CORNERED AT LAST. “See any lights ahead?” Half choked and blinded by the spray, Nat put the question to Nate as under reduced speed the Nomad fought her way through the storm. “Not yet, but I’m keeping a bright lookout for them.” “That’s right. We ought to sight her before long, if she hasn’t gone ashore.” Fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes passed and the stout little craft still plunged forward in the night, at times almost entirely obscured by spume and flying spray. With anxious eyes they peered through the blackness. “She can’t have gone down!” suggested Nate in his blunt way. “Oh, surely not that!” cried Nat. “There,—there,—look!” Directly ahead of them a brilliant rocket had pierced the gloom of the tempestuous night and burst in a shower of rubicund radiance high in air. “Hold the wheel, Nate, and head direct for her. I’m going to get busy with the wireless!” cried Nat, and dived below. Presently across the tossing waves a message went flashing to the Lightship. “This is the Nomad. We have seen your rocket. Will be alongside in a short time.” “Bully for you,” came back the blunt answer from old Captain Braithwaite, “we need you dern bad.” “How did you get adrift?” flashed Nat. “A schooner bumped into us and the force of the collision broke us loose.” “What became of the schooner?” Nat cut off the instruments and visited Joe with the news. Having imparted his information to the young engineer, after bidding him pay strict attention to signals from the bridge, he went on deck again. The sea was still running high, but the wind appeared to be less boisterous. Ahead of them the tossing lights of the Lightship could now be seen. He took the wheel from Nate, tackling it with renewed vigor. The thought that their wireless was to be the means of saving human lives inspired him with a sort of desperate courage. Nat felt at that moment that he could have dared anything and won out. Another rocket cut the night and spattered against the black sky like an egg chucked at a blackboard. “There she goes!” cried Nate exultingly, and Nat, taking a chance, signalled to Joe for more speed. Under her increased momentum the Nomad dived into the seas fearfully. Her occupants “Go it! Whoop la! Beats automobiling!” yelled Nate in his excitement. “Wow! what a dive!” cried Nat. “Go it, my beauty! Down we go!” Then across the water came a rousing cheer as Nat snapped the switch that turned on the Nomad’s searchlight. The circle of light showed the big Lightship tumbling about in the high seas as helplessly as a skiff. The light showed, too, something else that gave Nat a wild thrill. Leaning over the rail beside Captain Braithwaite was a familiar figure. It was that of Israel Harley! Like a flash it dawned upon Nat that it was his schooner that had collided with the Lightship and cut her adrift. The storm, by a coincidence little short of miraculous, had delivered his enemy into his hands! With it, too, had come information for the authorities. Israel Harley and his two sons, as well as two men who had formed the crew of the wrecked schooner, were on board and under guard, and would be delivered to the police as soon as the Nomad and the cumbrous craft she was towing arrived. Among all the crowd there were none so excited as a red-headed youth whom our readers will recognize as Pepper, and a lad with an impediment in his speech, who couldn’t keep still a minute. Yes, the latter was really Ding-dong Both men were arrested and Dolliver made a complete confession, admitting that Minory and he had been friends in the east many years before, and that knowledge of a crime he had committed in his youth had given Minory a power over him which he could not resist. Minory seemingly knew of Dolliver’s whereabouts and utilized his ranch as a hiding place, holding Dolliver powerless by his knowledge of his past. But that is decidedly looking into the future. Just at present we must turn seaward and behold the Nomad struggling like a pigmy ant with a huge beetle at her task of bringing the Lightship into port. The authorities had already sent for a tug to tow the guardian craft back to the shoals, so that when the two vessels dropped anchor in the harbor, the Nomad’s part was over. “‘Thanks to your wireless, the two men who annoyed you have been arrested,’” he read. “‘The criminal they warned is also under arrest. I am authorized to inform you that a reward of five hundred dollars awaits you for your clever work in their apprehension’.” It may be said here that Joe devoted the reward to the