CHAPTER XIX
SECRET OPERATIONS
Help me save this machinery!" yelled Tom, whose first thought was for the electrical apparatus. "Don't let it fall into that chasm!"
For the crack had widened, until it was almost to the place where the parts of the wrecked airship had been carried.
"The machinery? What do I care about the machinery?" cried Mr. Jenks. "I want to save my life!"
"And this machinery is our only hope!" retorted Tom. He began tugging at the heavy dynamos and gasolene engine, but he might have saved himself the trouble, for with the same suddenness with which it opened, the crack closed again. The shock had done it, and, as if satisfied with that phenomena, the earthquake ceased, and the island no longer trembled.
"That was a light one," spoke Tom, with an air of relief. He was becoming used to the
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