"Von Spitzer will fight unless I stop him!" called out the professor from behind the curtains, where he was confined under the charge of his colleague of other days, for he had been listening to the conversation.
"So much the better!" replied Keane, tartly.
"And when the fight is over there won't be many of you left alive to tell the story," came the rejoinder.
CHAPTER XXII
AN AERIAL DUEL
"Message from the Scorpion, sir!" cried Keane, a little before midday, from the little key-board where he had been patiently waiting for the last hour.
"Good! What does the brigand say?" asked Tempest.
"Expects to be here within an hour."
"Then we haven't a moment to lose," replied the colonel. "At the same time, I am glad we have had this message, for to be forewarned is to be fore-armed."
Then, turning to Keane, whom he knew to be his best and most brilliant pilot, he said, "Where would you like to be stationed, boy?"