Boy Scouts in an Airship; or, the Warning from the Sky

G. Harvey (George Harvey) Ralphson

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• Publié par: ante
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 58
• Langue: English

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Title: Boy Scouts in an AirshipAuthor: G. Harvey Ralphson
Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6904]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of
schedule] [This file was first posted on February
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Edition: 10
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EBOOK BOY SCOUTS IN AN AIRSHIP ***
Produced by Sean Pobuda
Boy Scouts in an Airship;
or, The Warning From the Sky
BY G. HARVEY RALPHSONCHAPTER I
SPIES IN THE BOY SCOUT CAMP
Gates, the United States Secret Service man,
closed the door gently and remained standing just
inside the room, his head bent forward in a
listening attitude. Ned Nestor and Jimmie McGraw,
Boy Scouts of the Wolf Patrol, New York City, who
had been standing by a window, looking out on a
crowded San Francisco street, previous to the
sudden appearance of the Secret Service man,
turned toward the entrance with smiles on their
faces.
They evidently thought that Gates was posing, as
so many detectives have a silly habit of doing, and
so gave little heed to the hand he lifted in warning.
The boys knew little about Gates at that time, and
so may be pardoned for the uncomplimentary
thoughts with which they noted his theatrical
conduct.
Young Nestor had been engaged by the United
States government to undertake a difficult and
dangerous mission to South America, and Gates
had been sent on from Washington to post him as
to the details of the case. The boys had waited at
the San Francisco hotel three days for the arrival
of the Secret Service man, and waited impatiently,
as Sam Leroy, who was to be the third member ofthe party, was anxious for the safety of his
aeroplane, the Nelson, in which the trip to "the roof
of the world" was to be made.
The Nelson was lying, guarded night, and day, in a
field just out of the city, on the Pacific side, and
Leroy was impatiently keeping his eyes on the
guards most of the time. There was a
subconscious notion in the minds of all the boys
that there were enemies about, and that the
aeroplane would never be fully out of danger until
she was well over the ocean on her way south.
Gates had arrived only that morning, and now the
lads were eager to be off.
A couple of hours before his appearance in the
room that morning, the Secret Service agent had
left the boys in the lobby below to arrange for the
necessary papers and funds for the mission.
Before going out, however, he had been informed
of the boys' suspicions, and had made light of the
idea that the aeroplane was in danger from secret
enemies, pointing to the fact that no one was
supposed to know anything about the proposed
journey save the boys and himself as conclusive
evidence that the suspicion of constant surveillance
was not well founded.
Now, on his return, his cautious movements
indicated that he, too, was alarmed and on his
guard. While Ned was wondering what it was that
had so changed Gates' point of view, there came a
quick, imperative knock on the door of the room,
which was occupied by Ned and Jimmie as asleeping apartment.
Instantly, almost before the sound of the knock
died away, Gates opened the door and stepped
forward. The man who stood in the corridor, facing
the doorway, was tall, slender, dark of complexion,
like a Spaniard or a Mexican. His black hair was
long, straight, thin; his black eyes were bright,
treacherous, too close together, with a little vertical
wrinkle between the brows. He was dressed in a
neat brown business suit of expensive material.
When the door was opened he stepped forward
and glanced into the interior of the room,
apparently with the purpose of entering. But when
Gates moved aside to give him passageway he
drew back, the set smile on his face vanishing as
he bowed low and swung his slender hands out in
elaborate gesture.
"Pardon!" he said. "I have made a mistake in the
room."
He was about to move away when Gates gritted
out a question.
"For whom were you looking?" he asked. "We may
be able to direct you to your friend," he added,
more courteously, his alert eyes taking in every
detail of the man's face, figure and dress.
"It is nothing!" was the quick reply. "I will make
inquiries at the office—which, undoubtedly, I should
have done before."In a moment he was gone, moving gracefully
toward the elevator. Gates watched his elegant,
well-dressed figure with a smile of quiet
satisfaction. When the visitor gained the elevator,
he turned and bowed at the still open doorway, and
the Secret Service man recognized the grin on his
face as expressive of triumph rather than apology.
"What did he want?" asked Jimmie, as Gates,
closed the door.
Gates did not answer the question immediately.
Instead he asked one:
"Ever see that fellow before?"
Jimmie shook his head, but Ned looked grave as
he answered:
"I have seen him about the hotel—frequently. He
seems to have a suite off this corridor, or the one
above it."
At this moment the door was opened again and
Sam Leroy bounced into the room, his eyes shining
with enthusiasm, his muscles tense with the joy of
youth and health. He drew back when he saw
Gates, whom he had not met before, and looked
questioningly at Ned.
"This is Lieutenant Gates, for whom we have been
waiting," Ned said, "and this, Lieutenant, is Sam
Leroy, who is to take us to South America in his
aeroplane.""I hope the machine is above reproach as to
strength and speed," laughed Gates, as the two
shook hands cordially, "for there is likely to be
doings down there."
"The Nelson is warranted for work and wind," said
Ned. "She crossed the continent in a rush and
spied on us through British Columbia and on down
the Columbia river, not long ago, and I can
recommend her as a very desirable bird of the air."
"She's all sound now," Leroy said, "but there's no
knowing how long she will be if we don't get her out
of San Francisco. There was a couple of men
hanging around her last night, and one of them
went away with a bullet in his leg. I'm glad you're
here, Lieutenant, for now we can get away—
quick!"
"Did you get a good look at either of the two men
you speak of?" asked Ned, his mind going back to
what seemed to him to be a secret conspiracy
against the Nelson.
"One of them," Leroy answered, "was tall, slender,
dark; with long straight hair and eyes like a snake. I
noticed, too, that he had a habit of moistening his
lips with the end of his tongue, and that made me
think of a snake thrusting out his tongue. I got a
shot at the other fellow, but not at this one."
Gates and Ned looked at each other with nods of
mutual understanding. This was a pretty good
description of the man who had just stood before
the door of that room. Then the lieutenant turnedthe door of that room. Then the lieutenant turned
to Jimmie.
"You asked a moment ago," he said, "what the
fellow wanted here. Now I think I can tell you. He
wanted to confirm his suspicions that the four of us
axe working together. He has been sleuthing about
the corridors all the morning, watching me; and his
mission to this room was to make sure that my
business in San Francisco is with Ned—that we are
working together."
"He's sure doing a lot of Sherlock Holmes stunts,"
Jimmie declared. "And I reckon he's next to his job,
for he appears to have inspected all the points of
interest, from the field where the Nelson is to the
room where the plans are being made."
"Yes," Leroy said, his manner showing
apprehension as well as anger, "but how the Old
Scratch did he get his knowledge, of what, we are
about to do? I thought no one in the West knew
except us four. And what's he trying to do,
anyway? What difference does it make to him if we
do go to South America in an aeroplane?"
"I have a notion," Gates replied, "that he objects to
your going in an airship because you will make