Hurtling Wings by L. Ron Hubbard

Author:L. Ron Hubbard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9781592125753
Publisher: Galaxy Press
Published: 2010-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

The Clue

ACTIVITY filled the morning sunlight. Motors rumbled high overhead and wings flickered as planes went through complicated maneuvers. The loudspeakers droned on and on, announcing this event and that, lauding this pilot and razzing another. The crowd listened and watched, sighed and cheered, from the overflowing stands. Planes, planes, planes. They stood in three-deep rows back of the lines. They drowned out speech and racked the eardrums. Records were being gained and lost. Some pilots rose to stardom; others flickered out into oblivion. Aviation was in the making.

But around the Kyle hangar all activity had a subdued undertone of worry. The mechanics who swarmed over the big eight-passenger, twin-motored monoplane had little to say to each other or to the two men who stood restlessly in the shade of a wing.

Speed Kyle had aged a dozen years overnight, and Cal Bradley showed what worry and lack of sleep can do even to youth. Nevertheless, his high laced boots were shining, his leather jacket was fresh and his striped helmet was polished. He had found some solace in turning himself out like a gentleman that morning, with some idea that clean clothes would rest him. He had been driving throughout the small hours of the morning—from police station to hotel, from the field to the river, searching for some clue that would lead to Georgia.

They had found her room empty, her clothes gone. An upset chair and a ransacked closet told of violence, and a stricken-eyed elevator operator had been unable to speak, still visualizing the cold, merciless muzzle of the gun that had been shoved into his ribs. The night clerk had been left unconscious behind his desk and his story had been incoherent.

“They wouldn’t dare do anything,” said Cal. “To her, I mean. They’d maybe keep her out of sight for a while, but that’s all. Kidnaping for ransom’s a hanging offense in this state.”

“I’d give my eye teeth for a smart cop,” growled Speed, and he grunted when he remembered that the police had almost locked him up for making a similar remark in the station. “I guess those birds thought we were just going around to amuse ourselves.”

Cal sighed. “That wasn’t it. They were afraid they’d maybe make a false arrest. They’ve got to look after their own hides, you know.”

“Sure. But that’s no call for laughing at us when we told them to arrest McNallan. To listen to them, you’d think a guy with a couple grand in his pocket was a saint, just because he had money.”

“I guess we presented ourselves wrong, somehow. I got sore myself when they accused us of just trying to get Jupiter Aircraft out of today’s race. But I don’t think they’d do anything to Georgia.”

Speed looked up from under the bushiness of his brows and growled, “They’d do anything, and don’t kid yourself about it. They’re safe enough because they know nobody’ll do anything until after the meet, and then it’ll be too late. If I could only get my hands on McNallan!”

“But you can’t,” Cal interrupted.

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