FARMER GALLOWAY'S "SAFE DEPOSIT."
When she came to herself again, it was in a confusion of voices and sounds
of hurrying footsteps. She was lying on a lounge in a stuffy "best"
parlor, which smelled as moldy as "best" parlors in farm-houses are wont
to do. Bending over her was the angular woman who had entered just as the
bolt of lightning, that had caused all the trouble, struck the house.
"Is--is the baby all right?" asked Peggy, as she took in her surroundings.
"Yes, thanks to you, my dear. Oh, how can I ever thank you?" exclaimed the
woman, a thrill of real gratitude in her voice. "And the fire is out, too.
My husband and his men had been at work in a distant field and were
sheltering themselves under a shed. I had just taken some water to them
when the storm broke. When they saw the big flash and heard the crash,
they knew that something right around the house must have been struck.
They ran through the storm as fast as they could, and got here in time to
put out the flames."
"And Jess and Jimsy and----"
"And that other young fellow? Why, they----"
"Never felt better in their lives," came Jimsy's cheerful voice from the
door, which framed, beside himself, Jess, and the young naval officer.
"The first time I was ever knocked out by lightning," declared the latter,
"and really it's quite invigorating."
Jess glided across the room to Peggy's side and threw her arms about her
neck.
"Oh, Peggy, how brave and good you are!" she exclaimed. "I was dreadfully
frightened, when you came plunging down through that smoke. I was just
trying to make my way through it with a bucket, when you came toppling
down the stairs. I managed to catch you and support you into the kitchen."
"I think some one else is the bravest," smiled Peggy, patting her chum's
shoulder. "I'm so glad that the baby wasn't hurt. Poor little thing, it
looked so cute in its crib. I remember seizing it up and then the smoke
came, and after a few minutes it all got black and----"
"And all's well that ends well," declared Jimsy, capering about. "We've
telephoned to your home to Roy, Peggy, and he'll be over in a short time
with an auto."
"But what about the _Butterfly_?" asked Peggy.
"My dear girl," announced Jimsy, in his most pompous tones, "it would be
impossible for you to guide her home this evening. Your nerves would not
stand it. See, it's come out quite fine, now, after the storm, and Roy
will spin you home in the machine in no time."
"Perhaps that would be best," agreed Peggy. "And I can come out, or Roy
can, to-morrow, and get the aeroplane--that is," she added, turning to
the farm woman, "if it won't be in your way."
"If you had a thousand of them air-buggies around here, miss, they
wouldn't be in our way," came in a hearty, gruff tone from the door. They
looked up to see a big farmer-like looking person, with a fringe of black
whiskers running under his chin in a half-moon, standing there.
"This is my husband, Isaac Galloway," said the woman, introducing the
owner of the farm.
"At your service, gents and ladies," said the farmer. "What that young
woman did fer us ter-day ther' ain't no way of repaying; but anything Ike
Galloway kin do any time ye kin count on him fer."
He moved toward an object they had not previously noticed, an iron door in
the wall. Turning a knob this way and that, he presently flung it open,
revealing the inside of a wall safe. Thrusting his hand inside, he drew
out a bundle of bills. Then, closing the door again, and adjusting the
combination, he said:
"Jes' goin' ter give ther boys a bit of thank you fer helpin' me put out
ther fire. If any of you folks would like----"
"Oh, no. No, thank you," laughed Peggy, sitting up and feeling, except for
a slight dizziness, almost herself again.
"Very well; no harm meant," said the farmer, as he shuffled out of the
room and into the kitchen, where he distributed his largess.
"Quite an idea," commented Jimsy, regarding the wall safe. "I suppose you
have quite a lot of money on hand at times, and it is safest to keep it
so," he added, addressing the farmer's wife.
"Yep," was the rejoinder; "Ike got his money fer his corn crop ther other
day--two thousand dollars, what with ther corn and ther early apples. It's
all in thar, except what he's jes' took out."
"Aren't you afraid of burglars coming and blowing the door of the safe
off?" asked Peggy.
"Lands sakes, no. We'd hear 'em. Besides, that's a patent safe, an' if it
is opened without a knowledge of the combination, it would take a plaguey
long time to do."
Just then the farmer came back, and after some more general conversation
the whir of an approaching automobile announced the arrival of Roy. The
lad was naturally much interested in the doings of the afternoon, as
excitedly related to him by everybody at once, and was favorably impressed
with the young naval officer. Of course, he did not ask him his opinion of
the Prescott aeroplane, but from remarks Lieut. Bradbury dropped, Roy
gathered that he was much pleased with its performance.
Soon afterward Jess and Jimsy shot skyward, in the now still air, in their
red aeroplane--the _Red Dragon Fly_, as it had been christened, and amid
warm farewells from the farmer and his wife, the auto buzzed off.
They had traversed a mile or more, when, on rounding a corner at a narrow
part of the road, they came almost head-on against another machine coming
in the opposite direction.
Both cars were compelled to slow down, so that the occupants had a good
view of each other. Both Roy and Peggy were considerably astonished to see
that the oncoming auto was occupied by old Mr. Harding, and that by his
side was seated none other than the blue-chinned man, known as Eugene
Mortlake.
"Where can they be going?" wondered Roy, as old man Harding favored them
with a scowl in passing, and then both cars resumed their normal speed.
"I noticed that this is a private road leading only to that farm,"
rejoined Peggy; "the right-of-way ends there."
"Then that must be their destination, for there are no other houses on
this road."
"Looks that way," assented Roy. "Queer, isn't it?"
"Very," responded Peggy. For some inexplicable reason, as the girl spoke,
a chill ran through her. She felt a dull sense of foreboding. But the
next minute she shook it off. After all, why shouldn't Mr. Harding and
Mortlake be driving to the farm? Mr. Harding's financial dealings
comprised mortgages in every part of the island. It was quite probable
that the farmer was in some way involved in the old man's nets. Possibly
that was the reason of all that money being stored in the wall safe.
Refusing courteously an invitation extended by Miss Prescott to spend the
night at the homestead, Lieut. Bradbury was driven to the station by Roy,
after they had dropped Peggy, and just managed to make a New York train.
"I shall be back to-morrow," he said, "and have a look at Mortlake's
machines. Of course, the government wants to give everybody a fair field
and no favors."
"Oh, of course," assented Roy, pondering in his own mind what sort of a
machine this mysterious Mortlake craft was.
Suddenly there flashed across his mind a thought that had not occurred to
him hitherto. The _Golden Butterfly_ had been left under the shed at the
farm. What was there to prevent Harding and Mortlake from examining it and
acquainting themselves with the intricacies of the self-starting mechanism
and the automatic balancing device?
There was no question that the farm must have been their destination. Roy
blamed himself bitterly for not foreseeing this. He had half a mind to
return to the farm and bring the aeroplane home himself. But it was
growing dark, and a distant rumble seemed to presage the return of the
afternoon's storm.
"Anyhow," the boy thought, and the thought consoled him, "all those
devices are covered by patents, and even if they wanted to, they could not
steal them. And yet--and yet----"
But the storm came up sharper than ever that evening, and even had he
wished to, Roy would have found it impossible to handle the aeroplane
alone in the heavy wind that came now in puffs and now in a steady gale.
So Roy put his tiresome thoughts out of his head. But he resolved to get
the aeroplane the first thing the following morning.