_The Arrow in Flames_
Although no definite results had yet been accomplished, Linda and
Louise felt when they left the little French Convent in Canada that
they were on the way to victory. All that was necessary now was to get
in touch with Linda's father, who, through his lawyer and detectives,
would bring Bess Hulbert to justice.
The facts as they saw them were surprisingly clear and simple, and
could not fail to convince the police.
First of all, the firm of J. W. Carwein had declared that they had
bought the goods in the belief that they were made in the United States.
Secondly, the firm had been deceived. The goods were not made in this
country, but in Canada, as the girls had just proved by their visit to
the Convent.
Thirdly, they had been bought by a girl in an airplane, who represented
herself as an agent of Mr. Carlton.
The only missing link in the chain was the actual proof that the girl
in the airplane was Bess Hulbert.
Yet all the evidence pointed that way: her visit to Plattsburg, her
taking the Moth to Canada, her conversation with her brother, at the
hotel, in which she referred to her business as dangerous and liable
to end in disgrace, and finally her interest in Linda's handkerchief a
month or so previous.
Surely no one would doubt such evidence as this! But if the police
refused to arrest Miss Hulbert, it would be easy enough to send a
picture to the Convent for identification. That would prove everything
conclusively.
So both girls felt certain, as they stepped into the Arrow, that
they had been successful, that they were about to save Mr. Carlton's
business. And this fact meant joy to themselves. Now they could plan
again on their flight across the Atlantic; now it would surely be safe
to put in the order for the Bellanca which Linda had set her heart upon
having.
"Let's don't bother to go back by way of Montreal," said Linda,
exultantly, as she started the motor and taxied along the frozen field.
"Let's head straight for Spring City!"
"But do you know the way?" inquired Louise, as the plane rose into the
air.
"Yes, I guess so. I have a map--oh, not the kind Ted makes, but good
enough. We'll fly across country, and stop when we get tired."
"But it's getting dark, Linda," objected her companion.
"We can't help that, Lou! It would be getting dark anyway, even if we
were headed for Montreal."
"But this is strange country. So many woods, too. A forced landing
would be terrible, Linda."
"Who said anything about a forced landing?" laughed the other girl. She
felt thrilled and exhilarated; the cold, fresh air against her cheeks
whipped them to a lovely color, and her eyes were shining. She was in
the mood for adventure tonight. But when she realized that her chum was
dubious, she decided to go easy. Perhaps Louise was tired.
"Lou dear," she shouted, "if you're nervous, we'll go to Montreal, and
put up for the night. Say the word--but say it quickly!"
"No! No! I'm for the quickest way home. And I have a lot of confidence
in you, Linda."
"You better have, if you mean to cross the ocean with me. We'll have
to get used to night flying, Lou, if we hope to succeed!"
"I know," agreed the other, as she settled down into her seat to try to
keep warm.
Darkness came on, but the sky was cloudless, and the stars shone out
brilliantly. Linda kept her eye on her chart, but although she did not
tell Louise, she was not sure where they were. Had they crossed into
New York state--were they flying in the northern part, or were they
still in Canada? Her goal was Syracuse; she hoped to reach it before
midnight.
The trees were still thick everywhere, and they were flying about
fifteen hundred feet high. All of a sudden, without any warning, the
engine missed and sputtered, and stopped dead!
Louise, who for the last five minutes had been peacefully dozing,
awoke with a start at the abrupt cessation of noise. Just as a Pullman
traveler will sleep while a train is moving, and wake up at a station,
so the silence affected Louise. It was positively uncanny.
"What's the matter, Linda?" she whispered, hoarsely.
"Out of gas," replied the pilot, grimly.
"Then--then--" She clutched her companion's arm, desperately--"Then we
jump?"
Before Linda could reply, the motor took hold again.
"No! Not yet!" she shouted, above the welcome noise. "I have turned on
the reserve supply--it's good for about twenty minutes. We'll try to
land."
She circled about and came lower, but the prospect was disastrous.
Nothing but woods! Trees everywhere! She remembered bitterly the
occasion when her father had presented her with the Arrow, as a
graduation gift, and had remarked shrewdly that she would get to hate
trees. How right he was!
But she must not lose track of the time--the precious twenty minutes
that might be all that were left to her in this world. Louise, with the
glasses, was peering down towards the ground. But there were no lights,
no towns, no signs of civilization anywhere. Nothing but trees.
When only eight minutes remained, Linda decided in desperation to climb
again. If they were to use their parachutes successfully, they must
attain a comfortable height.
The ascent only served to make Louise more panic-stricken. She grabbed
Linda's arm, and held to it like a death-clasp.
"Where are you going, Linda?" she shrieked. "Are you crazy?"
Linda shook her head. It was surprising how calm she felt.
"Get ready to release your parachute," she commanded. "When we get high
enough, we are going to jump. Have you your flashlight handy?"
"Yes. All right, Linda." Her voice shook with emotion.
"It'll be all right, Lou dear! I've jumped before--it isn't bad. And
you've been taught just what to do."
At four thousand feet up in the air, Linda gave her the signal, and
Louise stepped out over the right side of the plane.
Then Linda turned the nose of the Arrow up, and stepped off herself,
falling about a hundred feet, head downward, before she pulled the
rip-cord which opened the parachute, and jerked her into an upright
position. Off to one side of them, the plane was falling rapidly, in
a series of spirals; for a moment Linda had the tense fear that it
might strike her companion or herself. Holding out her flashlight, and
watching the ground below, she floated gently away from the plane,
landing finally in a clearing perhaps fifty yards away from Louise.
"Lou, are you safe?" she shouted, gasping.
