CHAPTER XXV
A CLEW
For a few moments it seemed to the Motor Boys that the end ofeverything had come. It appeared impossible that their comparativelyfrail craft could weather the storm in the very heart of which she wasbeing hurled along. Now tilted with her bow toward the earth; again,almost standing on her tail rudders; now on her port beam, and againon the starboard--the gallant _Comet_ struggled on in the grip of thehurricane.
"Lend a hand, fellows!" gasped Jerry, as he tried in vain to bringthe lever of the depressing rudder toward him. "Lend a hand! The windpressure is so strong that I can't work this alone."
Bob and Ned sprang to their chum's aid, and even then the task wasalmost more than that to which their combined strength was equal.Professor Snodgrass, seeing their trouble, was about to give them someassistance, when an instant's lull in the gale so relieved the pressureon the planes that they were able to bring the lever to the rightposition.
"Jove, but it blows!" cried Ned. "It's a wonder it didn't rip off thewings, rudders and everything else."
"Lucky thing for us they're of double strength," added Bob, for withthe remodeling of the motorship, the wing-planes and rudders had beenstrengthened.
"I guess we'll be all right, now," observed Jerry. "We must have gotteninto the hurricane by coming up so high. I'll stay at a lower levelafter this."
"Do you suppose it's the same gale that Mr. Jackson and the others werecaught in?" asked Ned.
"Shouldn't wonder a bit," was the reply of the tall lad. "And ifthey're in it, and it's still blowing at this rate, they'll be carriedhalf-way across the Atlantic before we can catch them."
"My gracious!" exclaimed Professor Snodgrass, "half-way across theAtlantic! That will be just the thing for me. I can get my singing fishthen."
"I hope we don't have to go that far to rescue them," spoke Jerry. "Butif we don't soon get out of this wind we may not get anywhere."
"We don't seem to be going down out of it very fast," observed Ned,with a glance at the barograph. It still registered nearly two milesabove sea level.
"That's so," agreed Jerry with a look at the instrument. "I wonder ifanything could have happened to the depressing rudder. Maybe it doesn'twork, or it may be disconnected from the lever. In that case----"
"I'll go outside and look," volunteered Ned, clinging to the side wallof the pilot house in which they all were.
"No, I'll go," decided Jerry. "It's risky, and----"
"_You_ want to take all the risk," interrupted Bob. "Let me go. I'mshorter than you, and the wind won't have so much surface to blow on.I'll go."
It did seem wise to let the smaller lad venture outside on the sterndeck, and inspect the rudder, and after some argument Jerry consentedto this. By going out of the rear door of the main cabin, Bob would, ina measure, be sheltered by the deck structures.
The force of the gale may be imagined when it is said that as Bobstepped out he felt himself fairly forced down toward the deck, as ifsome giant hand had pushed him. The power of the wind was terrific,and, realizing this, the stout lad got down as low as possible, andfairly crawled on his hands and knees to a place where he could see therudder.
"It's there, all right," he reported pantingly to his chums, when hehad worked his way back to the cabin.
"Then why don't we go down?" asked Ned. "Is it set to send us down,Chunky?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't see----"
"I believe it's because the wind is so powerful that we can't cut ourway downward through the level strata of the hurricane," was Jerry'sopinion.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Bob.
"It's this way, and I think Jerry is right," spoke Mr. Snodgrass."We're sailing along on an almost solidified bank of air, which iscompressed by great pressure. To go below, into an area where thereis no storm, it is like cutting through a layer of thick ice to getto the water beneath. But the air buoys us up so that we're havingdifficulties."
"What are we going to do?" inquired Ned anxiously.
"We've got to do something, that's evident," responded the tall lad,as a sudden burst of the storm once more nearly made the _Comet_ turnturtle. "We've got to get out of this."
Jerry went to the engine-room, and called to Bob and Ned to accompanyhim. He began adjusting the machinery.
"What are you going to do?" asked Ned.
"Key up the motor," explained the tall lad. "We've got to try andbeat this wind, and the only way we can do it is to get up all thespeed possible, and cut down through the air. Bob, hand me thatmonkey-wrench. Ned, you tighten up the intake valves, and open theoutlets on the port cylinders. I'll set the electric generator to givea hotter spark and one at shorter intervals. We've _got_ to go down!"
The need was increasing every moment, for the hurricane, instead ofdying out, was getting worse every second.
Soon the motor was working at twice its former speed. The greatpropellers could be observed whirling around with terrific power. Now,if ever, the _Comet_ should go down. Anxiously they watched the needleof the barograph. It remained stationary for a few minutes, duringwhich the craft trembled from end to end with the awful strain. Thenthe pointer swung slowly around.
"There she goes!" cried Ned in delight.
"Yes, we're going down," observed Jerry, with a sigh of relief.
"And none too soon," added Bob, as another gust sent the motorship onend.
It was a struggle between the forces of nature and those of man, andthe machinery won. Slowly the airship was forced down on a slant until,finally piercing through the strata that represented the terrific wind,she came to a calm region about two thousand feet above the sea. Then,bringing her to a level keel, Jerry sent the craft onward.
"And not a sign of the _Manhattan_," remarked Ned, a little later, whenthe motor had been slowed down to its usual speed.
