_Freedom_
Ted Mackay did not sleep well on the night of the twenty-eighth of
December. It was one o'clock before he gave up expecting a telegram and
finally went to bed. Even then he tossed restlessly.
Something, he thought, had surely happened to Linda Carlton and Louise
Haydock. Had they merely been forced down in some lonely spot where
there was no means of telegraphing, or had they met with some more
serious accident? He was up and dressed at dawn on the twenty-ninth,
wiring his firm for leave of absence to go in search of the lost flyers.
He decided not to telephone Miss Carlton or Mrs. Haydock yet; no need
to worry them until it was absolutely necessary. Accordingly, he took
off early in the morning of December twenty-ninth for Montreal, in his
cabin mono-plane, equipped with skis for the snow.
The snow began to fall steadily that afternoon, and continued on
through the night. But though Ted reached Montreal before dark, there
was no news of two girls at any of the airports. If they had arrived,
their plane would have been housed in some hangar in the city or near
about it.
The snow was falling so fast and thick that Ted realized that night
flying would be foolish. Forcing himself to go to bed, he left a call
at the hotel desk for four o'clock the following day.
His first stop, at dawn on December thirtieth, was the French Convent.
There at least he got some information: the girls had been there, safe
and unharmed, two days previous. But where were they now?
Air travel was difficult in the snowstorm, but he shuddered to think of
them alone in the woods, if something had gone wrong with their Arrow.
How much food were they carrying, and what about blankets? How long
could they endure the cold?
Fortunately his plane was built for low flying, and he went carefully,
just clearing the tree-tops, looking everywhere for a wrecked plane.
About noon he was rewarded. Off on a hill, in a bank of snow, he found
the blackened remains of the gallant little Pursuit. But, thank
Heaven, no signs of human bodies in the wreckage!
He spent perhaps half an hour searching and calling his lost friends,
but when he received no response, he decided that the best thing for
him to do was to go back to the nearest town and report the wreck by
wire, and send out an S.O.S. for searching parties. It was this account
that Bess Hulbert read in the early afternoon papers and announced to
the Flying Club members.
Ted lost no time in sending the communication, and returning to the
scene of the disaster, resolving to circle the district again and
again, watching for signals. There was still hope that the girls were
alive.
About two o'clock he sighted the little cabin in the woods and hunted
for a spot to land. This might mean protection for Linda and Louise,
from the terrible storm. How he hoped that they had found it, and were
now warm and safe inside!
Five minutes later he left his plane and walked excitedly to the hut.
But because of the snow his approach was noiseless, and the girls, who
happened to be cooking in the little kitchen at the time, had no idea
that rescue was at hand.
Ted lifted his fist and banged on the heavy door.
"Who can it be?" gasped Louise, dropping the tin cup she was holding,
and spilling flour all over the floor. "If it were that sergeant, he'd
open the door. We can't possibly."
"Of course not," replied Linda. "But let's go see who it is. Those bars
won't keep us from looking out."
Breathlessly they dashed to the living-room window, and tapped against
the glass, for they could not see the door in their position.
Bliss, oh, bliss! A moment later they recognized the dear familiar form
of Ted Mackay!
"Unbar the door!" shouted Louise, giving a leap into the air. "We're
locked in!"
Ted's mouth opened in amazement, but he heard what they said, and
instantly went over and did what he was told. Then he stepped inside,
and, wet and covered with snow as he was, both girls flung their arms
around him and cried in rapture.
"Angel!" exclaimed Louise.
"Messenger from Heaven!" added Linda.
They released him, and made him take off his coat, and come to the fire
to get warm.
It took an hour to tell all the details of their hazardous adventure,
which had ended in this most surprising way, with imprisonment, and
while they talked, they ate the hot-cakes and the coffee which Linda
and Louise were making when Ted arrived. Then the latter glanced at his
watch and said they had better be starting.
"Ought we to wash these dishes?" inquired Linda, when they finished,
and went for their coats and leggings and helmets.
"I should say not!" thundered Louise, with a vengeance. "I'd like to
smash and dirty everything in the old cabin!"
"Don't forget it saved our lives," Linda reminded her, laughingly.
But they did not wait. Time was precious now; they wanted to take off
before it was any darker, or the snow grew too deep. Opening the door,
they stepped outside just as two men on horseback drew up to the cabin.
Marshall and the sergeant had returned.
"What's this?" demanded the latter, in a gruff, insulting tone. "Making
a get-away, are you?" He glanced suspiciously at Ted. "Maybe you don't
know these young women are under arrest!"
"Are they?" retorted Ted. "Well, so are you, for that matter! For not
reporting that wreck two days ago! Don't you know it's a government
regulation that wrecked planes must be reported as soon as possible?"
The man shuffled nervously, kicking the snow against his horse.
"Well, I'm reportin' it," he asserted, defiantly.
