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Contents
Preface
Foreword

Part 1
The What and Why of Communication Research
1 Introduction to Communication Research
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Critical Thinking and Information Literacy
Academic and Proprietary Research and Creative Work
What Is Communication Theory?
Theory and Research Methods
» Everyday Ways of Knowing
» Research Methods as Argument
» Making Good Academic and Practical Arguments
Audiences for Communication Research
» Professional Associations
» Scholarly Journals
» Trade Journals and Popular Press Publications
Making Sense of Scholarly Journal Articles
» Research Reports
» Critical Essays
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
2 Three Paradigms of Knowing
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
 Why Three Paradigms?
Methodological Ways of Knowing
» Knowing Through Quantitative Social Science
» Knowing Through Interpretation
» Knowing Through Criticism
Paradigms: A Final Note
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
3 Ethics and Research
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
A Brief History of Communication Ethics
Codes of Conduct: Linking Values to Research Practices
The Institutional Review Board Review Process
Ethical Choices in Communication Research
» Before Doing Research: Motives for Projects and Topics
» During Research Projects: Protecting the Rights of Research Participants
Right to Freely Choose Research Participation
Right to Privacy
Right to Be Treated With Honesty and Respect
» Afterward: Reporting and Evaluating Research Ethically
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities

Part 2
How to Explain and Predict Communication
4 Making Arguments for Association and Causality
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Values of Quantitative Social Science Research
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning: Cycle of Inquiry
Claims in Quantitative Social Science
» Explanatory and Predictive Claims
 » Explanatory and Predictive Claims
Research Questions and Hypotheses
» Associative and Causal Relationships
» Independent and Dependent Variables
Evidence for Causal and Associative Research Arguments
» Data Sources
Texts
Self-Reports
Other-Reports
Observations
» Data Settings: When Settings Count
» Selecting Data Samples: Preference for Random Sampling
Random Selection Methods
Nonrandom Selection Methods
Warranting Quantitative Social Science Research Arguments
» Validity as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Bias: A Threat to Accurate Design and Measurement
Types of Measurement Validity
Errors That Threaten External Validity
External Validity
» Reliability as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Noise: A Threat to Consistent Measurement
Types of Measurement Reliability
» The Relationship Between Validity and Reliability
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
5 Measuring and Designing Quantitative Social Science Research
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Research Design as the Essential Framework
Measurement
» Conceptual and Operational Definitions
» Levels of Measurement
Nominal Level
Ordinal Level
Interval Level
Ratio Level
Building Arguments Through Research Designs
» Designs in Content Analysis and Survey Research
Cross-sectional Surveys
Longitudinal Surveys
 Longitudinal Surveys
» Experimental Research Design
Design Elements
Types of Designs
Warranting Quantitative Research Through Design Elements
» Time Progression Effects
History
Maturation
Mortality
Statistical Regression
Testing
Instrumentation
» Reactivity Effects
Selection
Treatment Diffusion
Compensatory Behavior
Researcher Attributes
Demand Characteristics
Evaluation Apprehension
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
6 Experimental Research: Predicting Causes and Effects
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Experimental Research Claims
» Emphasis on Deductive Reasoning
» Constructing Causal Arguments
» Experimental Research Designs
Experimental Research Data
» Data Sources and Variable Types
» Data Settings
» Data Collection and Analysis
Data Collection Strategies
Analysis of Variance Effects
Experimental Research Warrants
» Internal Validity
» Internal Validity Threats
» External Validity Threats
Sample Representativeness
Setting Appropriateness
Ethics in Experimental Research
 Ethics in Experimental Research
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussions Questions
“Try It!” Activities
7 Survey Research: Explaining and Predicting Attitudes and Behaviors
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Survey Research Claims
» Claims in Exploratory Surveys
» Explanatory and Predictive Claims
» Claims in Network Analysis
Survey Research Data
» Sources and Collection Modes for Survey Data
Primary and Secondary (Archived) Sources
Modes of Data Collection
» Survey Research Design
» Survey Construction and Measurement
Survey Format
Survey Structure
Question Formats and Functions
Warranting Survey Research
» Survey Coverage
» Survey Sampling
» Measurement Errors
» Response Rate
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
8 Content Analysis: Explaining and Interpreting Message Categories
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Content Analytic Claims: Explaining and Predicting Message Characteristics
Content Analytic Data
» Message Populations and Data Samples
» Unitizing and Categorizing Textual Data
» Frame Analysis
 » Operationalizing Social Media Engagement
» Computers and Content Analysis
» Content Analytic Results
Warrants for Content Analysis
» Valid Coding Schemes
» Reliable Coding Decisions
» Generalizable Findings
Ethical Issues in Content Analysis
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
9 Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
How to Describe Sample Data
» Visual Representations of Variables
Nominal and Ordinal Data
Interval and Ratio Data
» Numerical Representations of Variables
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Shape
Measures of Dispersion
The Logic of Hypothesis Testing
» Three Types of Distributions
» Estimation and Inference
Areas Under the Normal Curve
» Steps to Testing Hypotheses
Formulating Hypotheses
Framing Decisions Based on the Likelihood of Error
Calculating the Test Statistic
Deciding to Accept or Reject the Null Hypothesis
Tests of Differences
» Nonparametric Tests
» Chi-square
Single-Sample Chi-square
Multiple-Sample Chi-square
» Parametric Tests
t-test
Analysis of Variance
Tests of Relationships
» Correlation
Point-Biserial Correlation
 » Bivariate and Multivariate Tests
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
10 Conversation Analysis: Explaining Talk’s Structure and Function
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Conversation Analytic Claims
» Turn Taking
» Adjacency Pairs
» Preference
» Repair
» Action Sequences
Conversation Analytic Data
» Collecting Ordinary Conversations
Recording Techniques
Ethical Issues in Conversational Analysis
» Transcribing Conversations
Formatting Transcripts
Transcription Programs
Determining the Unit of Analysis
» Analytic Induction
Conversation Analytic Warrants
» Accuracy and Detail Level
» Transcription Veracity
» Sample Representativeness
Key Terms
“Try It!” Activities

