“Keep together!” shouted the professor. “It will not do to become lost now. We are close to the ship, and will soon be there. Come after me.”
It was more by following the sound of the scientist’s voice, than by any sight which the others could get of him, that they managed to trail along behind. They reached the ship in safety, however, and entered. There was no sound as of beasts or insects within, and, though Mark felt a little apprehensive on account of what he had seen, he and the others as well, were glad to be again in something that seemed like home.
“I wish we had some candles, or some sort of a light to see by,” the professor remarked. “We can do nothing in the dark, and there is no telling how long this night is going to last once it has set in. If I could have a little illumination, I might be able to fix the dynamo, and then we could turn on the incandescents. That portable light we had is broken.”
“By cracky!” exclaimed Andy. “I believe I have the very thing!”
“You don’t mean to say you have a torch or a candle with you, do you?” asked Mr. Henderson.
“No, but I have my patent pipe lighting apparatus,” the hunter said. “I always carry it. It gives a little light, but not much, though it may be enough to work by.”
Not until after several hours work, handicapped as they were by lack of light, were the repairs to the ship completed.
“Now we’ll start the engine and see how we will come out,” the inventor exclaimed, as he wiped his hands on some waste.
It did not take long to generate enough power to turn the dynamo. Soon the familiar hum and whirr was heard, and, a few seconds later the filaments in the lamps began to glow a dull red, which gradually brightened until they were shining in all their usual brilliancy.
“Hurrah!” cried the boys. “Now we can see!”
They all felt in better spirits with the restoration of the lights, and, washing off the grease and dirt of their labors in the engine room, they prepared to sit down to the meal which Washington prepared.
As soon as the dynamo was working well, care had to be taken not to speed it too much on account of a mended belt. The professor turned off part of the lights and switched some of the current into the storage batteries, to provide for emergencies. For there was no telling how long the night might last.
Jack was the first one to finish the meal—they did not know whether to call it dinner, supper or breakfast. He went into the conning tower, and, as soon as he reached it he called out:
“Come on up here, professor! There’s something strange going on!”
Mr. Henderson, followed by Mark, hurried to the tower. As he reached it and looked out of the forward window, a beautiful white glow illuminated the whole scene, and then, from below the horizon, there arose seven luminous disks. One was in the centre, while about it circled the other six, like some immense pin-wheel.
“It’s the moon!” cried Mark.
“It’s seven moons!” Jack exclaimed. “Why it’s almost as light as day!”
And so it was, for the seven moons, if that is what they were, gave an illumination not unlike the sun in brilliancy though it was like the beams from the pale moon of the earth.
“I guess we need not have worried about the darkness,” the professor remarked. “Still it is a good thing I fixed the dynamo.”
For some time he and the other adventurers watched the odd sight of the moons, as they rose higher and higher overhead. The scene was a beautiful, if weird one, for the whole plain was bathed in the soft light.
“I guess we can turn off the incandescents, and use all the power for the storage batteries,” Mr. Henderson went on, as he descended into the ship, and opened the port shutters which had been closed when they started off on their exploring tour. The interior of theMermaidwas almost as light as when the odd colored beams had been playing over the new earth to which they had come.
“I think we had better continue with our work of making repairs,” Mr. Henderson said. “We can’t count on these moons remaining here any length of time, and I want to take advantage of them. So though some of us perhaps need sleep, we will forego it and fix up theMermaid. I want to take a trip and see what other wonders await us.”
They all agreed that they would rather work than sleep, and soon the entire force was busy in the engine room. There was much to be done, and the most important things were attended to first. The motive power was overhauled and found to be in need of several new parts. These were put in and then the gas generator, and the negative gravity machine, were put in shape.
It would have taken something very substantial to have awakened any one on board theMermaidthat night. They all slept soundly and awoke to find the strange colored lights shining in through the glass covered port holes.
“Well, the sun, or what corresponds to it, is up,” observed Jack, “and I guess we had better do as the little boy in the school reader did, and get up, too, Mark.”
Soon all the travelers were aroused, and the sound of Washington bustling about in the kitchen, whence came the smell of coffee, bacon and eggs, told the hungry ones that breakfast was under way.
