CHAPTER VIII—OFF FOR THE WEST
It was a great relief to Tom, to find that there was no danger from an earth tremor. Now that he had made up his mind to go in search of the diamond makers, he wanted nothing to interfere with it. Lest the feelings of Mr. Parker might be hurt by the mistake he had made, the young inventor cautioned Eradicate not to say anything more about the matter.
“'Deed an' I won't,” the colored man promised. “I'se only too glad dere wa'n't no earthquake, dat's what I is.”
As for Mr. Parker, he did not appear much put out by his error in predicting.
“I am sure that what I heard was a tremor, due to some distant earthquake shock,” he said. “The mule's kicking was only a coincidence.”
And Tom let him have his way about it. The week was drawing to a close, and the Red Cloud was nearly in shape for the voyage. At almost the last minute Tom found that he needed some electrical apparatus for the airship, and as he had to go to Chester for it, he decided he would make the trip in his monoplane, and, while in the city, would also get the diamond pin he was having made for Mary Nestor.
He started off early one morning, in the swift little craft Butterfly, and soon had reached Chester. The diamond brooch was ready for him.
“It is one of the most beautiful stones we have ever set,” the diamond merchant told him. “Don't forget, if you find any more, Mr. Swift, to let us have a chance to bid on them.”
“I may,” Tom promised, rather indefinitely. Then, having purchased his electrical supplies, he made a quick trip to Shopton, stopping on the way to call on Miss Nestor.
“Why Tom, I'm delighted to see you!” cried the girl, blushing prettily. “Did you come for some apple turnovers?” and she laughed, as she referred to a call Tom had once paid, when a new cook had been engaged, and when the pastry formed a feature of the meal.
“No turnovers this time,” said the young inventor. “I came to wish you many happy returns of the day.”
“Oh, you remembered my birthday! How nice of you!”
“And here is something else,” added our hero, rather awkwardly, as he handed her the diamond pin.
“Oh, Tom! This for me! Oh, it's too lovely—it's far too much!”
“It isn't half enough!” he declared, warmly.
“Oh, what a large diamond!” Mary cried as she saw the sparkling stone. “I never saw one so large and beautiful!”
“It's just as easy to make them large as small,” explained Tom.
“Make them?” she looked the surprise she felt.
“Yes, I'm about to start for the place where diamonds are made.”
“Oh, Tom! But isn't it dangerous? I mean won't you have to go to some far country—like Africa—to get to where diamonds are made?”
“Well, we are going on quite a trip, but not as far as that. And as for the danger—well, we'll have to take what comes,” and he told her something of the proposed quest.
“Oh, it sounds—sounds scary!” Mary exclaimed, when she had heard of Mr. Jenks' experience. “Do be careful, Tom!”
“I will,” he promised, and, somehow he was glad that she had cautioned him thus—and in such tones as she had used. For Mary Nestor was a girl that any young chap would have been glad to have manifest an interest in him.
“Well, I guess I'll have to say good-by,” spoke Tom, at length. “We expect to start in a couple of days, and I may not get another chance to see you.”
“Oh, I—I hope you come back safely,” faltered Mary, and then she held out her hand, and Tom—well, it's none of our affair what Tom did after that, except to say that he hurried out, fairly jumped into his monoplane, and completed the trip home.
As the Red Cloud has been fully described in the volume entitled “Tom Swift and His Airship,” we will not go into details about it now. Sufficient to say that it was a combination of a biplane and dirigible balloon. It could be used either as one or the other, and the gas-bag feature was of value when the wind was too great to allow the use of the planes, or when the motive power, for some reason stopped. In that event the airship could remain suspended far above the clouds if necessary. There was provision for manufacturing the gas on board.
The Red Cloud was fitted up to accommodate about ten persons, though it was seldom that this number was carried. Two persons could successfully operate the machinery. There were sleeping berths, and in the main cabin a sitting-room, a dining-room, and a kitchen. There was also the motor compartment, and a steering tower, from which the engines could be controlled.
It was in this craft that the seekers after the diamond makers proposed undertaking the trip. Mr. Damon came on from his home in Waterfield about two days before the date set to leave, and Mr. Jenks, had, three days before this, taken up his abode at the Swift home. Mr. Parker, as has been stated, was already there, and he had put in his time making a number of scientific observations, though he had made no more predictions.
Nothing more had been seen of the mysterious man who had warned Tom, and the young inventor and Mr. Jenks began to hope that they had thrown their enemies off the track.
“Though I don't imagine they'll give up altogether,” said Mr. Jenks. “They're too desperate for that. We'll have trouble with them yet.”
“Well, it can't be helped,” decided Tom. “We'll try and be ready for it, when it comes,” and then, dismissing the matter from his mind, he busied himself about the airship.
