 Ladies and gentlemen, here is a mystery that will tax your powers of deduction. A mystery surrounded with all the thrill, the romance and glamour of flying the air mail. Imagine yourself in the role of Irene Delroy, clever girl operative of the Department of Justice, detailed to discover who is responsible for the deliberate wrecking of trans-American Airlines' fastest air mail ships and the subsequent robbing of each plane after the crash. Andy Andrews, pilot of the ill-fated 601, the last ship to crash, has been questioned by Miss Delroy without revealing any important information. Ernest Powers, general manager of the company, has called the board of directors to witness the investigation. Jimmy Gifford, roving newspaper reporter, an old friend of Miss Delroy, whose keen nose for news has sent him to trans-American Airlines, is also present at the meeting. Mr. Powers' secretary has just opened the door with an important bit of information. Pardon me, Mr. Powers. We just got a call from the ranger's station on Twin Peaks. Yes? They've located 601. What? They've located 601, sir, in Devil's Canyon. Good. Now we'll be able to find out whether the bond shipment is missing or not. We'll get the mail out of the wreckage and shoot it ahead on the next eastbound. I don't think you'll be able to do that, sir. Why not? Because the ranger's station reported Mr. Fitzgerald found the ship and it said it was completely burned to pieces. Sorry. Well, there you are, gentlemen. Get that ranger's station on the phone for me in a hurry, Maisie. Yes, sir. So, Fitzgerald found the ship, huh? Listen, Miss Delroy, if any part of that shipment is missing, that fellow has something to do with it. And just who is this Fitzgerald? The man I fired not over an hour ago. The mechanic who serviced Andrew's ship before it took off tonight. You say you let him go? Yes, not more than an hour ago. May I ask for what reason? For what reason? Listen, it was Fitzgerald's job to see that 601 took the air in top shape. He failed in that responsibility. I let him go. That's all. We're not going to put up with inefficiency around here. We've lost $80,000 worth of airplanes in less than a month. We're going to have efficiency around here if I have to fire every man in the organization. Bravo! Bravo, powers! Bravo! That'll be enough out of you, Giverd. As a representative of the press, we've allowed you to remain. One more break out of you and I'll have you thrown out. So you fired Fitzgerald, eh? Yes, what about it? Nothing. Only you fired Miss Delroy's aide to camp, so to speak. That's good. What do you mean? Fitzgerald evidently has been assigned to work with Miss Delroy in unraveling this case. Right, Irene? Well, there's no harm in admitting it now. How did you find that out, Jimmy Gifford? Ah, the press moves quicker than the eye. I just sort of put two and two together. Our Washington correspondent wired me that you and Fitz had it solved together. I found you, so I figured that Fitz must be somewhere around. You mean that grease ball was... A Department of Justice officer working undercover. Miss Delroy, why wasn't I... That is, why wasn't this company notified of that fact? We sought it to keep it undercover at the time, Mr. Powers. You would have been notified in due time. Hmm. So the Department of Justice is going about putting their men in important positions with this company, hm? That's just about the... Hello? Oh, it's the ranger station. Hello? This is Powers, Trans-American Airlines. The operator tells me that one of our men found our ship in Devil's Canyon. Yes. Is Fitzgerald there? Gone back to the wreckage, eh? Now listen, we're leaving Metropolitan Airport by car in just a few minutes. Don't let anyone in or out of the canyon road. Fitzgerald has gone back to watch the wreckage, Miss Delroy. I suppose we'd better get started. As you say, Mr. Powers. But before we go, there's something I want to get straight with Andrews here. Yes, I believe we were interrupted. Now listen, Andrews, I'm not saying that you had anything to do with the loss of these ships. However strange it might seem that you were the pilot in charge of each one. But I do say if you know anything of importance, you'd better spill it right now. I've told you all I know, Powers. The motor was turning up okay when I took off from Metro here. Just 30 minutes out over Devil's Canyon, it cut on me clean as a whistle. You know that country out there as well as I do. I'd have been a fool to stay with the ship over that country. The weather was bad and I didn't have any too much altitude anyway. So I dumped the tanks, cut the switches and bailed out of my shoes. Just a minute, Mr. Andrews. You say you dump the gas tanks and cut your ignition switches before you jump. Yes, ma'am. We always do that in the event of crash landings. It eliminates the fire hazard. Then how do you account for the fact that the ship has been found completely burned? I've been trying to decide that myself, Miss Delroy. You've a lot of things to worry about, Andrews. What do you mean by that, Powers? Suppose the dump valve stuck. You know those dump valves don't stick, Andrews. I'd say that you were in this thing clear up to your neck. I know you've been hard up for money. I know lots of things that you don't think I know. Listen, Powers, I'll fly your ships for you. I'll fly them in rain and snow in good weather and bad weather. But I won't stand for any of your insulting inferences. If you gentlemen will refrain from starting a row over a personal matter, we'll try to map out an orderly procedure. May I ask a question, Irene? Do you care to, Jimmy? Doesn't it seem strange to you, Andrews, that all three crashes took place at the same spot on your eastbound route? Sure, but that's no reason why Powers has... Ah, and don't you think it's strange that the motor should cut out without any warning? What do you mean by that, Gimbert? The motor just doesn't quit, Powers. There's bound to be a reason. I don't see what you're getting at. Just calling your attention to the fact that the motor did not stop from the usual causes. Other than that, I have nothing to say. Andrews, do you figure the ship would glide far after you left it? Not far. Not over a mile or so. I didn't have much altitude. You landed on