Part 3
How to Interpret, Evaluate, and Reform Communication
11 Making Arguments for Multiple Plausible Realities
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Humanistic Values
Inductive Reasoning as a Form of Argument
Interpretive Research Claims
 Interpretive Research Claims
Critical Research Claims
Evidence for Interpretive and Critical Arguments
» Preferred Sources of Evidence
» Preference for Nonrandom Selection of Evidence
» A Note About Research Settings
» Using Triangulation to Enhance Rich Descriptions
Basic Analytic Strategies for Interpretive and Critical Research
Warranting Interpretive and Critical Paradigm Research
» Researcher Credibility as a Standard
Researcher Training and Experience
Degree of Membership
Faithfulness
» Plausible Interpretations as a Standard
Adequate Evidence
Coherence
Negative Case Analysis
» Impact as a Standard
Two Views of Truth
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
12 Interviews and Focus Groups: Interpreting Guided Responses
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Interview and Focus Group Claims
Interview Evidence
» Should I Use Individual or Focus Group Interviews?
» Selecting and Recruiting Participants
» Creating the Interview Protocol(s)
» Moderating the Interviews
» Coding and Categorizing Interview Evidence
» Presenting Interview Evidence in a Research Report
Warranting Interview Studies
» Researcher Credibility
» Plausible Interpretations
Key Terms
“Try It!” Activities
13 Ethnography: Interpreting and Evaluating Cultural Communication
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
 What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Ethnomethodology
Ethnographic Claims
» Interpretive Claims
» Evaluative and Reformist Claims
Ethnographic Evidence
» Sources
Participant-Observation
Interviews with Key Informants
Archival Documents
Artifacts
» Triangulation in Ethnographic Research
» Collecting Ethnographic Evidence
Gaining Access to the Setting
Selecting Key Informants
Taking Field Notes
Exiting the Field
» Analyzing Ethnographic Evidence
Transcribing Interviews
Coding and Reducing Field Notes
Writing Case Studies
Ethical Issues for Ethnographers
Ethnographic Warrants
» Researcher Credibility
» Plausible Interpretations
» Impact
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
14 Discourse Analysis: Interpreting and Evaluating Language-in-Use
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Discourse Analytic Claims
» Types of Texts (Also Known as Discourse Genres)
» Interpreting Interactional Accomplishments
Social Practices
» Role and Identity Performances
Entities
» Interpreting and Evaluating Ideologies
Discourse Analytic Evidence
» Collecting Samples of Language-in-Use
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 » Choosing a Unit of Analysis
» Coding Units and Developing Thematic Analysis
Discourse Analytic Warrants
» Researcher Credibility
» Plausible Interpretations
Ethical Issues in Discourse Analysis Research
Key Terms
“Try It!” Activities
15 Rhetorical Criticism: Interpreting and Evaluating Messages
Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Rhetorical Theory and Rhetorical Criticism
Neoclassical and Genre Rhetorical Criticism
» Neoclassical Criticism
Claims and Data
Warrants: Standards for Evaluating Rhetorical Effectiveness
New Directions in Neoclassical Criticism 282
» Genre Criticism
Traditional Aristotelian Genre
Claims and Data
New Approaches to Genre Studies
Warrants
Interpretive Rhetorical Criticism
» Metaphoric Criticism
Claims and Data
Warrants
» Dramatism
Claims and Data
Warrants
» Narrative Analysis
Claims and Data
Warrants
Shifting Directions for Rhetorical Criticism
» Reconsidering Rhetorical Symbols and Contexts
Ethical Concerns in Rhetorical Criticism
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities
16 Critical Studies: Evaluating and Reforming Ideologies
Introduction
 Introduction
What Will You Get From This Chapter?
Outline
Claims in Critical Studies
» Evaluating and Reforming Social Structures
Marxist Criticism
Gender and Feminist Criticism
» Evaluating and Reinventing Discourse Processes
Postmodern Criticism
Cultural Criticism
Semiotic Criticism
Evidence in Critical Studies
» Actions and Events
» Texts
» Researchers’ Experiences and Beliefs
Analytic Moves in Critical Studies
» Deconstruction
» Narrative Analysis
» Frame Analysis
Warrants for Critical Studies
» Researcher Positionality
» Plausible Evaluations and Reforms
» Impact: Changes in Awareness and Praxis
Ethical Issues for Critical Scholars
Chapter Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
“Try It!” Activities

