Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-01-24
CHAPTER IS.

Hallway down, Claire began to
worry about where she would land.
What if it should be right in the
midst Of German fortress-or even
In a town? She'd have a time eX-
planning how she happened to be
bailing out of plane in the middle
of the night, even though she did
have her false passport in her
pocket
Maybe she'd land in lake or a
river, or worse still, in a clump of
trees. Instructions she had heard
about parachute jumping came
rushing back into her mind, and
she hoped she could follow them.
Relax your muscles when you hit
the ground, she remembered, but
she wondered how it was possible
when you couldn't see the ground.
She'd have to strain her eyes, try
to make out the deep shadow of the
earth, try to judge the distance and
then relax as she struck. That was
the way, she knew, to avoid broken
bones Then she must get out of
the chute as quickly as possible so
that if a gust of wind struck it
she wouldn't be dragged.
She wondered what had happened
to Bill and Rene. Whether Bill had
been able to get the wounded French
officer over the side, and jerk his
chute open so he'd have a chance
for life.
AS these thoughts raced through
her head, she was peering down.
Straining to get a glimpse of some
thing that would give her an inkling
of how close she was to the ground.
Off a distance, she caught the faint
CLEAN of a pair of lights moving.
II must be a car. with dimmed
headlights They didn't seem very
far below her, so she set herself for
the shock of hitting the ground
A moment later she saw dark mass
rushing up toward her, relaxed the
muscles of her legs and felt her.
self hit.
Claire Lands Safely.
The jar all but knocked the breath
from her body. but she retained
presence of mind enough imme-
diately to slip out of the straps
that held the parachute, and as she
let them fall to the ground, she
slumped down herself to regain her
nerve.
She marveled at her luck-she
had landed on soft dirt. Feeling
with her hands, she decided it must
be a plowed field. There was
dank smell of newly-t turned earth
which confirmed this belief.
Feeling strong enough after a
short rest, she got to her feet. What
had happened to Bill and Rene?
Had they come down anywhere near
her? She didn't know when Bill
had Jumped. If he had stuck with
the plane a minute longer than she
did, he might be more than mile
away.
Cautiously she called his name and
then Rene's, but when there was
no answer, she decided there was
nothing to be done until daylight.
In the dark, she found the straps
and the cords of her parachute.
Doubling the cloth over, she made
a seat for herself on the ground.
She found it much warmer there
than 1t had been thousands of feet
in the air, and the thrill of falling
and then floating through space had
set every nerve and muscle in her
body to tingling. A few folds of
the parachute silk would protect her
some, and she settled down to wait
until morning.
Wishes for Daylight.
Far overhead she heard several
planes, their throbbing motors
eChoing and re-echoing against the
sky. Instinctively. she glanced up-
ward. seeing nothing but the stars.
Perhaps the patrol was returning to
its base. or was still searching for
the lone ship it had been told to
intercept.
She wondered how far the Nazi
plane that Rene had been flying
would go without hand to guide it,
hopelessly damaged as it was.
Fifteen or 20 miles, she hoped.
A search would certainly be made
for it in the morning, and when it
was found empty there would be a
hunt for the occupants. She would
have to act quickly as soon as there
was enough light to see. She must
find Bill and Rene, and the three of
them must somehow hide-in a
place where planes flying overhead
couldn't spot them and land patrols
wouldn't see them.