"Well, at any rate, if the _Sea Eagle_ never does anything more,"
remarked Dr. Perkins, "she has accomplished a great deal."
"I should think so," exclaimed Frank, who had slipped into dry clothes as soon as the _Sea_ _Eagle_ took the air once more; "it isn"t every craft that finds her baptism in life-saving at sea."
As long as they could see the _Ultonia_ the big liner continued to blow her whistle, and doubtless the eyes of all her pa.s.sengers remained fixed attentively on the wonderful sky ship as she waxed smaller and smaller against the blue. That afternoon the voyagers found themselves off Cape Ann. High above the cape they flew, cutting off a good chunk of distance in this way. The folks in West Gloucester stared in wonderment as the huge air ship soared by high above the town, and when a short time later the aviators pa.s.sed above the white-winged fishing fleet, every tin pan and fog horn in the flotilla of small craft sounded an enthusiastic "G.o.d speed" to the air travelers.
Far behind the main body of the fisher craft lagged a small sloop, and as the _Sea Eagle_ came closer to her the boys noticed that her flag was flying from the peak "union down," a sign of distress the world over.
The big hydro-aeroplane was flying low at the time, and it was easy to see, without the aid of gla.s.ses, that several men were running about the sloop"s decks and shouting something up at the air voyagers.
"Shall we go down and see what the trouble is?" asked Frank, as he and Harry saw the signs of distress.
"Yes," decided the doctor, "no craft, either of the air or of the sea, can disregard such a signal of disaster. It will be odd if, for the second time on the very first day of our cruise, we are able to render aid to somebody who needs it badly."
The boys thought so, too, and as they dropped seaward the minds of all three occupants of the _Sea Eagle_ were busy with speculations concerning what could be the cause of the sloop"s distress. Dr. Perkins caused his craft to alight gently on the sea a short distance from the sloop, and then headed her over the waves toward the distressed vessel.
As they drew closer they could see a grizzled-looking fellow, in rough fisher"s garb, leaning over the side.
"Come quick!" he shouted, "there"s been bad work going on aboard!"
CHAPTER XVIII.-AN ERRAND OF MERCY.
"What"s up?" cried Frank.
"Yes, what"s the trouble?" came from Dr. Perkins.
"Trouble enough. We sprang a leak two days ago, out on the fishing banks, and have been at the pumps ever since. Now we"ve got the leak stopped, but my mate, Joe Higgins, was struck on the head by the boom and is so mortal bad that if we don"t get a doctor for him pretty quick I"m afraid he"ll die. Then, too, our provisions is run out."
While the man was reciting this catalogue of mishaps the _Sea Eagle_ was run alongside, and Dr. Perkins made her fast with a line the man flung to him.
"First let"s have a look at the injured man," he said and, without further delay, Captain Zebedee Crooks, as he informed the travelers his name was, led them aft to a tiny cabin, stuffy, dark and reeking of fish. The boys followed Dr. Perkins into this wretched little den and Captain Zebedee lighted a sea lantern.
Its rays showed them a heavily built man of middle age lying on a locker. His head was bandaged, and although he breathed he showed no other signs of life. Dr. Perkins, with the skill of a professional man, made a hasty examination.
"This man is badly hurt," he said at length. "I am afraid his skull is fractured, but of that I cannot be certain. He should be ash.o.r.e in a hospital."
"Aye! I know that," rejoined Captain Zebedee, "but at the rate we are going now we won"t get ash.o.r.e till to-morrow night, and by that time poor Joe may be dead."
"I think it extremely likely," replied Dr. Perkins, "but we must get him ash.o.r.e at once."
"What, in that sky schooner of yours?" Dr. Perkins nodded.
"Yes, we must get him on deck without further loss of time. Then we"ll rush him to a hospital."
"The good Lord who sent you here bless you!" exclaimed the rugged old fisherman, affected almost to tears. "I never thought when I seen you away up thar in ther sky that you"d bother to notice the poor _Star of Gloucester_; but you did. You come down from the clouds like so many angels."
"Funny-looking angels," remarked Frank to Harry, in an undertone. But Captain Zebedee"s grat.i.tude was so heartfelt and earnest that neither of the boys could find it in them to smile at his odd phrases.
Captain Zebedee summoned some of his crew from the deck and as tenderly as possible the injured man was conveyed from the cabin. This done, he was lowered into the _Sea Eagle_ and laid on a pile of blankets already prepared for his reception.
"Better make for Bayhaven," counseled Captain Zebedee; "there"s a good hospital there, and it lies right on the coast about in a straight line from here."