Glossary
References
Index
Preface
This book started in conversations between two teacher-scholars. As both researchers and educators,
we share a commitment to multiple ways of knowing. We believe that different research methodologies
are useful for exploring different questions about communication. Since the early 1990s, we have
taught undergraduate research methods courses at San Francisco State University (Gerianne Merrigan)
and the University of San Diego (Carole Huston). Carole has taught multiple methods courses for
undergraduate students, and Geri has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in quantitative and
multiple methods. Together, we have amassed over 55 semesters of teaching experience with more than
1,800 research methodology students.
We developed this book to reflect changes that have happened over the past 75 years, as
communication research grew from being predominantly concerned with persuasion and media effects
in the 1950s to the array of experiments, surveys, content analyses, conversation analyses,
ethnographies, and discourse analyses, along with all the forms of rhetorical, media, and critical studies
that our field now includes. We locate a variety of research methods within this historical context, and
we highlight the role of different methodologies for making different types of research arguments (i.e.,
different kinds of claims, supported by different forms of data or evidence, and warranted in distinctly
different ways). We hope to introduce undergraduate and introductory graduate students to a range of
communication research methods. Ideally, those students should be upper-division majors in a
communication-related program who have completed their university’s graduation requirements in
critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, and information literacy. However, no other prerequisite
background knowledge or skills are assumed (e.g., communication theory, statistics, or specific
computer programs).

The Research-as-Argument Model

Because many departments require a research methods course for students majoring in communication
(or speech or media), in this book we treat communication research comprehensively. We have
organized the book around three epistemological paradigms, each a response to the question, How can
we know about communication? These paradigms include quantitative social science, interpretation,
and criticism. If you are an experienced teacher of research methods, you will find the concepts you are
used to teaching in this book. But you may find that those concepts are presented in a different order or
are organized somewhat differently than you have encountered in other texts. If you have used this
book before, you will find the order of paradigms changed in this edition, a point we will return to in a
moment.
Part 1 of this book gives readers an overview, some essential questions in communication research:
why and what to study. We used Toulmin, Reike, and Janik’s (1984) model of argument to talk about
research as a way of making arguments. We think that model is applicable to quite different research
methodologies. The research-as-argument model is embraced by scholars in a variety of disciplines.
For example, here is what a Yale statistics professor of 42 years wrote about the approach:

Rather than mindlessly trashing any and all statements with numbers in them, a more mature response is to
learn enough about statistics to distinguish honest, useful conclusions from skullduggery or foolishness. . . . My
central theme is that good statistics involves principled argument that conveys an interesting and credible point.
(Abelson, 1995, pp. 1–2)
Similarly, in their textbook The Craft of Research, published by the University of Chicago Press, W. C.
Booth, Colomb, and Williams (2009) wrote,

