The Sky Pilot's Great Chase; Or, Jack Ralston's Dead Stick Landing Read online

  E-text prepared by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed ProofreadingTeam (https://www.pgdp.net)

  Aviation

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  THE SKY PILOT'S GREAT CHASE

  Or

  Jack Ralston's Dead Stick Landing

  by

  AMBROSE NEWCOMB

  Author of "The Sky Detectives," "Eagles of theSky," "Wings Over the Rockies," etc.

  Published byThe Goldsmith Publishing Co.Chicago

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Copyright 1930The Goldsmith Publishing Co.

  Made in U.S.A.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  CONTENTS

  I THE CLANG OF THE FIRE-BELL II TRAPPED BY THE FLAMES III BRIDGING THE GAP IV THE RESCUE V AT THE FLYING FIELD VI A BLOW IN THE DARK VII PERK HEARS THRILLING NEWS VIII THE TAKE-OFF IX A BROKEN PADDLE X IN A SNUG HARBOR XI A STORMY NIGHT XII THE LAY-OVER AT SPOKANE XIII OVER THE MOUNTAIN TRAILS XIV THE BOOTLEG PACK-MULE TRAIN XV WINGING INTO THE NORTHLAND XVI BAFFLED BY HEAD WINDS XVII JACK'S DEAD-STICK LANDING XVIII AROUND THE CAMPFIRE XIX PERK GETS A SHOCK XX THE FUR-TRADING STATION XXI OLD JIMMY, THE FACTOR XXII PICKING UP CLUES XXIII THE NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE XXIV READY TO START XXV AN OVERNIGHT BIVOUAC XXVI THE WOLF PACK XXVII ON THE DANGEROUS TRAIL XXVIII DODGING THE LOOKOUT XXIX THE HAWK AT BAY XXX BACK OVER THE BORDER--CONCLUSION

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  The Sky Pilot's Great Chase

  CHAPTER I

  THE CLANG OF THE FIRE BELL

  "Well, I kinder guess now this here little ol' ho-tel in Salt LakeCity's got our experience in Cheyenne knocked all to flinders. Goodroom, twin beds that keep you from hoggin' all the covers on a coolnight an' as to _eats_, say it's sure prime stuff, though mebbe I ain'tno judge 'long any line 'cept quantity. How 'bout it, Jack, ol' hoss?"

  The happy-go-lucky speaker was an old friend of ours, one Perk, and thecompanion to whom he addressed his question was his bosom pal, JackRalston of the U. S. Secret Service. Nevertheless, it seemed that Perkwas now known as Gabe Smith, a woods guide of wide experience who in thecourse of his wanderings had managed to pick up a smattering ofaviation, a particularly useful thing in these air-minded days.

  And Jack, whenever there was a third party within hearing, was alwaysreferred to as Mr. John Jacob Astorbilt, a wideawake young millionairesportsman always seeking novel thrills hunting big game by means of thelatest type airship.

  All this had a good and sufficient reason back of it, which will beplaced before the reader ere we have gone deeply into this log coveringthe latest undertaking of the two redoubtable sky detectives.

  "Oh! things suit me okay, Perk," was Jack's rather indifferent reply, ashe smiled at his companion's grinning, enthusiastic face. "Somehow Idon't seem to set quite as much store by my meals as you do but I'll saythe food is pretty decent--better than the restaurant stuff we used toeat three times a day over in old Cheyenne."

  "Hot ziggety dog! I should say so. But what tickles me most of all,partner, is the dandy ship Uncle Sam turned over to us after we climbedout o' all that hot stuff down on the west coast o' Florida. She's agenuine cloud-chaser, boy, an' don't take any guy's dust--am I right'bout that, Boss?"

  "I'll admit she's a prize boat and no mistake. Able to drop down on landor water and with skis in place could do the same on a frozen lake orthe deepest snow the Northland ever saw. Yes, it would be hard to beatour ship, Perk."

  "Right up to date she is. Look at the shiny aluminum pontoons an' rubbertired wheels peekin' out from the bow ends. The Hamilton propeller thatdoes its stuff to the dot; a real Hasler Telmot Flight Meter; aluminumoil tanks so light and yet so strong; earth-inducter compass next toinfallible; Eclipse Starter--gosh amighty, if there's a single thingworth its salt that our ship ain't got I'd like to hear 'bout it."

  Jack laughed. He had a whole-souled laugh that did any one good just tohear it--kind of gave you a warm feeling and seemed to draw you intofriendly relations with the clear-eyed young aviator.

  "Just one thing lacking, partner, in the round-up if you stop to thinkof it. We felt the need of it on our last jaunt[1] when in the midst ofthe most dreadful fog-belt either of us had ever struck, we climbed to aten thousand foot ceiling only to have ice begin to form on our wings.Haven't forgotten that, eh, Perk old fellow?"

