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diff --git a/44782.txt b/44782.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 07dc27d..0000000 --- a/44782.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5631 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Dorothy Dixon and the Mystery Plane, by -Dorothy Wayne - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Dorothy Dixon and the Mystery Plane - - -Author: Dorothy Wayne - - - -Release Date: January 28, 2014 [eBook #44782] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY DIXON AND THE MYSTERY -PLANE*** - - -E-text prepared by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) - - - -DOROTHY DIXON AND THE MYSTERY PLANE - -by - -DOROTHY WAYNE - -Author of -Dorothy Dixon Solves the Conway Case -Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin -Dorothy Dixon Wins Her Wings - - - - - - - -The Goldsmith Publishing Company -Chicago - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Copyright, 1933 -The Goldsmith Publishing Company -Made in U. S. A. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - TO - WINKIE - - who has had a finger in each - of her Mummy's books - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - CONTENTS - - I At the Beach Club - II The Three Red Lamps - III Where's Terry? - IV The Thunderhead - V Hide and Seek - VI The House on the Dunes - VII Shanghaied! - VIII The Cork Chain - IX Deep Water - X Wrecked - XI From Out the Sea - XII The Notebook - XIII The Warning - XIV Up Against It - XV Run to Cover - XVI The Tunnel - XVII The Tombs - XVIII The Flags - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Dorothy Dixon and the Mystery Plane - - - Chapter I - - AT THE BEACH CLUB - - -"Here he comes again, Dot!" - -Terry Walters balanced on the edge of the beach club float and pointed -upward toward the approaching airplane. - -Dorothy Dixon bobbed up beside the raft, blew the water from her nose -and reached a long tanned arm for the young man's ankle. - -"Here _you_ come into the drink, you mean!" she gurgled. - -Terry yelped, lost balance, and recovering desperately, dived over her -head. His departure rocked the float, so that Phil Stanton's lanky -figure poised on the diving board, lurched and fell awkwardly into the -water. - -Betty Mayo, hugging her damp knees on the middle of the float, shrieked -her approval of this double exploit. - -"Swell work, Dorothy!" she laughed as that young lady pulled herself -aboard. "You'll catch it in a minute though!" - -Dorothy stood up. Her scarlet bathing cap flamed against the ash blue -sky and her wet suit clung to her slender form like a sheath of black -lacquer. - -"Maybe!" Then, in quite a different tone: "Goodness, Betty, he's -missing!" - -Betty sprang to her feet. "You're crazy--" she retorted as she caught -sight of Phil and Terry knifing their way back to the float. "Why'd you -try to scare me? Those boys are all right." - -But Dorothy was staring skyward. - -"Not the boys! I mean the plane, Betty. Over there beyond the club -house. His engine's missing. Bet you an ice cream cone he'll have to -land!" - -"No, you won't," Betty flashed back. "I don't know a thing about -airplanes, and I'll take your word for it. Ooh, Dorothy--do you think -he'll hit the roof?" - -"Oh, he's all right--" - -"Yes, he's over the roof now--but _look_!" Betty's voice rose to a -shriek. "He's aiming the plane straight for us--it'll hit this float--" - -The last word was no more than a gurgle. Betty had dived overside. - -Dorothy did not trouble to turn her head. With her bare feet firmly -planted on the timbers, her straight body balanced easily to the float's -gentle rocking, she gazed interestedly at the big amphibian sweeping -down toward her. - -On came the plane, losing altitude with every split second, and sailed -over her head a bare thirty feet above the water. Then as she faced -about to watch it land, the tail of her eye caught sight of Terry -hauling himself over the edge of the float. - -"Get you for that last one!" he cried, and scrambled to his feet. "'Who -laughs last,' you know!" - -"I know--" mocked Dorothy, evading his grasp and running up the -springboard. She dived and her body entered the water with scarcely a -sound. - -As she rose she turned lazily on her back. - -"Come and get me!" she tantalized. Then as she saw him start in pursuit, -she rolled over and headed out toward the seaplane which now floated two -or three hundred yards away toward the mouth of the inlet and Long -Island Sound. - -Terry knew the speed developed by her flagrantly perfect crawl, and did -not attempt to follow her. He chuckled as he watched the bob of scarlet -and the flash of a brown arm that was all he could see of Dorothy. - -"Hey, where's Dorothy?" called Betty as she and Phil clambered on to the -raft. - -"Halfway to Boston, I guess. Race you to the beach for the cones!" - -All three cut the rumpled surface of the water with a single splash. - -Dorothy's interest in the airplane that had just landed was twofold. -Since qualifying for her private pilot's license earlier in the summer, -she had met most of the owners of planes living in or near New Canaan. -To the best of her knowledge the Loening Amphibian which her father had -given her for rounding up the Martinelli gang was the only one of that -model privately owned in that part of Connecticut. That the plane lying -just ahead on the water was a duplicate of her own meant that the owner -was not a local person. - -Dorothy was a keen aviatrix and proud of her airbus. She wanted to -compare notes with the owner of this amphibian. She was also curious to -learn where the plane came from; and why every day for the past few -weeks it had appeared over the Club at about this same time of an -afternoon. At five-thirty sharp the crowd of young people on the beach -would see it, a speck in the north, coming from over the ridge country -back of the Sound. Flying at an altitude of not more than five hundred -feet, it would swing over the beach club and cross the Sound, to -disappear in the ether toward the dim line of the Long Island shore. - -Terry jokingly termed it the Mystery Plane. He told Dorothy that its -owner made these daily flights in order to show her how a plane should -be managed in the air. She usually returned his good-natured teasing -with interest, but each time she saw the amphibian, her curiosity -increased. - -As she swam nearer it was plain that this airship was actually the same -stock model as her own. With the retractible landing wheels drawn up, -the spoon-shaped hull of the biplane, with its two open cockpits aft of -the inverted engine, floated easily on the water. The aviator, she saw, -was busily engaged in going over his engine. - -Dorothy stopped swimming when she was a few yards from the amphibian. - -"Hello, there!" she called, treading water. "Need any help?" - -The man looked up from his work, evidently perceiving her for the first -time. Dorothy was surprised to see that the face below the soft helmet -and goggles was bearded to the eyes. - -"No, thank you," he answered and went on tinkering with the motor. The -words, although courteous enough, were spoken in a tone that showed -plainly that he wished to end the conversation then and there. - -Dorothy was persistent and not easily discouraged. - -"Located the trouble?" she asked. - -"Not yet," replied the man without lifting his head. - -"Looks like loose manifold, or gas connection, to me." - -There was no reply to this helpful suggestion. - -She began swimming toward the plane again. - -"Mind if I come aboard?" she called. - -The bearded aviator straightened his back and faced her again, his right -hand grasping a monkey-wrench. - -"No. I do not wish it," he flared. "Why for do you bother me? Keep off, -I tell you." - -For the first time, the girl in the water noticed his strong foreign -accent. - -"Aren't you polite!" she mocked. "I don't suppose you'll mind if I come -alongside and rest a moment?" - -"You stay where you are, young woman." As the man's anger grew, his -accent became stronger. "I haf no time to bodder wid you. Go away--and -stop away!" - -"But I just want--" - -"I don't care _what_ you want. Come alongside, and I'll use this wrench -on you!" - -"Oh, no you won't!" - -Terry Walters slipped round the engine and tripped up the aviator. -Before that irate person knew what was happening he found himself flat -on his back with a hundred and sixty pounds of young American kneeling -on his chest, menacing him with his own monkey-wrench. - -"That's not a nice way to talk to a lady!" Terry remarked -dispassionately eyeing his victim. "Ask her pardon like a good little -boy. Do it quickly, my friend, or I'll plant this wrench in the middle -of that bush you call a face!" - -"I didn't mean nossing," the man grunted. - -"Try again!" Terry whacked his captive's shin with the wrench. "Also try -to cut the double negatives. Our English teacher says they're bad form -and--" - -Terry's banter stopped with a yelp of pain as the man's head jerked -upward and his teeth snapped on the hand which held the wrench. - -Dorothy, who had swum to within a few feet of the amphibian, saw Terry -thrown to one side. Like cats, the boy and the man seemed to land on -their feet--but now it was the strange aviator who held the -monkey-wrench. - -"Look out, Terry!" shrieked the girl as she saw the man's arm swing -upward. - -The small deck forward of the lower wing section was far too narrow to -permit dodging. Terry did the only thing possible under the -circumstances to save himself. Three seasons on the football team of the -New Canaan High had made that young man a quick thinker. He dove below -the swinging blow and tackled the aviator just above his knees. It was a -well aimed tackle and the two went hurtling overside to disappear with a -splash. - -Terry's blond head was the first to appear. Then as the aviator's came -popping up, facing the other way, young Walters seized him by the -shoulders and sent him under once more. - -"Let the man alone, Terry!" commanded Dorothy. "Can't you see he's -swallowed half the Sound?" - -"But he'd have brained me with that wrench, Dot--" - -"I'll 'Dot' you if you take liberties with my first name!" Miss Dixon -shook her fist above her head, "Anyway, it's my fault. I butted in. That -man and his plane are none of our business." - -They were swimming back toward the float now and a glance over her -shoulder told Dorothy that their late antagonist was pulling himself -aboard the amphibian. - -Terry saw him too, and waved a hand. But the foreigner, occupied in -wringing water out of his clothes, disregarded them. - -"I've had enough of the water for one day," declared Dorothy between -strokes. "How's the wrist? You might have been badly hurt, Terry." - -Terry motioned toward the float. "But I wasn't, old thing," he chuckled. -"Come over to the raft a moment, before we go ashore. I've got something -I want to show you." - -"Make it snappy, then," she rejoined. "You and I have got to be at -Silvermine by seven-thirty, you know. Curtain up at eight-thirty--and -you remember what Mr. Watkins said about any of the cast being late?" - -Terry swung himself up on the decking and gave a hand to Dorothy. - -"I'm only a chorus man," he grinned. "We'll both get to the Sillies in -time. Look at this--" - -He opened his hand and held it out, palm upward. - -"I'm not interested in seaweed!" Dorothy's tone was full of disgust. - -"Seaweed, nothing! That's a piece of your friend's beard!" - -"You don't mean to tell me you pulled it out?" - -"Not out, dearie--off. That wasn't his own hair that lad was wearing." - -"A _false beard_?" - -"What else?" - -Dorothy pursed her lips. "Well, that amphibian and its pilot are two of -the most mysterious things I've ever run into." - -"I wonder what he is up to, Dot--I mean, Dorothy?" - -"I wonder, too. By the way, how did you happen out there--and just at -the right minute? I thought I saw you start a race for the beach with -Betty and Phil?" - -Terry nodded his wet head and laughed. "That was only a bluff to make -you think I wasn't coming after you. As I saw you were having an -argument with him, and I didn't like the way he was acting, I swam -around the tail of his plane and got aboard on the farther -deck--and--well, you know the rest. Why did you want to go aboard?" - -"Curiosity, pure and simple. Have you any idea why he flies over the -Club nearly every afternoon, and always at the same time?" - -"No--have you?" - -"Not the dimmest. But now that I know friend pilot wears false whiskers, -I'm certainly intrigued." - -"Come again," frowned Terry. "I didn't get that last one. Did you say -_intrigued_?" - -"Cut the clowning. This is serious, Terry. That fellow is up to some -mischief, or he wouldn't disguise himself." - -Behind them the amphibian's engine sputtered, then roared. - -"I've got an idea," said Terry as the two watched the plane taxi out -toward the takeoff. "Why don't you get your bus and follow that bird -some afternoon?" - -"I'd already decided to do it tomorrow. Want to come?" - -"You bet! How do you expect to work it?" - -"Look here, if we're going to make that show on time, we'd better go -right now. We'll make our plans later. Come along." - -Their bodies cut the water with hardly a splash as they raced for the -beach. Out in the inlet the amphibian rose gracefully into the air and -headed into the mist which was creeping up Long Island Sound. - - - - - Chapter II - - THE THREE RED LAMPS - - -In the wooded valley of the Silvermine, some three miles from the -village of New Canaan, lies the famous artists' colony which bears the -name of that rippling little river. In the midst of this interesting -community, the artists have built their Guild House, where exhibitions -of paintings and sculpture are held. And here it is that once a year -they give that delightful entertainment known as the Silvermine Sillies. - -The casts of the Sillies invariably comprise the pick of local talent -from the two communities. Dorothy had starred in the musical show given -by the New Canaan High School the previous winter. She had a lovely -voice and a natural talent for acting. She loved amateur theatricals. -But that she should have been assigned a part in the Sillies while yet -in High School was a compliment beyond her expectations. She had worked -hard at rehearsals and under an assumed calm was wildly excited on this, -the opening night of the show. - -She left Terry on the beach, after cautioning that young man again not -to be late, and ran up the shingle to the Dixons' cabana, which, -together with its gaily painted counterparts, flanked the long club -house at the top of the beach. - -A surprisingly few minutes later, Dorothy reappeared, her bathing suit -having been discarded for an attractive linen sports frock, and jumped -into her car. - -The distance between Tokeneke on Long Island Sound and New Canaan back -in the hills of the Ridge Country is slightly under eight miles. -Luckily, on her drive home, Dorothy encountered no traffic policemen. -Not withstanding summer traffic and the narrow, winding roads, she -pulled into the Dixon garage on the ridge a mile beyond the village, a -bare ten minutes later. - -Another change of costume and she ran downstairs to the dining room. Her -father and a friend were about to sit down at the table. - -"Sorry to be late, Daddy," she apologized, slipping into her chair. -"Good evening, Mr. Holloway." - -"Good evening, Miss Dorothy," returned the gentleman with a smile. "You -seem a bit blown." - -"Some rush!" she sighed, "but I made it!" - -"Youth," remarked her father, "is nothing if not inconsistent. We dine -early, so that Dorothy can get to the Sillies at some unearthly hour, -and--" - -His daughter interrupted. - -"Please, Daddy. I had an awfully exciting experience this afternoon. I'd -have been home in plenty of time, otherwise." - -"At the Beach Club?" - -"Yes, Daddy." - -"Well, suppose you tell us the story, as penance." He turned to his -guest. "How about it, Holloway? This should interest you, one of the -club's most prominent swimming fans!" - -Mr. Holloway nodded genially. He was older than Mr. Dixon, between fifty -and sixty, tall and rather thin. He had the brow and jaw of a fighter, -and his iron-grey side-whiskers gave him a rather formidable appearance. -But Dorothy liked him, for his eyes, behind his horn-rimmed spectacles, -beamed with friendliness. - -"The Beach Club, eh?" He leaned back in his chair. "Yes, I take a dip -most afternoons. Wonderful bracer after mornings in the city in this hot -weather. You ought to get down there more often." - -"Well, there's a pool at the Country Club, and I'd rather play golf," -argued his host. "I haven't been to the Beach Club this summer, but -Dorothy tells me that the cabana you've built is quite a palace--much -larger and more 'spiffy,' I think was the word, than those we ordinary -members rent!" - -"I like to be comfortable and have some privacy when I entertain my -friends down there," Mr. Holloway admitted. "But I'm interested in -hearing Dorothy's story. I was there this afternoon, but I didn't notice -anything unusual." - -"Did you see the airplane that landed in the cove?" - -"Why, no. What time was that?" - -"A little after five-fifteen." - -"I had already left for home. I'm rarely at the club after five o'clock. -I like a bright sun when I'm in the water. What about the plane?" - -While Dorothy told of her experience with the bearded pilot, the two -gentlemen continued their meal in silence. - -"A nasty customer--that!" snapped her father when she had concluded. -"But then, my dear, you shouldn't allow your keenness for aviation to -over-excite your curiosity. Let it be a lesson to you not to interfere -with other people's private business." - -"You say that he wore a false beard?" interjected Mr. Holloway. "Now I -wonder why the man wants to disguise himself? And why he was so -standoffish about his plane?" - -"He's probably in training for some test or endurance flight and wants -to keep his identity secret for the time being," suggested Mr. Dixon. -"There's often a lot of hush-hush stuff about such things--that is, -until the stunt comes off--and then the secretive ones become the -world's worst publicity hounds!" - -Dorothy remarked the change that came to their guest's face: the eyes -narrowed, the mouth grew harder; something of his levity disappeared. - -"Perhaps," he said slowly. "But whatever his reason for wishing privacy, -we can't have club members insulted by strange aviators in our own cove. -I shall take it up at the board of governors' meeting tomorrow. In -future we will see to it that no more airplanes land on club waters. Do -you think you would recognize the man without his beard, Dorothy?" - -"I don't think so--but Terry, who was nearer to him, swears he could -spot him anywhere." - -"If he should do so, ask him to report the matter to me, and I'll see -that the man at least offers apology." - -"Thank you, Mr. Holloway." Dorothy was pleased at this interest. "I'll -tell him." - -"You three had better leave well enough alone," her father declared -bluntly. "The plane is probably being flown over a set course which -happens to take it over the club. That aviator seems to be a surly -customer. My advice is to forget it...." - -Dorothy pushed her chair back from the table. - -"You'll excuse me, won't you?" she smiled. "I've got to run, now." She -went to her father and kissed him. "Please don't be late, Daddy. I come -on the first time right after the curtain rises--it will spoil my -evening if you two aren't there!" - -Mr. Holloway's kindly eyes twinkled behind his glasses. - -"Nice of you to include me. I wouldn't miss the first number for -anything. I'll see that we're both there in time." - -"Don't worry, sweetheart." Her father patted her hand. "We've got a -small matter of business to go over and then we'll be right along. -Success to you, dearest." - -"'Bye!" - - * * * * * - -A fine rain was falling when Dorothy stepped into her car. As yet it was -more a heavy mist than a downpour. But with the wind in the east she -realized that this part of the country was in for several days of wet -weather. She drove carefully, for the winding wooded roads were -slippery. Upon arriving at the Guild House, she changed at once into -costume. - -The Silvermine Sillies, like Mr. Ziegfield's more elaborate Follies, is -invariably a revue, consisting of eighteen or twenty separate acts. As -Dorothy stood in the wings, waiting for her cue, shortly after the first -curtain rose, she was addressed by the stage manager: - -"Have you seen Terry?" - -"Not since this afternoon. Why?" - -"He's not here." - -Dorothy was fighting back the stage fright that always assailed her -while waiting to "go on," but which always disappeared as soon as she -made her entrance. She turned her mind to what the manager was saying -with an effort. - -"You mean he hasn't shown up?" she asked a bit vacantly. - -"Your perception is remarkable," returned the harassed stage official -with pardonable sarcasm. "No, Terry isn't here. Do you know whether he -had any intention of putting in an appearance at this show tonight when -you last saw him?" - -Dorothy was wide awake now. "Of course he had!" - -"He didn't mention some more important date, perhaps?" - -"Of course not. Terry wouldn't do such a thing!" - -"Well, he goes on in less than two minutes. Who in blazes am I to get to -double for him? Deliver me from amateurs! There's your cue, Miss -Dixon--better take it!" - -"Hey, you, Bill!" she heard him call to a stage hand, as she made her -entrance. "Duck into the men's dressing room and bring me Terry Walters' -overalls and wig. Here's where I do his stuff without a makeup!" - -Terry failed to show up during the first part of the program, so during -the intermission, Dorothy slipped out front and sought the delinquent's -father and mother in the audience. - -"Why, my dear, I'm quite as surprised as you are," gurgled Mrs. Walters. -"Isn't this rain disgusting? You looked perfectly lovely Dorothy--and -you did splendidly, splendidly, my dear. I thought I'd die when your -rope of pearls broke and you went hunting for them--a perfect scream, my -dear--the funniest thing in the show!" - -"Those were Betty Mayo's pearls," said Dorothy. "I wasn't in that act. -You say Terry left the house in plenty of time, and he expected to drive -straight down here?" - -Mrs. Walters had said nothing of the kind, but Dorothy had known the -lady for years, and had long ago devised a method of securing -information from her. - -"He didn't even wait for dessert, my dear. He probably went to the -movies or remembered some other date. Boys are like that!" - -"Terry isn't." His father spoke up. "He must have been going to pick -someone up and give them a lift down here--then blew a shoe or -something. Still, I don't like it. I hope the boy hasn't met with an -accident." - -"Oh, don't say that, Reggie! You make me feel positively faint. I know -he has gone to the pictures." Mrs. Walters was nervously emphatic. -"Don't be so silly, dear--I know he has." - -"You know nothing of the kind," declared her husband. - -"But, Reggie dear--" - -Dorothy hurriedly excused herself and went back stage. - -But by the time the final curtain was rung down, no Terry had appeared. -Dorothy was really worried. Betty was giving a party to a number of the -cast at her house in White Oak Shade, but despite protests, Dorothy made -her regrets and went to look for her father. - -"I think I'll beat it for home, Dad," she announced, buttonholing him -near the door. - -"I'll be along in a few minutes, darling. I certainly am more than extra -proud of you tonight. I never realized what an actress you are. But you -look troubled--anything the matter?" - -"I'm worried about Terry. I know he wouldn't deliberately put us all in -this hole. He's not that kind." - -"Probably had a break-down," consoled her father. "Excuse me, dear, I -want to speak to the Joneses over there." - - * * * * * - -Dorothy drove a six-cylinder coupe whose body had seen better days, -though she claimed for its engine that the world had not seen its equal. -With her windiper working furiously, she came cautiously along Valley -Road, her big headlamps staring whitely ahead. The rain was pelting down -now, and since she must have a window open, and that window was on the -weather side, one arm and part of the shoulder of her thin slicker were -soon black and shining. - -"Something he couldn't help--that's what made Terry let us down," said -her subconscious mind, and she wondered how any of the cast could have -expressed contrary opinions. She was glad she had refused Betty's -invitation. She liked Terry and was deeply concerned about him. He -wasn't the sort to default unless something unforeseen and unusual -occurred. Mrs. Walters said he had been full of the show at dinner and -had spoken about getting to the Guild House early. Something had come -up, that was certain. And that something, after he had started for -Silvermine in his car. The more she thought about it, the more -mysterious it seemed. She would phone the Walters again as soon as she -reached home. Maybe he would be back by that time. - -The car skidded round the turn into the Ridge Road that ran past the -Dixon place. A mile farther on, Dorothy decided it would be well for her -to keep her mind on the road ahead. A few minutes before, a lumbering -truck had almost driven her into the ditch, and now, with a mile to go, -she saw ahead of her three red lights. She slowed her engine until she -came within a dozen yards of them. - -They were red lamps, placed in a line across the road, and if they meant -anything, it was that the road was under repair and closed. Yet she had -passed the truck going at full speed just beyond the corner. From its -lights, she was sure it had come along this stretch of road. - -She peered through the open window and saw on her left a dilapidated -stone fence, the top of which was hidden under a blanket of wild -honeysuckle. She saw by her headlights a gap where once she knew a -five-barred gate had blocked the way to the open field. All this she -took in at a glance, for Dorothy knew exactly where she was. Then she -turned again to her scrutiny of the road and the three red lamps. - -"Well!" said Dorothy to herself. She switched out all the lights of the -car, and taking something from her pocket, she opened the door quietly -and stepped into the rain. She stood there for a while, listening. - -There was no sound except the swish and patter of the storm. Keeping to -the centre of the road she advanced slowly toward the red lights, picked -up the middle one and examined it. The lantern was old--the red had been -painted on the glass. The second lantern was newer, but of entirely -different pattern. Here also, the glass pane had been covered by some -red, transparent paint. And this was the case with the third lamp. - -Dorothy threw the middle light into the ditch and found satisfaction in -hearing the crash of glass. Then she came back to her car, got inside, -slammed the door and put her foot down on the starter. The motor whined -but the engine did not move. The car was hot and never before had it -failed. Again she tried, but without success. - -"This looks suspicious," she muttered to herself. - -She sprang out into the rain again and walked to the back to examine her -gasoline tank. There was no need, for the indicator said, "Empty." - -"I'll say suspicious!" she muttered again, angrily, as she stared down -at the cause of her plight. - -She had filled up just before dinner, but notwithstanding that fact, -here was a trustworthy indicator pointing grimly to "E"; and when she -tapped the tank, it gave forth a hollow sound in