THE DEATH FLIGHT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22231, 4 October 1935, Page 20

THE DEATH FLIGHT

! CHAPTER XXXV.—(Continued) "It's only a bullet in the leg. I think it will be all right. 1 tied it up as well as I could, at,d it's stopped bleeding." He laughed suddenly as though - at a pleasing recollection. " I got ttie other blighters, though." " You certainly did," agreed Gerry. "They're lying in a heap outside." A sudden thought brought a look of fear into Charles" face. He attempted frantically to rise to his feet. " We must get away from here as soon as possible, you fellows. .It's absolutely essentia) we stop the 'Queen' from starting. Otherwise she'll crash. I'd get you to send a message, only the wireless has broken down. If only Leach were still alive," he groaned. " What the deuce are you talking about?" asked Gerry. " We left Leach waiting at Farnhaven." Charles stared at him in surprise. " Say that again," he demanded. " Leach is alivo and at Farnhaven? The swines told mo they had shot him." " Well, he was quite fit and well half an hour a<*o." " That's the finest news I've ever had in my life," cried Charles thankfully. " You've given me double strength. Take me to him as fast as you can!" His wounded leg had stiffened to a dull, throbbing ache. With renewed hope of successfully concluding his mission, he made light of it. By hopping on his sound leg and supporting nimself with an arm round each of his rescuer's necks, ho made his way slowly and painfully to the door. The difficulty lay in getting him into tho cockpit of the machine. With Gerry pulling from above and Barton pushing from below, it was accomplished at last. Gerry leaned over the side for a final word with Barton. " You'd better drive back in that car standing there, if you can get it going, Dick," he advised. " If you don't show up in a reasonable time I'll come back for you. But take care you don't get caught by any of these precious beauties turning up suddenly. You can see for yourself that they mean business." Barton laughed. " I shall be all right, Gerry. Ta-ta!" He stood back out of the way as Gerry taxied into wind. The machine skimmed lightly over the ground as it gathered speed for the return journey. He watched it until it rose in the air and then turned away, intending to see about his own transport. The next second, with a startled exclamation, he skipped behind the building near which he was standing. A big, powerful car emerged from the opening between two hangars. Had not the driver been intent on watching the departing aeroplane, he must have seen him. Barton peered cautiously round the corner. The driver of tho car jumped out and ran toward the three figures on the ground. To Barton's surprise ho recognised Wing-Commander Chaplin. Ho was about to step out and make his presence known, believing his superior officer must be a friend, when the actions of the man he was watching made him pause. Tho wing-commander seemed like one demented. First he ran to each of tho three corpses and stooped over them to identify 5 them. Then he shook his fist at thd departing aeroplane. Finally he beat his chest with both hands and waved his arms about as though in a very ecstasy of rage. , Barton watched in growing wonder. At last the realisation came to him that he was looking, not at a friend, but at one of those deadly enemies about whom Gerry had just warned him. Chaplin dragged the plane out on the 'drome and set about preparing it for flight. The engine was air-cooled, which saved him the necessity of filling the radiator with water. His main task was to start up. Chaplin turned his back and began swinging the propeller to suck petrol vapour into the cylinders. Barton decided that his chance had arrived. Creeping forward on his toes, ho succeeded in getting within, five yards of his unconscious victim. Suddenly Chaplin turned and saw him. Barton rushed, but the distance was too great. The man ho was attacking ■slipped to safety round the end of the main plane. The next instant Chaplin whipped out his automatic, and the tables were turned. Barton felt that discretion was the better part of valour. Without hesitation he ran for his life, side-stepping and zig-zagginc to put the wing-commander off his aim. His ruse proved effective. Two or three shots sang past him, but he managed to reach the shelter of the nearest building without being hit. Chaplin was rattled. He had believed himself to be alone. Tho suddenness with which he had been sur-_ prised had given him a severe shock. He must get away aS soon as poossible. Keeping his pistol ready to his hand, he turned his attention once more to his engine. He caught tho propeller and swung it. In his haste he overlooked the fact that the moment before he was attacked ho had turned the engine Switch to "On." Ho had forgotten to turn it back to safety. The omission was his undoing. No sooner did he move the propeller than the engine woke to life. The blade he was holding tore from his hand. Catching him unprepared, it struck him on the temple. Without uttering a sound he collapsed on tho ground. IJarton dashed boldly into tho open. The engine was running smoothly. The Wing-Commander lay before it in a heap. Barton ran forward and dragged tho body clear. A glance showed him that the stricken man was beyond human aid. Nemesis had overtaken him in tho form of a propeller blade. CHAPTER XXX VI THE SOLUTION Farnhaven Aerodrome was in a state of acute consternation. At the very last minute, when tho "Queen" was actually on the point of "taking off," an order was issued postponing the groat Australian flight. No one seemed to know what was tho matter. There could hardly bo anything wrong with the machine. Hadn't tho squad of men who erected her been turned out in the early hours of the morning to make a special inspection ? They had found everything in order. The rigging was true in every detail. The engines turned over at the maximum revolutions per minute, smoothly and sweetly. There was very little oscillation in the wireless. Tho gyroscope functioned perfectly. Yot some hitch had occurred somewhere. One had only to glance at the giantess whero she stood at tho end of the aerodrome to appreciate tho pathos of the situation. With her engines stilled and deserted by her crew, she typified tho disappointment of her wellwishers. Charles lay on a stretcher. He had been carried to it from the plane when Gerry landed. A group of excited officers surrounded him. Olive knelt by his sido and held his hand. On his other side stood tho Camp doctor. At Charles' request he had not taken off his improvised bandage. Gerry caught sight of a speck in the distant sky. Ho clutched his friend's arm. Morden followed the direction of his finger. The speck was rapidly resolving itself into a powerful biplane as it approached directly towards them. Their experienced eyes told them at once that it was a civilian machine. It was flying low at scarcely five hundred feet high. The hum of its engine could now be heard distinctly. Everyone turned to watch it with the intent* ness of men whoso minds are unde-

By CAPTAIN A. O. POLLARD, V.C., M.C., D.C.M. Author oI " Pirdalo Island." "Rum Alley." "Murder Hide-and-SeeK. eic„ etc.

