[Illustration: JERRY SENT THE CHASER DIRECTLY AT THE COMET.]
THE MOTOR BOYS
AFTER A FORTUNE
Or
The Hut on Snake Island
BY
CLARENCE YOUNG
Author of
“The Racer Boys Series” and “The Jack Ranger Series.”
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
BOOKS BY CLARENCE YOUNG
=THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES=
12mo. Illustrated.
Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid.
THE MOTOR BOYS
THE MOTOR BOYS OVERLAND
THE MOTOR BOYS IN MEXICO
THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS
THE MOTOR BOYS AFLOAT
THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE ATLANTIC
THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS
THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE PACIFIC
THE MOTOR BOYS IN THE CLOUDS
THE MOTOR BOYS OVER THE ROCKIES
THE MOTOR BOYS OVER THE OCEAN
THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE WING
THE MOTOR BOYS AFTER A FORTUNE
=THE JACK RANGER SERIES=
12mo. Finely Illustrated.
Price per volume, $1.00, postpaid.
JACK RANGER’S SCHOOLDAYS
JACK RANGER’S WESTERN TRIP
JACK RANGER’S SCHOOL VICTORIES
JACK RANGER’S OCEAN CRUISE
JACK RANGER’S GUN CLUB
JACK RANGER’S TREASURE BOX
Copyright, 1912, by
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
THE MOTOR BOYS AFTER A FORTUNE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. TO THE RESCUE 1
II. THE SAVING OF NODDY 11
III. NODDY BEGINS PLOTTING 22
IV. PLANNING A FORTUNE HUNT 33
V. NODDY’S PLOT DEVELOPS 40
VI. OFF FOR PITTSBURG 51
VII. IN DANGER 58
VIII. DOWN THE ALLEGHANY 69
IX. OFF IN THE AUTO 77
X. HELD UP 85
XI. NODDY IN ADVANCE 92
XII. DISAPPOINTMENT 104
XIII. THE PROFESSOR’S LUNCH 115
XIV. THE WRECK OF THE LIMITED 121
XV. THE EXPRESS AHEAD 129
XVI. THE AIRSHIP GONE 138
XVII. AN UNEXPECTED OFFER 144
XVIII. ON THE TRAIL 152
XIX. A DESPERATE RACE 159
XX. A GAME IN THE AIR 168
XXI. OFF FOR THE CANYON 174
XXII. OVER THE GREAT CHASM 182
XXIII. THE BOAT IN THE RAPIDS 189
XXIV. STRANGE GHOSTS 196
XXV. A NEST OF SERPENTS 205
XXVI. LIVE WIRES 212
XXVII. THE TRANSPORTING OF NODDY 217
XXVIII. THE RISING FLOOD 224
XXIX. IN THE CAVE 230
XXX. THE RADIUM TREASURE--CONCLUSION 238
PREFACE
DEAR BOYS:--
I wonder if any of you are superstitious, or if you believe in “signs”?
I, myself, do not, but as this happens to be the thirteenth book in the
Motor Boys series, I just thought I’d mention it, more as a joke than
anything else.
You know some persons think thirteen is unlucky. I do not, and I am
sure you do not, either. So I venture to hope that I have been lucky
enough to write for you, in this thirteenth volume, a book you will
like better than any of the preceding ones that I have been happy to
pen.
Certainly, Jerry, Ned and Bob, when they went after the radium treasure,
on Snake Island, in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, had a chance to
believe in “signs” if they were so inclined. But when they saw the
strange “ghosts” they were not a bit frightened, and, later on, they
discovered the cause of them.
This story, though a complete tale in itself, is linked with the others
in the series. It tells how the Motor Boys, hearing through Professor
Snodgrass, of a place where radium was supposed to be located, set off
to find it. They had many adventures, and were in not a little danger.
Then, too, they had to proceed against Noddy Nixon, who had unlawfully
taken their motorship.
I venture to hope that you will like this story, and that you will
care for more about the boys, whom I have come to regard as very good
friends of mine. I should dislike, very much indeed, saying good-bye to
them.
So, wishing you all the pleasure possible in the reading of this story,
I remain,
Yours cordially,
CLARENCE YOUNG.
THE MOTOR BOYS AFTER A FORTUNE
CHAPTER I
TO THE RESCUE
“But, Professor, do you really think it’s true?” asked Ned Slade,
looking at the elderly gentleman, whose bald head glistened in the
sunlight, as he sat leafing the pages of a scientific book.
“Is what true, Ned?” inquired Jerry Hopkins, who had crossed the room
to look out of a window.
