“ Terry knew this was only the beginning. The storm was upon them! The next deep breath of the hurricane would threaten their lives with its fury. Terry held her plane to the only course she dared to take. She was racing for dear life!
The throb of the motor told that the engine was being strained to the limit of its power. There was no time to lose. If the girls were to escape destruction, they must take that chance.
When the full force of the tempest struck the plane, it was tossed about like a straw in the wind. Under less experienced hands than Terry’s the plane would have crashed. ”

“ He left Pedro in charge at the beach and began wandering around the jungle, skirting the island. With the Big Chief out of the way he thought he could terrify the other members of the tribe and learn where the girls were hidden.
But Pedro had suspected his plan and, taking a short cut through the jungle, he hurried to the cave and talked to the girls.
“Let him come!” cried Terry. “I’m not afraid of Bud Hyslop. He’s a big braggart, but it’s all a bluff. He’s just a coward!”
“I’d like to get Bud down in this cave and keep him here,” said Prim angrily. “I’d like to keep him here forever.” ”

“ If Terry could have heard the conversation between Joe Arnold and Bud Hyslop at that moment she might have feared them, for Bud had just asked, “What are you going to do with those girls? One thing sure they’ll never leave this island alive, if I have my way.”
Joe Arnold turned on him with an angry snarl. “You haven’t a word to say here! What’s more you never will have. Just wait until you get your orders from me. I’ll see that they don’t get back to civilization for a long time, perhaps never, but I’ll settle with them in my own way and when I get ready. ”

“ Terry and Prim scanned the horizon for signs of an approaching plane. It was hopeless. They both knew that it would never occur to the boys, if they were saved from the storm, to hunt for them to the eastward.
Finally as they reached the ridge, the blacks stopped and prepared to camp.
“What’s the matter with these people?” whispered Prim. “Do they imagine they can hide us on the very top of the ridge? What are they going to do?”
“I haven’t the least idea, Prim, but I’m going to trust Pedro. I believe he is honest and really wants to help us,” answered Terry as she watched the blacks. ”

“ Terry faced her father with flaming cheeks, her large brown eyes were flashing. “Why not send me?”
“Send you? To South America? Alone?”
“Not alone! Prim can go.”
“But Terry, don’t you realize that Peru is a long way off? You may have to face grave dangers, storms, fevers, savages! And while Peter Langley and his wife may be all right, you never can tell ahead of time what rough characters you may meet there!”
“What of it? I’m not afraid. You wouldn’t think twice about sending Allan and Syd,” said the girl with a frown.
Dick Mapes shook his head. “That’s different,” he said. “They are boys!” ”

“ Pedro did not know what to say. He tried to speak but his few words of English were forgotten in his excitement. Like a king, he strode among his people with extended hand to show them the honor that had been given him. Rosa beamed her pleasure. It was a great day on the island.
Allan and Syd were restless. “I think we’d better go!” said Allan suddenly. “I won’t be happy until I get you girls a thousand miles away from Joe Arnold and Bud Hyslop.”
“O.K.,” replied Terry. “Come Prim,” she said, and her sister followed as Terry went among the natives and bade them goodbye. ”

“ I’m Terry Mapes and I’ve come to take up the option on the flying field.”
Peter Langley stared at the girl in astonishment. “You did that? You brave, brave girl!”
Mary Langley was brushing Terry off and helping her to get out of her parachute harness. “Come along to the house,” she said. “I’ll make you a cup of good strong coffee to brace you up, though goodness knows it would take more than that to bring me to, if I’d jumped from a plane! What are girls coming to! When I was young I’d never have dreamed that girls could do a thing like that!” ”

“ Terry was pointing out to her sister a great crevice in this stone and explaining the formation of that wide fissure when Joe Arnold turned and saw her. His face flushed angrily. He gave a final order to the black leader and then signalled the girls to precede him up the trail.
“This is no place for you, after all. I shouldn’t have brought you down here where those savages could see you. They belong to a fierce tribe of natives living in the clearings in the jungle. Pedro, the chief, that big fellow, lives in one of my mud huts down there, so you’d better keep away.” ”

“ A man has fallen from the plane! Help! Help!”
Horror-struck, Peter Langley watched the falling figure, then gave a lusty cheer as the white parachute opened, the little figure in the sky was righted and came sailing down gracefully.
“I was hoping she’d break her neck!” muttered Joe to Bud Hyslop. “Just as I was getting the did man interested, she had to spoil everything! But I’m not through! He’s got to take my word against hers!”
“Sure!” answered Bud. “Terry Mapes is no good at a business deal. She’ll not convince Peter Langley!” ”

