THE FIRST FLIGHT
Little time was lost in securing the two men who bad been so effectively rendered helpless by Koku's ready, if rough, measures.One of them was showing signs of returning consciousness now, and Tom, not willing to inflict needless pain, even on an enemy, told one of his men, summoned by the alarm, to bring water.Soon the two men opened their eyes, and looked about them in dazed fashion.
"Did--did anything hit me?" askedone meekly.
"It must have been a thunderbolt," spoke the other dreamily."But it didn't look like a storm.""Oh, dere was a storm, all right," chuckled Eradicate, who, having left his mule, Boomerang outside, came into the shed."It was a giant storm all right."The men put their hands to their heads, and seemed to comprehend.They looked at the rope that bound their feet.Their forearms had been loosened to allow them to take a drink of water.
"What does this mean--Ransom--Kurdy?" asked Tom sternly, when the men seemed able to talk."Did you attack Koku?""It looks as though he had the best of us, whether we did or not," said the man Tom knew as Kurdy."Whew, how my head aches!""Me sorry," said Koku simply.
"Not half as sorry as we are," returned Ransom ruefully.
"What does it mean?" asked Tom sternly."There were four of you.Feldman and one other got away.""Oh, trust Feldman for getting away," sneered Kurdy."He always leaves his friends in the lurch.""Was this a conspiracy?" demanded Tom.
The two captives looked at one another, sitting bound on the floor of the shop, their backs against some boxes.
"I guess it's all up, and we might as well make a clean breast of it," admitted Kurdy.
"Perhaps it would be better," said Tom quietly."Eradicate," he went on, to the colored man, "go to the house and tell Mrs.Baggert that everything is all right and no one hurt.""No one hurt, Massa Tom? What about dem dere fellers?" and the colored man pointed to the captives.
"Well, they're not hurt much," and Tom permitted himself a little smile."I don't want my father to worry.Tell him everything is all right.""All right, Massa Tom.I'se gwine right off.I'se got t' look after mah mule, Boomerang, too.I'se gwine," and he shuffled away.
"Who else besides Feldman got away?" asked Tom, looking alternately at the prisoners.
They hesitated a moment about answering.
"We might as well give up, I tell you," spoke Kurdy to Ransom.
"All right, go ahead, we'll have to take our medicine.I might have known it would turn out this way--going in for this sort of thing.It's the first bit of crooked business I ever tried," the man said earnestly, "and it will be the last--believe me!""Who was the fourth man?" Tom repeated.
"Harrison," answered Kurdy, naming one of the most efficient of the new machinists Tom had hired during the rush.
"Harrison, who has been working on the motor?" cried the young inventor.
"Yes," said Ransom.
"I'm sorry to learn that," Tom went on in a low voice."He was an expert in his line.But what was your object, anyhow, in attacking Koku?""We didn't intend to attack him," explained Ransom, "but he came in when we were at work, and as he went for us we tried to stand him off.Then your colored man heard the racket, and--well, I guess you know the rest.""But I don't understand why you came into this shed at night," went on Tom."No one is allowed in here.You had no right, and Koku knew that.What did you want?""Look here!" exclaimed Kurdy, "I said we'd make a clean breast of it, and we will.We're only a couple of tools, and we were foolish ever to goin with those fellows; or rather, in with that Frenchman, who promised us big money if we succeeded.""Succeeded in what?" demanded the young inventor.
"In damaging your new aerial warship, or in getting certain parts of it so he could take them away with him."Tom gave a surprised whistle.
"A frenchman!" he exclaimed."Is he one of the--?""Yes, he's one of the foreign spies," interrupted Ransom."You'd find it out, anyhow, if we didn't tell you.They are after you, Tom Swift, and after your machines.They had vowed to get them by fair means or foul, for some of the European governments are desperate.""But we were only tools in their hands.So were Feldman and Harrison, but they knew more about the details.We were only helping them.""Then we must try to capture them," decided Tom."Ned, see if the chase had any results.I'll look after these chaps--Koku and I.""Oh, we give in," admitted Kurdy."We know when we've had enough," and he rubbed his head gently where the giant had banged it against that of his fellow-conspirator.
"Do you mean that you four came into this shop, at midnight, to damage the Mars?" asked Tom.
