CONCLUSION
The airship boys at once saw that their fellow aviator was in trouble.
Our hero made a direct descent. The _Comet_ came to a standstill beside
the other machine. Its pilot leaped out and approached the group.
Dave at once recognized number seven, and the young man, Pierce, who ran
it. He hailed him in a friendly fashion. Then he turned to the four
farmers. A frowsy, obstinate-looking old fellow with a pitchfork was
evidently the father of the three stalwart youths armed with shotguns.
First he regarded the newcomers with surprise, and then suspiciously and
with dislike.
“Why, what is the trouble here?” inquired the young airman.
“That’s the trouble,” growled the old man, pointing to a row of upset
bee hives and a break in the field fence beyond. “Do you see that horse
over there making for the woods? Well, that’s old Snorter, my primest
animal. This here young fellow comes down in his b’loon and scares the
hoss nigh into fits.”
“Ran out of gasoline and a bolt out of gear,” explained the pilot of
number seven.
“You have no right dropping into my yard!” shouted the farmer,
wrathfully. “It’s trespassing.”
“That’s right,” drawled the biggest of his sons. “I’m a deputy of the
sheriff in this county. You have violated the law. I shall have to take
you to Millville to court to answer in an action of wilful trespass.”
“Yes, and I shall insist that you be held in a civil suit for damages,”
declared another of the sons.
Young Pierce cast a hopeless look at his machine and anxiously at Dave.
The latter took in the situation at a glance.
“See here, mister,” he said to the old farmer; “we are desperately sorry
that this has happened.”
“Yah!” sneered the shrewd old schemer—“money talks.”
“How much?” demanded our hero, without hesitation.
“Well, them bees is a special brood. The hives and the fence ain’t much,
but there’s old Snorter. He may wander away and get lost; he may fall
into some of those lime pits beyond the timber and get hurt. Then again,
he’s so frightened he’ll probably run away at the least scare after
this. One hundred dollars, I told this young man here.”
“But I haven’t got it,” cried Pierce. “I offered to give you an order on
Washington, and you won’t take it.”
“Not I,” retorted the hard-fisted old fellow. “Cash down on the nail
head.”
“I ran short at Savannah,” explained Pierce to Dave. “I fancied I could
get through with the twenty dollars I had left, being so near home.”
Dave took out his pocket book. The old farmer’s eyes glistened as our
hero handed him five crisp twenty-dollar banknotes.
“Now then, Pierce,” spoke the young airman, “that’s settled. What’s the
trouble with your machine?”
It did not take the expert Dave long to find out. Within half an hour he
had the faulty gear sound as ever. The _Comet_ had a full supply of
gasoline. A transfer of some of it was made to the tanks aboard number
seven.
The farmer and his sons, fully satisfied now, stood watching operations.
Hiram and Elmer hustled about, giving their leader and his fellow
aviator all the help they could.
“Everything is in trim,” announced our hero, finally. “Good-bye and good
luck.”
Pierce held the hand so generously extended by Dave in a tremulous
grasp. Tears of gratitude and esteem had rushed to his eyes.
“Dashaway,” he said, in a choked, broken voice; “you’re a man, every
inch of you!”
Number seven went aloft. Dave called “all aboard!” Hiram pulled his face
at the mean-spirited old trickster who had bled them. Elmer shook his
fist at the farmer crowd.
“That’s you!” exclaimed Hiram. “Just fitted Pierce out to beat us, and
delayed us, besides.”
“Wasn’t it the best kind of fair play?” challenged Dave.
“So good,” declared Elmer; “that I’d almost rather come in second with
the big heart you’ve got, than think I’d left a fellow airman in the
lurch.”
“Well, it’s a free for all now, I hope,” spoke the anxious Hiram. “When
a fellow is so near the winning post as we are, it makes him selfish, I
guess. Yes, you did just right, Dave Dashaway; only, if you see some
stray tramp limping along, don’t stop to give him a lift.”
Within an hour the advance pilot of the race, number seven, was nowhere
in view. Our hero had made a study of this one close rival in the field
as well as repair the machine. He had found out where it was weak and
the _Comet_ strong. Barring accident, the young pilot of the _Comet_
felt sanguine that his machine would reach the winning post first.
