Linda Carlton's Island Adventure Read online

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  He looked as if he meant to hit her, and Linda recoiled in terror. (Page 50)]

  LINDA CARLTON'S ISLAND ADVENTURE

  By EDITH LAVELL

  Linda and airplane]

  THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY

  Akron, Ohio New York

  Copyright MCMXXXI

  THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY

  Linda Carlton's Island Adventure

  _Made in the United States of America_

  Contents

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I _The "Ladybug"_ 7

  II _The Aviation Job_ 25

  III _Kidnapped_ 40

  IV _Captive_ 56

  V _Escape_ 71

  VI _The Enemy in the Autogiro_ 85

  VII _The Smash-Up_ 96

  VIII _The Chief of Police_ 107

  IX _Two Prisoners_ 123

  X _Susie Disappears_ 138

  XI _The Island in the Ocean_ 158

  XII _The Money-Bags_ 172

  XIII _The Broken Motor-Boat_ 182

  XIV _Searching Parties_ 194

  XV _The Empty Island_ 209

  XVI _Searching the Ocean_ 224

  XVII _On to Cuba_ 237

  XVIII _Luck for Ted and Louise_ 251

  XIX _The Return_ 263

  XX _Conclusion_ 275

  LINDA CARLTON'SISLAND ADVENTURE

  CHAPTER I

  _The "Ladybug"_

  "There's a young lady here to see you, Linda," announced Miss EmilyCarlton, coming into her niece's room the morning after the latter'sreturn from the St. Louis Ground School. The girl had just graduated,winning both commercial and transport licenses, and, besides that, shewas registered as the only feminine airplane mechanic in the country.

  "Who is she, Auntie?" inquired Linda, rubbing her eyes and peering outthe window into the lovely June sunshine. What a wonderful day! Toobeautiful to spend on the ground! But she sighed as she recalled thatat the moment she did not possess a plane.

  "A reporter, I believe," replied the older woman. "Miss Hawkins, fromthe 'News'."

  "But I haven't done anything to get into the newspapers," objectedLinda.

  "My dear child, you don't have to! Aren't you the only girl who everflew the Atlantic alone? That's enough to keep you in the spotlightforever."

  "But I don't like spot-lights," Linda insisted, starting to dress."Couldn't you get rid of her, Auntie?"

  Miss Carlton shook her head.

  "I tried to, dear. But she wouldn't go. She wants to know your summerplans. I told her you'd probably just spend a quiet vacation with me atGreen Falls, where we were last year. But she didn't believe me. Shesaid you weren't the type to take your vacations quietly."

  Linda laughed.

  "I guess she's right, Aunt Emily."

  The latter looked troubled. She had been trying for a year--eversince Linda's father had given her an Arrow Pursuit bi-plane forgraduation--to keep the girl out of the air as much as possible, butshe had not succeeded. The Carltons were comfortably well-off, and itwas Miss Carlton's wish that Linda go in for society, and make a goodmarriage. But though Linda enjoyed occasional parties as much as anynormal young person, she had a serious purpose in life, to make flyingher career just as a young man would.

  "You won't go to Green Falls--with all the rest of the crowd?" askedMiss Carlton, anxiously.

  "I can't, Aunt Emily. I--I--can't spare the time. I am trying to get ajob."

  "A job? But you don't need money. Your father's business is dongnicely----"

  "Oh, it isn't the money I want," interrupted the girl. "It's theexperience."

  Linda finished dressing and came down stairs to meet the young womanwho was waiting for her. The latter insisted that she eat her breakfastwhile they talked.

  "Honestly, I haven't done a thing interesting to the world sincemy ocean flight!" Linda said. "Except win my licenses, and all thegraduates' names have already been listed in the papers."

  The reporter smiled at her as if she were a child.

  "My dear girl," she explained, "you are front-page news now, no matterwhat you do. You are Queen of the Air, and will be until some otherwoman does something more daring than your flight to Paris alone. Soeverything you do interests the public. Naturally they want to knowwhat you are planning for the summer. Flying to South America, orAlaska? And what kind of plane do you intend to buy next, since yousold your Bellanca in Paris?"

  Linda yawned, and fingered her mail--a great pile of letters beside herplate. Invitations, mostly from the younger set in Spring City, for shewas very popular.

  "I'm afraid I don't know yet," she replied, simply.

  "Maybe if you read your mail--" suggested the reporter.

