CHAPTER XXI
OFF FOR THE CANYON
Jerry, who was in the lead of the chase after Noddy and his cronies,came to a sudden resolve. What was the use of capturing the bully, whenthe recovered airship might need attention? Clearly it would be moreprofitable to look after their craft, and let Noddy escape, for thetime being. So Jerry shouted:
“Hey, fellows, never mind. Let ’em get away. We’ll only have a fight onour hands, and it isn’t worth while. Let’s see how much damage they’vedone.”
“But, don’t we want to catch ’em?” demanded Bob, who, though much outof breath, had managed to catch up to Jerry and Ned.
“No; what’s the use?” asked the tall lad.
“But look what he did to our airship!”
“That’s just what I want to find out--what he did do to the _Comet_.That’s why I say don’t let’s chase after ’em any longer. It will onlymean more trouble, and we’ve had enough. Come on back.”
Accordingly, the three chums ceased running, and turned back towardthe two airships. Noddy, with a backward glance, had ascertained thatJerry and his two friends were no longer in pursuit, and so the bullyslackened his pace. His companions did likewise and, a sorry-lookingtrio indeed, they made their way across the plain above which the airgame had taken place.
“Don’t you want to catch Noddy?” asked Ned.
“No; what’s the use?” inquired Jerry. “He’s done all the harm he can.The thing for us to do is to remedy it. We must see to our own airship,and then get back, pick up the professor, and head for Snake Island.”
“But what will we do with Mr. Montrose’s aeroplane?” Bob wanted toknow. “We don’t want it to keep.”
“We’ll have to take that back to Denver with us. We can easily do it,as the side planes are detachable. Let’s get busy at that, and we maybe in Denver to-morrow.”
“And then for the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and Snake Island!”added Ned.
Giving a last glance to Noddy and his cronies, who were still fleeingacross the plain, our heroes made their way to the _Comet_. Aboard theyfound a scene of confusion, but no serious damage had been done.
True, a number of the machines were out of order, and the gas generatorwas badly clogged, but these were defects easily repaired. In generalthe stolen airship was in almost as good condition as when theconspirators had taken her.
Beyond securing a few articles of clothing and personal effects, Noddyand his cronies had brought away nothing from the airship. It looked asif they had boarded her hurriedly with very little preparation, and hadrushed away, without even enough provisions for a long trip. They musthave stopped somewhere to get food, for some was found on board.
It did not take the motor boys long to decide what to do. They soonascertained that the _Comet_ was in comparatively good running order.The clogged gas machine was fixed, and then, having enough food in thelunch basket, together with what they found on their own craft, to lastthem a day, they decided to sleep on board, even though they were in alonely place, and start back for Denver in the morning.
As for what became of Noddy and his cronies, they neither knew norcared. The bully and his conspirators had disappeared, and weredoubtless seeking shelter for the night.
“We caught them just in time,” remarked Jerry, as they sat in the cabinof the _Comet_. “A hundred miles more and they would have been overthe canyon of the Colorado. Then they might have reached Snake Island,and it would have been all up with our chances.”
“But now we’ll get ahead of him,” declared Bob.
“If Noddy doesn’t do something else,” spoke Jerry.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in taking apart the _Chaser_ fortransportation back to Denver aboard the _Comet_. Then they went tobed, tired out from the day’s chase.
By pushing the _Comet_ to her limit, and by making an early start,our friends were able to reach Denver the next night. Mr. Montrosewas exceedingly glad to see them, and he and his wife and little girllistened with interest to the account of the adventures of the motorboys in the chase after Noddy.
As for Professor Snodgrass, he was so busy classifying and making notesof the specimens he had caught, that it is doubtful if he heard much ofwhat Jerry and his chums said.
“And what are you going to do next?” asked Mr. Montrose, as the boysfinished telling him they had brought his aeroplane back on their owncraft.
“Start for the Grand Canyon as soon as we can,” replied Jerry.
“But if this Nixon young man takes after you again?” inquired Mrs.Montrose.
“We’ll have to do the best we can,” answered Jerry. “But I think itwill be some time before he catches up to us this time. It was a verylonely spot where we left him.”
“And the walking wasn’t very good,” added Ned with a laugh.
“Still, after what he had done in the past, I would be on the watch,”advised Mr. Montrose.
“Oh, we will be,” declared Jerry; and then, after a good night’s rest,they put in the next few days getting ready for their trip to thecanyon.
The _Comet_ was thoroughly overhauled, and some needed repairs made.Though Noddy and his companions had not been careful in their treatmentof the craft, still they had done no serious damage.
“Well, I think we are ready to start for the canyon to-day,” remarkedJerry one morning, after about a week spent at the Montrose home. “Wecan make it in two days, though it may take us a little longer to pickout Snake Island, and have the conditions favorable for a descent intothe big gorge.”
“Then you are really going down into it?” asked Mr. Montrose. “You knowit is quite a fearsome place.”
“From all accounts it must be,” admitted Jerry.
“Think of it!” exclaimed Mr. Montrose. “I have seen it many times, butno one can ever describe it. A great trough or cut in the earth, over amile deep, twenty miles wide, and many hundreds of miles long, windingin and out, and, at the bottom a river rushing along resistlessly,with waterfalls, rapids, calm stretches and vast depths of black,silently moving water. And the walls of that canyon! All the colors ofthe rainbow cannot compare with them. They are wonderful! Down in itare mountains, great in themselves, but which look small in that vastgorge. There is the glow of the Alps, the cold fogs of the Rockies,there are purple shadows, shifting lights, snowstorms and rainstorms.It is a place of terrific grandeur.”
“And we are going there,” said Jerry quietly.
“Yes, to an unknown island,” went on Mr. Montrose. “On what may be afruitless quest. Oh, boys, think twice before you go!”
“We have thought,” went on Jerry. “We are going. We will start in themorning for the Grand Canyon of the Colorado,” he added.
“And all for a bit of radium--a fortune though it may be,” proceededMr. Montrose.
“No, not alone for the radium,” said Jerry solemnly. “I have not spokenof this before, as it seemed such a slim chance. But there may be, onthat island, the missing scientist, whose body was never recovered. Hemay be there--in need--starving. We are going to try to rescue him, asmuch as to find the radium.”
“Jerry!” cried Ned. “You never hinted at this.”
“No, because I did not want to raise false hopes. But, now that we areat the last stage of the journey, I must speak of it. I hope we canrescue that unfortunate man. For the mere treasure I would not risk somuch. But a life is at stake!”
“Then go,” said Mr. Montrose softly. “I would be the last one to holdyou back. And, boys, from what I have seen of you, I believe you willsucceed. I wish you all success! But, do not be deceived. You have ahard task ahead of you. The Grand Canyon does not like to be conquered.”
“We have the _Comet_,” replied the tall lad, as if that was much, as,truly, it was.
“Well, we will always be thinking of you,” said Mrs. Montrose, solemnly.
“And I want you to come back,” added little Gladys. “I may have a newdoll by then.”
“We will come back,” said Jer
ry, and his voice had a new tone in it.
Early the next morning, having said good-bye to their good friends,the motor boys and Professor Snodgrass set off in the airship for theGrand Canyon.
As they waved their hands in farewell many thoughts came to them. Wouldthey find Snake Island? Would they be able to discover the radiumfortune? And, more than this, would they be able to find and rescue Mr.Hartley Bentwell, the daring scientist who had been missing for nearlya year? Was he, by any chance, on Snake Island?
“If he is, we’ll get him,” said Jerry grimly, as he pointed the nose ofthe _Comet_ toward the clouds.
The Motor Boys After a Fortune; or, The Hut on Snake Island Page 22