“What Professor Snodgrass was telling just now, about a fortune in
radium being on a lonely little island in the Colorado River, somewhere
in the Grand Canyon.”
“Radium!” gasped Bob Baker, turning slowly in a big chair.
“Yes, radium,” answered Ned, at whose house the other motor boy chums
had called to meet their old friend, the professor, who was paying a
short visit to Mr. Slade. “Radium, Bob. Do you get the idea, or are you
still trying to figure out how long it will be until lunch time?”
“Aw, quit it,” begged the fat lad. “I guess I can think of something
besides grub, once in a while. But I wasn’t listening very closely.
What is it about radium? That’s the stuff they use to set diamonds in,
instead of gold; isn’t it?”
“Say, what’s the matter with you, Bob?” cried Jerry, a tall, and
well-built lad, as he wheeled around from the window. “Set diamonds in
radium? You’re thinking of platinum, I guess.”
“Oh, that’s right!” admitted Bob.
“Radium!” broke in Ned. “I guess they’d be more likely to set radium in
a diamond, if they could; eh, Professor?”
“Well,” admitted the little scientist with a smile, “it’s valuable
enough to be set in diamonds, but I’m afraid it would be too dangerous
to carry around that way. It can’t be exposed carelessly, you know.”
“Dangerous?” asked Bob. “How’s that?”
“Radium, that wonderful metal, as it is sometimes called, and about
which so much has been written, yet about which even the greatest
scientists admit that they know very little, can cause very severe
burns if brought near a person, and not protected in some way.
“The rays, or emanations from it, pass through almost all substances,
you know, and not only does it cause burns, but also forms of mental
diseases. It is a dangerous, as well as very valuable, metal.”
“But what’s this Ned said about some being on an island in the Grand
Canyon of the Colorado?” persisted Bob. “That sounds interesting. Maybe
there’s a chance for us to take a trip, and get some. Let’s hear more
about it, Professor, please.”
“Well, I don’t know that I can say much,” came from the scientist. “I
just happened to see a mention of radium in this book I was looking at,
and I just told Ned that there was said to be a valuable deposit of it
on this island--Snake Island, I believe it is called--though I don’t
know why. Probably from some Indian name.”
“And I asked him if he believed it was true,” added Ned.
“As to that I can’t say,” resumed Uriah Snodgrass. “All I know is that
some years ago a scientific expedition from Hartwell College set out
to learn if the rumor about the radium was true. They had the story,
I understand, from some prospectors who were searching for gold. The
prospectors landed on this island, because their boat was wrecked, and
one of them picked up a piece of stone, whether it was hornblende or
pitchblende I can’t recall, but you know radium is often found in those
substances.
“At any rate, one of the prospectors kept this piece of mineral,
and when he and his friends left the island he took it with him, not
knowing what it was. Later he gave it to a scientist, as a curiosity,
and the latter at once recognized what it was, and learned where it
came from.
“It was sent to Hartwell College, with which the scientist was
connected, and aroused a great deal of interest. An expedition was at
once fitted up, and about a year ago started for Snake Island.”
“Did they get there?” asked Bob eagerly. “And did they get any gold?”
“They did not, I regret to say,” replied the professor rather solemnly.
“As for gold, they would scarcely have picked it up, had there been
any, if there was radium to be had, for there is no comparison in the
values of the two. With radium at ten thousand dollars, or so, an
ounce, you can easily figure what a little bit would be worth.
“At any rate, the expedition never even got to Snake Island. They
started down the Colorado in a boat, but it was wrecked, and the party
barely escaped alive. This so discouraged them that they returned, and
as far as I know, no one since has set foot on the place where the
radium is supposed to be. Yes, it was a sad piece of business.”
“Why sad?” asked Jerry Hopkins. “Because science missed the chance to
get the radium?”
“Well, yes, in a way, but one of the searching party was lost.”
“Drowned?” asked Ned.
“As to that no one ever knew. He fell into the water when the boat
was wrecked, and none of his friends ever saw him again. They had a
watch kept on the river below, but the body was never seen. The man
disappeared completely. He was quite a friend of mine, too, in a way,
for we corresponded, and exchanged scientific books, though I only saw
him a few times. Hartley Bentwell was his name, and he was one of the
best authorities on radium that I ever heard of. I often wonder what
became of him. He gave his life up in the interests of science.”
“And do you really believe there is radium there?” asked Ned, after a
pause.
“Yes, I think I do,” answered the professor quietly. “I had the
good fortune to see the piece of mineral, containing some, that
the prospector picked up years ago. There was no doubt but that it
contained radium, for all the manifestations were present. And if there
was one bit of radium on that island, there must be more.”
