Johnny looked at her, and there were tears pushing up to the edge of his eyelids.  He looked away quickly and blinked them back.

Mary V bit her lip, abashed at the revelation of what this meant to Johnny.  And then the drone was a roar again, and the airplane was skimming down to them.  A pop-pop-pop—­pop, and the motor stilled suddenly.  The little wheels touched the ground, spurned it, touched again and came spinning toward them, reminding Johnny again of a lighting plover.  The propeller revolved slower and slower, stopped at a rakish angle.  Mary V felt the trembling of Johnny’s arm as he pulled loose from her and went up to steady the machine to its final stand.

Bland Halliday pushed up his goggles.  “She’s runnin’ like a new watch,” he announced.  “Juh get a picture?” This last to Mary V.

She shook her head, refusing to explain the omission.  Bland turned to Johnny.

“She’s O.K., old man.  All we gotta do now is load up and start.  You sure have balled things up by not getting enough gas, though.  How far is it to that tank station—­or some other that’s closer?”

“There isn’t any closer.  I don’t know exactly, but—­”

“It’s fifty-seven miles,” Mary V fibbed hastily, and reached back a foot to kick Johnny into silence.

“Not air-line?”

“Certainly, air-line.  Do you realize that you rode seventy-five miles, the way you came?  And it’s pretty rough country to land on, if you ran out of gas.”  She gave Johnny another kick, which Bland could not observe because of the wing they were leaning against.

Bland’s mouth pulled down at the corners.  “I told yuh we needed more gas,” he complained.  “Where’d you git the idea of packing gas in a tin cup to run an airplane on?”

“Where’d you get the idea we could pack a fifty-gallon drum on horseback?” Johnny retorted.  “Believe me, you’re lucky to get any at all!”

“I’ll say this is some country!” Bland observed sourly.  “Here we are—­all ready to go—­and not enough gas to take us to the railroad, even!  Well, get in.  I’ll joy-ride yuh up and down this damn’ scenery till the gas gives out.”

“You’ll teach me to fly.  There’s enough gas for one good lesson, anyway.”

“Oh, all right.  Sure, I’ll teach you, if you’re able to learn.  But you hustle more gas down here, see?  I’m all fed up on this country, and I ain’t denying it.  First off, we’ll do a straightaway.  I spotted a good level strip of ground over there a ways; that’ll do to teach you how to land.  Then we’ll come back and fly straight off east for a ways, and circle and come back.  How does that suit?”

“Fine and dandy.  Hold my hat, Mary V.”  Johnny went to the front, reached high and caught the propeller blade.  “All ready?” he cried, with the air of a veteran.

“A’right!” answered Bland, and Johnny put his weight into the pull, failed to “turn ’er over,” took a deep breath and tried it again.  The third attempt set the propeller whirling in a blurred circle.  The motor woke to throbbing life again.