Air Stories — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

He missed all four cables and shot along the deck... — se eo € ee : eo a en 7—eneerl mi etna eaeee Scope 1 <a Ss ig oe a rr Sal Joe a ae 3? &- 2 ee ” 5; 2 abe Su gd whe Se eS ee a wl ff te SECRET ofr KALUNDA A Long, Exciting Story of Overseas Adventure with the Fleet Air Arm CHAPTER I Sealed Orders MILE or so across the blue waters to port stretched the lonely coast of Portugal, grim and forbidding in its bleak outline, yet with a beauty all its own. No one on board H.M. Aircraft Carrier ‘‘ Uproarious,’’ however, seemed to have an eye for such things. Her flying- deck, at any rate, was deserted, if you except her captain and one or two others who were perched on top of the narrow elongated structure which served for a navigation bridge. Indeed, to be able to stand on that deck at all just then a man would have had to brace himself firmly against the gale of wind which swept its great length. For H.M. Aircraft Carrier ‘‘ Uproarious ’’ was in a hurry. She was steaming south at some thirty knots, and her destina- tion was the Mediterranean—the area of civil war. No member of the ship’s company knew the precise purpose of this haste, and few cared what their destination might be. Except Captain Jervis, per- haps. He did not like to risk his ship in such troubled waters, and as he now stood scanning the coast from the bridge, he looked the picture of gloom. The wardroom, by contrast, was a more cheerful place. It was filled for the most part with flying personnel, though there was a sprinkling of naval officers who were not for the moment on duty. Wing Commander Pateman— known to the ship’s company as ‘‘ Pat ’’ —stood, glass in hand, near the bar chatting to a group of his officers. 34 CO OO (C = > < er Fen els hs 7e ' eo. aly err) Oe wear eo 4S taro ON we #59 Py “~