CHAPTER VIII.
TALKING THROUGH s.p.a.cE.
As the distance increased between air and land stations, the currents became stronger, and frequent tuning was necessary. But Jack was able to keep up a constant conversation with his father, telling him all the details of the country as they flew along. The sudden explosion, however, for it sounded like nothing else, startled him into a sharp exclamation.
"What in the world was that?"
As if he had spoken the question to someone close at hand, came back the explanation.
"Wireless telegraph wave crossing ours," said his father. "Some powerful land station is sending out a message, possibly to some ship."
"It almost broke my ear drum," said Jack, and inwardly resolved to devote some time to trying to solve the problem of avoiding such "collisions" in the future. It occurred to him that some sort of a circuit breaker might be devised to cut off, temporarily, the telephone talk by automatic means when a cross-wave of high energy struck its current.
The shock was not repeated, and the conversation went on, still as sharp and as clear as when they had started out. A few minutes later Jack was able to report they were pa.s.sing over Rayburn.
"You"d better keep on," said his father, his voice aglow with enthusiasm. "It"s working beyond my wildest expectations."
"It"s dandy," agreed Jack.
They talked without raising their voices to any great extent, but it was necessary to articulate very clearly so that each variation of sound might be sent out into s.p.a.ce as clearly as the notes of a singer come from the record of a phonograph. But it was amazing, almost uncanny to Jack that such results could be obtained at all.
"Goodness, if only we could get that mineral substance that dad was talking about I believe you could rig up a radio telephone that would talk across the ocean," he said to Tom, "and think what that would mean. For instance, instead of bothering with the cable you could step into a radio-telephone office and say: "Give me the London Exchange." In a few minutes the central would answer and you could tell her what number you wanted on some regular wire line. Before long you"d get it, and be talking to whoever you had called just as if they were twenty-five miles off instead of three thousand!"
"It seems like a dream," said Tom.
"Not much of a dream about it. All it needs is development. We"ve proved to-day it can be done," declared Jack, bubbling over with enthusiasm.
They flew over meadow land and pasture, farmhouses where tiny figures emerged from buildings and looked up at them, over rivers and railroads, and still the alternator spat and sparked and the messages between Jack and his father were interchanged in a steady stream. Rayburn had been left behind. They were now over a small town Jack believed to be Hempstead.
He looked at his map to make sure. It was one that he had specially plotted out himself from observations he had made when flying in the vicinity. Having verified their whereabouts he found that they had flown about fifty miles, possibly a fraction more.
But at this juncture he noticed that the voice of his father pulsing through s.p.a.ce began to grow thin and weak. Obviously the limit of the radio "phone"s capacity had been reached.
"Better turn back," said Mr. Chadwick.
Jack turned to Tom and gave him the necessary instructions. Then he set over his guiding wheel, turning the big rudder at the stern of the Wondership and she acted as obediently as a sea-going craft answering her helm. Never had she behaved better.
They flew swiftly back toward High Towers and were soon in sight of Rayburn. In order to test what effect the magnetism of the earth had upon the radio messages, Jack brought the great flying craft close to the ground. They almost grazed the treetops as they flew along.
Skimming a patch of trees they roared above a farmhouse with a great red barn adjoining it. The barn attracted Jack"s attention because of the fact that it had a flat roof, an almost unique feature in that part of the country. He supposed it was used to dry some sort of produce on and noted that there were several hop-fields near at hand. Undoubtedly the roof was used for exposing them to the sun and thus drying the moisture from them without the expense of wood for the drying fires usually used for the purpose.
He had hardly noted all this when there came a sudden tug at the Wondership as if a t.i.tanic hand had reached up from below and grasped her. She pitched wildly and, but for Jack"s skill as an airman, there might have been a serious accident. But he brought the big craft under control by skillful manipulation.
The next instant he discovered what had occurred. The grapple of the aircraft had, in some way, dropped from its fastenings and, trailing behind the Wondership, had caught in the roof of the farmer"s barn.
A great section of it was torn away and as Jack brought the Wondership to rest on the roof, the only available place, for the rope was in danger of fouling the propellers if he descended to the ground, the farmer and a number of his men came running from the farmhouse.
