The C-47s could not make it over the Hump with a full load and full tanks.

Then—far-off music and excitement. Faces at the windows. Naked yellow gamins begin to dance. … Down the square the procession goes, followed by the music, turns a corner, and is lost. The gamins leave off dancing.

a bluff manner of talking

Katy Lewis, a resident of Whitehorse, Yukon, is a 'Oncer'—a super fan of the popular TV show Once Upon a Time.