education of young Jim Dolliver, who, following the arrest of his father, was left homeless. He was taken on as an assistant at Goat Island when the Wireless Torpedo Company was formed and proved a valuable help to the boys and their elders in their work. And now, amidst the enthusiastic crowd of their fellow townsmen, let us for the present take our leave of the Motor Rangers. Their Wireless Island, at first looked upon as a mere boyish freak, had proved its value in no uncertain way, and certified the worth of their training in the science of aerial telegraphy. Busy, happy days lay ahead of them, and Goat Island,—its name now changed to Wireless Island,—became the scene of activities which attracted the attention of the scientific world. The wireless torpedo is now an assured success, and, thanks to the boys, the United States is the only country which possesses its secret. Had Minory and the promoters back of him succeeded in filching the secret, it was their intention to sell the valuable implement of war to a foreign power which had offered a large sum for it. And so, wishing the boys good fortune and pleasant times, we bring the tale of their Wireless Island to a close. Ahead of them, along the trail of life, lie new adventures and experiences in a novel field. Those who choose to do so may read of these in a succeeding volume devoted to the interests of the Motor Rangers. THE END. BOY AVIATORS’ SERIES BY CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON Absolutely Modern Stories for Boys Cloth BoundPrice 50c per volume The Boy Aviators in Africa Or, An Aerial Ivory Trail In this absorbing book we meet, on a Continent made famous by the American explorer Stanley, and ex-President Roosevelt, our old friends, the Chester Boys and their stalwart chums. In Africa—the Dark Continent—the author follows in exciting detail his young heroes, their voyage in the first aeroplane to fly above the mysterious forests and unexplored ranges of the mystic land. In this book, too, for the first time, we entertain Luther Barr, the old New York millionaire, who proved later such an implacable enemy of the boys. The story of his defeated schemes, of the astonishing things the boys discovered in the Mountains of the Moon, of the pathetic fate of George Desmond, the emulator of Stanley, the adventure of the Flying Men and the discovery of the Arabian Ivory cache,—this is not the place to speak. It would be spoiling the zest of an exciting tale to reveal the outcome of all these episodes here. It may be said, however, without “giving away” any of the thrilling chapters of this narrative, that Captain Wilbur Lawton, the author, is in it in his best vein, and from his personal experiences in Africa has been able to supply a striking background for the adventures of his young heroes. As one newspaper says of this book: “Here is adventure in good measure, pressed down and running over.” Sold by Booksellers Everywhere HURST & CO.PublishersNEW YORK BOY AVIATORS’ SERIES BY CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON Absolutely Modern Stories for Boys Cloth BoundPrice 50c per volume The Boy Aviators’ Treasure Quest Or, The Golden Galleon Everybody is a boy once more when it comes to the question of hidden treasure. In this book, Captain Lawton has set forth a hunt for gold that is concealed neither under the sea nor beneath the earth, but is well hidden for all that. A garrulous old sailor, who holds the key to the mystery of the Golden Galleon, plays a large part in the development of the plot of this fascinating narrative of treasure hunting in the region of the Gulf Stream and the Sargasso Sea. An aeroplane fitted with efficient pontoons—enabling her to skim the water successfully—has long been a dream of aviators. The Chester Boys seem to have solved the problem. The Sargasso, that strange drifting ocean within an ocean, holding ships of a dozen nations and a score of ages, in its relentless grip, has been the subject of many books of adventure and mystery, but in none has the secret of the ever shifting mass of treacherous currents been penetrated as it has in the BOY AVIATORS’ TREASURE QUEST. Luther Barr, whom it seemed the boys had shaken off, is still on their trail, in this absorbing book and with a dirigible balloon, essays to beat them out in their search for the Golden Galleon. Every boy, every man—and woman and girl—who has ever felt the stirring summons of adventure in their souls, had better get hold of this book. Once obtained, it will be read and re-read till it falls