The Motor Boys Over the Rockies; Or, A Mystery of the Air

by Clarence Young

  CHAPTER IV

  A FARMER'S CLEW

  The boys, with Sud, were soon at Jerry's house. Mrs. Hopkins, lookingfrom the window of her sitting room, saw their excited manners, and,fearing that something had happened, hurried down stairs.

  "What's the matter, Jerry?" she cried. "Is anyone hurt?"

  "Only me, Mrs. Hopkins," replied Sud, who was not a little proud tobe thus the centre of attraction. "And I'm not hurt so very much," headded. "It's my feelings more than anything. The idea of me lettingNoddy Nixon and Jack Pender tie me up the way they did."

  "You couldn't help it," commented Bob, while Jerry soon related to hismother what had occurred, and told of their plan to set off in searchof the missing airship.

  "Now, please be careful, boys," the widow begged. "That Noddy Nixon isgetting to be a desperate character. He may do you some injury."

  "I'd like to see him!" cried Ned. "If we get within sight of him andJack they'll jump overboard out of the _Comet_ without waiting for us.But I think, Jerry, that we ought to have him and Jack arrested forstealing our airship. Let's swear out a warrant for those two chaps,and then we can ask the aid of the police in locating them."

  "That's what I'd do," put in Sud, who was rubbing his head, wherethere was a lump, caused by the tussle with the two bullies. "Have 'emarrested, and I'll make a charge of something or other against 'em."Bob also thought it would be a good plan to take formal action.

  "Well, we'll see what your fathers say," remarked Jerry, who hadnone of his own to consult. "We'll go over and see Mr. Slade and Mr.Baker," he added, turning to his mother, "and be guided by them. In themeanwhile, Sud, get out the automobile, will you, and see that it's inshape for a long trip."

  "Oh, are you going away again, Jerry?" asked Mrs. Hopkins, in somedistress. "I was in hopes that you would remain at home a few weeksthis vacation."

  "We were just planning our vacation in the airship, when Andy Rushbrought word that it had been stolen," replied Ned. "I guess now we'llhave to stay home, or else go on a trip in the auto."

  "That's right, I discovered that the _Comet_ was gone!" exclaimedthe excitable Andy. "Doors busted open--Sud unconscious--everythingupside down--great excitement--tell the police--get a gun and shoot atNoddy--whoop!" and the little chap had to stand on his tiptoes to getout the last few words.

  "There, there now, Andy," spoke Jerry, soothingly. "Come on, fellows,we'll take some advice on this. Get at the auto, Sud, that is, if youfeel able."

  "Oh, I'm all right now," answered the watchman, as he started towardthe garage, which had recently been built at the side of Jerry's house.

  In turn Mr. Slade and Mr. Baker were informed of the theft of theairship, and asked as to the necessity of swearing out a warrantagainst Noddy and Jack. Both gentlemen were opposed to it, and Mr.Baker said:

  "If you do get the warrants, and arrest those lads, you will also beobliged to arrest Mr. Bell, the hermit, as you call him. He was withthe lads when they took the airship, you think, and, in the eyes of thelaw, is just as guilty. You don't want to have him taken into custody,do you?"

  "No, indeed," replied Jerry. "Mr. Bell is a good friend of ours, and,though we can't just understand what he is doing with Noddy and Jack,nor about the mysterious rescue of his friends, we know he has beendeceived by those two chaps. No, we'd better not get any warrants.We'll hunt for 'em on our own account, and settle with 'em when we find'em. Come on, boys, back to my house, and then for an auto trip!"

  "I wish I could come," said Andy wistfully. Jerry looked at Bob andNed. Both nodded in a friendly manner.

  "All right, Andy, come along," answered the widow's son. "You did us agreat service in letting us know, so soon, that the airship was stolen,and you're entitled to some reward. Only there is one favor I'm goingto ask of you."

  "What's that?" inquired Andy quickly.

  "When we sight Noddy in the airship, just keep cool," went on the talllad. "If you get excited and talk as much hot air as you usually do,you may explode the gas in the balloon, and then it will be worse thanhaving the _Comet_ stolen."

  "I'll keep quiet," promised Andy very earnestly. "I'll not say a word."

  The four lads were soon back at Jerry's house, and found Sud busytinkering with the auto, for he knew something about cars. The gasolenetank was full, and he was putting water in the radiator.

  The car was now ready to start, and the boys climbed in. Ned and Bobhad notified their folks that they might be gone all day, and probablypart of the night, and Andy Rush had, by telephoning home, securedpermission to accompany them.

