"I'll tell you what I want," he said. "I am not very keenly interested in aviation, but it may be necessary that I should return to Portugal in a great hurry. It is no news to you that we Portuguese are generally in the throes of some revolution or other."
"So I understand," said Cartwright, with a twinkle in his eye.
"In those circumstances," Pinto went on, "it may be necessary for me to leave this country without going through the formality of securing a passport. I want a machine which will carry me from London to, say, Cintra, without a stop, and I want a pilot who can take me across the sea by the direct route."
"Across the Bay of Biscay?" asked the aviator in surprise, and Pinto nodded.
"I should not want to touch any other country en route, for reasons which, I tell you frankly, are political."
Cartwright thought a moment.
"Yes, I think I can get you the machine, and I'm certain I can find you the pilot," he said.
"To put it bluntly," said Pinto, "would you take on an engagement for twelve months, secure the machine, house it and have it ready for me? I will pay you liberally." He mentioned a sum which satisfied the airman. "It must not be known that the machine is mine. You must buy it and keep it in your own name."
"There's no difficulty about that," said Cartwright. "Am I to understand that I must go ahead with the purchase of the aeroplane?"