In the hands of the farmer was a formidable looking shotgun. As the Wondership settled on the roof of the barn the man began shouting angrily.
CHAPTER IX.
THE BOYS FACE TROUBLE.
"Phew! looks as if we are in for trouble," exclaimed Tom, as he saw the warlike expression on the farmer"s face.
"It does that," agreed Jack. "Hop out, will you, Tom, and get that grapple clear? Confound it, I don"t see how it came loose."
"Wore through the lashing," said Tom, who had been examining the place where the big hooked steel anchor was usually tied.
"We ought to have seen to it before we started out," said Jack. "We haven"t had it loose since that time we anch.o.r.ed above the Brazilian forest."
The farmer"s angry voice hailed them from below.
"Hey there! Don"t yew move a foot till we"ve had a reck"nin"."
"I am awfully sorry," said Jack. "It was an accident you see. We----"
"Don"t care what it was. Thet thar was a new roof. Don"t you move a step till Si here gits ther constabule."
"We"ll pay you for the roof," said Jack apologetically. "After all it isn"t much damaged."
Indeed it appeared as if the damage was not so great as they had at first imagined. After tearing off some shingles the grapple had caught in a beam and was prevented from doing further harm.
"Yes, yew"ll pay, and yew"ll go ter jail tew," declared the farmer. "Consarn it all, what"s the country comin" tew? Las" week tew pesky dod-ratted balloonists. .h.i.t Hi Holler on ther head with a bag of sand, and now yew come along in thet thar contraption and try to bust up my dryin" roof. I"ll have ther law on yer."
Matters began to look serious. Jack had no doubt but what the farmer would accept a money payment for the damaged roof. But it appeared that the old fellow was bent on more stringent vengeance.
In the meantime Tom had been busy in the stern of the craft and had succeeded in getting the grapnel loose from the beam into which its sharp points had dug. It was not till that moment that the farmer observed him.
He leveled his shotgun at the balloon of the Wondership.
"Don"t yew dare ter move er I"ll bust a hole right plumb through that ther airbag of yourn," he said.
"Can"t you be reasonable?" asked Jack. "Here"s my name." He wrote his name and address on a slip of paper and threw it down.
But the irate farmer paid no attention to the missive. He kept his gun steadily trained on the Wondership.
"Move an" I"ll bust yer!" he said grimly.
A buggy drove out of the yard. It raced through the gate and then struck the highroad leading to Rayburn.
"Thar" goes Si arter ther constabule," said the farmer, licking his thin lips as if with relish. "Hi Ketchum is a rare one arter automobubblists. I reckon he"ll be right smart tickled to death when he hears I got a whole airship fer him ter "rest."
"Bother the old grouch," muttered Tom, as he climbed back into the Wondership, the bag of which was deflated just enough to keep her at rest on the roof.
"He"s evidently mighty serious in his intentions," said Jack, with a troubled face. "What are we going to do?"
There was a sudden puff of wind and the big yellow balloon bag swayed slightly.
Instantly the farmer"s finger crooked on his trigger. He thought the boys were going to give him the slip.
"No you don"t," he shouted, "you don"t fool Ezry Perkins that "er way!"
"We"re not trying to fool you," said Jack disgustedly. "Why can"t you be sensible. You"ve our names and addresses on that paper I threw down to you. If you like I"ll make a cash settlement right here for any damage we"ve done."
"I"m goin" ter git yer in ther court," insisted the farmer sullenly. "Las" week some autermobubblists killed three uv my chickens, week afore thet I had a hog knocked off ther road. I"m er goin" ter git even on yer fer ther lot uv them."
It was plain that the man was not to be moved by promises or persuasion. He had conceived in his mind a hatred against automobiles, with which, in a vague way, he cla.s.sed airships and all such modern inventions. Jack thought, too, that Ezra Perkins was the kind of man who liked to shine out among his neighbors, and what better opportunity could he have to satisfy this ambition than by blossoming forth as a man who, single handed, had captured a great aircraft?
