“I’m afraid not. Maybe she even saw us, for her plane was pretty low. And if she had glasses—”
“Of course she had glasses! No girl who plays a tricky game like this one is going to go about unprepared. It would be like a gangster without a gun.”
They waited impatiently for over an hour, but nothing happened, and even the men did not return. Other planes flew into the busy airport, landed and took off, but there was no sign of Linda’s “double.”
Bored with the inactivity, they strolled over to the hangar where the Ladybug was housed, and looked her over.
“I’d fly over to the studio if I only had my licenses,” said Linda. “But I hate to break laws—even though it isn’t my fault.”
“That man has no right to keep them!” stormed Dot. “I’ll bet Sprague’s at the bottom of this.”
“He’s still trying to protect his girl-friend, I’m sure of that.... Well, Dot, we may as well go back to the hotel, for if she should arrive, I feel confident that Mr. Von Goss would call us there.”
Linda’s confidence, however, was sadly misplaced. For no one at the studio called to inform her that the other girl landed her plane right on the set a little after three o’clock.
With the neatness of a born flier, she brought her plane to the ground, climbed out of the cockpit and strolled into Mr. Von Goss’s office. The director had not yet returned, but Sprague was sitting at his desk. In a few words he explained the situation, but before the girl could make any reply, Mr. Von Goss walked in.
“You’ve heard the story, Miss—Carlton?” he asked, hesitating a little over the name.