Even in the interim the plane probably would have departed, but at any rate all these considerations had been weighed hastily but carefully in Washington and the final decision was to leave everything to the lads in the leading plane, depending upon their skill as aviators, their courage as fighters, if events reached that stage, their ingenuity as Americans to accomplish successfully their given task and get the documents to Paris.
What, then, of the four young men who, compelled to contend with all the natural and inevitable and manifold difficulties of such an endeavor, by this time found themselves required to watch for an enemy from behind, while facing from the front what threatened to become a terrific storm, driving on toward them even as they drove into it?
Although Don Harlan, alert every second of the time, and aided by Fred Bentner, who now could do nothing unless they picked up the radio of some ship, had carefully charted every mile of their course thus far, and knew, according to the compass, that they were still headed right, some strange intuition told him that the rising wind was blowing them further off their course than they realized, and in a direction where they might expect even worse and continued bad weather.
A delicately balanced level told him that for hours they had maintained an almost undeviatingly horizontal position, and therefore a sustained altitude, and yet the approaching storm was further heralded by a steadily falling barometer.
With the receipt of the wireless warning they had opened the throttles of the motors wide, and their air speed was now one hundred and twenty-five miles an hour, but there were doubts as to whether they were making headway of more than half that speed, with the wind increasing in velocity momentarily, and the plane beginning to rock and sway under the impact of these opposed forces.
"We won't try to ride this," Big Jack announced heavily, as a veritable gale struck them with such suddenness as to swerve them considerably off their course. "Altitude is what we want. We'll get above it."
Alas for sailors sailing new and uncharted seas, and aviators encountering previously unknown wind channels and air currents!
This storm came upon them so suddenly, broke upon them with such fury, beat them seemingly from all sides at once with such unprecedented force, that the very effort to tilt the rudder threatened to carry that and the whole after part of the plane away, bringing upon them disaster and destruction.
Andy, with feet and hands taut, turned a pale face toward Big Jack. The seriousness of the situation was equally reflected there, although the young giant's chin stuck out in a way that augured no admission of any but the most overwhelming defeat.