{"product_id":"2940148211754","title":"Linda Carlton, Air Pilot (Illustrated)","description":"A blue sports roadster, driven by a girl in a lovely crêpe suit of the same color, threaded its way through the traffic of Spring City's streets to the concrete road that led to the aviation field on the outskirts. Passing the city's limits, the car sped along under the easy assurance of its competent driver, whose eyes were bluer than its paint, deeper than the dress that she was wearing. They were shining now with happiness, for the end of this ride promised the most thrilling experience of her life. That afternoon Linda Carlton was to have her first flight in an airplane!\u003cbr\u003eShe parked her car outside of the field and locked it cautiously. Jumping out, she fairly skipped inside the boundary.\u003cbr\u003eA tall, good-looking young man in a flier's suit came from one of the hangars to meet her.\u003cbr\u003e[Pg 8]\u003cbr\u003e\"Miss Carlton?\" he said, extending his hand.\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes—Mr. Mackay. You see I'm here—a little early, I expect. You haven't forgotten your promise?\"\u003cbr\u003eHis pleasant face darkened, and he looked doubtfully at the sky.\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm afraid it may rain, Miss Carlton. We've suspended pleasure trips for today. But perhaps tomorrow——\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh, no!\" she cried in deep disappointment, and the young man believed that her eyes grew moist. \"I can't get away tomorrow, or any other day this week. You see I'm a senior at school, and I'm just rushed to death.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, that's too bad,\" he said, looking again at the sky. \"And of course it may not rain after all. But orders are orders, you know.\"\u003cbr\u003eThe girl looked down at the ground, probably, he thought, to hide the tears that would come to her eyes. She was so pretty, so serious, so anxious to go up. It evidently wasn't only a whim with her; she really wanted to fly—like Amelia Earhart, and Elinor Smith. How he hated to deny her!\u003cbr\u003e\"Isn't there something you could do?\" she finally asked. \"Take me up as one of your friends—not as a visitor to the aviation field.... Why, Mr. Mackay, suppose your sister[Pg 9] came to see you today, wouldn't you be allowed to take her up?\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes,\" he replied, smiling. \"But that would be on my responsibility, not the school's.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Then,\" she pleaded, and she was radiant again with enthusiasm, \"couldn't I be your responsibility?\"\u003cbr\u003eHe nodded, won over to her wishes.\u003cbr\u003e\"If you put it that way, Miss Carlton, I can't refuse! But I'll have to take you in the plane I'm working on now—making some tests with—and it isn't the most reliable plane in the world. Not one we use to take visitors up in.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"But if it's safe enough for you, it's safe enough for me. I'm satisfied.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm afraid your parents wouldn't be,\" he objected.\u003cbr\u003e\"There I think you're wrong,\" she asserted. \"My father believes in taking chances. He has always let me do dangerous things—ride horseback, and drive a car and swim far out in the ocean.... And my mother is dead.\"\u003cbr\u003e\"Very well, then,\" agreed Mackay. \"Please come over here with me. I have been trying to fix up an old biplane, and I think I have her in shape now. But we'll both wear parachutes for precaution.\"\u003cbr\u003eHer heart fluttering wildly from happiness,[Pg 10] but not at all from fear, Linda accompanied the young flier across the huge field to the runway, where a biplane was resting in readiness for its test. Mackay put her into the cockpit, examined the engine again, and the parachutes, helped her to fasten one of the latter on, in case of an accident, and started the motor. A minute later the plane taxied forward, faster and faster, until it rose from the ground.\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh!\" cried Linda, in a tone of deepest joy, although her companion could not hear her for the roar of the motor. \"Oh, I'm so happy!\"\u003cbr\u003eUp, up, up they went, until they reached the clouds, where the atmosphere seemed misty and foggy. But it did not matter to Linda that the sky was not blue; nothing could spoil the ecstasy she experienced in knowing that at last she was where she had always longed to be.\u003cbr\u003eNever for a moment was she the least bit dizzy. The sensation of floating through the air was more marvelous than anything she had ever dreamed of.\u003cbr\u003eFor some minutes she just allowed herself to dream of the future when she herself would be in control of a plane, sailing thus through the skies. Then she remembered with a start that if she ever expected her ambitions to be fulfilled, it would be necessary to learn how flying was[Pg 11] accomplished. She began to examine everything in the cockpit. It was too noisy to ask her companion any questions, but she watched him carefully and tried to figure out what she could for herself. She identified the joystick, which controlled the plane, and she recognized the compass and the altimeter, which registered the height—now sixteen hundred feet—to which they had climbed. All the while she made mental notes of questions she would ask her pilot when they reached the ground.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Lost Leaf Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47078914588912,"sku":"2940148211754","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940148211754_p0.jpg?v=1763699473","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940148211754","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}