Sky and the Hijackers

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter 6

Copper Ryder lowered the field glasses she had been using to survey the camp ahead of them.

     “I don’t get it, Sky,” she said with a puzzled frown. “I can’t see how they’d have had time to unload the trucks already, but there’s no sign of them. No one’s moving around in the camp, and Amy and Sue’s patrol car is still sitting there. It seems pretty strange.”

     “Very strange,” agreed Sky. “Take the controls while I have a look.”

     He took the glasses from his niece and had a long look for himself while Copper handled the Hummingbird. After a minute, he checked the ground around the camp.

     “What’re you looking for?” asked Copper.

     “A place to set the Hummingbird down,” he answered. “I don’t like the way this looks and I want to be sure that everything’s all right.”

     Copper scanned the desert floor beneath them.

     “It looks pretty level by the road,” she noted. “But I don’t think we’ll be able to land too close to the camp.”

     Sky nodded.

     “We’ll have a bit of a hike. Let’s see if we can get a little help from Julie.”

     He took up the radio handset.

Julie Ryder was headed out of Kermit, humming along with Frank Sinatra as he urged his listeners to be young at heart, when the radio call from Sky came. She turned off the AM radio and took up her handset.

     “Julie here, Sky. What’s going on out there? Over.”

     “Copper and I have had a few adventures this morning, but I’ll tell you about those later. We’re near Dr. Fields’ camp right now, and something odd is going on. Over.”

     Julie smiled knowingly.

     “Did she pick some unattractive girl to be with her on the dig this year? Over.”

     “I doubt it, but we can’t see anyone in the camp, and Amy and Sue’s car is parked here with no sign of them either. I think they stopped at Martha Winthrop’s store for coffee before they started. Have you been by there? Over.”

     “Yes. I passed the place on my way into town, but it wasn’t open yet. I thought that was rather odd too. Over.”

     “Try there again and do whatever you have to do to get in. I have a hunch that something happened. I’ll call Winch and have him send you some help. Over.”

     “I’m nearly there now, Sky, and I’ll keep you informed. Station wagon out.”

     There was no need to go faster, for the store was already in sight. There was no traffic to deal with, so Julie turned sharply across the oncoming lane into a parking place in front of the store. The interior was still dark, and the ‘Closed’ sign remained behind the front door glass.

     Julie tried the front door to find it locked. She pounded on the glass and called several times, but on one came in answer. She walked to the corner of the building and looked along the wall. There was no side door.

     “Maybe there’s one in back,” she said to herself.

     She had just started along the side to the rear when she heard a car pull up behind her. Julie turned to see Deputies Al MacKeever and Ben Norris getting out of their car.

     “Mornin’, Miz Ryder,” drawled MacKeever. “It’s been a busy day for us already, but the Sheriff pulled us off patrol to come over and give you a hand. What seems to be the problem?”

     “Sky asked me to check on Martha’s store,” she replied. “When I passed by on my way into town, I noticed that it wasn’t open yet, which was a bit odd, since the deputies guarding the Irons sisters’ trucks stopped here for coffee. And now, an hour later, it’s still not open. What else has been going on today?”

     “A couple men held up Johnny Hunt’s liquor store on the other side of town,” said Norris. “They didn’t get much, but they waved their guns around a lot. The Sheriff and another unit are still over there.”

     “ ‘Morning, Ben,” said Julie with a smile. “How’s the shoulder today?”

     The youthful, freckle-faced deputy rolled his shoulder to show his mobility.

     It’s real good these days,” he said. “Only hurts when it rains, so I should be fine for four more months.”

     Julie laughed. MacKeever looked at the front of the store.

     “I imagine you tried the front door,” he said.

     “Yes. I was about to look for a back door when you arrived. There is one, isn’t there?”

     “There sure is.” The veteran deputy unhooked the strap over the hammer of his holstered revolver. “We’d better go kinda slow and careful here.”

