On Wings of the Morning Read Free Page A

to follow orders and the rest is up to the good Lord.”
    Doctor Carter came into the room looking tired and disheveled. Without a word, he pulled back the sheet and examined the cast on Otto’s leg. He grunted and turned to Rose. “Rose, would you excuse us for a moment. I need to talk to Otto here.”
    Rose looked at him quizzically and then turned and carried the tray out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Doc watched her go and then faced Otto. He looked grave. “I want to talk to you about this airplane foolishness.”
    Otto’s mind went blank for a moment. Foolishness? Why were airplanes foolish? He didn’t understand.
    Doc continued, “Your remind me of our son Jack when he was your age. The Wright brothers flew when he was ten and he talked and dreamed of airplanes and flying the rest of his life, short as it was. He just had to go into the flying corps when we entered the war, and that’s what got him killed.”
    Otto had seen the memorial to those killed in the Great War. Jack Carter’s name was listed near the bottom, one of the last local casualties of the war. “He was a hero,” he began.
    Doc’s face tightened. “He’s dead, Otto, and you will be too if you persist. I know you’re young, but I’m also telling you to give up this airplane business. Don’t put your parents through what we’ve been through.”
    Otto couldn’t speak. He thought everyone was excited about airplanes, especially after Colonel Lindberg’s flight the year before. Everyone but his father, that is. Now he could add Doc to the list. He didn’t want to lie and say he would give up airplanes, so he was silent.
    Doc looked toward the closed door. “I think your parents are here to pick you up. Remember what we talked about.”
    Otto nodded, thinking, yes, I will remember but I won’t do what you asked.
    Mata appeared in the doorway, looking serious and pale. She ran over to Otto and hugged him. “Oh, Otto, I was so afraid when I saw you lying there in the dirt! Mama and Papa said you were all right, but I just had to see for myself.” Otto put a hand on the top of her head, noticing as if for the first time how evenly her twin braids came out of her head. Mama braided her hair every morning for her. She said that was how girls wore their hair in Germany.
    “I’ll be fine, sister. I’ll have to use a crutch for a while, but I’ll be good as new very soon.” Mata raised her head and smiled rapturously at him.
    “I’m so glad, Otto. Papa says you can help Mama and me with the chickens and the garden.” Otto sighed. There was no escaping work on the farm, even with a broken leg. He had hoped to have extra time to read some of the books he had selected from the bookmobile which came by once a month. The library lady tried to save books on airplanes for him. She knew how much he liked to read about them.
    Mama and Papa came in with Dr. Carter. “All right, Otto, you can go home with your parents. Just remember what we talked about,” said Carter gravely. “I’ll see you back here in a couple of weeks to see how that leg is doing. We should be able to take the cast off in time for school.”
    Otto struggled to sit up on the side of the bed. Rose came in with a pair of crutches which she gave to him. He put one under each arm. The padded pieces felt funny, but he made one tentative step, then another. Mata held onto him as he traversed the room and slowly went to the door. He turned to look at Doc and Rose. “Thank you, Doctor. Thank you, Mrs. Carter.”
    Rose waved. “No more jumping from haylofts,” she called.
    “Good-bye, Mrs. Carter,” Otto waved.
    He clumped down the path to the Model T. His papa helped him into the truck bed where Mata climbed up beside him. Mama had brought one of the goosedown pillows from the house and put it under his cast. Mata clung to him as if he would float away. Papa started the truck and swung it in a wide half-circle to head out of town. Some of the buildings were