  Jerry went into the house to bid his mother good-bye, and, as he cameout, Bob stood up in the tonneau of the car, where he had taken hisplace with Andy.

  "I say, Jerry," began the stout lad, eagerly, "what about grub? It willsoon be dinner time, and----"

  "Oh, good land! I might have known that was coming!" and Ned fairlygroaned. "There you go again, Chunky!"

  "Well, I guess it will soon be dinner time, won't it?" and the lad, whohad gained a reputation in the way of always being hungry, appealed toJerry.

  "It will, if time continues to fly as it has this morning, Bob," wasthe answer.

  "Of course, and we'll have to eat. Hadn't you better take along alunch? Or, if your cook is too busy to put up one, drive around to ourplace, and I'll get a few sandwiches."

  "They keep 'em in barrels at Bob's house," explained Ned to Mrs.Hopkins, who was a smiling observer of the scene. "All Bob has to do isto push a button for whatever kind of sandwich he wants between meals.They know his failing. I dare say the cook is at this moment butteringbread, and cutting meat in anticipation of hearing Chunky's despairingcry of 'I'm hungry,' at almost any minute."

  "Oh, you dry up!" commanded Bob, indignantly. "You'd think I was theonly one in this crowd who ever ate anything."

  "Well, boys, if you think you'll not be home before lunch," began Mrs.Hopkins, "perhaps you had better----"

  "No, mother, thank you," interrupted Jerry, anticipating what shewas going to say. "We'll stop and buy our dinner on the way. We havedelayed too long as it is."

  "Oh, well, as long as we're going to eat sometime, that's all I want,"commented Bob, with a sigh of relief, as he took his seat again. Jerryclimbed up, and assumed charge of the steering wheel, while Ned crankedup, and with a series of "chugs-chugs" the auto started off, the boyswaving a farewell to Mrs. Hopkins.

  "It seems like old times to be traveling this way, doesn't it?" askedNed, of Jerry, as they went swinging along the country road. "Maybewe'll have to take our vacation in this, after all."

  "It wouldn't be so bad," was his chum's opinion, as he suddenly steeredto one side, to avoid running over an angry dog, who seemed to objectto the progress of the car.

  "That's so, we were talking about where we would spend our vacation,when Andy came along with his news," put in Bob, from the tonneau.

  "Now, don't start that dispute again," begged Jerry. "We are going tohave a rather strenuous time, if I'm any judge, before we get throughwith this search."

  "Oh, I wasn't going to start any dispute," remarked Bob quickly. "I wasgoing to say that I'd leave it all to you, where we'll go this summer.I don't care, as long as we get the _Comet_ back."

  "Me either," added Ned. "I'll leave it to Jerry."

  "Then what do you say that we fulfill the agreement, which Noddy seemsfalsely to have made with our hermit?" asked the tall lad.

  "You mean to go to the rescue of his friends?" inquired Ned, with aqueer look at his chum's face.

  "That's what I mean," went on Jerry, quietly. "Wherever or whoever theyare, let's go to their rescue in the _Comet_. They must be in somepeculiar situation or an airship would never be needed to save them.We'll take Noddy's place, and help our old friend, Jackson Bell."

  Jerry then went into details about his plan of pursuit. He proposedthat they proceed in their auto, along the main, or state road,in a westerly direction, for Jerry believed that would be Noddy'sdestination. It was Jerry'
s belief that Noddy would not dare to run theairship at full speed, which would make it possible to overtake him inthe auto.

  "We'll probably be gone on our quest several days," went on the leaderof the lads, and when Andy Rush heard this he expressed a fear that hisparents would not like him to be away over night. It was then agreedthat, in case Noddy was not overtaken that day, to send Andy back homeby train.

  A little later the search was under way, and, as the speedy machineswayed along over the hard road, the boys scanned the sky for anyspeck, large or small, which might proclaim the presence of the_Comet_. From time to time they stopped, to make inquiries from otherautoists or persons driving, as to whether or not an airship had beensighted that morning.

  Some of their questions were met with puzzled looks, as if the personsthought they were being made the butt of a joke. Others were interestedenough, and made all sorts of inquiries, as to why the boys weresearching, but they had seen nothing of the craft of the air.

  The lads made a stop for dinner at a country hotel, and when Bob heardthat there was to be chicken pot-pie his broad face was wreathed insmiles.