The food and supplies had all been put aboard, and they expected to start the next morning. In order to make sure that any stones which they might succeed in getting from the diamond makers were real gems, a set of testing apparatus was taken along. Mr. Parker had had some experience in this line, and, in spite of the fact that he might make direful predictions, Tom was rather glad, after all, that the scientist was going to accompany them.
“But what is worrying me,” said Mr. Damon, “is what we are going to do after we get to Phantom Mountain. What are your plans, Mr. Jenks? Will you go in, and demand your share of the diamond-making business?”
“I have a right to it, as I invested a large sum in it, and I am entitled to more than a half-share. But, of course, I can't say what I'll do until I get there. We may have to act very secretly.”
“I'm inclined to think we will,” said Tom. “My plan would be to gain access to the cave, if possible, and watch them at work. We might be able to discover the secret of making diamonds, and, after all, that's what you want, isn't it, Mr. Jenks?”
“Yes, I paid my money for the secret, and I ought to have it. If I can get it quietly, so much the better. If not, I'll fight for my rights!” and he looked very determined.
“Bless my powder horn!” cried Mr. Damon. “That's the way to talk! And so we're to go cruising about in the air, looking for a mountain shaped like a man's head.”
“That's it,” agreed Mr. Jenks, “and when we find it we will be near Phantom Mountain, and the diamond makers.”
The final details were completed that night. The last of the supplies had been put aboard, the larder was well stocked, the diamond testing apparatus was stored safely away, and all that remained was for the adventurers to board the Red Cloud in the morning, and soar away.
That night Tom was uneasy. Several times he got up, and looked toward the shed where the airship was stored. He could not rid himself of the idea that the men to whose interest it was that the diamond-making secret remain undiscovered, might attempt to wreck the airship before the start. Consequently both Eradicate Sampson and Engineer Jackson were on guard. Tom looked from his window, to the shed where the Red Cloud was housed. He saw nothing to cause him any uneasiness.
“I guess I'm just nervous,” he mused. “But, all the same, I'll be glad when we've started.”
They were all up early the next morning, Mr. Damon beginning the day by blessing the sunrise, and many other things that struck his fancy. The airship was wheeled out of the shed, and Tom gave her a final inspection.
“It's all right,” he declared. “All aboard!”
“Now, do be careful,” begged Mr. Swift. “Don't take too many chances, Tom.”
“I'll not.”
The adventurers were in the forward part of the ship, and Tom had taken his place at the wheels and levers in the pilot house. As he was about to start the motor he looked toward the road, and saw a horse and carriage. In the vehicle was a girlish figure, at the sight of which Tom blushed and smiled. He waved his hand.
“I came to wish you good luck!” cried Mary Nestor, for it was she in the carriage.
“Thanks!” cried Tom, leaning from the window of the pilot house. “It was good of you to get up so early.”
“Oh. I'm always up early,” she informed him.
“Look out that the motor doesn't scare your horse,” Tom warned her.
“Old Dobbin doesn't mind anything,” was her answer. “I'll see that he doesn't run away with me, as long as you're not on earth to rescue me. Good-by, Tom!”
“Good-by!” he called, and then he pulled the lever that set in motion the motor, and whirled the great propellers about. They whizzed around with a roar, and the Red Cloud, shivering and trembling with the vibration, rose in the air like some great bird.
“We're off for the West and Phantom Mountain!” called Tom to his companions.
As the airship soared upward, Eradicate Sampson ran forward from where he had been standing near his mule Boomerang. He waved his hands, and shouted something.
“Bless my hatband! What does he want?” asked Mr. Damon, watching him curiously.
“It sounds as if he were calling to us to come back,” spoke Mr. Parker.
“It's too late now,” decided Tom. “Maybe he forgot to tell us good-by,” but, he felt a vague wonder at Eradicate's odd motions; for the colored man was pointing toward the stern of the airship, as if there was something wrong there. But the Red Cloud soared on.
CHAPTER IX—A WARNING BY WIRELESS
Rapidly the airship ascended, and, when it was high over the town of Shopton, Tom headed the craft due west. Looking down he tried to descry Mary Nestor, in her carriage, but the trees were in the way, their interlocking branches hiding the girl. Tom did see crowds of other persons, though, thronging the streets of Shopton, for, though the young inventor had made many flights, there was always a novelty about them, that brought out the curious.
“A good start, Tom Swift,” complimented Mr. Parker. “Is it always as easy as this?”
“Starting always is,” was the answer, “though, as the Irishman said, coming down isn't sometimes quite so comfortable.”
“Bless my gizzard! That's so,” cried the eccentric Mr. Damon. “Can we vol-plane to earth in the Red Cloud, Tom?”
“Yes, but not as easily as in the Butterfly. However I hope we will not have to. Now, Mr. Damon, if you will just take charge of the steering apparatus for a minute, I want to go aft.”
