CHAPTER XV
THE TWINKLE TWINS
Unable to restrain his own wonder, Jimmy burst forth impulsively, "Say,where did you two come from? You don't belong around here, do you?That's the first plane I've seen since we struck Camp Sterling and said'I do.'"
"We live about thirty-five miles from here, out in the country. We'rethe Twinkleton Twins," came the smiling answer. "That's no joke. Thename, I mean." He had noted Jimmy's involuntary half-frown. "We'reTwinkletons all right. John and Gerald. I'm John and he's Gerald. Onlywe get Jack and Jerry, or the Twinkle Twins, mostly. Oh, it's great tohave a double!" he added drolly, his Cheshire grin reappearing.
"It sure is," echoed his brother, duplicating the wide smile.
"Well, Twinkle Twins, we're glad to know you." Bob held out his hand."I'm Bob Dalton, and these two Sammys are Roger Barlow and JimmyBlaise--Blazes, I mean."
"Jimmy Blazes! That's a hot name," commented the twin who had firstspoken, as he shook hands with Roger and Jimmy. "Pretty near as good asTwinkle Twins."
"Pretty near," agreed Jimmy with a heartiness that bespoke livelyapprobation of the merry-faced strangers. His glance roving over theaeroplane, he added: "It must be great sport to sail around in that.Beats a buzz-buggy all hollow!"
"That's us. We have a racer, but we haven't used it much since we gotAuntie, here."
"Auntie!" repeated Roger in an amused tone. Thus far he had let Bob andJimmy do the talking. "Talk about names! That's a funny one for anaeroplane."
"She's an Antoinette, but we call her Auntie 'cause it's quicker. She'sa near and dear relative. See?" explained Jack Twinkleton. "She has ahistory, too. You'd never guess who used to own her, so I'll tell you.You've heard of Emile Voissard, haven't you?"
"Well, rather!" exclaimed Bob. "He's the wonderman they call the 'FlyingTerror of France.' I've seen a lot of pictures of him. He's done greatwork in the air for the Allies. Never expected to meet anyone who knewhim, though." Bob's features registered profound admiration.
"He's a cousin of ours," proudly informed Jerry. "Our mother was aVoissard. We're half French and the rest English. This plane is a backnumber. Emile was over here with it before the war began, givingexhibition flights. We lived in California then. He used it a lot outthere. About the time he got ready to throw it on the scrap heap we madehim give it to us. The engine was on the blink, etc., and he said it wasa safe proposition for us, because we'd never be able to do more thanrun it over the ground. We tinkered at the engine a long while, but wefinally made her go, and Auntie's been using her wings more or less eversince."
"We only came east last July. We were in Stanford University," chimed inJack. "We're a pair of 'orfin' twins. Used to spend our summers with anaunt in California, but she couldn't stand us after we got the flyinghabit. We got on her nerves. So she shipped us and Auntie out here to anuncle of ours. It suited us, though. He has a fine country place. He's achemist and spends most of his time hanging out in his laboratory.Doesn't care much what we do as long as we let him alone. He's a sort ofhermit and sticks off by himself. Now, come on. Jerry and I'll show youaround. Guess you've heard enough about us."
With this the Twinkle Twins conducted a most willing trio about and upinto the aeroplane, keeping up a running fire of explanation as theypointed out its parts and their uses. From the well-patched taut canvaswings to the once almost useless engine, which they had successfullyrepaired, they had demonstrated a skill and ingenuity that aroused theKhaki Boys to enthusiastic admiration. They were in the midst of a mostinteresting experience, consequently they asked questions to the stageof being ashamed to quiz further these affable new acquaintances.
"It's risky when your engine stops all of a sudden. Is that whathappened to you this afternoon?" Jimmy ventured a last query.
"Yep," nodded Jack. "When Auntie gets balky then we have to do somevolplaning. Take a quick slide down, you know. She's all right; got afine stability. Oh, fine! Except in banking or running across the wind.Sometimes wish she was a Bleriot. Then again, I don't."
