TAKEN FOR A RIDE
As they descended suspended like some kind of Christmas ornaments from
the huge parachutes Austin had to keep on the alert that his companion
came through the experience safely, but his mind was busy with various
other matters as well. He could hear the plane that had set their own on
fire circling above them and while he realized that for a time its pilot
was forced to keep his distance he knew the man could have easily
punctured their parachutes and riddled their bodies with bullets, but he
did nothing of the sort, which did not seem in keeping with his former
vicious determination to get them out of the sky. This was puzzling and
something to be considered soberly.
The De Castro’s plane had shot down, buried its nose in the earth, and
blazed so furiously for a moment that it lighted the vicinity in spite
of the fog. Austin spilled air and saw that Mrs. Gonzalas did likewise
so they would not land on the burning mass. They drifted past it, saw
the brothers just a bit lower, and vague shapes wavered toward them,
like arms reaching up. On the opposite side of the ruined airship was
the bon-fire, but although Jim strained his ears to hear, not a voice
reached him. He thought it might be possible that the campers were
asleep, but that seemed hardly probable for surely the fusillade of
shots above the valley must have been startling enough to have aroused
the most sound sleeper.
The fact that there was no sign of activity added to the boy’s anxiety.
Surely if it were merely a coincidence that they were dropping on
someone’s camp, that someone would be moving about in an effort to
fathom the mystery of a battle in the air. Just then they began to
settle below a grove of trees and Jim, whose eyes were on the ground,
sent their bodies a few feet further to escape branches. In a moment
they would be on their feet, and they were.
“That was fine. I saw a fire, so we are fortunate to have fallen near
someone,” Mrs. Gonzalas said happily. Just then her husband succeeded in
releasing himself from the chute and rushing to her closed her in a warm
embrace.
“Mio, you are safe,” he choked, while his brother thoughtfully undid
straps for the woman.
“That fire, we will investigate,” Arto suggested.
“With guns out,” Jim answered. “It seems queer to me that we were not
fired on in the air and we were driven down right here.”
“Even so.” Arto had not thought of that and his gun came out.
“Got many cartridges—”
“You ain’t needin’ em,” a man’s voice drawled so close that the four
turned quickly, but it was so dark they could barely see the white blur
of his face. It seemed to the castaways that he was not alone and this
was immediately verified.
“Touchin’ little scene of home,” said a second voice. “Sort of too bad
not to let em finish their love-making.”
“Had to interrupt when they began to talk gats.”
“You guys best be reaching kinda high so your hands won’t get you into
no trouble,” he ordered, and the three men raised their arms, while one
of their captors relieved them of weapons, wallets, and shells. When
that was finished, the first one gathered the things together.
“I’m waiting fer you, General,” he remarked.
“We’ll march ’em to the welcomin’ fire till we get the signal, Admiral,”
the “General” answered, and the procession started over a rough way
toward the spot they had seen through the mist.
“Guess you was never in such good company before,” the Admiral informed
them. “Step easy here, cause there’s a ditch, lady.”
Wearily Jim fell in between the Gonzalas brothers, while the leader of
the reception committee gallantly assisted the woman, who went forward
with set face. Once a sob escaped her, but it was a small one, and she
bravely controlled herself. Most women would have cried after such a
heart-breaking series of disappointments. Presently they reached a large
flat stone where the fire had been lighted and still blazed cheerfully.
“Right nice to have you folks drop in on us this way,” the Admiral
remarked sweetly. “Ain’t no place in the world, no place where people
are so neighborly as this here Peru.”
“Have a cup of coffee, Ma’m. It’ll warm you up plenty and the night’s
still young.” He poured some of the steaming stuff into a tin cup and
offered it to the woman, who accepted it promptly, for her teeth were
beginning to chatter.
“The men, they too are cold,” she pleaded.
“Sure, sure, there ain’t nothin’ mean about us.” Another cup was
produced and the three men drank. It revived their spirits greatly, and
the hot black mixture warmed them up.
