CHAPTER IV
THE STARTLING NEWS
"Well," said Frank, with a frown on his face. "It's puzzled me a wholelot, let me tell you, Andy. Because, of course, my first thought wasthat it must have been Percy Carberry's work; but now that you tell mehe was here, and knew we hadn't fetched our hydroplane home, I hardlyknow what to think."
"Did you say you worked till about eleven at the shop?" asked Andy,quickly.
"Three minutes after when I quit, locked up, and went home," Frankreplied.
"That was just about the time they showed up here," the other went on tosay. "Unless one of us is wrong about the time, they couldn't well be intwo places at the same minute, now, could they? Seems like it might havebeen some other crowd that broke into our hangar, Frank!"
"But why? Did they want to play fast and loose with our machine, andforce an entrance just for that purpose? Listen to something I'm goingto tell you, Andy. I found several things on our work bench wheresomebody had left them, without meaning to do it, I guess. Here's one."
Frank while saying this held something up which he had taken from thepackage he carried under his arm.
"Why, that's a splendid electric torch, looks like to me?" exclaimedAndy.
"Just what it is, now," the other agreed.
"And it was forgotten in our shop, was it?" demanded Andy.
"I made out that whoever entered used this first, and then lighted ourlamp to look around with, putting out the torch, and laying it down.When they skipped out, why, they just forgot all about it, also these."
Again did Frank make a dive into his pocket, and dangled somethingbefore the astonished eyes of his cousin.
"Great Caesar! what d'ye call those things?" gasped Andy, staring asthough hardly able to believe his eyes.
"Well, as near as I can make out, they're a couple of half masks madeout of black muslin, and just like a domino worn at a masquerade ball."Frank remarked, with positive conviction in his voice and manner.
"Masks?" echoed the other; "and the fellows who broke open our shop worethem, did they? Well, the crowd that came out here seemed to besatisfied to tie handkerchiefs across their faces, and pull their hatsdown."
"I don't know that they wore them," Frank went on, "but they had thethings along and laid them down with the lantern, forgetting the wholelot when they cleared out. Perhaps your dog got to barking andfrightened them off before they found a chance to do much damage."
"A regular bullseye electric torch, and black masks like cracksmenuse--say, tell me, Frank, what's coming over our quiet country up herelately? There was the affair over in a neighboring town, when yeggmenbroke into the bank, and robbed it; and now here you tell me we've had alittle smash-up on our own account, with the burglars leaving cardsbehind them. But what d'ye think now anybody would want to go pokingaround in our shop for, Frank?"
His cousin was looking very grave.
"Well, you forget that we've been working overtime this winter onseveral little inventions that, if we ever complete them, will make astir in the world of aviation."
"Jupiter, I had let that slip away from me, for a fact, Frank!"exclaimed the other, looking rather startled.
"Of course, it sounds pretty big for us to even imagine that any partycould take enough interest in what the Bird boys are doing to come uphere, intending to break into the shop, and learn our secrets; but whatelse can we think, tell me that, Andy?"
"But they wouldn't find out much, even if they had six hours to pokearound our shop in, would they, Frank?"
"I guess you're right, because we've made it a rule to be cautiousenough to hide our work and cover our tracks as we go along. But let'sget busy now, and put the plane into shape, so we can slip along home.And as we work we can keep on talking as much as we want to," Frank wenton to say.
The farmer and Felix still loitered around, determined to see thewonderful contrivance make a start, and expecting the greatest treat oftheir lives, when that event occurred.
Such experienced workers as the two Bird boys had now become would findlittle or no trouble about carrying out the work they had on hand. Everysteel wire guy was kept as taut as a fiddle string; and by the time theywere done handling the aeroplane it would be in apple-pie shape forwork.
"Did they smash much in the shop, Frank?" Andy asked after they hadbeen working some little time, and making fair progress.
"Why, no, it didn't seem to me that they took the time to do greatdamage; and that's why I fancy they were scared off, somehow or other.They went in a hurry, or else they would never have forgotten thosethings. And when I looked around I made up my mind that they were justmad because they didn't find our machine at home, and so tried to let usknow that fact."
"Perhaps it was a second detachment of the same crowd that came outhere?" suggested Andy, speculatively.
"Tell me, what would they be doing with electric torches, and blackmasks? Now, you can see that these have been pretty well used; they'renot new ones just cut out by pattern at home with mother's scissors.These have been made by an experienced operator, and were bought eitherfor a mask ball or some other purpose."
"Well, perhaps we'll never know the truth about it," grumbled Andy, whonever liked anything to puzzle him and would lie awake half the nighttrying to find the answer to a conundrum that had been offered to him bya boy friend.
"Oh! yes, I've got a hunch that we will," chirped his cousin, with asublime confidence that quite won Andy's heart; if he could not see anygood reason for hope himself, the fact that his chum pinned his faith onit was enough to bolster up his own courage.
Meanwhile they were both as busy as bees, and the work was approachingcompletion.
"What are you looking up every little while that way for?" Frank asked,after noticing that Andy cocked his eye upward several times, andappeared to be scanning the heavens in an expectant manner; "the day isall right, so far as wind goes, and we ought to get along home without abit of trouble."
"Oh! I wasn't bothering my head about that part of it," the otherreplied, with a scornful smile. "We've been out in all sorts of weather;and now that we have a chance to try this new invention of the Wrights',that makes it next to impossible to tilt an aeroplane over no matter howyou move around when up in the air, we can feel safer than ever. Even afool would be kept from meeting with an accident when protected by thatwonderful balancing bar that responds to the slightest movement of thehuman body."
