Island in the Sky Page #6

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Time and gasoline's a-wasting.

470 gallons left.

That leaves us about a half hour.

- You see something?

- Yeah, way over there, to the northeast.

- It could be.

- We'll have a look at it.

I could have sworn...

but it was just a little island

with another tree on it.

A new bearing, 170 degrees.

Okay.

They're working around in a big circle

coming in the back way.

- Getting any louder?

- Yeah, lots.

- They're knocking my ears off.

- Thank God.

I am, plenty.

- Dooley.

- Wait a minute.

- Dooley.

- What's the matter?

We've had it.

- Nothing more at all?

- Maybe once more.

That'll really be it.

Tell them to listen on 500 kilocycles.

- The emergency set, that coffee grinder.

- I'll try.

Better put on your gloves, boy.

Get going on that coffee grinder! Hit it hard.

Hey, Joe.

All we can get is bum music on 500.

We couldn't hear Dooley's emergency set

if he did crank it.

It's that big station in Montreal.

It's spilling over.

Nothing we can do about it.

We must be practically sitting on top of him.

We've got to be.

Maybe when the sun goes down

we'll be able to see better.

When the sun goes down it'll be too late.

We're gonna have trouble getting back

to Presque Isle as it is.

Is this doing any good?

Are you sure they're listening

on this frequency?

I don't know.

I tried to tell them,

but it was the last of our batteries.

- They didn't acknowledge.

- Wouldn't they acknowledge ordinarily?

Yeah, they would. Just keep cranking...

and praying.

They're coming, boys.

Boys, they're coming!

Willie, McMullen, Stutzie!

They didn't even turn once.

They didn't even see the smoke.

They were coming right over us.

They didn't see us!

I guess we're awful hard to see down here.

Harder than we thought.

Awful hard.

I'm sorry to call you men here

directly from your ships...

I know you're very tired.

But we've got to decide

our next step tonight...

then you can all hit the sack.

Willie, I believe

yours was the first ship to contact Dooley.

What time was that

and what was your position?

It was around 3:
00.

We were an hour north of the mountains.

That would put you approximately...

180 miles north of the mountains, then?

Your guess is as good as mine.

The compass just won't stand still

in that country.

We had the same trouble.

But your radio operators

heard Dooley answer the first time?

Mine did the first time...

but from then on you couldn't hear

with that Montreal station...

- knocking everything off the air.

- Can't you shut that station up?

It'll be shut up.

You covered a certain area anyway,

which we can possibly eliminate because...

if Dooley had been there,

one of you would have seen him.

I'm not so sure.

Colonel, I hate to say this,

I hate to even admit it.

Although, I'm pretty sure

the others feel the same way about it.

Maybe I shouldn't even talk at all because...

we were the only ship who never heard

a word out of Dooley one way or the other.

But I just would like to say that

for the first time since I started flying...

which was a long time ago...

I don't know where I've been.

Didn't you keep track of your courses?

What about your dead reckoning?

Colonel, I'm laughing.

Anybody that can hold an accurate course

in that country up there is a genius...

and he's getting considerable help

from God, to boot.

What do you suggest, then?

We've got to do something.

Go up there at night, strictly on the stars.

Plot one fix right after another...

keep some idea where we are, all the time.

Plan to arrive over the area

just before dawn.

If Dooley hears our engines

he'll shoot up a flare and we'll see it.

But why can't you see him better

in the daytime?

That country all looks alike...

which is probably what Dooley didn't realize

when he said he was on a lake.

There's 10 billion of them.

You gotta remember, Colonel,

Dooley is trying to think with a frozen brain.

It's close to 70 below up there...

and at this point of the game

he's probably not acting very logically.

I don't know where Dooley is...

but my guess is that

we passed very close to him...

about 10 minutes

after he sent the last bearing.

- How close?

- I haven't any idea.

We asked him to build a fire.

- And you didn't see any smoke?

- No.

If there was any smoke...

anywhere below you or on the horizon...

- isn't it likely you would've seen it?

- Normally...

but there's a lot of geography up there

to look at.

We were pretty high.

It might be better to fly lower.

- Stannish, did you see anything?

- No.

How about you, J. H?

We thought we saw him, we left the others,

but it turned out to be a wild goose chase.

We've got to narrow this down somehow.

Do you think you could've seen him,

if you had been very close?

- Say, within 10 or 15 miles of the ship?

- I wouldn't like to say.

Give me an opinion, anyway.

It sure seems out of the question

that we wouldn't have seen a fire.

Our combined visibility

was 100 miles in all directions.

You're not answering my question.

Do you think you could have seen him

had you been very close...

say, within 10 or 15 miles of the ship?

I'm sorry,

I think one of us would have seen him.

That leaves us with a very tough choice.

We can either go back to the same area,

and search more carefully...

on the theory

that you may have missed him...

or try an entirely new area.

Fuller.

When will it hit the search area?

I see.

And the route up?

Very good.

There's a new low pressure system

forming over Hudson Bay.

It'll hit Dooley in about 36 hours.

That's swell.

It's liable to last for days.

Well...

which is it?

All right, I can understand how you feel.

I'm inclined to believe you would

have seen him if you had been very close.

So it seems logical to strike that

particular area off the books and try...

searching along the same course,

only further east...

say, about 50 or 100 miles.

Anyone violently opposed?

Stutz's idea of going up on the stars

has a lot of merit, so let's try it.

We'll use every ship...

so you can spread out wide,

tomorrow night.

You'll have a good rest by then.

Because of the weather,

you'll be cutting things pretty fine...

I need hardly point out to you

that if we're so unfortunate...

as to miss him this time...

it's likely to be a little rough on Dooley.

- He's been up there six days, you know.

- Yeah...

and he's getting hungry.

Hey, Stutz...

you're supposed to call operator 52

in New York.

- They've been trying to get you all night.

- Okay.

Come on, Sunny, you're not through yet.

Honey, will you get me operator 52

in New York?

Yeah.

This is probably one of your dolls.

52, you got a call for a Capt. Stutz? Yeah.

Probably wants me to get you to marry her.

- Whatever's customary.

- Yes, speaking.

Yeah, your husband is Dooley's navigator.

No, we haven't.

We ought to find him tomorrow night.

Yeah, sure, I mean it.

We got some bearings on him today.

I mean yesterday.

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