Dangerous Business
When the Hardy boys arrived at Riverside Field they looked in vain for
Giles Ducroy and his friends. But the trio were not in sight, and there
was but one airplane on the flying field. It was a small two-seater.
“It can’t be their plane,” said Frank. “Ollie Jacobs said it would hold
four or five men.”
“Perhaps they haven’t arrived yet,” Joe suggested.
“They had only thirty miles to go. They should have been here long ago.”
“We can go up to one of the hangars and ask what planes have come in.”
Frank was dubious. “If Ducroy or any of the others are hanging around,
we’ll be spotted. Our game is to keep out of sight.”
They sauntered over to the solitary little airplane in the middle of the
flying field. A mechanic in grimy overalls was busy tinkering at the
understructure of the machine.
“Is this the only plane here?” asked Frank politely.
The mechanic looked up. “It’s the only one out on the field,” he
answered. “If you can see any more, let me know.” He grinned, and then
waved toward one of the hangars. “An old crate just flew in a few
minutes ago.”
“Where from?”
“How should I know? Airplanes, unless they’re on the mail run, aren’t
like trains. Looked to me like a privately owned machine.”
The Hardy boys glanced significantly at one another. They had no doubt
that this was Ducroy’s plane.
“Is the pilot in there now?”
The mechanic nodded. “Him and two other guys.”
Frank and Joe thanked their informant and made a wide detour across the
flying field so as to approach the hangar at the far side. They had no
desire to meet Giles Ducroy and his friends just now. They came around
to the rear of the hangar without being observed and while they were
looking about for a means of entrance other than by the front, Joe
discovered a small door at the side.
He tried the door. It was unlocked. Joe edged it open and peeped in.
There was the plane, at rest in the hangar, and standing beside it were
Giles Ducroy, Newt Pipps, and Ollie Jacobs. They were talking in low
tones. Even as the boys watched they saw Ollie Jacobs move away from the
others.
“It won’t take long,” he said. “I’ll do some telephoning and find out
all I can.”
“Make sure of the date!” advised Ducroy.
Ollie Jacobs left the hangar. For a moment the Hardy boys were
panic-stricken at the thought that he might look back and see them
pressed against the side of the building, but Jacobs strode away without
once glancing behind.
“I wish we could learn something definite,” whispered Joe. “This thing
of following them around is beginning to get on my nerves. They are
bound to catch sight of us, sooner or later.”
“We certainly can’t follow them around like this,” agreed Frank. “If
they don’t see us, we’re liable to lose them anyway. If we can only find
out what game they’re up to!”
They peeped through the opening in the door again. But Ducroy and Newt
Pipps had withdrawn a little way to one side and were talking in
undertones, their words inaudible.
In about ten minutes, Ollie Jacobs returned. He hastened into the
hangar, and Ducroy looked at him expectantly.
“Well,” the boys heard Ducroy saying, “did you learn anything?”
“I sure did,” returned Ollie Jacobs. “It’s all settled. And we don’t
have to wait as long as we thought we might.”
“That’s good,” declared Ducroy, rubbing his hands together with
satisfaction. “What did he say?”
“The shipment will come on the night of the twenty-eighth.”
“As soon as that!” exclaimed Newt Pipps.
“We’ll be ready for it,” snapped Ducroy. “We’ll force him down not far
from here.”
“It will be at night, eh?” said Pipps.
“Of course. All the better, too. I’d think twice before I’d try this
trick in daylight.”
“I guess you’re right,” admitted Newt feebly. “Although I don’t like the
idea of it at any time. You’re sure we’ll have only one man to handle?”
“Only one man. And there are three of us. We’re not taking a chance of
failing.”
“How are we going to force him down?” asked Ollie Jacobs.
“Leave that to me,” answered Ducroy confidently. “There’s more than one
way of doing that.”
“Let’s go and eat,” Newt suggested. “I’m half starved.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ollie agreed. “There’s a little restaurant near
here. What do you figure on doing, Giles? Do you think we should stay
right here at the airport until the twenty-eighth?”
“No,” said Ducroy firmly. “I don’t. The authorities are apt to find us
if we stay in one place for any length of time. We’ll have to keep
going. We’ll move around from one place to the other until the time
comes. We can’t afford to be nabbed now. And after the twenty-eighth
we’ll clear out for good.”
