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diff --git a/old/55359-0.txt b/old/55359-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e2545a3..0000000 --- a/old/55359-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7837 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mystery Crash, by Ardon Van Buren Powell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Mystery Crash - Sky Scout Series, #1 - -Author: Ardon Van Buren Powell - -Release Date: August 15, 2017 [EBook #55359] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY CRASH *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: He caught the gunwale and pulled himself up and into the -boat with Curt’s aid. (Page 21)] - - - - - THE - MYSTERY CRASH - - - By VAN POWELL - - [Illustration: Airplane] - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - Copyright MCMXXXII - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - _Made in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I The Deserted Airplane 5 - II At Rocky Lake 12 - III A Greater Mystery 19 - IV The Sky Squad is Formed 28 - V A Double Puzzle 36 - VI Suspicion and Suspense 42 - VII In the Falling ’Plane 53 - VIII Watchful Waiting 59 - IX Strange Actions 67 - X A Summons 76 - XI A Trail and a Flight 81 - XII The Chase 93 - XIII The Detective’s Theory 98 - XIV The Sky Squad Disobeys 104 - XV A Triple Trail 112 - XVI The “Windsock” 121 - XVII “The Case Is ‘Sewed Up’” 128 - XVIII A New Mystery 136 - XIX Tangled Threads 144 - XX A Package of Money 151 - XXI Caught and Cleared! 159 - XXII The “Mystery Crate” 171 - XXIII Bob Pursues! 179 - XXIV Suspense! 188 - XXV Crossed Wires 197 - XXVI The Sky Squad Goes Into Action 207 - XXVII Driven Down 219 - XXVIII Curt’s Discovery 227 - XXIX A Confession 235 - XXX Barney Gives a Hint 246 - XXXI “One More Problem” 257 - XXXII Flight! 268 - XXXIII The Sky Squad Wins 277 - - - - - THE MYSTERY CRASH - - - - - CHAPTER I - THE DESERTED AIRPLANE - - -“See that! Look! There’s our mystery!” - -Bob Wright pointed from the cabin window of the monoplane. Al, his -younger brother, peered toward the ground. - -“What? Where? Show me any mystery!” - -To make himself understood above the roar of the engine, Bob put his -lips close to Al’s ear while Curt, Bob’s closest friend, also a -passenger, bent close to catch his words. - -“It’s a mystery all right—but you can’t see from here. It was in that -cornfield we passed over.” - -“What’s the mystery?” Curtis Brown’s eyes snapped with eagerness. - -“Why did you say ‘our’ mystery?” Al asked at the same instant. Bob -answered both at once. - -“The mystery is: Why is an airplane hidden in the grove at the edge of a -cornfield? Our mystery because we discovered it and because, ever since -we helped father solve his detective cases and took an interest in -aviation we have wanted to solve something that connects up puzzles and -’planes!” - -“A ‘crate’?” Al stared out. “I don’t see it.” Bob was not there to -reply. He moved up to the pilot, Langley Wright, his cousin, who was -test pilot for the Tredway Aircraft Corporation and who was giving this -beautiful “job” its final test and check flight. - -“Lang,” he said, “I saw an airplane in the grove at the edge of that -last field we crossed. Circle back, won’t you?” As Lang turned from -jotting down some data, Bob added: “The ship hasn’t crashed. It’s in -among the trees—backed in. I caught a glimpse of it, and then the trees -hid it. I’d like to have another look.” - -“Surest thing you know.” - -Lang, twenty-one and an expert flyer, grinned at his sixteen-year-old -cousin, dipped ailerons, kicked rudder and with a good “bank” as the -craft swung its nose around, he deftly counteracted a tendency of the -ship to go into a sideslip, jotted down some information on his data -board and then looked out of his window. - -“There’s the field,” he said. “I don’t see a crate there!” - -“That’s why I told Al and Curt it’s a mystery,” Bob replied. “The ship -has been hidden! Its tail is in between trees, and the wings are under -trees with high branches. I don’t believe it could be seen from the -highway that runs by the field. I know it wouldn’t be noticed from the -air, except by chance.” - -“Hm-m-m!” grunted Langley, “I’ve heard of hidden treasure, but this is -the first hidden ’plane——” - -“There!” Bob pointed past Lang’s face. - -“I see it!” Lang continued to circle, in order to get another sight of -the mysteriously hidden ship. As they came around again Al and Curt -located it also. - -“It’s staked down!” Al, although he was the youngest, not much past -thirteen, had the quickest eyes of the group. “I saw the stakes, and -rope over the wing-tips.” - -“The engine was covered over,” added Curt. - -Lang spiraled down to pass as close as the trees would allow. - -They saw nothing more, however, and after Lang had refused Al’s -impulsive request to “set down” in the small field, the party flew on to -the landing field of the Aircraft Corporation where Lang had some -alterations to report in the adjustment of the ship’s balance before it -could be delivered to its purchaser. - -“Let’s get our bicycles and ride out to the field,” urged Al, as the -trio of comrades alighted beyond the aircraft plant. - -They pedaled the three miles in record time. - -“I was right,” commented Bob, as they left the wheels beside the highway -and climbed over the high rail fence enclosing the stubble where corn -had recently been cut down. “You can’t see the airplane from any place -along the highway——” - -“Unless it’s gone,” interrupted Al. - -“No!” Curt was a little ahead. He waved his arm. “There she is!” - -They crossed the rough field, toward the mysterious, silent object of -interest. - -“I can see from here it hasn’t cracked up,” Curt declared. “Not a -scratch on it and the landing gear is perfect.” - -“Whoever flew it must be clever,” declared Bob. “Look at the narrow -strip of open, smooth ground he had to ‘set down’ on. If he hadn’t been -able to shoot the field so as to get in on that long, smooth side, with -only a few feet clearance, he’d have come down in rough stubble.” - -“Yes, he must have been good,” agreed Al. “And it proves that he was -forced down. Any sane pilot would have gone on to a better spot.” - -They reached the airplane, a two-winged model with a radial motor and -small wings; it was a speed ship, trim and mystifying with its dark, -brown body and airfoils freshly done. - -Curtis, whose age was midway between Al’s thirteen and Bob’s sixteen, -clambered onto a landing wheel and observed the instruments on the dash. -“Plenty of gas, and oil,” he remarked. Then his companions saw his face -change. - -“Look!” As he called he leaped from his perch so that Bob could occupy -it; Al was up on the other side, and it took no explaining to show what -had caused Curt’s exclamation. Both youths saw the small square of paper -pinned to the folded parachute on the seat. - -“Dare we look?” questioned Bob. - -“‘I can read it from here,” Al said, and reported. “It says, ‘Everything -O.K.’” - -“Crickety Christmas!” Curt resorted to his favorite expression. -“‘Everything O.K.’ Then it wasn’t a forced landing.” - -“No,” agreed Bob. “It didn’t seem like one, somehow. The ship is too -carefully tucked away. And, now—this note. Who is it to? Who put it -there? Does it mean the ship is all right—or something else? I was right -when I said—‘there’s our mystery.’” - -“You were!” admitted Curt. - -“But what can we do about it?” objected Al. “Take turns watching? Wait -to see who comes back, and what he does?” - -“I think not,” counseled Curt. “It may be a mystery why the crate is -here, and all that! But it isn’t any of our business—is it?” - -“No,” admitted Bob. “Let’s go home, and see what father thinks of it. -There is probably some easy explanation we haven’t thought of.” - -“All right. We can ride out here first thing—early—tomorrow.” - -They could not consult the private detective whose success had been so -pronounced that cases came to him from distant cities: he was out of -town that night. - -When they rode out to the field the next day, at sunrise, looking for -the mysteriously deserted airplane it was gone! - -“Where is your mystery now?” Curt was inclined to poke a little fun at -Bob. “As the sleight-of-hand performers say, ‘Now you see it, now you -don’t!’” - -“Anyway,” Al who was poking about in the grass under the trees, bent and -then exhibited a damp, crumpled paper, “here is the note. Now, what do -you say if we have a session of the old Master Sleuths, and see what we -can deduce from this paper?” - -A year before, asked to do a little investigating for Mr. Wright, when -he was handling a case where youths would be least likely to arouse -suspicion by shadowing, the trio had become intensely interested in -detective work and had termed themselves the Master Sleuths, more in fun -than in earnest. However, when they had become “air minded” the term had -been dropped. Al, reviving it, won a grin from Bob. - -“All right,” Bob agreed. “The paper is damp. It has been out in the dew. -Under the trees it would take a good while for it to get as soggy as it -is. The writing has smudged—it’s sort of purple——” - -“It was written with an indelible pencil,” remarked Curt. - -“Then all we have to do is to find a man with an—” Al was not allowed to -finish. Bob broke in, as older brothers like to do. - -“Yes—get ‘the man in the gray suit!’ How many indelible pencils do you -suppose there are in this country?” - -“All right!” Al took the matter good-humoredly. “Anyhow, if a man wrote -it and a man read it and threw it away—two hands have handled it.” He -put it carefully in his pocket. “There may be fingerprints.” - -“What good will they do?” asked Curt. “The mystery is all done with.” - -“No it isn’t!” cried Bob, holding up his hand. - -“Listen!” - -From above came the drone of an airplane engine. - - - - - CHAPTER II - AT ROCKY LAKE - - -“I hear it!” exclaimed Al. He ran out onto the turf that had been used -as a runway, probably, when the airplane took off. - -“So do I,” agreed Curt, following him. “But I don’t locate it.” - -Bob, craning his neck, staring up toward the great banks of clouds which -the early sun was painting with rosy fire, looked puzzled. - -“Come to think of it,” he said, “we ought not to hear it at all.” - -“Why not?” demanded Curt. - -“He ought to be too far away.” - -“How do you make that out?” Al was incredulous. - -“Easy! Lang came home a little before daybreak. He had been at the -airplane plant all night, with the ‘mechs’ because Mr. Tredway wanted to -get that Silver Flash ready for delivery in a rush. I didn’t go to sleep -again. I got up, and dressed and went out to tighten the handlebar on my -bicycle. I glanced up, just as day broke, at the little windsock I have -on our roof.” - -“The wind was directly _West_.” - -“I don’t see—” began Al; but Curt, wetting the back of his hand, tested -the air in various directions. - -“You use your head, Bob,” he said admiringly. “The breeze is pretty -strong, and it has shifted around _to South_, straight from the -Equator.” - -“Are you two trying to be mysterious?” Al was a little bit annoyed. - -“I thought you wanted to be a Master Sleuth, last year,” remarked Curt. -“Use your eyes and your brains.” - -“Um-m-m—the airplane must be gone a long time because the wind was West -and now it’s South—um-m-m. Oh!” - -“‘Ah-ha!’ cried Shawkhaw,” Bob mocked, twisting the famous Hawkshaw -title as he made fun of his brother. - -“This turf runs East and West.” Al ignored Bob’s mockery. “That biplane -was a speed model and it would have to get up higher speed than the -average to take off. The runway is too short to give it a good run, so -it couldn’t very well have hopped off in time to get over the trees -unless it took full advantage of the wind! Isn’t that it, Bob?” - -“That’s it. The wind changed about the time we left our meeting point -with Curt. So that airplane ought to be well on its way, wherever its -way leads.” - -“But this engine is getting louder,” stated Curt. - -“There it is!” cried Al, pointing toward the South. “It’s only a speck. -But you see it, don’t you, Curt?” - -“Yes.” - -“So do I,” added Bob. - -“It looks as if it is spiraling down—yes, it is!” - -“And it isn’t the biplane we saw here, at all,” Bob said. “Curt, do you -know what?——” - -“Yes. It’s the very ’plane we were in yesterday, with Lang. He gave it a -final check-up and said if they worked on it all night it would be ready -to take off today. That’s it, all righty! The biplane was brown, and——” - -“This is the Silver Flash! I can see it glisten against that dark -cloud,” added Al. “I think it’s coming down.” - -“It’s diving.” - -“No!” cried Bob. “It’s out of control! It’s falling!” - -“Right over Rocky Lake!” shouted Curt. - -“Come on!” urged Al, scrambling over the short stubble in the field, in -haste to reach his bicycle and pedal toward the picnic grounds, less -than a quarter of a mile away, in which Rocky Lake was situated. - -“Wait!” counseled Bob. - -“No! Come on!” Curt agreed with Al. The airplane was out of control. It -was diving, straight toward the amusement ground around the lake. “It’s -a crack-up!” - -“There it goes!” - -Behind the trees, out of sight, like a silver streak, a comet, the -airplane fell. Three hearts went cold as the ship was lost to view -behind the foliage. While they could not see the craft strike, any spot -in Rocky Lake Park was bad for a landing: dense trees, whole groves, -alternated with stands, pavilions, and the deep, boulder-studded water -of Rocky Lake and the rivulet which fed it. - -Three minds worked as one, three pairs of legs tumbled their owners over -the stile, onto the roadside turf, up to the bicycles. - -Pedaling like madmen they made short time of the trip to the edge of the -amusement spot. - -“I think it was directly over Rocky Lake!” Curt, in the lead, called -over his shoulder. - -Dropping their wheels by the roadside they ran, winded but determined, -towards the picnic grounds. - -“There—there—in the lake!” gasped Bob. - -“It crashed, all right!” panted Curt. - -“It’s half buried in the water.” Al puffed along a little to the rear. -“I hope the pilot——” - -“It wasn’t Lang, was it?” - -“No!” Bob responded to Curt’s question. “It must have been some other -pilot—I can’t think who, though.” - -“Hurry!” urged Al. “Hello—hello!” he called, passing the pavilions. “Is -anybody around! Wake up—somebody! Help! Help! A ’plane has cracked up in -Rocky Lake!” - -“See anything of the pilot?” Bob turned to Curt. Gasping for breath they -had reached the shore of the lake, by a small wharf where rowboats were -hired during the day. - -Curt scanned the surface of the lake. - -Quite near the shore, and on the rocks, with one crumpled wing, and with -her nose and cabin buried in soft, oozey mud, the smashed monoplane lay -with its pitifully useless tail assembly sticking up into the air. The -“flippers” had carried way with the impact and hung by the control -cables. - -Bob turned a serious face toward his companion. - -“I hope—I wonder”— He could not finish. The thought flitted through his -mind that unless the pilot had been extremely quick and very clever, he -could not have gotten out of the cabin—in time. The falling craft had -been close enough so that had any figure leaped, especially with a -parachute, they should have seen it clearly. - -No such figure had leaped—in time. - -“Maybe he—crawled out when it struck,” said Curt, hopefully. - -“Anyhow, let’s get a boat, and try to get to it.” - -“Al,” called Curt, “stop calling for help! There isn’t anybody here. Run -to the farmhouse across the road—no, that’s empty. Ride back down the -road, till you see an automobile and send it to town for help. If you -don’t meet one, stop at the first house and telephone.” - -Al, for all his natural eagerness to be at the scene, to share in their -experiences, saluted without a word of remonstrance and hurried away. -Meanwhile Bob, realizing that the oars for the boats were locked in the -small pavilion on the wharf, determined to break in, feeling that the -emergency removed any taint of robbery or pillage from the act. - -Fortunately he found the old, rusted lock not caught. He slipped the -rusty padlock, slipped the hasp free, and ran back to the dock where -Curt had a boat untied and ready. In this, pushing off, they rowed out -to the airplane. The weight of its engine was very slowly driving its -nose deeper into the soft ooze of the marshy ground at that end of the -lake. - -“Hurry!” begged Curt, as Bob bent to his task. - -Suddenly Bob rested on his oars. - -“What’s the matter?” cried Curt, and as he saw the expression of Bob’s -face he, too, became intent. - -“There it is again!” panted Bob. “A call—a call for help?” he -questioned. - -“I don’t know. But row!” - -Bob rowed. - - - - - CHAPTER III - A GREATER MYSTERY - - -“There comes the call again!” whispered Curt. “It was ‘help!’” - -Bob sent the boat through the mirrorlike water. He headed for the -immersed nose of the airplane and as they rounded the cabin, part of it -sticking up forlornly, Curt lifted a hand to point. - -“Look! There is the parachute, partly inflated, floating on the water.” - -“It looks as though the pilot tried to get out of the cabin, and either -pulled his ripcord too soon, or else some part of the harness caught and -held him—until too late!” - -Sobered and worried, wondering just what to do and who had called, they -sent their eyes questing here and there—into as much of the cabin as -they could see from the window just under the transparent surface of -Rocky Lake, but without result. - -“I thought he might be caught in the cabin,” said Bob. “But I can’t see -any——” - -“There he is—see! Out on the lake!” Curt pointed. “He’s swimming.” - -Bob pushed away from the fuselage of the sinking craft, and with a sweep -brought the bow of their boat around. - -“Oh!” he caught sight of a head bobbing in the water, “oh, Curt—I’m so -glad!” - -Rowing hard, he sent the boat toward the swimmer. - -“So am I.” Curt’s voice was relieved. “The pilot escaped.” - -“But—it can’t be the pilot, Curt.” - -“Why not?” - -“He has been swimming toward the ’plane, from out in the lake.” - -“I know, Bob, but he may have seen us.” - -“But he’d have part of the parachute harness on,” Bob objected. - -“Probably he slashed it off. Maybe he saw it was too late to get out, -that the ’chute was too low, and he slashed himself free and started to -swim across the water——” - -“No. He’d have come to this closer shore, and landed on the wharf.” - -They watched the man, treading water as he saw them coming. - -Across the water a call floated clearly to them. - -“Did you hear—a call—for help?” - -“We thought we did,” Bob called back, and, as they came closer the man -spoke less loudly. - -“I don’t see anybody.” - -“Then you aren’t the pilot?” - -“He can’t be!” Curt commented when the man failed to reply, being busy -clearing water from his eyes to look around the lake again. - -“Haven’t seen anybody at all,” the man spoke as he caught the gunwale -and pulled himself up and into the boat with Curt’s aid. “Heard a shout, -though. Row back boys, to that thing.” - -They went back over the course. The stranger, studying the aircraft, -seemed very much disturbed and worried. He had a hand ready to catch the -struts of a wing as they swung under the tilted airfoil: while Bob -stowed the needless oar on that side he drew the boat forward. - -“We didn’t see anything in the cabin. We looked, before,” Bob explained. - -“Untie that painter,” the stranger ordered. “I’m going down under the -nose, and the mud might hold me—so, if I signal, you pull.” As Curt -unknotted the tying rope and threw it to him, the man looped an end -under his arms, knotting it swiftly, flung the short coil to Bob and -lowered himself, disappearing into the water, his descent stirred up -mud, moiling the water. Down he went, hidden almost at once in the murky -disturbance. - -Paying out the rope until it grew slack, Bob took a turn around a -rowlock, and they waited breathlessly. Some bubbles floated up and -broke. Then came a tug on the rope. - -Curt, who had already come to the midships section, helped Bob tug and -haul in the wet manilla strands. The stranger came up through the murky -water, emerged, shook himself free of the liquid, caught the boat and -shook his head. - -“Not in the cabin—only thing I can think of is—if he tried to jump and -got under the thing.” - -Very soberly the youths helped him back into the boat. - -People were arriving on the bank, shouting to one another, calling for -information, shipping oars in boats. Al, having met several motorists, -had spread the alarm, and then had ridden on to telephone the police and -to report the crash. - -Al, having returned, was in the second boat to arrive by the slowly -sinking craft. - -Bob gave him a concise report while they pushed away from the place to -enable a deputy sheriff to take command and to jot down the stranger’s -explanation and their own, from Curt. - -“I wish you boys would row me across the little bayou, here,” the man -said. Al had transferred to their boat by that time. - -“Take me to that point, over there,” the man added. “It’s closest to -where I dropped my motorcycle when I saw the thing happen.” - -Bob nodded. The presence of the motorcycle beyond the lake, where it was -nearest to the road, explained why they had seen the man swimming toward -them. He must have heard and seen the airplane, watched its descent, and -then rushed to see what he could do. - -“But won’t the police want you to testify, or whatever it is?” asked Al. - -The man shook his head. - -“No,” he replied. “If they do, they can find me soon enough. I’m off to -get into dry duds. I didn’t waste time riding around the end of the -lake. I dropped my motorcycle and ran in to see what I could see.” He -smiled, sadly. “I guess I was too late, even at that.” - -Thanking them as he climbed onto the rocky shore, he pushed the bow of -their boat into the stream again, and watched them turn in the still -water. - -“You can tell the police I didn’t think they’d need me right away,” he -called. “I’m passing through this section, and I don’t want to be held -up and kept here for any sort of investigation. You saw as much as I -did. Well—goodbye!” - -He turned, and as they heard the “crash ’bus” arriving from the airport -in a nearby city of which they lived in the suburbs, Bob rowed his two -young companions back toward the airplane. - -The police came, and many others with them and after them. - -Preparations were made to drag under the craft, and to lift it, if -tackle could be gotten into suitable position, to see if any trace of -the missing pilot could be discovered. - -Nothing further developed, however, and one of the “mechs” with the -airport ’bus told Bob it would be afternoon before they got the -monoplane out. The three comrades had given the police lieutenant all -the information they could. There was a healthy appetite making itself -felt among them. - -“Let’s go home,” Bob suggested. - -“Wait, all of you,” urged the reporter for a small suburban daily. “I’ll -make heroes of you yet.” - -Protesting that they had done nothing heroic and that they did not want -to be “put in the paper” for doing their duty, Curt and Bob refused to -answer any questions. The police, Bob said, might not want information -published. He did not know, but he would prefer not to talk. “Oh, I -see—there is a mystery, then!” the reporter declared. “Well, if you -won’t talk—” he began to write swiftly. - -“If we won’t talk,” Bob commented as the trio walked toward their -bicycles. “He’ll write something anyhow.” - -“It’s queer that there isn’t any trace of the pilot.” Al’s mind returned -to the tragic part of the crash. - -“Maybe he jumped clear, got away and went into the water, and then, -coming up, got to land. He may be on shore, somewhere, hurt, or too weak -to make himself known.” - -Curt’s explanation renewed their hope. - -“Let’s hope it’s that way,” said Bob. “Well, we’ve got a long road to -breakfast. Mother will be just about wild. I left a note, but she will -worry about Al and me, just the same. If we go to the ball park and -don’t get home within half an hour after the game, she frets.” - -“Excuse me, boys.” A pleasant voice behind them caused the three to -wheel around. They saw a pleasant-faced man, beside an automobile, -parked close to the bicycles they were disentangling. “If you want to -get home in a hurry, pile the bicycles in that little comfort station -over there, and tell the attendant ‘Barney’ said to look out for them. -I’m from the aircraft plant, and as long as I can’t do anything here, if -you’ll hop into my car I’ll ride you home while you give me the facts as -well as you know them about this smash. It’s a bad thing, and I want to -get as straight as I can what happened.” - -They were very grateful to Barney, who neglected to furnish any other -name. He waited until they had stowed away the bicycles, and while he -drove them toward the village he questioned them rapidly. - -“I think you are all very brave, and quick, and fine,” he commented, -after they had, in turn, recited their adventures. “You acted splendidly -and I thank you very much.” - -Al looked surprised. - -“We did our duty,” he replied. “But why are you thanking us? I know it -was one of the Tredway airplanes because we were in it, with Lang, -yesterday on check-up. But who was in it, and what do you think -happened—really?” - -“The owner of the manufacturing plant was in it,” said Barney, very -soberly and sadly. “Mr. Tredway was flying it himself. He wanted to -deliver it in person—for a reason.” - -“For a reason?” Bob repeated, inquiringly. - -“Yes,” said Barney. “There is a mystery behind that crack-up—it’s more -likely it’s a ‘washout.’ Anyhow, there is something behind the smash, -and—I’ve heard there is a private detective, a Mr. Wright, at Forty-one -Elm. If you can tell me the quickest way to get there, I’ll appreciate -it. I want to consult him—on this case.” - -Bob, Curt and Al stared. - -“That’s father!” said Al. - -“Indeed! Then I am glad I offered you a ‘lift.’” - -They directed him, and eventually he drew up the car before the neat, -cozy cottage. Curtis, accepting the invitation to stay for their -somewhat belated breakfast, sat, with Bob and Al, in the cheerful -breakfast room, finishing up a stack of pancakes thickly syruped, when -Bob was sent for. - -Returning, after a few minutes, he showed his younger brother and his -best friend a face of elation. - -“There is a mystery, all righty,” he declared. “And you’re to come with -me——” - -“Why?” asked Curt. - -“Because,” retorted Bob, “we’re—in—on—it!” As the others jumped up he -added, “Father’s home and he’s taken a real air mystery case!” - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE SKY SQUAD IS FORMED - - -Entering Mr. Wright’s library, which the detective used as a reception -room for clients, Bob, Curtis and Al could hardly repress their -excitement. To share in the possible solution of a real mystery of the -airlanes was more than they had really dared to hope for. - -Seated opposite Mr. Wright, smiling pleasantly, was the man who had -given no other name than Barney. - -“Good morning, Mr. Wright.” Curtis Brown greeted the quiet, but cordial -father of his two chums. Al added a salute to his father. - -“Sit down,” suggested the detective. Bob, Curt and Al ranged themselves -along the leather upholstered davenport at the side, where the light was -on their faces. Mr. Wright had his room so arranged that only his own -place beside the desk enabled him to keep his face in the shadow; -clients and other visitors had to show every expression in the light -from the two sunny windows. - -While Mr. Wright seemed to be deciding how to disclose his plans, Curt -compared the two men. - -They were of very distinct types. Fred Wright would make anybody think -of an ordinary, everyday business man, fairly prosperous, quiet in his -manner, affable and cordial in his speech. His calm, serious face was -neither severe nor too soft; and while its steel-gray eyes were kindly, -they could look through a person, it seemed, and find out, almost, what -that one was thinking, or, perhaps, trying to conceal. - -Barney, on the other hand, made one think of a working man who had risen -to a position of prosperity and influence without being able entirely to -shake off his servile, unpolished manner. Although his clothes were -expertly tailored, he seemed a little ill at ease in them. What was -more, he gave the impression that he knew it! - -He was a trifle blustery to cover his feeling of inferiority, Curt -decided; and he had a habit of interrupting when another person was -speaking. However, this might be due to excitement, Curt thought -charitably. - -Glancing sidewise, he sensed that much the same comparisons were passing -through Bob’s mind. Al gave no thought to character. His whole attention -was bent on the possibility of “action!” - -Curt, who liked to look for good points more than for the other sort, -checked up Barney’s dark eyes, almost black, and decided that they were -only serious because of the gravity of the situation. They could twinkle -with fun, he guessed; also, the mouth was so shaped that Bob admitted to -himself that Barney smiled oftener than he scowled. - -“I have told Mr. Horton about you three young aviation enthusiasts,” -Fred Wright began. “Also I have explained that you used to be very fond -of ‘detecting’ in a decidedly amateurish way, of course.” He smiled -across the desk toward Barney, whose face broke into a broad, pleased -grin, immediately suppressed because of the seriousness of his errand. - -“I’ll say we were amateurish,” chuckled Bob. “Why, Mr. Horton——” - -“Call me Barney—just Barney,” the visitor interrupted. - -“If you say so, sir. Well, Barney, then! We were crazy to be great -detectives, because father is one,” he paid the compliment -whole-heartedly and only his father smiled and shook his head -deprecatingly, “but we let our enthusiasm take the place of brains,” Bob -added. “I was not much help because I let vanity get the best of cool, -common sense——” - -“I was a failure because I am too impulsive,” contributed Al. - -“I was so short-sighted, in my mind, that I forgot to look at the whole -of a case and pinned my nose down onto every little clew,” Curt grinned -sheepishly, “so I kept going around in circles.” - -“All the same,” Mr. Wright looked over at Barney, “in such work as boys -could do—they were a few years younger then—these three helped me a -great deal in handling two quite important cases.” - -The trio lowered their heads modestly. - -“However,” the detective continued, “they turned from being Master -Sleuths, as they termed themselves, to aviation——” - -“Airboys!” chuckled Barney. - -“Why, yes. That is an apt expression.” - -“But we didn’t give up wanting to be detectives, really!” exclaimed Al, -earnestly. “We were looking for a way to mix the aviation with the -detecting—only we haven’t gotten into either one.” - -“Then here’s your chance.” Barney said it very seriously. - -“How?” - -“Barney has brought me a very baffling case,” Mr. Wright explained. -“Unfortunately, I am so deeply involved in another matter that I cannot -drop it.” - -“But you can give some time to this, you said.” Barney was earnest. - -“Not personally. That is, I shan’t be able to investigate in person,” -the detective replied. “That is where our three assistants will -figure——” - -“And be Airboys and Master Sleuths, both at the one time,” Barney -interrupted. - -“Hooray!” Al clapped his hand to his knee, unable to restrain his -enthusiasm. Mr. Wright, although with a tolerant, if brief smile, shook -his head at his younger son. - -“This will be a serious affair,” he stated, forcefully. - -Al immediately became sobered. - -“How can we combine aviation and detective work?” asked Curt, the most -practical of the chums. - -“By going to the aircraft plant to work as mechanics’ helpers, or -whatever positions Barney sees fit to put you in,” Mr. Wright told them. -“That takes care of the detective work because you will have to keep -eyes and ears open and without appearing to do so.” - -“We can do that easily,” said Bob. - -“That takes no effort at all,” agreed Al. His father, knowing Al’s -expressive face to be easily read, made no comment. - -“While you are at the aircraft plant,” Barney took up the explanation, -“you will be working in and around the crates we are building, and you -will learn a whole lot about how an airplane is put together, what the -parts are for, and how they are assembled. That’s the aviation part.” He -emphasized the first syllable, making it “av-iation.” “What do you say?” - -“Hooray!” Al was irrepressible. - -“Just show us the jobs!” added Bob. - -“Of course we will be glad to learn.” Curt was more sober. “That ought -to be one of the first things for anybody to do who means to be a -pilot.” Mr. Wright nodded and Curt proceeded. “A good grounding in -airplane construction will be fine. But—for the detective part—I think -we ought to be very serious and consider it carefully.” - -“Indeed you should,” agreed Mr. Wright. “There is a deeper mystery to be -solved than appears on the surface.” - -“I see that,” agreed Curt. “And we must be sure that we will be a help -and not a hindrance to you——” - -“Fine lad!” broke in Barney. - -“Oh, we won’t be a hindrance!” Al was almost bouncing on the divan -springs in his eagerness. “We’ll watch, and catch whoever you want -caught—maybe learn to fly a ‘crate’ and hop off and fly after him and -ride him down and force him to land—and there you are!” - -All the party laughed. Al, realizing his childish lapse into silly -chatter, laughed, finally, himself, a little ruefully. - -“I see what Curt meant, now,” he said, more quietly; but his excitement -was hard to hold. “But, anyhow, Mr.