that I just simply shivered on the seat inside the cabin. After a
long, long time I felt the machine go into a giddy dive, and my heart
went into my mouth. I could bear the suspense no longer. I went to the
window and looked out. The sea seemed to be coming right up to us. It
looked as though we were falling into it.
“‘After a while the airplane straightened out, just when it seemed
as though we were about to plunge into the sea. The other airplanes
were coming after us, firing their guns all the time. It was really
horrible, and I was in perfect terror. A little later there was a dull
heavy sound when one of the shells struck our airplane and made it
shake violently. As I looked horror-stricken through the window our
machine went right into the sea.
“‘At that moment I experienced the most terrible feeling I ever knew. A
hundred thoughts passed through my mind so quickly I couldn’t realize
what they were all about. Suddenly something told me I was about to
die. The thought chilled me with horror, and I fell off the seat in a
dead swoon.
“‘How long I was unconscious I don’t know, but when I opened my eyes
again the horror of it all passed through my mind very rapidly. I
looked around with fear. I couldn’t see a thing. It was inky black all
around me. I lifted my hand in front of my eyes but couldn’t see it.
Then I felt around me to find where I was. Suddenly a terrible thought
passed through my mind and I cried aloud in absolute terror:
“‘Good heavens! I’m blind! where am I?’
“‘A terrible harsh voice near me replied:
“‘‘Don’t make a noise, you’re alright. You’re not blind. Keep still,
and you’ll be alright in a few minutes.’
“‘Where am I? Where am I?’ I cried.
“‘‘Shut up, will you!’ was all the answer I got.
“‘The time that I lay petrified with fear seemed like ages. I didn’t
know what was the matter, and the man who spoke to me had such a rough
voice that I didn’t dare speak again. I was afraid to move or try to
get up from where I was lying, although it was very painful on the hard
floor, because I didn’t know but what I might fall down in the darkness.
“‘After a long, long time, a faint greenish light began to come,
wherefrom I couldn’t tell. It increased very quickly, and I looked
around to find that I was still in the cabin of Levanter’s airplane.
I couldn’t understand it at all. In a very short time everything was
quite normal again, with as much light as we ever had there.
“‘Joe Levanter was sitting at the controls, and the other men were at
their stations. They didn’t look at all concerned. I got up slowly. I
was aching terribly from the fall and the hard floor. How long I had
been lying there I don’t know, and Levanter never told me.
“‘I walked over painfully to the window and looked out. The airplane
was on the surface of the sea, but I couldn’t see its wings. There
wasn’t another vessel or airplane in sight. While I was looking
Levanter said to one of the men:
“‘‘Go outside and see where the shot hit us, also how much damage it
has done. I think it must have hit one of the wings.’
“‘The man opened the cabin door and went out. He was gone quite a
while. When he came back he said:
“‘‘It hit us on the starboard wing and it has buckled one of the
plates. You’d better open up the wings and see whether they are
alright.’
“‘Levanter pulled a lever, and I saw the wings shoot out from the sides
of the airplane, then I heard a loud snapping sound, and they became
rigid.
“‘The man who made the examination went outside again and walked over
the right wing. He got down on his knees near the end of the wing and
examined it very carefully. From the window I could see a big dent
where he was stooping down. That must have been where the shell struck
the wing. After a while the man returned inside the cabin and said to
Levanter:
“‘‘It has made a very nasty dent in the plates but it hasn’t done any
material damage. The wing is not seriously injured, and I think it will
hold up alright!’ There was some more conversation, and in a little
while Levanter opened up the engine and took off. After three hours
flying we were back at the island again.’”
Redmond paused a moment and looked around, then he added:
“That was about the gist of the story she told me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Arthur Ingleton with the marks of his recent suffering deeply engraven
on his face, sat motionless while Howard Redmond related the thrilling
experience of his daughter during the historic battle in the Pacific
skies. It was the first concrete information concerning her that he had
received since she was taken from the lifeboat of the Wilbur Wright by
the aerial pirate. As soon as Redmond finished the dramatic narrative
Ingleton plied him with innumerable questions regarding his daughter’s
welfare and the conditions generally upon the island. Then after a
considerable discussion along these lines he asked in anxious tones:
“If we attack Levanter at his base, how can my daughter be protected.”
