“Well, why don’t you go on, then?” demanded Jimmie.
The two boys stepped forward, walking in the shaft of light proceeding from their electrics. Once entirely clear of the passage, they kept straight ahead along the wall and turned the lights toward the center of the apartment, which seemed darker and drearier than the one recently visited.
Besides the smell of mold and a confined atmosphere there was an odor which dimly brought back to the minds of the boys previous visits to the homes of captive animals at the Central Park zoo.
“Here!” cried Jimmie directly, “there’s a door just closed behind us!”
CHAPTER XIV.
THE INDIANS HELP SOME!
When Sam Weller turned the corner of the cliff and looked out at the spot where the Ann had been left, his first impression was that the machine had been removed from the valley.
He stood for a moment in uncertainty and then, regretting sincerely that he had remained so long away, cautiously moved along, keeping as close as possible to the wall of the cliff. In a moment he saw the planes of the Ann glistening in the moonlight at least a hundred yards from the place where she had been left.
Realizing the presence of hostile interests, he walked on toward the planes, hoping to be able to get within striking distance before being discovered. There was no one in sight in the immediate vicinity of the Ann, and yet she was certainly moving slowly over the ground.
The inference the young man drew from this was that persons unfamiliar with flying machines had invaded the valley during his absence. Not being able to get the machine into the air, they were, apparently, so far as he could see, rolling it away on its rubber-tired wheels. The progress was not rapid, but was directed toward a thicket which lay at the west end of the valley.
“That means,” the young man mused, “that they’re trying to steal the machine! It is evident,” he went on, “that they are apprehensive of discovery, for they manage to keep themselves out of sight.”