NEW USE FOR AN AIRSHIP
Indeed it did seem as if a miniature battle was in progress, but the
people fired at did not appear to be in any fear. There was only a
slight movement among them, though the boys and the professor in the
airship could plainly see a black object, which they took to be a
cannon ball, speeding across the wide, turgid, rushing river. But
the projectile fell short, and landed about twenty feet from shore,
splashing the water high.
Immediately there was a flash of flame and a puff of smoke from the
other side of the stream, and the fire was returned, another black
object speeding toward the crowd that had first discharged a cannon.
“It’s a regular battle!” cried the professor. “Don’t go any lower,
boys. They may fire on us!”
But Jerry, Ned and Bob were too interested in the curious fight going
on below them, to want to steer out of the way. The airship was slowed
up, and hovered over the queer scene.
“The second projectile fell short, too,” remarked Ned, as he saw it
splash into the water, twenty-five feet from the western shore. “Why
don’t they put in more powder if they want ’em to reach across?”
“But why are they firing at each other, anyhow?” questioned Bob, too
interested, for the time being, to think of eating. “Two towns can’t be
at war with one another.”
“We’ll soon see what it is,” said Jerry. “They are getting ready to
fire again.”
Indeed preparations could be noticed among the group of men surrounding
a small brass cannon. But, just as they were loading it several in the
crowd uttered cries of astonishment, and pointed upward. Instantly
the two throngs on either side of the river seemed to forget their
animosity toward one another, and began making excited motions to those
in the airship.
“They evidently want us to come down,” said Bob.
“Don’t you do it,” urged the professor. “They only want something else
to shoot at. They may elevate their cannon any minute and fire upon
us.”
“I don’t believe so,” was Jerry’s opinion. “There’s something queer
going on, and I want to find out what it is.”
The people continued to make motions to the boys, as if urging them to
land. They were apparently calling out something, but the height at
which the _Comet_ was precluded the voices being heard distinctly, and
Jerry, anxious as he was to learn the cause for the shooting, was not
quite ready to descend.
Finally one man on the ground improvised a megaphone out of some
newspapers, and pointing it at the airship yelled:
“Come down and help us! The bridge has washed away!”
“The bridge has washed away!” repeated Bob. “Well, what can we do? And
why should they fire at one another, unless some one in either crowd
cut the bridge loose, and started a fight?”
“The high water probably carried the bridge away,” said Jerry. “What we
can do for them I don’t see. However, we’ll go down. Don’t you think we
might venture, Professor?”
“Well,” answered the scientist slowly, “seeing that they have invited
us, they will hardly fire on us now. Besides, I might possibly find the
flying lizard there. Yes, go down, by all means.”
A few minutes later, while the crowds on either side of the stream
looked on in wonder, Jerry brought the airship to earth, on the western
shore. The craft was immediately surrounded by an excited throng.
“You’re just in time!” cried one man, the same one who had used the
megaphone. “We’ve tried everything we could--kites, swimmers, rats, and
even the cannon--but nothing seems to do any good.”
“What are you trying to do?” asked Jerry, much puzzled, as, indeed,
were his chums.
“Get a line across to the other shore, to establish communication,”
replied the man. “You see, our town and the other one were connected
by a bridge. This is Wakedell, on this side, and Eaton on the other
side of the river. Lots of our people work in factories in Eaton, but
since the bridge washed away, day before yesterday, there is no way of
getting across.”
“Haven’t you got any boats?” asked Ned.
“Yes, we had several, and when the bridge washed down stream we got
them out. But the current is so swift, and there are so many rocks in
the river that it’s dangerous. Besides, if we start a boat on this
side, and head it for Eaton, it’s likely to bring up a mile down on the
other side, in a patch of lonesome woods. Then several boats upset,
and were lost, and we barely saved the people.
“So we decided to try a new plan. We knew if we could get a strong
wire cable from shore to shore we could run boats across by means of
that, and with little danger, until we got a new bridge built, or until
the water went down. You see, there are a lot of people who live here
caught on the other side, and we have a lot of Eaton folks here, who
want to get home, but can’t, as there’s no other bridge standing on
this river now, within fifty miles; all washed away.”
“Can’t you get the cable over?” asked Jerry.
“No,” replied the man. “As I said, we’ve tried everything. We tried to
get a rope across by flying a kite, but the wind wasn’t right. Then
we tried tying a light string to a big muskrat, and threw him as far
across as we could, thinking he would swim to the other side, but the
rat swam right back here. The folks on the other side have tried to get
a line to us, but couldn’t. One man tried to swim over, but it was too
dangerous, and he had to turn back. We even tried a toy balloon, and
did manage to get a light cord over. But when we tried to pull over a
heavier one, the light cord broke.
“Then we thought of the cannon. We each had one, for Fourth of July
celebrations, and we took turns firing. We used pieces of iron for
projectiles, and tied cords to them, thinking we could shoot them
across the river.”
“You don’t use enough powder,” said Bob.
“Well, we did at first,” replied the man. “We put in heavy enough
charges, but they blew the cords off the projectiles, and we were as
badly off as before. Then we reduced the charge, but the pieces of
iron fall short every time. We were about to give up, when we saw your
airship. Then I thought of a plan.”
“What is it?” asked Jerry.
“Could you carry a rope over the river for us?” asked the man eagerly.
“If you will, we can soon haul a wire cable across, and fasten it
firmly on either shore. Then we can run a big flat-bottom boat back and
forth until the bridge is built. That’s the only way I see, so folks
from Eaton can get here, and so we can get over there. Things are in a
bad way. Husbands are separated from their wives, and the factories are
short of hands. Will you do it?”
“Of course we will!” cried Jerry heartily. “It’s a new use for an
airship, but I guess it’s a good one. Get the rope and we’ll fly
across with it in quick time.”
“I hoped you would,” spoke the man earnestly. “It was the last chance I
saw. Hurrah, folks!” he shouted. “The airship will take a rope across
for us. No need to fire the cannon any more,” and there was set up a
cheer, which was echoed from the throng on the other bank, nearly a
mile away, for the people there understood that relief measures were
under way.
“Get busy, boys,” said Jerry to his chums. “This is a new job for us,
but I guess we can do it.”