Read Online The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick - Free Book Online

day.”
    “I know, I know. But we’re going to need more than one hat. The one you’ve been wearing is good enough for winter, but what will happen when summer arrives? And what about the rest of those rags you wear? It won’t do to have you wearing my old clothes.” He made a great show of contemplating this problem, and then finally sighed. “Well, there is nothing else for it. I’m afraid we’ll have to go shopping.”
    I felt a surge of conflicting emotions at those words. I truly and deeply wanted the new clothes of which he spoke, but the thought of returning to town terrified me. “I should wait here,” I said.
    “Nonsense. If you’re to be in school every day, you might as well get used to the scrutiny. We’ll go tomorrow.”
    That was the end of it.
     

Chapter 11
     
     
     
    Tinker fired up his steamwagon early the next morning and drove us straight to the mercantile. Analyn was shocked to see me. “Goodness, look how you’ve grown!” she exclaimed. “You’ve become a young woman.” I knew that any response would have taken our conversation into dangerous territory, so I just smiled politely.
    “We need to see your catalog,” Tinker said. “Breeze needs a new wardrobe, and some new hats.”
    “I see,” Analyn said. She went into the back room and returned with a thick leather-bound book. She gave me a knowing smile as she thumped it down on the counter. “Here we go, all the latest fashions, direct from Avenston.” She opened the book and started flipping through pages and pages of black and white sketches. “Ah, here’s the young ladies’ section.” She flipped the book around so I could see it. She shot Tinker a look. “How much are we wanting to spend?”
    Tinker pulled at his collar uncomfortably. “Well, she’ll be needing school clothes, and hats. And something for home, too. She’s outgrown everything we have.”
    “All right, then. Let’s get some measurements. Breeze, if you’ll follow me into the back room. Tinkerman, why don’t you go for a walk? Come back in an hour.”
    Tinker sighed and disappeared through the front door. As promised, Analyn had me ready to go when he returned. She had a bill for Tinker. “I’ll get this order posted this afternoon,” she said. “It should be here by the end of the week. You won’t be disappointed; the tailors in Avenston do incredible work.”
    “I hope they do,” Tinker said as he signed the bill. “I’m gonna have to do a lot of incredible work myself, if I’m going to pay for this.”
    “Ah, but she’s worth it,” Analyn said with a twisted grin.
    “That she is,” Tinker smiled. He rubbed my head as if I were still the little girl my father had left in his care.
     
    “Well, it seems we have some time to fill,” Tinker said as we drove home. “Do you feel like starting another project?”
    I glanced at him sideways. “What did you have in mind?”
    He smiled, and nodded towards a hawk circling over the fields. I followed his gaze, and then shrugged. “I don’t understand.”
    “What would you think of a machine that could do that?” he said.
    My jaw dropped. “You want to build a machine that can fly like a bird? Is that possible?”
    His grin widened. “Anything’s possible, if you try hard enough.”
    I took a deep breath. I knew better than to second-guess Tinker. Regardless of how impossible the task appeared, if he thought it was possible, then it probably was. I watched the bird soaring on the breeze, paying special attention to the gentle movement of its wings. I wished I could observe more closely, but I could only guess as to most of what was going on.
    “Do the wings work like a fan?” I said. Tinker didn’t answer. I turned to him and realized that he was lost in thought. He hadn’t even heard me. He was watching the bird.
     
    Tinker spent the rest of the day in the barn. I could tell that his mind was in other places, so I just stayed out of his way. Later that evening I brought him