"We love our Auntie, but oh, you dihedral angle!" put in Jerryfervently.
His tone made his listeners smile, though none of them had the slightestidea of what he was talking about. Jack immediately following hisbrother's remarks with a further account of their flight and descentthat afternoon, the Khaki Boys forebore inquiring into the nature ofthat mystifying term "dihedral angle."
The tour of inspection concluded the twins launched a volley of eagerquestions concerning the Army and life at Camp Sterling, such as "Howlong have you been in camp?" "Do you like it?" "How long do you supposeit will be before you go over?"
"Maybe we wouldn't like to give old Auntie a whack at the Boches,"declared valiant Jerry. "I'll bet we could do up a few Prussians beforewe got ours."
"It's this way with us," confided Jack. "We've had practice and madesome fair flights. Next week we're off to enlist in the Aviation Corps,if they'll take us. We're just past nineteen, but Uncle Edward has givenhis consent. We know a little bit about the flying game besides handlingthe plane. Ever since the war began we've been studying up on engines,machine guns, military law and all that. We can make maps and read 'emtoo. We'll have to go to an Aero school, if we're accepted, but when weget there we're going to pretty soon show 'em from the start that we'reregular flyers. A good many fellows that go into the aviation corpsnever see their chance to get off of the ground. But not the TwinkleTwins. We're crazy to go over quick."
"Maybe bob up in front of good old Emile and spring a surprise on him,"averred Jerry, who seemed fond of supplementing his brother's remarkswith one or two of his own.
"Hope we'll see you again before you go," Jimmy said warmly. "Why can'tyou come up to camp to-morrow? We'd be glad to show _you_ around. We'reall going home on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. By the time we get backyou may be gone."
"Much obliged for the invitation. We'll take you up on it and drive overto-morrow afternoon in the racer. We went up there once when we firstcame east. Since then we've been pretty busy with Auntie. Never happenedto fly so near Sterling until to-day. We've always started off in otherdirections. You'll have to wise us where to find you and all about it.We don't want to miss seeing you."
"Tell us what time you'll be there and we'll meet you in front of the Y.M. C. A.," proposed Roger. "How about two P. M. to-morrow?"
"O. K.," replied Jack.
"That'll suit us," from Jerry.
A cordial but hasty handshaking all around, and the Khaki Boys departed,casting frequent backward glances at the aeroplane. Its owners hadalready begun to busy themselves with "Auntie" preparatory to takingflight.
"It must be great to fly," glowed Bob. "Those twins are wonders. I meanthe way they've rigged up that plane and all that. I had to smile tomyself, though, at what that one said about flying Auntie against theBoches. You can figure how long that little light-weight, with itspatchy wings and misfiring engine, would last against a Fokker. Bing,bang! Away goes Auntie; all shot to pieces. They've got the properspirit, just the same."
"Wish we would meet 'em again in France," emphasized Jimmy.
"I was struck dumb when they claimed Voissard as a relative," declaredBob. "If it hadn't been for that Red Cross Bazaar we'd never have metthe Twinkle Twins. Talk about looking alike! They certainly are theoriginal duplicates. But for goodness' sake, what's a dihedral angle?"
"Don't ask me. You know more about planes now than either Blazes or I,"shrugged Roger.
"I ought to know," deplored Bob. "Never was sent out to do an aeroplanestory when I was on the _Chronicle_. I've read quite a lot about planessince the war began. Mostly about the newer types, though. ThatAntoinette of theirs isn't one of them. It's a fairly old-timer. I'mgoing to hunt up that dihedral angle puzzle in my dictionary."
Back in camp barely in time for mess, Bob was forced to postpone hissearch for information concerning the mystifying angle. Returned tobarracks from the mess hall he consulted a medium-sized, fat, blackdictionary.