“Well, I’ve thought of that very carefully,” replied Redmond, “in fact
the question has been in my mind ever since I first got on the island.
It seems to me that the best way she can be protected now is for me to
return to the island and get into communication with her. When I left
I promised her that I would do my best to come back, if I got here
safely, and let her know what was going to be done. I can get back
there easily enough, I think. I have thoroughly explored the island,
and know every portion of it. My plan is that one of the cruisers take
me back to the island. The captain of the cruiser can arrange to arrive
off the island about midnight without any lights burning. He can steam
to within a mile of the southern coast, where there is a little cove,
without any danger from the submerged mines which do not extend so far
out on that side of the island. Then a boat crew can row me over to
the landing place on the shores of the cove. We can tow a smaller boat
behind us, which can be hidden on the beach, so that if it is possible
Miss Ingleton and I can use it to escape from the island.
“When I get back to the island I propose to go to the cave on
the southeastern section where I lived before. Then at the first
opportunity I shall go over to our meeting place on the rock and tell
your daughter of any plans we may devise for her rescue. What we have
got to do now is to agree upon some plan of attack.”
“Are you absolutely sure that Levanter does not know that you were on
the island?” asked Ingleton, “it seems strange to me that he should
not have taken more active steps to ascertain what became of his man
Harrison.”
“Well, he did,” replied Redmond, “but I didn’t tell you about it
because I wanted to let you know the more important details first. As a
matter of fact after my first conversation with your daughter he did
make a very complete search of the island.
“In this search he was assisted by the men with him. Fortunately for
me, I got word of his intentions from Miss Ingleton in advance. I
cleaned up my place about the cave, so that there was no evidence of
my presence there. Then I picked out one of the thickest trees I could
find. I climbed up into it and stayed there until they had passed
through my little grove. It was a very trying ordeal, but it was the
only way that safety lay for me. Believe me I stayed there for a
considerable time after they had departed. I wasn’t taking any chances.
“I learned afterwards from Miss Ingleton that they made a complete
and exhaustive search of every part of the island. Levanter seemed
to be very worried that Harrison might have escaped from the island
and informed the government authorities where his base was. He freely
confessed his fears to your daughter. That was why he made such a
complete search.
“There is quite a stretch of sandy beach on the western side of the
island, and during the day after her arrival Miss Ingleton learned that
Harrison was in the habit of going there to take a swim. She found this
out from Levanter while he was discussing the absence of Harrison with
his men. At that time they casually remarked that he had probably gone
there and would soon be back again.
“She told me about it when I met her the next day, and consequently I
went right over to that side of the island and took Harrison’s flying
suit that I had worn on the airplane, with me. As soon as I found the
beach I threw the flying suit down carelessly and left it there. I
figured that if they made a search of the island they would find it
there and might possibly draw the conclusion that Harrison had gone
there and had been drowned while swimming. It was the best chance to
explain his disappearance that came up, and it practically eliminated
the possibility of Levanter surmising that there was a stranger on the
island.
“It was a good thing that I did this because that is exactly what
happened. They were so afraid that Harrison would betray them that
they made a complete search of the interior of the island before they
went to the beach. When they were unable to locate him anywhere in the
center of the island they gradually worked their way toward the western
beach.
“There they found the flying clothes which they carried back with them
to the station. Afterwards, in discussing the situation, Miss Ingleton
heard Levanter advance the opinion that Harrison had been drowned. At
the time of their search, however, they did not take any chance on that
belief, because as soon as they had scoured the island Levanter ordered
the airplane out, and he and his crew took the air to search the waters
near the island, on the possible chance that Harrison might be escaping
in a boat of some kind. They thought it strange that he had not left
his other clothes about the beach.
