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THE BOY AVIATORS ON SECRET SERVICE
OR
WORKING WITH WIRELESS
BY
CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON
AUTHOR OF "THE BOY AVIATORS IN NICARAGUA"
NEW YORK HURST & COMPANY PUBLISHERS
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Boy Aviators' Series
By CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON Author of "Dreadnought Boys Series"
Six Titles. Cloth Bound. Price 50c UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
1 The Boy Aviators in Nicaragua; or, In League with the Insurgents. 2 The Boy Aviators on Secret Service; or, Working with Wireless. 3 The Boy Aviators in Africa; or, An Aerial Ivory Trail. 4 The Boy Aviators' Treasure Quest; or, The Golden Galleon. 5 The Boy Aviators in Record Flight; or, The Rival Aeroplane. 6 The Boy Aviators' Polar Dash; or, Facing Death in the Antarctic. 7 The Boy Aviators' Flight for a Fortune.
Sold Everywhere.
HURST & COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
_Copyright_, 1910, by HURST & CO.
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CONTENTS.
I. An Important Commission II. The Boys Meet an Old Friend,--and an Enemy III. A Tramp with Field-Glasses IV. A Plot Discovered V. Two Rascals get a Shock VI. The Start for the 'Glades VII. A Night Attack VIII. The Men of the Island IX. A Message from the Unknown X. The Captive's Warning XI. The Black Squall XII. Pork Chops Proves His Metal XIII. The Front Door of the 'Glades XIV. Close Quarters with 'Gators XV. An Island Mystery XVI. The Boys Make an Acquisition XVII. The Everglades in an Aeroplane XVIII. A Night Alarm XIX. On the Mound-Builders' Island XX. Captain Bellman's Island XXI. A Bold Dash XXII. Ben Stubbs Disappears XXIII. The Boy Aviators Trapped XXIV. A Startling Meeting XXV. Quatty as a Scout XXVI. Lathrop as an Air Pilot XXVII. Hemmed in by Flames XXVIII. The Black Aeroplane XXIX. The Last of Bellman's Crew
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THE BOY AVIATORS ON SECRET SERVICE; OR, WORKING WITH WIRELESS.
CHAPTER I.
AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION.
"Come in!"
The gray-haired man who uttered these words gazed sharply up at the doorof the private office of the Secretary of the Navy's Bureau, atWashington, D. C., as he spoke. He was evidently anticipating callers ofmore than usual importance judging from his expectant look. The oldnegro who had knocked opened the door and respectfully stood waiting.
"Well, Pinckney?"
"Dey have come, sah."
"Ah; good,--show them in at once."
The old negro bowed respectfully and withdrew. A few seconds later hereappeared and ushered in two bright looking youths of sixteen andfourteen with the announcement in a pompous tone of voice:
"Messrs. Frank and Harry Chester."
Frank, the elder of the two brothers, was a well set up youngster withcrisp, wavy brown hair and steady gray eyes. Harry, his junior by twoyears, had the same cool eyes but with a merrier expression in them. He,like Frank, was a well-knit, broad-shouldered youth. Both boys weretanned to an almost mahogany tinge for they had only returned a few daysbefore from Nicaragua, where they had passed through a series of strangeadventures and perils in their air-ship, the _Golden Eagle_, perhaps,before her destruction in an electric storm, the best known craft of herkind in the world and one which they had built themselves from top planeto landing wheels.
The Secretary of the Navy, for such was the office held by thegray-haired man, looked at the two youths in front of him with someperplexity for a moment.
"You are the Boy Aviators we have all heard so much of?" he inquired atlength with a note of frank incredulity in his voice.
"We are, sir," rejoined Frank, with just the ghost of a smile playingabout his lips at the great man's evident astonishment--and its equallyevident cause.
"I beg your pardon," hastily spoke up the Secretary of the Navy, who hadobserved Frank's amusement; "but you seem----"
"I know what you were thinking, sir," interrupted Frank, "that we arevery young to undertake such exacting service as Admiral Kimballoutlined to us in Nicaragua."
"You have guessed just right, my boy," rejoined the other, with a heartylaugh at Frank's taking his thoughts and putting them into such exactwords, "but your youth has evidently not interfered with your progressif all the reports I have heard of you are true. Sit down," he went on,"and we will talk over the proposal the Department has to make to you."
The boys set down their straw hats and seated themselves in two chairsfacing the grizzled official. Both listened attentively as he began.