confirmation. - -Dorothy sniffed: the air reeked with fumes. Flashing her pocket light on -the ground she saw a metal cap and picked it up. Then she understood -what had happened. The roadway, under her light, gleamed with opalescent -streaks. Someone had taken out the cap and emptied her tank while she -was examining the red lamps! - -She refastened the cap, which was airproof, waterproof, and foolproof, -and which could only have been turned by the aid of a spanner--she had -heard no chink of metal against metal. She did not carry reserve fuel, -but home was not more than a mile down the road, round the turn. And she -knew there was a path from the gap in the stone wall, across the field -and through a belt of woods that would halve the distance. - -She sent her flashlight in the direction of the open gateway. One of the -posts was broken and the rotting structure leaned drunkenly against a -lilac bush. In the shadow behind the bush, she was certain that a dark -form moved. - -Dorothy lingered no longer, but switching off her light, she turned on -her heel and raced up the road. - - - - - Chapter III - - WHERE'S TERRY? - - -Behind her, Dorothy heard a shout, and that shout lent wings to her -feet. Scared as she was, she grinned. For she was probably doing the -only thing her would-be assailants had not counted on. She was running -away from the red lights and home, sprinting down the road the way she -had come. Overhead, tall elms met in an archway, and from the darkness -at her back came the quick patter of footsteps. Suddenly they stopped. - -Dorothy gave a sigh of joyous relief, for around the bend in the road -she saw the double gleam of headlights, shining through the wet. -Stopping short in the middle of the road, she switched on her flashlight -again and waved it frantically from side to side. - -"Daddy!" she cried as the big car drew up. "I was sure you weren't far -away. Gee! but I was glad to see your lights." - -Mr. Dixon snapped open the door and Dorothy slipped in beside him. - -"Why, what are you doing out here? Have a breakdown?" - -"H-holdup," she panted. "My car's down the road. Step on it, Dad--maybe -we can catch them." - -"An ounce of discretion is sometimes worth forty pounds of valor," he -began, throwing in the clutch. - -Dorothy cut him short. "Look!" she cried excitedly, and for all Mr. -Dixon's cautious announcement, the car jumped forward with a jerk. "See, -Daddy! There's my tail light! They've turned it on again. And the red -lights have disappeared." - -"What red lights?" - -"Tell you in a minute. Better slow down. My car's out of gas. I've got a -piece of hose in the rumble. We can siphon enough from your tank into -mine to get me home." - -Mr. Dixon brought his car to a stop directly behind Dorothy's coupe. - -"Before we do anything, I want to hear exactly what happened, dear. You -scared your fond parent out of a year's growth when I caught sight of -you waving that light in the middle of the road!" - -"Poor old Daddy." She threw an arm about his neck. "You weren't half as -frightened as I was. Those men were pelting down the road behind me -and--" - -Her father broke in. "Well, they seem to have disappeared now. Let me -hear the beginning." - -In a few short sentences, Dorothy told him. - -"So you see," she ended. "There's nothing more for us to do about it, I -guess, except to put some gas in my tank, and go home." - -"Wait a minute. Hand over that flash, please." He opened the door and -with an agility surprising in so large a man, sprang into the wet road -and ran toward the gap in the wall. - -As he ran, Dorothy saw a light flash in his hand. Then he went out of -sight behind the wall but she could still see the gleam through the -bushes. Presently he came back to where she was standing beside the car. - -"Vamoosed!" He tossed the flash onto the seat. "As there's no car on the -road ahead they must have beat it over the field. I wonder why they -didn't hold you up when you'd stopped for those red lanterns? Strange. -Also, why do you suppose they switched on your lights?" - -"It's beyond me. Well, Daddy, if you'll pull alongside we'll siphon the -gas. This place and the rain and everything gives me the shivers. Let's -talk it over when we get home." - -Soon they were under way, and they continued on to the Dixon place -without further incident. - -"Your shoes are soaking wet, Dorothy. Go up to your room and change -them, my dear," decreed her father. "While you're doing that, I'll phone -Walters." - -When Dorothy came downstairs her father was in the living room. - -"Come over here and sit down," he said, making room for her on the -lounge beside him. "Terry has not come home yet. The family pretend not -to be worried--and that's that. I said nothing about what happened to -you on your way back from Silvermine." - -His daughter groaned. "Oh dear--if we could only figure out--but those -three red lights seem to cinch things, Daddy." - -"Hardly that. But they do make it look as though this disappearing -business is pretty serious--" - -Dorothy interrupted him eagerly: "Then there isn't any doubt in your -mind but that our experience at the club this afternoon is accountable -for Terry's disappearance, and my holdup?" - -Mr. Dixon, who was filling his pipe, struck a match and puffed -contemplatively. - -"We can't jump at conclusions, my dear. My first idea about that plane -may be the right one. On the other hand, this business tonight certainly -forces one's suspicions. If Terry doesn't show up by morning, we'll turn -the matter over to the police and start a thorough search. But I do -think it wise to keep the story of the amphibian and its pilot to -ourselves." - -Dorothy nodded. "You mean that if we spread our suspicions to the -police, they'd let the cat out of the bag and the man would be on his -guard?" - -"That's just it. And then you must remember that we really have no facts -to go on as yet." - -"Well, I think I'll go to bed," yawned Dorothy. "Do you mind if I try to -trail that plane with my own?" - -"Not if you'll promise to be careful, dear. In fact, I think it's a good -idea. But one thing I must insist upon and that is--you're to keep me -posted. No more of this taking things into your own hands, as you did -with the Martinellis. It's too dangerous. Confide in your old Dad, girl, -and we'll do a lot better." - -Dorothy was half way across the room, but here she turned and ran back -to her father and kissed him. "Of course I'll tell you everything. Isn't -it too bad, though, that Bill Bolton is away? He'd have been a wonderful -help. Have you any idea what he is doing?" - -"All I know is what his father told me--that he's off on some government -job. It may be Secret Service work, again. Anyway, he's to be away -indefinitely, I understand. Now, just one thing more." - -"Oh, _Daddy_! _More_ instructions to take care of myself?" - -Mr. Dixon laughed at her outraged expression, and relit his pipe. - -"Not exactly--you seem to have the luck to generally land on your feet. -But, I want you to consider this: if the bearded aviator or his -associates _are_ behind Terry's disappearance, they kidnapped him -because they thought he would recognize the man. And they tried to do -the same thing to you tonight." - -"Why on earth should they fear being recognized?" - -"Haven't the slightest idea. It depends on what they're up to. There -must be a strong motive behind it. You don't strike a match unless you -want a light. But unless we're chasing moonbeams, something illegal is -going on and if there is a hunt for Terry tomorrow, I don't want you to -take part in it." - -"You think they'll try to get me again?" - -"It is highly possible." Her father got to his feet and put his hands on -her shoulders. "So promise me you won't go running about country byroads -in your car, even during daylight hours. If you must go out at night, -either I or Arthur must be in the car with you." (Arthur was the Dixons' -chauffeur-gardener.) "There's no use trying to pretend I'm not worried -about this mysterious business. Be a good girl and don't make it harder -for me, please." - -"I'll be good, Daddy. If I find out anything tomorrow, I'll report at -dinner." - -"That's my girl," he beamed, and kissed her good night. "I shall nose -about, myself, a bit. I'm sure that you and Terry know that bearded -aviator or some of his friends. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so perturbed -about recognition. Unless we're all wet, Dorothy, this affair is made up -of local people. Mind your step--and we'll see. Go to bed now and get a -good rest--I'm coming upstairs as soon as I've locked up." - - - - - Chapter IV - - THE THUNDERHEAD - - -Dorothy telephoned the Walters next morning, to learn from a maid that -Terry was still missing, and that Mr. Walters was down in the village, -putting the matter in the hands of the police. - -"May I speak to Mrs. Walters?" she asked. - -"I'm afraid not, miss. Mrs. Walters has been up all night. Doctor Brown -has given her a sleeping powder and issued orders that she is not to be -disturbed." - -"If there is anything that I can do," said Dorothy, "telephone me." - -"Thank you, miss. I'll tell Mr. Walters when he comes home." - -Dorothy rang off and went about her household duties with a heavy heart. - -Later on she motored to the village to do her marketing, and upon her -return found that her father had telephoned. She immediately called up -the New Canaan Bank, of which he was president. - -"Any news, Daddy?" she inquired anxiously, as soon as she was put -through to him. - -"That you, Dorothy?" she heard him say. "Yes--Terry's car has been -found." - -"_Where_, Daddy?" - -"On a wood road in the hills back of the Norwalk reservoir. The car was -empty. A farmer driving through there found it early this morning and -phoned the license number to the police." - -"But what in the world could Terry have been doing way over there? I -know that road. It's no more than a bridle path--the reservoir is three -or four miles beyond Silvermine." - -"My opinion is that Terry was never anywhere near the place," explained -her father. "He was undoubtedly held up, removed to another car and his -own run over to the spot where it was found." - -"No sign of him, I suppose?" - -"No. I've talked with Walters. The poor man is nearly off his head with -worry. We're getting up searching parties to cooperate with the police. -I'll see you at dinner tonight. It will be impossible for me to get home -at noon." - -"I'll hope to have some news for you, then," said Dorothy. - -"Going up in spite of the rain?" - -"I've got to. We can't afford to waste time--the weather's not so bad." - -"There are storm warnings out all along the coast." - -"I'll be careful, Daddy." - -"All right. Bye-bye till dinner time." - -"Bye." - -She hung up the receiver and for the rest of the morning, busied herself -about the house, determined not to let her mind dwell upon the darker -side of this latest development. After lunch she changed into flying -clothes and went out to the hangar. - -Unlocking the doors, she set to work filling the amphibian's gasoline -tanks. Then she went over the engine carefully and gave it a short -ground test. After that, the instruments came under her inspection. -Altogether, she gave her plane a thorough overhauling, which was not -entirely necessary, but kept her from thinking and helped to kill time. - -About twenty minutes to five she ran the amphibian out of the hangar and -took off into the teeth of a fine rain. It was no part of her plan to -fly in the neighborhood of the Beach Club until the plane she was -seeking should put in an appearance. Her self-imposed duty was to spot -the mysterious amphibian and to follow it to its destination without -allowing the pilot or an understudy to spot her. - -So instead of banking and heading for Tokeneke, when her bus had -sufficiently topped the trees, she continued to keep the stick back so -as to maintain a proper climbing angle. Back in her first thirty hours -of early flight training, it would have been difficult for her to keep -Will-o'-the-Wisp (more often termed Willie or Wispy) at the correct -angle safely below the stalling point, unless she could first recognize -that angle by the position of the plane's nose relative to the horizon. -On a wet day like this with an obscured horizon it would have been -well-nigh impossible: at best, a series of bad stalls would have been -the result. But now her snapping gray eyes sparkled with exhilaration; -she no longer needed the horizon as a guide. Between leveling off every -thousand feet or so, to keep the engine from overheating, she shot -Will-o'-the-Wisp up to six thousand, maintaining the proper angle of -climb by the "feel" of the plane alone. - -With her altimeter indicating the height she wanted, she leveled off -again; then, executing a sharp reverse control or "flipper" turn to the -left she resumed straight flight again by the application of up aileron -and opposite rudder. The plane was now headed south, several points to -the west of the Beach Club. - -The visibility was even poorer than at a lower level, but the young -pilot knew this part of the country as she knew her own front lawn. -Either dropping or swerving her plane's nose at frequent intervals so as -to get an unimpeded view ahead, she passed over the wooded ridges toward -the shore, over the city of Stamford and out over the slate grey waters -of Long Island Sound. - -That body of water is some six or eight miles wide at this point, and -upon reaching the opposite shore, Dorothy commenced a patrol of the Long -Island shore line from Lloyds' Neck, which lies just west of Oyster Bay, -to the farther side of Smithtown Bay, a distance of fifteen or sixteen -miles. And as she flew, she kept a sharp lookout for planes appearing -out of the murk toward the Connecticut shore. - -Since she knew it was the bearded aviator's practice to fly at a -comparatively low altitude, Dorothy chose to keep Will-o'-the-Wisp at -this greater height for two reasons. An airplane flying far above -another plane is much more unlikely to be noticed by the pilot of the -lower plane than one flying at his own level or below him. Then again, -by keeping to the higher air, Dorothy, under normal weather conditions, -was bound to increase her range of vision proportionately. Her plan was -a good one. But weather is not a respecter of plans. The visibility, -poor enough when she started, gradually grew worse and worse. Although -what wind there was seemed to have died, long curling tongues of mist -crept out of the east, while above her head she saw black thunder -clouds, sinking lower and lower. - -Now one of the first things any aviator learns is that fog must be -avoided at all costs. Any attempt to land in it is attended by -considerable danger. Dorothy knew only too well that in case of a fog -bank cutting the plane off from its destination, the flight must be -discontinued by a landing, or by return to the point of departure. - -She glanced overside again. Long Island Sound was no longer visible. - -"He's late now, unless I've missed him," she said to herself. "I'll -finish this leg of the patrol and if he doesn't show up by the time I'm -over Oyster Bay, Willie and I will head for home." - -Pushing her stick slightly forward to decrease her altitude, she -continued along her course. - -Three minutes later, she realized her mistake. The wisps of fog seemed -to gather together, and Will-o'-the-Wisp sank into an opaque bank that -blinded her. - -"Gee, but I'm stupid!" she mumbled. "What was it that text-book I read -only yesterday said? 'In the event of general formation of fog below, an -immediate landing must be made before it becomes thick enough to -interfere seriously with the approach.' Heavens, what a fool I am! Now -that we're in it, though, I might as well see if it thins out nearer the -water." - -Her compass told her she was flying almost due west. Throttling down the -engine, she pushed her stick still farther forward, at the same time -applying right aileron and hard right rudder. As the proper gliding -angle was reached, she neutralized her elevators and held the nose up as -necessary. Next, she checked her wing with the ailerons and eased her -rudder pressure. Then having made a quarter-spiral with a change in -course of 90 degrees, she applied left aileron and hard left rudder -until the wings were level laterally, and with her stick still held -forward, continued to descend in a straight glide until she was within -fifteen hundred feet of the water. The plane was heading directly back -across Long Island Sound toward the Connecticut shore. - -But each moment the fog seemed to grow more dense. To land blindly meant -a certain nose-in and was out of the question. And even if the mist did -not hold to the water's level, to fly lower meant the chance of striking -the mast or spar of a ship, a lighthouse, perhaps, or anything else that -came her way. - -"We're up against it, Wispy," she murmured, opening the throttle and -pulling back her stick. "If we can't go down, at least we can 'go -above,' as they say in the Navy. Beat it for the heavens, my dear. This -beastly fog can't run all the way to Mars!" - -Dorothy was not frightened, although she knew how serious was her -predicament. No pilot likes flying blind in a fog. With the knowledge -that what one sees, one hits, it is a nerve-wracking experience. - -But Dorothy's nerves were good--none better--and she sent her plane into -a long, steady climb, hoping for the best and keeping her vivid -imagination well within control. - -Headed into the north, she continued her climb, leveling off every few -thousand feet to ease the strain on her engine. When the altimeter -marked thirteen thousand she began to worry, for the service ceiling of -her plane was but two thousand higher. The cold damp of the thick mist -penetrated like a knife. Hemmed in by the dank grey walls, she could -barely distinguish the nose of her ship. The active needles of the -altimeter and rate of climb indicator were the only visible signs that -Will-o'-the-Wisp was moving at all. - -Fourteen thousand feet--intense physical discomfort, added to the -nervous strain, were becoming intolerable. Dorothy clenched her -chattering teeth in an effort to retain her control. Then with a -suddenness astonishing, the fog parted and she sailed into clear air. - -Below her the heavy mist swirled and rolled like a sluggish sea, -grey-yellow streaked with dirty streamers, while directly ahead loomed a -towering mass of cotton-like clouds rising tier upon tier as far as she -would see. - -A quick glance over her shoulder and to the sides, brought forth the -fact that this small pocket of free air was entirely surrounded by -similar cloud formations. There was no time for thought. Automatically, -her hand clasping the stick shot forward, bringing down the nose to the -position of level flight, and she drove the amphibian straight at the -thunderhead. Immediately afterward the plane passed into the cloud, and -like a leaf caught in an inverted maelstrom, it was whipped out of her -control. - -Gripped by tremendous air forces, the amphibian was shot up and -sideways, at a speed that burned Dorothy's lungs. Tossed about like a -rag doll, with her safety-belt almost cutting her body in two, she was -thrown hither and yon with the plane, blind, and without the slightest -idea as to her position. - -Never in her wildest nightmares had she dreamed that a heavy plane, -weighing close to four thousand pounds when empty, could be tossed about -in such fashion by currents of the air. - -For a space of time that seemed years, she was entirely away from the -controls. But gradually, with infinite effort and in spite of the -whirling jolts of her air steed, Dorothy managed to hook her heels under -the seat. A second later she had caught the stick and was pushing it -forward into the instrument board. - -Will-o'-the-Wisp reared like an outlawed bronco, then dived until the -airspeed indicator showed one hundred and sixty-five miles per hour. -Still her downward speed was less than the rate of the upward draft, for -the rate of climb indicator told the frenzied girl that the plane was -being lifted fourteen hundred feet per minute. - -Still diving at 45 degrees, the phenomenal force of the updraft carried -the plane to the mushroom top of the cloud, where with a jar like an -elevator hitting the ceiling, it was flung forth into the outer air. - - - - - Chapter V - - HIDE AND SEEK - - -The strong air current which spread horizontally over the thunderhead -blew Dorothy's plane sideways and away from the cloud. An instant later -it was roaring downward in the thin air, quite beyond her control, a -self-propelled projectile rushing to its doom. - -While shooting upward in the cloud, the violent and intensely rapid -gyrations of the airship caused her safety belt to become unclasped, and -had her parachute not caught in the cowling, she must have been flung -clear of the plane to a horrible death far below. - -With her heels still hooked beneath the pilot's seat, she wrenched the -parachute loose. Then she closed the throttle and half-suffocated by the -force of the wind and lack of breathable oxygen, she commenced to pull -the stick slowly backward. - -A glance at the altimeter showed a height of eighteen thousand -feet--three air miles above earth--and three thousand feet above -Will-o'-the-Wisp's service ceiling. - -Notwithstanding the shut-off engine, the speed of the diving plane was -terrific. Dorothy felt the grinding jar of the wind-strained wings as -the nose began to rise in answer to the pull of the elevators; and -wondered helplessly if they would hold. - -The air pressure was agony to her eardrums. Her head reeled. She was -well-nigh exhausted. She no longer cared very much what happened. - -The plane dropped into a blanket of fog. She felt the wet mist on her -face, refreshing and reanimating her. Suddenly she realized that her -parachute was starting to fill and would shortly pull her out of the -cockpit. With her free hand she reached under the seat and brought forth -a sheath knife. A frenzied second later she had rid herself of the -flapping bag. As it flew overboard, she tightened her safety belt and -placed her cramped feet back on the steering pedals. - -Though still fog-blind, she could at least breathe comfortably now as -the plane lessened speed in descent. Will-o'-the-Wisp still shook and -groaned, but no longer fought the pull of the stick. Up came the nose, -slowly but surely and with her ailerons functioning once more, Dorothy -gained control and sent the plane into a normal glide. The altimeter -marked five thousand feet. The dive had been over two miles long. - -Another fifteen hundred feet and gradually the mist lightened until it -became mere wisps of smoky cloud. Long Island Sound had been left -behind. Below lay the wooded hills and valleys of the Connecticut ridge -country, cloaked in multi-shaded green. As she still headed north, -Dorothy knew now that she had been blown beyond New Canaan. She gave the -plane hard right rudder and right aileron and sent it swinging into a -long half spiral, which, completed, headed her south again. Almost -directly below, she recognized the Danbury Fair Grounds, with home just -twenty miles away. - -Again her hand sought the throttle and as Will-o'-the-Wisp snorted, then -roared, Dorothy breathed a thankful sigh. Fifteen minutes later she had -housed her plane in its hangar, and was limping up the porch steps of -her home. - -Lizzie, the Dixons' servant, met her in the hall. - -"Whatever is the matter, Miss Dorothy? You've had an accident--you're -half-killed--I know you are! There's blood all over your face--" - -Her young mistress interrupted, smiling: - -"You're wrong again, Lizzie. No accident, though I know I look pretty -awful. I feel that way, too, if you ask me--" - -"But the blood, Miss Dorothy?" - -"It's from a nosebleed, Lizzie. I assure you I'm not badly hurt. If -you'll help me out of these rags and start a warm bath running, I'll be -ever so much obliged. A good soaking in hot water will fix me up. Then," -she added, "I think I'll be real luxurious and have my dinner in bed." - -When the solicitous Lizzie brought up the dinner tray three-quarters of -an hour later, a tired but decidedly sprucer Dorothy, in pink silk -pyjamas, was leaning back against her pillows. - -"My word, I'm hungry!" She seized a hot roll and began to butter it. -"I'm off bucking thunderheads for life, Lizzie. But you can take it from -me, that kind of thing gives you a marvelous appetite!" - -"Yes, miss, I'm glad," returned Lizzie, who had no idea what Dorothy was -talking about. "You certainly look better." - -"By the way, what's become of Daddy? Hasn't he got home yet?" - -"Oh, Miss Dorothy, I'm so sorry. Sure and I forgot to tell ye--Mr. Dixon -won't be home for dinner." - -"Did he telephone?" - -"No, miss. He came home about quarter to five and packed his suitcase. -He said to tell you he'd been called to Washington on business and he'd -be gone a couple of days. Arthur drove him to Stamford to catch the New -York express--he didn't have much time." - -Dorothy helped herself to a spoonful of jellied bouillon. "Any other -message?" - -"Yes, miss. He said that Mister Terry hadn't been found yet. I asked him -b'cause I thought you'd like to know. That was all he said. I'm sure -sorry I forgot it when you came in, but I--" - -"That's all right, Lizzie, I understand. You come back for the tray in -half an hour, will you? And if you find me asleep, don't wake me up. I'm -tired to death. I need a long rest and I'm going to take it." - -When Lizzie came back she found Dorothy deep in the sleep of exhaustion. -She lowered the window blinds against the early morning light and -picking up the tray from the end of the bed, tiptoed from the room. - -Morning broke bright and clear with no sign of yesterday's mist and -rain. Dorothy remained in bed for breakfast and it took but little -persuasion on the part of Lizzie to keep her there till lunch time. She -still felt stiff and bruised and was only too content to rest and doze. - -Toward noon she rose and dressed in her flying clothes. Immediately -after lunch she went out to the hangar. She slipped into a serviceable -and grubby pair of overalls, and spent the afternoon in giving -Will-o'-the-Wisp a thorough grooming. At quarter to five she was in the -air and headed for Long Island Sound. - -Half an hour later, with an altitude of ten thousand feet, she was -cruising over yesterday's course above the Long Island shore, when she -spied a biplane coming across the Sound. In an instant she had her field -glasses out and focussed on the newcomer. - -"That's him!" she murmured ungrammatically, though with evident relief. -"Now for a pleasant little game of hide-and-seek!" - -The Mystery Plane was flying far below, so continuing on her course at -right angles, she watched it with hurried glances over her shoulder. -When she reached the Long Island Shore line, it was a mile or so behind -and below Dorothy's tailplane. So waiting only long enough to be sure -that her quarry was headed across the Island, she banked her plane and -sent it on a wide half circle to the right. Long Island, at this point, -she knew was about twenty miles wide. - -Dorothy's plan for trailing the Mystery Plane and doing so without being -seen, was as simple as it was direct. The farther end of her circular -course would bring her over Great South Bay and the South shore of Long -Island at approximately the same point for which the other plane seemed -to be bound. She would arrive, of course, a minute or two behind the -other aviator. And as she planned, so it happened. - -From her high point of vantage, Dorothy, swinging on her arc