On Adventure Island

Flying a mile high above the rolling hills of the countryside, Terry Mapes suddenly put Skybird, her little blue-and-gold monoplane, into a series of loops. She was feeling good, her brown eyes were keenly alive and her slight boyish figure sat erect as she handled the controls of her plane. And being a young and lively girl, she wanted to turn somersaults in the sky to express her joy.

Her twin sister, strapped in the rear cockpit, spoke to her through the earphones, "Quit your circus stunts, Terry, and keep going! We've got a long trip ahead of us."

"You guessed it, Prim. That's why I'm feeling so full of pep!" answered Terry and her voice died away as she put Skybird into another loop among the clouds.

The next minute her plane was on an even keel and Prim repeated: "Terry, will you stop clowning? Save that pep! You'll need it before we get to South America."

"Don't I know it! I'll be good and tired before I reach Peru, but right now I feel like a million dollars. I wouldn't change places with the President of the United States or the Prince of Wales," said Terry with a laugh. "I'm perfectly satisfied to be Terry Mapes, airplane pilot on a secret errand to the wilds of South America."

"And I," interrupted Prim, settling back for a comfortable trip, "would rather be just Prim, the twin sister of the cleverest girl flyer who ever did a barrel roll.--But I wish she'd cut out the stunts for the present!"

Dick Mapes, the father of the girls was an old airmail pilot. He had taught both girls to fly. The home-loving Prim had become a good pilot but she was not as fond of the sport as her sister. Prim was a pretty blonde type, inclined to plumpness, easy-going and gay, while Terry was serious, high strung and nervous, Terry loved to fly and now that her father was crippled from an accident and still unable to leave his wheel chair, she was trusted with many important air jobs.

To Terry it was not half so venturesome to cut up antics in the air as it would have been to race in a motor boat or automobile. She always felt perfectly safe and perfectly happy when she could put a thousand feet of air between her plane and the earth.

Prim, in spite of her protests, had perfect confidence in her twin sister's ability to handle her plane and whether she was stunting or flying straight. Prim could feel sure of a happy landing and enjoy herself.

At last Terry had worked off her excitement. She leveled out her plane and throttled the engine down to a steady cruising speed. Terry's success as a flyer was due to the fact that the girl understood her plane thoroughly and treated it with respect. Apart from an occasional burst of speed to work off her excess energy and a few stunts to keep her in practice, Terry kept her plane on a level keel and never overtaxed it.

Mile after mile sped by below them and Terry's mind was racing ahead to the work she had to do, a mission which might be full of perils and thrilling hazards.

Since the day when her father had started out with such high hopes of success in the venture of The Dick Mapes Flying Field, things had gone all wrong with him. He had obtained an option on a large tract of land at Elmwood from the owner, Peter Langley who lived at a small gold mine in the wilds of Peru, and it was this field that had aroused the envy of his business rival, Joe Arnold.

Most of Dick's misfortunes had come through the jealousy of this unscrupulous flyer. Joe Arnold was anxious to get control of Dick Mapes' field, as it was situated near his own and was at a safe point for carrying on his illegal business. If he could once get this field he would be isolated and not run the risk of being seen when loading and unloading his planes.

Joe Arnold was a dangerous rival. He would stop at nothing to carry out his schemes. And for the last two years he had kept Dick Mapes and his helpers in a state of anxiety. At first there had only been slight inconveniences, mishaps that were annoying, but through his agent, Bud Hyslop, who worked as mechanic for Mapes, Joe was able to learn all the plans of the field. He grew bolder and with Bud to carry out his orders, the field was the scene of frequent accidents.

Suspicion pointed to Bud after the crash in which Dick Mapes was injured. Dick was a careful pilot and always checked up on his plane before starting out on a trip. Yet as soon as he was in the air that day, he found that someone had been tampering with his plane. It was too late to save himself. The plane crashed from a height of five hundred feet. It was a miracle that saved Dick from death.

