Chapter 6The moon was full and high when they got to the entrance of the farm where two men were posted. They opened and closed the gates for them without a word. Miss Syllin could see, a short distance away, the golden glow of a few lights close to what appeared to be a big and plain house; and she could distinguished, even in the dark, the unmistakable shapes of the planes nearby.
What she took for a house was actually a huge barn and she could see the planes, now that they were closer, clearly bathed by moonlight. She couldn't see any kind of track that could be used by the planes to land and take off. It was a certainty now, that theirs would be a clandestine flight and she had doubts for the first time about what she was about to consent. The barn surely was really a hangar, and the farm… was it actually a farm? she wondered.
As they stepped down from the carriage, men started to rush by, getting the last minute chores done for a quick and smooth departure. Everything was happening fast. No one ever said a word, not even the Countess, as if everything had been rehearsed. The icy silence of the night was only warmed by the sound of footsteps and the low voice of the only man that was giving instructions.
At once the Countess told her they would be in different planes and asked her to follow the men and do what was asked of her. Miss Syllin was overwhelmed with questions and doubts but something in the eyes of the Countess made Penny trust her.
She did what she had, and followed the men to one of the planes. The plane was smaller than what she had thought it would be: there was enough room for just one pilot and one passenger.
Once she took her sit, she saw that the Countess had been taken to the other plane and was being helped inside by other men.
The explosion of the engines being started gave her a fright and took her out of her reverie, and before she could recover from the shock, the plane was moving quickly through the bumpy field.
All of a sudden the shaking from the road stopped, she felt a thrust upwards and then the strangest feeling she had ever had. It was like peace and silence translated into the purring of the engine and the wind outside. Her world was suddenly changed, the horizon was not straight anymore and all she could see was black starry sky and the huge white orb of the moon.