to rags. Sold by Booksellers Everywhere HURST & CO.PublishersNEW YORK BOY AVIATORS’ SERIES BY CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON Absolutely Modern Stories for Boys Cloth BoundPrice 50c per volume The Boy Aviators in Record Flight Or, The Rival Aeroplane The Chester Boys in new field of endeavor—an attempt to capture a newspaper prize for a trans-continental flight. By the time these lines are read, exactly such an offer will have been spread broadcast by one of the foremost newspapers of the country. In the Golden Eagle, the boys, accompanied by a trail-blazing party in an automobile, make the dash. But they are not alone in their aspirations. Their rivals for the rich prize at stake try in every way that they can to circumvent the lads and gain the valuable trophy and monetary award. In this they stop short at nothing, and it takes all the wits and resources of the Boy Aviators to defeat their devices. Among the adventures encountered in their cross-country flight, the boys fall in with a band of rollicking cow-boys—who momentarily threaten serious trouble—are attacked by Indians, strike the most remarkable town of the desert—the “dry” town of “Gow Wells,” encounter a sandstorm which blows them into strange lands far to the south of their course, and meet with several amusing mishaps beside. A thoroughly readable book. The sort to take out behind the barn on the sunny side of the haystack, and, with a pocketful of juicy apples and your heels kicking the air, pass happy hours with Captain Lawton’s young heroes. Sold by Booksellers Everywhere HURST & CO.PublishersNEW YORK BOY AVIATORS’ SERIES BY CAPTAIN WILBUR LAWTON Absolutely Modern Stories for Boys Cloth BoundPrice 50c per volume The Boy Aviators’ Polar Dash Or, Facing Death in the Antarctic If you were to hear that two boys, accompanying a South Polar expedition in charge of the aeronautic department, were to penetrate the Antarctic regions—hitherto only attained by a few daring explorers—you would feel interested, wouldn’t you? Well, in Captain Lawton’s latest book, concerning his Boy Aviators, you can not only read absorbing adventure in the regions south of the eightieth parallel, but absorb much useful information as well. Captain Lawton introduces—besides the original characters of the heroes—a new creation in the person of Professor Simeon Sandburr, a patient seeker for polar insects. The professor’s adventures in his quest are the cause of much merriment, and lead once or twice to serious predicaments. In a volume so packed with incident and peril from cover to cover—relieved with laughable mishaps to the professor—it is difficult to single out any one feature; still, a recent reader of it wrote the publishers an enthusiastic letter the other day, saying: “The episodes above the Great Barrier are thrilling, the attack of the condors in Patagonia made me hold my breath, the—but what’s the use? The Polar Dash, to my mind, is an even more entrancing book than Captain Lawton’s previous efforts, and that’s saying a good deal. The aviation features and their technical correctness are by no means the least attractive features of this up-to-date creditable volume.” Sold by Booksellers Everywhere HURST & CO.PublishersNEW YORK OAKDALE ACADEMY SERIES Stories of Modern School Sports By MORGAN SCOTT. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid BEN STONE AT OAKDALE. Under peculiarly trying circumstances Ben Stone wins his way at Oakdale Academy, and at the same time enlists our sympathy, interest and respect. Through the enmity of Bern Hayden, the loyalty of Roger Eliot and the clever work of the “Sleuth,” Ben is falsely accused, championed and vindicated. BOYS OF OAKDALE ACADEMY. “One thing I will claim, and that is that all Grants fight open and square and there never was a sneak among them.” It was Rodney Grant, of Texas, who made the claim to his friend, Ben Stone, and this story shows how he proved the truth of this statement in the face of apparent evidence to the contrary. RIVAL PITCHERS OF OAKDALE. Baseball is the main theme of this interesting narrative, and that means not only clear and clever descriptions of thrilling games, but an intimate acquaintance with the members of the teams who played them. The Oakdale Boys were ambitious and loyal, and some were even disgruntled and jealous, but earnest, persistent work won out. OAKDALE BOYS IN CAMP. The typical vacation is the one that means much freedom, little restriction, and immediate contact with “all outdoors.” These conditions prevailed in the summer camp of the Oakdale Boys and made it a scene of lively interest. THE GREAT OAKDALE MYSTERY. The “Sleuth” scents a mystery! He “follows his nose.” The plot thickens! He makes deductions. There are surprises for the reader—and for the “Sleuth,” as well. NEW BOYS AT OAKDALE. A new element creeps into Oakdale with another year’s registration of students. The old and the new standards of conduct in and out of school meet, battle, and cause sweeping changes in the lives of several of the boys. