by Jack Wright
CHAPTER XI--Hal Comes Through
The day of their departure dawned bright and clear. There was a highceiling, the air was crisp and cool, with a fresh wind blowing. The boyscould hardly control themselves in their impatience to be off. Bob'sparents and Mrs. Gregg drove down to the airport with them to see themoff. In spite of the excitement of the boys, there was an undercurrentof restraint in the group. Nobody talked very much except Bob and Hal,who never stopped talking.
The cabin plane had been taken out and warmed up by the mechanics of theport. It looked sleek and beautiful in the early morning light. Pat wasgoing to fly her. He walked over to the Administration Building to makefinal arrangements with their friend Mr. Headlund. He took a short cutacross the field. The port wasn't very busy. But there was someactivity--activity that Pat, intent upon his business, did not notice. Astudent pilot, taxiing his plane across the field for his first soloflight, was coming straight toward him. Pat did not notice the student,the student was too rattled to see him.
Bob was the first to notice what was happening. "Look put!" he screamed."Pat, look out!"
The student pilot suddenly saw Pat. He veered his plane, but a corner ofthe wing just grazed Pat's head, and knocked him flat. He was alreadygetting to his feet when the others got to him.
"Are you hurt, old fellow?"
Pat was rubbing his head. "No, I don't think so. That is, no, I'm not atall. Just nicked me. I'll be all right in a second." He shook his headto clear it. "Gave me a bit of a bump. I'll be all right."
The student pilot, white and shaking, came over to them. "Hurt badly?"he asked anxiously.
Pat laughed. "No such luck, lad. You missed me that time. Better lucknext time. You might try picking on somebody who's not so tough, nexttime."
Pat was himself again, and the others, thankful that he had not beenseriously hurt, watched him go into the Administration Building. When hecame out, Bill asked. "Do you want me to pilot?"
Pat looked scornful. "Since when did a little bump on the head put meout of commission? I'm driving the bus."
All the baggage stowed away, the boys, the Captain and Pat got into theplane. They waved good bye to the others outside, the huge craft taxiedover the field, turned into the wind and rose into the air. It waspleasant being off at last. There was the grand trip before them, andthen the vacation itself, fishing, swimming, shooting. Hank had filledtheir heads full of the glories of his private mountain, as he calledit. The cabin with its huge open fireplace built of stones, the bunks intwo tiers like the berths on a pullman. Bob and Hal had already decidedthat they would have to take turns sleeping in the upper one, becausesurely the upper one would be the most fun.
Their thoughts kept returning to the cold mountain streams filled to thebrim with scrappy fish, and the waterfall that Hank said he used as anoutdoor shower. A whole month of it! The boys could hardly sit still onthe leather cushions.
"Want something to eat?" said Bill.
"Of course," they said, almost together.
Bill reached for the lunch hamper. Then something seemed to go wrong.The plane lurched. But they hadn't struck an air pocket. It's nose fell,and the three were almost thrown into a heap, one atop the other. Theplane was going into a spin! Beyond the glass partition, Pat lay slumpedover his wheel.
Something had to be done at once. And it was Hal who did it. He pushedopen the glass partition, and got somehow to the pilot's seat. With allhis strength, and his excitement gave him a strength that he had neverbefore possessed, he pulled Pat out of his seat, and pushed him throughthe door, where the Captain and Bob were waiting to take him. Halslipped behind the wheel, and neutralized all controls.
Thank God, they had been flying at a high altitude. The spin wasn't atight one, but a loose one. Hal pushed her nose down. That was what Pathad told him, wasn't it? Don't try to pull her nose up. Push it down,and she'd come out of it and go into a glide. At first nothing happened.Hal was trembling, not so much with fear as with exaltation. He felt thegreat ship respond. They were coming out of it! They were glidingswiftly down to earth. He had her perfectly under control. Slowly hepulled her up, then, and they were flying quietly and steadily with thehorizon again.
The Captain was at the door behind him. "You're great, Hal, you'regreat. You had more guts than any of us. I knew you had it in you, andyou've showed us, Hal."
Hal was happier than he had ever been in his life. He felt that he wasmaster of the world now. He'd saved his pals, and now he would neverhave to be afraid of anything again. "How's Pat?" he asked.
"We're turning around. He hasn't come to," said the Captain. "I'm afraidhe was hurt more badly than he thought."
Hal banked and turned. It was good to feel the ship respond to him,dipping one huge wing slowly, and turning about gracefully in a greatcircle. If not for Pat, his happiness would have been complete.
They got Pat to the hospital, where it was found that the nasty crack onthe skull had given him a slight concussion. But you couldn't keep Patdown. It merely meant postponing that trip, not cancelling it.
Hal was the hero of the day. The newspapers, who got the story at theairport, hounded him until he conquered his shyness, just to get rid ofthem. They made the most of the story, and Hal was almost afraid toleave the house, for fear some of his friends would meet him in thestreet, because Hal was still the same modest retiring soul that he hadbeen.
But he did leave the house to go down to the hospital to see Pat, alongwith Bob and Captain Bill. Pat was sitting outside in a wheelchair whenthey came, and they sat down on the grass beside him, and talked abouttheir postponed trip.
"Do you know," said Captain Bill, "when we come back from our trip,there's something that's going to keep me busy."
"What's that?" asked Bob.
"I'm going to collect all of those stories we told into a book. What doyou think of that for an idea?"
"Great!" said Bob. "All of our stories? Mine, too?"
"Sure, all of them."
"But Hal won't have a story. He hasn't told one," said Bob.
"Hal's going to be the hero," said the Captain.
THE END