Cornelius sat up, brushing dust and ashes from himself and his wife. Zira was flicking away the hot debris and scanning the skies.
"Was it Blue-Eyes, Cornelius? Could you see?"
"Too much confusion. But who else could it have been?"
He looked around at the disorganized apes brushing themselves off and trying to calm down.
"No one else, Cornelius dear. No one else at all!"
Zira sat back on the bleachers, hands folded in her lap, looking around her at the others' confusion and at the billowing clouds of smoke nearby. She was smiling faintly. Cornelius hoped nobody would notice.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuIcnIPv2b
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Dr. Zaius stepped up onto the platform. His orange-gold fur was mottled with ashes and dust, and dirt clung to his peach-colored robes. He looked around at the wreckage, then walked over and tapped the microphone that still set behind the lectern.
"Testing in....One, two, three....!" He heard his voice magnified and booming over the cluttered airfield. "Listen to me," he said to a diminished audience, for many of the apes had fled. "This is Dr. Zaius speaking....Listen to me...."
One by one the angry gorillas, the stunned and shaken orangutans, and the chattering chimpanzees gave him their attention. Those who remained of the group of foreign dignitaries stopped their bickering and turned toward the Elder.
"My fellow citizens," Zaius began. "General Urko said I would have an announcement today....And so I have. An important announcement!"
Zira clutched at her husband's sleeve. "What could he....?"
"Shush, dear!" Cornelius whispered.
Zaius looked around him in disgust. "Never in all my long life and almost-as-long career as a public servant have a seen a more disgraceful event than---than this!"
A chimpanzee Senator, his face covered with filth and his clothes in shreds, threw up a fist. "Hear, Hear!"
Zaius gave him a scowl but continued. "General Urko's behavior today shows total incompetence for command."
Cornelius jumped to his feet. "You tell 'em, Dr. Zaius!"
Zira balled her fist and shook it high. "That's the way!"
Several gorilla officers, their uniforms in disarray, took steps forward, but none had the nerve to try to stop the venerable Elder. Other Senators and a female scientist from Mechanical Research and Development---all of them dusty and furious---added their approval.
"You're so right, doctor!"
"Give 'em hell, Zaius!"
"What he did today was a disgrace!" Zaius's amplified voice broke through the shouts and mutterings. "I, for one, recommend that a thorough investigation be made as to his ability to lead our military forces."
At once a number of voices rose in agreement.
"We're with you, Zaius!"
"Yea!"
"Urko is a damn fool!" a strong voice yelled.
"Strip him of his rank! He's a general, all right---a general nuisance."
There was some laughter at this last remark; then other voices called out their opinions.
"Urko is a typical gorilla!"
"Warmonger!"
“Urko’s broken the First Law—ape shall not kill ape!”
"Get rid of him!"
Gorilla soldiers watched as their officers shrank back, afraid of the power that the Elders and others represented. Without Urko to lead them, they were afraid to do anything.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XS8aaJEpU
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In the cockpit of the ME-262, Betty pulled off the heavy flight helmet and peeled back the long white scarf that had obscured her features. She felt quite pleased with herself, and with the rest of the Spindrift party.
She sighed and began to study the control panel.
"Well, I took off all right," she muttered to herself. "Now let's see if I remember how to land a plane like this."
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Steve pulled the truck over to the side of the road, and both he and Steve jumped out of its cab. The two Spindrift men gestured for the other castaways to stay inside.
"Hey, I hear her engine!" Steve chuckled. He pointed. "Here she comes!"
Mark muttered, by the side of the truck, "I hope this old crate holds together!"
"And I hope this field by the road is all right for Betty to land in!" Steve said, looking at the flat meadow which had made them decide to stop at this particular spot.
“Those old jets needed long, smooth runways,” Mark reminded him. “Back in the really early days—they used to struggle to land on anything but specially prepared airfields!”
“Yeah, but those planes barely broke the sound barrier. These early jets like the ME-262? Well, they must have needed way more runway to slow down, right? Probably had to use brakes and maybe even air brakes just to keep from overshooting the landing!”
"Well, let's hope Betty can manage." Mark anxiously watched Betty sweep by the landing site, then bank around for a real approach.
The ME-262 leveled off, and they could see the wing braking flaps coming down to slow the descent.
"Now, just hold her in there...." Mark urged softly.
The wheels touched down and the plane bounced, making both Steve and Mark jump, but then the craft set down solidly and rolled to a halt---almost at the end of the meadow! The two Spindrift men broke into a run.
"Perfect!" Dan cried.
"We have to hurry on!" Steve shouted as they leaped across the grassy field. "Urko's soldiers won't be held up forever by that jam-up!"24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMxJb1Q6zI
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Their jeep destroyed, Cornelius and Zira stood near the smoke-blackened bus that was to take them back to Ape City. Dr. Zaius, who looked rather uncomfortable, had cornered them.
