practice in the air. He should think he could go to some school and work
his way along; get a little practice every day, and do repair work or
something the rest of the time for nothing. A dollar a minute for
learning was pretty steep, Johnny thought, but after all it was worth it.
A dollar a minute--and four hundred minutes in the air for the average
course!

Four hundred dollars, and only half that much saved. And then there would
be his fare back east, and his board--Johnny wished that he might cut out
eating, but he realized how healthy was his appetite. He counted three
meals for every day, at an average of fifty cents for each meal. Well,
even so, he could "ride the bumpers" to the school; take a side-door
pullman; beat his way; hobo it--or whatever the initiated wanted to
call it. He could send his suitcase on by express, and just wear old
clothes--send his money on, too, for that matter. He could save quite a
lot that way. Or maybe he could get Sudden to let him go back with cattle
from the Gila River Ranch--only he wouldn't ask any favors from any one
by the name of Selmer. No, he'd be darned if he would! He'd just draw his
wages, when he had enough saved, and drop out of sight. He wouldn't even
tell Curley where he was going. And then, some day--

There came the air castle again, floating alluringly before his eager
imagination, like a mirage lake in the desert. Johnny's eyes stared ahead
through the shimmering heat waves--stared and saw not the monotonous
neutral tints of sand and rock and gray sage and yellow weeds and the
rutted, dusty trail that wound away across the desert. But Mary V's face
turned expectantly toward him from the crowd as he walked nonchalantly
around his big tractor, testing every cable, inspecting the landing gear
and the elevators and the--what-ye-may-call-'ems--and then climbing in
and trying out his control--and pulling down his goggles and settling his