the cooler, which was in a little room near the tower.
Washington heard the boy as he turned the faucet to draw the liquid, and spoke to him, as the colored man was rather lonesome at his post. Mark did not linger more than a minute or two, but when he returned to where he had left the food he was much surprised.
There was not a trace of it to be seen. The dishes were on the table, but every vestige of bread and meat had disappeared.
“I wonder if a cat or dog has been here,” was Mark’s first thought. Then he remembered that no such animals were aboard theMermaid.
Something on the floor caught his eye. He stooped and picked it up. It was a slice of bread, but in such shape that the boy stared at it, puzzled as to how it could have become so.
It was flattened out quite thin, but the strangest part of it was that it bore what seemed to be the marks of thumb and fingers from a very large hand. So big, in fact, was the print, that Mark’s hand scarce covered half of it, and, where the bread had been squeezed into a putty like mass (for it was quite fresh) the peculiar markings on the skin of the tips of the fingers were visible.
“It looks as if a giant grabbed this slice of bread,” Mark observed. “There are strange happenings aboard this ship. I wish I knew what they meant.”
He looked all around for the food, thinking perhaps a rat had dragged it off, but there was no trace of it.
Suddenly the boy thought he heard a sound from the big storeroom. He was almost sure he heard something moving in there. He started toward the door when he was stopped by hearing the professor’s voice call:
“Don’t open that door, Mark. Have I not told you that place must not be entered?”
“I thought I heard some one in there,” Mark replied.
“There is nothing in there but some apparatus of mine,” Mr. Henderson said. “I want no one to see it. What is the matter?”
Mark explained matters to the scientist, who had, as he said later, arisen on hearing the boy moving about.
“Oh, it was a rat that took your stuff,” Mr. Henderson said. “I guess there are some pretty big ones on the ship. Get some more food and go to sleep.”
Mark felt it best to obey, though he was by no means satisfied with the professor’s explanation. He listened intently to see if any more noises came from the storeroom, but none did, and he went to bed.
Several times after that Mark tried the experiment of leaving food about. On each occasion it was taken.
“It looks as if the ship was haunted,” he said. “Of course I know it isn’t, but it’s very queer. They must be strange rats that can get food from shelves when there is only the smooth side of the ship to climb up,” for on some occasions Mark had tried the experiment of putting the food as nearly out of reach as possible.
It took several nights to learn all this, and, as he did not want to take any one into his confidence, he had to work in secret. But, with all his efforts he learned nothing, save that there was something odd about the ship that he could not fathom.
At first he believed the professor had some strange animal concealed in the storeroom, but he dismissed this idea almost as soon as he thought of it. For what could the scientist want with an animal when they were going to the interior of the earth? That some beast had slipped aboard was out of the question. Mark was much puzzled, but finally, deciding the matter did not concern him a great deal, gave up trying to solve the mystery, at least for a time.
The ship was now in the neighborhood of the equator and the climate had become much warmer. So hot indeed were some nights that they slept out on deck, with theMermaidflying through the air at a moderate pace, for it was deemed best not to go at any great speed after dark.
One night the professor, after consulting various charts and maps, and making calculations which covered several sheets of paper announced:
“We should sight the mysterious island to-morrow.”
“That’s good news!” exclaimed Jack. “I’m anxious to see what’s below inside of that big hole.”
“Everybody git ready for their funerals!” exclaimed Washington in a deep voice. “I ain’t got many——”
“Cheer up,” interrupted Jack, poking Washington in the ribs. The colored man was very ticklish, and he began to laugh heartily, though, perhaps, he did not feel like it.
Suddenly, above the sound of his shouts, there came a crashing, grinding noise from the engine room.
“Something has gone wrong!” exclaimed the professor as he jumped up. He reached the engine room ahead of any one else, and when the two boys got there they found him busy twisting wheels and shifting levers.
“Anything serious?” asked Jack.
“It’s the gas machine again,” Mr. Henderson replied. “It broke where we fixed it. However it doesn’t matter. I was going to lower the ship anyhow, as I want to approach the island from the water. We will go down a little sooner than I counted on.”