  "Ginger pop an' the weasel! I guess now I ain't. You've crabbed my game,buddy, that's what you've done. But as we ain't, so far, been sent tothe South Pole to help get an explorer out o' his bad fix in the ice, Ikinder guess we don't need that ice meltin' device much. Got to draw aline somewhere you know, Boss, else the ship'll be so loaded down withnew contraptions there won't be any storage room for the grub-pile!"

  "And sure enough that's where the shoe would pinch, Perk. Grub, andplenty of it is the real necessity to have aboard. It bobs up just threetimes a day right along and with mighty long waits between according toyour way of looking at it."

  "You said it, partner! I've tried goin' shy on the eats but it don'tseem to work worth a red cent. Right away there's a mutiny breaks putunder the midship hatch an' I jest _got_ to surrender. But, to changethe subject, I'm botherin' my poor brain tryin' to figger out which waywe'll face when the orders come breezin' along?"

  Jack chuckled as he lolled back in his comfortable easy-chair for theychanced to be sitting in their third-floor hotel room while engaging inthis little confab.

  "It's a toss-up I'd say, Perk," he remarked a bit mysteriously. "Youknow the whole wide world is our hunting ground as you've so oftenboasted. International crooks breed a like species of detectives. Whenthey take to flying, the Secret Service has to go them one better. Ourfamiliarity with airships helped to rustle this job for us and we've gotto make good, no matter whether we fly to Japan, India, South Africa orany other old country under the sun."

  Perk displayed the proper amount of enthusiasm as this wide subject camealong, for his eyes sparkled, and he grinned broadly.

  "You bet, Jack ol' hoss," he blurted out, "an' like's not the slick waywe put through that last deal down on the west Florida coast, fetchin'the king o' booze smugglers back with us to the bar o' justice has madeus solid with the Head at Washington."[2]

  "I shouldn't wonder buddy," was all Jack said, not being given toblowing his own horn as Perk often did, being only human as he wouldexplain, and knowing a good thing when he saw it.

  "We dropped in at this 'ere airport," Perk continued, "'cordin' toorders a hull week back, sailin' under new names to hide our identitiesan' here we be, killin' time an' waitin' to make a bee line for anyplace that happens to be in need o' cleanin' up. We're the boss outfitfor that sorter job, on'y I'd give a heap to know what's what."

  "That's a weakness of yours, Perk. Now in my case it doesn't give me oneminute's uneasiness. Whether I'm working in Paris, Cairo or Timbuktumak
es no difference, I calculate on getting enough to eat, pick upplenty of sleep and beat the game if its possible. Nothing else willsatisfy me, as you pretty well know, brother."

  "When I happen to wake up in the small hours o' the night, Jack, I justget bothered 'bout the next layout and sometimes wonder if I'm rightthen an' there across the Pacific or playin' a swift game down inNicaragua f'r instance. Feels a whole lot like we might be reg'largypsies, changin' our camp every night."

  "Well, what of it?" demanded Jack, looking vastly amused. "It wouldn'tbe the first time that name was applied to me for you remember when Ifirst broke into this game it was as a gypsy pilot, doing stunts with my'chute at county fairs and Harvest Homes all around the country. Thatname always did sound kind of sweet in my ears. I like it to this day,in fact."

  "Mebbe now, it might be that you could give a sorter guess 'bout thatjob we're goin' to have tacked on to us right away? How 'bout it, oldhoss?"

  "Oh! that doesn't concern me one whit, Perk. Just hold your horses andtake things as they come. There's a bit of fun being kept in the darkabout these affairs. Makes me think of the times we used to havegrab-bags at church fairs, when you paid a penny or a nickel and pulledout something queer. Say, didn't we feel a great big thrill just beforemaking the grab? Take things easy and let the folks at Headquarters domost of the worrying. That's what I call logic, buddy."

  "Huh! mebbe so," grunted Perk, eyeing his comrade quizzically as thoughmore than half suspecting that if Jack chose, at least he could give afairly good guess covering their next thrilling assignment. "But thatsorter philosophy don't cut any figger when I lie awake nights cudgelin'my slow-workin' brains an' tryin' to get the answer. But then, like asnot, we ain't goin' to stick to this queer old burg much longer an' Isure do hope the wire givin' us full directions in cipher comes alongright soon."

  Jack Ralston, as the readers of the three preceding stories in thisseries of Sky Detective adventures already know, had been building upquite an enviable reputation in the Secret Service of the Government,being entrusted with a number of the most important tasks that werecropping up from time to time.

  These necessitated not only a cool head, quick decisions and plenty ofnerve, but also demanded a thorough knowledge of aeronautics, since manymalefactors in these very modern days were taking to the air in order tofacilitate their unlawful operations so that it had become necessary tomeet them on their own grounds and go them one better.

  His best pal was Gabe Perkiser, whose odd name was usually shortened toPerk. He was fully ten years older than Jack and at the time our countryentered the World War chanced to be connected with the balloon corps sothat for some time he found himself a manipulator of an observationballoon, better known as a "sausage."

  Tiring of this monotonous life, the active Perk took up aviation. Herehe was in his element and few there were during those mad months whenthe American army was breaking the Hindenburg line and pushing throughthe terrible thickets and machine-gun nests of the Argonne, who attaineda higher rating as a fearless pilot than Gabe Perkiser.

