Part 19 (1/2)

They plied Jane with questions about the trip, the encounter with the bandits, and how she had gotten along with Mrs. Van Verity Vanness.

”She's an old dear,” said Jane. ”I don't care what the newspapers say about her, she certainly treated me splendidly, and just as we got to New York she invited me to accompany her as nurse and companion. She's planning a round-the-world trip as soon as her son recovers.”

”And you turned that down?”

”I should say I did. Why, I wouldn't trade this job of mine for almost anything else in the world. You'll feel the same way before you're half way through your first regular flight as stewardess. There's a thrill to flying that can't be found in anything else.”

”I'm willing to be shown,” said Grace.

The planes from the west came in on time, both of them loaded to capacity. New crews took over the controls at Cheyenne and Grace and Alice stowed the food away in the pantries. They checked their pa.s.senger lists and when the planes were refueled, called their pa.s.sengers aboard.

”Good luck,” called Jane and Sue as they stood on the ramp and watched the big s.h.i.+ps wheel out of the hangar. Then the planes roared away into a greying sky, which heralded the coming of another dawn.

A field car was available to take them to town and Miss Comstock joined them.

”Are you going to come out and see every s.h.i.+p off?” asked Jane.

”I should say not, but with all of the girls a.s.signed to go out within the next 24 hours, I want to see that they get started right. After that, they'll be on their own.”

”What a.s.signment do we get?” asked Sue.

”You will be on the _Night Flyer_ while Jane is to take the _Coast to Coast Limited_. You'll go out tonight, while Jane's first trip is tomorrow morning.”

”Then I'll plan to do plenty of sleeping in the next few hours,” said Sue. ”The _Night Flyer_ means a slow trip to Chicago for it stops at every airport.”

Mrs. Murphy heard them come in, and appeared with her hair done up in curl papers and a faded kimono wrapped around her ample bulk. She insisted on going down and fixing a lunch, and over the kitchen table Jane spread out the New York papers. They read the stories, in great detail, and Mrs. Murphy appeared immensely pleased at the great publicity given to Jane's fine work.

”I could tell the minute I laid eyes on you, that you'd be a winner,”

she said proudly. ”Now you'd best both be off to bed, for it's circles you'll be having under your eyes if you don't.”

They thanked Mrs. Murphy for the lunch and hurried upstairs to undress and crawl between crisp, cool sheets just as the sun came over the horizon.

Mrs. Murphy came in later and adjusted the curtains on the porch, and the girls slept until mid-afternoon.

Sue, about to make her first flight alone, was nervous and excited. She fussed over the way her uniform fitted her trim figure and worried about what she would do if any of the pa.s.sengers became ill.

”Just forget you're in a plane and think about ward duty back in Good Samaritan, then you'll know what to do,” advised Jane.

They had supper with Mrs. Murphy and then a car from the field called for them. The _Night Flyer_ was due at ten o'clock, but Sue had at least an hour's work in the commissary and she wanted to have plenty of time.

Miss Comstock, looking rather worn and tired, was still on duty and Mattie Clark was also at the field, looking very neat and business-like in her uniform.

”There's two sections tonight on the _Flyer_,” Mattie informed Sue.

”I'm going out on the first section and you'll take the second.”

”Sue is a.s.signed on the first section,” said Miss Comstock, who resented Mattie's infringement of her authority. ”You take No. 2.”

”But I want to be in Chicago early,” protested Mattie.