Argosy: The Short Story Magazine — page 84: what you’re looking at

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

84 DAVID BEATY **T can just hear her now. Very faint. It’s only the bit of height we've got that’s letting us get her at all. Any chance of going higher, sir? ”’ “None at all. We’re just under the clouds as it is.” Draper said suddenly, “‘ Try the radio compass on 500 kilocycles now, sir.” Kelston turned the tuning-knob on the roof, hunting for the signal. ‘‘I can hear her. Not very clear.’”’ He switched to the compass position, and watched the needle. It wavered, hesitated, then pointed 30 degrees to the left. ** That may not be accurate, Skipper,’’ Draper said. ‘‘ He seems to have a very weak transmitter.” “Time to turn,” Bates called up. ‘‘ New course two-six-one degrees.”’ ** Less than an hour’s fuel left, sir,’”» Hawkins reminded him. By no visible indication did Kelston show that he was absorbing the information that kept pouring helpfully on him from all sides. But his mind took it in and correlated it all, while his hands eased the aircraft round in a huge quarter-circle to the left. He dared not put on too many degrees of bank. The storm was doing its best to turn the Marlborough upside down, without any help from him. ““T suppose they’ll be firing rockets, Skipper? ’’ Shaughnessy asked. “Should be... . if they’ve any left.” Feeling ill himself now and thoroughly wretched, Draper mut- tered into Hawkins’s ear, “‘ If the bloody thing had any sense . it'd have gone down by now.”’ Then he shouted, ‘‘ Transmitting again, Skipper. Forty degrees starboard.” Kelston saw the needle on the compass was steadier. ‘‘ Seems to have got over its fit of the shakes,’’ he said. He waited to see whether it would alter as the aircraft moved away from it. The pointer went rapidly past 90 degrees right, then slowed up, pointing behind them. “That looks more like it,’ the Captain said, half to himself. He called back to Bates to find out whether he had obtained a position for the ship from the number of bearings the radio com- pass had given him. “Yes, sir,” Bates replied. ‘‘ Should be 8 miles north-east of us now.” “I’m turning back towards her.”’ For a few seconds after Easy Zebra had wheeled round, the needle pointed dead ahead. Then it sagged down to the right. “Damn them. .. damn them!” Draper shouted, “‘ they’ve stopped transmitting.” Kelston kept on the same course. He was watching the sea keenly. ‘‘ Must be round here somewhere,” he said to Shaugh- nessy. But he knew that the waves, house-top high, could easily hide a small steamer. The white wash would be continuously commclooks.comn)