by Roy Rockwood
CHAPTER XX
IN TRAINING
Dave did not speak nor linger. His quick mind was thinking veryactively, though. He fancied he understood what the wrecking of theMarvin monoplane meant now.
As they passed the open doorway of the shed Dave could see a crowdinside inspecting the monoplane it contained. A man he recognized as Mr.Marvin, the wealthy amateur airman, was moving about restlessly andtalking in an exciting tone.
“It’s a blazing shame!” broke out Hiram. “Mr. Marvin intended trying aflight himself to-day. Everybody was encouraging him, and pleased aboutit. He’s been awful kind to the air folks, you know.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about him,” said Dave.
“He donated several of the medals last meet, and made up losses for thecrowd where things didn’t pay.”
“Do they suspect anybody?” asked Dave.
“No,” replied Hiram, shaking his head slowly.
Then he flashed a shrewd look at Dave, full in the face, and bolted outthe quick challenge:
“Do you?”
Dave changed color. He walked on a little faster.
“Why, yes, I do, Hiram, to tell you the truth,” he replied.
“Who is it?”
“I don’t like to say, Hiram, till I am sure.”
“Say, Dave Dashaway,” declared Hiram. “I can bet who it is, first shot.It’s Jerry Dawson, and you’ve been through a big tussle, for your faceis all marked up and you look peaked and worried. Isn’t it that Dawsonfellow, now?”
Dave was silent.
“Say,” stormed Hiram, “if you don’t answer, I’ll start right out andfind young Dawson, and knock the truth out of him, along with all therest of his meanness.”
“You must do nothing of the sort, Hiram,” remonstrated Dave. “Youmustn’t guess anything, or mix up things, until I have seen Mr. King.”
“You make a fellow mighty curious.”
“You will know all about it soon,” promised Dave. “There is Mr. Kingnow.”
Our hero hurried forward as he saw just outside the _Aegis_ hangar hisemployer and old Grimshaw. Mr. King uttered a glad cry as his eye fellon Dave. The old trainer nodded as pleasantly as his grim face wouldallow.
“Why, Dashaway, where have you been?” asked Mr. King quickly, lookingDave over as he would a runaway aeroplane returned.
“Oh, I’ve had a little adventure that isn’t worth the telling, with allthere is to do here this morning,” declared Dave evasively, pulling offhis coat and making a great ado of seeking some immediate work.
Dave had made up his mind to defer any explanation until later in theday. He realized that it would disturb his employer to relate hisadventures and suspicions. Mr. King, too, was a hasty man. Dave knewthat it would be just like him to rush off to Mr. Marvin, charge theDawsons with the wrecking of his monoplane, and become generallyunnerved for his critical duties of the day.
Later Dave learned that the men who had kidnapped him had displacedthree important parts of the Marvin monoplane. This had rendered itimpossible to use the machine for the day. They had probably thrown thestolen parts into some pit or creek. It was evident that the two vandalshad blundered all along the line. They had supposed that the shed wherethey had cornered Dave was the _Aegis_ hangar, and had dismantled thewrong machine.
Dave became so active, and there was so much to do, that he soon driftedhis employer’s thoughts from himself. Mr. King insisted on someexplanation, however, and Dave evaded direct information by saying hehad got into a farm wagon by mistake, was carted away, and slept in thevehicle all night.
Within an hour Dave and his own little personal affairs were obscuredand forgotten for the time being, amid trials of skill and the generalenvironment of an aero meet. As soon as the programme for the day wasstarted, it was one engrossing novelty and thrill after another.
The _Aegis_ was in for the altitude race. Dave was doubly glad that hehad not bothered his employer with the real explanation of his absencethe night before. The airman was a superb picture of courage, confidenceand expertness as the _Aegis_ bounded from earth and rose in the leadover the fleet of airships entered for the contest.
Dave helped in skidding the machine at the start, and was promptly onhand when the _Aegis_ sailed gracefully down to its starting point witha score of six hundred extra feet to the Fairfield record.
Mr. King was busy after that consulting with and aiding other aviatorsin their scheduled feats. Dave was just finishing a cold lunch at thehangar, when old Grimshaw poked his head into view past an open doorway.
“Off duty, lad?” he inquired, his twinkling eyes telling Dave that hehad something on his mind.
“Why, Mr. King has finished his part in the programme,” replied Dave.“I’ve cleaned up the _Aegis_, and just waiting for orders.”
“Well, I’ve just seen him, and it’s all right. Like to make some extramoney, Dashaway?”