The airship boys did some splendid running. They made no stops except
for fuel and water. They ate and slept on the wing. Hiram counted the
moments and Elmer the miles. At midnight, thirty hours later, they were
within two hundred miles of Washington.
It was a momentous climax in their earnest young lives. They had circled
the globe. They had overcome every obstacle in their path. They had won,
the proud pilot of the _Comet_ and his eager assistants hoped and
believed.
With a cheer, husky with emotions, seeming to swell up in his heart like
a fountain of joy, Hiram Dobbs arose in the machine as it settled down
almost at the very spot whence it had started—“oh, almost years before!”
Elmer declared.
Dave Dashaway stepped from the machine. The cares, the hardship, the
worry, the doubt of long arduous weeks seemed to fall from him like a
garment. He gave one vast sigh of relief and satisfaction. Every eye was
at once directed towards the club house. Some field men came running
from the distant hangars.
“Say,” spoke Hiram, with a queer anxious jerk in his voice—“the bulletin
board!”
His heart sank as he ran towards it. Elmer followed close on his trail.
There were notations opposite the various numbers. Had someone preceded
them—had someone won the race?
And then, after a single glance, Hiram threw his cap up in the air, his
face beaming, and Elmer grasped his hand, delirious with excitement.
Dave, coming up, found them dancing about as if half mad with joy.
For the lines on the bulletin board bore only such notations as these:
“Number ten—abandoned at Winnipeg.” “Number six—wrecked at Cape Nome.”
“Number five—abandoned,” and others “out of commission.”
There were blanks after number seven and number two. As the airship boys
stood there, a man came quickly out upon the veranda which held the
bulletin board. He cast an excited glance at the travel-worn _Comet_. He
waved his hand gaily at the three young champions. Then with a piece of
chalk he wrote on the third blank line:
“_Number three, Comet; pilot, Dashaway—first._”
A date, an hour, a minute, even down to odd seconds followed. The world
knew that the airship boys had won the great international prize!
There were so many pleasant and rapidly occurring events transpiring
close on the heels of the great race around the world, that for over two
weeks our hero and his loyal comrades had a busy, interesting time of
it.
Twelve hours after the arrival of the _Comet_, number seven came into
the goal. She was a bird with a broken wing. A patched-up plane told of
a last dash under decided disadvantages.
“Don’t you crow over me, Mr. Dave Dashaway,” said the energetic young
Pierce, playfully. “I win second prize, all alone by myself. You three
have to divide yours. But, better than the international trophy, is the
big thing you did for me, and people are going to know about it, too,”
declared Pierce, and he kept his word.
Mr. Brackett was very proud of the son who had “made good” in an exploit
calling for more than ordinary ability and grit. To our hero he insisted
all the credit was due, and the young airman realized that he had made
strong, lifetime friends.
It seemed to the airship boys the very happiest moment of their lives,
the day a dainty little miss drove up to the _Comet_ hangar, and Miss
Edna Deane, with tears of joy and gratitude, and her lovely face fairly
glowing, told them what heroes they were.
“My brother is resting with a relative in England,” she narrated.
“Father has gone to bring him home. If you are a thousand miles away
from Washington when they return, you must promise, all three of you, to
come to the family reunion, of which you are surely members, as friends
and brothers. Father and brother will have something interesting to say
to you. We are very, very grateful—and, oh, so proud of you!”
“It’s worth something to find a little sister like that,” cried Hiram,
as their visitor left them, all sunny smiles and happiness.
“‘Something interesting’ means a right royal reward, of course,” spoke
Elmer. “Why, fellows, if we keep on, we’ll soon have the capital to
start an aero meet all our own!”
It was just a week after that, early one morning, that the airship boys,
seated in the aero association club room, were hailed joyously by an
unexpected visitor.
“Why, Mr. Hull!” exclaimed Dave, greeting the newcomer warmly.
The shipwrecked mariner looked like a new man. He wore a spick and span
suit, and was cleanly shaven. He seemed well fed and happy.
