Free Winged Raiders of the Desert by Gilbert L. Morris Page A

so that they were at least fifteen feet from wing tip to wing tip. “When they're spread out like this, they catch the wind, you see.”
    â€œWell, what are those other cables for?” Jake asked.
    â€œOh, all sorts of things,” Lareen said. “Some move the feathers set in the trailing part of the wing so that they move up and down. That way, you can control them better.”
    â€œCan you do it without using your hands?” Sarah asked.
    â€œOh, yes—it wouldn't do much good to fly if you didn't have your hands.”
    â€œThat's right,” Swiftwind spoke up. “Learning to fly is only the first thing. You've got to learn to shoot a bow or use your sword or throw a spear at the same time you're flying.”
    Abigail shook her head. “I would never learn how to do all those things at the same time. Why, I can't even pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.”
    Lareen looked at her curiously. “Why in the world would you want to do a thing like that?” Then she shrugged her shoulders, for she had learned that the Sleepers had odd ideas. “First things first,” she said. “I'm going to takejust a little flight, nothing fancy. You watch carefully. As I leap into the air, I'll spread the wings. There's a nice breeze, you see. If I do it right, it'll pick me up, and I'll begin to rise. Watch now.”
    The young woman had the wings folded. She took two or three short steps and threw herself forward. At the same time she pulled at the cables with her body so that the wings shot out. Instantly they caught the breeze. Her body was drawn into a diving position parallel with the ground, and at once the huge wings began to lift her up.
    â€œSee!” she cried out, “It's easy!”
    Josh watched the girl sail gracefully through the air for about a hundred yards.
    Then her voice came back, “See, I'm turning now, dropping one wing and raising the other.”
    Josh stared at her and whispered to Sarah, “Kinda like a hang glider when you think of it that way.”
    But Sarah shook her head. “It's more complicated than that. I don't think any of us will ever learn.”
    Lareen came back and said, “Now, that's how it's done. Swiftwind, you show them some of the more difficult things.”
    â€œAll right.” Swiftwind threw himself in the air, his wings spread, and he rose up swiftly. His wings were much larger than Lareen's, both in width and depth.
    Josh was able to see that by means of the cables the wings moved almost as if they had life of their own. “Look at that,” he muttered to Sarah.
    They watched as the young man practically turned flips. He made abrupt turns, rose as if on a huge elevation. Then suddenly, when he was high in the air, he folded his wings and headed straight for the earth. When he was only a few hundred feet away, the wings spread and he made a swooping recovery, coming to light at their feet and folding the wings as he did so. He white teeth showedas he smiled pleasantly. “There! That's all there is to it. Who wants to try it?”
    â€œNot me!” Wash said. “I get dizzy when I step up on a curb.”
    â€œWhat's a curb?” Swiftwind demanded, then shook his head. “Never mind. Lareen, you do your best. I've got to go on a mission. Teach them the fundamentals.” He leaped into the air and soared away.
    â€œThat sure is a neat way to get from one place to another,” Dave said as he watched Swiftwind disappear. Then he added doubtfully, “But if something goes wrong, he's got a long way to fall.”
    * * *
    As the days went by, almost all the Sleepers despaired. For the first few days they did nothing but learn how to put on the wings. “Most of these are old and pretty worn out,” Lareen had said. “It takes a long time to make wings. I don't know how many thousands of feathers and seams go into them,” she admitted. “But they'll do