Nancy was the first one to reach the lobby at suppertime. Ned was already there, and they walked outside to the garden. At once she told him about Bess’s decision.
“I’d have felt pretty bad if she had decided against Dave,” he remarked.
Nancy suggested, “I think it’s best if Dave never finds out—or Burt either—how close Bess came to switching boy friends.”
Ned nodded, then looking straight into Nancy’s eyes, he added, “I’m glad you didn’t toss me over in favor of Bruce!”
Nancy burst out laughing. “Little chance of that,” she said. “Bruce has a lovely wife and an adorable baby!”
Ned chuckled too, then they walked back and went to the dining room. Conversation during the entire meal was about the upcoming trip.
At sunset the group gathered at the Excello field. Bruce, Nancy, Ned, and Pop were to occupy the plane that would lead the foray. The other couples were assigned to various craft.
After the rancher had taken his seat, he said to the others, “I have some news for all of you. After a great deal of trouble I got Ben Rall to talk.”
Pop said that Ben had indeed stolen the other cowboys’ money. He learned that the horse thieves were working for the man who had given him the ransom note. These men were supposed to cause all kinds of nuisances for Nancy’s group and were responsible for various mishaps, as Nancy had suspected.
“Ben was a willing tool, but was never told much,” Pop added.
Nancy asked, “Did Ben confess that he tried to kidnap me so I could be taken away?”
“Yes.”
“Does Ben know who the sky phantom is?” Nancy inquired.
“Not exactly,” Pop responded. “Ben declared that he does not know the name of the man who gave him the ransom note and to whom he was to deliver the money. He has never met the head of the gang. But he did find part of a torn message on the ground near the man’s plane. It said the hidden stuff would be picked up at dawn on the twenty-eighth.”
“That’s tomorrow morning!” Nancy exclaimed.
“Exactly,” the rancher agreed. “That’s why it’s a good thing we’re going out now. We’ll be ready for the sky phantom and his buddies.”
Ned looked a bit grim. “These revolutionists will probably be armed,” he said.
Pop admitted that they might be. “If there’s any shooting,” he said, “we’ll turn back.”
He now revealed that several deputy sheriffs were to be stationed around the area in case there was any trouble.
The six planes took off and followed Bruce, who was at the controls of the first plane. He led them to the scrubby land beneath the great cloud. The pilots had been instructed to form a circle when landing.
“I’m sure,” he said, “that if the sky phantom sees our craft on the ground, he’ll disappear into the great cloud. The rest of us will take off and surround him. Sooner or later he will have to come out and we’ll force him to land.”
There was bright moonlight, and Nancy and Ned decided to reconnoiter the vicinity. They carried bright searchlights with them and promised to return soon.
“First I’ll show you the cave where we found Major,” Nancy said and led the way.
They turned on their flashlights and went inside. Suddenly, somewhere ahead of them, they heard a low groan.
“Who’s there?” Ned called out.
Before an answer came, he and Nancy were grabbed from behind. Two men whose faces they could not see knocked the flashlights from their hands. They punched the couple so that they fell forward. Then the attackers pulled large sacks over their captives’ bodies.
Nancy and Ned struggled to get out, but it was hopeless. Both realized that the oxygen inside the bag would not last long. They would suffocate!
CHAPTER XX
The Sky Phantom
TIGHTLY wrapped in the stifling sacks, Nancy and Ned tried frantically to free themselves. Since they were not stopped, both wondered if their attackers had left. They could neither see nor hear anything.
“I must get out of here!” Nancy thought, becoming panicky.
It occurred to her that if she could not break out by using her fists and feet, she would have to pry herself loose from the cloth. Using her fingernails and her teeth, she began making holes in the covering.
Soon she had created an opening through which to breathe. At the same time Nancy began to worry about Ned.
Fortunately he had been tearing his way out of the sack just as she had. Soon each had torn a hole large enough to put his head through.
“Nancy! Are you all right?” Ned called out.
“Yes. And I’m so glad you are.”
