CHAPTER XIII.

A RACE IN THE AIR.

“Don’t read any more chapters from your dream-book!” warned Ben. “We’ve materialized the coat, the whiskers, the dickey, the wing collar, the red tie, and the felt hat Colleton wore away from his office that day, and I think that’s about enough!”

“Materialized ’em through three thousand miles of space, at that!” laughed Jimmie. “If we could materialize Colleton as easily, we might have a little time for hunting on this trip.”

The aeroplane which had been reported by Carl was still quite a distance to the west. It carried a light which appeared not much larger than a good-sized planet from where the boys stood. The hum of the motors sounded faintly from the distance.

“It’s pears to potatoes,” exclaimed Carl, “that she’s going up to that old camp!”

“If she does, she’ll find a man drunk in the cavern, and that’s all!”

“And a lot of whiskey and brandy!” suggested Jimmie.

The aeroplane moved slowly to the north and west, and presently the boys were able to see something more than the dancing light.

“She’s going to the old camp all right!” Ben announced, after looking at the machine through his field-glass for some minutes. “At least, she is headed in that direction now.”

“And why shouldn’t she be going to the camp?” asked the Englishman.

“Because only two classes of people are now much interested in that locality!” cried Ben. “The class most interested is the criminal class. The other is the official class. I have a notion that the criminals are pretty well disposed of to-night,” the boy continued, “and it isn’t time for the officers to return. Besides,” he went on, “they wouldn’t be apt to return in an aeroplane.”

“I’ll tell you how we can soon find out all about it!” suggested Jimmie. “I know how we can find out all about that machine!”

“No, you don’t,” laughed Mr. Havens. “You don’t get away in any machine to-night! It spells trouble when you get away after dark!”

“Je-rusalem!” exclaimed Jimmie, in a disgusted tone. “I might have known I’d need my knitting when I came out on this trip! If I listened to all the advice I get from you fellows, I’d sit down here and knit myself a pair of socks, or a cream-colored necktie, just like a perfect little lady. What’s the matter with a game of checkers? Wouldn’t that be too exciting for you?” he added, with a grin.

“I don’t think there’s been any lack of excitement up to date,” laughed Mr. Havens.

“Say,” Ben exclaimed, directly, “we really ought to go and see what that Crooked Terry is doing. You know I set out once to get a duplicate copy of the map of this country which he is supposed to carry in his head.”

“Is this a conspiracy to get away from camp again?” demanded the millionaire. “Do you want to leave me here alone all the time?”

“We’ll leave Carl and Mr. Claude Mercer Du Bois to keep you company,” suggested Jimmie.

“If you don’t mind,” the Englishman cut in, “I’d like to have me dinner now, don’t you know.”

“I’ll bet it’s all scorched to coals!” cried Carl, rushing to the fire.

In a moment he called back that the ham and eggs and coffee were just as they should be, and the Englishman was soon eating heartily.

The strange aeroplane was still in sight. In fact a great deal closer than when it had first been discovered. It was now over the center of the valley, still pointing toward the shelf from which the signals had been given the night before.

While the boys watched and waited, undecided as to the correct course to pursue, the machine passed over the snow-tipped summit and disappeared.

“Some aviator out for a view of the mountains, probably,” Mr. Havens suggested. “He seems to be keeping on his way pretty well.”

“I’ve got a hunch,” Jimmie insisted, “that that aeroplane has something to do with this Kuro case!”

“Aw, cut out the dream-book!” advised Ben.

“Didn’t my dreams come true?” demanded the boy.

“You’ll have to show me!” declared Carl. “Don’t you suppose there’s more than one false beard, more than one sporty coat, and more than one dickey with wing collars and a red necktie in the world?”

Jimmie ran out to the _Louise_, showing by his manner that he considered the question too trivial to be answered.

“Come on, Ben,” he called. “We’ll go up high enough to see where that aeroplane went. If she’s still on her way east, we’ll come down and go to bed, like good little boys. If she’s hovering around the other side of the summit, we’ll catch the aviator and put him through the third degree. We’ll have a good ride, anyway!”

No further objections were offered, and the _Louise_ was soon in the air. The boys kept her down so that her lights could not be seen from the other side of the ridge until they came to the vicinity of the gully, then they lifted suddenly and crossed the summit, shivering in the icy air of the mountaintop.