     MacKeever led the way around to the rear of the building. The ground behind the store fell away slightly, so that a flight of four wooden steps with a railing led to the back door. Motioning Julie to stay back, MacKeever led Norris up the stairs and tried the door. The knob turned and the door opened. Norris drew his revolver as he followed his partner inside. Within seconds, Norris reappeared and waved to Julie.

     “You’d better come quick, Mrs. Ryder!” he called, holstering his pistol.

     Julie hurried up the stairs. In the back storage room she found a bare-breasted Amy Cole and Martha Winthrop bound to wooden pillars, gagged and blindfolded. MacKeever knelt beside Sue Kendall, carefully removing the tape from the gagged mouth of the still hogtied deputy.

     “Quick, Ben!” said Julie. “Get on the radio to Sky. Tell him that whoever led those trucks out to Dr. Fields’ camp, it wasn’t Amy and Sue!”

“You know,” said Bradford, “I kinda hate to say it, but it seems that everything’s working fine.”

     Rowlands looked from the passenger seat to his partner behind the wheel of the sedan.

     “I’d look around for some wood to knock, if I were you,” he said. “It’s not over yet.”

     Bradford shrugged.

     “Yeah, but Laughton stole that plane, we switched the deputies without anyone noticing, and Monroe and James did their part with that liquor store holdup. It seems to be going okay.”

     Rowlands frowned and stared at the road ahead.

     “But Ryder was out there keeping an eye on those trucks, so there’s no telling what happened to Harding and the other men trying to cut off the deputies and the State police.”

     “You really think that Ryder could take on Laughton and Ritchie with that machine gun they had?”

     “I wouldn’t count Ryder out, no matter what the odds were. We’ll see. Pull over here.”

     The two men had reached a low hilltop where they had a good view of the road ahead. A sandy lane led to a small, weather-beaten barn not far from the highway. Bradford steered the car off the highway onto the shoulder near the entrance to the farm trail. Rowlands motioned to him to stop the engine.

     “We’ll wait here,” he told Bradford. “This’ll give us a pretty good look at the road and, if anything goes wrong, I don’t want to be caught like a rat in a trap down there.” He waved toward the barn.

     Bradford nodded.

     “Good idea. When the girls get here with the trucks, we can just follow them to the barn then take them back to town.”

     “Keep your eyes open for planes,” Rowlands said uneasily.

“Don’t worry, Amy,” said Julie, trying to sound calm. “We’ll have you loose in no time.”

     Julie Ryder slid Amy’s panties back up to her waist again before untying a rope or peeling off any tape. The still gagged and blindfolded deputy moaned in relief as Julie pulled her underwear back in place then carefully peeled the tape from Amy’s eyes and mouth. Aided by Julie, Amy pushed the packing out of her mouth with her tongue and breathed deeply.

     “Thank God, Julie,” Amy said thankfully. “They took our uniforms and left us tied up here. It’s probably another plot to hijack Karen and Jill’s trucks. You’ve got to get word to Harry and Sky!”

     “Ben’s doing that right now,” said Julie, starting to work on the knots on one of the ropes holding Amy to the pillar. “We’re just glad that you’re all right.”

     “Oh, I’m all right!” Amy said sarcastically. “They got the drop on us, took our weapons and our clothes and left us here all tied up in here with our boobs on display. Again!”

     Al MacKeever had removed Sue’s gag and blindfold. He looked up, unable to keep from smiling at the sight of the beautiful, bare-breasted young deputy.

     “Don’t worry, Amy,” he said kindly. “Anybody can be taken by surprise.”

     He could not help staring at Amy for a moment before reddening and looking back at Sue. He had the same problem again.

     “I can’t seem to undo this knot,” said Julie. “But since this is a store, there must be some knives around somewhere.”

     Martha Winthrop gave a gagged exclamation and wagged her head toward the main room.

     “Al, help Martha with her gag and blindfold,” said Julie. “I’ll go find some knives we can use to cut the ropes. When we get them all loose, we can find out what happened.”

