In the tiger's lair

“Sir, the colonel presents his compliments and commands you to report to him at once.”

Ted and Stanley had just finished breakfast and were crossing the open little courtyard between the dining-room of the inn and their own quarters when the orderly stepped briskly in their path, saluted, and delivered his message.

“What?” Ted asked, stopping in his tracks.

“Colonel who?” from Stanley, “and what does he want with us?”

“Colonel José Antonio de Estrella, commanding officer of the First Aero Squadron.”

“Why this great honor? We do not know the colonel and cannot imagine why he wishes to see us. But of course if he insists, we shall be happy to pay him a visit. Only he should invite, not command, us; we have put up with enough ‘commanding and ordering’ in our own army to last us a long, long time.”

“Are not the señores the flyers who have been expected the past month? The colonel has been very impatient of the delay.”

“No, we know nothing of the gentlemen you mention, but perhaps we can be of service, anyway. Take us to the colonel. I guess we can see him right away.”

The youth saluted and started away at a fast walk, the two Americans following.

“I told you we were going to get mixed up in that aviation proposition,” Stanley said. “I knew it the minute I saw that field.”

“Who knows what it may lead to? but I cannot see much to it just yet. We are being mistaken for some one else, and that is about all that is clear so far. So soon as the colonel sees us he will recognize his mistake, apologize profusely, and tell us to go our way.”

“Now that is exactly what we must avoid. We have an opening to do the very thing that will help us and we must manage to take advantage of it. Instead of our going to them to beg for a job, they have sent for us in error, it is true, but what is to prevent us from profiting by it?”

“You are right, and I only hope we can see the thing through. How much hard work it would save us if we could fly to the Hidden Valley, to say nothing of the time we should save!”

They reached the camp in a little over half an hour and were immediately taken to headquarters, where the adjutant, a second lieutenant in a brilliant uniform, lost no time in ushering them into the colonel’s office.

The latter officer was of rather short build but of distinguished appearance. His hair and long mustaches were snowy white; his eyes were black. A number of medals and military decorations were pinned to his coat in a neat row, but one of the first things the Americans observed was that the wings of a flying officer were lacking.

“It is I who have made a big mistake,” he said as the two entered. “For the last four weeks I have been expecting two officers from Europe, but they do not come. Last night, when I heard that two strangers had arrived in the city, I concluded it must be they. I now see and acknowledge my mistake and I apologize for troubling the gentlemen.”

“The colonel owes us no apology,” said Stanley in a respectful manner. “Quite the contrary. It is a great pleasure for us to visit him. If we can be of service it will please us to help in any way we can. Both my companion and I have had considerable experience with airplanes.”

“You mean to say you are aviators?” the colonel asked, rising from his chair. “When and where did you learn to fly and what has been your experience? Sit down and tell me all about it.”

Ted and Stanley did as they were asked, and for an hour they related to the officer their various experiences so far as aeronautics were concerned. He listened intently to all they had to say and asked many questions.

“It is indeed fortunate for me that you came,” he said when they had finished, “for I need your help and can offer you good positions. The manœuvres take place in two months and we must have ships in the air by that time. Now, when can you begin work? Remember, there is need of great haste.”

“Will you tell us exactly what is expected of us?” Ted asked. “And then we shall want to talk the matter over between ourselves. And what is the remuneration?”

“Your work will be to assemble the machines and to test them thoroughly before turning them over to the instructors. That will not be an easy undertaking and, as you know, it is not without danger, for I shall insist that the test flights be very conclusive; they will include trips across country of several hours’ duration. I want the planes to be as safe as possible before we begin taking up students. You will be subject to my orders only as civilian employees. And the pay is five hundred soles a month, which is about two hundred and fifty dollars in the money of your country.”

They thanked the colonel for his offer and returned to the inn.

“What do you think of that for luck?” Ted fairly shouted. “Things are coming our way so fast it is hard to keep track of them.”

“We could not wish for a better arrangement,” Stanley agreed. “It is almost too good to be true. Every time we make one of those long test flights the colonel insists upon, we can drop into Uti and bring out a load of gold, as much as the ship will carry, and that is considerable. When we have enough we can resign and go home. We have not been asked to enlist for any given period of time, so we can quit when we want to, provided, of course, we give them reasonable notice, so they can get some one else to take our places.”

That afternoon they sent word to the colonel that they should be ready to start work on the following morning, and shortly after daybreak a cart arrived to take their effects to camp, as they were henceforth to occupy quarters on the military reservation.

The two reported to the officer soon after, and were at once sent to the hangars, where a number of crates and boxes were stored. These containers held wings, bodies, and motors, just as they had been packed for shipment by the manufacturers in the United States. A detachment of some twenty odd mechanics were placed at their disposal. These men had been well trained in the theory of aeronautics, and while they lacked practical experience, showed unbounded enthusiasm for the work, combined with intelligence and adaptability. Before long the tasks in hand began in earnest.

