“Be sure to take plenty of clothes,” cautioned Miss Carlton. “You know how much they dress out there.”
“We’ll outshine Lilyan Tashman herself!” promised Linda, thankful that her aunt was not raising any objection to the trip.
“Going to tell Ralph about it?” inquired Dot, as she rose to telephone to her mother.
“What’s the use?” returned Linda. “He wouldn’t believe me. He’d think I was going back to complete my contract. No; he’s peeved—let him stay peeved. I’d rather spend my evening planning our trip.”
“Flying comes first, as always,” observed Miss Carlton, in a resigned tone, as she, too, left the room, to do her part in making the trip comfortable for the two girls.
CHAPTER II
A DANGEROUS LANDING
Early after lunch the following afternoon—another clear, bright fall day typical of late September—Linda Carlton and her chum Dorothy Crowley climbed into the Ladybug, ready to take off for Los Angeles. Smiling and waving good-bye to Miss Carlton and Mrs. Crowley, who were standing on the side of the field, Linda gave her the gun. The plane taxied only a short distance, then with her nose headed upward, she began to climb almost vertically. It was a pretty, graceful take-off, and even Miss Carlton, frightened as she was of planes, had to admit that the autogiro seemed almost human.
“We ought to make St. Louis before dark,” said Linda, through the speaking-tube. “I know the way so well—I flew it so often when I was going to the Air School.”
“I remember,” replied Dot. “You and Louise.”
Louise Haydock had been Linda’s inseparable chum all through high school. Then, when they had graduated, and Linda’s father had given the latter an Arrow Sport plane, the two girls had spent a year at a ground school in St. Louis. Louise’s marriage to Ted Mackay had finally separated them, for the Mackays went to Kansas City to live. Ever since that time Dot Crowley had shared in most of Linda’s flying adventures.