After the meal work was again started on repairing the ship, and by noon the professor remarked:
“I think we shall try a little flight after dinner. That is, if one thing doesn’t prevent us.”
“What is that?” asked Jack.
“We may be held down, as were those stones,” was the grave answer.
It was with no little apprehension that the professor prepared to take his first flight aboard the ship in the realms of the new world. He knew little or nothing of the conditions he might meet with, the density of the atmosphere, or how theMermaidwould behave under another environment than that to which she was accustomed.
Yet he felt it was necessary to make a start. They would have to attempt a flight sooner or later, and Mr. Henderson was not the one to delay matters. So, the last adjustment having been made to the repaired machinery, they all took their places in the ship.
The boys and the professor went to the conning tower to direct matters, while Washington and the others were in the engine room to see that the machinery worked properly. Mark gave a last look outside as he closed the big steel cover over the hole through which admission was had to the craft. He thought he might catch a glimpse of the queer shadow, but nothing was in sight. It was like a beautiful summer’s day, save for the strange lights, shifting and changing. But the travelers had become somewhat used to them by this time.
The professor turned the valve that allowed the gas to enter the holder. There was a hissing sound and a sort of trembling throughout the entire ship. The dynamos were whizzing away and the negative gravity machine was all ready to start.
For several minutes the travelers waited until the big lifting tank was filled with the strong vapor. They watched the gages which indicated the pressure to be several hundred pounds.
“I think we can chance it now,” remarked Mr. Henderson, as he threw over several levers. “We’ll try, at any rate.”
With a tremor theMermaidleft the surface of the inner earth and went sailing upward toward the—well it wasn’t exactly the sky, but it was what corresponded to it in the new world, though there were no clouds and no blue depths such as the boys were used to. At all events theMermaidwas flying again, and, as the adventurers felt themselves being lifted up they gave a spontaneous cheer at the success which had crowned their efforts.
The ship went up several hundred feet, and then, the professor, having brought her to a stop, sent her ahead at a slow pace. He wanted to be sure all the apparatus was in good working order before he tried any speed.
TheMermaidresponded readily. Straight as an arrow through the air she flew.
“Well, this is almost as good as being on the regular earth!” exclaimed Jack.
“It’s better,” put in Mark. “We haven’t seen half the wonders yet. Let’s open the floor shutter, and see how it looks down below.”
He and Jack went to the room where there was an opening in the floor of the ship, covered by heavy glass. They slid back the steel shutter and there, down below them, was the strange new world they had come to, stretched out like some big map.
They could see mountains, forests, plains, and rivers, the water sparkling in the colored light. Over green fields they flew, then across some stretches where only sand and rocks were to be seen. Faster and faster the ship went, as the professor found the machinery was once more in perfect order. Jack was idly watching the play of tinted lights over the surface of the ground.
“I wonder what makes it,” he said.
“I have tried to account for it in several ways,” said the professor, who had called Washington to the conning tower and come to join the boys. “I have had first one theory and then another, but the one I am almost sure is correct is that hidden volcanic fires cause the illumination.
“I think they flare up and die away, and have become so regular that they produce the same effect as night and day with us. Probably the fires go out for lack of fuel, and when it is supplied they start up again. Perhaps it is a sort of gas that they burn.”
“Well, it’s queer enough, whatever it is,” Jack remarked. “What strikes me as funny, though, is that we haven’t seen a single person since we came here. Surely this place must be inhabited.”
Mark thought of the strange shadow he had seen, but said nothing.
“I believe it is,” the professor answered. “We will probably come upon the inhabitants soon. I only hope they are a people who will do us no harm.”
“If they tried any of their tricks we could mount up in our ship and escape them,” said Andy.
“Provided they gave us the chance,” Mr. Henderson put in. “Well, we’ll not worry about that now.”
For several hours the ship traveled on, until it had come to a different sort of country. It was wilder and not so level, and there were a number of streams and small lakes to be seen.
“Are you going to sail all night?” asked Jack.
“No,” replied the professor. “I think we’ll descend very soon now, and camp out for a while. That lake just ahead seems to offer a good place,” and he pointed to a large sheet of water that sparkled in the distance, for by this time they had all gone back to the conning tower.
The lake was in the midst of a wood that extended for some distance on all sides, and was down in a sort of valley. The ship headed toward it, and in a short time a landing was made close to shore.
