The Flying Machine Boys on Duty; Or, The Clue Above the CloudsWalton, Frank
General
The Flying Machine Boys on Duty; Or, The Clue Above the Clouds
Walton, Frank
Aeronautics -- Juvenile fiction; Mystery and detective stories
Havens made an effort to lift his hands to his head, but found that he
was unable to do so. The great red light was staring viciously into his
smarting eyes so he closed them, turned his head aside, and lay for a
moment in silent thought.
He had no idea as to where he was, or how, or how long ago he had been
transported to that villainous place. He knew that violence had been
used, for there was a trickle of moisture on his forehead which could
not be the result of heat or exertion. There was a smart there, too, and
so the moisture must be blood.
The air was thick and damp, bearing the odor of long confinement in
filthy quarters. Opening his eyes, directly, he saw that the walls were
dark, but not with paint or paper. They were stained with the mold and
unsavory accumulations of many years.
The light which shone in his face came from an electric contrivance
which seemed at that moment to be a long distance off. Finally, after
much study and many smarting examinations, he saw that it was a light
nodding and swaying on a mast, and that it shone through the dirty panes
of a window before entering the gloom where he lay.
It was plain to the millionaire, then, that, in some mysterious manner,
he had been taken from the stateroom and conveyed to one of the
disreputable resorts on the river front. He had no idea as to whether he
was looking out on the East river or the North river. All he knew was
that his hands and feet were tied; that his head ached furiously, and
that his lips and tongue were parched with thirst. In a moment he heard
a door open and then an old woman, toothless and shrunken of shoulders,
stood before him, bearing in her hand a smoking kerosene lamp.
“Well, dearie,” she said with a wicked leer in her watery old eyes.
Havens indicated by motions of his lips and tongue that he needed a
drink of water. The old woman had undoubtedly been prepared for this,
for she drew a flask of spirits from a capacious pocket in her clothing
and held it exultantly before the eyes of the captive.
Havens shook his head.
“It will give you strength,” pleaded the hag. “Strength for what you’ve
got to endure. Better take a drop or two!”
In a moment the young millionaire managed to say that he wanted water,
and the old hag, with the air of one who considered that a weak-minded
man was turning away a blessed boon, restored the bottle to her pocket
and brought water in as filthy a tin cup as Havens had ever set eyes on.
The woman eyed him curiously as she held the cup to his lips.
After draining the cup Havens found strength to ask:
“How did I come here?”
“The boys brought you,” was the reply.
“The boys?” repeated Havens. “What boys?”
“The boys always will be having their sport!” the old woman answered
indefinitely. “Very bad boys, I’m sure.”
“Why?” demanded the millionaire.
“Oh, my, oh, my!” exclaimed the old hag. “You mustn’t ask so many
questions. I’m not here to answer questions.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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