153 

 dense whirling vapour with little clear air between, white and 

 grey and black, some with electric storms inside their piled-up 

 masses, so that they were at intervals lit up in sections by con- 

 cealed discharges. We plunged into almost solid-looking clouds, 

 inside which it was almost dark ; then out again into narrow shafts 

 of brilliant sunshine, sudden transitions which were as vivid as 

 the intermittent flashing of a floodlight in a darkened room. We 

 were so high that it got very cold, and I felt it even through my 

 'Mae West'. 



At about 15,000 feet we steadied down. At that height and in 

 such conditions navigation was to some extent guesswork, for 

 there was obviously wind but no means of estimating either force 

 or direction. I could not rest, for the weather looked very bad, 

 and all the crowded events of the recent past hours had keyed me 

 to a pitch of intense excitement ; it was almost an intoxication. I 

 went to the cockpit and stood behind the two pilots, who wore 

 earphones. Suddenly Letley made some signs to Blaauw, and 

 started to write down a message, which he showed to Blaauw, 

 who flashed a quick glance at me and then read it again. Letley 

 handed me the slip, and on it I saw: 'Managed to intercept a 

 message stating that a squadron of French fighter planes left 

 Diego Suarez before we took off" from Dzaoudzi with orders to 

 intercept us and to compel us to turn back to Madagascar.' My 

 heart massed a beat. The two pilots were staring intently at me, 

 while I did some rapid calculations in my head. 'What speed can 

 they do.?' I asked. 'Don't know exactly,' said Letley. 'But they 

 are very much faster than we are.' 'Do you think it possible for 

 them to overhaul us before we get to Lumbo?' I asked. Letley 

 nodded. We were in a clear patch at that time, running between 

 a series of piled-up mountains of cloud, with occasional glimpses 

 of the sea, and where I had disliked those clouds before now there 

 could not be too many for my liking. My mind was racing. 'Any 

 hope of escaping in a cloud.'*' I asked. 'Radar,' said Letley. 'Well,' 

 I said, speaking slowly, 'I don't know how you chaps feel about 

 this, but I'm not going back. I don't believe they would dare to 

 shoot us down if we refused to turn, but I would be prepared to 

 chance that rather than turn back.' Letley suddenly burst out 

 laughing and Blaauw grinned. So deeply had I been engrossed in 

 weighing every aspect of the situation that it was some seconds 



