CHAPTER XVI.
THE AIR CHASE.
One hasty glance told Frank that there could be no mistake. Only toowell did he know the construction of that same biplane that had in thenear past competed with them for honors in the race for Old ThunderTop's crown.
"You're right, Andy," he said, earnestly; "and it seems to me they'reheading for us right now. What do you make them out to be? Can you seewho is handling the wheel? Is it Puss Carberry?"
"Yes, I'm dead sure of that; but Frank, there's somebody else with him!"
"Sandy?" asked his chum.
"No, it can't be. There, I had a good look at him, and Frank, he's got abeard! It's a man!" answered Andy, in tense tones.
Frank's first action was to move a lever that would change their courseand place the biplane directly behind them. His next was to throw onmore speed, so that the faithful little motor started to humming withthe old-time rapidity that reminded Andy of the occasion when they putit to its best efforts in order to rush ahead of their rival of the air.
"Then we must guess from that Puss and Sandy have fallen into the handsof the rebels, since there are no government troops up here, the senorsaid," he observed, presently. "Are they gaining on us now, Andy?"
"I don't think so," replied the one who held the glass, "though Pussseems to be getting a whole lot of speed out of his Gnome engine rightnow. Reckon he must have overhauled it, or else found some way to puther up another notch."
"How strange to think that our old rivalry is being renewed away downhere in this country, thousands of miles from home," remarked Frank,after a while.
"Huh! seems to me there would be something doing if you happened to runacross Puss Carberry at the other side of the world," declared Andy.
The race kept up for some time, neither seeming to gain to anyappreciable extent. Of course both boys were keyed up to a state ofintense nervousness. Passing through the air at this fearful speed fullyfive hundred feet above the ground was surely enough to excite them. Onelittle accident and they would hardly know enough to give a single shoutof horror before the end must rush upon them. And yet Frank appeared ascool as though sitting beside a camp fire, laying out some contemplatedair cruise on paper.
Andy was full of complaints.
"Aw, now, whatever do you suppose those measly old insurrectos want tochase us for in this style?" he growled. "We're attending to our privatebusiness and not bothering them one little bit. Why don't they leave afellow alone? Goodness knows we've just got trouble enough on our handswithout this."
"I don't know," said Frank, reflectively, "but I reckon they either wantour monoplane or else believe we're in the employ of the government, andhave been sent up here to spy on their movements. Anyhow, it seems plainthat they mean to make a big effort to get us."
"Which they won't, if we know it!" cried Andy. "But see here, Frank,that chap is nervy, all right, going up with Puss and standing all thisracket. A tenderfoot is generally rattled even with a slow flight. Heseems to be holding out."
"I've been thinking about that," replied his chum. "And Andy, it looksto me as if that fellow must know something about aviation. If I couldonly glimpse him through the glasses I'd soon tell, for he'd show it bythe way he sits there alongside Puss. A new beginner would be huggingthe upright for dear life, and showing all the signs of fear."
"Yes, I know, because I did that same," answered Andy, once againraising the binoculars as he twisted his head around.
"How is it?" asked Frank.
"Not much signs of fright about him, as far as I can see," came theready reply.
"Then make up your mind he's been up in an aeroplane before. Perhapshe's some French or German, who has thrown his fortunes in with the manwho wants to sit in the presidential chair at Bogota, and in his owncountry he must have seen something of aviation. Oh, well, it doesn'tmake much difference to us. We just have to keep them at a distance andtake our chances."
"But Frank--"
"Yes, I know what you're going to say, Andy; that night will soon becoming swooping down on us. That's so, and I'm sorry in one way, forit's going to be a tough old job finding a suitable place to fold ourwings on in the darkness. But we're up against it good and hard, yousee, and it's what you might call Hobson's choice."
Andy showed more positive signs of anger.
"What business have they got bothering us this way?" he grumbled. "Say,don't you suppose it would be all right for me to try a few shots at 'emwith the fine Marlin repeating rifle we're carrying? Perhaps I couldgive 'em a scare anyhow and make 'em haul off."
