Bill Barnes Air Adventurer, July 1935 — page 30: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

28 “At dawn,” Bill said. ‘‘The weather reports seem to be all right. Looks as though we will have a tail wind to Ber- muda. You had better 7 Bill's lags froze; his eyes stared as he saw a figure stagger through a small door in the front of the hangar and slip to the con- crete floor. He ran across the hangar bellowing with rage as he saw that Red Gleason’s face and head were covered with blood. Dropping on one knee he lifted Red’s battered face. Red tried to speak but no sound came from his lips. He pointed a wavering hand to- ward the field outside as an airplane motor roared on the apron. “They came in with a dead stick and landed down the field—two of ‘em,’ Red gasped. “Jumped Shorty in his room. They’re taking him with them. Knocked me cold. Go get ’em, Bill.” His eyes closed as a groan of anguish escaped his lips. Bill eased Red into Scotty’s arms and rose to his feet. He bellowed orders at the top of his voice. A bell rang) in the hangar and the enormous door slid back on its runners. Mechanices swarmed around a sleek, twelve-hundred-horse- power Snorter that had already been warmed up. As it rolled out on the apron Bill Barnes leaped for the for- ward cockpit. “Sandy!” he bellowed, “get another Snorter into the air. We'll have to force that ship down.” A _ stocky, rugged, cabin biplane was just lifting its nose off the concrete runway at the far end of the field as the motor of Bill’s Snorter blasted. He kicked the ship around in a half turn and started down the runway into the wind with his flaps set well down. After an incredibly short run he lifted the ship into the air and began to spiral upward. The fast little cabin plane was boring through the air a half mile away as he flipped a switch on his radio panel and shouted Sandy’s name into the microphone. He could see Sandy’s BILL BARNES Snorter speeding down the runway and taking the air as Sandy answered. “We've got to move fast, kid,” Bill said. “It will be dark before long and well lose him. You stay right on his tail. Ride his tail on his blind spot, and I'll get some feet under me and dive on him to force him down. Don’t hit the plane if you have to use your gun. You may hit Shorty. We'll drive him down. Got it?” “QO, K., Bill.” Sandy said. his shirt off.” Bill’s eyes were two spots of fire as he scanned his instrument panel. The gray biplane was streaking along five thousand feet below him. Sandy was riding its tail, just below and behind it. With an explosive curse Bill shoved his control column forward and blasted the Snorter into a power dive. His speed was terrific and mounting higher. The wind howled and screamed and whined as he tripped the triggers of his two machine guns. White death streamers cut a path in front of the bi- plane. Bull knew his speed was too great for accurate shooting. But he didn’t care about accurate shooting. He wanted the pilot of that gray plane to know he was not alone. “Til ride THE GRAY PLANE went into a sweeping turn as Bill leveled off and whipped back into a chandelle. The pilot of the gray plane had seen Sandy and was maneuvering to get in position tO: use his guns. But each time it seerhned that he would have Sandy under his guns the kid whipped around in a series of Immelmann turns that broke his aim. Bill was back in the battle now, rid- ing just above the biplane. The pilot tried desperately to outmaneuver the two Snorters. He was being forced lower and lower by their frequent bursts of machine-gun fire. They could see his white, strained face as they flashed by him. Suddenly, Sandy dove straight oO COMIC OO S CO