AFRICA FLIGHT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23117, 16 August 1938, Page 17

AFRICA FLIGHT

SYNOPSIS The Hon. Antony Sothorn, privato secretary to Professor Hubert Manson, celebrated arc.haoologist, accompanies Carol Manson, the professor's nieco, to ileiidon. Carol is 1 sj, and there is an understanding between them, but no formal engagement. She wants to seo Rupert Larrimore, famous airman. Two aeroplanes touch slightly in mid-air, and 0110 crashes, a blazing wreck. The other lands near by, and Carol, who has never met Larrimore, recognises him from portraits in newspapers. Sothern says that the airman seemed to look as if he wished ho and not, the other had crashed. Larrimore is dismissed the service. Sir George Manson, chairman of Associated Airways, sends for him and offers him a position as pilot of a new aeroplano, "Star of the East," to fly from Timbuctoo to Tokio, crossing the Sahara en route. Larrimore accepts just as Professor Hubert Manson walked in. CHAPTER lIT. —(Continued) Sir George's brother was a man of perhaps fifty, excessively tall, inclining to baldness, round-shouldered and spectacled. Ho peered absently about him, as if not very sure of why be had come. "I'm sorry if I'm late George," he said apologetically, "but Janet refused to let me come out in odd socks. She's fussy about the most curious things." Sir George nodded, introduced Larrimore abruptly, and began to unroll a map which he took from one of the drawers of his desk. The Professor gave a hand to Larrimore, and looked at him with inoffensively naive curiosity. "Larrimore," he repeated, and scratched his jaw. "I seem to know the name. Havo I met you before?" "Possibly in print," retorted Larrimore sardonically. "Ah yes," said Hubert Manson. "I think I recall an article in the British Medical Journal." "Hardly that," grinned Larrimore. "But I'm delighted to meet you." Sir George looked at the quaintly assorted pair, and all at once became oppressively the practical man of affairs. "Suppose wo get down to brass tacks," said he. "I just want to <iot the general scheme settled, and then hand over to you. I understand ' The Star of "the Kast ' will be ready for her trials in about ten days. By the way, I hope you like the name?" "It'll .look pretty on the headlines," said Larrimore. "But if you're not coming, Sir George, who is to be the Third Wise Man?" Sir George did not rise to the pleasantry. "What trials will you need?" he asked brusquely. "Will you bo ready to leave for Africa in three weeks?" 1 "Surely—if the machine isn't a dud." "My company doesn't make dud machines —can't afford that sort of luxury." "I'd like," said Larrimore. "to know i the composition of the party." "My brother Hubert here. His wife. ( His secretary, Antony Sothern. His servant. One of our pilots for your relief."

Larrimore turned to the Professor. "May I know your reason for making the trip?" he asked. Hubert Mansbn smiled vaguely. "I want to take photographs from the air of Sahara caravan routes," he said. "And for that your wife's presence is essential?" The Professor looked puzzled for a moment, then he smiled again. "I'm afraid it is, Mr. Larrimore. You know I find it hard to do anything at all without her The study of science is apt to make one a trifle oblivious of the minor details of living." "Then why take a secretary?" "My dear Larrimore," Sir George interrupted impatiently, "My sister-in-law wants to make this trip, and when she wants anything it saves a great d''al of trouble all round to let her do it." "I just wanted to know." Larrimore

picked up the map, and jerked an expressive finger across the expanse of the Sahara. "You realise of course that there is a considerable risk involved?" "Risk?" repeated Hubert. "You mean—we might come to grief?" "We might crash," said Larrimore deliberately, "or we might come down in the middle of the desert." "Oh quite. But that would only increase the interest from my point of view. There are considerable tracts of the Sahara which still remain completely unexplored." To which Larrimore could only reply with a helpless shrug of the shoulders. .None of his own lunacies had wen as wild as this. . . And suddenly he had what he described not long after as "a rush of conimonseuse to the head." His atti-

