SPENCER TRIED to ease his aching legs. His whole body felt pummeled and bruised. In his anxiety and the effort of concentration he had expended almost unnecessary energy, leaving him, the moment he relaxed, utterly drained of strength. He was conscious of his hands trembling and made no attempt to check them. As he watched the unceasing movement of the instruments, a fleck of light rose constantly in front of his eyes, slowly falling again like a twist of cotton. All the time that interior voice, now every bit as real to him and as independent as the one in his earphones, kept up its insistent monologue, telling him: Whatever you do, don’t let go. If you let go, you’re finished. Remember, it was like this many a time in the war. You thought you’d reached the end then — completely bushed, with not another ounce left in you. But every time there was something left in the bag — one last reserve you never knew you had.
He looked across to Janet, willing himself to speak. “How did we make out that time?” he asked her. He knew he was very near to collapse.
She seemed to sense the purpose of his question. “We did pretty well,” she said brightly. “Anyway, I thought Captain Treleaven sounded pleased, didn’t you?”
“Hardly heard him,” he said, turning his head from side to side to relieve the muscles in his neck. “I just hope that’s the lot. How many times have we done the flap and wheel routine now — is it three? If he asks us to do it once more, I’ll…” Steady on, he admonished himself. Don’t let her see what a state you’re in. She had leaned over to him and wiped his face and forehead with a handkerchief. Come on now, get a grip. This is only nervous reaction — blue funk, if you like. Think of Treleaven: what a spot he’s in. He’s safe on the ground, sure enough, but suppose he forgot something —
“Have you noticed, the sun’s coming up,” said Janet.
“Why sure,” he lied, lifting his eyes. Even ahead to the west the carpet of cloud was tinged with pink and gold, and there too the vast canopy of sky had perceptibly lightened. To the south, on the port beam, he could see two mountain tops, isolated like islands in a tumbling ocean of cotton wool. “We won’t be long now.” He paused.
“Janet.”
“Yes?”
“Before we go down, have a last — I mean, another look at the pilots. We’ll probably bump a bit — you know — and we don’t want them thrown about.”
Janet flashed a grateful smile at him.
“Can you hold on there for a moment?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll yell quick enough.”
She slipped off her headset and rose from her seat. As she turned to get out, the door to the passenger deck opened and Baird looked in.
“Oh — you’re off the radio,” he observed.
“I was just going to have a look at the captain and copilot, to make sure they’re secure.”
“No need to,” he told her. “I did it a few minutes ago, when you were busy.”
“Doctor,” called Spencer, “how are things with you back there?”
“That’s why I looked in,” said Baird tersely. “We’re running out of time — but fast.”
“Is there any kind of help that we can get you on the radio?”
“I’d liked to have had a diagnostic check with a doctor down there, but I guess it’s more important to hold the air open for flying the machine. How long is it likely to be now?”
“Well under the half hour, I’d say. How does that sound?”
“I don’t know,” Baird said doubtfully. He held on to the back of Spencer’s seat, weariness apparent in every inch of his posture. He was in shirt sleeves, his tie discarded. “There are two patients in a state of complete prostration,” he went on. “How much longer they can last without treatment, I can’t say. But not long, that’s for sure. And there are several others who’ll soon be just as bad, unless I’m very wrong.”
Spencer grimaced. “Is anyone giving you a hand?”
“You bet — couldn’t possibly manage, otherwise. One feller in particular — that English character — he’s really turned out a—”
The earphones came to life. “Hullo, 714. This is Vancouver. Over.”
Spencer waved Janet back into her seat and she hurriedly donned her headset. “Well, I’ll get back,” said Baird. “Good luck, anyway.”
“Wait a minute,” said Spencer, nodding to the girl.
“714 here,” Janet acknowledged into her microphone. “We’ll be with you in a moment.”
“Doctor,” said Spencer, speaking quickly, “I don’t have to fool you. This may be rough. Just about anything in the book is liable to happen.” The doctor said nothing. “You know what I mean. They may get a bit jumpy back there. See that they’re kept in their seats, huh?”
Baird seemed to be turning words over in his mind. Then he replied in a gruff tone, “Do the best you can and leave me to take care of the rest.” He thumped the young man lightly on the shoulder and made his way aft.
“Okay,” said Spencer to the girl.
“Go ahead, Vancouver,” she called.
“Hullo, 714,” responded the clear, confident voice of Treleaven. “Now that you’ve had a breather since that last run-through, George, we’d better press on again. You should be receiving me well now. Will you check, please? Over.”