“Maybe we can have some fresh fish for supper,” exclaimed Jack as he ran from the ship as soon as the sliding door in the side was opened. “Looks as if that lake had some in it. It is not thick water like in that stream we stopped at,” he added.
“I believe you’re right,” old Andy put in, as he turned back to look for some lines and hooks among his traps. He soon found what he wanted, and gave them to the boys, taking his trusty gun along for himself.
While the professor, Washington, Tom and Bill remained behind to make some adjustments to the machinery, and to get things in shape for the night, which, they calculated would soon be upon them, Jack, Mark and Andy went down to the shore of the lake. The boys cut some poles from the trees, and baiting the hooks with some fat worms found under the bark, threw in.
“Let’s see who’ll get the first bite,” spoke Jack. “I’m pretty generally lucky at fishing.”
“Well, while you’re waiting to decide that there contest, I think I’ll take a stroll along shore and see if I can see anything to shoot,” Andy remarked.
For several minutes the boys sat in silence on the bank of the lake, watching the play of the vari-colored lights on the water. Suddenly Jack felt a quiver on his line, and his pole began to shake.
“I’ve got something!” he cried. Then his pole bent almost double and he began to pull for all he was worth. “It’s a whopper!” he cried. “Come and help me, Mark!”
Mark ran to his friend’s aid. Whatever was on the other end of the line was strong enough to tax the muscles of both boys. They could hear the pole beginning to break. But for the excellent quality of Andy’s line that would have parted some time before.
All at once there came a sudden slacking of the pull from whatever was in the water. And so quickly did it cease that both boys went over backward in a heap.
“He’s got away!” cried Jack, getting up and brushing some of the dirt from his clothes.
“There’s something that didn’t get away!” cried Mark, who had risen to his knees, and was pointing at the lake. Jack looked and what he saw made him almost believe he was dreaming.
For, emerging from the water, dragging the pole and line the boys had dropped along with it, was a most curious creature. It was a big fish, but a fish with four short legs on which it was walking, or rather waddling along as much as a duck, with a double supply of feet, might do.
“Say, do I see that or is there something the matter with my eyes?” sung out Jack, making ready to run away.
“It’s there all right!” exclaimed Mark. “Hi! Andy! Here’s something to shoot!” he yelled, for indeed the creature was big enough to warrant attack with a gun. It was about five feet long and two feet through.
On and on it came, straight at the boys, as if to have revenge for the pain the fish hook must have caused it, for the barb could be seen dangling from its lip. On and on it came, waddling forward, the water dripping from it at every step. It had the body and general shape of a fish, save that the tail was rather large in proportion. As it came nearer the boys noted that the feet were webbed, like those of a water fowl.
“Come on!” cried Jack. “It may attack us!”
At that moment the creature opened its mouth, showing a triple row of formidable teeth, and gave utterance to a sort of groan and grunt combined.
This was enough to send Jack and Mark off on a run up the bank, and did they stop until they heard Andy’s voice hailing them.
“What’s the matter, boys?”
“Come here! Quick!” answered Jack.
The fish-animal had halted and seemed to be taking an observation. To do this, as it could not turn its neck, it had to shift its whole body. Old Andy came up on the run, his gun held in readiness.
“Where is it?” he asked, and the boys pointed silently.
The hunter could not repress a start of astonishment as he saw the strange creature. But he did not hesitate a second. There was a crack of the rifle, and the thing, whatever it was, toppled over, dead.
Andy hurried up to it, to get a closer view.
“Well, this is the limit!” he exclaimed. “First we have grasshoppers that can roll peaches as big as hogsheads, and now we come across fish that walk. I wonder what we will see next.”
“I don’t want to go fishing in this lake any more,” spoke Jack, as he looked at the repulsive creature. “I never want to eat fish any more.”
“Same here,” agreed Mark, and old Andy was of the opinion that the thing killed would not make a wholesome dish for the table.
“There don’t seem to be any game in this section,” he remarked. “Not a sign could I see, nor have I since we have been here, unless you count those grasshoppers. But the fruit is good, I’ll say that.”
“Come on, we’d better be getting back,” Mark said, as he noticed it was getting dark. “I’m hungry.”