a mile or -so to the east, was able to keep the other amphibian continually in -sight. She watched him pursue his southerly course until he came over -the town of Babylon on Great South Bay. Here her glasses told her that -the bearded aviator turned his plane to the left, heading east and up -the bay in her direction. - -Below her now lay the Bay, hemmed in from the Atlantic by long narrow -stretches of white sand dunes. For a second or so Dorothy thought they -would pass in the air, her plane far above the other. But before she -reached that point, she saw the other make a crosswind landing and taxi -toward a dock which jutted into the Bay from the dunes. Just beyond the -dock an isolated cottage stood in a hollow on the bay side of the dunes. -There was no other habitation in sight for over a mile in either -direction. - -"Aha! Run to earth at last!" muttered Dorothy contentedly. Maintaining -her altitude, with Babylon across the bay to her right, she continued -her westward course above the dunes. - -A few miles past the cottage she flew over Fire Island Inlet. When she -was opposite Amityville, she came about. Shutting off her engine, she -tilted the stick forward and sent Will-o'-the-Wisp into a long glide -which eventually landed her on the waters of Babylon harbor. - -Dorothy stripped off her goggles and scanned the waterfront. Slightly to -her left she spied a small shipyard, whose long dock bore a large sign -which carried the legend: "Yancy's Motor Boat Garage." - -"Good. Couldn't be better!" exclaimed Miss Dixon in great satisfaction. -"Atta girl, Wispy! We're going over to have a talk with Mr. Yancy." - -She gave her plane the gun and taxiing slowly over the smooth water, -through the harbor shipping, presently brought up at the Yancy wharf and -made fast. - -"Hello, there! Want gas?" sang out a voice above her, and Dorothy looked -up. A smiling young man, dressed in extremely dirty dungarees was -walking down the wharf toward her. - -"Hello, yourself!" she returned as he came up. "No, I'm not out of gas, -thank you. I want to hire a boat." - -"Better come ashore, then." The man wiped his palms on a piece of clean -cotton waste and gave her a hand up. "We've got plenty of boats--all -kinds, lady. Got 'em fast and slow, big and little. Just what kind of a -craft do you need?" - -"Something with plenty of beam and seaworthy, that I can run without -help. I'm not looking for speed. I may want to take her outside--I don't -know." - -The young man pointed down the wharf to where a rather bulky motor boat, -broad of beam and about thirty feet waterline was moored head out to a -staging. - -"Mary Jane--that's your boat," announced Mr. Yancy. "She's old and she -ain't got no looks, but she's seaworthy and she'll take you anywhere. -You could run over to Paris or London in that old craft if you could -pile enough gas aboard her." - -"She looks pretty big," Dorothy's tone was dubious. "Think I can handle -her by myself?" - -"She is big," he admitted readily, "but she runs like a sewing machine -and she's all set to be taken out this minute if you want her." - -"I'll look her over anyway," she declared and led the way to the landing -stage. - -Stepping aboard the Mary Jane, she peeped into the small trunk cabin -which was scarcely bigger than a locker, but would give shelter in case -of rain. She observed that there were sailing lights, compass, horn and -a large dinner bell in a rack, and two life preservers as well. In one -of the lockers she came upon a chart. Stowed up in the forepeak were an -anchor with a coil of line and three five-gallon tins of gasoline. A -quick examination showed the fuel tank to have been filled. - -The motor was a simple and powerful two-cylinder affair, with -make-and-break ignition, noisy, but dependable; the sort of engine on -which the fishermen and lobstermen along the coast hang their lives in -offshore work. It seemed to Dorothy that it ought to kick the shallow -old tub along at a good ten-knot gait. The boat itself though battered -and dingy, appeared to be sound and staunch so far as one could see. - -"I'll take her," decided Dorothy. "That is, if she's not too expensive?" - -"I guess we ain't goin' to fight about the price, mam," asserted Yancy. -"How long will you be wantin' her and when do you expect to take her -out?" - -"Not before nine tonight--and I'll hire her for twenty-four hours." - -"O. K. mam. You can have her for a year if you want her. How about your -air bus?" - -"She'll be left here. I want you to look after her. I don't think -there'll be any wind to speak of. She'll be all right where she is." - -"We're going to get rain in a couple of hours, so if you'll make her -secure, I'll have her towed out to that buoy yonder. I'll rest easier -with her moored clear of this dock." - -"I'll pull the waterproof covers over the cockpits and she'll be all -right," returned Dorothy. "Then we can go up to your office and fix up -the finances." - - - - - Chapter VI - - THE HOUSE ON THE DUNES - - -Having come to agreeable terms with Mr. Yancy and having secured the -name and location of Babylon's best restaurant, Dorothy left the -waterfront and walked uptown. A glance at her wrist-watch told her it -was not yet seven o'clock. She was in no hurry, for she had more than -two hours to wait before it would be dark enough to start. So she -strolled along the bustling streets of the little city, feeling very -much pleased with the way things were progressing. - -Arrived at the restaurant, she ordered a substantial meal and while -waiting for it to be served, sought a telephone booth. She asked for the -toll operator and put in a call for New Canaan. A little while later she -was summoned to the phone. - -"Is that you, Lizzie? Yes. I--no, no, I'm perfectly all right--" she -spoke soothingly into the transmitter. "Don't worry about me, please. -I've had to go out of town, and I wanted to let you know that I won't be -back till morning. Never mind, now. I'll see you tomorrow. Good-by!" She -replaced the receiver and went back to her table, a little smile on her -lips at the memory of Lizzie's distracted voice over the wire. - -"Poor Lizzie! She's all worked up again at what she calls my 'wild -doin's'," she thought. And with a determined glint in her eyes, she -proceeded to eat heartily. - -When she had finished, she asked at the desk for a sheet of paper and an -envelope. She took these over to her table, ordered a second cup of -coffee, and began to compose a letter. This took her some time, for in -it she explained her maneuvers during the afternoon, and gave the exact -location of the cottage on the dunes, where she believed the Mystery -Plane's pilot had been bound. She ended with a sketch of her plans for -the evening and addressed the envelope to Terry Walters' father. With -her mind now easy in case of misadventure, she paid her bill and walked -back to the water front. - -"Good evening, Miss Dixon," greeted Yancy as she stepped into his -office. "I've done what you asked me to. You'll find a pair of clean -blankets, some fresh water and eatables for two days stowed in the Mary -Jane's cabin. I know you don't intend to be out that long, but it's -always wise to be on the safe side with the grub." - -"Thanks. You're a great help. Now, just one thing more before I shove -off. Although I've rented your boat for twenty-four hours, I really -expect to be back here tomorrow morning at the latest. If I don't turn -up by noon, will you please send this letter by special delivery to Mr. -Walters in New Canaan?" - -"I sure will, Miss Dixon. But you're not lookin' for trouble, are you?" - -Dorothy shook her head and smiled. "Nothing like that, Mr. Yancy. I just -want Mr. Walters to know where I am and what I'm doing." - -"Good enough, Mam. Anything else I can do?" - -"Not a thing, thank you. Don't bother to come down to the wharf with me. -I've got several things I want to do aboard before I set out." - -"Just as you say. Good luck and a pleasant trip." Yancy's honest face -wore a beaming grin as he doffed his tattered cap to Dorothy. - -"Thank you again. Good night." - -Dorothy went outside and found that Yancy's prediction of rain earlier -in the evening had been justified. - -"Lucky this is drizzle instead of fog," she thought as she hurried down -to the landing stage. "I'd be out of luck navigating blind on Great -South Bay!" - -She dove into the Mary Jane's cabin and after lighting the old fashioned -oil lamp in its swinging bracket, put on her slicker and sou'wester. -Then she fished the chart of the bay out of the locker and spent the -next quarter of an hour in an intensive study of local waters. - -Having gained an intimate picture of this part of the bay, she plotted -her course, and checked up on the blankets and food. That done, she blew -out the lamp, picked up the anchor and left the cabin, closing the door -behind her. - -Outside in the drizzle, she deposited her burden in the bow, making the -anchor rope fast to a ring bolt in the decking. Then she put a match to -the side lights and coming aft, cast off from the staging. Next, she -started the motor, a difficult undertaking. At the third or fourth heave -of the heavy flywheel it got away with a series of barking coughs. She -slid in behind the steering wheel and they headed out across the bay. - -Night had fallen, but notwithstanding the light rain, visibility on the -water was good. The tide, as Dorothy knew, was at the flood, so she cut -straight across for the dull, intermittent glow of the Fire Island -Light. The boat ran strongly and well and Dorothy gave the engine full -gas. She knew from experience that one of its primitive type was not apt -to suffer from being driven, but on the contrary was inclined to run -more evenly. - -It had been at least two years since she had sailed on Great South Bay, -but she remembered it to be a big, shallow puddle, where in most places -a person capsized might stand on bottom and right the boat. - -"No danger of capsizing with the Mary Jane," she reflected, "she's built -on the lines of a flounder--I'll bet she'd float in a heavy dew!" - -The two and a half feet of tide made it possible for her to hold a -straight course and presently she could see the dim outline of sand -dunes. The faint easterly draft of air brought the roar of the Atlantic -swell as it boomed upon the beach outside. It was time to change her -course. - -A quarter turn of the wheel swung the Mary Jane to port and -straightening out, she headed across the inlet. Five minutes later she -had picked up the dunes on the farther side. With the dunes off her -starboard quarter, Dorothy made the wheel fast with a bight of cord she -had cut for the purpose, and going forward, extinguished her side -lights. - -Back at the wheel again, she steered just as close to the shore as -safety permitted. For the next couple of miles she ran along the -shallows. - -"Thank goodness!" she muttered at last. Swinging the Mary Jane inshore, -she cut her motor and headed into a small cove, to ground a moment later -on a pebbly beach. - -Springing ashore, Dorothy dragged the anchor up the beach and buried it -at its full length of rope in the sand. Then with a sigh of -satisfaction, she straightened her back and took a survey of her -surroundings. - -The little beach ran up to a cup-shaped hollow, encompassed by high sand -dunes. She had noticed the inlet on the large-scale chart, and chose it -because she figured that it lay about a mile on the near side of the -cottage she sought. And since she had decided to use the motor boat -instead of the plane because she wanted to cover her approach, this spot -seemed made to order for her purpose. - -Her eyes scanned the skyline, and for a moment her heart almost stopped. -Surely she had seen the head of a man move in that clump of long, coarse -grasses at the top of the incline! Standing perfectly still, although -her body tingled with excitement, she continued to stare at the -suspicious clump. - -Then with characteristic decision, she drew a revolver from her pocket -and raced up the side of the dune. But although she exerted herself to -the utmost, her progress was much too slow. Her feet sank deep in the -shifting sand until she was literally wading, clawing with her free hand -for holds on the waving sandgrass. - -Panting and floundering, she pulled herself to the top, only to find no -one there. Nor so far as she could see was there any living thing in -sight. The deep boom of the surf was louder here, and peering through -the rain, she made out the long stretch of beach pounded by combers, not -more than a couple of hundred yards away. Some distance to the right, -facing the ocean twinkled the lights of a row of summer cottages. To her -left nothing could be seen but tier after tier of grass-topped dunes, a -narrow barrier of sand between Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, -bleak and desolate, extending farther than the eye could reach. - -Despite this evidence to the contrary, Dorothy still retained the -impression that she was not alone. She had an uneasy conviction that she -was being watched. She shivered. - -"My nerves must be going fuzzy," she thought disgustedly. "I can't risk -using a flash, and if there were any tracks this stiff breeze from the -sea would have filled them in while I was climbing up here. Well, get -going, Dorothy, my girl--this place is giving you the creeps--good and -plenty." - -The Colt was slipped back into her slicker, and she trudged through the -loose sand to the black stretch of ocean beach. Here, walking was -better, and turning her back on the lighted cottages, she set out along -the hard shingle by the surf. - -Several times during that walk, Dorothy stopped short and scanned the -long line of dunes above her. Try as she might, it seemed impossible to -rid herself of the idea that someone was following. When she judged the -remaining distance to the cottage to be about a quarter of a mile, she -left the beach and continued her way over the dunes. - -Although Dorothy had no tangible fact to connect the Mystery Plane with -her holdup in New Canaan and Terry's disappearance, she approached the -lonely cottage with the stealth of a red Indian. And even if this night -reconnoiter should prove only that the bearded aviator had a sweetie -living on the shore of Great South Bay, or that he was making daily -trips to visit friends, she had no intention of being caught snooping. -No matter what she should learn of the cottage's inmates, if anything, -she proposed to return with the Mary Jane to Yancy's wharf and spend the -rest of the night aboard. She had no desire to tramp about Babylon after -midnight, looking for a hotel that would take her in. - -As she slowly neared the cottage, taking particular pains now not to -appear on the skyline, she wished that this adventure was well over. She -still felt the effects of her adventure with the thunderhead. The tiny -cabin of the motor boat seemed more and more inviting to the weary girl. -Trudging through the rain over sand dunes was especially trying when one -was walking away from bed rather than toward it. - -Then she caught sight of the house roof over the top of the next dune -and her flagging interest in her undertaking immediately revived. - -Dorothy skirted the shoulder of the sandy hill, using the utmost -precaution to make not the slightest sound. Then she squatted on her -heels and held her breath. Directly ahead, not more than thirty or forty -feet at most, gleamed the light from an open window, and from where she -crouched, there was an unobstructed view of the room beyond. - -There were three men sitting about an unpainted kitchen table which held -three glasses and as many bottles. All were smoking, and deep in -conversation. One man she knew immediately to be the bearded aviator -with whom she had talked on the Beach Club shore. But although Dorothy -strained her ears to the bursting point, the heavy pounding of the surf -from the ocean side prevented her from catching more than a confused -rumble of voices. - -For a moment or two she waited and watched. The other two men wore golf -clothes, were young, and though they were not particularly prepossessing -in appearance, she decided that they were American business men on a -holiday. They certainly did not look like foreigners. - -Miss Dixon, crouching beside the sand dune, felt vaguely disappointed. -She did not know exactly what she had expected to find in the cottage, -but she had been counting on something rather more exciting than the -tableau now framed in the open window. But since she had come this far, -it would be senseless not to learn all that was possible. Taking care to -keep beyond the path of the light, she crept forward on her hands and -knees until she was below the window. Here it was impossible to see into -the room, but the voices now came to her with startling distinctness. - -"Why?" inquired a voice which Dorothy immediately recognized as -belonging to the aviator, though oddly enough, it was now without -accent. "You surely haven't got cold feet, Donovan?" - -"Cold feet nothing! The man don't live that can give me chills below the -knee," that gentleman returned savagely. "But I won't be made a goat of -either, nor sit in a poker game with my eyes shut. Why should I? I've -got as much to lose as you have." - -"Those are my sentiments exactly," drawled a third voice, not -unpleasantly. "Listen to that surf. There's a rotten sea running out by -the light. Raining too, and getting thicker out there by the minute. By -three o'clock you'll be able to cut the fog with a knife. What's the -sense in trying it--we're sure to miss her, anyway." - -"Perhaps you chaps would prefer my job," sneered the aviator. "You make -me sick! But you'll have to do what the old man expects of you,--so why -argue?" - -"How come the old man always picks days like this to run up his red -flag?" Donovan was talking again. "There's just as much chance of our -picking up that stuff tonight as--as--" - -"As finding a golf ball on a Scotchman's lawn," the third man finished -for him. "I know there's no use grousing--but it's a dirty deal--and -well, we've got to talk about something in this God-forsaken dump!" - -"I don't blame you much," the aviator admitted, "but look at the -profits, man. Well, I must be shoving off, myself. We'll have another -bottle of beer apiece and--" - -But Dorothy did not hear the end of that sentence. Her vigil was -suddenly and rudely interrupted. Someone behind her thrust a rough arm -under her chin, jerking back her head and holding her in an unbreakable -grip. The sickly-sweet odor of chloroform half suffocated her. For a -moment more she struggled, then darkness closed in about her. - - - - - Chapter VII - - SHANGHAIED - - -Dorothy came slowly back to consciousness. She was vaguely aware of the -chug-chug of a small engine somewhere near by. Her head swam and there -was a sickly sensation at the pit of her stomach. - -She tried to move, and found it impossible. She heard the splash of -waves but could see nothing except the boarded wall of her prison a foot -or so away from her eyes. - -After a while she became accustomed to the gloom and her sight was -clearer. She decided that the rounded wall was the side of a boat. -Turning her head slightly she saw that she lay on the flooring of an -open motor sailor, beneath a thwart. It had stopped raining. Now the -sound of the engine and the gurgle of water against the hull told her -that the craft was moving. - -She hadn't the slightest idea where this cabinless craft was bound, or -how she came to be aboard. Gradually there returned to her a confused -memory of the cottage on the dunes, voices through the window. Someone's -arm about her neck, forcing her head back--she remembered, now, and -groaned. Her body was one stiffness and ache. - -Again she tried to heave herself into a sitting position, only to find -that her ankles were bound with a turn or two of cord, and her wrists -whipped together behind her back. She was trussed like a fowl, and by -the feel of her bonds, the trusser was a seaman. She wriggled and -writhed, consumed by rage at her own helplessness. The only result was -to restore her circulation and clear her faculties, allowing her to -realize just what had happened. - -"Shanghied!" Dorothy muttered thickly. "Oh, if I'd only had a chance to -let loose a little jiu jitsu on that beast who scragged me!" - -Why had they brought her on board this boat and tied her hand and foot? -Where was the motor sailor bound? What was going to happen to her next? -Mr. Walters would probably get her letter during the afternoon. Yancy -seemed a dependable sort of man. Without doubt a raid on the beach -cottage would follow, but by that time the birds would have flown, and -what good would the raid do her! Her thoughts ran on. - -Those men in the cottage were not fools. Their conversation, as they sat -around the table, had meant little to Dorothy, but she no longer doubted -that the gang was interested in an undertaking that was illegal and -fraught with considerable danger to themselves. Could it be bootlegging? -Possibly. But Dorothy did not fancy that idea. The Mystery Plane, (she -had got in the habit of calling it that now) hadn't enough storage -capacity to carry any great quantity of liquor. Where did that amphibian -come into this complicated scheme? - -This night's work had turned out a failure so far as she was concerned: -she should never have undertaken the job of ferreting out the truth -alone. - -If only Bill Bolton were not away. He would never have allowed her to -get into this mess! - -Suddenly she heard the creak of a board and the sound of footsteps -approaching. Dorothy realized that she lay huddled in the bow of the -craft, with her head aft and her feet forward. That was why she had not -been able to see anything of the crew. She shut her eyes again as -someone flashed a torch in her face. - -"She's not much better," said a voice she recognized as belonging to the -man called Donovan. "Doesn't look to me as if she'd be out of it for a -long time. I think you must have given her an overdose of the stuff, -Peters." He stirred her none too gently with his foot. - -"I hope I did!" answered a new voice. "That little wildcat got my thumb -between her teeth while I was holdin' the rag to her face. She bit me -somethin' terrible, I tell yer." - -"Never mind your thumb. We've heard enough of that already. How long did -you hold the chloroform to her nose?" - -"I dunno. I gave her plenty. If her light's out, I should worry." - -"You're right, you should. I'm not handling stiffs on the price of this -job." Donovan's tone was biting. - -A hand pressed Dorothy's side. - -"No stiffer than you are," affirmed Peters matter-of-factly. "I can feel -her breathe." - -"She looks pretty bad to me," Donovan insisted. "The old man will raise -the roof if you don't get her over to Connecticut O.K. You know what he -said over the phone!" - -"Then why not ask Charlie? He used to be a doctor before he did that -stretch up the river." He raised his voice. "Hey, there, Charlie! Leave -go that wheel and come here for a minute." - -"Can't be done," replied Charlie, and Dorothy knew that the third man on -the beach cottage group was speaking. "What do you want me to do--run -this sailor aground in the shallows?" - -"Well, Donovan thinks the girl's goin' to croak." - -"That's your worry. You're the lad who administered the anesthetic. You -probably gave her too much." - -"Say, Charlie, this is serious," Donovan broke in anxiously. "Quit -high-hatting and give us your opinion." - -The steersman snorted contemptuously. "She'll come out of it all -right--that is, unless her heart's wobbly. If it is, I couldn't do -anything for her out here. You're supposed to be running this show, Don, -and Peters did your dirty work. I'm only the hired man. If she goes out, -you two will stand the chance of burning, not me. Cut the argument! -There's shipping ahead. What are you trying to do--wake the harbor?" - -Donovan and Peters stopped talking and went aft. Presently their voices -broke out again but this time came to the girl in the bow as a low, -confused murmur. - -So she owed this situation to Mr. Peters. Dorothy was feeling better now -and despite her discomfort she spent several minutes contemplating what -she would do to Mr. Peters, if she ever got the chance. - -The motor sailor's engine stopped chugging and soon the boat came to -rest. - -"I'll carry her in myself," spoke Donovan from somewhere beyond her -range of vision. "Peters bungled the business when he was on watch at -that dump across the bay. I want no more accidents until she's safely -off my hands." - -Dorothy was caught up in a pair of strong arms as if she had been so -much mutton. - -"Think I'd drop her in the drink?" laughed Peters. - -"You said it.