The Hunniwell boys and the platinum mystery
“You mean that eagle?” Gordon asked him.
“What do you mean eagle? I’m talking about that plane out there.”
“Which happens to be an eagle. No it isn’t either. It is a plane sure
enough.”
“I told you that in the first place. And what’s more it’s a bi-plane.”
“Wonder who it is,” Rogers mused. “Hope it isn’t anyone coming to see
us.”
“Say,” Bill cried a minute later, “he’s having trouble of some sort.”
“You bet he is. He’s lost control,” Gordon cried pointing toward the
distant plane.
“And what’s more, he’s falling,” Rogers added.
They could now see that the plane had gone into a tailspin and was
falling rapidly.
“Funny he doesn’t straighten out,” Bill gasped.
“Can’t, probably,” Gordon told him.
“Gee, but it’s too bad,” Rogers groaned.
But just then they saw a tiny speck leave the plane and a moment later a
parachute opened just as the plane struck the water.
“He’ll probably be drowned,” Gordon said.
But Bill was already racing back toward the camp as fast as he could
run.
“He’s going out in the Albatross,” Gordon declared and started back to
join him.
By the time Gordon had reached camp closely followed by Rogers, Bill had
the cells in place and was climbing over the side of the cockpit.
“Here, I’m going with you,” he shouted.
“Make it snappy then,” Bill ordered.
“How about me?” Rogers asked.
“Make too much weight,” Bill told him.
“I guess you’re right, but I hate to have you go without me.”
“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be all right,” Bill assured him as he
started the motor.
“Don’t take any chances that you can help,” Rogers called after them as
the plane rose from the ground.
Gordon waved his hand in answer and a moment later Bill started the
forward propeller. Rogers watched them as the plane started for the
ocean and then he too started in the same direction. “If anything
happens to those two boys I’ll never forgive myself,” he muttered as he
ran.
“See anything?” Bill asked as the plane swept out over the water.
“Not yet,” Gordon told him as he scanned the water through the glass.
“You’ll have to look sharp I guess. I imagine the plane is at the bottom
before this and I don’t know whether the parachute will stay on top the
water or not. Most likely he’s swimming around somewhere if he can
swim.”
“And he’ll make a pretty small mark to find.”
“Right, so strain those eyes for all they’re worth and don’t miss a
thing.”
“That’s what I’m doing. But you’re going too far to the right, unless
I’m away off.”
“Think so?”
“I know it. Quick, to the left.”
“See him?”
“I think so. Now you’re going right, but get down a bit lower.”
“How about it?” Bill asked a moment later after he had brought the plane
down to within a hundred feet of the water.
“It was a seal,” Gordon told him.
“Sure?”
“Of course I——no it isn’t either. There he is right ahead of us.”
Another moment and the plane was hovering over the swimmer who had now
seen them and waved feebly.
“He’s about all in,” Gordon declared. “Get down, quick.”
Rapidly as he dared Bill allowed the plane to settle toward the water
and soon they were only a few feet above the waves. Then, without saying
a word to him, Gordon plunged over the side and disappeared. Lightened
so suddenly the plane seemed to leap upward and for a moment Bill had
all he could do to control it. But soon he had brought it down close to
the water again and was anxiously gazing over the side of the cockpit.
Gordon, watching the swimmer, had seen him, after a second despairing
wave of the hand, sink from sight and knew that there was but a single
chance. He struck the water head first and about twenty feet, as near as
he could judge, to the right of where the swimmer had disappeared. As he
came to the surface he looked in that direction and, to his joy, saw a
head bob up about twenty-five feet away. But before he could reach the
spot the head had again disappeared and, taking a long breath, he
plunged downward. Down he swam with powerful strokes until it seemed
that he must have gone far enough. He knew that a human body sinks but
slowly and the one he was after had but a short start. But he could see
nothing.
“I’ll go a little farther,” he thought. But just then his eyes caught
sight of an object a few feet to his left and slightly above him, and a
moment later he was moving upward his left hand grasping the figure by
the collar of his shirt.
It seemed as though his lungs would burst before his head bobbed from
the water and allowed him to draw the lifegiving air into them. His
burden was, he judged, unconscious, and holding the head out of water he
glanced about for the plane. But Bill had seen him and the Albatross was
only a short distance away and moving toward him.
He saw that Bill had already thrown a rope over the side and in another
minute he had grasped it.
“Keep the plane up and I’ll get the rope around him,” he shouted. “He’s
not heavy and you can pull him up if you’re careful.”
A moment later and the form was drawn from his arms and, treading water,
he watched as Bill drew it slowly up and finally over the side. He had
been obliged to increase the speed of the elevator to counter-balance
the increase of weight and the plane was now nearly a hundred feet above
the water. But Gordon had no fear regarding his own safety as he knew he
could easily swim ashore if necessary. So he waited calmly for the plane
to settle down again. Down it came and he could see Bill as he leaned
over the side letting out the rope.
The rope had nearly reached him when there was a slight sound just ahead
which caught his ears and, looking up, he saw a triangular fin cutting
through the water and but a few feet away.
“Quick, Bill, there’s a shark,” he shouted.
