CHAPTER XVII A JOYFUL REUNION
Cora gasped as the aircraft mounted into the sky and she saw the earthfalling away from her. It was the newest and greatest thrill in herexperience.
Her first sensation was that of detachment. She seemed to be floating ina sea of ether. Everything was impalpable, intangible. It seemed to beher astral body that was moving through space. All that was materialseemed to have been thrown aside like a cast-off garment.
Her next impression was that of silence. All earthly noises had beenstilled. The song of birds, the rustling of leaves that had made theforest vocal had died away. It seemed as though the world had beensuddenly stricken dumb. The only sound was that of the motor with itsmonotonous hum.
"Like it?" called out Miss Moore, looking at her with a smile.
"Do I?" replied Cora. "It's just heavenly!"
The aviatrix gazed at her with approval. She had found a kindred spirit.
"You're a thoroughbred," she said. "Many girls would be frightened todeath. They'd be begging me to descend."
"No danger of my doing that," laughed Cora. "I could go on like thisforever, if I were not so anxious to get back to my friends."
They were flying now at a height of five hundred feet, and the air,despite the August sun, was cold. Miss Moore had given Cora a coat and apair of gloves from her kit, however, so that she was fairly wellprotected.
"What a glorious view!" exclaimed Cora ecstatically, as the vast panoramaof field and forest unrolled itself as far as the eye could see. "Oh, howI envy you!"
Miss Moore smiled.
"It _is_ beautiful," she assented. "But I'm kept so busy with listeningto my engine and shaping my course that I don't have as much time toenjoy it as I would like to. That's one of the advantages of being apassenger. But look around now, and see if you can recognize your camp.I'll make a landing as near to it as I can."
Cora looked eagerly about.
"There's the sawmill!" she exclaimed. "And there's the road that leadsfrom there to Kill Kare," she added. "All you have to do is to followthat road south for a few miles, and we'll come to the house. And there'sa big cleared space around it that will make a splendid landing place forthe aeroplane."
Miss Moore turned in the indicated direction, and followed the road thatCora had pointed out.
"I can never thank you enough for rescuing me as you have," said Cora,her voice broken with emotion.
"It's made me almost as happy as it has you," returned Miss Moore. "Itwill be one of the pleasantest memories of my life."
"But it's delayed you on your trip, hasn't it?"
"Suppose it has?" replied Miss Moore. "Do you suppose I would havehesitated on that account to bring you home? But set your mind at rest onthat score. I was an hour or more ahead of my schedule anyway. You see,"she added gaily, "we girls can give the men a handicap and yet beat themout."
Cora laughed gleefully.
"Of course we can!" she exclaimed. "But oh, Miss Moore, there's dear oldKill Kare now! See, over there among the trees."
"I see it," was the reply, as Miss Moore's practised eye looked out forthe landing place.
She touched a lever and began to descend in a sweeping curve.
When Jack and Walter, together with Joel, reached the picnic ground, theyfound that Paul had not been idle. He had been searching for Cora in everwidening circles during every moment of their absence, but a glance athis disconsolate face showed that he had learned nothing.
Some of the workers from the mill had already scattered in the woods,going in different directions. Other volunteers came straggling in untilthe number had reached a score. Joel, because of his knowledge of thewoods, was put in general charge of the search.
Anticipating that Cora might not be found before dark closed in, torcheswere prepared in large numbers and distributed among the men. It wasarranged that the place where they now were should be the generalrendezvous, at which all the searching parties would report, and to whichCora should be brought as soon as found.
Most of the men had either rifles or revolvers, and a copious supply ofammunition was furnished by the foreman of the mill. Joel had broughtfrom the barn a number of skyrockets that had been left over from theprevious Fourth of July celebration, and it was arranged that one ofthese should be set off every hour through the night. By following thecourse of this and marking the direction from which it came, thesearching parties could keep the location of the camp in mind. It washoped also that Cora might see them and thereby be guided in the rightdirection.
Paul had driven back to Kill Kare, and had secured unlimited food andcoffee for the refreshment of the searchers, in case the hunt wasprolonged.
All through the waning afternoon the search continued. And with thecoming of night it doubled in intensity. Fresh parties took the place ofexhausted ones that came straggling back. The woods were alive withtorches.
It seemed certain that, with so many hunters, success ought to have beenalmost certain. But Joel knew that twenty times that number might searchin that vast wilderness without running across the one they sought. Atbest it was a gamble, with the odds against them.
Morning came and found the boys fairly dropping with fatigue and tornwith grief and disappointment. Jack was almost out of his mind withreflecting on his sister's plight.
"We'll drive back to Kill Kare and telegraph for bloodhounds," he said."Joel says that there are a couple he knows of at the county seat. Ifthey're sent on the early train to the nearest town they ought to gethere by noon. We'll put them to work at once, and see what they can do."
They left Joel in charge of the search, and drove back gloomily to CampKill Kare.
There was plenty of "care" there that morning. Neither Aunt Betty nor thegirls had been able to sleep. The thought of Cora out in the wildernessall through that long night had driven them fairly frantic.
And their hearts sank still further when the boys came back to reporttheir failure.
"We ought to telegraph to your mother at once," declared Aunt Betty,wringing her hands.
"It would almost kill mother to get a telegram like that," said Jackmoodily. "It wouldn't do any good, and in the meantime Cora may be found.We'll wait, anyway, until after we've tried the bloodhounds."
They ate briefly and scantily of breakfast, for none of them had anyheart for food. Then they went outside to make ready for their trip tothe rendezvous.
The boys were piling into the car when Belle gave a sudden exclamationand pointed upward.
"There's an aeroplane!" she cried.
They followed her gaze and saw the aircraft coming toward them at a rapidrate.
As they looked, they saw that it was beginning to slacken speed and atthe same time was coming closer to earth.
"Looks as though it were going to land somewhere about here," remarkedJack. "Perhaps it's having trouble."
As it drew closer they could see that there were two people in it.
"And one of them's a woman!" cried Walter, as he noted the fluttering ofa skirt.
"She's waving at us!" exclaimed Belle excitedly. Then her voice rose to ascream.
"It's Cora! It's Cora!"
"Cora!" shrieked Bess.
"Cora!" echoed Aunt Betty.
As for the boys, they gave one look and tumbled out of the automobile,yelling, shouting, thumping each other on the back. The girls sobbed andlaughed, and hugged Aunt Betty and each other. None of them had the leastidea of what they were doing or saying, and none of them cared. They werefairly mad with joy.
They ran out under the plane as it circled around looking for itslanding. And when it settled down as gracefully as a swan and finallystopped, there was a wild rush for it, and the next second Cora wasunstrapped, dragged from her seat and was being devoured with hugs andkisses.
It was all incoherent and frantic and broken, as great revulsions offeeling have a way of being. It was impossible to find words adequate totheir delight, and it is sa
fe to say that at that moment there was nohappier group of people than that which wept and laughed on the lawn atCamp Kill Kare.
The aviatrix sat looking on through all this tumult with a happy smile.
As soon as Cora could extricate herself from the arms that clung abouther as though they never intended to let her go, she turned to herdeliverer.
"You see what you have done for me," she laughed through her tears.
"They certainly seem glad to see you," was the response.
They all crowded around and showered her rescuer with thanks, as Coraintroduced them. They were astounded to find that it was to a woman thatCora owed her safety. Most of them had heard her name in connection withflying exploits, and they were earnest in their compliments andcongratulations.
When a few minutes later Miss Moore resumed her flight, every eyeremained fixed on the plane until at last it melted into space. Then theyresumed their rejoicings over the wanderer who had been so strangelybrought back from the wilderness.