“Oh, thanks, Sparky,” she grinned. “I’m glad you’ve got my number.”

“Got your number!” Sparky exploded. “Of course I have and just now you need sleep. That secret cargo of ours won’t wait and so—”

“Sparky! Tell me what our secret cargo is,” she begged.

“Will you stop interrupting me?” he stormed. “How do I know what it is? That’s a military secret. All I know is that China needs all the help we can bring her, every bit! And that this cargo of ours is of the greatest importance. I shouldn’t wonder,” his voice dropped as if he were afraid someone were listening, “I shouldn’t wonder if the enemy knows it’s important. I got a warning to be on my guard not an hour ago, and that goes for you as well. This is a dangerous land. It’s all full of Italians, wild natives, and even a few traitorous Frenchmen that would sell us out for a dime or kill us just for fun.

“And so—” He paused for breath.

“And so—” Mary prompted.

“Let’s see, where was I?” Sparky pulled back the stick to climb a bit. “Oh, yes! And so we’ve just got to keep right on flying. Mighty little time for sleep. I had a dandy rest before we hit Africa. Now it’s your turn. I’ll do this lap. You just crawl back there, roll up in your robe, and sleep.”

All too willingly Mary rolled up in her robe and slept. When she awoke they were circling for a landing at one of the most fascinating spots she had ever known.

Looking down upon it, as they were, from ten thousand feet, it seemed a green carpet on an endless gray floor.

“An oasis!” Mary whispered. “How beautiful!”

“Yes, and I shouldn’t wonder if those dark, moving spots over there on the grasslands were giraffes or maybe elephants.”

“Yes, and there’s a camel caravan just coming in,” Mary exclaimed. “How long it is. Must be fifty camels. And the shadows seem darker than the camels. Oh! I wish we could stay a week!”

“Well, we can’t,” Sparky warned. “Few hours at best. Our right engine isn’t acting properly. Has to be tuned up for this desert air, I guess. That’ll give you a breathing spell. Make the most of it.”

The camel shadows on the desert were long. The sun was almost down when at last their plane came to rest on that long, narrow 

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