CHAPTER XXV

CONCLUSION

The airship boys at once saw that their fellow aviator was in trouble. Our hero made a direct descent. The _Comet_ came to a standstill beside the other machine. Its pilot leaped out and approached the group.

Dave at once recognized number seven, and the young man, Pierce, who ran it. He hailed him in a friendly fashion. Then he turned to the four farmers. A frowsy, obstinate-looking old fellow with a pitchfork was evidently the father of the three stalwart youths armed with shotguns. First he regarded the newcomers with surprise, and then suspiciously and with dislike.

“Why, what is the trouble here?” inquired the young airman.

“That’s the trouble,” growled the old man, pointing to a row of upset bee hives and a break in the field fence beyond. “Do you see that horse over there making for the woods? Well, that’s old Snorter, my primest animal. This here young fellow comes down in his b’loon and scares the hoss nigh into fits.”

“Ran out of gasoline and a bolt out of gear,” explained the pilot of number seven.

“You have no right dropping into my yard!” shouted the farmer, wrathfully. “It’s trespassing.”

“That’s right,” drawled the biggest of his sons. “I’m a deputy of the sheriff in this county. You have violated the law. I shall have to take you to Millville to court to answer in an action of wilful trespass.”

“Yes, and I shall insist that you be held in a civil suit for damages,” declared another of the sons.

Young Pierce cast a hopeless look at his machine and anxiously at Dave. The latter took in the situation at a glance.

“See here, mister,” he said to the old farmer; “we are desperately sorry that this has happened.”

“Yah!” sneered the shrewd old schemer—“money talks.”

“How much?” demanded our hero, without hesitation.

“Well, them bees is a special brood. The hives and the fence ain’t much, but there’s old Snorter. He may wander away and get lost; he may fall into some of those lime pits beyond the timber and get hurt. Then again, he’s so frightened he’ll probably run away at the least scare after this. One hundred dollars, I told this young man here.”

“But I haven’t got it,” cried Pierce. “I offered to give you an order on Washington, and you won’t take it.”

“Not I,” retorted the hard-fisted old fellow. “Cash down on the nail head.”

“I ran short at Savannah,” explained Pierce to Dave. “I fancied I could get through with the twenty dollars I had left, being so near home.”

Dave took out his pocket book. The old farmer’s eyes glistened as our hero handed him five crisp twenty-dollar banknotes.

“Now then, Pierce,” spoke the young airman, “that’s settled. What’s the trouble with your machine?”

It did not take the expert Dave long to find out. Within half an hour he had the faulty gear sound as ever. The _Comet_ had a full supply of gasoline. A transfer of some of it was made to the tanks aboard number seven.

The farmer and his sons, fully satisfied now, stood watching operations. Hiram and Elmer hustled about, giving their leader and his fellow aviator all the help they could.

“Everything is in trim,” announced our hero, finally. “Good-bye and good luck.”

Pierce held the hand so generously extended by Dave in a tremulous grasp. Tears of gratitude and esteem had rushed to his eyes.

“Dashaway,” he said, in a choked, broken voice; “you’re a man, every inch of you!”

Number seven went aloft. Dave called “all aboard!” Hiram pulled his face at the mean-spirited old trickster who had bled them. Elmer shook his fist at the farmer crowd.

“That’s you!” exclaimed Hiram. “Just fitted Pierce out to beat us, and delayed us, besides.”

“Wasn’t it the best kind of fair play?” challenged Dave.

“So good,” declared Elmer; “that I’d almost rather come in second with the big heart you’ve got, than think I’d left a fellow airman in the lurch.”

“Well, it’s a free for all now, I hope,” spoke the anxious Hiram. “When a fellow is so near the winning post as we are, it makes him selfish, I guess. Yes, you did just right, Dave Dashaway; only, if you see some stray tramp limping along, don’t stop to give him a lift.”

Within an hour the advance pilot of the race, number seven, was nowhere in view. Our hero had made a study of this one close rival in the field as well as repair the machine. He had found out where it was weak and the _Comet_ strong. Barring accident, the young pilot of the _Comet_ felt sanguine that his machine would reach the winning post first.