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK FRANK ARMSTRONG SERIES Twentieth Century Athletic Stories By MATTHEW M. COLTON. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid FRANK ARMSTRONG’S VACATION. How Frank’s summer experience with his boy friends make him into a sturdy young athlete through swimming, boating, and baseball contests, and a tramp through the Everglades, is the subject of this splendid story. FRANK ARMSTRONG AT QUEENS. We find among the jolly boys at Queen’s School, Frank, the student-athlete, Jimmy, the baseball enthusiast, and Lewis, the unconsciously-funny youth who furnishes comedy for every page that bears his name. Fall and winter sports between intensely rival school teams are expertly described. FRANK ARMSTRONG’S SECOND TERM. The gymnasium, the track and the field make the background for the stirring events of this volume, in which David, Jimmy, Lewis, the “Wee One” and the “Codfish” figure, while Frank “saves the day.” FRANK ARMSTRONG, DROP KICKER. With the same persistent determination that won him success in swimming, running and baseball playing, Frank Armstrong acquired the art of “drop kicking,” and the Queen’s football team profits thereby. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK DREADNOUGHT BOYS SERIES Tales of the New Navy By CAPT. WILBUR LAWTON Author of “BOY AVIATORS SERIES.” Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON BATTLE PRACTICE. Especially interesting and timely is this book which introduces the reader with its heroes, Ned and Herc, to the great ships of modern warfare and to the intimate life and surprising adventures of Uncle Sam’s sailors. THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ABOARD A DESTROYER. In this story real dangers threaten and the boys’ patriotism is tested in a peculiar international tangle. The scene is laid on the South American coast. THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON A SUBMARINE. To the inventive genius—trade-school boy or mechanic—this story has special charm, perhaps, but to every reader its mystery and clever action are fascinating. THE DREADNOUGHT BOYS ON AERO SERVICE. Among the volunteers accepted for Aero Service are Ned and Herc. Their perilous adventures are not confined to the air, however, although they make daring and notable flights in the name of the Government; nor are they always able to fly beyond the reach of their old “enemies,” who are also airmen. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK BUNGALOW BOYS SERIES LIVE STORIES OF OUTDOOR LIFE By DEXTER J. FORRESTER. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE BUNGALOW BOYS. How the Bungalow Boys received their title and how they retained the right to it in spite of much opposition makes a lively narrative for lively boys. THE BUNGALOW BOYS MAROONED IN THE TROPICS. A real treasure hunt of the most thrilling kind, with a sunken Spanish galleon as its object, makes a subject of intense interest at any time, but add to that a band of desperate men, a dark plot and a devil fish, and you have the combination that brings strange adventures into the lives of the Bungalow Boys. THE BUNGALOW BOYS IN THE GREAT NORTH WEST. The clever assistance of a young detective saves the boys from the clutches of Chinese smugglers, of whose nefarious trade they know too much. How the Professor’s invention relieves a critical situation is also an exciting incident of this book. THE BUNGALOW BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES. The Bungalow Boys start out for a quiet cruise on the Great Lakes and a visit to an island. A storm and a band of wreckers interfere with the serenity of their trip, and a submarine adds zest and adventure to it. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK MOTOR RANGERS SERIES HIGH SPEED MOTOR STORIES By MARVIN WEST. