Two days later the Sterns and the Hansons came down to the airstrip to see the boys off. Professor Stern promised to send the bearskin to Valley View as soon as it was cured. “It will make a nice trophy to spread out in front of your fireplace,” he told Sandy.
“I think I’ll donate it to our local boys’ club,” Sandy said.
“And every time a new fellow joins up, he’ll have an excuse to tell what a big hero he is,” Jerry joked.
Sandy laughed. “I bet I looked like a big hero up in that tree all right.”
Russ Parker appeared in the doorway of the plane. “All revved up and ready to go. You fellows set?”
The boys said their last goodbyes and climbed into the cabin.
Mrs. Stern waved and yelled, “Thanks again for refilling my freezer.”
“We’ll eat it up the next time we come,” Jerry said.
Parker slammed the door and bolted it, then went forward to the cockpit. “Fasten your safety belts,” he ordered. The little plane took off smoothly and climbed over the bay. Through the window next to him, Sandy caught a last glimpse of the twin domes of the Russian church and the ancient sea wall with its great iron rings where the fur traders used to tie up their ships. The sun sparkled on the blue water and glinted briefly off the metal oil tanks of the U.S. naval base far across the bay. Parker leveled off at 10,000 feet and set a northeast course.
Sandy unbuckled his seat belt and went up front to the cockpit. “How long will it take to fly to Cordova?” he inquired.