People usually think of arguments as disputes. . . . But that is not the kind of argument that made them
researchers in the first place (p. 86). When you make a claim, give good reasons, and add qualifications, you
acknowledge your readers’ desire to work with you in developing and testing new ideas. In this light, the best
kind of argument is not verbal coercion but an act of cooperation and respect. (p. 93)

In this book, we use Toulmin’s model to show that research methodology is a process of making
claims about communication and supporting those claims with evidence and background reasoning.
The reasoning is always based on the values of a particular way of knowing, whether that paradigm is
quantitative social science, interpretation, or criticism. Therefore, in Part 1 of this book we introduce
students to “The What and Why of Communication Research.” In Chapter 1, we consider links
between communication theories and methods and some audiences for communication research. We
also introduce students to two types of academic manuscripts, including research reports and critical
essays. In Chapter 2, we introduce our claim–data–warrant model and develop the three paradigms for
communication research: quantitative social science, interpretation, and criticism. In Chapter 3, we turn
to research ethics, its history in our field, and some of the ethical choices students will face when they
decide what to study and how to study it, as well as when they collect and report data or evidence.
In Parts 2 and 3 of this book, we show students how to conduct communication research using the
methodologies associated with each epistemological paradigm. Part 2 consists of seven chapters, each
concerned with how to conduct quantitative social science research: We begin Part 2 with a chapter
devoted to making arguments for association and causality, followed by a chapter that shows students
how to design quantitative social science research. These chapters are followed by chapters devoted to
experiments, surveys, and content analysis. In one chapter we will help students interpret and analyze
descriptive and inferential statistics. We conclude Part 2 with a chapter on conversation analysis, which
we position as a bridge between the values of quantitative social scientists and those of interpretive
researchers (for more on this, see “New to this Edition”).
Part 3 consists of six chapters, each concerned with how to conduct interpretive and critical
paradigm communication scholarship. We begin Part 3 with a new chapter about how to make
arguments for multiple, plausible realities. This parallels the Part 2 chapter on making arguments with
quantitative social science. The remainder of Part 3 consists of chapters devoted to conducting
interview and focus group studies, ethnography (including autoethnography and performance
ethnography), discourse analysis, rhetorical criticism, and critical studies.
Each of the Part 2 and Part 3 chapters includes special attention to the ethical issues involved in their
respective methodologies. Most of those chapters (except Chapters 4, 5, 9, and 11) are organized in
parallel fashion, using the elements of research as argument (i.e., claims, data or evidence, and
warrants).
Parks, Faw, and Goldsmith’s (2011) national survey of research methods instruction in the United
States showed that “over 85% of responding programs offered an empirical methods course” (p. 406).
Representatives from nearly all the 149 responding programs from undergraduate, master’s, and
research institutions reported that they wanted students “to read published research and to evaluate the
research that they encounter in everyday life,” and they hoped to give “students research skills that will
be useful in a career” (Parks et al., 2011, pp. 411–412). However, only half of the individuals from
responding programs listed conducting original research as a requirement in their research methods
courses. When students were required to do research activities, they typically developed “original
research hypotheses,” administered surveys, calculated descriptive statistics, and did content analysis
(p. 414). Conducting research is a high-impact educational practice “that has been shown to be
beneficial for college students from many backgrounds” (Association of American Colleges &
Universities, 2008). As with students who participate in first-year seminars, learning communities, and
writing-intensive courses, students who conduct research improve their academic writing, group
collaboration skills reasoning and information literacy
collaboration skills, reasoning, and information literacy.
Parks et al. (2011) cautioned, however, that time constraints and the sheer range of methods
employed by communication scholars today make it unlikely that students can learn to do all research
methods in one course. Instead, they advocated introducing students to research methods early in their
programs and using course sequencing, or linked content across courses, to accomplish integration.
Oxford’s custom publishing services allow instructors to select only the chapters that are most
appropriate for their department and students. This book works well in a two-term sequence that
focuses on quantitative social science methodologies in one term and interpretive and critical
methodologies in another term. It also works very well in courses in which students explore one theme
using a variety of methodologies (e.g., media violence and society; social media and nonprofit
organizations); potentially, themed courses can be team taught by scholars with different paradigmatic
and methodological backgrounds. A variety of “Try It!” activities in each chapter can give students a
smaller taste of all the different methods.