The disabling of the gas machine caused the vapor to escape slowly from the tank, and this made the ship sink gradually. By means of the emergency stop-cock the descent could be controlled almost as well as though the machinery was in working order. Half an hour later theMermaidrested on the water.
It was a little rough, as there was quite a swell on, and not so pleasant as floating in the air on an even keel, but they made the best of it.
On account of the little accident, and not being certain of its extent, it was deemed best not to send the ship ahead. So they laid to until morning.
For the better part of two days all those on board theMermaidhad their hands full mending the break and making other repairs found necessary. In that time they lay to, floating idly with the currents, or blown by the wind, for the professor would not start any of the engines or apparatus until the ship was in good condition.
In this time Mark had several times recalled the curious happenings in regard to the disappearing food, and the mystery of the storeroom. But there were no further manifestations, and no other signs that there might be a strange visitor aboard.
“I couldn’t have imagined it all,” said Mark, “but I guess what did happen may have been caused by natural means, only I can’t discover them.”
It was about two days after this, the ship having sailed scores of miles on the surface of the water, that Mark, who was in the conning tower exclaimed:
“That looks like a waterspout ahead of us.”
“That’s what it is!” Jack agreed. “What shall we do?”
“Call the professor!” said Mark. “He’ll know.”
When Mr. Henderson came, he looked for a long time at a cloud of black vapor which hung low in the east.
“It may be a waterspout,” he said. “We’ll rise in the air and see if we can avoid it.”
The ship was sent up into the air. As it rose higher and higher, the professor, making frequent observations from his conning tower, cried out:
“That is no waterspout!”
“What is it?” asked Mark.
“It is the steam and vapor rising from the big hole in the earth! Boys, we are almost there!”
“Are you sure that’s it?” asked Mark.
“Almost positive,” Mr. Henderson replied. “You can see how much warmer it has become of late, as we approached the equator. We are almost due at the island, and I have no doubt we have reached it.”
As the ship flew forward the mass of dark vapor became more pronounced. Through the glasses it could be noticed to consist of rolling masses of clouds. What lay beneath them no one knew. The adventurers were going to try to find out.
Now that they had arrived at the beginning of the main part of their journey, the travelers felt their spirits sink a little. It was one thing to plan to go down into the depths of the earth, but it was quite another to make the actual attempt. Still, they were not going to give up the project. The professor had confidence in his ship and believed it could safely make the trip. Still it was with no little apprehension that Mr. Henderson watched the nearer approach of the craft to that strange island.
“Perfesser, are yo’ really an’ truly goin’ t’ depress this elongated spheroid an’ its human consignment int’ that conglomerous convoluted mass of gaseous vapor regardless of th’ consequences?” asked Washington, as he gazed with wide opened eyes at the sight before him.
“If you mean am I going to let theMermaidgo down into that hole you are perfectly correct,” the scientist answered, “though you could have said it in fewer words, Washington.”
“I—I guess I’ll get out an’ walk,” the colored man made reply.
“This isn’t any trolley car,” observed Mark. “Don’t lose your nerve, Wash. Stay with us, and we’ll discover a gold or diamond mine, maybe.”
“Is there diamonds down there?” asked the colored man, his fright seeming to leave him.
“There are all sorts of things inside the earth,” the professor answered.
“Then I’m goin’ along!” Washington declared. “I always did want a diamond ring, an’ I knows a little colored gal that wants one, too. I’m goin’ all right! This suttenly am th’ most kloslosterous conjunctivity of combativeness that I ever sagaciated!” and he began to do a sort of impromptu cake-walk.
It was now noon, but the adventurers did not think of dinner in the excitement of approaching the mysterious island. The speed of the ship was increased that they might the more quickly come to it. As they approached they could see the masses of vapor more plainly, and it appeared that some great commotion must be going on inside the big hole, since clouds of steam arose.
“I only hope it doesn’t prove too hot for us,” observed the professor. “However, I provided a water jacket for the ship, and we may need it, as well as the vacuum chambers to keep the heat from us.”
It was about three o’clock when the flying ship reached the edge of the island. From there it was about a mile to the rim of the big hole, over one side of which the waters of the ocean poured with a roar that could be heard over half a mile off.