"No," spoke Jerry, "but the search isn't over yet. I'm sure we're goingin the right direction, though. The hurricane did us that much service,for it's evident that the missing balloon was caught just as we were,only they haven't powerful enough machinery to get out of it. Now we'llkeep on at this level, and in this direction."
Nothing developed the rest of that day. They flew onward slowly, takingturns scanning the air about them through a powerful telescope fora sight of the dirigible containing the man whose aid was so greatlyneeded by Mr. Slade. But the _Manhattan_ was not seen.
At night they set the powerful searchlight aglow, hoping that it mightbe observed by those whom they sought, and who possibly could send outa signal, indicating their position. But no signal came. Thus two moredays passed, and the _Comet_ at times was sent about, back over theair-line over which they had come, for Jerry feared they might havepassed the missing balloon in the night.
Several times they dropped to the surface of the ocean, to giveProfessor Snodgrass a chance to use his net in an endeavor to get thesinging fish. But his efforts were unsuccessful.
"It seems as if there was a hoodoo on this trip," spoke Ned gloomily,one morning as they were sailing along. "We missed Mr. Jackson at everypoint, and now no one knows where he is."
"Oh, we'll find him yet," said Jerry cheerfully. "I tell you what let'sdo: go down on the hydroplanes and fish! Some fresh fish would go goodfor dinner; eh, Chunky?"
"Sure. I'll fry 'em brown in corn-meal. Send her down, Jerry."
The _Comet_ was once more dropped to the surface of the sea, and theboys got out their lines. They had pretty good luck, and a fish dinnerwas a certainty. Of course, the professor only tried for his prize, buthe did not get it.
Bob was just landing a large fish, and was giving all his energy to it,when the attention of Ned and Jerry was attracted to a large steamer,which was rapidly approaching them. They had not noticed her creepingup on the horizon.
"She seems to be heading this way," observed Ned.
"Yes; maybe she wants to see what sort of a craft we are, fellows,"said Jerry.
Suddenly there came a puff of smoke, a dull flash
, and a booming soundcame over the water.
"They're firing at us!" cried Bob, who had landed his fish.
"No; I think it's a signal," remarked Jerry, who had observed closely,and had not seen a projectile bounding over the wave crests. "They maytake us for a wreck, and want us to know that we're going to be saved."
This, as they learned later, was the reason for the shot. On came thesteamer, and soon it was within hailing distance. The rails were linedwith curious passengers, many of whom were taking snap-shots of the_Comet_, as she rested lightly on the water. On the steamer's bridgewere the captain and a number of officers.
"What sort of a craft are you, and what are you doing?" came the hailthrough a megaphone.
"The _Comet_, of Cresville," returned Jerry.
"Where are you bound?"
"We don't know. We're looking for a disabled balloon."
"Do you need any help?"
It was evident that Jerry's answers were not well understood sincebefore he could reply to the question about aid, a small boat waslowered, and came rapidly toward the _Comet_.
"Do you want to be taken off?" asked the mate in charge.
"No; we're all right," was Jerry's reply. "We're going on through theair soon. We just came down here to catch some fish. But have you seenanything of the balloon _Manhattan_, which ought to be somewhere out tosea?"
The mate had not, nor had the sailors, and it was evident thatthey hardly knew what to believe about the _Comet_. Seeing theirincredulity, Jerry started the air-propellers, and, getting a flyingstart, mounted up into the sky, circling over and around the steamer.
There were cries of wonder at this, and a round of applause from thepassengers and crew. Then the boys dropped back to the ocean again onthe hydroplanes, and, in response to a request from the captain, Jerryand Bob went aboard the _Cinnabar_, leaving Ned and Mr. Snodgrass onthe _Comet_.
Jerry explained to an admiring and wondering throng the object of theirvoyage through the air.
"But we can't get a sight of the _Manhattan_," he concluded, "and wewant to very much, for we wish to rescue the people aboard her, andit is very necessary for us to get Mr. Jackson's signature to certainpapers."
"Well, that's the greatest stunt I ever heard of," declared thecaptain. "Using one airship to go to the rescue of another. But can'tyou pick her up by wireless?"
"We've tried, but none of our signals are answered," replied Bob.
"Their apparatus may be disabled," said Jerry. "Well, if you haven'tsighted her, we'll have to keep on hunting."
"Wait a minute," suggested the commander. "I'll have an inquiry madeamong the crew and passengers. None of my officers have reported seeinganything like a runaway balloon, but it's just possible that some oneelse may have sighted it, and said nothing about it."
A steward was sent to make a general inquiry, and, while waiting, Jerryexplained the nature of the _Comet_, and how she worked.
"Well?" asked the captain, as the steward returned, "did you learnanything?"
"Yes, sir," was the unexpected answer; "last night, when Lars Porsenhad the bow lookout, he said he saw, about midnight, several lights,close together in the sky, quite a distance up. They were movingrapidly, and, all at once, they seemed to come down toward the sea. Hethought they were shooting stars, until he heard voices crying. Then hegot frightened, being of a superstitious nature, sir, and he decidednot to report it. But he thinks now, that it may have been the missingairship being blown along, sir."
"That's her, without a doubt!" cried Jerry excitedly. "In whatdirection was she?"
"A little to the north-east of here," replied the steward, "and she wasmaking rather a northerly course, according to Porsen."
"Then we've been on the wrong track!" cried the tall lad. "We'll changeour direction! Come on, Bob! I believe we have a clew at last!"