Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1935-08-17

say anythina more Joe was walking
toward them. John. thin, small. narruN
shouldxed, pale and thin faced. lons
and thin n0sed. his taffy cnaored l1a1S
slicked STRAIGHT back from his ratfez
ordinary forehead. his close set, wnsery
blue eyes aiming as . result Of t1la
f1atteFtnw attention he had lust re-
ceived. was walking toward them with
the nervouSly cocksure stride Of the
little man who. though physically and
personally Insignificant, is riding high
because oq accomplishment.
sWell, let's 20, Joe said Ia the clip
1 ped, terse speech OF efficiency. Wen
go straight through to Philadelphia thsa
The three ships taxed out onto the
field. They faced into the wind. They
r0ared loudly, kicked Up yellow clouds
Of rolling dust behind them and began
10 move slowly across the airport. They
gathered speed at the head Of column
Of dust. They drew into the air away
from the dust. They drew closer to-
gether and formed like Wild geese into
V-shaped formation.
Saunders watched Joe's ship bobbtng
I'D and down In front and to the left
Of him. He saw Johnny's ship bobbing
up and down off 10 his left and abreast
Of his own ship. The air was rOugner
than Il had been. Saunders saw the
great black hlotch that was Cleveland
slip slowly past far beneath him 70 his
left. A few white clouds appeared above
the formation. breaking the milky blue
Of the sky.
The nat, northern part Of Ohio crept
slowly past beneath. Smoky YOungs-
town, with fits river winding like 8 huge
snake through It, moved in under the
formation and then slowly faded into
the distance behind.
The first low, rolling, western part Of
the Allegheny mountains in western
Pennsylvania slid IN underneath and
began floating slowly past un-
der the formation. Saunders noticed
that the clouds were getting thicker
and coming lower. Joe kept the for
nation under the clouds
Half an hour later the clouds had /
become solid above them and the
mountains rough beneath. Saunders !
noted that they were slzimming Just
under the clouds and figured that they
were flying about a thousand feet above
the tops of the mountains.
A little while later the formation
passed over ridge. Saunders noted
that the bottoms Of the clouds were
of the ridge.
zoe viii probably turn around and
go back pretty soon," he thought. he
stin thought of Joe as conservative.
Joe didn't turn around. He led the
formation on and on into the noun
tains. He led it lower and lower as
the clouds thickened and the ceiling
came down.
Saunders saw another ridge looming
ahead In the low hanging mist. Joe led
the formation on oyer IL. Saunders
,OAFno5 that Trsaq~ ct4sv, xyoc fyrcf ntrfVfa
ming the trees and that even 80 it was
sometimes dimmed q little by some OF
The fog. When the formation came out
INTO the next valley Saunders felt bet
sIt's too thick to go back now" he
thought. "Joe win probably search for
! field here in this valley"
But Joe didn't He flew straight to-
ward the next ridge. The ridge doomed
lark and green ahead. Saunders saw /
he thick, dark, wet, gray cloud stuff
hanging low in the trees on top OF the
1--WE can't get through here" saun-
lers thought. what the he'll has got Z
en- into Joe?" When did he get to
,e one Of these bust-through-a nd-set- {
midtown boyS2" $
Saunders thought about the flight q
'ver Lake st. Clair and over Lake Erie.
Then whole train OF incidents WHICH y
hadn't meant much to him at the time
rowded throuh his brain. he re- Z
nembered how Joe had started flying a
loser formations after he had won the Z
EErlitzer race. He remembered some 4
tunting exhibitions pretty close to the
round that Joe had put On since he
ad won the race. Saunders hadn't Z
hought much about those things in q
oe's flying. He certainly hadn't Il
bought about them as changes. He 81
ad taken them merely as good work e
n Joe's part. But now they took on a Ia
ifferent light. Saunders remembered 8
ow Joe had been HOnized since he
ad won the race. BE remembered the
lings the speakers at banquets had
lid about Joe: how they had lauded sc
Inn and painted him as bold. dashing el
reature. eg
The formation was starting over the pl
dge. The clouds swirled In thick and 10
W. Saunders pulled in close TO Joe In
} he wouldn't lost sight Of him in the tr
uff. He noticed Johnny pull In, too. 81
e saw the wet trees Swimming past ia