The White Fox Chronicles by Gary Paulsen Read Free Book Online

almost afraid to breathe. After a few minutes he relaxed. “Hey, this isn’t so hard. It’s almost like—”
    The plane lunged, making a choking sound, and then the engine stopped. Toni sat up. She tapped one of the gauges and it swung violently to the left.
    “What’s wrong?” Cody demanded. “Did I break something?”
    “No. It’s not your fault. Looks like we might have a leak in the fuel line. We’re going down. Get ready.”
    Cody looked at the ground below. The desert had changed to green landscape with fields and a few trees. They had passed a smalltown an hour or so earlier. He wondered if anyone would come out to help them—or, more likely, arrest them.
    It all seemed like a dream. The plane was fighting them, trying to head straight down while he and Toni fought to keep its nose up.
    Then abruptly the ground that had looked so far away rushed up to meet them. Trees sped by, snatching at the plane with their branches. With one bone-jarring crunch both wings were sheared off and the windshield blew out in pieces.
    At high speed, the small aircraft skidded across a field and came to a grinding stop on the edge of an arroyo, its nose buried in a large bank of dirt.

CHAPTER 17
    O ut of the corner of his eye Cody could see his arms and hands. He raised his head. Nothing seemed to be broken. His forehead ached and he had several new cuts from the broken glass but he was still alive.
    He turned to look at Toni. She was hunched over, holding her fractured arm. “This thing is never going to heal if I don’t quit cracking up airplanes.”
    Cody smiled with relief. “You probably hold the record for the most crash landings inthe shortest period of time.” He unsnapped his seat belt. “Flying was sure nice while it lasted but I guess it’s back to walking.”
    He was just about to try his door when it was yanked open. A burly farmer stabbed at him with a pitchfork. In the Republic language he ordered Cody to get out of the aircraft.
    Another, younger man dressed in worn overalls, with arms as big around as tree trunks, held a small pistol. He waved it in the air victoriously. “We’ve captured some Americans, Papa. The CCR will reward us.”
    Cody put his hands up and slipped down out of the plane. He spoke to them in their language. “Don’t shoot. My partner is hurt. Help us. We are on a secret mission for the CCR.”
    The two men put their heads together and whispered. The young one turned to Cody. “Where are your papers?”
    “I told you, we’re on a special mission. We don’t carry papers.”
    The farmer pointed the pitchfork at the plane. “You are only a boy, too young to beflying planes. Get your partner out. We will talk to him.”
    They followed Cody around to Toni’s door. He tried to open it but it was stuck. The young man with the muscular arms gave the pistol to his father and reached up to help. With one tug he wrenched it off its hinges.
    Toni had heard them talking. She didn’t understand the language but she figured Cody was doing his best to make up a cover for them. When they opened the door she was lying motionless on the controls with her eyes closed.
    “See,” Cody said. “I told you my partner was hurt.”
    The young man shrugged and picked her up as if she were a child and set her on the ground.
    Again the two men conferred. Cody could hear snatches about how big the reward would be if he and Toni turned out to be spies.
    Finally they made a decision. They would take the two fliers back to the farm and lock them in the root cellar until they notified the nearest CCR garrison.
    The young man picked up Toni and started across the field. Cody had to trot to keep up with him. The older man stayed behind them, holding the gun.
    As they approached the house, Cody scanned the area for signs of transportation. A rusty truck sat in front of the farmhouse with its hood up and two flat tires. The only other vehicle on the place was an old green tractor parked in the field.
    The