Lady Flyer, page 5
Three hours later, Nancy and her friends were safely back at the school. She called home to talk to her dad, but Robert answered, his words booming through the phone. “Hey, Sis, what’s up? Staying out of trouble?”
The emotions she’d held at bay with her friends suddenly surfaced, and her voice cracked. “Robert?”
“Did something happen?” His question was filled with concern. “Where are you?”
“School,” she said in a small voice. “I rented a plane today, and . . .” Closing her eyes, she rushed through the story of not being able to read the air compass, the fast-moving clouds, the broken oil gauge, and the forced landing.
“My golly, Nancy, you all right?”
Tears flooded her eyes, but she managed to speak through her tightened throat. “I’m all right. Just rattled my nerves a bit.”
“I won’t tell Mom if you don’t want me to, but you should tell Dad.”
“That’s why I’m calling.”
Robert released a half laugh. “Oh, right. I’m here for a few hours, then heading back to my job.”
Robert had secured a position at the DuPont organization, but he was also talking about doing postgraduate work.
“You should fly with me for a bit, Sis,” he continued. “Or take more lessons.”
“I’m in lessons,” Nancy protested. “I . . . hadn’t flown that plane before.”
“Too big for you to chew on right now, that’s all,” he mused. “You’ll get it though. Wanna fly together next weekend?”
“Sure.” Nancy’s chest warmed. Her brother wasn’t telling her to quit or blaming her for the forced landing and aborted trip.
“That’d be swell,” he said gently. “Never thought I’d miss my little sister and want to spend weekends together. Seems like you’re growing up way too fast.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Call the airfield and reserve one of the single-engine Kinner Kitty Hawks. Next Sunday. We’ll take things easy, and I’ll show you a few things.”
“We’re not hotdogging.”
When Robert didn’t answer, Nancy said, “I’m serious, Bobbin.”
She heard the smile in his voice when he replied, “We may or may not hotdog a little because we gotta have some fun.”
Chapter Five
“[Ruth] Nichols set a transcontinental speed record [in December 1930], flying from New York to Los Angeles with four overnight stops but a total elapsed flying time of just sixteen hours and fifty-nine and a half minutes. . . . Unsatisfied, [Ruth] Nichols turned around, flew back east, and set another record going that direction—thirteen hours and twenty-two minutes, almost an hour and a half shorter than Lindbergh’s fastest continental trip.”
—Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien
February 1931—Milton Academy, Massachusetts
Nancy loved flying with her brother, but Robert took risks she’d never do solo flying. Since spring had finally arrived in Boston, she was taking more lessons and piling on more flight hours in her logbook.
“Ready?” Robert asked as she strode out of her residence hall. He was clean-shaven and wore his hat at a jaunty angle, his grin wide.
Nancy was nearly skipping. She hurried to the passenger side of his convertible and climbed in, enjoying the envious looks of other classmates. None of the students were allowed to drive cars, so seeing a young man pick up Nancy in a car . . . well, they didn’t know it was her brother.
She laughed to herself.
“New boots?” Robert asked as she shut the car door.
“Yes.” Nancy glanced down at her attire. Flying was the one excuse she had to wear breeches and boots. Flying in a skirt was not practical.
“Looking swell, Sis.” Robert threw her a smile as he pulled out onto the main road. “Which is important since I have a surprise for you.”
Nancy’s pulse thrummed. “What?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
“Did Alison send cookies or something?” She twisted in the seat, but there wasn’t a package of goodies behind her. Robert was engaged to be married to Alison Hardy Dempsey. When Nancy faced her brother again, she said, “Is it at the airport? Just tell me. You know I hate surprises.”
Robert grinned and twisted the radio knob as Gene Austin started singing “Carolina Moon.”
Nancy settled back into her seat, folding her arms. The airfield wasn’t far, but it seemed Robert wasn’t going to give her any clues. “All right, fine . . . This better be good. I need the break from certain girls.”