——” - -“Barney!” - -“Anyhow, Barney, we will try to help. We can learn about airplane -construction, and that will be fine; but we will give all our minds to -watching and listening and doing whatever is wanted of us—we ought to -form some kind of club or order, so we would have a head to get orders -from father—especially if he is too busy to take part himself.” - -“That’s sensible, even if it does seem boy-like to want to have a secret -association,” said the older detective. - -“Then let’s call ourselves what Barney called us—the Airboys.” - -“I don’t like that very much,” objected Bob. - -“Well, then, you pick a name.” - -“I think the game is more important than the name,” observed the older -detective. - -“Oh—but with a good name for our band, and a chief, we can know where we -are,” urged Al. - -“All right,” said Curt. “Let’s humor the youngster!” Al grimaced at him, -but subsided as Curt went on. “We are detectives as well as airplane -enthusiasts. Why not combine the two in the name of the order we are to -form—something about the sky, and something about a police—detective -squad——” - -“You’ve hit it!” Barney interrupted. - -“Hit it? How?” - -“Sky Squad!” - -“Crickety Christmas!” Curt was as enthusiastic as Bob and Al became on -hearing the words. “That’s it!” - -“Very well,” Mr. Wright was patient, but a little annoyed. “That being -settled, we can take up the important matter of—the case!” - - - - - CHAPTER V - A DOUBLE PUZZLE - - -Barney stood up and looked at his watch: also, he frowned a little. - -“I wish we didn’t have to waste the time,” he objected. “I’ve went -through it all with you, Mr. Wright, and I wanted to take these lads -along back to the plant in my car. I wanted to make it look like I just -happened on them at the accident—the—well, the accident, and found they -were interested in av-iation and brought them back to fill a couple of -places in the plant.” - -“But how can we solve a case if we don’t know what it is?” remonstrated -Bob. - -To that Curt nodded and Al bobbed his head rapidly. - -“As a matter of fact,” Barney turned to Bob, “I think you would do a -whole heap better if you went in to it blind, sort of. If you know all -about it, you’ll go out to the plant, all serious and acting like judges -or detectives. If you take it the way our youngest friend, Al, does—as a -sort of lark—you won’t be suspected so quick.” - -“There is something in that,” Mr. Wright admitted. “Al’s face is apt to -give him away if he thinks it is really serious. Perhaps——” - -“But all the same, Father,” Bob declared, “how will we know what to -watch for? How will we know what to report?” - -“Watch anything you see. Listen to whatever you hear. Report the whole -business!” Barney exclaimed. - -“That does seem wise,” Mr. Wright agreed, rising also. “Boys, let’s -emphasize the Sky part of your order, and let the Squad side rest -awhile. Barney wants to get back to the plant—he is the Manager, I meant -to explain. He ought to be at the end of a telephone wire. Let’s say -only this: There is a double mystery. First of all, valuable parts have -been missed, from time to time, from the plant. That is a minor matter, -at present, but your first puzzle is—where have the missing parts gone -and who took them? But, as I said, that is a minor affair, because——” - -“Somebody has tampered with some of the finished crates,” broke in -Barney. “Why, and who—that’s the second puzzle!” - -“Suppose you take that as enough for the present,” suggested Mr. Wright. -He turned to Barney. “Now these three young lads are alert, obedient, -and they will follow instructions to the letter, if you give orders,” he -explained. “You have already seen how——” - -“How quick they are in emergencies! Yes sirree! All right. I know I can -depend on them. Sorry you can’t investigate in person, Mr. Wright—but -maybe this way will work out best. Anyhow, nobody at the plant will get -suspicious of these boys. They won’t have the brains of older men, like -you and me, but they will have quick eyes and wide ears,” he laughed, -and beckoned, “come on, lads.” - -A little disappointed, feeling that there was more behind the mystery -than Mr. Wright had disclosed, but accepting his “lead,” Bob, Al and -Curt caught up their caps from the hall rack and followed Barney into -the car. - -As he drove toward the large manufacturing buildings, the administration -offices and the assembling rooms, “dope” rooms and testing field that -formed the Tredway Aircraft Corporation plant, Barney kept away from -talk about the mysteries. - -Instead, he questioned them about the plan for their new organization, -suggested secret codes, urged them to elect a “Boss Pilot” and really -fired their imaginations to such a point that when they came in sight of -the aircraft plant they had almost forgotten their disappointment at not -being taken fully into his confidence. - -“Well,” he said, when they turned in at the gateway in the high board -fence that kept curious wanderers out of the grounds, “here we are, Sky -Squad—ready to begin to learn how a crate is started, what the design -means, and why certain things have to be planned for—and then, what goes -into construction and why, how she’s put together, and then, how to fly -the finished crate.” - -Sensing from his tone that he wanted them to concentrate, at least -outwardly, on airplane construction and to let the other part of their -activity be kept quiet, the three comrades agreed by assuming an -interest that was by no means hard to pretend, when he took them into -the offices, introduced them to some of the men working there, and -explained that he was going to put them to work “to learn to build -crates from the prop to the tail skid.” Barney, on the way, had learned -their special interests. Therefore he put Bob into the engine assembling -division where he could learn more about radial engines and the -experiments being conducted with oil-burning types. Curt, who was -methodical, cool and careful, was assigned to work, at least for awhile, -in the wing assembling rooms. Al, being rather young for too much -technical understanding, was assigned as helper to a “rigger,” who had -been grumbling for some time at the laziness of his present assistant. - -Everything was so new and so interesting that the trio forgot the -seriousness with which Mr. Wright had assembled them that morning; but -as they rode their bicycles toward home at lunch time, Bob imparted -information that both startled them and turned their minds back to the -serious business really underlying their work. - -“I heard some talk, this morning,” Bob told his brother and Curt. “It’s -serious, fellows! Missing parts aren’t half the puzzle—and tampering -with airplanes isn’t all the rest.” - -“What is, then?” demanded Al. - -“They think, in the wing assembling room,” Curt put in, “that the -airplane fell this morning because something went wrong with Mr. -Tredway. The plant owner was delivering that craft himself. They all -argue that he must have had a heart attack, or something of the sort, -because the airplane was tested and gone over thoroughly. They say he -must have been taken sick and lost control. Is that what you mean?” - -“I heard some ‘mechs’ saying they think he deliberately made away with -himself because of money trouble or something they don’t know about,” -added Al. “Maybe trouble with his family, one says.” - -“That isn’t it,” Bob said soberly. - -“What is?” - -“The talk in the engine plant was that some enemy deliberately tampered -with that airplane because—because he knew the owner was to fly it.” - -“But—” Curt was astounded, “but, Bob—that would be——” - -“Yes,” admitted Bob, very gravely, “yes—it would!” - -“That makes the puzzle about missing parts and the rest unimportant,” -Curt commented, thoughtfully. - -“But it still gives us two puzzles to solve,” Al began. - -“Well,” corrected Curt, “not two separate puzzles—but a double puzzle, -all the same.” - -“A double puzzle? I don’t quite see——” - -“It’s all one problem,” Bob explained to his younger brother. “But it -has two sections. First—was the airplane tampered with as an act against -the aircraft corporation or against Mr. Tredway in person?” - -“And second?——” - -Al did not let Curt complete his deduction. Al had one of his own. - -“And second—who did it?” - - - - - CHAPTER VI - SUSPICION AND SUSPENSE - - -Full of their horrifying suspicions, Curt and Bob rode on. Al turned off -on a side street to deliver a parcel at the home of his new boss, -“Sandy” Jim Bailey, the rigger. Al wanted to “make himself solid” with -the sandy-haired man whom he already liked and whose grumbling was over -now that he had, as he said, “a willin’ and brainy helper.” - -Curt ate lunch with Bob. Both were disappointed when Bob’s mother told -them that his father had been called out of town on his case, accepted -earlier. - -Riding back, to rejoin Al, who was waiting at the gate of the plant -ground, Bob accosted his brother in some surprise. - -“Aren’t you going to have lunch?” he asked. - -“I had it,” Al told Bob and Curt. “I delivered that package for Mr. -Bailey, and met his son, Jimmy-junior. He’s just about my age, and an -awfully nice fellow. He invited me, so I stayed.” He dismounted and set -his wheel inside the enclosure. “You ought to see the model airplanes he -builds. They’re great!” - -“Well, we can’t stop to talk about them now. Mr. Barney Horton left word -with the gate-man we are to come into the administration offices to see -him.” Bob led the way as he gave the information. - -“It will give us a chance to look over the office staff,” Curt -explained. - -“Be careful, Al,” his brother warned him. “See that you don’t let -anybody guess that you see any suspicious things. You show everything on -your face, you know.” - -“All right.” - -Barney greeted them in his private office and introduced them to Mr. -Tredway’s partner, Mr. Parsons, who was there. - -If his manner was somewhat abrupt and his mind preoccupied, Bob made -allowances for that. The man was overcome by the mishap and its sinister -outcome. - -His restless, seemingly uneasy, and almost furtive actions, however, -were not so easy to account for. He seemed unable to meet the eyes of -the comrades directly, and appeared to be nervous—even more than the -circumstances justified, Bob thought. - -Almost on top of the introductions he hurried out, “To get out there -where the airplane cracked up and see what’s what!” he explained. - -“He takes it mighty hard, he does,” Barney told the youths. “No wonder. -He’s Mr. Tredway’s partner.” - -“But there isn’t any real certainty that anything terrible happened to -Mr. Tredway,” asserted Curt. “He might have jumped clear.” - -“Yes, and maybe he was hurt, and managed to swim off to some part of the -shore and wasn’t able to go any further. They haven’t searched every -possible spot have they?” Al was hopeful. - -“I’m afraid they have,” Barney replied. “Furthermore, there are so many -soft, muddy sink-holes in Rocky Lake——” - -“Do you agree with what the people in the plant are saying?” Al asked. - -“I don’t know, my lad. You see, it’s a good idea, having you here. When -I’m around the people shut their mouths. But you hear things. What are -they saying?” - -“They think it’s something worse than missing parts and damage done to -the ‘crates’,” Al answered and explained, calling on Curt and Bob for -their versions of the talk. - -“Hm-m-m. Well, Al, I think—if I were you—I wouldn’t listen to the talk -around the plant too hard. Pick it up, of course, but don’t go making -any theories of your own out of it.” Barney explained that people buzzed -like a lot of flies every time anything happened, and that many of the -less sensible ones, liking to be “in the limelight,” worked up almost -idiotic theories. Usually, if they were accepted, they led to unjust -suspicions, he argued. - -“Those scatter-brains only want an audience to listen to them,” he -declared. “I’d advise you to listen and let it go out the other ear. -Otherwise you may get off onto the wrong notion. Better watch out for -suspicious actions, and leave the theories to Mr. Wright.” - -“But he’s away,” argued Al. - -“Only temporary, I guess. Anyhow, you can tell me what you hear and see, -and let it go at that. I’ll communicate with Mr. Wright, and if he -thinks there is anything as bad as you say, I can tell you how to go -on.” - -“All right,” agreed Curt. - -Bob and Al added their own agreement to the suggestion. - -The designer and the engineering staff were introduced and several hours -were devoted to discussions between them, for the benefit of the trio, -about airplane design and the things that had to be taken into -consideration. - -“If my young friends are going to learn airplane building,” Barney -asserted, “it will be better if they know how important it is to figure -stresses, safety margins, stability and so on, before ever a design gets -on paper.” - -“I thought all those things came out in the tests, after the airplanes -are built,” Al contributed. - -“Oh, no,” the designer said. “The tests show us how well we figured and -how good the designs are that we created. But we work everything out up -here before ever an engine part is cast, a fuselage built or a wing -assembled.” - -“Any other way would be hit or miss,” Bob agreed. - -While they learned the many sections into which an airplane design is -divided, and how carefully every curve, streamline, distribution of -weight, lift of wing and drag of body must be calculated, Bob decided -that no one in the office—at least no one with whom he came in -contact—was acting in any suspicious manner. - -Able to do nothing about the accident, the staff went on with its -accustomed work, sadly, more seriously, to be sure, but steadily. - -However, when Bob returned to his engine assembling work, he met a new -character, and one of whom he at once formed an unsatisfactory opinion. - -By association of ideas Griff Parsons fell under his suspicion because -the youth, about eighteen or nineteen, was the son of the man Bob had -seen in Barney’s office—Mr. Parsons. Griff, whose handclasp was flabby, -whose eyes were even more shifty, whose manner was still more uneasy -than his father’s had been, did not impress Bob favorably at all. - -He had something on his mind, Bob decided. - -Assigned by the engine department foreman to help Griff fit piston rings -onto the small pistons, to fit the piston assembly into the cylinders, -before the final assembly was made, Bob learned much, and somewhat more -about Griff than about the nice adjustments of machinery. - -If he turned suddenly, Griff almost jumped, having hard work to control -his muscles. - -When he spoke of the morning’s accident, Griff, with a scowl, told him -to “Keep your mind on what you’re doing! That other ain’t any of your -business!” - -Bob had hard work not to show his antagonism to the gruff, snappish -young man; he was grateful when a summons took him out into the yard. - -“I think it is a good idea to have you fellows treated as though all you -are here for is to learn about airplanes,” Barney greeted him. “Your -Cousin Langley is going to take up the sister ship to the cracked up -Silver Flash, this afternoon, and I’m sending all three of you with him. -It will give you a chance to understand what the designer told you about -how carefully he had estimated the shape and weight of the new type -longerons and how some mistake that he hasn’t been able to figure out -yet makes the new crate tend to slip off sideways too easily. Langley -will show you how he checks and reports, and then you will understand -how every one of us works in harmony with every other one, to build our -ships airworthy, safe and steady.” - -When they joined Lang, who was busy checking his dashboard instruments -as the engine warmed up on the line, Bob, Curt and Al did not hook -safety belts on. They had every confidence in Lang’s ability to handle -the ship, and they were more anxious to be near him so they could talk -than to sit along the cabin sides unable to communicate their news to -him over the roar of the engine. - -As soon as Lang sent the powerful engine into speed, racing down the -runway into the wind, lifting the elevators to catch the propeller blast -and tip upward the nose, then flying level, just above the ground for -those essential few seconds in which flying speed was regained before -the climb, Al opened the conversation. - -“Lang,” he cried, pitching his voice to offset the noise about them, -“did you know what they are saying about the accident?” - -Langley nodded. - -“This seems to be a test flight,” he said. “But I’m really flying over -to the airport, in the city suburbs—Barney wants you along to scatter -and pick up talk there.” - -“What’s the airport got to do with the mystery?” - -“Barney thinks that mysterious crate we saw in the field might have -something to do with it,” Lang responded to Curt’s question. - -“But Barney told us not to go building theories,” Bob objected. - -“He’s older, and better able to see things clearly,” Lang reminded him. -“So we will climb pretty high, as if for test dives and slips, and -skids, and barrel rolls—you’d better be sure to snap your safety -belts—not right now, though. This crate slips pretty sharp. But——” - -“I think we’re wasting time,” declared Bob, “flying to the airport.” - -“Why?” asked Lang. - -“In the first place, the airplane was carefully hidden. No one at the -airport would know anything about it. In the second place, I can’t see -how it could link in with the crash——” - -“Unless its pilot was higher than Mr. Tredway, and flew over him and -forced him down—” Al was excited at his deduction. He felt puffed up. - -“We would have seen him,” objected Curt, crushing Al’s inflated vanity. - -“By the way,” Bob broke in, “let’s talk about something else. If Barney -sent you for information, that’s that. Never mind what we think. What I -want to do is to get a line on that fellow named Griff—Griff Parsons.” - -“Why?” Lang swung in his seat, catching the shift of the crate with -almost automatic movements of stick and rudder bar. “What about him?” - -“He’s the son of the superintendent, isn’t he?” asked Curt. - -“Yes,” Al broke in, “and what’s more, I suspect that ‘super.’ He looks -like the sort who could do tricky things. Did you see his eyes?” - -“Yes,” agreed Curt. Lang cut the motor, and glided gently, to hear -better. - -“But what has that to do with Griff?” - -Bob, surprised at the sharpness of Lang’s tone, frowned. - -“He looks like the same type as his father—same shifty eyes, same -restlessness—furtiveness!” - -“Say! See here!” Lang became suddenly angry. “You let that young man -alone and keep your unfair suspicions off him.” - -“Is that so?” Al was angry, too, all at once. “Who are you to give us -orders?” - -“I’ll let you know who I am if you go on suspecting innocent people. -What’s more, I’ll have Uncle Fred yank you out of there so quick——” - -“What makes you so hot under the collar?” demanded Bob. “What is it to -you if we suspect Griff? Is he an angel that we have to keep our minds -off him?” - -“He’s a mighty good friend of mine!” snapped Langley. - -All of them were angry. Curt, not related to the others, felt that he -ought to intervene between the quarreling cousins, but something in the -unreasoning fury of Lang’s next words stopped him. - -“See here!” Lang forgot he was piloting an airplane, and swung around on -his seat, his face working. “If you keep on, if you bother Griff, or try -to trail him, or anything—I’ll have Uncle Fred yank you out of there so -quick——” - -“Oh! Look out!” - -Forgotten, the airplane, with no guide, answered automatically to the -thrust of Lang’s foot on the rudder bar as he whirled on his cousins. -The shift of the rudder swung the nose, and Lang’s instinct made him -operate it to make the ailerons bank the ship, but she had almost lost -flying speed, the all important velocity which gives the wings lifting -qualities. - -Sickeningly the airplane tilted. Al, Bob and Curt, not strapped fast, -tumbled sidewise, and the unstable craft tipped down. - -Abruptly, realizing the slip and the danger, although they were quite -high, Lang “kicked rudder” sharply. - -To his dismay, there came a dull, snapping thump and one end of the -rudder bar worked free. - -The cable had either come loose or had snapped! - -And, with its unstrapped occupants in a huddle, on the side which was -lowermost, the lower wingtip turned straight downward, the other pointed -toward the sky, the windowed sides were in the position of floor and -ceiling—and the airplane began to fall! - -“Three thousand feet,” Lang’s eyes consulted the altimeter. “Three——” - -Momentarily he lost his “nerve” and faltered. - -Bob, on the instant, acted! - - - - - CHAPTER VII - IN THE FALLING ’PLANE - - -In an emergency, thoughts leap through some minds quicker than lightning -crosses the sky. - -Bob’s mentality was of that type. Whether his mind worked through what -is called instinct, or whether he put together many things he had -learned about airplanes, or whether he worked through a chain of -reasoning from beginning to end in a fraction of a second does not -matter. - -The important thing was his action. - -In an airplane which is falling with wingtips toward sky and earth, the -ailerons which usually tilt it are practically useless, because it has -no forward movement sufficient to bring the air against the leading -edges of the wings for lift, or to press against the ailerons to cause -them to function properly. - -Furthermore, when the ship is falling “on its side” the elevators which -in level flight serve to lift or to drop the nose, are no longer -elevators; they, because of the position of the ship, are really the -rudders, while the rudder, because it is then parallel to the ground, -assumes the position and functions of the elevators. - -But Bob knew, in a flash, from the action of the ship, from the free -movement of the rudder bar, that the rudder cable had come loose or had -snapped. - -Bob knew, furthermore, that unless he could drop the nose, “give her the -gun,” and thus—by partly diving instead of falling sideways, and by -partly using the propeller pull—could regain flying speed, Lang could -not get the craft under control and save them from a crash. - -There were seconds, not more, between them and eternity! - -That rudder must be operated. - -It must be done before they came too close to earth to make the -maneuvers, necessary to a safe landing, possible. - -Even as he called to Lang, “Give her the gun!” his hand smashed through -the thin side of the cabin wall, down where it came together with the -sturdy, but light plates of the flooring. - -Because the airplane fell on its side, the side he smashed was under -him, the flooring was at his side, acting as the sidewall. - -He knew that if the lower of rudder cables in the ship’s present -position was broken he could get it there; if the upper one was severed -its end would have dropped down, perhaps caught on a longeron or on a -longitudinal fuselage brace; he might be able to catch hold of it. - -It took but a second to thrust his hand through the cabin wall, to grip -the edge of a floor plate, to rip it from its temporary fastenings which -were not completed until the tests made it sure that no further -adjustments under the flooring would be necessary. - -Thus disclosed, he could see the under framework of that part of the -fuselage. - -Braced so that his body would not crash down through a window, he -looked, and grappled for the cable end. His fingers touched cable! - -For all the exigency of their desperate situation he tugged very gently -and was glad. That cable was fast! It might lead to the elevators, the -ailerons. Anyway it was not the right strand. - -Again he felt under the edge of what was in the ship’s position, the -plate above the one ripped away. His fingers touched a loose strand. - -“We’re all right!” he panted, grasping the plate and tugging it partly -free so that his arm could go further in and secure in his gripping -fingers the loose cable end. - -In the brief time that this had taken, Lang had obeyed the call for gas -to be fed to the engine. Idling, it roared into its power pulsations. - -There was an instant of fear in Bob’s mind. - -If the cable he held were pulled and it depressed the rudder, which -would act in their position as an elevator or “flipper” acts, all would -be well. In that case, the propeller blast striking the rudder airfoil -would push the nose downward, and the ship would begin to dive; then the -air, rushing against the leading edge of the wings, would cause them to -be operative, even in their sidewise position, and with the dive and the -engine pull giving flying speed, they could then maneuver. - -But if the rudder went upward, it would lift the nose. Already deprived -of all but the little speed the engine had picked up, the blast on the -rudder, lifting the nose, would cause another stall, and they would -perhaps fall too far to get the other side of the rudder cable before he -could help it. - -“I’ve got the end of the cable,” he cried. “Set yourself, Lang!” - -Lang, with a swift glance toward the windows, which faced the earth, saw -the ground seeming to leap upward toward them. Above was the silent sky. -There was a little margin of time—if—— - -“Pull easy!” Lang shouted. - -“Pull easy!” Instantly Curt relayed the message. - -“Easy!” cried Al. - -Bob tensed his muscles, braced himself, gave a gentle tug and held it. - -The nose lowered. - -“Hold it!” shrilled Al, relaying Lang’s relieved cry. - -The rudder had sent the nose a little downward, the drop changed into a -dive. - -“Can you pull the rudder further?” The message came swiftly from Lang, -through Curt and Al, to Bob, almost out of one mouth before the other -said it, so quick was the response. - -“Yes!” Bob did so. - -Slowly the ship swung onto a more level keel, and while Bob clung with -fingers that were growing numb from his excitement, the ship got flying -speed, in a sort of descending spiral, the elevators could again be made -to lift the nose as flying speed was attained, and the ship was in -control. - -The signal to ease off did not come at once. Lang preferred to hold his -present bank and circle, while he looked over through the lower cabin -windows to sight their position. - -In that brief time Curt, also keyed up, had located the loose end of the -cable that led from the rudder bar; with a piece of strong twine he made -a splice, securely reaved onto the loose end, led it to the free end in -Bob’s fingers, and, since the rudder was hard down and could be held -there by grasping further along the cable, Bob shifted his grip until -Curt was able to get his twine, doubled, fast on that part of the cable -also. Then, while Lang held his rudder bar steady, Curt tightened gently -until the ends of the severed strand were almost touching, made several -knots that could not slip—and the entire control of the ship was in -Lang’s hands again! - -They did not feel like going on to the airport, but Curt, always cool, -generally far-seeing, urged that they do so. - -“If we go back, we’ll have to tell about this, and create new excitement -and talk,” he counseled, and Lang saw the good sense of the idea. - -“We’ll go on, and land at the airport,” he agreed, above the sound of -his motor. “After we get over our excitement we can think better.” - -When they got there, and Lang telephoned the aircraft plant, the trio, -outside the booth, heard him ask for Griff. - -Moodily, sorrowfully, with common consent, they moved away. - -One and all they linked Griff’s uneasiness and Lang’s curious anger and -immediate call to the one he called “a very good friend.” - -It was bad enough to suspect Griff. But Lang—Bob’s cousin—— - -That was dreadful! - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - WATCHFUL WAITING - - -Moodily walking back toward their airplane, around which a group of -handlers and mechanics watched one assigned to make sure the cable -splice was entirely safe, Curt spoke quietly. - -“Bob, maybe we should have waited to hear what Langley said to Griff.” - -“No!” Bob was almost snappish. “No!” - -“I hate to suspect your cousin of anything wrong,” Curt assured the -brothers earnestly. - -“Not any more than I hate it,” Al retorted. “But you’ve got to look at -what you see and hear what comes to your ears.” - -“All the same,” counseled Curt, hoping to lighten the burden of -unhappiness for his chums, “I’d go slow. You know—they may be just -friends, close ones. There may not be anything wrong about Griff. We are -likely to be suspicious, because that’s what we are there for.” - -“But look!” objected Al. “The cable snaps. Now that’s almost a -spick-span new crate. That cable ought not to fray apart—it could never -wear so soon. It was—filed or scraped.” - -“But that doesn’t involve Griff,” urged Curt, hoping, if he lightened -their suspicion of Griff the cousin who was his friend would be less -suspected. “He works in the engine department. Anyhow, he knew his -friend, your cousin, would fly the ’plane. He’d never——” - -“Sh-h-h!” warned Bob. - -Langley, looking very glum, came up to them. - -“I talked to Griff,” he said. “Told him what had happened. He was -flabbergasted.” - -“You ought to have reported to Barney—or to Mr. Parsons,” Bob declared. - -“Why did Griff have to know anyhow?” Al was impulsive and did not care -if he started a fresh quarrel or not. The conclusion he jumped to was -that an angry Langley would disclose “secrets.” - -“I wanted to warn him against—you!” - -Langley walked away. But they did not let him get far ahead of them as -they approached the airplane. - -The mechanic who had been in the cabin greeted them. - -“Funny about that cable,” he stated. “How did it ever get so much use -that it wore through? You must kick rudder every two seconds.” - -“Was it worn through—or—” Al began. Curt prodded his ribs very sharply. -As Al became quiet Curt asked a louder question to distract the man from -pursuing that “or—” and learning their fears. - -“Or did it break at the rudder bar?” he asked. - -“It chafed against the transverse brace it ran under,” the mechanic -responded. “They ought to have an eyelet or something for a guide—a -small pulley would be best, with an eyelet to keep the cable from -slipping out of the groove and chafing on the solid part of the pulley.” - -“We’ll report that,” said Curt. “A rudder is pretty important.” - -“I’ll say,” replied the mechanic. - -The plates had been fastened back into their light frame, being of -sturdy construction and not permanently attached, they had come away -clean and were put back easily. Only the cracked hole in the panels gave -outward evidence of the recent near catastrophe. - -“Suppose we let on that was an accident, that I put my foot through the -panel,” suggested Curt. “Repairing it only means putting in a new -section there—it ought not to cost much and I have some money in my -savings account to pay for it.” - -“Let’s all put together,” urged Al. - -“Why not tell the truth?” snapped Langley. - -“Don’t you want to find out who endangered you and the rest of us?” - -Lang considered Bob’s sharp phrase. “Yes,” he said finally. - -The best way to do that, argued Curt, was by watchful waiting, not by -putting the possible malefactor on his guard. “They could,” Al declared, -“see who makes the repair, and I can watch, being out near the ’planes, -and see if anybody takes a special interest in the floor and the -cables.” - -Langley agreed rather bruskly and went off to take up his inquiries -about the brown airplane they had seen in the field. - -“Watchful waiting!” repeated Bob, thoughtfully. “That’s a good slogan. -Let’s ‘watchful wait’ to see what Griff does—and how Lang acts—and if -either of them acts queerly when they are with Griff’s father.” - -“Just what makes you suspicious of him—the father?” Curt asked, more to -check up his own theories than for information. “He’s Mr. Tredway’s -partner, you know.” - -“I suspect him,” Al declared, “because he’s the kind that looks -suspicious, with his quick action and his sharp talk and his shifty -eyes.” - -“And Griff is exactly the same in every way,” supplemented Bob. - -“Then we have two suspects to keep tabs on,” agreed Curt. - -“Three,” corrected Al. - -“Let’s leave Lang out,” urged Curt. - -“All right—we won’t watch him. But it’s bad, because we can’t talk over -plans and tell him everything. There will be—a—a——” - -“Strained relationship,” suggested Bob. - -“Yes,” agreed Al. - -“Well, pretend to be the same as ever, but keep your ideas to yourself,” -Curt begged. “And—we’ll be watchful waiters.” - -During the next week that was the only policy they would have been able -to adopt. Nothing happened at all. - -Al still carried parcels, on occasion, for rigger Sandy Jim Bailey, and -improved his acquaintance with Jimmy-junior. - -Mr. Wright’s absence from town during the entire week prevented them -from consulting that detective. The comrades were thrown on their own -resources. - -“I don’t see that watchful waiting has gotten us very far,” commented Al -as they rode home for lunch, Curt with the brothers, at noon on -Saturday. The day’s work was over. - -“We know a little more than we did,” Curt reminded him. “I’ve had talks -with some of the boys I know, and I’ve found out that the ones Griff -associates with aren’t thought well of. And Bob has trailed him, several -evenings, in spite of Lang’s warning to Griff, and Bob has told you that -Griff always gets away on his motorcycle and goes somewhere that we -can’t locate yet. But we know his character isn’t very high class, and -his father still acts uneasy and preoccupied. So we have gained that -much.” - -“What good is it?” Al was unconvinced. “It doesn’t say what happened to -Mr. Tredway. It hasn’t told us who is taking airplane parts. It doesn’t -explain who tampered with the rudder cable in the Golden Dart—or why.” - -“No,” Bob admitted. “That’s true, it doesn’t. But it’s the best we can -do, for the present. And we never know when something may ‘break.’” - -“Let’s keep on learning airplane technique,” suggested Curt. “We know -we’ve gained there, anyhow.” - -“Yes,” Al nodded. “I can name the different parts of a biplane without -stumbling over any of them.” He did, “—fuselage; engine; propeller; -upper and lower wing; cockpit and its cowling; struts and landing and -flying wires; stabilizer, fin, elevator, rudder; ailerons; tail skid; -and landing gear that Sandy calls the ‘trucks.’” - -“Correct,” agreed Curt. “And they comprise five groupings, each one -having a special purpose—the fuselage, the supporting structure for -everything else. Everything is attached to that. Then——” - -“The second group,” Bob cut in, “is the supporting surfaces, the wings. -They sustain the whole weight in the air, and the flying wires take the -lift of the wings as the air sustains them, and communicates it, with -the struts helping, to the body. - -“Well, in a way,” Bob changed the statement slightly. “The flying wires -are to take the stress, and if it wasn’t for them the wings would tilt -up at the ends or tips, like a ‘V.’ The flying wires take the stress in -flying the same as the landing wires take the weight of the wings in -landing; without the landing wires, when the ship came down the wings -would crumple down over the crate like the two slanting sides of a tent -or like the ‘V’ upside down.” - -“Yes,” Al showed his knowledge, “and then there is the control group, -the ailerons at the backs or trailing edges of the wings, to be moved -upward or downward, to tilt the ship; and the rudder, to turn it -sideways—and if it’s flying on its side the rudder is performing the -office of the elevators and they of the rudder, because when it’s flying -level the elevators are to tip its nose up for a climb or down for a -glide; then there’s the fin and the stabilizers that give it balance and -help to hold the whole ship in whatever position it is placed by the -movable controls I just mentioned.” - -“And with all those you have a glider,” agreed Bob. “The engine, and its -‘prop’ are for motive power, and the landing group, either wheels for -the earth, or pontoons for the water, or both, combined, in an -amphibian, for land-and-water use——” - -“We know some things,” agreed Curt. “But we don’t know where Mr. -Tredway’s body went—or——” - -“What Griff is going to do with his Saturday afternoon,” commented Bob. -“I’m going back to the plant, and pretend to finish up work, and see -what happens there while it’s supposed to be closed down.” - -The others agreed. Something might “break.” Actually, something did! - - - - - CHAPTER IX - STRANGE ACTIONS - - -Although the aircraft manufacturing plant observed a forty-four hour -week, closing down on Saturday afternoons, when the three members of the -Sky Squad returned, about two o’clock, they were somewhat startled to -discover that their “suspects” were there. - -Bob, entering the engine section, discovered Griff. - -The youth was surprised, “caught in the act!” mused Bob as he saw the -youth, with furtive, hasty actions, completing the wrappings of a -smallish package which he hurriedly slipped into his coat as he turned -aside, trying to conceal his action from Bob and then, noting that he -was caught, trying to pass it off as an ordinary action. - -“So that’s where some of the smaller parts are going,” Bob concluded, -pretending not to be aware that anything was wrong. - -“Hello,” he greeted. “I thought I’d come back and take that model engine -apart, while no one was here to bother me, so I can get it straight in -my head just how the valves operate.” - -“Yeah?” Griff was inclined to be gruff, and as he tinkered around trying -to pretend to be busy, but, to Bob’s notion, watching the member of the -Sky Squad, the latter gave every impression he could of ignorance that -he was being supervised, studied, observed. - -Had Griff been intruded upon before he finished what he had been doing? -Bob wondered as he took off the cylinder head of a small, roughly -assembled model of a new design for a Vee-type motor they were working -on. It appeared that Mr. Tredway had been “all for” the newer radial -engines, while Mr. Parsons exerted all his influence to introduce the -model in which the cylinders, in line, came together in a slanting -fashion, like a “V” at the crankcase jointure. - -Bob took out pistons and pretended to examine the crankpin assembly. - -Griff watched covertly and appeared to be exceptionally uneasy. - -Curt entered from the wing assembly rooms. - -“Hello, Griff.” He nodded, paid little attention to Griff and went over -to Bob. - -“Interesting?” he hinted. Bob nodded, and began to explain the parts. - -“I see.” Curt, bent close, whispered his next words. “Lang is out in the -yard, working on the Golden Dart. He has the plates out and he is——” - -As he spoke Lang came in. - -“Say, Curt,” he called, “run up to the offices, and if Mr. Parsons or -Barney is around, get me a new—er—length of cable, will you?” - -“Will they give it to me?” - -“Sure.” - -“Supposing there’s nobody around. The office is closed.” - -“Go to the supply room, on the ground floor. The watchman will let you -get what you want. All you have to do is to write out a requisition form -and put it on the spindle on the desk. You’ll see it.” - -“Can you get supplies as easily as that?” Bob asked. - -“Surely! Why not?” - -Curt and Bob made no comment. The former went to execute Lang’s request. - -In the offices, as he neared the open door of the bookkeeper’s little -cubby of a room, Curt heard two low voices. He hesitated. He was close -enough to be able to recognize in the bent figure leaning over the -other, with his back turned, the peculiarly checked brown suit which -identified Mr. Parsons. - -Evidently neither the partner nor his companion heard Curt, so absorbed -were they in some discussion or comparison of figures. - -Curt, wondering why they were so engrossed in that work when the office -was closed, and so absorbed that they had not heard him—he had not tried -to snoop or to creep along the hall!