just beyond the gaunt, projecting rocks reaching up to embrace them that were The Needles.
Bill Barnes struggled with all the power of his will to get his eyes open. The dim room rolled around him in a dizzy circle that left him sick.
“Take it easy. Bill,” he heard a vaguely familiar voice say, a voice tense with anxiety.
“He'll be all right in a bit,” another voice said, and he was conscious of something cool being rubbed over his face.
“Easy, easily, old chap,” another voice said, and he could feel a restraining hand on his arm as he tried to struggle upward.
Finally, he collapsed backward and closed his eyes again. After a time he opened them. Things no longer danced before him. He gazed at the anxious blue eyes and freckled face of young Sandy Sanders until he recognized it.
“Hello, kid,” he said. “What the hell happened?”
“Do you remember anything, Barnes?” another voice said, and when Bill studied its owner's face for a moment he recognized the Duke of Malbury.
“A little,” he said weakly. “How long have I been out?”
“Three days, Bill!” Sandy said. “And was I worried!”
“What happened?” Bill asked again.
“We were tangled up with Mordecai Murphy, the Saver of Souls,” Sandy said. “He rammed us.”
“Am I all right?” Bill asked.
“Just a bad concussion and bruises, and a broken arm,” Sandy said. “You've been conscious but delirious.”
“Listen!” Bill said. “Did Murphy talk? Did he tell the truth about the Memphis?”
“He couldn't talk. Bill,” Malbury said. “He's dead. But we got Duncan. “
We found him aboard Murphy's yacht at Cowes. That's where Murphy was headed when you followed him. We found Duncan and we thought there must be some connection because he was the head of International Airways. He finally talked. The whole story has been released just as you told it to me. All of England has been praying for your recovery.”
A man who looked like a doctor said. “You'd better not tax his strength too much at first, sir.”
“Wait a minute,” Bill said. “What happened to you, Malbury? Evidently Lord Hereburn found you.”
“Yes,” Malbury said grimly. “They found me. I was being detained, to put it mildly. But you'd better rest now. Bill. A surgeon had to perform an operation to relieve the pressure on your brain. You'll be all right in time but you'll need a long rest.”
“Yeah,” Bill said, and he managed a thin grin. “A holiday! That's what I came over here for. What about you, kid? Didn't you get banged up at all?”
“Just a few bruises and a couple of cuts on my head when I rammed it into my crash pad,” Sandy said.
“He did a really masterly job,” Malbury said. “He brought the Lancer out of a spin without any power and set her down right side up.”
“What about the Lancer?” Bill asked.
“She'll need a lot of patching up.”
Sandy said doubtfully. “I learned of an amphibian airplane factory on the Isle of Wight. I had her hauled over there.”
“Good work,” Bill said. “How soon do I get out of this place?”
“In a few days',” Malbury said. “You were lucky you didn't have a fracture.
When you get out you're coming up to Arunwav Castle for a good long rest.”
“Yeah,” Bill said again. “For a holiday!”