The airship boys did some splendid running. They made no stops except for fuel and water. They ate and slept on the wing. Hiram counted the moments and Elmer the miles. At midnight, thirty hours later, they were within two hundred miles of Washington.

It was a momentous climax in their earnest young lives. They had circled the globe. They had overcome every obstacle in their path. They had won, the proud pilot of the _Comet_ and his eager assistants hoped and believed.

With a cheer, husky with emotions, seeming to swell up in his heart like a fountain of joy, Hiram Dobbs arose in the machine as it settled down almost at the very spot whence it had started—“oh, almost years before!” Elmer declared.

Dave Dashaway stepped from the machine. The cares, the hardship, the worry, the doubt of long arduous weeks seemed to fall from him like a garment. He gave one vast sigh of relief and satisfaction. Every eye was at once directed towards the club house. Some field men came running from the distant hangars.

“Say,” spoke Hiram, with a queer anxious jerk in his voice—“the bulletin board!”

His heart sank as he ran towards it. Elmer followed close on his trail. There were notations opposite the various numbers. Had someone preceded them—had someone won the race?

And then, after a single glance, Hiram threw his cap up in the air, his face beaming, and Elmer grasped his hand, delirious with excitement. Dave, coming up, found them dancing about as if half mad with joy.

For the lines on the bulletin board bore only such notations as these: “Number ten—abandoned at Winnipeg.” “Number six—wrecked at Cape Nome.” “Number five—abandoned,” and others “out of commission.”

There were blanks after number seven and number two. As the airship boys stood there, a man came quickly out upon the veranda which held the bulletin board. He cast an excited glance at the travel-worn _Comet_. He waved his hand gaily at the three young champions. Then with a piece of chalk he wrote on the third blank line:

“_Number three, Comet; pilot, Dashaway—first._”

A date, an hour, a minute, even down to odd seconds followed. The world knew that the airship boys had won the great international prize!

There were so many pleasant and rapidly occurring events transpiring close on the heels of the great race around the world, that for over two weeks our hero and his loyal comrades had a busy, interesting time of it.

Twelve hours after the arrival of the _Comet_, number seven came into the goal. She was a bird with a broken wing. A patched-up plane told of a last dash under decided disadvantages.

“Don’t you crow over me, Mr. Dave Dashaway,” said the energetic young Pierce, playfully. “I win second prize, all alone by myself. You three have to divide yours. But, better than the international trophy, is the big thing you did for me, and people are going to know about it, too,” declared Pierce, and he kept his word.

Mr. Brackett was very proud of the son who had “made good” in an exploit calling for more than ordinary ability and grit. To our hero he insisted all the credit was due, and the young airman realized that he had made strong, lifetime friends.

It seemed to the airship boys the very happiest moment of their lives, the day a dainty little miss drove up to the _Comet_ hangar, and Miss Edna Deane, with tears of joy and gratitude, and her lovely face fairly glowing, told them what heroes they were.

“My brother is resting with a relative in England,” she narrated. “Father has gone to bring him home. If you are a thousand miles away from Washington when they return, you must promise, all three of you, to come to the family reunion, of which you are surely members, as friends and brothers. Father and brother will have something interesting to say to you. We are very, very grateful—and, oh, so proud of you!”

“It’s worth something to find a little sister like that,” cried Hiram, as their visitor left them, all sunny smiles and happiness.

“‘Something interesting’ means a right royal reward, of course,” spoke Elmer. “Why, fellows, if we keep on, we’ll soon have the capital to start an aero meet all our own!”

It was just a week after that, early one morning, that the airship boys, seated in the aero association club room, were hailed joyously by an unexpected visitor.

“Why, Mr. Hull!” exclaimed Dave, greeting the newcomer warmly.

The shipwrecked mariner looked like a new man. He wore a spick and span suit, and was cleanly shaven. He seemed well fed and happy.

“Missed you at Rio,” he announced; “but knew you’d do the square thing. Met a chum who financed me, and came on to get my keg.”

“Which is safe and sound in the storage room here,” announced our hero.

“Well, all we’ve got to do is to get it hauled down to a chemical works in Washington to get our money—half of it is yours,” observed the old salt.