“...and we found Amy and Sue and Mrs. Winthrop all tied up in the back of the store,” said the voice of Ben Norris over the radio. “So the women in the patrol car must have been part of the hijackers’ gang. Over.”

     “Roger, Ben,” said Copper. “We’re landing near the camp now, and we’ll find out what’s happened here.”

     Sky Ryder held out his hand for the microphone.

     “Wait a minute, Ben. Sky wants to talk to you.” She gave the handset to Sky.

     “Ben, as soon as we make sure that Dr. Fields and her students are all right, I’ll get back in the air and try to find those trucks. Have the Sheriff head out this way with every man he can spare, and I’ll direct you. Over.”

     “Roger, Sky. He’s still working on the liquor store holdup, but we’ll be with you as soon as we can. Car Two out.”

     “Hummingbird out.”

     “What’s going on, Sky?” Copper asked.

     “It looks like a very well-organized and elaborate plan, Copper. Part of the gang got the drop on Amy and Sue, tied them up and put two female gang members in their uniforms. Then more of them attacked the trucks from the ground and the air in order to separate them from the other deputies and the State police. And just to make sure the Sheriff was kept busy, they pulled a robbery in Kermit. I’d say that the women impersonating Amy and Sue probably stole the trucks and cargoes from Dr. Fields’ camp, possibly helped by the two men who got away from us earlier.”

     “So what do we do now?”

     “First we have to find out what happened to Karen, Jill, and Dr. Fields and her students. Then I’ll see about tracking them down.”

     “You mean we’ll see about tracking them down,” Copper corrected. She tightened her seatbelt. “Well, what are we waiting for? Set her down.”

     Sky smiled at Copper and prepared to land.

Dr. Jeanette Fields looked around the tent. Across from her, Karen and Jill Irons, wearing only bras and panties, sat tightly tied to two high-backed wooden chairs. The two blondes were quite helpless, having first been bound hands, arms, legs and feet, then secured to the sturdy chairs with multiple loops of cord around their bodies and the chair backs and seats. Their bound feet had then been pulled back under their chair seats and tethered to the rear stretchers. They were unable to move their chairs at all, let alone give any assistance to their fellow prisoners. Karen’s writhing in her bonds had caused the right cup of her brassiere to slip slightly. She continued to struggle, despite the possibility that her breasts might be exposed.

     Two of Dr. Fields’ assistants, Alice and Stephanie, sat struggling on the cot next to their teacher. Both girls, as with the Irons sisters, were clad only in bras and panties. Both were gamely fighting the ropes that bound them, but they had been unsuccessful in freeing themselves. Alice had been particularly animated in her struggles, and when she paused for breath the girl made a low growling sound to vent her frustration. Unlike the other captives, both Alice and Stephanie had had their ankles crossed before binding. This left them, like the Irons sisters, unable to stand to help the women around them. If they were to free themselves, it was up to Dr. Fields and Melissa, sitting bound and bare-breasted side by side on another cot, to do it.

     Dr. Fields stood up and motioned with her head that Melissa should do the same. The well-endowed girl looked at Dr. Fields quizzically, then nodded and pushed herself to her feet. With another head wag to indicate ‘follow me,’ the bound archaeologist began to hop toward the door of the tent. Melissa took two hops then, noticing the bouncing of her large breasts, stopped and flushed bright red, looking sheepishly at the others. The bound women mewed encouragement through their gags and made motions with their heads to urge her to continue. She nodded to them and continued hopping after Dr. Fields.

