The Boxcar Blues (23 page)

She covered him with the blankets and said,
“Do you think that plane saw the smoke?”

“
Yes. It looked just like
one of my planes. Make sure you keep the fire going, so they can
find us in the morning.”

“
I will, Barney. Now that
I know how to get to you, I’ll come back down here during the night
to check on you.”

“
I appreciate it, Helen.
How is Art feeling?”

“
Thanks to the morphine,
he’s been sleeping.”

“
I’m glad he’s not in
pain. Listen, there’s a thirty-eight pistol in my flight bag,
Helen. Use it if you need it.”

“
I will.” Helen climbed up
and put another log on the fire. She was walking back to the
wreckage when she heard the first coyote howl. She thought about
the dead bodies and wondered if they’d draw animals. She found the
thirty-eight and made sure it was loaded. As she waited in the
plane, however, Helen knew if a bear came around, the pistol might
not be big enough to stop it.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Catwalk found a field with no problem, but
upon landing in the darkness, he ran into a fence. The only damage
was a few yards of barbed wire wrapped around the prop, which,
luckily, was not damaged. While untangling the wire off the prop,
he told Julio, “I won’t be able to sleep tonight. I’ll be wide
awake wondering what we’re going to find on that mountainside.”

“
Think positive, son.
Barney always flew well equipped. If they survived the wreck,
they’ll be O.K.”

Catwalk smiled at Julio’s optimism. “If you
say so.” Inside, he still worried.

At first light they took off and found the
smoke from Helen’s fire. Catwalk made a turn around the area and
Julio said, “I see the Boeing! Farther up the hill, in the trees. I
don’t see anyone around it, but it looks like the crash was
survivable and it didn’t burn.”

After picking out prominent landmarks to
help them find the crash area, they flew back to the field, then
set out on a hike that would be at least a mile uphill. The
mountain was wooded, but fortunately, not to the point where it
impeded their progress.

Three hours later they came to Helen’s fire.
When Helen saw them coming toward the plane, she broke out in tears
of relief, and said, “Oh my God, our prayers have been
answered.”

Catwalk asked, “Are you two the only
survivors?”

“
Us and Barney, but he
went for firewood and fell. He must have broken something in the
fall because he’s immobile.”

“
Immobile?”

“
Yes. Come on, I’ll take
you to him.”

Julio said, “I’ll stay here and see if
there’s anything I can do for her husband.”

Catwalk turned to follow Helen, and in doing
so noticed the name on the crumpled plane. He stopped and leaned
against the fuselage. Tears came to his eyes. For a moment he felt
like Sam had been killed all over again. Seeing the wreckage of her
plane resurrected all the pain and anguish he’d suffered. Then, he
decided her death had haunted him long enough. He realized this was
an indication that the time had arrived for him to let go of her
and get on with his life. She would live in his memories forever,
but she would no longer play a part in his destiny.

Helen turned around and asked, “Are you
O.K.?”

“
I’m O.K. It’s just that
this plane was named after someone very special to me.” He gathered
himself and said, “Let’s go find Barney.”

When Catwalk saw Barney lying immobile he
felt terrible for his friend, but told himself to be thankful he
was alive. He listened as Barney replayed the flight and the
eventual crash. Catwalk thought he would have done the same thing
because storms can be so unpredictable and they have a way of
drawing you into regrettable predicaments.

After talking with Barney and making sure he
was comfortable, Catwalk returned to the plane and discussed
further plans with Julio, who then left to get more help. They’d
need at least four more men to get Barney and Art down the hill,
plus people to carry out the dead bodies.

Catwalk returned to Barney, who said, “Sit
down. It’ll be a few hours until someone gets back. While I’ve been
lying here, I’ve had a lot of time to think. I don’t know what’s
going to happen to me. It might be a while before I can move again,
if ever. You and Julio will have to take over the airline and
you’ll have your hands full because a lot of changes will be taking
place. Do you think you’re ready for that?”