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE MOTOR RANGERS’ LOST MINE. This is an absorbing story of the continuous adventures of a motor car in the hands of Nat Trevor and his friends. It does seemingly impossible “stunts,” and yet everything happens “in the nick of time.” THE MOTOR RANGERS THROUGH THE SIERRAS. Enemies in ambush, the peril of fire, and the guarding of treasure make exciting times for the Motor Rangers—yet there is a strong flavor of fun and freedom, with a typical Western mountaineer for spice. THE MOTOR RANGERS ON BLUE WATER; or, The Secret of the Derelict. The strange adventures of the sturdy craft “Nomad” and the stranger experiences of the Rangers themselves with Morello’s schooner and a mysterious derelict form the basis of this well-spun yarn of the sea. THE MOTOR RANGERS’ CLOUD CRUISER. From the “Nomad” to the “Discoverer,” from the sea to the sky, the scene changes in which the Motor Rangers figure. They have experiences “that never were on land or sea,” in heat and cold and storm, over mountain peak and lost city, with savages and reptiles; their ship of the air is attacked by huge birds of the air; they survive explosion and earthquake; they even live to tell the tale! Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK BORDER BOYS SERIES Mexican and Canadian Frontier Series By FREMONT B. DEERING. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE BORDER BOYS ON THE TRAIL. What it meant to make an enemy of Black Ramon De Barios—that is the problem that Jack Merrill and his friends, including Coyote Pete, face in this exciting tale. THE BORDER BOYS ACROSS THE FRONTIER. Read of the Haunted Mesa and its mysteries, of the Subterranean River and its strange uses, of the value of gasolene and steam “in running the gauntlet,” and you will feel that not even the ancient splendors of the Old World can furnish a better setting for romantic action than the Border of the New. THE BORDER BOYS WITH THE MEXICAN RANGERS. As every day is making history—faster, it is said, than ever before—so books that keep pace with the changes are full of rapid action and accurate facts. This book deals with lively times on the Mexican border. THE BORDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS. The Border Boys have already had much excitement and adventure in their lives, but all this has served to prepare them for the experiences related in this volume. They are stronger, braver and more resourceful than ever, and the exigencies of their life in connection with the Texas Rangers demand all their trained ability. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK BOY INVENTORS SERIES Stories of Skill and Ingenuity By RICHARD BONNER Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE BOY INVENTORS’ WIRELESS TELEGRAPH. Blest with natural curiosity,—sometimes called the instinct of investigation,—favored with golden opportunity, and gifted with creative ability, the Boy Inventors meet emergencies and contrive mechanical wonders that interest and convince the reader because they always “work” when put to the test. THE BOY INVENTORS’ VANISHING-GUN. A thought, a belief, an experiment; discouragement, hope, effort and final success—this is the history of many an invention; a history in which excitement, competition, danger, despair and persistence figure. This merely suggests the circumstances which draw the daring Boy Inventors into strange experiences and startling adventures, and which demonstrate the practical use of their vanishing gun. THE BOY INVENTORS’ DIVING TORPEDO BOAT. As in the previous stories of the Boy Inventors, new and interesting triumphs of mechanism are produced which become immediately valuable, and the stage for their proving and testing is again the water. On the surface and below it, the boys have jolly, contagious fun, and the story of their serious, purposeful inventions challenge the reader’s deepest attention. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK MOLLY BROWN SERIES College Life Stories for Girls By NELL SPEED. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 60c. per vol., postpaid MOLLY BROWN’S FRESHMAN DAYS. Would you like to admit to your circle of friends the most charming of college girls—the typical college girl for whom we are always looking but not always finding; the type that contains so many delightful characteristics, yet without unpleasant perfection in any; the natural, unaffected, sweet-tempered girl, loved because she is lovable? Then seek an introduction to Molly Brown. You will find the baggage-master, the cook, the Professor of English Literature, and the College President in the same company. MOLLY BROWN’S SOPHOMORE DAYS. What is more delightful than a reunion of college girls after the summer vacation? Certainly nothing that precedes it in their experience—at least, if all class-mates are as happy together as the Wellington girls of this story. Among Molly’s interesting friends of the second year is a young Japanese girl, who ingratiates her “humbly” self into everybody’s affections speedily and permanently. MOLLY BROWN’S JUNIOR DAYS. Financial stumbling blocks are not the only things that hinder the ease and increase the strength of college girls. Their troubles and their triumphs are their own, often peculiar to their environment. How Wellington students meet the experiences outside the class-rooms is worth the doing, the telling and the reading. