THE AIRSHIP TREASURE--CONCLUSION
“That’s the same one!”
“The craft Brown and Black had.”
“The one they ordered us away from; I can tell by the peculiar wing
tips--at least from what’s left of ’em.”
Thus spoke Bob, Ned and Jerry in turn as they stood in the little
clearing where they had landed, and viewed the airship wreck that was
just on the edge of it.
“Jove, but she’s certainly smashed up!” went on the stout lad.
“The engine is nothing but junk,” said Ned.
“And look where the radiator is,” called Jerry. “Up in that beech
tree.” The cooling apparatus, torn loose from the rest of the machinery
had caught on a great limb and hung there.
“She must have crashed full-tilt into the trees,” was Ned’s opinion.
“That tore things loose, and then, if the engine was going, the
propellers threshed around and broke to pieces.”
“That last is true, anyhow,” observed Bob. “Here is a piece of one of
the blades,” and he held it up.
Professor Snodgrass was observed to be carefully scanning the ground
about the wreck.
“Are you looking for the treasure?” asked Jerry.
“Eh? What’s that? Treasure? No, my dear boy, I’m looking for the flying
frog. This seems a likely place to find one.”
“And we’ll have a look for the treasure,” said Ned, smiling at the
odd indifference of the professor. “It ought to be somewhere around
here--if Brown and Black, or whatever their names are--told the truth.”
After a glance at the wrecked craft the three boys began eagerly
looking for the loot from the bank.
“First we’d better make sure it isn’t still aboard,” suggested Jerry.
“They had two or three compartments on their craft where they could
carry the money.”
It needed but the most casual glance, however, to show that none of
the treasure was now aboard the _Silver Star_. In fact the several
compartments or boxes of which Jerry had spoken were smashed beyond
holding anything. In the corner of one, however, where it had become
jammed, was part of the same curious implement that had first aroused
their suspicions.
“That’s the drill they used to make a hole in the safe door, so they
could put in the explosive,” declared Bob.
“Yes, and we’d better take it along for evidence,” remarked Jerry, as
he carried the tool to their own machine.
“And there’s not so much as a gold-piece here,” gloomily went on Ned,
after a careful survey of the ground about the wreck. “I guess they’ve
got it hidden somewhere.”
“I don’t agree with you,” declared Jerry. “I think it was in the ship
after they were spilled out. How long it remained after that we can’t
say. But I’m going to have a look back over the air path which this
machine took in coming here.”
They were hopeful at first, but when, after a walk of several hours,
they had not even found a scrap of paper they began to get discouraged.
All about them was the vast, silent forest, in which it seemed that the
foot of man had not been set since the Indians had disappeared.
“It’s no use,” declared Bob, sitting down on a stone. “I wish I’d
brought along something to eat. I’m going back. You fellows can hunt,
if you want to.”
“Oh, come on, just a little farther,” urged Jerry. “Go one more mile,
and then, if we don’t find something we’ll go back, and try it again
to-morrow.”
“Well, just one mile more,” stipulated the fat lad wearily.
They trudged on, poking about in the dead leaves for a sight of gold or
paper. They had about covered the additional mile, and Bob was urging
his companions to return, when, as he impatiently kicked at a stone, he
uttered a cry.
“Hurt yourself?” asked Jerry, turning around.
Bob did not answer. He dug his fist down into the leaves and dirt, and
when he raised his hand his fingers clutched something that glittered
in the sun.
“Gold! Gold!” he cried. “A twenty dollar gold piece!”
“The airship treasure at last!” shouted Jerry.
Almost immediately after that Ned found three of the double eagles
scattered about, and Jerry picked up five more close together. Then
they hurried along the track, as indicated by the gold, and in a few
minutes they came upon a bundle of papers. The wrappings were torn
off, and then to the delighted gaze of the boys there were disclosed
big bundles of bills, and the other securities that had been stolen
from the bank vault. Jerry hastily counted them over.
“There’s two hundred and six thousand dollars here,” he announced.
“That’s right,” confirmed Ned. “There was four thousand in gold taken.
Let’s see if we can’t pick up some more.”
They hurried back to the place where they had first found the
glittering coins, and by dint of searching in the leaves managed to
pick up one hundred and ten of the coins--twenty-two hundred dollars.
Then, as it was getting late, and they wanted to make secure the great
treasure they had found, they went back to their craft.
As they came in view of it they saw Professor Snodgrass capering about
like a boy.