Catwalk thought about the question, then
said, “I don’t think I have a choice. I’ve got more experience than
anyone else, so it’s not a question if I’m ready; it’s a question
of, is everyone else ready to work for me.”

“
That’s what I was
thinking too. I don’t think you’ll have a problem. When I hired the
people, I told them we had a black pilot and asked if they had a
problem with that. No one said they did, but I think a couple
people lied. I know for sure Jennings, that Operations Manager in
Albuquerque, has been saying things behind our backs, so I was
going to replace him. Find someone who is familiar with aviation
and friendly to the passengers, but has the guts to make the hard
decisions.”

Catwalk thought of Billy Sue and said, “I
might know someone who will fit right in.”

“
Good. They’re supposed to
start on the new hangar in two weeks. They said it’ll take three
months to complete and it’ll be big enough for two of the new
Douglas planes. I want you and Julio to stay on top of that and
make sure they don’t cut corners. You’ll also have to hire a couple
pilots. Hire Kenneth if he’s available and check with the
universities that have flight schools. See if you can steal one of
their instructors.”

“
Is Julio moving the
maintenance operation into the new hangar when it’s
finished?”

“
Yes. As soon as they
complete the post construction inspection, he can hire a moving
company to move the gear from the farm.”

“
Should I hire someone to
help Mattie run the farm?”

“
Yeah, I guess you might
as well. Make sure they keep raising enough livestock and produce
to give to the soup kitchen in Vaughn.”

Catwalk thought of his brother. Although he
wanted to go to mechanics school, if he moved out to help on the
farm, he’d have a place to live until he was accepted at the
school.

They talked for another hour and it became
apparent to Catwalk just how much responsibility he’d be taking on.
There was enough work for four men, but he realized he’d have help
from other airline employees. Thanks to Barney, the people who
worked for Rocky Mountain were the type to pull together and help
each other. His boss had always been a firm believer in building
strong personal relationships with his employees. It appeared he
would be the beneficiary of Barney’s wisdom. He looked forward to
the new challenges, but above all, hoped Barney would recover and
be back at the helm of the airline before long.

The next morning Barney and Art were carried
off the mountain by search and rescue personnel. They were driven
to Glenwood Springs and loaded onto a Boeing for the flight to
Denver. Julio and Helen went with them and Catwalk flew the
Jenny.

When he landed in Denver, he steeled himself
for bad news. He’d seen farm workers who had suffered back injuries
and they were almost always permanently disabled. A nurse told him
they’d taken Barney to the x-ray lab, which was on the third floor.
When he walked in, Julio told him, “They’re taking x-rays now. The
doctor said it’ll be a couple hours before they’ll know
anything.”

“
How was he
feeling?”

“
They gave him a bunch of
drugs; he doesn’t know what country he’s in.”

“
At least he’s not in
pain.”

“
No he’s not. On the
flight over, he said you’re running the airline now.”

Catwalk nodded his head. “That’s what he
told me. Did you get a good look at the Boeing?”

“
Yeah, it’s in pretty bad
shape; the trees just tore it up.”

“
Any chance we could
disassemble it and salvage some parts?”

“
Oh boy.” Julio thought
for a few seconds. “The main spar and all the wing spars are bent.
We might salvage the instrument panel and engines. It’ll take a
team of men to get them down the hill.”

“
It’ll be worth the money.
Boeing quit making the Model Eighties last year, and we’ll be
flying them on our short routes for a while. Three spare engines
will come in handy.”

“
I’ll send a couple guys
from Denver to remove them and crate them up. It shouldn’t be a
problem finding men who want to make a few bucks hauling them
down.”

“
Give them a weeks pay and
some free passes on the airline.”

The next day Catwalk went to see Barney, who
said, “The first x-rays don’t look good. My spinal cord is severed
at C-5. The damage appears to be permanent, but they’re doing more
tests. They won’t have the final diagnosis for about a week.”

Catwalk tried optimism, “My money says
you’ll be walking out of here.”

“
I appreciate your
confidence Cat, but I don’t think so. I just have a feeling that
this is as mobile as I’m ever going to get.”

