2 Tarnation!

Chapter 2 "Tarnation!" Clouds of sand whirled in the air as the plane thundered toward them. Yasmin and Min-Jun were deafened by the roar of an enormous propeller. They threw themselves out of the way just in time. It was hard in these old-fashioned clothes, and Yasmin's skirt tangled around her legs

as she scrambled up a nearby sand dune. Min-Jun was close behind her. He had lost his hat. "Cuckoo!" shouted Tempo in alarm. "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

With a final sputtering sound from the propeller, everything fell quiet. The dust and sand settled. Yasmin and Min- Jun sank on to the dune and stared at the amazing machine in front of them. It looked nothing like a modern plane. It had a wooden framework that reminded Yasmin of Min-Jun's model, and two sets of wide canvas wings, one on top of the other, separated by rows of wooden struts. There were two large wooden propellers, and what looked like a small engine fixed above the pilot. The pilot wasn't seated, like Yasmin had expected, but lying down on his front. "Tarnation!" the pilot cried in disappointment. Clearly the flight hadn't gone to plan.

"I was going to say," Yasmin told Min- Jun as she caught her breath, "that Kitty Hawk is where the Wright brothers made the first-ever powered flight, in 1903."

"Awesome!" said Min-Jun, looking at the plane on the sand in front of them with admiration. "Cuckoo," said Tempo, looking a bit ruffled. "Wilbur! Hey, Wilbur!" Another man came running toward the plane, his scarf flying behind him. "Did you damage the plane?"

"You're more worried about the Flyer than about me, Orville," said the pilot a little grumpily. "I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking." Yasmin wanted to shout with excitement. It was the Wright brothers themselves!