THIS week we have a short story by renowned pulp author Frederick C. Davis. Davis is probably best remembered for his work on Operator 5 where he penned the first 20 stories, as well as the Moon Man series for Ten Detective Aces and several other continuing series for various Popular Publications. He also wrote a number of aviation stories that appeared in Aces, Wings and Air Stories.

This week’s story features that crack pilot for World News Reel, the greatest gelatine newspaper that ever flashed on a silver screen—Nick Royce! Davis wrote twenty stories with Nick for Wings magazine from 1928-1931.

Tip-Top, the biggest photoplay production corporation in the world, is still planning to add a news-reel to its releases, and they intended to buy up one of the existing independents. They were almost ready to buy, and their choice had narrowed down to either the Compass outfit or the World News. The reel they bought and gave their name would become the biggest in the world; the others would simply pass out. Compass was hell-bent on landing that deal.

Gordon Dugan, editor-in-chief of the weekly World News Reel, and his staff were working night and day to land the lucrative deal. Lately the Compass outfit, their keenest and deadliest competitors, had scooped them so often that Dugan was driven to desperation and wouldn’t let anything like sentiment stand between him and success.

From the June 1928 Wings, it’s Frederick C. Davis’ “Twin Flyers!”

They broke him—made him an outcast in the game he loved best. But he wasn’t through—and in the mile-high contest for a scoop, Nick Royce came back!

• Download “Twin Flyers” (June 1928, Wings)