—decided that it must be legitimate -business, and that he would not disturb them. - -He went on beyond to the rear stairway and down, looking for the -watchman. - -Al found him there. - -“How do you get into the supply room?” asked Al. - -“That’s what I’m trying to do. What’s that you’re carrying?” - -“It’s an earth inductor compass,” Al explained. “You heard Sandy hail me -as we came in.” Curt nodded. “He stayed on to check up my work,” Al -informed him. “I’m pretty raw, you know, and Sandy is so good-natured -that he didn’t want to see me get into any trouble. I was helping one of -the mechs this morning”—he had already picked up some of the slang, -shortening “mechanic” as did those in the plant—“and Sandy was going -over the instruments I had installed. That Golden Dart is going to be -used for an overseas hop, he says—and—” he went close to Curt, “Curt, I -think Sandy has helped us to get a line on somebody else to -suspect—about the stolen parts, anyhow.” - -“How?” - -“He called me over and told me, in a joking way, I had a lot to learn. -And then he asked me if I knew anything about how this new type compass -operated. I knew a little, but not much, and he showed me how little I -knew. Curt—” he was very serious—“this is an old, broken thing. Look!” - -He indicated the failure of the parts to operate correctly. - -“If we’d let that get to the checker, Monday, I’d have been suspected of -getting away with the regular, real one. This must have been substituted -by the mechanic who was on that job—the one I helped. Or else it was -given out by the clerk who has charge of this room. Anyhow, Sandy says I -ought to put in a requisition for another one, and then he is going to -help me keep an eye out to see what happens on Monday. He wants to help -us. I saw he was so afraid I’d get the blame, and he’s so mad about the -way things are being taken that I let him in on our secret——” - -“About being detectives?” - -“Well, only as far as saying we were crazy about aviation and had formed -a sort of order we call the Sky Squad, and naturally, being honest, we -saw how things were going here and wanted to do what we could to -discover who is taking parts.” - -“And what did he say about it?” - -“He said not to be too hasty to jump to conclusions. He told me that -this substituting of the old inductor compass looked like the work of -the mech, but it could be the supply clerk, or, maybe, somebody outside -the plant entirely who had sent it in, boxed, in a new consignment. He -said the safest way would be to put in a new requisition, then we’d see -who acted guilty when it was discovered. If the supply clerk is guilty -he would never mention it for fear of being caught. If the mech is the -culprit, the clerk will raise a howl about the exchange. If they are -both innocent, you’ll hear from both of them, and we can trace it to -somebody who sent the consignment.” - -“Good stuff!” agreed Curt. “But didn’t the mechanic notice it was a -broken model of the compass?” - -“He gave me the instructions how to assemble it and told me to be -careful, and then went over to work on that small speed craft that Griff -is testing out. Griff called him, so it looks all right. If the mech -noticed this old compass, before he went home, he’ll tell me, first -thing Monday. If he knew about it and had taken the other, the good -one——” - -“He’ll lay low. I see.” - -The watchman, making his rounds, observed the pair. Readily enough he -admitted them to the supply department. Either he was of too -unsuspicious a nature, being rather dull, to wonder or question; or he -had been told by Barney that the youths were especially privileged. In -either case he made no comment as they found the cable Curt wanted for -Lang and the several extra inductor compasses, neatly boxed, among the -stacked instruments in the shelves. - -Making out two of the slips he saw in a pad, and fixing them on the -upstanding spike of a file, Curt handed Al his box and with the cable -went to find Lang. - -Handing the strand to his chum’s cousin, Curt decided to return to the -office building to see what he might see. The excuse that he was -studying the blue prints of an airplane would furnish reason for his -presence in the office if Mr. Parsons was still there and asked. - -Bob, as Lang left, found Griff suddenly and unaccountably pleasant. - -“Funny about that cable,” he remarked. - -“Sure is,” admitted Bob, watchful, quiet, but willing to follow Griff’s -unexpected lead. - -“Lang says you had your suspicions of me,” Griff grinned, quite -pleasantly. Had he, Bob wondered, been “tipped” by Lang to cultivate -friendship? Was there something really underneath the friendship of the -partner’s son and Bob’s pilot cousin? Was there something else? - -“Why, I suppose when we got excited about that broken rudder pull, we -thought of anything and everything,” Bob grinned also. - -“Well, you thought wrong, friend. Would you try to do any harm to your -buddy, Curtis, if you knew he was to fly a certain crate?” - -“No,” Bob admitted, honestly and fervently. - -“But some other pilot, jealous, maybe—might! Eh?” - -Bob had not in any way considered that possible solution. There was -another test pilot, not as popular as his cousin. He gave the most -serious attention, but Griff evidently felt that he had said enough, -adding only: “But I don’t mean to accuse anybody. Let’s forget it. Come -on, let’s forget motors and go up and have a look at them little fleecy -clouds.” He caught Bob’s arm, after slipping the cylinder head over the -pistons of the model with Bob’s help. - -“Ever fly a crate?” he asked. - -“Not solo!” Bob admitted, “but Lang has let me take the controls six or -seven times when he used to take us up, before we came here to——” - -“To what?” - -“To learn all there is about building airplanes,” Bob continued without -the flicker of an eyelash. - -“Hm-m-m! Well, come on, kidlets! I’ll take you up in the prettiest -little crate you ever sat in—what’s more, I’ll give you some experience -so you can fly them crates after you get wise to how they’re assembled.” - -It was evidently a genuinely friendly offer. If it had any hidden -motives, Bob, on that sunny Saturday, with a gentle, warm vacation wind -blowing, with bonny clouds drifting slowly, gave up watching and went in -for air experience. - -Al, finally deserted by Sandy, who had errands down town, saw Bob and -Griff warm up the little speed sportster he had been rigging. A little -envious he watched the check-up, the trial spurts of the fast little -engine, the take-off and the soaring of the handsomely designed craft. -Then he went on to visit Jimmy-junior, whose father, Sandy, had given -him a special invitation to spend the afternoon and to stay to dinner -with Jimmy-junior. - -Lang, taking the cabin monoplane for a test of his rudder performance, -called Curt to go along; so the trio lost interest in detective work and -concentrated on enjoyment—— - -Until evening! - - - - - CHAPTER X - A SUMMONS - - -While Griff, who handled an airplane expertly, was executing dives and -slips, barrel rolls and figure eights, and a loop or so to demonstrate -his skill, Bob, in the rear cockpit seat, wondered whether Griff was -trying to frighten him. - -That was not his purpose, Bob decided, and he was more convinced when -Griff, with a grin, turned, after waggling the stick and holding both -hands up beside his head—the signal to “take control.” - -Bob nodded. - -Under Lang’s tuition, in several airplanes, during tests, Bob had been -permitted to handle the stick, rudder and throttle. He knew the -elementary movements of straight flying and had some of “the feel of the -air” which comes to any person who has the flying sense: that “feel of -the air” is akin to knowing what the ship is going to do and, of course, -sensing how to meet its various tendencies. When, during a climb, with -too steep an angle, the controls begin to get “loggy” for an example, -the born pilot, or the trained fellow with his air-sense developed, -knows instinctively that the ship is about to stall, and automatically -drops the nose and picks up flying speed. - -For awhile Bob, flying straight, or banking and turning, remained near -the small flying field of the plant. He knew the signals with which a -flying instructor guides his pupil, and, handling the dual control -section in his own hands, and with his feet, he made simple maneuvers -under Griff’s direction, and seemed to please Griff by the quickness -with which he caught the corrections signaled to him when he -over-banked, or let the ship skid too long without catching the skid. - -The trial was over all too soon, and as Griff took over to shoot the -field and set down, the most ticklish part of flying tactics, Bob felt a -trifle sheepish for having suspected him. - -Griff was, really, quite a pleasant fellow. - -However, Bob began to think. This sudden affable manner must have some -reason behind it. Furthermore, he decided, Griff might be trying to win -his confidence through the hidden flattery of telling Bob what a -“corking” pilot he would make with a little more training. Bob knew that -flying is taught carefully by any self-respecting school, that a -thorough ground-school training and many hours of instructed flight will -be followed by many solo flights, with intermittent check flights under -the instructor’s eyes, before a pilot is considered more than a student. -Griff over-flattered. - -Bob, as he went home, where Al and Lang had preceded him, his cousin -having stopped in for dinner, decided that he would accept Griff’s -offered friendship with a grain of salt. - -Al was there, of course, but no confidences were exchanged. - -Al had already eaten his dinner, with Jimmy-junior, after a fun-filled -afternoon during which Jimmy had displayed his airplane models, had -supervised many trials while he let his guest wind the sturdy rubber -band motors and set the tiny, practicable controls of the toys. -Furthermore, he had talked about the Sky Squad idea and had begged to be -permitted to join, being air-crazy, as he put it. Al, promising to take -the matter up with his brother and with Curt, had said he would do all -he could to induce them to agree. He could not broach the matter, -however, as Curt, Bob and Lang ate, because Lang was full of the -excitement of receiving a telegram from Bob’s and Al’s father, the -detective, from a city about fifty miles away, asking Lang to come to -the city for a report and a conference. - -Glancing at Bob, both Curt and Al saw that the older member of the -secret membership was disturbed in his mind. Lang would not tell about -Griff, as he visited his uncle over Sunday. That was what Bob was -thinking, as Al and Curt saw. But Curt, looking at his watch, reminded -Lang that he must stop stuffing down the filet of sole, a form of fish -steaks of which he was extremely fond, if he expected to “make” the ’bus -that would pass the house on the way to the city, and the railway -station. - -“I’m going to fly!” Lang declared, reaching for more fish. - -“Why not take us, then?” demanded Al. - -“No. I’m going to borrow Griff’s sport model. More speedy and I want to -check before it is turned over to him finally.” - -“There’d be room for one of us,” Bob spoke up. - -“No sirree!” and they knew why Lang was so snappish. - -Bob pushed back his chair as Al and Curt sprang up. Lang, rising with -his superior, amused grin at their anxiety, waved them back and kissing -his aunt and thanking her for the fish he loved, he departed. - -“I’m going!” said Bob, and explained excitedly to his mother that he had -information of importance. - -“Lang will tell it,” she said. “Explain to him.” - -Bob’s face fell, as did Al’s. They were in a box! - -They could not explain to their mother that they suspected Lang, at the -very least, of protecting Griff, a friend but not a desirable one. -Whatever their own ideas they were none of them blabbers. - -Bob ran out on the porch, leaped down the steps, hopped on his bicycle -and pedaled down the first side street. He was not entirely sure of his -plans, perhaps he half intended to secrete himself in the fuselage of -the ’plane, to go on as an unsuspected passenger; possibly he hoped to -induce Lang to take him by getting there first. - -At any rate, as he neared the plant, he was glad he had come. - -Griff, at the gate, was in close communication with a mysteriously -furtive stranger! - - - - - CHAPTER XI - A TRAIL AND A FLIGHT - - -Twisting his handlebars sharply, Bob sent his bicycle into brush at the -end of the aircraft plant grounds where the fence turned; he wanted to -get out of sight. - -The pair at the gate were having some sort of argument and probably had -been too excited and absorbed to notice him, Bob decided. - -He dropped his wheel and crept back to the corner of the fenced -enclosure to watch. - -From that position he could see the man, but only part of Griff’s coat -and an arm. The man, as he saw, was vigorously arguing. Griff must have -been either pleading or arguing, Bob guessed, from the man’s violent -gestures and appearance of “laying down the law.” - -Presently a small, flat package came into view. - -Bob recalled that he had seen Griff wrapping exactly that sort of parcel -earlier. - -The man took it, put it rapidly into his coat pocket, inside. With a -quick look up and down the deserted highway he swung and crossed to a -car parked on the opposite side of the road. Climbing in he speeded up -his engine and drove away at constantly increasing speed. - -“So they are dividing the ‘spoils’—or Griff was giving him money.” Bob, -unable to see Griff, not daring to emerge from his concealment, made the -deduction under his breath. “Well, now shall I follow that man? No, -because his car is too fast. I can’t catch him on my wheel.” - -He decided to wait where he was, to see what would happen. To go in at -once might alarm Griff. He might realize that Bob had been near enough -to see what had occurred; he might suspect. Bob wanted to keep his -presence unknown; Griff had already been warned by Lang; he would jump -to the conclusion that Bob was watching. - -Almost at once Bob thanked his good sense for holding him concealed. - -Griff, as he watched, ran wildly out into the road and began to wave and -shout after the receding car. - -Its driver did not turn around. - -Griff, while Bob stared, dashed back into the gateway. For a moment Bob -wondered where the watchman was, then he saw the man, in a small -ice-cream and soda water shack, a little distance down the road opposite -the fenced property. Griff, Bob guessed, had offered to watch the gate -while the man refreshed himself. - -Bob hesitated. Where had Griff gone? What was he doing? - -The last question was answered by the pop-pop of a motor. Bob knew that -Griff rode a motorcycle. He was getting it started. He meant to pursue -that car for some reason. Something had caused him to want to talk again -with the car driver, Bob mused. - -While he watched, keeping all but his head concealed, the motorcycle, -with Griff mounted on it, came sputtering into view. - -Never glancing around, opening his throttle, he pelted down the road -after the car. - -Bob, without hesitation, rushed his bicycle into the highway and pedaled -after the motorcycle for all he was worth. Griff was too intent on his -purpose to notice, he felt sure. - -It would be a losing race, Bob feared, unless Griff overtook that -rapidly receding car very soon. Muscles could not endure against a -machine! Nevertheless Bob rode as fast as his pedals would turn. - -As he sent the wheels spinning along it crossed his mind that Lang would -be arriving at the plant almost any moment but he kept on all the same. - -“It will take Lang awhile to warm up the engine, and, anyway, if I don’t -go with him I know another way to communicate with father,” he decided. - -The car was almost out of Bob’s sight, the motorcycle was rapidly -overtaking it. - -At that instant Bob’s heart almost stopped beating! - -Far ahead, on a cross road, he saw a huge truck come into view. It was -not only between the car and its pursuer; it was also well onto the road -and almost directly in front of the motorcycle. - -“Griff!” Bob shouted, without thinking that his voice would never be -heard. He instinctively cried a warning. If the rider had his head low -over his handlebars!—— - -His coaster brake jammed on, Bob slowed, alighted, his muscles refusing -to function for the instant. - -But during that instant Griff evidently saw the huge obstacle and -swerved. In making the wild curve to go around the rear of the truck Bob -saw the youth and cycle go off the road into the ditch. - -Evidently unaware that anything had happened the truck driver kept on -down the cross road. Bob, remounting, pedaled for all he was worth -toward the scene of the accident. As he rode swiftly he saw other -figures approaching. - -At the point where the motorcycle lay on its side, he was met by Al and -Curt, who had been approaching from the opposite way, up the side road. -“We decided to come and see Lang hop off,” Al explained as the trio ran -toward Griff. - -He was sitting up, a little shaken, a little dazed, when they -approached. Bob, seeing that he did not appear to be seriously hurt, -caught Curt’s arm. “Look here,” he said quickly, “I want to go with -Lang. Don’t say I was following—you know—keep it quiet. I must get to -see father and tell him——” - -“All right. Don’t waste any time. Get out of sight. I’ll tell Al.” - -Bob hurried off, as though he was in search of aid, and he felt, as he -pedaled back toward the field, that Griff probably had been too much -shaken to notice that Bob had come from the direction he had been -riding, or deduce that Bob had followed him. - -The watchman, and several others from the soda stand came running down -the road. They called out as he approached and with a brief explanation -that there had been a “spill” but that he thought it was not serious, -Bob rode on. - -He found Lang riding toward the plant, and swung his bicycle in at the -gate and set it against the fence. - -“What’s the trouble, up there?” - -“Griff took a spill going around the back of a truck that came out of -the side road. I think he’s all right.” Bob called out his answer to -Lang’s shouted inquiry and saw his cousin ride on to investigate. - -Bob, with some idea in his mind that he might crawl into the fuselage of -the small speed ’plane, and, thus stowed away, be carried to the city -from which his father had telegraphed, changed his mind. The close, -smothery fuselage, subjected to the most violent rolling and heaving of -the airplane’s progress, would probably make him ill. He preferred to -stay outside, to see what happened, and to compel Langley to take him as -a passenger. - -Watching from the gateway he saw that Griff had been lifted to his feet -and had apparently found himself only rather badly shaken. This was -Bob’s decision because he saw a passing car driver help the shaken youth -into his car, tumble the motorcycle out of the grass and turn it over to -the plant watchman to be trundled back, and drive off to take Griff -home, it seemed. - -Bob met Lang beside the propeller of the little speed craft. - -“Get the ignition key from Griff?” he asked. - -“I did.” - -“Climb in. I’ll give the prop a twist for you.” - -Langley got himself set. - -“Gas on?” called Bob. - -“Gas on.” - -“Switch off?” - -“Switch off!” - -Bob gave the propeller a couple of revolutions. - -“Contact!” he cried, leaping aside to avoid the flailing, knife-like -edges of the blades. The engine caught on the touch of spark to -compressed gas mixture. - -While Langley opened the throttle and warmed up his engine, Bob -unconcernedly began to clamber into the after cockpit seat. - -“You’re not going!” - -“Oh, yes, I am.” - -“Get out of there!” - -“Listen, Lang,” Bob leaned close to Lang’s ear to carry his message -above the noise of the radial engine, “which suits you best? To have me -with you, to tell dad what I know before your face—or to have me -telegraph him while you’re on your way, and let you explain to him what -I have to tell?” - -Lang, at first furious, presently saw the logic of Bob’s position. - -“Oh—all right!” he grunted and “gave her the gun” in somewhat vicious -spurts. - -Bob, fitting on the “crash helmet” kept in the ’plane by Griff for him -that afternoon, and the leather jacket and gloves, smiled. - -He was progressing as a Master Sleuth, doing his share creditably for -the Sky Squad. - -As soon as the engine was sufficiently warm and methodical Lang had -checked all his instrument readings, the trim little ship taxied down -the smooth field to head into the wind which Bob saw, from the -“windsock” blowing out from its mast on the office building, was from -the south, a nice, light, Summer evening breeze. - -The watchman, coming in, put aside the slightly damaged motorcycle and -strolled across to the hangars, into one of which he stepped to throw a -switch, lighting the flood light by which they could see to take off. He -did not question Lang’s right to use the craft because Lang must have -gotten its ignition key from Griff, its owner. - -As they took the runway, and increased speed to the throaty roar of the -engine, Bob felt that sense of the ship getting “light” which indicates -to the pilot that she is ready to take the air. He saw the elevators -tip, glancing around swiftly to check the safety of the way ahead, and -then saw the lighted earth dropping, contracting into a spot of vivid -light against a field otherwise dark; then the watchman shut out the -floods to avoid confusing them in the air, and the ship climbed into -dark night. - -They had climbed several thousand feet and were headed into the north, -so that Lang could “pick up” the lights of the airway along which his -night flying would be easiest, when Bob saw him double unexpectedly. - -For an instant the craft’s nose went almost straight down and Bob was -glad he had strapped himself in; then Lang evidently caught control, and -the stick, thrust forward as he doubled, with some unexpected convulsion -or “stitch,” was pulled back and brought the ship out of the dive -gradually. - -“What happened?” Bob screamed above the engine noise, the song of wind -through wires caused by their dive. - -“Cramp!” called Lang, cutting the gun as he held a glide for a moment, -turning a white face toward Bob. “Listen. Bob—oh!——” - -He bent again. “The fish—too much fish—” Bob guessed, and had he known -that Lang’s delay in reaching the field had been due to further -refreshments, he would have said, “Fish—and ice-cream!” - -At least that was a far more reassuring thought than Bob’s first idea, -that some one had tampered with some control of this craft. - -“Oh—” Evidently Lang was very ill. - -Suddenly, as he saw his companion in the forward seat double, Bob felt -the stick waggle against his leg. - -In an interval between his spasms of violent pain, Lang held up his two -hands alongside his helmet. - -It was a signal for Bob to take control. - -“All right!” he called, and, with a steady hand, he clutched the stick -of the controls in his cockpit, set his feet against the rudder bars, -and eased his throttle open to regain speed. - -He was not in the least nervous or flurried. He pitied Lang’s cramped -stomach and evident suffering, but did not permit it to influence his -steady nerve. He had been given enough lessons to know how to hold the -craft in level flight. While night flying was not as safe and easy as -daytime work, he knew that if he followed the ribbon of lighted highway -that ran toward the beacons of the nearest airway, he could always “set -down” on the asphalt, if worst came to worst, and if he did smash the -trucks, the landing gear, he did not think he would do any more serious -damage. - -“Had I better set down?” he shouted, gliding for speed as he cut out the -engine roar. Lang shook his head and gestured forward. Evidently he was -not afraid of any immediate physical collapse and preferred to go on -flying to see if he would recover. Bob held on. - -He picked up the beacon and, watching Lang’s gestures, swung in a long, -banked curve, to head across the wind down the unconfined airway, whose -second beacon he could see, far away. - -By habit looking around to be sure no other ship was close as he turned, -Bob, startled, saw the flying lights of another craft pursuing. - -It must be pursuit! It came from the direction they had come. It turned -as they turned, only in a more sharpened bank, so as to cut off part of -the distance, it seemed to Bob, to close the gap between them. - -“Lang!” he shouted, and waggled the stick. - -Lang looked around. - -Bob’s arm pointed backward and upward. - -Lang, leaning out of the cockpit, to see around the wing-tip, stared. - -“The cabin ’plane!” he cried. “I know it. Golden Dart.” - -“After us?” - -“I don’t know!” - -But as Bob opened the throttle to regain flying speed without having to -dip down too low, there came from the other ship a red flare. - -It was, as Bob realized, a signal—not of danger but of command. - -“Land!” it commanded. - -Bob looked at Lang. - -Lang considered. As he hesitated Bob guessed his thoughts. Some one from -the small field, some member of the plant staff, probably Mr. Parsons, -finding the ’plane belonging to Griff gone, and hearing from the -watchman who had taken it, had taken off in the cabin monoplane to stop -what he probably considered a prank of Lang and Bob—some night-flying -lark. - -What would Lang say? Set down? Or—go on? - -They could outfly that cabin ship in the speedy, easily maneuvered sport -craft—or, they could, with Lang at the controls. But Lang was badly -upset in his stomach. What would he decide? Bob mechanically looked -around for the best spot to set down. - -When he looked up again his heart leaped with exultation. - -Lang’s arm pointed straight ahead! - -“Go on!” he gestured. - -Bob opened the throttle joyously. Here was adventure, pursuit, thrill -enough to suit anyone! - - - - - CHAPTER XII - THE CHASE - - -Rapidly Bob considered the situation. - -The speed craft he and Lang occupied had much the best of it on a -straight flight, but, against that, he had to set his inexpert handling. -The smaller craft could out-climb, out-maneuver the cabin ship but he -had no experience in stunting, especially dangerous at night. - -Therefore Lang’s decision was the safest one. - -To try to make a landing, Lang evidently concluded, was not wise. He -felt that he could take over the controls before that need arose, Bob -guessed. - -A new complication came, however. - -If the cabin ship had the disadvantage of being slower, she had gained -an offsetting advantage before they saw her. She was much higher in the -air than their craft; she could dive, if her pilot chose, and thus close -the distance between them—maybe come down “on their tail,” or ride them -to earth, if her pilot proved to be determined to force them to land. - -Accordingly Bob opened the throttle wider, and slightly elevated the -nose to climb. - -Lang, peering upward and to the rear, made a violent, vigorous gesture. - -Bob, reading it, understood. - -He did not question. Lang called for a sideslip! - -Instantly Bob manipulated ailerons and rudder correctly and felt the -wind on the cheek toward the lower side of their bank, telling him they -were slipping. - -Then, applying rudder and other controls to check the slip, dropping the -nose again to pick up flying speed quickly, he saw why the maneuver had -been executed. The cabin airplane had begun to dive down from above -them. Lang, having seen it, anticipated. He had not wanted to wrest away -control—too dangerous. He had risked the signal, and Bob had executed -his order accurately. - -He was glad, all the same, when Lang shook the stick, tapped on his own -helmet to sign that he wanted the controls. - -Bob relinquished them thankfully enough. At night, in strange -surroundings, in an airplane he had only handled a little, he was not -foolish enough to wish to risk neck and limb—far less Lang’s than his -own!—by trying to outfly a pilot who evidently meant to be vicious, to -resort to war tactics if they did not obey his signals. - -Lang, somewhat recovered, took over and Bob, delighted, watched his -expert manipulation of the splendid little ship. She answered his every -command. He barrel-rolled out of the way of any immediate danger, thus -leaving the cabin craft well to one side. He started up a loop after a -swift dive, but at its top he executed half of a barrel-roll, and since -the top of the loop had the nose in the direction opposite their course, -the half-roll put the craft on its level, upright course, but going -directly away from the former one. - -The cabin ship could not be stunted that way, or else its pilot against -his will was compelled to recognize superior tactics. - -At any rate, as Lang swung around in a wide circle, slowly climbing at -the same time, the other craft seemed to be heading uncertainly back. - -It came around, however, as soon as Langley straightened out on the -former course along the airway; but they rapidly outflew it and when -they landed at an airport in the distant city suburbs, the cabin ship -was nowhere in sight. - -It was nearly eleven o’clock at night when Bob and Langley were ushered -up the hotel elevator and along a corridor and into Mr. Wright’s rooms. - -The detective, who had been apprised, long distance, by his wife, that -his nephew was flying to keep the appointment, was waiting. - -Hardly had his surprise at Bob’s presence been expressed and a late -supper for the air-hungered pair been ordered than another visitor was -announced. - -“So this is where you were bound for!” - -To Bob’s amazement, Barney spoke. - -“Why didn’t you leave word that you were coming here?” he said, rather -sharply. “We could all have come together.” - -“We didn’t know you were on your way here,” said Langley. - -“We thought you were chasing us,” Bob added. - -“So I was. The watchman said you hopped but he didn’t say where to. I -was coming over to confer with Mr. Wright, but I thought Lang and you, -Bob, were joy-riding. So I signaled you to land and when you didn’t I -decided to scare you into setting down—but it failed.” - -He chuckled. - -“I ought to know better than to think I could outfly Lang,” he said. -“Well—if you’ve come with information, it’s all right. We can have a -conference, all together.” - -They did so, over the dinner. Lang listened to Bob’s recital of the -latest developments about Griff, with growing anger, until he saw -Barney’s face. - -“Good boy, Bob,” commented Barney. “I’ve sort of had a notion in my head -for some time about——” - -“Griff?” - -“Yes. I’ve thought he was the one who’s crossed the wires on us and -short-circuited the whole plant. So he divided with somebody, did he? -Well—he must have gotten it from somebody higher. Have you thought -about?——” - -“His father?” broke in Bob. “Yes—we have!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - THE DETECTIVE’S THEORY - - -More startling than Bob’s fresh information was the revelation given by -Barney, the information which had brought him, flying, to consult the -detective he had engaged to solve the puzzling case. - -All that Bob had to tell was the suspicious act of the youth, Griff. - -Barney, because it was so late, gave only a hint; but what he said -caused a great deal of sleeplessness on Bob’s part, at least. - -“We got the wrecked airplane up,” Barney told them all, that night. -“I’ve had it hauled in and dismantled.” - -He paused to give his next words more emphasis. - -“There wasn’t one thing wrong with that crate!” - -When, during their Sunday morning conference, he amplified his -statements, the mystery deepened. - -Dismantled, thoroughly examined, by Barney, in person—he did not trust -any subordinate in so important a matter—the airplane revealed nothing -wrong, either with its engine, with its wings, or with its controls! - -“But it fell,” commented the detective. “What, do you imagine, caused -the crash?” - -“I give it up.” Barney was unable to make a theory. “I hired you to do -the doping out of that! I give you the facts. You do the rest.” - -“Bob,” his father turned to the youth, “have you jotted down all the -suspicious things you mentioned, as I asked you to do?” - -Bob nodded and handed over a paper. - -After consulting it and comparing it with a sheet on which he had -written, Mr. Wright looked up. - -“This is what we know,” he began. “For several months, according to -Barney’s original explanation, when he gave me the case, airplane parts -had been missed. Not very many, but some. We have to decide how they are -taken, and then find out who does it and what happens to them, how they -are disposed of.” - -“How about the man who gives out the instruments and such?” asked -Langley quickly. Bob thought he said it to forestall comment about -Griff, “or the mechanics whom Al had been told by his rigger boss were -possible culprits?” - -“We haven’t been able to watch everybody,” Bob said. - -“That point is not important,” Mr. Wright declared. “It is the beginning -of what we know, and can wait. Our second bit of knowledge—and more -important this is, too—is that for several months before the seemingly -fatal crash, accidents had occurred to every airplane that was sent out -of the plant. Buyers complained by letter, and only by good luck was it -possible to avert several tragedies.” - -“I didn’t know it had been as bad as that,” Bob commented. - -“It had,” Barney nodded. “We wanted you three boys to start in with open -minds. Remember? We didn’t tell you details; but now it’s gone too far -for taking things easy. We’ve got to get to work.” - -“Right,” agreed the detective. “The third point we know is that Mr. -Tredway was very anxious to hold up the good name of his corporation, -and that he decided to take this last ship to its owner in person, after -Lang, here, gave it—” he paused, noticing Bob’s expression. - -“I know what’s on your mind,” Langley said, turning to his younger -cousin. “I was the one who tested and checked that Silver Flash. I said -she was O.K. before the take-off. But,” his manner was defensive, “if -you think——” - -“I don’t think,” Bob asserted. “For a minute I did—but Mr.—but Barney -says not a thing was wrong about the Silver Flash. So, of course, -there’s nothing to think.” - -“Besides,” said Barney, “we none of us knew it would be the Silver -Flash. The buyer couldn’t make up his mind, till almost the last minute, -about that pair of twins. One time he’d come and say he liked the -silver, then he wanted the copper-gold finish. Both crates were -identical except for that. I thought, myself, he was going to take—well, -we all thought the last time he came he wanted the gold one. But I guess -he telegraphed.” - -“Well, then, that explains one thing,” said Bob. “If everybody thought -he wanted the Golden Dart, that’s why the rudder rope was frayed off in -that ship.” Barney, who had been told everything, nodded. - -“Yes,” he admitted, “but that don’t explain why the other ship—sound and -perfect—crashed. Unless——” - -“Unless—what?” Bob, Lang and the detective were interested, but Bob -voiced the question. - -“Unless Mr. Tredway did it on purpose—crashed!” - -“Why should he?” - -To Mr. Wright’s quiet inquiry Barney answered readily enough. - -“I run the plant,” he said. “The deep part of the money end, and all -that is none of my business. But I happen to know there’s some trouble -about money, or losses, or something like that.” - -“You think—” Mr. Wright bent forward, “—Tredway, because he was in some -financial difficulty, or deeper trouble, might have done away with -himself?” - -“Well,” defensively Barney replied, “how else do you account for a -diving ship, placed so careful, on the lakeside, close to shore, and -only damaged as little as possible, and then not from anything being -wrong in her?” - -Bob saw that his father was very thoughtful. - -“Do you think he ran off and hid, afterward?” he demanded. - -“They didn’t find hide nor hair of him, did they? Dredging, or searching -didn’t locate anything!” - -“That’s so!” - -“However,” the detective objected, “that doesn’t explain about the -frayed cable, or the other things done to airplanes to damage the -reputation of the corporation; that is my theory about the motive.” - -“No,” Barney admitted. “If you’ve got a theory about the motive for -damage to crates, maybe you’ve got one about the whole affair.” - -“I have.” - -“What is it, Father?” Bob was eager to hear. - -“There are three crimes to investigate,” Mr. Wright said slowly. “The -accidents, the thefts, and the——” - -“Do you still think Mr. Tredway’s disappearance was due to a crime?” - -“Yes, Lang, I do.” - -“What sort of crime? Nothing is wrong with the ship he used, Barney -says,” objected Bob. - -“A very strange one,” his father replied. “Remember—there was a brown -airplane hidden in a field. It was gone—before the accident. My theory -is that either some one he feared, or some one who hated him, took off -in that brown airplane, overtook or waited for Mr. Tredway—and——” - -“Rode him down!” gasped Barney. “I’d thought of that!” - -“Yes,” agreed the detective, “let’s drop all worry about the less -important thefts, the deliberate damage to the airplanes—and look for -the man who flew that brown airplane!” - -“Will we?” - -Bob asked it as a question, then he repeated it as an exclamation. - -“Will we!