--Sure this is the right dock, Charlie?" - -"No, Donny, it's the grill room of the Ritz--shake a leg there, both of -you. We've got a long boat ride and a sweet little job ahead of us. We -can't afford to be late--hustle!" - -Donovan did not bother to reply to this parting shot. He slung Dorothy -over his shoulder, stepped onto a thwart, from there to the gunwale and -on to the dock. They seemed to be in some kind of backwater from where a -set of steps led up from the dock to a small wharfyard, shut in on three -sides by high walls and warehouses. - -Donovan shouldered open a door and ascended a narrow flight of rotting -stairs. It had been dark in the yard, but inside the warehouse the night -was Stygian. At the top he waited until Peters came abreast. - -"Where's your flash, Peters?" he growled. - -"Haven't got one, Cap." - -"Here--take mine, then, and show a glim. It's in my side pocket. My -hands are full of girl!" - -"Got it," said Peters, a moment later. - -The light came on and Dorothy, between half-shut eyelids saw that they -were in a long, dismal corridor. - -"I'll go ahead," continued the man, "I've got the key." - -Down this long corridor they passed, then into another narrow passage -running at right angles from the first. - -Peters eventually stopped at a door which he unlocked and flung open. - -"Here we are," he announced and preceded them over the sill. - -Dorothy caught a glimpse of a small room that smelt of rats and -wastepaper with a flavor of bilgewater thrown in. Then she closed her -eyes as Donovan dumped her on the bare floor, propping her shoulders -against the wall. - -"Well, that's done," Donovan said with great satisfaction. "Are you -going to wait here for the car, Peters, or out in the yard?" - -"The yard for mine, Cap. This joint is full o' spooks. It's jollier -outside." - -"Right. We'll get going then." - -Peters paused and looked at the girl. "There might be some change--maybe -a bill or two in the lady's pockets, Cap?" He winked at Donovan -hopefully. - -"You leave the girl's money alone. The boss distinctly said not to -search her. He wants her delivered just as she is." - -"Well, what if she passes out on me hands, Cap?" - -"Deliver her just the same. And mind--you obey orders or you'll bite off -a heap more trouble than you can chew. Come along now!" - -The two men left the room. The bolt in the door shot home, then the key -turned in the lock; As the sound of their footsteps over the bare floor -died away, Dorothy opened her eyes. Summoning all her strength, she -wrenched at the bonds that held her, but she accomplished no more than -lacerating her wrists. - -She was to be shifted to some safer place, presumably in Connecticut, -where she was to be taken by car. Meanwhile, there was no escape from -where she was, even if her limbs were free. Should she show signs of -consciousness, the best she had to hope for was another dose of -chloroform or a gag when that enterprising thug, Mr. Peters, returned. -He was not the kind to leave anything to chance. - -Almost before she had got her wits to work, Dorothy heard steps in the -passage and let herself go limp again, her knees drawn up, her head and -neck against the wall. The bolt was drawn, and Peters entered the room. -He flashed the torch over his prisoner. - -"I don't think there'll be any harm in me takin' a dollar or two," he -muttered. "What's the use of money to a stiff? And you sure do look good -and dead, young woman!" he chuckled as he bent down to begin the search. - -"Guess again!" - -Dorothy's bound feet shot upward with the force of a mainspring -uncoiling. Her neck was braced against the wall and the whole strength -of her thighs was behind the kick that drove her boot heels smashing -under her captor's chin. The gangster sailed backward. His head hit the -base of the opposite wall with a resounding crack and he lay like a log. - -The electric torch trundled over the planks and came to a standstill, -throwing its pencil of light across the floor. For a couple of seconds, -Dorothy peered and listened. Then with intense exhilaration of spirit, -she rolled and wriggled herself across the intervening space until she -was underneath the window. Here, after a little straining and wobbling, -that nearly cracked her sinews, she got on her knees. Then she heaved -herself upright so that she leaned sideways against the sash. With a -thrust she drove her elbow through the pane. There was a crash and a -tinkle of falling glass. - -Two more thrusts shivered the pane until there remained only a fringe of -broken glass at either side. Turning her back to it, she felt for the -broken edge with her fingers and brought her rope-lashed wrists across -it. Splintered window glass has an edge like a razor. Dorothy fumbled -the cord blindly to the cutting edge, sawed steadily and felt one of the -turns slacken and part. - -It was enough. In a few seconds her wrists were free and she stooped and -cast loose the lashings from her ankles. She staggered a little and -collapsed on the floor. After chafing her arms and legs, she turned to -attend to her companion. - -There was no need. Mr. Peters showed no further sign of animation than a -ham. To insure against interference or pursuit, Dorothy turned him over, -untied a length of cord from her ankle-bonds, and cast a double -sheet-bend about his wrists. - -Picking up the flashlight, she hurried out through the door which that -canny seeker of "pickings" had left open. She hurried along the two -passages and down the rickety stairs. The door at the bottom was closed, -so snapping off her light, she pulled it open and stepped into the yard. - -But here she was certain there was no egress except by swimming unless -she could find a way through the other side of the house. Somewhere out -in the darkness she heard the lap and plash of water and the faint creak -of rowlocks. Instantly she ducked behind a pile of empty barrels. - -A boat skulled stealthily through the gloom and fetched up alongside the -dock. A tall figure made the little craft fast, climbed the steps and -peered around the yard. - -At that very moment, a water rat dropped from the top of the wall to the -ground by way of Dorothy's shoulder. It was impossible for her to -suppress the exclamation of fright that escaped her. - -The figure in the middle of the yard swung round and an electric torch -flashed over the barrels. - -"Come out of that or I'll shoot!" ordered the stranger. "And come out -with your hands up!" - - - - - Chapter VIII - - THE CORK CHAIN - - -With the white sabre of light blinding her vision, Dorothy walked out -from behind the stack of barrels, hands above her head. - -"_Dorothy!_" exclaimed the tall figure in astonishment. "What on earth -are you doing here?" - -There was an instant's pause; then Dorothy giggled. - -"Gee, what a relief--but you scared me out of six years' growth, Bill -Bolton!" - -As her arms dropped to her sides, she staggered and would have fallen if -Bill had not stepped quickly forward and placed his arm about her. He -led her to an empty packing case and forced her to sit down. The -surprise of this meeting coming as a climax to the strenuous events of -the evening had just about downed her splendid nerves. - -"Oh, Bill--" she sobbed hysterically on his shoulder--"you can't guess -how glad I am to see you. I've really had an awful time of it tonight." - -"Take it easy and have a good cry. Everything's all right now. You'll -feel better in a minute," he soothed. - -"What a crybaby you must think me," she said presently, in a limp voice. -"Do you happen to have a handkerchief, Bill?" - -"You bet. Here's one--and it's clean, too." - -Dorothy dried her eyes and blew her nose rather violently. - -"Thanks--I do feel much better now. Do you mind turning on the light -again? I must be a sight. There--hold it so I can see in my compact." - -Bill began to laugh as her deft fingers worked with powder, rouge and -lipstick. - -"What's the joke?" she asked, then answered her own question. "Oh, I -know! You think girls do nothing but prink. Well, I don't care--it's -horrid to look messy. Is there such a thing as a comb in your pocket, -Bill? I have lost mine." - -"Sorry," he grinned, "but I got my permanent last week. I don't bother -to carry one any more." - -"Don't be silly!" she began, then stopped short. "We've got to get out -of here," she said and snapped her compact shut. "They are coming after -me in a car. Donovan or Peters, I forget which, said so." - -"Who are Donovan and Peters--and where are they going to take you?" - -"Not that pair--other members of the same gang. D. and P. are two of the -crew over at the beach cottage who chloroformed me, then tied me up and -carted me over here in an open motor sailor." - -"Well, I'll be tarred and feathered!" Bill switched off his torch. "Here -I've been following you for over two hours and never knew it _was_ you! -Never got a glimpse of your face, of course--took you for a man in that -rig! Well, I'll be jiggered if that isn't a break!" - -"So _you_ were the man I thought I saw in the grass clump?" - -"Sure. You led me to the house. I knew the gang had a cottage somewhere -along that beach, but I didn't know which one it was. By the way, I've -got your Mary Jane tied to a mooring out yonder--Couldn't take a chance -on running in closer. That old tub's engine has a bark that would wake -George Washington." - -Dorothy sprang to her feet. "That's great! We'll make for the Mary Jane, -Bill, right now. If those men in the car catch us here there'll be -another fight. Dorothy has had all the rough stuff she wants for one -night, thank you!" - -Bill took her arm. - -"O.K. with me," he returned. "Think you're well enough to travel?" - -"I'm all right. Hanging around this place gives me the jim-jams--let's -go." - -Together they crossed the yard and hurried along the narrow planking of -the dock to the dinghy. Bill took the oars and a few minutes later they -were safely aboard the motor boat. It began to rain again and the dark, -oily water took on a vibrant, pebbly look. - -"Come into the cabin," suggested Dorothy, watching Bill make the painter -fast. "We'll be drier there--and I've got about a million questions for -you to answer." - -"Go below, then. I'll join you in a minute." - -Dorothy slid the cabin door open and dropped down on a locker. Presently -Bill followed and took a seat opposite her. - -"Better not light the lamp," he advised, "it's too risky now. By the -way, Dorothy, I'm darn glad to see you again." - -Dorothy smiled. "So 'm I. I've missed you while you were away, and I -sure do need your help now. Tell me--where in the wide world am I?" - -"This tub is tied up to somebody else's mooring off the Babylon -waterfront,--if that's any help to you." - -"It certainly is. I hate to lose my bearings. Here's another: I don't -suppose you happen to know what this is all about?" - -Bill crossed his knees and leaned back comfortably. - -"There's not much doubt in my mind, after tonight's doings. Those men in -the beach cottage are diamond smugglers and no pikers at the game, take -it from me!" - -"Ooh!" Dorothy's eyes widened. "Diamonds, eh! That's beyond my wildest -dreams. How do they smuggle them, Bill?" - -"Well, these fellows have a new wrinkle to an old smuggling trick. -Somebody aboard an ocean liner drops a string of little boxes, fastened -together at long intervals--the accomplices follow the steamer in a boat -and pick them up. And now, from what I've found out, there's every -reason to believe that this gang are chucking their boxes overboard in -the neighborhood of Fire Island Light." - -Dorothy sat bold upright, her eyes snapping with excitement. - -"Listen, Bill! Those men in the cottage--I heard them talking, you -know--couldn't make anything out of their conversation then, but now I'm -beginning to understand part of it." - -"Didn't you tell me they were arguing against going somewhere--or -meeting someone--in the fog?" - -"That's right. It was the man they called Charlie--the one who'd been a -physician. Let me see ... he said that there was a rotten sea running -out by the light. That must mean the Fire Island Light! Then, listen to -this. He was sure that by three o'clock the fog off the light would be -thick enough to cut with a knife--and that they would probably miss her -anyway!--Don't you see? 'Her' means the liner they are to meet off the -Fire Island Light about three o'clock this morning!" - -"Good work, Miss Dixon--" Bill nodded approvingly. "And that is where -Donovan and Charlie headed for when they parked you with Peters," he -supplemented. "On a bet, they're running their motor sailor out to the -light right now." - -Dorothy glanced at the luminous dial of her wrist watch. - -"It is just midnight. Think we have time to make it?" - -"Gosh, that's an idea! But, look here, Dorothy--" Bill hesitated, then -went on in a serious tone, "if we run out to the lightship and those two -in the motor sailor spot us, there's likely to be a fight." - -Dorothy moved impatiently. "What of it?" - -"Oh, I know--but you'll stand a mighty good chance of getting shot. This -thing is a deadly business. They're sure to be armed. Now, listen to me. -I'll row you ashore and meet you in Babylon after I've checked up on -those guys." - -Dorothy stood up and squeezing past Bill, opened the cabin door. - -"And my reply to you is--_rats_!" she flung back at him. "Of course I'm -going with you. There'll be no argument, please. Get busy and turn over -that flywheel while I go forward and slip our mooring." - -Bill made no answer, but with a resigned shrug, followed her out to the -cockpit. They had known each other only a few months, but their -acquaintance had been quite long enough to demonstrate that when Miss -Dixon spoke in that tone of voice, she meant exactly what she said. Bill -knew that nothing short of physical force would turn the girl from her -project, so making the best of things as he found them, he started the -engine. - -Bill was heading the boat across the bay when Dorothy came aft again. -She went inside the cabin and presently emerged with a thermos of hot -coffee, some sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs. - -"We may both get shot or drowned," she remarked philosophically, "but we -needn't starve in the meantime." - -"Happy thought!" Bill bit into a sandwich with relish, "One drowns much -more comfortably after having dined." - -"Hm! It would be a cold wet business, though. Doubly wet tonight." She -looked at the black water pock-marked with raindrops and shook her head. -"Hand me another sandwich, please. Then tell me how _you_ came to be -mixed up with this diamond smuggling gang, Bill." - -By this time they were well on their way across Great South Bay toward -the inlet. From the bows came the steady gurgle and chug of short choppy -seas as the stiff old tub bucked them. Holding a straight course, the -two by the wheel were able to make out the grey-white gleam of sand on -Sexton Island. - -"Well, it was like this," began Bill. "You remember the Winged -Cartwheels.[1] Well that was a Secret Service job for the government." - -"I know," nodded Dorothy. - -"Well, as I was saying--because of that and some other business, Uncle -Sam knew that I could pilot a plane. Six weeks ago I was called to -Washington and told that an international gang of criminals were -flooding this country with diamonds, stolen in Europe. What the -officials didn't know was the method being used to smuggle them into -this country. However, they said they had every reason to believe that -the diamonds were dropped overboard from trans-Atlantic liners somewhere -off the coast and picked up by the smugglers' planes at sea. My job was -to go abroad and on the return trip, to keep my eyes peeled night and -day for airplanes when we neared America." - -"Did you go alone?" - -"Yes, but I gathered that practically every liner coming over from -Europe was being covered by a Secret Service operative. I made a trip -over and back without spotting a thing. On the second trip back, -something happened." - -"When was that?" - -"Night before last. The liner I was aboard had just passed Fire Island -lightship. I stood leaning over the rail on the port side and I saw half -a dozen or more small boxes dropped out of a porthole. They seemed to be -fastened together. Once in the water, they must have stretched out over -a considerable distance. Of course, there are notices posted forbidding -anyone to throw anything overboard: and there are watchmen on deck. But -they can't very well prevent a person from unscrewing a porthole and -shoving something out!" - -"Did you report it?" - -"You bet. The skipper knew why I was making the trip. We located the -stateroom and found that it belonged to three perfectly harmless -Y.M.C.A. workers who were peaceably eating their dinner at the time. -Somebody slipped into their room and did the trick." - -"Did you hear or see any plane?" - -"I thought I heard a motor, but it didn't sound like the engine of a -plane. I couldn't be sure." - -"The motor sailor, probably?" - -"It looks like it, now. Well, to continue: I landed in New York and took -the next train to Babylon. Then I got me a room in one of those summer -cottages on the beach. I was out on the dunes for a prowl when the Mary -Jane put in at that little cove. That in itself seemed suspicious, so I -followed you to the house and saw Peters scrag you. Although, at the -time I had no idea who you were. Then when they tied you up and went off -with you in the motor sailor, I knew for certain that some dirty work -was on. So I beat it back to the cove and came along in this old tub." - -Dorothy finished the last of the coffee. - -"Did you see the amphibian tied up to the cottage dock?" she asked. - -"Yes. It took off just before the motor sailor left." - -"Just how do you figure that it comes into the picture?" - -"I think these people have a lookout stationed farther up the coast--on -Nantucket Island, perhaps. When a ship carrying diamonds is sighted off -the Island, the lookout wires to the aviator or his boss and the plane -flies over to let the men in the cottage know when to expect her off the -lightship. Then when they pick up the loot, he flies back with it to -their headquarters next day. Of course, I don't know how far wrong I -am--" - -"But he's been doing it every day for weeks, Bill--maybe longer. Surely -they can't be smuggling diamonds every day in the week?" - -"He probably carries over their provisions and keeps an eye on them -generally. I don't know. What he is doing is only a guess, on my part, -anyway." - -Dorothy smothered a yawn. "Do you suppose the red flag those men spoke -of is a signal of some kind?" - -"Guess so. But look here, you're dead tired. I can run this tub by -myself. Hop in the cabin and take a nap. I'll call you when we near the -lightship." - -"You must be sleepy, too." - -"I'm not. I had an idea I might be up most of the night, so slept until -late this afternoon. And after those sandwiches and the coffee, I feel -like a million dollars. Beat it now and get a rest." - -Dorothy yawned again and stretched the glistening wet arms of her -slicker above her head. - -"Promise to wake me in plenty of time?" - -"Cross my heart----" - -"Good night, then." - -"Good night. Better turn in on the floor. We're going to run into a sea -pretty soon. Those lockers are narrow. Once we strike the Atlantic swell -you'll never be able to stay on one and sleep!" - -"Thanks, partner, I'll take your advice." She turned and disappeared -below. - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - See Bill Bolton and The Winged Cartwheels. - - - - - Chapter IX - - DEEP WATER - - -The ebb tide soon caught the Mary Jane in the suck of its swift current -and the boat rushed seaward. Presently she struck the breakers and -floundering through them like a wounded duck, commenced to rise and fall -on the rhythmic ground swell. - -Dorothy came out of the cabin rubbing the sleep from her eyes. - -"You didn't take much of a rest," said Bill from his place at the wheel. - -She yawned and caught at the cabin roof to steady herself. - -"Mary Jane's gallop through the breakers woke me up. Sleeping on a hard -floor isn't all it's cracked up to be--and the cabin was awfully -stuffy." - -"Are you as good a sailor as you are a sport?" - -"I don't know much about this deep water stuff, but I've never been -seasick. Thought I might be if I stayed in there any longer, though." - -"Feel badly now?" - -"No, this fresh air is what I needed. Is that the lightship dead ahead? -I just caught the glow." - -"Yep. That's Fire Island Light. I wish this confounded drizzle would -stop. The swell is getting bigger and shorter. Must be a breeze of wind -not far to the east of us." - -"D'you think we're in time, Bill?" - -"Yes, I think so. The weather is probably thick farther out and up the -coast, and the ship will be running at reduced speed. It's likely she'll -be an hour or so late. There is a ship out yonder, but it's a tanker or -a freighter." - -"How do you know that?" - -"Why, a liner would be showing deck and cabin lights. Here comes the -breeze--out of the northeast." - -"It's raining harder, too. Ugh! What a filthy night." - -Bill nodded grimly in the darkness. "You said a mouthful. It'll be good -and sloppy out here in another hour or two. Jolly boating weather, I -don't think! And we can't get back into the bay until daylight, I'm -afraid." - -The big boat continued to pound steadily seaward and before long the -lightship was close abeam. Bill ran some distance outside it, then -stopped the engine. - -"No use wasting gas," he said, and emptied one of the five-gallon tins -into the fuel tank. - -He went into the cabin again and reappeared with two life preservers. - -"It's lucky the law requires all sail and motor craft to carry these -things. Better slip into one--I'll put on the other." - -Dorothy lifted her eyebrows questioningly. "Think we're liable to get -wrecked?" - -"Nothing like that--but a life preserver is great stuff when it comes to -stopping bullets." - -"Gee, Bill, do you really expect a scrap? There isn't a sign of the -motor sailor yet." - -"I know--but they're out here somewhere, just the same. Neither of us is -showing lights, so in this weather we're not likely to spot each other -unless our boats get pretty close. And if they do, those hyenas won't -hesitate to shoot! Here, let me give you a hand." - -Having put on the life preservers over their dripping slickers, they sat -down and waited. The wind was freshening. A strong, steady draft blew -out of the northeast and it was gradually growing colder. The rain had -turned into sleet, fine and driving, but not thick enough to entirely -obscure the atmosphere. - -"Good gracious, Bill--_sleet!_ That's the limit, really--do you suppose -we'll ever sight the ship through this?" Dorothy's tone was thoroughly -disgusted. - -"Oh, yes," he replied cheerfully, "this isn't so bad. Her masthead -lights should have a visibility of two or three miles, at least." - -Dorothy said nothing, but, hands thrust deep into her pockets and with -shoulders hunched, she stared moodily out to sea. - -For about an hour they drifted, the broad-beamed motor boat wallowing in -the chop which crossed the ground swell. Twice Bill started the motor -and worked back to their original position. He did not like the look of -things, but said nothing to Dorothy about it. The wind grew stronger and -seemed to promise a gale. The low tide with the line of breakers across -the mouth of the inlet would effectually bar their entrance to Great -South Bay for the next ten hours. And he doubted if they would have -enough fuel for the run of nearly fifty miles to the shelter of -Gravesend Bay. - -Then as they floundered about, he heard the distant, muffled bellow of a -big ship's foghorn. Again it sounded; and twice more, each time coming -closer. Bill started the engine and headed cautiously out in the -direction from whence it came. - -Suddenly there sounded a blast startlingly close to the Mary Jane. This -was answered from the lightship, and through the flying scud and sleet -they saw a vivid glare. Bill put his helm hard over and when the steamer -had passed about four hundred yards away, he turned the motor boat again -to cut across the liner's wake. Faint streams of music reached their -ears emphasizing the dreariness of their position. - -Directly they were astern of the great ship, he swung the Mary Jane into -the steamer's course. Running straight before the wind, it was easy to -follow the sudsy brine that eddied in her wake. He was by no means -certain, however, that he could keep the dull glow of her taffrail light -in sight. That depended upon the liner's speed, which might be more than -the Mary Jane could develop. But he soon discovered he had either -underestimated the power of the motor boat or, what was more probable, -the steamer had reduced her own. Before long he was obliged to slow down -to keep from overhauling. - -And so for nearly an hour they tagged along, astern, keeping a sharp -lookout on the band of swirling water. Little by little their spirits -sank, as no floating object appeared to reward their perseverance. The -weather was becoming worse and worse, but the sea was not troublesome; -partly because the Mary Jane was running before it and partly because -the great bulk of the liner ahead flattened it out in her displacement. - -"If this keeps on much longer, we're going to run short of gas," said -Dorothy, still peering ahead. "Any idea how long it _will_ keep up?" - -Bill shrugged and swung the boat's head over a point. - -"Not the dimmest. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll have to follow her -all the way to the pilot station and then cut across for Gravesend Bay." - -"We'll sure be out of luck if we run out of fuel with this wind backing -into the northwest. It will blow us clean out to sea!" - -"Take the wheel!" said Bill abruptly. "I'm going to see where we stand." - -Dorothy, with her hands on the spokes, saw him measure the gasoline in -the tank and then shake his head. - -"How about it?" she called. - -"Not so good," he growled, and poured in the contents of another tin. -"This engine is powerful, but when you say it's primitive, you only tell -the half of it. The darn thing laps up gas like a--" - -"_Bill!_" Dorothy raised her arm--"there's another motor boat ahead!" - -Both of them stared forward into the gloom. For a moment Bill could see -nothing but the seething waters and the faint glimmer of the liner's -taffrail light. Then in an eddy of the driving sleet he caught a glimpse -of a dark bulk rising on a swell a couple of hundred yards ahead. At the -same time they both heard the whir of a rapidly revolving motor -distinctly audible between the staccato barks of their own exhaust. - -"The motor sailor, Bill!" - -"Sure to be. It must have cut in close under the steamer's stern. Let me -take the wheel again, Dorothy." - -"O. K. Do you think they've seen us?" - -"Not likely. They'll be watching the ship and her wake. To see us, -they'd have to stare straight into the teeth of the wind and this -blinding sleet." - -"But they'll hear us, anyway?" - -"Not a chance. That motor sailor's got one of those fast-turning -jump-spark engines. They run with a steady rattle. There's no interval -between coughs. Ours are more widely punctuated. Anyhow, that's the way -I dope it. They've probably signaled the ship by this time, and the -contraband ought to be dropped from a cabin port at any time now." - -"Got a plan?" - -"I think I have." - -He gave the boat full gas, then a couple of spokes of the wheel sheered -her off to starboard. - -"What's that for?" Dorothy thought he had decided to give up the -attempt. "Not quitting, are we?" - -"What do you take me for? Get out that gun of yours and use your wits. -I'm goin' to loop that craft and bear down on them from abeam. If they -beat it, O. K. If they don't, we'll take a chance on crashing them!" - -"You tell 'em, boy!" Dorothy had caught his excitement. "If they shoot, -I'll fire at the flashes!" - -Bill was working out his plan in detail and did not reply. He felt sure -his scheme was sound. The Mary Jane was heavily built, broad of beam, -with bluff bows and low freeboard. The motor sailor was a staunch craft, -too, but she was not decked and with a load of but two men aboard she -would have no great stability. He was certain that if he could work out -and make his turn so as to bear down upon her from a little forward of -the beam, striking her amidships with the swell of his starboard bow, -she would crack like an egg. - -Bill did not dare risk a head-on ram. That might capsize them both. To -cut into her broadside at the speed she was making would possibly tear -off or open up his own bows. The Mary Jane must strike her a heavy but a -glancing blow at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Such a collision -meant taking a big chance with their own boat. But the Mary Jane was -half-decked forward and the flare of her run would take the shock on the -level of her sheer strake. - -Quickly he explained his project. - -"I'm taking a chance, of course, if I don't hit her right," he finished. - -"Go ahead--" she flung back. "I'm all for it!" - -Bill grinned at her enthusiasm, and with the engine running full, he -started to edge off and work ahead. But he could not help being -impatient at the thought that the contraband might be dropped at any -minute and hooked up by the others. He took too close a turn. As the -Mary Jane hauled abreast about two hundred yards ahead, the smugglers -sighted them. Their motor sailor swerved sharply to port, and with a -sudden acceleration, it dived into the gloom and was lost to sight. - -"Bluffed off!" he shouted triumphantly. - -He turned the wheel and was swinging back into the liner's wake when -Dorothy gave a cry and pointed to the water off their port quarter. - -"Look! There! _There!