Both continued to shred the cloth until the opening was wide and they could crawl out. They felt around the floor of the cave for the flashlights. To their relief, the mysterious attackers had not taken them.
For a few minutes Nancy and Ned had completely forgotten about the person who was groaning in the cave. Had the men who tied them up taken him away?
The couple listened. Presently they heard the groans again. Nancy beamed her searchlight ahead while Ned trained his behind him in order to prevent another surprise attack.
Soon Nancy’s light picked up the prone figure of a man trussed and gagged. He was lying on the floor at the rear of the cave. She and Ned hurried forward and quickly took off the gag.
Nancy recognized the person at once. “Roger Paine!” she exclaimed.
“Yes,” he said in a shaky voice. “I was captured and hidden. Today I was brought here by a man who has the same initials as mine. I don’t know his name.”
Nancy now introduced Ned and together they untied the ropes that bound the prisoner.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Roger Paine said. He tried to get up but was too weak.
“We must take you out of here before the men who attacked us return,” Nancy told Roger.
“If you can’t walk, we’ll carry you.”
Roger said he knew he had lost a lot of weight. “The other R.P. brought me food and water once in a while,” he said, “but not so much as I’m accustomed to eating.”
It was decided that Nancy and Ned would carry the man, at least outside the cave. The fresh air seemed to revive Roger somewhat. Leaning on their shoulders, he was able to make it to the flying-school plane.
Bruce was amazed to see him. He was solicitous of his condition.
“Where’s Pop?” Nancy asked.
“He went off to see about one of the other search groups. He hasn’t come back.”
Nancy suddenly looked at Bruce’s right arm. “Why, what happened to you?” she asked in concern.
Bruce said he was afraid his arm was broken. “I was ambushed,” he said. “Oh, I hope Pop and the others haven’t been harmed!”
Ned climbed into the plane and immediately got in touch by radio with the other fliers. None of them had had any trouble. Right now Pop was with Bess, Dave, and their pilot.
“Tell him to come back here as soon as possible,” Ned requested.
While waiting for Pop, Nancy and Ned gave Roger Paine some water and a box of crackers to eat. Then they brought out the first-aid kit and put Bruce’s aching arm into a sling. They would take him to a doctor as soon as they reached the flying school.
“It feels much better now,” the pilot said, wincing a bit.
As soon as Pop Hamilton arrived, Nancy said she wanted to make sure that the buried rifles and bombs were still at the site. Once more they hurried off with their flashlights, but this time took a small trowel and spade with them. It did not take long to find the exact spot and shovel away part of the dirt. They were relieved to find that the revolutionaries’ hardware was still there, intact!
“This is some find,” Ned remarked. “I can just see screaming headlines all over the nation.”
The earth was smoothed over and the couple returned to the plane.
Bruce said, “Of course, with my broken arm I won’t be able to pilot the plane. Nancy and Ned, you will have to do it.”
Nancy’s heart began to thump wildly as she thought of the task ahead of her but she looked at Ned, whose face was calm and unworried. Her courage was restored.
The four slept in
Lady Luck,
but awoke before dawn. They ate a quick snack and prepared for the day’s adventure. The other five pilots reported that they were ready for action.
About five o’clock, Nancy heard another plane coming in their direction. “It must be the sky phantom!” she said. After listening to the rhythm of the craft, the girl detective was convinced she was right.
She and Ned took their places at the controls. Nancy sat in the pilot’s seat. The engines of all the planes were revved up. As soon as the strange craft came into view, Ned tried to contact it. There was no answer.
“I guess it’s time to go,” he announced.
Nancy took the plane down the grassy runway and gradually rose into the air. All around her the other pilots were doing the same thing. Little by little they circled the strange plane until it was completely surrounded.
Once more Ned tried to contact the stranger, but again he received no response. Instead, the pilot of Roger Paine’s craft found an opening between two planes and shot into the great cloud.
Pop Hamilton was impressed by the skill of Nancy and Ned as fliers. “We’ve got that villain boxed in!” he cried, excited.