Dr. Perkins nodded, and then, having seen that the injured man was in a position to endure the ride comfortably, the flight to the sh.o.r.e was begun; but not till a substantial amount of provisions and some fresh water had been supplied to the fishing smack. As the _Sea Eagle_ took to the air the _Star of Gloucester_ was set before the wind, and staggered off on her slow course once more. The last the boys saw of the clumsy fisherman, the stout figure of Captain Zebedee was leaning on the stern bulwarks waving to them as they winged sh.o.r.eward.
The coast was a rocky one, with gaunt cliffs and few habitations. But as they reached it and flew low above a small house on the summit of the cliffs, they spied a man at work in a small garden. Of him Frank inquired the way to Bayhaven. The man was too much astonished to answer at first, and stood looking stupidly up at the winged monster above him.
But finally he collected his wits and pointed to the south. The _Sea Eagle_ was thereupon headed round, and, not long after, her pa.s.sengers came in sight of a tiny town huddled in a cove almost at the water"s edge. Heading out seaward once more, Dr. Perkins dropped to the water in the harbor, and then at reduced speed ran the _Sea Eagle_ up to the long wharf which jutted out at the foot of the little city"s main street.
By the time they arrived alongside of the jetty half the population of the town was on hand to greet them. Their approach through the air had been seen when they were still some distance off, and as the _Sea Eagle_ was the first air ship ever seen in Bayhaven it may be imagined what a sensation Dr. Perkins" craft created.
But all eager questioners were waved aside while Dr. Perkins and his young friends called for volunteers to help lift the injured man out of the _Sea Eagle_. A dozen willing hands responded, and before long the mate of the _Star of Gloucester_ was on his way to the hospital in a wagon which had been hastily converted into an ambulance. It may be said here that, thanks to the prompt manner in which aid had been secured for him, the man recovered after a long illness, and was able to resume his work on Captain Zebedee"s ship, where he never tires of telling of how he was saved by an aerial ambulance.
Dr. Perkins accompanied his patient to the hospital, where he saw him comfortably settled. In the meantime Frank and Harry had been left on guard with the _Sea Eagle_, for the crowd had grown so large, and so curious, that it would not have been wise to have left the ship to the mercies of the inquisitive. The boys answered a perfect hailstorm of questions as good-naturedly as possible, but once or twice they had to use physical means to keep the younger element of the population of Bayhaven off the decks.
By the time Dr. Perkins returned they were heartily tired of their job, and hailed his proposal that they should go up to town and purchase a fresh supply of provisions, with much delight. Leaving Dr. Perkins to cope with the throng, the two boys, arm in arm, made their way through the press and set off for the main street, which sloped up from the wharf. One or two of the crowd followed them, gaping curiously at the youthful aerial voyagers. But the boys were too used to the curiosity of crowds to mind this, and before long their followers dropped back to gape at the great flying machine.
They found the town a small, uninteresting place. There were several shops, a hotel, with the usual group of loungers hanging about the porch, and further back a canning factory, which gave employment, in one way or another, to most of the inhabitants of Bayhaven. Beyond the hotel was a big "general store." Entering it, the boys made a variety of purchases, and arranged that the goods should be shipped to the _Sea Eagle_ as soon as possible.
They were just leaving the place when out of the dusk-for by this time it was getting late-there came a figure that caused both boys to come to a dead stop in petrified astonishment. As for the man who had caused their sudden stoppage he, for his part, appeared to be nonplussed for a second. But the next moment he turned and fairly ran out of the store.
"After him!" cried Frank; "it"s that rascal Duval!"
"That"s what!" cried Harry, no less excited.
Both boys, to the utter amazement of the storekeeper, who thought they had gone suddenly crazy, dashed out of the door of the emporium, and taking the steps outside in one jump they made off in the direction in which Duval, for there was no doubt it was he, had vanished. But as ill luck would have it, the cannery whistle had just blown for the cessation of the day"s work, and round the corner there streamed a big crowd of the employees.
It took the boys some time to work their way through the throng, for some of the men were inclined to tease them by stepping in their way and otherwise annoying them so that by the time they got through the crowd all hope of catching, or even sighting, Duval was gone.
Greatly disappointed, and almost as much mystified by their sudden encounter with the rascally Frenchman, the boys decided to turn back and go down to the _Sea Eagle_. On their way they discussed Duval"s sudden reappearance with interest.
"What can he be doing here?" wondered Harry.
"Blessed if I know," was the rejoinder, "but I"ll bet he"s up to some mischief or other. My! How he ran when he saw us."
"He had good reason to," declared Harry; "I guess we"d have had him arrested if we"d ever caught him."
"Not much doubt of that," declared Frank; "we could have charged him with the theft of that boat, anyhow, and that would have held him in the custody of the authorities till we could have obtained further evidence."
"Well, I don"t imagine we"ll see him again," decided Harry, as they turned into the Main Street.
"No such luck," declared Frank.
But, after all, the boys were to see Duval again, and sooner than they expected, too.