He was less than two hundred feet above the field when the deafening roar of an incoming tri-motored passenger and express plane drowned the sound of his own motor. Tim looked up and froze at his controls. The tri-motor was coming in from the left, and their paths would cross in less than 300 feet.
CHAPTER THREE
Tim could see lights gleaming from the windows of the tri-motor. It was the westbound transcontinental more than an hour late and its pilots were bringing it in fast in an attempt to make up every minute possible.
The distance between the planes narrowed rapidly. The Good News had almost lost flying speed, was drifting in, when Tim first sighted the tri-motor and he was powerless to change his course.
He jammed the throttle open and the motor coughed as the raw fuel leaped into the white-hot cylinders. There was only one chance; that he could get up enough speed to throw the Good News into a nose dive. He could avoid the tri-motor that way but his own chances of coming out of the dive would be slim.
In that split second Tim made his decision. He would attempt the dive. There were probably women and children on the tri-motor for the night plane usually carried a heavy passenger list. If the two planes met they would all be blown to eternity.
The Good News picked up momentum again and Tim shoved the nose down. Just as he pushed the stick ahead he heard the engines of the tri-motor quicken their stride. Evidently the pilots of the big ship had seen him and were making a desperate effort to avert the collision. Tim hoped they would have enough sense to climb.
The Good News quivered under the sudden strain of the maneuver and Tim saw the ground race up to meet him.
The undercarriage of the tri-motor almost brushed the upper wing of the Good News. Then the planes were clear but the Good News was diving toward the field.
Tim had only one hope. He pulled back on the stick and closed his eyes. He could feel the ship falling, then the pitch of the descent lessened. He opened his eyes. The Good News was skimming along the field with its wheels less than five feet from the ground.