traveling up and down in the air, they passed wind currents. He called them highways of the air. The balloon might not always travel exactly where they intended, but it didn't just drift aimlessly, as most people thought.
'How high up are we?' Perry asked, her fears forgotten as she watched miles of country passing gently below her.
Hunter shrugged. 'About a mile up right now, I'd say. We could go up a great deal higher, but after a while the air gets thin and cold.'
Hunter stepped to Perry's side of the basket as he continued talking. 'A few years ago a couple of scientists from England decided to see how high they could go. They got to about twenty-eight thousand feet. It got so cold, the instruments froze. They claim to have reached almost seven miles up. The temperature was well below zero, and one, an older man named Glaisher, passed out. If Coxwell, his companion, hadn't been able to untangle the cord running to the gas-release valve, both men would have died. Coxwell's hands were so frozen, he had to pull the cord with his teeth.'
Watching as Hunter returned to his instruments, she decided the only times she'd heard him put more than two sentences together were the times he'd talked of ballooning. How could he ever have gotten involved with a woman like Jennifer? In her wildest thoughts she could never imagine Hunter and Jennifer arguing like the blonde and the young man in the hospital hallway had. She couldn't imagine Hunter and Jennifer together at all. A quiet goodness centered about him, deep in the passions of his work. Jennifer was a self-centered woman who obviously used her beauty to manipulate people.
Not wanting to think about them together, Perry studied the land moving slowly by, as if someone were pulling a crazy patchwork quilt from underneath them-only the quilt never ended but kept revealing new patterns to the observers above. Someday, Perry promised herself, when she was old, she'd make a crazy quilt of these earth colors. She would lie on it and dream of the day she'd spent drifting among the clouds. The pain of her body mattered little as she flew with the birds, high above all the problems of the world.
By late afternoon they'd traveled a distance that would have taken three days on the ground. The air was cooling, and clouds gathered in a deceptive tranquillity around them.
Abram recognized the terrain first. Within minutes they were lowering the balloon into the field, where only months ago Abram had fallen. From the air Perry saw the stream that she knew wound toward the barn. She guessed the walk would be not more than a mile to the barn.
The balloon touched ground several times before nesting, as if it were a huge bird testing for the right spot to stand on earth. Each bump jarred Perry's bruised bones, but Hunter and Abram were too busy to notice her cringing in pain. She silently took each jolt without a sound.
Abram heaved his huge bulk over the side and began anchoring ground ropes. The basket settled into its nest of thick grass for the night.
Hunter worked as he explained to Perry, 'With luck we won't have to let out much air and can start early tomorrow. If the wind should kick up, it can really play havoc with her if she's full of air.'
As soon as the balloon was tied down, Hunter stated, 'I'm going to look for the barn before it gets any darker. I should be back within an hour.'
Abram nodded. 'I'll make camp a little ways over there,' he commented as he waved Hunter away.
Perry was trying to decide whether to go with Hunter now or wait until after dark when Abram opened the picnic basket beside her. Perry stared at a huge mound of fried chicken and her decision was made. She knew she could follow the stream and find the barn, even in the dark. Hunger outweighed all else at the moment.
Abram broke her trance by softly ordering, 'Go ahead, eat a few pieces. It will tide you over till supper. I know growin' boys have to eat.' He laughed.
Grabbing a chicken leg, she sat cross-legged on the ground, watching Abram work. Hunter had already disappeared into the trees by the stream.
'Hunter's grandma makes mighty fine chicken, only she thinks she's feeding an army. You must be hungry.' Abram talked to himself, not expecting any response.
'I'll bed down here by the balloon tonight. Hunter usually likes to move away a little. We've found over the years that if he's out of sight, it's to our advantage. Then, if someone wanders up, they're usually unaware of him until he's had time to size them up.'
Abram moved closer to Perry and handed her a canteen of water. 'Miss Perry, does your eye trouble you much?' he asked.
Perry shook her head as she took the water gratefully, then continued eating. To be honest, she'd been so scared and tired all day, she'd not thought much about her face. She knew the puffy eye and swollen lip disfigured her temporarily, but it would pass. She wondered if the pain of Noma's betrayal would ever stop. Her entire body ached with fatigue and bruises, but her heart hurt much more.
Abram rummaged through a duffel bag and handed her a pair of black wool socks. 'Put these over your feet, Miss Perry. If you want to wash the blood off, I'll doctor 'em for you.'
'Thanks, Abram, but I have no shoes. I'd ruin your socks,' Perry whispered sadly as she held the pair of socks back up to him.
Abram laughed. 'Better you ruin one pair of socks than your feet. Besides, they're real thick. They'll be as sturdy as some of them slippers I've seen women wear.'
Perry agreed. She washed her feet in a trickle of water from the canteen, then rubbed salve on the cuts. She pulled on the thick socks over her legs to the knee. They warmed her legs. 'Thanks, Abram. I've never had a better gift.'
Hunter returned just at twilight with his dusty uniform jacket thrown over his shoulder. Perry watched him approach. The dying sun was shooting its last rays into his hair, turning it golden. He walked tall and confident, as a man without a care. Silently smiling at Perry, he joined Abram near the small fire Abram had started. They talked of their plans as they finished off the chicken.
She lifted herself slowly into the balloon basket to retrieve her wool blanket. After a second's hesitation she curled upon the floor of the basket to sleep. The sides cut the breeze, so her shelter would be warmer than the ground and somewhat protected.
As she drifted into sleep, she could see in her mind's eye Hunter walking toward her. His movements were fluid and easy, and he walked in long strides. He was smiling as the sun danced in his hair. Then, in her dream, she saw him moving toward Jennifer, not her. She called, but her warnings were unheard, as he embraced Jennifer. The lovely young blonde turned her face toward Perry as she looked over Hunter's shoulder. Jennifer's features began to distort and wrinkle into an evil mask. Her lips twisted into a devilish grin at Perry as her hideously misshapen fingers moved toward Hunter's throat. Perry shouted again and again, but her warning fell on deaf ears.
A tear rolled down Perry's sleeping face as she rested curled inside her corner of the
Abram watched Hunter's curious behavior but, as usual, made no comment.
'Good night,' Hunter said as he picked up his blanket and moved toward the shadows of the trees. 'See you at dawn.'
A nod was Abram's answer. He knew Hunter found his only happiness in his dreams. The black man didn't have to ask how unhappy his captain was… he knew. He'd seen it in those gray eyes, in the way he took risks, in the deadly game he played with the secret messages. What tore Abram apart was the knowledge that the angel Hunter spoke of in his dreams was sleeping only a few feet away, and he'd given his word to keep her secret.
Chapter 17
An hour before dawn Perry woke to the sound of a lonely owl hooting in the distance. As she stood, every muscle screamed in pain. She gently touched her face. The swelling of her lip seemed less than yesterday. However, her half-closed eye still throbbed. She knew without looking in a mirror that her face was a mass of black and blue.
The air was still and carried the warmth of summer as she moved silently out of the balloon's basket and
