“What do you think about the weather?” Madge inquired somewhat anxiously.
“Oh, we’ll make it all right,” he returned without concern. “According to the airport weather report we may run into a storm before we reach Bay City, but it probably won’t amount to much.”
“You take your storms casually,” Madge smiled. “Remember, we’re not seasoned to it the way you are.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he assured her. “We’ll not have any trouble unless it is in taking off. The water is pretty rough this morning.”
As soon as the girls were comfortably settled in the cockpit, he accelerated the engine and they were off. The amphibian moved slowly at first, then with increasing speed. As it planed over the waves, the bow had a tendency to drop into the following trough and Rex was kept busy trying to prevent it nosing in. Once before flying speed was gained, the waves threw the plane a little way into the air. While the girls caught their breath in fear, Rex acted instinctively. He minimized the stall and as the nose dropped, pulled back the stick to level out.
Madge and Enid breathed easier when the amphibian finally shook her wings free from the bay and smoothly climbed. They gazed down over the cockpit, distinguishing The Flora which seemed a mere speck on the water.
It was impossible to talk against the roar of the wind and the motor, so the girls enjoyed the scenery to the fullest measure. Although they followed a water route, seldom were they out of sight of land.
Before they had been in the air an hour, Madge noticed that they were running into heavy clouds. Rex too, studied the sky a trifle anxiously though he flashed the girls a reassuring smile. Soon the little plane was hemmed in. A sudden gust of wind sent the ship careening to a dizzy angle.
A flash of jagged lightning cracked across the black void beyond the propeller. Rex put the plane into a steep climb in an attempt to get above the storm.
For an endless minute it seemed that the clouds were everywhere. Then the plane rose above them into the warm sunlight. The girls looked down, gazing upon a solid floor of clouds. They felt snug in the cockpit and enjoyed watching nature’s fireworks from a safe gallery seat.