“There’s an officer over there with secret orders for us,” Sparky explained. “It has something to do with our landing place once we are over the mountains. I must get over there. Will you drive me?”
“Oh! Sure!” Scottie grinned.
“We’ll leave Mary in charge of the plane,” said Sparky. “Think you can manage that?”
“What am I to guard it from in this wild place?” Mary asked. “The Monkeys of the Snows or something?”
“You never can tell,” Sparky did not smile. “And, by the way, there’s a one-legged Chinese boy who will help you out in a pinch. He has a sub-machine gun that someone loaned him. It’s a businesslike affair and I shouldn’t wonder if he could shoot it. He’s looking for a low-flying Zero plane. Perhaps you can find one for him. He calls himself Hop Sing. Sometimes he hops and sometimes he sings.”
“He sounds interesting,” said Mary. “Please tell him to come around.”
A half hour later Sparky and Scottie motored away, leaving Mary seated on a fallen palm tree at the edge of the narrow airfield.
Mary dreamed of many things, of wide, black waters, sifting desert sands, glorious dances in Egypt, Persian gardens, and many more. But suddenly she was startled from her dreaming by a high-pitched voice saying;
“You are the so beautiful flying lady and I am Hop Sing. Me, I got machine gun. Many times practice.” Aiming the gun at a tree the Chinese boy seemed about to mow it down but, instead, merely clicked his gun. “Can shoot very well. Come Zero plane, flying very low, I show you plenty.”
“I’m glad to see you, Hop Sing.” She slid down from her log. “You’ll protect me from the monkeys, won’t you?” she added with a laugh.