Chapter XVIII
Another Surprise
Lex picked his way carefully through the scratchy plants and big rocks that covered the floor of the canyon. He really didn't want to meet a snake, especially not a rattlesnake. Another thing he really didn't want to encounter was a body that had been lying here for almost a month.
The plane had been crash-landed with its nose facing downhill. There was a big gouge through the brush that showed how it had gotten to its resting-place. One of the wings had been completely severed from the fuselage, and it rested against a huge boulder several yards uphill from the rest of the airplane. The landing gear was crumpled and broken, and the tail segment was badly bent, but the vehicle was mostly upright, and the passenger compartment seemed to be all in one piece. Lex climbed carefully up onto the lip of the gaping doorway.
Much to his surprise, there was no corpse in the plane.
There were plenty of meteor rocks, though. At least ten pounds of them were heaped in the cargo compartment (also known as the area previously occupied by the back seat.) There were some pieces of wood back there, too, but Lex thought there weren't enough of them to add up to a whole crate. There was a little stack of gear, similar to what he'd seen Andy use when he did his pre-flight inspection on the 172, but its plastic holder was missing.
The control panel of the old plane was partly taken apart; wires were dangling from the radios. A gray nylon backpack gaped open in the right seat. There was a little red toolkit peeking out of its main compartment and a few empty granola bar wrappers tucked carefully into the mesh front pocket.
Whatever had happened to Mrs. Hakes, it sure looked like she'd survived the original crash.
Lex momentarily contemplated the necessity of searching this rocky canyon to locate her body, and decided to go back to Clark and tell him what he'd found out.
He was clambering cautiously down from the cockpit, when his attention was distracted by a small, bright red fire extinguisher lying on the rocky ground near one of the battered front wheels. He picked it up and shook it, noticing as he did that there were indications that a few of the scrubby sticker-bushes around the nose of the plane had been on fire for a little while. The fire extinguisher sounded empty. He carried it back to Clark.
When Lex got back to the other two boys, Andy was awake. Clark had removed his plaid flannel shirt and torn it into strips. He had Andy lying down in the shade of a big rock, and he was binding up his broken leg with a couple of sticks to make a splint.
"Well," Lex declared, "Mrs. Hakes didn't die right away after the crash. There's no body in the plane, and I found this on the ground. It looks like she put out the fire and tried to repair her radio and broke up the cargo crate for wood. I don't have any idea what might have happened after that." Lex sat down next to Andy, in the shade. He hated sitting in the dirt, but he hated sunburn even more.
"You. How did we? We should be dead!" Andy exclaimed.
"Welcome to Smallville," Lex muttered under his breath.
"It's okay, Andy. It'll be okay," Clark soothed the injured boy. Tying one last knot securely in the makeshift splint he said, "There. The bone's nice and straight, and that should hold it for a while."
"But, but, we should be dead!" Andy spluttered again.
"It's okay. It'll be okay," Clark repeated. "I'll make sure you get home safe. All of us." He patted Andy's shoulder lightly with his big honey-colored hand.
"But, we, the plane!" Andy continued.
"Breathe, okay?" Lex instructed. "Stop panicking and just go with the flow. Haven't spent much time in Smallville, have you?"
Andy finally stopped protesting and started to breathe deeply. His eyes were still wide and scared.
Lex turned to his friend. "What now, Clark?"
"Halloo!" came an unexpected shout from the scrubby hillside beyond the plane.
Clark and Lex looked around, startled. (Andy was still concentrating on breathing.) A woman was carefully picking her way down towards the canyon floor, waving her right hand, which was wrapped in grubby-looking bandages. Her hair was gray and untidy, and her clothes were ripped and dirty. In her left hand she was carrying the plastic gear caddy that Lex had noticed was missing from the plane. As she hurried down to them, a little water slopped out of it.
"Mrs. Hakes!" Clark shouted, beaming. He got up and looked as if he was going to run to meet her, but then his smile faded and he seemed to notice how close to the kryptonite-filled airplane he'd have to go to get to her. He looked pleadingly at Lex.
Lex heaved a sigh. "Fine," he said, very quietly, and got to his feet. He was pretty scratched up by the time he met the middle-aged pilot and took her heavy container of water from her, but her grateful smile made it worthwhile.
"Thank God you've come," Mrs. Hakes said, and kissed him on the cheek.