“What for?”
“I wish to see if everything is all right. I can't imagine why Eradicate was making those queer motions.”
Mr. Damon, who knew how to operate the Red Cloud, was soon guiding her on the course, while Tom made his way to the rear compartments, through the motor room, where the stores of supplies and food were kept. He made a careful examination, looking from an after window, and even going out on a small, open platform, but could discover nothing wrong.
“I guess Rad was just capering about without any special object,” mused Tom, but it was not long after this that they learned to their dismay, that the colored man had had a method in his madness.
On his way back through the motor room Tom looked to the machinery, and adjusted some of the auxiliary oil feeders. The various pieces of apparatus were working well, though the engine had not yet been speeded up to its limit. Tom wanted it to “warm-up” first.
“Everything all right?” asked Mr. Damon, as Tom rejoined them in the pilot house, which was just forward of the living room in the main cabin.
“Yes, I can't imagine what made Rad act that way. But I'll set the automatic steering gear now, Mr. Damon, and then you will be relieved.”
Mr. Jenks was gazing off toward the west—to where he hoped to discover the secret of Phantom Mountain.
“How do you like it?” asked Tom.
“It's great,” replied the diamond man. “I've never been in an airship before, and it's different than what I expected; but it's great! It's the only craft that will serve our purpose among the towering mountain peaks, where the diamond makers are hidden. I hope we can find them.”
In a little while the Red Cloud was skimming along at faster speed, guided by the automatic rudders, so that no one was needed in the pilot house, since there was no danger of collisions. Airships are not quite numerous enough for that, yet, though they may soon become so.
Tom and the others devoted several hours to arranging their staterooms and bunks, and getting their clothing stowed away, and when this was done Mr. Parker and Mr. Jenks sat gazing off into space.
“It's hard to realize that we are really in an airship,” observed the diamond man. “At first I thought I would be frightened, but I'm not a bit. It doesn't seem as if anything could happen.”
“Something is likely to happen soon,” said Mr. Parker, suddenly, as he gazed at some weather instruments on the cabin wall.
“Bless my soul! Don't say that!” cried Mr. Damon. “What is it?”
“I think, from my observations, that we will soon have a hurricane,” said the scientific man. “There is every indication of it;” and he seemed quite delighted at the prospect of his prediction coming true.
“A hurricane!” cried Mr. Damon. “I hope it isn't like the one that blew us to Earthquake Island.”
“Oh, I think there will be no danger,” spoke Tom. “If it comes on to blow we will ascend or descend out of the path of the storm. This craft is not like the ill-fated Whizzer. I can more easily handle the Red Cloud; even in a bad storm.”
“I'm glad to hear that,” remarked Mr. Jenks. “It would be too bad to be wrecked before we got to Phantom Mountain.”
“Well, I predict that we will have a bad storm,” insisted Mr. Parker, and Tom could not help wishing that the scientist would keep his gloomy forebodings to himself.
However the storm had not developed up to noon, when Tom, with Mr. Damon's help, served a fine meal in the dining-room. In the afternoon the speed of the ship was increased, and by night they had covered several hundred miles. Through the darkness the Red Cloud kept on, making good time. Tom got up, occasionally, to look to the machinery, but it was all automatically controlled, and an alarm bell would sound in his stateroom when anything went wrong.
“Bless my napkin!” exclaimed Mr. Damon the next morning, as they sat down to a breakfast of fruit, ham and eggs and fragrant coffee, “this is living as well as in a hotel, and yet we are—how far are we above the earth, Tom?” he asked, turning to the young inventor.
“About two miles now. I just sent her up, as I thought I detected that storm Mr. Parker spoke of.”
“I told you it would come,” declared the scientist, and there was a small hurricane below them that morning, but only the lower edge of it caught the Red Cloud, and when Tom sent her up still higher she found a comparatively quiet zone, where she slid along at good speed.
That afternoon Tom busied himself about some wires and a number of complicated pieces of apparatus which were in one corner of the main cabin.
“What are you doing now?” asked Mr. Jenks, who had been talking with Mr. Parker, and showing that scientist some of the manufactured diamonds.
“Getting our wireless apparatus in shape,” answered the lad. “I should have done it before, but I had so much to do that I couldn't get at it. I'm going to send off some messages. Dad will want to know how we are doing.”
As he worked away, he also made up his mind to send another message, in care of his father, for there was a receiving station in the Swift home. And to whom this message was addressed Tom did not say, but we fancy some of our readers can guess.
Finally, after several hours of work, the wireless was in shape to send and receive messages. Tom pulled over the lever, and a crackling sound was heard, as the electricity leaped from the transmitters into space. Then he clamped the receiver on his ear.
“All ready,” he announced. “Has anybody any messages they wish sent?” For, with the courtesy of a true host he was ready to serve his guests before he forwarded his own wireless notes.
