“Guess it is like flying,” Roberta answered. “You have to keep alert for the pockets, bumps, and cliffs, besides watching the machinery, if you don’t want a smash.”
“That’s the idea. I know your mother will be happy if you remain grounded for a while, and I am sure that if I try hard, I can bear up under it,” he grinned mischievously.
“Dad, you are a fraud,” the girl laughed heartily.
“As long as my efforts are not flat tires I’ll survive that,” he retorted, and after that the fact that she had lost her position was dismissed, the three spent a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Before she hopped into bed that night, Roberta glanced at the converted hangar and couldn’t suppress a little sigh.
“As a good sport, I am something of a flat tire myself,” she said softly and was about to turn away from the window when she thought she caught sight of something moving slowly along the door. Instantly forgetting sleepiness she stared hard for fully a minute until she convinced herself that there was something there. “It may be a dog,” she told herself, for although the Langwells didn’t have one, most of the neighbors did, and at night the beasts were given to prowling about the community.
Watching a bit longer the girl came to the conclusion that if it was a dog the beast was behaving oddly. She didn’t recall ever seeing one move so stealthily. She reasoned that it might be getting ready to pounce on something, but in the darkness she couldn’t see a thing it could be after. If it was a man, a prowler, what was he doing near the hangar? Her heart leaped to her throat as she thought of Nike poised inside beside the Falcon, but certainly no one would dream of trying to steal the ancient plane belonging to her brother, for its days of usefulness were practically over. Yet, she was sure that no one knew that her own prize machine rested behind that door. The huddled bunch of blackness moved forward, gave a little leap, and she leaned over the sill.
“Sure, it’s a dog. Probably one of the big ones on a neighborly tour of investigation.” She watched a bit longer, and was just about to get into bed when she spied a thin streak of light, like a carefully shaded flash, that cast a faint glow on the ground. Then it began to travel swiftly up toward the lock and to her straining ears came the faintest sound of scraping. Quick as a thought Roberta threw on a robe, jammed her feet into her slippers as she hurried across the room, then raced to her Father’s door, where she knocked.