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"IT'S A NOTICE ABOUT A REWARD THAT'S JUST BEEN POSTED,"SAID A MAN.]
THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE WING
Or
Seeking the Airship Treasure
BY
CLARENCE YOUNG
Author of "The Racer Boys Series" and "The Jack Ranger Series."
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
BOOKS BY CLARENCE YOUNG
=THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES=
(_=Trade Mark Reg. U. S. Pat. Office=_)
12mo. Illustrated
THE MOTOR BOYS THE MOTOR BOYS OVERLAND THE MOTOR BOYS IN MEXICO THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS THE MOTOR BOYS AFLOAT THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE ATLANTIC THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE PACIFIC THE MOTOR BOYS IN THE CLOUDS THE MOTOR BOYS OVER THE ROCKIES THE MOTOR BOYS OVER THE OCEAN THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE WING
=THE JACK RANGER SERIES=
12mo. Finely Illustrated
JACK RANGER'S SCHOOLDAYS JACK RANGER'S WESTERN TRIP JACK RANGER'S SCHOOL VICTORIES JACK RANGER'S OCEAN CRUISE JACK RANGER'S GUN CLUB JACK RANGER'S TREASURE BOX
Copyright, 1912, by CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
=The Motor Boys On The Wing=
Printed in U. S. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE I. TWO QUEER MEN 1 II. WARNED AWAY 12 III. A SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE 21 IV. NODDY NIXON'S PLIGHT 29 V. A SIGHT OF THE BIPLANE 38 VI. "HOLD THE TRAIN!" 45 VII. A CURIOUS RACE 56 VIII. NODDY'S AEROPLANE 64 IX. A DISASTROUS FLIGHT 72 X. SUSPICIOUS CONVERSATION 82 XI. OFF TO THE MEET 90 XII. NEWS OF BROWN AND BLACK 97 XIII. WINNING A PRIZE 105 XIV. A RISKY CLIMB 118 XV. A BREAKDOWN 124 XVI. STARTLING NEWS 130 XVII. SEEKING CLEWS 136 XVIII. A NEW THEORY 143 XIX. SUSPICIONS 150 XX. A BIG REWARD 158 XXI. THE RAG ON THE STATUE 163 XXII. OFF ON THE HUNT 172 XXIII. AFTER BROWN AND BLACK 180 XXIV. THE LONELY FARMHOUSE 189 XXV. QUEER ACTIONS 197 XXVI. THE WOUNDED MEN 204 XXVII. THE CAPTURE 213 XXVIII. TOSSED BY THE STORM 222 XXIX. THE WRECKED AIRSHIP 228 XXX. THE AIRSHIP TREASURE--CONCLUSION 235
THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE WING
CHAPTER I
TWO QUEER MEN
"Don't try it Jerry, you can't make it."
"Yes, I can Bob. There's more room than you think. Besides, the hay issoft."
"No, don't, Jerry. We're in no hurry," put in the third member of atrio of boys in a big touring car that was skimming along a pleasantcountry road behind a load of hay. "Don't do it!"
"Say, I'm tired of taking in all that fellow's dust," returned JerryHopkins. "Hold fast fellows, here we go!"
He pressed down the accelerator pedal of the machine and headed the carfor a narrow space that showed between the load of hay and the siderails of a bridge that the farm wagon was just crossing.
It was a rather small opening to get through but Jerry was a skillfulsteersman, and, as he had said, he had traveled behind the load of hayso long, breathing the dust kicked up by the plodding horses, that hewas tired of it. The driver had been obstinate and would not pull over,and this was the first chance Jerry had had to pass.
"You'll have a smash!" predicted Bob Baker.
"Not on your life, Chunky!" called back Jerry.
"Hug the hay--not the bridge--those side rails may be rotten," advisedNed Slade, as he took a firm grip on the lap-robe rail in front of him.
"Right you are," admitted Jerry. "Here's where we hit the red top andtimothy. All ready now!"
The big car shot ahead. The farm wagon was rumbling over the bridge,which was none too strong, and when the auto also reached theclattering planks it sounded as if a thunder storm had broken loose.
With quick eyes and ready hands Jerry guided the car. Close up againstthe sides of the billowy hay he sent the machine to avoid hitting thebridge rail, yet so narrow was the space that the hub caps raked afurrow in a retaining plank, while the hay whipped the faces of theautoists.
