CHAPTER VI
AWAY IN THE AIRSHIP
"Quick, Washington!" cried the professor. "Jump in the engine room and start the gas generator. Mark, you bring in from the cabin all those wheels and things on the walls! Jack, load those packages there into the locker in the after part of the Monarch! But handle them carefully! They contain explosives and ammunition for the machine gun!"
If there had been hurry and bustle before, there was ten times as much now. The professor gave one look at the place where Taggert had been concealed. The man had worked off his bonds and escaped while his captors were in the airship's cabin.
Soon there was a queer hissing noise from the engine room of the Monarch. The gas bag began to distend.
"She's fillin', Perfessor!" cried Washington.
"We must tie her down," muttered the old man. "Otherwise she will rise and take the shed with her. I say, Washington!"
"Yes, Perfessor."
"We must get some one to help us open the shed roof to let the ship rise out. We can't do it alone."
"Guess it's a extraunordinary contract," agreed the negro.
"Then you go out and see if any one is in sight. Try to hire them for the work, but don't tell them about the ship. They can work up on the roof. I will see to the gas machine while you are away. Hurry now!"
The colored man went out. In the meanwhile the professor and the two boys continued to load up the Monarch. They had nearly everything that the inventor intended to take along piled in its proper place, when footsteps were heard outside. Then the noise of some persons on the roof was audible. In a few minutes Washington came in.
"I found three men," explained the negro. "One is dat old hunter as helped us before, Andy Sudds. He was goin' huntin' but he said he'd help take the roof off fer a dollar. De oder two is does farm hands, Tom Smith an' Bill Jones. Dey was goin' down to do post-office, but dey said dey'd help fer fifty cents apiece. All three is up on de roof now."
"Good!" exclaimed the professor. "It's lucky I had the roof made in sections when I built this shed. Now it can be taken off in a hurry. Come on, boys! There are some more things that must go in the ship!"
Thus urged, Mark and Jack worked with a will. Washington helped, and then went up on the roof to aid the three emergency toilers. By this time several sections of the covering to the shed had been taken off and the place was quite light.
All the while the gas machine in the ship continued to generate the vapor. It flowed into the cigar-shaped bag through two rubber tubes. As the bag distended more and more, the Monarch tugged and pulled at the anchoring ropes on the floor of the shed, as if anxious to be away.
The boys worked with a will. The last articles were placed in the various rooms of the airship's cabin, until the balloon shed was stripped quite bare. The professor was busy in the engine room. The noise of the gas generating machine increased.
Then came a series of sharp explosions as one of the gasolene engines was started. This was followed by the hum of an electric dynamo, and the whizz and purring of a big motor.
The inventor was testing the many machines to see that all worked right. Suddenly he switched on the incandescent lights in the ship's cabin. Next he turned on the powerful searchlight in the bow, and the shed was illuminated by a glare that rivaled the sun. The professor then revolved the big propeller slowly and tested the rudder.
"Everything is in good shape!" he cried. "We will start in five minutes if they get the roof off so we can rise. Those anchor ropes will not hold much longer!"
Up on the roof, however, the men were working with a will. Board after board was torn away and the different sections moved to one side. At last the whole top of the shed was off. All that remained was to let the Monarch out.
Suddenly from where the three emergency helpers were working there came a cry of astonishment, mingled with fear. For the first time Andy Sudds, Tom Smith and Bill Jones, characters well known to Amos Henderson, had looked down into the shed, and caught sight of the tugging, swaying airship. The interior had been quite dark up to this point, which accounted for them not having noticed the ship before. But when they saw the strange affair so close beneath them they were startled.
"Jumpin' rattlesnakes!" cried Andy Sudds. "What have I struck?"
"It's a yellow elephant!" exclaimed Tom Jones.
"A sea serpent!" ejaculated Bill Smith.
They leaned over from the edge of the roof eaves to which they were clinging and peered down into the big balloon shed. Certainly the airship presented a queer sight to the three men.
"Is everything ready?" asked the professor of Washington.
"Eberyt'ing am circumulated to completeness," replied the negro.
"Jump in, boys! Untie the ropes, Washington. We'll start!"
"Hurry! Hurry! Perfessor!" cried Washington, as he looked out of a side window. "Here comes dat man we tied up in de shed! He's got anoder man wid him, an' dey got guns!"
"It's Taggert! He is after me!" exclaimed the inventor. "He must not be allowed to get on the ship! Come on, Mark and Jack! Never mine unknotting the ropes! Cut 'em! We have no time to lose! Jump in, Washington!"
The boys clambered over the sides of the airship. Washington followed their example. The anchor ropes were cut.
"Hi, there! Stop!" cried a voice from outside. "Don't you dare start that ship!"
"Here we go!" shouted Professor Henderson in a joyful tone. "Now to see if the Monarch fulfills her promise!"
He hurried into the engine room. The noise of the gas generating machine increased. The gasolene engine went faster, and the motors and dynamos added to the noise. There was a loud hissing sound. The professor had opened a valve admitting the full force of gas into the oiled silk bag. Then came a snapping sound as several anchoring ropes that had not been cut, broke.
Up rose the Monarch like some immense bird, through the opened shed roof. Out into the air went the big yellow bag. And then a strange thing happened.
Andy Sudds, the hunter, and Bill Jones and Tom Smith, the two farm hands, who had been peering over the edge of the shed down at the airship, leaned over too far in their anxiety to observe everything. As the gas bag brushed past them they were startled. They lost their balances and the next instant all three toppled right into the bow of the Monarch as she arose, and were lifted up into the air with her.
"Hold on, there! Stop!" cried Taggert, who by this time had come close to the shed.
