Show Q EA T BY RUTH COMFORT MITCHELL COPYRIGHT D APPLETON CENTURY CO INC an SERVICE SYNOPSIS sarah lynn dana youngest of the dani dana women ol of danavage Da navale calif chafes at the th wel ordered life proved approved by her mother adelaide who la Is st trying to marry her to tc duncan van doren detroit society youth great granny dana covered wagon pioneer and community matriarch recognizes in the th girl arl the restless adventurousness of the dark danas a trait shared by tier her and cousin sally ann dana traveler and au author hor and pleads with wab sally ann to take the girl abroad uncle lynn wheelchair invalid adds his plea to sally ann to save sarah lyon as does the girls young brother bill another plea comes from miss pennington penny adoring governess of the girl saying saving she Is unhappy and misunderstood at ata a family dinner party sally ann first hears bears of keaton danas ultramodern ultra modern wife A ardine r who runs a roadhouse called the ape S stewed e e prune and Is trying to wangle a flight with gunnar Tb thorwald orwald norwegian ace famous for his refusal to fly women through their mutual friend jim allison gunnar thorwald Tb orwald arrives with jim allison and sarah lynn is attracted to him duncan invites her to the stewed prune sarah lynn refuses to drink anything but ginger ale cousin mary dana webster tells sarah she suspects ardine and her friends friend of framing on gunnar and sarah lynn in an increasing stupor decides to warn him when gunnar arrives angry at jim allison for missing connections he be hears sarah lynn cry go away dont come ini in ladybug fly away hume and sees her carried out to the ladles ladies loom unconscious gunnar arrives at the airport sarah lynn partly out of her stupor imagines the sen sensations s actions 0 of I 1 flying with gunnar at the controls gunnar at flying to los angeles senses som someone eone standing behind him when he realizes it is sarah lynn he shouts keep away from me drunken fool will listen to no explanation and detours to fresno thrown out at fresno like a sack of mail sarah lynn Is greeted by a group hea headed tied by a bri bride and groom who bo recognize gunnar while the bride drives sarah lynn to the hotel to await her father one of the party phones the story to the newspapers identifying the two fliers and the bride as kitty medill wild stunt filer danavage Da navale Is convinced sarah lynn has been drugged uncle lynn promises to get the truth to gunnar sany sally takes sarah lynn abroad and writes uncle lynn of her plan to make an aviatrix avla trix out of her sarah lynn receives a cable from home borne saying her mother is threatened with pneumonia sarah lynn arrives home gunnar comes to ask her pardon and invites her to fly CHAPTER VII continued 7 conrad jordan observed him with satisfaction that lad ad will never smash up through ough is own carelessness he nodded he amplified it for her most of the crashes occur on the ground 1 I see sarah lynn said quickly he considered her shrewdly 1 I believe you do they were step ping nearer to the plane and he said above the roar you can get aboard now he took her elbow in a firm hand and helped her into the cabin she sat down quickly in the rear seat fastening the belt about her waist calmly folding her hands in her lap the hermod taxied sturdily down the field and took off trimly there were instants when it seemed to hang in the clear air suspended over the field she could see conrad jordan waving presently he lost dignity and importance and became a tiny toy figure in a world of playthings and vanished altogether they flew over the santa cruz mountains brown green compact as if they had been carved out of wood land painted they circled the water and turned inland again picking up the mountains 1 danavage Da navale san jose the airport like dropped stitches sarah lynn caught her breath quick such heavenly quickness lie he nodded 1 I have named him for lor hermod the swift one you know 1 I know hermes mercury it yes we go down now the west was darkening when he ley y swooped to earth with a suave landing ding and rolled briskly to the v hangar the old attendant came limping w to open the door and help her out r conrad atai jordan was not in sight he said would you come speak i to to him in the phone booth the art an addressed gunnar and the norwegian ace followed him in in L the ine older der flier stood with the re r beiver in i his hand hello gun do you mind rm im waiting for tr this glendale dale connection will you r run miss dana home for me art api ease dont trouble she said quickly akly they will send a car for me but gunnar was already step ping followed KeTh n toward him trL the roadster and she plane pae lie drove a acar car as smoothly ty as a li they had ticked ed off a twi light mile before 66 he spoke you have lear ve no fear r no pl that 1 is good after a moment she said 1 I want