by E. J. Craine
CHAPTER V
THE STRANGE WARNING
"Open it, Jack, and see what the message is," urged Tom, as his chumstood with the scrap of damp paper held between his fingers, havingallowed the sagging little toy balloon to fall at his feet.
Jack was thinking just at that moment of the other message his companionand he had found attached to the homing pigeon. But of course they couldnot possibly have any sort of connection!
He opened the small bit of paper. It had some writing in lead pencil.Once it had doubtless been plain enough, but the dampness must havecaused it to become faint. Still, Jack could make it out without muchdifficulty. This was what he read aloud, so that Tom and the other pilotcould hear:
"_Look carefully to your planes; examine every part. There is treachery in the air!_"
"That's all, fellows," said Jack, much puzzled, as he turned the paperover and over, looking for some signature.
"No name attached, Jack?" asked his chum.
"Nothing whatever to tell who wrote that warning. Here, take a look atit, Tom. Your eyes may be sharper than mine and see something I'vemissed."
But Tom and the other pilot both failed to throw any light on the matterafter examining the paper thoroughly. They exchanged stares. Then Jacklaughed, a little queerly.
"This is certainly a mystery," he went on to say, trying to take thething as a joke. "Some kind friend sends me a solemn warning, and thenneglects to sign his name. Do you think any of the fellows of theescadrille could be up to a prank?"
Tom shook his head. The other pilot also exhibited positive signs ofdoubt in connection with such a thing.
"The boys often have their little jokes, and we are a merry bunch muchof the time, just to change off from the nervous strain we're livingunder," the man observed. "But I'm sure not one of them would dream ofdoing a thing like this. It would be a mean trick."
"Then both of you are inclined to believe this warning was meant in allseriousness, are you?" continued Jack, no longer grinning as before.
"Yes, I do," Tom instantly announced. "It seems a bit childish, sendingit in such a queer fashion; but then perhaps it was the only way open tothe person. There was one chance in ten that it would be found; but youknow sometimes we can't choose our way of doing things, but mustaccommodate ourselves to circumstances. This toy balloon being handysuggested a possible way of getting the warning to you, Jack."
"But why me any more than you, Tom, or any other fellow in theescadrille?" continued Jack, sorely bewildered.
"That's something we can only guess at," he was told. "Evidently thisperson had your name, and knew you were working here with the Lafayetteboys. Try to think of some one you may have done something for to makehim feel grateful to you. Could it have been that boyish-looking Germanprisoner we talked with the other day, and for whom you bound up a badlydamaged arm, Jack?"
"Oh! that boy!" exclaimed the other, and then shook his head. "No, it'simpossible. You see the poor chap could hardly talk halfway decentEnglish, and I'm sure he never could write my name like this. Besides,Tom," Jack went on triumphantly, "I never bothered to mention to himthat I had a name. To him I was simply an American flying for France."
"Anybody else you can think of?" persisted Tom, for it seemed to himthat it meant considerable to try to discover who had sent the messageby such a strange channel.
Jack pondered. Then all at once he looked up with a light in his eyes.
"You've thought of something!" exclaimed the other pilot eagerly.
"Well, it might be possible, although I hardly believe she'd be the oneto go to such trouble. Still, she had children, she told me, at her homein Lorraine, back of Metz; and this is a child's toy, this littlehot-air balloon."
"Do you mean that woman you assisted a week or so ago? Mrs. Neumann?"asked Tom, quickly.
"Yes, it was only a little thing I was able to do for her, but sheseemed grateful, and said she hoped some day to be in a position torepay the favor. Then later on I learned she had secured permission tocross over to the German lines, in order to get to her family. She is awidow with six children, you know, a native of Lorraine, and caught byaccident in one of the sudden furious rushes of the French, so that shehad been carried back with them when they retreated. At the time she hadbeen serving as a Red Cross nurse among the Germans. It was on thataccount the French allowed her to return to her family. They are verycourteous, these French."
Tom was listening. He nodded his head as though it seemed promising atleast.
"Let's figure it out," he mused. "Which way was the wind coming fromlast night, do either of you happen to know?"
"Almost from the north," the other aviator instantly responded. "Ichanced to notice that fact, for other reasons. But then it was almoststill, so the little balloon could not have drifted many miles beforethe heavy atmosphere dragged it down until finally it landed in thefield."
"Well, that settles one thing," asserted Tom. "It came from back of theGerman lines, don't you see?"
"Yes, that seems probable," admitted Jack.
"Your unknown friend was there at the time," continued Tom, in hislawyer-like way, following up the trail he had started; "and henceapparently in a position to know that some sort of plot was beingengineered against one Jack Parmly. Don't ask me why _you_ shouldbe selected for any rank treachery, because I don't know."