New to This Edition

• Chapter 4, “Making Arguments for Association and Causality,” and Chapter 11, “Making
Arguments for Multiple Plausible Realities,” now replace the separate chapters in former editions
that were devoted to claims, data, and warrants across all three paradigms. This change should
make it easier for students to connect our three paradigms to their associated methodologies. It
also will be useful to instructors who want to customize the book and/or their course.
• Separated chapters for conversation analysis (Chapter 10) and discourse analysis (Chapter 14)
more clearly represent the paradigmatic differences in those ways of studying language-in-use
(i.e., as mentioned above, we present conversation analysis as a bridge between quantitative social
science values and interpretive paradigm values, whereas discourse analytic scholarship spans the
interpretive and critical paradigms).
• We added a chapter on interviews and focus groups (Chapter 12) in response to instructor and
reviewer feedback. This chapter will function to improve students’ abilities to conduct interviews
and code evidence based on repetition, recurrence, and forcefulness (Owen, 1984). Then, in
Chapter 13, “Ethnography,” and Chapter 14, “Discourse Analysis,” we build on those skills,
adding in vivo codes and thematic codes to the students’ repertoire.
• We extended the chapter titles for all Part 2 and Part 3 chapters to help students more quickly
recognize the differences and similarities among these methods.
• Based on our experience teaching CRM3e and the feedback we received from other instructors
and reviewers, we removed the step-by-step instructions and screen capture shots for using SPSS
and Excel software. The material in Chapter 9, “Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data,”
will help students understand how to test hypotheses and to analyze and interpret descriptive and
inferential statistics. However, step-by-step instructions become quickly outdated as software
changes; and students can readily find YouTube videos and other online sources to determine how
to enter data, create visual displays, and run tests.
• Part 1 includes a greater emphasis (relative to CRM3e) on how proprietary and academic research
is utilized in different industries and careers, especially in the media industry.
• The ethics chapter (Chapter 3) now includes links to the ethical codes of conduct for 10
professional associations relevant to communication researchers in academics and industry.

Features of This Book

The style of presentation and writing in this book is similar to that of our previous editions. We worked
to provide more attention to proprietary and electronic research in this edition (e.g., analytics,
Mechanical Turk) and to show students how research skills will matter in their roles at work; as
consumers, parents, and voters; and in health-care and community contexts during school and after
graduation Each chapter begins with a short reader-friendly introduction and student learning
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Clue

of the Gold Coin

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The Clue of the Gold Coin

Author: Helen Wells

Release date: May 6, 2018 [eBook #57100]

Most recently updated: January 24, 2021

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CLUE OF

THE GOLD COIN ***
THE CLUE OF THE GOLD COIN
In the case was a clue to the gold coin theft
THE VICKI BARR FLIGHT STEWARDESS SERIES

THE CLUE OF THE GOLD COIN

BY HELEN WELLS

GROSSET & DUNLAP

PUBLISHERS
New York
© BY GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC., 1958

All Rights Reserved

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I Sunshine Assignment 1
II A Strange Trip 21
III An Odd Offer 35
IV Pirate Gold 43
V The Fbi Takes Over 49
VI New York Interlude 66
VII Ybor City 71
VIII Mr. Quayle Again 97
IX Skull and Crossbones 104
X The Torchlight Parade 114
XI The French Sand 121
XII The Disappearance 132
XIII Havana 136
XIV The Third Man 157
XV The Mystery Solved 169
 CHAPTER I

Sunshine Assignment

SWIRLS OF HEAVY SNOWFLAKES, DRIVEN BY A BRISK wind that whistled across

the vast expanse of concrete runways that is New York City’s
Idlewild Airport, dashed against the big picture window in the
Personnel Lounge and spiraled back into the murky whiteness of the
winter morning. Inside the comfortable room, four girls, all dressed
in the trim, blue uniform of Federal Airlines stewardesses, sat in soft
leather armchairs.

“Of all the luck!” One of the girls, a tall brunette, grinned as she
shook her head in mock despair. “Here it is, the middle of the worst
winter we’ve had in years, and what do I draw as my new
assignment? New York to Chicago! The two coldest towns in the
world! And you two, you lucky kids, get the Florida run!”

Vicki Barr tucked a strand of her ash blond hair in place, and her
laugh tinkled like Chinese chimes stirred by a gentle breeze.

“Your trouble, Sue,” she said, “is that you don’t wish on stars. Now
the other night, flying down from Boston, I looked out the window
and there was Venus hanging up in the sky as bright and pretty as
you please. So I just said, ‘Star light, star bright, first star I’ve seen
tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might get the wish I wish tonight ...’”

