THE NEWS LARRY BROUGHT.
“Don’t you take too much stock in Larry bringing news,” observed Andy,
still letting his eyes rove all around the walls of the shed, as though
striving to discover somewhere the object of his dearest wish.
“Oh, come!” said Frank, “you’re going to run him down just because his
guess about your wrench falling in that mudhole turned out bad. Why, at
the time I thought it must be the truth.”
“But Larry is always a false alarm,” declared Andy. “Like as not now he
thinks we don’t know a thing about that plagued old biplane, and he’s
just bursting with importance.”
The object of this conversation now came wheeling up to the door of
the shed. He did seem to be trembling from some cause or other. It
might have been his rapid pedaling over the road from town or else the
immensity of the news he was bearing.
“Hey, fellows!” he cried, as he came puffing inside, “don’t suppose
you’ve heard about it.”
“Punk! You’re a back number, Larry,” exclaimed Andy, quickly. “Why,
we watched ’em circle around the field from here; and Elephant saw ’em
come down. You can’t tell us anything new about Puss Carberry’s new
biplane, I guess!”
Larry looked surprised.
“Why,” he said, “I hadn’t heard anything about that. Do you mean to
tell me they’ve been and beat you up? And actually got back to solid
earth again without breaking their necks? Well, that is news!”
“But look here,” said Frank, “you were going to tell us something. Has
there been another prize offered? Perhaps there may have cropped up a
dozen other aeroplanes that are being built for the competition. Seems
to be the rage around Bloomsbury just now. What is it all about, Larry?”
“Oh! what I had to tell don’t seem to have any connection at all with
airships,” said Larry. “The funny thing about it is how they ever
managed to keep it a secret all morning, up to noon. And Chief Waller
has been working hard all the time. Possibly now, you may have seen
some of his men passing along the road here, mounted on motorcycles?
They’re scouring the whole blessed county for the rogues!”
“Rogues!” exclaimed the impetuous Andy; “now you have got us wondering
to beat the band! What’s going on in Bloomsbury? Sure the old town is
waking out of her Rip Van Winkle sleep with a rush.”
“You just bet she is,” affirmed Larry, with a grin. “And when Old Home
Week comes along, everybody in the whole U. S. will be talking of the
great doings here.”
“But get along with you, Larry. Sure, you’re slower than molasses in
winter. Do you want to have us drop in a fit? Can’t you see we’re just
trembling with anxiety? No more chaff now, but put us wise!” and Andy
shook the newcomer, as though really believing he ought to be aroused
from a trance.
“There was a robbery last night!” began the other.
“What! in Bloomsbury?” asked Frank, surprised, for such a thing was
seldom known in connection with the town on Lake Sunrise.
“Leffingwell’s jewelry store was entered, and cleaned out! They say
the thieves must have taken thousands of dollars’ worth of stuff. They
carried it off in two suit-cases, too; though I don’t know just how
the police found that out. It was kept quiet up to noon in the hope
that the rascals might be apprehended. Every neighboring town has been
informed by ’phone or wire. Police are on the lookout everywhere,
trains are being watched, and it is believed that the thieves are still
hiding somewhere near Bloomsbury, waiting till the chase cools down to
make their escape.”
Larry got this off much after the manner of a small boy at school. He
had evidently rehearsed his speech while booming along on his wheel.
The three boys stared at each other.
“Why,” remarked Frank, “seems to me they’re beginning early. We had
warning that the chances were there would be a raft of thieves wander
this way next week, on account of the big crowds expected. Everybody
was told not to leave things around loose, and to lock their houses
when out on the streets. But these sly fellows knew enough to slip in
ahead of time, when folks were napping.”
“My! but they must have made a great haul,” observed Elephant. “I’ve
often looked in at that window display of diamonds and bracelets and
watches, thinking that it must be worth a heap. And do you mean to say
they’re all gone up the flue?”
“Cleaned the safe out. They were experienced crooks too, because
they knew how to open that big safe without the police hearing the
explosion!” Larry went on.
“Explosion!” echoed Andy, his mouth opening in astonishment.
“Sure. They blew the doors off with dynamite, covering the safe with
blankets in the most up-to-date style. Must have timed it to go off
just when that freight puffs up the hill, and makes such a big row.
It’s waked me many a night.”
