CHAPTER SEVEN
On the Trail of “Mr. Seven”
The field manager, who had been supervising the refueling of the amphibian, came into the office and Sladek turned toward him.
“What do you know about the Cedar river country?” he asked.
“It’s bad business for flyers,” replied Hunter. “The entire valley is wooded, with many high bluffs, and if your motor goes bad there isn’t a safe place to set down. All you can do is aim at some tree top and hope for the best.”
“That’s one reason I flew out here in an amphib. There shouldn’t be much trouble landing on the river.”
“Not unless you smack down and ram a sand bar or have a snag come up and smash in the bottom of your ship.”
“That’s encouraging. Doesn’t look like we could go much further tonight. You’d better roll my ship into one of the hangars. We’ll want to get an early start in the morning.”
“If there’s some particular place you want to know about in the valley, Tim Murphy may be able to help you,” suggested Hunter.
“Who’s Tim Murphy?” demanded Sladek.
“He’s the flying reporter for the Atkinson News. He’s flown all over that country and with the exception of a small field near the village of Auburn there isn’t another place to land safely and then a big ship like yours couldn’t make it.”