“Thanks a lot,” Jim said, then added, “What are you fellows going to do
with us? These people have nothing to do with me—”
“Aw, we didn’t ask you no questions, did we?”
“We can’t tell yet, but we’ll know before long,” the General added.
“There it goes now—” They listened, then heard a series of distant
shots, evidently from a small gun, spelling out some sort of code. It
was none Jim recognized, but the men made notes on pieces of paper, and
finally, when there was a pause, the general picked up a rifle which was
near at hand, and fired three shots. A moment later the sound of the
motor, which had been silenced during the exchange, boomed out again,
and Austin knew that the machine gunner was on his way.
“Well now, ain’t that nice.” The men had their heads bowed over what
they had written.
“You’re wanting to know what we’re going to do with you.” The General
looked at Austin and leered. “Well, Buddy, we’re taking you for a ride.”
Jim caught his breath sharply for he had read that among gangsters being
taken for “a ride” meant nothing more than being killed.
“But these people have done—”
“Aw, you gotta suspicious nature, Buddy. We’re taking you for a real
ride, in an ary-plane.”
“Them’s the boss’ orders. You kin rest yourselves ten minutes, then
we’re startin’,” the Admiral volunteered, and the Flying Buddy gave a
relieved sigh. They were probably being taken to the “Boss” whoever and
whatever he was, and while there was no telling what fate had in store
for them later, at least they were in no immediate danger of being
bumped off.
“We ain’t tyin’ you up, or nuthin’ like that, but we’re tellin’ you that
these here woods is got a lot of Peruvian tigers scattered round in ’em
and they ain’t tame cats. That’s only case you get a notion to do any
runnin’.”
“Thanks,” Jim grinned. At least the pair did not appear to be so
blood-thirsty as other members of the gang he had encountered, and this
was something to be mighty grateful for.
The next few minutes were devoted to packing a roll of equipment into a
pair of blankets, and with an eye to some possible future need, the
General added the four chutes to the rest of the stuff. What food was
left from their own meal was pressed on the prisoners, who ate it
gratefully, especially Jim who felt as hollow as a gun barrel. At last
they were ready to start, the fire was stamped out and the charred coals
scattered, but as he stood waiting, the boy noticed a white mark on one
of the nearest trees. The Admiral had a small flashlight which he used
to see that nothing was left behind, then taking a larger one from his
pocket, he started around the rock.
“Ladies first,” he nodded to Mrs. Gonzalas, who obediently fell in after
the man. Jim came next, then the brothers, and the general brought up
the rear.
Both the guards had their guns in hand, and a roll slung over their
shoulders, but it wasn’t fastened in any way, so Jim decided they were
not going very far. Probably to some nearby open space where the plane,
or planes were waiting. If there was only one it would have to be pretty
large to carry them all, and the boy wondered, as they proceeded through
the black forest, if the machine or machines were the ones that had been
used to chase him earlier that night. He thought it must be long after
twelve o’clock, but he realized that things had happened in swift
succession and had not consumed as many hours as they seemed to. The
flashlight, one in front and the other behind, made weird shadows of
their movements and cut a sharp trail through the woods. In five minutes
they reached the foot of a cliff, and the Admiral made his way straight
to a narrow trail which reminded Austin of cattle trails in Texas, and
they began to climb. Soon they were on a stretch of table land, and from
somewhere came the dismal howl of a coyote.
“Oh,” Mrs. Gonzalas shivered as the cry was taken up by other beasts,
and she edged nearer to the men.
“You needn’t be afeard, lady, not of the noisy ones. Tigers and them
other cats don’t make a sound, but if you see one watching you, then you
got cause to shiver.” The Admiral threw the light of his flash around
cautiously and soon Jim saw the wheels of a large plane. It did not look
like any of those that had taken part in the attack, but he couldn’t be
sure. As they drew closer he did not see any sign of a machine gun or a
pilot, so he guessed that their captors were airmen.
