As he flew along, he made plans. The Japs might try to get their planes out of the jungle base, unless the Flying Tigers went after them at daylight. He was thinking about the attack he would lead when he heard the old motor begin to clank and pound.
A dull, hammering sound came to him from the cowling up ahead. Stan knew he had pushed the motor too hard. He eased back on the throttle but the hammering continued. As he left the river and headed out over the jungle, the noise grew louder. Stan wondered when the crash would come.
He listened and waited. There was nothing to do but keep going. He had no parachute and he could not see any rice fields below. Every mile he gained was one less to walk, that was all he was worrying about.
The altimeter showed he had only six thousand feet altitude.
That was about the Robin’s ceiling. Stan tinkered with the spark and the gas but the loosened rod kept beating away. All he could do was wait until it smashed out in his face.
One consolation was that no Jap night fighters had showed up. Probably they had gone too high to sight him. He checked the ship’s compass and altered his course a little. He was easing back, looking down for an open spot, when a dark shape came roaring down out of the sky at him. It hurtled past, leaving a trail of exhaust flame and smoke. Stan frowned and eased the Robin over. He did not intend to be washed out after getting this far.
That plane was not a Karigane. It was a P–40! Stan could tell by the whine of its Allison motor. He was glad the pilot had saved his ammunition. The Robin was plodding along so slowly that she was almost a stationary target.
The night fighter was a Flying Tiger, but would he spare the old Robin? The fighter came back and circled over the Robin. Its pilot seemed puzzled and undecided, which was to be expected. No one would expect to meet a Curtiss Robin sailing through the Burma sky.
The P–40 kept circling and diving as Stan bored along toward Rangoon. He spotted the blind lights at the landing field, set wide and away from the runways to fool the enemy. Easing over, he went on down. He did not worry about ground fire. He could not fail so close to home.
No guns blazed and the field was clear of planes. The Robin jolted down and rolled toward a hangar. Men came running toward the ship. Stan climbed out and faced them. The first man to get to him was Allison.