Part 18 (2/2)

Tossing the weapon aside, Koku caught up his club, and aied and, a iant

”Who is he? What did he do?” cried To servant ”What happened?”

”Hiht, but I stop him!” yelled back Koku, as he rushed on in pursuit With a leap Toht tohere Koku was racing after the intruder

CHAPTER XIV

A FALSE CLEW

Full in the glare of the powerful beaiant and theThe latter neither Tom, nor any one on the airshi+p, knew All they could see was that he was racing away at top speed, with Koku vainly swinging his club at him

”Bless ed, Tom?”

”No, Koku was too quick for him” yelled the youth, as he, too leaped over the rail and joined in the pursuit

”Stop! Stop!” called Koku to the ht But the fello better than to halt, with an angry giant so close behind hier seeave his pursuers a great advantage He dodged to one side, off the path on which he had been running, and plunged into the bushes

”Where hi to a puzzled halt

”Ned, play the light on both sides!” ordered Tom to his chum, as now on the deck of the airshi+p, near the wheels and levers that operated the big lantern ”Show hi the searchlight from side to side The powerful co carbons, and being reflected by the parabolic htly illuminated as in day time Tom detected a iant servant ”Off there to the left After hih, KokuAs theforward, he was, for a iant was about to reach him, Koku stumbled over a tree root, and fell heavily

”Never et him!” yelled Tom, but the next er to be seen in the finger of light from the lantern He had probably dipped down into so there hidden, and as of course was out of the focus of the searchlight

”Coether theythem, while Ned worked the lantern

But it was of no avail, for they did not find the stranger

”Well, we th ”We can't find hih off by this time”

”Who was he?” panted Mr Damon, as he walked beside To light on a signal fro inventor

”I don't know!” answered To? I don't quite understand”

”He wanted to put ht out of coue that he was either one of the s to aid them”

And this theory was borne out by Mr Whitford, who, on calling the next ht Koku related how he had found it uncoone out on deck for air There, half dozing, he heard a stealthy step At once he was on the alert He saw a ht the fellow had evil designs on some of those aboard the Falcon

Then, when Koku saw theat hiun went off, and the man escaped An examination of the weapon he had left behind showed that it carried a highly explosive shell, which, had it hit the lantern, would have coed the airshi+p