Chapter XX: The Rescue

The discouraging failure of their sortie against the creatures outside the stockade had plunged them all into hopeless melancholy. Scarface was glancing grimly at his useless "rod," when Terry burst out:

"Mr. Jimmy, listen!"

They could all hear a distant hum, as if of a motor.

"An airplane?" asked Terry, using the Viking word _skwaa_ which had been applied to the plane in which the Radio Flyers had entered this world.

"No, my Eric's _skwaa_ is out of 'gas'," said Helga.

"Couldn't be the Miami, either," Jimmy pointed out. "They're out of gas, too."

Steadily the sound grew in volume.

"It _is_ a-plane!" shouted Scarface. "I can see it. Quick, smudge the fire, and attract its attention!"

But unluckily, the fire had all been used up in their fight with the reptiles, and not a spark remained. By the time that a new fire could be started, the airship would have passed by.

All five looked frantically around the inclosure for an idea.

"I have it!" shouted Scarface. "Heliograph!"

And he snatched Helga's bark mirror, and reflected the sunlight back up at the approaching craft. It was a chancy business; but finally he caught the pilot's attention. The plane circled, and began to descend.

"Saved! Saved!" they cried, embracing each other.

Yet how did they know that these flyers were friends? They were soon to find out.

There was room enough in the clearing, at the top of the knoll where stood their fort, for the plane to land, so it swooped, took the ground on its wheels--being equipped with wheels, skis and pontoons--and taxied almost to their very door. The great fowl-like reptiles scattered with fright at the roar of the motor, and the besieged party crowded onto the platform of the palisade.

From the plane disembarked two stalwart bearded Vikings in chain-mail and winged helmets. Helga gave one look at them, then opened the gate of the fortress and rushed out.

"Eric, my Eric," she sobbed, flinging herself into the arms of one of the aviators, "I knew you would come. I knew you would come."

The other Viking grinned.

"Hello, folks," said he in English.

It was Tom Jones, strangely metamorphosed.

"Gee, Mr. Jones," exclaimed Theresa. "I'd hardly of known you with your beard. You make a swell-looking Viking."

Eric Redmond then introduced Tom to Helga, and Helga introduced Eric to Scarface and Theresa. All was smiles and glad reunion, until Borghild announced to the two newcomers her recent marriage to Scarface Jimmy, whereupon Tom Jones's brow clouded.

"Any more marriages been taking place around here?" he asked rather truculently in Norse, glaring at young Nils.

"Alas, no," replied the boy bishop, squarely meeting the other's glance, "but I believe that it can be arranged."

He, the Bishop of Greenland, was not going to be patronized by a mere foreigner!

Helga smoothed the situation over by expressing amazement at the resuscitation of her Eric's long-dead plane.

"We owe it all to our new ally here," explained Eric, indicating Tom Jones. "We were drilling for water near the plateau and struck 'oil' instead. Tom used his scientific knowledge to 'distil' the oil and made 'gasoline,' so here we are."

"Great work," ejaculated Scarface.

"But how did you find _us_?" asked Helga.

"Quite simply," replied her husband. "You doubtless know that the Miami got out of gas. Skraeling canoes towed her ashore, where we later captured her. All the Miami's crew escaped us except Charley Loy. The Skraeling rifle corps made good their retreat, with their rifles and ammunition. They are a decided menace. However, we have the Miami's machine guns. Altoonah is dead, as you may not know."

"We ought to know," said Scarface, and explained their adventure.

* * * * *

"You haven't yet told us how you found us," persisted Helga.

"As soon as we learned of your escape, from a Skraeling prisoner," explained her husband, "we assumed that you had been blown south in the storm, so we scoured the sea with dragon ships further south than Vikings had ever ventured before. But we found no trace of you. Not even any wreckage of Nils's ship, which fact encouraged us. So the moment this plane was reconditioned, Jones and I set out to skirt the entire shore of this new southern sea."

During all this conversation, the reptilian hens had gradually been edging nearer, so Tom Jones gave the motor a whir, and they all scattered again precipitately.

"We can take only one of you back with us now," announced Eric, "and that must be one of the ladies. You can choose between you. Then either Jones or I will make a couple of trips alone and bring the others back by twos. How are you off for provisions?"

The recently besieged party explained that they were starving, so while Tom taxied the plane around the clearing to keep the besieging beasts away, the rest dragged in the body of the dead rooster, and gathered a quantity of palm-hearts.

Meanwhile the three girls had decided that little Terry, being from the outside world and the youngest should be the first passenger.

When this was announced, Nils promptly objected.

"I won't have her leaving here with that Jones fellow!" he exclaimed.

Every one was surprised at this out-burst. But, because he was their bishop, his wishes were respected. After some discussion, it was finally agreed that Tom, Nils, and Theresa were to fly to the plateau together, and then have Angus Selkirk bring back the plane.

The plane departed, and the besieging reptiles closed around the two married couples, Eric and Helga, Scarface and Borghild, in the stockade.

In due course of time, Angus Selkirk arrived with the plane again. Then Eric flew the two girls back, leaving Angus and Scarface alone in the fort.

But when Eric reached the plateau city, he found that the boy bishop, taking advantage of the absence of the two _yarls_, had thrown Tom Jones into prison, and was forcing his attentions onto Theresa, despite her growing objections. Eric remonstrated with him, but in vain.

Eric was very anxious to get Tom out of jail and conciliate him, for Tom was a tremendous scientific acquisition for the Viking civilization. So the _yarl_ cleverly suggested that Tom, rather than he, fly back to the stockade, to get Angus and Scarface.

"Very well," agreed Nils, "and I hope he crashes."

To Eric's surprise, Tom gladly agreed to leave the plateau city; and during his absence, Nils appeared to be making great progress with Theresa. It seemed that she was piqued with the willingness with which Tom had left her.

Meanwhile, in the cabin far to the southward, Angus and Scarface were rapidly becoming acquainted. The Scotch _yarl_ of the Vikings had harbored a sneaking admiration for the Chicago man, ever since that day in the assembly hall of the plateau city, when the latter, unarmed and a prisoner, had boldly faced his captors, and had dictated terms to them instead of suing for mercy.

The two men had much in common. They were by far the two most forceful characters of the whole civilized population of the underworld.

In due course, Tom Jones arrived with the plane, and the three men bade a last farewell to the little cabin. Then they started northward. But a storm drove them to the west, and finally forced them to land, and stake down their plane.