"Look out!" yelled Bob.
"Farther over--farther!" cried Ned.
"Oh, all right. Don't get excited," advised Jerry calmly. "We're safenow."
They would have been, in another instant, for with a quick turn of thesteering wheel the tall lad on the front seat was about to send thecar cutting in ahead of the horses, having nearly passed the wagon.But whether the steeds were frightened by the shouts of Ned and Bob,or whether the driver unconsciously or intentionally turned toward theauto was not known. At any rate only by a rapid shifting of his coursewas Jerry able to avoid a collision. He screwed the wheel around to theleft, and then, as he saw that he was running the front tires into thebridge rails he twisted his "helm" once more to the right. By this timethe end of the bridge was reached, and Jerry saw an open road ahead ofhim, having emerged from behind the hay wagon.
He cut sharply into it, so sharply in fact that the mud guard on theright rear wheel scraped the nigh horse, causing the animal to swerveagainst its mate in fright.
"Whoa there! Hold on! I'll have th' law on you fellers!" cried thedriver of the hay load.
"Say, you _did_ hit his horse," remarked Bob in a low voice.
"Better pull up and see if he's going to make trouble. Otherwise hemay take our number and report us," advised Ned.
There was a grinding and shrieking of brakes and the auto came to astop just ahead of the farm wagon, the driver of which had now quietedhis horses.
"What do you mean?" he roared, as he dismounted, whip in hand. "Whatright you got to smash into me that way?"
Jerry stood up in the machine, and looked at the steeds before replying.A quick glance told him that beyond a mere scratch that had not evendrawn blood, the horse he had struck was not injured. Then the tall ladreplied.
"Look here, Mister Man. I don't want any of your talk!"
"Oh you don't; hey? Wa'al, I'm goin' to give you some, an' then I'mgoing to make a complaint agin ye!"
"No, you're not," declared Jerry with easy assurance. "In the firstplace you're a road-hog of the worst type. We kept behind you fornearly a mile, swallowing your dust, and, though there were severalplaces where you could have turned out, and let us pass, you wouldn'tdo it. I got tired of tooting my horn, and when I saw a chance to slipby I took it. I wouldn't have barked your horse, if you'd kept to yourown side of the bridge, and you know it.
"As it is, your animal isn't hurt a bit, but you were nearly thecause of something serious happening to us. Now go ahead and make acomplaint if you dare. We'll come right back at you with a worse onefor obstructing the road. That's all I've got to say to you, and youcan pu
t it in your pipe and smoke it! Hold fast, fellows, here we go!"And with that Jerry threw in his gear, let the clutch slip into placeand they were off down the road before the angry and chagrinned farmercould think of anything to say.
When he did get his brain to working all he could ejaculate was:
"Wa'al, I'll be gum-swizzled! Them auto fellers is gittin' wuss an'wuss every day. I wish I'd upsot 'em!"
Jerry and his chums were too far off, however, to hear this uncharitablewish, and it would probably have given them little concern had it cometo their ears.
"Whew! That was hot while it lasted," remarked Bob, breathing easilyfor the first time since the beginning of the little scene.
"You certainly had his number all right, Jerry," said Ned.
"Yes, there are too many farmers like him," retorted the tall steersman."We autoists don't want any more than our rights on the road."
"Yes, and that's one disadvantage of traveling in an auto," went onNed, when they were once more skimming peacefully along the highway."Now if we'd been out in our motorship _Comet_ we shouldn't have hadany trouble at all. There's no blockading of the roads up there," andhe motioned to the blue sky above them.
"No, it'll be some time before we have to take anybody's dust up in theair," was Bob's opinion.
"Still the upper regions are more crowded than when we first took to'sky-larking,'" spoke Jerry. "Especially at an aviation meet. Whichreminds me that I saw something in a paper I bought back there inHammondport about a big gathering of birdmen that's to take place soon."
"Where is it?" asked Bob.
"Didn't have time to look," replied Jerry. "Here, you and Ned have apeep at it. If the meet is anywhere around here we might take it in."Jerry reached in his pocket, and pulled out a folded newspaper. Hepassed it back to Ned, who exclaimed a moment later:
"Say, fellows, we ought to take this in. It's going to be great, andmaybe we can pull down one of the prizes."
