CHAPTER II

Pursued by a Flying Foe

Waverly was a popular beach resort and Prim was delighted to see that there was a pleasure pier which was gaily lighted up.

She cried, "Oh, Terry, it looks as if there might be dancing down there. Let's hurry to the hotel and change to our party clothes."

"Prim Mapes, you promised me that you wouldn't take any party dresses this time. You said we'd be just girl flyers with no excess baggage," retorted her sister.

Prim laughed. "I tried to Terry, but I couldn't leave out our new frocks. I was certain we'd run into some sort of entertainment where we'd want some pretty dresses."

Terry looked her disgust. "But Prim, I don't even want to dance. What am I going to do with these documents while I'm dancing?"

"You could leave them at the hotel in the safe," answered the easy-going Prim.

"Just forget that, Prim. Wherever I go, these papers go with me. If you insist on dancing I'll have to go along, but I'll have the papers on me."

As the girls talked over their plans they arranged for the care of their plane for the night and for refueling, as they intended to take an early start the next morning. Then they went to the hotel where many summer guests were staying.

Prim made friends easily and by the time Terry had registered for them at the desk and made arrangements for getting away early the next morning, Prim had a group of girls around her and was laughing and joking with them as if she had always known them. Terry envied her sister this ability to get acquainted with people at a moment's notice. It would have taken her a week, at least, without Prim to break the ice, to become friends with these strangers.

When the two girls came down to the dining room half an hour later, their new acquaintances hardly recognized them. Prim was dressed in a fluffy gown which made her look like a lovely bit of Dresden china. Terry was very boyish and trim in her sports dress. She had an aristocratic manner, attracting notice by her very aloofness.

The dancing pavilion was built out over the water and they could hear the surf breaking about the pier. Prim danced to her heart's content, for partners flocked about her. But Terry was uneasy for pinned to her slip were the valuable papers she must deliver in Peru. She was relieved when Prim finally consented to go back to the hotel, exchanging addresses and promising life-long friendship with her new friends as she went along.

At the first flush of dawn, Terry and Prim were at the hangars preparing to take off. Terry made a careful check-up on her plane to see that everything was in order and as they were about ready to climb into the cockpits, they heard a shout and their new friends came hurrying to the field to bid them goodbye.

Prim was glad they had come. She wanted to show off her quiet sister who always got her plane into the air so gracefully, and her face glowed with pride as Terry taxied across the field, swung around and headed into the wind for a good take-off. _Skybird_ took to the air like a great bird and under Terry's guidance circled the field several times for the benefit of their friends, then headed out over the Atlantic, flying south.

They did not know that a plane had been set down on the field half an hour before. The pilot had recognized _Skybird_ and kept well out of sight. As he watched the girls from the shelter of the hangar, his face expressed the hatred and treachery that he felt.

It was Joe Arnold, their father's business rival and dangerous enemy!

"What are those girls doing here? Do they imagine they can fly to Peru and see Peter Langley?" thought Joe to himself. He made up his mind that the girls would never reach Peru. He would stop them, somehow. He _must_ do it.

Joe Arnold frowned. As his plane was more powerful than _Skybird_, he could easily out-fly them and reach the mine a day before they could do so. But, first, he had some mysterious business to attend to before he would have the money for the option. Meanwhile he must do something to prevent the Mapes girls from continuing their trip until he was ready.

Before _Skybird_ had disappeared in the clouds, Joe Arnold had left the field and was following after that tiny speck in the sky, trailing it relentlessly.

The next stop was Miami, and here again the girls made a thorough inspection of their plane. From now on their way would be over the Caribbean, where storms might spring up without warning. _Skybird_ must be in perfect form. And when Terry finished her inspection, the little plane was ready for the hop to Havana.

The girls congratulated themselves that everything was going along well. They were even a few hours ahead of their schedule and Terry's face was glowing with happiness and excitement. Ahead of them was the Caribbean. She had often dreamed of making this flight over tropical waters and now she was really here.

Below her were the keys and reefs of the Florida coast spread out flat on the blue water. They were like a painting in delicate pastel shades. Crossing the line of the reefs, _Skybird_ headed boldly out to sea. Prim watched the smooth water, fascinated by the patterns made by steamers as they cut through the water, leaving an ever widening wake behind them. She felt safe, knowing that their amphibian plane could land on the water and float.

Terry sighted the coast of Cuba first, a delicate outline seen through a haze that dimmed the view and gave it a fairy-like appearance. 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. It was a city of gay pleasure.

Terry brought her plane down at the Havana airport with a sense of relief. The first lap of that journey was over now.

A few minutes later she was handed a telegram which read: "Allan and Syd will join you at Havana. Wait. Dad."

Terry's eyes blazed for a moment. "What do you think of that, Prim? Allan and Syd are coming here. We're to _wait_ for them! I'll say that's nerve! Dad thinks we can't make the trip without the help of the boys."

"That's nonsense, Terry! Dad knows we're equal to it. The boys probably want a holiday and are coming just for the fun of it. I'm going to be real glad to see them. The more the merrier, I say," replied Prim.

"I'd be glad to see them if I thought that their trip was not just because they think that we have to be looked after," declared Terry. "I want to make this flight without help from anybody."

"Don't get too independent, Terry. It doesn't pay," her sister cautioned her. "But right now let's go and get some breakfast. I'm starved."

After they had finished with the customs and entry regulations the girls started toward the restaurant. A plane was circling about their heads looking for a landing.

Suddenly Terry grabbed her sister's arm. "Oh Prim, look there! It's Joe Arnold!"

