“Small wonder,” Joan remarked as she watched the shadow of the Greyhound flit swiftly over the face of the white-capped ridges, “that the governments could not locate them. With their swift airplanes they dart down on the commerce of the world like Omar on a desert caravan, and are back in their hidden North Pole lair before the robbery is known by the authorities. Where are we?”
“Eight hundred miles north by west of Bogosloff Island, perhaps a thousand miles.”
“So far,” Joan observed patiently, “we have had unusually even weather. Now we are going to have an Arctic blizzard.”
She pointed north over the long reach of ocean that came up to lash the mountains beneath them. Epworth shivered. Then he smiled.
“We have a mighty staunch little airship.”
She did not answer for several moments. Would these bandits go on forever? Was there no hole anywhere for them to hide in?
“The Greyhound has disappeared,” Joan suddenly broke out excitedly. “I saw it just a moment ago behind that distant peak.”
Epworth glanced out of the window. A sudden sheet of frozen snow and a rain of heavy chunks of ice struck the window. It came with terrific fury, unexpected. However, he had adjusted the stabilizer, and notwithstanding the fact that the little ship was tossed up and down like a feather and went lop-sided for a second it weathered the furious burst, and staggered on like a wounded bird.
Epworth gave one more look for the Greyhound. Not a thing was now visible—not even the rugged snow mountains below. With a grave face he banked and faced the storm, putting on every ounce of power the engine would carry. The little plane stood still, poised like an eagle, with the bronzed shadow of its wings dipped in the immensity of gray storm and whirling, shrieking wind.
On the windows of his ship the rubber vacuum wipers stopped, choked immovable by lumps of ice hurled against the glazed surface. To see out was impossible—he was shooting through darkness, a howling, shrieking, terrifying murk created by storm. He glanced at Joan. She smiled at him to cheer him, but it was a courageous effort to conquer a mighty fear.