CHAPTER XIV
LOST
“It’s no use, Dave.”
“Why not?”
“We’ve shouted ourselves hoarse, and in this still air and the way wehave kept up the hollering, anyone could hear us five miles away, itseems to me.”
“Then there is only one conclusion to arrive at,” observed the youngaviator quite seriously.
“What’s that, Dave?”
“We are lost.”
“I reckon you’re right,” assented Hiram ruefully, dropping to the groundand reclining on the grass.
His companion followed his example. It was six o’clock in the afternoon,the sun was descending, and at the end of ten hours spent in persistentsearch of a town or settlement, this had been the result of their hardtravel and laborious investigations.
The trio who had left the _Albatross_ had kept together until aboutnoon. Not a wagon track or even a footpath had they come across, muchless a human habitation. The landscape seemed as wild and untenanted asif it were a primeval wilderness.
“I hardly know what to do,” said the old aviator, about the middle ofthe afternoon, as they concluded a rest and a lunch.
“Yes, we may go on for miles and miles and not run across a humanbeing,” returned Hiram, who was tired out.
“I have half a mind to return to the _Albatross_ while we are prettysure to find our way,” remarked Mr. King; “and advise that we make anair flight for civilized territory.”
“We might try as far as the other side of that big hill,” suggestedDave, pointing to a lofty eminence in the distance.
“That may not be a bad idea,” replied Mr. King. “See here, we’ll make acircuit. It can’t be over a few miles. I’ll trail the valley this way;you boys take the other direction, and we’ll meet on the other side ofthe hill.”
“That’s a good arrangement,” declared Hiram; and the divided journey wasbegun.
It proved a very unwise experiment, the way things turned out. Thecircuit was not so easy to follow as it had seemed. Pursuing a ravineand its branches, at the end of three hours the boys found themselvesinextricably mixed up as to location or direction, with so many hills inview that they could not tell which was the one they had had in viewwhen they separated from the aviator.
“Yes,” observed Hiram now, looking rather hopelessly about them; “we’relost, that’s sure.”
“Then the thing is to find ourselves,” said Dave, cheerily.
“Worst of all, Mr. King has got all the lunch,” mourned Hiram. “Seehere, Dave, when are you going to make a start from here?”
“Why, when we get rested we’ll press right forward and get to a town orback to the _Albatross_.”
“That’s easily said; but not done.”
“Well, we can try; can’t we?”
“I suppose so.”
Hiram was out of sorts. His gloom somewhat abated, however, and finallywalking on, they came across a big patch of wild raspberries. When, alittle later, Dave discovered a pecan tree, Hiram quite recovered hisspirits.
“I hardly hope to rejoin Mr. King,” said Dave. “I think I can keep thegeneral direction of the _Albatross_ in view. What I say is to brace upand keep steadily ahead for a few hours, and see if we don’t come acrosssomething encouraging. There’s a full moon, you know. Besides, at nightwe could make out lights at a distance. You see, even if we fail, we cansurely get back to the airship.”
“Not if we lose our reckoning.”
“Yes, even then,” persisted Dave.
“How can we?”
“Why, I heard Professor Leblance tell Mr. King that if we did not returnby midnight, he would have the big searchlight on the _Albatross_ atwork.”
“That’s grand!” cried Hiram, bracing up magically. “We can see thesearchlight for a good many miles, you know.”
The wayfarers threaded several tortuous valleys. They reasoned that ifthey could get out of the mountains they were sure to come upon somelittle farm. It was near dusk when Hiram, who was a little in advance ofDave, shouted suddenly:
“Here’s something!”
“What is it?” questioned our hero, hurrying up to where he stood.
His companion held up what looked like a broken tree branch, only thebark had been peeled off from it, and one end had evidently beenfashioned into a handle with a pocket knife.
“Someone driving live stock has been here—lately, too,” declared Hiram,inspecting the whip. “It broke, and he threw it away. Hold on. I waslong enough on a farm to trail a cattle track, if there’s one aroundhere. Yes, there is,” and the speaker’s tone rose in volume as he bentover and, running along, inspected the ground keenly.
“Found it?” asked the young aviator, pressing close after his comrade.
“Yes. It’s plain enough, now. Come on, Dave; we’re in luck, sure.”
They could now make out a beaten track, and tell the irregularities inthe ground made by the trampling of many feet. The track finally endedat the edge of a small stream.
“Here’s where they forded the brook,” explained Hiram. “We’ll take offour shoes and stockings and wade over.”
This they did. The opposite bank gained, they saw through a fringe ofbushes what looked like a level field. They could hear occasionalbleatings.
“Oh, say, we’re all right now,” declared the sanguine Hiram.
They hurried on their shoes, eager to pursue their investigations.
“The sheep are over yonder,” said Hiram, pointing to a corner of thefield. “We’re surely near some farm now. I shouldn’t wonder if we foundsome one guarding the sheep, too, for—hear that!”
It was the echo of distant yelping and barking to which Hiram calledattention.
“Wolves?” asked Dave, guessing quickly.
“That’s what; I know them. Saw lots of them when I was out West. Comeahead. We’re going to find somebody right away, I’m sure.”
The boys now noticed a little knoll. The bleating sounds seemed to echofrom behind it. As they started up the incline, Hiram grabbed hiscompanion in some affright and dismay, and both fell back startled.
A sudden flash split the air. It started a sweep in a perfect circle,like a revolving searchlight. Its bright rays sent out a glare a hundredyards from its base. Then, the circle complete, as suddenly it died out.
“Now what do you think of that?” gasped the bewildered Hiram. “Worse,and more of it!”
Bang!
From the same spot, just as abruptly, some gun or cannon belched out asheet of flame, followed by a report that awoke the echoes for miles inevery direction.
Facing a mystery they could not explain, the two young aviators stoodstaring mutely towards the spot from which flash and report had sounaccountably come.