He gave his place to the Irishman, and going back to the room where the arms were kept, he quickly secured an enormous grenade, and carried it out on deck.
“If this shell lands on her deck it will blow her to pieces,” he muttered, grimly. “Now for a trial.”
Waiting until the airship was almost directly above the other vessel, Frank let the shell fly.
It plunged down through the air quickly.
Down, down, down it went at a terrific speed until it had almost reached the steamer.
But the Snake dashed ahead, the grenade missed, and it plunged harmlessly into the sea.
A cry of intense vexation escaped Frank, and he saw his enemies go flying ahead blissfully ignorant of the great danger they had escaped.
The Jove was descending rapidly under Barney’s skillful guidance, and it soon hovered within a few hundred feet of the sea when the pirates saw it.
A fierce yell escaped them, and they swung a big swivel gun around and fired up at her.
The shot crashed through the airship’s hull, and the villains rapidly loaded the gun again.