"Where did he come from? What's he doing down here?" demanded Prim, as if her sister knew all about Joe Arnold's affairs.

Terry laughed nervously. "Ask me something easy! But of one thing we can be sure. Whatever it is that has brought Joe Arnold down here, it's bound to be crooked, whether he is on business of his own or just trailing us. That man _couldn't_ be decent!" Terry said with indignation.

"What are we going to do, Terry?" asked Prim.

"We are going to do nothing at all, except keep our eyes open," answered Terry as she slipped back to the hangar and spoke to the mechanic who was looking over her plane. She gave him her sweetest smile as she spoke to him. "Keep your eye on my plane. Don't let any stranger near it." And she gave him a five dollar bill.

The young man promised and as Terry turned away he smiled to himself. "Guess she's new to the game," he thought. "Afraid someone will want parts of her plane for souvenirs."

"Come on Terry, hurry. If you only knew how hungry I am!" cried Prim. But now another plane had approached and made a neat landing.

Prim stopped short and grabbed her sister's arm. "Oh Terry," she cried, "I'm almost sure that's Allan in his new plane."

"You're right. That's Allan! And Syd is with him!"

A few minutes later Allan and Syd leaped from the cockpits and were waving to the girls with whoops of delight. Terry and Prim hastened back across the field to welcome them.

"Hurry up!" cried Terry. "Prim is starving!"

"She's got nothing on us," Sid answered. "We could eat our shoe strings,--almost!"

When they were all seated at breakfast, Terry suddenly turned to ask Allan, "What's the idea of trailing us down here? Are you taking a vacation?"

"A sort of vacation," answered Allan. "About an hour after you left the other day, Syd and I got home. We finished up our business in half the time we expected. Then we heard some reports. Joe Arnold had been back at the field and was bragging around that he was starting out to make the final deal with Peter Langley for your father's flying field. He sent notice to your father to vacate the field."

"Why the nerve of that man!" cried Terry. "He'll do no such thing! I won't stand for it!"

"Anyway," went on Allan. "We found out that Joe had started south and your father wanted to warn you, so he sent us. And here we are."

"Yes," Terry broke in. "And Joe Arnold set down his plane at the Havana airport just a little while ago. I'm sure he saw us. Even if he didn't he'd recognize _Skybird_. That man is up to mischief."

"Do you think he's going to try and make trouble for us?" asked Prim anxiously. "I'm afraid of that man, after what he did to you boys in Newfoundland."

"We are not going to worry about it," Terry announced with decision. "We are going to keep right on at the job we set out to do, and trust to luck to get us through safely."

The four friends had an excellent breakfast with tropical fruits and delicious Cuban dishes. At times they forgot all about Joe Arnold and his threats to take away their father's flying field. It was good to be together in this romantic city of Havana, and hard to realize that danger threatened them.

All about them were smartly dressed care-free people, spending money lavishly on the pleasures of the gay city. 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. Now that they were tipped off to the fact that Joe might make trouble, Terry could be depended on to keep her eyes open and avoid him. But the boys decided they would watch Joe and find out what he was up to.

The weather reports were favorable. There was always the warning to watch out for sudden storms that were common over the Caribbean.

Their take-off was delayed by Terry insisting that her engine was not working properly. Allan came alongside to listen as she warmed up the motor. "Why it sounds all right, Terry. I don't hear anything wrong," he said.

"But listen!" shouted Terry. "Listen to that rough hum."

"You're right, Terry," said Allan as the girl shut off her engine and got out. Slipping into her overall suit, she started to work.

"Has anyone been near my plane?" asked Terry of the young mechanic whom she had warned.

"No. That is nobody touched it. There was another flyer who stood around admiring it and asking who you were. He even wanted to know where you were going. Then he said he'd like to take a look at your engine to see what kind you had. But I didn't let him stick around," replied the youth. "I told him to clear out!"

Allan and Terry got to work without waiting for further explanation. A full hour went by before they had the engine humming smoothly enough to suit the trained and sensitive ear of Terry Mapes.

Once more they were ready to take off. Terry taxied over the long field, making sure that the engine was working properly before she pulled back on the stick and sent _Skybird_ nosing into the brilliant blue sky.

Terry's heart was beating with happy excitement. The take-off never became a commonplace occurrence to her. She thrilled as she felt the ship lifting from the ground and in the face of the wind, rising to dizzy heights above the earth.

Allan and Syd followed and for half an hour they flew at about the same altitude. Then Allan lagged behind and rose above them to a height of five thousand feet. Both flyers were watching the sky behind them to make sure that their enemy was not in pursuit.

Joe Arnold had put in a busy morning in Havana. Here was where he had some shady business that would give him the ready money for taking up the option on the Dick Mapes Flying Field. And when he started out half an hour after the other planes, he flew high and well out of sight.

Terry and Prim were content to fly at about two thousand feet. They were enjoying the view of the southern sea dotted with islands and failed to see the pursuing plane, high above them in the distance.

But Joe Arnold was watching intently every move of the two planes, and the cold, menacing light in his eyes was a threat against these young flyers who dared to upset his plans, and keep him from realizing his ambition.

His mind was working fast. At the next flying field, he would have a show-down with them. His business deal in Havana had not been successful. It would be necessary to return to that city once more before he got the money. Joe Arnold did not know just what kind of a show-down he would have with these girl flyers. He would leave it to chance and his usual good luck unless he could think of some plan as he flew through the blue sky. Up in the clean air of the heavens this man was planning to destroy them.

But Terry and Prim, unconscious of his plans, were watching the changing colors of the islands, then faced once more the open sea toward Honduras.