by Van Powell
CHAPTER XXVII
WHITE WINGS AND RED
Holding the Dragonfly barely higher than the wires he must top as hetook off, Don sent the craft toward the swamp.
As soon as they swept beyond the cottages that backed their small yardson the undrained swamp, Chick sent overside his first white-lightparachute flare.
"It's only for safety's sake," he muttered. "That young Indian, if heknows the swamp at all, has had time to get across to the Dart. But hemight try to fool us, and stop to hide. Not likely--but we must besure!"
He, and Garry, watched over the side, a little afraid that with thecraft of his forefathers the red-skinned John might so cleverly crouchin the eel grass that they might not see him.
Don dropped the nose, however, allowing the Dragonfly barely to skimthe low patches of water, and clumps of gently waving marsh vegetation.
As soon as they got beyond the vivid glow of the light slowly floatingdown toward the marsh, Don climbed the ship three hundred feet, camearound, side-slipping to lose altitude as soon after the next flare wasignited and launched as he could.
By these tactics, continued for several minutes, the three chumssatisfied themselves that the Indian was at least not visible; and ifhe remained hidden for that long they had him!
"By now," Garry decided, as he strained his eyes overside, "the policemust have gotten out here to surround the swamp. Mr. McLeod agreed toget the Chief to bring all his force, and to send out his privatedetectives, and get every waterman to help as guides."
Don, climbing away from the final flare, gestured ahead. As he gave aglance backward he saw Garry's signal of agreement. They must getwithin easier guarding distance of the Dart at the piling of theboathouse.
As quickly as he saw that the swamp was being surrounded, the Indianmight resort to flying for escape. It was not known whether or not hecould fly the Dart; but Don surmised that he could. He had managed thehelicopter.
When they climbed, steadily going ahead, to a good altitude over theswamp Garry turned his head, observing that Chick saw the same thingthat he did as a white, floating flare lighted up the terrain beneaththem.
There were two figures visible on the planking of the outer wharf at nopains to conceal themselves.
Instead, they were feverishly unfastening the light airplane, and Don,at Garry's touch, nodded to show that he already was aware of the fact.
"That Indian can fly!" Don muttered.
He braced his nerves for an unusual effort.
Chick, too, was taut with excitement; his nerves tingled withexpectancy; he would have little to do, yet he must be ready to playwhat part might be possible.
Garry, less excitable, was inclined to feel misgivings.
"What I understand about ship design makes me think this won't be asmuch a test of skill as it will be of performance," he murmured tohimself, not having the Gossport apparatus because it had been left inthe Dart.
"It is going to be a test between 'controllability' and'maneuverability' this time," Garry added softly.
He realized that airplane design taught the truth that a craft with acertain type of stabilizing fins, and control surfaces, might be verysafe and steady in the air, and yet not respond quickly to its stickand rudder, because stability carried to that point might compel asacrifice of quick answering to control movements.
"That's the Dragonfly," he thought.
Light, speedy, almost "touchy" in its easy response to control, theDart, on the other hand, lacked that safety margin.
The Dragonfly could not go into and come out of aerial "stunt"positions with the same facility that the Dart had. The Dart, though,was so "touchy" that, with its margin of quick answering to controls,quick "stunting" possibilities, it was far less easy to keep in stableflying control.
"We can't out-maneuver the Dart, if they once get into the air," Garrydecided, "but, then, the Dart isn't as easy to hold steady as our 'busis. One thing in our favor will be that Don knows this ship better thanJohn understands the Dart. And--with Don against John," he thought,whimsically, "it's a queer thing that our Dragonfly has wings of whiteand the Dart is lacquered and doped in red."
He smiled, being of a calm, humorous character.
"White wings or red?" he added. "We'll have to see what we see!"
Don, almost over the boathouse at the moment, gave a swift look toestimate the progress made by the two beneath him.
"It will take a minute to warm up that engine," he decided. "We can getinto position!" His plan was to make a swoop from a fair altitude, justtimed to take the steadier ship across the path of the other, andslightly above it, as it took off.
"The propeller 'wash' will throw him out of control too low to catchthat touchy Dart," he told himself. "It will put them down before theyget high enough to be hurt badly. I don't want to be the means ofinjuring anybody, if I can help it."
He came around, and gave a quick glance to see the progress of thestarting Dart. In the vivid light from a flare that Chick had put overhe saw that the red-winged craft was beginning to skip over the water.
It was headed into the wind.
"Why don't you tell him to dive?" screamed Chick, shivering withexcitement and biting at his lip in vexation. Garry had deliberatelyignored prodding by his younger comrade.
"Now!" Garry touched Don.
Has calmer nature had held in check his impulse to move too soon.
Exactly in sympathy with Garry's touch, Don decided that the time toplunge, to rush past and above the Dart, and then to zoom away into thesky for a turn, and an observation, was just right.
Full-gun, with nose lowered, the Dragonfly dashed toward its target,coming up, in a gentle curve, just timed to sweep the turbulent airdisturbance of their propeller through the area into which the Dart wasjust beginning to rise.
They swept with roaring engine across the sheet of water, their ownpontoons and wheel-trucks not twenty feet away from the red wings.
Up they zoomed; Don brought the nose around with as sharp a bank as hedeemed safe.
All three looked, expecting to see the Dart upset, and its occupant orthe pair, if the older Indian had joined his son for escape, strugglingin the murky water.