(COPYRIGHT)

A THRILLING STORY OF MYSTERY, LOVE AND ADVENTURE

cided about a worrying problem. As it passed overhead its single, occupant was plainly visible gazing down at them. At the far end of the flying ground it circled round and headed into wind. The engine was throttled down and the nose put into a glide. , "She's going to land," declared someone, but lie was wrong. When barely a hundred feet from the ground, the engine was once more opened up. The pilot turned directly over the sea of upturned faces. An arm came over the side of the cockpit and flung out a message bag. The plane passed on and speedily disappeared in the distance. The long streamer trailed down. It looked as though it must fall directly on to Charles' stretcher. Olivo instinctively moved to protect him. It hit the ground with a Blight thud a few feet away. Leach picked it up and slipped his fingers into the pocket. Ho pulled out a folded paper. "It's addressed to you, Charles," he announced. Charles accepted it wonderingly. His name was scrawled on the outside in bold, feminine characters. He smoothed it out. "Dear Charles," he read, "This is to bid you good-bye. I've come to my senses and I'm going out of your life for good. I've just arrived at our base to find Chaplin dead and a young man about to take off in my plane and leave mo stranded. The corpses on the ground tell me that you broke out of your prison with your customary ruthlessness. I had hoped to be in time to see you once again, but it was not to be. Fate delayed me in the form of a puncture. I expect you are now in the arms of your beloved Olive. Tell her I hate her more than ever, but she's a very lucky girl. " You'll all be terribly worried about your ' Queen of the Commonwealth.' It was never my idea that she should crash. That was the picturesque touch of the ingenious Eustace. My orders were merely that she should be prevented from starting. Eustace elaborated on that to divert suspicion. He started experimenting with some stuff called ' Prolong-it,' which is supposed to improve petrol consumption. He found that by slightly altering the ingredients it had the effect of completely neutralising the explosive qualities of petrol. Instead of helping an engine, it would put it out of action. But he discovered something even more diabolically clever than that. It's to do with the specific gravity which I don't j really understand. Anyhow the mixture j that Lebeuf put into the tanks of your ' Queen ' will mix with petrol, but will remain in suspension at such a height that there's a stratum of ordinary petrol below if. In this way the engines will run perfectly as long as the pure petrol lasts. Once it runs out, the Chaplin mixture will be of no more use than water. Clever little devil, wasn't he? AH you've got to do to put it right is to empty the tanks and refill them with ordinary juice. " I've exposed the trick solely for your sake, dear Charles. I want, you to get all the credit for bringing my little hoax to nothing The ' Queen ' can make the trip and, if she succeeds, I'll pay the £50,000. I'm a sportswoman, and I'll take a sporting chance. I'm not so quixotic as to pay out on the bets though. I'm afraid the poor dupes who risked their money will be unlucky. " Well, good-bye once again, and think kindly of a poor woman whose greatest crime is that she loved too well. I suppose it was a rotten trick I tried against your dear" Olive, but I've no doubt she'll forgive me now she has you. Give my kind regards to that nice Wing-Commander Leach. I may play a hand with him again some day. For the present I'm going to take a rest. ' " Your late lover, but always your admirer, "Adrienne. '• P.S. —You'll find a rather mortified young man locked up in your late prison." • w » • * It was some six hours later when the "Queen" "took off" on her momentous journey. Charlc»s was lying in bed in the Camp hospital. Olive sat by his side, a look of beatific happiness on her face. They heard the roar of the mighty engines as the giant monoplane left the grdund. "So she's gone," remarked Charles with a satisfied smile as the noise died awav in the distance. "Thanks to you," added Olive. Charles shook his head. " Only partly," he amended. " 1 did my best, but we should never have found out the truth if she hadn't told us. Who would ever have thought of examining the petrol when the engines ran all right? She was a remarkable woman." Olive shuddered. "She's a She-Devil!" she corrected, with the inexorable relentlessness of her sex. Charles tactfully changed the subject. He held out his arms. "Let's forget about her, sweetheart," he suggested. " We've.got one another for keeps now, so she doesn't matter anyway." Olive buried her face on his shoulder. " You'll never love anyone but me, will you?" sho pleaded. Charles answered conclusively, but he used no words. In the Mess a few hundred yards away the three friends went over the storv once again. . "I said all along that that tin of ' Prolong-it ' had something to do with it." asserted Morden complacently. TUB END "THE LORD OF TERROR," An Enthralling Story Packed with Thrills and Adventure, by SYDNEY HOItLER, Author of " The Secret Agent," " 5.0.5.," etc. Will Commence Publication in SATURDAY'S SUPPLEMENT. Instalments Will Appear Daily.