“Just tell my wife that I'm enjoying myself,” requested Mr. Damon. “Bless my footstool! But this is great! We're off the earth yet, connected with it.”
Mr. Jenks had no one to whom he wanted to send any word, but Mr. Parker wish to wire to a fellow scientist the result of some observations made in the upper air.
Tom noted all the messages down, and then, when all was in readiness he began to call his home station. He knew that either his father or Mr. Jackson, the engineer, could receive the wireless.
But, no sooner had the young inventor sent off the first few dots and dashes representing “S. I.”—his home station call—than he started and a look of surprise came over his face.
“They're calling us!” he exclaimed.
“Who is?” asked Mr. Jenks.
“My house—my father. He—he's been trying to get us ever since we started, but I didn't have the wireless in shape to receive messages. Oh, I hope it's not too late!”
“Too late! Bless my soul, too late for what?” gasped Mr. Damon, somewhat alarmed by Tom's manner.
The lad did not answer at once. He was intently listening to a series of dots and dashes that clicked in the telephone receiver clamped to his left ear. On his face there was a look of worriment.
“Father has just sent me a message,” he said. “It's a warning flashed through space! He's been trying to get it to me since yesterday!”
“What is it?” asked Mr. Jenks, rising from his seat.
“The mysterious man is aboard the airship—hidden away!” cried Tom. “That's what Eradicate was trying to call to our attention as we started off. Eradicate saw his face at a rear window, and tried to warn us! The mysterious man is a stowaway on board!”
CHAPTER X—DROPPING THE STOWAWAY
Tom's excited announcement startled Mr. Damon and the others as much as if the young inventor had informed them that the airship had exploded and was about to dash with them to the earth. The men leaped to their feet, and stared at the lad.
“A stowaway on board!” cried Mr. Damon. “Bless my soul! How did he—”
“Are you sure that message is straight?” asked Mr. Jenks. “Did Eradicate see the man?”
“He says he did,” answered Tom. “The man is hidden away on board now—probably among the stores and supplies.”
“Bless my tomato sauce!” exploded Mr. Damon. “I hope he doesn't eat them all up!”
“We must get him out at once!” declared Mr. Jenks.
“I knew something would happen on this voyage,” came from Mr. Parker. “I predicted it from the first!”
Tom thought considerable, but he did not answer the scientist just then. Another communication was coming to him by wireless. He listened intently.
“Father says,” the lad told his companions “that Eradicate only had a glimpse of the man at the last moment. He was looking from the rear storeroom window—he's the same man who called on me that time—Rad remembers him very well.”
“Bless my shoes! What's to be done?” inquired Mr. Damon, looking around helplessly.
“We must get him out, that's all,” decided Mr. Jenks; with vigor. “Get him out and drop him overboard!”
“Drop him overboard!” cried Mr. Parker, in horror.
“Not exactly, but get rid of him,” proceeded the diamond seeker. “That man is one of my enemies. He has been sent by the band of diamond makers hidden among the mountains, to spy on me, and, if possible, prevent me from seeking to discover their secret. He tried to work on Tom's Swift's fears, and frighten him from using his airship on this quest. Then, when he failed, the man must have sneaked into the shed, and hidden himself in the ship. We must get rid of him, or he may wreck the Red Cloud!”
“That's so!” cried Tom. “We must try to capture him. I think we had better—” the lad paused, and again listened to the wireless message. “Father says Eradicate saw the man have a gun, so we must be careful,” the young inventor translated the dots and dashes.
“Bless my powder horn!” exploded Mr. Damon.
“We shall have to proceed cautiously then,” spoke Mr. Jenks. “If he is like any others in the gang he is a desperate man.”
“Better sneak up on him then, if we can,” proposed Mr. Parker. “There are enough of us to cope with one man, even if he is armed. You have weapons aboard, haven't you?” he inquired of Tom.
“Yes,” was the hesitating answer, “but I don't want to use them if I can help it. Not only because of the danger, and a dislike of shedding blood, but because a stray bullet might pierce the gas bag and damage the ship.”
“That's so,” agreed Mr. Jenks. “Well, I guess if we go at it the right way we can capture him without any shooting. But we must talk more quietly—we ought to have whispered—he may have heard us.”
“I don't think so,” replied Tom. “The storeroom is far enough off so that he couldn't hear us. Besides, the motor makes such a racket that he couldn't distinguish what we were talking about, even if he heard our voices. So, unless he heard the wireless working, and suspects something from that, he probably doesn't know that we are aware of his presence aboard.”
“But why do you think he has remained quiet all this while, Tom?” asked Mr. Damon.
“Probably he wants to wait until the ship is farther out west,” suggested Mr. Jenks. “Then he will be nearer his friends, and can get help, if he needs it.”
