“Unless somebody thinks of going there in an aeroplane like we are, we’ll beat the leaders,” Weber predicted. “They kain’t get there until before tomorrow morning at the best, and that means travelin’ around the sun. It ain’t a big valley, though, and if anybody gets there after tomorrow night, they’ll be out of luck. There’ll be five thousand men make the rush, and there’ll be a lot of land staked out that’s plumb worthless.”
When all their preparations were made, Jimmy helped his passenger into the Calico Peacock and buckled a safety belt around him.
“Try to relax and take it easy,” he advised.
“You’re not goin’ to be scared any, are you?” the old man asked.
“Not until we start looking for a place to land, anyway,” Jimmy answered.
“Wal, I’m goin’ to be up here with you. It ain’t goin’ to do me any good to get scared if you ain’t, son.”
One of the field mechanics spun the stick of the Calico Peacock and a few moments later, they taxied down to the runway and were off. Jimmy swung the Calico Peacock out over the bay in a wide spiral, gaining altitude until he could clear the east bay hills and cut across the Sacramento Valley. The engine fired regularly for a while, but Jimmy could see it was beginning to heat. Since he had overhauled it, Jimmy had not been able to afford a long cross-country flight to get it properly broken in. It was not surprising to him that it now began to heat under a full throttle and a heavy load. He cut down his r.p.m. as much as he dared and hoped that it would gradually cool. Instead, it grew hotter.
Between Stockton and Sacramento the engine began to smoke. It was a race between a forced landing in some grain field or landing at the Sacramento airport. Jimmy made Sacramento, but by a narrow margin. He landed with a dead prop and an engine that was practically frozen stiff. Mechanics came out across the field and pulled the Calico Peacock out of the way of incoming ships.