The Sky Pilot's Great Chase; Or, Jack Ralston's Dead Stick Landing

by Ambrose Newcomb

  V

  AT THE FLYING FIELD

  It was pretty late when they sat down to supper that night but as Jackhad predicted, the appetite of his chum was amply recompense for thedelay. They had done a good deed and best of all managed to get awaybefore any inquisitive newspaper men arrived at the hospital on thetrack of a sensational beat.

  "Which pleases me a whole lot," Jack went on to say as they startedeating.

  "Same here ol' hoss," added Perk, with unction. "Once them chaps get onthe scent o' a good story they never do let up till it's spread out onthe front page after bein' blue-penciled by the city editor. I know howit's put through, 'cause I got some pretty good friends in thebunch--they're all wool an' a yard wide on everything 'cept pokin' theirnoses into the private affairs o' citizens and couples that jest _can't_get on in double harness."

  "Just imagine what a nasty shock it'd be to us both Perk, to see ournames and pictures staring at us under a scare line of black type--yes,and like as not with as much as they could scrape together about ourprivate business--nice way to upset all the plans of Secret Servicehounds on the trail of big game, I must say."

  "Honest, I didn't give away a single thing, buddy," said Perk withunusual earnestness, which was as good as an invitation for Jack toclear his skirts of the same suspicion, which he hastened to do.

  "I simply gave her my address in Washington--at my room, you understand,Perk--I wanted her to write to me later on so we could know how theyboth came out after that nasty squeeze play. Not a whisper what line ofbusiness we followed and I asked her as a particular favor not to let asingle soul know who the two parties were to whom she and her boy owedtheir narrow escape from being trapped in that burning house. She saidthe name would never pass her lips and that she would write, aftersomething she was bound to accomplish had been put through. Of course Icouldn't even give more than a guess what that is, only she seemeddreadfully in earnest and I reckon it might be a reconciliation with herhusband, Adrian's father."

  Perk nodded his head solemnly.

  "Huh! mebbe so, Jack, mebbe so, lots o' that sort o' trouble goin''round these days, seems like. Now I wonder if you thought to ask whather name might be?"

  "Queer that I didn't think to do that, partner," Jack told him with alittle laugh. "I reckon I must have been a little absent-minded butthat's nothing to us for chances are we'll never meet the lady again.How about you and the boy?"

  "He told me his name, Jack, when he gave me this little picture hehappened to have in his pocket--you see on the back it's got written, Iguess by his Mom herself: 'Adrian, at six'; but tarnation take the luckif I ain't jest plumb forgot the last name he told me--somethin' likeBurnham or Barnard--begins with a B, I'm dead sure--Buster,Bramley--Buttons--well, for the love o' mike I can't strike oil butit'll come back, given a little time."

  "And I can see plain enough if it keeps on skipping you it's bound tokeep you busy guessing right along," Jack was saying, for only too welldid he know this little weakness on the part of his comrade. Perk wasbound to keep on pounding away at that puzzle day and night, givinghimself no rest until he either solved the riddle or else some one toldhim the answer--left to himself he would never give up trying.

  "Like as not, buddy," replied Perk, frowning darkly; "seems I'm gettin'up a tree every little while--never could remember names worth a centbut I don't forget faces, you understand."

  "And then too, you're a great hand for remembering to hear the firstsound of the dinner bell," said Jack with a chuckle.

  "I sure am some punkins 'bout that," admitted the amiable Perk with oneof his goodnatured grins spreading over his homely face.

  "What's the program after we've cleaned up this mess, eh partner?"inquired Jack, who doubtless could make a good guess from previousexperience as to what his companion's answer was apt to be, but for oncehe counted without his host.

  "Wall," observed Perk shaking his head, "I did mean to take a look in atthe pictur house, seein' they got my ol' favorite, Milton Sills bookedtonight but shucks! it's too late an' 'sides, somehow I kinder lost mylikin' for action jest now--mebbe I got my fill in that busy bee sessionwith the fire fiend down by the tenement district--kinder a bit lame inthe arm muscles, so I figger on rubbin' 'em with my salve that worked sofine after my rough landin' away back. Yep, I'll cut out the movies forone night in port an' go to bed early."

  "I'm meaning to pick up all the extra sleep possible," ventured Jack atwhich his mate nodded approvingly.