“And do you really believe he would destroy the Red Cloud?” asked Mr. Parker.
“I think that all he is waiting for is a favorable chance,” declared the diamond seeker. “He would destroy the craft, and us too, if he could prevent us from discovering the secret of Phantom Mountain, I believe.”
“Then we must get ahead of him,” decided Tom, quietly. “I have just flashed to dad a message, telling him that we will heed his warning. Now to capture the stowaway!”
“And while we're about it, give him a good scare when we do get him,” suggested Mr. Jenks.
“How?” asked Tom.
“Threaten to drop him overboard. Perhaps that will make him tell how he happened to get in our ship, and what are the plans of the gang of diamond makers. We may get valuable information that way.”
“I don't believe you can scare such fellows much,” was Tom's opinion, but it was agreed to try.
“How are you going to capture him?” asked Mr. Parker. “If he has a gun it won't be any too easy to go in the storeroom, and drag him out.”
“We'll have to use a little strategy,” decided Tom, and then they discussed several plans. The one finally adopted was that Tom and Mr. Damon should enter the storeroom, casually, as if in search of food to cook for supper. They would discuss various dishes, and Mr. Damon was to express a preference for something in the food line, the box containing which, was well back in the room. This would give the two a chance to penetrate to the far end of the apartment, without arousing the suspicions of the hidden man, who, doubtless, would be listening to the conversation.
“And as soon as we get sight of him, you and I will jump right at him, Mr. Damon,” said Tom. “Jump before he has a chance to use his gun. Mr. Jenks and Mr. Parker will be waiting outside the room, to catch him if he gets away from us. I'll have some ropes ready, and we'll tie him up, and—well, we'll decide later what to do with him.”
“All right. I'm ready as soon as you are, Tom,” said the eccentric man. “Come ahead.”
They went softly to the storeroom, and listened at the door. There was no sound heard save that made by the machinery.
“I wonder if he's really here?” whispered Mr. Damon.
“We'll soon find out,” answered Tom. “Let's go in.”
They entered, and, in pursuance of their plan, Tom and his friend talked of various foods.
“I think I'd like some of that canned lobster, with French dressing on,” spoke the eccentric man.
“That's away in the back end of the room,” said Tom, in a loud voice. “It's under a lot of boxes.”
“Then I'll help you get it out! Bless my frying pan! but I am very fond of lobster!” exclaimed Mr. Damon, in as natural tones as was possible under the circumstances.
He and Tom moved cautiously back among the boxes and barrels. They were glancing about with eager eyes. Tom switched on an electric light, and, the instant he did so, he was aware of a movement in a little space formed by one box which was placed on top, of two others. The lad saw a dark figure moving, as if to get farther out of sight.
“I've got him!” cried Tom, making a dive for the shadow.
A moment later the young inventor was bowled over, as a dark figure leaped over his head.
“Catch him, Mr. Damon!” he cried.
“Bless my hatband! I—I—” Mr. Damon's voice ended in a grunt. He, too, had been knocked down by the fleeing man.
“Look out, Mr. Jenks!” cried Tom, to warn those on guard at the door of the storeroom.
There was the report of a gun, some excited shouts, and when Tom could scramble to his feet, and rush out, he beheld Mr. Parker calmly sitting on a struggling man, while Mr. Jenks held a gun, that was still smoking.
“We caught him!” cried the scientist.
“Anybody hurt?” asked Tom, anxiously.
“No, I knocked up his gun as he fired,” explained Mr. Jenks. “Where are the ropes, Tom?”
The cords were produced and the man, who had now ceased to struggle, was tightly bound. He uttered not a word, but he smiled grimly when Mr. Damon remarked:
“I guess I'll go back in the storeroom, Tom, and see how much food he ate.”
“Oh, I guess he didn't take much,” declared the lad. “He wasn't there long enough.”
“Well, Farley Munson, so it's you, is it?” asked Mr. Jenks, as he surveyed the prisoner.
“Do you know him?” asked Tom, in some surprise.
“He was in with the diamond makers,” said Mr. Jenks. “He was one of those who took me to the secret cave. But it will be the last time he ever goes there. How high up are we, Tom?”
“About two miles. Why?”
“I guess that will be far enough to let him fall,” went on the diamond seeker. “Come on, Mr. Damon, help me throw him overboard!”
“You—you're not going to throw me over—with the airship two miles high; are you?” gasped the man.
“Will you tell us what we want to know, if we don't?” asked Mr. Jenks.
“What do you want to know?”
“How you got aboard, and what your object was in coming.”
“That's easy enough. I had been hanging around the shed for several days, watching a chance to get in. Finally I saw it, when that colored man went to feed his mule, and I slipped in, and hid in the airship. The stores were all in then, and I stowed myself away among the boxes. I had food and water, so I didn't touch any of yours,” and he looked at Mr. Damon, who seemed much relieved.