Her brother looked over at her. “Who? What’s going on?”
“Oh, you don’t know them. They’re gossipy and talk about me flying only for attention—to get the boys interested.” Now that Nancy was talking about it, the heat rose in her neck. She’d tried to ignore the mean-spirited comments, but they bothered her deep down.
Robert chuckled. “You don’t need to do anything extreme to get a boy’s attention. I think every boy you’ve ever met falls half in love with you on the spot.”
Nancy’s cheeks warmed. “That’s not true.”
“You don’t have to believe me, but I’m telling you what I see.” He nudged her shoulder. “You’re pretty—for a girl—and you’re smart in many things. Maybe school isn’t your first love, but you’re also the type who draws people to you.”
Nancy stared at her brother, but there was no laughter in his eyes or cocky grin on his face. She couldn’t remember him giving her these sorts of compliments before.
“Don’t act so dumbfounded,” he said in a smooth tone. “You’ve got a way about you, Sis, and I’m proud to be your brother.”
She blinked against the tears forming in her eyes.
“Ah, don’t go soft on me. Those girls are jealous, that’s all I’m saying.”
Nancy wiped at her eyes, then drew in a breath. “You’re really sappy today, Bobbin.”
He threw his head back and laughed, and Nancy grinned. Her heart felt like it was soaring on a plane.
Her brother sobered. “Don’t let other people make you feel bad, all right? And don’t ever stop flying, Sis. Promise me. I’ve seen how much you love it. No one can take that away from you unless you let them.”
“Thanks, favorite brother. I don’t plan on stopping. Ever.”
He winked at her, and she leaned over and kissed his cheek. She settled back in her seat and let the spring breeze and “Carolina Moon” wash over her.
By the time they pulled up to East Boston, clouds had gathered above, but that didn’t dampen her excitement. She was ready to jump out of the car from anticipation.
Robert shut off the car engine, then threw her a grin. “Come on, Sis.”
She followed his long strides to one of the hangars, where a broad-shouldered man came out to shake Robert’s hand. The man’s hooded eyes were alert beneath heavy, black eyebrows, and his mustached smile was friendly.
“Mr. Snow, this is my sister, Nancy Harkness. Nancy, this is Crocker Snow.”
Nancy stood rooted to the ground, her mouth agape as the man extended his hand. Everyone knew who Crocker Snow was. He’d founded Skyways, one of the first commercial flying operations in the area. He also knew Amelia Earhart.
When Nancy found her voice, she said, “Very nice to meet you, sir.” She gave his hand a hearty shake. Surely her cheeks were as red as apples.
“Nice to meet you, too, Miss Harkness,” he said in a warm voice. “Want to take a spin?”
She blinked. “Really? Right now?”
Mr. Snow’s thick brows lifted. “Do you have the time?”
Nancy looked at her brother, who nodded. Her gaze returned to Mr. Snow’s. “Yes, sir. I’d love to.”
He chuckled. “Right this way.”
She wasn’t sure if she was absorbing every word he said because little jolts of happiness kept buzzing through her, but she listened as closely as she could. “We’ll take things easy, and I’ll show you a few things.”
They climbed into the plane, with Snow giving instructions, asking her to fly lower than she ever had in the past. She obeyed, although it was hard to keep such steady control while flying so low.
Once they were back on the ground, Nancy having landed with precision, Snow’s compliments only added to her exhilaration.
“Your sister has a real sense of air,” Snow told her brother as she took off her helmet and goggles. “She’s well on her way to becoming a skilled pilot.”
Robert extended his hand once again to the man. “Thanks for taking her up. I was curious to see what you thought.”
Nancy wanted to hug her brother, but she waited until she’d thanked Mr. Snow—quite profusely.
“Have a great day, you two,” Mr. Snow said. “Heard you’re taking up the Kinner next.”
“We sure are,” Robert said.