“Hurrah! Hurrah!” he shouted at the sight of them. “I’ve found it!”
“Maybe he found the rest of the gold,” suggested Ned.
“We’ve got most of the treasure!” yelled Bob.
“And I’ve got my treasure--my prize--the flying frog!” exclaimed the
scientist. “I just caught it! Oh, but I am the lucky man! Congratulate
me, boys!”
“Look here!” called Jerry, showing the big bundle of notes.
“Ah, yes, very good, very good,” spoke the professor calmly, “but look
at this,” and, trembling with eagerness, he opened a specimen box and
showed the boys a tiny, trembling green frog. “I had rather have this
than the airship treasure,” said the professor. “You ought to see it
change color.”
He agreed with the boys that it was useless to spend any more time
hunting for the rest of the gold. It had evidently been scattered when
the airship turned over, spilling out the other valuables, just before
crashing into the trees.
“The bank will be glad enough to get that back, and with the capture of
the robbers, to pay you the reward,” said the professor.
The airship treasure was carefully put aboard the _Comet_ and then,
rising high in the air, the nose of the craft was pointed toward the
east, and she began her swift flight again over the pathless forest.
“Well, something was doing on this trip, almost all the while,”
remarked Ned, a day or so later when they were nearing Harmolet.
“Yes, it was one of the most exciting ones we’ve had,” agreed Jerry.
But it was not the last voyage of our heroes, for they were destined
for other adventures, which will be related in the next volume, to be
entitled, “The Motor Boys After a Fortune; Or The Hut on Snake Island.”
“I’d like to know the secret of the cloth on the statue and how Noddy’s
and Bill’s names came in the torch,” said Bob.
They did learn a little later, at the trial of the robbers. It became
necessary to have evidence about the queer bicycle tires, and Noddy,
being a witness, explained how he had purchased a set exactly like
those on the _Silver Star_ from a supply left by Brown and Black.
It developed at the trial that Noddy had proposed to Bill the daring
scheme of sailing around the head of the statue in the park, and
lifting off a loose portion of the torch as a trophy. Noddy thought it
would show his skill as an aviator, and that the people of Harmolet
would be much surprised when they found the piece of bronze gone. It
was this scheme he was proposing to his crony, when Jerry overheard
him. Noddy had been in Harmolet before, and knew about the statue.
But Noddy had a slight accident in his machine after leaving the Colton
grounds, and so could not start to circle the statue until after dark.
Then the park was deserted and no one saw him. He had his trouble for
his pains, and found it impossible to take away a piece of the bronze.
He and Bill went too close, and tore one of their wing tips. Noddy did
manage to toss his name and Bill’s into the hollow torch, a foolish and
risky trick.
They escaped police detection, which Bill was afraid of, but gained
none of the notoriety for which Noddy thirsted. Then the two went off
on an auto trip that lasted until they were summoned to court.
“It’s no wonder though, after what happened, and remembering Noddy’s
talk, that we suspected them for a time,” said Jerry; and his chums
agreed with him.
The trial of the two robbers, who went under various names, was short
and summary. They had recovered from their accident when taken to
court. The evidence against them, given by the boys, was so conclusive,
that they did not offer a defense, and were quickly convicted.
It developed that the day they were in the little country town, where
the boys first saw them, they were planning the robbery, and the
mention of Harmolet so startled them that they betrayed a nervousness
that drew the attention of our friends to them.
The boys had found nearly all the gold, for what was missing had been
spent by the thieves. The evil doers were sent to prison for long terms.
Of course our heroes received the ten thousand dollars reward, and the
thanks of the bank officials. The prize money was divided among them,
Professor Snodgrass getting his share. Nor did the boys forget the
friendly policeman, Mr. Thompson, but for whose aid they might not have
gotten on the trail of the thieves.
Professor Snodgrass returned to the museum, the proud possessor of the
flying frog, as well as many other specimens gathered on the trip.
As for the boys, they had several more trips in the _Comet_ and then
prepared to return to school in the fall. Anxiously then, they awaited
the next summer, when they planned to do great things.
And now, for the time being we will say good-bye to the motor boys,
trusting to meet them soon again.
THE END
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Transcriber’s Notes:
--Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_); text in
bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).
--Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected, except
as noted below.
--Archaic and variable spelling is preserved.
--Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
--Inconsistencies in formatting and punctuation of individual
advertisements have been retained.
--Table of Contents printer error in chapter title (Chapter XXX) has
been corrected to match the text.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Motor Boys on the Wing, by Clarence Young