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - THE SKY SQUAD DISOBEYS - - -Both Curt and Al listened eagerly while Bob related the details of the -Sunday conference with the detective. - -He gave them the information imparted by Barney. - -“Not a thing wrong with the Silver Flash?” repeated Al. “Then that brown -crate must have driven it down—but why?” - -“Maybe some revengeful pilot Mr. Tredway had discharged,” suggested -Curt. “At any rate there must have been some motive to make a man do -anything as terrible as that. But how are we going to locate the brown -ship?” - -“I still have that message we discovered on the seat, and then picked up -in the dewy grass.” Al produced it, dry but smudged and crumpled, from -his pocket card and identification case. “We might compare the writing -with the—well, say with the books in the aircraft plant, and with -everybody’s writing.” - -“Lang didn’t get any information when we made inquiries about the brown -craft at the nearest airport, did he?” Lang, who was quite affable and -good-humored, with Griff and his actions forgotten in the new search, -answered Curt. - -“No, nothing more than you did. They’d never heard of the ship I -described.” - -“_You_ have got me more puzzled than this whole mystery has,” Al said, -grinning. “Lang, the way Bob tells it, you must have been next door to -ordering the undertaker, and then you were flying, stunting, as if you’d -never eaten fish and ice-cream.” - -“That’s psychologically explainable,” Lang liked to use long words, to -indicate his superiority. “Under the stimulus of——” - -“Never mind!” Al threw up his hands as if to ward off a flow of words -too long for his youthful understanding. - -“It’s too easy to explain,” Bob said. “Father said Lang got so excited -that he forgot to think about himself, and ‘Nature took its course’ when -he stopped worrying about his fears.” - -“That was it,” agreed Lang. “I accepted the idea, from somewhere, that -ice-cream and fish made poison, and while I was flying, when a little -gas began to bother me I got scared, and the scare did the rest. Uncle -said that half our pains are due to believing what other folks tell us -can happen; the rest is from being afraid it is happening to us!” - -“That clears it up.” Al became very sober. “I wish the disappearance of -Mr. Tredway was as easy to settle.” - -“Well, we’ll have to find that mysterious brown ’plane, or get hold of -somebody who saw it flying, to tell us which way it went.” Lang rose, -stretched, yawning, and sauntered off toward his wheel; the other three, -sitting on the cottage porch before supper, for which Lang would not -stay, looked after him in silence. - -“Do you know what I think?” Curt broke the thoughtful pause. “I don’t -mean to criticise, and I don’t want you fellows to get angry, but I have -a feeling that Uncle Fred is wrong to have us drop all our suspicions -and try to find a crate that could be five hundred miles away, in any -direction. My theory is that if we locate the airplane it will be by -‘luck’ and I don’t believe in ‘luck’ because if you think ‘luck’ is -going to help, you don’t have to do anything yourself, and if you -believe it is going to hinder, there’s no use in doing anything. So,” he -grinned, “I believe that everything comes out right only when we do -everything we can to make it so—and as long as there isn’t any way to -start hunting that brown crate, let’s——” - -“Disobey?” asked Bob, rather surprised. - -“I guess it would amount to that—and in another way it wouldn’t!” - -“How could it if it didn’t and why wouldn’t it if it did?” - -The others laughed at Al’s twisted inquiry. - -“Uncle Fred didn’t give you orders to ‘lay off’ watching, did he, Bob?” -and as Bob shook his head, “He only meant for us to concentrate on -seeing if we could pick up a clue to the mysterious ’plane. Well, I feel -that by finding out what Griff is doing, and why his father is so -fidgety and furtive, and the rest of the puzzles here, we may be led to -that ’plane, or get a clue to it or to its pilot.” - -“I don’t see any disobedience in that.” - -“Well,” Curt answered Bob, “the way I look at it, if Uncle Fred took us -into the case he expected us to obey the ‘spirit’ of the orders he gave, -and he did say to forget the smaller things here and work on locating -the ’plane.” - -“I see,” agreed Bob. “It’s a pretty deep—what Lang would call, ethical -problem. Father meant to leave Griff alone, unless he did something -actually incriminating, and to put all our effort on the other thing. -Let’s see your paper, Al.” He held out his hand for the brief note Al -had preserved. - -Study it as they would, they got nothing helpful from the grass-stained -paper with the smudged writing. - -“Let’s think who we’ve seen use an indelible pencil,” hinted Al. -“Remember, the morning we found this, we decided, in a joke, that there -were too many indelible pencils to try to trace the writer because he -used one; but how many people close to this mystery have you seen using -one?” - -“The clerk in the supply room!” gasped Curt. - -“Are you sure?” - -“Yes, Bob—because he takes a copy of every order he writes and of every -requisition, on an old-fashioned letter press, the same way they put -their copying ribbon letters in between a damp cloth and a soft, thin -sheet of the big book, put it all in the press and make the copying -ribbon print the letter into the book instead of using carbon paper!” - -“Then we have a clue! How does the clerk’s writing compare with this?” - -“Let’s see!” - -Each of the three having spoken in turn, by common consent they agreed -to Al’s impulsive suggestion. They were hardly able to wait for their -supper; however, they put it away with speed if not with the best of -table manners and secured their bicycles. - -It took them only a short time to reach the aircraft plant. - -The watchman accepted their explanation that they were passing and -wanted to borrow several books from Mr. Tredway’s reference library, in -the offices. - -Bob, accordingly, went to the offices, while Curt and Al strolled, with -apparent aimlessness, across the inner quadrangle. - -“There’s a light in one window—no, in two windows—already!” Al -mentioned. “I wonder who’s here, at night again.” Almost at once he -suggested that they go and see. - -Curt, himself fired by the curiosity of his companion, hurried after Al. - -They saw Bob, who had lighted the outer office electric bulbs, choosing -several volumes from a shelf, to carry out in truth their explanation to -the watchman. - -“Now—who’s here?” Bob said, joining the others at the door as he put out -the light. - -“Can’t be Barney—unless he came back—no, the cabin ’plane isn’t here,” -Al argued. “Anyway, Barney stayed over to transact some business, you -said, Bob. Must be either——” - -“Griff, or Griff and his father—or Mr. Parsons and somebody else,” Curt -said breathlessly, excited. “There were two separate offices lighted, -and you can see the door glass shining.” - -“The doors are shut, though,” Al spoke, disappointedly. - -“Yes,” continued Curt, “but one of us can hide in the alcove where the -water cooler and door to the washroom are located. If anybody comes, it -would be easy to dodge on into the washroom and no one would ask -questions about that.” - -“Then you’re elected!” Bob said. “I want to go with Al, because I think -I know where to find the latest letter-book.” - -With the reference volumes tucked under his arm he led Al down the dim -corridor, while Curt secured a good place in the niche by the water -cooler to watch from. - -As the two brothers went down the steps, at the rear, toward the supply -room, to be sure that no one was there and likely to come up and catch -them, Al’s grip on Bob’s arm tightened convulsively. - -Some one was coming down the steps behind them. - -With lips close to Al’s ear, Bob whispered: - -“Tiptoe! Come on!” - -He led Al down to the lowest steps, and there, just beside the door to -the supply room the brothers flattened themselves against the wall. - -They held their breath. They made themselves as small as they could. A -quick tread came on down the steps, there was the pause of a body -close—almost touching them. Breathing, sharp, short, quick, carried to -their ears; but they kept mouse-still. The door opened. - -A light flared up as Bob dragged Al back out of range. But as they -turned and stared down, hearts still pounding from the excitement of the -narrow escape, both brothers gasped. - -In the light below, stood—a bearded stranger! - - - - - CHAPTER XV - A TRIPLE TRAIL - - -Pulling Al further back out of the light, around the little dark jog -beside the door jamb of the supply room, Bob put his lips close to his -brother’s ear. - -“Watch!” he whispered, hardly loud enough for Al to hear. - -With a little squeeze to reassure his brother, Bob let go of Al’s arm -and tiptoed back up the stairway, carefully clinging to the side wall -and hoping that this precaution would enable him to get away without -causing the steps to creak. - -He was successful. Al, noting that the man inside the room seemed to be -doing nothing more than standing there considering the layout of the -place, guessed that Bob wanted to consult with Curt, watching upstairs. -Al felt important: he was in the very heart of mystery, and much -depended on him. Therefore he watched with every faculty alert as the -man turned his head this way and that, apparently inspecting the stock -of wing and fuselage cloth, the boxed instruments, the cases of “dope” -for varnishing bodies and wings, the many other visible objects held in -reserve. - -Bob, slipping along the hallway at the top of the steps, noticed that -both offices were lighted still, that both doors were closed, and as far -as he could see, nothing had changed up above. - -Curt was still watching. He was practically invisible in his nook by the -water cooler. Bob, with a small word under his breath, reassured his -comrade who came out of hiding as soon as he knew that the footsteps he -heard approaching were Bob’s. - -“Where did the stranger come from?” asked Bob softly. - -“Stranger?” Curt’s voice betrayed amazement. - -“The man who came down to the supply room!” Bob was also surprised. - -“Was he a stranger?” Curt asked. “I thought it was Mr. Parsons. He came -out of that dark directors’ room, beyond me.” - -“Oh!” Bob clutched Curt’s arm in a tight grip. “Have you used your eyes, -Curt, in daylight? If you have, you recall that there is a fire escape -running up the side of the building—and the landing is by that -directors’ meeting room window.” - -“Is that so? Then, if that window is open——” - -The opening of one of the lighted offices startled them, ended the -consultation. Both comrades, tense, drew close against the wall behind -the water cooler. If anybody was thirsty!—— - -The lighted square of that door went black. Someone had put out the dome -light. Footsteps went carelessly along the corridor from the hiding -youths, toward the front stairway. - -“I must follow—whoever it is!” whispered Bob. “Curt, watch here. Al will -watch that other man. It’s——” - -“A triple trail!” gasped Curt. “Go on, Bob. Be careful.” - -Bob agreed and tiptoed along to the stairway. By the time he got there -he had no need for special caution, the lower door was closing. - -Bob ran lightly down the stairs, crossed the entry below, cautiously -peered into the yard, lighter just there by the arc over the office -building doorway, and nodded to himself. - -Griff was passing around the side of the building! - -Cautiously Bob trailed him, allowing the partner’s son to get out of -sight beyond the turn before he left the doorway. - -Where was Griff bound? The main gates were across the yard and, as Bob -knew, they were locked while the night man made his rounds of inspection -among hangars and plant structures. - -While Al watched his man in the supply room, while Curt hid, watching -the lighted office door, Bob wondered what Griff was about. The young -man did not go anywhere near or bend his steps in the direction of the -main entrance but turned, with Bob carefully watching as he clung close -in the shadow of the office structure, and went on around the building -toward the private exit used by the officials. Being the son of Mr. -Tredway’s partner, Griff had a key; but Bob could see, as he peered -around the building, that the gate stood slightly ajar already. - -“Will he go on home?” Bob wondered. “Had I better go back to Al?” - -His thought was answered by Griff’s actions. He paused at the gate, -seeming to inspect it. He was surprised to find it ajar, Bob decided. He -held his place close to the office shadow and watched, as Griff looked -around, inside and outside the fence. - -Then, as though discovering something, Griff ran out of sight, leaving -the gate as he had found it. - -Instantly Bob ran across the small open space to the gate. There, in -sudden caution, he cuddled his body close to the fence; it had just -crossed his mind that Griff might have gone outside in a pretended hurry -to draw out any pursuer; he might be hiding, watching! - -He was not, however. - -The sputter and roar of a motor startled Bob. - -“That’s queer,” Bob mused, while he projected his head through the -gateway. Almost in the same instant that he saw Griff starting up a -motorcycle, Bob saw Griff shut off the motor and trundle the machine -away. - -“His own motorcycle is broken, since Saturday’s accident,” Bob -reflected. “Now he must have brought another one. He meant to ride off -in a hurry,” he deduced, “but he decided the noise would startle and -warn people, so he’s going further away before he starts up.” - -Instantly his own action was decided upon. He streaked back across the -yard, around the hangars, to get his own bicycle. Against a speedy motor -it would not keep Griff in sight, but it would enable Bob to get over -the ground faster, and, if Griff did not go home, Bob meant to pursue -him, making careful inquiries as he pedaled. There was only the -crossroad for him to take, and Bob could see it from the highway. - -In a very short time, and without having been seen by the watchman, Bob -was out on the road. The distant sputter of the motorcycle engine and a -speeding form passing the junction of the crossroads gave Bob all the -information he needed. Without wasting energy in an effort to keep the -flying cycle in sight, he pedaled after it. - -The sudden sharp noise evidently startled others besides Bob. - -Al, watching, saw the man who was evidently making some notes in the -supply room, suddenly dash to the switch. Out went the light. - -Al heard the scrape and rumble of a window being unfastened and thrown -up. The man was listening, he judged. - -Curt, by the water cooler, heard nothing but the faint sounds of the -motor; at first he thought they were shots. When he saw the office light -go out suddenly, immediately afterward, he thought someone in there had -shot at some one else; but the door was flung open and he heard hurried -feet pounding along the hall and almost stumbling down the front steps, -careless of how much noise they made. - -Curt could not go to explain to Al. He must see who that was going out -of the quickly darkened office so swiftly. - -Al needed no one to warn him. He crouched, tense and listening intently, -outside the supply room door for a full minute. Absolute, torturing -silence began to twitch his nerves. Nameless fears and countless -uncertainties filled his mind. Was the man stalking him? Was he there at -all? Had he ever been there? Was he human—or——? - -Al heard a queer sound; at once he identified it. The window was being -quietly pulled down. - -Again he listened, watched, waited. - -Curt, slipping down the banisters in the good, old-fashioned, speedy -boys’ way, landed quietly at the foot of the stairs soon after the front -doors of the office building closed. - -But by that time whoever had emerged was far across the quadrangle and -it was too dark to recognize him. There came the flare of the headlights -of an automobile. - -From its position on the grounds and from the style of its lamps, Curt -guessed it was the runabout used by Mr. Parsons, Tredway’s remaining -partner. What was he doing here? Where was he going? Curt, in the office -doorway, not daring to emerge because of the beams of light that might -swing around the yard at any moment, heard the voice of Parsons hailing -the watchman, questioning him. The other replied in a way to show he had -not heard any noises, could not account for them. - -Curt, as the car got under way and the main gate was flung wide to -permit it to depart, raced around the office building “ell” and across -to his bicycle. He knew he could not pursue, but the wheel would give an -excuse for emerging from that gate at once. - -“Wait!” he called to the watchman, pedaling swiftly across to him. “I -guess he forgot I was here,” pretending that Mr. Parsons sponsored his -presence there so late at night. The watchman said nothing but held the -gates open until Curt pedaled through and took his way after the car, -not to keep it in sight but to see if it went to its owner’s home. - -Al, ignorant that he was the only remaining member of the Sky Squad, -watched tensely and listened alertly beside the supply room door. He -heard nothing. Cautiously he protruded his head around the door jamb. - -The room was silent, evidently the man was hiding or—“gone!” - -“But how—where—could he go?” Al answered his own questions at once, for -the window, made of tiny panes of thick glass between heavy bars, locked -always from inside, impossible to open from outside, was not tightly -shut. - -For once in his life Al paused to think before he acted. - -That window was not tightly shut. He had heard it opened, and—closed. -But if the man had closed it from within the room he would have pulled -it down tightly. He had not done so. He had left it partly open—why? To -provide a way to come back, Al decided. - -Almost at the same instant it flashed into his head that if he were to -be caught in that room, with its door unfastened, he would be accused by -any of the plant members, the watchman or those he thought were still in -the upstairs offices, of stealing whatever might be missing. - -He had a plan, at once! - -He tiptoed back to the steps, listening. No sound came to him. Softly he -went into the open doorway, made sure the window was not tightly shut, -by inspecting the lighter space beneath it, then very quietly let the -door go shut, allowing its spring lock to snap. He could open it from -inside if he had to escape. No one without a key could open it from the -hallway. - -Then he ran close to the window, peered out, listened with an ear to the -crack beneath the lower panes. - -Nothing was stirring. But from the window he could see the gate, and the -light was sufficient to show him a man’s form arriving there. - -Evidently the form stopped from surprise or caution, then it went -swiftly out. Al, forgetting fear, flung the window slightly upward, -edged out, dropped to the ground, reached up and almost closed the -window, then fully drew it down with a little slam, and raced to the -gate. There he paused, peering out carefully. - -Down the narrow lane he saw a man’s form trudging rapidly. - -The third trail was opened! - -After the man, at a distance, trudged Al! - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - THE “WINDSOCK” - - -For Al the trail ended abruptly after a walk of a mile. The stranger, -whose face, with its heavy beard, Al could not dare get close enough to -identify—even if he knew it!—hailed a passing automobile, asked for a -“lift” and was taken in. That concluded Al’s chances of following -because no other car came along. Dejectedly he returned to the aircraft -plant to discover that some one, perhaps the watchman, had closed the -gate. There was nothing left for him to do but to go to the main gate, -call the attendant and get his bicycle. His friends were gone, the man -assured him, and Al had no excuse to stay there. - -Dejectedly, feeling that he had been close to a clue and that it had -slipped through his hands by his “bad break,” Al rode home. - -Curt’s trail took him, eventually, to the Parsons cottage. Seeing the -car drawn up before the garage, Curt decided that he had no need to -watch the car being put into the garage; evidently its driver had gone -into his home for a moment first. Curt rode away. Had he waited his -trail would have led further; but he did not guess that! - -Bob had better fortune. - -He saved his strength as he pedaled along, well ahead of his two less -fortunate trailmates, and when he came to a cross street of the suburbs -where a policeman was directing traffic Bob drew up beside the officer. - -“Hello, Bob!” the policeman hailed. “Out sort of late, hey?” - -“Yes, Mr. O’Brien. I stayed at the plant—I’m learning how they put -airplanes together at the Tredway plant. I wanted to ask if you noticed -a motorcycle, not long ago—maybe fifteen minutes—a friend——” - -“Yes,” the officer, starting the cars down the street by a wave of his -hand, did not wait for an explanation of Bob’s reason for the question, -“Griff Parsons rode by.” - -“That’s who I mean. Did he turn off, here, to go home?” - -Bob knew that Griff’s house was several blocks over, on an up-and-down -street that was “one way” for traffic. If Griff had turned here Bob’s -quest, he knew, was over; if he did not, Griff would be gone much -further, because if he did not turn here, and thus enter his own home -street in the right direction he surely would not go on and approach it -in the wrong way, against the traffic rules. - -“He rode on by, just waved to me,” O’Brien said, and turned to signal a -warning to a car that was trying to slip past the stoplights. - -Thanking him Bob rode on. Griff must be going somewhere! - -The highway had no turns, except the suburb’s cross streets. It was -possible that Griff might have turned into one of them, perhaps to -return a hired motorcycle to its garage; nevertheless, so strange had -been the action of the youth that Bob decided to ride on, at least to -the last police officer along the main traffic road, to see if he could -learn whether the trail continued or not. - -The traffic officer, used to seeing this rider, greeted Bob and told him -that several motorcycles had passed him. Bob, riding to the curb to -rest, was puzzled. Had one of those been the motorcycle he had followed? - -A thought caused him to ride on. - -Griff, Bob knew, from his own inquiries, “hung out” with quite a rough -crowd of youths; they had very little reputation in the suburb, and one -of their haunts, near Rocky Lake, came to Bob’s mind. Griff, riding his -motorcycle, might have gone on to the inn or roadhouse or “speakeasy” or -whatever it was, near the picnic grounds at Rocky Lake. - -Tired, but determined, Bob went on. - -Some time later he approached the gayly lighted roadhouse. - -He smiled to himself as he observed the name of the place. - -“The Windsock!” it was called. - -On roadside signs, down the road in both directions, were admonitions to -automobilists to “set down at The Windsock,” “Don’t fly past The -Windsock,” and such tempting notices. - -A windsock, Bob knew, was the cornucopia of doped cloth, closed at one -end and held open at the other by a metal ring, which was fastened in a -prominent, high position at every flying field and airport, to be filled -by the draft of a breeze and thus, by its position, to indicate to -flying craft which direction to “head in” or to “take off.” Since an -airplane is much easier to get off the ground, and back to earth, headed -into the wind, the “windsock” was a most important adjunct to every -field; and Bob knew that the name, and the symbol, a real windsock on -top of the inn, had been chosen by its owner because he had been an -ex-pilot who put his money into the hotel venture and tried to attract -picnickers, automobile parties and other patrons of a less savory nature -by the novel idea of having his dining alcoves built to resemble the -cozy little cabins of airplanes and had his meals served by girls clad -in suits and helmets resembling those worn by pilots. Also, he had let -it be rumored around town that he chose the flying symbol and the -aviation idea because, in his inn, “the sky is the limit!” - -Bob, approaching, was surprised to see the very motorcycle—he was sure -of that!—he had followed, leaned against a post in the parking yard, and -he felt certain that his long ride had not been wasted. - -Where was Griff? Bob wondered. He hoped there would be some way for him -to discover the whereabouts of the youth. - -Not wishing to walk into the place for fear he might disclose his -presence to Griff, Bob skirted the building, unobserved. - -From an open window at the side came voices in angry altercation. - -Bob did not need to get within sight of the occupants: he recognized -Griff’s loud, sharp, furious tones. What was he saying? - -“——all I could scrape together—I _did_ put it in that package, I keep -telling you——” - -“Bologna! Rats! It was wads of paper!” - -“It was money! I want my receipt! If—if you don’t!——” - -“If _you_ don’t, you better say. If you don’t come through—by this time -tomorrow night—I’ll ask your old man for it!” - -There was silence. - -Bob did not dare creep any closer. They might look out of the window. -Some payment had been made, by Griff’s claim. By the denial of the other -man it had not been made. By his threat it must be made. - -Bob hesitated—and while he stood, undecided, the roar of a car, coming -at full speed, came to his ears. - -He glanced down the road. Hardly had he located the direction when he -recognized the car. It contained—Mr. Parsons! - -A man’s head leaned out of the open window. To Bob, as he crouched back -into some ornamental shrubbery, the face was unfamiliar; but he saw it -was brutish, fierce, angry—and he impressed it on his memory. - -“Here’s your pop, now,” the man called—and then he gave an exclamation -that Bob could not comprehend. Presently the light went out—and, almost -at the same time, while Parsons alighted in the parking place, Bob, near -the rear corner of the building, saw a form emerge from the kitchens and -race away down the yard toward the grove beyond. - -“Griff!” muttered Bob to himself. “Griff—running tight as he can -go—running away from his father—to hide.” - -Watching, more interested in the new arrival than in the son, Bob -remained in concealment. But his mind was puzzled. - -“Why?” he wondered. “Why—and what next?” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - “THE CASE IS ‘SEWED UP’” - - -Sitting on the Wright porch, early the next morning, Curt and Al -listened eagerly to Bob’s recital of the past night’s events. - -“After Griff ran off—what, then?” Al demanded. - -“A taxi came racing along and stopped at The Windsock.” - -“What did you do?” - -“What could I do, except keep hidden and watch?” Curt’s question brought -the counter-question from Bob. “The taxi door opened—and who do you -suppose jumped out?” - -“Who?” Curt and Al spoke at once. - -“The very man Al and I saw in the supply room.” - -“I saw him hail the taxi,” Al exclaimed. “Everything is beginning to fit -together.” - -“Yes, it is,” Bob agreed, “and, what’s more, it fits tightly. As soon as -the stranger paid his fare he recognized Mr. Parsons who was halted on -the roadhouse veranda, watching. They began to talk, and stood there for -a minute.” - -“They knew each other!” Curt exclaimed. “They must be working together -to loot the supply room. That’s probably how the mystery man got in: he -had a key from Mr. Parsons.” - -“It looks like that,” admitted Bob. - -“What then?” Al wanted the story. “Did they find Griff?” - -“No—but the stranger saw his motorcycle. He got awfully excited about it -and he went with Mr. Parsons to look at it. They went close to where I -was hiding back of the shrubs, but they didn’t say anything until they -were close to the motorcycle. They were too far away for me to hear, -then.” - -“I’d have crept closer,” declared Al. - -“Oh—yes! You would!” Bob was scornful. “Right out across an open yard!” - -Al subsided, crestfallen. - -“What then?” Curt asked quickly, to avoid any quarrel. - -“They talked for about ten minutes—then the man made some notes of -things Mr. Parsons said—I wish I could have heard! Then he hopped onto -his motorcycle and rode off, and Mr. Parsons stood thinking for awhile -and then——” - -“Yes? Don’t keep us waiting. What?” - -“Curt—he turned the car and went back toward town!” - -“Didn’t look for Griff?” Al had recovered his usual interest. - -“No! He drove away. Griff must have been watching, too. He came out, and -shook his fist toward the roadhouse and then walked off, and—that’s -all.” - -They discussed the incidents of the past night, coupling them with the -strange actions and uneasiness of Mr. Parsons and of Griff on former -occasions, riding, as they talked, toward the plant. - -Barney’s cabin airplane was again on the field, and as soon as they -arrived and he saw them, from an office window, Barney summoned them. - -“Well,” he greeted them, closing the door, “how goes the study of -airplane building?” - -“Oh, we know how they lay down the framework for the fuselage and how -careful they are to see that every longeron and brace and strut and -guywire and turnbuckle fits exactly in place and is well fastened,” Al -exclaimed. “And we’ve helped put on the wings and the tail assembly, and -Bob is going to help install an engine, today, and we will watch.” - -Bob laughed and Curt joined him. They saw the amused light in Barney’s -eyes. - -“Well—you asked!” Al defended his enthusiasm. - -“It was just a ‘polite opening’,” Bob grinned. “Barney wants to know -about—other things we’ve learned.” - -Interrupting one another, they gave him the details of their -experiences. - -“Hm-m-m! Well!” Barney’s face became very serious. “So that’s it!” - -“What?” - -Barney smiled at Al. - -“The partner and his son are working with an outsider. I thought so. But -what about the brown ’plane? Any news of that?” - -“We left it out entirely,” Bob said. - -“We disobeyed Uncle,” Curt admitted. “Bob said Uncle wanted us to drop -things here and concentrate on trying to find the brown ’plane, but——” - -“We can’t find that ‘crate’ I feel sure.” Bob was earnest. - -“Not only that, but if a crime is being committed under your nose you -won’t go off looking for something else to do while it is going on, will -you?” Al wanted their course confirmed. - -“You did just right,” Barney commended them. “You lads stick to this end -of it. I’ve suspected that Parsons and his son were ‘up to’ something, -and I don’t agree with your father, Bob, about the brown crate at all! I -think you fellows deserve a ‘raise’ and if you can only catch one or all -of the crowd doing something—catch them ‘red-handed’ in a way of -speaking, I’ll hand out a little private reward. I feel that it’s due -to—to the memory of Mr. Tredway. He was mighty good to me and—and I want -to—get everything cleared up here, because I think the ones who have -been doing wrong right here at the plant got found out by him and they -either hired that airplane from some distant place and flew out and rode -down Tredway or else they paid some unscrupulous pilot——” - -He paused as he saw Al squirming in his chair with eagerness. - -“What is it, Al?” - -“Unscrupulous pilot!” reiterated Al. “Why—the man at The Windsock is -a—an ex-pilot.” - -“Glory be! That’s so!” Barney nodded. - -“Well, from what I saw of him, his face shows that he’s unscrupulous,” -added Bob. - -“It looks to me, from here,” Barney said, slowly, “it looks to me as -though we’ve got the case ‘sewed up.’ All you need to do is to find out, -some way, about that ex-pilot—what he does with his time, if he owns a -crate yet, and so on.” - -“You think?——” - -Barney turned to Curt. - -“I think,” he nodded, “that ex-pilot might know a lot about a brown -’plane, and about what it did to force another one down——” - -“Then we have got the case ‘sewed up’,” Al declared. “We came here last -night to see if we could compare a little scrap of writing we found -where the ‘plane had been, with the books of letters and things to see -if the writing agreed.” - -“And what did you find?” - -“We had no time to find anything,” Curt admitted. “The other things came -up——” - -“Let’s see that note? Where is it?” - -Al produced the much-folded, dirty scrap and handed it to Barney. - -“No!” he shook his head after a careful study. “Don’t recognize it!” - -“The supply clerk?” hinted Bob. - -“Not at all like his writing.” - -“Well,” said Curt, “it’s done with an indelible pencil. Now that we know -the ex-pilot is under suspicion, we can find out if he has an indelible -pencil that he carries around—or, he might destroy it, considering what -has happened since the note was written.” - -“But who’s the note written to?” asked Bob. “It says ‘everything O.K.’” - -“To whoever hired him. To Parsons, maybe—or to Griff——” - -“That’s so!” Bob became very thoughtful. - -“We ought to get a sample of the ex-pilot’s handwriting,” suggested Al, -eagerly. “Shall I? I can try! They don’t know me out at The Windsock. -Couldn’t I take my autograph album—and——” - -“I’ll make inquiries about the brown ‘plane, from around The Windsock,” -added Curt. - -“Then I can keep tabs at this end,” argued Bob. - -“Fine!” agreed Barney. “Fine! Yes, sir! Boys—we’ve got the case ‘sewed -up’ or circumstantial evidence never pointed true.” - -“Did you see Dad, again?” asked Bob as they rose. - -“Yes, but he’s awfully busy on that other case. He must trust you -fellows pretty well.” - -“Well,” Al swelled with pride, “maybe we’ve disobeyed orders, but if -this comes out as good as we think it will, we’ll have no trouble making -Father see that he was wrong and we were right to disobey.” - -“Right you are!” agreed Barney. - -Griff seemed to be getting ready to work himself into danger for their -special benefit, it seemed to Bob in the engine assembling rooms. The -youth was angry, upset, uneasy, fidgety; he hurried out when he heard -his father’s voice approaching down the hall and the older man betrayed -as much uneasiness and concern as did his son. - -But that night, when they thought they had the last stitches taken to -“sew up” the case, as Barney said, Fate ripped out the whole thing—and -they were left without a thread of a clue!—until the unexpected thing -happened that gave Bob his “hunch!” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - A NEW MYSTERY - - -Cheerfully Al greeted the rigger for whom he worked. - -“Barney—Mr. Horton—” he corrected his own familiar allusion to the -manager of the aircraft plant, “—says please hurry the work on this -sport biplane. The man who’s buying it is in a big hurry. He wants to -get into some race with it.” - -“Oh, sure!” the rigger grumbled a little. “They’re all in a hurry. But I -don’t rush my part of it for anybody. There’s been enough complaint -about this plant, already, without me doing anything to cut down the -performance of a crate by skimping my share of the high standards Mr. -Tredway always kept up.” - -“I know,” agreed Al, “but he meant to do all you can, I guess.” - -“Yes,” the rigger was in a complaining mood, “that’s all very well. But -did he say why they’re giving us cheaper stuff to work with, since the -real boss—went West, maybe!—did they tell you why that is, that we’re -getting cheaper stuff!” - -“No,” Al admitted, “but I do know that Mr. Parsons and Bar—and Mr. -Horton were talking about some complaint from the wing assembling room, -about poor fabric. They almost quarreled. Barney told Mr. Parsons it had -to stop, he was going to uphold Mr. Tredway’s ideas, and Mr. Parsons -said so was he.” - -“Well, somebody’s ordering cheap stuff. Look here!” - -He picked up a turnbuckle, a metal object in which the threads of each -wire end were so threaded in that when the ends of wires were screwed -in, the turning of the central, revolving part either drew the two -sections of wire close, making it taut, or allowed them to recede a -little from one another, for more looseness—by which the flying and -landing wires, and other parts of the guying rig were adjusted. - -The turnbuckle looked all right to Al and he said so. - -“Shows how much you know,” scoffed the rigger, Sandy. “Look here—heft -this—and then this one!” - -He selected another turnbuckle, handed both to Al, and the youth -“weighted them” in his two hands. - -“This one does feel heavier.” - -“Of course it does! It’s a cheap casting, not the aluminum alloy the -other one is machined from. Why, them threads on the new one will wear -and go bad in no time!” - -Al, watching, observed that as the rigger manipulated a pocket knife in -the threaded end of the part, bright metal and a worn look were almost -immediately evident. - -“Yes,” Sandy Jim agreed with his discovery, “and I’ve been talking -around and others is dissatisfied—in the dope room, in the engine room. -Everywheres!” - -“But when Mr. Parsons talked with the manager,” Al explained, “they had -the supply clerk in and went over the orders and way-bills and delivery -check-up, and everything was all right. The orders went to the same -firms, as always——” - -“We’re getting shoddy stuff, all the same!” grunted Jim. “What good is -it to rush out a ‘job’ and have it accepted on the reputation of Mr. -Tredway, and then have complaints in a few days?” - -“I don’t know,” said Al, and changed the subject. “Mr. Horton says -you’ll have to excuse me, this morning. He’s sending me out on an -errand.” - -“Oh, sure!” Jim snapped. “Wants this job rushed, and takes away my -helper! Whyn’t he use his office boy?” - -Al could not explain that it was Barney’s way of releasing him so he -could go to The Windsock for that comparison of the ex-pilot’s autograph -with the clue note Al held. - -“I guess you’ll have to ask him,” Al grinned, and went over to get his -bicycle. Sandy Jim followed him, dragging a small parcel out of his hip -pocket. - -“As long as you’re riding,” he suggested, “go past the house and slip -this in to Jimmy-junior. It’s some odds and ends of broken stuff for him -to use on his new model air-liner.” - -“Glad to,” Al took the parcel. - -“Get back quick as you can,” urged Sandy. “I need a good helper.” - -Al quickly sent his bicycle along the highway. Stopping at Sandy’s home -he took as little time as he could to drop the parcel, and to explain to -Jimmy-junior that the reason he had not yet been taken into the Sky -Squad was that they had been too busy, evenings, to hold any meetings. - -Then he made his way to the roadhouse near Rocky Lake Park, and leaned -his wheel against the veranda supports. - -“Is Mister Jones busy?” he asked a sleepy waiter who was listlessly -dusting off some chairs in one of the small compartments made to look -like the cabin of an air-liner. Al had found it easy to learn the -ex-pilot’s name. - -“In the office,” the man jerked a thumb toward a side room. Al, knocking -at the door and hearing a gruff voice bid him enter, went into the same -room Bob had described as the scene of the quarrel between the roadhouse -man and Griff. - -The man, looking up from some work at a small desk, had a coarse, -scowling face. No wonder he was “ex” pilot, Al reflected, with a face as -brutish and a manner as unfriendly and curt as “Mr. Jones” showed. - -“What’s wanted?” - -“Why—er—” Al stammered, not so much ill at ease as trying to pretend he -felt shy in the presence of a great man, “I’m one of the fellows who -have a sort of club, to study airplanes, and all that—and I—we—heard -about you being a clever pilot, and I thought I’d ride out and ask if -you’d be generous enough to write a little something about aviation in -our club autograph album.” He produced the small book he had brought in -his coat pocket. - -“Hm-m!” The man scowled. “Le’me see that book!” - -He took the small volume and Al’s heart sank. Instead of writing -sensibly and generously on blank page invitingly offered, he flipped the -pages, and Al knew that the affair was a failure. There was nothing -about aviation in the few autographed verses and sayings already -collected. - -“That’s no aviation album!” The man thrust it away angrily and jumped -up. “What’s your scheme, young fellow?” - -“Scheme?” Al tried to look innocent. “I told you—we want to get you to -start the real autographs from aviators!” - -The subterfuge did not satisfy the man. He frowned, stared at Al as -though trying to get through his guard, to discover any hidden motive. -Al, inexperienced, fidgeted, unable to conceal his uneasiness. - -However, he received a surprise. - -“Sure!” The man snatched up the book. “Come to think of it, why not? -Fact is, kid, I’ll start you off with _two_ autographs. Wait!” - -He hurried out of the office. Al did not dare “peek” to see where he -went or what he did. For all Al knew, the man might be just beyond the -side door, watching. He sat very still, trying to be as self-possessed -as he could. - -Presently the man returned, with the book held open. - -“Here y’are!” he said, affably. Al, glancing at the book, saw that two -opposite pages bore fresh scrawls. The man waved a hand. “Welcome. Run -along, now. We’re busy, here—getting set to open up a new ‘airport’ out -on the side, where folks can dance to a fine orchestra in a hangar. Tell -any of your friends you like—especially your parents. We got the -prettiest imitation of an airplane for the orchestra to set in——” - -Al, hardly able to mumble his thanks, dashed out to his bicycle. He -could scarcely hold in his impatience. One of those sets of rough -characters was written with a pencil, the other with an indelible -pencil! - -One had a familiar character to its shaping of letters! - -A little way down the road, near the lake, where the airplane had -cracked up, Al drew his machine in under a tree, almost tore the book -out of his pocket and opened it hastily. - -On one page was a maxim, exactly what a pilot might write: - -“Knowing when to stay on the ground makes a better pilot than knowing -how to get off it!” It was signed with initials—“T. J.” Al did not -recognize the writing although, he understood that the saying meant that -a pilot wise enough to be cautious was better than one who thought that -getting into the air was all there was to flying. - -The second page revealed one word, the pilot’s good-luck wish, and two -initials also: - -“Tailwinds! J. T.” it told him. - -“T. J. and J. T.” - -Hurriedly Al drew out the folded, ragged, dirty little note—his clue. - -It exactly corresponded in every character with the short autograph! - -But!