“Because of the fact that he had been missing for three days by that
time they made a search for a considerable distance about the ocean in
every direction from the island, to make sure that he was not in a boat.
“I was convinced that I would be safe so long as I was not seen
anywhere on the island, and throughout the time I was there I was
very careful about my movements. I did not relax my vigilance at any
moment and was very careful to cover up every move that I made. Even
when Levanter was away on his flights I was very careful because the
Kanakas were still on the island, and I did not want them to see me.
Consequently the work I had to do on the lifeboat of the schooner Hilo
was accomplished under the greatest difficulty because I had to keep
one eye open for Kanakas all the time I was working.
“I think we can safely dismiss the problem of Harrison, as I am sure
that Levanter and his men are convinced he was drowned. In fact I
believe they have forgotten all about him by this time. I am equally
sure that Levanter is completely ignorant that I was on the island, so
we have the advantage over him in that respect. It only remains then in
my opinion to devise a plan to attack upon.”
“Have you got any suggestions to make that would help us to attack
him?” asked Commodore Heathcote.
“Well I haven’t thought much about it,” replied Redmond. “I’ve told you
practically all the main facts. I am not very well acquainted with the
military situation, but it seems to me that you would not stand much
chance against his machine with your present equipment, and personally
I don’t think the naval vessels would be of any help, if you are
considering to use them. But, of course, my opinion isn’t worth very
much, I’ll admit.”
“We might use naval craft to blockade the island and make it untenable
by a continuous fusilade of fire from all sides,” suggested Captain
Smith.
“The blockade itself wouldn’t interfere with his flying operations,”
interposed Commodore Heathcote, “and he could bomb the naval vessels.
There is no doubt the shelling would annoy him, but outside of a direct
hit on the supply plants, it wouldn’t be of any material value and it
might endanger Miss Ingleton.”
“That’s true,” replied Captain Smith, “but I believe it would worry him
to such an extent that he would not be able to carry out his raids on
commercial airships. He would either have to fight us at the island or
else move on to a new base. Have you any other plan in mind?”
“Well, yes, a tentative one,” said Heathcote. “On second thought I
think the naval cordon around the island would be a good idea under
these circumstances. We have now an excellent description of Levanter’s
airplane and in fact practically all the details concerning it. I
suggest cabling them to Washington and have the experts in the
construction bureaus of the different departments there devise some
weapon that we could use to fight his machine. As soon as we get this
from them we can establish the blockade around the island and attack
him with the new weapon. For instance, what I have in mind is this:
If he uses liquid gas for his explosives, there must be some chemical
weapon that would counteract the effect of such explosive and which we
could use successfully against him.”
“Why not place the blockade around the island anyway?” argued Captain
Smith.
“Well, the thought I had in mind was that such a blockade would tip
Levanter off that we knew the location of his base, and we are not
actually ready to attack him. Of course, if we did establish the
blockade he would realize we knew where he was located,” answered
Heathcote. “It seems to me that we can go ahead and make all possible
arrangements to meet and check his attacks on the commercial lines
until we are ready to fight him, and then go after him properly
organized and completely equipped.”
“Alright, I understand your point of view,” said Captain Smith, “but
nevertheless I am still convinced that the blockade would be extremely
useful. Even if we did not attempt to shell the island, our very
presence would worry him and limit the extent of his raids. Moreover
if he should leave the island we would know it immediately and could
wireless the fact, so that our aerial patrols could be on the lookout
for him and be ready to protect the commercial ships.
“In addition to this I think that Redmond’s plans to return to the
island could be more easily carried out with the assistance of the
blockade, and the chances of his getting Miss Ingleton off the island
would be a hundredfold better with the navy boats there than otherwise.
“We could arrange a system of signals with Redmond, so that he could
keep us informed of what was going on as soon as he learned anything
through Miss Ingleton. The blockade would not interfere in any way with
your plans to devise more efficient weapons to attack him with. It
would assist in keeping Levanter on the island.