"Then it was something else you had on your mind, was it, Andy?"
"Well, I was wondering just what took Percy and Sandy out at daybreakthis morning, that's all," replied the other.
"What's that? Did you see them pass over in their biplane this morning?"demanded the other.
"Felix woke me up at dawn to tell me there was a queer chuggingoverhead, that sort of scared him. I jumped up, because of course I knewwhat that must mean. And sure enough I was just in time to see a biplanepass over at a good height, and head up the lake. I lost it back of thebarn, because a flock of crows came flying along, stretching out for amile or two; and among the lot I couldn't make out just what was biplaneand which was crow. It was pretty high up, too, I thought."
"But you made sure it was Percy's biplane?" asked Frank, interestedsomewhat, for somehow the other rival flier was always doing such boldstunts that he could not help feeling as though it might pay to keeptrack of what he was doing, lest their interests clash unexpectedly, inmidair perhaps.
"I ought to know the way it glides, and the whole general look; and I'dbe willing to take my affidavy that was the Canvas-back, as he callshis biplane."
"And he was in it, of course, with Sandy too?" Frank went on.
"I could just make out that there were two aboard," said Andy, "butsomehow it seemed to me that Percy had altered his whole way of pilotinghis airship, or else he was drunk, and hardly knew what he was doing."
Frank whistled to indicate his surprise and consternation:
"When it gets as rough as that you can take it from me that Pe
rcy'smother will hear something simply awful about him before long. He'sbound to go from bad to worse; and everybody knows what the end of suchan aviator is going to be."
"But what under the sun could he be off at daylight this morning for?"Andy went on to remark, as though that thing had been bothering him eversince the moment he lost track of the biplane among the teetering,cawing crows.
Frank shrugged his shoulders as he replied:
"Did you ever know any reason for half the things Percy does? He justacts from a sudden impulse. Remember all that happened when he followedus down there to Columbia in South America, and tried to give us all thetrouble he could make up. And there have been lots of other times too,we can look back at, all of which prove what I am saying that he isoften like a ship without a rudder. Now, perhaps, he's got the crazynotion in his head that we might prosecute him either for what he triedto do up here to our hydroplane, or on account of breaking into ourhangar, and doing a certain amount of damage, if the vandal was PercyCarberry."
"That sounds a little reasonable, anyhow, Frank. Queer that I never seemto get hold of these things, and they just float along as easy asanything to you. But it looks as if we had her all primed up now assteady as a church. How about it, Frank?"
For answer the other touched several taut wire guys with a peculiarlittle movement of finger and thumb, and each one responded with amusical note that was the sweetest possible sound in the responsive earof the young aviators.
"All done, and let's be off," he said, presently, after the last testhad been applied.
Accordingly they shook hands with Farmer Quackenboss, his good wife, andFelix, in the palm of which latter Andy made sure to leave a greenbackthat made the boy grin broadly.
Three minutes later Frank sang out the word, and both the farmer andFelix ran along with the machine for a dozen paces or so, when it leftthem behind, taking on speed, and finally rushing over the ground at atremendous pace.
Uptilting the planes caused it to leave the ground and start to curvegracefully upward, as the whizzing propeller did its noisy duty.
They could hear the farmer and his hired hand shouting themselves hoarsewith delight at having actually witnessed the start of a modernaeroplane; but naturally the sound grew fainter and fainter in theirears as they left the field and the squatty farmhouse far behind.
Having arisen to the height of several hundred feet, Frank headed towardBloomsbury. Like a true and alert pilot he was watching and listening toascertain how their recent work held; and presently a satisfiedexpression crossing his face announced that he found his faith welljustified.
They had skimmed along for perhaps a mile or more when Andy made acertain discovery that caused him to call out.
"Look along the road below and ahead, Frank," he said, "and you'll seesomething that makes you think of old times, when we hunted, in companywith Chief Waller, for those men who looted Leffingwell's jewelryestablishment."
"Why, as sure as you're born, Andy, it does look like the Chief; andhe's sitting in a vehicle, waving his hat. He seems to be looking up atus, and now that I've turned off the motor to glide a little I can hearhim shouting."
"Frank, do you think he's just saluting us, or does he want us to comedown?" demanded Andy, in some apprehension.
"Now he's making all sorts of gestures, and honestly I think he meansthat he wants to see us. Had we better drop in that open field justalongside the road? Looks good to me for a rise when we want to startagain."
"Whatever you think best, Frank; I'm always willing to be guided by you.Mighty seldom you make a bad mess of it, while I often do. Yes, let'sdrop down, and if the field turns out to be pretty smooth, we'll land."
Accordingly, the hydroplane which was of course now in a condition formaking a landing with the wheels below the aluminum pontoons, circledaround, dropping lower and lower, until presently it came to a stop inthe field close to the fence.
When it landed it was done so beautifully that, as Andy enthusiasticallysaid, an egg would hardly have broken had it come between. And there,not more than twenty feet away, the man, dressed in a blue uniform andwearing a silver shield with the words "Chief of Police" engraved uponit, was soothing his horse, which had apparently been badly frightenedby the swooping down of what seemed to be a great roc, or some otherspecies of now extinct gigantic kings of the air.
"What's up, Chief?" asked Frank, as soon as they had reached the roadtogether.
"Then you haven't heard the terrible news; they told me you left home tocome up here about daybreak; and we didn't find it out until an hourago. The bank in Bloomsbury was broken open last night, the safe rifled,and the thieves have disappeared in the queerest way ever heard of, forthey left no trace behind. And when I saw you boys aloft, I was in hopesyou might have seen something of the bank looters."