CHAPTER XIX—FISHES LARGE AND SMALL
That flight up the Willamette and down the Umpqua was ever afterwards a nightmare to Bill. There were so many times when the difference between life and death rested upon his moving that heavy three thousand pound plane in a fraction of a second. Sometimes he missed an unusually high tree by a fraction of an inch when he was sure that he would hit it. Once he did not miss a tree, but was fortunate in that the landing gear merely smashed its way through the small top branches. Other times he was forced to jump up into the clouds to escape colliding with a hill which suddenly loomed up ahead. It was tough going all the way, with no let-up.
By the time that they reached Steamboat Creek the rain had slackened somewhat and the clouds had risen. The flying was easier, but as far as being safe was concerned, they were far from being out of the woods. The valley still had many sharp bends which could not be foreseen. Bill had to fly that plane all the way and fly it every minute.
They came to a place where the river made a turn of almost a complete circle. For a while Bill was sure that he had turned up one of the tributaries to the river. He did not see how such a large river could meander around so much. Just as he was about to turn back, he saw an exceptionally bright area ahead. River or no river, he would get into that section and get away from the abominable weather that he had been flying through.
Suddenly the valley opened and Bill saw a railroad track stretching across his path. He was out of the mountains and somewhere near Roseburg. Bill turned along the railroad and instantly searched the ground for the landing field at Roseburg. The rain was now falling steadily, but not so hard. The town came into his view and he circled it several times before he could locate the landing field through the falling rain. Another circle and he dropped his plane onto the ground.
The plane stopped rolling and both Bill and Earl jumped out.
“What a ride,” exclaimed Earl.
“Let’s put on the cockpit covers and then get out of the rain,” said Bill.
“O. K., let’s go,” replied Earl.
They fished out the canvas covers and put them over the engine and cockpits. Then they crawled under the wings of the plane to get out of the rain.