put their people to work, preparing to set up
defenses in key locations, so when the trouble came, these positions
would hopefully keep the enemy at bay until the defenders could rally.
If the desert positions fell, it might be the only chance they had.
46 They were just finishing their discussion when terrified cries rose
from outside. "Rak!" the people were screaming, "Rak!"
47 They ran outside to see what the trouble could be, and as they
looked skyward wonder filled their eyes. For what looked like a giant
bird soared above them. No wonder the people were crying the name of
the
mythological bird of thunder!
48 The thing turned slowly, circling them, then began to descend,
heading for the road. Everyone rushed that way to meet it. When it
finally slid to a stop, a great crowd gathered around it.
49 A glass top opened, and to everyone's surprise, a man climbed out.
"Hello!" he cried. "Sorry I frightened you. My glider tends to do that
sometimes to people that have never seen it."
50 Bold Fox walked around and around the thing, it's long wings
stretching far out, and, its long tail. "It's marvelous!" he sighed.
"How does it work?"
51 "I'm still not quite sure!" the man told him. "I think it has
something to do with the shape of the wing. I tried hundreds of
designs, crashed a
good many of them, until I got this one working! I've come to The First
Speaker, trying to raise funds to do more study, and to build more
gliders like this.
52 Imagine if we had hundreds of them! They could sail far ahead of our
Armies, scouting. I've even experimented with dropping bombs from them,
but they can't carry that much weight, and it's not very practical. But
they can carry mail and other things, like emergency medicine to some
isolated village or