“Am I in time?”
“For the fight?”
“The fight.”
“Just in time. We—” Once again Johnny broke off. Had he caught the drone of an airplane motor?
He had. There was no questioning that. It grew louder.
“Are they gone?” he asked himself. “They can’t be.” One look around the tree assured him that the gray plane still rested on the ice by the cabin.
“A second plane.” His head whirled. Was there more than one mystery plane? A whole fleet of them perhaps?
“Or—” Hope rose high. “Or is this Curlie Carson coming to our rescue?”
Together the four of them stood at attention.
From his hiding place, not far from the cabin, Sandy MacDonald, too, had heard the drone of the plane. Truth was, his keen old ears had detected it first. This is why he had delayed appearing. He was, however, in a quandary. Like Johnny, he was in the dark regarding the person who flew this second plane. Was he a friend? Or foe? He could not know. And not knowing, he felt that their coup might be postponed. But his young comrades? Would they have the patience to wait? He could not tell. In the end, he decided to trust to their patience.