CHAPTER VII.
A RESCUE BY AEROPLANE.
"Men, I have an announcement to make," said Lieutenant De Frees, whenthey had all assembled with their various types of machines. Nednoticed that the officer held in his hand a sheet of blue paper ofofficial appearance. It was closely covered with typewritten matter.
"Py golly, vot now comes?" whispered Hans to Mulligan.
"Whist, can't ye, and listen to the officer!" warned Mulligan.
Like the rest, the two whisperers fell into attitudes of deep attention.
"As you all are aware," began the officer, "it is the purpose of thenavy to determine the advisability of equipping every vessel in thefleet with an aeroplane suitable for bomb dropping or scout duty.Naturally one of the most essential features of such a craft wouldbe its ability to fly both to and from the parent ship. In otherwords, not only must it be able to fly from the ship to the shore, acomparatively simple matter, but it must be able to land back on thedeck of the ship from whence it came--a far more hazardous feat."
"Vos is idt, dot 'haz-az-abluss'?" whispered Hans.
"You all follow my meaning?" asked the officer.
A chorus of "Aye, aye, sir," came from the throats of the "AviationClass."
"Py Chimmy Hill, I follow you all righd, budt I'm a long, long vaybehindt, as der terrapin remarked to der rappit," commented Hans ina low undertone which was lost in the hearty roar of the concertedresponse.
"Very good," resumed the officer. "Now, then, I have here," hereferred to the sheet of typewritten paper, "an announcement from thedepartment that one week hence a landing platform will be erected onthe after-deck of the _Manhattan_. She will anchor in the Roads, andthose desiring to attempt the feat of landing on her deck may notify meat the earliest opportunity. I may add, that to the successful aviator,will accrue an award of $100, beside certain promotion for efficiency."
"Nodt for vun million billion bundtles of dollars vould I preak myneck," commented Hans to Mulligan.
"By gorry, Dutchy, I don't blame ye. 'Twould be a day's wu-urk fer aburrd to do the thrick," was the response.
"We will now take up morning practice," came the next announcement."I think that some of you are far enough advanced to try passengercarrying across country. Strong, I assign you to take up Taylor.Merritt, you will carry Chance as your companion."
A sort of buzz of excitement ran through the squad, as the chosen oneshurried off to make ready.
"The remainder of the squad," came the next order, "will resumeordinary practice."
"Dot's all ve do, is resuming," muttered Hans. "I hope I don't resumemy sneezing, py crickety."
It did not take Ned and Herc long to get ready. With a buzz and whirr,they were up and into the air before Merritt and Chance got theirengines tuned up. No directions as to the course they should take hadbeen given them, so Ned headed the flying machine off inland, wherefields and hedges showed in a pretty patchwork beneath them, with a rimof blue mountains in the distance.
"Say, this is great," exclaimed Herc, as they sped on,--
"Take a trip up to the sky; Say, but it's a dream to fly; From the ground we'll take a jump, I hope we don't land with a bump."
"You're improving as a poet every minute," laughed Ned, his alert eyespeering straight ahead and his hands firmly grasping the controllingwheel. "Let's hope you're not a prophet as well as a poet. By the way,just take a look round and see if you can catch a glimpse of thoseother two fellows."
"I see them, about ten miles behind," announced Herc presently."They're coming right ahead, too. Traveling at a faster clip than weare, I judge."
"Let them risk their necks if they want to. We'll jog along easily,"replied Ned.
For some time they sped on, above pastures and grain fields, andpatches of woodland and meadow, threaded here and there by narrowstreams which glittered in the bright sunlight like silver ribbons. Itwas, as Herc had said, "great." The blood ran faster, and every nervetingled invigoratingly under the stimulus of the rapid advance throughthe air. All about them the shining stay-wires hummed and buzzed,giving out a shrill accompaniment to the steady drone of the motor.
"I'll slow down a bit now," said Ned presently. "I'm anxious to seehow she'll behave at reduced speed with extra weight on board."
As he shut down the power, the aeroplane descended perceptibly. Theadded weight of another passenger made her far less buoyant, as was tohave been expected.
They were quite low, hovering like a big hawk above a small farm-house,when a sudden scream from below was borne to their ears quitedistinctly.
"Hullo! What's that?" exclaimed Ned.
"It was a woman screaming," was the rejoinder. "We'd better drop downand see what's the trouble."
"Just what I think. It came from that farm-house."
"I know. Hold on tight, now; I'm going to drop fast."