“Oh, now, go away!”

“No. I really mean it. I said, ‘I wish I am assigned to the Florida

run.’ And the next morning the Chief Stewardess called me into her
office and told me that my new assignment was New York to
Tampa.”

Sue chuckled. “Vicki, you little vixen, I don’t know whether to

believe you or not. But just the same I envy you. When I think of
Chicago in this weather ...” She shuddered. “B-r-r-r-r! And I do mean
B-r-r-r!”

“I envy you,” one of the other girls spoke up. “You kids are really
going to have fun! I was reading the other day about the big pirate
carnival they have every year about this time down in Tampa. It’s
supposed to be as gay and giddy as the New Orleans Mardi Gras.”

“That’s the Gasparilla Pirate Festival,” the fourth girl, Vicki’s co-
stewardess, volunteered. Cathy Solms was a tall, slender girl about
Vicki’s own age, with flaming red hair that contrasted sharply with
the pale blue of her perky cap. “And you’re right. Vicki and I are
going to have buckets of fun.” She winked at her flight partner and
grinned. “By the way, Vicki, I wonder what big things are happening
out in Chicago this winter.”

“Don’t rub it in,” Sue said. She glanced at the pattern of snow
swirling up against the wide window. “If this keeps up, it doesn’t
look as if any of us will get away from New York.”

“Maybe not you,” Vicki replied. “But we go out on schedule. I

checked with operations as I came in, and south of Washington
there’s not a snow cloud in the sky. Remember, it’s the weather at
landing, not at take-off, that counts.”
 At that moment, Johnny Baker, copilot on Vicki’s flight, stuck his
handsome, crew-cut blond head in the door.

“Let’s go, kids. No day off for you two,” he said with a wide grin.
“We’re taking off on the nose. Meet you in five minutes at Gate
Five.”

Vicki and Cathy picked up their flight bags and topcoats, and
headed for the door that Johnny had closed after him.

“Give our love to the ice on Lake Michigan,” Cathy said over her
shoulder.

“And don’t slip on the ice when you walk away from your ship,”
Vicki added with a smile.

“Get out,” Sue said, “before we throw you out. And oh, yes,” she
added, a smile twinkling in her eyes, “give our best to that pirate
fellow!”

Four hours later the big DC-6-B four-engine plane put up its port
wing as the pilot banked to swing into his landing pattern. Vicki,
strapped in the stewardess’s jump seat for the landing, looked out
the window at the tropical vista spread all around her. To her left, as
the pilot banked, the window was filled with bright blue sky,
cloudless except for a few white wisps that floated high overhead.
Through the window across the aisle, she could look down on the
sand of the beaches, gleaming golden in the early afternoon sun,
the vivid aquamarine blue of the waters of the Gulf, and the crisp
green of the lawns and gardens that surrounded the glistening white
houses.

Then the plane straightened, passed over the busy streets of the
old city, over the scattered houses in the suburbs, and at last the
hangars and runways of Tampa International Airport swept into view
over the leading edge of the wing. The big plane shuddered as
Captain March, the senior pilot, lowered his wing flaps to check the
landing speed. Then the runway rushed up to meet the ship, and
there was a shrill whine as the tires hit the concrete strip.

In her natural element, the air, the huge plane was as effortless
and graceful in flight as a soaring gull. But on the ground, her wings
vibrated and seemed to droop, and she shook all over like some
great, tired clumsy beast as she lumbered forward to the unloading
gate.

The instant she felt the ship land and steady on its taxiing course,
Vicki unfastened her seat belt and got to her feet, ready to help her
passengers collect their things and get ready to disembark. Ten
minutes later she and Cathy were standing in the open plane
doorway saying good-by to the last of them, three small children,
who, with their mother, had been making their first trip by air. The
little girls had been fascinated by the flight, and Vicki had spent all
of her spare minutes—which on a short flight like this one, and with
hot lunches to be served to eighty passengers, were very few—
answering their eager questions.

Then, rapidly, the two stewardesses checked through the big cabin
for any belongings their passengers might have left behind.

“I hope our hotel is on the beach,” Cathy said, stopping for a

moment to gaze out at the warm sunshine. “I can’t wait to start
working on a Florida tan.”

“I’m staying with Louise Curtin’s family,” Vicki said. “At least for the
first few trips.”

“Louise Curtin?”

“She was in my class at the University of Illinois,” Vicki explained.

