John Luther Langworthy

“ Frank was not possessed of a small nature. He waved back and shouted:
“Fine work, Puss! You’re doing nobly so far; keep it up! We’re going to make a try when the wind goes down. Your biplane looks immense and seems to work in great shape, Bully!”
But Andy said never a word. Truth to tell, he was eating his heart out with envy as he stood there and gaped. For it had been the ambition of his soul that their airship should be the very first ever built in Bloomsbury to navigate the region of the upper currents. ”

“ In other words, Larry, I've got a parachute all arranged that will let me down easy; just like the fellow at the county fair, who drops from a hot air balloon."
"Hello! now what d'ye think of that?" claimed Larry, suddenly.
"What do you mean?" demanded the small boy. "You're the most mysterious fellow ever. Oh! I see now, by the way you stare over yonder. Yes, it's the same two gentlemen who admired the daring of the Bird boys a little while back. They must have found out where Andy lives, and have run out here from town to see what sort of a hangar they have." ”

“ Cowboys as a rule are not a hard lot to get acquainted with; they are blunt and open and full of questions.
It could be seen that the two boys from the Far East were objects of intense curiosity to every one of the bunch. They watched them closely, just as though some were secretly of the opinion that Frank and Andy might at any moment suddenly develop a pair of wings that they had up to then kept hidden about their persons, call out a hasty goodbye, and bob up in the air as easy as the ordinary cowpuncher would hurl himself on his pony. ”

“ The Bird boys had been comrades so long that they worked together like a well oiled machine. The ball team that has played in company for a season can accomplish feats that would be utterly impossible to a nine that had been brought from various clubs, even though each player might have been a star in his respective team.
So it was with Frank and Andy; they had grown to know each other's points so well that when the moment came it often seemed as though they instinctively formed a single unit, with that exceedingly bright brain possessed by Frank doing all the piloting of the combination. ”

“ THE AEROPLANE RACE.
“Frank, we’re in great luck!”
“I think so myself, Andy,” replied the taller of the cousins, as he coolly bent down to adjust some little thing about the engine of the monoplane.
“Here it’s past noon on the great day! Six thousand good people have gathered on the field here and on the neighboring fences just to see us fly, and there isn’t a mite of wind. I say it’s the greatest luck ever,” and Andy, who was bubbling all over with enthusiasm, turned to look around at the vast throngs. ”

“ Finally the boy in the canoe became quiet. Sleep had evidently mastered him, for ere long Frank caught his heavy breathing at such times as the wind stopped sighing around the eaves of the shed.
It must be growing near one when he expected to hand over his duty as sentry to Larry. All he waited for was to catch the stroke of the hour. He had the lay of things well in his mind, and could even have moved about the shop in utter darkness without tumbling over anything; for he and Andy had spent uncounted hours under that roof during the last year. ”

“ It was a wonder that in their tremendous excitement something disastrous did not happen to the aeroplane, but Frank had wisely cut off some of the power, so that they were just making fair headway at the time.
"It is a little parachute balloon, just like the one that carried that message into the cocoa grove of Carlos Mendoza!" ejaculated Frank.
"Then it means that we have found the valley prison!" gasped Andy.
"Sure, that's a fact. The cliffs yonder are on one side of it!" Frank cried. ”

“ They all went out to the field, even the housewife and little Billie wanting to see what a real aeroplane looked like at close quarters. Many times had all of them seen the Bird boys, and perhaps Percy Carberry as well, soaring aloft as if the upper air currents might be their natural heritage; but up to now they had never had the chance to examine one of the wonderful machines, and touch the various parts gingerly as though afraid of injuring them.
"Beats all what people are a-doing nowadays," ventured the farmer, shaking his head with astonishment, almost awe, as he looked the thing over. ”

“ When racing such a reckless fellow, one had to make his eyes do double duty, as Frank Bird had learned long ago.
He could see the pair of white-headed eagles soaring around the top of the mountain, as though glorying in the battle of Nature's forces that was so soon to be opened. Frank inwardly wished they were as capable of finding shelter as those sagacious birds.
"Watch out for the other biplane, Andy!" he called, in the ear of his chum, as he started on his first circuit around Old Thunder Top. ”

“ Andy went on to say. “The fact of the matter is, Frank, between you and me and the lamp-post, when I found out what sort of a scorcher we were in for today, I began to lose some of my own enthusiasm. Sure I’d have gone along if you were all right, and taken my medicine as well as I could; but this alkali dust don’t please me a whit; and on a red hot day it’s a lot of a nuisance to have to keep on riding in a saddle on such a slow thing as a cayuse.” ”

