TWILIGHT BATTLE
They came at last to the crest of the ledge hanging over the spot where
the jet plane rested on the rock beside the sea. Since the surface of
the ledge sloped, it was possible for them to remain some thirty feet
from the brink of the hundred-foot drop and still see the plane.
Jack would have walked to the brink of the cliff for a clearer view, but
Mary pulled him back.
"Wait!" she whispered. "It is still light. If that man is down there he
may see you. You'd stand out against the sky. Sit down here. We'll watch
to see if anything moves down there. There's a steep path round this
ledge. We can reach the jet plane in two minutes." She pulled him to a
seat beside her.
"There's no one down there," Jack said in a low voice after half a
minute of silence. "This is my chance. We might as well go down."
"No! Wait!" the girl insisted.
A minute passed--two--three minutes. Jack was restless. Darkness was
throwing thin shadows over the plane, half hiding it.
He rose and walked almost to the brink of the cliff and stood there
staring down.
"There's no one," he called softly without turning. "We'll go down."
At that instant a bulky figure shot past the girl and straight at Jack.
Only the girl's quick, piercing scream saved the young flier. Turning
quickly, Jack threw out his arms to meet the man head on and to bring
him crashing to earth close to the brink.
Realizing his perilous position, Jack fought desperately. He was no mean
fighter.
His opponent was larger and older than he and slower in his movements.
The battle raged over the surface of the cliff. Now they were close to
the ledge, now away. Now Jack was up, and now down again. This man was a
beast. Once he bit Jack's finger to the bone. He tried to knock him
senseless by banging his head on the rocks. Jack's head was hard, but
this beating made him groggy.
It was then that the big man snatched a knife from its sheath to kill
Jack. His hand was up. The end appeared certain now. But suddenly
something hard crashed against that upraised arm. The knife rang as it
hit the rocks.
The stout hardwood club swung by the plucky girl--that for the moment
had saved Jack's life--did not stop with the knife. It came crashing
down on the German's head.
Stunned, the big fellow staggered to his feet, made a lunge at Mary, and
lost his balance. He fell to the rocky surface and started to roll
slowly down the slope. Ten seconds later he had disappeared over the
edge of the cliff.
"Wha--what happened?" Jack rose groggily.
"No ma--matter what happened." The girl was a bit shaky. "Come on back
and sit down."
"Wh--where is he?" Jack stammered.
"He's gone for good. Come on," she urged.
They returned to the shadows. Having regained his vantage point, Jack
rubbed his battered head. "I must have practically gone out," he
murmured. "What happened to that Nazi?"
"Plenty!" said Mary. "But nothing he did not deserve. Besides, this is
war, and war is--"
"No picnic." Jack was himself again.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
He stood up, balanced himself for a moment, then went through the
motions of skipping a rope.
"You'll do." She sprang to her feet. "We haven't a moment to lose. Come
on!"
Jack followed her over the steep, uncertain trail. Since she was
barefoot, native style, her feet appeared to cling to the rocks. From
time to time she gripped his hands to whisper, "This is a bad spot."
And then they were on the level rock, racing for the plane.
"Are you sure?" Jack hesitated with his hand on the jet plane.
"Yes, sure!" she whispered. "He fell too far. Couldn't possibly bother
us now. I'll send the natives to look him up later. But now, please
hurry!"
She joined him in climbing to the plane's top. While Jack dropped into
the pilot's place, she swung down into the gunner's seat.
"Why!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "This is an American twinflex gun!
I've fired them often!"
"Is it loaded?" Jack asked anxiously.
"Sure is."
"That's good. Keep a sharp lookout. Don't shoot unless it is absolutely
necessary."
"Trust me!"
He did trust her, more than she knew.
After pulling down his canopy he switched on a pale light. "Just like my
old scout plane," he murmured.
As he studied the instruments and controls his amazement grew. At last
he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, "This is an American plane, every bit
of it. The instruments even have the makers' trade marks on them. How do
you account for that?"
"I don't," said the girl.
Cautiously Jack tried out the controls. He set the motor whispering,
that was all. He released the brakes. They glided forward three or four
yards. He clamped on the brakes again.
As he tested the instruments Mary whispered:
"Someone's coming down the trail. I heard a rock rolling down."
"Good grief!" came back in a hoarse whisper. "The Japs! We may have to
light out just as we are! I'm practically ready to give it a try!"
"Wait," she whispered. "I haven't said good-by to the natives. They've
really been wonderful."
"Yes, but--" Jack did not finish. That's a woman for you! he thought.
"I will wipe out the Japs if I must." She turned the machine gun
noiselessly.
"That's the thing to do."
"Yes, but I must be sure first. It might be-- There!" Her whisper rose.
"I saw one of them duck into the shadows."
"Let them come on out into the open so you can get all three. We
can't--"
He stopped short. From the foot of the rocky cliff had come the call of
a parakeet where no parakeet should be.
"Thank goodness!" Jack exclaimed. "That's Stew! Phew! What a close
call!"
Pushing back his hood he answered the call. A moment later Stew was
climbing to Jack's side.
"What's up?" he demanded. "What's happened, anyway? I thought you'd been
killed, and here--"
"You didn't miss it by much," Jack broke in. "Now you're here, let's
forget the talking and get this jet plane into the air."
"I'm staying here!" Mary declared.
"Oh! Must you?" Deep consternation was registered by Jack's voice.
"I must." Her voice was husky. "But not for long. I'll come with Ted."
"If he doesn't beat you to the gun," said Jack.
"He won't do that," Stew broke in. "He told me to hurry. He's all set,
but said he would wait unless he was driven off by the Japs."
"Not much chance of that," Mary laughed lightly. "The Jappies are being
royally entertained by my friends, and after that--well, you fill in the
picture.
"So long!" She was on the rock. "It's nice having known you."
"We'll see you in the air and on the deck of the _Black Bee_." Jack gave
the ship the gun. The plane whistled. He released the brakes. She slid
into the sea. Giving her another spurt, he felt her rise into the air.
"We've got plenty of fuel," he said to Stew. "We'll just circle a bit
and see if we can pick up Ted and that girl."
"That's the best thing to do," was Stew's comment. "I'll feel a lot
easier if Ted hits the old _Black Bee's_ deck ahead of us."
"And sort of prepare the gang for this freak," said Jack. "Not a bad
idea."