As Nancy and her brother headed to another hangar, she gushed, “You really are my favorite brother.”
He set an arm about her shoulders. “I’m your only brother, Sis.”
“Still. You’re the best.”
He chuckled, and she wrapped her arms about his waist and squeezed.
“All right, now let’s go have some real fun.”
Nancy scoffed. “Nothing’s going to top meeting Crocker Snow.”
Robert cast her a wink, and they arrived at the hangar that contained their rented plane, the single-engine Kinner Kitty Hawk. Once they climbed inside, Nancy truly felt she was on top of the world. She sat in the pilot seat, with Robert in the front. Flying the Kitty Hawk felt exhilarating, so when her brother dared her to buzz the boys’ prep school that neighbored Milton Academy, she took the dare.
“Just let them know you’re keeping watch over them,” Robert said, clearly amused.
Nancy laughed. “I think they’ll know. I’m heading straight for the quadrangle.”
“Super. That’ll get their attention.” The campus probably would have been busier on a weekday, but Nancy took the dive anyway. Her stomach pitching, she flew low over the quadrangle.
Boys in their prep school blazers, ties, shorts, and long socks, along with a few teachers, scrambled out of the way, gawking at the plane.
“Pull up,” Robert said in a mild tone.
Nancy began to pull up, but the plane wasn’t rising as fast as she thought it would.
“Pull up!” Robert yelled, his words hitting her like stones. “Now! Pull up!”
She tightened her hold on the control stick and pulled it back with all her strength. The weight of the plane was more than Nancy had estimated.
“You’re going to hit the chapel!” Robert’s voice was background noise though.
Nancy’s heart bounced in her chest as perspiration heated her face. The stones of the building in front of her were strangely detailed, and she could only hope and pray that she wasn’t about to destroy whatever skilled labor it had taken to construct the chapel.
“The bell tower! Watch the bell tower!” Robert shouted.
The plane was lifting at last, but Nancy knew it would take a miracle to clear the bell tower. Every muscle in her body tensed as she waited for impact.
But no crash came. No bump. No jostling.
“Woo-ee!” Robert craned his neck to look behind them. “You did it, Sis! Boy, oh, boy. You sure got their attention.”
Nancy blinked away the sweat stinging her eyes. Her heart was hammering so hard that it pulsed in her ears.
“Well, I think you might have dislodged a few slates from the roof,” Robert said with genuine amazement, “but otherwise, no harm done.” He turned back around, facing the windscreen. “I think that’s the closest buzzing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Nancy didn’t know whether to laugh with pride, cry with relief, or berate Robert for his bad influence.
“Gee whiz . . . Feels like I ran in the Olympics.” Robert’s gaze finally landed on hers. “You all right?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy said on an exhale. “I think I’ve sweat through everything I’m wearing.”
He smiled and let his head drop back. “This is one for the record books—well, just ours. Mom and Dad probably shouldn’t hear about this.”
“I agree.”
By the time they landed, Nancy felt calm again. She’d be more careful next time. Well, there wouldn’t be a next time, but at least she’d learned that the Kitty Hawk’s reaction time was slower than expected. So, she could consider it a learning experience.
“Let’s get you back to your school,” Robert said. “No one will be the wiser unless you tell someone.”
“Well, I’m certainly not telling a soul,” she declared.
Robert laughed.
She was feeling almost normal when Robert pulled up to her residence hall. He climbed out and opened the door for her, acting the part of a gallant escort. They both froze.
“Uh, Nancy, are those . . . ?”
“Um-hm.”
Clustered together outside the entrance stood the headmistress, housemistress, and two members of the board of trustees. None of them appeared happy, and all eyes were focused on her.
“Gotta go, Sis.” Robert shut her passenger door, then hurried around the car and jumped back in. Seconds later, he pulled away from the residence hall, leaving her to face the adults alone.