"O.K.!" was the laughing reply, that brought a warm surge of relief to
her heart.
With the aid of their flash-lights the girls disentangled themselves
from their cords, and ran towards each other. Suddenly they stopped; a
blaze of light flashed in the sky, and they saw the beloved Arrow in
flames!
"Oh, poor Linda!" cried Louise, rushing to her chum in sympathy. "What
rotten luck!"
Tears came into the young aviatrix's eyes, and she hugged her chum
tightly in her grief. It was as if she had lost a very dear friend. For
a breathless moment they watched the blazing plane, fearful lest it
would drop on them, or set the woods on fire. But gradually the light
died, and what was left of the Arrow dropped to the ground at least a
mile away.
"I guess we're lucky at that," Linda finally said, shivering.
"I was sure we'd be killed," Louise admitted. "It seems so much worse
to have an accident at night--so much more terrifying."
They stood still for a moment and looked about them. A light covering
of snow was on the ground, and on the leafless branches of the trees.
In every direction the woods stretched out in desolation. The girls had
not the faintest idea where they were.
"Oh, I'm so cold!" complained Louise. "If only we had a fire!"
"My matches!" remarked Linda, regretfully. "My matches that I packed so
carefully! A whole box.... Well, next time I'll see that they are in my
pocket. Lucky we have our flash-lights--and no sprained ankles. Come
on, Lou, we must walk, or we'll freeze to death."
"But where are we going?"
"Anywhere--to keep warm with the exercise, and maybe happen on some
hut or house. We daren't sleep tonight, Lou! Oh, if, we only had those
blankets!"
"And those baked beans!"
"Shucks!" exclaimed Linda. "Why didn't I think to throw some stuff out
before we left the plane! All the mail carriers do. If they have to
jump, they drop their mail bags first."
"Too late now to think of that. But wasn't it lucky we had something to
eat at the Convent?"
"It surely was. I wish we had eaten twice as much."
With their arms tightly linked together, the girls were pressing
forward now at an even pace, as if they had cheerfully made up their
minds to walk all night long. Sometimes they would step into thick
piles of dried leaves, but otherwise the ground was hard, except for
an inch or so of snow. Often they encountered ice, and their feet grew
numb with the cold.
Louise, who had not wanted Linda to take the unknown course, had said
nothing about the cause of the accident, for fear of hurting her chum's
feelings. But Linda's mind had been busily working on the explanation
ever since the tank went dry.
"Lou," she said finally, as they walked on through the darkness, "I
think I have the explanation."
"What explanation? How to get out of these woods?"
"No, no. Of the reason why our gas ran out. I should have had enough to
get to Syracuse. But do you remember hearing a plane land near to ours,
while we were in the Convent?"
"Yes, of course. We both saw it."
"Well, do you know what I believe? I think that was Bess Hulbert, in
the Flying Club's Moth--and it was she who was following us all the way
to the Convent."
"Linda!" cried Louise, in amazement. "But how could she ever know we
were here? Not that I'd put it past her--but how could she possibly
find out, or guess what we were up to?"
"I don't know, except that she may have seen us--or our names on the
hotel register at Plattsburg. People who are committing crimes are
always on the watch, you know, expecting to be caught."
"How could she ever dump out our gas, in so short a time?"
"She didn't. She put a little hole in the gas tank, probably, so that
the gas would leak out slowly. That would be a much meaner thing to do
than to cut a strut, or injure the propeller, because either of those
things would keep us from going up in the air without discovering it,
and we wouldn't learn our danger from a leak without flying a while.
Besides, whatever happened would happen when we were some distance
away--so that she couldn't possibly be blamed! And it would be too late
to do anything."
"The sneak!" denounced Louise, feeling almost hot for a second in her
anger. "You're right, Linda--I'm sure you are! But really, it was
intended murder!"
"Probable murder--if we couldn't make a landing or jump. But she thinks
we are so inexperienced that we couldn't do either.... Yes, I really
believe Miss Hulbert thinks we're dead now!"
"And won't she get fooled!" exulted Louise. "Once we get back to
civilization, we'll do plenty to her!"
"If we get back to civilization," said Linda, with the first note of
despair creeping into her voice. Their feet were so cold, they began to
ache dreadfully, and the woods were as dense and as hopeless as when
they first began to walk. They slackened their pace, until Louise's
feet fairly seemed to drag. She stopped abruptly.
"I just can't go on, Linda," she sighed. "My feet hurt so terribly!"
"I know," answered her companion, sympathetically. "We might take off
our shoes and rub them with snow. But if we once stop, we'll never be
able to start again--and then we'll surely freeze."
It was a gruesome alternative; they looked at each other in dismay.
"Let's go very slowly, and hang on to each other," urged Linda. "The
night can't last forever, and the sunshine will bring warmth."
"It's the longest night I ever knew," said Louise, drearily. "But
morning will be worse, because we'll be that much hungrier."
Linda pressed her hand; there was no use trying to cheer the other
girl with hopes, that she was in no mood to believe. So they went on
doggedly.
For perhaps half an hour they continued in silence; then once again
Louise stopped abruptly, her hand rigid in Linda's. There were
footsteps behind them!
"A bear!" she whispered, in fright.
Pulling her cautiously aside, Linda broke off a stick from a tree, and
turned about to face the enemy. There was no use trying to run--why
they could hardly hobble. And in the darkness, what hope was there of
finding a tree to climb?
To her intense amazement, she saw nothing, and she dared not turn on
her flashlight. Tensely she waited, until a shot rang out in the woods
and broke the stillness of the night. A gun at least meant a human
hand, and both girls immediately let out a piteous cry of "Help!"
"Yo--ho!" came the welcome, answering reply!