"It's too late!" shouted back the professor, poking his head from a window in the engine room.
"Hey, there! You're carrying me off in your ship!" yelled Andy Sudds as he scrambled to his feet after his tumble into the bow of the Monarch.
"And me!" ejaculated Bill Jones.
"And me!" exclaimed Tom Smith. "I didn't figure on coming with you."
"It's too late!" the old inventor cried. He turned some wheels and levers and the airship arose faster. Then he switched on the electric machinery. The big propeller began to revolve. Swifter and swifter it went. The Monarch, which had risen several hundred feet, started forward at a swift pace. "We are off for the north pole!" shouted the inventor. "Hurrah! The ship works! I knew it would!"
"Here!" roared Andy Sudds. "I don't want to go to the north pole. I want to hunt muskrats down by the creek."
"You can hunt seals and whales up north," the professor called to him.
"But I've lost my gun!" the hunter exclaimed, soberly, yet a little appeased at the prospect of big game.
"I'll give you a better one," promised Mr. Henderson. "You shall have all the hunting you want."
"I can't go to the north pole," fairly yelled Bill Jones, starting back toward the engine room. "I had a job plowing on a farm. If I don't go back I'll lose my place."
"You can hire out to me," suggested the professor. "I need a crew, and I didn't have time to ship one."
"What about me?" asked Tom Smith. "I was working on a farm like Bill."
"I'll hire you also," spoke the inventor of the Monarch.
"Hi, Perfessor! Shall I shut off de gas?" Washington suddenly cried.
"For a while," was the inventor's reply. "We are high enough now. Then oil up the engines and dynamos, they need it. You boys can help," he said to Mark and Jack. "I must see to my instruments and find whether everything is working right."
The two boys were delighted to have a chance in the engine room. Under Washington's direction, the colored man showing quite a knowledge of the apparatus, they oiled the various bearings until everything was running smoothly.
Until now they had no time to realize what an experience they were going through. Things had happened so quickly that it was hard to realize they were sailing through the air in a wonderful ship, probably the most successful navigator of the upper regions ever invented.
It was not until Jack looked over the edge of the airship from the engine room window that he felt what a trip up among the clouds meant. Below the earth was spread out like a good-sized map, with little threads of silver for rivers, patches of green for big fields, and narrow gray ribbons where there were roads.
"It's wonderful!" he cried to Mark.
"And to think we were chased out of town yesterday by a constable," spoke his companion. "This is a great change. I'd like to see him catch us now."
"Dis prolonguated elevation into de airy space ob de zeneth am extremely discommodatiousness to a pusson what ain't used to it," remarked Washington with a broad grin as he oiled a whirring motor.
"Yes—er—I guess it is," admitted Mark.
"Are your teeth all fast after that effort?" asked Jack with a laugh.
"Neber yo' mind my teeth," said Washington. "Golly! What's de matter now?"
The Monarch was darting from side to side like a kite that has lost its tail in a high wind.
"It's only the professor trying the steering apparatus," said Jack, looking forward toward the conning tower. This proved to be true, for, in a moment, the airship resumed a straight path, and the professor, coming back to the engine room, cried:
"She answers her helm perfectly. It certainly is a success in every way! But now, since the machinery is working well, and I have the Monarch headed due north, in which direction she will sail alone for a while, I want you boys to come into the dining room, while we talk over matters with our unexpected visitors. We must lay plans and divide up the work of running the ship."
Jack and Mark went with the old man into the middle room of the craft. There they found the old hunter and the two farm hands. None of the three had quite gotten over his fright at being suddenly carried off through the air.
"Everything has turned out for the best," the inventor began. "I feared my forced start would spoil my plans, but you see I got a crew almost at the last moment. Now we will—"
He was interrupted by a sudden cry from the engine room.
"Help! Help!" rang out the voice of the colored man. "Hurry up an' help, Perfessor. I'm caught in some cantankerous conglomeration an' I'm bein' killed! Help! Help!"
Followed by the boys and the three men the old inventor hastened aft, alarm showing on his face.
CHAPTER VII
HELD BY ELECTRICITY
As they reached the engine room they saw a queer sight. Washington was close to the buzzing dynamo which he had started to oil. His hands grasped two large copper switches used to turn the current on and off.
"Let go and come away from there!" cried Mr. Henderson.
"I can't! I'se stuck fast!" yelled the negro, writhing in pain.
Andy Sudds started on the jump to assist the unfortunate man.
"Don't touch him!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "He's held fast by electricity! If you attempt to pull him away with your bare hands you'll be caught just as he is! Wait a minute!"
The inventor rapidly opened a locker. From it he took out a pair of rubber gloves. Putting these on he hurried to where the negro was still squirming in pain and terror.
"Help! Help!" Washington yelled. "I'm burning up!"
"Wait a moment! I'll save you!" shouted the captain of the Monarch. The next instant he reached up, and turned off the electric current. Washington fell in a limp heap on the floor of the engine room. He was freed from the grip of the electricity that had held him as in a vise. The professor ran to a medicine closet and got a remedy which he administered to the unfortunate one.
In a little while the colored man was better. He sat up, opened his eyes, which had been closed, and remarked:
"Dat was a mighty close call fer dis chicken!"
"What made you go near the switch?" asked Mr. Henderson. "I have warned you several times never to put both hands on a copper switch at the same time. One hand does not matter, but two make the connection."
"I knows it now, Perfessor," said Washington humbly.
"Then I hope you'll remember it. That applies to all of you," he went on. "If ever you have occasion to touch any electrical machinery, don't do it with both hands at the same time, if there is danger of forming a connection. Always use rubber gloves, and you'll be in no danger. Rubber is a non-conductor. Remember, Washington."