“Tell him I’ve been having a few minutes with my feet up,” said Spencer. “And tell him he’s coming in about strength niner.” Strength niner, he thought You really dug that one up.
“… a short rest,” Janet was saying, “and we hear you strength niner.”
“That’s the way, George. Our flying practice has slowed you down a bit, though that’s all to the good as it will be getting light when you come in. You are now in the holding position and ready to start losing height. First I want to speak to Janet. Are you listening, Janet?”
“Hullo, Vancouver. Yes, I hear you.”
“Janet, when we make this landing we want you to follow the emergency crash procedures for protection of passengers. Do you understand? Over.”
“I understand, Captain. Over.”
“One more thing, Janet. Just before the landing we will ask the pilot to sound the emergency bell. And, George — the switch for that bell is right over the copilot’s seat and it’s painted red.”
“Can you see it?” asked Spencer without looking up.
“Yes,” said Janet, “it’s here.”
“All right. Remember it.”
“Janet,” continued Treleaven, “that will be your warning for final precautions, because I want you to be back then with the passengers.”
“Tell him no,” Spencer cut in. “I must have you up front.”
“Hullo, Vancouver,” said Janet. “I understand your instructions, but the pilot needs me to help him. Over.”
There was a long pause. Then, “All right, 714,” Treleaven answered. “I appreciate the position. But it is your duty, Janet, to see that all emergency crash precautions are taken before we can think about landing. Is there anyone you can explain and delegate this to?”
“What about the doctor?” suggested Spencer.
Janet shook her head. “He’s got enough on his plate,” she said.
“Well, he’ll have a bit more,” he snapped. “I’ve got to have you here if we’re to stand any chance of getting down.”
She hesitated, then pressed the stud to transmit. “Hullo, Vancouver. Dr. Baird will in any case have to keep a watch on the sick passengers as we land. I think he’s the best person to carry out the emergency drill. There’s another man who can help him. Over.”
“Hullo, Janet. Very well. Detach yourself now and explain the procedure very carefully to the doctor. There must be no possibility of error. Let me know when you’re through.” Janet laid aside her headset and climbed out of her seat. “Now George,” Treleaven went on, “watch that you keep to your present course: I’ll give you any corrections as necessary. Right now, as you approach the airport, I’ll give you a cockpit check of the really essential things. I want you to familiarize yourself with them as we go along. Some of them you’ll remember from your old flying days. Be certain you know where they are. If you’re in any doubt this is the time to say so. We’ll have as many dummy runs as you like but when you do finally come in the procedure must be carried out properly and completely. We’ll start on the first check directly Janet gets back on the air.”
In the control room at Vancouver, Treleaven took a dead cigarette from his mouth and tossed it away. He looked up at the electric wall clock and back at the controller. “How much gas have they got?” he demanded.
Grimsell picked up the clipboard from the table. “In flying time, enough for about ninety minutes,” he said.
“What’s the angle, Captain?” asked Burdick. “You figure there’s plenty of time for circuits and approaches, don’t you?”
“There’s got to be,” said Treleaven. “This is a first-flight solo. But keep a strict check on it, will you, Mr. Grimsell? We must have plenty in hand for a long run-in over the ocean, if I decide as a last measure to ditch.”
“Mr. Burdick,” hailed the switchboard operator, “your president is on the line.”
Burdick swore. “At this time, he has to get back! Tell him I can’t speak to him now. Put him through to the Maple Leaf office. Wait a minute. Put me on to the office first.” He picked up a telephone and waited impatiently. “Is that you, Dave? Harry. Surprise for you — the Old Man is on the line. Hold him off as best you can. Tell him 714 is in holding position and his prayers are as good as ours. I’ll ring him directly the — directly I have something to tell him. Then I suppose he’ll jump a plane here. Right, boy.”
The assistant to the controller, his hand cupped over a telephone, was saying to his chief, “It’s Howard. He says the press are—”
“I’ll take it.” The controller seized the telephone. “Listen, Cliff. We’re accepting no more non-operational calls. Things are far too critical now…. Yes, I know. If they’ve got eyes, they’ll see for themselves.” He replaced the receiver with a bang.
“I’d say that boy was doing a pretty good job,” grunted Burdick.
“He is, too,” agreed the controller. “And those newspapermen wouldn’t be doing their job by keeping quiet. But we can’t be distracted now.”
Treleaven stood by the radio panel, his fingers drumming absently, his eyes fixed on the clock. Outside the airport, in the first light of dawn, the emergency measures were in full swing. At a hospital a nurse hung up her telephone and spoke to a doctor working at an adjacent table. She handed him his coat, reaching also for her own. They hurried out and a few minutes later the overhead door to the vehicle bay of the hospital slid up, emitting first one ambulance and then another.
