Phil switched on the little lights over the instruments, and when he had attained a height of a thousand feet, set out for the Ranger’s camp at a speed of ninety miles an hour.
“You’d better send them a radio that we’re coming,” yelled Phil to Dick, “it will help us to land if they show some flares.”
“All right,” nodded Dick, and started clicking at his key. He knew that Steve would probably be at his instrument, waiting for some news from them, nor was he mistaken. Hardly had he finished sending Steve’s call when he got a reply, and then for fifteen minutes the man on the ground and the one a thousand feet up in the dark night exchanged questions and answers almost as readily as though they had both been seated in the same room.
CHAPTER XII
From Savage Clutches
“Steve says he’ll set some flares right away,” shouted Dick in Phil’s ear, and the latter nodded.
“We ought to be pretty nearly there,” he said, and had hardly ceased speaking when several bright lights flamed out from the darkness almost directly below them.
“Whoa!” exclaimed Phil, “we pretty near ran past our station that time. It’s a good thing that Steve was on the job.”
He shut off the engine, and started down in narrowing circles. Now that they could make themselves heard, the two girls started to pour out their gratitude to their rescuers, but before the embarrassed boys could answer they were going down so fast that conversation ceased for the time being. The girls gripped wildly at the sides of the car, and screamed as the wheels bumped the ground.
In a second the aeroplane was surrounded by excited Rangers, who lifted the girls out, and hoisted the Radio Boys joyously onto broad shoulders. It was a real triumphal procession that marched back to headquarters, where Captain Bradley awaited them.
“Boys, you’ve certainly proved that you can deliver the goods,” he exclaimed, his usual reserve cast to the winds in the excitement of the moment. “And how are your pretty passengers?” he added, as the two girls were ushered in by admiring but somewhat bashful Rangers.