Linda Carlton, Air Pilot

"Surest thing!" replied the boy, with delight. "We've got plenty of height – and a spectator too, for that matter." The other plane had just come back into sight.

Linda's eyes were shining with excitement, yet inside she was perfectly cool. Hadn't she made inside loops and Immelman turns often at school, and didn't she know exactly what to do? With perfect poise, she swung the plane into a loop, and completed it without any difficulty. Pleased with her success, she tried it again and again.

"You must think you're Laura Ingalls!" shouted Ralph, catching his breath. "Trying to beat her record?"

"Hardly," smiled Linda, for the famous aviatrix he mentioned held the record at that time with nine hundred and eighty consecutive inside loops, at a speed of four and a half loops a minute.

The plane was righted now, but Linda suddenly noticed that Ralph was acting awfully queer, hanging over the side, and hunting frantically in the pockets of the sweater which he had put over the seat. She believed he must be ill; certainly his face was ghastly white.

"Ralph!" she cried, fearfully. "What's the matter?"

"I've lost the necklace!" he screamed in terror. "Must have fallen out of my pocket!"

"Oh!" wailed Linda, aghast at the meaning of his words. "Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

"Then we'll land immediately. We're over a field, so we ought to be able to find it. Now – keep your eye on the compass!"

Gradually, and with easy skill, she turned the biplane into the wind and descended, finally coming down into a large flat field, evidently a pasture ground for some horses. Ralph was the first to jump out.

"We went a little south to land," he said, "so it must have dropped up there."

"Was it in a box?" questioned Linda.

"Yes, fortunately. A white velvet box, inside a larger pasteboard one, with three rubber bands around it. That ought to make it easier to find."

Linda, however, had her doubts; the field was so big! Besides, what proof had Ralph that he had lost it at that particular minute – when she was making her loops. She remembered that he had taken off his sweater an hour ago, when he felt too warm, and had carelessly hung it over the side, forgetful of the precious box in its pocket. That was the trouble with being so rich! Many times she had noticed how heedless both Kitty and Ralph were about valuables.

They walked silently across the field, their eyes on the ground, their minds filled with remorse. Ten minutes passed, and they had not found it.

"Let's go back and eat our lunch," suggested Ralph, consulting his watch. "It's almost one o'clock, and we'll feel better if we eat. After all, we have plenty of time – Green Falls is only about twenty miles farther. We could search all afternoon, if necessary."

"Yes, only Aunt Emily would nearly die of anxiety. She'd be sure we had been killed, if we didn't arrive before supper."

They went back to the plane and took out the dainty lunch which Miss Carlton's cook had packed that morning for them. But, hungry though they were, the meal was not the pleasant picnic they had been hoping for. Both were too unhappy to enjoy what they were eating.

Presently the noise of a motor overhead attracted their attention, and, looking up, they saw a plane in descent. When it was low enough to identify, they knew that it was the one that had been following them.

"It's the 'Waco' from our school!" cried Linda. "I recognize it now. He must think we're in trouble. I wonder who's piloting?"

The plane made a rather poor landing at the far end of the field, perhaps half a mile away. They could distinguish a man getting out of the cockpit, but of course at that distance they could not identify him. However, he seemed to be coming slowly towards them.

As he advanced nearer and nearer Linda noticed that he wore an ordinary suit of clothing – not a flyer's uniform, and he kept his hand in his pocket. But she still did not recognize him – unless he was that new man the school had taken on the preceding day. Once he stooped over, as if he were picking something up, and Linda's heart beat wildly with hope. Could it be that he had found the necklace? Apparently, though, it was only a plant that he had pulled up by the roots, for when he straightened himself, he seemed to be examining its leaves.

"In trouble?" he shouted, as soon as he was within hearing distance.

Ralph jumped up and ran towards him, shaking his head in the negative.

"No trouble with the plane," he replied. "But we've lost a little box – with a necklace in it. You haven't seen it, have you?"

"Why, yes," answered the man slowly, "I did pick up a box." And he put his other hand in his pocket, and drew out the very article. Fortunately it had not been broken; even the rubber bands were still tightly around it. He handed it to Ralph.

"Oh, thank you a thousand times!" cried Linda, too relieved to believe her eyes. "The necklace was a graduation present to this man's sister, and she values it very highly!"

"Well, if that's all, I'll be off," said the man, as he watched Ralph put the box into his pocket.

"No, I must reward you," insisted the boy, taking out a twenty-dollar bill. "And by the way, you're from the Spring City Flying School, aren't you? We recognized the plane."

The other nodded, and seemed in a hurry to be off. Already he was twenty feet away.

"It was awfully nice of you to follow us, and look after us," called Linda, "but really we don't need protection. We're getting along finely!"

But the man was running now, and could hardly have heard what Linda was saying. In a couple of minutes they heard the motor start, and with a clumsy take-off, the plane ascended.

"A queer cuss," remarked Ralph. "And I can't see that he's much of a flyer. You and I are both better – by a long shot… But anyhow, we've got the necklace!" He put his arms around Linda and hugged her, and she was too happy to protest. What a miracle it was to have found it!

"That will teach me a lesson," said Ralph, as he helped Linda gather up the lunch. "I'm going to be more careful now. I've put the necklace in my most inside pocket!"

"And I'm not going in for any more acrobatics for a while," added Linda.

They climbed into the cockpit, and started the motor without wasting any more time. Half an hour later they made a graceful landing at Green Falls' Airport, for a group of a hundred spectators to witness and admire.

Chapter VIII

The Robbery

"Let's don't say anything about our little mishap," whispered Linda, as the flying couple got out of their plane. "For one thing, I'd just as soon not boast about stunts in front of Aunt Emily. She would be worried all the more."

"And I'm not any too proud of the fact that I was so careless about a valuable necklace," returned Ralph. "So we'll keep it our secret."

There was no time for further words. Everybody rushed at them, shouting joyous welcomes. Louise was the first to kiss Linda – then all the others, and finally her aunt.

"Thank Heaven you're safe!" cried the latter. "I couldn't eat a bite of lunch, I was so uneasy."

"Of course we're safe," assured Ralph. "And maybe if we'd come by motor, we should have had an accident. There was a big smash-up – two automobiles – outside of Spring City this morning."

"Isn't the air up here wonderful!" exclaimed Miss Carlton. "After that stuffy town of ours!"

"I think the airport is wonderful," replied Linda, "for so small a place. But as for the air – well, don't forget Auntie dear, that Ralph and I have been having marvelous air – up in the skies!"

"Hope you didn't give him the air," remarked Maurice Stetson, solemnly.

Kitty Clavering gave the young man a withering look, and inquired of the flyers when they might hope for rides. "Oh, I don't mean today," she added, "for I know you must both be nearly dead."

"Not a bit of it!" denied Linda, who still looked as fresh as a flower in her becoming blue and white suit. "But it's supposed to be wise to have a mechanic go over your plane each time you fly. Just a precaution, you see."

"A very good rule to follow," commented Miss Carlton. "Now everybody get into their cars, and we'll go over to our bungalow for some ginger-ale and sandwiches."