"I'll recollection it on de next obstreperous occasion," promised the negro.
"You must feel better when you can use your big words," said Mr. Henderson with a laugh. "Now," he continued, "I was about to give a few general instructions about the airship, when Washington interrupted us.
"You men who are here against your will I am sorry about. I could not stop and let you off a while ago, because there was a man at the shed whom I did not want to meet. But if you want to go back to your homes I will let the airship down to the earth and you can go. I would like to have you stay with me. I can promise you all good wages, since I am well off as regards money.
"To you, Mr. Sudds, I can promise such game hunting as you never had before. And to you two farm hands I can promise such sights as you never saw before. Do you want to continue with me, now that you have had a chance to think the thing over?"
All three said they did.
"Then I'll divide our forces," went on the captain and owner of the Monarch. "I will be in general charge of the ship, just as if I was a commander of an ocean steamer. I expect to be obeyed in every particular. Washington will be the engineer, with the two boys to help him. Tom Smith and Bill Jones will be in charge of the kitchen, and I will show them how to prepare the condensed foods. Andy Sudds will be a sort of look-out and the hunter of the expedition. I will steer the ship and keep watch of the different instruments.
"In order that you may know a little bit about the Monarch I will tell you how she is run. In the first place, she is lifted above the earth by the power of a very strong gas I discovered. It is much lighter than hydrogen, or the gas ordinary airships are filled with, and has a greater lifting power than the hot air used in the old balloons.
"By putting more gas into the silk bag above us I can rise higher. The less gas I use the lower we go. The gas is let into or out of the bag by means of valves which are operated from the engine room or the steering tower. The forward motion of the ship is brought about by means of the propeller at the stern. This propeller works by electricity. The electricity comes from storage batteries which are kept charged from the dynamo run by one of the gasolene engines. I also have an electric motor that is run by either a gasolene engine or the storage battery. If one breaks down I can use the other. The motor alone will run the propeller if the storage batteries fail, and I have to run the electric machine directly from the gasolene engine.
"That apparatus there," and he pointed to a complicated machine, "is where the lifting gas is generated. A gasolene engine runs it. Those tubes carry the gas from the machine to the bag above."
Then the professor pointed out the levers that started and stopped The Monarch, those that sent it higher into the air or toward the earth, the wheel for steering, and told the boys and men how to read the instrument that gave the heights, the force of the wind, the temperature, and much other information. He showed them how the entire control of the ship could be accomplished from the conning or steering tower by the turning of one wheel or another.
"Rattlesnakes an' mud turtles, but she sure is a bang-up affair," observed Andy Sudds. "But about that gun—"
"That's so. I promised you a gun in exchange for the one you lost," said
Mr. Henderson. "Wait a moment."
He was gone a little while. Presently he returned with a fine rifle, at the sight of which the old hunter's eyes sparkled.
"That's a beauty!" he exclaimed. "It beats mine."
"It is a magazine gun," explained the professor. "It fires sixteen shots with one loading," he explained.
"And I can kill sixteen white bears, sixteen seals or sixteen whales!" exclaimed Andy with delight. "Well, I certainly am glad I come along, Professor."
"I have a gun for each of us," Mr. Henderson went on, "in case we should meet with enemies. But we may not need them. There is also the machine gun at the stern."
Then the professor initiated his crew into the mysteries of the kitchen and dining room. Nearly all the foods carried on the Monarch were of the condensed type. A small capsule made a plate of soup. There were other pills or capsules that held meat extracts, condensed cereals, tea, milk, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper and everything needed in the general eating line. All the cooking was done by electricity.
As has been said, there was plenty of clothing to withstand the rigors of the arctic regions. There was an abundance of gasolene for the engines and for heating the ship. In short, Professor Henderson seemed to have forgotten nothing that would make his trip to the north pole a success.
After he had explained all he thought necessary, he told the two farm hands to see what they could do in the way of preparing a meal, as it was nearly noon, and everyone was hungry. Rather awkwardly at first, Bill and Tom started in. They soon got the knack of things, however, and once they had found out how to run the electric stove they were right at home making soups and other dishes from the condensed foods. The first meal on the Monarch was voted a success.
Meanwhile the airship was sailing on. It was not moving very rapidly, for the professor wanted to give the machinery a chance to warm up. After the meal the inventor took the two boys into the steering tower with him, telling Washington to speed up the engines.
In a few minutes the boys were aware that they were moving forward at a faster pace. The air, as it came in the opened window of the conning tower, rushed past with great force.
"I think we'll go a little higher," said Mr. Henderson.
He turned a small lever. All at once the boys experienced a sensation as if they were in a rapidly ascending elevator. Up and up they went, for the professor had admitted more gas to the big silk bag above them.
Suddenly the earth which the boys had dimly perceived below them as if it was a small map in a big geography, faded out of sight. At the same instant there was a sudden moisture and chilliness to the air. Then a dense white mist enveloped the Monarch.
"Oh!" cried Mark. "What has happened?"
"We are going through a cloud!" called the professor. So dense was the vapor that the boys, though within five feet of the captain, could not see him. His voice sounded far off.
Then came a sudden rush of light. The mist cleared away. The boys could see clearly, but as they glanced down they noticed rolling masses of white below them.
"We are above the clouds!" said the professor. "Be careful not to exert yourselves, as it is hard to breathe in this rarefied or thin atmosphere."
The boys experienced some difficulty, but by avoiding any exertion were not much bothered.
"Now we'll go down a bit," said the inventor, after the ship had whizzed along for several miles above the masses of vapor. "I want to get an idea where I am."
He turned some more wheels and levers. In a few minutes the ship was again surrounded with a white cloud. Then it passed away, and the earth came into view.