“Her family lives down here. When I wrote that I was going to be on
the Tampa run, she phoned me the minute she got the letter and
insisted that I absolutely must stay with them on my layovers.”

“It’s nice to have friends,” Cathy sighed. “Much better than a hotel
room.”

Federal, like all other airlines, provided hotel accommodations for

their crews when they were away from home. In New York, Vicki
shared an apartment with several other Federal Airlines
stewardesses.

“That reminds me. I have another friend in Tampa,” Vicki said. “I’ll
have to look him up.”

“Ah!” Cathy said, brightening. “Do I smell romance in the air?”

Vicki laughed. “I hate to disappoint you, Cathy. But Joey Watson is

a boy who works here in the Federal warehouse. He’s an orphan,
poor kid, a cousin of Bill Avery, the pilot who taught me to fly.”

Cathy’s eyes widened. “To fly? Don’t tell me you’re a pilot as well
as a stewardess!”

“I’ve had my private license for two years.” Vicki smiled. “But I
don’t have a chance to get in much flying time when I’m in New
York. Anyway,” she went on, “Joey was dying to learn to fly, and Bill
asked me if I’d mind putting in a good word for him with Federal’s
personnel department. There happened to be an opening here, and
Joey got the job. So, you see, there goes your romance. I’m afraid
Joey thinks of me more as a mother.”

Cathy surveyed Vicki’s slim, trim figure, looking her up and down
with an expression of exaggerated appraisal on her face.

“You don’t look like the mother type to me, gal.”

 “All right.” Vicki chuckled. “Make it big sister if that suits you
better.”

At that moment the door to the flight deck opened and Captain
March entered the main cabin, followed by Johnny Baker, the copilot.
The captain had a leather brief case tucked under his arm and both
men carried blue canvas overnight bags stamped with the name and
insignia of the airline.

“How did it go, girls?” the captain asked.

“Smooth as silk,” Vicki answered. “Everybody seemed to enjoy

themselves, and one or two went out of their way to say so.”

“Fine,” the captain said briskly. “That’s good. Now let’s check in
and get out to the hotel. I could use a swim.”

As the four crew members walked from the plane to Federal’s

operations office in the airport building, Vicki explained to Captain
March about her invitation to stay with the Curtins.

“And oh, yes,” she continued. “A young friend of mine works as a

cargo handler in the freight warehouse.” She told the captain briefly
about Joey Watson and how she had helped get him his job. “Do
you suppose it will be all right if I go over and say hello?”

“I don’t see why not,” the captain replied. “Just be sure to check
with the foreman first. They don’t like to have unauthorized
personnel wandering around.”

A few minutes after they had made their routine check-in, Vicki
said good-by to her fellow crew members and strolled leisurely in the
direction of the big warehouse building.

A heavy-set man lounged in the warehouse doorway, holding a

half-consumed bottle of coke in his hand. He looked quizzically at
Vicki as she approached.
 “Can you please tell me where I can find the foreman?” Vicki
asked politely.

“You’re talkin’ to him,” the man said. His square-cut face was
expressionless, neither friendly nor unfriendly.

“I’d like to see Joey Watson for a minute. Is he on duty this

afternoon?”

“Yep. You a friend of his?”

Vicki put on her prettiest smile. “Well, sort of,” she said. “I haven’t
seen him for some time, and if I may, I’d like to say hello.”

“Just a second,” the foreman said. “I’ll go get him.” He turned and
disappeared into the huge building.

Vicki looked in through the open door. Piles of boxes, cartons, and
bulky sacks stood stacked like islands on the big expanse of floor.
Cargo handlers were busy sorting these, loading some on small
motor carts and unloading others that had just been taken off
incoming planes. Backed up at a long platform that ran the length of
the opposite side of the building were half a dozen trucks waiting to
pick up the cargo for local delivery. Other workmen weighed
outgoing boxes and bales, and nailed cartons up more securely. The
whole place had an air of quiet efficiency.

A tall, young figure dashed out of the dimness of the big room and
ran up to Vicki, a big smile spread all across his eager face.

“Miss Vicki!” he cried breathlessly, holding out his hand. “I never

expected to see you here!”

“Hi, Joey!” Vicki greeted him. She took his outstretched hand, and
he pumped hers in a warm but excited handshake. “How’s the job
going?”
 “Swell, Miss Vicki! Just swell!”

