Happy Landing
But the tiny speck in the distance did not gain on them. Terry decided
that it was just a cruising airplane and had no connection with them
whatever.
“Did you say that Joe Arnold was up here?” asked Allan through the
earphones. “What do you think he’s up to?”
“Didn’t he help kidnap you two boys?” Terry countered.
“No, that was Bud Hyslop’s little scheme to spoil my trip to Paris—At
least I thought it was all Bud’s idea. But if Joe had a hand in it,
then it’s no joke.”
“I’ll say it isn’t, Allan. I saw a newspaper in Harbor Grace this
morning. They’ve arrested Dad!”
“Arrested Dick! What for?” demanded Allan. “What did he do?”
“He’s supposed to have kidnapped you and Syd. The paper says he’s
trying to get fifty thousand dollars out of your father as ransom
money.”
Allan shouted with laughter. “Fifty thousand dollars for me!” cried
Allan. “Gee, I never heard of anything so funny in my life. And I
never guessed that I was worth fifty thousand dollars.”
“Poor Dad, it will be terrible for him. He isn’t well yet,” said
Terry. “And you know how they question people in a case like this.
They may even give him the third degree!”
“But who is responsible for all this, Terry? Surely no one believes
it!” said Allan with a frown of contempt.
“The newspapers said that your father believes that Dick Mapes is the
man who arranged the kidnapping. They speak of Dick’s gang!”
“Terry, somebody’s crazy, but who is it? Let’s head for home as fast
as we can go. I’ll soon unravel the mystery,” said Allan.
Ahead of them, far in the distance they could see _The Comet_. Syd was
evidently challenging them to a friendly race.
“Now tell me what happened to you, Allan. What’s the matter with your
arm? Did you crash?”
“Nothing like that, Terry! The day we arrived in Newfoundland, we got
stranded in the fog, and followed another plane that we thought had
been sent out from Harbor Grace to guide us to the airport. But when
we landed and I walked over to thank the pilot for showing us a good
field to land in, I was face to face with Bud Hyslop. He pulled a gun
on us and said, ‘Hands up!’ in a businesslike way. At first we thought
he was kidding but we soon saw that he was in earnest.”
“Bud Hyslop did that? Why he’s a regular gun man. Then what did he do,
Allan? Did he shoot you?” asked Terry.
“No, he just shot in the air as a signal and soon a man came running
with a shotgun. In the fog he looked like a giant.”
“That was Jim Heron,” explained Terry. “We’ve met that man. Go on,
what next? How did you hurt your arm?”
“I got into a little scrap. The old man grabbed Syd and tied him up.
Syd was no match for such a gorilla. I got mad clean through to see
them rough-handle my flying buddy. I couldn’t stand it, so I started
something.”
“I bet you did, Allan,” cried Terry. “And I don’t blame you. I think
I’d have done the same.”
“So I got fighting mad. Bud didn’t shoot after all, but he reversed
his gun and hammered me with the butt of it. Jim Heron joined in and
the two of them pressed me back to the edge of a cliff which I
couldn’t see in the fog.”
Terry interrupted. “They backed you over the cliff! Oh Allan, it’s a
wonder you weren’t killed.”
“I might have been if I hadn’t caught at a bush and saved myself. It
was just luck that I got off with some bruises and a broken arm.”
“Then they took you out in a launch to Mackey Jones’ fishing fleet,”
said Terry. “I know about that.”
“How did you trace us, Terry?” asked Allan. “How did you get wise to
where we were?”
“That story can wait until we get to Elmwood—until I’ve had a good
long sleep.”
Allan looked at the girl anxiously.
“Terry, I hate this business. You’re tired out! You’re all in and here
I am not able to take the controls.”
“Don’t worry, boy, I never felt better in my life. I’m on the top of
the world! I could do anything this minute. I’d even feel able to
tackle Joe Arnold!”
If Terry had flung this challenge in Joe Arnold’s face, he could not
have answered with more speed. For out of the fog bank that hung over
the sea, Joe Arnold’s plane had suddenly appeared. It swooped upon
them without warning, driving so close that Terry was thoroughly
frightened. Two men were in the plane that was bearing down upon her,
and desperately she put _Skybird_ into a swift sideslip to avoid a
collision.
Joe Arnold was there to fight! And the fight had started!
“Watch out, Terry,” called Allan through the ear phones. “Be careful.
Bud Hyslop is at the controls and Joe is in the rear cockpit. He’s got
a sub-machine gun. We’re up against the real thing!”
Joe Arnold’s plane was climbing to get above _Skybird_. Terry sensed
his plan and dropped her plane into a tail spin.
Allan gasped. What had happened? Were they falling? Had Terry lost her
nerve. Poor girl, she was tired out and wasn’t responsible! The boy
tried to speak and ask her what had happened but the whirling plane
made him dizzy.
“Terry!” he called, anxiously. But if the girl heard she made no sign.
Grim faced and silent she kept her hand on the controls and strained
her eyes to watch her enemy’s movements.
