“Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy,” Bob chortled, “what a break! Captain Bill here for months, with nothing to do but fly us around.”
Hal did not seem to share his friend’s enthusiasm. “Fly us around? Not us, Bob, old boy—you. My mother will never let me go up.” Hal’s face clouded.
Bob slapped him on the back. “Oh, don’t you worry. Your mother will let you fly. She’s let you do a lot of things with me that she never let you do before. We’ll get her to come around.”
But Hal looked dubious. “Not that, I’m afraid. She’s scared to death of planes, and gets pale if I even mention flying. But that’s all right. I’ll do my flying on the ground. You and Bill will have a great time.”
“Buck up,” said Bob. “Don’t cross your bridges until you come to them. We’ll work on your mother until she thinks that flying is the safest thing in the world. And it is, too. We’ll let Captain Bill talk to her. He can make anybody believe anything. He’ll have her so thoroughly convinced that she’ll be begging him to take you up in the air to save your life. See if he doesn’t! Bill is great!”
Hal was visibly improved in spirits. “When’s Bill coming in?” he asked.
“Six tonight,” said Bob. “Down at the airport. Dad says that he’ll drive us both out there so that we can meet Captain Bill, and drive him back. Gee, wouldn’t it be great if he had an autogyro and could land in our back yard?”
“Maybe he’ll have one the next time he comes. What kind of plane is he flying?”
“His new Lockheed. It’s a monoplane, he says, and painted green, with a reddish nose. It’s green because his partner, Pat, wanted it green. Pat’s been his buddy since they were over in France together, and anything that Pat says, goes. It’s got two cockpits, and dual controls. It’s just great for teaching beginners. That means us, Hal, old boy. Listen, you’d better get ready. Dad will be home soon, and will want to start down for the port. Say, does that sound like thunder?”
The boys listened. It did sound like thunder. In fact, it was thunder. “Golly, I hope it doesn’t storm. Mother won’t let me go if it rains.”