"Pete and Chuck were operating," explained Oliver Torrey.  "Sam and I both wanted to get above the tornado, but they said they thought it wouldn't amount to much.  When they saw how bad it really was, it was too late.  A whirlpool of wind struck us at three thousand feet, Pete lost control, and we went into a nose-dive from which we never recovered.  When we struck the sea the force crushed in the front of the cabin, stunning Pete, and before any of us could grab him the waves had washed him out of our sight.  Chuck, Sam, and I managed to get out and climb up on the fuselage; but the seas were running so high that half of the time we were buried in water.  Coming out of one of these deluges, I looked around and saw that I was alone.  Then the storm passed, and things looked better for me.  But I was just about ready to give up when I saw the Sky-Bird coming."