heat from the
motors warmed it. Miss Comstock and Jane kept moving about and looking
out at the storm. It was still snowing, but the fall was not as thick
as it had been during the night. Reports from the west indicated the
end of the blizzard was near.

Slim Bollei came back into the main cabin.

"All ready?" he asked.

Miss Comstock nodded.

"See that your chute packs don't foul. If I signal three times on your
light you'll know we're in trouble. Four sharp flashes will mean you've
got to unload."

"What about yourself?" demanded the chief stewardess.

"I'll get along all right," said Slim. "You get out of the cabin if I
signal for a jump."

The radio operator ran out with the final weather report and the
tractor rolled the big doors away. The biplane quivered as the full
strength of the wind whistled through the hangar. Then the ship rolled
ahead, flame spitting from the three long exhausts. The runways had
been swept clear of snow by the wind and Slim Bollei opened the
throttle. In no time at all they were in the air, turning north for the
160-mile flight to Lytton.

With a quartering wind from the Rockies, the plane pitched badly and
Miss Comstock and Jane fastened their safety belts. Even then they were
thrown around sharply.

The cabin warmed only slightly, for the older ships had been poorly
insulated. Jane beat her hand together to keep the circulation flowing.
The air speed indicator hovered around the 90 mile an hour mark. At
that rate it would take them nearly two hours to make the trip. The
ground disappeared in the drifting haze of snow and Jane knew the pilot
was flying blind. She was glad that Slim was rated one of the best
flyers on the system, for he would have need of every ounce of the
skill in his capable hands.

For an hour they bored through the storm. Then the middle motor started
to sputter and the light flashed three times. They unfastened their
safety belts and stood in the aisle.

"I'm going ahead to see what's wrong," said Miss Comstock.

She hurried forward and Jane listened intently to the uneven firing of
the motor.

When Miss Comstock returned Jane could see that the chief stewardess
was worried.

"Slim says the motor seems to be freezing up. It's only a question of
time before it will quit altogether."

"Does that mean we'll have to try for a landing?" asked Jane.

"He thinks he can keep going on the wing motors. He's going to try but
he said to be ready to jump i