What he was about to do, took a great deal of courage, but it was the boy’s last wish and he braced himself for the ordeal with that belief in mind.
Slowly, he reached into his pocket and brought forth a match, striking it and touching the flame to the canvas of the wing, just below the boy’s head.
In a moment, the last rites for the dead man had been performed and the remains of the plane, with its silent pilot, disappeared in a burst of flames.
The last rites performed, the remains of the plane, with its silent pilot, disappeared in a burst of flames.
As Panama flew over the deserted corral and across the mountain, he saw a thin spiral of smoke rising through the tree tops just ahead.
The expression on his face changed to one of mingled fear and hope as he flew nearer the spot from which the increasing volume of smoke came.
At that moment, the huge flames had just consumed the last of the plane and its silent occupant, dying down now to a small blaze. Lefty, resting upon his knees in silent, terrified meditation, raised his eyes to the skies above just as the purr of an airplane motor reached his ears.
Panama spied the lone man and the burning plane at the same moment that Lefty raised his eyes heavenward.
He studied the ground below, searching for a safe place to land, then nosed toward earth and circled overhead before making a final decision.