Dorothy Wayne

“ For the next few minutes the man in the smuggler’s plane did his best to out-maneuver the elusive pair whose motors roared above his head like giant bees attacking an enemy. Never was he given a chance to better his position or to gain altitude. Every time he maneuvered to place one of the planes within line of fire from his machine gun, the other would effectually block the move; the menacing plane would sheer off at a tangent and its partner, crowding down upon his tail, would hurl forth a smoke bomb. ”

“ Every ounce of strength, the entire power of his will centered in the effort to come close enough to the boat to signal her assistance.
With his heart pumping like a steam engine, he passed Dorothy, who was lying exactly as he had left her. Then he got his second wind and running became less of a painful struggle. He could see the boat more plainly now. Surely it was an open motor sailor. Could it be the one belonging to Donovan and Charlie, he wondered. What irony!—to be rescued by the smugglers—and to lose liberty and the diamonds after all this storm and stress! ”

“ As the sound of their footsteps over the bare floor died away, Dorothy opened her eyes. Summoning all her strength, she wrenched at the bonds that held her, but she accomplished no more than lacerating her wrists.
She was to be shifted to some safer place, presumably in Connecticut, where she was to be taken by car. Meanwhile, there was no escape from where she was, even if her limbs were free. Should she show signs of consciousness, the best she had to hope for was another dose of chloroform or a gag when that enterprising thug, Mr. Peters, returned. ”

“ Billy transferred two revolvers from Tracey’s belt to his own.
“If you want my candid opinion,” he said, “Old Holloway is the leader and brains of the gang. Only it’s going to be the dickens and all to prove it in a court of law.”
Dorothy stared at him incredulously. “Why, Bill—are you sure?”
“Why not? He’s just a double-dealer, that’s all. That wise old bird is certain to have a flock of cast iron alibis up his sleeve. He must have made more than enough money out of this diamond smuggling to keep Tracey’s mouth shut—and the mouths of any others who may be corralled.” ”

“ Dorothy was caught up in a pair of strong arms as if she had been so much mutton.
“Think I’d drop her in the drink?” laughed Peters.
“You said it.—Sure this is the right dock, Charlie?”
“No, Donny, it’s the grill room of the Ritz—shake a leg there, both of you. We’ve got a long boat ride and a sweet little job ahead of us. We can’t afford to be late—hustle!”
Donovan did not bother to reply to this parting shot. He slung Dorothy over his shoulder, stepped onto a thwart, from there to the gunwale and on to the dock. ”

“ Her revolver muzzle had touched something apparently alive and yielding, the clothed body of someone who stood motionless as before.
“Hold it! hold it!” she cried, her teeth chattering. “Don’t move or I’ll plug you!”
With her gun firmly pressed against the body, she raised her other arm to ward off any blow that might be directed against her. As she did so, it became evident that the body still had not moved, that the breath was coming regularly and faintly, but there was no stir of limbs, no shift of muscle or of weight.
Such mysterious behavior filled Dorothy with terror. ”

“ No pilot likes flying blind in a fog. With the knowledge that what one sees, one hits, it is a nerve-wracking experience.
But Dorothy’s nerves were good—none better—and she sent her plane into a long, steady climb, hoping for the best and keeping her vivid imagination well within control.
Headed into the north, she continued her climb, leveling off every few thousand feet to ease the strain on her engine. When the altimeter marked thirteen thousand she began to worry, for the service ceiling of her plane was but two thousand higher. ”

“ Dorothy’s jaw dropped. “Don’t tell me you left them on the beach!”
“Surest thing you know. I left them beside you on the sand and forgot all about the darn things when I spotted the motor sailor. Never thought of them again until this minute!”
Dorothy nodded sagely. “Which only goes to show that diamonds don’t count for much when one is tired and wet and hungry, not to mention being marooned on a desert island!”
“Ain’t it the truth! Another cup of coffee, please. I’ll fetch them when we’ve finished eating.” ”

