The smell of escaping gas from the bag of the big balloon became more pronounced as the Comet approached. Eagerly the boys and Professor Snodgrass looked toward the disabled craft which was slowly drifting ahead of them, but which they were rapidly overhauling.
“We hadn’t better go too close; had we?” suggested Bob.
“Why not?” asked Jerry. “We’ve got to get pretty close or we can’t rescue them. The planks are about fifteen feet long, and we’ll have to come within that distance, anyhow, to make a bridge from the Manhattan to our deck.”
“I was thinking of the gas,” went on the stout lad, who seemed to have some difficulty in breathing. “It might—we might be overcome,” and he coughed raspingly.
“That’s so,” admitted Jerry, with a start. “I hadn’t thought of that. Whew! But that vapor is strong. It’s different from what we use. I wonder——”
A fit of coughing interrupted him, and soon Ned and the professor were wheezing and sneezing, as the powerful fumes were wafted to them.
“We can’t stand this!” gasped the tall lad. “No wonder these men are unconscious. It’s a slim chance if they’re alive, after breathing those fumes!”
A look of despair came over Ned’s face. Was he, after all, to lose the last opportunity to aid his father? Was Mr. Jackson dead?
“We can’t go any closer!” declared Jerry at length. “It will mean death or unconsciousness, if we do. I’ve got to halt the airship!”
Coughing and spluttering, he made his way to the pilot house, and brought the motor to a stop. Then, as the Comet could no longer sustain herself on her wings, being bereft of motion, she began to sink, until Jerry started the gas-machine, making a dirigible balloon of the craft. With the big bag inflated, she floated lazily in the air, about a quarter of a mile from the Manhattan. Both were being driven slowly onward by a light wind.
“Well, what’s to be done?” demanded Bob. Breathing was easier for them all now, as they were not so near the disabled balloon.
“That’s the problem,” declared Jerry. “We can’t go any closer without being in danger ourselves, and we can’t rescue those men until we get within ten or fifteen feet of them.”
“Couldn’t we wait until all the gas escaped from their bag, and then venture up?” asked Ned.
“By that time those men will be dead, if they are not lifeless already,” answered Jerry solemnly.
It was a trying situation. To be within sight of the men they wanted to save, to be near Mr. Jackson, on whom so much depended, and yet not able to reach him and his companions, was tantalizing. Yet they all recognized the truth of what Jerry said. It would be death for them all to venture nearer.
Professor Snodgrass, who had been curiously sniffing the air, as though to determine the nature of the gas, suddenly gave an exclamation.
“Boys, I think I have it!” he cried eagerly. “I am not sure, but I think I know the composition of the gas used in the bag of that balloon. If I am right, I can easily manufacture, from the chemicals I have, something that will neutralize it.”
“Will you do it?” cried Ned eagerly.
“I will, at once! Though I am not sure it will work. If it does, all that will be necessary to do will be to saturate a handkerchief with the solution I will make, tie the cloth over our mouth and nose, and then all the gas breathed through it will be harmless.”
“That’s just what we need!” exclaimed Jerry.
The professor lost no time in getting to work. He mixed up various chemicals in a flask, heated them, and then wet a handkerchief in the liquid. Binding the cloth over his nose and mouth, he went out to breathe the air, which was still slightly laden with the poisonous fumes. The professor inhaled deeply.
“Does it work?” asked Ned eagerly.
“I think it does,” was the reply. “We will have to go nearer to make sure.”
It did not take long for all to adjust the wet handkerchiefs over their mouths and noses. Jerry then started the propellers, and once more the Comet approached the Manhattan. Could they come close enough to make the rescue, and still be safe themselves? Each breath they drew would soon tell the story.
Anxiously they noted the effect.
“I can’t smell or breathe any gas!” mumbled Ned, for the handkerchief interfered with speaking.
“Me, neither,” added Ned.
“It’s all right!” declared the professor. “We can go as close as we wish, but we can’t stay long, for the chemical will soon evaporate. Work lively, boys!”
It was only a few minutes more before the Comet was close beside the disabled balloon. The latter was a large craft, and was floating easily along, her machinery silent. Silent, too, and motionless, were the five men who constituted the pilot and crew. In various attitudes they were stretched in the open cabin, as if they had struggled there for air. It could not yet be told whether they were dead or alive.
