Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26 "NO-O-O-O!" Amy was shrieking from behind Dan. Dan pulled at the ropes. The propeller was screaming in his ears, a silver blur, the blades coming closer. He smelled the burning motor, the grease. Too tight. Dan jerked his body, trying to tip the chair. Ian Kabra looked queasily from Dan to the propeller. Now the blade was inches from Dan's neck. He leaned back, eyes closed, his mind seeming to detach. He heard a scream and wasn't sure if it was his. But he did feel his chair tilting. And his head hitting something, hard.

"Get him!" a voice commanded. Isabel. Dan opened his eyes. He saw Amy hurtling across the room, still tied to her chair, ramming her head into Isabel Kabra. Suddenly, he felt himself rolling backward. "Dan! Dan, can you hear me?" a deep voice asked. "Owwww…" Dan's hands were suddenly free. He staggered to his feet. Across the room, Amy was on top of Isabel, pinning her to the floor. A hand shoved him toward the door. "Go. We must not waste time. Make a left and head for Hangar Three. I will join you." Professor Bardsley was pushing him. Three of his students wrestled with the Kabras while untying Nellie and Amy. The propeller was slowing. Dan felt his neck, just to be sure. Then he ran to grab his sister. "Let's go!" They raced to the door, with Nellie close behind. Isabel was shrieking, her voice piercing through the rumble of the slowing blade. "THIS IS AN INJUSTICE!"

As Amy and Nellie scurried out, Dan ducked back in to get Saladin. Then he ran around to the other side of the propeller and grabbed the vial of green liquid off the shelf. Racing outside, he stuffed the vial into his pocket. He caught up with Amy and Nellie just outside Hangar Three. The door was open, revealing a prop plane under a thick canvas. "Are you okay?" Amy asked. "Oh, my God, Dan, I thought you were going to—" She swallowed the rest of the thought. "What you did to Isabel was awesome," Dan said. Professor Bardsley was sprinting toward them now. "Children, we are leaving," he said breathlessly. "You cannot stay in South Africa any longer. The Kabras can be subdued, but they will not be stopped. And there is someone else—" He glanced over his shoulder. "Who?" Dan asked. But Professor Bardsley ducked into the hangar, calling out, "Hall-ooooo!"

Two uniformed workers came running. "Do you have flight-path clearance, Professor?" one of them asked. "Please get it for me— ASAP!" Professor Bardsley said. The man ran off as the other worker helped Professor Bardsley unsheathe the plane. Its sides were yellow, with red piping and a name in fancy script: The Flying Lemur. "It's Grace's plane!" Amy exclaimed. "Grace taught me to fly," Professor Bardsley said. "When she knew she was dying, she gave me permission to keep this old girl in business. Now, let's take her for a spin, shall we?" Amy ran around to the other side and jumped into the passenger seat of the cockpit. "Hey! I want to sit there," Dan protested. "Dude, you weren't fast enough," Nellie added, sliding into the rear. Professor Bardsley turned the ignition. The propellers spun. "Go!" the airport worker was shouting. "You have the green light!"

"They let you cut in front of everybody, just like that?" Nellie asked. Professor Bardsley grinned. "Don't ask questions. Get in, Dan!" Nellie pulled Dan into the backseat. Dan plopped in beside her, fuming. "You guys think I'm not fast enough?" he said. "You think it had nothing to do with the fact that I'm holding Saladin, so maybe it was unfair for Amy to jump in like that?" "Mrrp," said Saladin in agreement. Nellie shrugged. "You could have done rock-paper-scissors for a half hour or so." "Ha-ha. You just yuk it up with my sister." Dan folded his arms and sat back as Amy shrank in her seat. "Dude, where are you taking us?" Nellie asked. "If anything, he will be expecting us to land in Swaziland," Professor Bardsley said. "He?" Nellie asked. "They," Professor Bardsley quickly replied. "Anyone who may be on your tail. So I will take

you to Mozambique. There you will board a plane to Germany, where I will arrange transport to— wherever it is you need to go next." The plane rolled out of the hangar and taxied onto the runway, propellers whirring. "Why are you doing this for us, Professor Bardsley?" Amy spoke up. "What's going on?" "Because your work is done here," he replied. "Because you have found a clue. Because even though I am not a part of this, I respect that you are doing your grandmother's bidding." "How well did you know Grace?" Amy pressed. "Did you know which branch she belonged to?" As Professor Bardsley yanked back the throttle, the noise was deafening. "What?" he said. The plane lurched forward. "YEEE-HAH!" Nellie shouted. From the backseat, Dan leaned into Amy. "You really think I'm so slow? Well, if I'm so slow, how come I was the one who remembered to hold on to this?" He was shoving something in her face now. The