“ Those men in the beach cottage are diamond smugglers and no pikers at the game, take it from me!”
“Ooh!” Dorothy’s eyes widened. “Diamonds, eh! That’s beyond my wildest dreams. How do they smuggle them, Bill?”
“Well, these fellows have a new wrinkle to an old smuggling trick. Somebody aboard an ocean liner drops a string of little boxes, fastened together at long intervals—the accomplices follow the steamer in a boat and pick them up. And now, from what I’ve found out, there’s every reason to believe that this gang are chucking their boxes overboard in the neighborhood of Fire Island Light.” ”

“ HIDE AND SEEK The strong air current which spread horizontally over the thunderhead blew Dorothy’s plane sideways and away from the cloud. An instant later it was roaring downward in the thin air, quite beyond her control, a self-propelled projectile rushing to its doom.
While shooting upward in the cloud, the violent and intensely rapid gyrations of the airship caused her safety belt to become unclasped, and had her parachute not caught in the cowling, she must have been flung clear of the plane to a horrible death far below. ”

“ One man she knew immediately to be the bearded aviator with whom she had talked on the Beach Club shore. But although Dorothy strained her ears to the bursting point, the heavy pounding of the surf from the ocean side prevented her from catching more than a confused rumble of voices. ”

“ Your job is to do what you’re told and let your captain do the thinking.”
“You see, Dorothy,” explained Bill, “in order to use a gun in the air, a pilot must have training and practice. Otherwise, all you do is to draw the enemy’s fire. If we meet up with this bird you’ll have plenty to keep you busy—a very important part to play. But if there’s any gunning to be done, I’ll do it. Before we go up, I’ll outline exactly what we’re to do in the event we sight the gang’s airplane.” ”

“ Bill nodded. “Get us in the air, by that teaser—rely on us to go after the Mystery Plane as a matter of pride—and then fill us full of machine gun bullets. If they start anything like that—well—two can play the game and if that lad with the beard can’t shoot any better than he handled his plane when he zoomed the house just now—it is, as the French say, ‘to laugh’!”
“That’s all very well,” argued Mr. Dixon. “I don’t mind Dorothy flying, but I do draw the line at machine guns. That’s no game for girls. You keep your two feet on solid earth until this business is over, my dear.” ”

“ Bill grinned at her excitement. “You get into that plane and take me home to dinner. That was the bargain, and I’m famished!”
“Dinner!” exclaimed Dorothy in disgust. “My word! We’ve caught those diamond smugglers when the whole of the Secret Service couldn’t do it—and all you think of is food! Gee, I’m glad I’m not a mere man. Hop aboard. I’ll give her the gun and fly you home to your dinner.” ”

“ Dorothy stumbled over to the table. Near-by was a chair. She dropped into it.
“He bumped his skull on this post,” Bill went on. “No great damage, I guess. Funny—whenever there’s a rough-house in the dark, somebody invariably gets a broken head. The three of us are even now.”
“What are you going to do with him?” Her dizziness was passing.
“Oh, I’ll give him as good as he gave me, and lash him to this upright.”
He busied himself tying up the unconscious smuggler. When he had finished, he looked up and beckoned to Dorothy.
“Come over here. He’s plenty secure now. ”

“ For about an hour they drifted, the broad-beamed motor boat wallowing in the chop which crossed the ground swell. Twice Bill started the motor and worked back to their original position. He did not like the look of things, but said nothing to Dorothy about it. The wind grew stronger and seemed to promise a gale. The low tide with the line of breakers across the mouth of the inlet would effectually bar their entrance to Great South Bay for the next ten hours. And he doubted if they would have enough fuel for the run of nearly fifty miles to the shelter of Gravesend Bay. ”