"And this person, this unknown friend of mine," Jack added, "wishing towarn me so that I might not meet a bad end to-day, sent out this messagein the hope that it might fall back of our lines and be picked up. Tom,it makes me have a queer feeling. I almost think I must be asleep anddreaming."
"No, it's real enough. We may never know who the writer of this note is;but we can heed the warning just the same, and go over to examine ourplanes minutely. Whoever it was, spelled your name correctly. I'vestudied the writing, but it seems to be assumed, and clumsy. There was areason for that too, as well as the writer failing to sign a name."
"What sort of reason?" queried Jack.
"Fear that in some way the message, and the balloon, might fall intoGerman hands and lead to unpleasant results," Tom continued. "We knowabout how those Huns would serve any one who tried to spoil their plans.They believe in frightfulness every time, and it might mean death to thewriter. This she evidently knew full well."
"Just why do you say 'she' when you speak of the writer?"
"Oh, I have an idea that Mrs. Neumann may be the mysterious friend whois taking such desperate chances to send you a warning. Anyway,something about it seems to say it isn't a man's handwriting. Besides,neither of you may have noticed it, but there's a faint odor, as ofperfume, adheres to that bit of paper, though the dampness has taken italmost all out."
Jack looked astonished at such shrewd reasoning.
"Well, you are certainly a wonder at seeing through things, Tom," hehastened to say. "And so of course that settles it in my mind. Mrs.Neumann sent this message to me; though how she could have learned thatthere was anything treacherous going on beats my powers of reasoning."
"But don't you think it would pay to learn if there's any truth about itall?" asked the other pilot, whose curiosity had been stirred up by sucha strange happening.
"Yes, let's all go over to the hangars and have the planes out for aregular inspection," said Tom. "If mischief has been done the chancesare it would be in a part not usually examined by the mechanician beforea flight. Then again the damage, if there is any, might be so covered upby the shrewd schemer that it would not be noticeable."
There were always cars going to and fro, for pilots came and went fromtime to time; so the trio quickly found themselves being whirled alongover the road so often traveled in their daily work.
"How about that fellow they chased late yesterday afternoon, who wasloitering about the hangars and acting in a suspicious way?" asked thefriendly pilot, as they rode along. "More than a few of the fellows sayhe must have been a spy, and up to some mischief, because he slipped offso slickly."
"I had him in mind all the while," said Tom. "And if any mischief hasbeen done, of course we can lay it at his door; though just how hemanaged to work we'll perhaps never know."
"I caught sight of him, too," Jack remarked; "and I only wish now I'dhad a good look at the chap who owned those pigeons to-day, so as totell if they were one and the same, which I believe to be a fact."
Just then Tom gave his chum a kick with the toe of his shoe. Thissuddenly reminded Jack that he was treading on forbidden ground, sincethey had resolved not to say anything to a third person concerning theadventure of that afternoon.
The other member of the escadrille was looking interested. He understoodthat Tom and Jack must have met with some singular adventure; but sincethey did not see fit to take him into their confidence he was too politeto ask questions, feeling there must be a good reason for their silence.
Presently they arrived at the hangars. It was now almost sunset. Thefliers were coming down one by one, their labor for the day having beenaccomplished. It had been a pretty arduous day, too, and two members ofthe escadrille had new honors coming to them, since they had droppedenemy planes in full view of tens of thousands of cheering spectators,after thrilling combats high in the air.
One had also passed through an experience that few aviators can lookback to. He had started to drop rapidly when, at almost ten thousandfeet altitude, his motor was struck by a missile from a rival pilot'sgun. When halfway down, either through a freak of fortune or somewonderfully clever manipulation on the part of the pilot, the machinerighted, and he was enabled to volplane to safety, though considerablybruised and cut up through hasty landing.
Jack quickly had his little Nieuport out of the hangar, and the threeairmen began a minute inspection. For a short time nothing developedthat had a suspicious appearance. Jack, in fact, was beginning tobelieve the warning might after all be in the nature of a fake, or elsethe spy had not found a favorable chance to do his foul work beforebeing frightened off.
But presently Tom gave utterance to an exclamation.
"Found anything, Tom?" asked Jack eagerly.
"Yes. Come around here, both of you!"
When the others joined Tom he pointed to where an important wire stayhad been dextrously filed so that it must snap under a severe wrench orstrain, such as commonly comes when a pilot is far afield, and wishes toexecute a necessary whirl.
Jack shivered as he took in the meaning of that partly severed stay. Ifit gave way while he was far above the earth it must spell his certaindoom!