“You must not forget that if when we throw the blockade around the
island, he should decide to go to another island and establish a new
base, it would be impossible for him to take his manufacturing and
repair plants with him, unless he made a number of very long flights to
and from the new island. If he did this, we could learn of it through
Redmond and also possibly learn of his new destination, and then we
could take steps to attack him there before he had a chance to fortify
himself.
“Personally, however, I think he will stay where he is until the very
last minute. He will not take any chance of moving to a new place where
we might get him more easily, at least that is my opinion. Such a
move would be too hazardous and too difficult to accomplish. He might
fly away and abandon his machine at some unknown place, if pressed too
closely at Patrocinio.
“Taking all these things into consideration, I am absolutely of the
opinion that the best move we can make is to establish an immediate
blockade around the island. We can take every possible measure of
defense to protect the naval vessels from bombing attacks, which I
don’t think will be very numerous, judging from Redmond’s description
of the difficulty he has in obtaining metal suitable for the
manufacture of the bombs. I am willing, however, to put the matter up
to the authorities in Washington and let them decide, although I am
equally willing to assume the responsibility for ordering the move.
In any case I think it will be a good thing to advise Washington
completely of the situation.”
At this moment Ingleton, who had been listening attentively to the
discussion, broke in:
“Whatever you decide, there is one thing I want to say. It is this: I
cannot stand idly by while my daughter is in danger. I am going to the
island with Redmond when he goes.”
“But Mr. Ingleton,” objected Redmond, “I think that would seriously
handicap our chances. You don’t know the island or the conditions
there.”
“I’ve made up my mind!” stated Ingleton firmly.
“I appreciate your anxiety and your feelings,” replied Redmond, “and I
hope you will excuse me for speaking frankly, because it is a question
of life and death for your daughter. You must pardon me, Sir, but you
are not as active as you used to be, and this is a situation that needs
vigorous action for success. In addition the chances of recovering your
daughter will be greatly lessened if we are discovered, and the more of
us are on the island the greater the danger of our being discovered.”
“I’ve made up my mind and nothing will change it,” declared Ingleton
with emphasis.
“Very well, Sir, if such is the case I must accede to your wishes,”
said Redmond. “I only hope that our mission will be successful.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
For two long, weary weeks Mary Ingleton watched upon her island prison,
with a patience born of hope, for the news that would tell her of the
safe arrival of Howard Redmond at Honolulu. Day after day she sat in
the improvised wireless room with the receivers fastened to her ears,
vainly listening for the code word they had agreed upon before his
departure--the code which meant ultimate freedom for her and the longed
for return to her parents.
Her watch for this signal, though weary and lonesome, was actuated by
her keen desire to get back to her mother who was deeply distressed
when Levanter took her off the airship. She knew that her mother would
be worrying over her safety and that worry would materially affect her
mother’s health. This thought greatly depressed Mary and added to her
anxiousness to get away from the island.
Mary had little thought that a long captivity awaited her when she
agreed to leave the airship Wilbur Wright at the pirate’s behest; and
of course, she did not know then that the pirate was Joe Levanter, the
man she had refused to marry in Washington. Many times since then,
however, she had pondered over the momentous occasion and regretted
the actions she had not taken at that time. At the critical moment when
she was ordered out of the lifeboat by Levanter it seemed as though she
had done the best thing possible under the circumstances for everybody
on the airship. She did not then know what motive actuated the pirate
in ordering her to go aboard his airplane, and still less did she dream
that her compliance would mean separation from her family, and virtual
imprisonment upon an isolated island for many months.
Had she known these facts, she mused, she would have insisted that
her mother be permitted to accompany her, and she felt that Levanter
would finally have given in to her demands. Many times had she berated
herself for not having done this. Now, as she waited for the agreed
signal, all these thoughts came back to her mind with greater force to
add to her dejection.