“Quick, now!” mumbled Jerry. “Run out the planks, and we’ll cross over and carry the men on board here.”
He skillfully put the Comet alongside of the other craft. There they were, high in the air over the ocean, yet almost like two vehicles on earth, or two boats floating on the surface of the water. Jerry shut off the propellers, letting the Comet drift at the same rate as did the other craft.
With a rope, Jerry next made the two balloons fast to each other, to prevent them from drifting apart. Then two planks were laid across from the after-deck of the Comet to that of the Manhattan. Quickly crossing on these, our heroes and the professor boarded the disabled airship.
“There’s Mr. Jackson!” cried Mr. Snodgrass, indicating one of the unconscious men.
“We must rescue him first!” declared Ned, and no one disputed him. With the help of Jerry, the merchant’s son carried the unconscious millionaire across the narrow planks, from one airship to the other, high above the ocean which rolled beneath them. It was a most marvellous rescue in mid-air!
“Now the rest!” called the professor. He and Bob took up another man, and carried him to safety. When Jerry and Ned returned for a third member of the crew, the tall lad, looking into the main, or closed cabin, noticed some sparks coming from one of the electrical machines connected with the wireless apparatus. It was run by a storage battery, and must have been left connected and turned on when the men were stricken down. A stream of vivid, violet-colored sparks were emanating from the contact points.
“By Jove, we must get away from here in a hurry!” cried the tall lad.
“Why?” asked Ned, pausing in the act of lifting the feet of an unconscious man.
“Those sparks!” gasped Jerry. “They may explode the gas any minute, and we’ll be blown to atoms! Lively, Ned!”
Ned needed no urging. Rapidly he and Jerry once more crossed the plank in mid-air with the unfortunate man. On their next trip Jerry noticed that a blue light was playing about the machine whence the sparks came.
“She’ll go up in about a minute more!” he gasped.
But two more men remained to be saved. These were quickly carried across the bridge in the air, and laid in the cabin of the Comet.
“Cast off!” yelled Jerry, beginning to cough again, for the deadly fumes were manifesting themselves through the chemically saturated handkerchiefs. “Cast off!”
It took but an instant to do it. The great propellers were set in motion, and the Comet rapidly glided away from the Manhattan. The boys looked back at her, as she floated in mid-air.
“We must see to those men!” directed Jerry, taking off the improvised mask, which was no longer needed. “Perhaps it is even now too late! Professor, will you help us?”
“Of course. I think I know how to revive them, if there is a spark of life left.”
“Look!” yelled Bob, pointing to the Manhattan. A haze of flame surrounded the unfortunate craft.
“It’s all up with her!” cried Jerry.
The next instant there came a terrific explosion, and the dirigible was scattered to the four winds, to fall in a shower of canvas, silk and broken machinery into the sea, there to disappear from sight forever.
“We got away just in time,” spoke Ned in awed tones.
With the motor speeding her back across the ocean, over which she had so gallantly come a long distance, and with the automatic steering apparatus set to guide her, no attention need be paid to the Comet for some time. So the boys and the professor devoted their energies to reviving the men. That they were not dead was soon established, though they were very nearly so.
But Professor Snodgrass knew just what to do, and in about an hour, when some of the medicines they had brought had been administered, Mr. Jackson opened his eyes.
“Where are we? What happened? Is there any hope? Can you see any vessel that will save us?” he gasped. Evidently he thought himself still aboard his own craft.
“You are all right, Wescott!” said Mr. Snodgrass. “Don’t you know me?”
“Uriah Snodgrass!” gasped the millionaire. “Well, of all things! How did you get aboard the Manhattan?”
“I didn’t. It’s you who are aboard here. You’ve been rescued! The Manhattan is no more!” And the scientist quickly explained what had happened.
Mr. Jackson rapidly recovered from the fumes of the gas, as did the members of the crew, and his friend, Mr. Watson, who had made the trip with him. Then the story of the rescue was told.