_" she screamed. - -Staring in the same direction, Bill saw what at first he took to be a -number of small puffs of spume. Then he saw that they were rectangular. -The Mary Jane had already passed them and a second later they -disappeared from view. - -Bill nearly twisted off the wheel in an effort to put about immediately. -The result was to slow down and nearly stop their heavy boat. Gradually -the Mary Jane answered her helm and presently they were headed back in -the ship's path. - -And then as the Mary Jane was again gathering speed, the motor sailor -came slipping out of the smother headed straight for the contraband, her -broadside presented toward her pursuers. - -"Stand by for a ram!" yelled Bill and pulled out his automatic. - -Not fifty yards separated the two boats. Bows to the gale, the Mary Jane -bore down on the motor sailor. If those aboard her realized their -danger, they had no time to dodge, to shoot ahead, or avoid the ram by -going hard astern. They swerved and the Mary Jane struck full amidships -with a fearful grinding crash. - -Bill caught a glimpse of two figures and saw the flame streak out from -their barking guns. He felt a violent tug at his life preserver. Then a -yell rang out and the two boats ground together in the heave of the -angry sea. - -Steadying himself with a hand on the wheel, he reversed and his boat -hauled away. As she backed off he heard the choking cough of the other -craft which had now been blotted out by the darkness and driving sleet. - -Bill turned about with a triumphant cry on his lips, then checked it -suddenly as he saw that Dorothy had fallen across the coaming and was -lying halfway out of the boat. - - - - - Chapter X - - WRECKED - - -The engine gave a grunt and stopped. But Bill scarcely noticed it. -Hauling desperately to get Dorothy inboard, he thought his heart would -burst. Suddenly he heard her cry: - -"Don't pull! Just hold me by my legs." - -She squirmed farther across the coaming and he gripped her by the knees. - -"That's it," she panted. "There--I've got it! Now haul me in." - -Bill gave a heave and just then the boat, caught by a huge wave, rolled -far over and landed Bill on his back with Dorothy sprawled across him. -As they struggled to their feet he saw that she was laughing. - -"Aren't you hurt at all?" he asked, rubbing a bruised elbow. - -"Only--out of--breath," she gasped. "They--are all--fastened together. -Haul them in." - -Glancing down, he saw that she was holding one of the white boxes toward -him. He made no motion to take it, but stared to windward, listening. - -Dorothy could hear nothing but the wind and the waves and the swirling -sleet. - -"What is it?" she jerked out, striving to regain her breath. - -"Wait a minute." Suddenly Bill snatched up his electric torch and dove -into the cabin. - -Dorothy dropped down on a thwart with the box in her hand. After a short -rest, she renewed her endeavors to get the remainder of her haul -overside. When Bill clambered out of the cabin she was tugging at the -strong line to which the boxes were tied. - -"It's jammed, or caught, or something," she announced. - -Bill looked overside. - -"Yes, dash it all!" he growled. "We fouled the line and wound it round -the tail shaft when I backed off just now. That's what stopped the -motor, of course. Let me see what I can do. You're blown." - -He picked up another box bobbing alongside and started to haul in the -line. One end of this he found was jammed under the stern, while on the -other length a box appeared every thirty or forty feet. - -"Ten, in all," he told her and drew the last aboard. - -"Hooray! We've done it!" cried Dorothy exultantly. - -"We sure have. You just said it all--" His tone was sarcastic. "The boat -is leaking like a sieve. That lateral wrench started it. The propeller's -jammed. It's beginning to blow a gale and there isn't enough gas to run -us out of it. Three cheers and a tiger! Also, hooray!" - -Dorothy's enthusiasm evaporated. "Gee, I'm sorry. I'm always such a -blooming optimist--I didn't think about our real difficulties." - -"O. K. kid. I apologize for being cross. That water in the cabin kind of -got me for the moment. Let's see what it looks like here." - -He wrenched up the flooring and flashed his torch. - -Dorothy gave a gasp of dismay. The boat was filling rapidly. - -"I'll get that bucket from the cabin," she said at once. - -"Good girl! I've just got to get this coffee mill grinding again, or -we'll be out of luck good and plenty." - -Dorothy fetched the bucket and began to bail. She saw that Bill was -trying to start the engine. - -"The shaft wound up that line while we were going astern," he explained. -"It ought to unreel if I can send the old tub ahead." - -Switching on the current, he managed to get a revolution or two. Then -the motor stopped firing. - -"No go?" inquired Dorothy. - -"Not a chance!" - -He ripped off his life preserver and slipping out of his rubber coat, -pulled forth a jack-knife and opened it. - -"What are you going to do?" Dorothy paused in her bailing. - -"Get overboard and try to cut us loose. Don't stop! Keep at it for all -you're worth. It's our only chance of safety!" - -Wielding her bucket in feverish haste, she watched Bill lower himself -over the stern. The water pounded by this unseasonable sleet must be -freezingly cold. She wished it were possible to help him. Fortunately, -the Mary Jane was light of draft. He would not have to get his head -under, but that tough line must be twisted and plaited and hard as wire. -What if his knife broke, or slipped from his numbed fingers? Dorothy -shuddered. Meanwhile, the storm was getting worse and the heavy boat -drifted before it. - -"Hey, there, Dorothy! Give me a hand up!" - -She dropped the bucket and sprang to his assistance. Then, as his head -came in sight, she leaned over and gripping him under the arms, swung -him over the stern. - -"My word--your strength's inhuman--" he panted. - -"Don't talk nonsense. Get busy and start the engine. The water's gaining -fast." - -"Confound!" he exclaimed. "I'd no idea the cockpit flooring was awash. -Another six inches and it will reach the carburetor." - -While Bill talked he was priming the cylinder. A heave of the crank and -the motor started with a roar. Then he flashed his light on the compass -and after noting the bearing of the wind, laid the Mary Jane abeam it. - -"Take the wheel," he said to Dorothy. "And steer just as we're heading -now." - -"What about the bailing, Bill?" - -"My job. You've had enough of it." - -"But I'm not tired--" - -"Don't argue with the skipper!" - -"But you're soaked to the skin!" - -"Of course I am--what I need is exercise--I'm freezing!" - -"Oh, I'm so sorry--here--turn over the wheel, skipper." - -Dorothy grabbed the spokes and Bill hastily slipped into his rubber coat -and adjusted the life belt over it. - -"How are we headed?" she inquired. "I can't see the compass without a -light." - -"Straight for shore, and we'll be lucky if the old tub stays afloat that -long. The whole Atlantic Ocean's pouring in through her seams." - -"Maybe the pump would be better?" - -"No-sir: not that pump. I've seen it!" - -"Mmm. That's why I chose the bucket. Say, I hope you won't get a chill." - -"I'll hope with you," returned Bill and kept his remaining breath for -his labors. - -A heavy wave broke against the Mary Jane's bow and swept them both with -a deluge of water. Dorothy paid off the boat's head half a point. - -"Lucky that didn't stall the motor for good and all," she observed -grimly. "One more like it, and we'll be swimming." - -"Tide's on the ebb," grunted Bill. "Wind's barking around--it'll be -blowing off the land in half an hour, I guess." - -"Do you think the old tub will last that long? She's getting terribly -sluggish. Steers like a truck in a swamp!" - -"Listen!" he cried. "There's your answer." - -From somewhere ahead came the unmistakable booming roar of breakers. As -they topped the next wave Dorothy saw a white band on the sea. She -steadied the wheel with her knee and tightened her life preserver. She -knew they could not hope to reach the beach in the Mary Jane. Low and -open as she was, the first line of breakers would fill her. The motor -was still pounding away when she leaned forward and raised her voice to -a shout. - -"Stop bailing, Bill! Stand by to swim for it!" - -"O. K., kid." - -Bill dropped the bucket and dove for the cabin. A second later he was -back in the cockpit with a three fathom length which he had cut from the -anchor line. He fastened one end about Dorothy's waist and took a turn -about his own body with the other. Then, catching up a bight of the line -which secured the boxes he made it fast to his belt with a slip hitch. - -The Mary Jane was forging strongly ahead, her actual weight of water -being about that of her customary load of passengers. The swells began -to mount, to topple. Searching the shore, Dorothy could see no sign of -any light or habitation. - -"If I'd known we were so nearly in, we might have raised the coast guard -with the flash light." Bill groaned his self-contempt. "I ought to have -kept an eye out--and the Navy said I was a seaman!" - -"Don't be silly! It was my fault, if anyone's. You were busy bailing. -Chances are the light couldn't have been seen from shore, anyway. Gosh, -what weather! Who ever heard of sleet in August!" - -"Look out--behind you!" yelled Bill. - -A moment later she felt herself snatched from the wheel and was -crouching below the bulwark with Bill's arm around her waist. Then as a -brimming swell lifted them sluggishly, its combing crest washed into the -boat. The next wave flung them forward and crumpled over the gunwale. - -The Mary Jane's motor gave a strangled cough and stopped. The boat yawed -off and came broadside on her stern upon a line with the beach. - -"This is what I hoped for," he shouted in her ear. "Gives us a chance to -get clear." - -She saw him gather up the boxes and fling them overboard. - -"Keep close to me. We'll need each other in the undertow!" she yelled -back at him, as he pulled her to her feet. - -Then as the next big comber mounted and curled, they dove into the -driving water and the wave crashed down upon the sinking boat. Dorothy -felt her body being whirled over and over, sucked back a little and -driven ahead again. The water was paralyzingly cold, but she struck out -strongly and with bursting lungs reached the surface. A second later, -Bill's head bobbed up a couple of yards away. Blowing the water from her -nose, she saw they were being washed shoreward. Her life preserver, new -and buoyant, floated her well--almost too well. She found it difficult -to dive beneath the curling wavecrests to prevent another rolling. - -Bill was swimming beside her now and as a great wave caught them up and -carried them forward he grasped her under the arm. - -There came a last crumbling surge and the mighty swirl of water swept -them up the beach and their feet struck bottom. Fortunately, the beach -was not steep. The tide was nearly at the last of the ebb and there was -but little undertow. Together they waded out and staggered up the -shingle to sink down on the sand breathing heavily. - -The boxes were washing back and forth at the water's edge and Bill's -first act was to haul them in. - -"Well, the government's precious loot is safe," he said grimly. "Are you -able to walk?" - -"I--I guess so." - -"Then, let's get going. We'll freeze if we don't." - -He gathered up the boxes and looped them from his shoulders, rose to his -feet and held out a hand. Dorothy took it, scrambled up and stood for a -moment swaying unsteadily. - -"The end of a perfect d-day--" she tried to grin, her teeth chattering -with cold. - -"I _don't_ think!" replied Bill unenthusiastically, and helped her to -get rid of the heavy life belt. - -"Know where we are?" she inquired when he had dropped the belts on the -sand. - -"Not precisely. But if we keep going we ought to strike a lifesaving -station or something--come on." - -Dorothy groaned. "I suppose I must, but--gee whiz--I sure want to rest." - -Bill, who knew that physical exertion was absolutely necessary now, got -his arm about her and they started unsteadily down the beach assisted by -the gale at their backs. - -They had walked about half a mile when he felt her weight begin to -increase and her steps to lag. He stopped and peered into her face. As -he did so, she sank to the sand at his feet. Bending over her, he was -surprised to see that she was asleep--utterly exhausted. - -The outlook was anything but pleasant. They had apparently struck upon a -wild and desolate strip of sand--an island, he thought, cut off by -inlets at either end and flanked by the maze of marshes in the lower -reaches of Great South Bay. Without doubt they were marooned and to make -matters worse, Bill knew he had just about reached the limit of his own -strength. - - - - - Chapter XI - - FROM OUT THE SEA - - -Bill stared down at Dorothy sleeping the sleep of exhaustion on the -cold, wet sand. Her clothes, like his, were soaked with sea water and -with rain. He realized that something must be done at once, or they -would both be in for pneumonia. So stripping off his rubber coat and -covering the unconscious girl, he started for the dunes. - -Day was breaking as he left the shingle and commenced to plow through -the loose sand. The storm was abating somewhat. Although the wind still -blew half a gale, the sleet had turned to a fine, cold rain which bade -fair to stop altogether once the sun was fully up. By the time Bill -Bolton worked his painfully slow way to the top of the dunes it was -light enough to see for a considerable distance. - -At first glance the prospect was anything but alluring. His point of -vantage was in the approximate center of an island of sand and shingle, -a mile long, perhaps, by half a mile wide. Inlets from the white-capped -Atlantic effectually cut off escape at either end of the outer beach on -which a fearsome surf was pounding. Along the inner shore of this -desolate, wind-swept islet a complicated network of channels intertwined -about still other islands as far as the eye would reach. Nor could Bill -make out any sign of human habitation. - -"Water, water, everywhere, and not a gol-darned drop to drink," he -misquoted thoughtfully and wondered if by chewing the eel grass he would -be able to get rid of the parched feeling of his mouth and throat. - -He pulled a broad blade and chewed it meditatively. Then spat it out in -disgust. The grass was as salty as the sea. It made him thirstier than -ever. Turning seaward he swept the pale horizon with a despondent gaze. - -Not a sign of a craft of any description could be seen. Wait a minute, -though. Bill caught his breath. What was that--bobbing in the chop of -the waves, just outside the bar of the eastern inlet? Could it be a -boat? In this gray light a proper focus was difficult. It was a boat, -open; a lifeboat, by the look of it. Waiting no longer for speculation, -he hurried down the low hill toward the sea. - -Once he struck hard sand, Bill raced into the teeth of the wind, with -the boom of the surf on his right, and dire necessity lending wings to -his tired feet. Forgotten were his thirst, the clammy cold of his wet -clothes and his weariness. Every ounce of strength, the entire power of -his will centered in the effort to come close enough to the boat to -signal her assistance. - -With his heart pumping like a steam engine, he passed Dorothy, who was -lying exactly as he had left her. Then he got his second wind and -running became less of a painful struggle. He could see the boat more -plainly now. Surely it was an open motor sailor. Could it be the one -belonging to Donovan and Charlie, he wondered. What irony!--to be -rescued by the smugglers--and to lose liberty and the diamonds after all -this storm and stress! - -But the motor sailor was drifting--into the surf off the bar--without a -soul aboard. - -Coming to a halt at the inlet, he watched the tide pull the boat through -the breakers on the bar to the smooth water. Off came his jacket and -flinging it behind him on to the sand he waded into the water and swam -for the boat. He reached her at last and with difficulty pulled himself -aboard. - -For a moment or two he rested on a thwart in a state of semi-collapse. -As he had thought, it was the smugglers' boat. But there was no sign of -Donovan or Charlie. However, except for six inches or so of water that -sloshed about his feet, the motor sailor seemed to be in good condition. - -When he felt better, he started the engine and ran her ashore on the -island. Then after inspecting the boat's lockers, he buried her anchor -in the sand and trudged back along the beach to Dorothy. - -She was still sleeping, tousled head pillowed on her right arm, and it -was some time before he could bring her back to consciousness. - -"Let me alone," she moaned drowsily, "I'm too tired to get up this -morning, Lizzie. I don't want any breakfast--go away and let me sleep!" - -Bill raised her to a sitting position. "Wake up--wake up! You aren't at -home. And this isn't Lizzie--it's Bill--Bill Bolton! We're still on the -island." - -Dorothy opened her eyes, and looked at him wonderingly. - -"The island--" he reiterated. "We were wrecked--had to swim for it. -Don't you remember?" - -Suddenly she gained full control of her waking senses. - -"I know. I know now, Bill. Guess I've been asleep. Ugh! I'm soaking. -What did you wake me for? At least, I was comfortable!" - -"Come to breakfast and dry clothes. You'll get pneumonia if you stay -here. Do you think you can walk? You're a pretty husky armful, but I -guess I can carry you to the boat if I must." He grinned at her. - -Dorothy was stiff and weary but she fairly jumped to her feet. - -"What boat? Where is it?" - -Bill told her. - -"But you said 'dry clothes and breakfast'--" - -They were hurrying along the beach. - -"That's right. She's got plenty of food aboard--and one of the lockers -is packed with clothes. There are even dry towels, think of that! Those -guys had her provisioned and equipped for a long trip." - -"What's happened to them, do you think?" - -"I can't make it out. The boat has shipped some water, but nothing to be -worried about. The motor's O.K. and there's plenty of gas. They may have -got into the surf, thought she was going to founder, perhaps, and swam -ashore like we did." - -"But they're not on the island?" - -"No. If they made the beach, it was somewhere else along the coast." - -"We should worry," said Dorothy. "If they don't want her, we do--and she -certainly looks good to me." - -They walked down the shingle and Bill got aboard the boat. - -"You wait on the beach," he directed. "It's pretty wet underfoot. I'll -pass the things overside. I think the best plan is for you to go up in -the dunes and change there. Meanwhile, I'll start in with the handpump -and get rid of the water. I'll have her good and dry by the time you get -back. Then you can rustle a meal while I put on dry things. Catch!" - -Dorothy found herself possessed of a bundle knotted in a large bath -towel. Upon inspection it proved to contain dungaree trousers, a jumper, -a dark blue sweater, woolen socks and a pair of rubber-soled shoes. - -"They may be a trifle large," said Bill. "But at least they're dry and -the clothes seem to be clean." - -"Nothing could be sweeter," was Dorothy's comment. "See you in ten -minutes--so long!" - -"O.K.," replied Bill and turned to the handpump. - -Quarter of an hour later he was completing his labors with the aid of a -large sponge when he heard footsteps on the shingle and looked up to see -a young fellow in blue dungarees and sweater coming toward the boat, -carrying a bundle of clothes. - -"Dorothy! Gee--what a change! For a minute I thought you were a -stranger." - -"Somebody's younger brother, I suppose," she laughed. "These things are -miles too big for me--but they're darned comfortable and warm. You go -ahead and change your own clothes. I'll finish bailing." - -Bill stepped overside and on to the sand, carrying his dry rig and a -towel. Dorothy was spreading her sodden clothing on the sand. - -"Bailing's over for today," he told her, "don't forget about breakfast, -though. I could eat a raw whale." - -"Don't worry, young feller," she retorted. "Your breakfast will be ready -before you are. Just let me get these things drying in the nice warm sun -that's coming up now, and you'll see!" - -With a wave of his hand he disappeared over the brow of the sand hills, -and Dorothy clambered aboard the beached motor sailor. Much to her -delight she found a small two-burner oil stove, already lighted, -standing on a thwart. Nearby had been placed a coffee-pot and a large -frying pan. The lid of the food locker lay open, as did the one -containing the water keg. - -"Bright boy," she murmured approvingly. "You're a real help to mother! -Now let's see what smugglers live on." - -She had set a collapsible table that hinged to the side of the boat and -was busy at the stove when she heard Bill's halloo. - -"Breakfast ready?" he called from the beach. - -"Will be in a jiffy," she answered without looking up. "How do you like -your eggs?" - -"Sunny side up, if it's all the same to you." - -"O.K. Spread your wet clothes on the sand and come aboard." - -She was serving his eggs on a hot plate when Bill's head appeared over -the side. - -"My, but that coffee smells good," he cried, and swung himself aboard. -"How did you manage to cook all that food!" - -"Come to the table, and see what we've got." - -He sat down and inspected the various edibles, ticking them off on his -fingers. - -"Coffee, condensed milk, bread and butter, the ham-what-am, fried eggs, -marmalade and maple syrup! Say, Dorothy, those guys certainly lived -high. Some meal, this!" - -Dorothy turned about from the stove, smiling. "And here's what goes with -the maple syrup!" - -"A stack of wheats!" He shouted as she uncovered the dish. "You're a -wonder, a magician, Dorothy. How in the world did you manage it?" - -Dorothy laughed, pleased by his enthusiasm. - -"Found a package of pancake flour in the locker. They're simple enough -to make. Now dig in before things get cold. Help yourself to -butter--it's rather soft, but this lugger doesn't seem to run to ice." - -Bill set to work as she poured the coffee. - -"Like it that way," he replied, his mouth full of ham and eggs, while he -plastered his pancakes with butter. "Well, we've sure put it over on -Messrs. Donovan and Charlie this trip, not to mention your friend -Peters. Got their diamonds and their boat and their clothes. Now we're -eating their breakfast,--the sun is shining once more--and all is right -in the world." - -"Where are those diamonds, by the way?" exclaimed Dorothy suddenly, -having taken the edge off her ravenous appetite. - -Bill laid down his knife and fork. For a moment he looked startled, then -burst into a great roar of laughter. - -"We're a fine pair of Secret Service workers!" he cried derisively. "But -it's my fault. You were all in." - -Dorothy's jaw dropped. "Don't tell me you left them on the beach!" - -"Surest thing you know. I left them beside you on the sand and forgot -all about the darn things when I spotted the motor sailor. Never thought -of them again until this minute!" - -Dorothy nodded sagely. "Which only goes to show that diamonds don't -count for much when one is tired and wet and hungry, not to mention -being marooned on a desert island!" - -"Ain't it the truth! Another cup of coffee, please. I'll fetch them when -we've finished eating." - -"After we've washed up?" - -"O.K. with me." - -Bill drank his third cup of coffee and leaned back with a sigh of -content. - -"Well, the old appetite's satisfied at last," he admitted comfortably. -"And I don't mind telling you that was the best meal I ever ate." - -"Thank you, kind sir. Though I think it is your appetite rather than the -cook you should thank." - -Bill shook his head. "When it comes to cooking, you're a real, bona -fide, died-in-the-wool, A-1 Ace! How about it--shall we wash the dishes -now?" - -"I can't eat any more, and if I don't get busy soon, I'll go to sleep -again." - -"Pass the dishes and things overside to me. I'll sluice 'em off in the -water. We should worry. This will be our last meal on this boat. I'll -bet a rubber nickel those smuggler-guys wouldn't have done this much if -they'd got the Mary Jane." - -"Poor Mary Jane," sighed Dorothy as they tidied up. "She was a staunch -old thing. I wonder what Yancy will soak Dad for her?" - -"Nothing. Uncle Sam pays for that boat. She went down on government -service, didn't she?" - -"That's good news," smiled Dorothy. "Now, that's the last plate. Let's -go along the beach. I'm getting worried about those boxes of diamonds. -Do you think they'll be there, all right?" - -"Sure to be. Unless somebody has landed on this island while we were -busy with the eats. Come along and we'll see." - - - - - Chapter XII - - THE NOTEBOOK - - -"Do you really think they'll be where we left them, Bill?" - -"Why sure! You're not worrying, are you?" - -The two were hurrying along the beach toward the spot where Dorothy had -dropped to the sand and fallen asleep. - -"Yes, I am." - -"Well, it's Uncle Sam's loot, not ours. And I reckon he cares more about -knowing how the smuggling was done than the contraband itself, anyway." - -"I know. But that's only half of it. The gang has got to be rounded up. -We don't know where they have their headquarters or who is in back of -this business. So I'd hate to have to admit I'd lost the diamonds, after -all." Then, as Bill began to reply, she went on: "And don't forget that -Terry Walters is still missing--or was, when I flew over from New Canaan -yesterday!" - -"You're right, pal. I just didn't want you to take it too soberly. But -that bearded aviator has got to be checked up. No easy matter, either, -after what happened last night." He broke off sharply. "There are the -old boxes--just where I dropped them--so you see you've had your worry -for nothing." - -"Just the same, we've been terribly careless!" - -"Don't rub it in," said Bill, looping the line and its dangling load -over his shoulder. "These things go to a bank for safe keeping just as -soon as I can get rid of them." - -Dorothy caught his arm. "Let's pry open one of the boxes, and make sure -there really are diamonds inside." - -"Nothing doing," Bill answered decisively. "They're going to be turned -over to the authorities--as is!" - -"Well, you needn't be so snooty about it. But I am crazy to see the -sparklers--especially after all we've been through to rescue them!" - -"Of course,--I'm sorry," apologized Bill with a grin, "I'm kind of jumpy -this morning, I guess. Me for bed as soon as I can find one. But you -know, we really can't open those things up, because we'd then be held -responsible for contents--or no contents--as the case may be. See?" - -"I didn't think about that, Bill. But let's forget the old boxes. I'm -all in myself. Any idea what time it is? My watch has stopped." - -Bill glanced at his wrist. "Just seven o'clock. Seems like noon to me. -This nice warm sun is a wonderful help--I was chilled to the bone." - -"Me too," said Dorothy. "Well, here we are at the motor sailor. Nothing -to keep us longer on this island. I vote we shove off." - -"Second the motion. Hop aboard and go aft. Your weight in the stern will -help to raise her bow so I can push her out without breaking my back." - -"How's that?" called Dorothy a minute later. - -"Fine! Stand by for a shove!" - -A heave of his shoulder against the bow loosened the boat's keel from -the sand and Bill sprang aboard as she glided into deep water. - -"Don't suppose there's a chart of the lower bay stowed in one of those -lockers?" he remarked as he started the engine. "The shallows are going -to be the limit to navigate without running aground. Do you mind seeing -what you can find, Dorothy?" - -"Not at all--seeing I've already found one," she laughed. "Came across -it when I was looking for food." - -"Good." Bill took over the wheel. "Let me see it, will you?" - -Dorothy passed over the map. Bill studied it with a hand on the wheel. - -"Thank goodness the deeper channels are marked," he ruminated, "that's a -help, anyway." - -Dorothy peered over his shoulder. - -"That island must be one of those in Jones Inlet. I had no idea we'd -gone so far west." - -"All of fifteen miles as a plane flies to Babylon. No chance of making -any time until we get into South Oyster Bay which is really the