Air pilots -- Juvenile fiction; Mystery and detective stories; Reporters and reporting -- Juvenile fiction
“His flying suit and his helmet and goggles saved him,” said Jimmy.
“What I can’t understand is why he didn’t jump sooner. He must have
known well enough that the ship was doomed.”
“He did. I asked him why he stayed in it so long, and he told me that he
couldn’t leave the ship any sooner because it might have fallen on some
of the homes beneath him. You see he was right over the town. So he just
kept right on flying, with the flames all about him, until he was sure
he was clear of the town. What do you think of that?”
“I am not surprised. In fact, I should be surprised if he had done
anything else. It’s exactly the sort of thing Warren Long would do.”
“It was the bravest thing I ever heard of,” said Johnnie.
“Could you do anything for him?” demanded Jimmy. “His burns must have
been very painful.”
“Sure we did. I took him home with me and mother put some grease on his
face and bandaged his hands. But he didn’t seem to think about anything
except the mail. That evidently worried him. The pilot soon caught a
train going east, and that is the last I saw of him.”
“Well, you certainly have given me a vivid account of the affair,
Johnnie. You’d make a good reporter.”
“Gee! I’d like to be one. It’s pretty dull out here in these mountains.
Dad’s got his health back now and doesn’t really need me any longer.
I’ve been looking for a job in town. If you know of any opening I wish
you’d tell me about it, Jimmy.”
“I’ll do all I can to help you, Johnnie, though I don’t believe I can do
much for you. You see, you have never had any experience as a reporter.”
By this time they had reached the burned airship. Several persons were
gathered about it, for ever since daybreak people had been coming from
far and near to take a look at it. Jimmy stood for some time viewing the
sad wreck.
“Thank God Warren escaped,” he muttered.
Then he slowly walked around the burned plane, trying to find the best
point of view from which to get a picture. He took several snaps, from
different angles, and then asked Johnnie to guide him to a spot where he
could get the best picture of the region. Johnnie took him to a little
knoll that rose sharply at no great distance, and from this
vantage-point Jimmy secured an excellent picture of the countryside,
with the wrecked plane in the very centre of the picture. Then he and
Johnnie walked across the country to the spot where Warren Long had
landed. The parachute was no longer there, as the remains of it had been
gathered up by the crew sent from the Air Mail field to salvage what
could be saved from the wreck. But Jimmy was able to see exactly where
Warren Long had struck the ground, and to get some good snaps of the
place.
“I ought to see your father,” said Jimmy, “and find out exactly what
occurred in the effort to save the mail. Besides, I want to see him
anyway. I haven’t seen him since—I don’t know when. And I want to see
your mother, too.”
“We’ll go over to the house,” replied Johnnie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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