“Why, I don’t exactly know,” the boy replied. “Ned sent me on ahead to look out for the aeroplane. He said he wanted to remain in the cavern and investigate. I was making slow progress up the hill when Ned and Jimmie came running after me. I had noticed long before that the sky looked like fires were burning somewhere.”
“I should say so,” Pat cut in. “The clouds looked like they had been soaked in red paint.”
“When Ned came up to me, running like a racehorse,” Frank went on, “he said he was going to take the aeroplane out, wind or no wind. I didn’t have much chance to talk with him, but I understood that he was going to do just what Pat has suggested—run before the wind and swing back whenever he could.”
“I presume Jimmie is good and scared by this time!” Jack commented.
“When we got to the machine,” Frank went on, “we found two men there with some sort of torches in their hands, trying to set the machine on fire. We caught them unawares and left them lying there. I hope they didn’t get burned to death.”
There was a short cessation of speech while the boys listened to the roaring of the flames and watched the fire mounting into the sky. It was a wild scene—one calculated to bring terror to the breast of any human being. The wind was dying down a little, but the clouds were still driving fast before it, their edges tinged with flame so that they resembled golden masses floating across an eternity of space clothed in smoke.
While the boys watched the great display Frank pointed to a wall of flame rounding the corner of the plateau.
“The fire will burn this slope,” he said, “and we’ve either got to get into the cave or out on the lake. Which shall It be?”
“The cave for mine!” Jack cried.
“And mine,” echoed Pat. “Who knows what the fire will do to the lake?”