"We are," agreed Ortiz, very steadily indeed, "but I—I have received a radiogram that some airplane should fly near this ship, and it would amuse me to hear it."
Bell frowned at the fog.
"I've done a good bit of flying," he observed, "and if I were flying out at sea right now, I'd dodge this fog bank. It would be practically suicide to try to alight in a mist like this."
Ortiz regarded him carefully. It seemed to Bell that sweat was coming out upon the other man's forehead.
"You mean," he said quietly, "that an airplane could not land?"
"It might try," said Bell with a shrug. "But you couldn't judge your height above the water. You might crash right into it and dive under. Matter of fact, you probably would."
Ortiz's nostrils quivered a little.
"I told them," he said steadily, "I told them it was not wise to risk...."
