CHAPTER XI.
IN A TIGER’S JAWS.
By the time the Pegasus dropped into the Persian Gulf the helices had stopped revolving and the lights went out.
The report Frank heard in the hold clearly indicated that some accident happened that paralyzed all the mechanism.
He rushed into the deck-house and hastened down below.
The engine of the clouds floated buoyantly, but the steamer ran away from her rapidly.
The Rover was making fifteen knots an hour, and her crew gave a yell of delight when they realized that some accident had befallen the airship.
Now they expected to run away from the aerostat, and carry Martin Murdock to San Francisco without molestation.
That would be an easy way to earn the money he offered them to protect him.
In a few minutes the steamer was far away.
Frank lit a match in the hold and soon found that the dynamo wheel had burst.