     Jeanette Fields paused just outside the tent, as much to look for the most obvious place to find a knife or blade as to wait for her student. Melissa looked toward the open tent serving as an office and mewed into her gag. Dr. Fields followed the motion of Melissa’s head and direction of her eyes and saw what the girl had spotted: a pair of scissors in the center of the small wooden table Jeanette had been using as her writing desk. Gesturing for Melissa to follow her again, Dr. Fields hopped toward the office tent. Their captors had forced them to remove their shoes as well as their outer clothing, and the rocky and warm sand drew grunts of discomfort with the landing of every hop. Fortunately, the office tent was not far away. Once inside, however, the two bound women found that the table, though not very large, was just wide enough that they were unable to reach the scissors either with tied hands, pinned so closely to their backs, or by bending over the table and trying to trap them under their chins. The only other choice was the mess tent. They were about to set out when they heard a man’s voice.

     “Dr. Fields! Dr. Fields, are you here?”

     Both women mewed into their gags in alarm and froze, uncertain whether they should seek help or attempt to hide. Before they could move, the voice called again.

     “Dr. Fields, it’s Sky Ryder! Where are you?”

     Melissa looked at Jeanette Fields who sighed in relief and began calling as best she could through the gag. Melissa joined her, and in a moment the tall rancher and his tiny, shapely blond niece came into view.

     “Jeanette!” exclaimed Sky. “Don’t move. We’ll have you free in no time.”

     Sky and Copper ran to the tent. Sky gently peeled the tape from Dr. Fields’ mouth. Melissa had to bend over to help Copper do the same for her.

     “Poor things!” said Copper, trying to pull up Melissa’s bandeau top to cover her breasts with one hand as she carefully pulled off the adhesive tape with the other. “What have they done to you?”

     “Oh, Sky!” gasped Jeanette. “I never thought I’d be so glad to be so embarrassed. It was two women dressed as deputies and two men. They forced us to undress and left us all bound and gagged.”

     Sky produced his pocketknife and started cutting the ropes binding her.

     “Where are the others?” he asked.

     Jeanette nodded toward the other tent.

     “They’re tied up in that tent over there.”

     Karen and Jill too?” asked Copper.

     Dr. Fields nodded.

     “They took the trucks and all our supplies. Leaving us tied was supposed to be some kind of lesson to us.”

     “Did you see which way they went?”

     She shook her head.

     “We were all inside the tent when they left. We couldn’t see out.”

     “Never mind,” said Sky with determination. “We’ll get everyone free, then I’m going after them.”

     Copper stopped in the middle of sawing one of the bands of cord around Melissa’s arms and body.

     “You mean we’re going after them, don’t you, Sky?”

     Dr. Jeanette Fields smiled approvingly at her.

Deputy Ben Norris came from behind the counter, carefully balancing a mug of coffee in each hand. He held one out to Amy Cole.

     “Here you go, Amy,” he said. “This ought to fix you up. Be careful: it’s hot.”

     Amy smiled gratefully at him.

     “Thanks, Ben. Maybe Mrs. Ryder would like one too.”

     “Would you, Mrs. Ryder?” the young man asked eagerly.

     “No thinks, Ben,” said Julie. “How are Sue and Martha?”

     She looked over to where Sue and Martha were talking to Deputy MacKeever. Martha had a cup of coffee in her hand. MacKeever was just putting away his notebook.

     “Oh, they’ll be fine. The Sheriff’s going to stop by the office and bring you some spare uniforms and pistols so we can go after these people. How are you doin,’ Amy?”

     “Oh, I’m a little embarrassed, I guess. It’s a fine thing when a deputy Sheriff has to be rescued as often as I’ve had to be lately.”

     “Shucks,” he said dismissively. “How did you know those folks’d be waiting for you in here?” He blushed slightly. “It’s kinda like bein’ shot from behind.”

     Amy reached out and patted his arm.

     “I guess you’re right, Ben. Sometimes there isn’t much we can do, is there? Thanks.”

     He smiled and slightly raised the other coffee cup.

     “Well, I’ve gotta take this to Sue. The Sheriff’ll be along soon, so drink up fast.”

     He walked over to the counter and handed the other cup to Sue.

     “Nice boy,” said Julie. She turned back to Amy. “And I hope you meant what you said about sometimes there isn’t much one can do.”

