by Jack Wright
CHAPTER VII--A Close Shave
The next two weeks were hectic ones for Pat, the Captain and their twofriends, with Pat teaching the boys to fly, the boys learning to fly,the Captain generally directing all activities, and three of themplanning and preparing for their flight to the Adirondacks. Hal couldn'tgo. It was with real sorrow that he told them that his mother would notpermit him to go with them. Hal was beginning to enjoy better hisflights into the air, and his companionship with his new friends. Patdid not frighten him at all now, and his happiest hours were those thathe spent with him, Bob and Captain Bill. He knew that he would be verylonesome if they went off without him, but no amount of persuasion onhis part would move his mother in her determination that he should notgo. She had so many arguments on her side that Hal was completelyfloored when he tried to point out to her the reasons why it would beperfectly safe for him to go with his friends.
Bob was downcast. He knew that he would have a good time with Pat andBill, but he knew too that he'd have a better time if someone his ownage were along. After all, he couldn't do anything as well as Pat andBill. He couldn't fly a plane, although he was learning rapidly, andwould soon be able to take a solo flight; he couldn't shoot asaccurately as they; nor land a mountain trout so well. Hal, who was alsoa novice, would have been just as inexpert as he was at all thesethings, and would have made him feel not quite so stupid. And then therewere always things to talk about to Hal that the others wouldn't be ableto understand--in fact, Hal and he spoke a language of their own. Itwould have been fun if Hal could have come along--but if he couldn't go,he couldn't go. Bob decided that he'd better take the matterphilosophically. So he joined in the plans of the Captain and Pat withall his usual energy. Hal helped, too, Even if he was not going withthem, he wanted to get the thrill at least of being in on the start.
They were all down at the airport every day, rain or shine. Pat gavethem a good background of ground work, and then let them fly with him.Bob, with his natural quickness, could have flown solo almost after hisfirst flight, but Pat would not take the responsibility of letting theboy go up alone.
Hal, on the other hand, had more obstacles to overcome. The first wasthe terror that he had felt on his first flight. However, after repeatedflights, and the feeling of power that he gained from actually havingthe controls in his hands, he overcame his fear enough to fly with Pat,and fly well.
Two days before their departure for the mountains, Pat and Bill decidedthat the boys ought to make their solo flights, so that Hal would havemade a solo flight before they left him.
Pat had taken the Marianne up into the air, had "taken a look about,"and landed her again. He turned to the two boys and asked, "who'sfirst?"
"Me," said Bob.
"All right," said Pat, and Bob climbed into the cockpit smilingconfidently.
"See you soon," called Bob, and waved a hand in farewell. He taxied theplane out over the runway, turned her nose into the wind, and felt herrise from the ground. He felt a thrill of power as the machine respondedto the slightest movement of the stick. He had control of all theboundless energy stored in that motor, and could direct this huge craftin any direction he chose. He felt the blast of wind against his face.He was off the ground now, flying low, just clearing a small tool house.He pointed the nose of the Marianne up and climbed slowly, then leveledoff again. His instruments showed that he was flying at about a thousandfeet up. The motor sounded good. The air was smooth. Bob felt a keenexhilaration. He wanted to shout in triumph. At last he was flying aplane, alone.
Again he pointed the nose up into the air, and climbed to about 5,000feet. The sky was clear and cloudless. He lost all track of time andspace. He seemed to be by himself in the universe. But he knew that hewasn't. The others would be expecting him back. Reluctantly he bankedand turned around, and headed once more for the airport. He throttleddown the motor and glided swiftly to earth. He saw the grass below turngreen as he approached it; he leveled off. In his excitement, he keptthe tail of the plane a little too high, his front wheels landed toosoon, and he felt for a breath-taking moment that he was going over onhis nose. But the Marianne righted herself, and taxied docilely alongthe ground.
Bob jumped out, pushing back his goggles. "How was that?" he shouted toPat and Bill, who came running up to him.
Pat glowered. "What a landing!" he said, in disgust. "Young man, is thatthe sort of landing I taught you?"
Bob's smile faded, and he looked crestfallen. "I didn't level off," hesaid.
"Of course you didn't. A blind man could tell you that." Then Pat'svoice suddenly changed. "But you handled her like a veteran," he said."You've got the makings of an ace in you, lad."
Bob's ready grin spread quickly over his face again. "Did I really?" hecried. "Bill, what did you think?" He was perfectly willing to hearhimself praised, now that he was sure that his performance has beengood.