In a city fire hall one of the few crews to be held to the last minute on reserve slapped down their cards and raced for the door at the sound of the bell, snatching up their clothing equipment on the way. The last man out skidded back to the table and lifted up the cards of one of his opponents. He raised an eyebrow, then dived after his colleagues.
At the little group of houses near Sea Island Bridge, which lay in direct line with the airfield, police were shepherding families into two buses, most of the people with street clothes thrown hastily over their night attire. A small girl, staring intently at the sky, tripped over her pajamas. She was picked up instantly by a policeman and deposited in a bus. He waved to the driver to get started.
“Hullo, Vancouver,” called Janet, a little breathlessly. “I’ve given the necessary instructions. Over.”
“Good girl,” said Treleaven with relief. “Now, George,” he went on quickly, “the clock is running a little against us. First, reset your altimeter to 30.1. Then throttle back slightly, but hold your air speed steady until you’re losing height at 500 feet per minute. Watch your instruments closely. You’ll have a long descent through cloud.”
Spencer spread his fingers round the throttles and gently moved them back. The climb-and-descent indicator fell slowly and a little unevenly to 600, then rose again to remain fairly steady at 500.
“Here comes the cloud,” he said, as the gleams of daylight were abruptly blotted out. “Ask him how high the cloud base is below.”
Janet repeated the question.
“Ceiling is around 2,000 feet,” said Treleaven, “and you should break out of cloud about fifteen miles from the airport.”
“Tell him we’re holding steady at 500 feet a minute,” instructed Spencer.
Janet did so.
“Right, 714. Now, George, this is a little more tricky. Don’t break your concentration. Keep a constant check on that descent indicator. But at the same time, if you can, I want you to pinpoint the controls in a first run-through of landing procedure. Think you can manage that?”
Spencer did not trouble to answer. His eyes rooted on the instrument panel, he just set his lips and nodded expressively.
“Yes, Vancouver,” said Janet. “We’ll try.”
“Okay, then. If anything gets out of hand, tell me immediately.” Treleaven shook off a hand someone had laid on his arm to interrupt him. His eyes were screwed up tightly as he looked again at the blank spot on the wall, visualizing there the cockpit of the aircraft. “George, this is what you will do as you come in. First, switch the hydraulic booster pump on. Remember, just fix these things in your mind — don’t do anything now. The gauge is on the extreme left of the panel, under and to the left of the gyro control. Got it? Over.”
He heard Janet’s voice reply, “The pilot knows that one, Vancouver, and has located the switch,”
“Right, 714. Surprising how it comes back, isn’t it, George?” Treleaven pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the back of his neck. “Next you’ll have to turn off the de-icer control. That’s bound to be on and will show on the gauge on the right of the panel, just in front of Janet. The flow control is next to it. That one’s easy, but the control must be off before you land. Watching the descent indicator, George? Next item, brake pressure. There are two gauges, one for the inboard brake and one for the outboard. They’re immediately to the right of the hydraulic boost which you’ve just found. Over.”
After a pause, Janet confirmed, “Found them, Vancouver. They’re showing 950 and — er — 1,010 pounds — is it per square inch? — each.”
“Then they’re okay, but they must be checked again before landing. Now, the gills. They must be one-third closed. The switch is right by Janet’s left knee and you’ll see it’s marked in thirds. Are you with me? Over.”
“Yes, I see it, Vancouver. Over.”
“You can work that one, Janet. Next to it, on the same bank of switches, are the port and starboard intercooler switches. They’re clearly marked. They will have to be opened fully. Make sure of that, Janet, won’t you? Open fully. The next and most important thing is the landing gear. You’ve been through the drill, but go over it thoroughly in your mind first, starting with the flap movement and ending with the wheels fully down and locked. Full flap should be put on when the plane is very near touch-down and you’re sure you’re going to come in. I shall direct you on that. Is this understood by both of you? Over.”
“Tell him yes, thanks,” said Spencer, his eyes not leaving the panel. His shoulder had begun to itch abominably, but he blanked his mind to the irritation.
“Okay, 714. When you’re on the approach, and after the wheels are down, the fuel booster pumps must be turned on. Otherwise your supply of gas might be cut off at the worst moment. The switch for these is at five o’clock from the autopilot, just behind the mixture controls.”