     “Oh, I know,” Amy sighed. “But it seems that every time you turn around, Sky or Harry or the Sheriff or somebody’s untying me and handing my clothes back.”

     “Well, if it’s any comfort to you, I know the feeling pretty well myself, as you know better than anyone. Sometimes things just happen. Be grateful that it wasn’t any worse.”

     “Maybe that’s what’s so upsetting. I mean, knowing how that man Rowlands feels, he might have wanted to do worse.”

     “He might have,” Julie said. “But he didn’t. He wasn’t even the one who pulled your clothes down, that woman was. Which bothers you more?”

     “Oh, I think the woman was just being catty. She had us in her power and wanted to be sure that we all knew it. But Rowlands had lust in his heart.”

     “Because he kissed you? And you kissed him back, but not because you feel anything for him, just because you wanted to appeal to his sense of decency. And the last time we were up against him, we found that he’s got a pretty strong decent streak. It was just a ploy.”

     “I hope he knows that,” said Amy, taking a sip of her coffee.

     A car pulled into a spot in front of the store. Ben Norris turned to Amy and Julie.

     “Sheriff’s here, Amy,” he called.

     Julie said nothing, but silently she hoped that Rowlands knew a ploy when one was tried on him.

“I feel better now,” said Judy, looking at the back of the two-and-a-half-ton truck a few hundred yards ahead of them. “Being all alone on the road with the cops looking for us, maybe with planes, gave me the creeps.”

     Lois gave her a skeptical glance.

     “You don’t think those two oafs would really do anything to protect us if there was trouble, do you? They’d cut out and save their own skins in a minute.”

     “What do you mean? They drove slowly enough for us to catch up with them, didn’t they?”

     Lois laughed.

     “Why do you think I made Pike drive the slower truck? It gave us at least a chance of catching them. And now, if we run into a roadblock, the cops can shoot at them first.”

     Judy’s expression showed both disbelief and relief at the two ideas.

     “It must be a startling idea to a girl with looks like yours that men wouldn’t gladly die for you,” Lois continued. “But you can bet on it: those two are worthless.”

     “I still feel better being behind them,” Judy said.

     “Me too. As I said, the cops’ll have to go through them to get to us.”

     Judy looked resentfully at Lois for a moment, then her gaze shifted higher and behind Lois.

     “What’s wrong, kid?” asked Lois. “I didn’t mean to---“

     “Look!” said Judy, pointing in the sky behind them.

     Lois turned. A twin engine airplane was approaching them fast from behind. Lois faced forward again and pressed the accelerator. When she had closed the gap between the panel truck and the larger one to about forty yards, she leaned on the horn.

     “Do you think it’s Ryder?” cried Judy.

     “I’m sure of it. I don’t know how he did it, but it’s him.”

Coyle heard the horn behind him and slowed the car. He looked back to make sure that he was in no danger of being rear-ended by Pike when he saw the plane. It was coming from the southeast and getting larger by the second. Already he could make out the twin Jacobs engines. It was Ryder! Somehow he had gotten the better of Laughton and Ritchie and was on their trail. They would have to run for it.

Copper Ryder was on the radio.

     “Sheriff’s Car One. Sheriff’s Car One, this is Hummingbird. Do you read me? Over.”

     Sheriff Winchell answered promptly.

     “We read you, Copper. Do you have anything for us? Over.”

     “We’ve spotted the trucks headed back toward town, Sheriff. Right now, we’re about halfway between Hackbart and Kermit on State Route Sixty-six. Sky thinks you should be able to block the road ahead and catch them before they can hide the trucks. Over.”

     “All right, Copper. We’re on our way. Keep them in sight in case they turn off on a side road or try to go across country. Over.”

     “Roger, Sheriff. Hummingbird out.”

     Sky smiled at his niece.

     “Never had a better radioman,” he said.

     Copper grinned.

Bradford looked at his watch.

     “They’re running a little late,” he said. His Indian-like features gave no hint of alarm or displeasure.

