For some time I had fixed my gaze on a dot in the sky which I supposed to be a high-flying cockatoo. As that dot continued to move across the heavens in a single direction, I called Grannie's attention to it.
"It's a kite," she nodded. "There should be a car attached to it somewhere."
She offered no further explanation, but a quarter of an hour later as we topped another rise a curious elliptical car with a long slanting windscreen came into view. Attached to its hood was a taut wire which slanted up into the sky to connect with the kite.
A man was driving and when he saw us, he waved. Five minutes later Grannie was shaking his hand vigorously and mumbling introductions.
"This is Jimmy Baker," she said. "He manages Larynx Incorporated, and he's the real reason we're here."
I decided I liked Baker the moment I saw him. In his middle thirties, he was tall and lean, with pleasant blue eyes which even his sand goggles could not conceal.
"I can't tell you how glad I am you're here, Grannie," he said. "If anybody can help me, you can."
Grannie's eyes glittered. "Trouble with the mine laborers?" she questioned.
Jimmy Baker nodded. He told his story over the roar of the wind as we headed back across the desert. Occasionally he touched a stud on an electric windlass to which the kite wire was attached. Apparently these adjustments moved planes or fins on the kite and accounted for the car's ability to move in any direction.