CHAPTER XIII

A RESCUE

Three o’clock came at last although Gordon had declared a dozen times that all their watches must have stopped.

“My, but they sure do have long days out here,” he said as he closed his book and jumped to his feet. “It’s ten minutes to three and I’m going to start tide or no tide.”

“Then I guess we might as well trail along,” Bill said as he picked up his load.

They walked slowly down the pathway leading to the beach and had covered about half the distance when Bill called their attention to a plane flying at a high altitude and well out over the ocean.

“He’s coming this way,” he declared.

“You mean that eagle?” Gordon asked him.

“What do you mean eagle? I’m talking about that plane out there.”

“Which happens to be an eagle. No it isn’t either. It is a plane sure enough.”

“I told you that in the first place. And what’s more it’s a bi-plane.”

“Wonder who it is,” Rogers mused. “Hope it isn’t anyone coming to see us.”

“Say,” Bill cried a minute later, “he’s having trouble of some sort.”

“You bet he is. He’s lost control,” Gordon cried pointing toward the distant plane.

“And what’s more, he’s falling,” Rogers added.

They could now see that the plane had gone into a tailspin and was falling rapidly.

“Funny he doesn’t straighten out,” Bill gasped.

“Can’t, probably,” Gordon told him.

“Gee, but it’s too bad,” Rogers groaned.

But just then they saw a tiny speck leave the plane and a moment later a parachute opened just as the plane struck the water.

“He’ll probably be drowned,” Gordon said.

But Bill was already racing back toward the camp as fast as he could run.

“He’s going out in the Albatross,” Gordon declared and started back to join him.

By the time Gordon had reached camp closely followed by Rogers, Bill had the cells in place and was climbing over the side of the cockpit.

“Here, I’m going with you,” he shouted.

“Make it snappy then,” Bill ordered.

“How about me?” Rogers asked.

“Make too much weight,” Bill told him.

“I guess you’re right, but I hate to have you go without me.”

“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be all right,” Bill assured him as he started the motor.

“Don’t take any chances that you can help,” Rogers called after them as the plane rose from the ground.

Gordon waved his hand in answer and a moment later Bill started the forward propeller. Rogers watched them as the plane started for the ocean and then he too started in the same direction. “If anything happens to those two boys I’ll never forgive myself,” he muttered as he ran.

“See anything?” Bill asked as the plane swept out over the water.

“Not yet,” Gordon told him as he scanned the water through the glass.

“You’ll have to look sharp I guess. I imagine the plane is at the bottom before this and I don’t know whether the parachute will stay on top the water or not. Most likely he’s swimming around somewhere if he can swim.”

“And he’ll make a pretty small mark to find.”

“Right, so strain those eyes for all they’re worth and don’t miss a thing.”

“That’s what I’m doing. But you’re going too far to the right, unless I’m away off.”

“Think so?”

“I know it. Quick, to the left.”

“See him?”

“I think so. Now you’re going right, but get down a bit lower.”

“How about it?” Bill asked a moment later after he had brought the plane down to within a hundred feet of the water.

“It was a seal,” Gordon told him.

“Sure?”

“Of course I——no it isn’t either. There he is right ahead of us.”

Another moment and the plane was hovering over the swimmer who had now seen them and waved feebly.

“He’s about all in,” Gordon declared. “Get down, quick.”

Rapidly as he dared Bill allowed the plane to settle toward the water and soon they were only a few feet above the waves. Then, without saying a word to him, Gordon plunged over the side and disappeared. Lightened so suddenly the plane seemed to leap upward and for a moment Bill had all he could do to control it. But soon he had brought it down close to the water again and was anxiously gazing over the side of the cockpit.

Gordon, watching the swimmer, had seen him, after a second despairing wave of the hand, sink from sight and knew that there was but a single chance. He struck the water head first and about twenty feet, as near as he could judge, to the right of where the swimmer had disappeared. As he came to the surface he looked in that direction and, to his joy, saw a head bob up about twenty-five feet away. But before he could reach the spot the head had again disappeared and, taking a long breath, he plunged downward. Down he swam with powerful strokes until it seemed that he must have gone far enough. He knew that a human body sinks but slowly and the one he was after had but a short start. But he could see nothing.

