Jane Stewardess of the Air Lines Part 8

The two other motors had been throttled down and by speaking in a loud tone, she could be heard by every girl.

"We are about to make a forced landing," she began and as she saw quick looks of alarm flash over the faces of the girls, hastened to add, "There is no need for undue alarm. I am sure no one will be injured for one of the most experienced pilots on the line is at the controls.

Please see that your safety belts are fastened securely. Try to relax your muscles if that is possible."

The plane heeled sharply as a vicious gust of wind caught it and Jane looked out, hoping that lights of one of the emergency landing fields would be visible. Only a solid ma.s.s of black greeted her eyes and she knew that their situation was indeed dangerous. Had Miss Comstock only been talking bravely, attempting to rea.s.sure the girls?

Jane looked at her companions. Apprehension was written on the face of each one, but none of them was flinching, a tribute to the fine courage which their nurses' training instilled. They were accustomed to emergencies, even though this one was more than they had bargained for on their first long flight.

Jane tried to a.n.a.lyze her own feelings, but found that there was a peculiar lack of emotion. There was nothing she could do to ease the situation. She looked at her companion.

Sue smiled back bravely and reached over and took Jane's hand. It made them feel a little closer.

"How far above ground are we?" asked Sue.

The needle on the altimeter dial was jumping crazily and Jane shook her head. The air speed was down to eighty miles an hour and they seemed to be drifting into the wind.

Miss Comstock started to turn off the top light, but one of the girls asked her to leave it on. It was much easier sitting there with the light on than waiting for the crash in the dark.

Miss Comstock walked down the aisle and Jane marveled at her ability to remain so calm in the emergency. She admired the chief stewardess immensely for her control of her nerves, for Miss Comstock didn't appear to be more than three or four years older. She was a little shorter than Jane with a tinge of auburn in her hair and she was dressed in the natty smoke-green suit which was to mark the stewardesses of the Federated Airways.

Dozens of thoughts raced through Jane's mind. She wondered what Miss Hardy would say when she heard about the accident and what her own folks would do.

Then Miss Comstock was beside her, speaking loud enough to be heard by all of the girls.

"We are almost down," she told them. "Please remain calm."

Jane wondered what Miss Comstock would do when they struck. There was no safety belt to keep her from being tossed about, for the chief stewardess remained in the aisle.

The landing lights on the wings were trying to bore into the night, but the air was filled with dust and Jane knew that the pilots were feeling their way down blind, hoping for a good landing.

Every girl sensed that the crash was near and Sue leaned her head over on Jane's shoulder and closed her eyes. She had always looked to Jane for the final decision and now she turned to her for comfort and protection.

The plane lurched heavily and something ripped against the undercarriage. The lights in the cabin went out and Jane felt Miss Comstock pitched into her lap. In a flash she wrapped her arms around the chief stewardess and held her as tightly as possible.

There was the sensation of falling blindly into a great abyss and then came a jarring crash that seemed to split the cabin apart. After that there was a silence, broken only by the sobbing of the wind.

Jane felt the chief stewardess struggling to free herself from her arms.

"Let me go," gasped Miss Comstock. "We've got to get out of here."

Jane released her hold and spoke to Sue.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Except for still being scared half to death."

Other girls were moving about, unfastening their safety belts and trying to get to their feet.

"The cabin's on a sharp angle," Miss Comstock told them. "Take off your belts, get down in the aisle on your hands and knees, and follow me to the rear."

Jane and Sue obeyed, with Sue directly behind Miss Comstock. Then came Jane with Grace Huston and Alice Blair following and the other girls behind them. No one appeared to be hurt except for minor bruises and b.u.mps.

When they reached the door, which had been torn from its hinges by the impact, Miss Comstock cautioned them again.

"It's about six feet to the ground. Slide over the edge and hang by your hands until your feet are on the ground. Then each girl wait until the next is down and we'll form a chain of hands so that no one is lost. Count as you come and we'll know when everyone is out."

Jane was the first one out and she cried, "No. 1 out," in a loud voice.

Girl after girl called out their number as they scrambled down out of the wreckage until every one was outside.

Still holding hands, Miss Comstock led them away from the plane as Jane wondered about the pilots. The wreckage was at least fifty yards behind when Miss Comstock paused.

"You girls wait here. I'm going back and find the pilots."

She started back alone, but Jane slipped out of the group and joined her.

"You can't go alone," she said. "If they're trapped, maybe I can be of some help."

"Go back, Jane," ordered the chief stewardess. "There's the gasoline.

Smell it? The wreckage may catch on fire at any moment."

"That's just why you need me," insisted Jane.

Miss Comstock hurried on. Jane was determined and there was no time to waste in argument.

The tri-motor had landed on a hillside, first striking a fringe of trees which had wrecked the undercarriage and then skidding along the hillside until the nose had dug into the ground, flipping the tail into the air at a crazy angle.

The pilots' c.o.c.kpit appeared badly smashed, but as Miss Comstock and Jane approached, a man crawled out of the wreckage. It was the co-pilot, badly battered and only half conscious.

"Slim's in there," he gasped, pointing back at the smashed c.o.c.kpit.

Miss Comstock lunged ahead, tearing at the wreckage, hunting for Slim Bollei, the chief pilot. The smell of gasoline was doubly strong and Jane realized their grave danger, but she never wavered in following the chief stewardess.

They found the chief pilot jammed behind the control wheel.

"You take his shoulders while I try to free his feet," ordered Miss Comstock. Working swiftly, they managed to lift the pilot clear and Jane was thankful that he was slight in stature. It would have been impossible for them to carry a heavy man.

They staggered away from the wreckage just as a tongue of flame leaped along the remains of the right wing.

"Hurry," gasped Miss Comstock. "We've got to get farther away."

The co-pilot tried to a.s.sist them, but he was too weak to help.

"Take care of yourself," Miss Comstock told him. "We'll get Slim away."

The flames spread rapidly and by the time they reached the crest of the hill, the wreckage was an inferno of fire with roaring, twisting flames leaping into the heavens. Jane shuddered and closed her eyes and the other girls huddled close together.

"This is no time for anyone to have hysterics," said the steel-nerved Miss Comstock. She turned to the co-pilot. "Did you get a message out that we were crashing?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't know whether it got through. The static has been terrific for the last hour."