“ At that moment a sharp whistle broke the quiet of the jungle village with a discordant note. Pedro jumped to his feet and the next moment Rosa was shoving the girls before her into the hut. Someone was coming! The whistle was a warning from one of the boys who was guarding the village.
When Joe Arnold strode into the settlement a few minutes later, Rosa was busily plaiting a mat. All the women were at work and scarcely looked up as the man faced Pedro.
“You lazy good-for-nothing! Get back to work! This is my busiest day and you lay off! The men won’t work unless you’re there!” ”

“ But Skybird was free from her moorings and the girl started the engine ready for the take-off. She could not hear what Joe was saying, but it was abusive and threatening.
Sending a spurt of water before her, Skybird taxied in a wide sweep to head into the wind. Pedro stood up in his boat and waved a big black hand. There were shouts of farewell from the shore, mingled with threats from Bud and Joe.
As the plane soared over the island, Prim said through the earphones, “You may call those people savages if you want to, but I’ll count them among my very best friends. ”

“ She made a long dive which brought her amphibian into the water at the near side of the island. There was a broad strip of sand and Terry sent her plane cutting through the spray on to the beach.
“We’re safe!” cried Prim as she nimbly stepped from the cockpit, followed by her sister. “Wasn’t that an awful storm?”
“It’s just luck that we’re alive. Now let’s go over and see the boys. It looks as if they might be having engine trouble, too,” replied Terry.
After making fast their plane by a rope to a palm tree at the water’s edge, the two girls scrambled up over the rocky ridge to the low summit. ”

“ As she started toward the beach where Skybird was standing, Joe Arnold stepped ahead of her. “Now don’t bother yelling and carrying on for there is no one around to hear you except some savages and they are my men. I’m boss here, and I tell you to keep quiet. I’m giving that plane to Bud Hyslop. It’s his from now on.”
“You’re giving him my plane!” stormed Terry. “You have no right to do that!”
“Is that so? Well, I’m taking the right!”
“But what about us? How can we get away?” cried Prim, almost in tears. “If you take our plane, we’ve got to stay here.” ”

“ With whoops of delight they paddled the boat wildly about the lake.
“Even savage boys have to show off,” said Prim with a laugh.
“Don’t laugh, Prim. They are doing their best to entertain us,” Terry answered as she clapped her hands, which sent the boys into still wilder stunts.
The girls were now in a worse jam than ever. Here they were perfectly safe, they felt sure. But how could they watch for Allan and Syd? How could they signal for help? When Terry explained this to Pedro, he produced the white cloth that Rosa had given them. ”

“ But Prim had not touched wood quick enough. A few hours later when they stepped from their plane on the field in Panama, they noticed at once that there was trouble. Men were running about excitedly, looking into the sky and the ambulance was being started ready for an emergency. In the sky a plane was out of control and diving wildly.
“Oh Prim!” cried Terry. “It’s Allan! He’s falling!”
The plane above had gone into a tailspin and the girls knew that Allan was not the kind to show off his skill or attempt a stunt over a strange flying field. ”

“ The girls were clambering down the rocky ridge to the clearing. As they found their way around a thick mat of low-growing bushes, they came suddenly upon a collection of mud huts. They were among them before they knew it.
The girls drew back to the shelter of the vines, half expecting to be surrounded by a howling mob of savages. But not a sound came from the huts. Everything was quiet. No sign of life!
“Here’s where we’ve got to watch our step, Prim! Savages have a way of hiding in ambush and shooting poison arrows at their enemies,” whispered Terry. ”

“ But Joe had come by the jungle path and the girls were fully warned of his approach. Rosa went to meet Joe Arnold with a broad grin on her face.
Terry’s heart sank as she watched from the shelter of the hut. She gripped Prim nervously. They clung together in terror. Why had they been so easily fooled? There was Rosa telling Joe that she had the girls safely trapped, waiting for him. The girls shrank back in the hut afraid to come out and face the man who had them in his power. ”

“ Pedro started to lead them back to the harbor, but Rosa stood in his way, frowning and talking in a high pitched voice. The chief explained to the young people that the tribe wished to give the flyers a farewell feast.
“Guess we’ll have to wait long enough to eat something,” said Terry under her breath to Allan.
“But we really ought to be going when luck is with us. You can’t tell what may happen!”
“It’s impossible, boys. It’s the only way we have to repay these people for their kindness to us,” Terry begged. ”