Like a stone the aeroplane fell. The rapidity of the drop made both theaviators gasp. Just as it seemed inevitable that they must be dashedto bits on the ground beneath, Ned, by a skilful bit of airmanship,brought his craft to a level keel, and alighted without a jolt.
They came to earth in an open meadow at the rear of the farm-house,a white-painted, green-shuttered place of comfortable appearance. Asthe machine stopped its motion, both lads leaped out and began runningtoward the house. As they neared it, a voice struck on their ears:
"Come on, now; no nonsense. Give me the money your husband has hiddenhere, or I'll hurt you."
Had the two Dreadnought Boys been able to see through the walls of thehouse, they would have beheld a terrified woman, in a gingham gownand white apron, cowering before a heavy-set man, who was brandishinga stout club. The fellow's look was desperate. His deep little eyesglittered menacingly under heavy, black brows. His bluish, bristly chinthrust forward truculently.
"Take these silver spoons," the woman begged, "and leave me alone. Theyare all I have."
"Don't try lying to me," growled the man, stepping forward a pace. "Itwon't go. I've heard around here that your husband is a miser, and Iwant the money he has hidden. Come, now, are you going to give it tome, or----"
He raised the club threateningly.
The woman paled, but stood her ground bravely.
"I have given you all the valuables we have in the house," she said."If anyone told you my husband was a miser, they must have done it outof malice. We are poor farmers, and----"
"That'll do! That'll do! I'm tired of argying with yer. I'll look formyself. Stand aside, and look jumpy now, or----"
A scream burst from the woman's lips, as her brutal annoyer came towardher, his upper lip curled in a snarl.
But he had not advanced more than a couple of paces before anunexpected interruption occurred. A third voice struck into the scene.
"Stop right where you are, Bill Kennell, or there'll be trouble."
Kennell, for it was the disgraced and desperate bully formerly ofthe _Manhattan_, whipped round in a flash. His recognition of theDreadnought Boys, who stood in the opened kitchen door, was swift astheirs had been of him.
"Ned Strong!" he exclaimed in a husky voice.
"Not forgetting Herc Taylor, Bill," grinned the freckle-faced youth."You don't seem exactly glad to see us."
"Oh, whoever you are, thank heaven you have come!" cried the woman. Shereeled backward, overcome by the reaction of her feelings, and wouldhave fallen if Herc had not jumped forward and seized her in his arms.
At the same instant, Kennell, who had lost none of his former agility,crouched and sprung like a wildcat at Ned. But if he had thought tocatch the Dreadnought Boy off his guard, he was dreadfully mistaken.Ned jumped nimbly to one side, as Kennell rushed at him, and the bullycarried by the impetus of his onrush, crashed against the wall. Herecovered himself in an instant and came back at Ned with formidableforce. But once more Ned was ready for him. The Dreadnought Boy divedsuddenly, as Kennell raised his knotted club, and, coming up under theman's arm, caught him a blow on the chin that ca
used the former bullyof the _Manhattan_ to reel and stagger.
But, as if he had been prepared for some such result of his onslaught,Kennell, without an instant's loss of time, produced a pistol fromsomewhere amid his tattered garments.
Before Ned could make another move, a hot flame fanned his face; a loudreport rang in his ears, and he felt a sharp, stinging pain in hishead. Then he lost consciousness.
As he fell with a crash against a chair, bringing it a splinteredwreck to the floor with him, Herc deposited the fainting woman on anold-fashioned settee, and sprang with a roar of anger at Kennell. Butas he did so, two other figures suddenly appeared in the open doorwayof the farm-house kitchen.
"It's Bill Kennell!" cried one of them, who was no other than Merritt.He and Chance had seen Ned's descent, and had dropped, too, to see if,perchance, some bad luck had not overtaken their rivals. Hearing theuproar in the kitchen, they had hastened to it.
As Herc fairly leaped on Kennell, before the ruffian had a chance tofire another shot, Merritt took in the whole situation with the quickintuition of a man of his intellect.
Kennell, with Herc on the top of him, was tottering backward, and onthe verge of falling helplessly before his powerful young antagonist,when Merritt, with a quick movement, picked up a heavy chair. Raisingit, he brought it down with all his might on the unconscious Herc'shead. The next instant the two Dreadnought Boys lay senseless on thefloor of the kitchen, one of them seemingly badly wounded.
The Dreadnought Boys on Aero Service Page 7
