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wee ee tee ey ey ee Se nee
20 ’
yas gedding ad, aber I bed it vas somet’ing fine. Ach!’
and he looked downward, “here ve go ofer der lake. I
hope dere iss some ships all along der vay, so dot’ oof
anyt’ing habbens ve can trop down ondo vone oof dem.”
“Don’t worry about our dropping into the water, Carl,”
smiled Jerrold, “for there is absolutely no danger of
that.” : :
In‘an hour the Eagle was out of sight.of land. The
sails of one or two schooners could be seen far away on
the horizon, but they were too far off to be considered
“company.”
As the Eagle plowed on and on through’ the sunny air,
with never a hitch or a sign of anything going ‘wrong,
Carl’s fears slowly subsided and he took delight in. this
novel experience of crossing a large body of water.
For a time, Matt relieved Jerrold at the motor. So
far as the young motorist could see, the Eagle handled.
as easily as the Hawk ; besides that, there were points of
superiority about her, in addition to speed, as compared
with the Brady air ship. ;
For three hours the Eagle was over the lake, and
then Ferral, with a shout, announced:
“Land ho, messmates, right under our fore foot!”
Harris examined the shore line critically. A little later,
“when they were nearer, he turned to Jerrold.
“We're a bit south of Grand Haven,” said he, “about
two miles, I should judge. I can ‘see the cottages on the
trolley line that follows the lake shore.”
Jerrold was about to shift the steering rudder so as to
point the Eagle directly for the town, when Matt inter-
posed.
“Tt strikes me,” said Matt, “that it would be better for
us to land outside the town and go in on the trolley. If
we took the Eagle over the place, the whole town would
be out to see us. That-would make it impossible for us
to take this Ochiltree by surprise, and might give Brady -
and his gang a chance to clear out.”
“That’s a level-headed suggestion,” declared Harris.
“An air ship arouses everybody’s curiosity, and if Brady
and his gang saw us, or heard about us, they’d know at ~
once that we were on their track with the Eagle. Make
a landing on the lake shore, Jerrold. That ought to be
easy, as the beach is clear of obstructions and covered
with good white sand.” ,
“Ts never hard for me to make a landing with the
Eagle,” said Jerrold. “I can come down anywhere, and’
ascend from anywhere.”
He took a look over the side.
“Right ahead looks like an excellent place,” he went on,
as he drew back. “The trees run right down to the
beach, and there are no houses near. | That means that |
our descent will be screened, and that we'll not arouse
s0 much curiosity as we would if we alighted in a more
populous place.” , |
Instructed by Carl, Ferral, and Harris, Jerrold brought
ee ee ene ment Mem ee ag, eR AR SO SS
MOTOR STORIES. — oan
‘the air ship to rest on the beach without the slightest
difficulty. :
“Now to call on this fellow Oshiltree,” said Harris
briskly, as‘he stepped out of the car: “We can’t all go,
and I’d suggest that Carl stay here with Jerrold and
watch the car while Matt; Ferral, and I call on the police
department here and see if we can find out where Ochil-
tree lives.” te . ,
Carl’s face fell. If there was going to be any trouble,
“he had hoped that he would have as big a part in it as
any of the rest of them. a oe
_. Ferral, noting Carl’s long face, clapped him on the
back,
~ Don’t go into the doldrums, my hearty,” cried Ferral.
“Tf Brady and his gang should find out that the Eagle is
here, you and Jerrold may have more trouble on your
hands than the rest of us.” fos
Carl brightened visibly. a
_ “Py shinks,” ‘said he, “I hatn’t tought oof dot.. Aber
you bed you!can drust us to dake care oof der Eagle.”
Without waiting longer, Harris led Matt and Ferral
through the timber and to the tracks of the trolley line.
They had not long to wait before a car came along,
headed toward Grand Haven, Apparently, neither the
conductor nor the motorman had seen.the descent of the .
Eagle, for they had nothing to say about the air ship.
“We're playing in great luck, right at the start-off,”’
said Harris, in a low tone. “In how many places in this
country, do you think, could an air ship come down with-
out having a curious crowd around it inside of five min-
utes? Not many, I'll bet; and yet, here we make a land-
ing in the midst of a summer resort and not so much as
a dog comes out to bark at us.” a
“A-good thing for ys, too,” returned Ferral. “If
there’s anything to be accomplished in Grand Haven, we
can do it, for all the odds are.in our favor.”
_ “Exactly,” said Harris. “That's the point,I was trying
to make.” SL
In ten minutes they reached Grand Haven, and_ in
fifteen minutes they were at police headquarters, and
Harris was having an interview with the head of the
department. Harris was not long with that official, and
when he came out he took a chair between Matt and
Ferral. 7 ee
Prospects are bright,” said he. “The chief here knows
all about Ochiltree, and says’he’s a shady character and
has a record. We’ve.got to wait for a few minutes for a
plain-clothes man who: is going with us to call on the
party.”
het Mes chief say anything about another air ship ?”
’
“ t }
wa , i .
IT was coming to that,” went on Harris. “Yes, att-
other air ship was seen crossing over the town about two
hours ago. Everybody was out to look at it, and the
chief says there were fo i
¢ four or five men in the car,”