“All set, sir. I just put a new valve in that wind driven gas pump. The guy that invented that trick should have been tapped for the simples. Why don’t you hang this thing on a church steeple, Lieutenant, and get one of those Spads?”
“Well, I rather dislike entering a church from the steeple, and I’m sort of partial to this old crate. She’s tricky on the ground, but I’m used to her ways and she’s a Lulu upstairs.”
He swung into the cockpit and the Sergeant stood at the prop.
“Switch off?”
“Switch off!”
171The sergeant pulled over the propeller two times.
“Contact, sir.”
“Contact.”
The motor caught, and after it had idled a few minutes McGee began revving it up.
Just then he noticed Siddons come from around the corner of the hangar, carrying what appeared to be a canvas covered pillow. Seeing McGee’s plane on the line he stopped in surprise, then proceeded to his plane, where he fitted the pillow into the seat, patting it in place as a woman pats a divan pillow. Then he came across to the side of McGee’s plane.