"Oh, you're all right," said Bill grudgingly. "How about Hal? It's histurn now." He turned to Hal. "You show this young fellow how to make athree point landing," he said, and gave Hal a little clap on theshoulder.
Hal came forward. He was unusually silent, and his face was pale. He hadstruggled with his fear and he felt that he had conquered it. He hadcome to have confidence in his handling of the Marianne with Pat or Billin the other cockpit, ready to take the controls if anything went wrong.Now he would have confidence taking her up alone. He set his jaw grimlyand got into the cockpit. The motor was warm, and sounded good. Hal tookthe Marianne into the air with a grace that made Pat and Bill look ateach other with surprise and congratulation.
"The kid's got the stuff, all right," said Bill. "I knew he had. Whosaid he didn't have nerve?"
"He's better for it, too," said Pat. "It's done him good, all right."They watched the plane climbing into the cloudless skies. Then suddenlythe sound of the motor ceased. "Good grief," cried Pat. The others weretoo horrified even to cry out. They saw the plane stall, then fall nosedown, spiraling as it went.
When he heard the motor conk, Hal's heart stood still. He tried thestick frantically. The rudder, the ailerons, would not respond. Thethrottle brought no answering roar of power. The Marianne had becomesuddenly a mad thing, an enemy, bent on his destruction. Sheside-slipped, her nose dipped down, an she went into a tailspin.
Hal was frantic. His first impulse was to pull up on the stick, in orderto bring up the tail. Then some glint of reason came through his terror,and he remembered Pat's warning that this was the last thing he shoulddo to pull himself up. But what had Pat said? He couldn't remember. Thensuddenly it came to him. Push forward on your stick! With an effort hemade himself push forward. The Marianne gave a convulsive shudder. Butthe action had taken her out of her spin. With a feeling of unutterablerelief Hal felt her come out of her spin and go into a glide. He lookedover the side of the plane. He was rushing toward a brick building, atthe furthest end of the airport! There was nothing to do now but crash.He was too close to stretch out the glide!
With a last desperate movement, Hal opened the throttle of his engine.The motor caught! With a thrill of joy he heard the roar of the motor asit started again, and felt the stick respond to his touch. He pulledback the stick, the nose of the plane lifted, and he zoomed into theair.
Down on the ground Pat, Bill and Bob had gone through the tortures ofthe damned, watching Hal fall to what seemed certain death, while theystood helplessly below. When they saw him zoom once more into the air,their hearts bounded with him.
"The gas-line must have been clogged!" shouted Pat. "It cleared itselfout when they dived!"
"Thank God," said Bill.
Bob could say nothing, but kept shouting Hal, Hal, Hal, over and overagain. Hal was gliding in, now, to land.
He got out of the cockpit, white and shaking. The others, besidethemselves with joy, surrounded him, shaking his hand, hugging him,patting his shoulder. But Hal did not seem to notice what was happening.
"You handled that plane like Lindbergh!" shouted Pat. "Good boy."
Pat had gone over to the plane to look it over. "It seems all right," hesaid, turning off the motor that he had tested. "But there must havebeen a bit of dirt in the line leading from the gas tank. You had alucky escape, lad. It was quick thinking that you did up there. I'mproud of you."
But Captain Bill saw that Hal was in no mood for praise. He knew, too,that the best cure for the boy was to take him right up again into theair, so that he would have no time to develop a phobia against going up.But he would not risk taking up the Marianne until it had had a thoroughoverhauling.
The Captain put his arm around Hal's shoulder. "You mustn't say thatyou're never going up again, Hal, old man," he said. "You provedyourself up there. You're going to make a great flyer."
"It was great, Hal, great," said Bob. "I would have crashed the old busand killed myself. I couldn't have kept my head."
Hal said nothing except that he wanted to go home. Pat stayed behindwith the plane while the other three went over to the parking lot to gettheir machine. "Don't say anything to my mother, whatever you do," saidHal. "I don't want her to worry. After all, nothing really happened tome, and why should she be frightened for nothing?"
Bob and the Captain promised to say nothing. In fact, they spoke verylittle on the way home. Hal was worn out emotionally and the others wereoccupied with their own thoughts.