They managed to make a good meal of the food supplies they had brought along, and as a dessert Washington made some peach short-cake from the slices of the giant fruit they had found the day before. Just as they finished supper it got very dark, but, in about an hour, the moonbeams, as the travelers called them, came up, and illuminated the lake with a weird light.
As the machinery of theMermaidwas now in working order there was no further alarm because of the darkness. The ship rested on a level keel about a hundred yards back from the lake, and, seeing that all was snug, and the fastenings secure, the travelers went to bed.
Though they had to forego fish for breakfast the travelers made a good meal. After seeing that the ship was in readiness for a quick start, the professor suggested they take a walk around and see what sort of country they might be in now.
They tramped on for several miles, meeting with no adventures, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It was a pleasant day, just warm enough to be comfortable, and a little wind was blowing through the trees.
“It would be almost like home if it wasn’t for the strange lights, and the memory of the queer things here,” said Jack. “I feel fine. Let’s see if you can hit that dead tree over there, Mark.”
Jack stooped to grab up a stone, but no sooner had his fingers touched it than he called out:
“There! I forgot all about the stones here being heavier than lead. Guess we can’t throw any of ’em. But come on. I’ll race you to the dead tree!”
Mark was willing, so the two boys set off at a fast pace.
“Look out where you’re going!” the professor called after them. “No telling what may be in those woods,” for the boys were approaching a little glade, on the edge of which the dead tree stood.
Jack reached the goal first, and stood leaning against the trunk, waiting for Mark.
“You’d better practice sprinting!” exclaimed the victor.
Mark was about to excuse himself for his poor showing, on the plea of having eaten too much breakfast, when to his horror he saw what seemed to be a long thin snake spring out from the branches of a near-by tree and twine itself about Jack.
“Help me! Save me!” cried the unfortunate boy, as he was lifted high into the air and pulled within the shadow of the wood.
For an instant Mark was too horror-stricken to move. Then with a shout that alarmed the others, who were coming along more slowly, he made a dash for the place he had last seen Jack.
Had old Andy not been on the watch, with those keen eyes of his, there might have been a double tragedy. He had seen from afar the sudden snatching up of Jack, and noted Mark’s rush to save his chum.
“Stand still! Don’t go in there for your life!” yelled the hunter, at the same time running forward with gun ready.
His example was followed by the professor, Washington and the other two men.
“A snake has Jack!” called Mark, when Andy was at his side.
“No! It’s not a snake!” replied the hunter. “It’s worse. It’s the snake-tree!”
“What’s that?” asked Mr. Henderson, hurrying up.
“The snake-tree has Jack,” the hunter went on. “It is a plant, half animal, half-vegetable. It has long branches, not unlike a snake in shape. They can move about and grab things.”
“One of them got a grip on Jack as he leaned against the dead tree trunk. I just caught a glimpse of it, and called to prevent Mark from running into danger.”
“Can’t we save him?” asked Mr. Henderson.
“I’m going to try!” replied Andy. “Quick! Gather up some pieces of dry wood. I have some paper, and my pipe lighter. We must fight the snake-tree with fire!”
Jack’s cries were growing fainter and fainter. Peering in through the branches of the dead tree the professor could see the whip-like limbs winding closer and closer about the boy.
“I am afraid we will be too late!” he said.
Andy had twisted some paper into a rude torch. He set fire to it with his pocket lighter, and, when Bill and Mark brought him some little pieces of dead wood the old hunter added them to his bundle, which was now blazing brightly.
“How are you going to do it?” asked the professor.
“I’ll show you,” replied Andy. He bound the sticks and paper together with wisps of grass and then, when it was so hot he could hardly hold it longer, he ran as close as he dared to the snake-tree and tossed the torch at the foot of it.
The blazing bundle fell among some damp leaves and grass, as Andy had intended it should, and soon a dense smoke arose, pouring straight up through the branches of the animal-tree, the limbs of which were gathered in a knot about the half-unconscious form of the boy.
For a few minutes they all waited anxiously. Would Andy’s trick succeed? Had the terrible tree not already squeezed the life from Jack?
