“Yes. Let’s get going.”

Whistling and chuckling spasmodically the Flying Buddies set to work and presently they had the foliage screen out of the way, had wiped the sticky bodies of dead butterflies off the propellers and other parts, examined the control boards, the gas tanks, and then made a tryout test to be sure that everything was as it should be.

“Oh, gee, this is great. All set, Old Man?”

“Contact,” Bob responded.

“Fore,” bellowed Jim.

Presently they were in the cockpits, the engines roared merrily, it was great to hear them singing smoothly after the long silence and the Buddies waved at each other. The helicopter started first, ran a few rods, then lifted almost vertically and when it was off the ground, Bob’s machine started taxiing swiftly, curved, its nose went up gracefully, then it began to climb, zooming swiftly until it reached the elevation Jim had attained. That done the boys smiled with satisfaction, circled about the spot in wide turns only climbing slightly. They took in the entire location, including the site of the ancient ruin, and after several minutes, Austin caught sight of Mills standing near the fallen stone. They saw the man stare up at them as if their presence in the sky puzzled him, then he bent over the ground and crouched out of sight, as if afraid.

Having ascertained his whereabouts, the two planes climbed again and when they were well in the ceiling, they leveled off, pointed their noses toward the sea, and with courses set, raced at high speed toward their goal. Mills’ plane proved to be a faster machine than the Canadian Mountie’s, but it gave a very good account of itself.

They had been flying nearly fifteen minutes when suddenly Jim spied a plane circling high in the distance. It banked, dipped, turned and came rushing toward them, the British insignia showing plainly on the fuselage. Soon it drew close and the Flying Buddies could see two men in her, one with a glass to his eyes, and in a moment the man waved; it seemed as if he were jumping up and down in the cock-pit, and the boys grinned widely as they realized that he was probably some airman who had spent long anxious hours in search of them. With a wave of his hand the pilot circled about them, then zoomed up, and shot forward at top speed toward the barracks airdrome.

“He’s taking word in,” Jim said to himself. It was wonderful to be going back to them, those 

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