"Where's it to be?" asked Jerry.
"At Colton."
"And where's Colton?" demanded Bob.
"Not far from the city of Harmolet. We stopped there once to fix upafter a blowout."
"Oh, I remember that place!" exclaimed Bob. "It was there we had such ajolly chicken pot-pie dinner."
"Hum! Yes! Trust Bob to remember anything that had 'eats' in it," camefrom Jerry, with a chuckle. "But Colton isn't so far away. We couldtake it in. What do you say?"
"I'm for it," declared Ned.
"Same here," added Bob. "But, speaking of chicken pot-pie makes mehungry. There's a good hotel just ahead and what's the matter withstopping there for dinner?"
"Nothing, I guess," conceded Jerry. "We're out for a good time, and wemight as well have it. We'll stop for grub, fellows, and then we cantalk about this meet."
A run of five minutes more brought them to a small country town calledFreedon, where they ran their car under the hotel shed, and were soonarranging for dinner.
While waiting for the meal to be served the boys sat in the hotellobby, which contained quite a few persons; farmers who had come inon business, or to sell produce, traveling men, and one or two welldressed persons, apparently auto tourists like our heroes.
Two men in particular attracted the attention of Jerry and his chums.They were dark-complexioned chaps, evidently used to being out ofdoors, and their quiet but expensive clothes betokened that they werewell off, or posed as being in that condition.
But it was neither the clothes nor the appearance of the men thatattracted the attention of the boys as much as their manner. They sattogether, not far from the hotel clerk's desk, and sharply scrutinizedevery person in the lobby. Nor did our friends escape observation. Thedark, eager, shifting gaze of the two men rested on the boys from timeto time, and then darted off toward newcomers.
"Have either of you seen those two men before?" asked Jerry of Ned andBob, in a low voice.
"No," replied Bob, who because of his fleshiness was still panting fromthe exertion of climbing the hotel steps.
"How about you, Ned?"
"I agree with Chunky," was the other lad's reply, giving his stout chumhis often-used nickname. "But they certainly will know us if they seeus again."
"They sure will," came from Jerry. "But now let's have a look at thatpaper. I want to read about the meet. Where did you say it was to takeplace Ned? I mean that aviation meet."
"At Colton, near Harmolet. We could put up at Harmolet I think, forthere are not likely to be many accommodations in Colton. I know thereis a good hotel in Harmolet."
"Then Harmolet for ours!" exclaimed Bob in rather a loud voice. "Ithink--"
At the mention of the name of that city the two queer men, as if movedby the same impulse, stared straight at our heroes. The eyes of Jerrymet first those of the man nearest him, and then shifted to the faceof his companion. The two men hastily glanced away, and then, as Bob,who had noticed their strange action and who had interrupted himself,resumed his remarks about the desirability of Harmolet as a stoppingplace, the two strangers whispered eagerly together.
"Hum," mused Jerry. "That's rather odd. They must know something aboutHarmolet."
"That's not strange, seeing that it's a good-sized place," observedNed. "But I don't believe I'd care to have anything to do with thosechaps--especially after dark," he added in a low voice. "I don't liketheir looks."
"Same here," agreed Jerry. "But we're not likely to have anything to dowith them. Now about this meet. If we're going we'll have to give ourmotorship _Comet_ an overhauling," and with that our friends fell totalking of air travel, in which they were well-nigh experts.
Dinner was presently announced, and the boys went up to the hotel deskto register. Just in front of them were the two strange men, whoseconduct had been the cause of some speculation among the three lads.The men put their names down on the books just ahead of Jerry Hopkins.
"Hum--James Brown and John Black," mused Jerry as he looked at thesignatures. "Couldn't be any more common names than those I guess."
"Where are they from?" asked Bob, for Jerry had registered for his twochums.
"It might be almost any place," was the answer, "for it's such ascrawl that I can't read it. Brown and Black; eh? Well, they're bothdark complexioned enough to be called 'black.' However let's go in todinner. I hope we don't sit anywhere near them. It would spoil myappetite to be stared at the way they have been looking at us."
"It'll take a good deal to spoil _my_ appetite," observed the stout ladwith a heart-felt sigh.
The fears of our heroes were groundless, for they were seated well awayfrom the two odd men, and they managed to do ample justice to the meal.