The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-20

"e EogarQ noticed
Kamlrezs Latin eye studying
Janet Norman with a kind of de-
spalr1ng wonder, but now the little
pllols attention was centered on
the feavy cloUd banks that grew
ever thicker, until presently thew
plotted out the earth.
10 break the long silence, Cliff
turned back to the girl.
How did the Rubber Division
flnd out about your"
When all the publicity started
over New Dixie, 1 went to Wash
lngton and told them everything
| knew about the plantations and
the people who own them. Then
wien you she hesitated- when
you sot yourself into trouble, they
sent me down"
Cliffs collar was feeling tight
again. That oval face of hers
could be so incredibly serene! Ee
couldn resist asking, What do
you 60 when you re not busy res
citing people,"
Il illustrate books" She looked
qulcky up and froze. "Or was
that just a dig?'
Maybe just a dig" He was ST.
lent a moment, watching her with.
oraW herself, then he asked. WAS
New Dixie run by a woman when
you lived there?"
Surely - Claribel. Her grand.
father founded it. Did YOU like
her?"
Il didn't even see ner. She lust
sent word that my rubber deal
was off, and next day they shipped
me back to the coast in this di.
lapidated crate
The whir of the engine deepened
they we're passing through
clouds SO dense Cliff could not
make out 'the wing-tips. The pilot
was reckoning to him and Slip
ping off his safety belt, CHI.
CROPPED his way forward.
Pablo, raised his voice above the
engine. Ahead comes another
storm, and we are too scarce on
gas to run around it. l go down
for a landing"
Anything l can do?"
Isl. This river, she is lousy with
floating logs and sandbars. If we
nose over, tax care of the senior
Ita." He closed the throttle.
Cliff went slowly back. 1t wasn't
al attractive prospect. Even if
they didn't pile up, it meant
spending a night in the mosquito
infested jungle. Well, she had
asked for it.
There's a storm breaking
ahead" he told her casually. THE
pilot is going to land"
She gave a little gasp as he
jerked her belt to be sure the
clasp was tight. The engine was
idling now; except for the wind
in the wires, the world had grown
intensely quiet, and beneath them
the mist was shredding thin. SO
that Cliff began to catch inter
mittent glimpses of the river-it
looked dangerously winding.
Gliding in a broad spiral, the
pilot had leaned forward, seeking
a stretch of water suitable for
landing. and in short seconds they
were under the clouds, the river
coming up at them with appalling
speed, the wind shrieking louder
through the wires. A moment
more and they were barely skim
ming the jungle; great f%lat-topped
trees whizzed by them, and above
the curtain of lianas that screened
the river band three snow-white
cranes flew wildly across their
path.
Still lower. Cliffs eyes were
straining. A log, silvered by years
of equatorial sun, doomed up upon
the surface and was lost astern.
If they struck one of those things
He saw Ramirez pull back on
the wheel, leveling off, and the
tail of the plane dropped sharply.
They were settling closer and
closer to the muddy water, so
close Cliff could see the surface
ruffle in the wind, then with a
swirl and a snarl they struck.
Foam surged past the window,
and Cliff felt the sudden backward
pull Of the p~ontoons. He grasped
Janet by both shoulders to hold
her, but in the next second Pablo
turned and grinned. They were
safely down.
Only then Cliff realized he was
still holding Janet pinned tight
against her seat.
Sorry" He released her. 81
was afraid you'd bump your
nose"
They had landed barely in time.
Almost at once the full fury of
the storm was on them, blotting
out river and jungle with a solid,
slanting wall of water, and I'm.
fastening his safety belt, Pablo
rolled a cigarette.
"@This," he announced cozily, ";t
is better than a blind landing with
a dead stick, no?"
But Janet's face was still white.
do we have to spend the night
here?" she asked.
mo, senorita. We are still
twelve mile from New Dixie, but
somewhere close should be the
finca of Wade Carroll" He sa'
Gown beside her. "You remember