  He had numerous glorious victories to his credit, having sent down manyenemy flyers in blazing coffins but eventually met with a serious mishapthat sent him to a field hospital and kept him out of the rest of thatfrightful campaign.

  Recovering in due time, Perk had come back to the States bent onsecuring some sort of employment that would give him all the excitementhis system demanded. This he found when he joined the Northwest MountedPolice of Canada. The fact that one of his parents had been born acrossthe line while the other was a Maine Yankee, gave Perk the opening hedesired and his yearning for adventure after that was never leftunsatisfied.

  But after a while he even began to tire of such a lonely life as hisduties entailed and floated down once more to the country of his birth.There by some happy accident Jack ran across him and recognizing akindred spirit, he induced Perk to apply for a position in the SecretService.

  Still later, when he had been detailed to make use of his ability as anair pilot to carry on with a certain job that had been placed in hishands, Jack remembered Perk. It was essential that he have an assistantaboard his ship and so he negotiated matters so that Perk was ordered toreport to him and act as co-pilot for an indefinite length of time, anarrangement that gave both the greatest satisfaction possible.

  They were after all a well matched pair. What one lacked the otherpossessed in abundance. Jack was able to hold his more impulsive comradein check when safety first became their watchword, and on the other handwhen a show of dash and vigor was the order of the day, Perk was apt totake the lead and strike terror in the hearts of the enemy.

  Naturally enough inaction became irksome to Perk and he fretted becausehe loathed remaining quiet when his whole system was calling foraccomplishing things.

  Jack, of course, was the one who laid out the plan of campaign, he beingmuch better fitted for such essential matters. Perk on the other handreally needed some one above to give him the order and check hisimpulsiveness on occasion. So they got on together admirably, and workedlike a well matched team.

  To be sure Jack sometimes knew a bit more than he chose to tell Perk buthe always had good and sufficient reasons for holding back suchinformation and his lack of knowledge, until such time as his leader sawfit to take him wholly into his confidence, did Perk no harm whatever.

  It did, however, cause him to lie awake nights wondering and speculatingas to what would be next on the program. He would try his best to temptJack to commit himself but all to no purpose, for the other put him offwith one plea or another with Perk returning to the attack time andagain.

  They had had their wonderfully efficient plane lodged in a hangar out atthe flying field where just so often each day an air-mail pilot wasscheduled to arrive or depart with the letter sacks of the Post OfficeDepartment. This courtesy had been bestowed upon them by a Mr. SpencerGibbons a private flyer and a man of considerable means who came andwent as his fancy dictated.

  He had met Jack while the latter, under strict injunctions from theDepartment, was posing as a young and enthusiastic air-mindedmillionaire and had given him the use of the single-ship hangar whilehe, Gibbons, was off on a jaunt that took him down to the Mexicanborder, but as he was expected back at any time now they had changed thelocation of their amphibian that same afternoon. It now rested secure inanother nearby hangar that happened to be empty and which Jack couldhire, being liberally supplied with funds by his generous employer,Uncle Sam.

  This was only a minor incident, and yet it was fated to play animportant part in the general network of things, and hence to be thecause of many speculations on the part of the two chums.

  Perk, acting under the direction of his mate, had taken a vast amount ofpleasure in loading up a supply of commodities. These consisted of theordinary supplies, such as an old and experienced camper would be apt toput down on his list and possibly a few special dainties thatparticularly appealed to Perk's appetite and which he meant to springupon his fellow flyer at some convenient time when both of them happenedto be ravenously hungry and there came a chance to build a cooking fire.

  Then too, it was always their day by day plan to keep a full stock offuel and lubricating oil aboard their boat since there never would bemuch warning given them when the order to hop-off came by telegraph.

  They seldom allowed a favorable flying day to pass by without goingaloft in order to keep in practice and also be certain the precious shipwas in first class condition for immediate service. As they had not hadpossession of the wonder plane for any great length of time, Jack wasalways finding out some fresh discovery calculated to increase hisadmiration for his craft and evoke a volley of expressions from thevoluble Perk.

  The sun had already set and dusk was beginning to gather, telling themit was about time to descend to the dining room and partake of theircustomary evening meal. After that Perk would doubtless wander around tothe nearest moving-picture palace and allow his feverish soul to havefull swing in the exc
itement depicted on the silver screen.

  Just then there came along one of those little incidents that sometimesturn out to have unsuspected potentialities. Perk seemed to catch itfirst, for he jumped up and broke loose by crying:

  "Hear that, partner? The fire alarm as sure as you're born and me,always like a little kid, crazy to run with the engine and watch thefire boys go through with their thrillin' stunts. Come along,buddy--supper c'n wait a bit for us an' we'll be all the hungrier atthat. Snatch up your hat an' let's go!"

  -----

  Footnote 1:

  See "Wings Over the Rockies."

  Footnote 2:

  See "Eagles of the Sky."