On Adventure Island

To Terry, it was not half so venturesome to cut up antics in the air as it would have been to race in a motorboat or automobile. She always felt safe and happy when she could put a thousand feet of air between her plane and the earth. Despite her protests, Prim 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 levelled out her plane and throttled the engine down to a steady cruising speed. Terry’s success as a flyer was because 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 raced ahead to the work she had to do, a mission that might be full of perils and thrilling hazards. Since the day when her father had started 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.