  "I get you, partner," he hastened to say, "kinder figgerin' on ourskippin' out any ol' time an' like as not runnin' up against a roughpassage that'll keep us on the jump. But I sure would like to have evenan inklin' which way that hop-off's goin' to lead us."

  "I'm surprised at such a reckless, devil-may-care sort of chap as I'veknown you to be, Perk, bothering your poor nut about such a silly thingjust as if it mattered two cents to either of us which way wehead--nothing ought to give us a second thought except that we're readyto jump in and carry through, any old place under the sun."

  "Yeah! but then what'd I find to worry 'bout if I didn't pick on the waywe're kept in the dark up to the last minute?"

  Jack looked at him blankly and shook his head as if such peculiarphilosophy were too much for him to master--then he changed the subjectand the meal went on until even Perk, with his tremendous cargocapacity, could contain no more.

  They sat in their room reading until their eyes getting heavy warnedthem it was time to hit the hay, as Perk was so fond of calling the actof getting into bed.

  In the morning they were both astir, for it so happened that neither hadever shown signs of being late sleepers, save on special occasions.

  "Another day," remarked Jack while leisurely dressing, for since theyhad nothing afoot (save to possibly take a few hours' spin in order tokeep in practice as well as test out several new devices with which theyhad as yet not become as familiar as Jack would like), there was nonecessity for any hurry.

  "An' wouldn't I give somthin' if only I knew we could check out beforesundown tonight," grumbled Perk, yawning and stretching as though lifewas becoming entirely too tame and monotonous to satisfy his cravings.

  "Wait and see," advised his chum, "you know the old saying that it'salways darkest just before dawn--we're due to get a thrill before manymore hours. Give Headquarters decent time to cook up a fine fat game forus, a nut to crack that'll be worth going after. I've a few littlethings on my list that I mean to carry out this morning when I'll beready for the call."

  Perk seemed unusually slow that morning, though he did not complainabout his lame muscles. Even when Jack asked about it he shrugged andwith a grimace remarked indifferently:

  "Oh! that's okay, buddy--turned out to be a false alarm--nothin' thematter with me, I guess, except I need shakin' up a wheen."

  "You'll get all you want of that I reckon before you're many daysolder," Jack told him, "somehow I've got a notion we're going to be senton a wild goose chase that may cover some thousands of miles and take usinto a queer section of country--nothing but a surmise, or what youmight call a _hunch_ to back me up in that, remember, but I've known ahunch to come true more than a few times."

  "I wonder," Perk observed dreamily, eyeing his comrade as if he againfelt the old suspicion arise with regard to Jack knowing more than hechose to tell just then.

  But unseen by either of the two pals, coming events were hurrying alongand threatening to speedily engulf them in as dizzy a spin as either hadever encountered in all previous experiences.

  It was around eight when they arrived at the flying field, as usual ascene of considerable bustle with ships coming in and departing--airmail carriers, visiting boats taking off in a continuance of theirprearranged flights east or west and several heavier bombing planes thatwere being taken to Los Angeles by naval pilots for some secret purposeof the War Department.

  Jack and his pal observed all this with grins of sheer enjoyment, sobr
ed in the bone had their love for their profession grown to be thateverything connected with flying drew them as the Polar star does themagnetic needle of a compass.

  "Times are getting right lively around these diggin's," remarked Perk,with a sparkle in his eyes and enthusiasm in his voice.

  "Seems like it," replied Jack who chanced to be watching a novice justthen starting out on what appeared to be his initial solo flight. "Thatboy shows fair promise of being due to break into the ranks of expresspilots after he's had another hundred miles or so of flying. I like theway he handles himself and the test pilot told me yesterday he was sureto be a comer."

  "Ol' Bob ought to know what's what," mentioned Perk taking a look forhimself, "there, he's off and see how he lifts the ol' bus when he'sready. I watched him make as neat a three-point landin' yesterday asanybody could wish. A few o' 'em seem to be born with wings--but notmany, not many, I'm sorry to say. Well, let's step over and get thingsstarted."

  Perk stopped short as though some one had given him a blow--he seemed tobe holding his breath while he stared and then commenced rubbing hiseyes in a peculiar fashion, just as though he imagined he must be seeingthings where they could not possibly exist.

  Jack realized that his chum must have had a shock of some kind, andturned upon him quickly.

  "What's the matter--what ails you, Perk?" he demanded.

  "Gosh amighty! Jack, looky there will you--the hangar--Mister Gibbons;you know, where we parked our boat--it's burned down last night!"