Aeroplane Boys on the Wing
Page 7
CHAPTER VII.
ANDY RECEIVES A SHOCK.
"Then it was Jules who set fire to our shed!" exclaimed the boy,astounded.
"None other, you may be sure," replied Chief Waller, nodding his head.
"And made off on my wheel?" continued Frank, beginning to grasp thetruth.
"That's just what he did," went on the official. "Found he couldn'tsteal your aeroplane and was bound to lay his hands on somethingbelonging to the Birds that would carry him out of danger. Glad youcame, Frank. I'll just call up all the surrounding towns and ask if abicyclist has been seen there. I hope you can describe the wheel so theymight know it."
"Yes, I even know the number. Besides, I've got my address scratched onthe under-part of the frame. But whatever do you suppose Jules wanted toset our hangar on fire for?" Frank asked.
"Huh!" replied the chief; "don't know, unless it was a spirit ofrevenge. Some of these French rascals have the same nature as theCorsican or the Sicilian and hug the idea of revenge to their hearts."
"Revenge!" Frank cried. "But when did we ever injure them? Oh, yes, Iforgot! We chased them off at the time they tried to steal ouraeroplane, and they even neglected to take those two suit cases ofjewelry with them, so the stolen property was recovered."
"Yes," the chief went on, "and that wasn't all, either. Remember that itwas you Bird boys who discovered that they were hiding in the old shackdeep in the forest. You saw them near there when you were sailing overthat region in your airship and reported to me. And so we surrounded thecabin and nabbed our game. It may be they learned who gave them away,and Jules, on finding himself at large, made up his mind to get evenbefore running off."
Turning to the phone on his desk the chief now started to call upseveral of the neighboring towns. Some were only six or eight milesaway, while others might be double that and more.
Frank knew where the road ran that passed the Whympers place and whenfinally the police head got Shelby he pricked up his ears. Immediatelyhe saw Chief Waller show signs of sudden interest. A smile crept overhis face as though he were hearing news that pleased him. Then heengaged in a hurried conversation with the police official at the otherend of the wire, after which he turned to Frank.
"I think I've located your wheel, Frank," he observed.
"Over at Shelby, you mean?" queried the other.
The chief nodded in the affirmative.
"Yes, over at Shelby," he said. "It seems that early this morning awagon belonging to a countryman coming in to market was stopped bysomething lying on the road. Getting down, the farmer found that it wasa man, badly injured, as if he had taken a header from a wheel. And,indeed, a bicycle was found close by, with some parts of it damaged, asif it had been run at full speed against a rock, sending the rider tenfeet away, where he landed on his head and was knocked out."
"Was it my wheel?" asked Frank.
"He described it, for the farmer brought both man and wheel to policeheadquarters, and there can be no doubt but that it's yours. And theunfortunate rider answers to Jules. Now, I'm going to get an automobileat the garage and go over. If you want to go along I'd be glad to haveyou, Frank."
"I certainly would," replied the boy, quickly. "I hope the poor fellowdidn't go so far as to break his neck. But let me go after a machine foryou, chief. I've got an errand at the garage anyhow, as my dad wants amechanic sent up to potter at his little runabout, out of commission asusual. He's ordered a better car, you know, and is only waiting for itto be delivered. Shall I go?"
"Yes. Tuttle will know which machine I generally use when on officialbusiness, for you see the town pays the bill. Be back as soon as youcan, Frank."
"Yes, sir," replied the other, hastening away.
The mystery was now solved, and, after all, Puss had been proveninnocent on this last count. Frank laughed to think how amazed Andywould likely be when he heard the news.
"I only hope he doesn't happen to run across Puss before I get a chanceto open his eyes," he was saying to himself, as he headed for the nearbygarage. "Because I really believe Andy is mad enough to challenge ourold enemy and throw the accusation in his teeth. Then there would be ahigh old mix-up, with Puss in the right for once."
It did not take him long to deliver both messages. He saw a mechanicstart off to tackle the disabled runabout for the doctor, so he couldcarry out his round of morning visits by ten o'clock. And then achauffeur ran a car out of the garage into which he invited Frank tojump.
When they arrived at police headquarters the chief was awaitingthem. Evidently he was not at all averse to this delightful spin acrosscountry on a fine July morning and with nothing to pay. Officialbusiness might sometimes prove worth cultivating.
