Ten minutes after that dawn Gale found herself on board the most gorgeous four-motored bomber she had ever seen. Jimmie was at the stick and she frantically at work studying the ship’s radar set, teaching herself in one short hour all she needed to know.
From time to time Jimmie glanced back, and if she was not looking, grinned wisely. Once he turned to his co-pilot and winked. That was all. And so for a full three quarters of an hour they flew on.
At last with her head in a whirl, Gale took time out for a glance at the scenery that lay beyond and beneath them. Then lips parted, she stared.
“Jimmie!” she exclaimed, racing to his side. “This is not the way to Tokio! Those are the mountains up ahead!”
“Who says this is the way to Tokio?” he demanded.
“Are—aren’t we going to bomb Tokio?” She felt a terrible vacancy where her heart should have been.
“Sure! Why sure we are!” he exclaimed, “when we get around to it. But this is a pickup crew and you are one of them. Just now we’re headed for the Secret Forest and at least five days of good, tough practice.” He laughed merrily.
“Jimmie, you’re a bad boy!” she exclaimed. “Just for that I have a mind to take a jump and walk back to my colonel!”
“You wouldn’t do that for worlds,” he said. “Just take it easy. We’ll make it to Tokio yet.”
Gale did take it easy, all she could. So did the rest of the crew for everyone of them had known the restful peace of the Secret Forest and not a man of them but knew the gamble with life that lay before him.