Ted and Stanley went about the matter in a systematic, businesslike way. They called the men together and then divided them into sections, or crews, and explained in detail what the duties of each would be. A leader or chief was appointed for each crew. The Americans were to give orders to the chiefs, and the latter would be held responsible that these orders were carried out promptly by the men in their charge.

First they examined the bills of lading and invoices. Then they selected certain of the boxes, checked them off the lists, and had them removed to the largest hangar, which stood not far away. This required all of the first day.

The second day they opened the packages and removed the various parts, subjecting them to inspection, checking them against the lists, and noting minor breaks that had to be repaired. They also visited the supply-tent, looked over the tools and materials available, and made out requisitions for such things as would be needed but which were lacking.

“It’s beginning to look like business now,” Stanley commented that night. “The first thing is always to work out a system; after that everything is easy.”

“Two days is a short time, but it is surprising how many things one can do. Of course we had a good foundation to build on, for the colonel had made a good beginning. Too bad there is not a flying officer in charge of the field; he could understand the whole proposition more clearly and make allowances for the difficulties we are up against,” Ted returned.

“So far the colonel has been a prince. He has given us a free hand, and so long as he continues in that spirit we shall get along all right. If he were a flyer he would want to boss everything and show us how to do things, probably in a way different from the one we are accustomed to.”

“Right. I never thought of that.”

It was exactly four weeks later that the first of the planes had been assembled ready to roll out of the hangar for the final adjustments and tuning up. The ships were of the two-seater type, similar to the JN4H’s so commonly used on American flying-fields, and of sturdy, dependable construction. They had two-hundred-horse-power eight-cylinder engines, and were rated as capable of making an air-speed of ninety miles an hour. There were radio sets and machine-guns, the latter mounted one above the engine and the other on a turret in the rear cockpit.

Ted and Stanley surveyed their work with pride. The motor roared with an even, steady purr, or snorted and banged as the mechanician opened and closed the throttle, while the graceful machine tugged impatiently in its efforts to free itself from the grasp of the men clinging to the wings, and to leap the blocks that had been placed under the wheels.

“When shall we take the first spin?” Ted asked as he inspected the turnbuckles and hit the wire braces with his hand to gauge their tautness.

“To-morrow, if nothing goes wrong. Think of what a wonderful experience it will be to soar over the peaks of the Andes; and the first chance we get we will hop off to the Valley. All our dreaming and planning is about to bear fruit.”

Just then the colonel accompanied by two officers in strange uniforms approached.

The colonel introduced the new arrivals to the Americans. “At last they are here,” he added. “They will have entire charge of the cadets. You gentlemen will work together in perfect harmony, I hope, in the best interests of the service.”

Ted and Stanley showed genuine pleasure at making the acquaintance of the two lieutenants, but the latter seemed cool and reserved, and after a casual examination of the throbbing ship followed the colonel into one of the hangars.

A moment later Ted went to the rear of the structure to get a wrench from the tool-box, and while pawing through the miscellaneous collection the chest contained, the sound of voices from within reached his ears.

“I have investigated them thoroughly,” the colonel was saying, “and I have learned that they have been in Cuzco at least twice before this. Each time they disappeared on some secret mission into the mountains, and it is said that they are searching for a lost mine or hidden treasure. But that is nothing against them; we should do the same if we had a reason to hope for success in such a venture. I have also examined their pilot’s books, for which they cabled voluntarily, and they showed an unusually large number of hours in the air and a record above reproach. Their work here has been done well. And, besides, they came to my assistance when I needed them. I sent for them; they did not beg me for the places.”

“If the colonel will pardon my saying so, the lieutenant and I can now assume full charge of the work. We do not need the Americans. We ourselves should supervise the rigging of the ships we are to fly.”

“It is a part of their agreement that they must test the machines first, so they, not you, will take all the risks. There are enough duties to keep all of you occupied. Never forget that I am commanding officer and I shall not tolerate interference with my plans.”

With these words the colonel strode angrily away. For a minute neither of the two foreigners spoke.

“Those Americans are in everything,” one said finally. “What chance do we stand while they are here? They do not know the meaning of the word fear; I have often watched them on the battle-front and I know. If these two give such exhibitions here as their countrymen did over there, they and not we will attract all the attention. We must manage to keep them out of the air.”

“That is easy,” the other replied. “If we cannot keep them from going up, we can see to it that they come back down in an unexpected way. A loose pin, a defective strut, or any one of a dozen other things, and they will not stand in our way again. And no one will ever suspect!”

Ted did not wait to hear more. With a face white with anger he hastened to where Stanley was clamping the Lewis gun to the iron bars of the turret.