The Bird boys

“Wow! that’s some news, Frank!” cried Andy, doubtless thrilled by what the pilot of the monoplane had just said.

“I’m positive about it,” the other went on. “Of course, it would be hard to tell a fellow standing up when you were sailing over his head and two hundred feet high, but in this case these fellows were lying down. And I saw their faces, too.”

“Well, why not?” remarked his cousin, thoughtfully. “We’ve believed all along they must be hiding out somewhere in the woods. And Frank, what better place could they find than that old cabin? It’s lonely enough, goodness knows. And there are farms not more than two miles away, where they might forage for chickens, eggs and such things.”

“Just what they’re doing, I guess,” remarked Frank.

“And say, didn’t I just hit it right when I remarked about the value of aeroplanes in wartime?” observed the passenger, with a self-satisfied chuckle.

“You certainly did; but then, that has been recognized as a fact for some time now. They’re even using flying machines down on the Mexican border to locate the doings of the hostile forces. Our government has a regular aeroplane corps, you know, Andy. And after this no nation dare go without, for that would be putting them at a terrible disadvantage.”

“And so those rascals have been bunking in that old cabin all this time?” mused Andy. “Like as not they went there right after missing our airship that night. But if they’re hanging around here, Frank, don’t you think they mean to make another try for this craft? Some fine night they’ll break in again and give us a scare for our money.”

“Well,” said Frank, quietly, “you know since that time I’ve never failed to fix it every night so that the engine could not be run. It’s easy as falling off a log to hide some important little part and render the whole thing useless. But now that we’ve got a hunch about their hiding place, we must let Chief Waller know. He can come up here this very night and grab the precious pair.”

“I agree with you,” Andy hastened to say. “To tell the honest truth, Pard Frank, I’ll never be easy till Jules and Jean are safely in the cooler. I’m afraid they’ve got it in for a couple of fellows I know. And if they crept in on us some night they’d just make you tell where you had put that missing part of the engine, even if they had to torture us. I know the breed. They’re a cruel, cold-blooded lot, and I want to see ’em caged!”

“Oh, well,” Frank continued, “it’ll be up to the chief. Unless he makes a foozle of the whole business he ought to gather them in easy. But let’s turn now.”

“Are you going back the same way?” asked the other, burning with eagerness.

“I think not, Andy. That might make them suspect we had glimpsed something and were coming to make sure. We’d better fight shy of that glade and take a wide sweep around. Besides, it’s a farming country over yonder and worth looking down at.”

“Yes,” said his cousin, quickly, “and it’s sure a sight to see the rustics breaking their blessed necks looking up. Everybody runs out of the house like it was afire. I only hope we don’t come across such a fool as one I read about the other day.”

“Why, what did he do?” queried Frank.

“Hanged if he didn’t blaze away with a shotgun at a poor aviator. Lucky the man happened to be up too high, or he’d have been filled full of bird shot. There’s no telling what some of these jay fools might do. They think it’s a big hawk, perhaps one of those giant roc birds old Sindbad the Sailor used to ride on. But look down, Frank; there’s the first farm. See the men in the field shaking their fists at us! Now, what in the dickens are they doing that for, d’ye suppose?”

Frank laughed as he replied:

“I’ve an idea that perhaps they’ve been missing poultry of late and take it for granted we’re the up-to-date thieves. They believe anything bad of people who ride in automobiles or fly in new-fangled airships, you know.”

“Oh, you mean that Jules and his pal have been doing their little stunt around here?” said Andy, jumping at conclusions. “And now we’ve got to shoulder the blame of that bad business? Well, it’s one consolation, then, that after the pair have been jugged we can drop down and tell this family all about it. I’d like to clear my skirts of any such nasty reputation.”

Frank gradually veered the course until they were heading for the home field.

“All told,” he said, “I think our little excursion was a success.”

“A howling success,” grinned Andy; “especially the last part, where the farmer and his family gave us a tongue lashing which was all a jumble to us.”

“By the way, I don’t think we’d better say anything about those two men while the boys are around. A little later, Andy, we can get on our wheels and take a spin to town, where we will tell the chief all about it.”