Catwalk hated the thought of this man, who’d
been such a major influence in his life and had changed it
overnight, not being able to move. To change the subject, he said,
“We’ll be able to salvage the engines and instruments out of the
Boeings. Julio’s sending some people from the Denver station to do
the salvage work.”

“
I’m glad you can get
something out of it.”

Catwalk tried to build his spirits.
“Considering the terrain, you did an amazing job.”

Barney rolled his eyes and said, “I’ll
dictate an account of the crash. Make sure it’s circulated to all
our pilots with a strong reminder about avoiding storms that are
building.”

“
I’ll do that. I’d better
go. I’ve got to get back to Albuquerque, but I’ll be back as soon
as I have time in my schedule.”

“
Thanks, Cat.”

After a week at the hospital, Barney
returned to the farm and hired a full time nurse who also
functioned as a personal secretary. He also had a TELEX and
multi-line phone system installed so he could stay in contact with
his employees and other airline personnel. He wasn’t going to
second guess Catwalk’s decisions, but with him flying on the line
and making the management decisions, he could use help, even if it
was from someone flat on their back in a remote location.

He hadn’t said anything to Catwalk, but with
the expense of the new hangar, the proposed construction of new
hangars at other airports, and more route expansion, Rocky Mountain
Airways was becoming an organization that was outgrowing private
ownership. So far, all of the expansion had been paid for by the
revenue generated by the airline. The day was fast approaching when
he’d need to borrow money to finance expansion. The banks that were
open, weren’t loaning money, and he wasn’t foolish enough to risk
any of his personal fortune. This left only one method of financing
growth—by becoming a public corporation and selling shares of
common stock.

This worried him, because Catwalk’s
employment would be at the mercy of a board of directors. He
wouldn’t have had a problem with this when he was mobile, because
he could be enough of a presence that he could influence anyone who
wanted to replace him. Now, even though he’d be the majority stock
holder, he couldn’t exert as much pressure. Still he had no choice.
He had to set the wheels in motion to become a public corporation
and hope that he could select directors for whom color was not an
issue.

The next time they talked, Barney asked
Catwalk if he’d have time to come out to the farm. Catwalk agreed
and drove out there the next Saturday.

Barney came right to the point. “Cat, as
soon as I got home from the hospital, I started going over our
financial situation, with regard to our growth. There’s no getting
around it, I have to file the paperwork to become a public
corporation.”

Catwalk immediately thought of a possible
problem with the board of directors accepting a black man as the
president of the airline. If there had been other black people in
airline management it wouldn’t bother him, but he knew of no other
black people who held any kind of management position. He decided
not to worry about this until it became a problem. He said, “If
it’ll help finance our expansion then there’s no reason not to do
it.”

“
I’m going to select the
directors myself and they’ll be subject to the approval of whoever
underwrites the stock offering.”

Catwalk had gotten this far by standing firm
in the face of adversity. He wasn’t about to start avoiding issues
before they became issues. He said, “I’ll take my chances with the
directors and I’ve got a solid record to back me up.”

“
You certainly do.
Considering your workload, the airline is doing exceptionally well.
I’ll keep you advised on the progress.”

Catwalk stayed for dinner so he and Barney
could discuss other issues with the airline. As he drove back to
Albuquerque, he thought of how much he appreciated Barney’s
support. With the upcoming changes, however, he felt more
vulnerable than he had in the past. He knew life was nothing more
than a series of cycles and wondered if his idyllic life was about
to spiral downward.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Catwalk’s first official duty as the acting
president of Rocky Mountain Airways was to hire Billy Sue as an
operations clerk at the Albuquerque station. He gave her a month to
get used to the job, then promoted her to operations manager. She
ran the department like a four-star general and was clearly
thrilled to have a steady, well-paying job so she didn’t have to
approach Curly for financial support. Curly had never answered his
letter, so Catwalk and Billy Sue were in agreement that he’d be no
more interested in raising a child than he’d been in getting
married.