i tude of not caring a hoot what might | happen to him was in part perfectly 'genuine. But it was also partly an effective pose, as Hit pert Larrimore in his heart knew perfectly well. And there was a basic professional honesty in Larrimore which prevented lii'ii from sacrificing a job of work on the altar of his own vanity. With a great effort he pulled himself together. "One other thing Sir George," he said. "Who is to run this expedition?" Sir George looked a trifle uncomfortable," and exchanged glances with Hubert Manson. "I suppose my brother —" he began, a little lamely. "No!" said Larrimore decisively. "I want this perfectly clear. I think the notion of the flight is mad, the motive a despicable form of advertising, and the personnel of the expedition grotesque. But I'll take it on—and bring it off —so long as it's clearly understood that 1 run the show. And that's final!" Sir George frowned. Hubert Manson blinked amiably. "I think 1 should prefer the arrangement .viggesled by Mr. Larrimore," said the latter. "You ! wouldn't object to niy taking photographs from the 'plane, Mr. Larrimore ?" "Bring a battery of film-cameras, if you like, Professor!" There was a knock at the door, and Miss Wright put her head round it's corner. "J'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir George, but your daughter is here—" She was given no opportunity to complete the sentence by Carol Manson, who pushed past the secretary, walked straight up to her father, kissed him. and sat down on the corner of his big desk, swinging a pair of extremely pretty legs, and powdering her nose without the slightest suspicion of selfconsciousness. For the moment nobody spoke. Hubert Manson patted his niece's shoulder. Sir George looked disapproving. and Larrimore merely irritated. "Well,'' said Carol, "you all look very solemn. Am I in the way?" Larrimore ignored her absolutely. "I think, Sir George, that if you'll give me a preliminary cheque, I'll bo on my way. I've a good deal to do in not very much time." Sir George scribbled the cheque. As ho handed it to Larrimore, Carol put

(COPYRIGHT)

By VAL GIELGUD Author of " Announcer's Holiday," " Beyond Dover," etc.

A >tory of high courage and adventure with a golden thread of love in its fabric.

CHAPTER IV. "even if you weke plainer" "I don't think you've mot my daughter Carol before, Larrimore," said Sir George. Ho spoke abstractedly, being apparently altogether engaged in screwing up the cap of his fountain-pen. He, certainly did not notice the singular likeness to his own first meeting with .Rupert Larrimore in the way in which his daughter now, faced the airman's sardonic eyes. As for Carol herself, she was profoundly careless of the presence of her father and her uncle. She jumped off the desk, went close up to Larrimore and held out her hand. "Would'you mind," she began a little breathlessly, "if I told you that I thought you'd had rotten bad luck?" "Thank you," said Larrimore, "though, as a matter of fact, it was all perfectly fair." Saying which he was amazed at his own civility. He had known a little of Carol Manson by repute, and had not liked that little. He had resented acutely the blatant way in which she had thrust herself into her father's office for the sake of an introduction to himself. And together with the report of his own court martial he had read a story iii a morning paper which had not tended to improve his opinion of the girl. ... '

