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3 nights later, they sat in the back of the cycle shop. Michael was putting the finishing touches on the repair job he'd done with the broken glider. Bruce sat at a desk, writing.
He put the pen down and rubbed his eyes. "I'm finished," he said. He stood up and walked over to Michael.
"I just don't know what they see in her," Bruce said. "I mean, she's the cause of all their trouble."
"Oh, don't go blaming Abigail," Michael said, stepping back to admire his work. "I had a long talk with her last night. This trouble isn't really her fault."
"Then whose fault is it?" Bruce asked.
"It's nobody's fault, really. This is just a case of three people confused about what they want. Abigail thinks she wants love. But all she really cares about is romance. Orville and Wilbur think they want Abigail. But all they really care about is flying."
He stepped back further, smiled, and took a deep breath. He was pleased with himself.
"Do you think the plan will work?" Bruce asked.
"If I'm right about the three of them," Michael said, "it'll work. How does it look?" He nodded at the glider.
"It looks terrific. I don't think the brothers could have done better themselves."
Michael grinned. "Let's hear the notes you wrote."
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The next morning, Wilbur Wright woke up to find a note on the windowsill of his bedroom. He tore the note open and read it.
"Dearest Wilbur," the note said, "I have so many things to tell you. Orville means nothing to me...."
"Orville, too, found a note on his windowsill. It was the same, except for a change in names.
"Wilbur means nothing to me," he read. "Meet me at Big Rock Creek at 10:00 this morning. All my love, Abigail."554Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1SiIDDJD0
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That same moment, Abigail Small was reading a note that had been left in her mailbox overnight.
"Forget the Wright Brogers," she read. "I'll be at Big Rock Creek this morning---waiting to prove my soaring love for you. Yours forever, Michael Strogoff."554Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oJQnKRRZ2
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The sun was just coming up. Abigail, Orville, and Wilbur each sat at home enjoying a warm glow, as the result of a secret note delivered during the night.
Bruce and Michael carefully carried the repaired glider from the shop out to a horse-drawn wagon. When they had it firmly in place, they climbed aboard and took off for Big Rock Creek.
An hour later, they stood at the edge of a cliff over Big Rock Creek. The glider was securely tied----for the time being---to the wagon that stood behind them.
The morning sun tossed a haze over the horizon, and the air was just beginning to warm up. Michael and Bruce looked down. It was a drop of about 400 feet.
Bruce stepped back from the edge, feeling a little dizzy. "It's a long way down," he said lightly.
Michael swallowed hard, staring into the drop below. "Uh-huh," was the best he could do.
"You think they'll come?" Bruce asked.
"They'll come," Michael said, casually stepping away from the edge.
They both looked out at the horizon for several seconds. Then Bruce said, "You think it'll fly?"
Trying to gauge the strength of the breeze fluttering in his shirtsleeves, Michael said, "So long as there's no crosswind."
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By 9:45, the breeze was stronger. Every once in a while, a strong gust would remind Michael of the danger of what he was about to do. Michael didn't need the reminder.
They kept their eyes on the road far below. Then they saw what they were waiting for. Abigail's carriage was moving slowly up the road towards the creek.
"There she is," Michael said. "It's time to get started."
He went to the wagon and began untying the ropes that secured the glider. Bruce kept watch on the road, ready to keep him posted about the plan's progress.
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Far below the cliff, Abigail sat in her carriage, eagerly anticipating her meeting with Michael Strogoff, the romantic stranger who had happened into her life a few days earlier. The wagon sat in the middle of a fork in the road.
She had no idea what was going on 400 feet overhead, and she couldn't have cared less. She was there to meet Michael, who had promised to prove his "soaring love" for her.
She heard the gallop of a horse on the road that stretched off behind her, to her right. She decided not to turn around. No sense looking too anxious.
She rested her parasol on her shoulder and waited for Michael to reach her carriage. Then, the strangest thing happened. She heard another set of hoofbeats, from the road behind her on the left.
Well, one of them was sure to be Michael. The other would just be someone riding by.
The first rider reached her carriage, and the horse pulled up. She turned to face Michael.
She gave a small gasp when she saw that it was Wilbur. The other rider pulled up, but he wasn't Michael either.
"Orville!" Wilbur said.
"Wilbur!" Orville said.
"Michael?" Abigail said, looking in the distance behind each of them.554Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5kkzYVPgq
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400 feet above t hem, Michael was strapping the last belt of the glider around his waist. The wind was a little stronger now. His toughest job was keeping himself from taking off before he was ready.
"What are they doing now?" Michael yelled.
"They've both reached her carriage," Bruce said. "The three of them are talking."554Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuAEO8vY29
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Wilbur glared at his brother. Then he looked tenderly at Abigail.
"For you, darling," he said, holding out a box of chocolates, which she took from him. "I'm sorry my brother Orville had to be so dumb as to follow me here."
"Follow you?" Orville said. "I think it's time we settled this once and for all. Tell him, Abigail."
He held out a bouquet of flowers, which Abigail took from him.
"Tell him what?" she asked, glancing at each of the roads behind them.
"Tell him about the note you wrote to me," Orville said.
"What note, Orville?" she asked.
"The one telling me to meet you here."
"She wrote me that note!" Wilbur said.
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Bruce could see that the three people were all yelling about something. He knew what that meant.
"The cat's out of the bag," he said.
"Okay," Michael said. "It's time to go."
"No way!" Bruce said. "The wind's too high!"
"I didn't set this meeting up to guard my health, kid."
He moved towards the edge; the glider strapped to his back. Because of the wind, his progress was very, very slow.
"You can't, Michael! Not in a crosswind!"
"I've got no choice, kid. They're not going to stay down there forever. Now, get out of the way!"
"You'll kill yourself!" Bruce yelled.
"I'm a Voyager, kid. Sometimes you've got to bite the bullet and do what's got to be done."
He moved farther towards the edge, and the wind got stronger.
"No!" Bruce yelled. He leaped for Michael's ankles.
Michael sidestepped him and stood at the edge. He looked down, took a deep breath, then leaped out into space.
Bruce stood watching in horror, as the glider sank straight down.
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