Scanned by Sean Pobuda jpobudaadelphianetNo 2 of a seriesTHE GIRL AVIATORS ON GOLDEN WINGSBy Margaret BurnhamCHAPTER ITHE GREAT ALKALIAnd so this is the great Nevada desertPeggy Prescott wrinkled her nose rather disdainfully as she gazedfrom the open window of the car out over the white glitteringexpansedotted here and there with gloomylooking clumps of sagebrushthrough which they had been traveling for some little timepastThis is it nodded her brother Roy what do you think of itsisUmer I shall have to wait a while before I answer thatrejoined Peggy judiciallyWell heres Jimsy lets ask him cried Roy as a lad of his ownage accompanied by a slender graceful girl came down the aisle ofthe car and approached the section in which the two young Prescottswere sittingJimsy Bancroft demanded Roy we are now on the great Nevadadesert or on the edge of it  Does it meet with your approvalTheres plenty of it anyhow laughed Jimsy and really its verymuch like what I expected it would beI feel like a regular cowgirl oraerwell what the newspaperscall a typical Westerner already said Jess Bancroft JimsyssisterOnly typical Westerners dont protect their delicate complexionsfrom dust with cold cream laughed Peggy holding up a fingerreprovingly  As if any beauty magazine wont tell you its awomans duty to take the greatest care of her complexion parriedJess  Roy and I have been sitting out on the observation platformon the last coachthat is we sat there till the dust drove us inShe shook the folds of a long light pongee automobile coat she woreand a little cloud of dust arose  They all coughed as the pungentstuff circulatedUgh cried Roy it makes your eyes smartThats the alkali in it quoth Jimsy sagely alkali isVery unpleasant coughed PeggyBut as we are likely to have to endure it for the next few weeksstruck in Roy we might as well lose no time in getting accustomedto itWell girls and boys came a deep pleasant voice behind them weshall be in Blue Creek in a short time now so gather up yourbelongings  Ill take care of the aeroplane outfits and the otherstuff in the baggage car he went on and here comes Miss PrescottnowThe lady referred to was a sweetfaced woman of some fifty years ofage though it was easy to see that the years had dealt kindly withher during her placid life in the village of Sandy Beach on LongIsland New York where she had made her home  Miss Prescott wasthe aunt of the two Prescott children and since their fathersdeath some time before had been both mother and father to themtheirown mother having passed away when they were but small childrenAs readers of the first volume of this series know Mr Prescott hadbeen an inventor of some distinction  Dying he had confided to hisson and daughter his plans for a noncapsizable aeroplane of greatpower  His son had promised to carry on the work and had devotedhis legacy to this purposeIn that volume which was called The Girl Aviators and the PhantomAirship it will be recalled it was told how Peggy had been ofmaterial aid to her brother in his plans and hopes and had inreality saved the day for him when he fell into the hands of someenemies  This occurred on the eve of a great aeroplane contest inwhich Roy had entered in the hopes of winning the first prize  Withthe money thus obtained he planned to pay off a mortgage held onMiss Prescotts home by an unscrupulous old banker whose son wasthe prime mover in the plots against RoyOne of the means adopted to force him to sell his secrets was themanipulation of a phantom aeroplane which for a time sadly puzzledthe lad and his sister  The mystery was solved in a strange wayhowever and almost at the same time the baffling problem of whathad become of Mrs Bancrofts jewels was also unraveled  All thisdid not take place without many adventures being encountered by thefour chums Among these was the encounter with the old hermit PeterBell who through Peggys agency was restored to his brotherJames Bell the millionaire western mining manJames Bell became much interested in the Prescotts and theiraeroplanes  Finally he made an advantageous proposal to Roy totravel West and operate for him a line of aeroplanes from somedesert mines he had discovered on a trip which almost cost him hislife  As autos could not cross the alkali and transportation ofthe product by wagons would have been prohibitive in cost as wellas almost impossible to achieve Mr Bell had hit on the happy ideaof conveying the precious product of his property by aeroplaneAt the same time it so happened that Mr Bancroft the father ofJess and Jimsy was summoned West by an important railroad dealThis being the case Jess and Jimsy at once set to work plotting howthey could gain their fathers consent to their accompanying Peggyand Roy  It was finally gained although Mrs Bancroft shook herhead over the matter and at first would by no means hear of sucha thing  But Mr Bancroft urged that it would be a good thing forthe children to see the great West and that as Miss Prescott was toaccompany the party there would be no risk of their running wildBut while the youngsters had all been so eager for the time to comefor starting on their long journey that they could hardly eat muchless sleep Miss Prescott had viewed with alarm the prospects aheadof her  In her mind the West was a vague jumble of rough cowboysIndians highwaymen and desperate characters in general  But therewas no help for it  In addition to feeling it was her duty toaccompany her young charges her physician had also recommended herto seek the dry rarefied air of the great Nevada plateauIt will be the very thing for your lungs my dear madame he hadsaid they are by no means as strong as I could wishOh but doctor the Indians thethe