But, while they watched, there seemed to come a change over the tree. The snake-like arms waved less and less. They seemed to straighten out, as though deprived of power by the smoke which was now so dense as to hide Jack from sight. Then the arms suddenly relaxed and something rolled from them and fell to the ground. With a quick movement Andy darted in, crawling on his hands and knees beneath the limbs, and brought Jack out. The boy was white and his eyes were closed.
“Get some water!” cried the old hunter.
Mark ran toward a stream a little distance away. He brought some of the curiously thick liquid in his hat, and while Andy held the boy the professor sprinkled some of the drops on his face, and forced some between his lips. In a little while Jack’s eyes slowly opened.
“Don’t let it eat me!” he begged.
“You’re all right now,” said Andy heartily. “Not a bit harmed, Jack. But,” he added in a low tone, “it was a close call.”
A few whiffs from a bottle of ammonia the professor carried soon brought Jack’s color back.
“Do you feel better now?” asked Mark.
“I guess so. Yes, I’m all right,” replied Jack, struggling to his feet. “What happened? Feels as if I had been tied up with a lot of rope.”
“That’s about what you were,” Andy replied, “only it was the worst kind of rope I ever saw. Those snake-trees are terrible things. I’ve read of ’em, but I never saw one before. The book that told of them says they squeeze their victims to death just as a snake does. The only way to do is to make some smoke and fire at the bottom. This sort of kills the branches or makes them stupid and they let go. The trees are half animal, and awful things. I hope we don’t meet with any more.”
“Same here,” added Jack fervently, as he grasped Andy’s hand, and thanked him for saving his life.
“Do you think you can go on, or shall we return to the ship?” the professor asked.
“Oh I can trail along, if you move a little slowly,” Jack replied. “I’m a bit stiff, that’s all.”
So they resumed their journey. They had gone, perhaps, three miles when Washington, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and called:
“Sounds like thunder.”
The others listened. Sure enough there was a dull rumble and roar audible. It seemed off to the left, but they could see no clouds in the sky, nor any signs of a storm.
“Let’s take a walk over that way and see what it is,” Mr. Henderson suggested.
As they walked on the noise became louder, until in about half an hour it was like the sound from a blast furnace.
“What do you suppose it can be?” asked Mark.
“Perhaps some new freak of nature,” the professor replied. “We seem to have a good many of them here.”
They were all on their guard now, for there was no telling into what danger they might run. As they went up a little hill the noise became much louder. The professor and Andy, who had taken the lead, kept a sharp lookout ahead, that they might not unexpectedly fall into some hidden stream or lake. As they topped the hill they saw before them a deep valley, and in the midst of it was that which was causing the roaring sound.
From the centre of an immense mound of rock and earth there spouted up a great column of water, three hundred feet or more, as straight as a flag staff. It was about ten feet in diameter, and at the top it broke into a rosette of sparkling liquid, which as the vari-colored lights played on it, resembled some wonderful flower.
“It’s a great geyser!” the professor exclaimed. “We have come to a place like Yellowstone Park. We must be very careful. The crust may be very thin here, and let us down into some boiling spring.”
The others gathered around the professor, and, from a safe distance watched the ever rising and falling shaft of water.
It was not regular in motion. Sometimes it would shoot up to a great distance, nearly a thousand feet, the professor estimated. Again it would sink down, as the power sending it out lessened, until it was only a few hundred feet above the rounded top of the mound from which it spurted. But it never fell below this. All the while there was the constant roaring sound, as though the forces of nature below the surface were calling to be let out.
“I hope there are not many of those about,” Mr. Henderson remarked after a pause. “If the ship should hit one during the night it would be all up with us. We must keep a careful lookout.”
The spouting column had a fascination which held them to the spot for some time. From the hill they had a good view of the surrounding country, but did not see any more geysers.
“Do you think it is hot water?” asked Mark.
“There is no vapor,” the professor answered, “but most of the geysers are produced by the action of steam in the interior of the earth. However we’ll not take any chances by investigating. I fear it would not be safe to go into that valley.”
“Look there!” cried Andy. “I guess we’re better off here!” He pointed a little to the right of where the water spouted. The others looked, and saw, coming from a hole in the ground, some shaggy black object.
“What is it?” asked Jack.
“It looks like a bear,” replied the hunter, “but I never saw one like it before.”