Another Surprise
Lex picked his way carefully through the scratchy plants and big rocks that covered the floor of the canyon. He really didn't want to meet a snake, especially not a rattlesnake. Another thing he really didn't want to encounter was a body that had been lying here for almost a month.
The plane had been crash-landed with its nose facing downhill. There was a big gouge through the brush that showed how it had gotten to its resting-place. One of the wings had been completely severed from the fuselage, and it rested against a huge boulder several yards uphill from the rest of the airplane. The landing gear was crumpled and broken, and the tail segment was badly bent, but the vehicle was mostly upright, and the passenger compartment seemed to be all in one piece. Lex climbed carefully up onto the lip of the gaping doorway.
Much to his surprise, there was no corpse in the plane.
There were plenty of meteor rocks, though. At least ten pounds of them were heaped in the cargo compartment (also known as the area previously occupied by the back seat.) There were some pieces of wood back there, too, but Lex thought there weren't enough of them to add up to a whole crate. There was a little stack of gear, similar to what he'd seen Andy use when he did his pre-flight inspection on the 172, but its plastic holder was missing.
The control panel of the old plane was partly taken apart; wires were dangling from the radios. A gray nylon backpack gaped open in the right seat. There was a little red toolkit peeking out of its main compartment and a few empty granola bar wrappers tucked carefully into the mesh front pocket.
Whatever had happened to Mrs. Hakes, it sure looked like she'd survived the original crash.
Lex momentarily contemplated the necessity of searching this rocky canyon to locate her body, and decided to go back to Clark and tell him what he'd found out.
He was clambering cautiously down from the cockpit, when his attention was distracted by a small, bright red fire extinguisher lying on the rocky ground near one of the battered front wheels. He picked it up and shook it, noticing as he did that there were indications that a few of the scrubby sticker-bushes around the nose of the plane had been on fire for a little while. The fire extinguisher sounded empty. He carried it back to Clark.
When Lex got back to the other two boys, Andy was awake. Clark had removed his plaid flannel shirt and torn it into strips. He had Andy lying down in the shade of a big rock, and he was binding up his broken leg with a couple of sticks to make a splint.
"Well," Lex declared, "Mrs. Hakes didn't die right away after the crash. There's no body in the plane, and I found this on the ground. It looks like she put out the fire and tried to repair her radio and broke up the cargo crate for wood. I don't have any idea what might have happened after that." Lex sat down next to Andy, in the shade. He hated sitting in the dirt, but he hated sunburn even more.
"You. How did we? We should be dead!" Andy exclaimed.
"Welcome to Smallville," Lex muttered under his breath.
"It's okay, Andy. It'll be okay," Clark soothed the injured boy. Tying one last knot securely in the makeshift splint he said, "There. The bone's nice and straight, and that should hold it for a while."
"But, but, we should be dead!" Andy spluttered again.
"It's okay. It'll be okay," Clark repeated. "I'll make sure you get home safe. All of us." He patted Andy's shoulder lightly with his big honey-colored hand.
"But, we, the plane!" Andy continued.
"Breathe, okay?" Lex instructed. "Stop panicking and just go with the flow. Haven't spent much time in Smallville, have you?"
Andy finally stopped protesting and started to breathe deeply. His eyes were still wide and scared.
Lex turned to his friend. "What now, Clark?"
"Halloo!" came an unexpected shout from the scrubby hillside beyond the plane.
Clark and Lex looked around, startled. (Andy was still concentrating on breathing.) A woman was carefully picking her way down towards the canyon floor, waving her right hand, which was wrapped in grubby-looking bandages. Her hair was gray and untidy, and her clothes were ripped and dirty. In her left hand she was carrying the plastic gear caddy that Lex had noticed was missing from the plane. As she hurried down to them, a little water slopped out of it.
"Mrs. Hakes!" Clark shouted, beaming. He got up and looked as if he was going to run to meet her, but then his smile faded and he seemed to notice how close to the kryptonite-filled airplane he'd have to go to get to her. He looked pleadingly at Lex.
Lex heaved a sigh. "Fine," he said, very quietly, and got to his feet. He was pretty scratched up by the time he met the middle-aged pilot and took her heavy container of water from her, but her grateful smile made it worthwhile.
"Thank God you've come," Mrs. Hakes said, and kissed him on the cheek.