“At least for some little time,” she agreed with a wise smile.
It was a grand little lunch they enjoyed there above the black waters of the Atlantic. Mary flew the ship while Sparky drank hot coffee and soup, and munched hot cheese sandwiches. Then he took the controls while she carried on with the lunch box.
But when it was all over and they began once more to climb, weighty problems once more bore down upon Mary’s tired brain. Would they again climb high and fly too far, then become oxygen-drunk again? She hated to ask Sparky and yet—
Thousands of weary miles lay ahead, miles where danger lurked all the way. Then, too, there was their precious cargo. Would it reach its destination safely?
“It must,” she whispered. She reached for her mask and then Sparky spoke.
CHAPTER V
THE LADY IN BLACK
“Forget the mask,” Sparky was saying. “We’ve got loads of gas. Dawn will soon be here. We’ll stay five thousand feet. Go back and get a little rest.”
Reluctantly she obeyed. Having wrapped herself in the eiderdown robe, she fell fast asleep. But not for long. She awoke with a start from a disturbing dream to find an eerie light shining down upon her.
“The ship’s on fire!” she thought tumbling out of her robe.