“All aboard,” the General ordered softly, and presently they were in the
small cabin of what looked like a transportation machine. There was
plenty of room for the six of them, besides two extra seats. Behind the
passenger section was a compartment evidently meant for baggage and into
this the rolls were tossed carelessly.
“Show your tickets,” the Admiral invited quite as if he was conducting a
party of tourists, instead of taking the group decidedly against their
will to parts unknown. Jim thought of inquiring what their destination
was to be, but changed his mind because he could hardly expect to be
given an honest answer.
The Admiral took the pilot’s seat, while the General perched watchfully
in the rear so that any move made by one of the prisoners could be
instantly observed and stopped. His rifle stood near at hand and a
business-like six-gun was in his belt. There was the usual “trying,”
then the huge plane moved through the darkness, and as soon as its wheel
lifted, all but a very small light was switched off in the cabin.
“You been real peaceful up to now,” the Admiral reminded them, “En
here’s hoping your good judgment don’t lead you astray while we’re
flyin’. There ain’t no tigers, but the guns is fer use, pronto.” He
turned his attention to his job, and soon they were roaring through
space.
The plane seemed to climb steeply, then curve, and Austin wished that
his place was not in the center. If he could get a glimpse of the
control board he could calculate something about the direction they were
taking. Thinking about the huge plane he realized that with little light
people on the ground would not observe that it was a big one, and unless
there were other lights on the tail or underneath, the dim glow would
make it appear as if it were a small machine. It seemed to the Flying
Buddy as if they were making very good speed, and in a few minutes they
were tearing along in a thick mist. They climbed again, and once they
rushed into a storm. The wind blew furiously and rain beat on the
fuselage. Mrs. Gonzalas, who was seated close to her husband, sunk her
head wearily on his shoulder, and was soon asleep.
It was a mighty good thing that she could sleep, Jim thought. He would
have liked taking a nap himself but he felt that he had to keep wide
awake for an opportunity to escape might present itself and they would
want to grab it while the grabbing was good. He could see Arto huddled
low in his coat collar and although the man looked as if he were dozing,
the boy was positive that the former aviator was doing nothing of the
kind. He too would be alert for a slip on the part of their captors
which would change their present position, making the captors the
captives. A flash of lightning cut through the blackness and then Austin
was not sorry that he did not have the place at the controls as they
tore through the storm. The plane climbed heavily and leveled off above
the rain, then shot forward at an amazing speed.
The Flying Buddy made up his mind that this was no ordinary plane but a
specially built machine with extra engine power. Probably it was the
property of one of the chiefs of the gang, perhaps the leader or Boss
himself, but glancing about, Jim changed his mind on that last score,
for the Boss would be sure to have his personal machine more luxuriously
furnished, with curtains, cushions, and shiny trimmings. He had no idea
why he thought the Boss would do that but he had never read of a leader
of gangdom who didn’t have a great deal of show and super-comfort in his
surroundings. Once he closed his eyes, he couldn’t help it, and as he
dozed he thought that the General in the rear was creeping up on them
with a glistening knife, but when his eyes popped open he saw that his
imagination was playing tricks on him, for the guard was exactly where
he had taken his place at the start.
As well as the boy could tell they had traveled nearly half an hour when
the speed was decreased somewhat, and then he realized they were
circling in wide loops. Perhaps they had reached their destination, and
a few minutes later he was sure they had, for the motor was throttled
and the plane began to glide. They had either passed through the storm,
or it was over, for there was no sign of it. Glancing through the
nearest window he noticed that they were descending in what looked like
a rugged section of the country. They must be in one of the spurs of the
Andes. He thought he glimpsed something that might be a lake, then he
could see nothing more and decided that they were coming down close to
the earth and on both sides of them were steep wall-like cliffs.
Jim yawned and stretched high in his seat trying to get a look at the
control board, but the Admiral, in making the landing, completely
obscured it from his sight. Arto too indulged in a prodigious fit of
deep breathing but he was no luckier than Austin in reading their
location.
