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Dangerous Business






 

When the Hardy boys arrived at Riverside Field they looked in vain for Giles Ducroy and his friends. But the trio were not in sight, and there was but one airplane on the flying field. It was a small two-seater.

" It can't be their plane, " said Frank. " Ollie Jacobs said it would hold four or five men."

" Perhaps they haven't arrived yet, " Joe suggested.

" They had only thirty miles to go. They should have been here long ago."

" We can go up to one of the hangars and ask what planes have come in."

Frank was dubious. " If Ducroy or any of the others are hanging around, we'll be spotted. Our game is to keep out of sight."

They sauntered over to the solitary little airplane in the middle of the flying field. A mechanic in grimy overalls was busy tinkering at the understructure of the machine.

" Is this the only plane here? " asked Frank politely.

The mechanic looked up. " It's the only one out on the field." he answered. " If you can see any more, let me know." He grinned, and then waved toward one of the hangars. " An old crate just flew in a few minutes ago."

" Where from? "

" How should I know? Airplanes, unless they're on the mail run, aren't like trains. Looked to me like a privately owned machine.

The Hardy boys glanced significantly at one another. They had no doubt that this was Ducroy's plane.

" Is the pilot in there now? "

The mechanic nodded. " Him and two other guys."

Frank and Joe thanked their informant and made a wide detour across the flying field so as to approach the hangar at the far side. They had no desire to meet Giles Ducroy and his friends just now. They came around to the rear of the hangar without being observed and while they were looking about for a means of entrance other than by the front, Joe discovered a small door at the side.

He tried the door. It was unlocked. Joe edged it open and peeped in.

There was the plane, at rest in the hangar, and standing beside it were Giles Ducroy, Newt Pipps, and Ollie Jacobs. They were talking an low tones. Even as the boys watched they saw Ollie Jacobs move away from the others.

" It won't take long, " he said. " I'll do some telephoning and find out all I can."

" Make sure of the date! " advised Ducroy.

Ollie Jacobs left the hangar. For a moment the Hardy boys were panic-stricken at the thought that he might look back and see them pressed against the side of the building, but Jacobs strode away without once glancing behind.

" I wish we could learn something definite, " whispered Joe. " This thing of following them around is beginning to get on my nerves. They are bound to catch sight of us, sooner or later."

" We certainly can't follow them around like this, " agreed Frank. " If they don't see us, we're liable to lose them anyway. If we can only find out what game they're up to! "

They peeped through the opening in the door again. But Ducroy and Newt Pipps had withdrawn a little way to one side and were talking in undertones, their words inaudible.

In about ten minutes, Ollie Jacobs returned. He hastened into the hangar, and Ducroy looked at him expectantly.

" Well, " the boys heard Ducroy saying, " did you learn anything? "

" I sure did, " returned Ollie Jacobs. " It's all settled. And we don't have to wait as long as we thought we might."

" That's good, " declared Ducroy, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction. " What did he say? "

" The shipment will come on the night of the twenty-eighth.''

" As soon as that! " exclaimed Newt Pipps.

" We'll be ready for it, " snapped Ducroy. " We'll force him down not far from here."

" It will be at night, eh? " said Pipps.

" Of course. All the better, too. I'd think twice before I'd try this trick in daylight."

" I guess you're right, " admitted Newt feebly. " Although I don't like the idea of it at any time. You're sure we'll have only one man to handle? "

" Only one man. And there are three of us. We're not taking a chance of failing."

" How are we going to force him down? " asked Ollie Jacobs.

" Leave that to me, " answered Ducroy confidently. " There's more than one way of doing that."

" Let's go and eat, " Newt suggested. " I'm half starved."

" That's a good idea, '' Ollie agreed. ''There's a little restaurant near here. What do you figure on doing, Giles? Do you think we should stay right here at the airport until the twenty-eighth? "

" No, " said Ducroy firmly. " I don't. The authorities are apt to find us if we stay in one place for any length of time. We'll have to keep going. We'll move around from one place to the other until the time comes. We can't afford to be nabbed now. And after the twenty-eighth we'll clear out for good."

The three men moved up toward the front of the hangar, left the building, and went on across the flying field toward a small restaurant in the distance. There was a little lunch counter near by but the men ignored it for the more pretentious eating place.