Once in a while Allan caught a glimpse of Joe Arnold’s plane circling
above them as if he were gloating over their fate. It looked to the
boy as if the ocean were running madly up to snatch at them, while the
heavens whirled about in a dizzy dance. It seemed that no power on
earth could save them. If only he had been able to fly the plane
himself, this accident would never have happened! In his brain flashed
the thought, “No girl should attempt to fly when there is trouble
ahead. That is man’s work!”
But in the midst of his dismay, he felt the plane cease its mad
spinning and come back to an even keel. Terry skilfully brought her
plane out of the spin and levelled off like an expert stunt flyer. It
was not for nothing that she was the daughter of Dick Mapes. She had
inherited her father’s air sense.
Terry fumed inwardly at the unsportsmanlike action of her enemy. To
attack a plane with machine gun fire when he knew that _Skybird_ was
unarmed! That seemed to the girl to show the base character of her
father’s business rival.
Terry let her plane out to the limit of its power. She tried her best
to outdistance her enemy but the scheming attacker brought his plane
to landward of the girl’s and was now deliberately forcing her out to
sea.
“He’s trying to wear me out,” thought Terry. “I see his plan now.
He’ll drive me out over the ocean and keep me there until my fuel is
gone!”
But in face of this peril she did not lose her courage. Determination
to win was written in every line of the girl’s face. “He’ll not get
me,” she said as she pressed back on the stick and sent her plane
zooming. “I’ll fight! I’ll win!”
The tension was relieved. Her nerves were tingling with excitement.
Every sense was alert to catch the meaning of her enemy’s moves.
Then Bud Hyslop let the powerful motor loose. It zoomed at tremendous
speed until it was carried once more above the _Skybird_. Joe thought
now that he had _Skybird_ at his mercy. Bud put the plane into a loop
so as to come down behind Terry’s plane where he would have every
advantage. Then Joe’s sub-machine gun spoke. A stream of bullets
zipped through the wings of Terry’s plane. For a moment she thought
they had been torn to pieces.
Straight out to sea a huge fog bank was rolling landward. Terry headed
her plane toward its protecting folds. Blindly she flew sending her
plane soaring, then came down in a spiral. She levelled her plane and
flew in a zig-zag course to spoil her enemy’s aim. His bullets
whistled harmlessly to right and left and so by good luck and good
flying she escaped destruction.
No one knew better than Terry that she was playing the most dangerous
game in the world. Beneath her was five thousand feet of thin air and
below that the cold waters of the Atlantic.
She dived into the cloud bank and suddenly she saw the angry billows
close beneath her.
“Steady, girl!” she heard Allan’s voice speaking. “You’re flying like
an ace. Keep it up and we’ll win!”
Hastily consulting her compass, the girl flew low, heading her craft
toward land. She had a wild hope that Joe Arnold would think she had
been lost in that mountain of fog and would give up his pursuit.
Rising gradually, she came out at last through the fog and into the
sunlight. Beneath her the fog stretched for miles like a fleecy
texture glistening in the sun.
Joe Arnold was nowhere to be seen.
“Safe at last!” gasped Terry as she took a long breath. She searched
the horizon for signs of land but as far as the eye could reach there
was nothing but the expanse of dazzling white.
Trembling with excitement she looked in every direction to see if her
pursuer was in sight, and gasped, “We’ve fooled Joe Arnold! He’ll
never catch us now!”
She turned to Allan with a reassuring smile. At that moment she heard
Allan’s voice in the earphones. “He’s coming, Terry. Behind us! And
far above.”
Terry’s heart sank. She nodded to show that she had heard.
Then she began a slow spiral down. Allan held his breath. Had the girl
gone crazy? What was she doing?
Terry might have been having a joy ride, a romp in the air, by the way
she was banking so carelessly, circling and levelling off.
Above, Joe’s plane had gone into a steep dive. It was coming straight
at _Skybird_ and Terry seemed to be making no effort to get out of the
way.
Just as the powerful plane drew near, Joe Arnold let out a burst of
fire. Then he leaned far over to see Terry’s plane falling in a mass
of flames.
But _Skybird_ was not there. His fire had missed. The girl had
side-slipped and then straightened out, while Bud at the controls had
allowed his plane to shoot past and into the bank of fog.
Terry made the most of that breathing time. She did not wait to see
whether Joe’s plane had dived into the sea, but with throttle wide
open she headed for land.
The girl kept her plane high above the glistening floor of fog. Half
an hour slipped by and still no sign of the pursuing plane.
Again Terry zoomed skyward and found what she was looking for. Far
below her to the right was a break in the fog and through it she could
see the green earth below.
Terry headed for the opening and slipped through. Below that thick
bank of cloud stretched the green fields dotted with towns and
villages. It looked good. “Where are we Allan?” she cried.
Allan studied the terrain. “We’re near home,” he said as he recognized
the different landmarks. “That’s Beacon Hill to the right!”
Terry laughed with relief. “Oh boy, let’s go!” she cried.
With the tense nerve strain over, Terry suddenly felt herself go weak.