“You can all wake up,” the General informed them.
“Mio,” Pedro called to his wife, who opened her eyes, stared about her
in amazement, then glanced at her husband. Her eyes filled with tears
and she buried her face against his breast and began sobbing bitterly.
“Aw, come now, lady, that ain’t getting you no place,” the General
protested.
“Better keep off the water-works,” the Admiral advised sharply.
“Be brave, querida mia,” Pedro whispered trying to comfort her, but she
continued to cry as if she were going to have a spell of hysterics.
“Can that,” the General snapped. Pedro urged softly and in a few minutes
the sobbing ceased. She dabbed her face with her handkerchief, and
straightened her clothes.
“Mother of God,” she prayed tearfully.
“Listen, Bo, make her quit that or I’ll—give her something to pray
over,” the General snarled and his fingers clutched his gun
aggressively. If he thought to frighten Mrs. Gonzalas into silence he
used the wrong tactics, for she shrieked out wildly, crying harder than
ever.
“You would—” Arto flared.
“I say,” Jim interposed. “What do you want to scare her out of her wits
for? No wonder she cried; waking up and seeing you.”
“You kin save your compliments—”
“If you want her to stop crying, stop doing things to make her,” Jim
snapped angrily.
“You’re a big coward.” He turned to Mrs. Gonzalas. “Don’t you be afraid
of him, or any of them, don’t let them throw a scare into you now! You
just grin and pretty soon things won’t seem half so bad.” Jim didn’t
like to see a woman cry, or a girl—anyone for that matter and he was
mighty earnest about wanting Mrs. Gonzalas to dry her tears. He was
standing beside her, and Pedro looked up at him with deep appreciation
in his eyes.
“You are good—see Mio—Senor Jim Austin. In his land, the big Texas, he
busts cows and broncs—wears a big hat to hold his head, and throws a
rope so well Senor Bill Rogers goes out of business.”
“Oh, blubbering whales—say—when you come to Texas I’ll get Dad to show
you how a lariat should be thrown,” Jim interposed. At their united
efforts, Mrs. Gonzalas looked from one to the other, blinked rapidly and
although her hand trembled on her husband’s arm, her lips parted in a
smile. She controlled herself courageously, stifling the sobs, and out
of the corner of his eye, Austin saw the guard step back as if satisfied
that the prisoner would soon be comforted.
“In a large hat—big enough for your President—you look well,” Arto
helped, but his hand was gripped in his belt and by the pressure of his
fingers on the buckle they knew that he longed for the minute when he
could get them on the throats of the men responsible for their
difficulties and his sister-in-law’s suffering.
“Last stop,” the Admiral bellowed.
“All out.”
“Only they ain’t leaving without some decorations.” He produced clanking
hand-cuffs. One pair he put on Pedro and his wife, and with the other he
secured Jim and Arto together.
“Now you look more ‘folksy’. Get a move on.”
The manacles hampered them and as no more lights were turned on the four
stumbled along the cabin to the low door. Jim lead the way, and had to
stand on a brace while Arto came after him. Then the two jumped
together, landing on something rather slippery, which Austin thought
might be mossy stones. Pedro appeared almost immediately, for the
Admiral was urging speed, so the two on the ground braced themselves to
help. At last they were all out, and Jim glanced about him curiously.
One thing he noticed, nothing seemed wet, so he decided that the storm
had been a local and not a general one.
“You guys stay where you are,” the Admiral snapped authoritatively.
“I got a gun on ’em.”
They stood perfectly still a short distance from the plane, and Jim took
a look at her. The design was quite different from any he had ever seen;
she was especially trim, and although he could not see well, he made up
his mind that she was twin motored. If he got a chance to examine her
more closely he would know something about flying her in case they could
break away from their captors. There was no chance of doing anything of
the kind now for the Admiral had them covered with a brace of six-guns,
but just the same, Austin wasn’t going to give up merely because of a
pair of shooting irons.