"Here you are," he presently informed his still unenlightened bunkies."Here's a picture of Auntie, and here's a Bleriot. See the difference?See the way the wings of this Antoinette are set in a slight V? There'syour old dihedral angle. Look at this Bleriot. Its one plane is set ina rigid horizontal line. Now I'm going to read up on this. Oh, wait tillto-morrow. I'll make the Twinkle Twins think I'm the man that taughtCousin Emile how to fly."
"Those two must have done a lot of studying by themselves," observedRoger. "I suppose being at Standford University has helped them some.I've heard that it's a fine college. Many of its students have gone intothe aviation corps."
"Oh, those Twinkles have just absorbed knowledge of aeroplanes like asponge takes up water," was Bob's sage opinion. "They've made it theirchief interest in life. Sort of following in their cousin's footsteps,you know. They're lucky to have had the chance."
"I suppose it's hard for ordinary enlisted men in the aviation corps toget a chance to fly," mused Roger. "Our training must be easy besidewhat they have to go through."
"Most of 'em haven't the foundation to start with," rejoined Bob. "Ittakes a trained mind to get away with all a man has to learn before heever starts to fly. Then again, with all he knows he may never developinto a flyer. It may not be in him to make good. It's a great game, butI'll bet it carries a lot of disappointed sore-heads along with it. I'dnever want to tackle it. I'd sure be one of 'em."
The tardy arrival of Ignace who had been on detail in the mess kitchenof late, turned the conversation back to the subject of the TwinkleTwins themselves. The Pole was duly regaled with an account of theafternoon's adventure, to which he listened in rapt silence. Much to thesurprise of his bunkies, he earnestly begged his Brothers not tointroduce him to the illustrious twins on the morrow. "You no bringhere," he entreated.
"What's the matter with you, Iggy? They won't bite you." Jimmy finallygrew a trifle impatient. "We're going to bring 'em up here on purpose tomeet _you_, 'cause you can't go to the 'Y' with us to meet _them_. Doyou get me? That goes."
"So-o-o!" Ignace looked desperate but made no further objection. In facthe said little more that evening. Apparently losing all interest in hisbunkies' new acquaintances, he retired to his cot and occupied himselfin a laborious study of Roger's manual, which he had at last begun to"un'erstan'."
When, at precisely two o'clock on Sunday afternoon the twin guestsarrived and were presently conducted in triumph to Company E's barrackby their boyish hosts, Ignace was missing from the squad room. Nor didhe put in an appearance until just before time for the evening mess, atleast half an hour after his bunkies had bade their visitors a reluctantfarewell and watched them drive off down the company street in theirracer.
"You're a nice one!" greeted Jimmy in pretended disgust. "Where have youbeen keeping yourself? Maybe you were ashamed to be seen with us! Whatdo you mean by quitting us cold? You're a fine sort of Brother, youare."
Jimmy's energetic salutation brought a dull flush to the Pole's cheeks.His china-blue eyes showed real distress. He gulped, sighed, shiftedfrom one foot to the other, then faltered out: "Never I shame to go byyou an' Bob an' Roger. So have I the respet to my Brothar. Such gran'fren' see me, think I no much, think mebbe you no much, too. You tellyou have 'nother Brothar, all right, they don't see. They see----"Ignace made a gesture expressive of his lowly opinion of himself.
"Well of all the modest violets, you're the flower of the bunch!" wasBob's satirical tribute.
"You've a nice opinion of us, Iggy." Roger's twitching lips belied hisreproach.
"Let's take him over to the shower bath and duck him," proposed Jimmy."Of all the bosh I ever listened to that's the boshiest. Wake up, Iggy!You're not at a social tea. You're in the Army now, and in bad, too,just on my account. If you ever again do another vanishing act whenwe're going to have company, you'll be more than in bad with the Army;you'll be in bad with us. You'll be going around hunting three lostBrothers, who quit you because you couldn't tell the difference betweena regular fellow and a snob!"