Nancy didn’t know if she should be mad at him for taking off or paranoid that she was about to be kicked out of school. There were no two ways about it. Somehow, her stunt had been found out, and she was in deep trouble.
“Hello,” she said tentatively.
The headmistress spoke first. “Come inside, young lady.”
Nancy followed the group into the residence hall. Strangely, the lobby was completely empty of any other students, and it smelled of floor wax, which only made her stomach rock.
The headmistress stopped and turned to face her. “We’d like an explanation, Miss Harkness.”
Nancy swallowed over the dryness of her throat. “I, uh . . . An explanation about what?” Her mind raced with the possibility that maybe they didn’t know. Maybe she was assuming because guilt kept stabbing her in the chest like a branding iron meant for an innocent cow.
“We received a call from the headmaster of the boys’ prep school,” the headmistress continued, her voice steely and her eyes even more so. “He called in the tail number of a biplane that nearly crashed into their bell tower. He asked the airport manager who the pilot was.”
All right, so this was about her flying stunt. Nancy’s legs felt like pudding, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand.
“The headmaster thought it might be one of the Fuller brothers,” the headmistress continued. Had her voice always been so nasal? Or was the woman coming down with a cold?
A logical deduction, Nancy thought.
“Imagine his surprise”—the headmistress paused and folded her arms—“and then our surprise, when the airport manager reported that the pilot this afternoon was our very own Miss Nancy Harkness.”
Although the lobby was empty of students, Nancy guessed that right now, they all had their doors cracked open and were listening to every single word.
She kept her posture erect and her eyes locked with the headmistress’s. Surely they couldn’t expel her, could they? They wouldn’t want to lose her tuition—it was the Depression, after all—and not everyone could afford Milton. Why hadn’t her brother stayed? He might have shouldered some of the blame and made things less precarious for her.
“We realize there aren’t any specific rules against flying by Milton students.” The headmistress tilted her head. “But that’s because we didn’t think it needed to be specified. Some things are common sense, Miss Harkness, and it seems you’ve lost yours.”
Nancy released a stuttered breath. She wanted to move past all this lecturing and get to the consequences part. Would she be suspended? Worse?
“We have a new rule for you and for every young lady who attends Milton Academy.”
She blinked, waiting for the pronouncement.
“You’re to stay out of airplanes for the remainder of the semester.” The headmistress glanced at the others with her, and they gave firm nods of unanimous agreement. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I’ll stay out of airplanes for the rest of the semester,” Nancy echoed. “Of course I will. And I apologize for the stunt.” As she spoke, she wondered if this was all. No suspension? Surely her parents would be notified, but being banned from flying for the next couple of months was minor compared to what she’d feared.
The headmistress continued speaking, but Nancy’s mind raced ahead. She’d miss flying, but that meant she’d anticipate summer even more. And if she had her way, she could start hopping passengers from place to place and earn some money. She’d be graduating from Milton soon, anyway, and if all went well with her college board exams, she’d be attending Vassar College in the fall. What were their rules about students flying?
When the lecture and admonitions ended, she headed to her room. Several girls poked their heads out of their doorways, eyes wide, smiles wider.
By the time Nancy reached her door, her heart had returned to its normal rhythm, and she decided it wasn’t so bad to have gotten into trouble. She walked into her room to find Rachel and Beth perched on her bed.
“Oh, hello,” Nancy said. “What a nice surprise.”
Rachel laughed, her red curls bouncing at her shoulders. “How’s your day going?”
Nancy smirked and sat between her two friends before she drew in a shaky breath. “Not bad.”
The girls laughed again.
“What will your parents say?” Beth asked, her green eyes wide.
“Mother will be mortified,” Nancy predicted as the exhilaration of the flight, then the mortification of the reprimand morphed into something new—determination. “Father will probably laugh, but I’ll get a lecture from him too. I think Robert deserves a lecture as well. But no one can complain too much. My grades are up, and well, I pulled it off. Didn’t hit the bell tower after all.”
