Pursued by a Flying Foe
Waverly was a popular beach resort and Prim was delighted to see that
there was a pleasure pier which was gaily lighted up.
She cried, "Oh, Terry, it looks as if there might be dancing down there.
Let's hurry to the hotel and change to our party clothes."
"Prim Mapes, you promised me that you wouldn't take any party dresses
this time. You said we'd be just girl flyers with no excess baggage,"
retorted her sister.
Prim laughed. "I tried to Terry, but I couldn't leave out our new
frocks. I was certain we'd run into some sort of entertainment where
we'd want some pretty dresses."
Terry looked her disgust. "But Prim, I don't even want to dance. What am
I going to do with these documents while I'm dancing?"
"You could leave them at the hotel in the safe," answered the easy-going
Prim.
"Just forget that, Prim. Wherever I go, these papers go with me. If you
insist on dancing I'll have to go along, but I'll have the papers on
me."
As the girls talked over their plans they arranged for the care of their
plane for the night and for refueling, as they intended to take an early
start the next morning. Then they went to the hotel where many summer
guests were staying.
Prim made friends easily and by the time Terry had registered for them
at the desk and made arrangements for getting away early the next
morning, Prim had a group of girls around her and was laughing and
joking with them as if she had always known them. Terry envied her
sister this ability to get acquainted with people at a moment's notice.
It would have taken her a week, at least, without Prim to break the ice,
to become friends with these strangers.
When the two girls came down to the dining room half an hour later,
their new acquaintances hardly recognized them. Prim was dressed in a
fluffy gown which made her look like a lovely bit of Dresden china.
Terry was very boyish and trim in her sports dress. She had an
aristocratic manner, attracting notice by her very aloofness.
The dancing pavilion was built out over the water and they could hear
the surf breaking about the pier. Prim danced to her heart's content,
for partners flocked about her. But Terry was uneasy for pinned to her
slip were the valuable papers she must deliver in Peru. She was relieved
when Prim finally consented to go back to the hotel, exchanging
addresses and promising life-long friendship with her new friends as she
went along.
At the first flush of dawn, Terry and Prim were at the hangars preparing
to take off. Terry made a careful check-up on her plane to see that
everything was in order and as they were about ready to climb into the
cockpits, they heard a shout and their new friends came hurrying to the
field to bid them goodbye.
Prim was glad they had come. She wanted to show off her quiet sister who
always got her plane into the air so gracefully, and her face glowed
with pride as Terry taxied across the field, swung around and headed
into the wind for a good take-off. _Skybird_ took to the air like a
great bird and under Terry's guidance circled the field several times
for the benefit of their friends, then headed out over the Atlantic,
flying south.
They did not know that a plane had been set down on the field half an
hour before. The pilot had recognized _Skybird_ and kept well out of
sight. As he watched the girls from the shelter of the hangar, his face
expressed the hatred and treachery that he felt.
It was Joe Arnold, their father's business rival and dangerous enemy!
"What are those girls doing here? Do they imagine they can fly to Peru
and see Peter Langley?" thought Joe to himself. He made up his mind that
the girls would never reach Peru. He would stop them, somehow. He _must_
do it.
Joe Arnold frowned. As his plane was more powerful than _Skybird_, he
could easily out-fly them and reach the mine a day before they could do
so. But, first, he had some mysterious business to attend to before he
would have the money for the option. Meanwhile he must do something to
prevent the Mapes girls from continuing their trip until he was ready.
Before _Skybird_ had disappeared in the clouds, Joe Arnold had left the
field and was following after that tiny speck in the sky, trailing it
relentlessly.
The next stop was Miami, and here again the girls made a thorough
inspection of their plane. From now on their way would be over the
Caribbean, where storms might spring up without warning. _Skybird_ must
be in perfect form. And when Terry finished her inspection, the little
plane was ready for the hop to Havana.
The girls congratulated themselves that everything was going along well.
They were even a few hours ahead of their schedule and Terry's face was
glowing with happiness and excitement. Ahead of them was the Caribbean.
She had often dreamed of making this flight over tropical waters and now
she was really here.