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK GIRL AVIATORS SERIES Clean Aviation Stories By MARGARET BURNHAM. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE GIRL AVIATORS AND THE PHANTOM AIRSHIP. Roy Prescott was fortunate in having a sister so clever and devoted to him and his interests that they could share work and play with mutual pleasure and to mutual advantage. This proved especially true in relation to the manufacture and manipulation of their aeroplane, and Peggy won well deserved fame for her skill and good sense as an aviator. There were many stumbling-blocks in their terrestrial path, but they soared above them all to ultimate success. THE GIRL AVIATORS ON GOLDEN WINGS. That there is a peculiar fascination about aviation that wins and holds girl enthusiasts as well as boys is proved by this tale. On golden wings the girl aviators rose for many an exciting flight, and met strange and unexpected experiences. THE GIRL AVIATORS’ SKY CRUISE. To most girls a coaching or yachting trip is an adventure. How much more perilous an adventure a “sky cruise” might be is suggested by the title and proved by the story itself. THE GIRL AVIATORS’ MOTOR BUTTERFLY. The delicacy of flight suggested by the word “butterfly,” the mechanical power implied by “motor,” the ability to control assured in the title “aviator,” all combined with the personality and enthusiasm of girls themselves, make this story one for any girl or other reader “to go crazy over.” Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK MOTOR MAIDS SERIES Wholesome Stories of Adventure By KATHERINE STOKES. Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid THE MOTOR MAIDS’ SCHOOL DAYS. Billie Campbell was just the type of a straightforward, athletic girl to be successful as a practical Motor Maid. She took her car, as she did her class-mates, to her heart, and many a grand good time did they have all together. The road over which she ran her red machine had many an unexpected turning,—now it led her into peculiar danger; now into contact with strange travelers; and again into experiences by fire and water. But, best of all, “The Comet” never failed its brave girl owner. THE MOTOR MAIDS BY PALM AND PINE. Wherever the Motor Maids went there were lively times, for these were companionable girls who looked upon the world as a vastly interesting place full of unique adventures—and so, of course, they found them. THE MOTOR MAIDS ACROSS THE CONTINENT. It is always interesting to travel, and it is wonderfully entertaining to see old scenes through fresh eyes. It is that privilege, therefore, that makes it worth while to join the Motor Maids in their first ’cross-country run. THE MOTOR MAIDS BY ROSE, SHAMROCK AND HEATHER. South and West had the Motor Maids motored, nor could their education by travel have been more wisely begun. But now a speaking acquaintance with their own country enriched their anticipation of an introduction to the British Isles. How they made their polite American bow and how they were received on the other side is a tale of interest and inspiration. Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price. HURST & COMPANY — Publishers — NEW YORK Transcriber’s Notes: Punctuation has been standardized. Minor spelling and typographic errors were corrected silently, except as noted below. "some one" and "someone" appear several times each; it has been standardized to "some one" which appears more frequently in books of the time period. On page 8, "employÉ" has been left as is; although that spelling is not frequently used in that time period, it does occur occasionally. On page 126, changed "Hartley" to "Harley", because several other references to "Seth" and his father use "Harley". Inconsistent use of the apostrophe in the names of book series in the advertisements at the back of the book has been retained as in the original publication. |