The crippled craft of the air settled down gently on the hot sands, skillfully guided by Jerry. As soon as it was stationary, for it needed no guy ropes to hold it, since most of the gas was out of the bag, the travelers climbed from the cabin to the surface of the desert.
“Whew, but it’s hot!” exclaimed Bob. “I wouldn’t mind an ice cream cone just now.”
“Dry up, Chunky,” advised Ned, puckering up his lips.
“That’s what we’ll all do if we stay here long enough,” replied the stout lad. “Whew! I’m going to take off some of my clothes.”
“Yes, and you and I’d better do the same, Ned,” added Jerry. “We’ll have to get on our overalls and see if we can fix the engine.”
“Is it badly smashed?” inquired Ned.
“I’m afraid it is. Two of the cylinders seem to be cracked,” replied Jerry, who had made a hasty examination.
“I’m so sorry,” put in Professor Snodgrass. “I didn’t mean to do it.”
“Oh, it was an accident,” replied Jerry pleasantly. “It’s partly my fault, for I should not have left the monkey wrench on the shelf where it was likely to get knocked off. But perhaps we can make repairs.”
“If you can’t, we’ll be in a bad way,” declared Jim Nestor in a low voice to Jerry.
“Why so?” asked the tall lad.
“Because this is a big desert, and there’s no water on it. Unless you’ve got plenty to last until you can start again, there’s liable to be trouble.”
“We have plenty, I think,” replied Jerry. “We’ll get right to work on the engine.”
He was interrupted by a cry from Bob, who was on the other side of the airship.
“What’s the matter, Chunky?” called Ned.
“I’ve found a spring of water,” answered the stout youth. “Let’s get a drink.”
Jerry hurried to where his two chums were. There on the sands of the desert was a damp place, as if water was present. It needed but a glance from Jerry’s quick eyes, however, to cause him to hurry back into the airship.
“It’s a leak in one of our water tanks!” he cried. “That is no spring! Hurry, here, fellows, and help me to transfer this water! Lively now!”
He did not speak of the vital need of saving every drop of the precious fluid, but Ned and Bob must have guessed, for they worked quickly, and the water from the leaking tank, in which a hole had been punched by a piece of one of the broken cylinders, was emptied into another receptacle. But several gallons had leaked away, and Jerry looked more serious than before.
“I wish I could do something to make up for my carelessness,” suggested the scientist. “But I fear my knowledge of machinery——”
“That’s all right, Mr. Snodgrass,” replied Jerry. “We will be able to get the engine in shape, I think. I’ll cut out the two broken cylinders, and run on eight,” for the motor was a ten-cylinder one. “We won’t be able to go so fast,” added the youth, “but it will serve.”
“Then as long as I can’t do anything, I may as well be on the hunt for the flying lizard,” decided the scientist, and he set off over the desert, with his net and his specimen box.
“Is there anything we can do?” inquired Tod, as he and Jim Nestor approached Jerry.
“Nothing, I guess,” replied the tall lad. “Ned and Bob will help me with the engine.”
“Then we’ll go off prospecting a bit,” said Jim. “We may find a place to catch some fish,” and he winked at Jerry, to indicate to him that he and Tod would hunt for water. And, indeed, Jerry knew there might soon be need of it, before the engine was repaired.
But nothing was said to either Ned, Bob or the professor on this score. Jerry did not want any needless alarm.
“Now, fellows,” he exclaimed cheerfully, when the three chums were alone beside the ship, “let’s get busy. It’s going to be quite a job to take out those broken cylinders.”
It was, indeed, as they soon found. The two cylinders which had been cracked by the flying wrench were in the centre of the motor. To get them out it was necessary to uncouple a number of pipes, cams, gears and wires. Fortunately there were the necessary tools on board, and all three of the lads had had considerable experience in machine work. But, even with all this, they were all day getting the two cylinders out.
