Washington was needed to aid the two scientific men, who quickly
prepared to substitute new plates for the smashed ones. The
broken plates looked as if they had been struck with a sledge
hammer.
Once the adventurers got used to the different motion of the
projectile, which was now falling in some unknown direction of
its own weight and not forced onward by the power of the motor,
they did not notice anything strange.
"Let's begin at the pilot house and work back," proposed Andy.
"If that crazy machinist did the damage, it would be natural for
him to want to get as far away as he could from the engine-room.
That place would be the pilot house."
So they searched there, but there was no sign of any one.
Indeed, it would have been a pretty small person who could have
concealed himself in the prow of the projectile, occupied as it
was with all sorts of mechanism.
"Well, he isn't here, that's certain," declared Andy, who had
brought his gun along. "Now for the bunk-room."
There they had no better luck. They peered under the berths,
above them, and even turned back the sheets and blankets to look
for the intruder.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139