Suddenly the professor looked forward. He seemed to be gazing intently at something.
"I wonder what that is?" he muttered. He took down a telescope and adjusted it, peering forward with strained eyes.
"Can it be possible!" he exclaimed. Then he dropped the glass and frantically signaled to the engine room.
"We must look out for ourselves!" he cried, "Come here, Andy Sudds!"
CHAPTER VIII
SURROUNDED BY EAGLES
There was a sudden tremor all over the airship as Washington, in the engine room, in obedience to the signals, turned off the power. Then sounded a hiss as the captain let some gas from the bag. The ship began to sink toward the earth.
The black cloud that the professor had been gazing at came nearer. It grew larger and seemed to be made up of a number of small moving objects.
"Quick, Andy!" cried the old inventor. "We shall need your services now!"
"What's the matter?" exclaimed the old hunter, as he hurried forward with his gun in readiness.
"Eagles!" cried Amos Henderson.
"Eagles?"
"Yes! A whole flock of them. Just ahead! See that dark cloud! They are coming this way! They think the ship is a rival bird and they will attack it. Strong as the Monarch is, the silk in the gas bag is frail. If the birds tear that we will fall to the earth and be killed! Use your gun! See if you can drive them off!"
Andy kneeled down on the forward part of the ship. He aimed at the black mass, in which scores and scores of birds could now be seen. Then his gun sent out fire and lead.
Bang! Bang! it spoke, and two birds dropped toward the earth. Again the gun belched forth, and more of the eagles were killed. As fast as Andy could pull the trigger he fired.
"We must all get guns!" cried the professor. "It is the only way to save the ship! Come on, boys! You'll find weapons in the dining-room lockers!"
Mark and Jack hurried after the rifles. The professor was greatly excited. Bill and Tom came running forward. The inventor rapidly handed out the guns.
In the meanwhile the ship was slowly settling toward the ground. The captain hoped to get low enough to escape the onward rush of the big birds, but he had counted without the anger of the eagles. They thought the airship was a rival in the realms of space and were determined to destroy it.
On and on they came in spite of the number among them that were killed. Every one on the ship, except Washington, who had to attend to the engines, was firing. The birds never stopped or swerved from their course.
Then with a rush and roar, a flapping of wings that sounded like thunder, and shrill cries and screams that almost drowned the noise of the guns, the eagles surrounded the Monarch. They struck at it with their talons. They opened wide their sharp beaks and snapped at the wood and iron.
Some of the fierce birds even attacked the men, and boys, and were beaten off with the butts of the rifles. Others of the eagles rose higher in the air and struck at the oiled silk bag. At first the yielding surface offered no resistance and was not damaged. Then one fierce bird, with wide-opened beak, struck at the thin cloth and tore a hole in it as large as a man's hand.
The sudden settling of the airship told that something was wrong. Then the professor, glancing aloft, saw what had happened, and hastened to his helper.
"Quick, Washington!" he shouted. "Start the gas generator at full speed! We must pump lots of the gas in to keep us afloat! We are in great danger!"
"Why not try the machine gun on the eagles?" shouted Jack.
"Good idea!" exclaimed the inventor. "You two boys work it!"
At last the eagles, alarmed by the number killed, and frightened by the noise of the guns and the shots, halted in their rushes at the airship. Some of the wounded ones wheeled away. Then others followed until, finally, the whole colony of birds sailed off.
"There they go!" cried Jack.
"Yes, but I fear too late to do us any good," spoke the professor. "The airship is slowly settling."
"Can't it be fixed?" asked Mark.
"I suppose I could let it down to earth and patch up the hole, but I fear to do so," answered the inventor. "The Monarch is not under control, and if I attempt to make a landing I may smash her all to pieces. She may settle down until within a few hundred feet of the earth and then plunge like a meteor. We would all be killed then."
"Is there no other way?" asked Jack.
"None, unless we could patch up the hole in the gas bag while we are up aloft. I can hold the ship there for a while yet. Another reason why I do not want to land is that we are over a thickly settled portion of the state now, and if I go down to earth we will be surrounded by a curious crowd that will delay us."
"Is that netting strong?" asked Mark, suddenly, pointing to the cords that confined the gas bag.
"Two strands would support a man's weight," said Mr. Henderson.
"And have you anything to mend the silk bag with?" went on the boy.
"Yes, but why do you ask?"
"Because," answered Mark, "if you'll let me I'll climb up and mend the hole the eagle made."
"Dare you do it?" cried the old professor, hope shining in his face.
"Try me and see."
The professor quickly prepared a piece of silk, kept on hand to repair breaks in the bag. It was coated with a very strong and fresh cement. The silk was to be inserted in the tear made by the eagles, when it would at once harden and prevent the further escape of gas.
Mark made ready for the perilous ascent. He took off his coat, and removed his shoes so his feet could better cling to the frail-looking though strong cords.
"Slow down the ship!" commanded the captain. "Now, Mark, try! I hope you succeed! Move cautiously. You don't want to lose your life!"
Mark said nothing. He grasped the piece of oiled silk, coated with the cement, in his teeth, clinching it by a strip that was free from the sticky substance. Then he stood on the rail of the Monarch and began his climb aloft. Surely few ascents were made under such fearful conditions. The airship was now more than a mile above the earth. One false step and the boy would plunge into eternity. Nothing could save him.
Up and up he went, testing every cord and mesh before he trusted his weight to it. On and on he advanced. The frail gas bag swayed in the wind that was springing up. It seemed like a thing alive.
"Careful! Careful!" cautioned the professor in strained tones. Everyone on the ship held his breath. Up and up Mark went. At last he reached the place where the eagle's beak had torn the bag.
