The hills were really ridges of rock, rearing their sharp, bleak heads into the air—a trap for any unwary flyer. To crash on those inhospitable crags would have meant the end for plane and pilot.
Tim lifted the Good News until his wing tips were brushing the massed clouds. Six hundred and fifty was the highest he could go without burying himself in the clouds and flying blind, something which he did not relish.
Tim throttled down to half speed as he reached the first ridge of the Flint hills. He cleared the tops of the crags by two hundred feet and was congratulating himself when another ridge loomed ahead of his spinning prop. The second one bulked higher and beyond he could see a third which buried its head in the low-hanging clouds.
Tim slid over the second ridge and then swung sharply to the right. Perhaps he would find a gap in the third ridge which would let him through. For five minutes he sped along, hunting for some opening that would let him through. He was almost ready to make a blind attempt through the clouds when he caught sight of a break in the hills. It was not more than 200 feet wide but Tim took the chance, banked the Good News sharply, and dove for the opening.
The hills closed in on him and dismal masses of rock on each side waited for him to crash. But he slid through the narrow break and found himself again over the prairie, the hills in the background.
The rest of the trip to Fort Armstrong was easy going compared with the task of getting through the hills and Tim sighted the lights of the army post at five minutes to seven.
Markers on the landing field flashed on when guards heard the sound of his motor and mechanics were waiting to guide his ship into a hangar when he landed and taxied up the runway.
Tim’s body ached from the cold and his legs were stiff and cramped. A mechanic reached up and gave him a hand as he clambered out of the cockpit.
An officer with a captain’s bars on his shoulder, strode into the hangar.
“We were expecting you, Murphy,” he said. “Your managing editor telephoned that you were on your way and we’ve tried to have everything ready for you. How did you find the Flint hills?”