Boy Aviators' Polar Dash; or, Facing Death in the Antarctic

by John Henry Goldfrap

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  ADRIFT ABOVE THE SNOWS.

  "Whatever are they?" gasped Billy, as they ran for the aeroplane.

  "Prehistoric monsters," rejoined the professor, who was almost out ofbreath.

  The next minute he stumbled on a bit of basalt and fell headlong. Hadit not been for this accident they could have gained the aeroplane intime, but, as it was, the brief space it took to aid the scientist tohis feet gave the creatures of the cliff a chance to intercept thelittle party.

  As the creatures drew themselves out of the green warm water of thelake with hideous snarls the boys saw that the animals were greatcreatures that must have weighed several hundred pounds each and werecoated with shaggy hair. Their heads and bodies were shaped not unlikeseals except that they had huge tusks; but each monster had two shortlegs in front and a pair of large flippers behind. Their appearancewas sufficiently hideous to alarm the most callous venturer into theAntarctic.

  "We've got to make the aeroplane," exclaimed Frank, "come on, get yourguns out and fire when I give the word. If we can only kill a few ofthem perhaps the rest will take fright."

  "A good idea," assented the professor producing his revolver, a weaponthat might have proved fatal to a butterfly, but certainly would notbe of any effect against the shaggy foes they now faced.

  "Fire!" cried Frank, when the others had their heavy magazine weaponsready.

  A volley of lead poured into the ranks of the monsters and several ofthem, with horribly human shrieks, fled wounded toward the lake. Astrong sickening odor of musk filled the air as the creatures bled.

  But far from alarming the rest of the monsters the attack seemed torender them ten times more savage than before. With roars of rage theyadvanced toward the boys, making wonderful speed on their legs andflippers.

  "Let 'em have it again," shouted Frank as he noted with anxiety thatthe first fusillade had been a failure, the rough coats and thick hideof the monsters deflecting the bullets.

  Once more the adventurers emptied their pistols, but the shaggy coatsof the great creatures still seemed to prevent the bullets doing anyserious injury.

  The boys' position was ominous indeed. An order from Frank to reloadresulted in the discovery that he alone of any of the party had a beltfull of cartridges; the others had all used up the few they hadcarried.

  "We're goners sure," gasped Billy as the creatures hesitated beforeanother scattering discharge of bullets, but still advanced, despitethe fact that this time two were killed. Suddenly, however, theirleader with a strange cry threw his head upward and seemed to sniff atthe air as if in apprehension.

  At the same instant a slight trembling of the ground on which theadventurers stood was perceptible.

  "It's an earthquake," cried Billy, recollecting his experience inNicaragua.

  With wild cries the monsters all plunged into the lake. They seemed tobe in terror. Behind them they left several of their wounded, thelatter making pitiful efforts to reach the water.

  "Whatever is going to happen?" cried Billy in dismay, at the animals'evident terror of some mysterious event that was about to transpire,and the now marked disturbance of the earth.

  As he spoke, the earth shook violently once more and a rumbling soundlike subterranean thunder filled the air.

  "It's the mountain!" shouted the professor, who had been gazing about,"it's going to erupt."

  From the crater they had explored there were now rolling up greatmasses of bright, yellow smoke in sharp contrast to the dark vaporsthat had hitherto poured from it. A mighty rumbling and roaringproceeded from its throat as the smoke poured out, and vivid, blueflames shot through the sulphurous smother from time to time.

  "We've no time to lose," cried Frank, "come on, we must get to theaeroplane in a hurry."

  They all took to their heels over the trembling ground, not stoppingto gaze behind them. The monsters had all disappeared, and as they hadnot been seen to re-enter their holes they were assumed to be hidingat the bottom of the lake.

  As the boys gained the aeroplane and clambered in, Frank uttered anexclamation:

  "Where's the professor?"

  In a few seconds they espied him carefully bending over the dead bodyof one of the slain monsters several yards away.

  "Come on, professor," they shouted, "there's no time to lose."

  "One second and I have him," the scientist called back.

  At the same instant he made a dart at the dead creature's shaggy furand appeared to grasp something. He hastily drew out a bottle anddropped whatever he had seized into it and then started leaping andbounding toward the aeroplane, his long legs looking like stilts as headvanced over the uneven ground.

  He was just in time.

  As the aeroplane left the ground the water in the lakes becameviolently agitated and steam arose from fissures in the mountain side.Flames shot up to a considerable height above the crater and a torrentof black lava began to flow toward the lakes, falling into them with aloud hissing sound that was audible to the boys, even after they hadput many miles between themselves and the burning mountain.

  "That will be the last of those monsters, I expect," remarked Harry asthey flew steadily northward.

  "I don't know," observed the professor, "they may have caves underwater where they can keep cool. They evidently knew what to expectwhen they felt the first rumblings and shaking of the earth and musthave had previous experience. I guess I was mistaken in thinking thevolcano inactive."

  "It was a piece of great good luck for us that the eruption came whenit did," said Frank.