“Just as you say,” returned Andy. “I was thinking myself that one of the boys might happen to leak and some friend of the fellows get wind of it. Then he’d warn them and the police would have all their trouble for their pains. But you really do believe they’re camping out in the old Badger shack, don’t you?”

“Looks like it,” was all Frank would say.

Presently they came in sight of the field and the hangar. The boys were still on deck to receive them and ask a myriad of questions.

“There goes the biplane off,” remarked Andy, as they started to wheel their little airship back into its snug quarters, after Frank had closely examined every part, machinery and framework, to make sure it was in “apple-pie” trim.

“Yes,” returned his cousin, pausing to look, “and they’re going to take something of the same trip we made. Puss evidently don’t want the Bird boys to get ahead of him, if he can help it. And I must say he’s doing far better handling that biplane of his than I ever dreamed he could.”

Ten minutes later they fastened the doors of the shed.

“Elephant says he’ll hang around while we go to town,” remarked Andy, who did not want to miss the treat of seeing the pompous chief, when he learned that after all his labor in trying to locate the hiding rascals it was the two Bird boys who had found out where they were in concealment.

“That’s all right,” Frank went on. “I was a trifle uneasy about leaving things alone here, though, of course, it’s ridiculous to think any harm could come to the shed in broad daylight.”

“Well,” remarked the doubting Andy, “there’s a crowd that has little use for us, you know, and some of them are thick with Sandy and Puss. I feel dead sure there are one or two among the lot so low down, that if they had the chance they’d just like to throw a lighted match in our shed and watch things burn from the woods over yonder. I hate to say it, but that’s a fact.”

“Well, I’m not disputing you, because I’ve known them to do some mighty mean things myself. But get your wheel, Andy. I’m glad now you brought mine over yesterday when you dropped in to carry my message to father. He thinks it just the boss thing for me to be sleeping outdoors every night. You know his fad, though; and it’s pie for me.”

It took them but a short time to arrive in the heart of the town. Dropping off at police headquarters they entered the building. The chief was there luckily, and at sight of the Bird boys he showed sudden signs of interest. Somehow, people had of late awakened to the fact that things were generally moving when Frank and Andy were around. There was “something doing,” so to speak. And so people began to expect more or less of them.

“Glad to see you, boys,” said Chief Waller, unbending his dignity enough to extend a hand to each and even smile. “Dropped in to have a talk about those clever rascals who tried to do you out of your new aeroplane? Sorry I can’t say they’re in the cooler. My men have several clues they’re running down, and we hope to be able to report something soon.”

It was always “something doing soon” with the chief. He had a way of forever being on the point of making a grand coup, but singular to relate, no one could remember of past successes that had rewarded his vigilance. Still, he was useful in his way and had a pull with the town fathers that kept him his job year after year.

“Oh!” burst out the impulsive Andy, “we just dropped in to say that we believe we know where those bad men are hiding!”

“Have chairs,” exclaimed the chief. “Sit down and tell me all about it, please.”

“Why,” Andy went on, Frank having motioned to him to do the talking, “this afternoon, as we were taking a spin in our aeroplane, we happened to pass over the woods up near that old Badger shack, and we saw two men lying down in the grass, trying to hide so we wouldn’t notice ’em. It was Jules and Jean, as sure as shooting, and we believe they’re camping in that cabin!”

The police head showed signs of sudden animation.

“Why, boys,” he said, slapping his hand down on his knee, “would you believe it, now. I was just thinking of that old shack when you came in. See, here’s a chart of the whole county and that’s one of the places I had my eye on. But all the same, I’m real glad you came to tell me, boys. Now I’ll feel positive and we can surround the place. Would you like to go along with us tonight, Frank?”

But Frank shook his head in the negative as he replied:

“Thanks, but I guess we’ve got all the work cut out for us we can handle, chief. We believed you’d want to keep it a secret, for fear that they had some friends in town who might carry a warning. But we’ll move on now. Hope you have success and make a haul. Come on, Andy, let’s get back home!”