The Motor Boys on the Border; Or, Sixty Nuggets of Gold

by Clarence Young

  CHAPTER XI

  OFF FOR THE BORDER

  “Here! Come back!” yelled Jerry, making a grab for the Westerner.“Don’t jump!”

  “But we’re falling! I’m not going to stay in here and be killed!”

  “You’ll be killed sure if you jump. But there’s no danger!”

  “No danger? And we falling down about a mile? No danger?” Mr. Brill wasgreatly excited.

  “Not a bit,” said Jerry, with a smile. “You pulled the emergency lever,that stopped the motor suddenly, but I’ll start the gas machine, andwe’ll float like a balloon until the motor gets to working again.”

  The Westerner seemed doubtful, and there was even a worried look on theface of Jim Nestor. For, though he trusted fully to the boys, he couldnot recall ever having had an experience like this before.

  And, undoubtedly, the _Comet_ was falling earthward at great speed. Buta look at the three boys--showing them calm and collected--and anotherglance at Professor Snodgrass, who was eagerly scanning the air for asight of some rare insect, rather put the Westerners more at their ease.

  “Are you sure there’s no danger?” asked Mr. Brill, as he made his wayback into the pilot house.

  “Not a bit,” answered Jerry. “You see we are not falling as rapidly aswe were,” and he indicated a dial on the side wall, the hand of whichregistered the height. It had moved rapidly over the clock-face, butnow was going more slowly.

  “I haven’t started the gas machine yet,” went on the young pilot; “butI threw up the head planes, and so checked the descent, just as abirdman volplanes to earth with his motor shut off. Now I’ll start thegas generator, and we’ll become a dirigible balloon for a change. Lether go, Ned!”

  Ned, with Bob’s aid, swung over the handle that set the gas generatingmachine in operation, and, with a hiss, the powerful vapor began tofill the big bag. In a few minutes all downward motion was checked, andthe _Comet_ floated in the air--a balloon.

  “Well I’ll be grub-staked!” exclaimed Mr. Brill. “That was clever, allright.”

  “It sure was,” agreed his partner.

  But Jerry had not finished testing the _Comet_, for he wanted it to bein perfect trim for the difficult work ahead of them.

  Accordingly the propellers were again started and the motorship wasdriven here and there as a dirigible. It behaved well, too, and neededbut little adjusting. Then they went far up above the clouds, andMr. Snodgrass managed to get a new specimen of a fly, which greatlydelighted him.

  “Now for the hydroplanes, and I guess we’ll be through,” said thesteersman, as he guided the craft toward the river and dropped down onthe surface. The big floats buoyed up the motorship, and then, by thepower of her propellers, she navigated the stream with considerablespeed. A number of motor boats from the club saluted Jerry and hischums.

  “Well, this sure is a great get-up!” complimented Mr. Brill. “She cantravel on land, on water, and in the air.”

  “We can’t do much in the way of land travel,” said Jerry. “It isn’texactly an auto, and we only use the wheels to get a start when wedepend on the planes. Of course, as a balloon, we can rise withoutgetting a start first. But I guess we’ll manage to drop down into thatvalley you told about.”

  “If you can’t do it in this, nothing can,” was the miner’s opinion. “Itsure is great!”

  The following days were busy ones for the motor boys and their friends.The _Comet_ had to be taken apart for shipment to the West, and manyother preparations made for their long trip. They would travel by railto Kabspell, and there reassemble their craft.

  “Then we’ll provision her well, I hope,” exclaimed Bob.

  “Oh, we’ll let you look after that, Chunky,” said Jerry, with a smile.

  Their plan was to travel by rail to the small town in Montana wheretheir airship would be sent. Once it was put together again they woulduse that exclusively.

  “And I guess those grub-stakers will have trouble in following us inthat machine!” exclaimed Mr. Brill, proudly.

  “Noddy Nixon may make trouble,” suggested Ned.

  “He hasn’t his airship with him this time,” declared Jerry; “and Idon’t fancy he can pick up one out there in a hurry. I guess we cangive him the slip.”

  “But Kabspell is quite a way from the valley where you hid the nuggets;isn’t it?” asked Jim Nestor, of his partner.

  “Yes, but we can easily make the valley from there. The nearestplace to it is a little settlement called Bolton, almost on theborder between the United States and Canada. It is at the foot ofthe mountains, and the valley is off a rocky pass. I think we caneasily find it. It isn’t a great distance from the Blackfeet IndianReservation.”

  “Do those Indians ever make trouble?” asked Ned.

  “Oh, I suppose that once in a while some of them get tired of doingnothing and break off the reservation,” admitted Mr. Brill. “But Jimand I have our guns and----”

  “We’ll take weapons, too,” said Jerry; “but I hope the only use we findfor them will be to shoot game.”

  “Is there game out there?” asked Ned, eagerly.

  “Oh, yes,” answered the Westerner. “Rocky Mountain goats, bears, and anoccasional mountain lion or two. And plenty of small game.”

  “Good!” cried Ned. “We’ll have some fun, even if we don’t get thenuggets!”

  “But you want to get them!” insisted his father, who was at theconference. “That’s what we’re depending on you for. The syndicatedoesn’t want to lose money!”

  “Oh, we’ll get ’em!” declared Jerry, confidently.

  The preparations went on rapidly, and were soon about done. Themotorship had been forwarded in sections and a supply of gasolinearranged for in Kabspell. Ostensibly it was given out that the boys andtheir friends were going to help Professor Snodgrass hunt for luminoussnakes, and other strange forms of animal life, and the scientist wasnot at all unwilling to head such an important expedition.

  “And from now on,” warned Jerry, when they were about ready to depart,“not a word about the sixty nuggets of gold unless we have to mentionthem. There’s no telling who may be listening.”

  “That’s right!” agreed his chums.

  They were at the Cresville station. The last good-byes had been said,their baggage sent on ahead, and they were to begin the long trip tothe border land. Andy Rush was there, looking wistful, for he wouldhave liked to accompany his friends. Professor Snodgrass was wanderingabout, looking for new bugs, and hardly assuming the character of theleader of the expedition. But that did not so much matter now.

  Suddenly, there appeared in the open door of the station a very stoutwoman, carrying a valise and much wrapped up in a large shawl. Her eyesroved over the group of travelers, and lighted on the form of HarveyBrill. Then with a shrill cry she rushed toward him, exclaiming:

  “I’ve found him! Oh, I’ve found him! Oh, my dear nephew! I have foundyou at last! Come home with me! We need you so! Oh, I have found you!”and she dropped her satchel and rushed at the miner with extended arms.

  As for Harvey Brill, his jaw dropped and a look almost of terror cameinto his eyes.

  “Hide me!” he exclaimed. “Somebody hide me! This is the first of ’em!I’ve been expecting this!” and he ran out of the station, full into thearms of Mr. Hitter, the freight agent, the two going down in a heap.