“And what was your object?” demanded Mr. Jenks.
“I wanted to prevent you from going to Phantom Mountain.”
“How?”
“By destroying the airship if need be. But I hoped to accomplish it by other means. I would have stopped at nothing, though, to prevent you. You must keep away from there!”
“And if we refuse?” asked Tom.
“Then you'll have to take what comes!”
“But not from you!” exclaimed Mr. Jenks. “We're going to get rid of you.”
The man's face showed the alarm he felt.
“Oh, don't worry,” said Mr. Jenks, quickly, “we're not going to toss you overboard. We're not as desperate as your crowd. But we're going to get rid of you, and then go on before you can send any word to your confederates. We'll put you off in the most lonesome spot we can find, and I guess you'll be some time getting back to civilization. By that time we'll have the secret of the diamonds.”
“You never will!” declared the man, firmly. And he would say nothing more, though by threats and promises Mr. Jenks tried to get from him something about the men in with him, and where the cave of the diamonds was located.
Heavily bound with ropes the man was locked in a small closet, to be kept there until a favorable spot was reached for letting him go. Mr. Jenks' plan, of dropping him down in some place where he would have difficulty in sending on word to his confederates was considered a good one.
Three days later, in crossing over a lonely region, near the Nebraska National Forest, Farley Munson, which was one of the names the spy went by, was dropped off the airship, when it was sent down to within a few feet of the earth.
“It will take you some time to get to a telegraph office,” said Mr. Jenks, as a package of food, and a flask of water was tossed down to the stowaway. He shook his fist at those in the airship, and shouted after them:
“You'll never discover the secret of Phantom Mountain!”
“Yes, we will,” declared Tom, as he sent the Red Cloud high into the air again.
CHAPTER XI—A WEARY SEARCH
During the three days when the stowaway had been kept a prisoner, the Red Cloud had made good time on her western trip. She was now about two hundred and fifty miles from Leadville, Colorado, and Tom knew he could accomplish that distance in a short time. It was necessary, therefore, since they were so close to the place where the real search would begin, to make some more definite plans.
“We will need to replenish our supply of gasoline,” said Tom, shortly after the stowaway had been dropped, and when the young inventor had made a general inspection of the airship.
“Is it all gone?” inquired Mr. Damon.
“Not all, but we will soon be in the wildest part of the Rocky Mountains, and gasoline is difficult to procure there. So I want to fill all our reserve tanks. But I would rather do that before we get far into Colorado.”
“Why?” inquired Mr. Parker.
“Because airships are not so common but what the appearance of one attracts attention. Ours is sure to be talked about, and commented on. In that case, in spite of our precaution in putting Munson off in this lonely place, word of the Red Cloud being in the vicinity of Leadville may reach the diamond makers, and put them on their guard. We want to take them unawares if we can.”
“That's so,” agreed Mr. Jenks. “We had better get our gasoline at the first stopping place, then, and proceed with our search. Our first object ought to be to look for the landmark—the head of stone. Then we can begin to prospect about a bit.”
“My idea, exactly,” declared Tom. “Well, then, I'll go down at the first place we cross, where we can get gasoline, and then we'll be in a position to hover in the air for a long time, without descending.”
The airship kept on her way, traveling slowly the remainder of that day, and at dusk, when there was less chance of big crowds seeing them, the Red Cloud was sent down on the outskirts of a large village. Tom and Mr. Damon went to a supply store, and arranged to have a sufficient quantity of the gasoline taken out to the airship. It was delivered after dark, and little talk was occasioned by the few who were aware of the presence of the craft. Then, once more, they went aloft, and Tom sent several wireless messages to Shopton, including one to Miss Nestor.
“Please tell my wife that I am well, and that I have a good appetite,” said Mr. Damon.
Mr. Parker also sent a message to a scientific friend of his, stating that he made some observations among the mountains, of the region in which the airship then was, and that the indications were that a great landslide would soon take place.
“That won't worry us,” spoke Tom, “for we'll be far above it.”
“I hope we will be near enough to enable me to observe it, and make some scientific notes,” came from Mr. Parker. “I am positive that one of these mountain peaks that we saw to-day will disappear in a landslide within a few days. I have an instrument somewhat like the one that records earthquakes, and it has been acting strangely of late.”
Tom wondered what enjoyment Mr. Parker got out of life, when he was always looking for some calamity to happen, but the scientist seemed to take as much pleasure in his gloomy forebodings now, as he had on Earthquake Island.
They reached the vicinity of Leadville the next day, but took care to keep high above the city, so that the airship could not be observed. With powerful glasses they examined the mountainous country, looking for the little settlement of Indian Ridge.
