pilot, he won’t answer you!”
The stranger began a wide turn, which took him to the far side of the big cloud.
Nancy also banked and turned for a chase. As they came near the cloud, she and Bruce were just in time to see Paine’s plane disappear inside the mysterious formation.
“Now what are we going to do?” Nancy asked. “Just keep going round and round until whoever is in there is forced out or pleads for help?”
The flying instructor did not reply at once. At last he said, “Roger’s plane is larger than this one and has more fuel capacity. We’d probably run out of gas before he would. Perhaps we should land near the spot where he leaves his plane and watch.”
Before Nancy had a chance to figure out her approach pattern, she encountered a strong tail-wind and turbulence that forced her directly underneath the cloud.
The next moment there was a terrific updraft. It carried her plane into the vapory mass!
“Oh!” Nancy cried out, bewildered. “Bruce, quick! Take the controls!”
He did so, but just avoided a collision with Roger Paine’s craft, which shot out of the cloud. It quickly rose above the turbulence and went off. Bruce followed the same procedure, but did not attempt to chase the other plane.
When Nancy’s heart stopped thumping, she said, “Can we go back inside the big cloud and see if we can pick up a clue to why the sky phantom hid in there? Evidently it’s not so dangerous as people say.”
Bruce nodded. He turned again and flew directly into the cloud. They went round the edges of the vapory mass and down to the center. There was nothing to be seen.
“I guess it’s just a hiding place for the sky phantom,” Bruce said and made another turn, going into a different section of the giant cloud.
Suddenly, dead ahead, they came face to face with a strange sight. The dark outline of a giant! The face was grizzly looking and indistinct.
“What is it?” Nancy asked, wondering if this was some great creature that might attack them. Bruce passed it and laughed at Nancy’s fear.
“Would you like Sir Galahad Bruce Fisher to run him through?” he asked.
The remark made Nancy grin. She imagined the young pilot wearing a medieval coat of armor with pilot wings on the breastplate. Without hesitation she said, “Yes, Sir Galahad, run him through!”
Turning, Bruce approached the dark, menacing giant and whipped down the center of it. Now the pilot came out of the great cloud.
“Had enough excitement?” he asked his pupil, who was staring ahead, unable to believe what she had just seen.
Nancy shook her head. “Please, Bruce, let’s go back inside the cloud and see if the black giant disappeared. What was it, anyway?”
Bruce said it was a midget storm cloud held in place by the larger white formation. The obliging teacher went down under the cloud and again swooped up into it.
To his and Nancy’s amazement, the storm cloud had reassembled. Now it looked like an infuriated lion ready to attack!
“This is an interesting phenomenon,” Bruce remarked. “I believe the storm cloud is made of infinitesimal bits of magnetic particles.”
Wondering what form the black vapory mass might take next, Nancy decided they should pierce it and find out.
“Okay, my lady, your wish is my command,” Bruce said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Here we go!”
Nancy grinned, but a few seconds later her face froze. Suddenly, on his approach to the inner cloud, all the instruments in the plane went hay-wire! Next the lights blotted out.
Nancy and Bruce were in complete darkness with no reliable means of navigation!
CHAPTER X
Awkward Situation
ALTHOUGH Bruce and Nancy knew they were in a precarious spot, he remained calm and she did not panic.
She sat quietly, clutching the sides of the pilot’s seat. Bruce was trying his best to keep the plane straight and level. Not only were his maneuvers useless, but it seemed as if the craft were being sucked into the magnetic cloud.
The plane was
The stranger began a wide turn, which took him to the far side of the big cloud.
Nancy also banked and turned for a chase. As they came near the cloud, she and Bruce were just in time to see Paine’s plane disappear inside the mysterious formation.
“Now what are we going to do?” Nancy asked. “Just keep going round and round until whoever is in there is forced out or pleads for help?”
The flying instructor did not reply at once. At last he said, “Roger’s plane is larger than this one and has more fuel capacity. We’d probably run out of gas before he would. Perhaps we should land near the spot where he leaves his plane and watch.”
Before Nancy had a chance to figure out her approach pattern, she encountered a strong tail-wind and turbulence that forced her directly underneath the cloud.
The next moment there was a terrific updraft. It carried her plane into the vapory mass!
“Oh!” Nancy cried out, bewildered. “Bruce, quick! Take the controls!”
He did so, but just avoided a collision with Roger Paine’s craft, which shot out of the cloud. It quickly rose above the turbulence and went off. Bruce followed the same procedure, but did not attempt to chase the other plane.
When Nancy’s heart stopped thumping, she said, “Can we go back inside the big cloud and see if we can pick up a clue to why the sky phantom hid in there? Evidently it’s not so dangerous as people say.”
Bruce nodded. He turned again and flew directly into the cloud. They went round the edges of the vapory mass and down to the center. There was nothing to be seen.
“I guess it’s just a hiding place for the sky phantom,” Bruce said and made another turn, going into a different section of the giant cloud.
Suddenly, dead ahead, they came face to face with a strange sight. The dark outline of a giant! The face was grizzly looking and indistinct.
“What is it?” Nancy asked, wondering if this was some great creature that might attack them. Bruce passed it and laughed at Nancy’s fear.
“Would you like Sir Galahad Bruce Fisher to run him through?” he asked.
The remark made Nancy grin. She imagined the young pilot wearing a medieval coat of armor with pilot wings on the breastplate. Without hesitation she said, “Yes, Sir Galahad, run him through!”
Turning, Bruce approached the dark, menacing giant and whipped down the center of it. Now the pilot came out of the great cloud.
“Had enough excitement?” he asked his pupil, who was staring ahead, unable to believe what she had just seen.
Nancy shook her head. “Please, Bruce, let’s go back inside the cloud and see if the black giant disappeared. What was it, anyway?”
Bruce said it was a midget storm cloud held in place by the larger white formation. The obliging teacher went down under the cloud and again swooped up into it.
To his and Nancy’s amazement, the storm cloud had reassembled. Now it looked like an infuriated lion ready to attack!
“This is an interesting phenomenon,” Bruce remarked. “I believe the storm cloud is made of infinitesimal bits of magnetic particles.”
Wondering what form the black vapory mass might take next, Nancy decided they should pierce it and find out.
“Okay, my lady, your wish is my command,” Bruce said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Here we go!”
Nancy grinned, but a few seconds later her face froze. Suddenly, on his approach to the inner cloud, all the instruments in the plane went hay-wire! Next the lights blotted out.
Nancy and Bruce were in complete darkness with no reliable means of navigation!
CHAPTER X
Awkward Situation
ALTHOUGH Bruce and Nancy knew they were in a precarious spot, he remained calm and she did not panic.
She sat quietly, clutching the sides of the pilot’s seat. Bruce was trying his best to keep the plane straight and level. Not only were his maneuvers useless, but it seemed as if the craft were being sucked into the magnetic cloud.
The plane was
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