He had been hiding out, but, on seeing the ship wrecked the previous night, had doubtless decided to cast his lot with these marooned men.
He did not have long to wait for the proof that at least some of these conclusions were correct, for almost instantly the Professor, turning, saw the stranger. For a second his face went white and he seemed about to fall. He recovered himself and sprang forward, and the two men embraced one another, like two children who had been a long time separated.
But now Johnny’s attention was attracted by a suppressed laugh from the men about him, who had been watching the new pilot in his attempt to start the “Dust Eater.” As he looked, he saw that the man’s face was as black as it might have been had he smeared it with burnt cork.
What had happened was that having attempted to start the engine, and having failed, he had climbed back to the fuel tank and there had unscrewed the top, thinking to see if there was gasoline in it. In attempting to look inside, he had put his face too close to the opening, had blown into it, and the feathery coal dust with which the boys had filled the tank had risen up in a cloud to besmirch his damp visage.
The purser was in a fine rage. He ordered the sailor who had rowed him out to the “Dust Eater” in the canvas boat to take him ashore. Once his feet touched the beach, he came racing toward Johnny and Pant.
“Leave this to me,” said Pant. “You and the Professor quietly drop out of the bunch, and then make your way to the north end of the island as quickly as possible.”
He had hardly said this than the purser was upon him:
“Smart trick!” he snarled. “Thought you’d balk us. Took out the gasoline and filled the tank with coal dust!” He seemed about to strike Pant.
With a tiger-like spring, Pant leaped back.
“Better not.” His voice was low, like the warning hiss of a panther.
“Let me tell you something,” Pant said evenly. “There isn’t a drop of gasoline on this island as far as I know; not a drop in that plane, either, but all the same, she’ll fly for a man who understands her.
“Now, I’ll tell you what,” he went on. “You come over to the plane with me. Look her all over. See if there is any gasoline on her. Then you let me try to get her going. See if I can’t do it.”