“I’ll go a little farther,” he thought. But just then his eyes caught sight of an object a few feet to his left and slightly above him, and a moment later he was moving upward his left hand grasping the figure by the collar of his shirt.

It seemed as though his lungs would burst before his head bobbed from the water and allowed him to draw the lifegiving air into them. His burden was, he judged, unconscious, and holding the head out of water he glanced about for the plane. But Bill had seen him and the Albatross was only a short distance away and moving toward him.

He saw that Bill had already thrown a rope over the side and in another minute he had grasped it.

“Keep the plane up and I’ll get the rope around him,” he shouted. “He’s not heavy and you can pull him up if you’re careful.”

A moment later and the form was drawn from his arms and, treading water, he watched as Bill drew it slowly up and finally over the side. He had been obliged to increase the speed of the elevator to counter-balance the increase of weight and the plane was now nearly a hundred feet above the water. But Gordon had no fear regarding his own safety as he knew he could easily swim ashore if necessary. So he waited calmly for the plane to settle down again. Down it came and he could see Bill as he leaned over the side letting out the rope.

The rope had nearly reached him when there was a slight sound just ahead which caught his ears and, looking up, he saw a triangular fin cutting through the water and but a few feet away.

“Quick, Bill, there’s a shark,” he shouted.

Even as he yelled his hands grasped the rope and he began to pull himself from the water. But his weight was pulling the plane down and, as he afterward told Bill, it seemed as though he would never get above it. And the shark was coming with the speed of an express train. But Bill had, the instant Gordon had the rope in his hands, thrown the lever over to the last notch, and nobly did the plane respond. Then came a flash of white as the monster turned to grasp his prey and for a second Gordon gave himself up for lost.

But he managed to jerk his body sideways and the shark missed but by so close a margin that the boy’s right foot was brushed by the slippery side of the shark. Before the fish could turn for another rush Gordon was safe and mounting the rope hand over hand.

“Talk about your narrow escapes,” he gasped as he drew himself over the side of the cockpit.

“Just by the skin of your teeth,” Bill told him, “But, thank God you made it.”

Then, as Bill started the forward propeller, Gordon turned his attention to the one he had saved. The body was lying across the rear seat face down and, as he turned it over, he gave a gasp of surprise.

“Great guns, it’s a girl.”

“Sure is,” Bill told him, “See if you can get any water out of her. I’m afraid she’s pretty far gone.”

It was an extremely narrow place in which to work but Gordon knew that it was a time when a minute might mean a life and he at once set to work while Bill headed the plane for the shore. Getting his hands beneath the girl’s body he slowly raised it up and was rewarded by a small expulsion of water from her mouth. Again and again he repeated the movement and each time a small amount of water came from her mouth, but there were no signs of returning life. But now Bill was bringing the plane down over the camp site and soon Rogers lifted the body from the plane and placed it on the ground.

“She’s alive,” he declared a moment later.

“You sure?” Gordon asked anxiously.

Rogers had been awaiting them with his medicine kit ready and now he forced a strong stimulant between her teeth, and a moment later her eye-lids quivered and they knew that they had won the battle against death.

An hour later, wrapped in heavy blankets, she was sitting near the fire sipping hot soup and stopping every few minutes to tell the boys how brave they must have been and how grateful she was. She was a very handsome girl but little more than twenty years old and had told them that her name was Laura Mann. It seemed she lived in Honolulu and her father was a wealthy merchant of that city. She had been flying for more than two years and this was the first serious accident she had encountered.

“My engine went dead when I was up ten thousand feet and to make matters worse, one of the wing stays snapped and I guess I must have lost my head for a minute. Fortunately father never would give his consent to my flying ambition until I promised that I never would go up without a parachute strapped on,” she explained.

