CHAPTER XIII
_Freedom_
Ted Mackay did not sleep well on the night of the twenty-eighth ofDecember. It was one o'clock before he gave up expecting a telegram andfinally went to bed. Even then he tossed restlessly.
Something, he thought, had surely happened to Linda Carlton and LouiseHaydock. Had they merely been forced down in some lonely spot wherethere was no means of telegraphing, or had they met with some moreserious accident? He was up and dressed at dawn on the twenty-ninth,wiring his firm for leave of absence to go in search of the lost flyers.
He decided not to telephone Miss Carlton or Mrs. Haydock yet; no needto worry them until it was absolutely necessary. Accordingly, he tookoff early in the morning of December twenty-ninth for Montreal, in hiscabin mono-plane, equipped with skis for the snow.
The snow began to fall steadily that afternoon, and continued onthrough the night. But though Ted reached Montreal before dark, therewas no news of two girls at any of the airports. If they had arrived,their plane would have been housed in some hangar in the city or nearabout it.
The snow was falling so fast and thick that Ted realized that nightflying would be foolish. Forcing himself to go to bed, he left a callat the hotel desk for four o'clock the following day.
His first stop, at dawn on December thirtieth, was the French Convent.There at least he got some information: the girls had been there, safeand unharmed, two days previous. But where were they now?
Air travel was difficult in the snowstorm, but he shuddered to think ofthem alone in the woods, if something had gone wrong with their Arrow.How much food were they carrying, and what about blankets? How longcould they endure the cold?
Fortunately his plane was built for low flying, and he went carefully,just clearing the tree-tops, looking everywhere for a wrecked plane.About noon he was rewarded. Off on a hill, in a bank of snow, he foundthe blackened remains of the gallant little Pursuit. But, thankHeaven, no signs of human bodies in the wreckage!
He spent perhaps half an hour searching and calling his lost friends,but when he received no response, he decided that the best thing forhim to do was to go back to the nearest town and report the wreck bywire, and send out an S.O.S. for searching parties. It was this accountthat Bess Hulbert read in the early afternoon papers and announced tothe Flying Club members.
Ted lost no time in sending the communication, and returning to thescene of the disaster, resolving to circle the district again andagain, watching for signals. There was still hope that the girls werealive.
About two o'clock he sighted the little cabin in the woods and huntedfor a spot to land. This might mean protection for Linda and Louise,from the terrible storm. How he hoped that they had found it, and werenow warm and safe inside!
Five minutes later he left his plane and walked excitedly to the hut.But because of the snow his approach was noiseless, and the girls, whohappened to be cooking in the little kitchen at the time, had no ideathat rescue was at hand.
Ted lifted his fist and banged on the heavy door.
"Who can it be?" gasped Louise, dropping the tin cup she was holding,and spilling flour all over the floor. "If it were that sergeant, he'dopen the door. We can't possibly."
"Of course not," replied Linda. "But let's go see who it is. Those barswon't keep us from looking out."
Breathlessly they dashed to the living-room window, and tapped againstthe glass, for they could not see the door in their position.
Bliss, oh, bliss! A moment later they recognized the dear familiar formof Ted Mackay!
"Unbar the door!" shouted Louise, giving a leap into the air. "We'relocked in!"
Ted's mouth opened in amazement, but he heard what they said, andinstantly went over and did what he was told. Then he stepped inside,and, wet and covered with snow as he was, both girls flung their armsaround him and cried in rapture.
"Angel!" exclaimed Louise.
"Messenger from Heaven!" added Linda.
They released him, and made him take off his coat, and come to the fireto get warm.
It took an hour to tell all the details of their hazardous adventure,which had ended in this most surprising way, with imprisonment, andwhile they talked, they ate the hot-cakes and the coffee which Lindaand Louise were making when Ted arrived. Then the latter glanced at hiswatch and said they had better be starting.
"Ought we to wash these dishes?" inquired Linda, when they finished,and went for their coats and leggings and helmets.
"I should say not!" thundered Louise, with a vengeance. "I'd like tosmash and dirty everything in the old cabin!"
"Don't forget it saved our lives," Linda reminded her, laughingly.
But they did not wait. Time was precious now; they wanted to take offbefore it was any darker, or the snow grew too deep. Opening the door,they stepped outside just as two men on horseback drew up to the cabin.Marshall and the sergeant had returned.
"What's this?" demanded the latter, in a gruff, insulting tone. "Makinga get-away, are you?" He glanced suspiciously at Ted. "Maybe you don'tknow these young women are under arrest!"
"Are they?" retorted Ted. "Well, so are you, for that matter! For notreporting that wreck two days ago! Don't you know it's a governmentregulation that wrecked planes must be reported as soon as possible?"
The man shuffled nervously, kicking the snow against his horse.
"Well, I'm reportin' it," he asserted, defiantly.
