BATTLE IN THE SKY
While those on the ground were so occupied with the fight they did not
notice a battle going on above their heads; a battle between two planes.
When the plane landed with the smugglers, Jack was with Paul and
Wallace. As soon as the first shot was fired, his first thought was
that the crooks might use the plane to escape in. So he whispered to
his two companions that he would return to his former station and watch
the road; possibly, others of the gang might drive up and it would be
best to spy them before they had a chance of becoming acquainted with
the situation. Paul thought it was an excellent idea and he permitted
Jack to carry out his plan.
As Jack moved noiselessly away, Wallace wanted to enter the conflict
and Paul restrained him. Then Paul went away and left Wallace by
himself. The latter immediately moved into position and was going to
fire when his attention was attracted by a creeping shadow at the
farther end of the field. By the form and outline of the moving
figure, he guessed it was Jack. And for that reason, he withheld his
fire—so that the attention of the smugglers might not be attracted to
the figure moving toward the machine.
Jack was a short distance away from the plane when he became aware that
someone else—almost at a right angle to him—was also creeping toward
the machine. He flattened out in the grass to wait and see who the
other creeping figure was. For a short while he lay there hugging the
earth, not daring to move or lift his head even slightly to see who the
creeping figure might be. After about five minutes, a pebble fell near
him and Jack flattened out still more. In a minute another pebble fell
near him, followed by a hissing sound. He lifted his head very slightly
and out of the corner of his eye saw the other person wave a finger
at him. He decided that it must be one of the boys and he continued
dragging himself across the earth toward the plane.
Jack and William crept up to the under-carriage of the plane almost
simultaneously. William whispered, “Inside.”
Without any further hesitation, William swung himself up and into the
plane. Jack waited. A hissing sound came to his ears and he knew it was
the signal for him to follow. Up he went and into the plane. Both boys
heaved a sigh of relief. William got into the pilot’s seat. “Now to
take her up into the air,” he muttered.
“You think you can fly her? She’s a pretty large ship, you know.”
“I can try. In the meanwhile, you go in the back and look around.”
Jack nodded and proceeded to obey. William studied the dashboard as
well as all the other gadgets everywhere around him. Though he had
never flown this type of ship, he was sure he knew how. Major McCarthy
had explained it to him in detail and he now knew exactly what to
do. He only hoped that the motor wouldn’t falter or need warming up,
because that would necessitate the loss of precious time. But he didn’t
think so because the motor was still warm from its previous trip.
He was right. Everything went off beautifully. Every single gadget
responded to his slightest touch. The motor roared, the ship turned
into the wind and giving the ship a sufficient run, it took off like a
great bird winging into the sky.
William was thrilled and exhilarated. He felt the power flowing into
him through his finger tips which rested lightly on the joystick. Jack
came forward “How is she flying?” he asked.
“Beautifully. What did you find back there?”
“Nothing much. Some boxes, a couple of small wooden cases, two
revolvers in one of the lockers, and also two boxes of cartridges.”
“You had better bring the revolvers and cartridges here. Most likely
we’ll have no opportunity of using them but we might as well be
prepared.”
“I thought so too,” answered Jack. “I have them right here.”
“Good.”
They were climbing. When they reached an altitude of about four
thousand feet, William guided the machine away so that his companions
and all the others below would not see the plane and would think that
he had flown away. He flew in an extended circle and kept circling
around and around. Jack asked, “What are we going to do now?”
“I don’t know myself. What do you suggest?”
“How about flying to the airport and getting Major McCarthy and maybe
the police?”
“I don’t know whether that would be of any help.” responded William.
“By the time we come back, their help would be of no use. On the
other hand, if we stick around here and watch how the situation below
unfolds itself, we may be of some help. They may need our revolvers and
ammunition and we might drop them. Or they might need us for something
else.”
“That’s true. But then again, if we should land, perhaps those
smugglers will get the ship again and make their escape.”
“I can fix that very easily,” explained William. “I’ll cut the
ignition.”
“That’s right. Never thought of it.”
The boys continued their circling flight. Some five minutes elapsed
when William caught sight of another plane making its appearance on the
eastern horizon. Coming nearer, they saw that the machine was heading
directly towards them. “You think he’s coming at us?” asked Jack.
“Let’s wait and see.”
The plane was soon upon them. The boys recognized it as a Bristol, a
small craft but possessing a powerful motor, modeled after army pursuit
planes. The Bristol flanked the boys on their right side and flew
along. The pilot was making signs to William which the latter could not
understand; besides he was too intent on piloting his plane to pay any
attention to him. He called to his companion, “Can you make out what he
wants, Jack?”
Jack was already at the window and watching the other craft. “No,” he
answered. “He holds his fist up and moves it in a circular motion and
then points down. I can’t understand what that means. Can you?”
“Perhaps he wants to land and is asking us about a safe place to land.”
“I doubt it,” answered Jack. “He doesn’t seem to be in any trouble.
