The trip was made in perfect safety. Indeed, Andy was now so confident of the capacity of the monoplane, as well as the skill of its pilot, that he expressed himself as ready to go anywhere in such a craft with such a driver.

It required some planning to arrange matters so that both Andy and his father could be carried at the same time; but Frank had been figuring on this and fixed it in his mind.

Even after the start he felt more apprehensive than he allowed the others to see, for this was after all an experiment. Aviators have gone up with two pa.s.sengers and in monoplanes, too, but the limit of their stay aloft had never exceeded two hours, for the strain is very great.

So Frank hoped to find places where they might drop down to rest, thus making the journey in easy stages.

He believed they had plenty of gasoline to see them through, for an additional supply had been carried when starting from the neighborhood of the boat.

But once they were afloat he realized that he had been borrowing needless trouble, for the gallant little aircraft just acted beautifully and seemed to be able to speed merrily along with two pa.s.sengers almost as well as with but one.

Of course there were many chances for trouble. There always are when traveling in an aeroplane, since the least thing that goes wrong means a descent or a fall.

Frank tried no lofty flight. He kept close above the tree tops, content to make steady progress in the direction where his little compa.s.s told him they would find the river.

Once away from the mountainous country and they were able to descend to still lower levels, where the chilly air changed to hot, and there were signs of life among the trees below--birds, monkeys and other natives of the wilds showing themselves at times.

It must have been a glorious sensation to the old aeronaut to be thus speeding along in a modern, up-to-date airship, after his enforced idleness for so long. Again and again did he express himself in that way, as he gazed over the expanse of country, and then allowed his eyes to rest fondly on the form of his boy, more dear to his heart than ever after what had happened.

"I think I see an open place beyond," remarked Frank, after they had been moving something like two hours after leaving the high plateau. "And it might be wise while we have the chance to go down and look things over. Then we will feel fit for another spell of work."

Accordingly the aeroplane was headed downward. They circled the opening once or twice in order that the pilot of the aircraft might get his bearings perfectly, and then he headed for the ground.

Even as they were just approaching the earth Frank heard Andy give one of his customary exclamations, such as announced an important discovery.

"Frank, there's the biplane in the opening!" was what he cried.

Yes, Frank himself had sighted it now, but the discovery came too late to have any effect upon their movements, since they were bound to land, not having room to rise again, even did they wish to do so.

And Frank, as he felt the wheels under the aeroplane touch the earth, also heard a loud cry and some l.u.s.ty Spanish expletives as a pistol was discharged.

CHAPTER XXIII.

HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION.

As was his usual habit, Andy jumped before the monoplane had stopped. Frank on his part had no sooner seen that everything was going well than he s.n.a.t.c.hed the Marlin rifle from its fastenings. He realized that they were up against trouble of some sort, for those Spanish exclamations told him there must be one revolutionist at least close by ready to do battle.

"Frank, look out, he's got a pistol!" cried a voice, which he recognized as belonging to Puss Carberry.

Just then he caught sight of a figure rushing forward. It was the same man no doubt whom they had seen with Puss in the biplane. They had evidently broken some important parts in landing and ever since must have been busy trying to mend the same.

"Stop!"

When the advancing revolutionist heard this sharp command and saw that he was being covered by a rifle in the hands of the determined looking pilot of the monoplane, he sized up the situation and then raised his hands in a way that meant he surrendered.

"Drop that gun then!" ordered Frank, and as he did so Puss seized upon it with a snarl of joy.

"Now we'll see how two can play at that game, you skunk!" gritted the other, as he snapped the pistol straight at the head of the man.

"Here, none of that, Puss. You leave him to us. He's our prisoner, not yours!" ordered Frank, horrified at the rage which the other had shown.

So Puss found that he did not have any authority in the matter, and that if he wanted to get a.s.sistance from his old-time rivals in order to finish mending his airship and get away from so dangerous a locality he must do what they said.

He told about how he and Sandy had been out for a trial spin two days before. That was when Frank and his chum had sighted them from the river. But that very night some of the revolutionists had made a descent on the home of his uncle, who had a cocoa plantation not many miles away from that of Mendoza, seized him and carried him away, as they also did the little airship.