Instead, the Indian, with the cleverness that he had learned, as theydiscovered at another time, from enlistment at a Navy training school,had cut the gun, settling into the water again.
He had anticipated their maneuver.
Before they could get around and before Don could decide on whether torepeat the dive or to discover some other way of preventing ascent, theDart strung in a boiling curve, one wingtip pontoon barely touchingwater to help it swing, and, with the wind, leaving in the water a hot,white seethe of broken wake, slanted sidewise to the breeze and rose.
With skill and quick yielding to control, the Dart swerved around intothe wind.
Straight away, climbing rapidly, the small craft went.
After it, gunning up to top speed, went the Dragonfly.
On a level, Don's speed about equaled the climbing speed of the angletaken by the Indian.
"Will red wings get away from white wings?" murmured Garry.
"Catch him, Don!" screeched Chick, unable to hold his quivering nervesas they made him tremble with eagerness. He felt like a coursinggreyhound, urged on a trail but held by a restraining leash, willing touse his own effort, but restrained.
Garry, more controlled, watched.
Along the channel swept the strange chase.
Higher came the Dart. Straight at it, but some hundreds of yards to therear, tore the Dragonfly, white wings chasing red.
"When he gets on our level," Don murmured through clenched teeth, "hisspeed will get him away. If there was anything to do----"
Answering its easy controls as he stopped, surprised, the Dart, almostat their altitude, swerved.
Don, not expecting a turn, kicked rudder nevertheless, to swing on thenew flight path.
The Dart, still
climbing, made almost a complete, 360 degree turn.
At the half-way point, almost half a circle accomplished, Don wentaround on wingtip, to get the nose on a new point--he meant to make adirect diagonal across the turn, to try to meet, or forestall, the Dart.
But the smaller ship's pilot, with gun full open, nose up, seemedalmost to leap upward before he reached the stalling point.
He had caused Don to lose the advantage of altitude.
"Clever!" Don conceded, seeing the effect of the ruse. "Now he has onlyto fly straight away, and we will lose him in twenty miles."
Chick uttered a cry of surprise.
Garry's teeth shut tight in dismay.
Don caught his breath
Living up to the name, Dart, the lighter ship went into a wing-over, amaneuver by which, dropping a wing, and thus executing a turn, as itregained flying margin of speed, it exactly reversed the direction offlight.
The Dart, instead of going away from the Dragonfly, had completelyaltered the conditions: it was coming at the bigger craft.
Just above, and right over the Dragonfly came the other, full-gun.
Don felt the propeller stream tear at his right wing.
There his own ability, coupled with the great steadiness of the ship hehandled, saved the situation.
Gently, not forcing or over-controlling, he recovered stability.
"Why!" Don screamed, "he tried to upset--us!"
The pursued had turned pursuer!
Wingtip went down, came up, steadied. Don again had control.
Over went Chick's next flare, to light up the sky.
They picked up the enemy ship, quickly.
"He's made an Immelmann turn!" shouted Garry to Don. By that maneuver,half a dive, half a climb, to get the ship to the top of a loop, andthen a barrel roll, half-way, to bring it again on its proper keel,again the Dart was in position to swoop.
"He wants to drive us down, I think!" yelled Garry.
Although he could not hear for the roar of their own engine, Don alsosaw that the greater maneuverability of the other gave him an advantagethey had not counted on. Thinking they were to be the hounds, and theIndian the hare, the chums found the conditions reversed. The hare, inhis ruddy-winged craft, proposed to hunt down his adversary.
Don, realizing the danger to those with him, desiring no risk of lifeor limb or property, in the light of the flare, not yet dying, held upboth hands in the old war-sign, "Kamerad!" and swiftly caught his stickand throttle again.
In the other ship the arm of the pilot pointed downward.
He did not, however, try to enforce the order to descend by any moreswoops: instead, he maneuvered the light craft to a level with, and notfifty feet beyond the Dragonfly.
Don, uncomprehending, puzzled that they were being ordered down, whenit had been his expectation to give that order to the other, let thenose drop a trifle, cut the gun, and went on a gentle glide, showinghis intention to obey.
The young pilot, red of face, skilful of control, flew along, and asthey came almost on a level with the flare, burning still, he turnedhis head for a glower of triumph toward his victims.
Don, his eyes turned that way to watch the wing separation, saw a lookof amazement change the triumphant scowl.
The Indian pilot put out and waved an arm--he pointed toward theairport.
Don nodded, banked, submissively, so astonished and mystified that hecould not further plan. Why had that coppery face shown astonishment?
It was a puzzle added to many problems.
With the other craft riding hard, above them, circling swiftly, thecaptors, now captives, obeyed the signal already given.
Over the edges of the swamps, searchers' parties showed lights as theyrealized that the chase had ended, as they supposed. To them itappeared that a ship was being compelled by a skilful adversary to goback. That was true--but it was the pursuing ship that had capitulated.
Hardly had Don run out of speed, and, with Garry and Chick, leaped outto clear the runway, before the lighter Dart came home.
"For the sake of all that's mysterious!" called Don as the Indian cuthis ignition. "We thought you were trying to escape. What made you turnon us?"
"I thought you were the pilot I'm after--and I meant to get the man whostole our treasure chart!" Again the chums were stupefied.