the rim of the canyon in your chute, did you not? Yes, ma'am. Well, do you figure the ship had sufficient velocity to carry it into the canyon where Fitzgerald reported finding it? Yes, ma'am. It would. Thank you. Well, Mr. Powers, if you'll call your car, we'll start for the canyon. Coming, Jimmy? Certainly. I have a hunch that Fitzgerald is going to have something interesting to tell us. Oh, hello, Mr. Roy. I just about given up hope of seeing you and was figured on going back into town. I thought it best to stay with the wreck until you got here. You did exactly right, sis. You don't want anything moved until we've had time for a thorough investigation. Where's the ship? Oh, what's left of it is just around this bend, ma'am. It's all burned up. Pretty bad crash. Meal pouches were all destroyed. All of it adds to our little mystery. Gifford? I might have known it. Little early on this job, ain't ya, Newshound? I believe in getting in on the ground floor of things, Sergeant. Anybody been near the plane since you first found it? Not that I know of. Say, who'd you bring with ya? Who's that gettin' out of the car? Well, you should know the gentleman, Fitz. It's Powers, General Manager of Trans-American. You know him, don't you? Yeah. He fired me last night. Guess he figured you weren't so hot as a grease monkey, Sergeant. How long had you been working before you got here? Not long. At least not long enough to find out anything. Hey, where'd Delroy go? Probably ahead to inspect the wreckage. Got any ideas on this case? Not yet, but you mark my words. Somebody's wrecking them ships. I know that motor on this ship tonight was okay for the takeoff. Where'd you learn anything about airplane motors, Fitz? Your last job was at the police department. I learned a little about them during the war. That's why the chief put me on this job with Delroy. Hey, it's some job, too. Take it from me. What do you know about this fellow Andrews? Well, the pilot. He's okay as far as I know. Put the rest of the ships through on schedule. Got a good record. Good flyer. Is there any way for Andrews to know when he's carrying securities or bonds? Well, he could have found out, I reckon. Wouldn't be hard to do. Hey, you don't think this guy maybe is... What do you think, Sergeant? Well, it might bear watching at that. You know it wouldn't be at all difficult to report trouble over the plane radio, cut the switches, and bail out in the parachute. Yeah, but what good would that do him? He couldn't bring those bonds down with him. You don't think he'd try to pull a job like this without help, do you? Look, couldn't he cut the switch just before he gets to the canyon here, bail out, and have his accomplice loot the ship after it crashes? Say, maybe that's what he did, though. And the guy that was helping him set fire to the wreck so we couldn't tell if the bonds were missing or not, huh? How about those other crashes, Fitz? Well, I didn't investigate them. But Delroy tells me that the mail sacs were cut open and the money shipment was stolen. No fire? No, not on the other two. Hey, I'm going to talk to Delroy about this guy, Andrews. There's bound to be something phony about his story. Let's climb on down to the crash and see what Delroy and Powers are talking about. Yeah, yeah, easy here. Okay, I'm going to... What's the most loose rocks? Say, wait a minute, huh? The idea just occurred to me, Fitz, that we may be all wrong about the way those ships are robbed. What do you mean? There's only one road leading into the canyon. The forest ranger back there on the hill assured me that no one except yourself had been down this road in the last three days. Yeah, there's something in that, too. Just the same, I'm keeping my eye on that Andrews guy. All right, Sergeant, you may be on the right track. Oh, here we are. Anything interesting, Irene? There's one thing for certain, Jimmy. This ship was set on fire deliberately after the crash. No, Miss Delroy, I wouldn't say anything like that without evidence. Perhaps, as Andrew suggested, the dump valve stuck and the gasoline sprayed over the motor and caught fire. I've looked into that, Mr. Powers. Both dump valves are open. There's every evidence that this ship was burned quite a while after the crash. But why? What could be the objective? Well, whoever is responsible for the wrecking and robbing of this ship wants to destroy all evidence of its robbery. Hey, that's just what Gifford was telling me, ma'am. Jimmy's powers of deduction seem to be working as you were. There's one thing that doesn't ring true, Irene. What's that? Well, it took a lot of gasoline or oil to make this fire. The only way the crux could transport it down here would be by automobile. And the forest ranger back on the road said that no car had been down here in the past three days. We can't let some minor detail shadow the true facts in this case, Jimmy. This ship was deliberately set on fire. How and why remains to be seen. Oh, I think you're inclined to attach too much mystery to this crash, Miss Delroy. I, for one, believe that you'll find the bonds destroyed in that pile of ashes. What is it, Sergeant? A pocket knife, ma'am, with a blade open. Let's see it. Nice and sharp. Just the thing to use for cutting mail pouches. Where did you find the fit? Right over there, ma'am, behind those rocks. Here's a pair of goggles, too. A pair of what? Flying goggles. Look. Here, Sergeant. Mr. Powers, your pilots don't wear goggles flying these fast mails, do they? No, the cockpits are entirely closed. There's no necessity to wear goggles. Well, someone visited this crash last night before the sergeant found it and left these flying glasses in this pocket knife. What's the matter, Powers? Nothing, nothing at all. I was just trying to... Hold something back? No, no, no, you're wrong. I was merely... Did you ever see this knife before? No. Did you ever see these flying goggles before, Mr. Powers? I want the truth now. No, that is well... You're keeping something back. Oh, no, I just didn't want to wear... You know who these goggles belonged to, don't you? Yes, I've seen them before many times. This is a serious matter, Powers. Who owns these goggles? Those goggles belong to the pilot who bailed out of this ship just before it crashed and rose.