“I know,” declared Andy, “it goes along at half-past two in the
morning. Then it must have been at that time the job was pulled off.
And there isn’t any train until six. Are they sure the robbers didn’t
go on that?”
“Yes,” Larry continued, “because Chief Waller happened to be at the
station then, and nobody got on that he didn’t know. Besides, they have
found out several other things.”
“Tell us what they were, please?” asked Elephant, edging closer.
“Well, a little runabout of an auto was found broken down and abandoned
not more than half a mile away from here. It was headed out of town.
No owner has turned up for it as yet. And the Chief says he is sure it
must have belonged to the two robbers. Something happened just when
they were leaving town with their boodle; and they had to duck into the
woods to hide.”
“Well, I only hope they find ’em then,” said Andy. “Because I don’t
just like the idea of having such fellows hanging around. Makes you
have a queer feeling if you happen to be out late on the road. Ugh!
guess I’ll stick close till they get some news about that bunch.”
“I heard the Chief had a clue that may turn out valuable,” Larry
went on. “On the floor of the back room where the safe was located
they picked up a crumpled paper. It didn’t belong to anybody in
Leffingwell’s, and is believed to have fallen out of the pocket of one
of the robbers while at work. You know that could happen, boys.”
Whereupon the Bird cousins exchanged glances, and smiled; for they
remembered the card which had been found on the floor of the shed, and
which they felt positive had been carelessly dropped by one of those
vandals to whom they owed the destruction of the canvas covers of the
planes.
“But what was the paper?” questioned practical Frank.
“Oh! yes,” Larry replied, “and that ought to interest you boys,
because, you see, it was a pilot’s license, granted by some French
Society of Aviators to a Jules Garrone. So it looks like the owner
might have been reduced to robbing a store. Of course, when they
find out who he is, and where he stays, he’ll have to explain how his
license happens to be lying around loose in a place that has been
robbed.”
“What beastly luck,” grunted Andy. “Here we’re just breaking into the
honored ranks of air navigators, when some scamp has to go and disgrace
his calling. Don’t I hope they get him, though, and send him up for a
good term.”
“You blood-thirsty chap,” laughed Frank. “Just as if it had anything
to do with the honor of the calling we’ve adopted as our own. Every
profession has its black sheep--ministers, lawyers, doctors, all alike.
All we have to do is to make good, and leave the rest. But let’s get
busy, Andy. If we expect to have everything in apple-pie trim by
tonight, we have little time to lose discussing things, even if they
are thrilling.”
Frank seemed to be a trifle more thoughtful than ordinary as he
continued his interrupted labors. Andy kept up a running fire of
comment with the other boys as long as they remained. Finally both
Elephant and Larry went away, and the cousins were left to their work.
Although they stepped outside about every half hour religiously during
the afternoon, and each time scanned the tree-tops over in the quarter
where the biplane had appeared just before noon, they saw no more of
the flier.
Frank was of the opinion that, having tested it out, Percy Carberry had
discovered certain weak stays that needed strengthening; and that the
owners of the new air craft were putting in their time doing this.
Andy showed his gratification plainly.
“I was afraid they’d just come hovering over us here,” he said, as the
sun drew closer down toward the horizon, and the biplane had not been
sighted. “And it would have badgered me some to have the guys mocking
us, and taunting us. Now they can’t go up, because there’s too much
wind for greenhorns to buck against. And by tomorrow we’re just going
to be on the map ourselves, mark me.”
“We certainly are,” added Frank, “if nothing happens to prevent it.”
“Why,” said the other, “what could happen to break us up?”
“Oh! I don’t know, but there’s many a slip between the cup and the
lip.” And that was all he would say; but Andy felt that his cousin must
be thinking of something definite, to have spoken as he did.
Evening arrived. As before the boys took turns going in to meals. This
time Andy insisted that his cousin be the first to break his fast.
“I’m as hungry as a wolf,” he admitted, “but all the same you’ve just
got to go in first this time. We’ve got gasolene in the tank, the
planes are finished, and if it was tomorrow, there’s nothing to prevent
our shoving the little beauty out into the open right now, and taking
a slant off over the field. However will I manage to sleep tonight, I
don’t know.”
Frank, knowing the stubborn nature of his cousin, did not waste time in
trying to combat his wish, but started for the house at once.