  "She is to be a bridesmaid at Miss Katherine Clavering's wedding nextweek," supplied Miss Carlton, entering the dining-room. As usual,social events were all-important to her, especially affairs with theClaverings, the richest people in Spring City. Katherine, or "Kitty,"as her friends all called her, was to be married to Lt. Hulbert ofthe U. S. Flying Corps, and her brother Ralph made no secret of hisdevotion for Linda. If he had had his way, they would have beenmarried last Christmas, and aviation jobs would be out of the questionfor Linda Carlton at the present time.

  The girl searched through her mail rapidly, and picked out a letterwhich interested her above all others. It was from the PitcairnAutogiro Company in the East.

  As she read it, her blue eyes lighted up with enthusiasm, and sheexamined the enclosed circular with excited interest, completelyforgetting her visitor.

  The reporter waited patiently for a minute or two.

  "Well, what's it all about, Miss Carlton?" she finally inquired.

  Linda looked up at her as if she were startled, and suddenly rememberedher caller. She handed her the circular.

  "I am going to buy an autogiro," she announced, with decision.

  "A what?" demanded her aunt, thinking Linda referred to some kind ofautomobile. "A new car?"

  The reporter smiled.

  "A flying bug?" she demanded.

  Miss Carlton gasped in horror. A bug! What would her niece be up tonext?

  "Linda!" she exclaimed.

  "It's a plane, Aunt Emily," the girl explained. "You ought to like it.It's the very safest kind there is. In the eight or nine years since itwas invented, nobody has been killed with one."

  Miss Carlton looked doubtful.

  "No airplane is safe," she remarked.

  "This isn't an airplane. It's an autogiro."

  "But it flies?"

  "Of course."

  Linda showed her the picture. It was indeed a queer looking object,with its wind-mill-like arrangement on top, and its absence of bigwings. As the reporter had observed, its appearance was very like ahuge bug.

  "They do say it's unusually safe," corroborat
ed the latter. "You'llhave to take a ride in it, Miss Carlton."

  "Not I!" protested the older woman. "Firm earth is good enough forme.... No, it looks dangerous enough to me."

  Linda smiled; she could never convince her aunt of the joy of flying,or of the minimum risk, if one were a careful pilot. She was glad thather father was more broad-minded; if he weren't, she would still be onthe ground.

  "And where will you go with your Flying Bug, Miss Carlton?" asked thereporter, tapping her pencil on her note-book.

  "Not on any long flight," replied the girl, to her aunt's relief. "Myaim is to get some sort of aviation job."

  "What would you like to do?"

  "Anything connected with planes. I prefer flying, but I'd be satisfiedat the beginning with ground work.... If you will write down yourtelephone number, Miss Hawkins, I will call you up when I have decideddefinitely just what my plans will be."

  "Thank you very much!" exclaimed the other girl, rising. "I thinkyou are a peach, Miss Carlton. Some celebrities are so mean to usreporters."

  "I'm afraid I'm not a real celebrity," laughed Linda. "I'll beforgotten by the public this time next year. I sincerely hope that moreand more girls and women will be doing things in aviation, so that mylittle stunt will seem trivial. That is progress, you know."

  Scarcely had the visitor gone before Miss Carlton was begging Linda toopen her other letters.

  "The Junior League picnic is tomorrow," she said. "And Dot Crowley isgiving a luncheon in honor of Kitty Clavering.... There are probably alot more things, too...."

  Rather listlessly Linda opened her letters. It was not the same, shethought, without Louise to share everything. Louise Haydock--LouiseMackay now--had been her chum all through school, where they were soinseparable that they were always referred to by their friends as the"double Ls." The other girl's marriage had meant a sharp break toLinda, for the Mackays had moved to Wichita, Kansas, where Ted wasemployed as a flyer.

  As if Miss Carlton understood her niece's thoughts, she remarked thatLouise was coming for Kitty's wedding.

  Linda's eyes shone with joy.

  "Flying?" she inquired, as a matter of course.

  "Yes. She and Ted are arriving some time tonight. Mrs. Haydock calledup, and asked me to tell you."

  Linda could not read her mail for a few minutes, so intense was herhappiness at this splendid news.

  "Ted can go with me to see about the autogiro!" she exclaimed. "I do sowant his opinion!"

  "Go where?"

  "To Philadelphia, where the Pitcairn Company is located."

  Again Miss Carlton looked annoyed, almost shocked.