Allan Graham, his young partner, declared that he had seen Bud near the plane just before Dick took off. But no one could say for sure that Bud Hyslop was guilty, although most of the people on the field believed he was. Dick was too tender-hearted to discharge the boy without a reason and it was only after Bud had proven beyond doubt that he was working against the field that Dick let him go.

One thing after another had happened to discredit Dick and for a time it looked as if he might have to give up the field entirely.

And as a final blow word had come from Peter Langley saying that he did not care to extend the option, after he had let it be understood that he would do so. Dick felt as if the struggle was too much for him. Old Peter Langley had gone on to say that he had received reports that Dick was using the field for smuggling purposes, and he did not care to be mixed up with business of that sort.

Dick knew, without being told, who had been the slanderer. His enemy, Joe Arnold was still trying to injure him.

Bennett Graham, his backer, came to the rescue once more and gave Dick the money, but the time limit was almost up. There were only about ten days left. And with Peter Langley believing him to be a crook, there was little hope of taking up the option without a personal interview.

Dick Mapes in his wheel chair, fretted and fumed at the problem facing him. Allan Graham, the son of his backer, and Syd Ames had been his first student-flyers and were now working at the field. They had been gone a week on a trip to Chicago. No one was left to take the long trip to Peru.

Of course he had Terry and Prim! Dick could trust Terry anywhere with a plane, but it was a long flight to Peru and there might be storms and dangers. Dick grew restless and impatient under the misfortune that kept him tied to his wheel chair.

"If I were only well enough to fly!" he fumed.

"But what's the idea, Dad! Don't you think I can fly well enough?" Terry faced her father with flaming cheeks, her large brown eyes were flashing. "Why not send me?"

"Send you? To South America? Alone?"

"Not alone! Prim can go."

"But Terry, don't you realize that Peru is a long way off? You may have to face grave dangers, storms, fevers, savages! And while Peter Langley and his wife may be all right, you never can tell ahead of time what rough characters you may meet there!"

"What of it? I'm not afraid. You wouldn't think twice about sending Allan and Syd," said the girl with a frown.

Dick Mapes shook his head. "That's different," he said. "They are boys!"

"Which means that you don't trust me. You think I'm not a good flyer!"

Dick laughed. "Terry, don't be silly! I'd trust you to fly anything you could get off the ground. That isn't it. But I don't feel as if it would be right for me to let you risk your life."

Terry sat down beside her father's wheel chair and took his hand. "Listen Dad, while I talk. Haven't I proven over and over again that I'm a capable flyer. I'm pretty good at getting out of a jam in the air."

"I've said it often, Terry. I've never seen a better stunt flyer. You're clever and you think when you're in the air! And that's what half the flyers don't do. That's why they crash."

"All right, so far, so good! We've been in lots of jams and got out of them by using our brains. Weren't Prim and I The Gypsies Of The Air, and didn't we go after the boys in Newfoundland and get them away from the kidnappers? Nothing terrible happened to us. Of course old Jim Heron kept us locked up and we had to think hard to find a way out of that old fortress, but we escaped without any harm." Terry's eyes were snapping as she recalled their imprisonment in the old fort.

"Oh, I know, Terry. You and Prim can look out for yourselves. But I don't like to send you into a jam deliberately."

"But Dad, you don't know that there will be a jam, this time, and if there is, we can get out of it."

Dick did not answer as Terry hesitated and gave him a chance. The girl went on:

"Now we're in one of the biggest jams we've ever had yet. We're almost sure to lose our flying field, though we have the money to take up the option, because our enemy Joe Arnold has written mean letters to old Peter Langley and set him against us. Now you can see for yourself, if I could get down there before the option expires he would think differently."

"I know he would, Terry. But it's too dangerous. No."

"But it's the only way out. Allan and Syd are not here and may not be for a week. And we are apt to lose our flying field because you still have this one old-fashioned idea. You're up to date in every other way, Dad. What makes you think that girls can't look out for themselves?"