jo to be a flier that at is also good T ll 11 6 n fly V yu you think women should I 1 why not women have courage the skill they may learn in the ancient history of my country the women fought often beside their men 1 I know she remembered the governess books from the library my grandmother he begar began again his voice warmer than she had heard it before there could be no more of courage in woman or 01 man presently he said your grandmother I 1 also like sarah lynn kindled ohl oh great gr annys splendid she ran away irom from home when she was fifteen and joined an emigrant train and came across the plains in a covered wagon and there were indians and hunger and thirst and i they were running into danavage Da navale ohl oh not my uncles house I 1 want to go home please to the left it would be over in a moment and there was a thing she must ask ive been wondering there any fear I 1 know that of course but when youre flying alone hour after hour do you ever think about death often he told her readily with great interest but not with what is your word ea germent she nodded it seemed an excellent word this house the large complacent dwelling of edwin and adelaide dana was all golden windows of death yes an adventure gunnar thorwald said stopping the car life is one ad advent veril ture death is another I 1 wish you the good evening sarah lynn stepped out and instantly st without another word he was away 0 gunnar thorwald drove conrad jordans car swiftly back to the air airport and found the hermod put away for the night and his friend waiting for him outside the hangar so the norwegian ace said grave gravely ly you are satisfied I 1 have X V I 1 na N you mean asked the pardon I 1 have taken her to fly it is finished it must have been almost at the same instant that lynn dana was typing to his traveling cousin in in geneva and so sally ann my dear it has begun sarah lynn was twenty years old on the fifteenth of june her first waking thought was now im exactly old enough to begin my flight training for months she had been saying id like to fly and 1 I want to fly and finally im going to fly I 1 but without an any deeper delving into the proposition sarah lynns pla place ce at the breakfast table was festive wit with h flowers and tissue and packages her mother made much of birther days her dark and di difficult daughter opened her gifts with grateful warmth and ran to kiss and thank her make you hap 41 vm m so glad they darling darling but you looked p nv ya I 1 reminded she at ke the big box yet her archly it would be from duncan van doren from the smartest of of course francisco florists floris t s she lift lifted ed sa sn n layers I 1 of glistening damp away si and regi registered estered acthen green fic tic appreciation paper she touched eno lilies and forget me ot of the valley and tiny pink rosebuds rosebuds with her brown fingertips finger tips duncan has perfect taste all ah yes he her mother said gratefully will you arrange them now dear the low green bowls and the little crystal vases for the lilies you fix for me mother please you do it so much better bette r and pennys dennys waiting I 1 promised to walk with her mrs dana was wistfully cheery about it sure that a brisk walk would do her child good but dont stay away too long dar darling lingl she said with the look which meant her sly sweet hopes happy plans for ahw the birthday sarah lynn found the governess and the greyhound waiting for her they set off together through the increasing loveliness of the day queer no presents from areat great granny and uncle lynal all ah well the days not done miss bennington ienn pennington ington wagged her head in its stern outdated out dated sailor hat penny where shall we go the high meadow remember how I 1 used to tease the ladybugs lady bugs and make them fly away home and tell them their houses were on fire and their children would burn 1 I remember uncle lynn and great granny used to call me ladybug they I 1 thought of that for years you indeed something in her tone made mad e sarah lynn halt penny dear we are going too fast lightning seems to set the pace but we can shift into low if you like certainly not oh look at lightning the greyhound greyhound at the bend of the road tensely silhouetted was gazing fixedly into space she glorious when ashes sighting something her lines do things to me like sunsets and symphonies they rounded the curve and sarah ah lynn cried theres a plane look penny a plane in our field she began to run lightning bounding before with shrill suspicious barks there in the center of the broad meadow searing already toward the long bright rainless summer an airplane rested on the ground like some great bird briefly breaking its flight it did not look disabled to sarah lynn and the pilot stood unhurt beside it out of 9 gas as probably there was a closed car close by and she was abreast of it before she