—— - -Who had written the autograph? Had Mr. Jones? If his name was Jones he -would have signed the initials on the first autograph—“T. J.” Or—would -he have signed that way? Might he not have signed the reverse? Had he -written either page? Who else had helped? - -More mystery! And no way to solve it! - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - TANGLED THREADS - - -On a former occasion Bob had related news to an audience composed of Al -and Curt. - -As the trio rode homeward, Curt to share supper with the brothers, Al -was the spokesman. - -“Did you ever see so many people to suspect and so many clues that don’t -lead anywhere?” asked Curt when Al had told his story and had shown his -evidence. - -“The Sky Squad has a mystery, and there’s no mistake about it,” declared -Al. “We got what we wanted, but now—what can we do with it?” - -“You mean the mystery?” - -“No, Bob. I mean the autograph.” - -“Well, it proves one thing, anyway,” Bob asserted. “The single word -matches our ‘Everything O.K.’ note. That proves that the man who wrote -the note is at that roadhouse, The Windsock.” - -“It does,” Curt agreed. “But—is it the man named Jones? Did he write -it?” - -“Did he write either one?” Bob was puzzled as he spoke. - -“He left the room, you said.” Curt turned to Al, who nodded. - -“Maybe he didn’t write anything!” - -“What does all that matter?” Bob said. “The point is that we have proof -that the man who used the brown ‘plane is staying at The Windsock. Now -our job is to discover who he is.” - -“Let’s see those autographs again.” Curt drew his wheel to the roadside -and took the book from Al. “‘T. J.’ is written with a plain leadpencil,” -he remarked. “The ‘J. T.’ one is the one written in indelible pencil. -‘J. T.’” he repeated thoughtfully. “Do you suppose Jones transposed his -initials and then got a waiter or a clerk to write the other and sign -what Al would take for his initials?” - -“It’s too tangled up to suppose about,” argued Bob. “Two things we do -know from it.” - -“One is,” Al remarked, as they resumed their ride, “one is that we know -the brown airplane man is at The Windsock. What’s the other?” - -“Well, whether it’s Jones or not—Jones has something to hide, this -proves. Otherwise he’d have scribbled a word or two for Al, and thought -no more about it.” - -“That’s so.” - -“It simplifies things, doesn’t it?” Al, speaking after Curt’s agreement, -was not so sure as his words indicated. - -“It makes them more complicated,” Bob retorted. “Let’s see what we know -and where we stand.” - -As they rode slowly, he tabulated their clues and theories and -discoveries, with many interruptions from his companions. - -“First of all,” he began, “we saw a mysterious brown airplane hidden in -the woods. Then, when we went there, it was gone—and this note was flung -aside. The crate took off in a hurry because we saw heavy tracks, and -made in a hurry, by the way they looked. Then there was a crack-up at -Rocky Lake and we found out Mr. Tredway was in the Silver Flash that -crashed.” - -“And we saw a man come to try to help, swimming across the lake,” Curt -broke in. - -“And then we met Barney and he and Father called us in to help solve the -Mystery Crash,” added Al. - -“We learned there was more mystery than just the fall of the crate,” Bob -went on. “That was bad enough; but there was more! Parts were being -stolen from the aircraft plant, and ‘planes had been tampered with—after -tests showed them to be perfect!—and——” - -“When we went there to work in the plant,” Curt was eager to add his -contribution to the sum of their recollections. “We saw Mr. Parsons -acting suspiciously, and Griff, too.” - -“And we have suspected Langley was in bad company with Griff, and Lang -got mad at us about Griff—but we haven’t found any reason to suspect -Lang, since,” Al declared. “But now we’ve got more people to suspect—the -stranger who came to the plant and this ex-pilot.” - -“But all this hasn’t brought us any closer to knowing anything -definite,” Bob objected. “I begin to wonder if Father was right, after -all, when he told us to ‘drop those unimportant things and locate that -brown airplane.’” - -“But we can’t!” defended Al. “There’s no way to start hunting. I’m for -keeping on disobeying until something happens to help us.” - -“And I’m for getting in to supper,” Curt changed the subject as they -dismounted at the cottage. “Let’s give what brains we have a good rest -while we eat.” - -“Well, one thing more and we will.” Bob paused, thoughtful and serious. -“Al said we had no cause to suspect Lang. Well—today, I was wondering -why Griff was so nervous and fidgety and furtive, and Lang came in and -took me out, to give me a lesson in handling the controls, he hinted. He -really did, but before he took me up while he tested the new sport -speedster, he said, ‘I see you’re bothering Griff again,’ and he gave me -‘down the banks’ about it.” - -“What’s suspicious about that?” Curt asked. - -“Not that, so much. But—he told me to go on home, that it was closing -time, and I put on my cap and punched the time-clock, and then I -recalled that I had left the baseball we were playing ‘catch’ with at -noon, in my bench drawer. I went back, and there was Griff, all excited, -and Lang, with his head close to Griff’s, acting as upset and as uneasy -as Griff when I came in and surprised them. Lang snapped at -me—I—don’t—like it——” - -“Well,” Curt was quiet, a little hesitant, but firm. “If Lang is mixed -up in something wrong—we ought to—at least we ought to try to save him!” - -“That’s good,” agreed Bob, quickly. “I thought you were going to say ‘we -ought to catch him with the rest.’” - -“No, indeed, I think more of Lang than that.” - -“But how could we save him?” asked Al. - -To that they had no answer as they went in to eat. - -As they sat at the table Al mentioned the morning’s chat with -Jimmy-junior, and suggested that they really ought to go and spend an -evening with him as he had urged them to do; if the others liked him, -they could communicate by nods and take him into the Sky Squad, not as a -full member, but just to please him and have a fourth member to call on -if an emergency arose where he would be needed. Al vouched for his -innocence and good nature, eagerness to please and willingness to work -without asking for explanations of why he did a certain thing. - -“He’d be a good one to send to watch anybody—Griff, or the ex-pilot,” Al -spoke as the trio rode toward Jimmy-junior’s home. - -“We’ll see——” - -Bob did not finish. He applied his coaster brake, made a quick signal -for silence, swerved into a garage driveway, followed by his companions, -and dismounted, dropping his bicycle on the lawn. - -“What happened?” asked Al, thrilling to some possible mystery. - -“Lang turned the corner!” - -“You didn’t want him to see us?” - -“Certainly not!” Bob answered Al. - -“Wonder where he’s going.” Curt slipped along the side of the house by -which they had stopped. “He’s in a terrible hurry,” he reported, coming -back. “In a second he’ll be passing this house. Get back—behind the -house. I don’t think he’ll notice the bikes on the grass in the dusk.” - -They hid from the view of anyone on the sidewalk. Peering cautiously out -in turn they saw Langley hurrying by. - -“Now—where’s he going?” - -“And what shall we do about it?” - -“See where he goes,” Curt answered the other two. - -Lang turned the next corner. - -“I’ll bet he’s going to Griff’s house!” - -Al was correct in his guess. As they trundled their bicycles, keeping as -far behind Lang as they thought necessary, they saw him turn in at -Griff’s gate. Five minutes later, from carefully chosen points of -concealment they saw Lang come out, take Griff’s repaired motorcycle and -ride off in haste. - -Consulting one another with dismayed eyes, the chums, by common consent, -mounted and pedaled for dear life along the street, around the corner, -back to the main highway. - -They seemed to sense where Langley was going. - -They did not, however, divine what he planned to do! - - - - - CHAPTER XX - A PACKAGE OF MONEY - - -Before they reached the aircraft plant toward which they pedaled with -all their power, Bob, Curt and Al saw a light flare up. - -“That’s the flying field ready for a hop,” panted Al. “Hurry!” - -“Do you think it could be Lang?” Curt asked. - -“Who else?” Bob retorted, pedaling faster. - -“There’s nobody at the gate,” Curt called. They were near enough to see -the open gateway. - -“The watchman’s helping with chocks and spinning the prop.” - -Bob, increasing his pedal revolutions, forging ahead, spoke over his -shoulder. - -“Wait!” called Curt. “What are you going to do?” - -“Find out——” - -“No! Wait!” - -Bob slowed up his pedals, permitting the bicycle to coast along as the -modern, free-wheeling automobile runs when the foot is removed from the -accelerator pedal. Curt caught up to him. In a moment, as they -approached the gate, Al came up also. - -“Don’t let him see you at all,” warned Curt. “Better wait and ask the -watchman after he’s gone. You’ll find out more, that way.” - -It was good advice, and Bob agreed to act on it. - -They hid the bicycles, in case it turned out that Lang had not left the -ground. Careful not to disclose themselves, they watched at the gate as -the engine of the sport model owned by Griff was warmed up. In the flood -of light on the runway they recognized Lang as the pilot, and watched -him adjust flying helmet and leather jacket, get into the craft, test -the instruments, checking carefully, and then get his wind direction -from the windsock, which told that the light Summer breeze was from the -South. The watchman swung the tail around, set the chocks again for a -final test. Lang “gave her the gun,” to see if everything was hitting -perfectly, signaled for the chocks to be removed, and since his craft -was correctly headed into the wind the airplane taxied, gaining speed, -and rose swiftly into the dark. - -Hardly waiting for the flood to be extinguished, the trio of amateur -detectives hailed the watchman. - -“Too late to see Lang take off,” greeted Bob. “He didn’t say why he -hopped at night did he?” - -“Yeah, he did! He’s going off to see his uncle about something.” - -“That’s funny,” Al argued, under his breath, to Curt. - -“Certainly is,” Curt agreed. - -“Thanks,” Bob spoke to the watchman. “As long as we’re here,” he turned -to his chums. “Let’s bring in our bikes and get some more of those books -on metal alloys Barney told us about.” - -“The boss is here, himself,” the watchman explained. “Go ahead.” - -Barney was working late! - -“His office is lighted,” Al commented. “Let’s stop in and tell him about -the note and the autograph.” - -“And about Lang.” - -“He must know Lang hopped off,” Curt told Bob. - -“Yes—the crate made enough noise—unless he’s awfully busy.” - -Barney was busy enough, but he had heard the take-off, he admitted. - -“I’m trying to check up on the firm’s books.” Barney waved a hand toward -the pile of heavy volumes, ledgers, daybooks, indexes and others, -scattered on his desk. “I can’t find out what way they’re doing it, but -something’s being ‘worked’ about the materials.” - -“So Sandy told me this morning,” Al stated. - -“Well, I can’t find it,” he pushed three of the smaller books into a -large lower desk drawer, and turned, mysteriously smiling. “How do you -like this idea?” he asked. “I’ll put a few books aside, and then, when -the staff comes in, tomorrow, I’ll see how the bookkeeper and Parsons -take it. If there’s anything ‘flim-flammy’ about them, they will show it -when they miss the books.” - -“That’s dandy!” agreed Al. - -“What do you figure on doing now?” Barney asked. - -“Why—nothing special,” said Bob. “We thought if Lang was flying over to -see Father, that would take him about three hours—or four, and he -wouldn’t get back here before morning, so there’s no use waiting for him -to come back here. But—we haven’t anything special to do, except go to -call on Sandy’s son, Jimmy-junior.” - -“Why not ‘stick around’ here?” suggested Barney. “For awhile, at least. -I don’t want to be mixed up in anything, but if anybody should come -slinking around, I’d like to know it—as long as you have nothing much on -hand?” - -“Let’s!” urged Al. - -“Suits me,” Curt agreed. Bob was willing. - -“Why not put out all the lights, and just hang around in the dark for an -hour?” suggested Barney. - -They agreed readily enough, and felt quite like conspirators or real -sleuths on a big case as they occupied easy chairs in the big -“directors’ room” and talked in low tones. - -Their vigil was soon rewarded. - -Footsteps, sounding without effort at concealment, in the corridor, -caused all three comrades to become tense and alert. - -Bob felt a hand clutch his arm, and almost called out in his nervous -reaction until he realized that Curt was whispering: - -“Hide!” - -Al, already at his other side, was anxious. - -“How? Where?” he said quickly but softly. - -“Behind the chairs.” - -However, hardly had they gotten into concealment when they realized that -there was no need to hide; the steps went briskly past the door and on, -down the hallway. - -“Now what?” asked Al as a door opened and slammed. - -At the door to the hall Curt turned, waiting until the other two joined -him, he spoke quietly. - -“You wait here,” he urged. “I’m lightest—and quickest, I think. Let me -go on down and ‘snoop’ a little. He slammed the door so hard it jumped -open a little—it’s Barney’s office!” - -“Barney? He—do you suppose?—” Al was puzzled. “He told us to wait, -though——” - -“It’s never Barney. I’ll soon see——” - -Curt was gone, tiptoeing, clinging close to the inner wall, where, he -felt sure, the boards were so sturdy and well secured that they would be -unlikely to creak. - -In suspense his companions waited. - -Soon, in the dim hall, they saw Curt returning. - -“It’s—it’s—Mr. Parsons!” - -“What’s he doing?” Al was eager. - -“Hunting for something.” - -“Those books, I’ll give you odds on it!” Bob spoke softly. - -They waited, uncertain what to do—in fact, there was nothing they could -do but wait. - -They had only a moment to decide. Down the hall, from the stairway, came -other steps; the chums drew back inside the doorway. They let Curt peer -out. - -“It’s Griff, this time!” he informed the others. “He’s coming to meet -his—no he isn’t! Get back! Hide!” - -Hesitating steps paused but before there was any further movement Curt, -Al and Bob were well screened from any but a careful search in full -light. - -They were glad, this time, they had gotten under cover. Griff did not go -to meet his father! - -Instead he came into the directors’ room, at least as far as inside its -door, where, a faint blotch against a very dull oblong of weak light, -Bob saw him standing, watchful. - -“Shucks!” thought Al, “we can’t find out about Mr. Parsons on account -of——” - -They did not hear anything; but evidently the youth watching at the door -did, for he came further into the room. Would he decide to hide? Might -he choose the spot already occupied by one of the youths? - -Their suspense was relieved! He waited inside the doorway, and it was a -wait of a long, dragging three or four minutes that seemed like an age -to the crouching trio; but finally he walked out, his step confident and -loud, showing that need for concealment was over. - -Quickly the three reached the door. Already, as they peered out, a light -was glowing, but not electric ceiling domes—it was a pocket flash held -close to something in Mr. Parsons’ own office. - -Like shadows the three, arms touching, went down the hall. They could -not contain their suspense. At an open door, partly drawn shut but not -locked, they stopped. Looking through the crack, hardly daring to -breathe or move, they saw Griff fit a key to his father’s desk, open it, -take something from a small drawer—and walk confidently, if slowly, -to—the safe in the corner! - -Before it his light was held low, close. He was manipulating the knobs -of the combination. As the partner’s son he had access to it, the chums -realized. They forgot some of their caution but not all; they peered -closely in through the crack of the door—and saw—— - -“Phew!” breathed Al, “he’s got—a package—of—money!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - CAUGHT AND CLEARED! - - -Spellbound the three watching youths saw Griff count the bills in that -packet he had taken from the aircraft plant safe. - -They heard the ruffle of paper as he ran through the ends of the crisp, -new bills. - -Then he stepped out of their line of vision. - -With unexpected promptness, startling his companions, Al flung the door -inward so that it banged against the wall. Instantly he leaped into the -room. His chums followed. Startled, dropping his packet, Griff swung -around to stare in amazement and terror. - -“Drop those bills!” Al cried needlessly, “we’ve caught you red-handed!” - -All three of the Sky Squad were in the room. - -Al dashed across to the window, to block any possibility of Griff trying -to drop the ten or fifteen feet to the ground. Bob snatched up the -money. Curt blocked the door. - -After his first look of stunned horror, Griff sank into the swivel chair -and buried his face in his hands. His shoulders shook with a sudden -revulsion of feeling that unmanned him, made him sob like a creature in -pain. - -For a moment no one moved. The comrades were rather dismayed and -nonplussed by Griff’s pathetic attitude. - -They had caught him, yes! Red-handed, as Al had said, they had caught -him, in the act of something very dreadful. - -Nevertheless, his surprising way of giving in, sitting there in a bent -posture, with his body racked by his sobs, made him a rather pitiful -figure. - -“Stop that!” Bob said, finally, and rather gruffly. “You’ve done wrong. -You’ve been caught. Take it like a man!” - -“Yes,” Griff replied in a shaking voice. “Yes—I’m caught. I know I’m a -baby—but—but——” - -He fought back his weakness and gulped. - -“But—what?” demanded Curt. “I suppose you’ll say you were forced to do -this by somebody else. They always do, in books!” - -“No,” Griff answered. “No. I—it’s all my doing. But——” - -“Why do you keep saying ‘but’?” asked Al. - -“Oh!” Griff had hard work not to break down again. In spite of the way -they had found him, in spite of what he had been planning to do, there -was something that touched the youthful hearts of the trio, in Griff’s -sorrowful eyes and drawn face. - -“Oh!” he repeated, “if only somebody could help me instead of hounding -me and——” - -“We’re not ‘hounding’ you,” Bob defended their action. “You’d have done -the same.” - -“But you’ve been watching me and following me and suspecting me,” Griff -declared sadly. “I know I deserve it—but——” - -“Oh! Stop saying but!” Curt was annoyed by what he took to be an attempt -to win sympathy. “We’d have helped you, instead of ‘hounding’ you if -you’d been honest, instead of trying to be cunning and in with the wrong -sort of people.” - -“Oh, yes, you would!” retorted Griff, bitterly. “That’s easy to say.” - -“Well, it’s true,” declared Bob stoutly. - -“Nobody helps me,” responded Griff. “Everybody is after me for one -reason or another.” - -“That’s because you’re so furtive and fidgety that you ask for it—and -doing things—like this—” Bob shook the bills. - -Griff sat in silence for a moment. Bob walked over to the open safe, saw -where the package belonged, and pushed it into place, then slammed the -safe door, turned the knob of the combination to lock it and swung back -to Griff. - -“There!” he exclaimed. “That shows we’re helping you.” - -“I—I—what do you mean?” Griff stared. - -“I mean this!” Bob came and stood in front of him. “I mean that the -money is back in the safe. If you can show any reason besides temptation -or somebody forcing you to do—this!—we’ll all promise to say nothing -more about the things we saw you do.” - -Griff shook his head. - -“That wouldn’t do any good,” he said despondently. “I’ve got to have -that money. You think it’s—” he could not bring out the word, but he saw -that the trio recognized what he meant. “It isn’t—because Lang is -flying, right now, to his uncle, to get him to come back and give me -money—a loan—to replace this.” - -The chums exchanged surprised, wondering glances. - -“Lang! Going to Father for money for you?” - -“Yes,” Griff answered Al. “It’s—it’s all mixed up and—awful!—but you say -you’d help instead of telling on me, if I could show I wasn’t as bad as -you think.” - -Bob thought he saw a genuine honesty in the clear look Griff gave him. -His sympathy was really quick and he wanted to be fair. - -“You could count on that!” he stated earnestly. - -“You bet you could!” Al declared and Curt added a similar assertion. - -“If I thought you meant that—if I thought you’d believe me——” - -“Really we would!” Al was also touched; Griff, caught and breaking down -and seeming to be declaring innocence in some way, was not the furtive, -uneasy, shifty-eyed Griff they had known. “Honestly! Try us and see.” He -and Curt moved closer. The three stood in a group in front of the -huddling youth in the swivel chair. - -Griff looked up dolefully. - -“It will make me out bad enough,” he stated. “But—not as bad as you’ve -been thinking. Oh, I know!” he took on a touch of his old defiance, “I -know you’ve tried to connect me with all the wrong things that have been -going on here! I know I’ve acted as though I am guilty. I’m not, -though—not in the way you think.” - -“All right,” Curt admitted. “We’ll listen. We’d rather have you innocent -than guilty—of anything!” - -“Even if our case—” Al stopped suddenly, but Griff nodded. - -“I guess you all think you’re clever,” he said, forgetting his own -trouble for a second or two. “You come here to learn all about this -mystery of where the missing parts go and who did things to the crates, -and why. Don’t you think we have eyes? It’s all over the plant what you -are trying to do. Don’t you suppose we all know one of you is a close -friend of the other two, and Bob and Al are sons of a detective? What’s -the answer?” - -“The answer seems to be that you thought we weren’t smart and so you -went right ahead.” Curt was a little nettled by Griff’s statement, -although common sense told him, now that Griff mentioned the point, that -their scheme must be fairly evident to any sensible person. - -“I didn’t think whether you were smart or dumb,” Griff replied. “I had -too much on my mind. Bad as it is, it might as well be confessed. I -gamble, and owe money for it, and I came here to borrow this from the -safe—it’s as much my father’s as anybody’s, because he’s Mr. Tredway’s -partner, but—I didn’t intend to try to ‘get away’ with the money. I only -wanted it overnight. Before the office opens Lang will be back with the -money to replace it.” - -“What makes it so important to get money at this time of night?” -demanded Curt, suspiciously. - -“I guess I’d better tell the whole thing.” - -“We’re listening!” - -“Go ahead. Tell us!” - -Griff nodded. Dejectedly, shamefaced and humble, he related his story: - -“I’ve been running around with a pretty rough crowd,” he admitted, “and -they got me in the habit of going to places like The Windsock, out on -the——” - -“We know!” Al interrupted impatiently. - -“All right. There’s ways to gamble, out there, if you know the people -who run the place.” - -“Jones?” - -“Well—he owns it, yes. Mostly its Jenks, his manager, and the waiters -that let the crowd do things outside the actual license rights of the -roadhouse. Well, anyhow, I got to spending money pretty fast and I -gambled. After awhile I lost so much I found out I was owing the ‘house’ -as they say, more than two hundred dollars!” - -Although several maxims and Biblical quotations sprang into Bob’s mind, -he kept silent. This was no time for preaching, for pretending the -“holier than thou” pose. Under the same temptations, argued Bob to -himself, it would be hard to say whether he’d go Griff’s way or not. It -isn’t how good a fellow thinks he is, but how good he proves himself to -be under temptation, that counts, Bob decided. - -“That’s what you’re taking the money for—or trying to,” Curt determined. -“But why did you have to take it this way, and at this time?” - -“The manager at the roadhouse said, last week, he’d have to get all the -debts owed the house and clean up, because they’re spending a lot on a -new dance place, like a——” - -“Hangar. We know. Never mind why they wanted it. Tell me,” Bob changed -the subject for a moment, “what does the owner look like? Is he short, -thick-set——” - -“That’s the manager——” - -“But that man let on to be Jones.” Al broke in. - -“Maybe he did? What were you doing there—snooping?” - -“Never mind,” said Curt, pacifically, wishing to get Griff’s side of the -matter first. “We wanted a specimen of his handwriting——” - -“I wish _I_ could get one!” declared Griff, ruefully. “That’s the whole -trouble, fellows.” His manner was more eager, more confidential. “I paid -the money once—and he didn’t give me a receipt——” - -“Oh!” Bob was connecting some things in his mind. “He came here one -evening and demanded the money, and you gave him a parcel and then -realized he didn’t give you a receipt. You tried to chase him on your -motorcycle and got into an accident.” - -“I thought you were watching, but I was too excited and upset to care,” -agreed Griff. “Yes, I had borrowed from all the fellows I knew, and had -scraped every cent out of my savings account, and I had the money. But -he didn’t give any receipt, and when I finally got over the smash of the -motorcycle and went to ask for it he declared I’d paid him with a -package of wadded, folded paper and not money!” - -“But it was money,” declared Bob. “Unless you changed it, because I -caught you wrapping up something green the day I came into the engine -assembling room.” - -“It was money, all right enough,” Griff asserted. “But he wanted it -twice. Well, I had promised my father that I wouldn’t go with that crowd -any more, and I had been weak and went against my promise. So I couldn’t -go to him about it.” - -“If you had, and made a clean breast of it, he would have gotten you out -of this scrape.” Bob had to say that much. - -“I don’t think so!” Griff was morose. “He’s got so much worry on his -mind about the plant and all that’s happened that he’s jumpy and nervous -and suspicious and he’d throw me out of here, and maybe send me away -from home. And I am trying to go straight. I will—I make a vow on -that!—if once I can get out of this scrape. I’ve learned a lesson.” - -“But that fellow at the roadhouse knows you’re afraid of your dad, I -guess,” asserted Curt. - -“Yes, and when I said I had paid the money——” - -“I overheard that,” Al stated, and related what he had heard through the -open office window at The Windsock. - -“You fellows have been on the job!” There was a note of admiration in -Griff’s voice, then he sobered and went on. “Yes, that fellow, out -there, knows about me being afraid of Father, and he said if I didn’t -have the money tonight, before midnight, he’d tell my ‘old man’ as he -calls Dad. They’re opening a dance place and he said the cash was -essential tonight.” - -“So you told Lang and he went to get it,” ended Curt for him. - -“Yes, and he’s going to call me, long distance, as soon as he gets -there, and I was getting the money out so I could start for The Windsock -the minute he calls up.” - -“What’s your father doing out there so much?” demanded Al, suspiciously. - -“Trying to ‘get a line’ on me, I guess!” - -Curt turned to his comrades with a rueful grin. - -“That explains everything,” he stated, almost regretfully. “Griff has -cleared himself, and his father’s motive is logical.” - -“It leaves us ‘up in the air’—and not in any ‘crate’ either!” agreed Al. - -“Yes,” nodded Bob. “Barney said the case was all sewed up—but the -threads must have been weak, because here’s our case all torn apart!” - -“Well,” said Curt, “for my part—I’m glad!” - -Since Griff and Mr. Parsons were cleared of suspicion, the other two -agreed promptly. - -“I may be cleared,” said Griff sadly, “but I’m not out of trouble. If I -don’t get this money to that man—Jenks is what we all call him, Toby -Jenks!—why, he’ll call up Dad—and then——” - -“We said we’d help if you could clear yourself,” stated Bob. - -“And we will!” agreed Curt. - -“With all our heart!” added Al. “But—how?” - -“Let me take the money out there!” urged Griff. “Just keep quiet about -catching me here——” - -“Even if the money belonged to your father, which the stockholders of -the corporation might argue out with you,” said Bob seriously, “taking -it, just overnight, would be—wrong, to say the least.” - -“Why don’t you go to Mr. Parsons—to your father?” suggested Curt. - -“He’s got all this worry on his mind, trying to see what’s wrong——” - -“Yes,” admitted Al, “I guess it would be better not to worry him about -this, if we could see how to get around it and still not let you take -this money.” - -“We suspected him,” Curt said, rather ashamed but anxious to be as frank -as Griff, whose manner and actions convinced them that he had been -absolutely honest with them. “We suspected him of being mixed up in -something.” - -“Everybody suspects everybody else,” admitted Griff. “Dad suspects -Barney, Barney suspects me, I suspect the supply clerk and the -bookkeeper of working together to get cheaper supplies here, and they -suspect each other and everybody else—even you three!” - -“Well,” Bob waved the statement aside, “that isn’t getting down to brass -tacks. Think, for five minutes, everybody. We’ve got to help Griff!” - -Seeing their case destroyed, their chief suspect cleared, they turned -loyally to help to retrieve themselves by aiding him. - -For five minutes no one spoke. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - THE “MYSTERY CRATE” - - -“Father ordered us to drop this part of things,” said Al finally, “but -I’m glad we disobeyed if it helps Griff to get out of trouble.” - -“So am I,” admitted Bob. “But that isn’t what we were quiet for, to talk -about what we’ve done.” - -“We want to know what to do!” Curt commented. - -“That’s what I was coming to,” defended Al. “Let Griff stay here with -you, Bob, while Curt and I ride out to The Windsock. We can call up as -soon as we arrive, and then wait outside, hiding. Then Griff can take -this money and come out, and pay it, and then we will jump in from -outside the door and grab it and jump through the window and——” - -“Is that the best you can do?” scoffed Curt. Al grinned. - -“It looked good till I said it,” he admitted, “then——” - -“That’s you, all the way!” his brother challenged. “Quick on the trigger -and sorry when the bullet hits the wrong target.” - -“I have a plan, though,” suggested Curt. “Al and I can go out to The -Windsock, as Al said, to get a good place under that office window. -Then, when Griff pays the money, we will be witnesses, and if the man -tries not to give a receipt we’ll be on Griff’s side.” - -“Better, but not perfect,” said Bob. - -“I suppose the head Sleuth of the Sky Squad has the one perfect plan!” -Al was sarcastic. - -“No,” Bob was honest, “I haven’t! I thought of having Griff call the man -and say he’d be there bright and early with the money——” - -“I did tell him that, when Lang left. He said it would be tonight, -whether he got it from me or from my father.” - -“Um-m-m!” Curt was thoughtful. “Bad! Well——” - -“If we could keep that Jenks man so busy, keep his mind so much occupied -he’d be too excited to think about Griff—” Al was not very sure of -himself. - -“We could!” Curt astonished Al by accepting the idea. “Look here! If he -isn’t the ex-pilot, maybe the ex-pilot wrote that other autograph. -Whether he did not or did, anyhow the Jenks man had something to -conceal, or he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of giving Al two -specimens of writing to get mixed up with. Now—if we were out there, and -Griff tried once more to stave off payment till morning, if he agreed, -all right, we could come home and this money in the safe would be all -right.” - -“Logical so far,” agreed Bob. - -“All right. If the man refused to wait, we could telephone in to Griff -to find out, and if Jenks refused to wait, we’d walk in on that Jenks -fellow and say we knew he was mixed up in something wrong about the -airplane crash, and throw out hints, and so on. I think, myself, he is -in it somehow. He’d bluster, maybe, but if he has anything to conceal, -we could scare him, and then tell him to let Griff alone for the present -or tell his story to a policeman—and we might hint that he could explain -a lot about the crash——” - -“I like it as well as anything you’ve suggested,” said Griff. “If you -could ‘get way with it.’” - -“Trust us to scare him good and proper!” declared Al. “I’d ask him ‘how -about the brown ‘plane’——” - -“No good,” argued Bob. “We looked that craft up in the official registry -and she’s from out West, and while we know her markings we haven’t found -her and I don’t believe he——” - -“I do,” Al defended his deduction. “I think he had it brought here for -him to use, and then taken away again, and that accounts for his -note—‘Everything O.K.’ when the pilot left it there and he put the note -on the seat to show he had been there!” - -“Then maybe this Jenks hopped off, in the morning, met the ‘plane Mr. -Tredway was flying, forced it into trouble, rode it down——” - -“But we saw the big cabin ship!” objected Bob to Curt’s theory. “There -was no other ship around.” - -“You can’t be sure!” argued Al. “That brown crate might have been up -above, against the dark clouds in the sky! You couldn’t tell if we heard -one or two engines. He could have surprised Mr. Tredway, could have -driven him into a dive—something may have gone wrong——” - -“But Barney examined the craft when it was hauled in,” urged Bob. -“Nothing was wrong with it at all!” - -“Well,” Al was obstinate, “I think what I think!” - -“Who owns the brown ‘plane?” asked Griff. “Did you look that up?” - -“Yes, we did! No name we know. No one mixed up in the case. It was -probably hired by wire, or telephone, from somebody we don’t know.” - -“It isn’t important, anyhow,” Curt declared. “Not right now. What do you -think of my idea, Griff?” - -“I’m for anything that will tide me over till Lang gets back.” - -“Then—let’s do it!” Al jumped away from the group and was already at the -door. Bob hesitated a moment, then, seeing how eager Curt was to echo -Al’s enthusiasm, he agreed. - -After the two started for The Windsock, Bob sat with Griff, giving him -the facts they knew, the theories they had formed for awhile. - -“It’s tangled up, and no mistake,” Griff, recovered somewhat, but no -longer fidgety, feeling that aid was being given him in his trouble, -rose. “Look here, Bob—I was so excited, I didn’t eat any dinner. What -say you stay here in case a call comes in, while I run out and get some -coffee and sinkers?” - -“Lock the desk first! I don’t want to be caught here with it open.” - -“Right! I shan’t need the slip that has the combination on it, any -more.” He put a paper in a small drawer, closed down the roll top, -adjusted his cap at a more confident, rakish angle, and sauntered out, -while Bob made himself comfortable at the desk in the swivel chair. - -The minutes dragged along. - -In the deserted office building there was almost no sound—a rat crept -toward a wastebasket, ran back as Bob moved in his chair; but otherwise -the place was very still. - -“There’s an airplane engine!” Bob mused, as, in the silence, he caught -the faint, steady drone coming from the sky. - -It grew louder—rapidly, much louder! - -“It can’t be Lang, coming back!” - -Bob went to the window. The sound seemed to come from the other side of -the building. He ran across the hall into the directors’ room and got to -the window, which had a fire escape stairway outside it. - -Just as he peered through the bars of the fire escape, he saw a craft -swoop down, quite low. It did not land! Instead, it seemed to zoom along -and to rise swiftly. - -“Overshot the field,” Bob mused. “Why doesn’t he drop a Verey light to -signal the watchman to turn on the landing floods? Or—maybe the watchman -isn’t out there. I’d better see.” - -He ran down the stairs and out into the yard, across it and onto the -small landing field. The craft had passed, but he could still hear the -engine. It seemed from its change of location, that the craft was coming -around in a spiral. - -Bob ran toward the switch controlling the flood lights. One of the -large, hooded lamps was near it. As the sound of the engine came closer -he switched on the floods. - -To his surprise the sudden light seemed to startle the pilot—at least -the craft seemed to waver, to skid, to drop, and then, to catch its -flying speed and control. But it did not spiral as he expected a pilot -who had waited for light would do. - -Instead it began to climb. - -Swiftly, eagerly curious, Bob caught hold of the handle on the adjusting -mechanism of the flood light. It could be lifted, or set lower, to -govern the range and height of its beam. - -Bob proposed to use it as a searchlight, to illuminate the craft if he -could swing the heavy lamp upward in time. - -Eagerly he labored with the mechanism. - -Slowly the beam lifted. - -Its intense rays caught the craft’s underwings. - -“What’s going on here?” The watchman ran up. - -For answer Bob pointed excitedly toward a brown, sharply outlined craft, -climbing, growing dim in the fainter beam as it receded. - -“It’s—it’s—” he gasped, “—it’s the mystery crate—the brown airplane!