From the position of the jam Tim could see that unless the pressure was relieved soon the water behind the ice, spreading out over the valley, would soon creep around the wings of the jam and sweep down on the village.
The Good News slid down out of the clouds and swung over the scene of the impending disaster. The village was practically deserted. Men and women were at the jam, working side by side in what appeared a futile effort to start the thousands of tons of ice moving down stream before their own homes were destroyed.
Tim guided the Good News up the valley, over the jam, and on up stream. The jam of ice extended nearly a half mile above the village. The river above that point, running free, was piling more ice on the jam, adding to the pressure which hourly threatened to let go and sweep everything before it.
Ralph, leaning far over the side of the plane, was busy with his camera. He motioned for Tim to return to the village. There they took pictures of the practically deserted town and Tim dropped low enough for Ralph to get some good flashes of the men and women working along the edge of the ice jam.
Just a year before the villagers had helped Tim when he was on the trail of the Sky Hawk and he felt that he owed them a real debt.
They gazed upward as the plane sped over them but they did not recognize the scorched, blackened plane as the Good News. Tim and Ralph waved eagerly, but there was no reply. The villagers were weighted down with despair.
Ralph indicated that he had used the last of the plates in the camera and Tim swung the Good News into the west. He headed back for Atkinson at 180 miles an hour, the motor singing as they shot through the greying sky.
The clouds were dropping on them and by the time they were half way to Atkinson they had a ceiling of less than six hundred feet. Tim tried to rise above the clouds, but they were massed solidly. He climbed to the five thousand foot level only to find himself lost in swirling vapor and with the air growing colder every minute.
Ice started to form on the wings of the Good News and Tim realized the danger. The plane was harder to handle, slower to answer the controls.
Ralph sensed the danger of the higher altitude and motioned for Tim to dive, but the flying reporter shook his head. He was too experienced an airman for a power dive when ice was gathering on his ship.