Frank and Joe Hardy slipped quickly into the hangar through the side door. Instead of clearing up the mystery that puzzled them, the conversation they had just overheard confused them more than ever. That some criminal coup was in the wind for the night of the twenty-eighth was no longer in doubt, but what it was and where it was to take place still remained unrevealed.

" I don't understand what's happening, " said Frank, as he looked at the airplane in the hangar; " but I know we've got to be on hand if we can possibly manage it."

" How can we be on hand if they're going to keep flying from place to place for the next two days? " asked Joe.

" We've got to keep track of them somehow." Frank moved about, inspecting the airplane. " I'd just like to reserve a back seat in this plane for the next forty-eight hours."

" That idea isn't as silly as it sounds! " declared Joe. " Why can't we? "

Frank laughed. " How can we? They'd simply kick us out, for we'd certainly be seen."

" Not if we went about it right." Joe was excited as the possibilities of his idea became more apparent. " Why can't we be stowaways? Don't you remember the time we hid ourselves in the back of the automobile when we solved the Shore Road mystery? We could hide here too. I've heard of airplane stowaways before."

" It's a nervy idea, " said Frank. " I wonder where we could hide? " He moved down toward the rear of the plane. Suddenly he halted. " Just what we want, Joe! Here's an opening." He thrust the sliding door aside and looked into the dark interior. The tail of the plane was hollow and he could see a substantial hiding place. Considerable space was available for freight or baggage and, inasmuch as Duc-roy and his friends were travelling light, there was plenty of room for the two boys.

" How about it! " asked Joe.

" I'm game. But how about food? We'll be in there for quite a while, you know."

" We'll get sandwiches and water. Some Hankets too, for that matter. We'll simply stow away in there and make ourselves comfortable. Then, if anything happens, we'll be right on hand."

" We'll be right on hand too if the plane crashes, " Frank reminded his brother. " Perhaps we'll weight it down too much."

" I don't think so. This plane is designed to carry baggage, and if that space is empty, we'll never be noticed. I think we can get away with it, provided we have any luck at all. It's easily our best chance of keeping in touch with Ducroy and his gang. If they're going to be flying around the country trying to dodge the authorities, we shan't have much chance of keeping our eyes on them in our car."

" That's right, too." Frank made up his mind. " I'm with you, Joe. And now's our chance. Let's get water and sandwiches and get into the plane while we have time."

It seemed a mad scheme, but the brothers knew the importance of keeping close to Ducroy and his friends. Some crime had been planned for the night of the twenty-eighth, and the Hardy boys knew they must not lose track of their quarry for a moment. It would have been obviously impossible to follow the meanderings of the airplane from the ground.

They hastened over to the little lunch counter and laid in a stock of provisions. Several bottles of milk, a huge bottle of water, some cake and a stock of sandwiches constituted their supplies. At the lunch counter they spied two heavy automobile robes, and as it was too late to return to their own roadster, they bought the robes and entrusted the lunch counter man with the duty of driving their own car to a garage for safe-keeping. This he promised to do. Doubtless he wondered the reason for the boys' purchases, but he was a man who believed in minding his own business and he exhibited no surprise or curiosity.

Frank and Joe hurried back into the hangar. They tossed the robes into their hiding place in the plane, arranged them comfortably, then stowed away the food and water.

" All set? " asked Frank finally.

" All set."

Joe began to scramble into the plane.

" Just in time, too, " said the brother.

" Why? " asked Joe, in a muffled voice, as he crouched back on one of the automobile robes.

" Giles Ducroy and his friends are coming back across the flying field."

Frank got into the plane. Quickly he closed the door. The two boys waited apprehensively. Had their presence been detected! Would the lunch-counter man mention having seen them? Would Ducroy glance into the baggage compartment before leaving?

But nothing happened. They heard the three men come into the hangar. They heard them moving about, evidently preparing for departure. Finally, they heard Ducroy's voice:

" Get in. We're away again."

The plane was trundled out on the field. A moment later the motor roared, the machine bumped its way across the field, then the bumping motion ceased and the Hardy boys knew that they were in the air.

 






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