     Rowlands checked his own watch.

     “Yeah. I hope that those broads didn’t get carried away with that lesson they were going to give to the Doc and her students. Women are funny about those---”

     He stopped and straightened up, suddenly alert. He pointed to the east.

     “Do you see a plane ahead?” he asked Bradford.

     The big man squinted in the direction of Rowlands’ point. The sun was climbing high and on a more northerly route than the road, but he still had to shield his eyes with his hand.

     “I sure do,” he said after a moment. “It’s Ryder, and he’s coming fast.”

     “Let’s get back to town,” ordered Rowlands.

     “What about the trucks and the others?”

     Rowlands shook his head.

     “Ryder’s no dummy. He’s going to have the Sheriff out here with an army. The two of us won’t make any difference.”

     Bradford looked at him stoically and started the car.

     “Yeah. You’re right.”

     He made a U-turn and headed back for Kermit, avoiding any signs of haste. They had gone no more than three miles when two Sheriff’s cars, their rotating beacons flashing, passed them headed in the opposite direction.

     “See?” said Rowlands. “The State cops are probably coming from the other way.”

     “What do you think went wrong?”

     Rowlands shook his head again.

     “I don’t know. For one thing, Ryder was harder to handle than Laughton thought he’d be. Maybe the women we tied up in the store got loose and spread the alarm.”

     Now Bradford shook his head.

     “I don’t think so. They were tied real well, and gagged like they were I don’t think they could call for any help. At least the ones we tied were pretty secure and that blonde gal looked like she knew something about knots.”

     He glanced at Rowlands.

     “Quite a little number she did on that cute deputy wasn’t it? I mean, pulling her panties down like that. And the deputy’s still a real looker, isn’t she?” He paused before adding thoughtfully: “I think that Miss La Rocque doesn’t like good-looking women.”

     “She doesn’t like them at all,” Rowlands said, staring ahead. “She’s the jealous type.”

     Though he appeared lost in thought, at the approach of another car, Rowlands became alert again and slouched down in the seat. The passing car was another Sheriff’s car, this one without flashing lights.

     “Well whaddaya know!” said Bradford quietly.

     Rowlands sat up again. He was nodding.

     “The two women deputies. They got loose somehow.”

Coyle was about a quarter mile away when he saw the roadblock ahead. Two Sheriff’s patrol cars were pulled across the road blocking the way back to Kermit. He applied the brakes hard and pulled into the empty left hand lane to stay out of the way of Pike’s truck behind him.

     Pike, his seat in the truck cab being much higher than Coyle’s in his car, was already slowing the heavy truck. He saw Coyle move into the left lane, then make a quick U-turn using the shoulder. He headed back in the direction from which they had come. Knowing that he had no chance to make the same maneuver or outrun the police cars, Pike slammed the brakes hard, stopping the vehicle as quickly as a large truck can stop. He threw the gearshift into neutral, opened the door and jumped down to the ground, expecting Coyle to stop for him on his way past.

     Coyle looked into his rearview mirror and saw that one of the cars in the roadblock was already starting into motion to pursue him. He jammed his foot onto the accelerator and the car leaped past the wildly waving Pike.

     “No, Coyle!” cried Pike. “Don’t leave me here!”

     But the sedan was already past. The second patrol car was now moving toward Pike and a third was arriving from the direction of Kermit. Pike took a step back toward the cab of the truck, but knew that it was hopeless. He reached into his coat for his pistol, tossed it aside and raised his hands. The first Sheriff’s car raced past him after Coyle but the second stopped in front of the truck. A tall, dark-haired deputy and a freckle-faced younger one stepped out of their car with pistols leveled.

     “Don’t shoot!” called Pike. “I give up!”

“Look at that rat Coyle!” said Lois, peering at the activity ahead.

     “He just left Pike to the Sheriff!” said Judy. She looked around desperately. “What are we gonna do?”

     “This,” said Lois decisively.

     She braked the smaller truck and pulled off the road onto the shoulder.

