The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-07-21

them their houses were on fire and
their children would burn?"
81 remember"
"Uncle Lynn and Great-granny
used to call me Ladybug, didn't
they? I haven't thought of that for
years"
Haven't you, indeed?"
Something in her tone made Sarah
Lynn halt. penny, dear, we are
going too fast? Lightning seems to
set the pace but we can shift into
low if you ike!"
Certainly not!"
"Oh, look at Lightning!" The
greyhound, at the bend of the road,
tensely silhouetted, was gazing fix
eddy into space. 'Isn't she glori-
Gus when she's sighting something?
Her lines do things to me, like SUM-
sets and symphonies.
They rounded the curve and Sar-
ah Lynn cried: There's a plane!
Look, Penny-a plane in our field!"
She began to run, Lightning bound
ing before with shrill, suspicious
barks.
There in the center of the broad
meadow, soaring already toward the
long, bright, rainless summer, an
airplane rested on the ground like
some great bird briefly breaking its
fight. It did not look disabled to
Sarah Lynn, and the pilot stood un-
hurt beside it. Out of gas, prob
ably. There was a closed car close
by, and she was abreast of it be-
fore she realized it was the one
shared by her great-grandmother
and her uncle.
She stood still, then, beginning to
shake with excitement.
The ancestress hoped nimbly out
of the machine and hurried to her.
There were dabs of dull crimson on
her cheek-bones and she was laugh
ing in her shrill, cackling giggle.
Her great granddaughter man.
aged strangled whisper. what
what is it?"
'It's your covered wagon, Sairy
Lynn!"
"For me? To keep" Questions
going off like a string Of small fire.
crackers.
YOURS" Lynn Dana answered
from the windows of the car.
She ran to him, her mouth work
ing. "Uncle Lynn, Uncle Lynnl Not
belonging to me! To fy?"
Cali yours and only yours. Many
happy returns from Great-Granny
and me. We let Conrad Jordan and
Gunnar Thorwald pick it out for us,
but we were very firm about having
a Gypsy Moth" He grinned at her.
''It was the nearest we could get"
Then she saw what he meant. The
little ship was painted a clear,
sharp, lacquer red with it's name in
black letters-L A D Y B UG.
The pilot tugged briefly at his cap.
''Le Roy,.s my name. Flew her
over for you" He had deeply
SCARED face and a bitter mouth,
but there was a look of weathered
and seasoned youth about him.
"Want to take hop?"
Eyes! But first I must look!" She
walked round and round the plane,
several times putting out hand
to touch it. Then she went back
to the donors and gave a hand to
each and stood staring at them.
"Great-granny, Uncle Lynn"
she began, trying to assemble an
adequate sentence. She shut her
eyes and kept the lids tight for a
long instant before she opened them
again, and the nonagenarian and
the man who had sat still in a
chair for more than half his life
would always remember the
drowned glory of them. "Do you
mind If / go?" she asked huskily.
"You just up'n put out, Sairy
Lynn" the ancient woman told her,
shrilly competing with the noise Of
the motor.
The man said with his good grin,
''Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away
home!"
Then she ran back to the plane,
Lightning beside her. "Are you 60
ing to teach me?"