Jane Stewardess of the Air Lines Part 10

"Please say that the new girls were especially calm and cool-headed in their first emergency," she said. "If it had not been for the a.s.sistance of one of them I fear the pilot would never have been pulled out of the wreckage before the plane caught fire."

The reporter insisted on having Jane's name.

"This will make a great human-interest story," he exclaimed as he hurried away.

Miss Comstock turned to the girls.

"That's a little lesson in public relations," she said. "The policy of the line is to tell the newspaper people the truth. If you try to hide or distort facts, the reporters will learn part of them in some other way and it is much better to have the truth sent out in the first place."

After breakfast at the hotel, Jane and Sue went into the writing room.

"I'm going to write my parents about everything that happened last night," said Sue. "Then they won't worry when they read the newspaper stories."

Jane agreed that it was a splendid idea and they pa.s.sed half an hour at their letter writing before Miss Comstock came in to inform them that it was time to return to the field.

As they reached the airport a tri-motor swung in from the east. It swooped low over the field and an arm was flung out of the c.o.c.kpit in a friendly greeting to the girls who were standing beside the hangar. The tri-motor nosed around into the wind and dropped down to an easy landing.

When it stopped in the hangar, the pilot stuck his head out of the c.o.c.kpit.

"Hi, there," he called to Jane and Sue. "I hear you won your wings last night." It was Charlie Fischer, who had flown them from Chicago to Omaha the night before.

"You mean we had them clipped and singed," retorted Jane.

Charlie climbed down from the c.o.c.kpit.

"How's Slim Bollei?" he asked.

"Just a slight crack on his head," said Sue. "I hear that they select men with hard heads for pilots."

"Ouch!" grinned Charlie. "I'm going to wear armor the next time I talk to you."

"You needn't. I don't even bite."

The pilot turned to Miss Comstock.

"Get your cargo aboard," he said, "and we'll take off in about five minutes. They routed me out at Omaha and started me west before I had time to get anything to eat. We'll start as soon as I can rustle a cup of coffee and a sandwich at the shanty across the road."

By this time the girls had become fairly well acquainted and already little groups were being formed. Jane was pleased that Alice and Grace had personalities that fitted in so smoothly with her own and Sue's.

There would be much to learn and much to do in the coming weeks and it would be much pleasanter getting accustomed to the new environment if friends were nearby.

The air was cool and sweet. The wind had subsided and there was no trace of the terror it had wrought the night before as the girls took their places and fastened the safety belts around their bodies.

Charlie Fischer, still munching a sandwich, hurried into the hangar, signed the gas and oil record book, climbed into his c.o.c.kpit and gunned the motors. The big biplane rolled smoothly ahead, turned its nose into the wind, and started climbing skyward. They were off on the last lap of their trip to Cheyenne.

Chapter Nine

At Mrs. Murphy's

Jane had secretly wondered just how she would feel when the plane soared into the sky. After the experience of the night before she feared that a numbing fright might grip her and she was greatly relieved when there was no feeling of apprehension.

Instead, she thoroughly enjoyed the smooth upward flight, the pulsating power of the great motors, and the panorama unfolding beneath. She turned to look at Sue. Her companion was gripping the arms of her chair tightly, her eyes bright and staring straight ahead. When Jane started to speak to her, she shook her head, but Jane watched Sue closely for the next few minutes.

Gradually Sue relaxed and a little later she leaned over and spoke to Jane.

"I was fighting down a little bugaboo of fear," she grinned. "I knew if I didn't conquer it all by myself, I'd never be able to do it. Now I'll never be afraid to fly anywhere and anytime."

Jane thought that statement was a little bold, but she hoped it was true.

Keeping to the right of the broad Platte, they sped westward with the speed indicator wavering between 115 and 120 miles an hour for there was only a slight head wind dropping down from the far-away Rockies.

North Platte appeared ahead and Jane consulted the map of their route.

North Platte was a regular pa.s.senger stop, but they were running as a special, and the plane dropped over the southwestern Nebraska city.

Here the Platte forked, one branch swinging northwest while the South Platte continued almost straight west.

The s.h.i.+ning steel of the Union Pacific rails caught the sunlight far below and Jane saw the smoky plume of a transcontinental limited threading its way westward. The plane soon overhauled the train and left it far behind. They were too high for any of the girls to wave.

The country became rougher, more desolate, and the few farms looked drear and beaten down by the buffeting of the elements.

They pa.s.sed north of Sidney and not long afterward Jane knew they were in Wyoming.

It was just north of Pine Bluffs that Jane got her first glimpse of the Rockies. The air was clear and the visibility excellent. Far away to the west and south she saw the snowy summit of what she was later to know as Long's Peak and other lesser mountains reared their heads into view.

Jane touched Sue's arm, and called her attention to the beauty of the distant scene. Together they watched, breathlessly, the great vista of the mountains.

It was not long after that until a good-sized city came into view to their left and Jane, looking at the altimeter, knew the plane was nosing down. This, then, must be Cheyenne, the chief operating base for Federated Airways' transcontinental line and the city which was to be the headquarters of the stewardess service.

The tri-motor swung over the sprawling, one-time pioneer city and dropped down on the airport, which was a little more than a mile north of the city.

Jane was astounded by the size of the field and the largeness of the hangars which flanked the side nearest Cheyenne. At first glance it seemed almost as large as the field at Chicago.

They rolled into an immense hangar, behind which towered the brick building which housed the administrative offices of the Federated Airways. It was here that Jane and Sue were to go to school before they went into active service.

Miss Comstock led them through the waiting room, into the administration building and down to a new, one-story wing which had just been completed. Drawing a key from a pocket, she unlocked the door and turned to the girls.

"This new wing was built especially for the stewardess service. There is a cla.s.sroom, a complete kitchen and commissary, lockers, lounging room and shower. I'm sure you'll like it."

Jane stepped into the lounging room. It was delightfully furnished in wicker and the walls were a soft grey with rose-colored drapes at the full-length windows which looked out upon the field.

The commissary, lined with cupboards for the storage of supplies, was in silver and blue, and arranged to gladden the heart of any girl. The sinks were of stainless steel and the large tables at which the lunches would be prepared were of a similar material.

They went on to the cla.s.sroom, which reminded Jane of a similar room she had attended so many times at Good Samaritan. A score of study chairs were in the room and one whole wall was given over to a blackboard while on another wall was complete map of the entire Federated Airways system.

"We'll have our first cla.s.s right now," said Miss Comstock, "since I want to give you instructions on obtaining rooms in Cheyenne."

The girls sat down, Sue, Alice and Grace grouped around Jane.