“She got everlastingly sore when she could not get a license, and I figure, from what you say, that while she was flying around with you, she got jealous because you landed what she couldn’t. When a woman of her type gets jealous, she’s deadlier than a whole herd of males. Probably they planned to get you to work for them as a sort of blind, but she couldn’t wait, and shoved the works hard. Anyway, when I made up my mind to quit, I knew I had to do it mighty carefully. I wasn’t leaving Nomie’s very often then and it wasn’t easy, but finally one day I started off in the plane, that was about six weeks ago, but they must have been wise. Wat wasn’t there that day and the fellow in charge had the machine gun turned on me before I could get very high. The shot ripped off my tail but I gave the bus the gas and went on just the same. Couldn’t do a very good job of steering, and it was foggy, so this is as far as I got. Now, you know all about me.” He stared ahead with a scowl.
“My goodness, how have you managed to live? Were you hurt when you came down?”
“Hurt some, sure, but not bad. Got a crack on my head that seems to have affected my eyes. Then I discovered a vessel wrecked off the other side and managed to salvage her stores. Hunted for some of the crew but none of them got as far as the island, I guess. Been trying to fix up the bird again, but it’s been slow work and I’ve been wondering if I can fly her when she is finally fixed.”
“Well, if you can’t,” Roberta said eagerly, “I can.”
“By Jove, that’s so. Tell you what, you go back with Nomie and come here again. Know how to paddle a canoe?”
“A little, but I could never manage one of the native boats.”
“Get Natell to teach you. Take advantage of everything you can while you’re stranded. The whole country will be looking for you by this time, and they won’t stop. Nobody knows I disappeared, but maybe when they get you out, someone will help me.”
“Of course they will. Do you think I’ll go off without you?” Roberta demanded indignantly. Wasn’t he a fellow pilot in distress? “And, when we get to the United States you can have your eyes attended to and they’ll be all right again.”
“Say, funny thing. I’ve heard about you in a lot of different places and from different people, and the same phrase popped into my head that I’ve heard about you. They all say, you’re a great kid, but,” he added hastily, “They don’t mean that you’re a baby, or anything like that; and I don’t either, you know what I mean.”
“Sure,” she agreed heartily.