“Now,” announced Jerry, “it remains to be seen whether we can connect up the other eight, and use the water-cooling system to good advantage,” for the motor was not an air-cooled one. “We’re going to have trouble connecting the water pipes,” he predicted, as he wiped the perspiration from his face.
It had been hard work—doubly so under the broiling sun of the desert. At noon Nestor and Tod had returned, but it did not need a negative nod of Nestor’s head to tell Jerry that their quest for water had been unsuccessful. They set off again in the afternoon. Professor Snodgrass had not come back to lunch, but there was nothing remarkable in this. Often in his search for a curious insect he had been known to go all day without food, and he never minded it.
Late that afternoon, while Ned and Bob were toiling away, helping Jerry, Bob went to the water tank, and, after taking a big drink, he threw away what liquid remained in the glass.
“Don’t do that!” exclaimed Jerry quickly.
“Why not?”
“Because we might need it. No telling how long we will be here, and water doesn’t grow on every bush.” He tried to speak lightly, but Ned and Bob must have guessed what he meant, for after that it was observed that both took very small drinks.
After a restless night spent in the airship, the professor having returned just before dark, the boys started in the next day to connect up the eight good cylinders. They found it a harder task than even Jerry had anticipated. All day they hammered, bored and filed metal. They made fitting after fitting, only to discover a leak, and then they had to do it all over again. They toiled until the perspiration of their hands and faces, mingling with the grease and grime, made them look like foundrymen. But they did not give up. After several failures, Jerry remarked:
“Say, let’s knock off a bit and take a walk over the desert. It will rest us, and we can work better when we come back.”
“What? Walk in that broiling sun?” asked Bob, shaking some drops of perspiration from the end of his fat nose.
“It will do you good—dry you off,” declared Ned. “Come on, Jerry. I’m ready.”
Professor Snodgrass was again off on a hunt for the flying lizard, and the two miners had disappeared over a little ledge of rock in search of water. The three boys started across the hot sands.
They found that the walk did rest their tired arms and cramped legs, and though there was nothing to see, and it was very hot, they rather enjoyed the stroll. They went on for a mile or more, and then turned to go back, as night was approaching and they did not want to be away after dark.
“There comes Tod and Nestor,” remarked Bob, pointing to the figures of the two miners, who were approaching the stalled airship from the southeast.
“Yes, and I s’pose the professor will be along presently. When do you think we can start again, Jerry?” asked Ned.
“I think we’ll have the motor in shape to-morrow,” remarked the tall lad. “I’ll cut some new washers for the water pipes, and I think that will do away with the leaks.”
The three lads soon joined Tod and Nestor, and the five proceeded toward the Comet. In the hot, thin air of the desert it looked to be not more than a hundred yards away, but they were still over half a mile from their craft.
Suddenly Bob, who was walking a little in advance, called out:
“Did you see anything move then?”
“Move? Where?” inquired Jerry, with a laugh.
“On the airship. I’m sure I saw some one on deck.”
“Maybe the professor is aboard?” suggested Ned.
“No, there he comes now,” said Tod, pointing off to the left, where the scientist could be observed stalking across the sand, his net over his shoulder, and his green specimen box dangling at his side.
“Somebody surely is on board,” insisted Bob. “I saw him move again.”
“That’s right,” agreed Nestor. “I saw something move, too, then.”
They quickened their pace, and in a little while they were near enough so that all five could observe some shadowy form moving about on the after deck.
“If it’s a man, he’s going about on all fours,” said Ned.
“Perhaps it’s Mr. Bell,” came from Bob. “Maybe he’s gone crazy from the heat.”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Jerry, breaking into a run. The others followed. But when they were within a short distance of the craft they came to a sudden halt.
For from the airship there now came a series of ugly snarls and roars.
“What in the world is that?” cried Bob.
There was no need to answer him, for a moment later there sprang into view, in the background of a vivid sunset, a big mountain lion, who paced back and forth on the forward deck. The beast was in possession of the Comet.