“I told you we were from the stars!” the interpreter said in the Gypsy tongue. “And doubtless you saw not only stars but suns, moons, and comets!”
Then the machine moved onward, now traveling on land, of course, not so fast as in the air.
“But we’ll get to some quiet place where we can lay to and mend that leaky radiator,” declared Tom.
Presently they reached a broad, level plain which would make an ideal starting field in the morning.
“We’ll have to work all night, if necessary, on that radiator,” Tom said. “This is our second delay. We can’t afford many more.”
The Gypsies seemed to have been left behind as night settled down. The travelers were in a lonely stretch of country. For this, however, they were glad. While Tom and Ned got the supper, the three mechanics worked on the punctured radiator. Presently, in one of the water coils, a bullet was found, undoubtedly fired by the Turkish party.
Mending the leak was not as easy as had been hoped and it was well on toward morning before the Air Monarch was again ready to justify her name. It was found to be impossible to travel along on land while repairs were being made, owing to their delicacy. On other occasions this might not be the case.
“Get a little rest, men, and we’ll hop off early in the morning,” Tom said, and while he and Ned stood watch, the other three got some much needed sleep.
The sun was just tinting the east when the signal for getting under way was once more given, but just as the craft was starting to taxi over the plain, to get momentum to mount toward the sky, there came rushing toward the travelers those same Yellow Gypsies again, only five times as many.
“They’re after us this time for sure!” yelled Peltok, who caught some of the threatening yells. “They are going to be revenged on us for what we did last night.”