"When Admiral Kimball wrote to me about you, telling me that he hadfound in the two sons of Planter Chester of Nicaragua the very agents wewanted for a particularly dangerous and difficult mission," he said, "Iat once sent for you to come here from New York to see for myself if hisjudgment was correct. I have not been disappointed--"
The boys colored with pleasure.
"My brief observation of you has confirmed to my mind his report and Iam going to entrust to you the responsibility of this undertaking. Now,"he went on impressively, "the government has been experimenting for sometime in secret with Chapinite, a new explosive of terrific power, theinvention--as its name makes apparent--of Lieut. Bob Chapin of theUnited States Navy. I say 'has been experimenting' advisedly. It is sono more.
"The formula of the explosive has disappeared from the archives of thedepartment and, what is still more serious, Lieutenant Chapin himself ismissing."
"The agents of the Secret Service force have worked in vain on the casewithout discovering much more than the one very important fact that thegovernment of a far Eastern power has recently been experimenting withan explosive whose effects and manifestations make it almost undoubtedthat the stuff is Chapinite. By a tedious process of observation anddeduction the men have traced the shipments as far as the west Floridacoast but there all clues have ended. Weeks of work have left us as muchin the dark as ever as to the location of the source of supply of thefar Eastern power. But that somewhere within the untracked wildernessesof the Everglades a plant has been set up in which Chapinite is beingmanufactured in large quantities is a practical certainty to my mind.
"It is useless for the secret service men to attempt to explore what isstill an unmapped labyrinth of swamp and jungle and above all it wouldoccupy time. What we have to do is to act quickly. I racked my brain fordays until I happened to come across a paragr
aph in a newspaper callingattention to your wonderful flights in the _Golden Eagle_, and thenfollowed Admiral Kimball's dispatch. It struck me at once that hereindeed was a way of locating these men that might prove feasible--I say'might' because if you boys accept the commission I do not want toabsolutely impose the condition of success upon you. All that we shallexpect of you is that you will do your best.
"Will you accept the assignment?"
The blunt question almost took the boys off their feet so to speak. Theyexchanged glances and then Frank said:
"As you perhaps know, sir, our first aeroplane, the _Golden Eagle_----"
"In which you rescued William Barnes, a newspaper correspondent, from acamp in which he was held prisoner," remarked the Secretary--"you see Ihave followed your doings closely."
"Exactly," went on Frank; "that first _Golden Eagle_ is at the bottom ofthe sea. She went down when we were driven off the land in a tropicalelectric storm and it was only the fact that she was equipped withwireless, with which we signaled a passing steamer, that saved us fromsharing her fate.
"We might, however, construct a second one. In fact I have the designspartially drawn up. She would be a more powerful craft than the firstand capable of even longer sustained flights."
"The very thing!" exclaimed his listener enthusiastically, "then youwill accept the commission?"
"I have not yet said that we would," rejoined Frank, calmly. "As youhave described the situation it looks rather like a wild-goose chase;however, I think that if my brother agrees that we might consent to tryto do our best."
"Of course I agree, Frank," cried Harry enthusiastically. The verymention of anything that promised exciting adventures was sufficient toenlist Harry's ardent interest.
"Then it is as good as settled," concluded the Secretary. "The thing isnow, how long will it take you to build this craft?"
"We shall require at least three weeks," replied Frank.
The Secretary almost groaned.
"It is a long time--or at least it seems so," he corrected, "when thereis so much at stake."
"It would be quite impossible to construct a suitable aeroplane in alesser period;" rejoined Frank, with finality in his tones.
"Then I suppose we shall have to exercise patience," remarked thesecretary. "You will of course need funds. How much shall you require doyou suppose?"
"We cannot build a second _Golden Eagle_ for less than ten thousanddollars to start with," was the quiet reply.
"Ten thousand dollars?" repeated the secretary, in tones of amazement.
"It does sound like a good deal of money," replied Frank, "but if youwere more familiar with aeroplane construction you would see that it isnot exorbitant. Everything that enters into the construction of an aircraft must be of the very best and strongest material. The engine aloneis a heavy item of expense and besides must be of specially preparedmetals and hand machined."
"I see," replied the secretary. "You know best. I will see thatarrangements are made to provide you with everything you require. Wheredo you intend to build the ship?"
"There is a place at White Plains, some miles out from the town and backin the hills," replied Frank, "that is in every way suited for ourpurpose. It is off any main road and we can work there in quiet. Webuilt the first _Golden Eagle_ there and I don't think that outside ofourselves and our workmen half a dozen people knew about it."