“Unless it’s all evaporated by this time,” put in Bob.
“Radium doesn’t evaporate,” said the professor with a smile. “The
smallest piece you can imagine, will give off what you might call
‘rays’ or ‘sparks’ for thousands of years, and, at the end of that
time, the most delicate scales would show no loss of weight. It’s the
same way with pure musk. A grain of it has been known to scent, say
a box, or chest of drawers, for fifty years, and, at the end of that
time, the whole grain of musk was still there.”
“That’s strange,” murmured Jerry.
“Oh, that’s not nearly all the strange facts about radium,” went on Mr.
Snodgrass. “I could talk to you for hours about it and not half finish.”
“Tell us more about Snake Island,” suggested Ned.
“That’s all I know,” and the professor closed the book that had started
the conversation. “I only heard what I have told you. It was because
I was interested in Mr. Bentwell, and felt his loss so much that the
tale impressed me. I often thought I would like to have a try for
that radium myself, not because of the fortune, but because of the
scientific value of the metal, or mineral, whichever you choose to call
it. But I never seemed to get the time, and I had so many other things
to do, gathering----”
The professor suddenly stopped talking, and made a dive for a certain
spot on the carpet. He came down on his hands and knees, holding his
palms together.
“I got it!” he cried triumphantly. “Ned, please get my smallest insect
case. It’s in my right hand coat pocket,” and the scientist remained on
his knees, a look of joy on his face.
“Did you fall?” asked Bob innocently.
“No, indeed, I jumped,” replied the professor. “As I was speaking I
happened to see a new variety of pink-winged moth fluttering on the
carpet, and as this moth----”
“Moths in my carpet!” cried Mrs. Slade, entering the room at that
moment. “Oh, Professor! Let me kill it at once! Where is it?”
“I have it safe,” answered Mr. Snodgrass with a smile. “As for killing
it, I’ll do that, but it must be carefully done, so as not to crush it.
Have you the box, Ned?”
“Yes, here it is,” and the lad drew out a small, glass-topped case from
the professor’s pocket.
“Well, as long as you have the moth, I suppose it can’t eat holes in my
new carpet,” said Mrs. Slade. “I must put some cedar oil around, and
kill the horrid things.”
“Oh, I beg of you, if you see any more to save them for me!” implored
the professor. “There you are, my little pink beauty!” he exclaimed, as
he put the moth in the case where it soon died, for the box contained
cyanide of potassium, the fumes from which are almost instantly fatal
to insect life. “That is worth many dollars to my college collection,”
went on the scientist. “I would not have missed that for the world.
This has been a lucky day for me. Let me see, what was I talking
about?” and he looked at the boys through his powerful spectacles,
while he absent-mindedly brushed the dust from his trousers.
“It was radium, and you said you’d like to go to Snake Island,”
suggested Ned.
“Oh, yes, and I had told you about how my friend lost his life seeking
the place. Indeed I would like to go, but I am afraid it is out of the
question. However, I suppose some one will get the fortune some day,”
and the professor carefully put the insect box in his pocket, looking
the while, carefully over the carpet for more specimens.
“Well, that surely was a queer yarn,” remarked Bob. “I say, Ned, what
do you say if we have something to eat on it. I’m hungry, and----”
“You don’t care who knows it!” finished Jerry with a laugh.
“That’s all right,” put in Ned good-naturedly, for the chums were
almost like brothers, and made themselves perfectly at home in each
other’s houses. “I guess it must be almost lunch time. I’ll go see if
it isn’t ready. I reckon we can all eat some, even Professor Snodgrass,
if he can spare the time from his specimens.”
“Oh, yes,” laughed the scientist. “I am ready----”
At that moment there came an interruption in the shape of a small boy,
very excited, and out of breath, who dashed up on the porch, on which
opened the library windows of the room where the three chums and the
professor had been talking.
“Whoop!” yelled the small lad.
“Andy Rush!” cried Ned.
“Wow!” yelled Andy, getting his second wind. “Come on,
fellows--’sawful--dam’s busted--river’s got loose--houses being washed
away--people in the water--dogs--chickens--boats--fearful--terrible
excitement--come on--don’t lose a minute--the whole place may go--big
flood--whoop--come on--don’t wait--wow!”
For a moment the three chums gazed at the excited small lad. Then Jerry
asked, sternly:
“Andy, is this true, or are you joking?”
“True? Of course it’s true! Come on--rescue--big damage--dam’s
busted--save lives!”
“Fellows, I guess we’d better go!” cried Jerry, and, followed by his
chums, and the professor, he rushed from the room, Andy coming after,
and giving vent to excited whoops at every other breath.