The Submarine Boys' Lightning Cruise Part 21

There had been a brief moment in which the air around the wrecked auto had seemed full of flying human beings.

Now, they lay by the road side in varying degrees of disaster.

The left front axle had broken, the wheel rolling some yards ere it stopped.

Jacob Farnum, seated right over the axle, was hurled out, head first as nearly as he could afterwards guess. How he avoided landing on his head and sustaining a broken neck or shattered skull was one of those miraculous things that no one can explain.

The chauffeur had plunged out over Farnum's head, alighting beyond the s.h.i.+pbuilder. The chauffeur now lay writhing and groaning.

David Pollard landed first, on one wrist and his chest, a cry of anguish escaping him.

Eph Somers lay in the road motionless. Jack and Hal fell against the padded side of the car. Hal remained there during the next second, but young Benson turned a half-somersault, lightly, landing in the road just outside.

It was young Captain Jack who first got to his feet. Dazed for a few moments, he rose slowly seeking for signs of injury.

"I--I believe I'm not hurt," he congratulated himself. "Thank heaven for that, for there are others here who seem in need of the promptest help."

First of all Jack turned to his chum, young Hastings. But Hal, though his face was white from the shock of it all, smiled back, then helped himself out of the wrecked car.

Within the next few minutes it developed that Eph had been stunned.

Beyond this he had suffered no injury except a bruise along the left thigh.

Jacob Farnum proved to be only stunned and badly shaken. But David Pollard displayed a helpless left wrist and complained of severe pain in the left side of his chest.

The chauffeur had a broken left leg, a broken arm, and a ma.s.s of bruises on his face, where he had struck the hard earth.

"Great Scott, but this is almost like the carnage of war!" muttered Jack Benson. "Hal, you and Eph help Mr. Farnum with the others. I'm going down the road to the first house, and send for aid."

Arrived at a farm-house that proved to be connected with the telephone service, Jack 'phoned for the two nearest doctors, and for men to come and help the injured. Then he called up the garage from which the auto had been hired; this address being supplied by the chauffeur.

Then, accompanied by the man of the house, young Benson hurried back to the scene of the wreck. The submarine captain found that he had at least been so bruised and shaken up that speed on his feet hurt.

The first to arrive, of those summoned, was the owner of the garage in Colfax. He came in a large car, burning gasoline fast.

"I'm Graves, from the garage," he introduced himself, shutting off power and leaping out. "Jove, what a smash this is!"

Until two doctors and several men arrived Graves devoted himself to helping make the injured victims as comfortable as possible.

When the doctors and helpers appeared on the scene Graves soon called Jack Benson aside.

"There's something about this affair that must be investigated," declared the garage man, in an undertone. "The cars that I keep are all of one make, and there are no stauncher, safer cars made in the world. No such accident has ever before happened to one of my cars. Come; let's see what we can find out."

Graves didn't have to look far. He halted at the broken axle, staring at it hard. Then he looked over the broken casting from all sides.

"See here," Graves ground out, between his teeth, "all the axles on my cars are branded with the trade-mark of the maker, and the number of the inspector who pa.s.ses the axles. Yet this axle is unbranded! Now, I happen to know that the left forward axle on this car--last night--was branded as usual, for I had the wheel off and looked it over.

That I can swear to."

"Then another axle has been subst.i.tuted?" demanded Jack, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng.

"Yes, sirree."

"How long, after you saw the right axle in place here, was it before the car was taken from your garage?"

"According to the office books this car was taken from the garage at three o'clock this morning," replied Graves.

"By one of your own men?"

"No, sir! By a stranger who rented the car for a week, paid the rental price, and gave his name as Hodges. He seemed to understand all about running a car. He brought it back at six this morning."

"Was that time enough in which to subst.i.tute a defective axle?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yes; a man expert at such work could do it in considerably less time."

"Such a defective axle might run along smoothly, quite a while at low speed?" Benson persisted.

"Yes."

"But at high speed--?"

"Look at this axle!" continued the garage man, excitedly. "You know something about steel, don't you, young man?"

"Enough to run machinery."

"You see what a flawed piece of steel this is--unsuited to any strain?

I don't believe this axle could stand the strain of high speed in a big auto for the distance of a mile."

"That's about all it stood with us," muttered Jack Benson, his face white, his jaws firmly set.

"There's been some nasty work here," continued the garage man. "It wasn't done by my chauffeur, either. He's probably the worst hurt of any in your party, which a.s.sures his innocence of a hand in the despicable work."

"Oh, I don't suspect your man--not for an instant," Jack a.s.sured the garage owner. "The truth is, I think I can guess just where to place the blame."

"Hodges turned this car over to you for a pleasure jaunt, didn't he?"

demanded the garage owner.

"Yes."

"And it was the same fellow who took this car out before daylight. It wasn't used again until it was sent around for your party. Mr. Benson, I think we can both guess whom to suspect in this desperately wicked piece of business. If I can find that rascal, Hodges, I'll certainly lay violent hands on him!"

"Don't!" advised Jack, quietly. "In the first place, Mr. Graves, if you took the law into your own hands, you'd only get yourself into trouble.

In the second place"--Jack Benson lowered his voice still more--"I know, as well as I know I'm living, that Hodges was only the agent of some one else. Mr. Graves, do me a great favor--a great favor to all our party. For the present, if you must say anything, say just as little as possible about the accident. Let it go at that. Don't throw out any suspicions against Hodges. Don't let anyone know that I have any suspicions. Just keep the whole thing quiet--and in that way we'll get the authors of this outrage."

"Are you sure?" demanded Graves, his look still darkly vengeful.

"You might talk to just one person--when there's no one else around to overhear you," Jack agreed. "That man is the chief of police in Colfax. In view of some other things that he knows the chief will agree with my view, and will thank you for keeping quiet and looking puzzled over this affair."

"All right," grumbled Mr. Graves. "I'll do as you ask, Mr.

Benson--until I've talked with the chief of police, anyway."