The Moon Colony

Stow

ence in Hollywood. While the conversation was in a low tone and seemingly

u sugg

nd looked interrogatingly a

in a swift scout plane equipped to cross the Pacific. If the sky bandits attack, Billy is to be instructed to offer no resistance, and I will lag behind and follow the robbers to their lair. When I return we will fall on that bunch with the

dummy shou

ve it of the suspicio

pped the table w

nnot afford to

a great loss. If the bandits come I have a hunch that they will be connected with the men who robbed Swift

lness. I am now putting a grave responsibility on you. We cannot do business while a bunch of hijackers are running the air lanes, and stealing everything valuable w

do you me

of catching these men. I am turning the

I accept t

nger Douglas-old but a good flyer. Billy Sand was named as the pilot and entire crew. After st

c-Pacific Company, and the only person he took completely into his confidence was Billy Sand, his aviation buddy and chum. Billy did not even l

ne on the tail of the Greyhound. These lights were to be turned on every night at sundown

kled as he took the air. His sister, Joan, was the only living person who knew where this plane had been hi

ckpits would prevent observation. With a snort of dismay he threw open the window, and leaned out. The great City of Los Angeles, with its myriads of beautiful lights spread beneath, and he l

rrived t

ss that had caused him to be late in getting to his

re not visible. Was it possible that his secret plans had already come to naught? Would Billy

d been careful with his instructions to Billy about getting into the air and these instructions conveyed to Billy the idea that he was to give no heed to the little pl

ime he was over San Pedro, and could hear the roar of the ocean sweeping against the rocks north of Point Firmin. Bearing N by W he flashed over the extreme

would his Uncle William say to this t

self aloud in a strained hurt way. "Sh

time to fly them." A soft, mellow voice answered his query from the rear end of the cabin. "Fly low, say one thousand feet

eighteen years old, crawled out of the tail of the fu

us mission like this? How did you find out that I was going to make this trip? Now I will

about. As to all those other questions-come at me easy. Put them one at a time. But before you begin

When he straightened out on the thousand foot line he l

remarked casually. "I see your three li

f relief; and then turn

ll have to signal Billy to go back so that I can take you back home. You a

d death mission, my uncle stands to go broke if this miss

take me to the North Pole, or to some i

going to jump over the side o

as Joan all over. She was very quiet, very self-possessed, very poli

three red lights. Billy was purposely running with his cut-outs open, and he could hear the roar of the Greyhound's engines. This wa

r how you got o

rely. "I heard you talking to Billy la

uess the bandits know somethin

pworth ran to the starboard of the Gre

er the Greyhound," Joan obser

obbers are certainly wise ones, and the leak out of th

een associating so much with aviators and air men that she h

owly, handing her his binoculars. "Keep your eyes fixed on that shadow

f it were a part of the lower airship. Then a trap door opened in the bottom of the cylinder, a rope fell into the aviator's seat of the Greyhound, and ten men descended quickly. For several seconds the ladder swung to and fro over the Greyhound but when a sign

Greyhound the captured vessel had s

thing," she whispered in awe. "

before we started out on this trip that those cylinders could gain a speed of six hundred miles an hour, and my plot was to get them

ing altitude in a long upward nose sweep. This movement was continued until an altitude of five thousand feet had been attained. At this altitude the Greyhound leveled out, put

element of doubt. "How could they attain such a speed?

up was taking place. They have a soft, low, whirling explosion but these men have gone the scientist

re they are takin

owing them t

g how the cylinders

by the steady combustion

ust be taking the Greyhound

y w

wing the stolen airship-and were flying over an unknown portio