Nor had any of the others, for the creature was a terrible one. It had the body of a bear, but the feet and legs were those of an alligator, while the tail trailed out behind like a snake, and the head had a long snout, not unlike the trunk of an elephant. The creature was about ten feet long and five feet in height.
“Let me try a shot at it!” exclaimed Andy. “That is something worth shooting,” and he cocked his rifle.
“Don’t!” exclaimed the professor shortly. “You might only wound it, and it would pursue us. We are not ready to fight such creatures as that, and you are the only one armed.”
“I never missed anything I aimed at yet,” said Andy, a little hurt that any one should doubt his ability to kill at the first shot.
“Perhaps not, but how do you know but what this creature has a bullet proof armor under its hide. This is a strange world, Andy. It is better to take no chances.”
“I hate to see him get away,” the hunter said.
But, as it happened, the beast was not to get away. As they watched they saw the horrible animal approach the mound from which the water spurted. Up the sides it climbed.
“I guess he’s going to get a drink,” said Mark.
That was evidently the beast’s intention. It went close to the spouting column of water, and thrust its head out so that its tongue could lap from the side. It seemed to have been in the habit of doing this.
For once, and for the last time, however, it made a mistake. The water seemed to veer to one side. In its eagerness to get a drink the animal took another step forward. At that moment the direction of the column changed again, and it tilted over toward the beast.
Suddenly, as the travelers watched, the full force of the big column caught the beast just under the fore shoulders. Up into the air the creature shot, propelled by thousands of pounds pressure. Right up to the top of the column it went, and this time the water rose a thousand feet into the air.
Up and up went the animal, struggling to get away from the remorseless grip. Then, when the water had reached its height, it shot the beast off to one side. Then the brute began to fall, twisting, turning, wiggling and struggling. Down it came with a thud that could be heard above the noise of the geyser.
“I reckon that finishes him,” observed Andy. And it had, for there was not a sign of life from the creature.
“I guess we have seen enough for one morning,” the professor said. “Let’s go back to the airship. It must be nearly dinner time.”
They started away. Mark gave a last look at the queer column of water and the dead body of the strange animal. As he passed down the hill he thought he saw the creature move, and stayed to see if this was so. But a second glance convinced him he was mistaken.
The others had gone on and were some distance ahead. Mark hurried on to join them. As he got a last glance at the top of the column, over the brow of the hill, he happened to look off to the left. There was another hill, about the size of the one they had been on.
UP IN THE AIR THE CREATURE SHOT
UP IN THE AIR THE CREATURE SHOT
And, as Mark looked he saw something move. At first he thought it was another beast. But, to his terror he saw that the creature had only two legs, and that it stood upright like a man, but such a man as Mark had never seen before, for he was nearly twelve feet tall.
He was about to cry out and warn the others, when the thing, whatever it was, sunk down, apparently behind some tall bushes, and disappeared as if the earth had opened and swallowed it.
“I wonder if I had better tell them,” thought Mark. “I can’t show them anything. I wonder if I really saw it, or if it was only a shadow. I guess I’ll say nothing. But it is very strange.”
Then he hurried on to join the others.
“What makes you so pale?” asked Jack of his chum.
“Nothing,” said Mark, somewhat confused. “I guess I’m a little tired, that’s all.”
They reached the ship in safety, and, having dinner started the machinery and took theMermaidup into the air.
“We’ll travel on and see if we can’t find some human beings,” the professor said.
All that afternoon they sailed, the country below them unfolding like a panorama. They passed over big lakes, sailing on the surface of some, and over rivers, and vast stretches of forest and dreary plains. But they never saw a sign of human inhabitants.
It was getting on to five o’clock, the hour when the brilliant lights usually disappeared, when Mark, who was steering in the conning tower, gave a cry.
“What is it?” asked the professor, looking up from a rude map he was making of the land they had just traversed.
“It looks like a town before us,” said the boy.
Mr. Henderson and Jack looked to where Mark pointed. A few miles ahead and below them were great mounds, not unlike that from which the geyser had spouted. But they were arranged in regular form, like houses on a street, row after row of them. And, as they approached nearer, they could see that the mounds had doors and windows to them. Some of the mounds were larger than others, and some were of double and triple formation.
“It’s a city! The first city of the new world!” cried Jack.