“Say, Mr. Hull,” broke in the irrepressible Hiram; “what in the world is in that keg, anyway?”

“Can’t you guess?” asked the old salt.

“We haven’t the least idea, unless it’s grease.”

“Grease! Ha! ha!” laughed the sailor. “Not much, my lad. Give another guess.”

“I don’t see what could be worth such a sum of money as you claim,” returned Hiram, his face showing how puzzled he was.

“You haven’t opened the keg?”

“No,” answered Dave, promptly.

“It ain’t leaked none either?”

“Not enough to count.”

“I am glad o’ that, lads. I wouldn’t want that stuff to git away from me, after all the trouble I had gittin’ it, an’ all the trouble you had carryin’ it so far.”

“But we are wildly excited to know what it is!” cried Hiram. “Please don’t keep us waiting any longer.”

“Hiram has made all sorts of wild guesses,” laughed Dave. “First he thought you had gold dust—but gold dust isn’t greasy.”

“No, it ain’t gold dust.”

“Then what?” pleaded Hiram. “Come, out with it, Mr. Hull.”

“Ambergris,” promptly replied Jabez Hull. “Found it floating on the water off that island where you met me. I suppose you know it’s worth just double pure gold an ounce, and so rare that the price never goes down.”

“Well, what next?” asked Hiram, some time later.

“I don’t know,” answered Dave. But many more adventures were in store for our hero, and what some of them were will be related in the next volume of this series, to be entitled: “Dave Dashaway, Air Champion; Or, Wizard Work in the Clouds.”

So we leave our young friends for the present, happy, honored and still ambitious. They had been leaders and heroes in the aviation field. Their efforts had been practical and not reckless. They had shown a new course around the world. They had proven a new possibility in aerial science, and fame and fortune had been the reward of Dave Dashaway and his intrepid airship boys.

THE END

THE DAVE DASHAWAY SERIES By ROY ROCKWOOD

Author of the “Speedwell Boys Series” and the “Great Marvel Series.” 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.

Never was there a more clever young aviator than Dave Dashaway. All up-to-date lads will surely wish to read about him.

---------------------------------------------------------

DAVE DASHAWAY THE YOUNG AVIATOR _or In the Clouds for Fame and Fortune_

This initial volume tells how the hero ran away from his miserly guardian, fell in with a successful airman, and became a young aviator of note.

DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS HYDROPLANE _or Daring Adventures Over the Great Lakes_

Showing how Dave continued his career as a birdman and had many adventures over the Great Lakes, and how he foiled the plans of some Canadian smugglers.

DAVE DASHAWAY AND HIS GIANT AIRSHIP _or A Marvellous Trip Across the Atlantic_

How the giant airship was constructed and how the daring young aviator and his friends made the hazardous journey through the clouds from the new world to the old, is told in a way to hold the reader spellbound.

DAVE DASHAWAY AROUND THE WORLD _or A Young Yankee Aviator Among Many Nations_

An absorbing tale of a great air flight around the world, of adventures in Alaska, Siberia and elsewhere. A true to life picture of what may be accomplished in the near future.

DAVE DASHAWAY: AIR CHAMPION _or Wizard Work in the Clouds_

Dave makes several daring trips, and then enters a contest for a big prize. An aviation tale thrilling in the extreme.

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

THE WEBSTER SERIES By FRANK V. WEBSTER

---------------------------------------------------------

Mr. WEBSTER’S style is very much like that of the boys’ favorite author, the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are thoroughly up-to-date.

Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. Stamped in various colors.

Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.