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - BOB PURSUES! - - -Realizing that the watchman did not know what he meant by “the mystery -crate,” Bob hurriedly told of the earlier experiences: all the while he -talked his mind was busy, underneath, wondering why the pilot of the -brown ship had flown over the plant, why he had appeared to lose control -when the light flared up, why he had climbed to get away. - -“He’s gone!” said the watchman. “Anyhow, that’s clear!” - -“I hate to see him get away!” Bob said, sorrowfully. - -“Whyn’t you chase him?” - -“I?” Bob was startled by the idea. - -“Sure—you! Didn’t I see Lang giving you lessons, and Griff, too?” - -“Yes—but, at night—and Lang has the small ship.” - -The watchman seemed to have caught the excitement of a chase. - -“Look here, though!” he cried, beckoning as he ran. “In the hangar is a -crate just like Griff’s model—belonged to Mr. Tredway. He—he won’t need -it no more. Whyn’t you?——” - -“At night?” - -“Sure! Once you get off the ground, the air’s all the same, day or -night, ain’t it?” - -Not exactly, Bob demurred, There were many considerations to be thought -out, but his father had said “locate the brown ship.” - -Here it was, flying away! - -It seemed to be “up to him.” - -“Can we get the crate out? Can we get it started? Is there any fuel -aboard?” - -Already the watchman had hold of the tail assembly of a trim, slender, -dark fuselage. - -“Grab on!” answered the watchman, jockeying the fuselage so that a -wingtip missed the span of the cabin ‘plane’s spreading airfoils. “Grab -on! I know you lads is detectiffs, and here’s your chance for a medal or -somethin’.” - -Bob “grabbed on!” with spirit. He had caught the enthusiasm of the older -person. It took them only a short time to jockey the craft into the -open, to get its gauges checked, to see that it had oil and at least a -tank of gas three-quarters full. - -“Holler out!” The watchman stood by the “prop.” - -“Ready!” - -“Gas on?” - -“Gas on!” - -“Switch off?” - -“Switch off!” - -The watchman spun the propeller. - -“Contact!” he yelled, stepping swiftly beyond the range of those deadly -sharp blade tips. - -There came the snap and bark of the motor. Cold! But Bob, feeling that -for all the precious seconds it must waste, he ought to be safe before -he might be sorry, allowed it to warm up, checked his instruments as he -had observed Lang and Griff do, and then, as the watchman, obeying his -signal, kicked away the chocks so the wheels could move forward, the -amateur pilot, steady and cool all at once, glanced at the windsock, saw -that he could take off straight down the short field, pulled open the -throttle, tipped the “flippers” so the tail ceased to drag, as the -propeller blast caught the elevators, and began to race down the field. - -As he went he tipped the elevators sharply, felt the ship sway a trifle, -realized he was off the ground and moving steadily, climbing to the roar -of the engine! - -He smiled a little. He had not forgotten to hold the ship level for the -brief seconds that it needed to assume flying speed after the first hop -from earth. He had not climbed her at too steep an angle, there was no -indication, at least to his inexperienced hand, of any logginess of the -controls presaging a stall. He was away! - -“Now,” he thought, with a sharp glance around the sky spaces, “I am in -for it. If nothing goes wrong with the machinery or the prop I guess I -can keep this crate level and get somewhere.” - -But where? - -In those precious moments the brown ship could have gone ten miles. - -“He was mightily interested in the aircraft plant,” Bob reflected, -letting the ship “fly herself,” as most well balanced aircraft will do -in steady air, as long as flying speed is held. “Now all that we have -found out, so far, has centered about the aircraft plant and—and The -Windsock! Could he be around there? Or——” - -As a new thought struck him he gripped the stick a tiny bit tighter. - -“—Or, maybe he’s brought the brown ship back for some new stunt! It -might be hidden in that field again!” - -He pushed the stick a trifle to the side, thus operating the ailerons, -while he used his rudder experimentally, meaning to swing in a circle. - -Whether a good Providence watches over amateurs, in sports or in -professions, or whether Bob had actually learned from his lessons, the -fact is that he did not overbank or use too much rudder, and neither -felt the wind of a skid on one cheek nor the breeze of a slip on the -other. Around went the ship, in a wide swing. - -Bob kept his eyes on the sky, with momentary glances at the instruments, -not all of which were understandable to him yet; however, he knew the -altimeter, the tachometer which records engine speed, the gas and oil -pressure gauges and such important ones. - -They seemed all to record satisfactorily. His altitude was six hundred -feet; a little low for safety, so he climbed to twice that. The -revolutions were even and plenty for his need, as he watched the -fluctuations of the tachometer when he eased the throttle forward in his -climb, or backed it gently in the level-off. - -Gas and oil recorded without a hitch or a diminution of supply. - -But where was his quarry? - -Far ahead Bob saw a tiny flare of red in the sky. - -He nearly lost control in his excitement, but with the true air-sense he -caught the tendency of the sideslip by opposite rudder and aileron and -then banked and circled till his nose pointed straight for the dying -flare. - -Someone in the sky was signaling for something! - -“I’ll get there soon! And see!” Bob told himself. He held the ship -level, glancing at the “bubble” in the spirit level, as he gave the gun, -opening the throttle steadily. - -To the roar of the engine, the sing of cool wind in taut wires, the -sting of pulsing blood pounding a thrill-song in his temples, Bob took -up his quest, and soon saw, ahead, the dim outline of a circling ship. -It was dark. Was it brown? - -He dared not get too close. Rather, he preferred to climb, so as to be -safely out of the other fellow’s way if he maneuvered. - -From above Bob planned to light a white flare, by whose light he could -identify the ship. - -But the other fellow saw him too! - -Bob needed no flare to tell him that he had discovered the brown -craft—its action was indication enough! The pilot dived, and then went -into a barrel-roll, dangerous at a low altitude, Bob thought. - -The “stunt” enabled the ship to get to one side and out of his line of -flight if he dived for it. - -Clearly this showed that the unseen pilot feared to be attacked, driven -down. - -But Bob had no such intention, he merely followed as the small, brown -craft, speedy and capable, went fleetly through the night. - -Bob, easing his throttle a little more open, as he got the line of -flight, held his elevation and his level position; he did not try to -overtake the other, he wanted to see where he went—nothing more! - -So the flight held, one about five hundred feet up, the other easily as -high again. The speed was almost identical, the ships were well matched. - -But the other man had some tricks up his wings, in a way of speaking! - -He began to climb. Bob, fearing to be over-reached, climbed also. -Higher, higher they both went, Bob still atop the other, for he had as -much power, as well angled wings, as clever a ship as his adversary. - -But the battle of elevation was short. At fifteen hundred feet the brown -‘plane went into a wingover, and to Bob’s dismay it was, by that -maneuver, in a reverse direction to the flight of his own, and he dared -do no maneuvering, no stunting, at night and alone! - -Before he could swing in the easy circle which his inexperience -compelled him to use, the other pilot was almost out of sight. He -climbed, and thus Bob gained, but he saw that his pursuit was futile. - -The man was climbing into a cloud! - -In its misty vastness, surrounding a ship like a fog, an inexpert pilot -could not know, without continually watching his spirit level and other -instruments, if he flew level or on his back, if he was going sidewise -or straight toward earth. To watch the instruments “to fly by the -dashboard” was useless; he could not see to follow if he risked the -feat. - -Disgusted, disappointed, he cut the gun and slowed his ship, and flew -around toward The Windsock. Somebody on the ground was burning several -land flares, he saw. - -It told him one thing! The other fellow had been expected! His signal -had been seen. - -For an instant Bob was tempted to try a landing, to see if they would be -startled, those people down there in the glare. Did they perhaps think -he flew the craft they expected? It would be worth something to discover -that. Or—would it? The danger, the risk, was considerable. It was -strange territory to him. The people, seeing his craft markings, its -different color, might extinguish the flares, leaving him, low, to “set -down hot” or to climb, too late, and land in trees! - -No, it was not worth the risk. - -If his adversary had gotten away that was the end of the adventure. - -Only—it wasn’t. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - SUSPENSE! - - -When Al and Curt, riding easily, reached the region of the Rocky Lake -Park, they hid their wheels in the well remembered field, preferring to -advance on foot, to spy out conditions before arriving at the roadhouse -to which they were going. - -“There’s something going on, over there,” said Curt, as they walked, -facing traffic, along the familiar highway. - -“The new dance floor—The Hangar—is opening tonight.” - -“That will make it easy for us to get in.” - -“They may not allow juniors on the floor.” - -“But they won’t chase people away! It would be bad for the business!” -chuckled Curt. “Every young man can have—must have—at least two in his -family, and they might be dancing papa and mama.” - -“We can go on and see.” - -They did. - -The new dance floor, built in an old-looking, metal-covered addition at -the side of the main hotel, was crowded. A “jazzy” orchestra, with many -toots of its saxophones, howls from clarinets, trills and staccato yaps -from its trumpet, put rhythm into the march of many feet. - -“Makes me wish I had a girl and had her here and knew how to dance,” -laughed Curt. - -“What I wish more is—” Al did not get time to express his desire to have -Bob along, to advise him in his rather impulsive acts. A man in a dress -suit, as the drums rolled in warning to attract attention, advanced to -the edge of the band platform and addressed the dancers applauding their -last “number.” - -“Lay—deeze—an’—gemp—mum!” Al nudged Curt and whispered that the man was -Jenks. “For this opening night the manage—munt has went to the special -expense—youse mus’ excuse my poor way of speakin’. ‘I’m only a simple -flyer, an’ my eddication don’t go no higher’——” - -Al exclaimed, and Curt scowled at the aspersion thus put on the -intelligence of the most manly, most steady, best educated general class -of men in industry—pilots!—but they listened, nevertheless. - -“The manage—munt has put on a extra fine show for tonight. In fact, -folks,” his manner became more natural, “we’ve engaged a stunt flyer to -come over here tonight, to fly around up in the dark blue, and to do -stunts, with rockets and colored lights so you can see what he does. I -understand the whole crate is to be lit up some way. So, if you’ll all -step outside, while we put tables in here for refreshments, you will -have the free entertainment as soon as we can get his signal and let him -know to go ahead.” - -As Curt and Al were already outside, they craned their necks. - -While the laughing couples gathered, a small, red flare was visible. The -men who seemed to be awaiting this signal, lighted flares. But to their -amazement the ship did no stunts! It went away! - -“Funny!” muttered the excited, disgruntled manager, Jenks, close by Al -and Curt. - -As the flares brightened it seemed as though there were two airplanes -dimly reflecting the light. - -“But they aren’t doing any stunts!” complained a girl to her partner. -“Wait!” he counseled. Waiting, however, did no good. - -The dancers, murmuring, and the manager, trying to apologize, saying it -must not be the right crate, went back to dance, shoving the refreshment -tables roughly aside. - -Al and Curt, waiting, watching, wondering, saw the men stick the stubs -of their flares into the ground and walk off. - -“Look! He’s coming back!” Al pointed to a speck. They listened and heard -the drone of an engine. - -“He’s back again!” shouted Al, and the people came out again, standing -with backs to the glaring light, shaded eyes turned upward. - -“No—he’s flying low, though,” commented Curt. - -“Yes, he is.” - -“Look!” Curt caught Al’s arm. “He’s in trouble—isn’t he?—yes, he is! -Listen! His engine has stopped—dead!” - -“Yes, he’s gliding!” - -“He can’t land here,” said Curt. “He’s too low to spiral and shoot this -little clearing—anyhow, it isn’t a place to land—not for night landing!” - -“I wonder if the same things are happening that happened—when Mr. -Tredway was—lost!” Al murmured. “That time, we heard the engine, and -then the ship dived.” - -“This one isn’t diving—it’s gliding!” - -“I know, Curt—he’s getting over Rocky Lake. Come on!” - -“There he does go—down!” - -Off they pelted toward the road. - -An airplane had been cruising over the flares. Its motor had stopped. -That was sure. - -And no one knew it better than Bob. - -For he was the pilot whose engine stop had left him with a “dead stick.” -He must glide. He had enough gliding angle, he supposed, to take him -back to that providential field—if he could throw over a flare and make -some sort of a set-down!—— - -It was dangerous—but it must be done. - -For, in spite of its danger, knowing well what might happen, Bob had -shut off his own engine—deliberately! - -He had to—to save his life! - -“Look!” gasped Curt, running. “See that glare? The ‘plane——” - -“On fire!” panted Al. - -Appearances are deceiving. To Al and Curt, on the ground, with darkness, -distance and trees to screen the truth from them, it seemed as though -the glare they saw beyond the grove must spell a blazing airplane. - -Instead, the light came from a landing flare, dropped by Bob. - -As he headed over The Windsock roadhouse, and decided to give up, to -return to the aircraft field, he had all of his mind and attention on -his craft. Because of that he was able to notice a mystifying, if tiny -bluish light, intermittent and flickering, close to the pipe that -conveyed fuel from the tank to the mixing carburetor. - -“That’s an electric spark!” he decided. He was right. - -Somehow, either through one of those malicious acts which had already -been done to other ships, or from a rubbing wire, some electrical -conducting wire had worn off its insulation and was bare, and each time -it rubbed or touched metal it made a spark. - -If there is one thing more dangerous than another in the air it is the -menace of an open spark close to gasoline feed lines and carburetor -mixing chambers. - -Knowing it well, unable to determine the cause, but sure that the spark -was electrical and dangerous, Bob took the only safe course. As Curt and -Al had observed, his engine stopped. He cut off the ignition. - -The sparking light ceased. - -“Now,” thought Bob, “I daren’t use my motor. That means I must glide. At -this height, if I remember what Lang said, the angle that will give me -safe flying speed will about take me to that little field we first saw -the brown ‘plane hidden in. Can I make it?” - -He depressed the nose, watching, by his sense of touch, how the stick -and rudder bar acted. As he moved through the air he elevated the nose a -trifle, to get as flat a gliding angle as he dared; but his whole mind -was concentrated on that feeling, that sense of heaviness in the -reacting of the controls. When they began to respond sluggishly he knew -enough to sense that he was losing flying speed, approaching the danger -point called stalling, in which the ship gets out of control, drops or -slips or does some other uncontrollable maneuver. - -Always, in time, he lowered the nose, picked up the needful speed, and -thus, by coming as close to the “graveyard” glide, or flat angle, as he -dared, and yet conserving enough reserve speed to keep the lift of the -wings more sustaining than the downward pull of gravity, he held his -craft in the air. - -Always the nose, pointed into the wind, went lower. Always, as he tried -to penetrate the darkness of the night and of the brown earth below, his -eyes, over the cockpit cowling, searched for the flattish, light spot he -wanted. Along its inner side was the strip of turf he needed. - -Fear-thoughts flashed through his mind: - -“Can I glide that far? Will I overshoot or undershoot? Will I misjudge -the height as I come down, if I do make it? Will I set the ship down too -suddenly, so it will bounce off and then—with too little margin of -height to get speed again—crack up? Will I stall too high and smash -down? Will I be going too fast, and run too far? Can I glide in to the -turf or will I set down in stubble and nose over?” - -Resolutely, by all the will power he had, Bob crushed out those -nerve-deadening, muscle-binding terrors. - -There was the field. Where, now, did they keep the light producing -flares? Oh, yes! There, in that little boxlike compartment. - -He flung a detonating flare that would light in the air or on striking -earth. Its light was what horrified Curt and Al. - -To Bob, its glare was a great relief! - -The white gleam showed, far ahead, faintly lit, the field. His course -would take him toward it, but he altered the direction of his flight -slightly to get over the turf, then corrected the bank, leveled his -wings, depressed the nose still more, picked up speed and, with all his -force, sent a landing flare into the air, as far ahead and to the side -as he could fling it. - -Then he “shot” the field, got his nose directly onto a line with the -large trees at the end of the field, pulled up the nose more, to kill -all the forward momentum he dared, and then—— - -Bob gasped. He was too far to one side. He would land in the stubble. -Also, he was a little too high. - -Wildly he flung the flare he had been getting ready. - -Then, from some hidden source of remembered instructions he got the -instinctive knowledge of what to do. - -He dropped the left wingtip by pushing the stick sidewise, and felt the -ship tilt. It went into a sideslip. That both lost speed forward and got -him further over to the left. - -Opposite rudder, hard! Up left wingtip, down right! Nose down a little! -Speed enough to go on! - -With his heart in his mouth, looking swiftly down, Bob saw the earth -seem to come up at him. Up elevators! Stall. He’d have to take it! He -was close to earth, over turf. He must not keep that nose down and glide -into the trees or taxi beyond the end of the turf. - -The ship stalled, landed with quite a jar—but the trucks held up! - -And Bob, from his heart, breathed a little prayer of thanksgiving. - -He had done his best, had held his head, and—he was safe! - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - CROSSED WIRES - - -By the time Curt and Al got their bicycles and pedaled to the vicinity -of Rocky Lake, Bob’s flare was out and they had no means of ending their -suspense until they had looked around in the picnic grove and assured -themselves that there was no burning airplane in sight. - -They rode along the highway. - -“Isn’t that a flashlight, in the old field?” - -“It looks like one, Al.” - -“It is!” - -They pedaled faster. Presently the pair reached the field; soon Bob, -using a small pocket flashlamp, was telling his brother and his best -friend how the electric spark had worried him. - -“I knew the brown airplane was gone,” he continued his explanation, “the -only thing left for me to do was to head back to the plant. But I saw -that quick little flicker close to the gas line and cut off the ignition -switch.” - -“What are you doing now?” - -“Tracing the wiring,” Bob told his brother. “And here is a wire! It -ought not to be run so close to the gas line! And here is another, away -back under the dash instrument board. They cross!” - -“Crossed wires!” gasped Curt. “That isn’t right!” - -“Certainly not!” agreed Bob. “We’ve learned enough about airplane -construction at the Tredway plant to know they don’t do such careless -things as that!” - -“Then somebody deliberately did it,” concluded Al. “It’s part of the -scheme to damage the crates.” - -“It’s worse than that!” Bob climbed to the ground and faced his -companions. His face, hard to see in the dark, because he was saving his -electric battery, was very serious. “It’s worse than just tampering! -Fellows—this is Mr. Tredway’s own airplane!——” - -“I see,” commented Curt soberly. “Some one wanted harm to come to the -owner of the plant.” - -“And the ‘some one’ made sure it would. In daylight,” Bob stated, “that -spark wouldn’t be noticed. It was only by being out in the dark of -night, that I could see it.” - -“But crossed wires ought not to rub enough to wear out the insulation in -a short time,” objected Al. - -“Neither they did. Al—Curt—the insulation was scraped away!” - -They were silent for a long moment. The full wickedness of that -deliberate act made each of the youths feel rather cold. They were -dealing with something more sinister than an attempt to make away with -small airplane supplies, to damage airplanes for the purpose of injuring -the reputation of the manufacturers, as they had decided the conditions -seemed to indicate. - -“Well,” Curt became practical, “you can’t fly that ship home, not in -that condition.” - -“If we had some adhesive tape,” Bob said, “I could tape the wires and -get back to the aircraft field.” - -“I’ve got bicycle friction tape in my little toolcase.” Al ran to get -it. - -“The place is hard to reach,” Bob told Curt. - -“Maybe I could do it,” Curt responded. “My hands are thinner and my -fingers are longer than yours.” - -As soon as Al brought the roll of pitched fabric, Curt, with the -flashlamp set for steady burning, located the damaged insulation and -began to work with strips of the tape, having some difficulty in winding -it without pulling the wires too much. - -“This is going to be a slow job,” he called out. “Bob, somebody ought to -go and call up Griff, to see if he has any news.” - -“I think so too,” Al agreed. - -“Why don’t you both go!” Curt urged. “One could stay at The Windsock and -watch and the other could come back with news—or, Bob, you could ride -back on my wheel, to The Windsock with Al, and then come on back here -and we two could fly back to the hangars together.” - -“Would you trust yourself with me, in the dark, flying this ship?” asked -Bob. “Something else may be wrong with it.” - -“That’s so. I’ll look it over. I know how they inspect them,” Curt -suggested. - -Al and Bob agreed, and went to the two bicycles. Off they rode. - -“There’s that ‘plane again!” Al pointed to a tiny red flare high up over -the roadhouse ground. “He has come back.” - -“I suppose I frightened him away,” Bob said. “He probably thinks whoever -chased him has given up, and he has come back.” - -“One thing bothers me,” Al observed, forgetting his weary legs in the -fresh excitement. “Why would a crate that has a pilot who flies away -from pursuit come back to do stunts?” - -“I can’t answer that,” Bob replied. “Let’s get there. See! He is -looping, and he has lighted some sort of rocket or bomb that makes a -trail of fire to show his stunt off in the dark.” - -“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” - -Bob agreed with his brother’s exclamation as the airplane, high above -them, with fireworks leaving a comet’s tail behind it, made a series of -loops, dived, zoomed, made a sort of “S” of fire by side-slipping first -one way and then the other. - -When they got back to the roadhouse the display was over. Ground flares -were going and it was clear that the pilot meant to land. - -“We’re going to see who it is, after all,” declared Bob, thrilled by the -possible revelation that was to come. - -Curt saw the gyrating ship and its glowing trail of sparks. He watched -for a moment and then went doggedly back to his work. If Bob needed this -sport craft, Curt proposed to have it ready if careful, methodical work -could get it so. - -Surprised, he heard himself addressed by a youth who came over from the -farmhouse whose builder owned the field. - -“What’s goin’ on?” asked the farmer’s son. - -“Some display for the opening of the roadhouse dance floor,” Curt -replied, tightening down the tape and clipping off the end with his -pocket knife. - -“I don’t mean yonder. I mean here.” - -“Oh! A little trouble. Crossed wires.” - -The youth did not understand; but he accepted the explanation. - -“Ain’t you awful young to be a aviation flyer?” he asked. - -“I don’t—I’m not the pilot,” Curt stated. He explained. Then, his task -finished, he clambered down to see the glow of the distant, concealed -ground flares, and to guess that the sky rider was going to land. - -“This is gettin’ to be a regular aviators’ place,” said the youth to -Curt. “Guess pa ought to put up signs, ‘Places to land for rent.’” - -“Do many crates land here?” Curt was surprised. - -“Well—look at them tracks!” - -Thus having the spot indicated, even in the dim light Curt was able to -see that deep ruts had been made, not only in the soft, ploughed edge of -the field, but also on the turf. - -“Hm-m-m!” he had no explanation to comment. It was unimportant. -Something of greater concern was on his mind. - -“See here, buddy,” Curt said, “will you help me ‘warm up’ this ship?” He -was searching for two stones or blocks big enough to hold the airplane -still while the propeller revolved. “The pilot might want to take off -now that I’ve fixed the damage.” The boy agreed. Curt, locating several -rocks near where the brown ‘plane had once been hidden, set them under -the wheels, and then, realizing that the ship must take off facing into -the wind, he got the youth to help him drag the tail around, to pull the -whole ship as far up at the end of the turf as possible. - -“First time I ever worked around a—er—‘grate’——” - -“‘Crate,’” Curt corrected, smiling in the darkness. “That’s a slang way -of speaking of an airplane, and it means either a term of fondness, or -of disgust, according to how the user feels about his ‘ship.’” - -“I see. Gee! Wisht I could be one of them aviator flyers.” - -“You can, if you are willing to study enough,” Curt said. “It means hard -work. There’s a lot to learn. But a fellow who has ambition can get to -be anything he likes.” - -“Not without being educated more than me.” - -“You can pick up some education while you’re studying in ‘ground -school,’” Curt explained. “After you learn the parts of the airplane, -the way each one works, what it is for, and so on, and how they are put -together, you have to study about airplane engines—the principle of the -internal combustion engine and what all the parts are for and how they -work. There has to be study of—let’s see—oh, yes!—aerodynamics—how a -ship flies, and why, and what different air currents do, and how to know -their effects. There’s navigation, too—the beginnings of it, anyway.” - -“All that? I thought you got in and pushed something and——” - -“If there weren’t so many people who thought that,” Curt said soberly, -“we wouldn’t have so many accidents. Flying is a science; and there’s -more to it than getting into the air and going somewhere. It takes -ground school study to learn the foundation part, and instruction -flights to learn how things are handled, and solo flights and stunting -to show you how to handle a crate in an emergency—and navigation in its -practical applications, for long flights. But if you are in earnest, you -can get all that, and pick up practical arithmetic and grammar and so -on, in night school at the same time.” - -“Not without money!” - -“No—unless—you might come over to the Tredway aircraft plant and I’d -introduce you to Barney—Mr. Horton, the manager. He might give you a -chance to work as a ‘grease monkey’ in the field, for he is awfully -nice. He helped all of us.” - -The youth agreed eagerly, and then, with the chocks set and the ignition -switch off, Curt told him how to work the propeller around, and got him -back to safety as the ignition switch followed the gas “on.” - -The engine took up its roar, and Curt knew enough to shut down the -throttle to idling speed, allowing the slow revolutions to warm up the -power plant. He knew little about oil pressure and instrument readings, -but he knew that an engine, to function safely and steadily, in flight, -must be warm. - -While he busied himself getting everything as nearly ready as his -ability allowed, Bob and Al reached the roadhouse. - -The airplane had already “set down.” - -“It’s the brown one, and no mistake!” Al was thrilled. - -“Yes,” said Bob. “Now, Al, the pilot must have gone inside the -roadhouse. I don’t see him around the dance place. You could go in to -ask for his autograph. I see you still carry that little book. It ought -to be easy to get a look at him, have him pointed out to you. That’s -really all we need.” - -Al agreed. He had no difficulty in getting a busy waiter to jerk a thumb -toward one of the private compartments. - -Al went to its door, pushed aside the curtains—and stepped back. - -What he saw stunned him! - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - THE SKY SQUAD GOES INTO ACTION - - -Three men faced one another in the small compartment, made to look like -a passenger ‘plane cabin. - -As Al, at the curtained entrance, recognized the one facing him, all -three turned to look. - -With a mumbled apology Al backed out. - -More than anything else, he wanted to get away, to see Bob! - -The man who had faced him was Mr. Parsons, partner in the aircraft -plant. - -The man to his right was the mysterious stranger whom Al had seen in the -supply room! - -The third man—— - -Before Al could form his mental picture of a face that seemed familiar, -a bus-boy, with a heavy tray of soiled dishes, bumped against him. - -“Get out o’ the way,” the youth grunted, to Al, and gave him an angry -push with his free hand. Al, his balance disturbed, stumbled -forward—into the arms of Mr. Parsons at the door. - -Struggling, squirming to get out of the powerful grip on his arm and -shoulder, Al found himself held as if in a vise. - -Suddenly his whole body went limp. His head dropped, his eyes closed. He -sagged down, and surprised and disconcerted, imagining that the youth he -held might have fainted in his fright, the man released him, lowered him -to the floor while he looked up, intending to call for aid. - -Behind him another face looked out, the bearded face of the man Al had -seen previously in the supply room. - -“What’s up?” asked the latter. - -“I am!” cried Al, shrilly, as he tensed his muscles, swung free of Mr. -Parsons as the latter bent over him. Like the leashed spring of a -panther Al’s squirming, swift move took him out of danger. - -To cries, to shouts of surprise and of inquiry, Al eluded the grasping -hands of a waiter, dodged a diner’s gripping fingers, evaded the move of -a man to block him at the door, and was free! - -Quick thinking and a ruse had prevailed where strength was not enough to -accomplish his wish. - -Speeding along, outside, after vaulting the veranda railing, Al quickly -located Bob. With a wave of his hand Al signaled. His progress was swift -as he scampered across the parking space, between standing automobiles, -toward an old barnlike structure backed into the grove. Bob, seeing the -wave and Al’s progress, dodged, on his own part, among the cars until he -rejoined Al in the open door of the old, dilapidated barn. - -“What happened?” - -Al, pulling his brother back out of sight, recovered his breath. - -“I bumped into Mr. Parsons——” - -“No!” - -“Yes—and the man we saw in the supply room——” - -“Well! What happened then?” - -“There was somebody else with them. And—I didn’t recognize him, because -I was so surprised and excited—but his face ‘rang a bell’ and I’ll think -who he was when I get quieted down.” - -“What made you run?” - -Al explained. - -“Yes, and there comes Mr. Parsons! He’s looking for me,” he ended. - -“He has something in his hand—a package——” - -“Listen!” Al drew Bob further into the dark interior. “Bob—when I -blundered in on them, those men had—what do you suppose?—the company -books!” Al clutched Bob’s arm tighter. “You remember, we hid when Mr. -Parsons was in the offices—he took those books!” - -“Yes,” Bob’s whisper agreed. “Now he’s been showing them to that man we -saw, and to somebody else.” - -“Mr. Parsons isn’t as honest as Griff wanted us to believe.” - -Bob shook Al’s arm reassuringly. “No,” he admitted, “I thought Griff’s -story was part of—what did they say in the war?—oh, yes! It was -‘camouflage.’ Fancy paint to conceal something.” - -“If we could only get the books away from them—and tell Barney!” - -“They may be coming to look for you. Mr. Parsons must have recognized -you, Al. I wonder if there’s a haymow over this old floor?” - -“You go along one wall and I’ll take the other. We’ll see!” - -They hurried away from one another. Presently Bob called out softly and, -following the wall, with one hand touching to hold his place, the other -extended ahead to avoid bumping into any obstruction, the youngest of -the Sky Squad found his way to Bob. - -There was a ladder against the wall. Bob whispered instructions and -started up the dark, uncertain ladder. Bob had hardly reached the top -and called down a low reassurance when Al almost scrambled in his -eagerness to get up quickly. - -Voices were growing louder. Some one was coming! It must be Mr. Parsons. - -At the top of the ladder, Al fell softly onto the upper floor boards, -and he, with his brother, bent attentive, strained ears to catch the low -murmur from below. - -“He’s from the plant,” a voice called, and Bob recognized the quick, -sharp tones of Mr. Parsons. “He was a boy from the plant.” - -“You got those books wrapped in record time!” someone else chuckled. -Then, as the youths drew their heads back, turtle fashion, to avoid the -glare, a match was struck. - -“Nobody here—but yonder’s a ladder.” - -“Better go up and have a look,” said a third, deeper voice. “We can’t -afford to have those kids snooping. I think Barney brought them into the -thing. They’re only kids—but they have eyes!” - -Bob, with a twist of his neck, looked around in the dim upper room. Its -end window, dirty and cobwebby, allowed the moonlight to stream in. The -shaft of dull light streamed across, slantwise. Bob, following its path -with his eyes, touched Al’s arm. Gently he directed his brother’s gaze -toward a corner. - -Sacks, used for packing corn or other cereals, were piled up there. - -By common consent the two began a slow, cautious movement toward the -sacks; but Bob, quick in an emergency, drew the whole pile, very -cautiously, partly lifting the lower ones, to a darker place. - -Al, close beside him, divined his idea. They could hide under the large -cluster of heavy burlap bags. - -By the time that a match was struck in the upper floor they were lying, -crouched, under a number of the burlap bags. - -“Not here! Guess the kid was scared and ran away.” - -“Wait, though.” Bob’s breath almost stopped. Had the other man who came -up discovered the sacking? - -“Wait, though,” the man repeated. “We meant to compare the books -tonight; that’s why I took all the trouble with those stunts, to have a -logical excuse for landing here. We can’t, now! Those kids may have -telephoned somebody—whoever they’re working for. Suppose we hide the -books, and get together tomorrow night. I’ll take the crate back and -come over by train.” - -“Good way.” - -In their stuffy concealment the brothers heard steps, low muttered -suggestions. Evidently a place to sequester the company records was -selected. The youths quivered and Al nearly screamed aloud as a sack was -dragged from the top of the pile. But the sack did not pull off the ones -they clung to over their perspiring heads. - -“That’s the stuff! On that shelf, and cover ’em up. Nobody would think -of that place.” - -“Won’t Barney miss them?” - -“Let him worry a little. It will do him good!” - -The voices receded. The heavy tread ceased. Scuffling sounds told the -brothers that the men had descended the ladder. - -“Well,” whispered Al, “we’re safe——” - -“And we can take the books back——” - -“Can we find them?” - -“They said ‘on the shelf.’ Feel around, as soon as they are out—wait! -Al, I’ll slip over and spy out through the window——” - -Al sat on the floor, among the sacks, mopping his brow which was wet -with hot perspiration that had, a moment before, been ice cold. Bob -waved across the bar of moonlight. The trio of seeming conspirators was -safely away, he indicated. - -Again using their hands, they felt along the walls. - -With his head, though jarred only slightly, Bob found the shelf. A quick -exploration defined the books, in a compact roll of tape-tied cloth, -hidden under the sack. It was a second’s work to remove them and to -rejoin Al. - -“Now—how can we get them away? Won’t they be watching?” - -“Let’s go down and see.” - -Alertly, and with caution, Bob protruded his head over the edge of the -opening by the ladder. He was fortunate! In the doorway stood the -unrecognized member of the party, smoking. Evidently he had returned. - -Bob watched, holding Al in check by his grip on the younger one’s arm. -The man did not propose to leave, it appeared. - -The sound of an airplane motor starting conveyed the truth. He was -waiting until his ship was ready before going into the open. - -Bob waited, Al at his side. Neither moved more than was absolutely -essential. - -But Al, try as he would, could not suppress the horrible inclination to -sneeze, induced by the dust in his nostrils from the dirty burlap. - -“Huh—sh—huh—sh!” he tried to hold back, but Nature got the better of his -will. - -“Huh—shoosh!” - -“Now you’ve done it!” - -“Couldn’t help it—look—the window will open. You could drop!” - -The sound of the man ascending the ladder came clearly. - -Like two swift gazelles the youths dashed across to the window, wide and -old. It was part of the door through which hay was drawn up, they -discovered. They tugged at it. On rollers, but stiff from disuse, it -stuck. Panting they struggled. Closer came the ascending steps, a call -to know who was “up there!” - -The window slid open a foot—another foot. - -“I’ll have to drop,” said Bob. “You get back and hide again.” - -“Too late! I’ll drop the books to you! Go on—quick!” - -Bob hung by his hands, gave a swift glance down, let go! No sooner did -he land, with loosened muscles to avoid the shock as much as he could, -than the package of heavy books landed beside him. - -Swiftly he grasped the package, and ran. - -Al, almost caught, doubled with a swift, bending squirm, as the angry -man reached to grapple with him in the moonlit doorway. By his quickness -Al was able to get away for an instant. - -He tried the same ruse he had used so well before, but in another form. -Every ounce of weight he could put into it he gave to a run away from -the ladder. Then, doubling on himself, but tiptoeing and bending as low -as he could, avoiding the moon ray, Al crept softly along. The man, -following the direction of the footfalls, and thus trying to locate his -quarry in the dark, did not see the silent, gloom-hidden form slip along -the wall. Al was down the ladder before his ruse was detected. - -But the man ran to the doorway, shouting through its opening. - -Bob, racing toward the bicycles, realized that the other two men, -catching the warning shout, were bearing down on him. Like a rabbit he -reversed his route, slipping in among the trees behind the barn. But Mr. -Parsons and the other mysterious stranger were determined men. Bob could -not run and be silent. He dared not creep. They were too close behind -him. - -Al, seeing that this pursuit was close, tried to divert attention by -shouting as he ran, openly, across toward the bicycles. - -But this did not draw the others away; they felt that Bob had a parcel -for which they meant to catch him. On and on, through the grove, -dodging, squirming past trees, through briers, Bob went. - -Curt, at the field, with the engine idling on the airplane, did not hear -the pursuit until Bob, almost worn out, nearly done, came racing along. -Then, seeing him, Curt ran to meet him. From the grove behind came the -crash and shout of pursuers. - -“The books—hide!—” Bob could say no more. - -Curt caught the package as Bob hurled it. Then, with an instinct that -amounted to genius, Bob noted a flattish stone, and as he ran he bent, -pausing an instant, and came up tugging along the small, flattish -boulder that, in the dark could be mistaken for the package of books. -Unconcernedly, as though watching in the role of a spectator, standing -on the parcel of books, Curt remained quiet, and the men raced past him. - -From the road, where he flung his bicycle, knowing well where Bob would -head for, Al arrived. He raced toward the airplane just as Bob ran in -the same direction with his boulder. - -Al, not unnerved by his excitement, realized that if the propeller was -turning, some chocks or other means of holding back the ship were in -place. He bent under the wheels as Bob arrived. - -“Get in!” he cried. Bob, pretending to drop the books in, let the -boulder fall beside the turf. While he was climbing in, the men paused -for an instant by Curt who said, sharply, “There he goes!” - -They turned, saw Bob was making for the airplane, and ran toward him. - -Al tumbled into the rear cockpit, determined not to be caught after the -enmity he had awakened. - -“Take me!” he cried, but the roar of the engine drowned his voice as -Bob, risking everything, in the dark, opened the throttle. - -Up went the elevators enough to lift the tail as the propeller stream -swept against them. - -Along the turf the ship began to move. The men, aware of the sinister -menace of the whirling blades, fell aside. Bob, sensing the near -approach of the end of his runway, lifted the elevators again, felt the -ship going light, gave her the gun, holding her just long enough on the -level after the take-off to get his speed—then up he roared. - -And a boulder beside the turf remained, while Curt, with the books under -his arm, among the trees, went to Al’s bicycle—and delivered the books -to his uncle’s study. - -But he didn’t stay at home. Mr. Wright was not there. Bob and Al would -fly to the plant. Thence, on tired feet, Curt pedaled. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - DRIVEN DOWN - - -Almost as soon as he lifted the airplane above the grove beyond that -cornfield, Bob recovered his wind and his confidence. - -Al, of a more nervous type, was still trembling in his after-cockpit -seat, but his excitement was changing from that of the recent adventures -to the thrill of sky-riding at night with his brother. There was not -only the elation of the climb to keep his nerves quivering; also there -was the uncertainty of what might happen because of Bob’s lack of skill -and experience. - -Climbing steadily until he was over five hundred feet above the earth, -Bob felt none of his brother’s uneasiness or excitement. He was -confident that he could control the airplane as far as straight flying -was concerned; his only difficulty would be the landing, not the easiest -thing for a skilful pilot unless a signal could be given that would make -the plant watchman illuminate the small field. - -Bob, making a long swing, banked gently, to head back for the plant, -calmly considered the elements of the situation and tried to plan, as -well as he could, how to meet whatever came up. - -Al, giving more attention to sky and earth, as they straightened their -course, correctly pointed for the field at the plant, saw a tiny set of -glinting lights far away in the sky. - -Impulsively he caught the stick of the dual control to waggle it. That -was the only way to attract Bob’s attention; but Al, in his quick way, -shook the stick and then held it pretty far to one side, and Bob, not -expecting the move and unaware at first that Al did it, felt his heart -sink for an instant, fearing that something had gone wrong with the -controls. - -Al, horrified at the effect of his move, sat, tensely still, waiting for -a crash. Bob, alert, decided in a flash that he would do all he could to -avert the smash before he gave up hope. He made the necessary moves to -correct the slip. - -To his delight the craft obeyed promptly, coming back into its proper -position quickly. Turning to reassure Al, Bob saw his brother violently -gesturing toward the sky to one side. As he looked Bob saw tiny lights -and knew them for the flying lights of a craft. - -The explanation came at once. Al had attracted his attention to the -airplane knowing it must be the brown ‘plane. Probably the two men who -had chased Bob had contrived to tell the pilot, before he took off, -that—as they supposed—the company books were in Bob’s possession. With a -wave of his hand toward Al, reassuring him, Bob set his course for the -flying place belonging to the Tredway plant. He was being pursued by the -ship he had, recently, followed; it suited him. He would lead the ship -back there, contrive some way to attract attention, get Al to drop -flares, and then, landing, telephone all the airports nearby to identify -and stop the pilot who must eventually alight for fuel. - -The pursuer, however had no intention of being lured. - -Bob realized it, at the same time that he recalled how swiftly the other -pilot had climbed to escape identification earlier at the plant. - -Instead, the brown ship had some sinister intent toward himself, Bob -guessed, for it was climbing rapidly, and Bob, unaware of the safe -climbing angle or stalling angle of his own craft, dared not risk so -steep a tilt. - -Higher, always higher above him, went the other man’s lights. - -The wing over him obscured Bob’s view. - -He turned to Al. The younger brother leaned out and stared. - -“Going up yet!” he cried, and gestured. - -Climbing! Climbing faster! - -Bob opened his throttle steadily to the full capacity of the engine. - -He proposed to gain all he could in speed, and that meant distance ahead -of the other, while that other airplane climbed. He knew he could fly -faster, on the level, than a climbing ship could, and he saw the other -lights slowly becoming somewhat fainter, smaller. - -But that did not last long. - -In a few seconds the other ship leveled off and began to approach. Bob, -craning his neck to get a sight of the other craft beyond his own wing -spread, saw that the other man, evidently angling down and pointing -directly for a position above him, meant to overtake him and was quite -capable of doing it. He had superior experience and skill. - -Bob realized quickly that the better part of valor in an airplane at -night, under such conditions, was to give up. - -“Or, at least to pretend to give up,” he reflected. - -To carry out that pretence he reached into the signal light stores and -selected a light. This he tossed back to Al. - -His signal and his act were understood. - -Al knew that Bob wanted light. He ignited the flare, which proved to be -a green signal blaze, flung it overside and watched its tiny parachute -catch the air and suspend it. - -In that light he swung his eyes to see what Bob meant to do. - -The other pilot, arresting his dive, also flew along level, and watched, -it appeared. - -Bob, lighted by the glowing green flare, pointed to himself and then -pointed to earth. - -The other ship, coming steadily closer, was quite plain in the -illuminated space. Its pilot made a similar gesture, pointing first -toward the airplane Bob piloted, then downward. - -Bob lowered the nose and began to spiral, as though looking for a spot -on which he might safely “set down.” - -On a wider swing the other pilot flew, observing his act. - -Swiftly Bob summed up the situation. Beneath him, easily reached, was -the wide ribbon of the asphalt highway. By heading almost directly into -the wind he could “shoot” the road, and by keeping his engine running at -partial speed he could make a “power stall,” letting the craft settle -very gradually instead of trying to glide down, guess at the correct -height and then stall and drop. To do the latter in the comparative -darkness of the highway might result in smashed landing gear or worse if -he stalled too high and dropped, or it might happen that he would “put -her on hot,” or at too great speed and without stalling, come against -the ground. In one case out of ten that might enable him to roll along, -but if he struck the slightest uneven bit of road, or a bulge of the tar -at the intersections of the asphalt road blocks, up would bound the -ship, perhaps to stall herself and crash. - -By using power he could keep flying speed while gradually settling until -his wheels contacted the road. He could also rise more readily if he -discovered that he had gone too far to either side of the narrow -road—wide enough in fact but narrow from the standpoint of its use as a -landing place. - -He gave up the half-formed notion of trying to outwit the pilot. - -The man meant “business” and that might spell trouble for an amateur. -Better far would it be to set down and see what came of it. - -As he saw the roadway ribboned out straight ahead, with no headlights -observable in either direction, Bob lifted the nose a trifle, adjusted -the throttle until, with the road streaming backward under him, he saw -it very gradually growing wider and clearer. - -Almost perfectly he landed. Being a straight road he had lots of time to -taxi, with his gun cut and his only care being to hold the ship on its -wheels and not let a wing-tip scrape the asphalt. - -To his surprise the other pilot did not land. - -Instead he seemed to be circling at a very low altitude, not a hundred -feet up, and with only bare flying speed, diving ten feet to catch up -his speed and then climbing back to circle again. - -“We can’t leave this crate standing on the highway,” Al called as soon -as Bob had the engine running at idling speed. “Suppose a Sunday driver -comes along at sixty miles an hour?” - -“What else can we do?” Bob swung in his seat. - -“That’s so. If we go up he’ll ride us down, and we might not make as -good a landing—you might not, I mean.” - -“Yonder comes a car!” - -As Bob pointed, Al leaned out and stared. - -“The headlights blind me,” he declared, shading his eyes with his cap -brim and hand. - -“It’s—it’s the ones who are after us,” called Bob. “See! One of them is -stopping the car and the other one is jumping out.” He turned to Al. - -“They think we have the books. The man in the brown ship drove us down. -Mr. Parsons, in his car, with the other man, is coming to get us.” - -“Well, they won’t!” exclaimed Al, scrambling out of the airplane. - -“No! You run into the woods to the right of the road.” - -Al, as soon as he was on the ground, used his heels to good purpose. -Bob, pausing only to bundle up some folds of his coat to make it look, -from a distance, as though he carried a package under it, slipped to the -road and ran the other way. - -Driven down, they nevertheless left the pursuers outwitted. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - CURT’S DISCOVERY - - -“Those books are off my mind,” Curt reflected as he pedaled slowly -toward the aircraft plant, “but my legs aren’t. I’d go to bed and rest -for a week if it wasn’t for seeing what Griff is up to.” - -He had ridden only a block or two away from his uncle’s residence, where -he had deposited the books, when a thought occurred to him. - -“I know how to get a ‘tow’ to the plant,” Curt whispered to himself, -swinging his handlebars to turn into the next cross street. “They -usually get shipments of fabric on the eleven o’clock freight, and our -truck is there to load it in.” He glanced at his wrist watch. - -“Yes,” he told himself, “it ought to be loaded or nearly so—and that -means the truck will be starting soon. I’ll ride along till it catches -up with me and then let it pull me where I’m going.” - -It was a reasonable notion and well-founded. That it was sound was soon -proved, for Curt saw the truck turning into the street just ahead, from -the direction of the station. - -He had expected it to come from the street he had passed, but realized -that it must have followed the direction it had been pointed instead of -turning around in the station yards; increasing his speed for the -moment, Curt caught up with the tail boards of the large truck, took -hold with one hand, set his coaster brake, and rode in comfort, resting -his weary feet. - -To his great surprise the truck turned off at a crossroad. - -“What does that mean?” he wondered. - -He let go and dropped back a few yards, intending to let the truck go; -but it bothered him to decide what caused the change of route. - -Curt resuming his pedaling, following at a little distance, determined -that for all his weariness he ought to find out why a truck, openly -laden with cases and parcels, boxes and canvas sacks, should not go -directly to its destination to be ready for unloading when the plant -opened in the morning. - -The ride was not more than a half mile. - -Curt, keeping at good distance, let the truck get around a bend. He -could follow by the sound of the motor. He did not wish to be seen. - -There was in him the thrill of the discoverer of a new clue. - -When the motor ceased to send its roar across the distance to him Curt -laid Al’s bicycle, which he had ridden from the cornfield, beside the -rutted country road and walked, screening himself carefully, to the -bend. - -“No truck should stop in this out-of-the-way place,” he decided. “I’d -better be careful. They might have a guard set at the turn.” - -There was no guard, however. Evidently the truck driver and his -assistant had no suspicion that they were observed. - -Openly the truck stood in the road, to one side. Curt, able to -distinguish its bulk, was too far away to see through the darkness what -was going on. - -“Maybe a broken drive chain,” he thought. “Still, I’d better be -certain.” - -He made a slight detour through the pines along the byroad, being -careful to make as little sound as possible, working around toward the -position of the truck. Whatever sound he made was soon drowned by the -roar of a motor. - -“Just a repair,” he decided. “They’re going.” - -Instead of getting further away the motor pulsation became louder. - -“That’s another car coming,” Curt told himself, “and it’s a heavy duty -motor, too.” - -He made fast progress toward the edge of the trees. There, hidden behind -a large trunk of pine, he could see the dim road, the dull outline of -the truck, and the moving forms of men lifting things out and piling -them by the road. - -“They’re unloading the truck!” Curt was amazed. Was this some bold -banditry, some open theft? - -To his further astonishment and mystification the other truck came along -and stopped. There was an exchange of low, but jovial banter between the -rough drivers and their helpers, but no allusion was made to their task. -Instead, the men on the truck just arrived began also to unload bolts, -cases, boxes, sacks, from their vehicle. - -Curt could not figure the problem to a satisfactory decision. Were they -substituting one load for the other? Why? - -At any rate, they would be occupied for several hours, Curt thought. He -made his way quietly back into the wood and hurried toward his bicycle. - -“I’ll ride to the plant, get the watchman to telephone for the police, -and round up those fellows.” - -Every ounce of his reserve energy Curt put into his pedals as he bumped -along the byroad and then raced down the main highway. - -When he came within sight of the aircraft plant he was surprised at the -activity displayed. The flood lights were on. Far up overhead he heard -the sound of an airplane engine. - -“Oh!” Curt was reassured. “It must be Bob and Al coming in. They will be -glad to hear I put the books away safely, and then we can all ride back -to the truck—no, we can’t!” He recalled that his own wheel was parked at -The Windsock—if no one had taken it. - -There was no one in the watchman’s place by the main gate, which was -open. Curt decided that the man was at the flying field to give -assistance to the airplane as it landed. - -“Hello!” Al, turning at the door of the administration offices, hailed -Curt. “Come on!” - -Curt raced across the yard, joined Al and Bob at the office building -doorway. - -“I thought—” he gasped, “I thought you flew!” - -Rapidly Bob explained. “We hoofed it back,” Al added. - -“Then who is landing—or shooting the field to land?” - -“Must be Mr. Parsons bringing in the ship we deserted on the road. Did -you leave that parcel of books at Dad’s? Good! But why did you come back -here, Curt?” - -A quick explanation set everything clearly before his friends. - -“We ought to go and round up the two trucks,” he finished. - -“No—we must get to Griff. He must be wild, waiting without any word. I -know the trucks won’t wait forever, but you can identify them in the -morning. Come on.” Curt followed Bob’s lead, with Al at his heels as -they entered the office corridor. - -Griff’s voice came to them as they reached the upper landing. He was -talking—telephoning! - -“Oh—Langley! You got there! Good! What? Your uncle is gone? Gone? Gone! -Lang—where? You don’t know? What’ll I do, Lang? You don’t know? Well, I -do!” and he slammed the receiver on its hook. - -“Hurry!” urged Bob as the trio raced to the lighted doorway. - -At the safe, kneeling, was Griff. He twirled the dial, clanged back the -safe door, reached for the packet of bills again. - -“Here—you mustn’t! You daren’t. That isn’t yours!” - -White-faced, Griff identified Al as the latter called his warning. - -“I must!” he snapped, and stood up, holding the packet. - -Over the offices came the drone of the approaching airplane circling for -a landing. Al moved toward Griff. - -“Get back!” Griff was furious. Bob, behind him, snatched the packet of -bills, flung it into the safe, slammed the door. Griff, with a furious -snarl, bent to recover the packet, but the door was shut. - -He flung off Bob, who backed into Al and Curt. - -Heedless of the roar of the airplane engine as the ship came low over -the office roofs in its descent, Bob, Al and Curt disentangled -themselves, got to their feet. - -Already Griff was by the safe, the combination figures on the slip in -his hand, the dial of the safe door twirling and clicking. - -“Here—what are you doing, Griff?” Bob cried out in dismay. - -With a quick glance Griff measured them. His face was white, his jaw was -set, his whole attitude was that of a terrified, trembling young man who -had determined on a course he knew to be wrong but which circumstances -would not allow him to avoid. - -“Don’t!” exclaimed Curt. - -“You daren’t!” corrected Al. “Your father has stolen the books, but you -shan’t——” - -The safe door was wrenched open. Bob started forward, Curt at his side, -to catch Griff’s hand, to prevent this thing he felt he had to do. His -fear of his father’s anger was greater than his dread of the boys, it -seemed. - -His hand on the packet of bills, Bob tried to stop him. Griff, with a -scowl and a wicked word, kicked Bob’s shin, avoided Curt’s grasp, and -stood back, his face working. - -There was an interruption. - -“Listen!” Al, nearest the door, called the word. They were halted, -frozen into statues with tense poses and straining ears. - -A step sounded in the hall. - -Instantly, white with terror, Griff flung the bills toward the open -safe, kicked the door shut, turned like a hunted animal and ran out -through an intervening door into the next office, and, with Bob in hot -pursuit, raced across the hall, into the directors’ room, to its window -and down the fire escape. And Bob, at the window, felt a hand grip his -collar. He was caught! - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - A CONFESSION - - -Without a struggle Bob gave up. In the dark he did not know who his -captor might be; but he reasoned that if it turned out to be Barney -resistance would be less sensible than explanation. To struggle for -escape if the hand on his collar belonged to Mr. Parsons, would be -foolish and might make it harder for his chum and his brother to explain -their situation. - -In his mind’s eye Bob recalled how the office had looked as he left it. -Griff had kicked at the safe door, believing the money had gone in; but -it had not! It had dropped on the floor. - -Unquestionably Mr. Parsons, or Barney, or whoever held him, had come -past that office but had not stopped there, preferring to make a capture -of the only person he could put his hands on. - -Bob realized that non-resistance was a wise course. As he had surmised, -he was led back toward the office. He was glad that he had done nothing, -said nothing to explain the situation so far. The man who had hold of -him, who urged him along the corridor, was Griff’s father, the man from -whom they sought to save Griff. - -At the office door Bob, panting and choked a trifle by the tight grip on -his coat, took in the situation swiftly. - -It looked, from all the appearances, as though Al were dictating from -the slip while Curt manipulated the combination, to open the safe; on -the other hand, from another point of view, it might appear that the -pair had recently had the safe open and were closing it. - -What made that more probable to an outsider’s eyes was the package of -greenbacks which Al held! - -“What does this mean?” Mr. Parsons, half dragging Bob along, made a -quick, nervous advance, caught the package from Al with his free hand. - -“It means that your—” Al began in his imprudent haste; Bob gave him a -sharp, meaning look. Al, catching it, realizing that he had almost -mentioned Griff, whom they had previously agreed to aid, was silent. - -“It means that we came back here—” Curt began and was interrupted by the -angry partner of Mr. Tredway. - -“Not content with taking those books,” he said angrily, “you want to -take the company money—how did you get into my desk? Pick the lock? That -adds another count against you!” - -He released Bob’s coat collar and strode to the desk, a flat-topped one -in the center of the room. Catching up the telephone receiver, he made a -call. - -“Hello—hello! Give me Police Headquarters! Yes, thanks!” - -For an instant the members of the Sky Squad were stunned. - -“What’s that?” Mr. Parsons spoke into the transmitter again. “He is out? -How soon will he be back? Have him call Mr. Parsons, at the aircraft -plant! Yes—perhaps I can give him some tenants for the new cells in the -police station.” - -He hung up the earpiece. - -Bob, recovering his usual good judgment, began to consider the very -difficult situation that faced the Sky Squad. - -Al, however, seldom thought before he spoke; more often than his -brother, he was sorry for hasty decisions and sharp speeches. - -“You’ll be sorry if you tell the Chief of Police,” blustered Al. - -Curt, as thoughtful as Bob, trod on the foot of the younger captive and -Al, jumping away, refused to be warned. - -“I don’t care!” he cried. “If he thinks two sons of a detective, and -their friend will be put in cells for trying to save—oh, all right, -Bob!—for trying to put money back into a safe—” he whirled on Mr. -Parsons at the sound of the latter’s sarcastic laugh, “—that’s what we -were doing! If the Police Chief arrests us—we’ll ask him to arrest you, -too!” - -“Indeed! Why!” - -“For taking the company books away. For showing them to somebody outside -the firm—planning how to get more cheap parts into the plant. Oh, we -know all about you!” - -“How do you know I had company books?” - -“I saw the pages open on the table at The Windsock!” - -“Indeed! Young man,” he swung to Curt. “Please go into the bookkeeper’s -room, unlock his book cabinet, and bring all the books you find.” - -Curt, surprised, took the small key from their captor, went in and -lighted the adjoining office, returning, finally, with an armful of -books. - -“Do you know the books of a complete set when you see them?” - -“Bob does,” declared Al, still angry, but becoming a little uneasy. He -might have jumped to his decision about the books he had seen. He was -always making snap decisions! - -“Examine that set, young man—er, Bob!” - -“It’s complete!” Bob admitted. - -“Exactly!” - -“Then why were you in such a sweat to get the others when we tried to—” -Al’s voice tailed down to nothing; he began to see how really guilty -they could be made to seem. There was entry into the offices at night, -an open private desk, a tell-tale safe combination memorandum on the -floor, a package of bills beside the safe, for one chain of evidence; -there was an intrusion on a private conference, at The Windsock, and the -subsequent escape with the books for a second, not to think of Bob’s use -of the airplane with no permission from a higher authority than a -watchman, and the infraction of State law by landing on a highway and -deserting the ship in a traffic lane. Al’s bravado began to evaporate. - -Bob, who had remained cool, thinking, was able to see a brighter side to -the situation. - -“Please, Mr. Parsons,” he began, “don’t call in the police. That would -force us to defend ourselves. We could explain what we were doing and -why. But we have a—a code of honor, and we would rather have you let -things work out without the police—and reporters.” - -“You would really suffer more than we would,” Curt declared. - -“Is that so? We shall see.” - -The telephone bell blared. Mr. Parsons turned. - -“Hello!” he spoke into the instrument. - -“Father! Don’t! Those fellows are protecting me! I can’t let them!” - -Griff stood in the office door, his face white, his lips quivering. - -Mr. Parsons, catching sight of his son, stared. - -“Just a minute, Griff,” he said. “Hello—is the——” - -“Father! You shan’t! You mustn’t! Listen to me. I took that money!——” - -The telephone receiver dropped, hanging by its cord to swing unheeded -against the man’s leg. - -“I’ll confess!” Griff, for all his fear of his father, of consequences, -was showing his true manliness. “I ran away, Father, because I thought I -had put the money back and locked the safe. I didn’t want to be caught. -I thought I could go down the fire escape and get away. But when I saw -you catch Bob I came back and listened—I must not let these fine friends -stand a night in a cell for something I’ve done.” - -Then, haltingly, ashamed and despairing, but honestly, Griff cleared the -Sky Squad and told the truth. - -“He was trying to get out of his trouble,” Curt said to end the deep -silence that followed Griff’s explanation, “and he didn’t want to come -to you when you had so many things on your mind.” - -“Our cousin has gone to get money for him from Father,” added Bob. “But -Father must have started for home before Lang got there, and it was only -when the man at The Windsock threatened to come and tell you and make it -look worse than it is, that Griff lost his common sense. We came back -here to meet each other and saw what he was doing and convinced him it -was a mistake.” - -The impulsiveness of Al prompted him to “put in his oar,” but his -earlier bluster was gone and he kept still. - -They watched Mr. Parsons. - -His face was set and pale, his fingers worked nervously. He had his head -bent. - -Bob, quietly picking up the telephone as he heard the impatient voice of -someone at the other end of the connection making it squeak, spoke into -the transmitter quietly. - -“We’ll call you back. Something has come up to make things different.” -He hung up the earpiece. - -Apparently Mr. Parsons did not notice him at all. Added to the blow -given by his son’s confession that he had broken promises and gotten -into deep trouble was the knowledge that three loyal companions, with -full knowledge of his guilt had not only protected him from himself but -had shielded him at the expense of being, themselves, suspected and -unfairly accused. - -Mr. Parsons looked up. He held out a hand to Bob. - -“I beg your pardon,” he said, “I am sorry!” Bob, smiling with some -relief, eagerly gripped the extended hand, to be followed by Curt and -Al. - -Then the father turned to his son. - -Three members of the Sky Squad held their breath. - -“Son,” the voice seemed cool and sharp, but it changed suddenly, “Son, I -guess I’d have done better to make a comrade of you than to try to rule -you with fear and threats. Come here, Griffith.” The young man advanced, -hopeful, but also shame-faced. “Son, we all make mistakes. If we learn -not to make them again, that is life’s lesson. I am not a judge. I -am—your father!” - -Griff’s hand reached out impulsively. - -“I had to tell you—but I guess if it hadn’t been to save these friends, -I might have gone on. I guess I’m a coward.” - -“I should say not!” cried Al. - -“Not you!” Bob was equally emphatic. - -“It took more bravery to walk in under the circumstances than to tell -your father any other time, I say!” Curt exclaimed. - -“I will settle with that fellow at the roadhouse,” Mr. Parsons stated, -when forgiveness was assured to Griff and the five occupants of the -office were determined to “work together” for a change, “If he has been -paid——” - -“Why not meet the Police Chief somewhere and have Griff tell him the -things that are done against the law at The Windsock,” suggested Al. -“Then we could all go there and give evidence of how Jenks tried to -collect twice from Griff—and maybe we would find out something about—our -own mystery. I think he is in it, some way!” - -Mr. Parsons decided that he owed the Chief some explanation of his call -and, somewhat over-excited, and not his usual sensible self, he failed -to realize just what Al’s suggestion implied—that they make Griff -incriminate himself, since he had played at the tables without informing -against the hotel. The Police Chief agreed to meet them near the -roadhouse, and when Mr. Parsons hung up and turned back to them he was -much more calm than they had ever seen him. “If I explain my own -purposes,” he said, “it will be easier for us all to understand and get -together. I have been trying to protect my absent partner——” - -“Absent?” Bob repeated the word, “your absent partner?” - -“Yes. Arthur Tredway. He went into hiding.” - -“I know!” cried Al, “I know now! I thought the face of the man in that -brown airplane—the one who flew it—was familiar. That’s Mr. Tredway!” - -“Yes, my boy, you are right.” - -“But—” Curt was rather stunned, “I don’t understand.” - -“Mr. Tredway—alive?” cried Griff. - -“Yes, alive. This has been a very mixed affair,” the partner declared. -“I knew that Arthur Tredway was alive, but I could not speak of it or -explain, because we did not know whom we could trust, and so told no -one.” - -“Then he wasn’t—in the crash?” - -Mr. Parsons turned to answer Bob. - -“No.” - -“But why did he do it? Why did he hide and let everybody think he had -‘gone West?’” Bob demanded. - -“Don’t you remember—crossed wires?” Curt reminded him. - -That had to be explained. - -“So someone crossed wires that were scraped nearly bare, in Arthur’s own -ship!” Mr. Parsons was dismayed. “That proves his suspicion that -somebody meant harm to him. And that is what we hid him away to -discover. If the accidents ceased with his disappearance, he was in -danger; if not, the damage was aimed at the aircraft company.” - -“But you haven’t found out why he was in danger—or from whom?” declared -Curt. - -“No,” admitted the partner. Al, fired with enthusiasm, added: - -“But we will!” - -Mr. Parsons was not so sure. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX - BARNEY GIVES A HINT - - -While the quintet waited for the taxicab which Mr. Parsons summoned from -town, Griff put the money back in the safe, thankful for his escape. -Bob, Curt and Al expressed their elation that he was freed from -suspicion, and Barney arrived. - -“The watchman called me,” the manager explained. “Things got a bit too -exciting out here and he thought I ought to know. What is there to tell -me?” - -The explanations took up the time of waiting. - -“Hm-m-m.” Barney was pleased but thoughtful. “Glad to learn my best -friend’s partner is cleared,” he nodded at Mr. Parsons. “Certainly I’m -delighted that his son is all straight. And Tredway is alive! Glory be! -I’m gladdest about that.” - -“I knew you would be,” agreed Mr. Parsons. - -“The man who gave me everything I have, made me the manager of his -plant! I’ll say I’m glad he’s all right. Well, let’s go see that -ex-pilot and his wicked two-autograph ally!” he grinned at Al. - -“I think we ought to try to catch those truckmen first,” suggested Curt. - -“Oh, let them alone,” argued Barney, and Mr. Parsons agreed. - -“You know what they were doing,” he told Curt. “All you have to do now -is check the stuff that is unloaded from our truck in the morning. If -that turns out to be poor material, trace the other truck, get your -proof—and at least one part of the mystery will be easily solved.” - -They went out and packed into the taxicab, giving its driver direction -for meeting the Police Chief at the edge of the picnic grove. - -When they got there and related their experiences they were daunted to -find him decidedly lukewarm about “rounding up” the ex-pilot and his -roadhouse manager. - -“I don’t think the idea is so good,” the Chief of Police stated. -“Griffith Parsons has no receipt. He can’t actually prove that he paid -real money, or that he paid at all. Anyway, now that his father knows -the whole business, that fellow, Jenks, hasn’t a chance to collect -again. He won’t dare try. Just what do you want me to do?” - -“There’s this note put on the airplane, and his trying to avoid showing -his handwriting by giving me two autographs,” Al suggested. - -“In a way I’m sorry to destroy that clue,” said Mr. Parsons, “but when -we get to the roadhouse you will see that it has no value.” - -“What did you want me to do?” repeated the police official. - -“We thought of facing the manager, Jenks, with Griff’s evidence of how -he permits gambling to go on—and other things outside the law—and making -him tell us what he knows,” Bob urged. - -The man shook his head. - -“Oh, I know what you’re thinking,” the officer chuckled as he eyed Bob, -Curt and Al. “Graft—hush-money! But that isn’t it at all. As far as -Griff’s information goes, we’ll take care of that better by making a -raid when the place is crowded and the barn is actually in use for -illicit purposes. But, don’t you see what you are doing?” - -The chums shook their heads. - -“I do,” said Barney, and Mr. Parsons agreed again. “If we offer to make -him tell with a threat of what we will do if he refuses,—we are -‘compounding a felony’ if we get him to tell anything and don’t go -through with the legal steps on the face of our evidence.” - -“That’s it.” - -“Oh, well,” Barney saw how disappointed the three chums were, although -they admitted the justice of the official’s attitude, “let’s go out and -see my old patron and comrade.” - -The Chief of Police agreed to look into the charges Griff had made and -turned his car to return to his home, while Barney, in one cab with Bob -and Al, and Mr. Parsons in the one they had called, with Curt and his -own son, went on. - -There was a vociferous greeting between Mr. Tredway and his plant -manager. - -“Why didn’t you tell me you were all right?” he cried, pumping the plant -owner’s hand, slapping his back, and, as Al said later, “almost kissing -him,” while the mysterious stranger, and the others watched with various -feelings. - -“I had to make my plans in secret,” Mr. Tredway retorted. “Not even my -partner knew until tonight. But—let us get acquainted, all the way -’round.” - -He turned to the mystery man behind him. - -“This is my brother,” he presented the man, “and so these are the three -young men who have worked so hard to solve the mystery of my crash into -the lake!” He shook hands and they selected a private dining room on the -second floor for a midnight repast. - -“Well,” he said, smiling pleasantly at the three rather silent youths as -the first course, a hot, nourishing soup, was served, “have you solved -the puzzle of the mystery crash?” - -“I think we have—but not all, sir,” replied Bob. “I think I can put -together what happened, but not why it had to happen.” - -“Go ahead,” Mr. Tredway encouraged. - -“Yes, do,” urged Barney. “I admit I’m stumped.” - -“Well, sir,” Bob, without trying to be vain, spoke frankly. “We got -mixed up and puzzled, at first, because we were trying to solve a lot of -things by connecting them with your—disappearance.” - -“And we made the mistake of suspecting everybody,” interrupted Al. - -“That mixed Griff’s case in, and his father’s,” agreed Curt, and he -turned back to give Bob the center of the stage. - -“You didn’t know whether the damage to airplanes was aimed at the plant -or at you direct,” Bob told Mr. Tredway, who nodded. “You had two -airplanes—both alike, except one was the Golden Dart and the other was -the Silver Flash.” - -“Exactly. And I thought,” Mr. Tredway interrupted, “if the guilty person -knew which airplane I meant to deliver, he would damage that one and so, -at the last minute I changed my ship, after saying I was going to -deliver the Golden Dart I took off in the Silver Flash——” - -“And you were right,” gasped Al. “When we flew the Golden one her rudder -cable was frayed and broke.” - -“Right, my young friend. And nothing was wrong with the other.” - -“Then how did you crash it—why did it crack up?” - -Mr. Tredway looked to Bob for an explanation, desiring to test the -youth’s skill at deduction. - -“I haven’t much to work on,” Bob said modestly, “but this is how I think -you did it: - -“Your brother flew here in the brown ship and hid it in the field, -leaving the note to show you it was ready.” - -“And then?——” - -“You took off early, and then set down the big cabin ship on the -turf—that accounts for the deep ruts—and the ship was in the way so you -dragged it into the stubble until the brown ship got up, then took the -cabin craft into the air——” - -“I fail to see what the brown airplane, and Arthur’s brother, have to do -with it,” Barney broke in. - -“Mr. Tredway’s brother had to be there to bring down the cabin ‘plane,” -Bob explained. “At least that’s the only way I can see for the tracks in -the field, and the crack-up, to fit the conditions,” he paused. - -“You mean—they exchanged ships? Arthur landed the cabin crate and then -flew away in the brown one, while his brother crashed the Silver Flash?” -Barney demanded. Tredway nodded as did his brother. - -“The young man is correct in his deduction,” the latter said. “I had to -come and exchange ships with my brother and then crack up the Silver -Flash to give the idea that its pilot—and my brother had taken off in -it!—had gone into a mudhole or under rocks in the lake.” - -“What did you expect to gain by that?” asked Barney. - -“Removing one partner,” Mr. Tredway smiled, “gave the other one ‘a free -hand’ if he was in any way guilty, or you, Barney!” - -Barney turned red. - -“Do you mean to say?——” - -“No, I did not suspect you, I only wanted to get away and see what -happened, and who did it.” - -“These young men have cleared most of us,” stated Mr. Parsons. “They -have done more! They know how the good parts are taken and cheap ones -are substituted.” He explained about the trucks. - -“But we can’t solve the mystery of why you brought books here and then -said the company books were all at the plant,” argued Al. - -“I found a small set of duplicate books—that is, what we would call -‘fake’ books—private books in the cabinet,” began Mr. Parsons. - -Barney bent forward. - -“Where did you find those? I had them in my own desk!” - -“That’s where I took them from. You see, Barney, as long as we all -suspected each other it was wisest for me to check them. Not that I -accuse you, because they were in your desk. You were checking up, also, -of course.” - -“I’m not finished either,” declared Barney. “But—as long as Arthur -wanted a look at them, it’s all right with me.” - -“We have them safe,” said Curt. “And the brother is the mysterious man -with the dark beard whose motorcycle Griff used, and it was he who was -in the supply room, the other night.” - -“I was,” said Mr. Tredway’s brother. “I came, with his key, got in the -private gate, went up the fire escape and down to check up in the supply -room—until Griff, running off with my motorcycle, made me suspicious, -scared and anxious. So I left.” - -“And I came here to see Arthur’s brother,” said Mr. Parsons, and Griff, -looking ashamed added, “—and I ran away!” - -“But we don’t know who damaged the crates, or if it was against Mr. -Tredway or just spite work against the company,” Al said. “The mystery -crash has failed to bring that to light.” - -“Yes,” Barney suddenly leaned forward, “I’ve got to go, out and dismiss -my taxicab—it’s eating its head off—but first I’ll give you a hint to -chew over while I’m away.” - -“What?” several spoke the question in unison. - -“Suppose the motive was revenge,” Barney spoke very low, and Bob, -watching some curtains, at a locked side door, thought the breeze must -be stirring them, “suppose there was once a pilot at the plant and that -Arthur had to fire him and——” - -“You don’t mean to say!—” Mr. Tredway bent close, excited. “The pilot I -once discharged? Why—he’s the owner of this place. I’d never dream——” - -“All the same—chew it over!” Barney rose. “I suppose you’ll be flying -back—you won’t stay here tonight.” Tredway shook his head. - -“Be right back,” Barney said. Bob, as the others chatted softly and -excitedly, followed the departing manager with his eyes. He had thrown -suspicion on several, had Barney. Also, he had been the only one who -inspected and then reported on the Silver Flash, that nothing had been -found tampered with! And—he had chased Lang and Bob to see Bob’s -detective father! What a lot of curious facts, Bob mused! - -And when Barney rejoined them a moment later Bob was still musing! - -“I think it would be a good idea for all of us to stay,” suggested Mr. -Parsons. “It’s after midnight, and these lads must be worn out, with all -their pedaling to and fro. We can telephone their homes.” - -“You may all stay,” said Mr. Tredway. “But until we prove something I -shall keep out of sight. Especially if the ex-pilot is apt to be around. -I’m going to warm up my brother’s airplane and hop back to the airport I -came from.” - -They all parted. Curt declared he wanted to secure his forgotten -bicycle, Bob and Al were sure they had better go on home if Mr. Parsons -would let them take the taxicab. He decided that, after all, he and his -son had better go home. The meal was finished. Mr. Tredway, going by a -side hall, and down back stairs, sought to avoid recognition while his -brother agreed to watch the ex-pilot at every chance. - -Bob and Curt found the bicycle safe, and trundled it to the luggage rack -at the back of the taxicab. - -Then Bob turned suddenly. - -“Stay here,” he said, “I want to say something to Mr. Tredway—he’s -warming up the airplane.” - -“Forget something?” - -“No—recalled something!” - -As he reached the man so mysteriously lost and so suddenly discovered -Bob caught his arm and spoke very earnestly. - -“For the sake of your safety,” Bob whispered, “take off, just as you -planned—but only go to the cornfield—set down as soon as you can—and -then—look for—crossed wires!” - -In a flash he was beyond questioning! - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI - “ONE MORE PROBLEM” - - -Bob did not delay a moment after he delivered his solemn warning to Mr. -Tredway. - -As quickly as he could he located the plant manager. - -“Barney,” he said earnestly, “don’t stay here tonight! Come home with -us. Stay with the Sky Squad.” - -“In the name of Sam Hill—why?” - -“You forgot where you were, didn’t you, when you spoke about the——” he -lowered his voice, glanced around, spoke carefully, “—the ex-pilot as -the one who had a motive for injuring Mr. Tredway?” - -“Well—I guess I was thinking pretty much of what I was saying.” - -“I know you were.” - -“Well—did you hear anything or—see anything?” - -“I’m sure I heard something. You didn’t think, but there’s a curtained -door in that private room we used. How do you know Jenks or—the other -one—might not have heard you?” - -“Lad, you’re quick! Right, too. Maybe I’d better go on. But I won’t need -to stay with you.” - -“Oh, you’d better. We can take turns watching!” - -“Fiddlesticks! It’s not as dangerous for me as that!” - -“At least come back in the taxi with us.” - -“Oh, all right. I’ll do that. But I’ll go on home, then.” - -“Won’t you come on, please—right away?” - -Barney, half-amused at Bob’s concern, and partly wondering what caused -it and if he actually had been spied on, overheard, and realizing even -better than did Bob, he thought, how dangerous such an accusation might -be, Barney agreed. - -The ride back to town was taken up with discussion of Barney’s hint but -through all the talk Bob was rather quiet. - -It was decided that the three members of the Sky Squad would be taken -home first, then Griff and his father would go on, leaving Barney to -finish the ride to his own home. - -As the car drew up in front of Bob’s house and Al began saying his -goodnight, quite sleepily, Bob turned to Mr. Parsons. - -“What do you say to going back to the plant, after you drop Griff, and -getting the real set of company books, and bringing them here. We can -work on them together, and see if there is anything in the private set -that doesn’t agree with the others.” - -“Why not wait until morning?” suggested Mr. Parsons. “Aren’t you worn -out?” - -“What books?” Barney asked. “Oh—that’s so. I remember. You said you had -them. Put them away carefully! Don’t leave them out.” - -“Oh, we will,” agreed Al, overhearing. “We’ll put them in the big desk -in Father’s study and lock them up.” - -“Well, goodnight,” said Curt. He had been invited to stay but he -preferred to go on home. Bob threw in a suggestion. - -“At that,” he said, “Curt, why don’t you let me telephone your mother, -and you stay. And Barney could wait with us till Mr. Parsons comes -back.” - -“Well, come to think of it, why not?” Barney decided. “If it won’t wake -up your folks.” Bob assured him it wouldn’t. His mother must still be -waiting up, he declared; there was a light burning in his father’s -study. - -“Good grief!” he cried, “I never thought—supposing Dad has come home?” - -“I’ll bet he has,” Al agreed. - -“Let’s go and see—will you come in with us?” he addressed Barney, and -the latter cordially agreed. - -“I guess we’d better let you wait in the living room till we see whether -it’s Dad or Mother. She might not be dressed for company—if Mother is -sitting up.” Barney agreed to wait, and Al went to the door to call Curt -in to telephone home. - -The den, into which Bob turned, closing the door quietly, was occupied, -as he had all along suspected it would be, by his father. - -“I heard that you weren’t in the other city,” Bob said, after a hasty -greeting. His father saw his eagerness and let him talk. “Lang flew -there to get help—” he sketched very swiftly the incidents of the night. -“Now, Father, what brought you home? Have you?——” - -“I have suspicions—yes.” - -“Then you’ve been working on the mystery?” Bob asked. - -“All along. I pretended to be busy on another case because——” - -“You suspected somebody!” - -“From the start. Yes. Did you?” - -“Not until tonight. But I know it’s the same person, and I’ve got him in -the living room and I want to pretend to him that we are guarding him -from some one else, while we keep guard to see that he doesn’t take -fright and escape.” - -His father framed a name and Bob nodded. - -“What is your proof?” demanded his father. - -“He came to a detective at the very first. He has put suspicion on -everybody else. He seems terribly anxious about those books.” - -“Circumstantial evidence justifying suspicion, but not proof. -However—I’ve learned that some people, probably using assumed names—it -may all be the same person—have been changing aircraft stock into gold. -What is your plan, son?” - -“We must keep him from guessing that we suspect—and keep him where we -can watch him. The way I plan, if you agree, is this. Father, if he is -the guilty one, he is terribly dangerous. He must have crossed wires on -Mr. Tredway’s airplane, before the owner left the plant—hoping he’d have -a short-circuit, set the gas on fire and come down in flames. Then he -thought the Golden Dart was the cabin ship to be flown and he frayed the -rudder cable. When he discovered the other ship was going he might have -crossed wires on that—remember, he mentioned ‘crossed wires’ back in the -other city? And he’s the only one who inspected the Silver Flash when -she crashed and was hauled in. So we must keep him here where we can -hold him if he makes a move.” - -“Right. Get him in, son. We will pretend to study the books, and I will -watch his reaction.” - -“And if he doesn’t betray himself?——” - -“We will let him go. He cannot leave tonight because if he has been -taking stock and exchanging it for gold, he probably had to bank it—he -wouldn’t leave it in his house, would he, son?” - -“We can have detectives watch his house all night. Father, fix it with -the Chief of Police while I get him.” - -Barney was ushered in, Al and Curt joined them and the three of the Sky -Squad lined up on the davenport to watch Barney as the detective -discussed the case. - -But Barney did not betray any uneasiness. He was clever, Bob decided. - -Mr. Parsons, for whom Al watched to let him in without awakening Mrs. -Wright, brought other books and they were all busy. - -“We’ve discovered something!” Al exclaimed, after half an hour. - -“Sky Squad will now report!” chuckled Barney. He turned to Bob. - -“Go ahead, Chief Pilot!” - -Bob, very serious, nodded. - -Was Barney getting fidgety? Or, was he simply eager? - -“What have you found?” his father prompted him. - -“We’ve solved one mystery—how the bad parts are coming in,” said Bob, -confidently. “Curt, bring the false ledger and the real one.” - -All heads bent interestedly. - -“Notice how those tiny pencil ‘ticks’ are made in the beginning of some -entries?” Bob pointed to several. “There aren’t any in the regular -ledger, but the entries correspond, and they are always worded in a -queer way. See this one, about fabric: ‘10 bolts fabric, cotton, quality -A—dash—X—one hundred,’” he quoted. “Now all the entries that are ticked -in the false ledger are backward like that—and the same in the regular -book, but no others except the ticked ones are!” - -“That’s curious,” muttered Barney. “What else?” - -“Here are several bills of lading that weren’t entered Saturday, just -slipped into the back of the regular ledger,” Bob drew them out and -unfolded them. “One is all right, but the other is made out backward—the -same as the ticked ones—and it isn’t a real bill of lading at all, -because it is dated for today, and the shipment that arrived today isn’t -to be delivered until tomorrow and we saw the two trucks exchanging -goods on the byroad—or, Curt did.” - -“Very clever, but what does it prove?” asked Barney. - -“This bill of lading being dated ahead and being one of the ‘backward -wording’ sort, shows that those are the entries that are ‘queer.’ That -solves the mystery, because we know how those things are being -substituted tonight.” - -“But who does it incriminate?” asked Barney. - -“Why—whoever’s writing matches this.” - -“Then the bookkeeper is due for a call on the carpet—maybe worse,” said -Barney. “That’s his book, and the false set is the same handwriting!” - -“That settles that mystery and leaves only the one about Mr. Tredway’s -possible evil wisher,” said Mr. Parsons. - -“Why, that’s attended to—all we need to do is to watch that ex-pilot, -and Mr. Tredway’s brother has agreed—” Al paused. The den private -extension telephone was ringing. - -“It’s for you, Bob,” his father said. “Who’d be—oh, Mr. Tredway! How are -you? Glad you’re ‘alive and kicking.’ Yes, this is Wright. My son stole -a march on me, finding you. Here he is.” - -Bob bent over the desk. - -“Hello....” he said amid a tense silence. “Oh, did I guess right?... You -didn’t go on? ... set down in the cornfield ... fix it in the -morning?... Yes. Thank you, sir, for calling. Yes, we just got here.” - -He replaced the receiver and turned to the interested, expectant -company. - -“Another of the puzzles solved, and I guessed rightly,” he said. -“Barney, when you suspected the ex-pilot, I thought it might be that -he’d do the same as he had done on the airplane I piloted—Mr. Tredway’s -own sport craft. You know why I had to set it down?” - -“No—because the other man—Arthur—chased you down?” - -“No,” said Bob, slowly. “You mentioned the ex-pilot having access to the -‘planes. Well, on the brown ship—the wires were crossed tonight!” - -“Oh!” Barney gasped, and recovered from his startled amazement. “You -don’t say! That’s bad for—the ex-pilot.” - -“But it disposes of one mystery—who! He was probably there at The -Windsock and heard you—don’t you suppose?” - -“Looks like it. Well, now, that clears up——” - -“All but one more puzzle,” said Curt. “Who’s getting away with the small -parts, and valuable instruments?” - -“I can settle that!” said Barney. “Sandy Jim, the rigger Al was put to -work for—remember him sending you to his house with a lot of parcels -supposed to contain junk for his kid?” Al nodded, dismayed. It hurt to -hear that honest-looking Sandy was so wicked. But Barney seemed to have -the correct idea, as the evidence indicated. - -“We’ll round them up tomorrow.” Barney rose. “Suppose I take those books -along with me? I’ll bring them in early in the morning.” - -“Fine!” Bob jumped up, gathering the books. “There’s a Summer shower -wetting the streets—I’ll wrap these in paper for you.” - -When he returned with the parcel all goodnights had been said and the -party broke up. - -“Son,” said Mr. Wright to Bob, “what do you think now?” - -“I can’t say. He acted all right. But he always has done that.” - -“Who?” Al was sleepy but curious. - -“Barney!” - -“You don’t suspect Barney?” - -They nodded. - -“But how can you? He has helped us, and he’s Mr. Tredway’s friend and I -always thought—er——” - -“A criminal had to have a motive?” prompted his father. “I attached no -importance to one fact I have discovered, until I felt sure of Barney’s -guilt. Now I do. This might be his motive! Years ago Mr. Tredway won the -girl whom another pilot was courting. The man went from bad to worse, -threatened—and then disappeared.” - -“Jealousy! Hate!” gasped Curt. “But Barney!——” - -“Of course that was not the pilot’s name. He must have changed his name -as well as his appearance.” - -“Then, Father, how did you know it’s Barney. How about the ex-pilot? -Couldn’t he?——” - -“No, Al. He worked for Mr. Tredway after the latter married.” - -“Well—then—good cracky! Bob—you gave the culprit all the evidence in -those books—to destroy!” - -“No!” Bob smiled. “Dad’s encyclopedia is shy four volumes, and there are -three vitamine books gone, and Barney has them. The real books are in -their places on our shelves!” - -Then they did compliment him! - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII - FLIGHT! - - -When the sun peered through dispersing Summer storm clouds it saw three -alert, wide-awake youths, a little tired but very tense, in the testing -field of the Tredway aircraft plant. - -With them were Mr. Tredway, the Chief of Police, Mr. Parsons and Griff. - -“Is Tredway’s speed plane fueled up,” Mr. Wright came over from the -offices where he had deposited the company books in readiness for later -use: his question was addressed to Griff. - -“Ready, sir,” the young son of Mr. Tredway’s partner responded. - -“All plans arranged, Chief?” - -“We’ve got a net spread that Barney Horton couldn’t escape if he was an -eel. One of my best detectives has been outside his house ever since he -went in from the taxi, at one ‘a.m.’ Those two men over by the offices, -getting ready to dig a trench, are two picked men of my headquarters -staff. Every motorcycle man, every traffic man, all our roundsmen and -policemen are on the alert.” - -“I simply cannot believe it of Barney,” Mr. Tredway was as doleful as -though they were planning to arrest him, instead of his plant manager, -“I took him in and gave him every opportunity, taught him all he knows, -pushed him to the top. To think—” - -“Hatred for a fancied wrong is a terrible force for evil,” said Mr. -Wright. - -“But he doesn’t look a bit like the man who was trying to win the woman -who became my wife.” - -“By the way,” interrupted the Chief of Police, “she hasn’t appeared at -all in this—have you separated? Isn’t she——” - -“Oh, yes,” quickly, “she is alive. My wife is away in Europe. That is -the reason I decided to—disappear. I knew that news of it would not -reach her before I ‘came to life.’” - -“But if Barney is the guilty man,” Curt was still dazed, “why did he -turn suspicion on that ex-pilot at The Windsock?” - -“He tried to turn suspicion on everybody,” retorted Mr. Wright. “It is a -favorite trick of a guilty person. He has practically accused the -bookkeeper, the supply clerk, Sandy Jim, the rigger and the man you -mentioned.” - -“But he’s free,” Al spoke. “Why didn’t you arrest him while you had him -at the house showing him the books?” - -“You must remember one fact, my young ‘Sky Squadder,’” the Chief of -Police commented. “Circumstantial evidence, and suspicion are one thing. -Proof of guilt that will stand in court against a clever lawyer is -something quite different.” - -“In other words,” Mr. Wright explained, “we feel, with absolute -conviction, that Barney is our man. We haven’t any actual proof. We must -wait until he makes some open move. Bob, cleverly discovering Barney’s -supposed guilt because he saw Barney make that excuse to get out to the -airplane when he said he wanted to dismiss his taxi, did all he could to -keep the man close to his Sky Squad; but Barney was clever.” - -“I thought he would make a try for the books during the night if I got -him to stay with us,” Bob admitted modestly. “Then, when he refused to -spend the night with us I hoped he’d discover that we had substituted -other books for the ledgers, and would try to get in our place to get -all the incriminating evidence. But,” dejectedly, “he was too clever for -that, even.” - -“How do you expect him to make an open move, if he’s all that wise?” -asked Griff. - -“Well,” Mr. Wright spoke up, “some one has been quietly exchanging -company stock, turning some into gold, here and there. I think it was -Barney’s work under assumed names, to get his money into shape for -escape. We have made him see that we know how the cheap, shoddy supplies -are coming in, and other things: he will try to get away.” - -“The paying tellers of the town banks are on the watch. The first minute -he comes to close his accounts, as he will do before he takes a train, -we will be informed. Before he goes he may try to destroy the false -account books, and leave only conviction of his guilt, but no real, -legal proof.” - -“But—” Al was still somewhat puzzled. “Bob, how did you come to suspect -Barney at all?” - -“Do you remember me telling what was said when I flew with Lang to see -Father?” As Al and Curt nodded, Bob added, “Barney used a phrase about -‘crossed wires.’ Then I found crossed wires in Mr. Tredway’s ship last -night, and later Mr. Tredway found wires chafed, and led across each -other, by his brown ‘plane carburetor. It was the quickest way to -endanger a ship—the spark could set fire to free gas, and might not be -noticed in daylight. Barney had time to do it.” - -“When he went out? I see,” Curt said. “But, Bob, you thought some one -was listening, watching—you told Barney so.” - -“I still think some one was spying over our dinner—but it may have been -the manager, Jenks, who may be ‘in’ with Barney.” - -“Speak of the—” Mr. Tredway gave a warning glance as he began the old -adage, “speak of the devil, he’s sure to appear.” - -To their amazement, Barney came through the gates. He was calm, quiet, -not at all furtive or frightened. - -“What was the idea of that trick you played with the books?” He patted -the package he carried. Bob was confused. - -The arrival of the rigger, Sandy Jim, coming early to complete work on -the new airplane for which the owner was in such a hurry, enabled Bob to -hide his confusion as his father answered, quietly, “I’ll tell you that, -Barney.” - -“All right. Tell me.” - -Bob, who turned his head to hide his crimson face, and who went to greet -Sandy Jim, with Al, as an excuse to avoid an explanation that might -upset their plans, was surprised at the look on Sandy Jim’s face. - -The man was staring at Mr. Tredway as though he saw a ghost. - -“I—I—thought that man was——” - -“Hello, Sandy!” Al greeted, taking the amazement as natural, since -everyone around the plant supposed the owner to have gone under the mud -in the Silver Flash, “ready for work early.” - -“Ye—yeah! How’d he get here?” He jerked a thumb toward Mr. Tredway. - -“In a taxi.” - -Bob took over the explanation, giving Sandy enough of the former -happenings to enable the rigger to recover from his surprise. - -“I’m right glad,” the man stated, finally. “Now—Al, you get some of your -crowd together and fuel up this new crate—soon as a pilot shows up we -want it tested. I may have to make some changes in the wire tension and -balance—get busy, me lads!” - -Al eagerly agreed, seeing that their carefully planned “coup” had fallen -through. Barney, listening to Mr. Wright, to Mr. Tredway, to the -latter’s partner and the Chief of Police, trying, all together, to give -him a “third degree,” began to laugh. - -“That’s a good one!” He threw back his head, roaring his mirth. “So I’m -the culprit, eh? Ho-ho! Oh, my, that’s rich. Clever Sky Squad you have, -Wright! Ha-ha-ha-ho-ho! Here I am doing all I can to help my partner, -trying to solve the puzzles he couldn’t untangle—and I’m to be -arrested!” - -“No one spoke of arrest!” the Police Chief hedged. “Are you sending some -one else to get your banked gold?” - -“Banked gold?” Barney dropped his jaw as the question was shot at him. - -“Converting stock!” snapped Mr. Parsons. - -Barney stared and then smiled. “All the stock I ever had is in my safe -deposit box—come on! I’ll show you, at the bank.” - -They were puzzled. Arthur Tredway was eager to claim that his friend and -protege was innocent. - -The others were compelled to admit as Bob mentally decided, that -Barney’s face, manner and actions were open and honest. - -“That’s enough gas,” said the rigger. “Now, Al, fill her up with oil—I -want to see Mr. Tredway.” He descended from the aircraft, went to his -employer and with many protestations of delight gripped his hand. - -“See here,” he urged, “Mr. Tredway, this crate they’re fueling is in a -big rush. I have to make adjustments for balance before she is -delivered. Can’t you take her up?” - -“Why not?” Mr. Tredway was anxious to get into action since he had -agreed to “return to life.” - -“Hey—Bob—got her filled? Warm her up for Mr. Tredway.” - -Bob nodded, consulted the brand new instruments and noted that the fuel -and oil registered at “full.” - -“Gas on—switch off,” he told Al. “Whirl that prop, Al.” - -His brother did his bidding. It took several trials to start the new -engine but Bob got it going and then drew back the throttle to idling -speed and went over to rejoin the group. - -“I don’t think Arthur ought to take that crate up,” Barney was half -laughing. “Of course I know that the only wires I ever crossed was when -I flew my crates over telegraph lines—but he might think I had ’em -crossed in this ship!” - -“Oh, no!” Tredway laid a hand on his protege’s shoulder. - -But Bob was not watching Barney. - -His eyes were fixed on Sandy Jim, and he beckoned to his father. - -Hurriedly, rapidly, Bob spoke to his father. The detective nodded. - -“I’ll get the speedster of Mr. Tredway’s warmed up, too,” Bob said -softly, “in case——” - -To Al’s amazement and Curt’s astonishment the head of the Sky Squad -beckoned furiously. They followed. - -“See if there’s gas and oil in this,” he urged as he led them to the -ship he had flown the night before, returned to its field by Mr. -Parsons. “Listen, fellows——” - -As he busied himself making ready to start the motor, getting the nose -of the sport ‘plane into the wind, Bob explained. - -What he said startled his comrades. - -“While Mr. Tredway was joking Barney about the crossed wires, did you -see Jim’s face?” - -“The rigger?” Al exclaimed, “you mean—when he got white?” - -“Yes! Listen—gas off, switch on. Give her a spin, Curt.” - -As the engine took up its roar, he clambered in again, leaned far over -the edge to Curt, while Al climbed into the after seat. - -“Sandy Jim turned white,” he said above the engine hum. “I think we’ve -found the real—watch, fellows! Father is going to tell Barney in front -of Sandy Jim about the crossed wires.” - -“Jim is acting nervous,” added Curt. “He’s turning—the chief has grabbed -his arm. Now Dad is going to say to Barney that he’s guilty, that he -hates his benefactor because of the other man winning Barney’s girl—of -course we know it’s Jim, now—watch him! Jim’s being accused now—look!” - -Baffled, his face displaying his guilt, Sandy Jim fled to the new -airplane. - -Without an instant of delay Bob widened the throttle opening! - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII - THE SKY SQUAD WINS - - -Roaring across the runway, Bob’s one purpose was to use the airplane as -a missile, to run it into the other before Sandy Jim could rise. In that -he failed. The other ship was up, and Bob knew that he had so much speed -that he must take off or ram into a hangar. - -By a spurt of the cold engine, risking a stall to get his trucks over -the hangar, Bob soared. - -Leveling off, he glanced around. To his amazement he saw Al snapping on -his safety belt in the rear cockpit seat. Al waved a hand, pointing to -one side. And Bob looked. - -“He’s having trouble,” Al screamed. “He’s working on something!” - -Bob began to climb. If he could force Jim to earth as he had been herded -the night before— - -Jim saw his move, and with a demon’s venom drew a weapon and began to -fire. - -But Bob sideslipped, dropped steeply into a dive to come out of the -slip, and as he drew the ship to level flight, heard something strike -the prop, saw it shatter. - -Jim had flung the metal gun so that the airplane ran into it. - -Bob began to look for a way to spiral back to the testing field. His -propeller, with a blade shattered, was useless. - -Al screeched again. To the west, coming fast, was a ship they both -recognized. Lang was returning in Griff’s speedster. Also, as Al pointed -out, the cabin ‘plane was rising from the landing field. - -Al was so excited that he waggled the stick. - -Then Bob saw! - -Forestalled by the approach of Lang, with the other ship rising to -chase, with his engine functioning badly, and the resulting distraction -of attention, Jim’s safety was endangered. - -The very thing that he had done when he planned to urge Mr. Tredway to -test the ‘plane—crossing two wires—had prevented his escape. - -The new carburetor, leaking, dripped a rich gas and air mixture onto the -sparking wires—there was a flash of flames as Bob looked. - -Almost he forgot his own purpose, but with steeled will he held his -tight spiral, saw the cabin ship was out of his way, shot the field, and -landed. - -When Lang and the others joined him beside the smoking ruins of the new -ship, they saw Sandy Jim, who had tried to escape by jumping before the -flames reached him. - -Wrenched, broken, bruised, he was still able to talk. - -“Come through, Jim—what’s the truth?” asked the Chief. - -“I hated Tredway from the time he got the girl I wanted to marry,” Jim -panted, as they gave him water. “I went from bad to worse—went to the -dogs. I got in with tough men, tried prize-fighting, that’s how my face -got changed, so I wasn’t easy to remember and recognize. - -“Laid low for a while, then I gave up plans for revenge, and decided to -come to work here to be close to the woman I loved, only, last Fall, she -went away. So I knew Tredway had drove her to separate—” - -“You’re crazy! My wife went to Europe for a long visit with relatives in -France!” - -“Honest? Then all my hate was on a wrong idea. Well, you know most of -the rest. I damaged ships, worked with the bookkeeper and the supply -clerk and a manager of The Windsock to substitute cheap stuff for good, -sell the good and ruin the plant—but it was all no use—and started on a -wrong idea—no use to say I’m sorry—but—well, boys, handle me easy—I’m no -good, but I can feel pain!” - -In that fashion the culprit confessed. - -“I feel sorry for Jimmy-junior, and the man’s wife,” said Curt, after -the ambulance had taken Sandy Jim to the hospital. - -“Jimmy-junior isn’t his son,” explained Mr. Parsons. “He is the son of -Sandy’s brother, whom Jim took to raise. It would be a good idea if you -young men took him into the Sky Squad now, to take his mind off his -sorrow.” - -“But I saw his mother and I thought she was Jim’s wife,” said Al. - -“No, she’s Jimmy-junior’s mother, but Sandy’s sister-in-law.” - -“Then let’s go,” urged Bob. “It’s just about time to wake up our new -member.” - - - THE END - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery Crash, by Ardon Van Buren Powell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY CRASH *** - -***** This file should be named 55359-0.txt or 55359-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/3/5/55359/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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