  "I'm glad we didn't bring any lunch along," he remarked, "becausewe couldn't have taken anything more than sandwiches. But chickenpot-pie--Ah, um!" and he sniffed the air suggestively.

  They were under way again that afternoon, but as they proceeded mileafter mile, and saw no signs of the airship, and heard nothing fromthe many inquiries they made, they all began to get a bit discouraged.It was about four o'clock, when Andy Rush, who had stared up into thesky so steadily that his neck was getting stiff, uttered an exclamation:

  "There he is!" cried the little chap. "Stop the auto--get a gun--shoothim--make him stop--we've got him!" and he stood up and pointed at ablack speck in the sky. Clearly it was not a bird, for it was movingtoo slowly, and it looked as if it might be some sort of an airship.Jerry jammed on the brakes, after shutting off the power, and took upa pair of powerful field glasses. These he trained on the speck, whilehis companions waited anxiously:

  "It's only a box kite," said Jerry at last. "It's pretty high up,though. Too bad, Andy."

  They went on again, and as the afternoon passed they began to give uphope, and talked of where they would spend the night, for they weredetermined not to go back home without some news of their airship. Theyhad come prepared for a night's stay at a hotel, and, not many milesfrom where they now were, was a railroad station, where Andy could geta train home.

  As they were chug-chugging along a quiet road, Jerry saw, just aheadof him, a farmer driving toward them a spirited team of horses.

  "Guess I'll slow up a bit when passing them," the tall lad remarked tohis chums. "I don't want a runaway."

  The team seemed so skittish as they approached that, for fear offrightening them, Jerry shut off all power, and the auto came to a stop.

  "I'm much obliged to you," called the farmer, as he held in the animalswhen passing the car. "It ain't often that automobile fellers is asconsiderate as you be. I appreciate it. Besides, my team hasn't gottenover a fright they had early this morning."

  "How was that?" asked Ned, while the farmer pulled up, the two finehorses evincing less fear of the auto, now that it was quiet. "Did acar scare them this morning?"

  "Well, not exactly an automobile," was the answer, "that is, unlessautos run overhead in the air."

  Jerry caught at that remark at once:

  "What do you mean?" he asked quickly.

  "Why just this," was the unexpected answer. "When I was going tomarket, about three o'clock this morning, my horses nearly ran awaywhen something about as big as ten automobiles scooted along throughthe air, over their heads. It was some sort of a balloon."

  "Are you sure it was a balloon?" inquired Jerry.

  "Well, some sort of a balloon," replied the farmer. "You see, therewas some moonlight, but I couldn't make it out very well. It was anairship, I know, because I've seen pictures of 'em. It was shaped likea cigar, about a hundred feet long, or more, I guess, and sticking outfrom the sides, were big white wings. By Golly; but it scared me atfirst!"

  "That's our airship!" cried Bob.

  "Your airship?" inquired the farmer, visibly astonished.

  "Yes, we are in search of one stolen from us in Cresville," said Jerry."The one you saw may have been it. Which way was it going?"

  "It come from that direction," replied the man, pointing back towardCresville, "and it was headed almost west, along this road you're onnow. First I knowed I heard a humming, buzzing sound, and I took atight hold on the reins, as I thought an auto was coming. Then when Ilooked around, for the noise was in back of me, I seen a big light inthe air. I thought it must be an all-fired big auto, that had a lightso high up, and the next I knew the blamed thing was right over myhead, and not more than fifty feet up. Then I knowed it was an airship,but I come near knowing nothing else right after, for my horses startedto run, and I had all I could do to hold 'em. Well, the airship, orwhatever it was, swooped on out of sight in the darkness, and I didn'tget my animals down to a walk for nearly a mile."

  "And it was going this way?" asked Ned, pointing in the same directionas that in which the auto was headed.

  "It was," answered the farmer. "But I don't believe you'll catch it.Them airship fellers don't leave any trail behind."

  "Oh, we'll catch him!" cried Jerry, determinedly. "We're much obligedto you for this clew."

  "Oh, you're welcome, I'm sure. Whenever anyone does me a good turn,I like to return the compliment. I hope you catch them," and thefarmer was about to drive on. "But what makes you think that was yourshebang?" he asked.

  "From the peculiar shape of it," answered Jerry. "Ours is a combineddirigible balloon and aeroplane, and that's what you saw. Besides, itcame from the right direction. Come on, fellows," he added. "We're onthe trail at last. Now to catch Noddy Nixon!"