Evening star., 1938-05-15

miles east of Andrus and that with only one
kettle percolating he didn't have enough power
to get over the divide with full load. He'd
try to make it back to Evanston. he said. and
asked Paul Lentz the Salt Lake operator, to
stand by
You could hear the breathing of every man
in the room while they waited In a couple Of
minutes Farnhams voice came in, as calm as
though he was ordering cup of coffee.
Were losing altitude fast" he said. land
can't make Evanston. Well drop flares and
go in for a forced landing Bright moonlight
and good visibility think -"
He quit right in the middle of the sentence.
Lentz tried to call him and get bearings or
something on their location, but not another
word came Then Arch Malone jumped for the
telephone and ordered the hangar crew to
warm up his kestre
Get me fur suit somebody he yelled.
Its only about fifty miles and can be there
in fifteen minutes
He found the Bridger Call it dumb luck or
Malone luck, but he found her. He knew the
country and when he saw lights where he
knew lights had no business to be he splraed
down and saw the transport. Kennedy had
brought her down on the only patch OF level
ground for miles around, a little irregular
mountain meadow trimmed on all sides by for
bidding cliffs He'd left Farnham in charge and
started out to locate telephone Maybe he
should have waited, knowing that planes would
be sent out to search for him. but he didn't
and thereby set the stage for Arch Malone,
who circled the valley once and looked it over
in the moonlight and then sideslipped his
kestrel to landing on the hard-frozen snow.
He stole the show BY the time Kennedy
had found an isolated ranch and the rancher
had driven him to the nearest telephone,
Malone had made two trips to the Salt Lake
port. carrying couple of the Bridger's pas
sengers each time
Stunt stuff? Maybe, but it went over big.
1t gave all hands just what they wanted "a
red-hot Christmas story that the neWshaWks
cut loose on, and yet yarn that was the
swellest kind of publicity for the line.
Farnham told him what had happened and
how he'd kept the good motor turning over so
there'd be light and heat in the cabin. The
passengers we're kind of jittery. he said. but
the SteWdrQeSS ndQ tI1e1l we'll uIlucI SOHtloi.
Malone never batted an eye when he climbed
into the cruiser and saw who that stewardess
was - Eileen Darrow. He just nodded to her
and then kidded the customers along until
they we're over their jitters and regarding the
whole thing as just an incident of travel.
G-BAT said Malone would guarantee that
none of them would miss Christmas dinner.
With anybody but Arch Malone it would
have been close to dizzy flying to take off. by
moonlight, from little mountain valley that
wasn't much bigger than pocket handkerchief,
but the big Monsoon engine gave the kestrel
lots of reserve soup and he lifted her in
climbing turn and swept around and around
until he was clear of the cliffs The western side
was in deep shadow, but Malone swept in and
out of it as though it wasn't there - with the
granite walls not thirty feet from his wing tip!
Ten minutes after he'd landed with the
first two women he was off again, going back
for another load and carrying mechanic to
work on the dead motor. He brought 'em
all out, two at time. and the last few trips
were made with news reel planes circling over
the valley and getting shots of the stranded
Bridger and of Maone's little Kestrel climbing
out of that hole like a swallow going up