The aeroplane lay just below on the ledge which had been occupied by the _Louise_ on the previous night.

Three lights were in sight. The lamp on the forward framework of the machine was burning brightly, and two men were walking along the ledge with electric searchlights in their hands. They did not appear to be surprised at the appearance of the _Louise_.

“I wonder what they’ve lost,” said Jimmie, his teeth fairly chattering with the cold. “Suppose we go down and ask.”

Ben circled the _Louise_ into the warmer air of the valley on the other side of the summit, and then moved slowly to the west.

As he did so, the strange aeroplane leaped into the air and darted off to the south. She seemed to be a speedy machine, for she swept away from the _Louise_ with wonderful ease.

“You just wait till I get turned around and get the motors on,” Ben muttered, “and I’ll show you that we can go some!”

The stranger was some distance in the lead before the _Louise_ was well under way. After that it seemed to the boys that they gained, although very slowly. The machines both kept as low down as possible and ran to the full power of their motors.

The rush of wind and the clatter of the motors effectually checked verbal communication, but Jimmie pointed significantly to the machine ahead and then nodded determinedly.

“Let her go,” muttered Jimmie under his breath. “We had a race something like this in Old Mexico, and the other machine brought up in the Pacific ocean. That was a race that ought to have been written up!”

In the meantime, those watching from the camp saw the strange aeroplane dart swiftly over the ridge and head into the succession of valleys running to the west of the range. A few moments later she was followed by the _Louise_.

“I’d like to know what those crazy boys are doing!” exclaimed Mr. Havens, rather impatiently.

“They’re trying to catch that machine!” laughed Carl.

“But why should they take the chance of an accident by running at such speed in the night-time?” asked the millionaire. “There are holes in the air just as there are holes in the surface of the earth, and the first thing they know they’ll drop down about a thousand feet and tip over! It’s a risky proposition!”

“That’s what it is!” returned Carl shaking his head gravely. “It’s a risky proposition, and if you say the word I’ll jump on the _Ann_ and go and tell them to come back!”

The aviator laughed at the innocent manner of the boy, and the Englishman regarded the two with a stare of wonder.

“I never saw anything like it, don’t you know!” the latter said.

“You’re likely to see something like it several times before you get out of the mountains!” laughed Carl. “Say, Mr. Havens,” the boy went on, “we don’t want that strange machine to come here and beat us in a race, do we? I don’t think the _Louise_ is making much of a show, and so, if you don’t mind, I’ll take out the _Ann_ and run ’em both down. It would be a lovely race!”

“I wouldn’t mind going with the lad, don’t you know!” exclaimed DuBois showing great excitement.

“If you do go,” replied Mr. Havens, “you’ll get fined a year’s salary if you don’t catch both machines!”

“Oh, I’ll catch ’em all right!” Carl exclaimed. “The _Ann_ can run around both those old ice wagons, and then have plenty of time to spare!”

“The _Ann_ can beat any aeroplane that was ever built!” replied Mr. Havens. “She was built for a record-breaker.”

To tell the truth, the aviator was not exactly pleased at the idea of remaining alone in the camp while the two engaged in the race, but the sporting strain was strong in the man’s blood, and he was proud of his matchless machine, so he consented, principally because he wanted the _Ann_ to win in a race which promised to be a hot one!

“I wish the other machines would keep in sight so I could watch the struggle,” he said as Carl sprang toward the _Ann_.

“Do you know,” the Englishman observed, “I rather like the spirit of the lad!”

“He’s all right,” replied the millionaire. “But,” he added, “I didn’t think you had the courage to get into such a game.”

“To tell you the truth,” DuBois replied, “I was tolerably well frightened during my ride here, but I think I can now trust myself in any place that lad is willing to go.”

Mr. Havens saw the _Ann_ rise swiftly into the air; rise to a height which must have chilled the blood of those on board, and then flash off to the south. The two aeroplanes were still in view although their lights showed dimly.

From his position in the tent the aviator could not determine whether or not the _Louise_ was gaining. He saw that the great light of the _Ann_ was rapidly closing the gap between the nearest lamp and herself, and had no doubt of the outcome of the race.

While he gazed one of the lights ahead dropped. Without knowing which machine had fallen, he crept to a corner of the tent on his hands and knees and brought out a night glass.