Janet scanned the panel in a daze. “Where?” she almost whispered to Spencer. He peered at the board and located the switch. “There.” His finger stabbed at the little switch, above the grooved bank that held the throttle levers.
“All right, Vancouver,” she said weakly.
“Now the mixture is to be changed to auto rich. I know George has been itching for that, so I won’t say any more — he’ll handle that all right. Then you have to set the propellers until the green lights under the switches come on. They’re just about touching George’s right knee, I should think. Got them?”
“Pilot says yes, Vancouver.”
“Lastly, the superchargers. After the wheels are down, these must be set in the take-off position — that is, up, on your aircraft. They are, of course, the four levers to the left of the throttles. Well, now. Any questions about all that? Over.”
Spencer looked at Janet despairingly. “It’s all one big question,” he said. “We’ll never remember it all.”
“Hullo, Vancouver,” said Janet. “We don’t think we’ll be able to remember it.”
“You don’t have to, 714. I’ll remember it for you. There are some other points, too, which we’ll deal with when we come to them. I want to go over these operations with you thoroughly, George, so that when I give the word you’ll carry out the action without too much loss of concentration. Remember, this is just a drill in flipping over switches. You still have to fly the aircraft.”
“Ask him about time,” said Spencer. “How much have we got?”
Janet put the question to Vancouver.
“As I said, George, you’ve got all the time in the world — but we just don’t want to waste any. You’ll be over the airport in about twelve minutes. Don’t let that bother you. There’ll be as much time as you like for further practice.” A pause. “Radar reports a course adjustment necessary, George. Change your heading five degrees to 260, please. Over.”
Treleaven switched off his microphone and spoke to the controller. “They’re well on the glide path now,” he said. “As soon as we’ve got visual contact, I’ll level them off and take them around for circuits and drills. We’ll see how they shape up after that.”
“Everything’s set here,” said the controller. He called to his assistant, “Put the entire field on alert.”
“Hullo, Vancouver,” came Janet’s voice over the amplifier. “We have now changed course to 260. Over.”
“Okay, 714.” Treleaven hitched up his trousers with one hand. “Let’s have a check on your height, please. Over.”
“Vancouver,” answered Janet after a few seconds, “our height is 2,500 feet.”
On his headset, Treleaven heard the radar operator report, “Fifteen miles from the field.”
“That’s fine, George,” he said. “You’ll be coming out of cloud any minute. As soon as you do, look for the airport beacon. Over.”
“Bad news,” Burdick told him. “The weather’s thickening. It’s starting to rain again.”
“Can’t help that now,” rapped Treleaven. “Get the tower,” he told the controller. “Tell them to light up — put on everything they’ve got. We’ll be going up there in a minute. I’ll want their radio on the same frequency as this. Spencer won’t have time to fool around changing channels.”
“Right!” said the controller, lifting a telephone.
“Hullo, 714,” Treleaven called. “You are now fifteen miles from the airport. Are you still in cloud, George? Over.”
A long pause followed. Suddenly the radio crackled into life, catching Janet in mid-sentence. She was saying excitedly, “… lifting very slightly. I thought I saw something. I’m not sure…. Yes, there it is! I see it! Do you see it, Mr. Spencer? It’s right ahead. We can see the beacon, Vancouver!”
“They’ve broken through!” Treleaven shouted it. “All right, George,” he called into the microphone, “level off now at 2,000 feet and wait for instructions. I’m moving to the control tower now, so you won’t hear from me for a few minutes. We’ll decide on the runway to use at the last minute, so you can land into wind. Before that you’ll make some dummy runs, to practice your landing approaches. Over.”
They heard Spencer’s voice say, “I’ll take this, Janet.” There was a broken snatch of conversation, then Spencer came on the air again, biting off his words.
“No dice, Vancouver. The situation up here doesn’t allow. We’re coming straight in.”
“What!” shouted Burdick. “He can’t!”
“Don’t be a fool, George,” said Treleaven urgently. “You’ve got to have some practice runs.”
“I’m holding my line of descent,” Spencer intoned deliberately, his voice shaking slightly. “There are people up here dying. Dying! Can you get that into your heads? I’ll stand as much chance on the first run-in as I will on the tenth. I’m coming straight in.”
“Let me talk to him,” appealed the controller.
“No,” said Treleaven, “there’s no time for argument.” His face was white. A vein in his temple pulsed. “We’ve got to act fast. I say we’ve no choice. By all the rules he’s in command of that airplane. I’m going to accept his decision.”
