ed wanly at the boys who watched him, and sent
one fervent request up to Johnny.

"F'r cat's sake, bo, don't stay up long--and keep her balanced!"

"Hang on!" Johnny shouted in reply.

The plane veered round, ran down the smooth space alongside the corrals,
lifted, and went climbing up toward the lowering sun. Then it wheeled
slowly in a wide arc, still climbing steadily, swung farther around,
pointed its nose toward Tucson, and went booming away, straight as a
laden bee flies to its hive.

CHAPTER TEN

LOCHINVAR UP TO DATE

In the Tucson calf pasture adjoining the shed now vested with the
dignity of a hangar, the Thunder Bird came to a gentle stand. Bland
slid limply down and leaned against the plane, looking rather sick.
Mary V pushed up her goggles and looked around curiously, for once
finding nothing to say. Johnny unfastened his safety belt and
straddled out.

He had done it--the crazy thing he had been tempted to do. That is, he
had done so much of it. Unconsciously he repeated to Mary V what he
had said to Bland down in the Indiana corn patch.

"Well, here we are."

Mary V unfastened herself from the seat, twisted around and stared at
Johnny, still finding nothing to say. A strange experience for Mary V,
I assure you.

"Well," said Johnny again, "here we are." His eyes met Mary V's with a
certain shyness, a wistfulness and a daring quite unusual. "Get out.
I'll help you down."

"Get--out?" Mary V caught her breath. "But we must go back, Johnny!
I--I never meant for you to bring me away up here. Why, I only meant a
little ride--"

"Now we're here," said Johnny, "we might as well go on with it--get
married. That," he blurted desperately, "is why I brought you over
here. We'll get married, Mary V, and stop all this fussing about when
and how and all that. When it's done it'll be done, and I can go ahead
the way I've planned, and have the worry off my mind. There's time yet
to get a license if we hurry."

Bland muttered something under his breath and went away to the calf
shed and reclined against it disgustedly, too sick from the exhaust in
his face all the way to speak his mind.

"But Johnny!" Mary V was gasping. "Why, I'm not ready or anything!"

"You can get ready afterwards. There's just one thing I ought to tell
you, Mary V. If you do marry me, you can't take anything from your
dad. I can't buy you a new automobile for a while yet, but I'll do the
best I can. The po