Even this
minor diversion was of interest in the dull monotony of green. These
endless fields of castor bean plants had to be cultivated, but with the
great machines that did the work it required but a few dozen men to
cultivate an entire county.

The passengers in the huge plane high above them gave little thought to
what passed below, engrossed with their papers or books, or engaged in
casual conversation. This monotonous trip was boring to most of them. It
seemed a waste of time to spend six good hours in a short 3,500 mile
trip. There was nothing to do, nothing to see, except a slowly passing
landscape ten miles below. No details could be distinguished, and the
steady low throb of the engines, the whirring of the giant propellers,
the muffled roar of the air, as it rushed by, combined to form a
soothing lullaby of power. It was all right for pleasure seekers and
vacationists, but business men were in a hurry.

The pilot of the machine glanced briefly at the instruments, wondered
vaguely why he had to be there at all, then turned, and leaving the
pilot room in charge of his assistant, went down to talk with the chief
engineer.

His vacation began the first of July, and as this was the last of June,
he wondered what would have happened if he had done as he had been half
inclined to do--quit the trip and let the assistant take her through. It
would have been simple--just a few levers to manipulate, a few controls
to set, and the instruments would have taken her up to ten or eleven
miles, swung her into the great westward air current, and leveled her
off at five hundred and sixty or so an hour toward 'Frisco'. They would
hold her on the radio beam better than he ever could. Even the landing
would have been easy. The assistant had never landed a big plane, but he
knew the routine, and the instruments would have done the work. Even if
he hadn't been there, ten minutes after they had reached destination, it
would land automatically--if an emergency pilot didn't come up by that
time in answer to an automatic signal.

He yawned and sauntered down the hall. He yawned again, wondering what
made him so sleepy.

He slumped limply to the floor and lay there breathing ever more and
more slowly.

* * * * *

The officials of the San Francisco terminus of The Transcontinental
Airways company were worried. The great Transcontinental express had
come to the field, following the radio beam, and n