“There it is!” exclaimed Mr. Jenks, just as dusk was settling down. “I can make out the hotel I stopped at. Now we can really begin our search. The next thing is to find the stone head, and then, I think, I will have my bearings.”
“We'll begin the hunt for that landmark in the morning,” said Tom.
High in the air hovered the Red Cloud. At that distance above the earth she must have looked like some great bird, and the adventurers thought it unlikely that any one in the vicinity of Leadville would observe them.
The quest for the great mountain peak, that looked like a stone head, was under way. Back and forth sailed the airship. Sometimes she was enveloped in fog, and no sight could be had of the earth below. At other times there were rain storms, which likewise prevented a view. Mr. Parker was on the lookout for his predicted mountain landslide, but it did not occur, and he was much disappointed.
“It's queer I can't pick out that landmark,” said Mr. Jenks after two days of weary searching, when their eyes were strained from long peering through telescopes. “I'm sure it was around Indian Ridge, yet we've covered almost all the ground in this neighborhood, and I haven't had a glimpse of it.”
“Perhaps it was destroyed in a landslide, or some cataclysm of nature,” suggested Mr. Parker. “That is very possible.”
“If that's the case we're going to have a hard time to locate the cave of the diamond makers,” answered Mr. Jenks, “but I hope it isn't so.”
They continued the search for another day, and then Tom, as they sat in the comfortable cabin of the airship that night, hovering almost motionless (for the motor had been shut down) made a proposition.
“Why not descend in some secluded place,” he suggested, “and wander around on foot, making inquiries of the miners. They may know where the stone head is, or they may even know about Phantom Mountain.”
“Good idea,” spoke Mr. Jenks. “We'll do it.”
Accordingly, the next morning, the Red Cloud was lowered in a good but lonely landing place, and securely moored. It was in a valley, well screened from observation, and the craft was not likely to be seen, but, to guard against any damage being done to it by passing hunters or miners, Mr. Parker and Mr. Damon agreed to remain on guard in it, while Tom and Mr. Jenks spent a day or two traveling around, making inquiries.
The young inventor and his companion proceeded on foot to a small settlement, where they hired horses on which to make their way about. They were to be gone two days, and in that time they hoped to get on the right trail.
CHAPTER XII—THE GREAT STONE HEAD
It was a wild and desolate country in which Tom Swift and Mr. Jenks were traveling. Villages were far apart, and they were at best but small settlements. In their journeys from place to place they met few travelers.
But of these few they made cautious inquiries as to the location of Phantom Mountain, or the landmark known as the great stone head. Prospectors, miners and hunters, whom they asked, shook their heads.
“I've heard of Phantom Mountain,” said one grizzled miner, “but I couldn't say where it is. Maybe it's only a fish story—the place may not even exist.”
“Oh, it does, for I've been there!” exclaimed Mr. Jenks.
“Then why don't you go back to it?” asked the miner.
“Because I can't locate it again,” was the reply.
“Humph! Mighty queer if you've seen a place once, and can't get to it again,” and the man looked as if he thought there was something strange about Tom and his companion. Mr. Jenks did not want to say that he had been taken to the mountain blindfolded, for that would have caused too much talk.
“I think if we spent to-night in a place where the miners congregate, listened to their talk, and put a few casual questions to them, more as if we were only asking out of idle curiosity, we might learn something,” suggested Tom.
“Very well, we'll try that scheme.”
Accordingly, after they had left the suspicious miner the two proceeded to a small milling town, not far from Indian Ridge. There they engaged rooms for the night at the only hotel, and, after supper they sat around the combined dance hall and gambling place.
There were wild, rough scenes, which were distasteful to Tom, and to Mr. Jenks, but they felt that this was their only chance to get on the right trail, and so they stayed. As strangers in a western mining settlement they were made roughly welcome, and in response to their inquiries about the country, they were told many tales, some of which were evidently gotten up for the benefit of the “tenderfeet.”
“Is there a place around here called Phantom Mountain?” asked Tom, at length, as quietly as he could.
“Never heard of it, stranger,” replied a miner who had done most of the talking. “I never heard of it, and what Bill Slatterly don't know ain't worth knowin'. I'm Bill Slatterly,” he added, lest there be some doubt on that score.
“Isn't there some sort of a landmark around here shaped like a great stone head?” went on Tom, after some unimportant questions. “Seems to me I've heard of that.”
“Nary a one,” answered Mr. Slatterly. “No stone heads, and no Phantom Mountains—nary a one.
“Who says there ain't no Phantom Mountains?” demanded an elderly miner, who had been dozing in one corner of the room, but who was awakened by Slatterly's loud voice. “Who says so?”
“I do,” answered the one who claimed to know everything.
“Then you're wrong!” Tom's heart commenced beating faster than usual.
“Do you mean to say you've seen Phantom Mountain, Jed Nugg?” demanded Slatterly.