"Today? You bet you'll report it today! It's two days too late, though!"
"They're smugglers," he sneered, scornfully. "Smugglers is enemies tothe country, and don't deserve no consideration!"
"We'll see about that!" replied Ted masterfully, as he glowered at thegirls' accuser. Linda and Louise stood quietly by, watching him inadmiration. How grand it was to have a friend like this!
"You girls come along with me," snarled the officer. "I'm takin' you tothe Court House."
"I'll take them to the Court House," amended Ted. "In my plane. Youneedn't be afraid I won't show up! I have plenty I want to reportmyself."
Sullenly the man agreed to the offer, for he still had no desire totake that young spit-fire, as he called Louise, on his horse. Waitingonly to see the plane take off into the air, he galloped away with hisfriend, Marshall.
Linda and Louise felt so gay and happy that they shouted and sangduring the entire flight. It was close quarters in the little cabinplane, but who cared? They were free--or soon would be free--once more!
Though Ted smiled at their joviality, he felt more like praying. Hewas so grateful, so relieved that they were alive and safe, that hewas filled with a solemn sense of thanksgiving. For he realized what aterrible fate they had escaped in jumping from that empty plane.
They landed at the little town where the sergeant had directed them,and Ted wired immediately to Mrs. Haydock and to Mr. Carlton, and toLinda's aunt. Then they went to the Court House, arriving before themen on horseback.
There, at last, the girls were allowed to tell their story, which akindly judge listened to in righteous anger. And when Linda and Louiseproduced all their evidence, by going into detail about Mr. Carlton'sbusiness, and their own reason for the flight, they had no difficultyin convincing him of their innocence. Things would not go easily withthis fellow, who had locked them up without hearing their version, orreporting them immediately to the authorities. The judge said he wouldsee that the man was punished, when he finally arrived.
"Do we need bail or anything?" asked Linda, who knew nothing aboutcourts or legal matters. "We have wired to our Dads, and they'llprobably be right up here, as fast as a train can bring them."
"No, that is not necessary," smiled the judge. "Because I am convincedof your innocence.... You better wire your fathers not to come--it willonly delay your return.... But before you go, I should to like to hearmore of the real criminal, this woman who, you say, has been smuggling.Tell me her name, and give me a description of her."
"Her name is Bess Hulbert," replied Louise. "But we're
pretty sureshe goes under an assumed name--possibly 'Anna Smith'." She wasthinking of Linda's conversation in Plattsburg over the telephone, withHofstatter's mother. "And probably by this time she has changed itagain."
"I don't think you'll have to worry about her any more," added Linda."The minute she hears we are safe, she'll know her game is up, andgive up the underhand business."
"Just the same, she ought to be caught and punished!" cried Louise,vindictively. She had said nothing about their belief of the cause oftheir leaking tank, for after all they had no proof, and this judgecould do nothing. But for that reason more than any, Louise wanted herpunished.
Promising the judge that they would try to get hold of Miss Hulbert'spicture, the girls shook hands with him and left, accompanied by TedMackay, who was grinning harder than usual now. Everything was so right!
Dusk had set in already, though the storm had passed, and a beautifulsunset was fading from the sky, promising a clear day for the flyerstomorrow.
"I think we had better rest tonight," said Ted, as he followed thegirls into a taxicab. "You girls can stay at the hotel--there is onlyone, for this is a small place--and I'll get a room over near theairport. I want to spend some time checking up on my plane, and I thinkI'll try to get somebody to help me. It's a long flight back to SpringCity."
"Oh!" cried Linda, rapturously. "Won't it be marvelous to be home? I'mglad we have a couple of days before we have to go back to school!"
"Sure you don't mind flying?" asked Ted. "You're not nervous, afteryour narrow escape?"
"We've forgotten that," replied Louise. "Forgotten everything exceptthat we are eligible for the Caterpillar Club now."
"Linda has been for a long time--since her first flight up," Tedreminded them.
The machine stopped at the hotel, and Ted helped the girls to get out.
"You'll come back and have dinner with us, won't you, Ted?" askedLouise anxiously.
"O.K.--if you want me," he promised. "Only I mustn't stay afterwards,or go to the movies with you. I've got to work on that plane."
The girls found their hotel warm and comfortable, though naturally notluxurious like those in the large cities. But after their two days inthat cramped little hut, it seemed like a veritable palace. Bathing ina real bathtub was a joy that they had sadly missed, and the dinnerseemed like a banquet to them, after doing their own cooking with sucha limited supply of food.
But best of all were their conversations with their families thatevening, which, as Louise said, were worth all the money in the worldto her. Long distance charges meant nothing, compared to the bliss ofhearing her mother's voice over that wire. And Linda felt the same wayabout her Aunt Emily and her father, who, by this time, was at home.
Finally they brought their conversations to a reluctant end, promisingto be home the next night--in time for the New Year's Eve dance!