"No, I wouldn't think of it," replied Frank, hastily. "You might causetrouble to our own delicately balanced little aeroplane by firing. Andthen again, what if you brought about an accident and sent them down tothe earth like so many stones?"
"But you know those other chaps banged away at us and they didn't bothertheir heads a cent whether they upset our whole business or not,"objected Andy, belligerently.
"Two wrongs never make a right, Andy."
"But when they opened fire on us," the other went on, complainingly,"that constituted a declaration of war, and so you sec, we'd be quitejustified in giving 'em back the same kind of medicine."
"You forget that one of those two in the biplane is a former schoolmateof ours and that perhaps he's just being compelled to chase us rightnow," said Frank.
"Think so, do you?" growled Andy, above the rattle of the exhaust;"well, I'd like to warrant you that Puss Carberry is grinning right now,because of the fright he thinks he's giving us. No, sir, he's only toowilling to do anything to upset our plans. I know him pretty well, and Iwouldn't put any meanness past that fellow."
Frank in secret did begin to feel more than anxious. The afternoon wasalmost over and the sun perilously near the western horizon. Too welldid he know how rapidly darkness came after the disappearance of theking of day.
He bade Andy pay more attention to the lay of the country ahead of them.
"We're keeping well ahead of the biplane," he observed, "and there'slittle danger of their overtaking us. But in case they drop out of therace we must try and know something of the chances for a landingourselves."
"Gee! it looks pretty punk down there!" admitted Andy, after he hadcarefully turned the glasses forward and down.
"That's what is bothering me," Frank said. "We've sure got to drop,sooner or later, because it would be utterly impossible for us to keepafloat all night. And if there happens to be no opening in that denseforest, how can we land?"
"Listen! as sure as you live they're trying to wing us with a shot!"cried Andy.
"Well, I wouldn't bother about that. The fellow only has a revolver, ifI know the sound of one, and he could never reach us at thisdistance. It tells me that he's got to about the limit and thatsomething is going to change pretty soon, mark my words, Andy."
Of course one of Frank's objects in saying this was to encourage hischum, for he knew that in all probability Andy was getting pretty closeto what he himself would call a "blue funk."
Sure enough the reports continued until just six had reached their earsfaintly.
"That ends it," observed Frank, complacently.
"And he never touched us," echoed his cousin, evidently with more orless relief.
"Now take a look back and see what they are doing, Andy."
"H'm! still coming right along at top-notch speed," replied the other.
"All right. There's going to be a change soon. Look down, Andy."
"Oh, Frank, what a dandy open space! If only that plagued biplane was inGuinea, how easy we could spiral down and make a landing there!"
"Yes!" said Frank, "And, mark me, that is just what they intenddoing. As for us, we'll have to move along further into the wildernessand hope that another chance will come to let us out before everythingis blotted from sight by utter darkness."
"Frank, they've just sighted the open spot!" cried Andy, a few secondslater.
"All right, what did I say?" demanded his cous
in.
"They've given up the chase, sure!"
"And are about to drop down to make a landing for the night; is thatso?" asked Frank, eagerly, for their own chances were getting poorerwith every passing minute and secretly he was more worried than he choseto admit.
"Just what they're doing right now, beginning to spiral down. Puss andhis old biplane weren't in it again with our dandy little Bug. Therethey go, Frank. Don't I wish we had as good a place to grab hold of theold earth!"
"Well," Frank continued, gravely, "turn around and look your prettiestfor it, then. Don't let even a half way decent spot go by. Any port ina storm, the sailor says, and that ought to apply to the airship tarjust as well. See anything yet, Chum Andy?"
"N-no, can't say that I do," came the reply, as the other eagerly benthis gaze on the tree tops that they were beginning to approach closer,for Frank had turned the lever of the deflecting rudder in order tostart the monoplane earthward.
And the more they dropped the lower the sun seemed to get, until part ofhis glowing disc appeared to touch the horizon.
Already it was growing dusk below them, and the dense foliage of theinterlocked branches of the trees seemed to offer an insuperable barrierto a successful landing.