"Today? You bet you'll report it today! It's two days too late, though!"
"They're smugglers," he sneered, scornfully. "Smugglers is enemies to
the country, and don't deserve no consideration!"
"We'll see about that!" replied Ted masterfully, as he glowered at the
girls' accuser. Linda and Louise stood quietly by, watching him in
admiration. How grand it was to have a friend like this!
"You girls come along with me," snarled the officer. "I'm takin' you to
the Court House."
"I'll take them to the Court House," amended Ted. "In my plane. You
needn't be afraid I won't show up! I have plenty I want to report
myself."
Sullenly the man agreed to the offer, for he still had no desire to
take that young spit-fire, as he called Louise, on his horse. Waiting
only to see the plane take off into the air, he galloped away with his
friend, Marshall.
Linda and Louise felt so gay and happy that they shouted and sang
during the entire flight. It was close quarters in the little cabin
plane, but who cared? They were free--or soon would be free--once more!
Though Ted smiled at their joviality, he felt more like praying. He
was so grateful, so relieved that they were alive and safe, that he
was filled with a solemn sense of thanksgiving. For he realized what a
terrible fate they had escaped in jumping from that empty plane.
They landed at the little town where the sergeant had directed them,
and Ted wired immediately to Mrs. Haydock and to Mr. Carlton, and to
Linda's aunt. Then they went to the Court House, arriving before the
men on horseback.
There, at last, the girls were allowed to tell their story, which a
kindly judge listened to in righteous anger. And when Linda and Louise
produced all their evidence, by going into detail about Mr. Carlton's
business, and their own reason for the flight, they had no difficulty
in convincing him of their innocence. Things would not go easily with
this fellow, who had locked them up without hearing their version, or
reporting them immediately to the authorities. The judge said he would
see that the man was punished, when he finally arrived.
"Do we need bail or anything?" asked Linda, who knew nothing about
courts or legal matters. "We have wired to our Dads, and they'll
probably be right up here, as fast as a train can bring them."
"No, that is not necessary," smiled the judge. "Because I am convinced
of your innocence.... You better wire your fathers not to come--it will
only delay your return.... But before you go, I should to like to hear
more of the real criminal, this woman who, you say, has been smuggling.
Tell me her name, and give me a description of her."
"Her name is Bess Hulbert," replied Louise. "But we're pretty sure
she goes under an assumed name--possibly 'Anna Smith'." She was
thinking of Linda's conversation in Plattsburg over the telephone, with
Hofstatter's mother. "And probably by this time she has changed it
again."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about her any more," added Linda.
"The minute she hears we are safe, she'll know her game is up, and
give up the underhand business."
"Just the same, she ought to be caught and punished!" cried Louise,
vindictively. She had said nothing about their belief of the cause of
their leaking tank, for after all they had no proof, and this judge
could do nothing. But for that reason more than any, Louise wanted her
punished.
Promising the judge that they would try to get hold of Miss Hulbert's
picture, the girls shook hands with him and left, accompanied by Ted
Mackay, who was grinning harder than usual now. Everything was so right!
Dusk had set in already, though the storm had passed, and a beautiful
sunset was fading from the sky, promising a clear day for the flyers
tomorrow.
"I think we had better rest tonight," said Ted, as he followed the
girls into a taxicab. "You girls can stay at the hotel--there is only
one, for this is a small place--and I'll get a room over near the
airport. I want to spend some time checking up on my plane, and I think
I'll try to get somebody to help me. It's a long flight back to Spring
City."
"Oh!" cried Linda, rapturously. "Won't it be marvelous to be home? I'm
glad we have a couple of days before we have to go back to school!"
"Sure you don't mind flying?" asked Ted. "You're not nervous, after
your narrow escape?"
"We've forgotten that," replied Louise. "Forgotten everything except
that we are eligible for the Caterpillar Club now."
"Linda has been for a long time--since her first flight up," Ted
reminded them.
The machine stopped at the hotel, and Ted helped the girls to get out.
"You'll come back and have dinner with us, won't you, Ted?" asked
Louise anxiously.
"O.K.--if you want me," he promised. "Only I mustn't stay afterwards,
or go to the movies with you. I've got to work on that plane."
The girls found their hotel warm and comfortable, though naturally not
luxurious like those in the large cities. But after their two days in
that cramped little hut, it seemed like a veritable palace. Bathing in
a real bathtub was a joy that they had sadly missed, and the dinner
seemed like a banquet to them, after doing their own cooking with such
a limited supply of food.
But best of all were their conversations with their families that
evening, which, as Louise said, were worth all the money in the world
to her. Long distance charges meant nothing, compared to the bliss of
hearing her mother's voice over that wire. And Linda felt the same way
about her Aunt Emily and her father, who, by this time, was at home.
Finally they brought their conversations to a reluctant end, promising
to be home the next night--in time for the New Year's Eve dance!