He braced himself in the meshes of the net. Then, leaning forward, he fixed the patch under the rent, and pressed it into place. The cement did not take hold at first. Mark pressed harder. Would the leak be stopped?
"Will he make it?" asked one.
"I don't think so."
"He must make it!"
"If not we are lost!"
"You are right!"
For a moment there was a doubt. Then the sticky stuff adhered to the silk bag, and the patch was made fast. A shout from Washington in the engine room told that the gas had ceased to rush out. Mark had succeeded.
Washington hastened to turn the gas generator to half speed. Before he could do so, however, there had been a great increase in the volume of vapor in the bag, caused by the sudden stopping off of the vent. Up shot the airship, the accumulation of gas lifting it higher from the earth. So suddenly did it shoot up, from having been almost at rest, that there was a tremor through the whole craft.
"Look out, Mark!" cried Jack. He looked up to where his comrade clung to the netting.
"Hold fast! We'll stop the ship in a second," exclaimed the captain.
But it was too late. The sudden rising of the craft had shaken Mark's hold, which was not of the best at any time, since the gas bag was a yielding surface to lean against.
The next instant the boy, vainly clutching the air for some sort of grip for his hands, toppled over backward. His feet slid from the meshes of the net, and he plunged downward toward the earth, more than a mile below!
CHAPTER IX
THE FROZEN NORTH REACHED
"He'll be killed!" shouted Jack.
"He's a goner!" yelled Washington, looking up from the engine room window.
The old professor groaned and shut his eyes. He did not want to see the boy fall.
Bill and Tom, with old Andy Sudds, had been watching Mark at his perilous task, standing directly beneath him. Andy was the closer. He leaned quickly backward when he saw what had happened.
Mark's body, turning over in its descent, was at the ship's side. Out shot the hands of the old hunter. His fingers were curved like the talons of an eagle. The long arms seemed to reach a great distance, and then, just as it seemed that Mark would plunge downward to his death, Andy grasped and held him.
"There!" exclaimed the hunter. "That was a close call, my boy!"
Mark did not answer. The fearful danger he had been saved from had so frightened him that he became partially unconscious.
"Is he dead?" faltered Jack.
"He has only fainted," answered Amos Henderson. "I'll soon bring him around."
The inventor hurried into the cabin and came out with some liquid in a glass. This he placed to Mark's lips and soon the color came back into the pale cheeks.
"What happened? Where am I?" asked the boy, sitting up and looking around.
"You're all right," answered Andy. "It was a close call though. I reckon you won't want to mend any more airships right away."
"I remember now," went on Mark, who had been dazed by the suddenness of it all. "I fell, didn't I?"
"Yes, and Andy caught you," put in Jack. "He was just in time."
Mark said nothing, but the fervor with which he shook the old hunter by the hand showed how deep his feeling was.
In a little while the fright and excitement caused by the accident had passed over. The ship now rode evenly and neither rose nor fell, in consequence of the gas supply in the bag remaining the same, there being no leak. The patch Mark had put on fitted so closely that there was not the least escape of gas now.
"Well, we might as well start ahead," said Amos Henderson, at length. "We have had excitement enough in this neighborhood, and maybe we'll be better off if we go forward."
Accordingly he went to the conning tower, set the propeller in motion, and soon the Monarch was moving northward at great speed. With his eyes on the compass in front of him the captain held the ship on her course.
They were about half a mile above the ground now, the captain having allowed the Monarch to settle. They could see that they were passing over a populated part of the country.
"Come up here!" yelled Captain Henderson to the boys from the steering tower. "I'll explain a few things to you."
Willingly enough the boys joined him. He was busy making a calculation of figures on a piece of paper. The steering wheel was lashed and the compass pointed to indicate that the ship was rushing due north.
"We're making satisfying progress," said the professor. "At this rate we will not be long on the journey."
"How fast are we moving?" asked Jack.
"About fifty miles an hour," replied the inventor. "That is 1,200 miles a day, counting that we run day and night at this speed. But we will hardly do that, not that we could not, for there will be no dangers of collisions up here. I think we have the air all to ourselves.
"But there will be contrary winds, and we may be blown off our course. That is the only disadvantage an airship is under. It can't sail against the wind like a ship on the water. Still, we have many advantages. Now I figure that we can count on an average of at least twenty-five miles an hour all day long and part of the night.
"We started from about the middle of New York state, and to the north pole would be about 3,000 miles. We ought to make the distance in about five days, or say a week, to be on the safe side. We will move as fast as we can, from now on, though, especially during the daylight."
The professor turned some wheels and levers and the speed of the airship increased a little. It was kept at about the same height.
The sun was beginning to descend in the west, for it was getting late in the afternoon. Down below, on the earth, the landscape had changed from that of cities and towns to a stretch of dense woods.
"Must be near supper time," observed Mark.
"Your fright didn't deprive you of your appetite, then?" asked Amos
Henderson.
"Not a bit," replied the boy.
In a few minutes Tom and Bill were preparing a meal of the condensed foods, cooked on the electric stove. Everyone voted the victuals excellent. Then, as night settled down, the bunks were made up and the boys, together with the two farm hands, were glad to seek some rest, for the day had been an exciting one. Washington and the professor agreed to divide the night into two watches, as they were not familiar enough with the workings of the ship to dare to leave it unguarded. The machinery might need attention any moment.
The boys and their companions were soon asleep, and no thoughts of their strange position, that of slumbering on an airship high in the atmosphere, disturbed their dreams.
The last thing Jack wondered was whether the passing of the Monarch would not be taken by people on the earth for the flight of some giant comet, as it sailed aloft, all lighted up. But he was too tired to pursue this speculation long.