The three men moved up toward the front of the hangar, left the
building, and went on across the flying field toward a small restaurant
in the distance. There was a little lunch counter near by but the men
ignored it for the more pretentious eating place.
Frank and Joe Hardy slipped quickly into the hangar through the side
door. Instead of clearing up the mystery that puzzled them, the
conversation they had just overheard confused them more than ever. That
some criminal coup was in the wind for the night of the twenty-eighth
was no longer in doubt, but what it was and where it was to take place
still remained unrevealed.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” said Frank, as he looked at the
airplane in the hangar; “but I know we’ve got to be on hand if we can
possibly manage it.”
“How can we be on hand if they’re going to keep flying from place to
place for the next two days?” asked Joe.
“We’ve got to keep track of them somehow.” Frank moved about, inspecting
the airplane. “I’d just like to reserve a back seat in this plane for
the next forty-eight hours.”
“That idea isn’t as silly as it sounds!” declared Joe. “Why can’t we?”
Frank laughed. “How can we? They’d simply kick us out, for we’d
certainly be seen.”
“Not if we went about it right.” Joe was excited as the possibilities of
his idea became more apparent. “Why can’t we be stowaways? Don’t you
remember the time we hid ourselves in the back of the automobile when we
solved the Shore Road mystery? We could hide here too. I’ve heard of
airplane stowaways before.”
“It’s a nervy idea,” said Frank. “I wonder where we could hide?” He
moved down toward the rear of the plane. Suddenly he halted. “Just what
we want, Joe! Here’s an opening.” He thrust the sliding door aside and
looked into the dark interior. The tail of the plane was hollow and he
could see a substantial hiding place. Considerable space was available
for freight or baggage and, inasmuch as Ducroy and his friends were
travelling light, there was plenty of room for the two boys.
“How about it?” asked Joe.
“I’m game. But how about food? We’ll be in there for quite a while, you
know.”
“We’ll get sandwiches and water. Some blankets too, for that matter.
We’ll simply stow away in there and make ourselves comfortable. Then, if
anything happens, we’ll be right on hand.”
“We’ll be right on hand too if the plane crashes,” Frank reminded his
brother. “Perhaps we’ll weight it down too much.”
“I don’t think so. This plane is designed to carry baggage, and if that
space is empty, we’ll never be noticed. I think we can get away with it,
provided we have any luck at all. It’s easily our best chance of keeping
in touch with Ducroy and his gang. If they’re going to be flying around
the country trying to dodge the authorities, we shan’t have much chance
of keeping our eyes on them in our car.”
“That’s right, too.” Frank made up his mind. “I’m with you, Joe. And
now’s our chance. Let’s get water and sandwiches and get into the plane
while we have time.”
It seemed a mad scheme, but the brothers knew the importance of keeping
close to Ducroy and his friends. Some crime had been planned for the
night of the twenty-eighth, and the Hardy boys knew they must not lose
track of their quarry for a moment. It would have been obviously
impossible to follow the meanderings of the airplane from the ground.
They hastened over to the little lunch counter and laid in a stock of
provisions. Several bottles of milk, a huge bottle of water, some cake
and a stock of sandwiches constituted their supplies. At the lunch
counter they spied two heavy automobile robes, and as it was too late to
return to their own roadster, they bought the robes and entrusted the
lunch counter man with the duty of driving their own car to a garage for
safe-keeping. This he promised to do. Doubtless he wondered the reason
for the boys’ purchases, but he was a man who believed in minding his
own business and he exhibited no surprise or curiosity.
Frank and Joe hurried back into the hangar. They tossed the robes into
their hiding place in the plane, arranged them comfortably, then stowed
away the food and water.
“All set?” asked Frank finally.
“All set.”
Joe began to scramble into the plane.
“Just in time, too,” said the brother.
“Why?” asked Joe, in a muffled voice, as he crouched back on one of the
automobile robes.
“Giles Ducroy and his friends are coming back across the flying field.”
Frank got into the plane. Quickly he closed the door. The two boys
waited apprehensively. Had their presence been detected? Would the
lunch-counter man mention having seen them? Would Ducroy glance into the
baggage compartment before leaving?
But nothing happened. They heard the three men come into the hangar.
They heard them moving about, evidently preparing for departure.
Finally, they heard Ducroy’s voice:
“Get in. We’re away again.”
The plane was trundled out on the field. A moment later the motor
roared, the machine bumped its way across the field, then the bumping
motion ceased and the Hardy boys knew that they were in the air.