“No, I ain't exactly seen it, an' I don't want to, but there is such a place, about sixty mile from here. Folks says it's haunted, and them sort of places I steer clear from.”
“Can you tell me about it?” asked Mr. Jenks, eagerly. “I am interested in such things.”
“I can't tell you much about it,” was the reply, “and I wouldn't git too interested, if I was you. It might not be healthy. All I know is that one time my partner and I were in hard luck. We got grub-staked, and went out prospectin'. We strayed into a wild part of the country about sixty mile from here, and one night we camped on a mountain—a wild, desolate place it was too.”
The miner stopped, and began leisurely filling his pipe.
“Well?” asked Tom, trying not to let his voice sound too eager.
“Well, that was Phantom Mountain.”
The miner seemed to have finished his story.
“Is that all?” asked Mr. Jenks. “How did you know it was Phantom Mountain?”
“'Cause we seen the ghost—my partner and I—that's why!” exclaimed the man, puffing on his pipe. “As I said, we was campin' there, and 'long about midnight we seen somethin' tall and white, and all shimmerin', with a sort of yellow fire, slidin' down the side of the mountain. It made straight for our camp.”
“Huh! Guess you run, didn't you, Jed?” asked Bill Slatterly.
“Course we did. You'd a run too, if you seen a ghost comm' at you, an' firin' a gun.”
“Ghosts can't fire guns!” declared Bill. “I guess you dreamed it, Jed.”
“Ghosts can't fire guns, eh? That's all you know about it. This one did, and to prove I didn't dream it, there was a bullet hole in my hat next mornin'. I could prove it, too, only I ain't got that hat any more. But that was Phantom Mountain, strangers, an' my advice to you is to keep away from it. I was on it but I didn't exactly see it, 'cause it was dark at the time.”
“Was it near a peak that looked like a stone head?” asked Tom.
“It were, stranger, but I didn't take much notice of it. Me and my partner got out of them diggin's next day, and I never went back. I ain't never said much about this place, but it's called Phantom Mountain all right, and I ain't the only one that's seen a ghost there. Other grub-stakers has had the same experience.”
“Why ain't I never heard about it?” demanded Bill, suspiciously.
“'Cause as why you're allers so busy talkin' that you don't never listen to nothin' I reckon,” was Jed's answer, amid laughter.
“Can you tell us what trail to take to get there?” asked Tom, of the miner.
“Yes, it's called the old silver trail, and you strike it by goin' to a place called Black Gulch, about forty mile from here. Then it's twenty mile farther on. But take my advice and don't go.”
“Can it be reached by way of Indian Ridge?” asked Mr. Jenks, wondering how he had been taken to the cave of the diamond makers. He did not remember Black Gulch.
“Yes, you can git there by Indian Ridge way, but it's more dangerous. You're likely to lose your way, for that's a trail that's seldom traveled.” Mr. Jenks thought that, perhaps, was the reason the gang had taken him that way. “It's easier to get to the stone head and Phantom Mountain by Black Gulch, but it ain't healthy to go there, strangers, take my advice on that,” concluded the miner, as he prepared to go to sleep again.
Tom could scarcely contain the exultation he felt. At last, it seemed, they were on the trail. He motioned to Mr. Jenks, and they slipped quietly from the place, just as another dance was beginning.
“Now for Black Gulch!” cried Tom. “We must hurry back to the airship, and tell the good news.
“It's too late to-night,” decided Mr. Jenks, and so they waited until morning, when they made an early start.
They found Mr. Damon and Mr. Parker anxiously awaiting their return. Mr. Damon blessed so many things that he was nearly out of breath, and Mr. Parker related something of the observations he had made.
“I think I have discovered traces of a dormant volcano,” he said. “I am in hopes that it will have an eruption while we are here.”
“I'm not,” spoke Tom, decidedly. “We'll start for Black Gulch as soon as possible.”
The airship once more rose in the air, and, following the directions the miner had given him, Tom pointed his craft for the depression in the mountains which had been given the name Black Gulch. It was reached in a short time, and then, making a turn up a long valley the airship proceeded at reduced speed.
“We ought to see that stone head soon now,” spoke Tom, as he peered from the windows of the pilot house.
“It's queer we didn't notice it when we were up in the air,” remarked Mr. Jenks. “We've been over this place before, I'm sure of it.”
The next moment Mr. Damon uttered a cry. “Bless my watch-chain!” he exclaimed. “Look at that!”
He pointed off to the left. There, jutting out from the side of a steep mountain peak was a mass of stone—black stone—which, as the airship slowly approached, took the form and shape of a giant's head.
“That's it! That's it!” cried Tom. “The great stone head!”
“And now for Phantom Mountain and the diamonds!” shouted Mr. Jenks, as Tom let the airship slowly settle to the bottom of the valley.