Part 23 (2/2)

”We're falling!” cried Mr. Damon an instant later.

Mr. Sharp looked at the elevation gauge. The hand was slowly swinging around. Down, down dropped the Red Cloud. She was being roughly treated by the storm.

”I'm afraid we're wrecked!” said the balloonist in a low voice, scarcely audible above the roar of the tempest. Following the great crash had come a comparatively light bombardment from the sky artillery.

”Use the gliding rudder, Tom,” called Mr. Sharp, a moment later. ”We may fall, but we'll land as easily as possible.”

The wind, the rain, the lightning and thunder continued. Down, down sank the s.h.i.+p. Its fall was somewhat checked by the rudder Tom swung into place, and by setting the planes at a different angle. The motor had been stopped, and the propellers no longer revolved. In the confusion and darkness it was not safe to run ahead, with the danger of colliding with unseen objects on the earth.

They tried to peer from the windows, but could see nothing. A moment later, as they stared at each other with fear in their eyes, there came a shock. The s.h.i.+p trembled from end to end.

”We've landed!” cried Tom, as he yanked back on the levers. The airs.h.i.+p came to a stop.

”Now to see where we are,” said Mr. Sharp grimly, ”and how badly we are wrecked.”

Chapter 20

Tom Gets A Clue

Out of the cabin of the now stationary airs.h.i.+p hurried the three travelers; out into the pelting rain, which was lashed into their faces by the strong wind. Tom was the first to emerge.

”We're on something solid!” he cried, stamping his feet. ”A rock, I guess.”

”Gracious, I hope we're not on a rock in the midst of a river!”

exclaimed Mr. Damon. ”Bless my soul, though! The water does seem to be running around my ankles.”

”There's enough rain to make water run almost up to our necks,” called Mr. Sharp, above the noise of the storm. ”Tom, can you make out where we are?”

”Not exactly. Is the s.h.i.+p all right?”

”I can't see very well, but there appears to be a hole in the gas container. A big one, too, or we wouldn't have fallen so quickly.”

The plight of the travelers of the air was anything but enviable. They were wet through, for it needed only a few minutes exposure to the pelting storm to bring this about. They could not tell, in the midst of the darkness, where they were, and they almost feared to move for fear they might be on top of some rock or precipice, over which they might tumble if they took a false step.

”Let's get back inside the s.h.i.+p,” proposed Mr. Damon. ”It's warm and dry there, at all events. Bless my umbrella, I don't know when I've been so wet!”

”I'm not going in until I find out where we are,” declared Tom. ”Wait a minute, and I'll go in and get an electric flash lantern. That will show us,” for the lightning had ceased with the great crash that seemed to have wrecked the Red Cloud. The rain still kept up, however, and there was a distant muttering of thunder, while it was so black that had not the lights in the cabin of the airs.h.i.+p been faintly glowing they could hardly have found the craft had they moved ten feet away from it.

Tom soon returned with the portable electric lamp, operated by dry batteries. He flashed it on the surface of where they were standing, and uttered an exclamation.

”We're on a roof!” he cried.

”A roof?” repeated Mr. Damon.

”Yes; the roof of some large building, and what you thought was a river is the rain water running off it. See!”

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