And coming from the direction he did, he must have passed the Stanhope
airport.” There was a pause while Jack continued to watch. “I think
he’s using his wireless,” he called out. “See if you can pick him up.”
William inserted a plug and turned a disc on the dashboard. Half a
minute later, William nosed his plane into a dive and was off. But the
Bristol was right on its tail. “That guy is a confederate of those
smugglers,” hissed William. “He was asking if the stuff was on board
and we were ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“He didn’t say. Just asked if we were ready.”
The next moment they heard a sharp sound and knew that the pilot of the
Bristol had fired at them, the bullet burying itself in some part of
the fuselage or wings. William brought the nose up and began to climb.
Simultaneously he cried, “Load the revolvers, Jack, and see if you can
fire back.”
William wondered what he could do to get the pursuing plane off his
trail. He banked and dived again and came up climbing. Jack broke a
window, stuck his hand out and fired point blank at the nose of the
Bristol. He pulled the trigger fast and emptied his revolver. A bullet
must have struck close to the pilot, for the next instant the Bristol
dived.
The Bristol was a much faster plane, easier to manoeuver than the
craft the boys were in. “What are you going to do now?” queried Jack
anxiously.
“I’m going up into the clouds and try to shake him.”
But the next instant Jack cried out, “He’s coming right up and it looks
as though he intends to hit you amidships.”
“Fire when he comes close enough, and when I hear you fire the first
shot I’ll bank right and dive.”
Jack pulled the trigger and William performed a half arc and dived;
the Bristol zoomed past so close that Jack held his breath. William
levelled out and began to climb again, hoping this time to reach
the clouds. But again the Bristol was upon them and sending bullets
into the fuselage and wings. William, however, kept on climbing and
Jack frustrated the other fellow’s getting on their tail by firing
point blank at the nose of the Bristol. For a moment the enemy craft
disappeared and then William discovered it overhead. They heard the
muffled thud of bullets sinking into their craft but doing no harm.
The next instant William cried, “He’s flying away.”
“You think he has given up?”
“Maybe he—” William left off in the middle of the sentence and gasped
as he watched the Bristol execute an Immelmann turn. He intended to fly
straight into the craft, firing as he did so and hoping to hit the gas
tank, and dive just in time to avoid a crash. William was aware of the
manoeuver. “You better lay low, Jack,” he cried.
The two machines flew against each other. Just as soon as the enemy
fired the first shot he banked and pulled the nose of the ship up.
He still had to climb a thousand feet to get among the clouds. He
decided to risk it even if the Bristol got on his tail. “The other
pilot certainly must be a clever one,” he thought. Besides, the Bristol
was a lighter and faster craft and with the other fellow’s obvious
experience, he couldn’t help being out-manoeuvered. His safety depended
upon getting into the clouds and shaking the enemy. “Jack,” cried
William, “is he following?”
“Yes,” was the reply, “but he doesn’t seem to be decided what to do
next. He has stopped firing.”
“Perhaps he has run out of ammunition.”
“Perhaps. But he also seems to be aware of your effort to get among
the clouds. He is following closely though.”
William glanced and saw that he was rapidly approaching an altitude of
eight thousand feet. Seeing a cloud which appeared like a mountain of
cotton wool in front of him, he headed for it. Billow upon billow of
clouds rose for thousands of feet above them. In a minute the machine
plunged into the cloud mass and they saw nothing but white all around
them. They flew into the mouth of a deep cloud valley. Directly below
them they saw the snowy floor rolling away. On either side were white
walls that rose upwards to the blue ceiling of the sky. In a few
moments, the machine plunged nose first into another mountainous cloud.
William executed a left bank.
“What are you doing?” questioned Jack.
“Doubling back on my track.”
“What for? He may be out there waiting for you.”
“Let him. If he is I’ll dive for the clouds again. If he is not there
and we have lost him, then all the better. We want to be as close to
the cave as possible.”
William timed himself. After seven or eight minutes of flying he called
out, “I’m getting out of the clouds.”
And the next instant they dived. Out in the open again, both boys
looked everywhere for the enemy plane but there wasn’t a speck in
sight. Both boys heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at each other. “You
did it this time,” asserted Jack.
“There’s the clearing,” announced William and pointed.
“That’s right. Are you going to land now?”
“I’ll first circle the field a couple of times.”
He proceeded to do so. Some moments later, William cried, “Look they
are waving.”
“Yes, it’s the boys. I can recognize Paul, Wallace, Mr. Woods. They all
seem to be there.”
“I’m going to land,” announced William.
“All right.”
William fixed his attention on the field and prepared. Jack remarked,
“Wonder why they are hiding?”
“Perhaps because they are not sure we are the ones flying this ship.”
“Very probable.”
William made a perfect landing and Jack and he jumped out of the plane
waving their handkerchiefs. The boys ran out of their hiding places
and cheered the two young aviators. Tom Woods looked on benignly and
laughed. Funny, but he had gotten to like these boys a great deal;
it’ll be tough, he mused, to leave them when the whole mess was finally
cleared up.