Air Stories — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

SECRET OF KALUNDA fancied he saw two white people in the midst of the assembly of natives. Also, and this interested him for a different reason, there was laid across the rock what appeared to be a solid bar. As he watched, suspicion grew to certainty that there was a white man and a white woman on the mountain top, and with the knowledge came the certainty that the Squadron was leaving them to an awful fate. Yet he could do nothing. If he were to disobey orders and leave the formation, what could he do? To attack the hordes that surrounded those two would be of little use, for they would hide from view until the threat had passed, and there was always the chance that his bullets would kill the very people he sought to help. It seemed that he was powerless to save them. The only effective course would be to land, for such a feat might well overawe these primitive people. A Very pistol and a Colt automatic, effectively used, might also work wonders. Unfortunately, both courses were ruled out in advance. There was no room down there to bring in even an autogiro. In his absorption, Meek lagged farther and farther behind the formation. Then, suddenly, he forgot all about the forma- tion. That solid bar, as he had thought it, was not solid at all. It was now being drawn back at its centre by a cluster of brown dots. In a flash it had become straight again, and from it an object catapulted out over the gorge and was lost to view. In that instant something happened to Meek. For he half-rolled and fell away and, next moment, was diving straight towards the rock in flagrant defiance of orders. But now he had a plan. | A spring that could project a body with such force as that one below might conceivably be strong enough to arrest an aeroplane, even on so small a plat- form. On the other hand, of course, it might not. The problem involved com- plications altogether beyond him, but he held fast to one belief. It was worth the risk. 47 Having decided this point to his satisfaction he concentrated on the job he had set himself. A deck landing was as simple as falling off a roof com- pared to this. He would have to approach at exactly the right height and speed. The machine must be near stalling point in the last few yards and yet under perfect control. It called for a nicety of judgment that fascinated him. He knew that with all the skill in the world he would very likely go crashing over the edge to his death, but he had plenty to occupy his thoughts without dwelling on that. First, he dived and came hurtling low down above the rock to take a closer look at the position of the rope to which he was about to entrust his life. As he thundered past he caught a brief glimpse of a horn-crowned, long-haired figure with . outstretched arms who backed towards the edge of the rock, and sud- denly disappeared. But his attention was centred on the rope, and satisfied as to its position, he now roared up again and swept round into position for his final approach. Then, hardly daring to draw breath, Meek brought the Nimrod down until it was level with the mountain top, and flattened out, feeding his engine just sufficiently to keep him afloat. And so, with hand on throttle, he approached the rock. With his other hand on the stick he gauged the air pressure against the controls, and knew that he could not come in any more slowly. The rock was very close now, and it seemed to be rushing madly at him. Just around the rock he got a glimpse of innumerable brown bodies cowering for shelter, and on its top, to one side, stood a white man and woman and an enormous native. Now the Nimrod was over the rock. The supreme test had come. Meek flicked off the last remnant of throttle and jerked the stick back. His tail ducked . . . he had missedit. ... NO! EEK was flung forward against the instrument-board with the violence of deceleration. Could that rope, COmMicbOolkxs.com