He fumbled with the engine

He fumbled with the engine awhile and she could hear him swearing in French. Then he went into the hangar to wake up a mechanic. Daughter stood there shivering in the growing silvery light.: She wouldn’t think of anything. She wanted to go up in a plane. Her head ached,, but she didn’t feel nauseated. When the mechanic came back with Pierre, she could make out that she was arguing with him trying to make him give up the flight. She got very sore: Pierre, you’ve got to take me up,’ she yelled at the two men sleepily arguing in French. ?All right , miss Sistair’. They wrapped a heavy army coat around her and strapped her very carefully in the observer’s seat. Pierre climbed into the pilot seat. It was a Blèriot monoplane, he said. The mechanic spun the propeller. Te engine started. Everything was full of the roar of the engine. Suddenly she was scared and sober, thought about home and the boat she was going to take tomorrow. It seemed an endless time with the engine roaring. The light was brighter . She started to fumble with the straps to unstrap them. It was crazy going up like this. She had to catch the boat. The plane had started. It was bouncing over the field, bouncing along the ground. They were still on the ground rumbling bouncing along. Maybe it wouldn’t go up. She hoped it wouldn’t go up. A row of poplars swept past below them. The motor was a settles roar now, they were climbing. It was daylight: a cold silver sun shone in her face. Underneath them was a floor of thick white clouds like a beach.
From the book ‘U.S.A.’ by John Dos Passos