Adventure Magazine Cover — page 167: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Direct Methods rolling away to the foot of the range. Finally Hinkley held up his wrist-watch and pointed. It was time for his trick at the wheel. Both men loosened their belts. Hinkley stood up, took the wheel, and waited for Broughton to slip into the left- hand seat. ; It was not a performance to be essayed by a nervous person. The ship skidded perilously during the moment when neither man had his feet on the rudder bar. Hinkley took up the duty of flying while Broughton began studying his map. Their course would take them past Lexington, which would be an easy landmark because of the fact that the campus of the Virginia Military Institute could be easily picked. up. From that time on careful observation would be necessary, for few landmarks are available at all, and these few unreliable, when one is well over the Appalachians. Lexington slipped by, and the Martin thundered along above a smiling valley. Hinkley watched the compass like a hawk, striving to hold exactly to the course they had calculated. Soon they were over the main range of mountains—for the next hour their only hope lay in those two mighty Libertys. It was a scene of breath-taking majesty to look down on the far-rolling range, the mountain tops of which were less than a thousand feet below. The bottoms of the ravines, however, were far down, the infre- quent houses as tiny as doll dwellings. The altimeter showed six thousand feet. Broughton’s map showed that a small river, winding its way north and south, should come in sight very soon. By fol- lowing that river northward until a railroad that twisted and turned on itself, crossed it, they would be twenty miles due east of Farran County. When they reached Farran County they would have to depend on ob- servation to pick the right place, for only an approximate location was indicated on the map as Hayden’s headquarters. As they reached the crossing of the river and the railroad Broughton leaned over and tapped the motionless Graves on the shoul- der. Graves turned, and Broughton pointed to the map and then below, indicating the crossing. Graves nodded. As Hinkley turned due west and they roared toward their goal Graves studied the faces of his assistants once more. Hinkley’s thi a face was more hawklike than ever below 161 the tight-fitting helmet and the goggles. The aerial headgear gave him a Mephis- tophelian appearance. There was a sort of perverse recklessness graven there, and not a trace of weakness. Broughton, clear- eyed and untroubled, seemed to typify quiet capability. Graves turned again to the primeval grandeur below with a contented smile. In a moment Broughton and Hinkley changed seats again. It was more difficult this time, for the scrambled currents of the mountains were beginning to toss the great bomber around as-if it were the lightest and least stable of scout planes. Masses of cloud above them made the air more bumpy, as always. The transfer was ac- complished quickly, however, and then all three men began their difficult search for Hayden’s cabin. It was almost impossible that they should not be on the course—at least near enough to be able to see the cabin. Graves took out a pair of field glasses, and ceaselessly searched the ground below. One factor made the quest a trifle easier. Not a single mountain did they see which showed any sign of either clearing or habitation, so that there was no question, as yet, of making a choice. It was a strip of country now where five- hundred feet cliffs and sheer ravines rivaled the majesty of the mountains. Save for the tremendous trees, in place of the scrubby mesquite, it reminded Broughton of the mountains around El] Paso. To the border flyers country like that was no novelty. They checked up the maze of instruments frequently, but aside from that showed no signs of undue excitement. Hinkley peered steadily northward for a moment, and then shook Graves by the shoulder. He pointed to a towering peak, on which a cleared spot stood out sharply. Before Graves could train his glasses on it a fleecy cloud blocked his vision. Broughton banked sharply and skirted the cloud. Once again the view was clear, and for fully thirty seconds Graves scrutinized the clearing. Then he motioned Broughton to fly that way. It was five or six miles away. Four min- utes was sufficient to bring them almost over it. Once again the field glasses came into play. Both flyers could see a large timber cabin built a little below the crest of the clearing, close to the trees. The COmMicloooks (C@