worked. I began to think it really might fly.
Emmett stopped what he was doinâ and stood beside the plane. He pulled out a long sheet of canvas and threw it over the skeleton. He showed us how to get it wet with starch, then sew it together so it wrapped around the wire frame. We figured out that the canvas must shrink when it dries, pulling it tight. Emmett went back to the engine and started puttinâ pieces together. Me and Two Moons dragged the waterinâ trough over and started soakinâ the canvas in starch.
It wasnât until long after dark that we had most of the plane canvased. Emmett was workinâ on the engine. He made a paste out of oil and sand and spun the valves in their openings. I guess that made them fit a little better. He sure took his time with it. He handled every valve and piston like it was fine china. Then he cut gaskets out of heavy paper and put the head and the valve covers on. I guess it was later than we thought âcause when we stood up to take a break, Two Moons noticed the sun was startinâ to rise above the mountains. Suddenly we were very tired. Thatâs when Pa came out.
âWell, Iâll be,â Pa said. âLooks like Emmett ainât the only crazy one around here.â
He laughed at that. Emmett didnât pay him any attention, and me and Two Moons were too tired to say much of anything. We laid down in the straw and were about to take a snooze.
âWhat are you two doinâ?â Pa said.
âWeâre kinda tired, Pa,â I said.
âThatâs your own doinâ,â he said. âYou still got chores to do before you get off to school.â
We hadnât even thought about school. I knew right away thereâd be no talkinâ about it. Weâd been in enough trouble at school already. No use even tryinâ to argue with Pa.
âGet a move on,â he said.
Me and Two Moons slowly stood up and started for the chicken coop to gather eggs.
âEmmett,â Pa said. âYou donât think this will really fly, do you?â
Emmett didnât say anything. He made airplane noises and swooped his arm through the air. Pa laughed.
âThatâs what I thought,â he said.
By the time we got to school we could hardly keep our eyes open. We were two zombies roaminâ the halls in broad daylight. We both fell asleep in class, but Two Moons didnât fall out of his chair the way I did. The whole class roared with laughter. I hadnât been so embarrassed since I sleepwalked into the parlor one night in my underwear. Maâs tea club was over that eveninâ and I came strollinâ down in my birthday best. I didnât wake up until I was stand-inâ right in the middle of the party. I can still hear them laughinâ.
Anyway, at recess we both laid down under a tree at the edge of the schoolyard and slept until Miss Alexander woke us up.
âYou two have a rough night?â she asked.
âI suppose so,â I said.
âI hear Two Moons is going to live with his sister in Bozeman,â she went on. âIs that true?â
âYes, maâam,â Two Moons said.
âWell, weâre going to miss you here, Two Moons,â Miss Alexander told him. âYouâre a bright boy.â
âThank you, maâam,â Two Moons said.
We felt a little better after that nap. It gave us the strength to suffer through the rest of the school day.
When the school bell rang, we dashed out and ran all the way home like two thirsty horses. We didnât even wait for Esther. We ran straight to the plane. Emmett wasnât there, but it looked like he had worked all day. We figured he must be asleep. He had recanvased some of our work, and a good part of the engine was put back together. The propeller was leaninâ against the barn and had been sanded and varnished. The canvas had mostly dried, and was tight as a drum.
We got goose bumps just lookinâ
Landon Dixon, Giselle Renarde, Beverly Langland