western -end of Great South Bay. If we make Babylon by noon, we'll be lucky." - -"No reason why we should both try to keep awake," observed Dorothy. -"I'll skipper this craft for a spell. Make yourself comfortable -somewhere and go to sleep. You'll be called at ten o'clock." - -"But you need rest more than I do," began Bill. - -"Oh, I had a snooze on the Mary Jane," she interrupted, "and got another -on the sand this morning. Pipe down, sailor! This is your master's voice -what's speaking. Excuse the ungarnished truth, but you look like -something the cat brought in and didn't want!" - -Bill's laugh ended in a yawn. - -"Aye, aye, skipper. Call me at four bells. Night!" - -He went forward and lay flat on the flooring, his head pillowed on his -arms. He was asleep almost immediately. - -For the next couple of hours Dorothy steered a winding course among low -sandy islands and mudbanks. It was impossible to make any speed in these -shallow, tortuous waters and she was taking no chances on running -aground. It was monotonous work at best. She was deadly tired. There was -little or no breeze and the sun, unshaded by the faintest wisp of cloud, -fairly blistered the boat's paint with its fierce heat. - -At ten she roused Bill, and as soon as he was sufficiently alert to take -over she went to sleep on the flooring in the shadow of a thwart. - -It seemed as though she had but closed her eyes when Bill's voice called -her back to wakefulness. - -"We're almost in," he reminded her. "Better run forward or I'm likely to -ram the dock." - -Dorothy jumped to her feet and ran her fingers through her rumpled hair. -She was astonished to see that the motor sailor was closing in on the -dock of Yancy's Motor Boat garage. - -"We must have made wonderful time--" she yawned, stumbling toward the -bow. - -"Only fair," Bill said. "It's almost noon. Snap into it, kid, and fend -her off with the boathook." - -Presently they were tied up to the dock and Dorothy was making a sketchy -toilet with the aid of her compact. - -"How about it, old sport?" she looked up from her mirror, busy with damp -powder and lipstick. "What's on the program now? Thank goodness Wispy is -still at her mooring over there. I s'pose after we settle with Yancy for -the Mary Jane, we'd better take the plane and fly home." - -"Eventually, yes," decided Bill. "I'll go up to the office and fix -things with Yancy. I've got to do some long distance telephoning, -anyway, and park these boxes in a bank. It will save a lot of time if -you'll go over this boat with a fine tooth comb while I'm gone. I don't -expect you'll find anything much, but there's no telling." - -"All right," she nodded. "And while you're about it, get hold of that -letter I wrote Mr. Walters and phone Lizzy we will be home for a late -lunch. The sooner we can get back to New Canaan and Little Dorothy can -crawl between clean sheets, the better she'll be pleased!" - -"Yep. I'll work as fast as I can." - -Bill clambered on to the dock and made off in the direction of the boat -yard. - -For the next hour Dorothy worked manfully, overhauling the motor sailor. -Fierce rays of the noonday sun beat down on the open boat. She was worn -out and dizzy, but stuck pluckily to her job, turning out the contents -of lockers and investigating every nook and cranny of the smugglers' -craft. Except for an old coat and those odds and ends which accumulate -aboard any boat as large as the motor sailor, she found absolutely -nothing. Tired and hot and crazy for sleep, she decided to call off this -unprofitable search, when Bill's voice hailed her. - -"Hello, there, pardner," he sang out, stepping aboard. "How are things -going?" - -Dorothy straightened her back and wiped the perspiration from her -forehead with a sodden handkerchief. She noted the deep circles below -Bill's eyes and the tired droop of his shoulders. He looked on the verge -of collapse, but his voice still held its hearty ring. - -"Not so good, old timer. There isn't a blessed thing worth while aboard -this scow. Finish your business?" - -"Reckon so. Got Washington on the phone and the big chief is tickled -silly with all we've done. Tell you more about it later. Yancy will be -recompensed for the Mary Jane and will look after this motor sailor -until the government men take her over. I got Lizzie on the wire. She -expects your father home tonight." - -"Thanks. Did you get my letter, too?" - -"It's in my pocket. I put the diamonds in a safe deposit box at a bank -uptown. And I guess that's pretty much everything." - -"You look done up, Bill." - -"I've felt sprucer. But you look pretty rocky yourself." - -"Feel like a wet smack, thank you. The heat is terrible." - -"Wait till I collect my duds and yours," he suggested, "and we'll beat -it for New Canaan and Home Sweet Home!" - -"They're rolled up in a sea bag," she told him. "Here it is." - -She started toward him with the bag in her arms, stumbled and would have -fallen had not Bill's steadying hand prevented. - -"Kind o' wobbly, eh?" - -"Not as bad as all that, Bill. Caught my toe in that floorboard. It's -loose." - -"Have you had them up?" - -"Why, no, I never thought of that." - -Bill took the sea bag from her and tossed it on to the dock. - -"Hop on a thwart," he prompted. "I don't suppose there's anything but -bilgewater under the boards but we might as well have a look." - -"Need a hand?" asked Dorothy, looking down at him. - -"No, I guess not. These sections aren't heavy--" He broke off with a -sudden exclamation and fished up something from the wet. - -"What is it?" - -"Seems to be a notebook. Probably dropped out of either Donovan's or -Charlie's pockets and got kicked under that loose flooring in the gale -last night. But it's soaking wet and its pages are stuck together. -Wonder if we'll be able to get anything out of it?" - -Dorothy held out her hand. - -"Give it to me. I'll dry it out on the dock while you look some more." - -For the next few minutes Bill continued his search while Dorothy after -placing the notebook on the decking of the dock watched it carefully, -lest the light breeze blow it into the water. - -At last he joined her and lifted the sea bag over his shoulder. - -"How's it coming?" - -"Not so good. It's going to take a long time to dry the book all the way -through even in this sun." - -"Then let's take it along to New Canaan. I'll get Dad to put it in our -oven as soon as we get home. That'll do the trick. Get aboard that -dinghy and I'll row you over to the plane." - -Dorothy picked up the notebook and slipped it into her pocket. - -"That's the best thing you've said today," she beamed, "I'll be home and -asleep in twenty minutes! Come along." - - - - - Chapter XIII - - THE WARNING - - -Dorothy and Mr. Dixon were finishing breakfast next morning when the -Boltons, father and son, dropped in. - -"Good morning, stranger," was Mr. Dixon's greeting to Bill. "I -understand you've been to Europe and back a couple of times since we saw -you last. We've missed you, boy." - -"Thanks," returned Bill. "I'm glad to be home again." - -"Which home?" asked his father with an amused smile. "When in New Canaan -you seem to spend most of your time across the way here." - -"And why not?" protested Mr. Dixon. "Dorothy and I return the compliment -often enough. Since you people moved here two lonely widowers have -acquired another child apiece. It's fine--both Dorothy and I are the -happier for it." - -"And that goes two ways," asserted Bill. "How about it, Dad?" - -"Yes, of course," Mr. Bolton assented heartily. "The intimacy is one I -enjoy immensely. But I'm afraid that Bill has begun the habit of leading -Dorothy into all kinds of dangerous adventures. This diamond smuggling -business, for instance." - -Mr. Dixon chuckled. "If you ask me, I don't think Dorothy needs any -leading." - -"Well, I should say not!" exclaimed his daughter. "If it weren't for -Bill, I'd never be able to get out of half the messes we drift into -together!" - -Mr. Dixon pushed his chair back from the breakfast table. "This meeting -of the mutual admiration society is all very nice," he announced with a -twinkle in his eye, "But it is high time the ways and means committee -got together on this last Bolton-Dixon hair-raiser. I vote we adjourn to -the porch and learn what the subcommittee on the smugglers' notebook has -to report." - -"Second the motion," chirped Dorothy. "I'm just crazy to hear what -you've found out, Daddy Bolton. I suppose Bill has been hitting the hay, -like me?" - -"He put in nearly sixteen hours of uninterrupted slumber," Mr. Bolton -answered as they found chairs for themselves on the shaded porch, where -the air was sweet with the scent of honeysuckle. - -"Well, I guess it was a dead heat," she laughed. "I woke up less than an -hour ago, myself." - -Mr. Dixon passed his case to Mr. Bolton and when their after-breakfast -cigars were well alight, Bill produced the notebook. - -"While you're busy with that stogie, Dad, I'll start the ball rolling." - -"Humph! That--er--stogie happens to be a fifty-cent Corona!" snorted Mr. -Dixon who was touchy about his smokes. - -"Means nothing to me," replied Bill blandly. "Don't use 'em myself -and--" - -"Say, will you please pipe down on cigars--" broke in Dorothy, "and get -to the notebook?" - -"Oh, what a pun--" groaned Bill, "you certainly--" - -"Be still!" ordered his father. "She's right. Let's get down to -business. Now, here's the book," he went on, opening the little volume. -"I dried it in our oven and although the writing is blurred, it is still -quite legible. As you see, only a few pages have been used, and they -show a simple set of flag signals. The red flag means: 'Meet Steamship.' -The yellow flag stands for 'A.M.'; the white, 'P.M.' Then there are -twenty-four flags to designate the hours and half-hours from one to -twelve." - -"Is that all?" asked Dorothy, disappointedly. - -"Absolutely. The rest of the pages are blank." - -"I remember hearing the men speak of the bosses' red flag when I was -listening outside the cottage," she said slowly, "and that meant, of -course, that Donovan and Charlie were to meet the steamer." - -"Quite. But until we are able to locate the spot where these signals are -displayed we won't accomplish much." - -Bill nodded. "And now that they know we have discovered their method of -smuggling, they'll probably shift their operations from Fire Island -Lightship to some other point along the coast." - -"Very likely," his father acquiesced. "Although it is my opinion they -will discontinue, temporarily, and lay low for a while." - -"Still there must be other shipments in transit right now," suggested -Mr. Dixon. "But I suppose they could manage that by sending radios in -code?" - -Mr. Bolton carefully knocked the ash from his cigar. - -"I think that's beyond the point," he argued. "We can only surmise what -they may or may not do. The government men will watch the ships and the -coast. Both Bill and I talked to Washington over the phone just before -we came over here. And the officials there believe that the bearded -aviator's plane is a most important factor in the operations of the -smugglers. And the Chief wants Bill to find that plane--" - -Dorothy snorted derisively. "Well, he doesn't want much! That airplane -won't fly over the Beach Club again, after this--" - -Mr. Bolton smiled at Dorothy's vehemence. "But you see, my dear, the -Washington gentleman thinks that if Bill is able to follow the -mysterious amphibian, it will eventually lead him to the headquarters of -the gang." - -Bill burst out laughing. "It's just like telling me to take a handful of -salt--and if I can put it on the birdie's tail, I will eventually catch -the birdie! But it isn't really the Chief's order, he knows what we're -up against. It's that assistant of his who wants to cover himself with -glory. I asked him if I hadn't better disguise my plane like a string of -white boxes so they'd take me for a diamond necklace!" - -"What'd he say?" giggled Dorothy. - -"Oh, he spread on the soft soap until I got even more disgusted and -turned him over to Dad!" - -Mr. Dixon chuckled. "It's a pretty large order. I don't suppose your -Secret Service friend gave you any valuable suggestions?" - -"He did not," sneered Bill. "That, as he explained, was entirely up to -me!" - -For several minutes no one spoke. - -"We sure are up against it," sighed Dorothy at last. - -"You mean I am," was Bill's reply. "The only thing I can do is to start -a series of patrols." - -"_We_ will start a series of patrols," she corrected. "Two planes will -be better than one." - -"Just as you say." Bill showed no enthusiasm. "My idea of something -uninteresting to do is to fly around all day, hunting another plane, -that's probably safely housed in its hangar all the time." - -"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket! If none of us have brains enough to -think of a plan to trap that fellow, there's no use grouching over it!" - -"That's all very well. But where are we going to patrol? You told me, I -think, that those lads planned to take you from the warehouse to their -headquarters in Connecticut. This state's not so big when you compare it -with Texas or California--but when it comes to locating a single -plane--" - -"Listen!" cried Dorothy and ran to the porch steps. "Come here--all of -you--quick!" - -The deep drone of an airplane increased to a giant roar as a smart -two-seater swept down toward the house. - -"It's the Mystery Plane!" she shrieked. "The nerve of him!" - -On came the amphibian with throttle wide open, just topping the trees at -the edge of the lawn. Then the four on the steps saw the pilot drop -something overside and zoom upward missing the roof of the house by -inches. - -"I should say he has nerve--" Mr. Dixon pointed out on to the lawn. "Run -out and get that parcel he dropped on the grass, Bill. This business is -getting more interesting by the minute!" - -Bill brought the package back to the porch. - -"Oh, what do you think it is?" Dorothy grabbed Bill's arm in her -excitement. - -"Calm down!" said her father, as Bill held out a small box covered with -brown paper and sealed with dabs of red wax. "Handle it carefully--there -may be explosive in it." - -"I don't think so--" said Bill, "those things generally run by -clockwork. There's no tick in this box." - -"Come on--let's open it," exclaimed Dorothy impatiently. "I'll bet it's -nothing dangerous. Couldn't have been dropped from a plane without going -off!" - -"Wait one minute," commanded her father. "We'll be on the safe side, -anyway. Don't touch the thing till I come back." - -He ran into the house. - -"Any address on it?" inquired Dorothy. - -"Not the slightest bit of writing. If there is any, it's underneath this -outside wrapping." - -Mr. Dixon came out of the house carrying a pail of water, which he -brought down to the lawn, where they were waiting. - -"Drop that package into the water," he ordered Bill. "A good soaking -will take the sting out of any explosive." - -Dorothy burst out laughing. - -"Maybe--but not in this case, Dad. Look, the thing floats!" - -She snatched up the package and ripped off the outside paper, disclosing -a white cork box, similar to those used for carrying the contraband. - -Bill took a knife from his pocket and opened a blade that proved to be a -small screwdriver. He took the box from Dorothy and removed the screws -from the lid. - -"Gee, do you think they've sent us a diamond?" she asked jokingly. - -"Not a chance. This is a message of some kind, I'll bet!" - -The box was filled with jeweler's cotton, from the center of which he -drew a revolver cartridge. Around it, fastened by a rubber band, there -was a small sheet of note paper. The others gathered close as he -smoothed out the paper. - -Blocked in capitals with a red crayon was the smugglers' message. - -"LAY OFF! THIS MEANS BOTH OF YOU." - -"Aha! And if we don't lay off, we'll be plunked with a bullet from a -cartridge like this!" Dorothy summed up. "This affair is likely to get -exciting before we finish it." - -Mr. Bolton studied the paper then returned it to the box with the -cartridge. - -"Has it struck you oddly," he said quietly, "that these people should -know that Bill was mixed up in this? That message, of course, is for -Dorothy and Bill." - -"Yes, I was thinking of that," admitted Bill. - -"Strange--" cogitated Mr. Dixon. "You two flew from Babylon back here -without a stop--and you both went straight to bed. Neither you, nor I, -Bolton, have spoken to anyone about their exploits, I'm sure." - -"Somebody must have found out from the servants that our offspring flew -back together," his friend decided. "It could not have happened any -other way. Then that fact, added to the glimpse they must have caught of -a young man in the Mary Jane with Dorothy, when they rammed the -smugglers' motor sailor off the lightship, gave them a simple line of -reasoning. And the joke of the matter is that their warning has done -just the reverse from what they figured it would do!" - -Mr. Dixon looked puzzled. - -"I don't quite see what you mean?" - -"Why, it has given us the only real clue we have to the gang's -whereabouts," smiled Bolton senior. - -"Dad's one up on me, too," grinned Bill. "How about you, Dot?" - -Miss Dixon stamped her foot. "You'll _dot_, and carry one you'll -remember for the rest of your life if you murder my perfectly decent -name that way, Bill! You ought to know by now that I won't stand for -it." - -"So sorry, Dorothy!" he apologized with mock politeness. "Will Miss -Sherlock Holmes, the famous lady sleuthhound who solved the New Canaan -Bank mystery, deign to say whether or not she also spots a clue in the -villain's message?" - -"Aren't you the bunk! Yes, I think I know what Daddy Bolton is talking -about." - -"Well, Miss Cleverness, what is it then?" - -"Oh, you make me tired! But just to prove that I'm not as dumb as you -act, the clue is this--" - -"Give me a chance," begged Mr. Dixon, entering into the spirit of the -game. "Your idea, Bolton, is to find out from the servants who they've -been talking to and trace the smugglers from--" - -"Cold as an iceberg," broke in Mr. Bolton. "I'm sorry to admit it, but -you and Bill don't seem very quick on the uptake this morning. What do I -mean, Dorothy?" - -Dorothy made a face at Bill. - -"We know that these men have headquarters somewhere in this state," she -began airily. "Why? Because Donovan said they must get me over to -Connecticut. And later, in the warehouse, he told Peters not to rob me -because the boss wanted me delivered just as I was. Daddy Bolton -believes that because these men have been spotted so quickly that _you_ -are mixed up in it, Bill, their headquarters are much nearer to this -house than we figured: that the chances are, it is only a very few miles -from here that they're to be found--or their system of spying on us -couldn't be so perfect!" - -"That's right," concurred Mr. Bolton. "This smuggler boss or his -accomplices over here must live in the neighborhood. Some of his -servants know ours--have known them for some time or they would not have -been able to ask questions without causing suspicion." - -Mr. Dixon looked suddenly serious. "You can't mean that our neighbors -along this ridge are mixed up in it? The Clarks, old Holloway, the -Denbys, Miss Cross--and ten or a dozen others--are all old friends and -eminently respectable people! Why, it's preposterous to think--" - -"I'm not trying to pin it on anybody yet," countered Bill's father. "But -mark my words--when this business is cleared up, you'll find that some -eminently respectable New Canaan household _is_ mixed up in it!" - - - - - Chapter XIV - - UP AGAINST IT - - -It was finally decided that Dorothy and Bill should make a series of -circular patrols, centering above New Canaan. - -"We'll each take a plane," said Bill, "and keep each other in sight." - -"What's the use of doing that?" Dorothy asked. "Why not make the patrols -separately? When I come down, you go up. In that way we can stay in the -air twice as long on the same amount of gas, and take a rest once in a -while." - -"Too risky. These smugglers are desperate. We've already thrown a -good-sized monkey-wrench into the works of their organization. That -Mystery Plane is quite likely to pack along a machine gun--and use it if -the pilot finds out we're trying to follow him." - -"Are we going up unarmed?" - -"You are--but I'm not." - -Dorothy raised her eyebrows in surprise. - -"Well, that's nice of you!" - -"Look here, young lady," cut in her father. "I don't know what Bill's -plans are, but if you're going on these patrols, just remember that he -is the captain of the outfit and must have obedience. Otherwise, I'll -not consent to your going at all." - -"Oh, I'll be good, Daddy. But I do think--" - -"But you mustn't! Your job is to do what you're told and let your -captain do the thinking." - -"You see, Dorothy," explained Bill, "in order to use a gun in the air, a -pilot must have training and practice. Otherwise, all you do is to draw -the enemy's fire. If we meet up with this bird you'll have plenty to -keep you busy--a very important part to play. But if there's any gunning -to be done, I'll do it. Before we go up, I'll outline exactly what we're -to do in the event we sight the gang's airplane." - -Dorothy got out of her chair. - -"How about getting busy, then?" she suggested. "The longer we're up, the -more we are likely to accomplish." - -"Hold your horses," laughed Bill. "Don't think for a minute we're going -to patrol all day long." - -"Why not?" - -"Waste of time." - -Dorothy plumped herself down in her chair again. - -"Oh, all right. Have it your way. Personally, I can't see doing a thing -at all, unless one does it properly. You and your plans make me tired." - -"Don't get peeved," he bantered. "These won't be endurance flights." - -"They won't be anything at all unless we find that plane and you can't -expect it to take the air just when you want it to!" - -"Stop quarreling, children," admonished her father. "Bill knows what he -is talking about." - -"Well, maybe he does. He can catch the old plane by himself. I'm -through." - -"What you need is another nap, young lady. You're tired and cross." - -"I'm not. Men always club together." - -"And what can a poor girl do?" supplemented Bill with a grin. - -"Stop teasing, Bill!" commanded Mr. Bolton. "Apologize to Dorothy and -tell her why you mean to take short hops. I can't see the sense in such -procedure myself--any more than she can. And just remember that an -overdose of excitement puts anybody's nerves on edge. She's been through -a lot more than you have during the last few days." - -At his father's words, Bill's face wore such a look of honest -contrition, that Dorothy's conscience smote her. They both began to -speak at once. - -"Gee, I'm sorry, Dorothy--" - -"I'm an idiot, Bill--" - -They burst into laughter simultaneously. - -"Now we can get on with our discussion," smiled Dorothy. "Go ahead, -Bill." - -"Well, the smuggler's pilot has been taking most of his flights--or I -ought to say, the flights we know about--during the late afternoon. I -haven't the slightest glimmer why he chooses to fly at that time. But, -as I see it, if he has done it day after day in the past, the chances -are he'll continue to leave his hangar at about the same time. My plan -is for us to take off at about four each afternoon. We can remain in the -air until six. If he comes from around here, we'd catch him shortly -after he takes the air. That's how I figure it." - -"Maybe you're right." Dorothy was still unconvinced. "But how about the -warning we got a little while ago?" - -"What's that got to do with it?" - -"Well, we hadn't had lunch yet--he dropped the message from his plane in -the morning--not during the late afternoon!" - -Bill yawned unblushingly and got to his feet. - -"Cuts no ice," he asserted. "That wasn't a regular hop." - -"What then?" This from Mr. Dixon. - -"A grandstand play, pure and simple. Those lads haven't the brains I -gave them credit for, if they really think they can steer us off with -tripe like that!" - -Mr. Bolton ground the butt of his cigar on an ashtray, and rose. - -"Perhaps that wasn't the idea," he suggested. - -Three heads were turned sharply toward him. - -"What do you mean, Bolton?" asked Mr. Dixon. - -"A come-on," returned his neighbor. - -"A come-on?" echoed Dorothy in a puzzled voice. - -"Just that--nothing more nor less." - -"I get you," Bill nodded. "Get us in the air, by that teaser--rely on us -to go after the Mystery Plane as a matter of pride--and then fill us -full of machine gun bullets. If they start anything like that--well--two -can play the game and if that lad with the beard can't shoot any better -than he handled his plane when he zoomed the house just now--it is, as -the French say, 'to laugh'!" - -"That's all very well," argued Mr. Dixon. "I don't mind Dorothy flying, -but I do draw the line at machine guns. That's no game for girls. You -keep your two feet on solid earth until this business is over, my dear." - -"Oh, Daddy!" Dorothy's voice was full of disgust. - -"Sorry, daughter, but I simply can't let you take the risk." - -Mr. Bolton placed his hand on his friend's arm. - -"You know, I don't think that Bill would have countenanced Dorothy's -going on patrols with him unless he felt assured she would run no -danger. How about it, son?" - -"If she does get into trouble, it won't be with my consent," he smiled. -"But seriously, sir," he turned to Mr. Dixon. "There will be a minimum -of danger if Dorothy does as I tell her. In the first place, machine gun -fire in the air is not nearly so potent as it is on terra firma. Try and -hit a small object flashing by when you're traveling like a bat out -of--ahem!