At the Grandiere Club Aeronautique

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An hour before, in the office of the Commander…

“Oui, oui, Monsieur von Hedwig, she is a remarkable flier. And I must admit, a natural-born leader. Men would follow her into hell itself.”

The Commander of the Armée Aeronautique in Saigon stared at his brocade curtains as though they might tell his story for him.

“I would follow her into hell,” he muttered.

Behind him, Herr vonHedwig silently riffled through the papers on the Commander’s desk. He didn’t have time for reminiscing.

“Why then did you not promote her? Because she is a woman?”

“That is a complication, but not the reason, though that is most likely what she thinks. No, Monsieur, it is because she is American. She has served most loyally, yes, but how can I give a foreigner authority over so many French?”

Herr vonHedwig sighed, running a hand through his hair. His fingers got caught. The hot Saigon night was curling his already thorny hair into brambles. He extracted them, and captured his wild mop under his hat.

“Where is her racer berthed?”

Not two minutes later he was in a pedicab, racing to the Grandiere Club Aeronautique.

She was not in her hanger, though he found a ground crew fueling her Renard. She was not on the dance floor, waltzing in the swirl of elegant couples. He found her in the bar, surrounded.

“Mais non, ma cher, you must dance with me before you go!”

“No, no, she must drink a brandy with me, for old times sake!”

Phineas raised his voice to be heard above the crush. “I am sorry gentlemen, but La Belle Capitaine is otherwise engaged.”

The crowd parted to better view the interloper.

“Madame, I must beg you to come with me.”

La Capitaine was astonished. “Von Hedwig? What are you doing here? And what is afoot?”

A chorus of disapproval answered her questions.

“Go away, von Hedwig, La Capitaine will dance with me.”

“After she dances with me, Bertrand!”

“I beg your pardon, gentlemen.” Madame Charette broke through her throng of admirers to lay her hand on von Hedwig’s arm. “I have promised the next dance to Monsieur von Hedwig. With that, she strolled from the bar towards the dance floor, leaving a dozen broken hearts behind her.

“I thank you, Madame. You are most generous to dance with me when I am incorrectly attired.” He nodded down at his impeccable linen suit. “It is on the most urgent business that I sought you out; I did not have time to don the tux.”

“That’s all right, I don’t mind shaking things up a bit.” She smiled. “And what is this urgent business?”

“The dastard Montesanto has kidnapped my children and taken them down a volcanic tube in the Himalayas. I need you and your ship to find them.”

“Volcanic tubes in the Himalayas? Fascinating.”

“The journey shall be dangerous, as you know better than anyone, but I must also warn you that Montesanto is a villain. Although I have never before considered him to be a threat, he may now have under his control one or more yeti.”

Madame Charette threw back her head and laughed. Heads turned from every direction to see the source of such an indecorous outburst.

“Yeti!” She gasped, wiping a tear from her eye. “My dear chap, you had me from ‘kidnap’, but this is the most promising development I’ve had in years. Lead on, sir, lead on!”

They met Madame vonHedwig at the door. Charette reached out and took both her hands.

“Madame, whatever service I may render you in this time of anxiety is yours.”

“I thank you, Madame, with all my heart. Let us be away!”

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This story began with On Grandmothers. The previous episode is The Sad Man and the next is If you Give a Count a Cookie.