Below her were the keys and reefs of the Florida coast spread out flat
on the blue water. They were like a painting in delicate pastel shades.
Crossing the line of the reefs, _Skybird_ headed boldly out to sea. Prim
watched the smooth water, fascinated by the patterns made by steamers as
they cut through the water, leaving an ever widening wake behind them.
She felt safe, knowing that their amphibian plane could land on the
water and float.
Terry sighted the coast of Cuba first, a delicate outline seen through a
haze that dimmed the view and gave it a fairy-like appearance. Soon they
sighted the grim old Morro Castle, the Spanish fort, and as they came
nearer and flew above it, they could see the broad avenues of the lovely
city of Havana. The marble capitol was dazzlingly white in the sunshine
and the colored roofs of the houses, as seen from the air, arranged
themselves in a fantastic design. It was a city of gay pleasure.
Terry brought her plane down at the Havana airport with a sense of
relief. The first lap of that journey was over now.
A few minutes later she was handed a telegram which read: "Allan and Syd
will join you at Havana. Wait. Dad."
Terry's eyes blazed for a moment. "What do you think of that, Prim?
Allan and Syd are coming here. We're to _wait_ for them! I'll say that's
nerve! Dad thinks we can't make the trip without the help of the boys."
"That's nonsense, Terry! Dad knows we're equal to it. The boys probably
want a holiday and are coming just for the fun of it. I'm going to be
real glad to see them. The more the merrier, I say," replied Prim.
"I'd be glad to see them if I thought that their trip was not just
because they think that we have to be looked after," declared Terry. "I
want to make this flight without help from anybody."
"Don't get too independent, Terry. It doesn't pay," her sister cautioned
her. "But right now let's go and get some breakfast. I'm starved."
After they had finished with the customs and entry regulations the girls
started toward the restaurant. A plane was circling about their heads
looking for a landing.
Suddenly Terry grabbed her sister's arm. "Oh Prim, look there! It's Joe
Arnold!"
"Where did he come from? What's he doing down here?" demanded Prim, as
if her sister knew all about Joe Arnold's affairs.
Terry laughed nervously. "Ask me something easy! But of one thing we can
be sure. Whatever it is that has brought Joe Arnold down here, it's
bound to be crooked, whether he is on business of his own or just
trailing us. That man _couldn't_ be decent!" Terry said with
indignation.
"What are we going to do, Terry?" asked Prim.
"We are going to do nothing at all, except keep our eyes open," answered
Terry as she slipped back to the hangar and spoke to the mechanic who
was looking over her plane. She gave him her sweetest smile as she spoke
to him. "Keep your eye on my plane. Don't let any stranger near it." And
she gave him a five dollar bill.
The young man promised and as Terry turned away he smiled to himself.
"Guess she's new to the game," he thought. "Afraid someone will want
parts of her plane for souvenirs."
"Come on Terry, hurry. If you only knew how hungry I am!" cried Prim.
But now another plane had approached and made a neat landing.
Prim stopped short and grabbed her sister's arm. "Oh Terry," she cried,
"I'm almost sure that's Allan in his new plane."
"You're right. That's Allan! And Syd is with him!"
A few minutes later Allan and Syd leaped from the cockpits and were
waving to the girls with whoops of delight. Terry and Prim hastened back
across the field to welcome them.
"Hurry up!" cried Terry. "Prim is starving!"
"She's got nothing on us," Sid answered. "We could eat our shoe
strings,--almost!"
When they were all seated at breakfast, Terry suddenly turned to ask
Allan, "What's the idea of trailing us down here? Are you taking a
vacation?"
"A sort of vacation," answered Allan. "About an hour after you left the
other day, Syd and I got home. We finished up our business in half the
time we expected. Then we heard some reports. Joe Arnold had been back
at the field and was bragging around that he was starting out to make
the final deal with Peter Langley for your father's flying field. He
sent notice to your father to vacate the field."
"Why the nerve of that man!" cried Terry. "He'll do no such thing! I
won't stand for it!"
"Anyway," went on Allan. "We found out that Joe had started south and
your father wanted to warn you, so he sent us. And here we are."
