CHAPTER XXIX
JETHRO TAKES A HAND
"Lookey, Jack, it's a crate 'bout like ourn--an amphibian, an' a beautin the bargain. What great luck, oh boy!" was what Perk was whisperinginto his chum's ear.
"I see it--let up on the talk,--we've got to plan quick, for fear theship takes off again!" Jack told him, vexed because his pal seemedunable to bridle his tongue when silence was what they most needed.
He could see the two men who had come with the amphibian, since theywere still wearing their service togs, and helmets. They seemed to beenjoying themselves hugely with some of the occupants of the main camp;as though in a high humor because of their successful flight, and safearrival.
"What kinder ship be that, partner?" demanded the one who could not beeffectually squelched.
"I don't know--looks mighty like one of those new multi-motoredKingbirds, with a big cabin that might hold a dozen passengers. Nowplease hold your breath, Wally, and let me _think_--we've got to workfast for they'll take off any time now."
Jack having already about decided on their line of action was not longin reaching a conclusion. It was to be the turn of Jethro now--he hadpromised the other he should have his inning, under the conviction thatthe guide had earned a right to strike one good blow, so as to feel hehad thus avenged his family wrongs at the hands of John Haddock.
A hurried consultation in whispers followed. Then Jethro backed away,with some object carefully tucked under an arm. When he was beyond therange of their limited observation Jack touched Perk on the arm.
"We're moving our base, brother," he told him most cautiously. "Jethrohas only a regular bomb to set, and will have to scuttle out of that insomething of a hurry. They may start a search, and come this way; so weought to be on our way to the boat."
"Shucks! naow aint that jest too bad--yeou're abreakin' my heart,Boss--I shore did want to see that ship smashed to flinders," whisperedthe chagrined Perk.
"We may yet--I know of another place further back, where it'd be safefor us to stop, and then hurry off after it happens."
In this fashion then did Jack smother the budding mutiny on Perk's part;so they began their retrograde movement, with all their senses on thealert to avoid any hovering danger.
From all the indications Jack had already guessed the smugglers were onnettles and pins concerning the meaning of the late disasters that hadstruck their hitherto smooth running machine--they had been turningtheir heads this way and that, as if uneasy, casting frequent anxiousglances toward the big and costly airship (that undoubtedly had onlylately become a regular visitor at the rendezvous camp), as if temptedto believe it too might suddenly burst into flames, as though somemysterious and powerful electrical ray were at work, bringingdestruction in its wake.
Arriving at the back refuge mentioned by observing Jack, they croucheddown and waited for whatever was fated to come to pass. Jack himselffelt a bit anxious, wondering whether it had been a wise thing to allowinexperienced Jethro to handle this last hazard--what if he managed tomake a mess of it in spite of his good intentions, and all the teachinghe, Jack, had given him? On the other hand there was always apossibility that some restless member of the gang suddenly decide tostep over, and see if everything was well with the expensive addition totheir air force--should such an investigator run smack up against theircracker guide in the act of setting his bomb, the result might be apremature explosion that would prove disasterous to poor Jethro, eventhough it also destroyed the expensive ship.
Perk was holding his breath with eagerness, only taking an occasionalgulph when it became absolutely necessary. Jack, too, admitted tofeeling his usually well trained nerves tingling with mingled sensationsas the minutes crept on and nothing came to pass.
Then suddenly without the slightest warning it happened--there was amost dazzling illumination, very like a nearby flash of lightning, andaccompanied by a frightful explosion that actually almost caused the twowatchers to fall flat on their backs.
They had a glimpse however, of a vast upheaval, as the new amphibian wascast up skyward in fragments, even the weighty motors being hurledaloft, to speedily come back to earth with dreadful force. Every man inthe camp had been blown off his feet, and could be seen toppling in alldirections.
