“That’s right. I hope they don’t call it off.”
“Not after waiting this long,” said Joe. “Ducroy has set his heart on this affair. It’ll take a mighty stormy night to make him quit at the last moment.”
The afternoon seemed endless, but at last Frank turned to his brother.
“We may have quite a while to wait, but I think we ought to go over to the plane now.”
“I don’t mind waiting. I’d rather wait an hour or so than be left behind, as we thought we were this morning.”
“Let’s go, then.”
The boys left the house and went over to the field. The airplane was apparently just as Ducroy and Jacobs had left it. There was no sign of anyone on the village road.
The Hardy boys climbed into their hiding place and made themselves as comfortable as possible. For the time being, they left the door open for the sake of fresh air. Minutes went by. The sky grew darker and the wind rose. Once in a while a gust of rain spattered against the wings of the machine.
At last Joe crouched forward.
“Here they come! I see a light down the road.”
He reached out and closed the door.
Breathlessly, the Hardy boys awaited the next move in their perilous adventure.
XXI
West of Bacon Hill
The Hardy boys soon heard footsteps as the three men approached the plane.
“I wish the weather was better,” Newt Pipps complained. “I’m afraid something will happen.”
“I wish you’d keep quiet,” snapped Ducroy. “If you’re so scared why did you come in with us at all?”
“I need the money.”
“And you don’t want to earn it. I’m doing all the work. All you and Ollie have to do is throw the ropes over the side when I give the word then get your guns ready for the holdup.”
“We may lose him in the dark,” whined Pipps.
“I know every foot of his route,” returned Ducroy. “He’ll come right over the two church steeples in Jasonville, then strike west of the light on Bacon Hill.”
These places were new to the Hardy boys. They had never heard of either Jasonville or Bacon Hill. They listened while the trio made the final preparations for flight. It did not take long. In a few minutes they heard the propeller whirring. The engine roared, there were a few shouts as the men took their places, and then the plane bumped off over the uneven ground.
It gathered speed, then the bumping ceased as the plane rose. It cleared the fence at the end of the field, circled somewhat slowly, and rose higher.
For a time the plane flew a direct course, then it banked and circled. There was no doubt in the minds of the Hardy boys now that Ducroy and his companions meant to holdup another airplane, but how this holdup was to be managed they had not the least idea. It was very confining inside the body of the plane, for the night was hot and sultry despite the rain. The roar of the engine drowned out all other sounds.
Suddenly the plane dipped. Joe, who had relinquished his grip on the rack, was thrown forward. The machine lost balance and nosed down accordingly. Ducroy quickly straightened it out and Joe tried to edge back toward his brother in the darkness.
He found, however, that his wrist was tightly held.
Panic-stricken, he groped forward. His shirt sleeve had been caught in the steering gear running from the controls back to the rudder at the tail of the plane.
While he tried to extricate himself the plane began to buck and sway in the wind.
Frank, realizing that something was wrong, switched on a small flashlight he had with him, and moved slowly forward. The beam of light fell on Joe’s shirt sleeve. When the boys saw what was wrong they made desperate attempts to release the sleeve, but it was now firmly entangled in the gear.
Suddenly the roar of the motor died. Ducroy had shut off his engine. The plane was nosing down toward the earth in a thrilling dive. Wind sang in the struts.
“What’s the matter?” shouted Newt Pipps, in terror.
“Steering gear jammed!” answered Ducroy sourly.
“We’ll be killed!”
“Hold steady, you fool!” growled Ollie Jacobs. “What’s the matter, Giles, can’t you get her out of it?”
Ducroy was working frantically at the controls.
“Something wrong somewhere. This old bird’s tail is as heavy as lead. I can’t move the rudder.”
The gear was moving in response to his efforts at the controls. Frank seized Joe’s sleeve and gave a quick wrench. The movement of the gear had loosened the sleeve somewhat and it abruptly came loose.
At the same moment there was a shout of satisfaction from Giles Ducroy.
“She’s working again. Say, next time I land I’m going to see if we haven’t some ballast aboard. There’s something radically wrong back there.”
“We won’t need the plane after this haul,” declared Jacobs. “If we get through this trip all right we’ll be set for life.”
The Hardy boys scrambled back to their places. The nose of the plane suddenly raised. The engine began to roar again. Ducroy then brought the machine out of its breathtaking dive. It flattened out and raced on again.
Frank and Joe were panting with excitement. Each realized how near they had been to death. With the rudder useless, the plane would have crashed nose down into the earth and they would have perished instantly.
From then on, the boys clung to the rack with every movement of the plane. That one hazardous experience had been sufficient warning.
Suddenly, above the noise of the engine, the Hardy boys heard a shout from one of the men. Then they became aware of a new sound. A steady, distant drumming was apparent.
“The other plane!” they reflected.
The machine banked, swept about in a great circle. The big moment was at hand. The drumming of the other plane became clearer.
“Stand by!” they heard Ducroy yell.
The plane bucked as it was caught in a gust of wind, then it shot