Morning dawned without anything unusual having occurred. The ship had been kept going at a slow speed all night, and no accidents happened. Breakfast was served, and then each of the crew took up his duties.
The professor, having made a careful examination of the ship to see that everything was in order, showed Jack and Mark how to steer the craft, and how to start, stop, raise and lower it from the conning tower or the engine room.
Then he let them practice a bit, and two more delighted boys there never was, as they sent the craft ahead up or down, starting and stopping her with a few turns of a wheel or lever.
"You may want to know how to run her some day in an emergency," said
Amos Henderson. "No telling what will happen."
"We hope nothing will," spoke Jack.
"There's no telling," prophesied the inventor.
For several days the ship moved ahead at moderate speed. The machinery, excepting for some minor accidents, worked smoothly. The gas bag did not leak, which was the accident most dreaded, and it was not necessary to run the gas generator, which proved a saving of the valuable chemical from which the lifting-vapor was produced.
Now and then, when in need of water, the craft was lowered to the earth in a secluded spot near a stream or lake, and the tanks were filled for drinking and washing purposes. But so far, from the time of the hasty flight, no one on the earth had spoken to the voyagers. Nor, so far as was known, had their presence been noted, though the black speck in the sky might have furnished plenty of talk all over the country for those who observed it. The weather was pleasant, but it was noticed that it was constantly growing colder.
One morning Jack, who was the first up, stuck his head out of the cabin door before he had finished dressing. He quickly popped back again.
"Whew!" he exclaimed. "Colder than Greenland!"
"What's that about Greenland?" asked the professor, who had just awakened.
"It's awful cold outside," said Jack, shivering from the remembrance.
Without a word the professor, wrapping a dressing-gown about him, hurried to the engine room, where several thermometers were kept. One was outside, and could be read through a glass side.
"No wonder you felt cold," he said to Jack, when he returned. "It's ten degrees below zero!"
The boys hurried to complete their dressing. The professor did likewise, as he was anxious to take some observations.
"Get out the fur garments," he said. "We must take no more chances now. It will become colder rapidly, and ordinary clothes will be of no protection."
The boys and the professor donned heavy fur coats, with immense gloves and caps that covered all of their faces but the eyes. Then they went outside. Jack was the first to look over the side of the ship. As he did so he uttered a cry of astonishment.
Down below, about three-quarters of a mile, was a great white, snowy waste. Giant mountains of ice were heaped on every side. It was a cold, frosty silent world that the Monarch was flying over. They had reached the frozen north! They were at the beginning of the entrance to the land of the Pole!
CHAPTER X
LOST IN AN ICE CAVE
"I'm not surprised that the thermometer is down below zero," remarked
Jack. "There's enough ice under us to supply the whole United States."
"It is getting colder!" exclaimed the inventor as he glanced at an instrument near him. "It is fifteen below zero now!"
In truth the Monarch was far to the north. She had gone faster than the inventor calculated. A glance downward showed that all traces of civilization had been left behind.
There was nothing to be seen but snow and ice, ice and snow, piled in fantastic heaps,—mountains, ridges, hills and valleys.
The professor hastily made a few calculations.
"I believe we are somewhere over Greenland or Baffin Bay, but whether we are over the land or sea I cannot tell. At any rate we are still going north," and he glanced at the compass.
They were about to retrace their steps to the dining cabin, when there was a sudden settling of the Monarch. It seemed to be plunging downward.
"What's the matter?" cried Jack.
The inventor hurried to the engine room. A glance at the registering needle of the instrument for telling the height attained, showed that the ship was sinking fifty feet a minute.
"Some conglomerous contraption has disproportionated herself," cried
Washington. "What shall I do, Perfessor?"
"Start the gas generator at full speed!" cried the inventor. "Heat the vapor before it goes to the bag! The cold has contracted the gas in the holder above so that it will no longer support us! Work quick, Washington!"
Washington sprang to set the gas machine in operation. He seemed to be having trouble with it.
"She won't work!" he called. "She's busted!"
Faster and faster the airship continued to sink. The inventor hurried to Washington's help, but it seemed that nothing could be done. On board the Monarch there was deadly fear in every heart.
"I can't keep her afloat!" the professor groaned.
Down and down went the craft. The inventor and Washington were working furiously. The boys, old Andy and Tom and Bill hurried to the engine room.
Then came a sudden jolt. The airship had struck the ice!
"Shut off the engines!" cried the professor. "Stop everything or we'll go to smash! We must set to work to repair the gas machine and raise the ship."
The Monarch had settled down on a vast ice plane. So gently had the ship sunk through the air that she had suffered no injury. She rested on an even keel and there was still enough lifting power in the gas contained in the bag to keep that afloat, so that the vapor holder tugged gently at the confining meshes of the net.
"Ma goodness sakes alive!" cried Washington as soon as he had poked his head out of the warm engine room. "De atmospheric conditions am such dat dey is conducive to de utmost congestion of mah circulatory systemation!"
"I suppose you mean it is too cold for your blood," spoke the inventor, with a smile.
"Yo' has conducted mah meanin' to de utmost circumspection, Perfessor," was the answer.
"You'd better get out a suit of furs," suggested the captain, for Washington had not yet donned these garments. The colored man ran back into the cabin, got out the heaviest set he could find, and put it on.
The professor and the boys, together with the two helpers, were clothed to withstand the rigors of the arctic regions. In a little while Washington was warmly dressed. Then the professor led the way over the rail and down on the ice.
"Are we on land or sea?" asked Jack.
"It's hard to say, but I think we are on land," replied Amos Henderson. "However, it doesn't make much difference. We are pretty far north. The thing to do is to get the airship in shape as quickly as possible."