Threatened with dire things if he refused to obey, he had been compelled to go up in company with the man who was now their prisoner, a Spaniard, who had once sailed in a balloon and knew something about that type of aviation, though having much to learn in connection with modern aeroplanes.

Sighting our two Bird boys, of course Puss had known who they were. But the man was positive that they must be spies sent out by the government to learn what the revolutionists might be doing up the Magdalena. And he had threatened all sorts of things, Puss declared, unless a hot pursuit were carried on. Secretly Frank was of the opinion that it would require very little urging to make Puss Carberry do his level best to overtake any aerial craft piloted by one Frank Bird, toward whom he had always felt the most bitter animosity.

After about an hour's hard work Frank managed to get the biplane in decent trim for a flight. He was also able to spare the other some gasoline.

Had he been allowed to have his own way Puss would have left the Spaniard in the forest, where he might have died, being unable to make his way to civilization. But Frank would not hear of it. He obtained a solemn promise from the man that he would not make any further effort to obtain control of the biplane, and then Puss was made to take him aboard. Of course, Frank had made sure that the man carried no weapon and that his revolver was thrown away.

They left the glade in the forest soon after the biplane had started. Puss managed to keep close to the others while they headed off toward the northeast. He did not wholly trust the pa.s.senger he was carrying and wanted to remain within call of the three who relied upon the monoplane to carry them to safety.

They could even shout out to each other as they sailed along. Thus Puss warned them when they were approaching a camp of the revolutionists as they drew near the region of the river, and they were able to change their course, not wishing to again run the perilous gantlet of gun-fire.

When another descent was deemed necessary it was close to the Magdalena, though many miles south of the town where the cocoa planters lived.

There was no reason why Puss should also descend, save that he wished to be rid of his unwelcome pa.s.senger. The revolutionist might now make his way to camp and electrify his fellows with a stirring account of his various adventures. And one could easily guess that they would lose none of their zest in the telling.

Puss did not expect to halt again when the monoplane was brought down. He could make one flight of it now and reach the home of his uncle, where doubtless Sandy was mourning him as lost.

Just as Frank had expected, Puss on saying good-bye tried to appear as though something along the order of grat.i.tude might be striving to gain a foothold in his crooked nature.

"Say, Frank, I'm sorry now I ever tried to do you dirt," he observed, as he held out his hand. "Let's forget the past and start all over again."

"Sure," replied Frank, as he readily took the offered hand; but it lay like a cold toad in his grasp, as Andy afterward expressed it, for Puss insisted on also bidding him good-bye ere he made a start in his biplane.

"Well, now, what d'ye think of that?" said Andy, as they stood and watched the other mount upward and caught the wave of his hand ere he started down river, being fully five hundred feet high. "Did he mean it, Frank? Would you really want to go so far as to trust that snake if the chance ever came again for him to do you a bad turn?"

Frank shrugged his shoulders.

"Say, ask me something easy, won't you?" he remarked. "Because you know how hard it is for a leopard to change its spots. Perhaps Puss _has_ seen a light; but excuse me if I doubt it. Naturally he felt kind of cheap, because we got him out of a bad hole and placed him under obligations. But that will wear off in a short time."

"Right it will," declared Andy. "I give you my word, Frank, that the next time we see him he'll have a fine story all fixed about how he was just going to jump on that Spanish revolutionary fellow, and twisting his gun out of his hand, shoot him down, and then fly away. Oh, don't I know Puss in Boots, though? He'll hate us both worse than ever just because he's beholden to us. Rats! him reform? Not much!"

By the middle of the afternoon they had advanced far enough to know that another lap ought to carry them to town, and of course all of them were anxious to have the journey completed.

"If it could only be written up and sworn to," said Andy, enthusiastically, "I reckon it'd go down in the annals of aeroplaning as the most wonderful stunt carried out up to date. But people won't take our word for it."

"We've got the evidence of it, though, in the person of your good dad, and people may believe what Professor Bird says over his own honored signature, however much they might doubt the yarn of a couple of boys,"

Frank remarked, as he took a last look, to see that both his pa.s.sengers were snugly settled, ere starting the motor.

"We're on the home stretch now!" declared Andy, after they had again mounted up into the realm of s.p.a.ce and found their course northward.