Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 44: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

«818 her daughter might share the fate of Miss Doran in the Hawaiian flight some time before. ‘““ Miss Dart is to be the honorary starter of the race, you know,” Dick informed him. “She'll have to be here in very good sea- son, and Betty’s in the same car, so don’t worry. Dad will be here soon. He’s over there with Runyon. Runyon’s fretting about the engine. He crabbed a little yes- terday—hinted that he ought to have the new plane, that he could win the race with that.” 3 “ You know, Dick, that I’m not out for personal glory. Whatever I’m told to do— that. goes.” “T know it, Kerry. You’re the one man I ‘trust, outside of father. By golly, I wouldn’t even trust Runyon too far away! Seems a little hard boiled, maybe, but that is what my experiences have done to me.” Samuel Sheldon made his appearance within a few minutes. He had been gliding about nervously, conferring with Runyon and talking rather unwillingly with news- paper men. Within thirty hours, and possibly very much less, if his planes were forced down en route, he would know whether he was due for a new prosperity or was practically a ruined man. He kissed his daughter as she arrived in a big car with Alice Dart, and the two girls fought their way through the crowds. She stood by his side, clad in her thick white sweater, as the inventor had a low- voiced discussion with Kerry. “ Well,” Sheldon was saying, “ I’m sat- isfied with everything. You’ve done good work, Kerry, and win or lose I want you to know that I’m your friend and that as long as the Sheldon outfit holds together you’re a Sheldon employee. [I still think that you’ll only need four hundred gallons, even if you buck head winds all the way, and with that new air-valve invention—” “ Father,” put in Dick, who had hob- bled over on his crutches, “ you know that Glenn has never been wrong in any of his ideas so far. He wants to win this race as much as you do.” The elderly man turned away, half con- vinced. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “ Well, I'll talk a few minutes with Run- yon,” he said. As he left, a close observer might have detected a series of winks pass between the three youngsters. The final fueling was being completed. A great crescendo of roaring from the fueled planes added to the general excite- ment. Some of the engines were warming up, and the first one would take off within half an hour now. Runyon, the pilot of the second Sheldon plane, came rushing over to Kerry. “Glad you're all set, Kerry, old man,” he said. ‘I’m not quite so well off. That motor of mine doesn’t sound exactly sweet to me. May be my imagination, but I’m a little nervous; there’s been so much tam- pering I don’t trust my own opinion any more. I want you to take off with me and scoot around for five minutes—just circle the field with me and listen to the motor, and let me start with a good feeling about it. I mentioned it to the old man. He suggested it.” “But the final inspections have been made, and—” ‘“‘ Just for five minutes,” pleaded Run- yon. ‘“ You'll be back here in plenty of time. I want at least to make some showing with that old bus.” Runyon seemed sincere. Leaving Dick and Betty and a corps of trusted mechanics in charge of his ship, Kerry ran across the field and took his seat in the extra cockpit of the repaired Sheldon plane. A couple of minutes later he was taxiing down the field with Runyon at the joy-stick, and a moment later was in the air. Kerry listened to the motor. It seemed perfectly all right to him. He motioned Runyon to throttle down. “QO. K., Runyon,” he shouted. imagination, I guess. Not much time left.” But Runyon was steering directly away from the field. His powerful engine would soon whisk them a considerable distance off. Kerry stood up in the cockpit, and found himself looking into the small circle of the barrel of a revolver. ‘Your Back again now. Runyon throttled down a minute, and, said grimly: “It’s necessary, Kerry! Gomichbooks (E@)