Jack clutched Perk by the arm, and gave him a tug which the otherunderstood meant they must cut for the boat with another instant'sdelay. The last thing they glimpsed was the various prostrate figuresscrambling to their feet, and naturally hurrying forward, risking beinginjured by the still falling fragments of what had so recently been abeautiful sample of the very latest up-to-date cabin tri-motoredpassenger airship, sponsored, if Jack had guessed rightly, by one of theforemost building corporations known to the world of aviation.
They managed to arrive in safety at their goal, and to Jack's greatrelief found faithful Jethro awaiting their coming, full to the brimwith joy over the consummation of his scheme for revenge long sinceover-due.
The clamor from the camp was still at high ebb, men shouting all mannerof exciting things, as they endeavored to recover their wits enough totry and figure out what it could all mean.
Once upon the river and the fugitives began to make some sort of speed.No longer did they feel any necessity for using caution, save to avoidthe traps formed by those persistent snags, and other obstructions to asafe passage. No one could overtake them, thanks to the speed of the oldreconstructed powerboat, as well as the skill of its pilot; and oncethey reached the hidingplace of their amphibian how easy for them totake to the air, leaving Jethro's boat where the plane had been hidden?
Then for the grand climax to their adventure--finding the secret radiostation, and sending it in the wake of the destroyed speedboat, also thetwo smuggler airships that would no longer carry contraband loads acrossland and water from nearby foreign islands, or mother ships anchored offthe east coast.
CHAPTER XXX
THE WIND-UP--CONCLUSION
They found it easy enough to get up speed with the assistance of thecurrent, and then take off, when a clear streak of water was reached.Rising to a fair ceiling Jack headed south, and the night flight was on.
He let Perk take over the controls before a great while, while onceagain he studied his charts, well marked from previous searchings. Sowent the long hours, with numerous turnings as the humor urged; for theywere now only killing time, and waiting for the dawn to come.
No sooner was it light than Jack again settled down at the stick, withthe ship headed toward his intended goal. He had good reason to believehis information to be correct, and that before many hours they would beable to cash in on the prospect, kill the efficiency of the outlaw radiostation to do further injury, and bring the operations of the greatsmuggler league to a wind-up, which was all the Government asked of him.
Nine o'clock in the morning found them on the coast, and approaching acertain wild district where no man was supposed to have hishabitation--even the shanties of the Spring fishermen were conspicuousby their absence--the place was so lonely, so isolated, so storm-swept,that the bravest of coast dwellers did not have the nerve to carry ontheir daily avocation along the line of fishing, or wild-fowl shooting,amidst such desolate surroundings.
All of which had made it an ideal spot for an unregistered radio base;and Jack believed his hunch was a true one when he decided he would findthe end of his trail where he was now heading.
A little distance back of the beach, beyond the scrub and dead grass,there had for many years been known to exist a strange looking object,almost falling in ruins now; but which at one time had been a well builttower, more or less fashioned after the type of a coast lighthouse,since it had winding stairs within, and a room at the top, from which awonderful view of the sea could be obtained.
Jack knew the brief history of that queer tower--how it had been builtlong years back by a retired sea captain, whose heart was still faithfulto h
is beloved salt-water; and who, desirous of dying within the soundof the breakers had spent almost his last dollar in having this peculiartower erected, strong enough with its rocky walls to defy the elementsthat usually played such rough pranks along this particular stretch ofshore.
Some people of a romantic turn of mind even said the old captain hadlost his wife and daughter in a wreck close by that very part of thecoast, which fact had been mainly instrumental in his carrying out hisqueer conceit. After all, he had really died there, being found lifelessby a party of shipwrecked men who chanced to reach land at that place,and anticipated being fed and warmed by some genial light keeper, onlyto discover but a dead man there. A nephew had seen to his burial,stripped the "observatory" of everything of value, and forsook all else.Now the tower was a near-ruin, and in danger of toppling when someunusually severe gale swept the water over the sand ridge, and againstthe "castle" wall.
When Perk glimpsed the object of their solicitude far away Jack broughthis ship down on the beach, and taxied back to where he had reason tobelieve it would be safe from the highest tide.
Then they set out to stalk their intended prey, keeping far enough backso as to avoid being detected by any trained eyes from the room in thetop of the dead sea captain's lone tower.
