Lost on the Moon | Page 9

task that would be impossible in a
motor of this size, if operated by electricity, gasoline, or any other force
at present in use. And, if this small motor will do that, I know the large
ones will send us through space to the moon. All ready, now."
Slowly the professor shoved over the lever, while Jack, Mark and the
others watched him carefully. They were standing back of him, in the
engine room of the projectile.
There was a clicking sound as the lever snapped into place. This was
succeeded by a buzzing hum, as the motor began to absorb the great
power from the red substance, which was not unlike radium in its
action. There was a trembling to the great projectile.
"She's moving!" cried Jack.
Hardly had he spoken when there was a flash of red fire, a sound as of a
bursting bomb, and everyone was knocked from his feet, over
backward, while Professor Roumann was hurled the entire length of the
engine room.
"The Cardite motor has exploded!" cried Mark. "Professor Roumann is
killed!"
CHAPTER V
THE WORK OF AN ENEMY
Jack's first act, on arising from amid a mass of tools, into which he had
been tossed by the explosion, was to run to where Professor Roumann
lay in a semi-conscious condition. An instant later Mark slowly arose,
and made his way to where Professor Henderson was rubbing his
forehead in a dazed fashion.
"Are you hurt?" asked Mark, of his aged friend.
"I think not," answered Mr. Henderson slowly, "but I fear Mr.

Roumann is. See to him; I'm all right."
"He's breathing," cried Jack, who had bent over the German. "He isn't
dead, at any rate."
"But he may be, unless he gets attention," said Professor Henderson.
"Get my medicine chest, Mark, and we'll see what we can do for him."
Jack had raised the head of the injured man on his arm, and was giving
him some water from a glass. This partially revived the German, and he
opened his eyes. He looked around, into the faces of his friends, as if
scarcely comprehending what had happened, and then, as his gaze
wandered toward the disabled Cardite motor, he exclaimed:
"Some enemy has done this! The motor was tampered with. The
resistance block was loosened, and that caused the force of the Cardite
to shoot out at the rear. We must watch out for the work of this
enemy!"
"Don't distress yourself about that now," urged Mr. Henderson. "Are
you badly hurt? Do you need a doctor?"
The German slowly drank the rest of the water which Jack gave him,
and then gradually arose to a standing position.
"I am all right," he said faintly, "except that I feel a trifle dizzy.
Something hit me on the head, and the fumes from the Cardite took
away my breath for a moment. I think I shall be all right soon."
"Here is the medicine chest!" exclaimed Mark, coming back into the
engine room. Mr. Henderson poured out some aromatic spirits of
ammonia into a graduated glass, added a little water, and gave it to his
fellow, inventor, who, after drinking it, declared that he felt much better.
There was a cut on his forehead, where a piece of the broken motor had
struck him, but, otherwise, he did not seem injured externally.
As for the boys, they were only stunned, nor was Mr. Henderson more
than momentarily shocked. In a few minutes the German professor was

almost himself again.
"We must try to discover who our enemy is," he said earnestly, as he
looked over the disabled motor. "He might have blown up the whole
projectile by tampering as he did with the machinery. Had I been
testing the large, instead of the small motor, there would have been
nothing left of the Annihilator, or us, either. Who could have done this?
If that crazy machinist is around again----"
"I don't believe he could get here from Mars," interrupted Jack, with a
smile.
"Hardly," added Mark.
"No, I guess he is still on the Red Planet, so it couldn't have been him,"
went on Mr. Roumann. "But it was some one."
Jack and Mark at once thought of the odd man who had sent Mark the
note, and then had run away.
"Could it have been him?" suggested Jack.
"It's possible," remarked Professor Henderson. "We must be on our
guard. I wonder if Washington----"
At that moment there sounded a violent pounding on the exterior of the
projectile, and the voice of the colored man could be heard calling:
"Am anything de mattah? Andy Sudds an' I is out heah, an' we heard
suffin goin' on in dere. Am anybody hurted?"
"It's all over now, Wash," replied Jack, for the two boys, and the