somewhere.'
'That's the chap,' said Mr Sanderson. 'He's chief storekeeper to Albatross Airways. I used to work for Albatross before I got into the Corporation. He thinks a lot of you.'
' Nice of you to say that,' muttered Keith.
'Well,' said the navigator, 'the point is this. Albatross have a job coming up to fly a generator rotor to a ship that's stuck at Honolulu, the Cathay Princess, 15,000 tons. She's a tanker, I believe. She can't move till she gets this rotor, and she's costing the owners God knows how much a day. They've got to make a new one up in Lancashire, and Albatross are flying it to Honolulu one day next week. They're sending it in one of their DC6b freighters, but it won't be a full load. It struck me that it might be possible to wangle you a ride.'
Keith was startled. 'To Honolulu?'
'Yes.' Distances meant nothing to the navigator; one day he would be in Singapore and the next in Sydney. The world to him was a succession of indifferent hotels united by long, dreary stretches of cloud.
'How far would that be from Tahiti?'
'About 2,500 sea miles. It's not very close, but it's a good deal closer than you are now.'
'Can one get from Honolulu to Tahiti?'
'Ah, now,' said the navigator, 'that may be the snag. I can tell you this much — there's no airline. You'd think there must be some sort of shipping line, but, honestly, I just don't know. It could be that you'd have to find out that in Honolulu. Mr Thorn told me that the aircraft would go straight through by way of Frobisher and Vancouver, and that it would load the generator rotor at Speke. Well, Speke to Honolulu must be close on thirty hours, so the crew would want at least forty-eight hours rest before starting home. There should be plenty of time in Honolulu for you to find out about sea passages to Tahiti. If there Aren't any, then you could tome home again with Albatross. The machine's got to come back empty, as I understand it.'
'You don't think they'd want any money?' asked Keith, still a little dazed.
'You'd have to talk to Oliver Thorn,' said Mr Sanderson. 'There may be some accountant in Albatross who'd cut up rough, but I don't see why there should be. After all, if a journalist wanted to go and write up the trip and Albatross Airways, they'd take him fast enough. You're a journalist, aren't you?'
' I suppose so,' said Keith uncertainly.
'Well, there you are!' They talked a little more, and Mr Sanderson gave Keith the address and telephone number of Mr Thorn, and rang off.
Keith Stewart hung up, and went down to his workshop to sit down at his desk. He had Janice's school atlas there, and he traced the route as far as he was able. Speke -he did not know where that was, nor had he heard of it before; it would be somewhere in the North because the generator rotor was being made in Lancashire. Somewhat to his surprise he found Frobisher Bay without difficulty, but it was in Baffin Land, up farther north than Hudson Bay. Then to Vancouver; he knew where that was. And then to Honolulu, girls in grass skirts and not much else. He knew about Great Circle courses, and though he had not got a globe he could visualize this as the shortest route. Besides, when Jo had been speaking to Katie about Janice's journey, she had mentioned that the aeroplane went near to the North Pole.
He had never been out of England. It was incredible that he should even be contemplating such a journey, with all its expense, all its uncertainties. He would have to have a passport, and he had no notion how to set about getting such a thing. Still, he knew that the bank manager would tell him. He would have to have money, quite a lot of money, for if he succeeded in getting to Tahiti from Sthat would cost a lot. Then he would have to .fere back to England. That might perhaps be possible if he were to find the diamonds. But if he didn't, then he would be stranded out there, in this outlandish place, Papeete.
He thought perhaps that he could raise about a hundred pounds
'That's the chap,' said Mr Sanderson. 'He's chief storekeeper to Albatross Airways. I used to work for Albatross before I got into the Corporation. He thinks a lot of you.'
' Nice of you to say that,' muttered Keith.
'Well,' said the navigator, 'the point is this. Albatross have a job coming up to fly a generator rotor to a ship that's stuck at Honolulu, the Cathay Princess, 15,000 tons. She's a tanker, I believe. She can't move till she gets this rotor, and she's costing the owners God knows how much a day. They've got to make a new one up in Lancashire, and Albatross are flying it to Honolulu one day next week. They're sending it in one of their DC6b freighters, but it won't be a full load. It struck me that it might be possible to wangle you a ride.'
Keith was startled. 'To Honolulu?'
'Yes.' Distances meant nothing to the navigator; one day he would be in Singapore and the next in Sydney. The world to him was a succession of indifferent hotels united by long, dreary stretches of cloud.
'How far would that be from Tahiti?'
'About 2,500 sea miles. It's not very close, but it's a good deal closer than you are now.'
'Can one get from Honolulu to Tahiti?'
'Ah, now,' said the navigator, 'that may be the snag. I can tell you this much — there's no airline. You'd think there must be some sort of shipping line, but, honestly, I just don't know. It could be that you'd have to find out that in Honolulu. Mr Thorn told me that the aircraft would go straight through by way of Frobisher and Vancouver, and that it would load the generator rotor at Speke. Well, Speke to Honolulu must be close on thirty hours, so the crew would want at least forty-eight hours rest before starting home. There should be plenty of time in Honolulu for you to find out about sea passages to Tahiti. If there Aren't any, then you could tome home again with Albatross. The machine's got to come back empty, as I understand it.'
'You don't think they'd want any money?' asked Keith, still a little dazed.
'You'd have to talk to Oliver Thorn,' said Mr Sanderson. 'There may be some accountant in Albatross who'd cut up rough, but I don't see why there should be. After all, if a journalist wanted to go and write up the trip and Albatross Airways, they'd take him fast enough. You're a journalist, aren't you?'
' I suppose so,' said Keith uncertainly.
'Well, there you are!' They talked a little more, and Mr Sanderson gave Keith the address and telephone number of Mr Thorn, and rang off.
Keith Stewart hung up, and went down to his workshop to sit down at his desk. He had Janice's school atlas there, and he traced the route as far as he was able. Speke -he did not know where that was, nor had he heard of it before; it would be somewhere in the North because the generator rotor was being made in Lancashire. Somewhat to his surprise he found Frobisher Bay without difficulty, but it was in Baffin Land, up farther north than Hudson Bay. Then to Vancouver; he knew where that was. And then to Honolulu, girls in grass skirts and not much else. He knew about Great Circle courses, and though he had not got a globe he could visualize this as the shortest route. Besides, when Jo had been speaking to Katie about Janice's journey, she had mentioned that the aeroplane went near to the North Pole.
He had never been out of England. It was incredible that he should even be contemplating such a journey, with all its expense, all its uncertainties. He would have to have a passport, and he had no notion how to set about getting such a thing. Still, he knew that the bank manager would tell him. He would have to have money, quite a lot of money, for if he succeeded in getting to Tahiti from Sthat would cost a lot. Then he would have to .fere back to England. That might perhaps be possible if he were to find the diamonds. But if he didn't, then he would be stranded out there, in this outlandish place, Papeete.
He thought perhaps that he could raise about a hundred pounds
Similar Books
