Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship; Or, The Naval Terror of the Seas

by Victor Appleton

  CHAPTER XXI

  PRISONERS

  For a moment, after hearing Koku's reply, neither Tom nor his friendsspoke. Then Ned, in a dazed sort of way, repeated:

  "Stowaways!"

  "Bless my--" began Mr. Damon, but that was as far as he got.

  From the engine compartment, back of the amidship cabin, came a soundof cries and heavy blows. The yells of Koku could be heard above thoseof the others.

  Then the door of the cabin where Tom Swift and his friends were wassuddenly burst open, and seven or eight men threw themselves within.They were led by a man with a small, dark mustache and a little tuft ofwhiskers on his chin--an imperial. He looked the typical Frenchman, andhis words, snapped out, bore out that belief.

  What he said was in French, as Tom understood, though he knew little ofthat language. Also, what the Frenchman said produced an immediateresult, for the men following him sprang at our friends withoverwhelming fierceness.

  Before Tom, Ned, Captain Warner, Mr. Damon or Lieutenant Marbury couldgrasp any weapon with which to defend themselves, had their intentionsbeen to do so, they were seized.

  Against such odds little could be done, though our friends did not giveup without a struggle.

  "What does this mean?" angrily demanded Tom Swift. "Who are you? Whatare you doing aboard my craft? Who are--"

  His words were lost in smothered tones, for one of his assailants put aheavy cloth over his mouth, and tied it there, gagging him. Anotherman, with a quick motion, whipped a rope about Tom's hands and feet,and he was soon securely bound.

  In like manner the others were treated, and, despite the struggles ofMr. Damon, the two government men and Ned, they were soon put in aposition where they could do nothing--helplessly bound, and laid on abench in the main cabin, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Each onewas gagged so effectively that he could not utter more than a faintmoan.

  Of the riot of thoughts that ran through the heads of each one, I leaveyou to imagine.

  What did it all mean? Where had the strange men come from? What didthey mean by thus assaulting Tom and his companions? And what hadhappened to the others of the crew--Koku, Jerry Mound, the engineer,and George Ventor, the assistant pilot?

  These were only a few of the questions Tom asked himself, as he laythere, bound and helpless. Doubtless Mr. Damon and the others wereasking themselves similar questions.

  One thing was certain--whatever the stowaways, as Koku had called them,had done, they had not neglected the Mars, for she was running along atabout the same speed, though in what direction Tom could not tell. Hestrained to get a view of the compass on the forward wall of the cabin,but he could not see it.

  It had been a rough-and-tumble fight, by which our friends were madeprisoners, but no one seemed to have been seriously, or even slightly,hurt. The invaders, under the leadership of the Frenchman, were ratherruffled, but that was all.

  Pantingly they stood in line, surveying their captives, while the manwith the mustache and imperial smiled in a rather superior fashion atthe row of bound ones. He spoke in his own tongue to the men, who, withthe exception of one, filed out, going, as Tom and the others couldnote, to the engine-room in the rear.

  "I hope I have not had to hurt any of you," the Frenchman observed,with sarcastic politeness. "I regret the necessity that caused me to dothis, but, believe me, it was unavoidable."

  He spoke with some accent, and Tom at once decided this was the sameman who had once approached Eradicate. He also recognized him as theman he had seen in the woods the day of the outing.

  "He's one of the foreign spies," thought Tom "and he's got us and theship, too. They were too many for us!"

  Tom's anxiety to speak, to hold some converse with the captor, was soobvious that the Frenchman said:

  "I am going to treat you as well as I can under the circumstances. Youand your other friends, who are also made prisoners, will be allowed tobe together, and then you can talk to your hearts' content."

  The other man, who had remained with the evident ringleader of thestowaways, asked a question, in French, and he used the name La Foy.

  "Ah!" thought Tom. "This is the leader of the gang that attacked Kokuin the shop that night. They have been waiting their chance, and nowthey have made good. But where did they come from? Could they haveboarded us from some other airship?"

  Yet, as Tom asked himself that question, he knew it could hardly havebeen possible. The men must have been in hiding on his own craft, theymust have been, as Koku had cried out--stowaways--and have come out ata preconcerted signal to overpower the aviators.

  "If you will but have patience a little longer," went on La Foy, forthat was evidently the name of the leader, "you will all be together.We are just considering where best to put you so that you will notsuffer too much. It is quite a problem to deal with so many prisoners,but we have no choice."

  The two Frenchmen conversed rapidly in their own language for a fewminutes, and then there came into the cabin another of the men who hadhelped overpower Tom and his friends. What he told La Foy seemed togive that individual satisfaction, for he smiled.

  "We are going to put you all together in the largest storeroom, whichis partly empty," La Foy said. "There you will be given food and drink,and treated as well as possible under the circumstances. You will alsobe unbound, and may converse among yourselves. I need hardly pointout," he went on, "that calling for help will be useless. We are a mileor so in the air, and have no intention of descending," and he smiledmockingly.

  "They must know how to navigate my aerial warship," thought Tom. "Iwonder what their game is, anyhow?"

  Night had fallen, but the cabin was aglow with electric lights. Theforeigners in charge of the Mars seemed to know their way aboutperfectly, and how to manage the big craft. By the vibration Tom couldtell that the motor was running evenly and well.

  "But what happened to the others--to Mound, Ventor and Koku?" wonderedTom.

  A moment later several of the foreigners entered. Some of them did notlook at all like Frenchmen, and Tom was sure one was a German andanother a Russian.

  "This will be your prison--for a while," said La Foy significantly, andTom wondered how long this would be the case. A sharp thought came tohim--how long would they be prisoners? Did not some other, and moreterrible, fate await them?

  As La Foy spoke, he opened a storeroom door that led off from the main,or amidship, cabin. This room was intended to contain the supplies andstores that would be taken on a long voyage. It was one of two, beingthe larger, and now contained only a few odds and ends of littleimportance. It made a strong prison, as Tom well knew, having plannedit.

  One by one, beginning with Tom, the prisoners were taken up and placedin a recumbent position on the floor of the storeroom. Then werebrought in the engineer and assistant pilot, as well as Koku and amachinist whom Tom had brought along to help him. Now the younginventor and all his friends were together. It took four men to carryKoku in, the giant being covered with a network of ropes.

  "On second thought," said La Foy, as he saw Koku being placed with hisfriends, "I think we will keep the big man with us. We had troubleenough to subdue him. Carry him back to the engine-room."

  So Koku, trussed up like some roped steer, was taken out again.

  "Now then," said La Foy to his prisoners, as he stood in the door ofthe room, "I will unbind one of you, and he may loose the bonds of theothers."

  As he spoke, he took the rope from Tom's hands, and then, quicklyslipping out, locked and barred the door.