ne.
He kicked Sandy in the ribs and led the way down the hill. Tomaso's
brother, still grinning, followed close behind.

"It's going to be some sweet job getting the thing home," Johnny growled,
trying to disguise his excitement. "I expect I've had my trip for
nothing. She don't look to be in very good condition."

The grin of Tomaso's brother changed its expression a bit, but he did not
trouble to answer. Tomaso's brother knew far better than did Johnny all
the rules of commerce. Johnny's clumsy attempt to depreciate what he
wanted very much to buy merely convinced Tomaso's brother of the extreme
youthfulness of Johnny.

"Well, I might as well give her the once-over, now I'm here," Johnny
added with a fine air of indifference, and urged Sandy into a trot.

Now Sandy had discovered the secret hangar for Johnny without having the
slightest imagining of the use which Johnny hoped to make of it. That he
should ever have to face a thing like this was beyond his most fevered
imagination. He had been a tired, sweaty, head-hanging horse when he
started down the slope. He had trotted along with his half-closed eyes
on the ground before him, picking the smoothest path for his desert-weary
feet. He did not look up until Johnny pulled sharply on the reins and
gave a startling whoop built around the word "Whoa."

Sandy's bulging eyes got a full-front, close-up view of the "thing what
set." He saw a wicked nose with a feeler about twice as high as he was.
He saw great, terrible, outspread wings and a long slim body. It looked
poised, ready to come at him and snatch him with one frightful swoop, as
he had seen prairie hawks snatch little birds from the grass.

Sandy forgot that he was a tired, sweaty, head-hanging horse. He forgot
everything except the four unbroken legs under him. He wheeled half away
and went lunging up the far side of the little basin as if he felt the
horrible creature close behind him.

Johnny's mind had been so absorbed by the airplane that it took him a few
seconds to comprehend that Sandy was actually running away with him. It
took him a few seconds longer to realize that Sandy's jaw was set like
iron, with the bit gripped tight in his teeth. By the time he was
thoroughly convinced that Sandy was going to be hard to stop, Sandy had
topped the rise and was streaking it across an expanse of barrenness that
rose gently in spite of the fact that it looked perfectly level. A
sliding streak of gray dust risi