The six planes flew round and round the edge of the great cloud and above and below it. Each craft had enough fuel to remain in the air for several hours. They hoped that their enemy would run out of fuel before they did.
Ned tried several frequencies, hoping to get a response from the enemy plane. Although there was none, he kept on pleading with the pilot to surrender and land.
“You haven’t a chance,” he said. Then to his companions he added, “This is maddening! We know Roger Paine’s plane is equipped with a radio. I’m sure your sky phantom hears us.”
There was no way of telling whether or not the mystery pilot had received their messages. All they could do was keep on flying. Sooner or later the stranger would have to come out of the great cloud and make a landing.
Pop spoke up, “If that guy suddenly emerges, and tries to get away we must chase him and force him down. I wonder where he’ll come out.”
Nancy guessed it would be underneath the great cloud. Then she thought the sky phantom would try to fly just above the ground until he was out of danger.
“He’ll never be free of us!” Ned declared.
Nancy’s hunch had been right. The enemy plane suddenly emerged from the base of the cloud and flew low over the ground to avoid the other craft. All the pilots were alerted. They too descended and gave chase. Gradually they managed to circle the enemy again.
When he realized it was impossible to get away, he let down his wheels and prepared to land. The other pilots picked spots and descended one by one.
Nancy and Ned had maneuvered their craft so they were closest to the man they were after. As soon as they taxied to a stop, Pop Hamilton opened the door and dropped to the ground. He raced toward the opponent’s plane. Nancy and Ned were at his heels.
“Open up and get out!” Pop Hamilton ordered the sky phantom. “I am a deputy sheriff. You’re under arrest.”
Finally the door swung wide. A lean, dark-haired man with deep-set eyes and a swarthy complexion emerged.
“What’s this all about?” he asked sullenly.
“Tell us your name,” the rancher demanded.
“I’m not going to give you anything, and you have no reason to detain me,” the man answered defiantly.
Pop Hamilton turned to Nancy. “Tell this man what you know about him.”
The young detective said to him, “First of all, your initials are R.P. You stole Roger Paine’s plane. Since you have the same initials, you thought you could get away with the theft.”
The man’s eyes blazed but he said nothing.
“Nancy, go on,” Pop urged.
The girl’s next remarks amazed the stranger. “You imprisoned Roger Paine but we found him. He’s a short distance from here, and I’m sure he’ll identify you.”
The abductor’s shoulders suddenly sagged, but still he said nothing. Nancy went on, “You are a member of a revolutionary gang. Under this big cloud you buried a lot of rifles and bombs.”
Her remarks really shook the stranger. Panic overcame him and he gazed around for a way to escape. He knew it was hopeless.
Finally he said, “How did you find out all this?”
Nancy explained about the medal he had dropped and how she and her friends had deciphered it. Now a look of real terror came over the man’s face.
“You’re too smart!” he shouted. “You can arrest me if you want to, but I won’t tell you my name nor the names of anybody else I work with. I sent one of those medals to each of my friends, who knew the trick of reading the letters.”
Ned offered to climb into the plane and see what he could find out. He was not gone long. In the pilot’s compartment he discovered a booklet containing all the information Pop Hamilton would need to round up the revolutionaries. It also revealed that this man’s name was Rudolph Panzer. Below it were the names and addresses of all members of the gang. Also included was a list of the contents of various boxes of firearms and bombs buried under the great cloud.
“There’s enough stuff here to blow up the whole country!” Pop exclaimed.
Nancy stared at their captive for a moment, then said, “You may as well tell us everything. For instance, how did you make the mystery cloud magnetic?”
The stranger grinned. He almost seemed pleased by the young detective’s question.
“That was easy,” he said, boasting. “A scientist friend of mine developed a super-fine magnetic dust. I merely seeded the cloud with it from my plane.”
“Very clever,” Nancy remarked.
“Clever enough to nearly put an end to you and that friend of yours!” Panzer declared angrily.
Ned fought hard to control his temper. “Never mind about that!” he put in. “Nancy checked with the state university climatology team that came out here twice and investigated the cloud.”