Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

510 Bui that was the way with Glenn Kerry. His good looks and a certain sapling grace about his figure had caused many a young lady visitor at the field to be “ crazy,” as they styled it, “about his plane.” It was always ‘‘ the plane,” and Glenn Kerry was entirely too modest to perceive that it was not the plane that they were crazy about, but the tall, blond young pilot. He was crazy over planes himself, and he took the girls’ statements seriously. For egotism is strictly an internal disease, and is quite likely to strike in the most unex- pected places. Quite as often as not it is the homely male or female who has it in the most serious stage. Glenn Kerry, in his intense interest in flying, was unmindful of many a pair of feminine eyes, blue, black, brown, gray— but always admiring—turned in his direc- tion. “ Oh, it must be just won-derful to be an air-mail pilot!” a girl visitor would often say to him at the field. The girl would not infrequently turn languishing eyes upon him, and wonder if her make-up was on skillfully, and ff this tall, handsome fellow admired that new travel coat of hers. How much did air-mail pilots make a week? Enough to support a wife in luxury? “ Yes, great game,” Kerry would usually reply, half in embarrassment as he turned to continue tuning up his engine. ‘““ So good-looking, but so bashful!” was the general feminine verdict. And more than one girl whose languorous eyes had failed to thrill Glenn Kerry would often add to herself: ‘ Stuck up thing!” Glenn often wondered if Betty Sheldon ever presumed to have radio talks with any other members of the nighthawk squadron. He hoped not. That would spoil everything. He might have spared his doubts on this. Betty Sheldon, who had admired the tall pilot at New Brunswick Air Field, waited until the usual hour for her radio conver- sation with as much interest and quickened heartbeat as Kerry did. But, womanlike, she hid her interest more deftly. “T suppose you want your solo to- night?” she would ask, with an independent ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. air. She often wondered what she would do if the young pilot should answer “ No.” But the young pilot never answered that way. ‘“T am waiting for it,” he would reply. Betty often wondered why he was not a little more forward, like most of the pilots; why he never insisted upon knowing her name, and why he never tried to make a date. It seemed this Kerry was a little <4 slow.” And then one night came the unexpected happening that resulted in their subsequent meeting. Betty had given her nightly song with ukelele accompaniment. “T think I’d better get something new to entertain you,” she said as she finished. “Well, good night, Captain Glenn— Kerry.” Three minutes later she had “ something new,’ but it was far from entertainment. “Captain Kerry! Captain Kerry! ‘Are you listening?” came the voice. “Yes, what is it?” “My brother is down—somewhere in Heathdown Meadows, I think! Right wing collapsed. Went down out of control. I got his message. Oh, can you do any- thing?” “Tl make a search. I have parachute flares. Not far from Heathdown now.” “Thank God!” came the answer. Pilot Kerry swooped about through the night, picked up his bearings, and speeded for Heathdown Meadows. He wondered why Betty’s brother should be flying at night. He had not known that she had a brother who was a mail pilot, or indeed had not known that she had a brother at all. But he put on his greatest speed, passed over the village of Heathdown, and soon hovered over the great black eshadow that was Heathdown Meadows. He circled about, and dropped a para- chute flare which lighted up the country- side. He thought he saw the crumpled wings of a plane toward the corner of the field, sprawling there like a great crippled bird near a lone tree, the branches of which moved like palsied witches’ fingers in the harsh night wind. He circled about again, and sent down. another flare; then, making out the un- CORMICLOO <S (E@)