"Yes," Terry broke in. "And Joe Arnold set down his plane at the Havana
airport just a little while ago. I'm sure he saw us. Even if he didn't
he'd recognize _Skybird_. That man is up to mischief."
"Do you think he's going to try and make trouble for us?" asked Prim
anxiously. "I'm afraid of that man, after what he did to you boys in
Newfoundland."
"We are not going to worry about it," Terry announced with decision. "We
are going to keep right on at the job we set out to do, and trust to
luck to get us through safely."
The four friends had an excellent breakfast with tropical fruits and
delicious Cuban dishes. At times they forgot all about Joe Arnold and
his threats to take away their father's flying field. It was good to be
together in this romantic city of Havana, and hard to realize that
danger threatened them.
All about them were smartly dressed care-free people, spending money
lavishly on the pleasures of the gay city. People came here from all
over the world just to enjoy themselves.
But Terry would not allow them to forget that a difficult job lay ahead
of them. It was necessary to push on. Consulting their maps, they laid
out their route. The next hop would be across the open waters of the
Caribbean to the landing field at Gracias a Dios in Honduras. That would
be their next meeting place in case they became separated. Allan and Syd
had planned to see them safely through the treacherous tropical weather
of the Caribbean, before returning to Elmwood. Now that they were tipped
off to the fact that Joe might make trouble, Terry could be depended on
to keep her eyes open and avoid him. But the boys decided they would
watch Joe and find out what he was up to.
The weather reports were favorable. There was always the warning to
watch out for sudden storms that were common over the Caribbean.
Their take-off was delayed by Terry insisting that her engine was not
working properly. Allan came alongside to listen as she warmed up the
motor. "Why it sounds all right, Terry. I don't hear anything wrong," he
said.
"But listen!" shouted Terry. "Listen to that rough hum."
"You're right, Terry," said Allan as the girl shut off her engine and
got out. Slipping into her overall suit, she started to work.
"Has anyone been near my plane?" asked Terry of the young mechanic whom
she had warned.
"No. That is nobody touched it. There was another flyer who stood around
admiring it and asking who you were. He even wanted to know where you
were going. Then he said he'd like to take a look at your engine to see
what kind you had. But I didn't let him stick around," replied the
youth. "I told him to clear out!"
Allan and Terry got to work without waiting for further explanation. A
full hour went by before they had the engine humming smoothly enough to
suit the trained and sensitive ear of Terry Mapes.
Once more they were ready to take off. Terry taxied over the long field,
making sure that the engine was working properly before she pulled back
on the stick and sent _Skybird_ nosing into the brilliant blue sky.
Terry's heart was beating with happy excitement. The take-off never
became a commonplace occurrence to her. She thrilled as she felt the
ship lifting from the ground and in the face of the wind, rising to
dizzy heights above the earth.
Allan and Syd followed and for half an hour they flew at about the same
altitude. Then Allan lagged behind and rose above them to a height of
five thousand feet. Both flyers were watching the sky behind them to
make sure that their enemy was not in pursuit.
Joe Arnold had put in a busy morning in Havana. Here was where he had
some shady business that would give him the ready money for taking up
the option on the Dick Mapes Flying Field. And when he started out half
an hour after the other planes, he flew high and well out of sight.
Terry and Prim were content to fly at about two thousand feet. They were
enjoying the view of the southern sea dotted with islands and failed to
see the pursuing plane, high above them in the distance.
But Joe Arnold was watching intently every move of the two planes, and
the cold, menacing light in his eyes was a threat against these young
flyers who dared to upset his plans, and keep him from realizing his
ambition.
His mind was working fast. At the next flying field, he would have a
show-down with them. His business deal in Havana had not been
successful. It would be necessary to return to that city once more
before he got the money. Joe Arnold did not know just what kind of a
show-down he would have with these girl flyers. He would leave it to
chance and his usual good luck unless he could think of some plan as he
flew through the blue sky. Up in the clean air of the heavens this man
was planning to destroy them.
But Terry and Prim, unconscious of his plans, were watching the changing
colors of the islands, then faced once more the open sea toward
Honduras.