     “What’re you doing?” cried Judy.

     “We’ve got no chance on the road,” said Lois. “The Sheriff’s in front and Ryder’s behind us, probably with the State police after him. Our only chance is to get off the road and make a run for those hills over there. We might find someplace to hide.”

     She opened the driver’s door and got out. Judy looked anxiously at Lois then at the hills a mile of so north of the highway. She sat for a moment, an indecisive expression on her face.

     “I don’t think we can make it,” she said plaintively.

     “There’s not much chance either way,” said Lois. “It’s up to you.”

     She started running for the rocky ridges as Coyle’s car flew past them headed east. Almost immediately, Judy opened her door and ran after Lois.

     “Wait for me!” she called.

Coyle looked into the mirror again. He had a half-mile lead on the Sheriff’s car behind him, but he knew that the police sometimes had modified engines to make their cars a match for anything on the road. He pressed the gas pedal harder.

     It was too bad about Pike, but there had been no time to stop for him. They would have been caught already had Coyle tried to pick him up. He was even sorrier about the two women, especially that younger one, Judy. She had a nice face and a terrific figure, but her beauty would be no good to him if they were locked up in jail. The only important thing right now was to get away.

     The Sheriff’s car was still behind him, but had not gained much, if any, ground on him. There were some side roads up ahead, but Coyle had no idea where they went or what other roads connected to them. The last thing he wanted was to follow a road to a dead end or some abandoned ranch. Ryder might be leading the State police, but he would deal with that when it came.

     The thought of Ryder caused him to remember that he had not noticed the plane in several minutes. He had just started to look north of the highway when he heard loud engine noise to his right. The Cessna Bobcat swooped across the highway from the right. Coyle involuntarily slammed on the brakes as the plane passed. When it had passed, Coyle accelerated again, noticing that the Sheriff’s car behind him was noticeably gaining. After another minute, the engine noise came again, this time from behind him and to his left. Again, Coyle had to slow.

     “This must be how Ryder helped the Sheriff get Egan,” Coyle said to himself as he regained speed. “Well, he’s not gonna get me the same way.”

     He drew his pistol and changed it to his left hand. When the plane tried another pass, he put his left arm out of the driver’s window and fired. He emptied his revolver at the plane, but the shots had no effect. Coyle was wondering how he could possibly reload while driving at high speed when he saw the barricade ahead. Two State police cars were across the road with more waiting behind. The Sheriff was coming up behind. It was hopeless. He slowed to a stop and threw his pistol out the window.

Though Lois had started toward the shelter of the hills first, Judy was now ten yards ahead. Despite her shorter legs and bustier figure, the younger woman had Lois gasping for breath trying to keep up. Judy looked back.

     “Need to stop for a minute?” she asked.

     Lois looked behind them. She could see no pursuit.

     “Yeah... thanks,” she said between breaths. “You’re a lot tougher than I thought... How do you do it?”

     “I exercise a lot. Have to if I want to keep my figure.”

     “Well, keep it in place for a minute.”

     Judy looked up and down the road. She saw no cars in either direction.

     “That’s funny,” she said. “I’d have thought that we’d see the cops coming back to town by now.” She looked toward the ridges they were headed for. “There’s some cover up ahead. We really ought to try to get there before anybody does come this way.”

     Judy shielded her eyes with her hand and checked the sky.

     “And no sign of Ryder’s plane either.”

     Lois took a deep breath.

     “Well, you’re right about getting under cover as quickly as we can. Let’s get started.”

     They trudged on, Judy slowing her pace enough so the two could stay together. They descended into a shallow ravine and crouched down for another look back at the highway. The only thing to be seen was the panel truck still parked beside the road. Lois sighed.

     “To tell you the truth,” she said, “when we started, I thought we wouldn’t make it halfway to the hills before the cops caught us.”