"I have a feeling," he said wearily, his eyes ranging from side to side to side as he watched the disheveled apes boarding the bus, "that it must've been Blue-Eye." He looked at Zira and Cornelius, his expression curious but unreadable. "Who else could've stolen the sky craft?"
Cornelius snorted. "Well, Dr. Zaius, if that Brutus person can learn to fly, any ape can! It was perhaps some renegade."
Zira spoke up. "Blue-Eyes may have a certain crude intelligence, yes. But remember, doctor, he's only a humanoid."
Zaius pinned her with his eyes. "Is he?" Zira compressed her lips as Zaius continued. "I suspect he might be more....much more."
Cornelius started to speak. "But, Dr. Zaius...."
Zaius confronted both scientists with a stern expression. "Cornelius! Zira!" His voice was a warning. "It is a dangerous game you are playing. If you lose, I will not be able to help you!"
The two chimpanzees were silent. They exchanged nervous glances as Zaius turned and boarded the bus, with them, for the trip back to Ape City.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiLyqizt6V
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Steve backed up the truck carefully, watching Mark on one side and Betty on the other, as they directed him with hand signals. Behind him, the truck was being carefully backed into a low, shallow cave near the meadow while Barry, Dan, Valerie, and Fitzhugh looked on.
"A little more, Steve....More...Okay! Stop!"
Steve cut the engine and jumped out. He helped Mark unfasten the plane's tailskid from the truck, then drove the truck away, and back over to the road. By the time he returned, Dan and Betty, with some help from Barry, Valerie, and Fitzhugh, had piled brush across the entrance.
"Don't make it too obvious," Mark said. "Just kinda like the stuff happened to blow here and catch. Better put some out there, so it's not all crowded up in one spot."
They worked hard, and in a few minutes, Steve called for a halt. "That should do it."
"Yeah," Dan agreed. "I think our little one-plane air force is safe here. Just as soon as we brush away these tire marks."
As Steve helped Mark, Dan, and Betty use branches to smooth over the tire marks, he said, "All I can say is, one plane's more than they've got."
Fitzhugh, in his usual sarcastic way, muttered, "Well, I'd certainly love to take a closer look at our little prize, if that's not too much to ask." He squinted toward the plane, his eyes narrowing on something that didn’t look quite right. 24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeSw1S9Abn
Steve nodded. "Go ahead. The more we know about this old jet, the better."
Betty tossed the branch she'd been using aside and wiped her hands on her skirt. "Bad news," she said grimly. "There's only a quarter of a tank of gas left."
The group made their way slowly down the dusty road toward where Steve had parked the truck, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows behind them. Barry, trotting a little to keep up, glanced around and asked with the eager curiosity only a kid could muster, “Hey, where’s Mr. Fitzhugh?”
“He’s back helping camouflage the jet,” Dan explained, brushing the dirt from his hands. “Said he wanted to take a closer look at it, but—”
Dan didn’t finish. From behind them, Fitzhugh’s voice rang out, sharp and urgent, “Everyone! Come back here—I’ve found something!”
Steve and the others burst back into the cave, skidding to a stop where Fitzhugh knelt under the jet’s belly. He stepped back, gesturing sharply to the open maintenance hatch.
“Go on,” Fitzhugh snapped, his voice edged with anger. “Tell me I’m not imagining things.”
Steve ducked low and peered into the hatch. The dim light revealed a strange boxy device wired crudely into the jet’s systems, the metal dented and pitted but unmistakable. His breath caught.
“This… this is a tracking transponder,” Steve said quietly. He ran his hand along the edge of the housing. “It's standard configuration for... suborbital transports!”
Dan’s eyes widened. “Like the Marintha?”
Steve sat back, nodding slowly. “It could be. If this was pulled off one of her systems… then whoever put it here had contact with the Marintha.”
Fitzhugh glanced uneasily at the others. “The apes?”
“Maybe,” Steve said, shutting the hatch gently. “But if this thing’s still functional, it might point the way. This could be the first real lead we’ve had in… well, since we got here.”
A tense silence fell as the group exchanged looks. For the first time in a long while, there was a glimmer of hope—tempered by the fear of what they might discover.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiHxbjk7xJ
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They made their way back to the truck, the fading light casting long shadows over the camouflaged plane hidden beneath the brush. Steve paused for a moment, glancing back to make sure the old jet was completely concealed from prying eyes. Satisfied, he climbed in, shrugged, and put the truck into motion.
As the engine rumbled to life, Steve’s mind raced. That relic of the past might just hold the key to getting them home. Perhaps. But even if it did—could they get back in time to stop the nuclear war? And more importantly, could he convince Zira and Cornelius to come back with them? The answers were as uncertain as the road ahead.
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