Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

530 “What? Nonsense! You’re no quitter, dad. Why, I just feel that this prize is in our hands right now.” He was nervous, though. While his fa- ther dozed, he camped before the radio. Reports were being given out every half hour, and on special occasions every fifteen minutes. The first report of the Sheldon plane after it had passed: over Crissy Field was as follows: “ A little over an hour after it passed over Crissy Field, San Francisco, the Sheldon plane was reported over the Farallon Islands, botind for Honolulu and the General Worth standing prize of fifty thousand dollars, for a New York to Hono- lulu flight. The weather is reported as fair and clear.” “ Hooray!”’ yelled Dick. Through the long afternoon the two sat before the radio. Reports came in from time to time, reports that were denied and then confirmed, and then denied again; reports of scattered fog, sent in by ships; of a San Francisco bound ship running into a severe storm and out again. The Sheldon plane had been reported passing over a Japanese vessel over three hundred miles from the California coast; three hours later it was again reported, now practically seven hundred miles at sea. A later report from a ship stated that the plane was evi- dently attempting to get radio bearings. Samuel Sheldon, at the urging of Dick, had gone into a side room and had stretched himself, fully clothed, on a day bed. The older man was plainly showing the marks of worriment and strain. He quickly fell into a fitful sleep, occasionally calling in to his son for a word of the flyers. Long into the night sat Dick Sheldon before the radio. “Station WLX,” came the announce- ment. “It is stated officially by the Los Angeles to Honolulu liner Aloha that a severe storm is raging in mid-Pacific, and no word has been heard for nearly two hours from the gallant couple who are at- tempting the mammoth flight from New York to Honolulu. It is feared that-—” From the other room came Samuel Shel- don’s voice. “‘ What’s the report, Dick?” he asked nervously. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. Exercising considerable will power, Dick Sheldon pressed the switch which snapped off the radio. “ Everything seems to be going all right, dad,” he replied, affecting a cheeriness he was far from feeling. ‘‘ Now try to get some real sleep. That’s the final report until morning. Remember, dad, it’s a Shel- don plane and has as its passenger a Shel- don—and a Sheldon-in-law. I’m going to bed myself.”’ But Dick Sheldon did not go to bed. He tiptoed over and removed the plug from the wall socket. Then, realizing that in his absence—for he meant to be absent— his father might awaken and discover the trickery, and plug in again, he hobbled down cellar and removed a fuse from the Switch box. | He hobbled back again with a lighted candle, and found that his father was still awake. “Too bad. <A fuse blew out,” he lied cheerfully. ‘ We’ll get it fixed in the morning. Too late to have it done now. Good night, dad. Try not to worry. It’s going to be all right. You'll be a proud man to-morrow.” Soon after, when he heard his father’s regular breathing, he took his crutches and made his way slowly out of the house. He picked up a wandering night taxi and rode to a newspaper office, and through the night read the dismal reports that came through —that the storm over the Pacific had in- creased in violence, and that only by a miracle of aéronautics could the Sheldon plane hope to be still in the air. For the first time fear struck deeply into the heart of Dick Sheldon. Had he, after all, done right in being a party to the plan of Glenn and his sister Betty? Had he not, perhaps, been a victim to their unbeliev- ably infectious optimism? He sat there smoking nervously, waiting for some report that might bring back a vestige of hope. But the only report that came was one that fairly froze the blood in his veins. A message was received over the press asso- ciation wire that an amateur radio operator had claimed to have a flash from a ship in . the Pacific. The ship’s radio operator, ran the report, had picked up a call for help EOPMIC OO K<S (E©)