“I think we had better halt and see that everything is in good shape before proceeding,” said Mr. Henderson. “Jack, you and Mark make a thorough inspection of the engine room, and see that all the apparatus is in working order.”
The two boys prepared to do as they were told. Mark, who was walking a little ahead of Jack, entered the apartment from which the storeroom opened. As he did so he saw, or thought he saw, the door of the place where the extra supplies were kept, close. Without saying anything to Jack he hurried forward, and tried the knob. It would not turn.
“That’s funny,” said Mark to himself. “I could almost swear I saw some one go into that room. Yet I know the professor did not enter, for I just left him. And none of the others would dare to. I wonder if I will ever solve the mystery.”
But he had too much to do to allow him to dwell on that matter. Several of the dynamos needed adjusting and for two hours he and Jack had all they could do.
In the meanwhile the professor had gone over the other parts of the ship, and gotten everything in readiness for the descent. TheMermaidwas lowered to within a few hundred feet of the sea, and, through a hose that was let down, the compartments, provided for this emergency were filled with water. These compartments were between the outer and inner hulls of the lower part of the craft, and were designed to prevent the interior becoming heated in case the travelers found they had to pass close to fire. There were also vacuum chambers, and from these the air was exhausted, as of course every schoolboy knows a vacuum is a non-conductor of either heat or cold.
“Now I think we are ready,” the professor announced at length.
“Everything’s all right in the engine room,” announced Jack.
“Yes, an’ everything’s all right in th’ kitchen,” put in Washington. “I’ve got a good meal ready as soon as any one wants to eat.”
“It will have to wait a while,” Mr. Henderson remarked. “We are going to start to make the descent before we dine.”
The hose was reeled up, and the ship was sent a few hundred feet higher into the air, as Mr. Henderson wanted to take a last good observation before he went down into the hole.
But having risen some distance above the masses of rolling vapors he found he was at no advantage, since the strongest telescope he could bring to bear could not pierce the cloud masses.
“We’ll just have to trust to luck,” the scientist said. “I judge we’re about over the centre of the opening. Lower away Mark!”
The boy, who, under the watchful eye of the professor, was manipulating the levers and wheels in the conning tower, shifted some handles. The gas was expelled from the holder, the negative gravity apparatus ceased to work, and theFlying Mermaidsank lower and lower, toward the mysterious hole that yawned beneath her.
The hearts of all beat strangely, if not with fear, at least with apprehension, for they did not know what they might encounter. Perhaps death in some terrible form awaited them. But the desire to discover something new and strange had gripped all of them, and not one would have voted to turn back.
Even old Andy, who seldom got excited, was in unusual spirits. He took down his gun and remarked:
“Maybe I can kill some new kind of animal, and write a book about its habits, for surely we will see strange beasts in the under-world.”
Lower and lower sank the ship. Now it was amid the first thin masses of vapors, those that floated highest and were more like a light fog, than anything else. By means of a window in the bottom of the craft, which window was closed by a thick piece of plate glass, Professor Henderson could look down and see what was beneath them.
“The clouds seem to be getting thicker,” he said, as he peered through the small casement. “If they would only clear away we could see something.”
But instead of doing this the vapors accumulated more thickly about the ship. It was so dark inside theMermaidnow that the electric lights had to be switched on. In the room with the floor-window the lights were not used, as had they shone one could not have seen down below.
The professor maintained his position. The descent was a perilous one, and he wanted to be on the watch to check it at once if theMermaidwas liable to dash upon some pointed rock or fall into some fiery pit. His hand was on the signal levers.
Suddenly he looked up and glanced at a gage on the wall. The hand of it was slowly revolving.
“We are at the earth’s surface,” the scientist said. “Now we are below it. Now we are fairly within the big hole! Boys, we may be on the verge of a great discovery!”
An instant later it seemed as if a hot wave had struck theMermaid, or as if the craft had been plunged into boiling water.
“It’s going to be hot!” cried the professor. “Lucky I provided the water jackets!”
Then the lights in the interior of the ship went out, leaving the whole craft in darkness.
“What has happened?” cried Mark.