  "You don't mean to say you'll take time to fly to Philadelphia, withall your engagements?"

  Linda nodded.

  "I'll be here for the wedding, Aunt Emily. Don't worry about that. Butnothing else is particularly important."

  Miss Carlton groaned. What could you do with a girl like Linda? Youmight as well have a boy!

  The mail was finally opened and sorted, and Linda dutifully went to adinner dance at the Country Club that evening with Ralph Clavering. Butshe was tense all evening, for she was hoping every moment that Louisewould arrive.

  About midnight the young couple dashed in, radiant in their happiness.To everyone's amusement Louise flew into Linda's arms in the middle ofthe dance floor.

  "How do you get that way?" demanded Ralph, pretending to be angry. "Asif it isn't enough to endure every fellow in the room tapping me whenI'm dancing with Linda, without having girls do it too!"

  But the double Ls scarcely heard him. They were so enraptured at seeingeach other again.

  "I'm going to stay a week!" announced Louise. "Luckily, Ted has somebusiness in Philadelphia and New York, and he'll be flying back andforth."

  "Philadelphia!" exclaimed Linda. "Isn't that great! Can we go with himthere?"

  "Of course we can, if you don't mind a squeeze. The plane isn't verybig," explained Louise. "But then, we're not fat. Ted'll be tickled todeath to have company--he hates flying alone. But why do you want to goto Philadelphia, Linda?"

  "To buy an autogiro!"

  "You always were crazy about those things. Remember the time you gaveup a dance to fly one?"

  "I certainly do. And you wouldn't go with me."

  "Well, there was a reason," laughed Louise, making no secret of heradmiration for her husband.... "I think Ted'll go day after tomorrow,"she continued. "We thought we'd enjoy resting a day, and taking in theJunior League picnic."

  "Fine!" agreed Linda. "That will give everybody a chance to see you.Besides, Aunt Emily would die if I missed that affair. Remember the onelast year. Didn't we have fun?"

  "We certainly did," smiled Louise, reminiscently. "But it seems likemore than a year ago--so much has happened."

  "I wasn't even flying then," observed the other.

  "And I hadn't met Ted!"

  "You're a real bride, Lou!" returned Linda, affectionately. "But you'rejust the same old dear!"

  The following day was just as delightful as it had been the previousyear, and the picnic another success. To Linda it was all the moreenjoyable, because of the novelty of seeing her old friends again afterthe separation caused by a year at the school in St. Louis.

  Ted went along with Louise, and entered into all the sports, just asif he had been born and brought up with the crowd in Spring City.Moreover, he was delighted at the prospect of having the two girls gowith him the next day, and appeared almost as enthusiastic about theautogiro as Linda herself.

  The weather continued perfect, and the three happy young people tookoff from Spring City the following morning. An excellent mechanichimself, Ted always kept his plane in tip-top condition, and it wasa rare thing indeed for him even to encounter a minor accident. Thisflight proved no exception; straight and swift through the June skieshe flew to the field outside the city of Philadelphia where theautogiros were on display.

  "You really expect to buy one today, Linda?" asked Louise, as sheclimbed out of the plane.

  "Yes--if Ted gives his approval," replied the capable aviatrix. She hadalways had the greatest confidence in this young red-haired pilot, whohad taken her on her first flight, and who had saved her and his wifefrom disaster upon two occasions.

  "Are you sure that it can go fast enough to suit you, Linda?" asked Ted.

  "It can travel a hundred and twenty-five miles an hour, and that oughtto satisfy me. If I were entering any air-races, I'd want a specialracing plane anyhow, for the occasion. But I'm not going out forraces. I want to take a job, and I think an autogiro will be the mostconvenient plane I can have, to take with me anywhere I want to go. Ishan't have to depend on big fields for landing."

  "Right-o," agreed the young man.

  They walked across the field and were shown a model by an enthusiasticsalesman. As the reporter had said, it did look like a flying bug, withits odd wind-mill-like rotor on top, and its small stub-like wings,which were there mainly to mount the lateral controls or ailerons.

  "It isn't so pretty as the Arrow," remarked Louise.

  "Handsome is as handsome does," returned Linda. "If we'd had anautogiro that time in Canada, when our gas leaked out, a forced landingwouldn't have been disastrous."

  "Why?"

  "Because the rotor takes care of that, after the engine is dead,"explained Linda. "An autogiro can come down vertically at a slower ratethan we did with our parachutes."

