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Read The Old Lady flies in English, with Spanish beside it
by Raoul Whitfield · 1896–1945
The Old Lady flies by Raoul Whitfield is a pulp aviation short story written in the early 20th century. It follows a loyal stunt pilot and his aging “Jenny” biplane as tensions in a flying circus lead to a risky movie-job gambit, testing pride, friendship, and the value of an old aircraft. When the Brooks’ Flying Circus downsizes, boss Bob Brooks tries to drop pilot Russ Healy’s battered Jenny. Russ quits on the spot, vowing to prove the “Old Lady” still has life by doing hazardous film work for a war picture director named Conant. Brooks and the crew race to stop him, but Russ and Conant outmaneuver them: the circus ships are drawn into an impromptu aerial battle shoot, and Russ, with Brooks trapped in the rear cockpit, puts the Jenny through sharp stunts before executing a controlled crash into a sand-filled shell hole for the cameras. No one is badly hurt, Conant pays generously for the footage, and Brooks concedes the point. The Jenny will be repaired and kept in the act—the old lady flies.
Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.
- Read time
- 23 min
- Words
- 5,158
- Chapters
- 7
- Paragraphs
- 170
- Price
- Free
- Air pilots -- Fiction
- Motion picture industry -- Fiction
- Short stories
- Stunt flying -- Fiction
“Not so good, Bob!”
—No va bien, ¡Bob! —
I said.
dije—.
“You’re cutting loose the most popular guy in the outfit--and just because he sticks by his old bus.”
Estás despidiendo al tipo más popular del grupo... y solo porque se mantiene fiel a su vieja nave.
Brooks didn’t see it that way.
Brooks no lo veía así.
He spoke to the rest of the gang: “We’re losing money.
Habló con el resto del grupo: —Estamos perdiendo dinero.
I can’t fly all the ships we’ve got.
No puedo mantener volando todos los aviones que tenemos.
Why should I get rid of the new ones--just because I’m sentimental?
¿Por qué debería deshacerme de los nuevos... solo por sentimentalismo?
This is a business--not a sob factory!”
Esto es un negocio, ¡no una fábrica de lloriqueos!
There was common sense in that.
Había sentido común en eso.
We could see Brooks’ side of it.
Podíamos ver el punto de vista de Brooks.
And the sky-riding game hadn’t been so good lately--something had to be done.
Y el juego de volar no había sido tan bueno últimamente... había que hacer algo.
“I think a lot of Russ Healy,” Brooks went on, looking at each one of us in turn.
—Valoro mucho a Russ Healy —continuó Brooks, mirándonos a cada uno por turno—.
“Even if he did hint that I was showing yellow by sticking on the ground--I like him.
Incluso si insinuó que estaba mostrando cobardía al mantenerme en tierra... me cae bien.
Some of you boys talk to him.
Algunos de ustedes hablemos con él.
He could store that ship up at Al Garvin’s hangar.
Podría guardar esa nave en el hangar de Al Garvin.
Then every month or so I’ll give him a day off, and if he’s close enough he can come back and pet it.”
Luego, cada mes o así, le daré un día libre, y si está cerca, puede volver y acariciarla.
With that final sarcasm, Bob Brooks walked out of the tent.
Con esa última sarcasmo, Bob Brooks salió de la tienda.
I chased after him, having just had an idea.
Lo seguí, habiendo tenido una idea.
They don’t come very often, but sometimes they’re good when they do come.
No vienen muy a menudo, pero a veces son buenas cuando llegan.
“Russ is sore, Bob,” I said, “and he owes you fifty bucks.
—Russ está enfadado, Bob —dije—, y te debe cincuenta dólares.
He’s going to try to get that fifty.
Va a intentar recuperar esos cincuenta.
I happen to know that he hasn’t got it.
Por casualidad sé que no los tiene.
And he’s going to try to show you up--show you that the Old Lady can still do her stuff.
Y va a intentar demostrarte... demostrarte que la Vieja Señora aún puede hacer su trabajo.
Now--how’s he going to do it?”
Ahora... ¿cómo va a hacerlo?
About the author
Raoul Whitfield1896–1945
Raoul Whitfield was an American writer born in New York City in 1896 and died in Los Angeles in 1945.
The Raoul Whitfield page, and where to start →Questions about The Old Lady flies
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Book details
- Original language
- English
- Translation
- Spanish, machine translation
- Source text
- Project Gutenberg #78035
- Licence
- Public domain worldwide
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