“ On the shore of the cove great preparations had begun. A launch was put out from the beach and made toward the ship. Bales were dropped into the boat and taken ashore. A dozen trips were made with loads of food in cases, gasoline in metal drums and bale after bale of goods.
“Whatever does it all mean?” asked Prim in her sister’s ear.
“It’s my opinion,” declared Terry, “that every word we’ve heard against that man is true. Someone said he was a smuggler. Now I believe it.”
Joe Arnold was busy directing the blacks as they stowed away the bales in the old mud huts in the camp. ”

“ They’re wonderful people!”
Terry burst out. “They’ve kept us out of Joe’s clutches. He and Bud were trying to put us on an uninhabited island. And Pedro, the Big Chief, hid us away and fooled him. The natives saved our lives!”
“Some day,” said Prim with a laugh, “I’m going to send a whole barrel of presents down for them, beads and candy and brightly colored calico. They’d love it!”
“But when do we go and how?” asked Syd. “I won’t feel safe until we get away from this island. Do you think there is any chance of getting Skybird? Joe won’t give that plane up without a fight.” ”

“ You don’t seem to realize that Bud is going to take our plane away from us. Now we’ll be real castaways!”
Prim searched the sky. “Oh, if Allan and Syd would only come! I’m afraid something terrible has happened to them. I didn’t see them after the storm struck our plane. Where did they go?”
“Don’t talk about it, Prim. Let’s get busy and do something so we won’t have time to think. I don’t dare!” Terry said with trembling lips.
The girls stood watching as Bud and Joe wheeled Skybird around to head away from the beach and over the water. They started the engine. ”

“ Soon they sighted the grim old Morro Castle, the Spanish fort, and as they came nearer and flew above it, they could see the broad avenues of the lovely city of Havana. The marble capitol was dazzlingly white in the sunshine and the colored roofs of the houses, as seen from the air, arranged themselves in a fantastic design. ”

“ She flew straight toward the town, circled and came down on a wide, smooth field. Although it was not intended as a flying field, Terry had seen worse places to alight, and brought Skybird to a neat three-point landing.
But here the girls met disappointment. Ed Jenkins, an American storekeeper in the settlement, told them that it would be impossible to land a plane in the mountains near Peter Langley’s mine.
“There isn’t a square foot of level space anywhere in these hills. That pair of fools who went up there in a plane this morning will meet sudden death. They’re bound to!” ”

“ People came here from all over the world just to enjoy themselves.
But Terry would not allow them to forget that a difficult job lay ahead of them. It was necessary to push on. Consulting their maps, they laid out their route. The next hop would be across the open waters of the Caribbean to the landing field at Gracias a Dios in Honduras. That would be their next meeting place in case they became separated. Allan and Syd had planned to see them safely through the treacherous tropical weather of the Caribbean, before returning to Elmwood. ”

“ I’m pretty good at getting out of a jam in the air.”
“I’ve said it often, Terry. I’ve never seen a better stunt flyer. You’re clever and you think when you’re in the air! And that’s what half the flyers don’t do. That’s why they crash.”
“All right, so far, so good! We've been in lots of jams and got out of them by using our brains. Weren’t Prim and I The Gypsies Of The Air, and didn’t we go after the boys in Newfoundland and get them away from the kidnappers? Nothing terrible happened to us. ”

“ Terry had a happy thought. She felt in her pockets and brought forth a little package. There were half a dozen crackers left from the supply Prim had provided.
“Say Terry, what’s the idea! Don’t feed him crackers. Are you crazy?” pleaded Prim.
But Terry was approaching the little animal and offering a bit of the cracker. The monkey shrank back, but only for a second. His curiosity was too great. As Terry dropped the morsel beside him, he grabbed it quickly and with a sudden leap slipped by them to the refuge of a tall tree. ”

“ A queer looking pair of crooks!” Ed Jenkins was fumbling in his pocket. “Here’s a message. I guess it must be for you. The man with the squint said to give it to two girls in a plane. I reckon that’s you!”
Terry ripped open the envelope and read these words scrawled on a scrap of paper: “He laughs best who laughs last!”
“Come on. Prim, let’s go!” Terry’s face flushed, then set in determination. “That’s a challenge! If Joe Arnold thinks I’m through, he’s mistaken!”
But Ed Jenkins was pointing to the mountain, where a few stone huts were visible. “That’s Peter Langley’s mine up there! ”