  "I'll never forget how scared I was that time we jumped off," remarkedher companion. "You know, it's one thing to see other people do it--inthe air, or at the movies--and its something else to step off intospace yourself. That all-gone feeling!"

  "I don't mind it any more now--it doesn't seem any worse than droppingten stories in an elevator. But I know what you mean."

  "Well, I have never had to jump since," Louise informed her. "But," shecontinued as they walked around the autogiro, "isn't there really anydanger of crashing?"

  "You can crash, of course," laughed Linda
. "If you steer straight foranother plane, or a tree. But tail-spins are practically impossible;they say no matter what happens the autogiro settles to the ground likea tired hen. It's the principle of centrifugal force--it can't fail."

  "Oh, yeah?" remarked Louise, hiding a yawn.

  "What I want your opinion on, Ted," added Linda, turning to the youngman, "is the engine. You know more about engines than I do."

  "I'm not so sure of that last," he replied, modestly. "Looks O.K. tome--I've been examining it while you girls chattered."

  The salesman, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenlyburst into a smile. He had been wondering where he had seen that girlbefore. Now he knew! Her pictures had been in every newspaper in thecountry. She was Linda Carlton, of course!

  "You're Miss Carlton, aren't you?" he demanded, excitedly. "The girlwho flew to Paris alone?"

  "Yes," answered Linda, indifferently. She didn't want to talk ancienthistory now. "This is a P C A--2, isn't it?" she inquired, to bring theman to the subject of autogiros.

  "Yes. Fifteen thousand dollars. I suppose it's not necessary to tell_you_ what instruments it is equipped with--an experienced flyer likeyourself can recognize them by a glance into the pilot's cock-pit."

  "Yes, I see them. And I had a circular besides.... It's complete,all right. The only thing I don't like about it is the separatepassenger's cock-pit. My Arrow Pursuit had a companion cock-pit."

  "You can always talk to your passenger through the speaking-tube," thesalesman reminded her.

  "Yes, of course----"

  "And nobody you take along now-a-days will be as talkative as I alwayswas on our trips together," Louise observed, with a smile.

  "Talkative!" repeated Linda, "All you ever wanted to do was sleep!Every time I looked at you on that flight to Canada, you werepeacefully dozing!"

  "And she still has a bad habit of dropping off," teased Ted.

  "So long as that's the only way I 'drop off,' I'm satisfied," concludedLouise.

  In spite of their frivolous talk, Linda had been thinking seriouslyabout the autogiro, and had entirely made up her mind about it.

  "I'll take it," she announced. "If you surely approve of it, Ted."

  "I do, absolutely."

  The salesman looked at her in amazement. Never had he made such an easysale before. But he did not meet people like Linda Carlton every day!

  "Don't you want to try it out?" he suggested. "I can show you how tofly it in a few minutes."

  "I have flown one before," she told him. "But I would like to take itup for a few minutes if you don't mind. Am I to have this particularone? I have a certified check in payment."

  The salesman blinked his eyes in further consternation. The check rightthere, the girl ready to take the plane home with her! It was a momentbefore he could catch his breath.

  "Of course," he finally managed to answer. "I'll have her started foryou immediately. And--would your friends care to go up with you?"

  "Sure!" exclaimed Ted. "We're your best friends, aren't we, Linda? Sooughtn't we to be privileged with the first ride?"

  "You certainly are!" replied the famous aviatrix, squeezing Louise'shand in her excitement and delight. "Come on!"

  It was the Mackays' first flight in an autogiro, and though they werevery much crowded in the passenger's cock-pit, they insisted thatthat only added to the fun. With a sureness which Ted watched inadmiration, Linda took off and flew round and round the field, puttingthe new plane through all sorts of tests, proving conclusively that allthe claims for it were well-founded.

  Fifteen minutes later they came slowly down to earth, landing on theexact spot from which Linda had taken off.

  "Unscramble yourselves!" she cried to her passengers, as she climbedout of the cock-pit. "Let's go pay our bill."

  "She's great, Linda!" approved Louise, as her husband helped her out."I'm for her, even if she is a funny-looking bug."

  "Sh!" cautioned Linda, solemnly. "You might hurt her feelings.She's--she's--a lady!"

  "Ladybug!" exclaimed Louise, with a sudden burst of inspiration.

  "Ladybug is right!" agreed her chum enthusiastically. "You've named herfor me, Lou!"