The Captain was worried by the new turn that affairs had taken. He wasdisappointed that all the progress that had been made in Hal's educationhad been ruined on the first solo flight. It would have been all rightif he had been able to take Hal into the air again, but he couldn't.Tomorrow they would be too busy with their preparations to do anyflying, and the day after that, they would start for the Adirondacks,leaving Hal behind. Without his friends, and with the memory of histerror fresh in his mind, Hal would fall back into his old fears, and beactually worse off than ever. The time to cure Hal was at once, if atall.
Captain Bill had an idea. He thought about it rather carefully most ofthe way home, and when they were almost home, he broached his plan."Say, Hal, how about coming over tonight--with your mother? I'm going totell my story after dinner, tonight, and I thought maybe she'd like tohear it."
Hal was rather surprised. His mother rarely visited, and did not seevery much of the Martins. In fact, she had been to the Martins onlytwice since they had been neighbors, and one of those visits had been toreturn Mrs. Martin's formal call upon her new neighbor when the Greggshad moved into the house next door. But Hal said, "Why, I'll ask Mother.I don't think she's busy, and I guess she'd like to hear your story,Captain Bill. I've been telling her about the stories, you know."
"Good," laughed the Captain. "Don't tell her too much, though. I wanther to come to hear them."
"I think she'll like to come," said Hal. Thinking it over, he feltconvinced that his mother should hear Captain Bill's story that night.He knew she would enjoy the evening with them all. They were a jollylot, and Mrs. Martin often was lonesome when Hal went off and left heralone. She would be better for a night of company. And perhaps--well, Halcould not dare to hope--perhaps she would approve more of his going on atrip with these men if she knew how splendid they were. But then Halshuddered. They were going to fly to the mountains. And he was nevergoing to fly in a plane again. He felt that he would rather do anythingin the world than put himself in a position again where he mightexperience the awful horror of feeling himself going into a nose dive.
They let Hal off at his home. When Bob and the Captain were alone, Bobasked why Bill had thought of inviting Hal's mother to hear his storythat night.
"Why, Mrs. Gregg's a nice woman. Don't you think that I should haveinvited her?" asked the Captain, with a twinkle.
"Oh, but you must have some other reason," said Bob. "You don't want herto come over just because you want an audience for your story."
"Well, to tell the truth," the Captain answered, "I have a motive. Can Icount on you to help me?"
"If it's not murder," said Bob.
"Nothing like it," the Captain said. "This is my plan, Bob. You knowthat we want Hal to come along with us on our trip, now more than at anyother time. If we leave him now, all the good that flying and being withus has done him will be wasted, and Hal will be the same fraid-cat thathe was before we began to educate him. Now, I'm going to tell the storyof Byrd tonight. Byrd started on his adventures when he was very young.He had a brave mother, who saw that following his own inclinations wasgood for her son. That much is for Mrs. Gregg. Second--Byrd had toovercome a great many obstacles before he reached his goal. That part isfor young Hal. Now, if the Gregg family takes my story seriouslytonight, I think that we may have Hal with us on our flight. And Halwill be a new boy. How about it?"
Bob looked admiringly at his uncle. "Gee," he said, "that's a greatidea. But I think that you'll have to tell a pretty convincing story."
"Don't you think that I can?"
"Golly, I'm not going to worry about that," said Bob. "I'm sure youcan."
When they got in, they found Mrs. Martin sewing, and lost no time intelling her first the events of the day, and second, their plans for theevening.
"But why didn't you invite her to dinner?" asked Mrs. Martin. "I'm surewe'd enjoy having them with us."
"I didn't think of that," said the Captain, "or rather, I thought that Iwas taking enough liberty in just inviting somebody to your home for theevening."
"I'll call her," said Mrs. Martin firmly. A far away look came into hereyes. "You know," she said, "I think that I shall do some talking toMrs. Gregg myself, I have some things to tell her about raising her ownson. I suppose she will resent it, but I shall at least have thesatisfaction of getting it off my chest, and perhaps of helping poorHal."
"Hal's the one I'm interested in," said the Captain. "He acted like areal hero in that plane today. Kept his head, and saved himself and theplane. He's got the stuff, all right, and he can handle a plane."
"I'm with you, Captain," said Bob. "And with you and Mom on the job, Idon't see how anybody can possibly get away with anything. You two couldconvince anybody of anything."
His mother looked at him speculatively. "Can I convince you right nowthat you ought to go up and wash? Believe me, young man, you can't getaway with looking that dirty, if that's what you mean."
Grinning sheepishly, Bob went out of the room. "You win," he called."And I'm betting on you tonight, too."