“Missed you at Rio,” he announced; “but knew you’d do the square thing.
Met a chum who financed me, and came on to get my keg.”
“Which is safe and sound in the storage room here,” announced our hero.
“Well, all we’ve got to do is to get it hauled down to a chemical works
in Washington to get our money—half of it is yours,” observed the old
salt.
“Say, Mr. Hull,” broke in the irrepressible Hiram; “what in the world is
in that keg, anyway?”
“Can’t you guess?” asked the old salt.
“We haven’t the least idea, unless it’s grease.”
“Grease! Ha! ha!” laughed the sailor. “Not much, my lad. Give another
guess.”
“I don’t see what could be worth such a sum of money as you claim,”
returned Hiram, his face showing how puzzled he was.
“You haven’t opened the keg?”
“No,” answered Dave, promptly.
“It ain’t leaked none either?”
“Not enough to count.”
“I am glad o’ that, lads. I wouldn’t want that stuff to git away from
me, after all the trouble I had gittin’ it, an’ all the trouble you had
carryin’ it so far.”
“But we are wildly excited to know what it is!” cried Hiram. “Please
don’t keep us waiting any longer.”
“Hiram has made all sorts of wild guesses,” laughed Dave. “First he
thought you had gold dust—but gold dust isn’t greasy.”
“No, it ain’t gold dust.”
“Then what?” pleaded Hiram. “Come, out with it, Mr. Hull.”
“Ambergris,” promptly replied Jabez Hull. “Found it floating on the
water off that island where you met me. I suppose you know it’s worth
just double pure gold an ounce, and so rare that the price never goes
down.”
“Well, what next?” asked Hiram, some time later.
“I don’t know,” answered Dave. But many more adventures were in store
for our hero, and what some of them were will be related in the next
volume of this series, to be entitled: “Dave Dashaway, Air Champion; Or,
Wizard Work in the Clouds.”
So we leave our young friends for the present, happy, honored and still
ambitious. They had been leaders and heroes in the aviation field. Their
efforts had been practical and not reckless. They had shown a new course
around the world. They had proven a new possibility in aerial science,
and fame and fortune had been the reward of Dave Dashaway and his
intrepid airship boys.
THE END
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DAVE DASHAWAY
SERIES
By ROY ROCKWOOD
Author of the “Speedwell Boys Series” and the “Great Marvel Series.”
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
Never was there a more clever young aviator than Dave
Dashaway. All up-to-date lads will surely wish to read
about him.
---------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
DAVE DASHAWAY THE YOUNG AVIATOR
_or In the Clouds for Fame and Fortune_
This initial volume tells how the hero ran away from his miserly
guardian, fell in with a successful airman, and became a young aviator
of note.
DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS HYDROPLANE
_or Daring Adventures Over the Great Lakes_
Showing how Dave continued his career as a birdman and had many
adventures over the Great Lakes, and how he foiled the plans of some
Canadian smugglers.
DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP
_or A Marvellous Trip Across the Atlantic_
How the giant airship was constructed and how the daring young aviator
and his friends made the hazardous journey through the clouds from the
new world to the old, is told in a way to hold the reader spellbound.
DAVE DASHAWAY AROUND THE WORLD
_or A Young Yankee Aviator Among Many Nations_
An absorbing tale of a great air flight around the world, of adventures
in Alaska, Siberia and elsewhere. A true to life picture of what may be
accomplished in the near future.
DAVE DASHAWAY: AIR CHAMPION
_or Wizard Work in the Clouds_
Dave makes several daring trips, and then enters a contest for a big
prize. An aviation tale thrilling in the extreme.
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CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WEBSTER SERIES
By FRANK V. WEBSTER
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[Illustration]
Mr. WEBSTER’S style is very much like
that of the boys’ favorite author, the late
lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales
are thoroughly up-to-date.
Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
Stamped in various colors.
Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
Only A Farm Boy
_or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life_
The Boy From The Ranch
_or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences_
The Young Treasure Hunter
_or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska_
The Boy Pilot of the Lakes
_Nat Morton’s Perils_
Tom The Telephone Boy
_or The Mystery of a Message_
Bob The Castaway
_or The Wreck of the Eagle_
The Newsboy Partners
_or Who Was Dick Box?_
Two Boy Gold Miners
_or Lost in the Mountains_
The Young Firemen of Lakeville
_or Herbert Dare’s Pluck_
The Boys of Bellwood School
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Jack the Runaway
_or On the Road with a Circus_
Bob Chester’s Grit
_or From Ranch to Riches_
Airship Andy
_or The Luck of a Brave Boy_
High School Rivals
_or Fred Markham’s Struggles_
Darry The Life Saver
_or The Heroes of the Coast_
Dick The Bank Boy
_or A Missing Fortune_
Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine
_or Making a Record for Himself_
Harry Watson’s High School Days
_or The Rivals of Rivertown_
Comrades of the Saddle
_or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains_
Tom Taylor at West Point
_or The Old Army Officer’s Secret_
The Boy Scouts of Lennox
_or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain_
The Boys of the Wireless
_or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep_
Cowboy Dave
_or The Round-up at Rolling River_
Jack of the Pony Express
_or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail_
The Boys of the Battleship
_or For the Honor of Uncle Sam_
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES
By CAPTAIN JAMES CARSON
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
All lads who love life in the open air and a good steed, will want to
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stories are as pleasing as they are healthful and instructive.
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[Illustration]
THE SADDLE BOYS OF THE ROCKIES
_or Lost on Thunder Mountain_
Telling how the lads started out to solve the mystery of a great
noise in the mountains—how they got lost—and of the things they
discovered.
THE SADDLE BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON
_or The Hermit of the Cave_
A weird and wonderful story of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado,
told in a most absorbing manner The Saddle Boys are to the front in
a manner to please all young readers.
THE SADDLE BOYS ON THE PLAINS
_or After a Treasure of Gold_
In this story the scene is shifted to the great plains of the
southwest and then to the Mexican border. There is a stirring
struggle for gold, told as only Captain Carson can tell it.
THE SADDLE BOYS AT CIRCLE RANCH
_or In at the Grand Round-up_
Here we have lively times at the ranch, and likewise the particulars
of a grand round-up of cattle and encounters with wild animals and
also cattle thieves. A story that breathes the very air of the
plains.
THE SADDLE BOYS ON MEXICAN TRAILS
_or In the Hands of the Enemy_
The scene is shifted in this volume to Mexico. The boys go on an
important errand, and are caught between the lines of the Mexican
soldiers. They are captured and for a while things look black for
them; but all ends happily.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS
SERIES
By ROY ROCKWOOD
Author of “The Dave Dashaway Series,” “Great Marvel Series,” etc.
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
-------
All boys who love to be on the go will welcome the Speedwell boys. They
are clean cut and loyal lads.
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[Illustration]
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS ON MOTOR CYCLES
_or The Mystery of a Great Conflagration_
The lads were poor, but they did a rich man a great service and he
presented them with their motor cycles. What a great fire led to is
exceedingly well told.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR RACING AUTO
_or A Run for the Golden Cup_
A tale of automobiling and of intense rivalry on the road. There was an
endurance run and the boys entered the contest. On the run they rounded
up some men who were wanted by the law.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR POWER LAUNCH
_or To the Rescue of the Castaways_
Here is an unusual story. There was a wreck, and the lads, in their
power launch, set out to the rescue. A vivid picture of a great storm
adds to the interest of the tale.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS IN A SUBMARINE
_or The Lost Treasure of Rocky Cove_
An old sailor knows of a treasure lost under water because of a cliff
falling into the sea. The boys get a chance to go out in a submarine and
they make a hunt for the treasure.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR ICE RACER
_or The Perils of a Great Blizzard_
The boys had an idea for a new sort of iceboat, to be run by combined
wind and motor power. How they built the craft, and what fine times they
had on board of it, is well related.
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CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FRED FENTON
ATHLETIC SERIES
By ALLEN CHAPMAN
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“The Darewell Chums Series.”
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
A line of tales embracing school athletics. Fred is a true type of the
American schoolboy of to-day.