In turn Mr. Jackson related how, after ascending to a great height soon after leaving the aviation grounds, his craft was caught in the hurricane and driven out to sea. Then the propelling machinery broke, and they could only drift about at the mercy of the wind. For days they were driven onward, thinking each hour would be their last. They tried to signal for help from steamers passing below them, but could not, as their wireless was soon out of order, and they were too high up to make any other means effective.
They dared not descend, for fear of being drowned. Besides, to go down, they would have had to let the gas escape, and they had no means of making more. To keep afloat was their only hope, and they did, trusting to be rescued some time. Then they were blown out of the steamship lane, and did not know what to do.
Finally, when they had given up hope, and were going to descend, and try to make some sort of a raft to float on, there came a leak in the gas-bag, and, one by one, they became unconscious. A little longer and they would have been dead. But the Comet came along in time.
“Well, I certainly am glad to see you again, professor; and also your young friends,” said Mr. Jackson heartily, when he was feeling somewhat stronger.
“And I’m glad to see you,” spoke Ned.
“Yes, my friend here has a request to make of you,” went on Mr. Snodgrass, “and, if possible, I wish you would grant it. He has had quite a chase after you.”
“I’d do most anything for you, Uriah,” declared the millionaire, with a smile, “for I haven’t forgotten the service you did me.”
“Then save Ned’s father from financial ruin,” was the request, and Ned at once brought out his papers, and made a plea for the rescue of his parent’s business. It did not take Mr. Jackson a moment to make up his mind.
“Of course I’ll help Mr. Slade,” he said; “not only for his own sake, but because of his plucky son and his chums, and also to beat that gang of men who want to ruin him. Here, I’ll sign at once, and you can be a witness, Uriah.” There was the scratching of a pen, and Ned knew that his father’s troubles were practically over.
Rapidly the Comet sped on her way, being headed toward New York. Every hour the rescued ones recovered their strength, and soon all traces of the poisonous gas had vanished. Ned was eager to telegraph the good news to his father, and Jerry was soon able to get into wireless communication with a steamer below them. The operator, though much surprised to get a message out of the air, readily promised to relay it to New York and Cresville, as his apparatus had a wider range than that of the Comet.
“Well, I never expected to come so far over the ocean,” remarked Jerry the next day, when they were nearing the coast. “Our hydroplanes did us good service.”
“They’re great,” commented Mr. Jackson. “I’m going to put them on the next air-craft I make.”
“Only for them I’d never have my singing-fish,” said Mr. Snodgrass, who had made copious notes about his prize. It had died, but he had preserved it. “It is the most wonderful specimen I ever caught,” he declared.
However, he soon afterward secured one that was even stranger, when, in company with our heroes, he went on another voyage with them. The details of this will be found in the next volume of this Series, to be called “The Motor Boys on the Wing; or, Seeking the Airship Treasure.”
“I wonder how it will seem to be on solid ground again?” asked Mr. Watson of Mr. Jackson, when Jerry announced the next day that they were within sight of New York.
“So good that I’m not going to leave it again in a hurry,” announced the millionaire. “I’m done with ballooning for the present, though I’m not going to give it up altogether.”
They flew over New York, to the great astonishment of the millions of that great city, and on to the aviation ground, where a descent was made. There our heroes were royally received, and the story of the marvellous rescue told over and over again. The matter of the claim of Mr. Muggins was adjusted, his lawyer advising him to accept one hundred dollars, which he reluctantly did, and the incident was closed.
“Come on, let’s hurry home,” urged Ned, who was anxious to give his father the valuable paper. Mr. Jackson promised all the financial aid that Mr. Slade needed, and said he would be glad to see the merchant get the better of his financial enemies.
And Mr. Slade did so. Thanks to the efforts of Ned and his chums, the business was saved by Mr. Jackson’s timely help, which was secured only after such an exciting chase.
Cresville warmly welcomed the boys, who arrived in their motorship, and Andy Rush was so excited that he could only splutter for nearly half a day, no one being able to understand what he said.
“It was great! Great! Great!” he finally managed to say, over and over again.
“Would you undertake it another time, Jerry?” asked Ned one evening, when they were discussing the recent happenings.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think I would. It was dangerous, but we came out of it all right.”
