I did not realize how tired I was until I threw myself on the bed. I had a vivid dream of hunting lions in Africa and wounding one. The lion was not killed and springing at me, caught my shoulder in his jaws. He was shaking me to and fro when I awoke and found Billy standing over me.
"I thought I'd never get you awake. Get up and come to the flying field."
I was suddenly conscious of a trembling beneath me, as if I were on the deck of a boat near the engine. Jim was already up and we both looked questioningly at Billy's grave face.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Possibly a new cataclysm that will wipe all surviving human beings from the face of the earth. You know about as much as any of us."
By this time I was wide awake. "What are we to do when we get to the flying field?"
"There is a dispute among the fliers as to whether it would be better to take to the air in the machines with as many passengers as they can carry, or await developments here with the planes sheltered as much as possible. They want your advice."
A few minutes later we were making our way to the center of a gesticulating crowd of men. The majority seemed to think that the best thing to do was to take to the air and trust to luck that there would be no wind storms, as there had been during the previous calamity. I had done considerable writing on aeronautics and had a certain reputation as an expert. Both parties had agreed that my decision as to the best course of action would be accepted by all concerned.
I stood there bracing my feet firmly as the trembling of the earth increased and the rumbling became louder. I looked at the sky which had become overcast with fast hurrying clouds. If any sky ever indicated wind, that one did. I made my decision.
"Get the planes to sheltered valleys immediately. We won't be safe on land, but we'll be safer than we would be in the air, with the wind that's coming. Quick! There's no time to waste."