And yet —though quite determined to be rude to her —he had accepted her sympathy, and taken her hand. Was he going soft? He looked at her again, uneasily, and found her eyes fixed unwinkingly upon his. And in that instant, he knew that unmistakable sensation, partly a physical shock, partly an overmastering mental conviction, that "he had bought it." And, oddly enough, Rupert Larrimore had never bought it before. Women had made a- fuss of him, cheered him, even made love to him. The sheer cnssedness'which was such a large part of his make-up had driven him to live almost like an anchorite. And now this slim-flanked girl, with the clear, rather scornful grey eyes and lair hair, had taken his heart from him with a single glance and in the face of most of his pet prejudices! He swore soundlessly to himself, and found that he was thanking Sir George for his oheque at needless length. "You'll let me know where the trials of the machine are to bo held?" he concluded lamely. Sir George stooped to thrust his cheque-book back into the drawer. "Hendon. I expect," he answered, without looking up.-" There was.a tiny, breathless silence. "Hendon!" gasped Carol suddenly. "Daddy! You can't mean Mr. Larrimore to fly at Hendon —" "Why not, Miss Manson?" interrupted Larrimore curtly. He made a little bow and walked out quickly. Carol turned on her father "Daddy, didn't you remember that his crash was at Hendon?" she demanded accusingly. "I wish that you'd mind your own business, Carol." "Which is a nice morning greeting to your only daughter!" "You knew 1 was busy this morning. I've told you dozens of times 1 don't want you in the office. Can't you use the telephone?" Carol grinned mischievously. "You wouldn't have liked me to ring up Mr. Larrimore without an introduction. surely, Daddy?" "What on earth are you talking about ?"

J "If i must put it into words of one I syllable, Daddy dear, I wanted to meet Mr. Larrimore." . Hubert Hanson inquired why in his gentle, weary voice. "The man's something of a celebrity, my dear Hubert," said Sir George irritably. "Don't you ever read the newspapers?" "Oh, I see," murmured the professor. "For a moment I thought you meant that he'd done something really worth doing." Carol flared up. "1 think the first solo flight across the South Pacific was extremely worth doing," she said indignantly. "Worth doing!" snapped Sir George. "I don't know what you two are talking about. It gives his name value from the point of' view of Associated Airways. That's important. It's also a fact that if he could get across from Valparaiso to Sydney, he's likely to be able to get from Timbuctoo to Tokio." It was clear that Sir George meant to close the discussion summarily, but the professor had his own share of his family's stubbornness. "George, tell me," he said. "Is this expedition just one of /your stunts, or are you genuinely keen to do science—and mo —a good turn?" Sir George's thick . neck flushed. Carol answered for him:

"If you really want t-o know, uncle, it's a little bit of both." "In that case," began Hubert, "I'm not at all sure —" Of what was to be left to the imagination, for the professor's wife chose that moment to leave a discussion she had been having with Cynthia Wright anent women in politics, and enter the office. Janet Manson at forty-seven preserved the relics of extremely good looks, though her clothes were drab, and her complexion as nature had left it. She stood in the doorway, looking at the little group by the desk with a shrewd comprehensive gaze, embracing Hubert affectionately, her niece suspiciously, and Sir George with a mixture of admiration and contempt. "Are you discussing the flight?" she asked. "You should have waited for me. You knew I was coming. How are you, Carol? 1 haven't seen you for some time."

I Sir George explained, with u certain ponderous sarcasm, that Hubert seemed to be objecting to the stunt aspect of ,thc scheme. ''-Rubbish,'' said Janet Manson decisively. "Why not combine his business with your pleasure?" "Hear hear I" i'rom Carol. "Thank you, Carol. Don't you think it's about time you started combining business with pleasuro too? And found something to do?" Carol lighted a cigarette. "I think I've done rather a lot for my age, Aunt Janet." "Oh do you? Because vou'vo 'been everywhere, mot everybody' and done a couple of London seasons? But I forgot—you have done one other thing. 1 see that the Mercury has given you a front pagejhnlf-column this morning." And she laid a folded newspaper on her brother-in-law's desk. Carol wriggled with exasperation, but said nothing. Sir George banged his fist down on the paper. "'l've told you before, Carol, that I will not have you mixed up in vulgar affairs of this kind!" he said

angrily. "0 don't be silly, Dnddv," retorted the girl. "It was a perfectly harmless sort of party. Jerry and his crowd couldn't do anything wrong if they tried. They haven't the brains or the nerve 1 I'm sorry about the headline, but it doesn't really do me any harm you know." (To bo continued dally.)

her powder-compact in her bag, and looked up. "I think, Daddy," she said, "that I should rather like to be introduced."