“ It was time for Dorothy to act. As the smuggler’s plane began to ascend, she sent her amphibian diving toward him at a tremendous spurt of speed. The Mystery Plane nosed over and dove in turn at the Ryan, some five hundred feet below.
“Ha-ha!” Dorothy shut off her motor and brought Will-o’-the-Wisp’s nose gradually back to the horizontal. “Our scheme worked! That bird either doesn’t know his business or he’s lost his nerve!”
A fighting plane attacking has as its objective a position directly behind the hostile plane at close range. A position either above or below the tail is equally good. ”

“ The visibility, poor enough when she started, gradually grew worse and worse. Although what wind there was seemed to have died, long curling tongues of mist crept out of the east, while above her head she saw black thunder clouds, sinking lower and lower.
Now one of the first things any aviator learns is that fog must be avoided at all costs. Any attempt to land in it is attended by considerable danger. Dorothy knew only too well that in case of a fog bank cutting the plane off from its destination, the flight must be discontinued by a landing, or by return to the point of departure. ”

“ Here it was impossible to see into the room, but the voices now came to her with startling distinctness.
“Why?” inquired a voice which Dorothy immediately recognized as belonging to the aviator, though oddly enough, it was now without accent. “You surely haven’t got cold feet, Donovan?”
“Cold feet nothing! The man don’t live that can give me chills below the knee,” that gentleman returned savagely. “But I won’t be made a goat of either, nor sit in a poker game with my eyes shut. Why should I? I’ve got as much to lose as you have.” ”

“ For a second or so Dorothy thought they would pass in the air, her plane far above the other. But before she reached that point, she saw the other make a crosswind landing and taxi toward a dock which jutted into the Bay from the dunes. Just beyond the dock an isolated cottage stood in a hollow on the bay side of the dunes. There was no other habitation in sight for over a mile in either direction.
“Aha! Run to earth at last!” muttered Dorothy contentedly. Maintaining her altitude, with Babylon across the bay to her right, she continued her westward course above the dunes. ”

“ She’s getting terribly sluggish. Steers like a truck in a swamp!”
“Listen!” he cried. “There’s your answer.”
From somewhere ahead came the unmistakable booming roar of breakers. As they topped the next wave Dorothy saw a white band on the sea. She steadied the wheel with her knee and tightened her life preserver. She knew they could not hope to reach the beach in the Mary Jane. Low and open as she was, the first line of breakers would fill her. The motor was still pounding away when she leaned forward and raised her voice to a shout.
“Stop bailing, Bill! Stand by to swim for it!” ”

“ He can catch the old plane by himself. I’m through.”
“What you need is another nap, young lady. You’re tired and cross.”
“I’m not. Men always club together.”
“And what can a poor girl do?” supplemented Bill with a grin.
“Stop teasing, Bill!” commanded Mr. Bolton. “Apologize to Dorothy and tell her why you mean to take short hops. I can’t see the sense in such procedure myself—any more than she can. And just remember that an overdose of excitement puts anybody’s nerves on edge. She’s been through a lot more than you have during the last few days.” ”

“ Focussed through the powerful lenses, there was no mistaking the Mystery Plane. And although at this distance it was impossible to see the pilot’s face, she could plainly distinguish the barrel of a machine gun that poked its wicked muzzle over the cockpit’s cowling.
“So the bearded aviator means mischief!” She returned the glasses to their case. “That guy must be a cold-blooded dog to try anything like that over a populated township. He’s likely to bite off more than he can chew if Bill and I have any luck. If he cracks up, I shan’t weep.” ”

“ Then as she saw him start in pursuit, she rolled over and headed out toward the seaplane which now floated two or three hundred yards away toward the mouth of the inlet and Long Island Sound.
Terry knew the speed developed by her flagrantly perfect crawl, and did not attempt to follow her. He chuckled as he watched the bob of scarlet and the flash of a brown arm that was all he could see of Dorothy.
“Hey, where’s Dorothy?” called Betty as she and Phil clambered on to the raft.
“Halfway to Boston, I guess. Race you to the beach for the cones!” ”