Then reports of sickness and misery in isolated mountain towns began to creep in. Doctors were running short of supplies in villages where the flu had appeared. Unless the blizzards abated soon, there would be serious trouble.
Jane was scheduled to go out on the Coast to Coast, coming through from the west for the first time in three days. The plane was hours late and she reported at the field just as the early January night closed down. Miss Comstock was in the operations room. So was Slim Bollei, one of the veteran pilots.
“You might as well go home, Jane,” said Miss Comstock. “I phoned, but you had started for the field. It’s snowing west of here and the Coast to Coast won’t get out of Rock Springs before dawn.”
Slim Bollei, who had been looking out the window, shrugged his shoulders.
“You’re optimistic,” he grinned. “It’s snowing thicker and harder than at any time this winter.”
The weather had turned bitter cold with the wind lashing around the big hangar in a chilling overture.
When Jane started back to the city, she found that the field car which had brought her was stalled. She telephoned for a taxi, but was informed that no machine would be available for at least an hour, so she made herself comfortable in the waiting room which adjoined the office of the night operations chief.
Sue called to learn if they were going to try to get the Coast to Coast through and Jane informed her that she was marooned at the field.
“Maybe I’ll be home by morning,” she concluded hopefully.
It was half an hour later when the phone on the night chief’s desk rang. Jane was near enough to catch most of the conversation for the man on the other end of the wire was shouting.