One by one the boys drifted into slumberland. It must have been nearly midnight when Hiram and Elmer awakened to find Dave shaking them vigorously.
“Get up, fellows,” directed the young airman. “Something’s going on that we have got to investigate.”
CHAPTER XXIII
THE BLAZING BEACON
“What’s the trouble now, Dave?” speedily inquired Hiram, getting to his feet and Elmer after him.
“No trouble at all, I fancy,” was the reply; “quite the contrary, in fact. Look there.”
The young pilot of the Comet pointed across country towards the beach. Where a hill ran up to a sharp promontory jutting out over the ocean, a bright light showed.
“Why,” cried Hiram, “it’s a blazing heap of some kind. Looks as if it was up off the ground.”
“Yes, and it doesn’t burn like wood or oil. Notice the smoke and the way the flames leap up in the air? What do you suppose it is, Dave?” inquired Elmer.
“I can’t imagine, unless it is some beacon,” replied the young aviator.