The plane wobbled under her control but only for the fraction of a
second. Then Terry went straight for home.
Never had the Dick Mapes Flying Field looked so good to her as it did
when she banked and circled for a landing.
With steady hand she brought her plane down in a three-point landing,
neat and clean. On the field was the _Comet_ and she saw Prim and
Sally Wyn running to meet her.
As Terry stepped from her plane, Prim threw both arms about her.
“We beat you by a full hour, Terry. What’s kept you so long?” she
cried, laughing hysterically now that the danger was over.
Terry kissed her then ran across the field to her father and mother.
“Good girl, Terry!” her father said in a husky voice. “You’re....”
But he did not have a chance to finish the sentence. At that moment
Bennett Graham with one arm about Allan’s shoulders advanced with
outstretched hand.
“I want to thank you, Terry. You dear, brave girl! You saved Allan!”
he exclaimed in a voice choking with emotion.
Terry’s head was high, her eyes flashed fire. “I don’t want your
thanks, Mr. Graham!”
Dick raised his hand reprovingly to his daughter, “Don’t, Terry!” he
said. “Mr. Graham has explained everything. It was all a mistake.”
But Bennett Graham broke in: “I don’t blame her, Dick. The girl is
right. I’ve been a fool! But I’ve been well punished. Can you forgive
me, Terry?”
“Oh, come on Terry, be a sport!” Allan advanced toward the girl and
took her hand. “Dad’s just as sorry as he can be. Shake hands with him
and let’s be friends.”
Terry drew back, her heart was still bitter. Her father’s face showed
how he had suffered. It was hard to forgive.
“And listen, Terry,” said Allan. “Dad says he’s going to give you that
fifty thousand dollars that was asked for ransom. It’s for a reward.”
“No, he’s not!” snapped Terry. “I wouldn’t _touch_ his money!” Her
face was scarlet, anger blazed in her eyes. “There are two things that
money cannot buy! Loyalty and friendship!”
Bennett Graham sadly turned away.
“Some day Terry, I’ll prove my loyalty and friendship. Just give me
time.”
Terry’s heart softened at sight of the old man’s sorrow. She turned
and offered her hand.
“Then let’s begin right now,” said the girl.
“Now tell us everything that happened,” cried Terry’s mother, hugging
and kissing her daughter in an excess of joy. “Goodness knows I never
expected to see you come back alive, after all you’ve been through.”
“Hasn’t Prim told you?” asked Terry. “She and Syd have been here an
hour.”
“Yes, but I want to hear it all over again,” exclaimed Alice Mapes.
“All right. But first I must have a hot bath and a cold shower and a
change of clothes. Then I’ll tell you at the table. I’m just simply
starved.”
An hour later the whole party gathered at Dick Mapes’ dinner table,
not only the flyers but Bennett Graham as well, for Dick had urged him
to stay.
Breathlessly they listened as Terry told about the flight to the
rescue and when she came to the story of Joe Arnold’s attack on her
plane with a sub-machine gun, they were so excited that they forgot to
eat.
“I knew Arnold was unscrupulous, but I never dreamed he would go as
far as murder,” cried her father. “He and Bud Hyslop shall suffer for
this!”
“But I _think_ they have both been lost,” said Terry. “The last I saw
of their plane it was diving straight to the sea. Then the fog
swallowed them up, and the chances are that they hit the water, and
went under.”
“I certainly hope so,” said Bennett Graham. “To think that I advised
Allan to go into business with that scoundrel! It’s unbelievable!”
Syd, who was sitting beside Prim, remarked quietly, “Well, that’s the
end of our attempt to fly the Atlantic. It will be a long time before
we set out again.”
“I’m not so sure,” said Bennett Graham. “I’m going to give Allan a new
plane. He can pick it himself and you two boys can try again when
Allan’s arm is well.”
“Thanks, Dad,” said Allan. “I’ll accept on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“That is that these two girls are given a mate of the plane I pick.
But for them, we would be still in Joe Arnold’s clutches.”
“I’ll be only too glad,” cried the old gentleman. “That is if Terry
and Prim will accept the plane.” He turned to Terry and Prim, adding,
“Please do. It will show that you have forgiven me.”
The two sisters extended their hands impulsively and once more
friendship was restored. The meal progressed happily.
“And now,” said Terry, “we’ll have a nice restful summer, playing
about in our new planes and teaching the students how to win their
pilot’s licenses. No more adventure for a long time!”
“And you’ve got to teach Sally to fly!” exclaimed Prim.
“That will be a joy, for Sally has shown that she’s one grand little
sport, the stuff that will make a flyer,” replied Terry.
They all smiled happily then went outside on the veranda for their
coffee.
If only they had foreseen what the next months would bring into their
lives, they would not have been so happy, for Prim and Terry were
destined to set out upon an even more perilous air cruise, far in the
southern seas and there amid the tropic splendors, _The Girl Flyers on
Adventure Island_, were to encounter thrills they had never dreamed of
among the denizens of the isles of mystery.
THE END