The boys looked down. The farmer was pacing grimly up and down like a sentry, his eyes never leaving the Wondership.
"I"d like to drop a bag of ballast on his head, the same as those balloonists did on Si"s," muttered Tom.
"Wouldn"t do any good," said Jack. "It would only bounce off again."
"I guess it would at that," agreed Tom with a grin.
"I"ve half a mind to take a chance," said Jack suddenly.
"And get a hole blown in the balloon bag," protested Tom. "We wouldn"t be better off than before in that case."
"I wonder if he"d really shoot or if he"s only bluffing," mused Jack.
"Take a look at him," advised Tom.
Jack did. One glance was enough. There was no bluffing about the grim, overalled farmer. The very way in which he held his gun expressed positive determination not to let the boys escape.
But as it so happened, by no action of the boys", matters were suddenly brought to a sharp crisis. Over the patch of woods beyond the farm there came a vagrant puff of wind. It was followed by a sharper gust.
The Wondership swayed and then, before Jack could check the motion, drifted off the roof like a piece of thistledown blown by the wind. Instinctively, to check the downward motion, Jack"s hand sought the gas valve. With a hiss the volatile vapor rushed into the bag.
The big aircraft shot up like an arrow. For a second the farmer stood paralyzed at the suddenness of it all. His farm hands lounged about, gaping and looking upward like country folks at a fireworks display.
Then, without any warning: "Bang!"
The farmer let loose with both barrels at once. But the Wondership still rose.
All at once, from below, came a yell of surprise and terror. The boys looked over the side. As they did so they uttered simultaneous gasps of consternation.
The trailing grapnel, for Tom had forgotten to tie it back in place in the excitement, had caught the farmer by the waistband of his overalls and he was being carried skyward by the Wondership, dangling at the end of the anchor rope like some sprawling spider.
His wife, screaming at the top of her voice, rushed from the kitchen door.
"Hey, you come back with my husband!" she shouted.
"Lemme go! Lemme go!" bawled the farmer as loudly as he could, for, held securely by his stout overalls, he was carried high above his own buildings. He kicked and struggled furiously.
"Keep still," shouted Jack, in serious alarm, from the side of the Wondership. "Keep still or you"ll kick yourself off."
The farmer had sense enough to obey. He hung upside down like a limp scarecrow, while his farm hands gaped up at him and the hired girl was busy pouring buckets of water over his wife who was in hysterics.
"Gracious, now we"ve done it!" gasped Tom in dismay.
CHAPTER X.
AN INVOLUNTARY AeRONAUT.
"Steady, Tom, steady," warned Jack, as he set the pumps to work drawing gas from the bag into the reservoir.
The Wondership, her buoyancy thus diminished, began to descend.
"What are you going to do?" asked Tom.
"Drop our pa.s.senger," said Jack, with a grin he could not suppress, for the struggling farmer was within a few feet of the ground now and even if he did kick himself loose, for his struggles had begun again, he could not have hurt himself much.
"Back up till we get over that haystack," said Jack, "and then play out rope till we lower him. It"ll make a nice soft jumping-off place."
Tom obeyed, pulling a reverse lever. The Wondership, steered with skill by Jack"s practiced hand, backed slowly up. At length they hung directly over the haystack. Jack turned and nodded. Tom sprang to the rope and lowered the indignant farmer into the soft hay. The man lost no time in disentangling himself. Then he sprang to his feet and began hurling vituperation at them at the top of his lungs.
"I"ll have ther law on yer fer this," he yelled. "Tryin" ter kidnap me and bustin" down my barn. I"ll see whether such goin"s on is allowed in ther sufferin" state uv Ma.s.sachusetts, yew see if I don"t, consarn yer. I"ll----"
But the Wondership, bearing the two boys who could not help laughing heartily, although they feared serious consequences might come of the accident, was winging its way onward out of earshot of the not unnaturally indignant Ezra Perkins.
They pa.s.sed Rayburn before Jack noticed a peculiar smell in the atmosphere.
It was leaking gas. Then, for the first time, he recollected that the farmer might have hit the gas bag above them with his double shots, although, till then, there had been no indication that such was the case.