'I have been within sight of the ship for a long time,' he said. 'How long, I do not know. I broke my watch back in the forest a way trying to beat a tiger up a tree. Then another one treed me just on the edge of the clearing in plain view of the ship. It seems as though I have been there a week. How long have I been gone, Dorf?'
'About seventy-two hours.'
Gridley's face brightened. 'Then there is no reason to give up hope yet for the others,' he said. 'I honestly thought I had been gone a week. I have slept several times, I never could tell how long; and then I have gone for what seemed long periods without sleep because I became very tired and excessively hungry and thirsty.'
During the return march to the ship Jason insisted upon hearing a detailed account of everything that had happened since his departure, but it was not until they had joined Zuppner and Hines that he narrated the adventures that had befallen him and his companions during their ill-fated expedition.
'The first thing I want,' he told them after he had been greeted by Zuppner and Hines, 'is a bath, and then if you will have Bob cook a couple of cows I'll give you the details of the expedition while I am eating them. A couple of handfuls of Bos Primigenus and some wild fruit have only whetted my appetite.
A half hour later, refreshed by a bath, a shave and fresh clothing, he joined them in the mess room.
As the three men seated themselves, Robert Jones entered from the galley, his black face wreathed in smiles.
'Ah'm suttinly glad to see you all, Mas' Jason,' said Robert. 'Ah knew sumpin was a-goin' to happen though—Ah knew we was a-goin' to have good luck.'
'Well, I'm glad to be back, Bob,' said Gridley, 'and I don't know of anyone that I am happier to see than you, for I sure have missed your cooking. But what made you think that we're going to have good luck?'
'Ah jes had a brief conversation with mah rabbit's foot. Dat ole boy he never fails me. We suah be out o' luck if Ah lose him.'
'Oh, I've seen lots of rabbits around, Bob,' said Zuppner. 'We can get you a bushel of them in no time.'
'Yes suh, Cap'n, but you can't get 'em in de dahk of de moon where dey ain't no dahk an' dey ain't no moon, an' othe'wise dey lacks efficiency.'
'It's a good thing, then, that we brought you along,' said Jason, 'and a mighty good thing for Pellucidar, for she never has had a really effective rabbit's foot before in all her existence. But I can see where you're going to need that rabbit's foot pretty badly yourself in about a minute, Bob.'
'How's dat, suh?' demanded Robert.
'The spirits tell me that something is going to happen to you if you don't get food onto this table in a hurry,' laughed Gridley.
'Yes suh, comin' right up,' exclaimed the black as he hastened into the galley.
As Gridley ate, he went over the adventures of the last seventy-two hours in careful detail and the three men sought to arrive at some definite conjecture as to the distance he had covered from the ship and the direction.
'Do you think that you could lead another party to the clearing where you became separated from Von Horst and the Waziri?' asked Zuppner.
'Yes, of course I could,' replied Gridley, 'because from the point that we entered the forest we blazed the trees up to the time we reached the trail, which we followed to the left. In fact I would not be needed at all and if we decide to send out such a party, I shall not accompany it.'
The other officers looked at him in surprise and for a moment there was an embarrassed silence.
'I have what I consider a better plan,' continued Gridley. 'There are twenty-seven of us left. In the event of absolute necessity, twelve men can operate the ship. That will leave fifteen to form a new searching party. Leaving me out, you would have fourteen, and after you have heard my plan, if you decide upon sending out such a party, I suggest that Lieutenant Dorf command it, leaving you, Captain Zuppner, and Hines to navigate the ship in the event that none of us returns, or that you finally decide to set out in search of us.'
'But I thought that you were not going,' said Zuppner.
'I am not going with the searching party. I am going alone in the scout plane, and my advice would be that you send out no searching party for at least twenty-four hours after I depart, for in that time I shall either have located those who are missing or have failed entirely.'
Zuppner shook his head, dubiously. 'Hines, Dorf and I have discussed the feasibility of using the scout plane,' he said. 'Hines was very anxious to make the attempt although he realizes better than any of us that once a pilot is out of sight of the O-220 he may never be able to locate it again, for you must remember that we know nothing concerning any of the landmarks of the country in the direction that our search must be prosecuted.'
'I have taken all that into consideration,' replied Gridley, 'and I realize that it is at best but a forlorn hope.'
'Let me undertake it,' said Hines. 'I have had more flying experience than any of you with the possible exception of Captain Zuppner, and it is out of the question that we should risk losing him.'
'Any one of you three is probably better fitted to undertake such a flight than I,' replied Gridley; 'but that does not relieve me of the responsibility. I am more responsible than any other member of this party for our being where we are and, therefore, my responsibility for the safety of the missing members of the expedition is greater than that of any of the rest of you. Under the circumstances, then, I could not permit anyone else to undertake this flight. I think that you will all understand and appreciate how I feel and that you will do me the favor to interpose no more objection.'
It was several minutes thereafter before anyone spoke, the four seeming to be immersed in the business of sipping their coffee and smoking their cigarettes. It was Zuppner who broke the silence.
'Before you undertake this thing,' he said, 'you should have a long sleep, and in the meantime we will get the plane out and have it gone over thoroughly. You must have every chance for success that we can give you.'
'Thank you!' said Gridley. 'I suppose you are right about the sleep. I hate to waste the time, but if you will call me the moment that the ship is ready I shall go to my cabin at once and get such sleep as I can in the meantime.'
While Gridley slept, the scout plane, carried aft in the keel cabin, was lowered to the ground, where it underwent a careful inspection and test by the engineers and officers of the O-220.
Even before the plane was ready Gridley appeared at the cabin door of the O-220 and descended to the ground.
'You did not sleep long,' said Zuppner.
'I do not know how long,' said Gridley, 'but I feel rested and anyway I could not have slept longer, knowing that those fellows are out there somewhere waiting and hoping for succor.'
'What route do you expect to follow,' asked Zuppner, 'and how are you planning to insure a reasonable likelihood of your being able to return?'
'I shall fly directly over the forest as far as I think it at all likely that they could have marched in the time that they have been absent, assuming that they became absolutely confused and have traveled steadily away from the ship. As soon as I have gained sufficient altitude to make any observation I shall try and spot some natural landmark, like a mountain or a body of water, near the ship and from time to time, as I proceed, I shall make a note of similar landmarks, I believe that in this way I can easily find my way back, since at the furthest I cannot proceed over two hundred and fifty miles from the O-220 and return to it with the fuel that I can carry.
'After I have reached the furthest possible limits that I think the party could have strayed, I shall commence circling, depending upon the noise of the motor to attract their attention and, of course, assuming that they will find some means of signaling their presence to me, which they can do even in wooded country by building smudges.'
'You expect to land?' inquired Zuppner, nodding at the heavy rifle which Gridley carried.
'If I find them in open country, I shall land; but even if I do not find them it may be necessary for me to come down and my recent experiences have taught me not to venture far in Pellucidar without a rifle.'
After a careful inspection, Gridley shook hands with the three remaining officers and bid farewell to the ship's company, all of whom were anxious observers of his preparation for departure.
'Good-bye, old man,' said Zuppner, 'and may God and luck go with you.'
Gridley pressed the hand of the man he had come to look upon as a staunch and loyal friend, and then took his seat in the open cockpit of the scout plane. Two mechanics spun the propeller, the motor roared and a moment later the block was kicked away and the plane rolled out across the grassy meadowland towards the forest at the
