CHAPTER II
Skillful Strategy
Both of the racing cars kept on at full speed, but a steadily widening gap showed between them as the first continued to draw away from its pursuer.
Soon the Arrow was directly above the second of the two cars. Phil kept moving steadily earthward and was now flying at a height of about two hundred feet. It was plainly to be seen that Phil’s supposition had been correct, for the car held half a dozen policemen heavily armed. It seemed probable too, that Tom in his radio message had told the police of the starting out of the airplane, for the officers seemed to realize that they had an ally in the plane and gesticulated vigorously, shouting and pointing to the road ahead.
Phil waved one hand at them, as a signal that he understood, and darted ahead until he had overtaken the fleeing car. The top of this was up, so that at first the robbers did not see the plane. But they heard the roaring of the motor, and first one head and then another was thrust out at the side of the machine looking upward. At first they did not seem especially alarmed, thinking probably that it was out on a practice flight and just happened to be in their vicinity. But as it continued to keep pace with them and in the same direction, suspicion seized them, and the car leaped frantically forward as the last ounce of speed was extracted from its motor.
Phil’s eyes kept scanning the landscape ahead and at last saw the chance for which he was looking. About a mile in advance was a level field with no bars between it and the road. He quickened speed, swooped down in a graceful curve, landed in the field with scarcely a jar and at just the spot where the wheels under the momentum of the flight carried the plane into the middle of the road blocking it completely.
Quick as a flash the Radio Boys clambered out on the further side of the plane.
“Guess that will stop them,” exclaimed Phil triumphantly.
“It sure will,” agreed Dick admiringly, “but at the same time it will smash the plane.”
“If it does, it will have to,” replied Phil. “But I don’t think they’ll drive into it. They’d wreck their own car or overturn it or at any rate get all tangled up in the gear of the plane. They’ll stop all right. The police car is less than a minute behind them, and I figure it will be right on top of the bandits before they get over their confusion. We’ll soon know, for here they come.”
Around a curve in the road three hundred yards away came the robbers’ car and bore straight down on the plane which seemed doomed to destruction.