Now that Redmond had gone, there came upon her for the first time
a true realization of the seriousness of her situation upon the
island and of its possibilities. While Redmond had been on the island
the thought of personal danger had never occurred to her. She had
automatically become accustomed to looking upon him as a protector in
case of need. Moreover the attitude of Levanter toward her had been
irreproachable. In a vague way she had occasionally been disturbed by
fears as to what her captor might do, but as yet nothing had occurred
that would indicate what his intentions were. She was his prisoner,
but he had been a most irreprovable jailer both in word and in deed.
This situation in particular had been responsible for the fact that the
thought of personal danger never occurred to her at any time during her
reflections upon her imprisonment.
For the first time in her life Mary felt that something was lacking in
herself. For the first time her dominant spirit of independence left
her. For the first time she experienced the feeling of helplessness.
These new and strange misgivings came upon her as soon as Redmond had
started out so bravely upon his mission. Within her heart there grew
a feeling such as she had never known before; a feeling she could not
define, but yet one which left her ill-content and perplexed.
It was a feeling strangely bound up with Redmond, and when in the grip
of it she frequently surprised herself conjecturing upon his fate. Each
time her mind reverted to Redmond her imagination painted a picture of
him in the open boat, upon the waters of the Pacific; a picture that
seemed to affect her mood and bring fears for his safety. Each day this
picture was re-drawn in colors more vivid and theme more ardent and
hopeless. Thus did she live in each day an eternity of alternate hope
and despair. Added to this was the constant fear that Levanter would
make the discovery that the Hilo’s lifeboat was missing and guess that
a stranger had been on his island base.
Then with that malice which the Fates seem to delight in visiting upon
human beings in distress the cloud of uncertainty that hung over Mary
was lifted only to bring her face to face with despair. Early in the
second week after Redmond’s departure Levanter came to her and for the
first time spoke about her presence on the island. There was something
in his manner and his attitude that sent a thrill of apprehension
through her.
“Mary,” he said. “For what reason do you suppose have I brought you
here?”
She looked at him in blank amazement. The suddenness and unexpectedness
of his question took her completely unawares, and she was unable to
reply. He watched her intently for several seconds, then without
heeding her silence went on:
“Shortly after you turned me down in Washington I made up my mind
that you would marry either me or no one. You little thought at that
time that you would ever be in this position, but I knew then what I
could do, and I was certain that sooner or later I would get you. Of
course, I did not know that you would make a trip on one of the Pacific
airships, in fact I had no idea of such a voyage, but that did not
make any difference, because I would have succeeded in getting you
eventually. Your trip on the Wilbur Wright only hastened matters.”
“Oh! I would never believe that you could stoop to that!” exclaimed
Mary passionately.
“Well of course, you may regard this as a stooping down affair. But I
rather think that I have risen to the height of a daring opportunity,”
replied Levanter.
“What do you intend to do with me?” demanded Mary, her anger overcoming
her fear.
“I am going to marry you!” he replied.
“Never! I will never marry you! Never!! I would sooner die,” declared
Mary with emphasis.
“Don’t be in such a hurry to die. Your life means infinitely more to
me than your heroic death might possibly mean to you,” said Levanter.
“Take your time and think it over. Do you really think you can oppose
my power?”
“I don’t know what you can do, and I don’t care,” exclaimed Mary,
stamping her foot in emphasis. “I will never marry you, never!”
“Well, never is a long, long time and may never come,” he replied, with
a sardonic smile. “You are a little obstinate just now, but you’ll soon
see the light.”
“You are just a brute, and I hate you!” The last remark of Mary wrought
a sudden change in Levanter.
From the forceful, dominating man who had successfully pitted himself
against the rest of the world, outlawed himself and resisted all
efforts to subdue him, he changed to the pleading attitude of a suitor.
“Now, Mary, don’t be cruel. I can’t bear to think that I am hateful
to you. I love you and you must be mine! Nothing in the world, not
even this power that I have and the riches it brings me, can make me
forget my passion for you. I would be willing to give it all up on the
condition!”
“I wouldn’t have anything to do with you under any conditions,”
interrupted Mary. “You have got me here in your power, but you can’t
make me do anything willingly. To me you will always be repulsive,
because I think you are a coward at heart.”