The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs - M. V. Carey [18]
“Okay,” said Bob. “There could be a transmitter out there. Maybe it could jam the regular wavelengths by broadcasting noise. Maybe it could broadcast a fake speech. But the soldiers on the road …”
“Suppose they’re imposters,” said Jupe. “That lieutenant is so military—so full of spit and polish. He could be acting a part.”
“Maybe he just got his commission,” said Bob. “He is kind of overdressed. He even wears his gloves nonstop. But I hear that new officers are like that.”
“If it’s a hoax, somebody’s gone to an awful lot of trouble,” said Pete. “Why would anyone do that? The fire on the cliffs was—well, it was pretty weird. It can’t be easy to make bare rock cliffs look like they’re burning. And we did see a spaceship take off. And that sheep herder—his hair was burned! And what about that gadget that Hank Detweiler found on the meadow—that clamp or switch or whatever it was?”
“All very convincing,” said Jupe, “But stop and think about it, Pete. Your father works in movie studios. Did anything happen today that couldn’t be duplicated by a good special effects man?”
“N-no,” said Pete after a second. “I guess not.”
“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” said Jupe. “We have to do what we planned in the first place. We have to hike out to the nearest town and see what’s happening there.”
“That means we go up those cliffs, doesn’t it?” said Bob. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Oh, no!” groaned Pete. “Do we have to go back to that meadow? What if someone—or something—is up there?”
“That’s what you said last night,” Jupe pointed out, “and we didn’t find anyone there besides the herder. Quit worrying. We won’t go until it starts getting light.”
The boys waited impatiently until a faint, flat light began to replace the blackness in the valley. Then they got up and started swiftly towards the meadow. When they had passed the cultivated fields and reached the edge of the pasture, they saw fog. It rose from the reservoir and flowed down over the dam in a fluffy stream. They hiked towards it, taking care to avoid the sheep on the lower meadow, but at the foot of the dam they paused. Each of them felt a thrill of dread. Into the mind of each came the picture of Simon de Luca lying on the ground, his hair singed as if by rocket fire.
The boys groped around the rocks and bushes at the edge of the dam. When they had climbed to the top of the dam, they started to skirt the reservoir. Pete was in the lead, wading through fog.
Suddenly he cried out.
Someone stood in the path—a tall, thin person who seemed to have a head too large for his body. It took a moment for the boys to realize that this person was wearing a suit of glossy white material—a suit that shone even in the dim light—and that the head was covered with a huge helmet. It was a helmet that might have been used by a diver or an astronaut, or perhaps by an alien who could not breathe Earth’s air.
Pete shouted again. Jupe saw the creature lift an arm and strike out. At that same instant, something behind Jupe clutched him around the throat. He was lifted up so that he saw the grey sky above and the pale morning stars. Then came an explosion of pain in the back of his neck. He felt himself falling into darkness and then he saw no more.
Chapter 9
An Invitation to Snoop
JUPE OPENED HIS EYES and saw that the sky overhead was blue. The fog was gone and Konrad was kneeling beside him.
“Jupe, are you all right?” Konrad asked anxiously.
Jupe groaned. A pain ran from his right shoulder to his ear. Shaking, he managed to sit up.
Nearby, Rafael Banales was helping Pete get to his feet, and John Aleman talked softly to Bob, who sat on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chin.
“Konrad,” said Jupe, “how did you find us?”
Konrad grinned. “It is not hard. I wake up and you are gone. I think if I am Jupiter Jones, I go where there has been excitement. So I wake Mr. Aleman and Mr. Banales and we get Mr. Detweiler