It was near noon when Ned heard Tom give a sudden exclamation.
“See anything?” asked the young manager.
“Nothing that gives me any pleasure,” replied Tom grimly. “I see a leak in one of the oil pipes and that means we’ve got to go down and mend it. Lucky I discovered it in time!”
An aeroplane engine, or for that matter an auto motor, that does not receive copious and continuous lubrication is going to overheat, bind and stop in a surprisingly short time.
A look over the side showed Tom that they were flying across fairly open country, and, picking out a broad meadow as a suitable landing place, he, having shut off his motor, headed for it. Koku, half asleep in his enlarged cockpit, sensed that they were going down and asked:
“We catch ’um robbers?”
“Not yet, Koku,” replied Tom, with a grim laugh. “So far they are a couple of tricks ahead of us, but the game has only started.”
The Blackbird made a perfect landing under Tom’s skillful guidance, and when it had come to a stop after a run over the somewhat uneven field, Tom and Ned got out to begin work on repairing the oil pipe. Ned had some knowledge of mechanics, and could at least help his chum.
“It isn’t as bad as I thought,” Tom said, after a careful inspection. “It’s just a loose union connection, and not a break. I won’t have to solder anything, and I think I have a spare union in the tool box.”
It was while he was looking for this and while Koku was strolling about, heaving big stones for his own amusement (and possibly with the sensation that he was thus treating his enemies) that Ned called: