Air Wonder Stories, August 1929 — page 60: what you’re looking at

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

— ot* $i : pee 4 “a : Sad - 154 AIR WONDER STORIES will report to him. Ordinarily, you are responsible to nobody but Ben Whitcomb, Get that?” “Yes, sir.” . “Very well, then. Burn that card when you have memorized the address.” “1 can do that now, sir,” said I, and dropped the card into the open fire. “Good,” said the President. “Take Lamont and Milliken with you to-morrow.” ; “T shall have to get Dan Lamont on the phone right away, then.” “You'll find Dan Lamont at your hotel when yn get back there to-night,” said the President with ea smile, “Why—he’s in New York!” I blurted. “Not at all,” he laughed. “He’s on his way to Washington. We phoned him to come right off, and fixed a-room for him at your hotel. At least, my sec- tetary did.” I turned to Miss Torrance, and it came to me that she was just the prettiest girl I had ever seen. There was a little faint flush on her cheeks, and her eyes were shining. As if she were a little breathless with some excitement, her lips were slightly parted. “It’s mighty kind of you, Miss Torrance,” I mum- bled, ‘“to take so much trouble for me. I don’t know how to thank you.” “Don’t try, please—it was Mr. Milliken——” “Milliken !” “Milliken and the Merlin—and, oh, the whole thing,” she cried. “You two and that lovely plane—and that modest little man, Mr, Lamont. I envy you, all four. Next to being a man myself and joining you—the best thing I could do was to see you got your chance. You're lucky in your friends, Mr. Boon.” “I am that!” I said warmly. “Especially if I may number you among them?” Then I felt my ears grow hot, and my neck go red at blurting this. It seemed so gatche after all she had done for me in friendship. “That sounds ungrateful and silly,’ I stammered. “But I only wanted to hear it from you——” She was a little bit rosy ‘herself, but she held out her small fist in a frank way, .and her serene eyes looked right into mine. “Tsn’t that the American way?” she smiled. “To shake on it?” “Sometimes,” I said, and took her hand. “T’'m green with envy at your luck,” she said, “though you deserve it, every bit—but I’m with you and the crew of the Merlin, heart and soul.” “That’s just fine!” said I,-and wished that kissing a girl’s hand was still the fashion. Presidently I took my leave of her and her uncle. A Quiet Interview URE enough, when I got back to the hotel, Dan Lamont was waiting for me in the foyer. He im- mediately dragged me up to his room to look at the new kit he had bought. There were bags of it. He must have about cleaned New York. “Say, Danny,” I remarked to him, “what do you think you’re making the trip on—a cargo-steamer?” “Aw, Jimmy!” he pleaded. “It’s just a few little things I thought we’d find useful——” “T gave you-a list, didn’t 1?” “And TI stuck to it, Jimmy—faithfully. I got three or four of everything you said. Then I got them to throw in some extra comforts for you and Milliken. “The only. extra comforts that Milliken and I will appreciate, my son, are maybe a few extra bands of shells, or another litre or two of gasoline. You'll have to leave five-sixths of this behind, Dan.” : “I know I’m a goat when it comes to spending, Jimmy,” he said. “TI get so blamed enthusiastic.” “Well,” said I, “when you hought this lot you cer- tainly were in no fit of depression!” He looked at the collection with a touch of despair fora minute, then-he brightened up. “Tell you how, Jimmy,” he. said. “We'll leave this stuff at our base and draw on it whenever we want new outfits,” I took my letter-of-marque from my pocket and flipped it over to him. : “Then,” said I, “perhaps we'd better have the Presi- dent alter this so that you'll be definitely commissioned Quartermaster General to the Force.” He read the President’s letter with growing excite- ment, then danced about the room. “Bully for you, Jimmy!” he cried, “Oh, boy! I knew you'd pull it off!” I folded back my jacket and showed the badge. “Consider yourself under arrest,” I said. “My!” he gasped. “You've gone and joined the Hicksville Temperance Cadets!” So I put him in one of his. own kit-bags. Next morning Dan and I collected Milliken, who had returned to Washington late the previous night with the two new buses, and the three of us then went off.to the address given me by the President. It turned out to be a modest little office in a back street, With its window-screen of colored bamboo beads and its brass plate on which the name had been made unde- cipherable with years of rubbing, it might have been the office of either an attorney or some old-fashioned importer, We were led by the doorkeeper into the presence of a quiet, grey-haired man in a nondescript grey suit, who presently. was chatting to us in a pleasant, flat voice that seemed to have no high lights to it. He spoke of nothing much except the weather and the prospects of business during the year. “Business is likely to be a little upset by these raids,” I ventured, apropos of the last subject, trying to give him:a lead to our particular affair. “Ah, yes,” he said softly. “Most annoying—most annoying——” He rose and held out a limp hand. “Glad to have seen you, Mr. Boon—and you, Mr. Lamont—ah, Milliken,” he said, quietly dismissing us. “Ah—if in your travels you should have any affairs with my. firm, just look up the local agent for Aunt Mandy’s Soap. You won't forget—Aunt ~Mandy’s Soap. Buy a packet. We are running that line pretty strongly at the moment. Branches everywhere.” ae with that he gently shepherded us out of the office. “Well,” said Danny, when we were out in the street, “what do you know about that? Aunt Mandy’s Soap— buy a packet!” “When in doubt we buy a packet of soap, and so find the nearest S.-S, agent, I take it,” said I. “Queer sort of fellow that—doesn’t seem to have energy enough to wink——_” “Got us weighed up all right,” grunted Milliken. “Daren’t breathe but he saw it. Stringy guy, too— wouldn’t like to fight -him.” “Quit joshing, Milliken!” I protested. “Why, he’s mcomicbooks;com