CHAPTER IV.
A MESSAGE FROM THE AIR.
It was a bright, sunshiny morning a week later. The Southern Cross wasnow in sub-tropic waters, steaming steadily along under blue skies andthrough smooth azure water flecked here and there with masses ofyellow gulf weed.
The boys were in a group forward watching the flying fish that fledlike coveys of frightened birds as the bow of the polar ship cutthrough the water. Under Dr. Gregg's care Billy and Harry had quiterecovered from their sea-sickness.
"Off there to the southeast somewhere is the treasure galleon and theSargasso Sea," said Harry, indicating the purplish haze that hung onthe horizon. [Footnote: See Vol. 4 of this series, The Boy Aviators'Treasure Quest; or, The Golden Galleon.]
"Yes, and off there is the South Pole," rejoined Frank, pointing duesouth, "I wish the old Southern Cross could make better speed, I'mimpatient to be there."
"And I'm impatient to solve some of the mystery of this voyage," putin Billy, "here we've been at sea a week and Captain Hazzard hasn'ttold us yet anything about that--that,--well you know, that ship youspoke about, Frank."
"He will tell us all in good time," rejoined the other, "and nowinstead of wasting speculation on something we are bound not to findout till we do find it out, let's go aft to the wireless room andpolish up a bit."
The Southern Cross carried a wireless apparatus which had beenspecially installed for her polar voyage. The aerials stretched fromher main to mizzen mast and a small room, formerly a storeroom, belowthe raised poop containing the cabins had been fitted up for awireless room. In this the boys had spent a good deal of time duringtheir convalescence from sea-sickness and had managed to "pick-up"many vessels within their radius,--which was fifteen hundred milesunder favorable conditions.
Frank was the first to clap on the head-receiver this morning and hesat silently for a while absently clicking out calls, to none of whichhe obtained an answer. Suddenly, however, his face grew excited.
"Hullo," he cried, "here's something."
"What?" demanded Harry.
"I don't know yet," he held up his hand to demand silence.
"That's queer," he exclaimed, after a pause, in which the receiver hadbuzzed and purred its message into his ear.
The others looked their questions.
"There's something funny about this message," he went on. "I cannotunderstand it. Whoever is calling has a very weak sending current. Ican hardly hear it. One thing is certain though, it's someone indistress."
The others leaned forward eagerly, but their curiosity was notsatisfied immediately by Frank. Instead his face became set inconcentration once more. After some moments of silence, broken only bythe slight noise of the receiver, he pressed his hand on the sendingapparatus and the Southern Cross's wireless began to crackle and spitand emit a leaping blue flame.
"What's he sending?" asked Billy, turning to Harry.
"Wait a second," was the rejoinder. The wireless continued to crackleand flash.
"Cracky," suddenly cried Harry, "hark at that, Billy."
"What," sputtered the reporter, "that stuff doesn't mean anything tome. What's he done, picked up a ship or a land station or what?"
"No," was the astounding response, "he's picked up an airship!"
"Oh, get out," protested the amazed Billy.
"That's right," snapped Frank, "as far as I can make out it's adirigible balloon that has been blown out to sea. They tried to giveme their position, and as near as I can comprehend their message, theyare between us and the shore somewhere within a radius of about twentymiles."
"Are they in distress?" demanded Billy.
"Yes. The heat has expanded their gas and they fear that the bag ofthe ship may explode at any moment. They cut off suddenly. Theaccident may have occurred already."
"Why don't they open the valve?"
"I suppose because in that case they'd stand every chance of droppinginto the sea," responded Frank, disconnecting the instrument andremoving the head-piece. "I have sent word to them that we will try torescue them, but I'm afraid it's a slim chance. I must tell CaptainHazzard at once."
Followed by the other two, Frank dashed up the few steps leading tothe deck and unceremoniously burst into the captain's cabin where thelatter was busy with a mass of charts and documents in company withCaptain Barrington, the navigating commander.