Even as he yelled his hands grasped the rope and he began to pull
himself from the water. But his weight was pulling the plane down and,
as he afterward told Bill, it seemed as though he would never get above
it. And the shark was coming with the speed of an express train. But
Bill had, the instant Gordon had the rope in his hands, thrown the lever
over to the last notch, and nobly did the plane respond. Then came a
flash of white as the monster turned to grasp his prey and for a second
Gordon gave himself up for lost.
But he managed to jerk his body sideways and the shark missed but by so
close a margin that the boy’s right foot was brushed by the slippery
side of the shark. Before the fish could turn for another rush Gordon
was safe and mounting the rope hand over hand.
“Talk about your narrow escapes,” he gasped as he drew himself over the
side of the cockpit.
“Just by the skin of your teeth,” Bill told him, “But, thank God you
made it.”
Then, as Bill started the forward propeller, Gordon turned his
attention to the one he had saved. The body was lying across the rear
seat face down and, as he turned it over, he gave a gasp of surprise.
“Great guns, it’s a girl.”
“Sure is,” Bill told him, “See if you can get any water out of her. I’m
afraid she’s pretty far gone.”
It was an extremely narrow place in which to work but Gordon knew that
it was a time when a minute might mean a life and he at once set to work
while Bill headed the plane for the shore. Getting his hands beneath the
girl’s body he slowly raised it up and was rewarded by a small expulsion
of water from her mouth. Again and again he repeated the movement and
each time a small amount of water came from her mouth, but there were no
signs of returning life. But now Bill was bringing the plane down over
the camp site and soon Rogers lifted the body from the plane and placed
it on the ground.
“She’s alive,” he declared a moment later.
“You sure?” Gordon asked anxiously.
Rogers had been awaiting them with his medicine kit ready and now he
forced a strong stimulant between her teeth, and a moment later her
eye-lids quivered and they knew that they had won the battle against
death.
An hour later, wrapped in heavy blankets, she was sitting near the fire
sipping hot soup and stopping every few minutes to tell the boys how
brave they must have been and how grateful she was. She was a very
handsome girl but little more than twenty years old and had told them
that her name was Laura Mann. It seemed she lived in Honolulu and her
father was a wealthy merchant of that city. She had been flying for more
than two years and this was the first serious accident she had
encountered.
“My engine went dead when I was up ten thousand feet and to make matters
worse, one of the wing stays snapped and I guess I must have lost my
head for a minute. Fortunately father never would give his consent to my
flying ambition until I promised that I never would go up without a
parachute strapped on,” she explained.
“It surely saved your life that time,” Rogers told her.
“But it came very near not doing it at that,” she smiled. “You see, I
didn’t jump soon enough and the result was I hit the water pretty hard
and it rather knocked the breath out of me and left me pretty weak. If
it hadn’t been for that I could have swam ashore easily.”
“Provided a shark didn’t get you,” Rogers said gravely.
“Not much danger of that,” she smiled.
“But one nearly got Gordon,” Rogers told her.
“Not really?”
“Very really,” he assured her.
“Then I owe you a lot more than I thought I did,” she said turning to
Gordon who was blushing violently.
“You, you——” he stammered, but she cut him short.
“If you say anything like what I know you were going to say I’ll think
that you don’t consider my life worth saving.”
“Then I won’t say it,” Gordon blushed.
“Don’t mind his blushes,” Bill laughed. “He’s mighty bashful.”
“But you must tell me all about the shark,” she insisted again turning
to Gordon.
“There’s not much to tell,” he declared. “But I guess I did have a
pretty close call,” and he told her what had happened.
“I should say you did have a close call,” she said when he had finished.
“I suppose your parents will be worried about you before long,” Rogers
ventured.
“I’m afraid they are right now,” she told them.
“Do you feel strong enough to let us take you home?” Bill asked her.
“In your plane?”
“Certainly.”
“Oh, I’m all right,” she assured them. “What make of plane have you?”
“Well, it’s our own make,” Bill told her.
“You mean you made it all?”
“All but the motor. We bought that.”
“I suppose it’s a Liberty.”
“No, it’s an electric motor.”
“You——why, you must be the boys who won the race across the United
States,” she declared.
“They sure are,” Rogers assured her, “and take it from me, they’re some
boys.”
“I believe you. And you’ll take me home right now?” she asked turning to
Bill.
“Certainly, if you’re sure you’re strong enough.”
“Let’s go.”
It was nearly dark when the Albatross settled gracefully to the ground
directly in the rear of a large mansion in the outskirts of the city.
The plane had been sighted in time for a considerable crowd to gather
and it was surrounded by people all eager to know if there was news of
the missing girl. When it was seen that she was a passenger a great
shout of joy rose and as she jumped from the cockpit she was clasped in
the arms of her parents.
“Can’t we get away right now?” Gordon whispered.
“Afraid not,” Bill whispered back.
“Let’s make a try,” Gordon insisted.
“All right. You get in and I’ll follow,” Bill told him.
But the ruse failed of its purpose for Laura was even then leading her
parents to them and, whether they liked it or not, they were obliged to
submit to the praise and thanks of not only her parents but of many
others as well. Laura and both her parents insisted that they remain
with them all night, but the boys assured them that it was impossible on