The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-10-08

When the storm showed no signs of relenting, Ted left his post and went back into the compart- ments. Kay watched him. Some oi the passengers were panic-stricken but Ted's presence seemed to re- assure them. He walked from one seat to another, with 8 word for each person. His calm was ineffable. He was like a mountain of strength.
 Illah sat back in her chair with a cool disdain for the danger. Her turban about her black hair as Ted came near her. She smiled with the serene mysticism of the East.
 "The gyropilot-she is working in the Storm?" she asked.
 Ted laughed. He was glad H. lah was not angry over his refusal to let her see the instrument.
 "Not now," he said. But before the storm 1t was working per- fectly."
 Suddenly Illah stood up, and her eyes showed a trace of alarm. She spoke softly. Tell me the truth" she said. Are we in dam ger? Is there a chance of the ship not reaching port?"
 of course were going to reach port Ted said staunchly. T would mt lose the secrets of my gyropilot for anything in the world"
 Illah breathed 8 sigh of relief and sat down.
 But the radio officer came up the aisle just then his face ashen. "The direction finders out" he said.
 Ted hurried back to the cockpit, waited at the radio officers side for a few minutes while the latter tried vainly to put the direction finder back to work. A message came in from the station at Midway on the land set.
 Ted read the penciled message, and then tossed it down. He spoke to the navigation officer. "Atmos- pheric conditions bad at Midway. Ceiling zero. Our signals are weak and the direction finder is out! Something bust be wrong with the antennae.'
 The radio officer went up to the sight-hatch to inspect the radio loop. The navigation officer kept his eyes glued to the charts, and did not loo, up, even &S he talked to Ted.
 "Ths changing drift is making nav. .gation difficult. We've got beam winds as we'll as head winds. We'll have to find high pressure area O. we'll be i0st."
 Ted looked at the chart. The Mariner had been following a northweSterly course for approx1- mately 500 miles now. Midway Island should be 400 miles farther to the west.
 If we get of the course in this storm, may Neptune help us! Ted said. By instinct he looked down into the blackness where the swirl ing seas lay.
 we can't get of the course!" the navigation officer replied grirnly. we haven't got enough fuel to fly blindly around in the middle Of the Pacific Ocean. We're 5000 miles from the mainland in either direc- tion!"
 "WeIl have to ride in on an inn provised beam,' Ted said. "Tell the radio officers to try to pick up Honolulu and Midway at the same time and check with me every 10 minutes. To find our position, well have to triangulate."
 Ted went to the radio officer again. The latter turned and said, T can't get Honolulu at all! Some things gone haywire. But Midway is still coming in."
 Ted nodded sternly. Keep try ing. We can't work on one land station with the direction finder out. And we can't do any blind flying in this storm"
 He went up to the Sight-hatch to have look at the storm. They were still flying in pitch black night. He strained his eyes out to- ward the radio antennae and in- spected the loop in the sight-hatch. Suddenly Ted realized that they were lost over the open sea. He didn't know how he sensed the fact, but he did. Something out of his long experience in the air told him as surely as could an instru- ment.
 An hour passed and Ted knew he had aged in that hour. The radio officer still couldn't make the