"Can we help?" asked Mark.
"I hardly think so," answered the old inventor. "Washington and I understand every piece of machinery. If we need any help we will call on you. In the meanwhile you may take a look around if you wish."
"I'd like to stretch my legs a bit," spoke up old Andy. "I ain't used to stayin' cramped up in a ship like I have been. I'd like to see some of that big game you talked about, Professor."
"Take your gun along, and you may spot a polar bear or a walrus," suggested Mr. Henderson. "Some fresh bear steak would not go badly at all."
Delighted at the prospect at getting a shot Andy hastened after his gun. Then after a hasty breakfast, with the two boys and the two helpers as companions, all warmly wrapped in furs, the hunter set forth across the fields of ice and snow.
It was a strange experience for all of them. There was not a sign of life to be seen. On every side there was nothing but the cold whiteness—a coldness and a whiteness that was like death itself. They walked on for more than a mile, and saw nothing but the desolate waste.
"There's something!" called Jack in a hoarse whisper, coming to a halt and pointing to a small hill of ice in the distance.
"It's a polar bear!" yelled Mark. "He's right behind the ice!"
"There are two of 'em!" cried Bill. "This is no place for me! Come on,
Tom!"
"Hold still! Let me get a shot!" pleaded the old hunter.
He could see the two animals plainly, now that his eyes had become used to the difference between their shaggy coats and the surrounding snow and ice. Andy kneeled down and took careful aim. A shot rang out, and one of the bears toppled over.
"Good shot!" cried Jack.
Once more the hunter pulled the trigger. A dull click was the only response. Andy quickly cocked the gun again, thinking it had missed fire. Again the hammer fell with only a click. The hunter quickly threw open the magazine.
"The chamber is empty!" he cried. "I have fired my last shot!"
"And there comes the bear!" yelled Mark. "He's in a fit of rage!"
The fierce beast, in anger at the sight of his enemies, was coming toward the men and boys at top speed. On the first alarm Bill and Tom had turned to flee. Andy, swinging his gun by the muzzle, and loosening a long hunting knife in his belt, awaited the bear's onslaught. Mark and Jack were too surprised to run, and stood their ground, not knowing what to do.
"Run away!" shouted Andy. "I'll tackle the beast! I'm not afraid!"
"We're not going to leave you!" yelled Jack. "I have a revolver!"
Quickly he drew out the small weapon, a present from the inventor. Taking hasty aim he fired several shots, but his aim was poor. One bullet struck the bear on the nose, and, instead of stopping the beast, only made him the more angry.
The brute was now but fifty feet away and coming on at a rapid pace over the uneven lumps of ice and snow.
"Run, I tell you!" called Andy. "Do you boys want to be killed?"
He aimed a furious stroke at the bear, but as he did so his foot slipped and he came down heavily on the ice. Mark and Jack uttered cries of terror and fright.
With blood dripping from his wounds, foam falling from his red jaws, and with every appearance of rage, the maddened beast rushed on the old hunter.
"He'll be killed!" yelled Mark.
"If I only had a gun!" groaned Jack.
Andy rolled to one side. As he did so he uttered a loud cry, and then, to the astonishment of the boys, he disappeared from sight as if the frozen earth had opened and swallowed him up. At the same time the bear, that was just about to cast himself down on the fallen hunter, seemed to drop down through some hole into the earth.
For an instant Jack and Mark looked at each other with fear in their eyes.
"What has happened?" inquired Mark, in an awestruck voice.
"I don't know," answered Jack. "But look! there are spots of blood over there. That is where the bear was!"
The boys ran forward. As they did so their feet seemed to slip from under them. Down and down they felt themselves going. Faster and faster they slipped. They gazed with frightened eyes about them and saw they were on some giant slide of ice, that led into unknown regions.
"Where are we going?" gasped Mark.
"I don't know!" yelled back Jack. "At any rate we're getting a good coast!" He could joke even in the face of danger.
With a jolt the two boys came to the end of their sudden journey. For a moment they were so startled and shaken up that they could hardly see. Then, as their senses came back, they gazed around.
There were white glistening walls of ice on every side. Above glittered a tiny patch of light, showing where the blue sky was.
"Where are we?" asked Mark.
"You're with me an' the bear!" exclaimed a voice.
The boys started. They saw, lying near them, old Andy. At his feet was the polar bear, dead, with the hunter's knife sticking in his heart.
"And what place is this?" asked Jack.
"It appears to me like a big ice cave," answered the hunter.
"Yes, and we're lost in it," spoke up Jack, and gave something of a shudder.
"That's right, my boy," answered Andy Sudds.
CHAPTER XI
ATTACKED BY SEA LIONS
Frightened and alarmed at the unusual sight of an enraged polar bear rushing in their direction, Bill and Tom had turned and fled at the first appearance of danger. They were not cowards, and would probably have faced a mad bull, but that was something they were used to, while a bear was something new.
So they raced back over the ice toward the place where the disabled airship rested.
"Quick!" yelled Bill.
"They'll all be killed!" cried Tom.
"Who?" asked the professor, dropping his tools.
Rapidly the two helpers told what had occurred, and how they had left Andy and the boys as the bear was rushing at them, the hunter having no more cartridges in his gun.
"Take two rifles from the chest!" exclaimed the inventor. "Washington and I will follow as soon as we get our furs on! Hurry now!"
Tom and Bill needed no second bidding. Seeing that the magazines of the rifles they took were filled, they hastened again over the ice and snow in the direction of Sudds and the boys. As they hustled along, the sun, which had been hidden by clouds, emerged and shone with dazzling splendor on the ice fields. It almost blinded the men.
