The Admiral took the pilot’s seat, while the General perched watchfully in the rear so that any move made by one of the prisoners could be instantly observed and stopped. His rifle stood near at hand and a business-like six-gun was in his belt. There was the usual “trying,” then the huge plane moved through the darkness, and as soon as its wheel lifted, all but a very small light was switched off in the cabin.
“You been real peaceful up to now,” the Admiral reminded them, “En here’s hoping your good judgment don’t lead you astray while we’re flyin’. There ain’t no tigers, but the guns is fer use, pronto.” He turned his attention to his job, and soon they were roaring through space.
The plane seemed to climb steeply, then curve, and Austin wished that his place was not in the center. If he could get a glimpse of the control board he could calculate something about the direction they were taking. Thinking about the huge plane he realized that with little light people on the ground would not observe that it was a big one, and unless there were other lights on the tail or underneath, the dim glow would make it appear as if it were a small machine. It seemed to the Flying Buddy as if they were making very good speed, and in a few minutes they were tearing along in a thick mist. They climbed again, and once they rushed into a storm. The wind blew furiously and rain beat on the fuselage. Mrs. Gonzalas, who was seated close to her husband, sunk her head wearily on his shoulder, and was soon asleep.
It was a mighty good thing that she could sleep, Jim thought. He would have liked taking a nap himself but he felt that he had to keep wide awake for an opportunity to escape might present itself and they would want to grab it while the grabbing was good. He could see Arto huddled low in his coat collar and although the man looked as if he were dozing, the boy was positive that the former aviator was doing nothing of the kind. He too would be alert for a slip on the part of their captors which would change their present position, making the captors the captives. A flash of lightning cut through the blackness and then Austin was not sorry that he did not have the place at the controls as they tore through the storm. The plane climbed heavily and leveled off above the rain, then shot forward at an amazing speed.