Presently they were off. Frank, of course, knew every rod of the way. Hehad more than a few times made the trip over to Shelby on his wheel incompany with Andy. And since they had taken to the air they had lookeddown upon that road for miles, as they whirled along hundreds of feetup, discovering features about the landscape that they had never dreamedof before they had this "bird's-eye view," as Andy delighted to call it,playing upon their own name.
In due time they reached Shelby and drew up in front of the buildingwhere the police held forth. The first one to meet their eyes as theyentered was a familiar figure seated in a chair and attended by a doctorand a couple of officers.
"It's Jules, sure enough!" said Frank, as, despite the many bandagesabout the head of the man, he recognized the dapper little Frenchaviator with whom he had had more or less trouble in the past.
And Jules grinned as he saw them. His spirit was not crushed, eventhough it began to look as though he might be the football of fate.
"It ees ze fortunes of war, messiers," he said, wincing at the painspeech caused him. "And after all, it was ze machine of ze younginventor zat downed me. I am von lucky man not to haf been five thousandfeet up in ze air when it occur. Had eet been ze monoplane zat kickedme, pouf! poor Jules he would haf been as flat as ze pancake. As eet is,after I haf serve my time I am yet alive."
Frank found his bicycle badly damaged. In fact, the front wheel wassmashed beyond recovery, for it had been driven against some stone at atremendous pace. Strange to say, the lamp had gone through it allwithout any apparent damage.
"A few dollars will fix it up, all right," he said, cheerfully. "And Iguess I ought to be thankful ever to see it again."
So he placed the wheel in the back of the big touring car. The doctorannounced that Jules might be moved without danger if they were careful,and this Chief Waller promised he would be.
"You're giving us a heap of bother, Jules," he said, after the capturedrascal had been safety stowed away in the tonneau of the car, with thechief beside him and Frank mounting to the front with thechauffeur. "But this winds you up. I understand your trial comes offtomorrow and you'll soon be snug in the pen."
"Zat was ze knowledge zat urge me to break out," remarked the prisoner,blandly.
"Well," remarked the other, with a tightening of his lips, "we'll makesure you don't get another opportunity, that's all."
Frank watched as they drew near the place of Colonel Josiah. Heanticipated that the prisoner would be eager to look across the field towhere the shed stood. Nor was Frank surprised to hear him give a lowcry.
"Eet is wonderful, ze luck zey haf!" Jules remarked, as he discoveredthat the hangar had not burned to the ground as he expected, and afterthat he relapsed into gloomy silence.
Frank had caught sight of Andy passing along the street ahead andentering the Bloomsbury postoffice. So as soon as he could get hisbroken wheel into the bicycle store, where he left orders for its beingfixed at once, he hurried off, in hopes of intercepting his cousin andbreaking the great news.
He was just in time to see Andy coming out of the building and staringhard at something he held in his hand. Frank could see that it was aletter and he also noticed that his chum was unusually pale.
"Now I wonder what he's got?" asked Frank, talking to himself, as m
anyboys often do at times. "Looks like a letter, too. Once in a while thecolonel asks him to go down when the mail comes in and see if there isan important one for him, which he can't wait for the carrier to bringout. And Andy has got one this time, sure."
A moment later and he came upon Andy, who at sight of his chum showedsigns of relief.
"I'm awful glad you came along, Frank," he said, seizing the other bythe sleeve; "I was at your house and they told me you had gone downtownsomewhere. Then, as the mail was in, I remembered Colonel Josiah wasexpecting one of his letters from London, and so I dropped over. Butthere was nothing for him. Mr. Guthrie handed me out this and said heguessed it was for me. Oh, look where it is from, Frank! Do youthink--can it be possible that it means some news, after all this time,from my father?"
Frank saw it was rather a bulky letter and that the postmark showed astation in South America. Remembering all that had passed between themin connection with this country he understood the cause of Andy's greatemotion.
"I was almost afraid to open it, Frank," said the other, brokenly.
"Well, do it now," remarked Frank, and Andy tore the end off hurriedly.
He appeared to read hungrily for a minute, and then gave a cry ofamazement.
"Oh!" he said, taking in a big breath, "how strange! how wonderful!"