“It surely saved your life that time,” Rogers told her.

“But it came very near not doing it at that,” she smiled. “You see, I didn’t jump soon enough and the result was I hit the water pretty hard and it rather knocked the breath out of me and left me pretty weak. If it hadn’t been for that I could have swam ashore easily.”

“Provided a shark didn’t get you,” Rogers said gravely.

“Not much danger of that,” she smiled.

“But one nearly got Gordon,” Rogers told her.

“Not really?”

“Very really,” he assured her.

“Then I owe you a lot more than I thought I did,” she said turning to Gordon who was blushing violently.

“You, you——” he stammered, but she cut him short.

“If you say anything like what I know you were going to say I’ll think that you don’t consider my life worth saving.”

“Then I won’t say it,” Gordon blushed.

“Don’t mind his blushes,” Bill laughed. “He’s mighty bashful.”

“But you must tell me all about the shark,” she insisted again turning to Gordon.

“There’s not much to tell,” he declared. “But I guess I did have a pretty close call,” and he told her what had happened.

“I should say you did have a close call,” she said when he had finished.

“I suppose your parents will be worried about you before long,” Rogers ventured.

“I’m afraid they are right now,” she told them.

“Do you feel strong enough to let us take you home?” Bill asked her.

“In your plane?”

“Certainly.”

“Oh, I’m all right,” she assured them. “What make of plane have you?”

“Well, it’s our own make,” Bill told her.

“You mean you made it all?”

“All but the motor. We bought that.”

“I suppose it’s a Liberty.”

“No, it’s an electric motor.”

“You——why, you must be the boys who won the race across the United States,” she declared.

“They sure are,” Rogers assured her, “and take it from me, they’re some boys.”

“I believe you. And you’ll take me home right now?” she asked turning to Bill.

“Certainly, if you’re sure you’re strong enough.”

“Let’s go.”

It was nearly dark when the Albatross settled gracefully to the ground directly in the rear of a large mansion in the outskirts of the city. The plane had been sighted in time for a considerable crowd to gather and it was surrounded by people all eager to know if there was news of the missing girl. When it was seen that she was a passenger a great shout of joy rose and as she jumped from the cockpit she was clasped in the arms of her parents.

“Can’t we get away right now?” Gordon whispered.

“Afraid not,” Bill whispered back.

“Let’s make a try,” Gordon insisted.

“All right. You get in and I’ll follow,” Bill told him.

But the ruse failed of its purpose for Laura was even then leading her parents to them and, whether they liked it or not, they were obliged to submit to the praise and thanks of not only her parents but of many others as well. Laura and both her parents insisted that they remain with them all night, but the boys assured them that it was impossible on account of their friend, Steve.

“He’ll be worried sick if we don’t get back to-night,” Bill told them.

They finally made their escape but not until they had promised to return within the next few days.

“Well, we got out of that better than I expected,” Bill declared as soon as the plane was headed back toward Molokai.

“I do hate that hero stuff,” Gordon said.

“But if you will do such things you must expect to be thanked, you know.”

“I suppose so.”

“She’s a pretty girl.”

“Is she?”

“And she’s as nice as she is pretty.”

“Think so?”

“Don’t you?”

“Haven’t thought much about it.”

“Then take it from me.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Funny she didn’t ask us what we’re doing on that island,” Bill said a few minutes later.

“I thought of that. And her folks didn’t seem inquisitive either.”

“Guess, maybe, we didn’t give them time.”

“Wouldn’t wonder. They’ll probably want to know when we see them again.”

“Some home they’ve got.”

“Some is right.”

“They seemed like nice people.”

“Sure did.”

By this time it was pretty dark but they were not afraid of losing their way as they knew Rogers would have a big fire going to guide them. And a few minutes later Gordon announced that he could see it.

“Got her home all right?” Rogers asked as they jumped out.

“Safe and sound,” Gordon told him. “How about supper?”

“All ready.”

“Lead me to it.”