“It is a deserted village!” said the professor. “We have found where the people live, but we have not found them.” And he was right, for there was not a sign of life about the place, over which the airship was now suspended.
“Let’s go down and investigate,” suggested Jack.
“Better wait,” counseled the professor. “It will soon be dark, and, though we will have moonlight, we can not see to advantage. I think it will be best to keep the ship in the air to-night, and descend in the morning. Then we can look about and decide on what to do.”
They all agreed this was the best plan, and, after making a circle above the deserted village, and noting no signs of life, theMermaidwas brought to a halt over the centre of the town, and about three hundred feet above it. There the travelers would be comparatively safe.
It was deemed best to keep watch that night, and so, Mark, Jack, Bill and Tom took turns, though there was nothing for them to do, as not a thing happened. With the first appearance of dawn Mr. Henderson gave orders to have the ship lowered, and it came to rest in the middle of what corresponded to a street in the queer mound village.
“Now to see what kind of people have lived here!” cried Jack. “They must have been a queer lot. Something like the Esquimaux, only they probably had more trouble keeping cool than the chaps up at the north pole do.”
Now that they were down among the mound houses, they saw that the dwellings were much larger than they had supposed. They towered high above the boys’ heads, and some of them were large enough in area to have accommodated a company of soldiers.
“Say, the chaps who lived in these must have been some pumpkins,” said Jack. “Why the ceilings are about fifteen feet high, and the doors almost the same! Talk about giants! I guess we’ve struck where they used to hang out, at any rate.”
The houses were a curious mixture of clay and soft stone. There were doors, with big skins from animals as curtains, and the windows were devoid of glass. Instead of stairs there were rude ladders, and the furniture in the mound houses was of the roughest kind.
There were fire-places in some of the houses, and the blackened and smoked walls showed that they must have been used. In one or two of the houses clay dishes, most of them broken, were scattered about, and the size of them, in keeping with everything else, indicated that those who used them were of no small stature.
“Some of the bowls would do for bath tubs,” said Jack, as he came across one or two large ones.
By this time the professor, Bill and Tom had joined the boys, and the five went on with the exploring tour, while Washington and Andy remained in the ship to get breakfast.
“The inhabitants are evidently of a half-civilized race,” the professor said. “Their houses, and the manner in which they live, show them to be allied to the Aztecs, though of course they are much larger than that race.”
“What’s bothering me,” Bill said, “is not so much what race they belong to, as what chance we’d stand in a race with them if they took it into their heads to chase after us. I’ve read that them there Azhandled races——”
“You mean the Aztecs,” interrupted the professor.
“Well the Aztecs, then. But I’ve read they used to place their enemies on a stone altar and cut their hearts out. Now I’m not hankerin’ after anything like that.”
“Don’t be foolish,” spoke Mr. Henderson. “Wait until you meet some of the giants, if that is what they are, and then you can decide what to do.”
“It may be too late then,” remarked Bill in a low tone, and the boys were somewhat inclined to agree with him.
However, there seemed to be no immediate danger, as there was no sign of any of the big people about the village. The adventurers walked about for some time, but made no discoveries that would throw any light on the reason for the place being left uninhabited. It seemed as if there had been a sudden departure from the place, for in a number of the houses the remains of half-cooked meals were seen.
“Well, I think we have noted enough for the time being,” the professor remarked, after they had traversed almost half the length of what seemed to be the principal street. “Let’s go back to the ship and have something to eat. Washington may have become alarmed at our absence.”
They made a circle in order to take in another part of the town on their way back. While passing through a sort of alley, though it was only narrow by comparison with the other thoroughfares that were very wide, Mark came to a place where there was a circular slab of stone, resting on the ground. In the centre was a big iron ring.
“Hello! Here’s something new!” he exclaimed. “Maybe it leads to a secret passage, or covers some hidden treasure.”
“I guess it will have to continue to cover it then,” Jack spoke. “That probably weighs several tons. None of us could move it.”
They made their way back to the ship, where they found Washington and Andy discussing the advisability of going off in search of them.
“Breakfast is mighty near spoiled,” said the colored man with an injured air.
But the travelers did full justice to the meal, notwithstanding this. Deciding there was nothing to be gained by staying in that vicinity, the professor started the ship off again.
