He felt a large hand firmly grip him by the collar and drag him from his seat to the ground.
“Just cut out that kind of stuff!” Lefty warned. “Miss Martin happens to be a lady!”
The offending Marine merely muttered something incoherent under his breath and jumped on the rear ledge of the truck as Lefty returned to the driver’s seat to be greeted by the warm, inviting and grateful eyes of Elinor.
One glance in the girl’s direction was sufficient for Lefty. With an air of uneasiness, he trained his eyes on the road straight ahead, giving the car plenty of gas and shifting his gears right into high.
Neither the boy or girl had spoken a word all the way in until they reached the outskirts of Managua with the capital city’s house tops plainly in view. Elinor then broke the long silence by asking about Panama with an assumed air of deep interest.
The very mention of his best friend’s name filled Lefty with renewed enthusiasm. Thankful to Elinor for bringing up a topic that completely placed him at ease, he once more became his own loquacious self.
“Panama? Say—he’s great! Whenever they buck up against a tough proposition around here, they elect him to face it. I overheard the major say that he was the best pilot in the squadron!”
Elinor listened patiently with a gracious smile upon her lips. Her eyes softened as she allowed her hand to touch the boy’s for a brief moment.
“Tell me about yourself, Lefty. Have they given you a chance to fly yet?”
The man who had failed, when his big chance came back in Pensacola, laughed a little ironically, bravely attempting to further lessen his insignificant rating in the service.