A FIGHT WITH MUSK OXEN
"Can I help you, Tom? What's to be done?" demanded Ned Newton, as he
rushed to where his chum was yanking on various levers and gear
wheels.
"Wait a minute!" gasped the young inventor. "I want to throw on the
storage battery, and that will give us some light. Then we can see
what we are doing." An instant later the whole ship was illuminated,
and those aboard her felt calmer. Still the RED CLOUD continued to
sink.
"Can't we do something?" yelled Ned. "Start the propellers, Tom!"
"No, I'll use the gas. I can't see where we're heading for, as the
searchlight is out of business. We may be in the midst of a lot of
bergs. We were flying too low. Just start the gas generating
machine."
Ned hurried to obey this order. He saw Tom's object. With the big
bag full of gas the airship would settle gently to earth as easily
as though under the command of the propellers and wing planes.
In a few minutes the hissing of the machine told that the vapor was
being forced into the bag and a little later the downward motion of
the ship was checked. She moved more and more slowly toward the
earth, until, with a little jar, she settled down, and came to rest.
But she was on such an uneven keel that the cabin was tilted at an
unpleasant angle.
"Bless my salt-cellar!" cried Mr. Damon. "We are almost standing on
our heads!"
"Better that than not standing at all," replied Tom, grimly. "Now to
see what the damage is."
He scrambled from the forward door of the cabin, no easy task
considering how it was tilted, and the others followed him. It was
too dark to note just how much damage had been inflicted, but Tom
was relieved to see, as nearly as he could judge, that it was
confined to the forward part of the front platform or deck of the
ship. The wooden planking was split, but the extent of the break
could not be ascertained until daylight. The searchlight connections
had been broken by the collision, and it could not be used.
"Now to take a look at the machinery," suggested the young inventor,
when he had walked around his craft. "That is what I am worried
about more than about the outside."
But, to their joy, they found only a small break in the motor. That
was what caused it to stop, and also put the dynamo out of
commission.
"We can easily fix that," Tom declared.
"Bless my coffee-spoon!" cried Mr. Damon, who seemed to be running
to table accessories in his blessings. Perhaps it was because it was
so near supper time. "Bless my coffee-spoon! But how did it happen?"
"We were running too low," declared Tom. "I had forgotten that we
were likely to get among tall mountain peaks at any moment, and I
set the elevation rudder too low. It was my fault. I should have
been on the lookout. We must have struck the mountain of ice a
glancing blow, or the result would have been worse than it is. We'll
come out of it all right, as it is."
"We can't do anything to-night," observed Ned.
"Only eat," put in Mr. Damon, "and we'll have to take our coffee
cups half full, for everything is so tilted that it's like topsy-turvey
land. It makes me fairly dizzy!"
But he forgot this in the work of getting a meal, and, though it was
prepared under considerable difficulties, at last it was ready.
Bright and early the next morning Tom was up making another
inspection of his ship. He found that even if the forward deck was
not repaired they could go on, as soon as the motor was in shape,
but, as they had some spare wood aboard, it was decided to
temporarily repair the smashed platform.
It was cold work, even wearing their thick garments; but, after
laboring until their fingers were stiff from the frost, Ned hit on
the idea of building a big fire of some evergreen trees near where
the ship lay.
"Say, that's all right!" declared Tom, as the warmth of the blaze
made itself felt. "We can work better, now!"
The RED CLOUD was tilted on some rough and uneven ground, in among
some little hills. On either side arose big peaks, the one in
particular that they had hit towering nearly fifteen thousand feet.
Everything was covered with snow and ice, and, in fact, the ice was
so thick on the top of the mountains that the crags resembled
icebergs rather than stony peaks. The crash of the airship had
brought down a great section of this solid rock-ice.
"Do you think we are anywhere near the valley of gold?" asked Mr.
Damon that afternoon, when the work was nearly finished.
"It's somewhere in this vicinity." declared Abe. "Me an' my partner
passed through jest such a place as this on our way there. I
wouldn't wonder but what it wasn't more than a few hundred miles
away, now."
"Then we'll soon be there," said Tom. "I'll start in the morning. I
could go to-night, but there are a few adjustments I want to make to
the motor, and, besides, I think it will be safer, now that we are
among these peaks, to navigate in daylight, or at least with the
searchlight going. I should have thought of that before."
