, 1912-06-27
CHAPTER XIV.

si1On on the opposite siue VI
the little lake from the lodge
and directly facing the en-
trance Of the latter. l could see the
dim forms Of the other aeros silent
Iy waiting in their places and no light
showing about them. The Eagle irom
her position was the only n that
might be seen from the lodge, but,
covered by the shadows of the tall
trees, the tops Of many Of which rose
above us, | was confident that we
would not be noticed as long as we
did not move.
Now we held a consultation In whis-
pers. Occasionally we caught glimpses
Of forms moving in the building. They
had taken no pains to close the shut
tiers, and we could see three men who
passed at irregular intervals before the
windows.
"If | knew which was the pirate l
would direct you to shoot him down
from here" said the secretary. "but
we might make a mistake"
Suddenly Ethan Haight. who, in his
eagerness, had ventured to leave his
gun and approach us. touched me on
the arm.
There's the Chameleon, i~ootenantr'
he said, pointing.
1t was a fact. Family visible in the
gloom. her form revealed by the light
from behind. the famous aero lay on
her cradle at the shore of the lake.
Ethan touched me again.
"Say the word, %lootenant. an l kin
send a shell into her thet1l put her
out O. commission. Then how's he
goin' to git awayr"
1t seemed a good idea. but 1 felt
bound to consult Mr.. Grantham.
at might he he best thing to do"
he said. eff you we're sure of hitting
a vital spot. But in the darkness I'm
doubtful of that"
Its a resky shot, sir" put in Ethan,
but II you'll let M try 1t I'll bet a
Connecticut cigar hat the Chame-
leon IL no fly ag'in for awhile"
But Mr.. Grantham shook his head.
"a better way" he whispered,
would be to drop silently down across
the lake and seize her where she lies"
But they would see us approach"
Suppose they do, We could get
there ahead OF them. and at a signal
the other aeros would be upon them"
After n little further whispering we
finally settled upon this plan against
my better Judgment and greatly to the
disappointment of Ethan Haight. who
went Off grumbllng. AS 1t turned out,
Ethan's idea was the best.
In dead silence | got the men all
ready for n rush the moment we
should reach the side of the Chame-
leon. and then, rising a little to clear
the shafts of light from the windows,
we began cautiously to cross the lake.
We were about halfway across and
had dropped nearer the water and 1
was congratulating myself on our
prospective success when a flash like
blue lightning came from the Chame-
leon, followed by the loud whish of
IN electric gun. which blended with a
sharp splintering report as a shell
struck the Eagle
We were upset by the shock. and
the Eagle veered from her course. her
nose shooting up in the air, while one
Of her aeroplanes dipped and swept
the water like n broken wing. In an
instant another shell came, which also
struck us. ripping up a part Of the
deck and narrowly missing her mo-
tors.
We were the surprised party and
surprised with a vengeance. Payton.
as we afterward learned. always had
a crew aboard the Chameleon, and
even when they were In their home
port" they did not altogether relax
their vigilance.
Luckily nobody aboard us was hit.
but the damage done was sufficient to
render the Eagle virtually unmanage-
able.
The noise produced an immediate eff.
feet upon the people In the lodge.
There were the sounds OF running to
and fro. doors were slammed. agonized
screams reached N ears. and in an
Incredibly brief time we saw three
men dragging two women down the
short path from the building to the
Chameleon.
"For Gods sake" cried the secretary.
do something quick! Payton is run
ming away with his prisoners"