First Flight Read Free

this is a terrible thing.”
    “Noted.” She turned her attention to Mr. Barnes. “Given the trial runs, what’s the shortest amount of time she’ll need to be out of sight?”
    “There’s a bend in the road that she should reach in about ten minutes.”
    “Let’s set her down fifteen minutes early, then.” She surveyed the board. “Unless there are objections?”
    Nobody but Louise seemed to care, and she kept her mouth shut before she could say something not very Christian.
    * * *
    When the steel booth vanished this time, the field looked exactly as it had before, save that the sun hadn’t risen quite as high in the sky. The dust kicked up around her shoes as she walked, and it smelled of the mud pies she used to make as a child. She passed the knotted fence about where Homer had picked her up and kept on to where she thought they been when she vanished. The trees came down almost to the edge of the road and made a place to hide. Oh, but wasn’t she tempted to turn off and rest, waiting for Homer to turn up. There was even a natural bench where a tree had fallen.
    But even if she hadn’t given her word, they’d know if she waited because of that hat-cam. There was nothing to do but to get the photos fast enough so she could come back and talk to Homer before the plane flew. That wasn’t supposed to happen until eleven o’clock, which should give her plenty of time.
    She got to the bend in the road and looked back to see if Homer’s wagon was in sight, but didn’t see a sign of him yet. Louise headed on to Huffman Prairie and felt every year of her life as she walked. Dust coated her shoes and the hem of her dress by the time she reached the field. A trickle of sweat crept between her scalp and the wig, driving her crazy with its slow progress across her skin.
    The hanger in the middle of the field was in worse shape than it was in her present. Some historical society had built a replica of the rough structure, but it bore little resemblance to the original. She dug into her handbag and pulled out a pair of opera glasses. Thumbing the switch, she turned on the high-definition digital camera embedded inside the case and began filming the barn and surrounding field. Sun cut across the field, weaving in and out of the tall grass like a child playing hide and seek. Across the way, a group of men in suits and ties were carrying the Wright Flyer III to the single rail track next to the hangar. The catapult tower stood in front of them, waiting to hurl the flyer down the rail and into the air.
    Louise lowered the opera glasses. Well now, she hadn’t expected them to start moving it so early, so maybe Dr. Connelly had a point after all.
    She’d seen photos of the plane, of course, but until this moment the reality of time travel hadn’t hit her. She recognized the Wright Brothers like they were her own family. The fellow down at the end with the handlebar mustache, that was Orville. And over there, with the bright blue eyes, was Wilbur, covering his bald head with a bowler, even while he was working.
    And then there was the plane. It was like a child’s model made large. A wood and cloth construction that was equal parts grace and lumbering ox. Looking at it, it was hard to believe that it would roll down the track, much less fly for half an hour. Louise raised the opera glasses to her eyes and filmed the men settle the plane on the track. They milled around then, while Orville Wright did something with the one wheel trolley underneath.
    She checked her watch. 8:45, which was about when she’d vanished on the first trip. There was two hours yet before the flight was going to happen. She’d need to hurry and snap the photo of that gear they wanted and then hurry down the road to meet Homer. There ought to be more than enough time to get down the road to Homer and be back for the flight.
    The board had their mission and she had hers. Tucking the opera glasses back into her bag, Louise made her way across the