The Fort Peck press., 1935-10-31
THE LAST HOUR BY Charles J. Mcc.rt

Published by Special Arrangements With TT
Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicat
Incorporated
Copyright: 1885: By CHARLES j. McGUIR
(PART TWO
Don't be so soft" Pat had told he
lmpatIently the day she cried as sh
kissed him on his return from his sec
ond test flight after they were married
Don't be a sissy"
She had not been worried the frs
time he told her he had a swell assign
ment. 1t was to demonstrate q ney
airplane for the navy.
"It's a break in our lousy luck" h
had told her j%ubilantly. "I1l get fiji
teen hundred dollars for it,"
Fifteen hundred dollars!" she ha'
exclaimed. isn't that a lot of none,
for showing off any kind of a plane?
He had looked at her and laughed
heartily.
EYES," he said and his eyes wer
twinkling. II guess it's because they'r
just learning how good a flyer I am.
tits time," she told him grimly
you'll be careful, won't you, Pat? May
be I'll come and watch you
mo-" he forbade her hastily. "I'C
rather you wouldn't. If I knew yol
were watching I couldn't keep my min6
on my work"
And When he returned with the CHECK
for fifteen hundred dollars he did MOI
seem as jubilant as she thought hi
should and she chided him about it.
"Well, here's one time" she said
that you can't object for being under
paid. Fifteen hundred dollars is a LOT
of money for a few days work"
That's right" he laughed, "but I'm
still grabbing. I still think I was un-
derpaid for the work I did, but maybe
that is because I've gotten the habit
OF believing that everybody who hires
you underpays you. And you know
how the government is about paying its
help"
1t was several days later that she
learned, quite inadvertently, why he
had received such a large sum and
why he wa not sure the pay was ade-
quate. She had gone owe to the Jim
Reisses to wait for Pat, who was to join
them at dinner. Reiss, a pilot, was in
the kitchen mixing cocktails when she
arrived.
"How does Pat feel?" was Amy Reiss'
first question. "Are his nerves pretty
steady or hasn't he really any n~erves?"
Hes all right" Joan said. "Why
should he be nervous?"
well, I'll be anything you like!"
Amy declared, staring at her. 1T should
think both of you would be v for
a little while after Pat has wrecked a
plane. Or haven't you any nerves
either? Jim saw the whole show. He
was offered the job, you know, and re-
fused it because he knew just how
much Cain I'd raise. He said that Pat
was only six hundred feet up when he
baled out and the plane missed him
by about five inches"
20, that!" Joan said airily. But she
was grim and white faced when she
faced Pat that night.
"Now," she demanded, "tell me what
demonstrating a navy plane means.
And before you start I want to remind
you that I'm grown up and married to
you. I don't want to hear things about
you from other people that you can tell
me yourself. I want to know exactly
what happened to you and that plane
you were demonstrating the other day.
Call right" Pat said after a long,
calculating stare at her. "You asked
or it and I guess you can take it. Only
didn't want to worry you before I had
o. 1t isn't so bad. But waiting around
,or a thing to be done is a lot harder
han doing it yourself"
"And so demonstrating a navy plane
So" !
"It's diving it to see if it will hang
together. You see, airplane builders
ouild planes for the army and navy
according to specifications worked out
W army and navy experts. When they
leliver the planes they have to prove
0 the army and navy that they fulfill
III specifications before the planes are
accepted. They have their own test
who make these demonstrations,
'ut once in a while something happens
o these pilots. They get sick or some
hing. Then the builders have to hire
outside pilot to do the demonstra-
ion. That's how I happened to get
his job"
what happened to the plane?"
"Well, I'd dived it five times. You
I took it up about ten thousand
eet and sent her down again. I was
my sixth dive when the wings
)re off. I would have been all right.
had plenty of altitude and I could
ave baled out easily. Only when the
-ings tore the plane bucked and threw
lie forward so my head banged into the
board and knocked me out
)r a couple of seconds. But it was all
Ight. I came to and jumped clear. I
under the wreck for a split second