"I beg your pardon," exclaimed Frank, as Captain Hazzard looked up,"but I have picked up a most important message by wireless,--two men,in an airship, are in deadly peril not far from us."
The two commanders instantly became interested.
"An airship!" cried Captain Hazzard.
"What's that!" exclaimed Captain Barrington. "Did they give you theirposition?" he added quickly.
"Yes," replied the boy, and rapidly repeated the latitude andlongitude as he had noted it.
"That means they are to the west of us," exclaimed Captain Barringtonas the boy concluded. He hastily picked up a speaking tube and hailedthe wheel-house, giving instructions to change the course. He thenemerged on deck followed by Captain Hazzard and the boys. The nexthour was spent in anxiously scanning the surrounding sea.
Suddenly a man who had been sent into the crow's nest on the main mastgave a hail.
"I see something, sir," he cried, pointing to the southwest.
"What is it," demanded the captain.
"Looks like a big bird," was the response.
Slinging his binoculars round his neck by their strap, CaptainBarrington himself clambered into the main shrouds. When he hadclimbed above the cross-trees he drew out his glasses and gazed in thedirection the lookout indicated. The next minute he gave a shout oftriumph.
"There's your dirigible, boys," he exclaimed, and even Billy overcamehis dislike to clambering into the rigging for a chance to get a lookat the airship they hoped to save.
Viewed even through the glasses she seemed a speck, no larger than ashoe button, drifting aimlessly toward the south, but as the SouthernCross drew nearer to her she stood out in more detail. The watcherscould then see that she was a large air craft for her type and carriedtwo men, who were running back and forth in apparent panic on hersuspended deck. Suddenly one of them swung himself into the riggingand began climbing up the distended sides of the big cigar-shaped gasbag.
"What can he be going to do?" asked Captain Hazzard.
"I think I know," said Frank. "The valve must be stuck and they havedecided now that as we are so near they will take a chance and open itand risk a drop into the sea rather than have the over-distended bagblow up."
"Of course. I never thought of that," rejoined the captain, "that'sjust what they are doing."
"That man is taking a desperate chance," put in Professor SimeonSandburr, who had climbed up and joined the party and looked with hislong legs and big round glasses, like some queer sort of a birdperched in the rigging. "Hydrogen gas is deadly and if he shouldinhale any of it he would die like a bug in a camphor bottle."
Interest on board the Southern Cross was now intense in the fate ofthe dirigible. Even the old chief engineer had left his engines andwiping his hands with a bit of waste, stood gazing at the distressedcloud clipper.
"The mon moost be daft," he exclaimed, "any mon that wud go tae sea insic a craft moost be daft. It's fair temptin' o' providence."
At that instant there was a sharp and sudden collapse of the balloonbag. It seemed to shrivel like a bit of burned paper, and thestructure below it fell like a stone into the ocean, carrying with itthe man who had remained on it. Of the other, the one who had climbedthe bag, not a trace could be seen. Even as the onlookers gazedhorror-stricken at the sudden blotting out of the dirigible beforetheir eyes the loud roar of the explosion of its superheated gasreached their ears.
"Every pound of steam you've got, chief," sharply commanded CaptainBarrington, almost before the dirigible vanished, "we must save themyet."
The old engineer dived into his engine room and the Southern Cross,with her gauges re
gistering every pound of steam her boilers couldcarry, rushed through the water as she never had before in all herplodding career.
"Heaven grant we may not be too late," breathed Captain Hazzard, as,followed by the boys, he clambered out of the rigging. "If only theycan swim we may save them."
"Or perhaps they have on life-belts," suggested Billy.
"Neither will do them much good," put in a voice at his elbow grimly.It was Professor Sandburr.
"Why?" demanded Frank, "we will be alongside in a few minutes now andif they can only keep up we can save them."
"The peril of drowning is not so imminent as another grave danger theyface," spoke the professor.
"What's that?"
"Sharks," was the reply, "these waters swarm with them."
Boy Aviators' Polar Dash; or, Facing Death in the Antarctic Page 4