“ As he did so Frank uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"Why, there's a light over by the hangar!" he burst out. "Now, what under the sun do you suppose that old fool of a Shea can be doing? Oh, my! Look at the flame jump up! Why, as sure as you live I believe the shed's afire! And I can see the figure of a man moving about. This is no accident, but something worse! And it looks as if the little 'Bug' might be going up in smoke in a jiffy unless I can sprawl over the fence here and get on the spot mighty quick!" ”

“ I’m satisfied to move around here in a steady fashion. We’re learning all the while. I want to know this little machine’s ways like a book. I want to feel that I’m just a part of the outfit and understand her whims and capers. After that I’ll be ready to do stunts in the way of speed and lofting, not before.”
And in his heart Andy knew that his chum was right. An aeroplane is the last means of transportation in the world to trifle with, because of the peril that is ever hanging over the head or lying in wait from a fall. ”

“ But everybody took these sharp sayings of Larry Geohegan in the same happy-go-lucky spirit in which they were uttered. No one had more friends and fewer enemies than the tall boy; because he was generous to a fault, humorous in his remarks, and the life of the camp when out with any of his companions.
Andy had stalked back into the shop again, though Frank had looked after him as though inclined to wonder what ailed his cousin to be so mysterious in his actions. ”

“ CHAPTER XX—WHAT ANDY SAW FROM ALOFT
“No false alarm this time, eh, Andy?” asked Frank, quickly.
“I think not,” came the ready response.
“Ponies again?” queried the pilot, as he steadied the quivering biplane by a little movement that had become second nature with both young aviators; just as a boy rider on a bicycle unconsciously bends his body at just the proper angle when about to whirl around a curve in the road. ”

“ A salvo of loud cheers rang out when they started, and this burst into a furious chorus as the well balanced aeroplane presently left the ground to start upward into the air.
"I'm glad that's over with," said Andy, when they were safely off the ground, and the shouts of Rockford's enthusiastic population began to grow fainter in the distance.
"Same here," echoed Frank, "you never know what will happen when a crowd is pushing all around you, every fellow eager to just say he had hold of a flying machine. ”

“ Frank was wise enough to understand that it is always desirable to approach a drowning person from the rear, so that a grip may be taken before the would-be rescuer's presence is discovered. Once let those frenzied fingers clutch hold of him, and the chances of a double tragedy would be good.
So Frank was keenly on the watch as he swam toward the splashing and gurgling that announced Puss Carberry's fight for his life. ”

“ I believe a monoplane is more like a real bird than any of the other types. Ain’t it nigh time, Frank, for you to get a move on? I don’t reckon I can stand this much longer.”
Frank smiled. With two against one it began to look as though he must speedily capitulate. There was Andy keeping a pair of hungry eyes glued upon him and with a look of mute entreaty in his blue eyes. ”

“ Look at Andy turning red, would you? Elephant, don't he look guilty now? Tell us all about it, Frank. Who is she; what's the name of the little witch? We're from Missouri, and we want to know."
"Oh! let up on that sort of soft stuff, won't you?" complained Andy. "Things have come to a pretty pass when a fellow can't just biff a measly old bulldog on the jaw, without having a romance made out of the thing."
"A bulldog?" echoed Larry, grinning immediately. "Listen to that,
Elephant and Nat! He's been having a fight with a terror of a dog. ”

“ The days began to just glide away, and every one saw Frank and Andy finding new sources of keen enjoyment.
They seldom lost a day for a while but that they went up for a short time, at least, in the aeroplane that was the marvel and admiration of the whole ranch. Those who worked on other cattle ranges were no longer startled when they saw a strange object not unlike a monstrous bird come spinning overhead, and disappearing in the distance. ”

“ Once an airman, and just by instinct as it were, the eyes are almost constantly searching the heavens, perhaps for a glimpse of other adventurous craft, or it may be, signs that give warning of treacherous winds, gathering storms, or similar things that must always be of intense interest to an aviator.
And so while Casper Blue had long since given up taking hazards in a flying machine to indulge in even more dangerous business as a bank robber, still habits would cling tightly, and thus he might have seen more than the ordinary man could have done. ”

“ The American consul will back us up. It is your business to simply steer this boat up the river until we arrive at Magangue."
"Si, señor. But when I return they will surely make the trouble for me," replied the pilot, shrugging his narrow shoulders.
"Not at all, Felipe," declared Frank. "You can swear that we made you do as we wished; that you dared not turn back, since your life was in danger. We stand ready to shoulder all the blame there is."
The dusky face of the old river pilot, whom they had fortunately run across in Maracaibo, became wreathed in a smile. ”