They did not
know that the much-sought prisoners were within a few feet of them.
Ned was in the pilot house. He could see a clear field in front of him.
Suddenly Tom pulled the starting lever. There was a little clicking,
followed by silence. Was the motor going to revolve? It answered the
next moment with a whizz and a roar.
"Here we go!" cried the young inventor, as the big machine shot forward
on her flight. "Now let them stop us!"
Forward she went until Ned, knowing by the speed that she had momentum
enough, tilted the elevation rudder, and up she shot, while behind, on
the ground, wildly running to and fro, and firing their rifles, were the
two amazed guards.
CHAPTER XXI
THE RESCUE
"Have we--have we time to get a drink?" gasped Ned, when the aeroplane,
now on a level keel, had been shooting forward about three minutes.
Already it was beyond the reach of the rifles.
"Yes, but take only a little," cautioned Tom. "Oh! it doesn't seem
possible that we are free!"
He switched on a few interior lights, and by their glow the faint and
starving platinum-seekers found water and food. Their craft had,
apparently, not been touched in their absence, and the machinery ran
well.
Cautiously they ate and drank, feeling their strength come back to them,
and then they removed the traces of their terrible imprisonment, and set
about in ease and comfort, talking of what they had suffered.
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