“It’s a good thing I stocked up with plenty of provisions,” declared Bob, and his two chums laughed. And now, we will leave the Motor Boys for a while, and say good-by.
THE END
The Motor Boys Series
(Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Of.)
Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid
In this volume is related how the three boys got together and planned to obtain a touring car and make a trip lasting through the summer.
With the money won at the great motorcycle race the three boys purchase their touring car and commence their travels.
From our own country the scene is shifted to Mexico, where the motor boys journey in quest of a city said to have been buried centuries ago by an earthquake.
Unraveling the Mystery surrounding an old hermit and a boy.
In this volume the boys take to a motorboat, and have many adventures.
How the lads foiled the bad men who wanted to wreck a steamer by means of false lights is dramatically related.
Telling of many adventures in the mysterious Everglades of Florida.
The derelict was of great value, and the hunt for it proved full of perils.
The boys fall in with an inventor and invest in a flying machine. After a number of stirring adventures in the clouds they enter a big race.
Here is a story of airship adventures quite out of the ordinary.
From the mountains the scene is shifted to the broad Atlantic. Once again the dauntless Motor Boys are to the front, in a series of happenings as interesting as they are exciting.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The Jack Ranger Series
Author of the Motor Boys Series
Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.00, postpaid
You will love Jack Ranger—you simply can’t help it. He is so bright and cheery, and so real and lifelike. A typical boarding school tale, without a dull line in it.
In this tale Jack gets back to Washington Hall and goes in for all sorts of school games. The rivalry is bitter at times, and enemies try to put Jack “in a hole” more than once.
This volume takes the hero and several of his chums to the great West. At the ranch and on the range adventures of the strenuous sort befall him.
Here is a tale of the bounding sea, with many stirring adventures. How the ship was wrecked, and Jack was cast away, is told in a style all boys and girls will find exceedingly interesting.
Jack, with his chums, goes in quest of big game. The boys fall in with a mysterious body of men, and have a terrific slide down a mountain side.
This story opens at school, but the scene is quickly shifted to the ocean. The schoolboy yachtsmen visit Porto Rico and other places, and have a long series of adventures, including some on a lonely island of the West Indies. A yachting story all lovers of the sea will wish to peruse.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The College Sports Series
Cloth. 12mo. Handsomely Illustrated and beautifully bound in decorated cover, stamped in gold and several colors Price per volume, $1.00, postpaid.
When Tom Parsons went to Randall he was looked upon as a mere country lad, a “hayseed.” But Tom had played baseball at home and was a good pitcher, and he soon proved his ability, and was put on the scrub nine. He had some bitter rivals, who tried to keep him down, but he got on the varsity at last. A faithful picture of college life of to-day, with its hazings, its grinds, its pretty girls and all.
Of all college sports, football is undoubtedly king, and in this tale Mr. Chadwick has risen to the occasion by giving us something that is bound to grip the reader from start to finish. If you love football you will enjoy this volume and recommend it to your friends.
As before, Tom, Phil and Sid are to the front. Sid, in particular, has developed into a heavy hitter, and the nine depend upon him to bring in the needed runs. And then something happens, and poor, misjudged Sid is barred from playing. Then at the last moment, Sid clears himself and is reinstated; and helps to pound out a victory that will make every reader feel like cheering.
Football was a serious proposition at Randall that year. There had been the loss of several old players, and then, almost at the last moment, another good player had to be dropped. How, in the end, they made that glorious touchdown that won the big game, is told in a way that must be read to be appreciated. Beyond doubt, one of the greatest college football stories ever penned.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The Darewell Chums Series
Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. 60 cents each, postpaid.
A bright, lively story for boys, telling of the doings of four chums, at school and elsewhere. There is a strong holding plot, and several characters who are highly amusing. Any youth getting this book will consider it a prize and tell all his friends about it.
From a country town the scene is changed to a great city. One of the chums has disappeared in an extraordinary manner, and the others institute a hunt for him. The youths befriend a city waif, who in turn makes a revelation which clears up the mystery.
The boys had planned for a grand outing when something happened of which none of them had dreamed. They thought one of their number had done a great wrong—at least it looked so. But they could not really believe the accusations made, so they set to work to help Frank all they could. All went camping some miles from home, and when not hunting and fishing spent their time in learning the truth of what had occurred.