By noon they had gained enough distance to be able to keep watch on thetower through means of Perk's glasses. They soon discovered signs oflife about the place, which fact gratified them greatly; surely norational human being would ever take up his abode in that ramshackleaffair unless he had some unusually important reason for so doing, suchwas its inaccessibility, and lonesome condition, there being not evenduck shooting available, while the fishing must be equally _non est_.
By one o'clock they were able to figure that there were just two men inthe tower, which reckoning allowed the formation of a concrete plan ofaction.
It appeared that just one of these fellows was on duty at a time, theother apparently being free to wander off, if the notion struck him.Possibly, too, most of their work came along after night had set in,since business picked up at that hour.
"The next time either one steps out to take a little saunter I'll followin a roundabout way, and nab him when he isn't dreaming of danger. AfterI've stopped him from giving the alarm, and putting his mate on guardI'll give a signal for you lads to swing around and approach thejunk-shop by keeping hidden behind that sand hill. Once I get my foot onthe steps leading up inside the tower it'll be all over but theshouting. Soak that in, both of you boys?"
Which they said they would; and so Jack a little later on, crept off,exercising great care as he picked up his duty to keep hidden from thoselookout windows at the summit of the said tower.
He managed to take up a position where it was most likely the walkerwould pass close by, and there he stood, sheltered from view. The chapwas amazingly stunned to have something thrust him in the back, and tohear a stern voice say:
"Not a single word or you're a dead man! We've got the tower surrounded,even if you don't see my men; and the game is played out. You're underarrest for sending out illegal radio calls that are in the interest ofcoast smugglers and other criminal parties. Silence now, or I'll crackyou over the head."
It was almost what Perk would call a "picnic," things fell into theirhands so easily. Having bound and gagged his prisoner Jack made his wayback to a point close to the leaning tower, when he gave the promisedsignal; and was speedily joined by his two mates.
After that they all three went cautiously up the winding stairs, andsuddenly took the remaining radio man by surprise, by covering him withthree guns, and cowing him in the bargain. Realizing that the game wasqueered he did not dare take desperate chances by putting up anyresistance; simply grinning, and holding out his hands for Jack to slipthe bracelets over his wrists.
"Now," explained Jack, "the only thing we want to do is to take some ofthis stuff along to prove we've demolished the offending radio-sendingstation; after which it's up to Uncle Sam to see that this scotchedsnake doesn't show its head again along the same lines--we will havefinished our job in first-class shape, and can take up something else,for to be sure there's work aplenty for us Secret Service lads."
Before this was carried out Jack secured a fine picture of the oldleaning Coast Tower, as well as its interior, showing the radio sendingoutfit just as they found it. This being accomplished as positiveevidence that could not be successfully disputed, they put aside suchmaterial as could be readily transported in the cabin of theiramphibian, and then sent the racketty tower high up in the air, to fallin fragments on the beach.
After that all of them boarded the ship, and they set out forCharleston, to drop Jethro--who would sooner or later hear from the twochums, as well as receive a fat reward for the part he had taken inrounding up the smuggler gang, and putting that mischievous radio out ofthe running--also turning over the two prisoners to the care of Mr.Herriott, as representative of the legal branch of the Government. Whatbecame of them Jack and Perk neither knew nor cared, as other equallythrilling happenings soon came along to occupy their time and attention,to the exclusion of matters that were now "has-beens," hull down in thepast.
They first of all turned over that admirable amphibian, the remodeledCurtiss cabin twin-motored ship, to the authorities; and when they leftCharleston it was aboard their own familiar plane, the big Fokker. Insome succeeding volume it may be taken for granted we shall again meetthose two interesting aerial Soldiers of Fortune, Jack Ralston and Perk,doing their perilous stunts in some other field of adventure, thenarration of whose exploits may form the basis of the next book in this_Sky Detective Series_.
THE END.
Flying the Coast Skyways; Or, Jack Ralston's Swift Patrol Page 29