  "It was a terrific one," commented Billy.

  The professor laughed.

  "Terrific," he echoed, "why, my boy, you ought to see a real eruption.This was nothing. See, the smoke is already dying down. It is over."

  "Well, it may not have been a big one, but you were in a mighty hurryto get to the aeroplane," said Billy with a grin.

  "That was so that I could get my volcano monster's flea back safe andsound," exclaimed the man of science. "See here."

  He took from his pocket and held up a small bottle.

  "Look there," he exclaimed in triumph.

  "Well," said the others, who, all but Frank, who was steering, wereregarding the naturalist.

  "Well," he repeated somewhat querulously, "don't you see it?"

  "See what?" asked Billy, after a prolonged scrutiny of the bottle.

  "Why, the flea, the little insect I caught in the shaggy fur of thevolcano monster?"

  "No," cried both boys simultaneously.

  The professor gazed at the bottle in a puzzled way.

  "Bless my soul, you are right," he exclaimed, angrily, "the littlecreature eluded me. Oh, dear, this is a bitter day for science. I wasin such a hurry to pop my specimen into the bottle that I held himcarelessly and he evidently hopped away. Oh, this is a terrible, anirreparable, loss."

  Although the boys tried to comfort him they could not. He seemedovercome by grief.

  "Cheer up," said Billy at length, "remember there is always thefur-bearing pollywog to be captured."

  "Ah, yes," agreed the professor, "but a bug in the hand is worth twoin the air."

  As they talked, there suddenly came a loud explosion from the engineand two of the cylinders went out of commission. The speed of theaeroplane at once decreased and she began to drop.

  The dismay of the boys may be imagined. They were several miles fromthe camp and below them was nothing but the desolate expanse of thesnow wastes that lay at the foot of the barrier range.

  "Shall we have to go down?" asked Billy.

  "Nothing else to do," said Frank with a grave face, "there's somethingwrong with the engine and we can't repair it up here. If we were notin this rarified atmosphere we could fly on the cylinders that arefiring all right, but this atmosphere would not support us."

  "Do you think it is anything serious?" asked the professor.

  "I can't tell yet," was the grave reply, "that explosion sounded likea back-
fire and that may be all that's the matter. In such a case wecan drain the crank case and put in fresh oil; for if it was really aback-fire it was most likely caused by 'flooding.'"

  Ten minutes later they landed on the firm, hard snow and lost no timein getting things in shape to spend the night where they were; for itwas unlikely that repairs could be effected in time for them to flyback to the camp before dark. The canvas curtains at the sides of theaeroplane's body were drawn up, forming a snug tent. The stove was setgoing and soup and canned meats and vegetables warmed and eaten by thelight of a lantern.

  In the meantime Frank had discovered that the breakdown had beencaused by a defect in the ignition apparatus which it would take sometime to repair. Both he and Harry went to work on it after supper,however, and by midnight they had it adjusted.

  They were just preparing to turn in, the professor and Billy havingwrapped themselves in their blankets some time before, when a suddensound, breaking on the stillness of the Antarctic night, made thempause. Both boys strained their ears intently and the sound came oncemore.

  This time there was no mistaking it.

  It was the same sound to which Rastus had called Frank's attention thenight they were on watch outside the hut.

  Pulling the curtain open, the boys gazed out, determined to unravelthe mystery once and for all. The night was perfectly still except forthe buzzing noise, and a bright moon showed them the snow lying whiteand undisturbed about them.

  The sound did not proceed from the ground, that was evident, but fromthe air. The atmosphere seemed filled with it.

  "What can it be?" exclaimed Harry.

  "Look--look there!" shouted Frank, at the same instant clutching hisbrother's arm in his excitement.

  Both boys gazed upward and as they did so a dark, shadowy form passedabove them far overhead. For an instant a brilliant light gleamed fromit and then it vanished, going steadily eastward with the strangethrumming sound growing fainter as it receded.

  The boys looked at each other in amazement and the words of CaptainHazzard flashed across Frank's mind.

  "WE HAVE SOME VERY UNDESIRABLE NEIGHBORS AT CLOSE QUARTERS," thecaptain had said. Undoubtedly he was right.

  "What did you make it out for?" asked Harry at length.

  "A dirigible and no small one," was the reply, "and you?"

  "Same here. You can't mistake the sound of an airship's engine. Thequestion is what is the explanation of it all?"

  "Simple."

  "Simple, well I--"

  "That aeroplane is the one which was bought in Europe. It is speciallyprovided with radiators which electrically heat its gas, allowing itto navigate in these regions without fear of the gas condensing andcausing the ship to descend."

  "Yes, but whose is it? What are they doing in it?"

  "The first question is easy to answer. That ship is the ship of therival expedition."

  "The Japanese one, you mean?"

  "That's it. It must have been the light of it that I saw during thewinter. I suppose they were experimenting with it then."

  "Experimenting--what for?"

  "For the work they are using it on to-night."

  "And that is?"

  "To forestall us in the discovery of the Viking ship and the SouthPole."