“You can’t do that,” Burdick protested. “Don’t you realize—”
“All right, George,” Treleaven called, “if that’s the way you want it. Stand by and level off. We’re going to the tower now. Good luck to us all. Listening out.” He ripped off his headset, flinging it down, and shouted to the others, “Let’s go.” The three men leaped out of the room and raced along the corridor, Burdick bringing up the rear. Ignoring the elevator, they bounded up the stairs, almost knocking over a janitor, coming down, and burst into the tower control room. An operator stood at the massive sweep of window, studying the lightening sky through night binoculars. “There he is!” he announced. Treleaven snatched up a second pair of glasses, took a quick look, then put them down.
“All right,” he said, panting. “Let’s make our decision on the runway.”
“Zero-eight,” said the operator. “It’s the longest and it’s pretty well into the wind.”
“Radar!” called the captain.
“Here, sir.”
Treleaven crossed to a side table on which appeared a plan of the airport under glass. He used a thick chinagraph pencil to mark the proposed course of the aircraft.
“Here’s what we do. Right now he’s about here. We’ll turn him so he begins to make a wide left-hand circuit, and at the same time bring him down to a thousand feet. I’ll start the pre-landing check here, then we’ll take him over the sea and make a slow turn around on to final. That clear?”
“Yes, Captain,” said the operator.
Treleaven took a headset that was handed to him and put in on. “Is this hooked up to the radar room?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Right here.”
The controller was reciting into a telephone-type microphone: “Tower to all emergency vehicles. Runway is two-four. Two-four. Airport tenders take positions numbers one and two. Civilian equipment number three. All ambulances to positions numbers four and five. I repeat that no vehicle will leave its position until the aircraft has passed it. Start now.”
Leaning down on the top of a control console, the captain nicked the switch of a desk microphone. At his elbow the spools of a tape recorder began to revolve.
“Hullo, George Spencer,” he called in a steady, even tone. “This is Paul Treleaven in Vancouver tower. Do you read me? Over.”
Janet’s voice filled the control room. “Yes, Captain. You are loud and clear. Over.”
Over the telephone, the calm voice of the radar operator reported, “Ten miles. Turn to a heading of 253.”
“All right, George. You are now ten miles from the airport. Turn to a heading of 253. Throttle back and begin to lose height to one thousand feet. Janet, put the preliminary landing procedure in hand for the passengers. Neither of you acknowledge any further transmissions unless you wish to ask a question.”
Removing his hands one at a time from the control column, Spencer flexed his fingers. He managed a grin at the girl beside him. “Okay, Janet, do your stuff,” he told her.
She unhooked a microphone from the cabin wall and pressed the stud, speaking into it. “Attention please, everyone. Attention please.” Her voice cracked. She gripped the microphone hard and cleared her throat. “Will you please resume your seats and fasten your safety belts. We shall be landing in a few minutes. Thank you.”
“Well done,” Spencer complimented her. “Just like any old landing, eh?”
She tried to smile back, biting her lower lip. “Well, not quite that,” she said.
“You’ve got plenty of what it takes,” said Spencer soberly. “I’d like you to know I couldn’t have held on this far without…” He broke off, gently moving the rudder and the ailerons, waiting to feel the response from the aircraft. “Janet,” he said, his eyes on the instruments, “we haven’t much more time. This is what we knew must happen sooner or later. But I want to make sure you understand why I must try to get her down — somehow — on the first shot.”
“Yes,” she said quietly, “I understand.” She had clipped her safety belt around her waist and now her hands were clenched together tightly in her lap.
“Well, I want to say thanks,” he went on, stumblingly. “I made no promises, right from the start, and I make none now. You know, if anyone does, just how lousy I am at this. But taking turns around the field won’t help. And some of the folk in the back are getting worse every minute. Better for them to… to take their chance quickly.”
“I told you,” she said. “You don’t have to explain.”
He shot a look of alarm at her, afraid in the passing of a moment that he stood exposed to her. She was watching the air-speed indicator; he could not see her face. He glanced away, back along the broad stretch of wing behind them. It was describing with infinite slowness the tiny segment of an arc, balancing on its tip the misty blue-gray outline of a hillside twinkling with road lamps. Sliding under the body of the aircraft, on the other quarter, were the distantly blazing lights of the airport. They seemed pathetically small and far away, like a child’s carelessly discarded string of red and amber beads.
He could feel his heart thumping as his body made its own emergency preparations, as if aware that what remained of its life could now be measured in minutes, even seconds. He looked critically at himself, a man apart, performing the movements to bring the aircraft back to level flight.
He heard himself say, “Here we go, then. This is it, Janet. I’m starting to lose height — now.”