Evening star., 1936-02-02
The Lost Airplane Mystery W. poxcs noRcA,

Hal Fenton works for the Stafford AZ
Transport Co.. which >. operates ,..s tssdsr sd.
Sne ot ssaftora's pilots' starts for South
e. a4ags from with tn:
Chemical Co.. and disappears. When days
of search reveal no trace Of him. stat
GtS Il Norecf II fansfT Then 1 Eaas Ssns Mors
South Branch with. another shipment.
reaches his destination safely. but dis.
morning n Nj. Nj STAFFORD and Hal set out in
search for him. They. pass over small
s Ehsn Eeds hsS ss0nEa uao.
notices that the trees are not turning
then IKE the rest soTa Of the
they come in for a landing on the field
the trees miraculously fiatten out.
INSTALLMENT v.
Y YALS eyes were wide with
II amazement as the Swallows
/ wheels struck the ground
4 4 gently, bounced a trifle. and
then rolled straight over what. mo-
ment before; had appeared to be a row
Of trees! Mr.. Stafford quickly
brought the ship to a stop at the end
of the long, narrow field, and together
they climbed out Of the cabin.
We'll, I'll be-!" Mr.. Stafford
was almost speechless. Look, Hal
that row Of trees is nothing but can
vas, painted a mottled green. But
from up above, you'd swear they were
trees"
Hal ran forward and bent down to
examine the clever camouflage. He
saw that the trees that had formerly
stood in the center Of the field had
been cut down, and their stumps
blasted from the ground. Then large
pieces of canvas had been painted to
resemble green leaves when seen from
above, and staked out where the trees
had stood. The deception was perfect
until you saw the field from nearer
the ground, or noticed; as Hal had
done, that the leaves were not chang
ing color.
Hal turned puzzled eyes to Mr.. Staf-
ford. But what does it mean?" ne
inquired. whats it all about? And
has it any connection with the disap-
pearance of Shade and Eddie Moore?"
Mr.. Stafford,s face was grim. i
don't know yet, Hal" he said, but
I'm beginning to have some suspi-
cions."
A RE you, really? Well, WE'LL" As
they heard these words, spoken
in a mocking voice, Hal and Mr.. Stat
ford Strengthened up in startled sur
prise. Three men stood a few feet
away from them. and all of them were
armed. Hal didn't know two of the
men, but he uttered a sudden cry as
he realized that the man who had
spoken was Shade.
"Shade!" Mr.. stafford's face took
on an expression Of relief, and he
started forward to grip his pilots
hand. Then he saw the look on
Shades face, and he stopped short.
"Just stay where you are, Stafford"
said the flyer in an ugly tone. I'VE
weren't expecting you, and your ar
rival presents somewhat Of a prob
lem. And I'm :fraid the solution OF
that problem isn't going to be very
healthy for you!"
Mr.. Stafford paused, and his face
flushed. Look here, Shade" he said
hotly, "this nonsense has gone far
enough. Who are these men and
what's the idea Of the guns? And
where have you been for the last
week? Why haven't you gotten in
touch with me?"
You'll find out soon enough. "
snapped Shade. If you're beginning
to have some suspicious, as you said q
moment ago, maybe you won't need to
be told"
Halls eyes had been darting around
the little field, and suddenly they
fastened on a spot of vivid yellow
color Under some trees at one side.
"Look!' he cried. There's the
Oriole. Eddie Moore must be here,
too"
"Oh, yes, Eddie's here" said Shade
coolly. HE flew in last night at our
When we found out he
was flying to South Branch, we put
my ship, the Hawk, out on the field
where he could see it. Naturally, he |
came down to investigate, and as a
result of his curiosity, he now is safely
locked up in little shack back there !
In the woods"
MIR. STAFFORD'S eyes were hard.
N Shade" he barked. whats |
the idea? Come on-out with It'll"
Shade shifted the gun in his hand
50 that it covered Mr.. Stafford's heart. |
THE idea," he said, rs that the STAT |
ford Air Transport Co. is all washed