     “I didn’t either,” Judy said with a shake of her head. She looked down the ravine. Though it was only a couple feet deep where they stood, the sides grew steeper toward their left. Judy pointed in that direction. “Let’s try this way; we’ll stay more under cover if we do.”

     They followed the deepening cut, which seemed to be some kind of watercourse that led from the hills they were trying to reach, until they could no longer see the highway. Lois stopped them.

     “There’s no sense in going any farther,” she said. “We can stay hidden here until it’s nearly dark, then get back to the road and follow it to town. It can’t be more than a few miles to town from here.”

     “Oh, it’s a lot closer than you think,” said a man’s voice from above them.

     They looked up to see Sky Ryder standing at the edge of the wash above them. Lois grabbed for her holster, but Sky was too quick. With easy, athletic grace, he leaped forward and dropped the few feet from the top of the cut to the bottom, landing right in front of her. He grabbed her right hand with his left and twisted her arm behind her, forcing her to turn her back to him. His right hand pulled the revolver from her holster, then opened a small case on the back of her belt.

     “Nice of you to bring these along,” he said as he drew out a gleaming pair of handcuffs.

     “Run, Judy!” Lois screamed.

     Judy turned to run only to have a circle of rope fall over her shoulders and trap her arms.

     “Hey, what’s this?” she cried.

     Copper Ryder hopped down from the edge of the ravine and began looping the rope around Judy’s arms and torso.

     “It’s a little thank you note from the deputies you stole those uniforms from,” the girl said cheerfully. “And from Dr. Fields and her students.”

     The little blonde disarmed Judy and took possession of her cuffs. Sky already had Lois’ hands cuffed behind her as he watched his niece secure her prisoner. Once Judy’s wrists were cuffed behind her back, Copper took the pistol from her belt and handed it to Sky. The tall rancher noticed another coil of rope stuck in the other side of Copper’s belt.

     “Very smartly done, Copper,” he said as he put the revolver into his hip pocket. “I’m glad that all those calf roping lessons you got from Joe and Fred weren’t wasted. Were you saving that rope for anything special?”

     “I think we can find some use for it.” She eyed Lois as she drew out the rope. “These two aren’t the only ones who can do a thorough job of tying someone up.”

     She passed the rope around Lois’ arms and body several times, pinning her arms, and tied a secure knot in the middle of her back.

     “There. That ought to keep them out of mischief on the ride home.”

     Sky pointed to the shallow end of the little wash.

     “Let’s go, you two.”

     The two marched their prisoners back the way they had come. When they came out of the cover of the ravine sides, Judy and Lois were surprised to see two Sheriff’s cars standing beside the panel truck at the roadside. Deputies Amy Cole and Sue Kendall were walking toward them.

Paul Watling, neat and dapper as usual, looked terribly out of place in the warehouse headquarters of his henchmen. His demeanor was as calm and unruffled as ever, though his very presence suggested extreme upset.

     “Six people lost today?” he asked Laughton.

     “We were lucky it wasn’t eight,” said Laughton. “Ryder had been on the radio to the airports. If Reeves hadn’t driven out onto the runway, and if there’d been a few more deputies there, they might’ve gotten Ritchie and me too.”

     Watling shook his head.

     “How very upsetting,” he said, though he looked far from upset. He looked at Rowlands. “Any comments from you, Mr. Rowlands?”

     “The plan was too complicated,” he said simply. “We tried to do too many things and divided our forces too much. And, of course, Ryder was the biggest obstacle for us.”

     “The man is certainly a nuisance. What do you suggest?”

     Rowlands gave a little shrug.

     “Something very simple for the trucks. Keep our men together so we’re not outgunned and grab the trucks with a show of force. As for Ryder---“ He glanced at Laughton --- “I think it’s a mistake to try to out-fly him. I say, find a way to take him out of the picture right away. Find a lever and use it against him before he gets in the air.”

     Laughton looked at the floor and said nothing.

     “You have a plan, Mr. Rowlands?” asked Paul Watling.

     “I think I’ve got something that’ll work.”