"Then, if you're not going to start away at once," spoke Mr. Parker,
"I think I will walk around a bit, and make some observations. I
think we are now in the region where we may expect a movement of the
ice. I want to test it, and see if it is traveling in a southerly
direction. If it is not now, it will soon be doing that, and the
coating of ice may reach even as far as New York."
"Pleasant prospect," murmured Tom. Then he said aloud: "Well if you
are going, Mr. Parker, we'll be with you. I'll be glad of the chance
to stretch my legs, and what more remains to be done, can be
finished in the morning."
Mr. Damon declared that he did not relish a tramp over the ice and
snow, and would stay in the warm cabin, but Tom and Ned, with Abe
and Mr. Parker started off. The scientist pointed out what he
claimed were evidences of the impending movement of the ice, while
Abe explained to the lads how the Alaskan Indians of that
neighborhood hunted and fished, and how they made huts of blocks of
ice.
"We are nearing th' Arctic circle," the old miner said, "and we'll
soon be among th' most savage of the Eskimo tribes."
"Is there any hunting around here?" asked Ned.
"Yes, plenty of musk ox," answered Abe.
"I wish I'd brought my gun along and could see one of the big beasts
now," went on Ned. He looked anxiously around, but no game was in
sight. After a little farther tramp over the icy expanse they all
declared that they had seen enough of the dreary landscape, and
voted to return to the ship.
As they neared their craft Tom saw several large, shaggy black
objects standing in a line on the path the adventurers had come over
a little while before. The objects were between the gold-seekers and
the RED CLOUD.
"What in the world are those?" asked the young inventor.
"Look to me like black stones," spoke Ned.
"Stones?" cried Abe. "Look out, boys, those are musk oxen; and big
ones, too! There's a lot of 'em! Make for the ship! If they attack
us we're goners!"
The boys and Mr. Parker needed no second warning. Turning so as to
rush past the shaggy creatures, the four headed toward the ship.
But if our friends expected to reach it unmolested they were
disappointed. No sooner had they increased their pace than the oxen,
with snorts of rage, darted forward. The animals may have imagined
they were about to be attacked, and determined to make the first
move.
"Here they come!" yelled Ned.
"Sprint for it!" cried Tom.
"Oh, if I only had my gun!" groaned Abe.
It was hard work running over the ice and snow, hampered as they
were with their heavy fur garments. They soon realized this, and the
pace was telling on them. They were now near to the ship, but the
savage creatures still were between them and the craft.
"Try around the other way!" directed Tom, They changed their
direction, but the oxen also shifted their ground, and with loud
bellows of rage came on, shaking their shaggy heads and big horns,
while the hair, hanging down from their sides and flanks, dragged in
the snow.
"Right at 'em! Run and yell!" advised the young inventor. "Maybe we
can scare 'em!"
They followed his advice. Yelling like Indians the four rushed
straight for the animals. For a moment only the creatures halted.
Then, bellowing louder than ever they rushed straight at Tom and the
others.
The largest of the oxen, with a sudden swerve, made for Mr. Parker,
who was slightly in the lead off to one side. In an instant the
scientist was tossed high in the air, falling in a snow bank.
"Mr. Damon! Mr. Damon!" yelled Tom, frantically. "Get a gun and
shoot these beasts!"
The young inventor and his two companions had come to a halt. The
oxen also stopped momentarily. Suddenly Mr. Damon appeared on the
deck of the airship. He held two rifles. Laying one down he aimed
the other at the ox which was rushing at the prostrate Mr. Parker.
The eccentric man fired. He hit the beast on the flank, and, with a
bellow of rage it turned.
"Now's our time!" yelled Tom. "Head for the ship, I'll get my
electric gun!"
"We can't leave Mr. Parker!" yelled Abe.
But the scientist had arisen, and was running toward the RED CLOUD.
He did not seem to be much hurt. Mr. Damon fired again, hitting
another beast, but not mortally.
Once more the herd of shaggy creatures came on, but the adventurers
were now almost at the ship, on the deck of which stood Mr. Damon,
firing as fast as he could work the lever and pull the trigger.