“Always ready for that,” replied Dave.
“Then you come with me,” directed Grimshaw. “We’ve got a quiet cornerover against the hangars, and I want you to put in all your spare timefor the next two days on biplane practice.”
“Anything special?” asked Dave, with a hopeful smile.
“I’ll answer that when I see you do some grass cutting on the doublewhirl—which you’ll do,” replied Grimshaw with a chuckle.
All that afternoon Dave was put through a series of trial flights byGrimshaw. The attention of the crowd was centered upon the main featuresof the course, and they were unhindered and practically unnoticed intheir efforts. Dave made several rapid flights.
“You’re going to do,” commended Grimshaw with great satisfaction, asDave brought the biplane back to earth for the sixth time without jar orinjury.
“Do for what?” inquired Dave.
“You come down here to-morrow at the same time. Next day, too. Then I’lltell you something that will make your eyes snap.”
“But why all this mystery, Mr. Grimshaw?” inquired Dave with a smile.
“You do as I say, if you want to earn a record and some money as theaptest pupil I ever had,” was all that Grimshaw would explain.
Dave was helping the man cook get supper ready at the hangar when Mr.King put in an appearance. The aviator was in high spirits, for the dayhad been a successful one for him.
Dave told him about his experience with Grimshaw. The airman noddedpleasantly, as if he understood what was going on.
Hiram came strolling along just as they finished their meal. Mr. Kingadjourned to a pile of benches not in use at a little distance from thehangar. He settled down into a comfortable attitude.
“Now then, Dashaway,” he observed. “I’ve been too busy to bother withthe mystery of your being away all last night. Not too busy, though, notto see that you didn’t tell enough about your being carted away in thewagon.”
“Yes, Mr. King,” chimed in Hiram. “He’s got a big story to tell, andI’ve been dying with curiosity all day long to know what it is.”
“Give us the story, Dashaway,” directed the airman.
Dave recited his adventures of the evening previous. Mr. King expressedthe profoundest wonderment as Dave gave the simple details of hismysterious kidnapping. His fine face broke out into indignation andanger as Hiram cried out eagerly:
“Now then, Dave, tell him who was back of all this.”
“Why, are you sure I know?” asked Dave hesitatingly.
“It’s the Dawsons, Mr. King,” declared Hiram. “Listen,” and Hiram toldabout the two men whom he had seen conversing with Jerry Dawson.
Mr. King sprang to his feet, deeply aroused.
“So that is the secret of the wrecking of the Marvin machine,” heobserved. “There is not the less doubt in my mind that the Dawsons areat the bottom of all this mischief. Now then, lads, I don’t want you toeven lisp your suspicions to an outsider.”
Both Dave and Hiram promised that they would obey the inju
nction.
“I’m going to rid these meets of all this class of rascals, or know thereason,” declared the stirred-up airman with vehemence. “I shall havethis affair run down to the limit, and if I fasten the business on theDawsons, it will be a satisfaction to see them barred from all futureaero meets.”
Mr. King walked excitedly away in the direction of the Marvin hangar.The two friends remained on the bench pile discussing the case in itsvarious bearings.
Then Dave gave Hiram an inkling that Grimshaw had him in active trainingfor some reason soon to develop.
“I hope I’m going to get a chance to do something worth while in theaero line, Hiram,” he said. “How I used to dream about all this when Iwas back at Brookville.”
“Was that where you lived, Dave?”
“Yes.” And one confidence led to another, and Dave found an interestedlistener to the details of his past life.
“Well, you’ve had quite an experience, haven’t you, Dave?” said Hiram.“That old guardian of yours is a mean one, and no mistake.”
“I’m glad to be away from him,” said Dave.
“Hello!” interrupted Hiram.
He jumped down from the bench pile, as he noticed a slouching figuremoving stealthily away from the other side of it.
“Dave,” exclaimed Hiram, “do you know I believe that fellow has beenlistening to every word we said.”
“Why, what of it?” asked Dave.
“Don’t you know who he is?”
“No.”
“It’s a fellow named Brooks. He works around the hangars at odd jobs,and is a regular crony of Jerry Dawson. Hey, you,” shouted Hiram afterthe receding figure, “what you snooping around here, playing theeavesdropper, for?”
“Huh!” retorted the other, “what you coming along for and waking up afellow when he’s taking a nap in the cool of the evening?”
Then the fellow walked on. There was a sneer and a menace in his vicioustones.
“I don’t like it,” said Hiram, half to himself, “I don’t like anythingor anybody that mixes up with Jerry Dawson.”
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