--Harlem. Try it and see how many planes you don't hit! And in -the second place, that bearded guy won't get a chance to turn his gun in -her direction." - -"Well, I'm no flyer and I haven't the slightest idea of the -technicalities that must arise in aerial combat work," Mr. Dixon made -this statement slowly and thoughtfully, "but still--" - -"Daddy, _don't_ be ridic." Dorothy's tone was tolerantly amused. - -"Do you really think I'm foolish, my dear child?" - -"Oh, pigheaded is a better word, at times, if you insist on the truth!" - -All four burst into roars of mirth. - -"That's one from the shoulder, Mr. Dixon," choked Bill. "You'd better go -the whole hog, now she's a licensed pilot!" - -Dorothy's father shook his head in pretended sorrow. "You're all against -me, that's obvious. And there's much too much pig in this conversation -to suit a conservative parent." He threw an affectionate glance at -Dorothy. "Ever since this tomboy daughter of mine was able to grip my -finger when I leaned over her crib, she has pulled her old Dad hither -and yon to suit her fancy. So I suppose I'll have to give in -again--acknowledge I'm wrong, and so forth. Run along, children, and see -to it your airships are in apple-pie order." - -"You're a darling!" His daughter bestowed a hearty kiss upon his left -ear. - -"Beat it--you scamp!" Mr. Dixon's voice was gruff, though his eyes -sparkled with merriment. "If you bother me much longer, it will be lunch -time before I get down to the bank--and I'm likely to change my mind. -Shoo!" - -"Ogre--I defy you!" With a laugh, she beckoned to Bill and ran down the -steps. - -"Well, what shall it be?" she inquired when he joined her. "Your ship or -mine, first?" - -"Mine, I think. None of the three has been off the apron of the hangar -since I left for Europe. Frank has been looking after them. He's a great -old feller, you know. When we brought him back from New York he didn't -know a fork from a gadget. Now he's chauffeur, general factotem around -the house, and practical mechanic for me. He knows his job all right, -but my boats will need more overhauling than yours." - -"Which plane shall you use for this work?" - -"The Ryan M-l, that the bank gave me after that Martinelli business. She -certainly is a smart little bus--can fly rings around anything in this -neck of the woods. Hello--" he broke off as they came down the drive, -"somebody's had a breakdown." - -Drawn up at the side of the ridge road stood a green coupe of the type -motor car manufacturers advertise as "de luxe model." As they came in -sight, a young man crawled out from beneath the body. - -"Why, that's Mr. Tracey," said Dorothy. "Do you know him?" - -"Yes, I met him at Mr. Holloway's house one night. Isn't he the old -boy's secretary?" - -"Yes, he is. He's quite nice. Dad sees a lot of Mr. Holloway, you know." - -The secretary, tall and sleekly blond, was looking ruefully down at his -grey flannel trousers, now streaked with the dirt of the roadway. - -"Good morning, Miss Dorothy," he greeted, clipping his words in a -precise manner. "Afraid I'm not exactly presentable." Then for the first -time, he appeared to notice Bill. "Hello, Bolton," he said affably. -"You're quite a stranger around here." - -"Got back a couple of days ago," returned Bill casually. "Need any -help?" - -"Thanks, no. Loose nut, that's all." He patted his monkey wrench with a -grimy hand. "This fixed her. Doing much flying, Miss Dorothy?" - -"Yes, I go up quite often. Bill taught me, you know." - -"Yes, I remember. I'd like to take lessons, myself. How about giving me -instruction--that is, if you're not too expensive?" - -"I'm really not in the business," parried Bill. "You'd do much better at -one of the schools. Glad to give you a hop, though, if you'd like to go -up?" - -"Thanks so much. I'll be glad to take advantage of your offer. What -about this afternoon? It's a perfectly lovely day." - -"Sorry, but today I'm overhauling my planes. Been away some time, you -see. I'll probably take them up on tests about four. But of course I -don't want the responsibility of a passenger until I know they are -running O.K." - -Mr. Tracey nodded and got into his car. - -"I understand perfectly. Thanks for the invitation, though. I'll give -you a ring later in the week and allow myself the pleasure of going up -with you. Goodbye. Goodbye, Miss Dorothy." - -With a wave of his hand the car moved off and Dorothy turned to Bill. - -"Why did you tell him you were going to take the air about four?" she -asked. - -"Because if the smuggling gang know what I'm going to do it will save -time if we pull off our little scrap this afternoon." - -Before this admission Dorothy had looked puzzled. Now her eyebrows went -up in startled astonishment. - -"Good Heavens, Bill! You surely don't think that Mr. Tracey has anything -to do with that! He's as prim and prissy as a pussy-cat!" - -"Just my opinion. Of course he knows nothing about the diamonds. But -your prissy boy friend has the reputation of being the worst gossip in -New Canaan. When he takes those gray bags of his to be cleaned, it will -be all over the village that Bill Bolton is back and intends to test out -his planes late this afternoon.--And that is just what I want." - -"Oh, I see," Dorothy nodded thoughtfully. "But I'll tell you one thing. -If we are going up today, it's high time we quit talking and got busy on -the planes." - -With four airplanes to groom, the next few hours proved busy ones for -both Dorothy and Bill. But by four o'clock everything was ready for -their flight. - -"Got your instructions down pat?" he inquired as Dorothy got aboard the -Will-o'-the-Wisp. The airplane was resting on the concrete apron of the -Dixons' hangar, preparatory to the take off. - -"Know them backwards," she flashed with a smile. - -"Good luck, then." - -"Good luck to you, Bill." - -He stepped swiftly to one side as she switched on the ignition. For a -moment or two he stood there watching her amphibian taxi away from the -hangar, gathering speed as it went. Then when the wheels left the ground -and the big bird of wood and metal soared upward, he turned away and -made off in the direction of his father's property. - -As Will-o'-the-Wisp climbed in great widening circles, Dorothy at the -controls knew she had plenty of time to gain the position agreed upon -before Bill could get under way. The air was smooth and still, without -the slightest breath of disturbing wind. Perfect flying weather and -wonderful visibility with a clear blue horizon unmarred by the smallest -shred of cloud. - -The Boltons had turned the ten-acre pasture behind their house into a -level flying field. The old hay barn had been enlarged, partitions -removed and a concrete floor laid. It now made a large roomy hangar, for -their three planes. - -Looking down as she kept on circling higher and higher, Dorothy saw Bill -cross the ridge road and appear a moment or two later on his own flying -field. She watched him hurry down to the hangar and could see Frank busy -about the Ryan before its open doors. Then she saw Bill get aboard. When -she looked again, his small monoplane was already in the air. - -By this time the indicator on Will-o'-the-Wisp's altimeter marked a -height of between eight and nine thousand feet. According to -instructions, Dorothy leveled off and bringing right rudder and right -aileron simultaneously into play, she sent the plane into a wide -circular turn. Far below, the Ryan was pursuing the same tactics, so -that both planes were cruising over the township of New Canaan. - -Dorothy and Bill continued to maintain the same relative positions for -the next fifteen or twenty minutes. Then as Will-o'-the-Wisp swung round -toward the west, Dorothy spied a third plane, streaking toward New -Canaan at an altitude of some three thousand feet. - -The fact that Bill had also spotted the intruder was evident, for he -began to climb. - -"Bill's advertising plan worked," muttered Dorothy with satisfaction. -"If that amphibian over there isn't the Mystery Plane, I'll eat my -ailerons!" - - - - - Chapter XV - - RUN TO COVER - - -Dorothy reached beneath her seat, brought forth a pair of field-glasses -and clapped them to her goggles. Focussed through the powerful lenses, -there was no mistaking the Mystery Plane. And although at this distance -it was impossible to see the pilot's face, she could plainly distinguish -the barrel of a machine gun that poked its wicked muzzle over the -cockpit's cowling. - -"So the bearded aviator means mischief!" She returned the glasses to -their case. "That guy must be a cold-blooded dog to try anything like -that over a populated township. He's likely to bite off more than he can -chew if Bill and I have any luck. If he cracks up, I shan't weep." - -At first sight of the smuggler's plane, she brought Will-o'-the-Wisp -back on an even keel, but now in order to get an unimpeded view directly -below, she sent the plane into a steep bank. - -Bill, in the Ryan, with an altitude of some twenty-five hundred feet and -its nose slightly raised was streaking toward the smuggler. - -Most air battles are fought in the higher ether, because combat flying -often necessitates acrobatics and the ordinary pilot wants plenty of air -below for such work. The smuggler being the aggressor in this case, -naturally started to climb when he spotted the Ryan. He hoped, no doubt, -not only to increase his altitude but to gain greater ascendency over -Bill before diving at the monoplane with his machine gun going full -blast. - -It was time for Dorothy to act. As the smuggler's plane began to ascend, -she sent her amphibian diving toward him at a tremendous spurt of speed. -The Mystery Plane nosed over and dove in turn at the Ryan, some five -hundred feet below. - -"Ha-ha!" Dorothy shut off her motor and brought Will-o'-the-Wisp's nose -gradually back to the horizontal. "Our scheme worked! That bird either -doesn't know his business or he's lost his nerve!" - -A fighting plane attacking has as its objective a position directly -behind the hostile plane at close range. A position either above or -below the tail is equally good. From these positions the enemy is -directly in the line of fire, and in sighting no deflection is -necessary. - -The smuggler's maneuver showed Dorothy that he was a novice; for instead -of going into a climbing spiral which would have eluded her dive and -made it possible for him to attain a superior position over both planes, -he dove at the Ryan. This might have been a proper fighting maneuver if -Bill's plane had not been nosing upward toward him; and had the Ryan not -been the faster of the two. - -By this blunder he put himself in the direct line of fire from Bill's -machine gun. And had that young man been minded to use it the battle -would have been over--almost before it started. - -Seeing his mistake almost immediately, the bearded aviator broke his -dive by zooming upward. Again Dorothy's plane dove for his tail and -right there he made his second error. - -Instead of gaining altitude and position by making an Immelman turn, -which consists of a half-roll on the top of a loop, he pulled back his -stick sharply, simultaneously giving the Mystery Plane full right -rudder. The result was an abrupt stall and a fall off, and his amphibian -emerged from the resultant dive headed in the direction from which he -had first appeared. - -Dorothy sent her bus spiralling downward, while Bill simply nosed his -Ryan into a steeper climb. By the time the Mystery Plane levelled off -from its split-S turn it had lost over a thousand feet. Granted he was -headed for home, if that had been his intention; now he was placed in -the worst possible situation with regard to his opponents. For instead -of one, both planes had attained positions above him. - -For the next few minutes the man in the smuggler's plane did his best to -out-maneuver the elusive pair whose motors roared above his head like -giant bees attacking an enemy. Never was he given a chance to better his -position or to gain altitude. Every time he maneuvered to place one of -the planes within line of fire from his machine gun, the other would -effectually block the move; the menacing plane would sheer off at a -tangent and its partner, crowding down upon his tail, would hurl forth a -smoke bomb. By the time he floundered through the cloud, his antagonists -would be back in their relative positions, again, the one directly above -his tail plane, the other slightly behind him to the right. - -The bearded aviator knew that he was being outclassed at every move, -that gradually they were forcing him down to a point where he must land -or crash. - -Both Dorothy and Bill knew exactly when the man in the plane below -guessed their purpose. For with a sudden burst of speed he shot ahead, -streaking in the direction of North Stamford like a ghost in torment. - -"We've got every advantage but one," mused Dorothy, widening her -throttle in pursuit. "He knows where he's going--and we don't. He's up -to some trick, I'll bet." - -That her thoughts were prophetic was made apparent almost immediately. -By shutting off his engine and by kicking his rudder alternately right -and left with comparatively slow and heavy movements, the smuggler pilot -sent his plane's nose swinging from side to side. This evolution, known -as fish-tailing, he executed without banking or dropping the nose to a -steeper angle. Its purpose is to cut down speed and to do so as rapidly -as possible. - -The Mystery Plane slowed down as though a brake had been applied, -sideslipped to the left over a line of trees and leveled off above a -field enclosed by a dilapidated stone fence. - -"Confound!" exclaimed Dorothy, with a glance behind. "He's going to land -and both Bill and I have overshot the field!" - -Nose depressed below level, a lively flipper turn to left brought -Will-o'-the-Wisp sharply round facing the field again with its wings -almost vertical. Immediate application of up aileron and opposite rudder -quickly brought the amphibian to an even keel once more. Then Dorothy -nosed over, went into a forward slip, recovered and leveled off for a -landing. - -As the wheels of her plane touched the ground, she saw the Ryan come to -a stop on the grass some yards to the right. Just ahead and between them -was the Mystery Plane. It lay drunkenly over on one side, resting on its -twisted landing gear and a crumpled lower wing section. - -Dorothy stood up in her cockpit when Will-o'-the-Wisp stopped rolling -and saw the smuggler-pilot vault the wall at the far corner of the field -and disappear into a small wood. Bill was walking toward the disabled -amphibian. She got out of her plane and hurried toward him. - -"Pancaked!" she cried, pointing toward the wreck as she came within -speaking distance. - -"You said it--" concurred Bill. "That guy was in such a hurry he leveled -off too soon. Usually I don't wish anybody hard luck but that bird is -the great exception. Too bad he didn't break a leg along with his plane. -Now he's beat it and--" - -"We are just about where we were before," she broke in. - -"Not quite, Dorothy. The Mystery Plane is out of commission.--I wonder -where we are?" - -"Somewhere in the North Stamford hills." - -"I know--but whose property are we on?" - -"Haven't the least idea." - -"I can't see any houses around here. Did you notice any as you came -down?" - -Dorothy shook her head and laughed. - -"My eyes were glued on this field," she admitted. "I was too busy trying -to make a landing myself to take in much of the landscape. Wait a -minute, though--seems to me I caught a glimpse of the Castle just before -I put Wispy into that reverse control turn. Yes, I'm sure of it." - -"The Castle?" Bill frowned. "What in the cock-eyed world is that?" - -"A castle, silly!" - -"Make sense out of that, please." - -"Sorry. You're usually trying to mystify me--I just thought I'd turn the -tables for a change." - -"Oh, I know--I'll say I'm sorry or anything else you want. Only please -tell me what you're talking about." - -"Well, it seems that about fifteen or sixteen years ago, somebody built -a castle about two or three miles from North Stamford village. It's less -than five miles from where we live. Not being up on medieval -architecture I can't describe it properly, but Dad says it is the kind -that German robber barons put up in the fourteenth century. Anyway, the -Castle is built of stone with a steep, slate roof, which spouts pointed -turrets all over the place. I wouldn't be surprised if it had been built -by a German--it certainly looks as Heinie as sauerkraut!" - -"Who lives there?" asked Bill. - -"Nobody, now. During the war, Dad told me, the place was suspected to be -a spy-hang-out or something like that. Anyway, there was a lot of talk -about it. What became of the owner, whoever he is, I don't know. The -place has been rented several times during the past few years. It is -quite near the road. I drove past it just the other day on my way to and -from Nance Wilkins' tea and the old dump looked quite empty and -forlorn." - -"Well, that's that," said Bill. "This bearded guy may have been heading -for your Castle, but I doubt it. Fact is, he probably decided to land at -the first convenient place when he found we were too much for him, and -decided to trust to his legs for a getaway." - -Dorothy had been swinging her helmet by its chin strap in an -absent-minded manner. Now she raised her eyes to his. - -"What are we going to do about it?" she inquired. "We can't try to break -into the Castle in broad daylight." - -"Hardly. And after our experience with the bank gang, we'll do no more -snooping around strange houses on our own. I am going over to that -little wood where our friend ran to cover. Maybe I can find some trace -of him. You stay here with the planes." - -"Why can't I go with you, Bill?" - -"Because that smuggler may simply be hiding in the woods in hopes that -we'll come after him and that we'll leave these airbuses unguarded. Then -when we're gone, he'll come back here, grab one of them and fly quietly -home." - -"All right. I see." - -"Have you got a gun?" - -"That small Colt you gave me is in Wispy's cockpit." - -"Get it and keep it on you--and if that guy shows up, don't be afraid to -use it." - -Dorothy shook her head. "I never shot at anybody in my life--" - -"Don't shoot _at_ him--_shoot_ him. You might have to, you know." - -"But surely, Bill--" - -"Oh, I don't mean for you to kill the guy. Plunk him in the leg--disable -him. If you have any qualms about it, just remember that machine gun in -his bus here. The man is as deadly as a copperhead and twice as -treacherous. Look out for him." - -"I will. But su-suppose you get into trouble, Bill. How long do you want -me to wait here before I come after you?" - -"My dear girl," Bill was becoming impatient. "I'm just going to try to -find out where that lad is headed. I won't be gone more than ten or -fifteen minutes." - -"Yes. But suppose you _don't_ come back here!" - -"Wait for half an hour. Then fly back home and tell Dad what has -happened. He'll know what to do. Don't get nervous--I'll be all right. -So long. See you in a few minutes." - -With a wave of his hand, he ran across the field and Dorothy saw him -hurdle the low wall and disappear between the trees of the wood where -the bearded aviator had run to cover. - - - - - Chapter XVI - - THE TUNNEL - - -Dorothy walked slowly back to Will-o'-the-Wisp and climbed into the -cockpit. From the pilot's seat she had an unobstructed view of the field -and the two other airplanes. Overhead, fluffy wind clouds began to -appear from out of the northwest. Near the stone wall, three small -rabbits sported in the sunshine; and presently a groundhog waddled -across the field. - -She glanced at her watch. The hands marked five past five. Bill had been -gone twenty minutes. - -"And he told me not to get nervous," she thought indignantly. "This -waiting around is enough to set anybody off--I'll give him just ten -minutes more!" - -Dorothy counted those ten minutes quite the longest she had ever -experienced. Fifteen minutes past five and still no Bill. He had told -her to wait half an hour and then to fly home for help! But she was not -the sort of girl who permits herself to be quietly wiped off the picture -by an order from a boy friend! She just wasn't made that way. Bill might -be worried about the safety of the planes; it was his safety that -worried her. - -Determinedly she transferred the small revolver from its holster to a -pocket of the jodhpurs she was wearing. Should she pack a flash light, -too? No need of that, she decided. Figuring on daylight saving time, it -wouldn't be dark until after eight o'clock. Without more ado, she got -out of the plane and crossed the field toward the wood. - -After she had climbed the wall at the spot where she had seen Bill -disappear on the trail of the bearded aviator, she came upon a path. -Narrow it was, and overgrown, yet certainly a path, leading through the -trees at a diagonal from the stone fence. Without hesitation, Dorothy -followed it. - -She was soon certain that her idea of the wood from the air was correct, -and that it covered no great acreage. Hurrying along the winding -footpath, she began to catch glimpses of blue sky between the tree -trunks, and less than three hundred yards from the wall she came into -the open. - -The trees ended at the edge of a broad gully, apparently the bed of a -shallow stream in the spring or after a shower; but now, except for a -puddle or two, it was dry. On the farther side, cows were grazing in a -meadow. - -"Nice pastoral landscape," she said aloud. "Doesn't look like much of a -spot for mischief--" - -In spite of her bravado, Dorothy felt a lump in her throat. If Bill were -missing, too, and she could not find him.... - -The pasture sloped gently upward over a hill, perhaps a quarter of a -mile away. And on the horizon above the hilltop, the Castle reared its -pointed turrets skyward. For a little while she watched the huge, grey -pile of stone, whose narrow leaded windows reflecting the late afternoon -sun, winked at her with many mocking eyes. What a dreary-looking place -it was, she thought. Ugly and forbidding, it was entirely out of place -in this New England countryside. The Castle seemed utterly deserted. It -probably was. At least the path ended at the gully; there was no sign of -it across the meadow. - -Where was the bearded aviator--and above all, where was Bill? - -"Bill distinctly said he would not snoop around the Castle," she -thought. "I wonder if he really came this far?" - -So eager had she been to reach the edge of the wood that she had paid -very little attention to the ground she was covering. As this new -thought struck her, she turned and gazed back over the way she had come. -There were her own footprints clearly defined in the damp earth--but -there was no sign that either Bill or the smuggler had passed that way. - -Back along the path she trudged, walking slowly this time. - -"I'm a pretty poor woodsman," she told herself. "They must have turned -off somewhere." - -Her eyes searched the soft earth of the narrow trail and the thick -bushes through which it wandered. But it was not until she had gone half -way back to the stone wall that she discovered traces of footprints. And -where the prints left the path, a ragged remnant of a handkerchief swung -from a twig near the ground. - -"There!" she pounced upon it joyfully. "How could I have been so stupid -as to miss it--I might have known!" - -The initials, "W. B." embroidered in one corner of the dirty fragment of -linen banished any doubt she may have had as to its ownership. Leaving -it tied to the bush, she struck into the wood. - -Now that she was intent upon her stalking, there was no mistaking the -trail left by the other two. A broken twig, heel marks on the soft mold, -a trampled patch of moss; all these signs bespoke a hasty passage -through the brush. - -She had not gone far, when suddenly in a clearing she came upon the end -of the trail. The earth here was bare of undergrowth and sloped sharply -down into a marshy ravine. In the center of the little clearing a pile -of brush was heaped with dead grass and rubbish,--tin cans, old shoes, -automobile fenders, rusty bed-springs, boxes and weathered newspapers. - -For a moment Dorothy stared at the rubbish dump. Then she noticed -footprints circling the heap and followed them down to the ravine. Here, -as if to bulwark the miscellaneous junk and to keep it from sliding, was -a buttress of boxes and barrels. - -Dorothy got down on her knees and examined these carefully. At the very -bottom, almost on a level with the tussocky surface of the marsh, a -barrel lay on its side, its depth leading inward. A sudden inspiration -made her pull a long stick from the pile and run it into the barrel. She -gave a little gurgle of astonishment. The barrel had no bottom. - -Still on her knees she peered inside. Just beyond the rim lay a scrap of -paper. She picked it up and scrawled upon it were the words "This -way".... - -"Another message!" she whispered jubilantly. - -She tried to move the barrel but found that it was securely nailed to -the bulwark of packing-cases. The soft earth about its mouth was heavily -marked with footprints. - -"Well, there's no doubt about it now--'this way'--" she murmured and -without further waste of time wormed her way into the barrel. - -As she crawled through the other end, she found herself in a narrow -tunnel. The daylight appearing through its ingenious entrance was strong -enough to show her that the rubbish had been built over a frame of -two-by-fours and chickenwire, which formed the roof and sides of the -tunnel under the dump. - -Dorothy got to her feet. A short distance ahead the tunnel led straight -into the high ground over which she had come from the wood path. Here -the sides were timbered with stout posts, and ceiled with cross beams to -prevent the earthen roof from falling. - -"Gee, if this isn't like Alice in Wonderland! Why, I might meet the -White Rabbit any minute now." She giggled, then shivered as she -remembered why she was there. - -For a moment she considered returning to the plane for her flash light, -but decided it would take too much precious time, and passed on -cautiously, stopping now and then to listen. She could hear nothing but -the squashy sound of her footsteps on the marshy floor of the tunnel. - -After proceeding about fifteen feet, the dark passage turned slightly in -its course. Just beyond the turn, as Dorothy was groping to find which -way it led, her hands touched a wooden surface. This proved to be a -heavy door, standing partly open. As she shoved it back with her -shoulder, she tripped over a heavy object which lay across the sill. -Dorothy reached down in the darkness and picked up a crowbar. - -She advanced, dragging the crowbar after her. The floor of the passage -at this point began to slope up hill. But after a few paces ahead, she -found it went abruptly downward at a considerable angle, took a sharp -turn to the right, then began to slope gently upward again. - -By this time she had lost all sense of direction. She progressed slowly, -feeling along the wall with her left hand, resting it on one timber -until she had advanced half way to where she supposed the next would be. -In this manner she crept on for nearly a quarter of a mile without -meeting any obstruction. The air, though cold and lifeless, was -breathable; but the darkness and the horrid feeling of being shut in -began to get on her nerves. Once more she stopped to listen. Absolute -stillness. Dorothy could hear nothing but the beating of her heart as -she strained her eyes to pierce the black passage. She seemed completely -shut off from everything on earth. - -Feeling that inaction was even more unbearable than running head-on into -danger, she recommenced her slow advance. Presently, she came to a place -where the tunnel widened out. Here, even with outstretched arms, she -could not reach both walls at once. - -As she swung to follow the left hand wall, her right arm struck a free -timber which seemed to have no connection with either side of the -passage. From this she deduced that she was now in a sort of -subterranean chamber, and that this free post was one of the supports of -its roof. Continuing along the left wall, with her right arm -outstretched, she soon reached another post. The heavy crowbar which she -was endeavoring to carry at arm's length, struck against the base of the -upright and made a loud, cavernous sound. - -"Bloomp!" - -Dorothy was prepared for the next timber, some three feet farther on. -She took the crowbar in her left hand and extended her right to grasp -the post, with the intention to discover the size of the chamber. - -Suddenly she recoiled in horror. She could feel a chill rush up and down -her spine. For she had touched, not the splintered wood of the post, -but, unmistakably, human flesh. - -Dodging quickly to one side, she dropped the crowbar and drew her -revolver. Holding it straight before her, ready to fire at the first -sign of a hostile advance, she listened breathlessly. - -To her amazement, there was no sound; not the slightest indication of -movement in the awful darkness. She supposed the enemy must be -maneuvering to take her from some unexpected quarter. But she could not -understand how it could be managed in that inky blackness without giving -her some audible sign. - -Feeling that she must have something firmer than mere space behind her, -Dorothy retreated, keeping her pistol leveled. With her left hand she -groped behind her and when she felt the solid timber, she leaned back -against it, waiting. - -Seconds dragged like hours and still there was no sound. Gradually, -Dorothy's nerves were beginning to quiet down. - -"Well, this