Madge did not respond though she saw clearly that the plane was not of the regular mail service. Nor was it one of the “Fire Eagles” occasionally sent out by the Forest Service to scout for fires. As far as she could tell the plane was disabled in no way. The steady throb of its motors carried plainly over the water.
“Well, of all things!” Madge exclaimed. “What do you think of that!”
The amphibian was taxiing slowly through the water, its nose pointed directly toward the beach.
CHAPTER VI
Startling Developments
The amphibian coasted slowly in toward the beach, throttled down its motors and finally came to a halt.
“Can you tell me if a Miss Fairaday lives anywhere on this lake?” the pilot called out.
Anne and Madge exchanged startled glances. The former stepped forward.
“I am she.”
To her further astonishment, the pilot said a few words to his passenger, a well-dressed, elderly gentleman, who immediately climbed from the front cockpit. He presented his card to Anne.
“I’m Brownell from the Alton Chemical Company. I happened to be this way on a business trip and thought I’d drop in to discuss that matter which I wrote you about some time ago. By the way, we didn’t hear from you.”