They traveled several hundred miles in the air, and, as the afternoon was coming to a close, Jack, who was in charge of the conning tower, spied, just ahead of them, another village.
“We will descend there for the night,” the professor said. “Does there seem to be any sign of life about?”
“None,” replied Mark, who was observing through a telescope the town they were approaching. “It’s as dead as the other one.”
The airship settled down in a field back of some of the mound houses.
“Now for supper!” cried Jack. “I’m as hungry as——”
He stopped short, for, seeming to rise from the very ground, all about the ship, there appeared a throng of men. And such men as they were! For not one was less than ten feet tall, and some were nearly fifteen!
“The giants have us!” cried Bill, as he saw the horde of creatures surrounding the ship.
“Keep the doors closed!” cried the professor. “It is our only hope! I will send the ship up again!”
But it was too late. Washington, who had obeyed the signal from the conning tower to shut off the engines, had disconnected most of them so they could not be started again save from the main room. At the same time there came a yell of dismay from the colored man, who had slid back the steel covering of the main side entrance to theMermaid.
“I’m caught!” cried Washington.
As the professor and the boys hurried from the tower, they could hear a struggle from where Washington was, and his voice calling:
“Let me go! Let me go!”
Reaching the engine room, which opened directly on the side entrance, the professor saw a pair of enormous hands and arms dragging poor Washington, feet first, out of the ship. Bill and Tom were crouched in one corner, pale with fright.
“Wait until I get my gun!” cried Andy, as he ran for his rifle.
“Hold on!” called the professor in a loud voice. “It will be folly to shoot them! We must try strategy!”
Washington’s cries ceased as he was drawn entirely from the ship, the giant hands disappearing at the same time.
“Follow me!” yelled Mr. Henderson, running out of the door.
Hardly knowing what they did, the boys went after him, and their hearts almost stopped beating in fright as they saw the terrible things, which, in the glare of the changing lights, were on every side of them.
For the men were very repulsive looking. They were attired in clothes, very similar in cut to those worn by the travelers, and which seemed to be made of some sort of cloth. But they were loose and baggy and only added to the queer appearance of the giants. Veritable giants they were too. Their faces seemed as large as kegs, and they were so clumsy in shape that Mark, even, frightened as he was, exclaimed:
“They look like men made of putty!” At the same time he saw they bore a resemblance to the creature he had observed on the hill top.
“What shall we do?” asked Andy of the professor. “They are really carrying Washington away!”
Three of the giants were dragging the colored man along the ground, while the other terrible beings stood about as if waiting to see the outcome of the first sally.
“I will try to speak to them,” Mr. Henderson said. “I know several languages. They may understand one.”
But before he could start on his parley a surprising thing happened. There was a struggle in the little group about Washington. The colored man seemed to be fighting, though the odds, it would appear, were too great to enable him to accomplish anything. But, making a desperate effort to escape, Washington quickly wrenched himself free from the giants’ hands and then, striking out with his fists, knocked the three down, one after another.
“I never knew Washington was so strong!” exclaimed Jack.
“Nor I,” put in Mark. “Why I should think the men could carry him in one arm as if he was a baby.”
The three giants rose slowly to their feet. They uttered strange cries, and motioned with their hands toward the professor, the boys, and the others in the crowd.
“Look out! They’re goin’ t’ grab yo’!” cried Washington.
Three of the giants approached Mark, and a like number closed in on Jack.
“Back to the ship!” cried the professor. “We must defend ourselves!”
But by this time the big men had grabbed the two boys. Then a strange thing took place. Mark and Jack, though they felt that the giants must overcome them in a test of strength, struggled with all their might against being captured. They fought, as a cornered rat will fight, though it knows the odds to be overwhelming. But in this case the unexpected happened.
Both boys found they could easily break the holds of the giants, and Mark, by a vigorous effort, pushed the three men away from him, one at a time violently so that they fell in a heap, one on top of the other.
“Hurrah! We can fight ’em!” cried Mark. “Don’t be afraid. They’re like mush! They’re putty men!”
And, so it seemed, the giants were. Though big in size they were flabby and had nothing like the muscle they should have had in proportion to their build. They went down like meal sacks and were slow to rise.