Joey Watson was eighteen, tall, thin, and with long arms that
dangled awkwardly from his skinny shoulders. As he stood grinning
contagiously, he reminded Vicki of a friendly, energetic, oversized
puppy. She couldn’t help grinning back at him.

“Well,” Vicki asked, “are there enough airplanes around here to

suit you?”

“There sure are. I’d have taken any kind of job, even sweeping
the place out, just to be around planes. And I can’t thank you
enough for getting this one for me.”

Just then the dour foreman reappeared.

“Oh, Van,” Joey said eagerly, “I want you to meet Miss Vicki Barr.
She’s a Federal stewardess and—” he added, his eyes shining, “a
pilot.”

Van mumbled an acknowledgment of the introduction. “Don’t take

too long a break, boy,” he said to Joey. “Ed will need you on his cart
to meet the three-fifty flight from Dallas.”

The foreman nodded briskly to Vicki and walked off. Vicki looked
after his wooden, uniformed figure. Was he naturally chilly, or just a
nose-to-the-grindstone type? Oh, well! It really didn’t matter. She’d
probably never see him again. She turned her attention back to
Joey.

“I’m afraid I’m not much of a pilot”—she smiled—“whatever you

may think.”

Joey’s face wrinkled up in a grin. “Anyone who can fly is pretty big
in my book.” He pointed to an area of concrete strip between the
warehouse and a service hangar next door. “See that Beech sitting
over there?”
 A small, twin-engine Beechcraft stood on the strip. The cowling
had been removed from one of her engine nacelles and a man stood
on a step-ladder tinkering with the motor.

“That’s Steve Miller,” Joey said. “He’s a charter pilot here at the
field, and he’s promised to teach me to fly.”

“Why, that’s wonderful!” Vicki exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with

pleasure. She knew that being able to fly was the most important
thing in the boy’s life.

“Steve’s the best,” Joey went on enthusiastically. “So’s Van Lasher

—he’s the fellow I introduced you to just now. Gosh! Everybody
around this airport is pretty swell.”

“You just naturally like everybody that has anything to do with

airplanes, don’t you, Joey?”

“I sure do,” he admitted. “Say, Miss Vicki, how long did it take you
to solo? Were you nervous the first time?”

Vicki smiled. “See here, young man, if we start talking flying you’ll
never get back to work.”

“I guess you’re right,” the boy said, laughing. “It wouldn’t do to

lose this job, now that I’m getting ready to be a fly boy for real.”

Vicki said good-by and promised to look Joey up again. Then she
walked back to the airport building.

Even though it had become a common, everyday sight to her, an

airport waiting room never failed to fascinate Vicki. And this one at
Tampa was particularly interesting. Passengers from incoming planes
carried heavy coats that they had worn when they had left the
northern winter weather. Sometimes friends, tanned and wearing
gay-colored sports clothes, were waiting to greet them.
 Through the big picture window She could see the air taxis waiting
at one end of the field. Anyone who wished to fly across Tampa Bay
to Clearwater or St. Petersburg, or across the Caribbean to Cuba or
Mexico, could charter a plane like the one Joey’s instructor—Steve
Miller—flew. Everything seemed so easygoing and carefree here,
Vicki thought, in this sun-kissed land where the breeze was scented
with the perfume of flowers.

She stopped at the Federal reservations counter where she had

left her bag, picked it up, and then went out the building’s main
entrance to look for a taxi.

Twenty minutes later the taxi pulled up at the Curtins’ home, and
Vicki, carrying her bag and topcoat, stepped out. She stopped for a
moment, after she had paid her fare, to look at the dignified old
house. It was red brick, old-fashioned and comfortable-looking,
surrounded by a close-clipped lawn and rambling flower gardens.
Two tall palm trees flanked it on either side. She opened the iron
gate and walked down a flagstone path to the front door.

Before she could ring the bell, the door flew open and there stood
Louise, looking more grownup than Vicki remembered her, with her
dark hair done up in a chignon and a big smile of welcome on her
beautiful, delicately tanned face. Louise had written that she was
doing social work, but Vicki found it hard to believe that this lovely,
vivacious girl could confine her energies to anything so unglamorous.

“Vicki! How wonderful to see you again!” Louise hugged her and
then stepped back and appraised her. “You’ve changed!”

Vicki laughed. “It’s pretty wonderful to see you, too. But you don’t
have to sound so accusing. You’ve changed yourself!”

“You’re so poised now, Vicki, and so très chic in that lovely blue
uniform. I remember you used to be shy.”
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