realized it was the one shared by her great grandmother and her uncle she stood still then beginning to shake with excitement the ancestress hopped nimbly out of the machine and hurried to her there were dabs of dull crimson on her cheek cheekbones bones and she was laughing in her shrill cackling giggle her great granddaughter managed a strangled whisper what mat what is it its your covered wagon sairy lynn for me to keep questions going off like a string of small firecrackers yours lynn dana answered from the windows of the car she ran to him her mouth working uncle lynn uncle lynn not belonging to me to fly all yours and only yours many happy returns from great granny and me we let conrad jordan and gunnar thorwald pick it out for us but we were very firm about havin having ei a gipsy moth he grinned at her it was the nearest we could get then she saw what he meant the little ship was painted a clear clear sharp lacquer red with its name in black letters L A D Y B U G the pilot t tugged bugged briefly at his cap le roys my name flew her over for you he had a deeply scarred face and a bitter mouth but there was a look of weathered and seasoned youth about him want to take a hop yes but first I 1 must look she w walked round and round the plane several times time S putting out a hand to touch it then she went back to the donors and gave a hand to each and stood staring at them great granny uncle lynn she began trying to assemble an adequate sentence she shut her eyes and kept the lids tight for a long instant before she opened them again and the nonagenarian and sat still in a who had the man an chair for in more ore than half his life would alwa always remember the drowned glory of them do you mind if I 1 go she asked huskily you just dpn put out sairy lynn the ancient woman told her shrilly competing with the noise of the motor the man said with his good grin ladybug ladybug fly away home then she ran back to the plane lightning beside her are you going to teach me the pilot nodded without undue enthusiasm how long will it take he shrugged depends she flushed of course but 1 I mean if I 1 try with all my might if im not too dumb if I 1 study and work just for a private of course private flying license the quickest ten hours instruction ten hours solo flying the minimum yes she said contentedly when is my first lesson tomorrow ohl oh not today he shook his head physical examination lots of details to fix up but ill hop you over to the field now and your folks folk sll drive over after you ready with swift strength he swung her up and into the cockpit and climbed in himself charter CHAPTER VIII soon they were taxi taxiing Ig over the meadow and sarah lynn saw with a warm of gratitude that it had been leveled into the semblance of a decent landing field great granny uncle lynn going to that extra expense so that she might see her ladybug first in the setting setting of old memories the plane turned disdained disdain ed the browning grass rose serenely into the air instantly sarah lynn knew in a blaze of ecstasy that she had never flown before turning traitor to all earlier thrills she realized that a cabin plane cut in two the kingdom and the power and the g glory I 1 ory now with nothing between her and the sky she was really flying I 1 my first flight in my own plane she told herself rapturously 1 I can never be as happy as this again if I 1 live to be a hundred she wished passionately that there were more hours instead of minutes before her but the gipsy moth devoured the miles relentlessly and came daintily down at the san jose airport men came running with g grinning rinn ing friendly faces to help her out mechanics chanice cs helpers attendants there was a youth with a camera which clicked as sarah lynn stepped to the ground well miss dana how do you like your boat slick job huh going to fly her yourself he came closer mind if I 1 get one of you and gunnar thorwald together the reporter persisted shaking hands huh bull sort of welcome to the sky gunnar Tb thorwald orwald here she began coldly but then she saw him coming toward her ohl oh please wed rather not she kept her head down the norwegian ace reached them 1 I drive you home he said without preliminary greeting the young newspaper man managed age d a snap snapshot shot while they got into jordans car thanks a lot he called out his nose looking pertly triumphant they rolled out of the field and d down ow n the road oh I 1 forgot sarah lynn said great granny and uncle L lynn y n n were coming for me im afraid I 1 must wait for them we meet them on the road yes we could you must go quickly home 10 oh h no she discarded the happy birthday plans at which her mother had archly hinted you mean 1 I have the earnest wish to see those large trees A m muscle twitched in her cheek then well go to felton over the moun mountains bains an hour an hour and a half TO BE CONTINUED |