Only A Farm Boy _or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life_

The Boy From The Ranch _or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences_

The Young Treasure Hunter _or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska_

The Boy Pilot of the Lakes _Nat Morton’s Perils_

Tom The Telephone Boy _or The Mystery of a Message_

Bob The Castaway _or The Wreck of the Eagle_

The Newsboy Partners _or Who Was Dick Box?_

Two Boy Gold Miners _or Lost in the Mountains_

The Young Firemen of Lakeville _or Herbert Dare’s Pluck_

The Boys of Bellwood School _or Frank Jordan’s Triumph_

Jack the Runaway _or On the Road with a Circus_

Bob Chester’s Grit _or From Ranch to Riches_

Airship Andy _or The Luck of a Brave Boy_

High School Rivals _or Fred Markham’s Struggles_

Darry The Life Saver _or The Heroes of the Coast_

Dick The Bank Boy _or A Missing Fortune_

Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine _or Making a Record for Himself_

Harry Watson’s High School Days _or The Rivals of Rivertown_

Comrades of the Saddle _or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains_

Tom Taylor at West Point _or The Old Army Officer’s Secret_

The Boy Scouts of Lennox _or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain_

The Boys of the Wireless _or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep_

Cowboy Dave _or The Round-up at Rolling River_

Jack of the Pony Express _or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail_

The Boys of the Battleship _or For the Honor of Uncle Sam_

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES By CAPTAIN JAMES CARSON 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.

All lads who love life in the open air and a good steed, will want to peruse these books. Captain Carson knows his subject thoroughly, and his stories are as pleasing as they are healthful and instructive.

---------------------------------------------------------

THE SADDLE BOYS OF THE ROCKIES _or Lost on Thunder Mountain_

Telling how the lads started out to solve the mystery of a great noise in the mountains—how they got lost—and of the things they discovered.

THE SADDLE BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON _or The Hermit of the Cave_

A weird and wonderful story of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, told in a most absorbing manner The Saddle Boys are to the front in a manner to please all young readers.

THE SADDLE BOYS ON THE PLAINS _or After a Treasure of Gold_

In this story the scene is shifted to the great plains of the southwest and then to the Mexican border. There is a stirring struggle for gold, told as only Captain Carson can tell it.

THE SADDLE BOYS AT CIRCLE RANCH _or In at the Grand Round-up_

Here we have lively times at the ranch, and likewise the particulars of a grand round-up of cattle and encounters with wild animals and also cattle thieves. A story that breathes the very air of the plains.

THE SADDLE BOYS ON MEXICAN TRAILS _or In the Hands of the Enemy_

The scene is shifted in this volume to Mexico. The boys go on an important errand, and are caught between the lines of the Mexican soldiers. They are captured and for a while things look black for them; but all ends happily.

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

THE SPEEDWELL BOYS SERIES By ROY ROCKWOOD Author of “The Dave Dashaway Series,” “Great Marvel Series,” etc. 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.

-------

All boys who love to be on the go will welcome the Speedwell boys. They are clean cut and loyal lads.

---------------------------------------------------------

THE SPEEDWELL BOYS ON MOTOR CYCLES _or The Mystery of a Great Conflagration_

The lads were poor, but they did a rich man a great service and he presented them with their motor cycles. What a great fire led to is exceedingly well told.

THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR RACING AUTO _or A Run for the Golden Cup_

A tale of automobiling and of intense rivalry on the road. There was an endurance run and the boys entered the contest. On the run they rounded up some men who were wanted by the law.

THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR POWER LAUNCH _or To the Rescue of the Castaways_

Here is an unusual story. There was a wreck, and the lads, in their power launch, set out to the rescue. A vivid picture of a great storm adds to the interest of the tale.

THE SPEEDWELL BOYS IN A SUBMARINE _or The Lost Treasure of Rocky Cove_

An old sailor knows of a treasure lost under water because of a cliff falling into the sea. The boys get a chance to go out in a submarine and they make a hunt for the treasure.

THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR ICE RACER _or The Perils of a Great Blizzard_

The boys had an idea for a new sort of iceboat, to be run by combined wind and motor power. How they built the craft, and what fine times they had on board of it, is well related.

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

THE FRED FENTON ATHLETIC SERIES By ALLEN CHAPMAN Author of “The Tom Fairfield Series,” “The Boys of Pluck Series” and “The Darewell Chums Series.”

12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.

A line of tales embracing school athletics. Fred is a true type of the American schoolboy of to-day.

---------------------------------------------------------

FRED FENTON THE PITCHER _or The Rivals of Riverport School_

When Fred came to Riverport none of the school lads knew him, but he speedily proved his worth in the baseball box. A true picture of school baseball.