As they ran on they heard a shout behind them. Turning, they saw Washington and the professor, each with a gun, following. They waited for the pair to come up.
"How far away is the place?" asked Mr. Henderson.
"We must be close to it now," said Bill. "Yes, there is the bear Andy killed," pointing to where the dead animal was stretched on the ice. "But where are the boys?"
"And where is Andy?" asked Amos Henderson.
Not knowing what had become of the hunter and the boys, the rescue party was puzzled. They looked on every side but saw no traces. The ground was so uneven that the professor suggested the hunter and boys might be lying wounded in a hollow, and screened from sight.
"We must scatter and look for them," he said.
Meanwhile the three in the ice cave had been looking about them. They saw what had brought them into the place. It was a big cavern hollowed out by nature in the frozen crystals, and leading to it was a smooth inclined plane of ice.
"How are we going to get out?" asked Jack, after all three had taken a survey of the cavern.
"Can't we walk up the place where we slid down?" asked Mark.
Jack was already busy trying to climb up the slippery place. It was much harder than it seemed. The incline was a glare of ice, and Jack's first attempt sent him sliding back with considerable force to the cavern floor.
"There's only one way to do it," said Andy. "You must take my hunting knife and cut steps in the slide. Then you will have some support for your feet."
The boys saw this was good advice and followed it. But the ice was frozen almost as hard as stone, and after chipping and cutting away for half an hour they only had three niches.
"At this rate we will have to stay here several days," said the old hunter, and there came an anxious note in his voice. "I wish we could send word to some of the others."
"Hark! What was that?" asked Jack suddenly.
All listened. There came a faint report, like that of a gun.
"It's the professor, Washington, and the two farmers searching for us!" exclaimed Mark. "They are firing their rifles."
"That's it! They can't find us because we are down in this hole," said
Andy. "If I only had a cartridge now I could give an answer."
There came another report. This time there was no doubt that signal guns were being fired, for the shot sounded quite close.
Jack put his hand in his pocket. His fingers touched something.
"Hurrah!" he cried. "I have my revolver and there are four shots left!"
He passed it over to Andy, who shot twice at intervals of about a quarter of a minute.
"Where are you?" they heard a faint voice calling from somewhere above their heads.
In reply Andy fired the last shot. It was responded to, and then, a few seconds later, a dark object loomed up at the opening at the top of the inclined plane. The prisoners, looking up, recognized the professor.
"Hello, down there!" he shouted.
"Hello, up there!" answered Andy.
"We'll get you out!" called down the inventor. "How did you get there?
What do you need in order to come up here?"
"We slid down," said the hunter in reply, "and we didn't do it for fun either. If you're going to get us out you'll need a long rope."
The professor, sizing up the situation, sent Bill Jones back to the ship on the run to bring a long stout cable. While this was coming there were questions and answers sent up and down the inclined shaft that told each of the two parties what had happened. In a short time the rope was brought, and one end fastened to an iron bar thrust into the ice, while the other was thrown down to the prisoners. With this as an aid and guide they were able to walk up the incline and soon were on the surface again.
"There, I forgot something!" exclaimed the old hunter as he emerged from the mouth of the shaft.
"What?" asked the professor.
"The polar bear," was the answer. "I think I'll go back after him. The skin may be valuable."
"There are plenty more," said the inventor. "We have no time to go back after this one. I must hurry to the ship."
Pulling up the rope, and strapping their rifles on their backs, the party of rescued ones and rescuers began their march to the airship. They decided to leave the bear Andy had first shot on the ice, and come back later for some steaks.
It was a bright day, and though it was very cold, being about twenty degrees below zero, there was no wind, which was a great relief. The party marched on, with Andy in the lead. He had reloaded his rifle with some ammunition the helpers had brought from the ship, and he was almost wishing he would meet another bear or two, now that he was ready for them.
Just as the adventurers turned around the side of a large ice hill, which hid the airship from their sight, they heard a queer noise.
"What's that?" asked the professor.
"Sounded like some beast roaring," answered Jack.
"Look out!" shouted Andy, springing back, and bringing his gun to bear.
"We're in for it now!"
"Sea lions, by their looks!" exclaimed the inventor. "A whole crowd of them and they are right between us and the ship!"
The next instant the party came into full view of the beasts. There were about two hundred of them, great big brutes, with sharp tusks. At the sight of the men and boys the animals set up a chorus of roars that sounded as if several score of real African jungle lions had broken loose. At the same time the beasts, with curious hitchings of their unwieldly bodies, advanced on the adventurers!
"Get your guns ready," cried Andy. "These fellows mean business! Make every shot tell!"
He had already begun firing and two of the sea lions toppled over in quick succession, testifying to his good aim. Then the boys, the two helpers, the professor and Washington began a fusillade that made the icy regions echo and re-echo as though a battle was in progress.
But the number killed among them, and the sound of the guns, did not halt the progress of the beasts. On and on they came, their roars increasing in fierceness.
The continuous firing could not be kept up long. Already the old hunter's gun was empty, and there was no spare ammunition now. One after another the rifles of the others were emptied of their cartridges. Still the beasts came on.
"We must retreat!" shouted Andy. "Back to the ice cave! They can not get us there!"
"But what about the airship! We must regain that at any cost!" called the professor.
"Wait until these beasts go away!" yelled Andy. "If they get us down it's only a matter of seconds before they'll kill us with those tusks! Run back!"
All turned to execute this command. There was only a narrow opening in the slowly encircling ring of sea lions, and this the adventurers made for, running toward the ice cave. They had passed beyond the mass of the beasts, when a loud cry from Jack startled them. At the same time he pointed ahead.
There, coming on at full speed was a pack of polar bears! The adventurers were between the two forces of enraged animals!