| CONTENTS | |
|---|---|
| I | The Skybird Hops Off |
| II | Thwarted Plans |
| III | Skybird to the Rescue |
| IV | Plots and Counter-Plots |
| V | Captives in the Old Fort |
| VI | The Menacing Stranger |
| VII | A Perilous Take-Off |
| VIII | Happy Landing |
CHAPTER I
The Skybird Hops Off
With a loud sputtering roar, something likeTerry Mapes’ own feelings at that moment, Skybird,her little blue-and-gold airplane sprang forwardand taxied over the flying field, taking the airgracefully as a leaping horse, under the guidance ofits youthful pilot.
Terry Mapes was working off steam. Half angry,half frightened, the girl knew that a flight in herplane was the quickest way to get hold of her nervesand make her head clear for thinking what was to bedone.
“Those boys!” she muttered between close-pressedlips. “What’s happened to them now? Startingout for a flight to Paris and not even getting toNewfoundland!”
Over and over again that terrifying report,“Missing,” kept ringing in her ears. Allan and Sydmissing! She could picture a crack-up easily for thetwo boys. While they knew how to handle theirplanes skilfully, they were inclined to be recklessand were always taking chances.
Pulling back on the stick, Terry sent the planezooming, one thousand feet, two thousand! Far beneathher she could see her father’s flying field atElmwood, and from that distance it looked as if thehangars had been flattened against the ground. Beyondwas the Sound, a broad strip of waterwith what appeared to be toy boats on its glassysmooth surface.
Far to the right were estates, wooded tracts ofland, small towns and villages connected by tinythread-like highways to the large city in the distance.
Terry loved to fly. She was never so happy aswhen she was zooming to a lofty height. Her browneyes were glowing, her ivory skin was flushed torose as she handled the controls of her little plane.Terry claimed that the higher she flew above theearth, the better she could think and plan. But todayTerry’s brain was in a whirl. She could think ofa dozen different kinds of accidents, any one ofwhich might have happened to the boys.
Allan Graham and Syd Ames had started out onthe first lap of their transatlantic flight. They hadbeen reported all along the route until well over theCanadian border. Then they had disappeared, beenswallowed up.
And at Dick Mapes Flying Field, their friendsanxiously awaited word.
Twelve hours overdue at Harbor Grace!
Then it was that Terry took her plane into theclouds to think out a way to help. What could shedo?
Her white face told how much she cared