is darned queer," she thought, "maybe that person is making -tracks out of here. I can't just stand still and do nothing, anyway." - -She began to move forward very cautiously. When she had covered ten -short paces, she stopped and listened again. Absolute stillness -everywhere, stillness pervaded by the strange, dank smell of unsunned -earth and the musty rot of roots and wood. - -But this time Dorothy fancied she could hear a faint, very faint sound -of breathing. At first she thought it was her own, reechoing from the -walls of the dark cavern. Then she held her breath and listened once -more. _There_ was some one else in this subterranean chamber. - -"Well, here goes," she said with closed lips. "It's now or never. I -can't stand this much longer!" - -But she had only taken a single step when the same chill of horror and -fright raced over her again. Her revolver muzzle had touched something -apparently alive and yielding, the clothed body of someone who stood -motionless as before. - -"Hold it! hold it!" she cried, her teeth chattering. "Don't move or I'll -plug you!" - -With her gun firmly pressed against the body, she raised her other arm -to ward off any blow that might be directed against her. As she did so, -it became evident that the body still had not moved, that the breath was -coming regularly and faintly, but there was no stir of limbs, no shift -of muscle or of weight. - -Such mysterious behavior filled Dorothy with terror. She bit her lips -and dug the mouth of her Colt forward into the body. - -"Stick 'em up--do you hear? Over your head!" she said viciously between -her teeth. - -The figure remained motionless and as silent as before. Dorothy felt her -heart beats mount to a violent thunder. She felt she could stand the -strain no longer. - -Still holding her pistol against the flesh of this mysterious being, she -lowered her arm from her forehead and reached slowly forward. She -touched something. Her whole body was convulsed with horror, anguish and -surprise. - -Her trembling fingers had descended upon the smooth, cool softness of a -leather helmet. They slipped, cold and damp, from the helmet to the face -and over the warm cheek. - -In that moment everything was changed. Now Dorothy understood why the -figure was motionless and quiet. She touched a fold of cloth that bound -the mouth and slipping her hand to the shoulder, she felt a twist of -thin rope. - -She slipped the pistol into her belt without hesitation. Bill always -carried several packets of matches in his pockets. She found one and -struck a light. - -When the little puff of smoke and the obscuring haze of the first flash -settled down to a fitful flame, Dorothy got a glimpse of her friend. He -was gagged and bound to one of the upright supports. His eyes were -closed and his head drooped to one side. - -In less than a second Dorothy had flung away the match and was cutting -the young fellow's bonds with her knife, groping for them in the dark -and supporting his released body against her own as she worked. At last -she was able to lift him out of the loosened loop that had held his feet -and stepping back, laid him on the earthen floor. - -Then she knelt beside him, rubbing his wrists and cheeks with her grimy -palms. For some minutes her ministrations seemed of no avail. But -presently, under her fingers she felt his head move. At first she could -only catch groans and sighs. Then, as consciousness began to assert -itself, Bill raised his head a little and said faintly: - -"Who's that?" - -"It's me--Dorothy." - -She lifted his head into her lap. As she did so Bill gave a start and -struggled feebly. - -"Let me go!" he muttered. "Let me alone!" - -"Just keep quiet, Bill," she soothed. "You'll be better soon." - -Bill lay back in her arms and was still. - -"Who are you?" he asked again and this time in a firmer voice. - -"It's Dorothy, your pardner!" - -"Dorothy? Thank Heaven for that." He caught at her hand and squeezed it. -"We're in the tunnel, aren't we?" - -"Yes--where it widens out into a kind of room." - -"I remember now--that guy slugged me when I was making for the candle on -the table over there." - -"Who slugged you? The bearded aviator?" - -"That's right. I was coming along, lighting matches to see by when he -stepped from behind one of the uprights--and that's all I remember. -Knocked me out, I guess." - -"He certainly did! You've a bump on your head like an egg. The helmet -probably saved your life. Feel pretty rotten, don't you?" - -"You said it! Dizzy as blazes--and my head's as sore as a boil. But I -guess I'll be all right in a minute if I can just lie still. Do you -mind?" - -"Of course not, silly. Take your time. I suppose you followed the -footprints to the barrel, like I did." - -"Yep. But how come you went after me?" he chuckled. "I thought the idea -was to beat it home in the plane." - -"Oh, Bill, I just couldn't!" - -Bill sat up. "Well, I suppose I was crazy to ever think you would--but I -honestly didn't think I'd get into such close quarters with that fellow. -As it is, I'm mighty glad you didn't take my fool suggestion," he -admitted. "Where would I be now, if you hadn't shown up? By the taste in -my mouth and the feel of my wrists, that galoot must have tied me up and -gagged me!" - -"He did that. You were bound to an upright. Have you any idea where this -tunnel comes out?" - -"Ten dollars to counterfeit two-cent piece, your Castle is the answer to -that question," he said, and lit a match. "Oh, there's the table, -Dorothy. Do you mind lighting that candle? I'm too dizzy to stand up yet -or--" - -He stopped short and Dorothy saw his eyes widen in startled surprise. - -"_Look out!_" he yelled and the match went out. - -Dorothy felt a hand grip the back of her neck and immediately afterward -its fellow clutched her throat. In a fierce frenzy of terror, she shot -to her feet, gasping and choking and flinging her arms wildly backwards -as she rose. - - - - - Chapter XVII - - "THE TOMBS" - - -Dorothy's vigorous motion forced her assailant to relax his grip upon -her throat, and as she felt his weight upon her shoulders, she lunged -down and backward. There was a dull, cracking thud, and the sound of a -body falling. The back of her head struck one of the timbers that -supported the ceiling of the tunnel. The place seemed to whirl round and -round and glittering sparks danced before her eyes. When this sensation -ceased, Dorothy leaned back against the post into which she had flung -herself in her apparently successful effort to shake off her opponent. - -With the realization that the attack had halted and that her assailant -had either made his escape or was incapacitated, she fumbled in her -pocket for a match. - -"Where are you, Dorothy?" Bill's voice called from the dark void. - -"Right here, old thing--by the wall." - -She struck a light. - -"All right?" - -He looked pale and shaken in the flicker of the tiny flame. She saw that -he grasped the crowbar. - -"A bit woozy," she replied, and lit the candle on the table. "Cracked my -head on a beam or something." - -"That bearded guy didn't hurt you?" - -"He didn't get a chance. Which way do you think he went?" - -Bill laughed softly. "You put him out of business. Look!" - -He pointed toward an upright and Dorothy saw a crumpled figure lying -huddled at the base of the post. - -"Goodness! You don't think I've finished him?" she breathed in horrified -alarm. - -"No such luck," he affirmed callously and bent over the man's body. "Sit -down until you feel better. This chap is only stunned. I'll take care of -him." - -Dorothy stumbled over to the table. Near-by was a chair. She dropped -into it. - -"He bumped his skull on this post," Bill went on. "No great damage, I -guess. Funny--whenever there's a rough-house in the dark, somebody -invariably gets a broken head. The three of us are even now." - -"What are you going to do with him?" Her dizziness was passing. - -"Oh, I'll give him as good as he gave me, and lash him to this upright." - -He busied himself tying up the unconscious smuggler. When he had -finished, he looked up and beckoned to Dorothy. - -"Come over here. He's plenty secure now. This rope held me, I guess -it'll hold him." - -"What are you going to do now?" - -"Find out who this chap really is." - -His fingers peeled off the false beard and Dorothy cried out in -astonishment. - -"Mr. Tracey!" she gasped. - -"It's Tracey, all right!" - -"But who'd have thought that sleek pussy cat was mixed up in this? -Aren't you surprised, Bill?" - -"Not very. When his car had the breakdown this morning I began to -suspect. The whole thing was too darn opportune. He was part of their -system of watchers, of course. Probably wanted to find out how we'd -taken their warning." - -"But surely Mr. Holloway can have nothing to do with it! He's such a -sweet old man." - -Billy transferred two revolvers from Tracey's belt to his own. - -"If you want my candid opinion," he said, "Old Holloway is the leader -and brains of the gang. Only it's going to be the dickens and all to -prove it in a court of law." - -Dorothy stared at him incredulously. "Why, Bill--are you _sure_?" - -"Why not? He's just a double-dealer, that's all. That wise old bird is -certain to have a flock of cast iron alibis up his sleeve. He must have -made more than enough money out of this diamond smuggling to keep -Tracey's mouth shut--and the mouths of any others who may be corralled." - -"I've got a hunch," said Dorothy. - -"Let's have it." - -"Not yet. I want to chew it over a bit. Let's go back now and get help." - -"That's for you to do. I'm going on to the Castle and surprise whoever's -there. I don't think they have a suspicion of what has happened down -here. Tracey never got that far, I'm sure of it." - -"Well, you can take it from me that you're not going alone. I'm coming -with you." - -Bill hesitated. - -"Well, perhaps that's the best way, after all," he admitted at last. "It -will take some time to get the proper people over here--and by then -somebody in the Castle might spot the crumpled plane and start to -investigate. Time's more than money now--let's go." - -"But do you think you can make it?" - -"Can do," he said grimly. "I've got a sweet headache, but it might be -worse. How about you?" - -"Ditto," she smiled. "Are you going to drag that heavy crowbar?" - -"Think it might be wise. Lucky I found it by that camouflaged dump. I -had to bash the lock of the door to the main tunnel with it. And there -may be another door farther along." - -"Then I'll take the candle," she said. With the light held well over her -head, she followed him out of the chamber. - -The tunnel from here on was concreted, walls, roof and floor. Passing -quickly along for possibly a hundred yards, they approached a steep -flight of steps. At the top they found a closed door. Bill turned the -handle and it swung inward. - -"Guess I won't need this any more," he said and braced the door open -with the crowbar. "If they're too many for us, we may have to leave in a -hurry. Just as well to keep the way clear." - -By the feeble light of the candle they saw that they stood in a small -whitewashed cellar. Leading off this to the left, was an open corridor, -and from some distance down this passage came the glow of electric -light. A large safe, painted white, was built into a corner of the -cellar wall. - -At a nod from Bill, Dorothy blew out the light and placed the -candlestick on the stone floor. Then as she straightened up he brought -his lips close to her ear. - -"I'll bet that's where they keep the loot! Follow me, and hold your gun -handy." - -One after the other, on tiptoe, the pair crept across the cellar, their -rubber-soled shoes making not the slightest sound. When they came to the -corridor, Bill slackened his pace but continued to stalk steadily -forward. On their left the whitewashed wall led straight on in an -unbroken line. In the right wall, they saw the iron grills of cells. -They passed the first, which was dark, and evidently empty. From the -second came the glow of light. - -Bill turned and placed a finger on his lips. Then he got down on his -hands and knees and crawled forward to the door. - -"Good heavens!" Dorothy heard him gasp. "So that's where they had you!" - -He stood up and she hurried toward him. - -"_Terry!_" - -Her cry was one of absolute amazement. Through the grating she saw her -long lost friend, starting up from his cot where he had been reading -when Bill's exclamation caused him to look around. Terry advanced to the -door and greeted them. - -"Well, by all that's wonderful! Dorothy! Bill Bolton! What--" - -"Are you all right? You're not hurt or anything?" Dorothy's excited -whisper broke in upon his incoherent surprise. - -"No, I'm safe and sound, except that I'm pretty tired of reading--cooped -up in this hole. But say, how did you two manage to get down here?" - -"Through the tunnel," replied Bill with a grin. - -"Gee, is there a tunnel, too? Never heard of it. How about that lad -Peters and the others--you didn't see them?" - -"No, we came through the cellar. Have you any idea where they are?" - -"Upstairs, probably--in the house--playing cards. Since Peters came here -a few days ago he's been bringing me my grub. He's quite chatty; likes -to boast about how he trims those others at poker." - -"How many men are there altogether, do you know?" asked Dorothy. - -"I've never seen more than three at a time, unless you count their -be-whiskered pilot I mixed it up with at the beach club. Remember him, -Dorothy? But he doesn't come around much, so Peters says. He doesn't -like him--thinks he's high-hat." - -"Well, he's out of the picture, now," declared Bill. "We got him in the -tunnel." - -"Yes--and Terry, do you know that he is Mr. Tracey?" Dorothy could not -contain the exciting news any longer. - -"Great grief! You don't say so! I never could stand that fellow--didn't -think he had sense enough to come in out of the rain. But then, you -never can tell which way a cat will jump." He stepped closer to the -grill and looked anxiously from Bill to Dorothy. "Say, do you think you -two could find a way of getting me out of here?" - -"We left a grand crowbar in the cellar! Don't you think we could bash -the lock with it, Bill?" - -"Might pry it open. But I'm afraid the noise would give us away--" - -"Not a chance of that--if you mean it might disturb the poker players," -Terry interrupted. "There's a perfect whale of a sound proof door at the -head of the stairs. I was brought down that way. They always keep it -shut." - -"Good!" Bill hurried off to get the crowbar. - -"What's all this about, Dorothy?" asked Terry. "All I know is that these -lads held up my car the night of the Sillies. Some bird in a mask drew a -gun on me--my eyes were bandaged and I was popped into another bus and -brought over here. Where am I, anyway?" - -"Why, you're in that old stone Castle--near North Stamford. This is a -diamond smuggling gang we're up against. The local and the state police, -not to mention Secret Service agents, have been scouring the country for -you. Wait till you see the newspapers! You're nationally famous! But -your mother and father and the rest of us have been terribly worried." - -Terry nodded. "I've been thinking of that," he replied. "But diamond -smugglers, eh! No wonder--" he whistled softly. "You've no idea what it -was like to be caged up here--thinking of the family and how terrible it -was for them--not knowing why I was here, or if I'd ever be set free. -Yet they've not tried any rough stuff. Gave me plenty of books and -magazines, and enough decent food, thank goodness!" - -Bill reappeared, carrying the bar. - -"Now get back from the door, Terry," he cautioned. "I'm going to have a -go at it with this." - -He placed the end of the crowbar through the grating and behind the -steel disk which held the lock. Then he shoved it forward and sideways -until that end was jammed between the inner edge of the door and the -frame. - -"Lend me a hand, please, Dorothy, and we'll see what a bit of leverage -will do." - -Together they seized the crowbar and pulled. There was a sharp snap and -the door flew open. - -"Good enough!" cried Terry. He sprang into the corridor and grasped -their hands. - -"You said it," laughed Bill. "That's the second time this bar has come -in handy since we started this job. If we ever get out of here I'm going -to keep it as a souvenir." - -"I'll take the diamonds," Dorothy added enthusiastically. - -"What's on deck now?" inquired Terry. - -Bill grew suddenly serious. - -"Have you any idea where they keep themselves above?" - -"It's ten to one they'll be playing poker in the kitchen. They've -nothing else to do now, except to feed me--or so Peters says." - -"Where's the kitchen? I mean, how do we get to it from here?" - -"It's along this passage and up the staircase at the end. The door at -the top--the sound proof one--opens into the kitchen." - -Bill handed Terry a gun. "Don't be afraid to use it," he commanded. -"They won't hesitate to shoot if they get a chance." - -Terry looked at him in great disdain. "Say, just because I appear to be -my cheerful self and so on, don't get the idea that I've enjoyed this -rest cure. All I've been thinking about for days--and nights too--is the -chance to get even with them. Now I have it." He patted the revolver. - -"O.K. then, come along, both of you." - -It was but a step to the turn in the passage. Directly ahead lay a steep -flight of stairs. And at the top was the silent menace of the closed -door. - - - - - Chapter XVIII - - THE FLAGS - - -"Do you think it will be unlocked?" Bill dropped his voice to a whisper. -The three were standing on the landing at the head of the stairs, facing -the door. - -"Sure to be," returned Terry. "That is, if we can take friend Peters' -word for it. He spilled all this dope when he'd had an argument with the -rest of the gang." - -"Then let's go--" said Bill. "You stand to one side, Dorothy." - -"Shucks!" With a twist of the handle, that young lady threw the door -wide and jumped into the room. - -"Hands up! Stick 'em up!" she cried. - -Two of the three men seated at the table complied at once with her -command. Their hands shot above their heads with the rapidity of -lightning. The third reached for a revolver that lay amongst the -scattered cards. - -"_Bang!_" - -The man gave a cry of pain and caught at his shattered wrist with his -other hand. - -Startled by the sudden detonation just behind her, Dorothy almost -dropped her gun. - -"Dog-gone it!" Terry seemed annoyed. - -"What's the matter?" Bill still covered the men. - -"Matter enough! Too much rest cure, I guess. Forgot to remove the safety -catch on this gat you gave me. Lucky you fired when you did." - -"Well, never mind that now," Bill's words were crisp and to the point. -"Grab that clothesline and tie their hands behind their backs. That's -right! Dorothy, will you give first aid to that fellow's wrist? I'll see -that they don't play any tricks." - -After securing the men, Terry searched their clothes and produced two -revolvers and a wicked looking knife. He also took a ring of keys from -Peters. - -"Gee!" exclaimed that gentleman. "If it ain't the girl what blame near -kicked me teeth out I'll eat me bloomin' hat!" - -"You'll eat skilly in Wethersfield Prison, or Atlanta, before you get -through," Terry promised. "Shake a leg--both of you. Down to the cells -for yours. Did you ever realize what a swell difference there is between -the titles of jailer and prisoner? March!" - -"Wait a minute!" Dorothy cut in. "I'll help you take this man along, -too. I've done all I can for him. It's a clean hole through his wrist. -Bone's broken but the bullet missed the artery. He might be worse off." - -Bill spoke from the doorway that led into the rest of the house. "While -you're gone I'll search this place for any other members that might -otherwise be overlooked!" - -After housing the smugglers in cells, Dorothy and Terry returned to the -kitchen and were surprised to find Bill speaking over the telephone. - -"And that's that, Dad," they heard him say. "Spread the good tidings in -proper places and make it snappy, please. Bye-bye!" - -He placed the receiver on its hook. - -"I guess you got that," he smiled. "Dad will phone the police and -Washington. Then he's driving over here with Frank. And he will also let -Mr. Walters and your father know, Dorothy." - -"Fine--I'm glad he thought of that!" Dorothy laughed in excited -approval. - -"Didn't take you long to search the place," said Terry. - -"No--only a few rooms on this floor are being used. The staircase is -thick with dust. Nobody up there--no footprints." - -"Well, what's to do now?" - -"We'll wait for Dad, of course," said Bill, "and then Dorothy and I can -fly our respective planes home. How about it, pal? Feel able to do -that?" - -Dorothy lifted her eyebrows in derision. "Well, I should hope so! I -suppose I do look pretty frazzled--but you don't seem in the best -condition yourself. However--I've another plan." - -"What's that?" - -Terry had taken over the phone and was talking in low tones to his -mother. - -"Do you remember I told you I had a hunch, Bill?" - -"Yes, I do. What about it?" - -"We're going to follow my hunch." - -"Where to?" - -"Well, we'll start out of this house--by the front door this time, if -you please--then across the meadow and through the wood to the field -where our planes are parked." - -"And--?" - -"And then you're going to get into the rear cockpit of Will-o'-the-Wisp -and take a little hop with me." - -Bill looked surprised. "What about my Ryan?" - -"Oh, Frank can pilot her home." - -"Yes? And then where are we going?" - -"That's my secret. Tell Terry, and come along now. We're in a hurry, -even if you don't know it." - -"Well, I'm evidently not supposed to know anything of this new mystery!" - -"Don't be stuffy! Come on, now. This is serious, Bill, really, I'm not -leading you on a wild goose chase, I promise you." - -"Humph! It must be hot stuff--not!" - -Dorothy made a face at him. "I want to tell you it's the hottest stuff -of the whole business. And I just want you to be in at the finish, don't -you see, stupid?" - -"All right. As you insist--" - -"That's right. Of course I do. And when we've done this thing up brown, -I'll cart you back home to dinner--and if you are very good you can sit -next to me!" - -Bill grinned. "You may be New England Yankee, but that line of blarney -you hand out spells Ireland in capital letters! Come on then, we'll -leave Terry to guard the fort." - -After they had put that young man wise to their plans, the two left the -Castle. They were both pretty nearly exhausted after their experiences -in the tunnel, but the success of their adventure was elating, and more -than made up for its bad effects. - -"Well, here's the field just where we left it," announced Bill as he -helped Dorothy over the stone fence. "And there's that Willy plane of -yours, too. Whither away?" - -"Hop in and you'll see." - -Five minutes later, Bill looked down from his seat in the rear cockpit -and saw that she was going to land near the tennis courts in the broad -parking space behind the cabanas at the beach club. The members had -become used to seeing her land Will-o'-the-Wisp on the club grounds. -Their descent therefore caused little or no notice. The plane stopped -rolling and a man in the club uniform of a beach attendant ran up. - -"Hello, Jeffries," waved Bill. "I thought you might be here. How are -things?" - -"We caught Donovan and Charlie Myers over at Babylon. But they're small -fry. Anything new, Bolton?" - -Bill got out of the plane and helped Dorothy to descend. - -"I should say there is! Tell you about it in a minute. Dorothy, let me -present Mr. Arthur Jeffries, one of the very big men of the United -States Secret Service. Arthur, this is the famous Dorothy Dixon!" - -Arthur Jeffries said some polite things which caused Dorothy to blush -modestly, and in a few pithy sentences Bill told the story of their -afternoon. - -"So you see, old man," he ended. "You won't have to wait around this -club any longer disguised as a goldfish or what have you--because the -bearded aviator won't fly the Mystery Plane over here any more--that is -to say--not for twenty years or so at the soonest." - -"He'll get all that or more," Jeffries commented crisply. "But the man -he worked for--sunning himself over there on the sand--old Holloway, I -mean--he's the nigger in the woodpile! The boss of this gang of diamond -smugglers--but I can't arrest him on that evidence!" - -Dorothy made an eager gesture. "Will you come with me--I want to show -you two something. We'll go around the far side of that big cabana on -the end of the boardwalk. We're going inside." - -"Holloway's bath house?" This from Bill. - -"Exactly. I don't want him to see us, though, so be careful." - -The three rounded the gaily painted cottage and ducking under the red -and black striped awning, entered the front room which was fitted out -with the usual wicker furniture and bright rugs. - -"I wonder where he keeps them," Dorothy murmured to herself. "Ah--this -looks like it!" - -She lifted the hinged lid of a handsome sea chest and pulled forth a -dozen or more colored flags. - -"By jove! The goods!" cried Bill. "How did you ever guess it, Dot?" - -Dorothy was so pleased by her find that she passed over his use of the -despised diminutive. - -"I just happened to remember that he generally decked out his cabana -with a flock of these things. And though the club runs up flags on -special occasions, Mr. Holloway did it nearly every afternoon. It came -to me when you pulled off Tracey's beard back there in the tunnel." - -"Precisely," said Arthur Jeffries. "Holloway would get word in New York -at his office, probably, when a liner carrying contraband was expected -off Fire Island light. Then he'd come out here and signal the time to -Tracey in his airplane, by means of these flags. I'll bet the old boy -never went near that Castle. Some alibi! He and Tracey probably never -saw each other from the time he went to the city in the morning until he -came home for dinner at night." - -"Are you going to arrest him now?" she asked breathlessly. - -"As soon as I can get out on the beach. I'll do it as quietly as -possible, of course. No use in causing a disturbance with his friends -around. So long, Bill. Glad to have met you, Miss Dixon--and many -thanks. See you both later on." - -They left the cabana with him, but turned back toward the plane as he -went down the beach. - -"That ties it, I guess," she smiled. - -"It certainly does!" agreed Bill. - -"Now--didn't I tell you it would be hot stuff?" - -He looked at her and they both burst out laughing. - -"And the best of it is that the government will probably pin a medal on -you for it!" he declared. - -"Oh, Bill! Do you really think that?" - -Bill grinned at her excitement. "You get into that plane and take me -home to dinner. That was the bargain, and I'm famished!" - -"Dinner!" exclaimed Dorothy in disgust. "My word! We've caught those -diamond smugglers when the whole of the Secret Service couldn't do -it--and all you think of is food! Gee, I'm glad I'm not a mere man. Hop -aboard. I'll give her the gun and fly you home to your dinner." - - THE END - -Those who enjoyed this story and the preceding one entitled Dorothy -Dixon Wins Her Wings will find much to interest them in the next book of -this series entitled Dorothy Dixon Solves the Conway Case. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOROTHY DIXON AND THE MYSTERY -PLANE*** - - -******* This file should be named 44782.txt or 44782.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/7/8/44782 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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