Jane Stewardess of the Air Lines Part 9

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere between Wood River and Kearney and a little south of the line. The Platte can't be far south of us."

"I don't care where the Platte is. I want to get to a phone and find a doctor for Slim and report to the line," snapped Miss Comstock. She turned to Sue and Alice.

"You girls take charge here. Do what you can for these men while Jane and I start out to see if we can find a farmhouse with a telephone."

Leaving the other girls on the hilltop, Miss Comstock and Jane plunged away into the night. The chief stewardess strode rapidly, and Jane found it difficult to keep up with her.

"Perhaps a farmer will be attracted by the flames," she gasped as they topped another hill.

"It's not likely. If the co-pilot was right, we're in a rather desolate spot just north of the river. We'll keep going and see what we can locate."

For half an hour they plodded steadily ahead until they struck a dirt road running at right angles to their own course.

"We'll turn to the left. At least we'll be going toward Kearney," said Miss Comstock.

They trudged a mile down the road before they came to a farmhouse. A dog greeted them with l.u.s.ty barks and the farmer threw up a window on the second floor.

"What's going on out there?" he cried.

"We're stewardesses on the Federated Airways," Miss Comstock shouted.

"Our plane crashed about an hour ago in the hills over toward the Platte. We've got to get to a phone so we can call a doctor and inform the line about the accident."

"Come right in. I'll be down in a minute."

A light flashed in the room upstairs and the farmer, dressing hastily, hurried down.

Miss Comstock almost rang the telephone off the wall in trying to arouse the operator on the rural line, but at last got her call through to the field at Kearney and told the night man there what had happened.

The farmer supplied them with directions for the field relief crew and the Kearney men promised to arrive with a doctor within the hour. The farmer's wife hastened down and insisted on making coffee and sandwiches.

"Was anyone badly injured?" she asked.

"The chief pilot is hurt, but I don't know how seriously," replied Miss Comstock.

"But isn't it dangerous for girls like you to be flying in those airplanes?" asked the farmer's wife.

"It was tonight," smiled Miss Comstock, "but as a rule it is as safe as riding in a railroad train and much safer than traveling in an automobile. What do you think about it, Jane?"

"I think it's thrilling, but the crash tonight will be enough to last me for the rest of my life," she replied.

"It will probably be the first and last one you'll ever have. Flying is getting safer every day. You certainly had your baptism under fire the first night out."

Chapter Eight

Winning Their Wings

The crew from the Kearney field arrived in a large truck and trailing them was an ambulance with a doctor and two nurses. The farmer joined the party and helped guide them to the shivering group on the hilltop north of the Platte.

The wreckage of the tri-motor had long since ceased to glow and the wind whined dismally through a low growth of underbrush. Sue was the first to reach the truck and Miss Comstock fairly leaped after her.

"How's the pilot and co-pilot?" she asked, anxiety making her voice sound unnatural.

"They'll come through all right," said Sue. "I think the pilot has a slight concussion and his right arm is broken. The co-pilot is only suffering from shock and bruises."

"And the girls?"

"They're all right. When the fire died down a bit, several of them even tried to get close enough to salvage some of the mail, but the flames leaped up again and forced them back."

The flyers were carried to the waiting ambulance and that vehicle soon lurched away over the uneven ground.

The crew from the Kearney field had brought powerful electric torches and with these they made a thorough survey of the tri-motor. It was a charred ma.s.s of twisted steel tubing, little resembling the proud ship which had bucked the storm a few hours before.

"The company can write about $80,000 off the books," growled the manager of the Kearney field. "I wonder how it happened?"

"The left wing started to flutter," said Miss Comstock. "I could tell from the vibration of the ship something was wrong and when I went up into the c.o.c.kpit Slim Bollei told me we were in a jam. He was afraid the wing was going to tear loose so he cut the left motor. With the wind bad and the wing loosening up more every second we were in the air he had to hunt a place to set down quick."

"Well, he sure put this crate down for keeps," grunted the manager.

"Guess we might as well start back to the field and I'll write up a report of the accident."

The girls piled into the big truck, Jane and Sue sitting at the very end with their feet hanging over.

"What a night," said Sue as the truck moved away from the scene of the accident. "For a while I was afraid I wasn't going to live through it."

"I'm still shaky," confessed Grace Huston, who was just behind them.

"It wasn't pleasant," admitted Jane, "but we're all lucky to be out alive and with the pilots only slightly injured. However, as Miss Comstock says, this will probably be our first and last crash and it might as well come early."

When they reached the Kearney field, Miss Comstock got in touch with the operations manager at Cheyenne and informed him that another plane would be needed to take her charges to Cheyenne.

It was daylight when Cheyenne finally came back with flying orders. A special plane was being ordered out of Omaha to take the girls the remainder of the distance.

"We'll have several hours here," Miss Comstock informed them, "so I've chartered several cabs to take us uptown for breakfast. We'll go to the hotel, clean up and relax. Lunch will be in Cheyenne."

They were about to leave the field when a young man hurried up.

"I'm the a.s.sociated Press correspondent here," he explained, "and I'm looking for the stewardess in charge."

Miss Comstock stepped forward. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

The reporter grinned. "Just tell me all about the accident. I've got the pilots' names from the hospital and a few details, but I'd like to have all of the facts."

Jane was surprised when Miss Comstock told him everything about the accident.