Jimmie stepped into the cabin of his ship and threw open a locker, in which he carried odds and ends that might be useful to him in just such an emergency as this. There were rolls of tire tape here. Jimmy grabbed them. In another moment he was rapidly taping the broken pipe-line. Over the actual opening in the seam he wound several thicknesses of the tape. Then he began to twist the stuff around the remainder of the little pipe. There was no telling how soon the rest of the seam would open, and Jimmy meant to play safe. He used all the tape he had, and when Johnnie came back with additional rolls, he added these to his reinforcements. When all the tape was wrapped, he breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t believe we’ll lose any more oil,” he said, “even if the whole seam opens up. She’s wound tight and thick. Now, how about oil? Could you get any?” “Dad’s bringing all we have,” said Johnnie. “We buy it in thirty-gallon barrels, as we can get it so much cheaper.” “Thank heaven you’ve got plenty of it,” said Jimmy. “It’ll take a lot. How is your father going to get it here?” “On the truck,” said Johnnie. And even as he spoke they heard the chugging of a motor and a farm truck came nosing through the fog. Jimmy stepped to the truck and greeted Mr. Lee. “It’s mighty kind of you to help me out,” he said. “I thought I was done, when I was forced down. But now I can take off again and I can still get to New York on time. I’ll lose half an hour here probably, but there’s still time enough if I don’t have any more trouble.” Johnnie filled the oil tank as fast as he could. Jimmy snatched the opportunity to look his motor over. Everything seemed to be right. Then he watched the oil gauge and told Johnnie when to stop pouring oil. He made everything tight about the cowling, gave the ship a final inspection under the rays of his flash-light, and stepped into his cabin. Now he would know whether he might possibly still succeed in his enterprise. He was fearful that the engine might have overheated and been injured when it was running with insufficient oil. Would it start now? And if it started, would it run? Could he depend upon it? Would it have power enough to lift him from the ground? Could he trust it to raise him high enough aloft to clear the mountains so close in front of him? Fearfully Jimmy pressed the starter. There was an explosion, the propeller turned over once or twice and stopped. Jimmy’s heart almost stopped with it. The engine was ruined. It would not go. He had failed in his effort. He had lost his big opportunity. All these thoughts flashed through Jimmy’s mind. Then came another. “It’s got to go,” he muttered. He choked the engine and again touched the starter. For a moment the starter whirred noisily, but the engine did not explode. Then there was a bang, the propeller whirled madly about, and the engine began to hum smoothly. “There wasn’t any gas in it the first time,” thought Jimmy.