"The very thing," replied the secretary. "Of course I need not impressupon you the importance of absolute secrecy in this matter. We havealmost positive proof that our every movement is watched by agents ofthose who have stolen the plans, and who now have Lieutenant Chapin aprisoner--that is, if they have not made away with him, poor fellow. Myown idea is, however, that he has been kidnapped and forced to takecharge of the work, as without his direction it would be impossible,even with the aid of the formula, to manufacture the explosive. What Ifear is, that after they have made a sufficient quantity to stock up thearsenals of the far Eastern power they will destroy their plant and endLieutenant Chapin's life. You see the explosive is so powerful that evena small quantity would make the nation possessing it extremelyformidable, therefore it is not likely that wherever they have set uptheir plant they are figuring on a permanent location."
"What is the last trace you have of the plotters?" asked Frank.
For answer the secretary pressed a bell that stood on his table at hiselbow. When in response the bowing old negro appeared he said sharply:
"Send Flynn here."
Flynn turned out to be a thick-set, red-faced man with the neck of abull and powerful physique. He was one of the most trusted men in theSecret Service Bureau.
"Flynn," said the secretary when the detective had introduced his hugebulk, "these young men are Frank and Harry Chester, the _Boy Aviators_,they are going to take up your work where you left it off."
"Only because we were up against a dead wall," protested the agent.
"Quite so--quite so; I meant no offence. I know that you did all it washumanly possible to accomplish. What I want you to do now is to outlineto these young men the discoveries you made following the morning onwhich we found the safe opened and the plans gone,--to be followed a fewhours later by the discovery that Lieutenant Chapin had also vanished."
"Well," said Flynn, "cutting out the minor details we discovered thatthe very same day a big white yacht had cleared from New York withoutpapers and had headed toward the south. We traced her up and found thatshe had been bought by a Mr. Brownjohn of Beaver Street. We looked himup and found he was a ship broker who had bought the craft ontelegraphed instructions from Washington. We trailed up the telegram andfound that it had been sent from the Hotel Willard by a Captain MortimerBellman, who, from what we can find out about him, was considerable ofan adventurer and had at one time lived a good deal in the far East. Infact he had only recently come from there. At the Marine Basin at UlmerPark, near Coney Island, we discovered that a nondescript sort of a crewhad been hustled on board and that the yacht had sailed at night withoutpapers a few hours after her purchase was completed.
"Ten days later the newspapers reported that a large yacht had goneashore on one of the Ten Thousand Islands on the west coast of theEverglades, and the men we sent down there to investigate discoveredthat the derelict was the Mist,--the same yacht that Bellman had bought.What was most remarkable, however, was that the boat seemed to have beendeliberately wrecked, for everything had been taken off her except hercoal and ballast and all the boats were gone. There was no indicationthat she had been abandoned in a hurry and the reef on which she lay wassuch an obvious one that even at high water it was clearly visible. Nowthat the Mist's boats went into the Everglades we are reasonably sure.If they had gone anywhere else we should have got some trace of them bythis time, but from that day to this we have not had a word or signconcerning them."
"We have heard, however, that the navy of the power we suspect has beenconducting experiments with a new explosive and we have also learnedthat this same explosive is undoubtedly Chapinite. We have looked upBellman's record and find that while he was stopping at the Willard hereceived several letters from the government in question and that hepaid twenty thousand dollars for the Mist. Now a man isn't going to paythat much out for a boat and wreck her unless he does it purposely.Bellman didn't have that much money anyhow. There is only oneconclusion, Bellman was simply the agent for some one else and that someone has got a lot of money to spend to secure the most powerfulexplosive ever discovered."
"There you have the case in a nutshell," remarked the secretary as Flynnconcluded.
"There is only one thing that is not clear to me," objected Frank. "Whyshould they make the stuff in the Everglades. Why not manufacture it outand out in the country you have mentioned?"
"Such a course would have been too full of risks," replied thesecretary, "we are at peace with that power and if the stolen formulahad been discovered there it would have led to a serious internationalbreach and possibly war. By manufacturing it
here and shipping itsecretly in small quantities the plotters secure safety from war totheir own country."
"I see," nodded Frank. He pulled out his watch. It was twelve o'clock."There is a train to New York at one o'clock," he said.
"Won't you stop and have lunch with me?" asked the secretary.
"No, thank you," was the boys' reply; "you see we have a lot of workbefore us. Building an aeroplane in three weeks calls for some tallhustling."
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