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FRED FENTON THE PITCHER
_or The Rivals of Riverport School_
When Fred came to Riverport none of the school lads knew him, but he
speedily proved his worth in the baseball box. A true picture of school
baseball.
FRED FENTON IN THE LINE
_or The Football Boys of Riverport School_
When Fall came in the thoughts of the boys turned to football. Fred went
in the line, and again proved his worth, making a run that helped to win
a great game.
FRED FENTON ON THE CREW
_or The Young Oarsmen of Riverport School_
In this volume the scene is shifted to the river, and Fred and his chums
show how they can handle the oars. There are many other adventures, all
dear to the hearts of boys.
FRED FENTON ON THE TRACK
_or The Athletes of Riverport School_
Track athletics form a subject of vast interest to many boys, and here
is a tale telling of great running races, high jumping, and the like.
Fred again proves himself a hero in the best sense of that term.
FRED FENTON: MARATHON RUNNER
_or The Great Race at Riverport School_
Fred is taking a post-graduate course at the school when the subject of
Marathon running came up. A race is arranged, and Fred shows both his
friends and his enemies what he can do. An athletic story of special
merit.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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By ALLEN CHAPMAN
Author of the “Fred Fenton Athletic Series,” “The Boys of Pluck
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12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.
-------
Tom Fairfield is a typical American lad, full of life and energy, a boy
who believes in doing things. To know Tom is to love him.
[Illustration]
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TOM FAIRFIELD’S SCHOOLDAYS
_or The Chums of Elmwood Hall_
Tells of how Tom started for school, of the mystery surrounding one of
the Hail seniors, and of how the hero went to the rescue. The first book
in a line that is bound to become decidedly popular.
TOM FAIRFIELD AT SEA
_or The Wreck of the Silver Star_
Tom’s parents had gone to Australia and then been cast away somewhere in
the Pacific. Tom set out to find them and was himself cast away. A
thrilling picture of the perils of the deep.
TOM FAIRFIELD IN CAMP
_or The Secret of the Old Mill_
The boys decided to go camping, and located near an old mill. A wild man
resided there and he made it decidedly lively for Tom and his chums. The
secret of the old mill adds to the interest of the volume.
TOM FAIRFIELD’S PLUCK AND LUCK
_or Working to Clear His Name_
While Tom was back at school some of his enemies tried to get him into
trouble. Something unusual occurred and Tom was suspected of a crime.
How he set to work to clear his name is told in a manner to interest all
young readers.
TOM FAIRFIELD’S HUNTING TRIP
_or Lost in the Wilderness_
Tom was only a schoolboy, but he loved to use a shotgun or a rifle. In
this volume we meet him on a hunting trip full of outdoor life and good
times around the campfire.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MOTOR BOYS Second Series
_(Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Of.)_
By CLARENCE YOUNG
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid.
[Illustration]
This, the Second Series of the now world famed Motor Boys virtually
starts a new series, but retains all the favorite characters introduced
in the previous books. The Motor Boys Series is the biggest and best
selling series of books for boys ever published.
NED, BOB AND JERRY AT BOXWOOD HALL
_or The Motor Boys as Freshmen_
Fresh from their adventures in their automobile, their motor boat and
their airship, the youths are sent to college to complete their
interrupted education. Some boys at the institution of learning have
heard much about our heroes, and so conclude that the Motor Boys will
try to run everything to suit themselves.
A plot is formed to keep our heroes entirely in the background and not
let them participate in athletics and other contests. How the Motor Boys
forged to the front and made warm friends of their rivals makes
unusually interesting reading.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber's Notes:
Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with
_underscores_. Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals.
Punctuation has been standardized. Minor spelling and typographic
errors have been corrected silently, except as noted below.
Hyphenated words have been retained as they appear in the original
text, except as noted below.
On page 139, "knap-sack" has been changed to "knapsack" for internal
and time-period consistency.
On page 144, "long-flowing" has been changed to "long flowing".
On page 202, "areo" has been changed to "aero"
On the ad page "Tom Fairfield Series", "camp-fire" has been changed
to "campfire" for internal consistency.
End of Project Gutenberg's Dave Dashaway Around the World, by Roy Rockwood