FRED FENTON IN THE LINE _or The Football Boys of Riverport School_

When Fall came in the thoughts of the boys turned to football. Fred went in the line, and again proved his worth, making a run that helped to win a great game.

FRED FENTON ON THE CREW _or The Young Oarsmen of Riverport School_

In this volume the scene is shifted to the river, and Fred and his chums show how they can handle the oars. There are many other adventures, all dear to the hearts of boys.

FRED FENTON ON THE TRACK _or The Athletes of Riverport School_

Track athletics form a subject of vast interest to many boys, and here is a tale telling of great running races, high jumping, and the like. Fred again proves himself a hero in the best sense of that term.

FRED FENTON: MARATHON RUNNER _or The Great Race at Riverport School_

Fred is taking a post-graduate course at the school when the subject of Marathon running came up. A race is arranged, and Fred shows both his friends and his enemies what he can do. An athletic story of special merit.

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

The Tom Fairfield Series By ALLEN CHAPMAN Author of the “Fred Fenton Athletic Series,” “The Boys of Pluck Series,” and “The Darewell Chums Series.” 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 40 cents, postpaid.

-------

Tom Fairfield is a typical American lad, full of life and energy, a boy who believes in doing things. To know Tom is to love him.

---------------------------------------------------------

TOM FAIRFIELD’S SCHOOLDAYS _or The Chums of Elmwood Hall_

Tells of how Tom started for school, of the mystery surrounding one of the Hail seniors, and of how the hero went to the rescue. The first book in a line that is bound to become decidedly popular.

TOM FAIRFIELD AT SEA _or The Wreck of the Silver Star_

Tom’s parents had gone to Australia and then been cast away somewhere in the Pacific. Tom set out to find them and was himself cast away. A thrilling picture of the perils of the deep.

TOM FAIRFIELD IN CAMP _or The Secret of the Old Mill_

The boys decided to go camping, and located near an old mill. A wild man resided there and he made it decidedly lively for Tom and his chums. The secret of the old mill adds to the interest of the volume.

TOM FAIRFIELD’S PLUCK AND LUCK _or Working to Clear His Name_

While Tom was back at school some of his enemies tried to get him into trouble. Something unusual occurred and Tom was suspected of a crime. How he set to work to clear his name is told in a manner to interest all young readers.

TOM FAIRFIELD’S HUNTING TRIP _or Lost in the Wilderness_

Tom was only a schoolboy, but he loved to use a shotgun or a rifle. In this volume we meet him on a hunting trip full of outdoor life and good times around the campfire.

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

THE MOTOR BOYS Second Series _(Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Of.)_ By CLARENCE YOUNG 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 60 cents, postpaid.

This, the Second Series of the now world famed Motor Boys virtually starts a new series, but retains all the favorite characters introduced in the previous books. The Motor Boys Series is the biggest and best selling series of books for boys ever published.

NED, BOB AND JERRY AT BOXWOOD HALL _or The Motor Boys as Freshmen_

Fresh from their adventures in their automobile, their motor boat and their airship, the youths are sent to college to complete their interrupted education. Some boys at the institution of learning have heard much about our heroes, and so conclude that the Motor Boys will try to run everything to suit themselves.

A plot is formed to keep our heroes entirely in the background and not let them participate in athletics and other contests. How the Motor Boys forged to the front and made warm friends of their rivals makes unusually interesting reading.

Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue

---------------------------------------------------------

CUPPLES LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK

Transcriber's Notes:

Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with _underscores_. Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals.

Punctuation has been standardized. Minor spelling and typographic errors have been corrected silently, except as noted below. Hyphenated words have been retained as they appear in the original text, except as noted below.

On page 139, "knap-sack" has been changed to "knapsack" for internal and time-period consistency.

On page 144, "long-flowing" has been changed to "long flowing".

On page 202, "areo" has been changed to "aero"

On the ad page "Tom Fairfield Series", "camp-fire" has been changed to "campfire" for internal consistency.

End of Project Gutenberg's Dave Dashaway Around the World, by Roy Rockwood