A tale of the Great Lakes. The boys run across some Canadian smugglers and stumble on the secret of a valuable mine.
Here is a lively tale of ice and snow, of jolly good times in a winter camp, hunting and trapping, and of taking it easy around a roaring campfire.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The Dorothy Dale Series
Cloth. 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid
Dorothy is the daughter of an old Civil War veteran who is running a weekly newspaper in a small Eastern town. When her father falls sick, the girl shows what she can do to support the family.
More prosperous times have come to the Dale family, and Major Dale resolves to send Dorothy to a boarding school to complete her education. At Glenwood School the girl makes a host of friends and has many good times. But some girls are jealous of Dorothy’s popularity, and they seek to get her into trouble in more ways than one.
A splendid story of one girl’s devotion to another. Dorothy’s chum ran away to join a theatrical company. What Dorothy did, and how she kept the secret, makes a tale no girl will care to miss.
A story of school life, and of strange adventures among the gypsies. Dorothy befriends a little French girl and also a gypsy waif, in a manner sure to touch the hearts of all readers.
Relates the details of a mystery that surrounded Tanglewood Park. There is a great snowstorm, and the young folks become snowbound, much to their dismay.
A great variety of things happen in this volume, from the moment Dorothy and her chums are met coming down the hillside on a treacherous load of hay, until all the various complications are cleared up in the final chapter.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The Great Marvel Series
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid
Since the days of Jules Verne, tales of flying machines and submarine boats have enjoyed increasing popularity. Now that airships and submarines are in actual existence, this story seems perfectly natural. Full of adventures in strange places, with strange people and strange animals.
The vessel moves from the coast of Maine to the boiling sea of the South Pole, and during the trip the voyagers visit the bottom of the ocean—the graveyard of many ships—and have numerous stirring encounters with deep-sea monsters.
A craft is built which will sail both in the air and under the water, and in this the adventurers descend to the interior of our globe by means of a hole found at an island in the ocean.
A thrilling tale of a visit to the planet Mars. The adventurers meet with many happenings out of the ordinary. The volume reads like the record of a real trip.
In a like manner to their visit to Mars, the heroes visit the Moon. They search for a field of diamonds and find the moon to be a land of desolation and silence. They almost perish from cold and hunger. A startling romance that will hold and charm every reader.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The Motor Girl Series
Author of the highly successful Dorothy Dale Series
Cloth. 12mo. Handsomely Illustrated and Beautifully Bound in decorated cover, stamped in several colors. Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid.
When Cora Kimball got her touring car she did not imagine so many adventures were in store for her. During a trip from one city to another a rich young man lost a pocketbook containing valuable stocks and much cash. Later, to the surprise of everybody, the empty pocketbook was found in the tool box of Cora’s automobile. A fine tale that all wide-awake girls will appreciate.
A great many things happen in this volume, starting with the running over of a hamper of good things lying in the road. A precious heirloom is missing, and how it was traced up is told with absorbing interest.
There was great excitement when the Motor Girls decided to go to Lookout Beach for the summer. Just previous to departing, they visited a strawberry farm, and there fell in with two little girls who were accused by a rich boarder of stealing a pair of diamond earrings. They befriended the little runaways, and at last proved their innocence.
A strong story and one which will make this series more popular than ever. There is a robbery at the cottage where the Motor Girls are staying and one of them sees the burglar, who escapes. Later the man, who is a gypsy is captured. The girls go on a motoring trip through New England, and there the girl who saw the burglar is abducted and held by the Gypsies so that she cannot go into court to testify against the captured member of the band.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
The Webster Series
Mr. Webster’s style is very much like that of the boys’ favorite author, the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are thoroughly up-to-date. The stories are as clean as they are clever, and will prove of absorbing interest to boys everywhere.
Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. Stamped in various colors. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
Transcriber’s Notes:
A List of Illustrations has been provided for the convenience of the reader.
Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected, except as noted below.
Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
The author’s long dash style has been retained.
Inconsistencies in formatting and punctuation of individual advertisements have been retained.