As captured January 25, 2025

author: nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> 2025-01-25 05:31:14 -0800
committer: nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> 2025-01-25 05:31:14 -0800
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-      Ben Hardy's Flying Machine, by Frank V. Webster—A Project Gutenberg eBook
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-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ben Hardy&#039;s flying machine, by Frank V. Webster</p>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
-at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Ben Hardy&#039;s flying machine</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>or, Making a record for himself</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Frank V. Webster</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 9, 2022 [eBook #69511]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
-  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Bob Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEN HARDY&#039;S FLYING MACHINE ***</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp46" id="Cover_Page" style="max-width: 70.0625em;">
-<img class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover">
-</div>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter"></div>
-<div class="figcenter illowp46" id="frontispage" style="max-width: 70.0625em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/frontispage.jpg" alt="THE DART AROSE ON A SPLENDID ARROW COURSE. Ben Hardy's Flying Machine Page 143">
-  <div class="caption"><p class="center">THE DART AROSE ON A SPLENDID ARROW COURSE.<br>
-Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine Page <a href="#Page_143">143</a></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<h1>BEN HARDY’S FLYING<br>
-MACHINE</h1>
-<br>
-<p class="center fs120">Or<br>
-<br>
-Making a Record for Himself</p><br>
-<br>
-<p class="center">BY</p>
-<p class="center fs150">FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
-<p class="center">AUTHOR OF “ONLY A FARM BOY,” “AIRSHIP ANDY,” “TOM<br>
-THE TELEPHONE BOY,” “THE YOUNG TREASURE<br>
-HUNTER,” ETC.</p><br>
-<br>
-<br>
-<hr class="r5">
-<p class="center">ILLUSTRATED</p>
-<hr class="r5">
-<br>
-<br>
-<p class="center">NEW YORK</p>
-<p class="center fs120">CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY</p>
-<p class="center">PUBLISHERS</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="BOOKS_FOR_BOYS">BOOKS FOR BOYS</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center fs120">By FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
-
-<p>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.</p>
-
-<div class="center">
-ONLY A FARM BOY<br>
-TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY<br>
-THE BOY FROM THE RANCH<br>
-THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER<br>
-BOB, THE CASTAWAY<br>
-THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE<br>
-THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS<br>
-THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES<br>
-TWO BOY GOLD MINERS<br>
-JACK, THE RUNAWAY<br>
-COMRADES OF THE SADDLE<br>
-THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL<br>
-THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS<br>
-AIRSHIP ANDY<br>
-BOB CHESTER’S GRIT<br>
-BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE<br>
-DICK, THE BANK BOY<br>
-DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER<br>
-<i>Cupples &amp; Leon Co., Publishers, New York</i>
-</div>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<p class="center">
-Copyright, 1911, by<br>
-CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY</p>
-<hr class="r5">
-<p class="center">BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE<br>
-<br></p>
-
-<p class="right">Printed in U. S. A.</p>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-<table class="autotable">
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">CHAPTER</td>
-<td class="tdl"></td>
-<td class="tdl">PAGE</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">I.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">“Nobly Rewarded!”</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">II.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Just in Time</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">III.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A New Friend</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">IV.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The “Sybilline” Whistle</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">V.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Four Hundred Dollars</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">VI.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Airship Idea</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">VII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Mystery</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">VIII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">At the Aero Meet</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">IX.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A Bomb-dropping Event</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">X.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A Rush Order</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XI.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Dart</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A Serious Charge</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XIII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Man in the Gig</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XIV.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Mysterious Pin</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XV.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A Mean Enemy</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XVI.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Stealing an Invention</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XVII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">On Time</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XVIII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Five Hundred Dollar Prize</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XIX.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">“Go!”</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XX.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Crusoes of the Air</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XXI.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A Fight with a Bear</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XXII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">A Friend in Need</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XXIII.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Lost Aviator</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XXIV.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Homeward Bound</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdr">XXV.</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Conclusion</td>
-<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="BEN_HARDYS_FLYING">BEN HARDY’S FLYING
-MACHINE</h2>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="r5">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">“NOBLY REWARDED!”</p>
-
-
-<p>“Take care—that engine is going to run wild!”</p>
-
-<p>Those words, yelled out by a brawny mechanic,
-announced a moment of excitement in the Saxton
-Automobile Works, the home of the celebrated Estrelle
-machine.</p>
-
-<p>The big steam engine of the plant had slipped the
-belt. There was a jar and then a crash. Then the
-big driving wheel of the engine began speeding like
-an uncontrollable monster. Clouds of steam covered
-the boiler room like a snow bank. The machine
-shop gearing snapped and vibrated, and the building
-began to shake from end to end.</p>
-
-<p>One big man with a shout of dismay ran for the
-front of the shop, and disappeared through its doorway
-into the street. This was Jasper Saxton, the
-owner of the establishment. His example was followed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span>
-by several of the clerks in the glass-partitioned
-office at the front of the building. Most of
-the twenty odd machinists in the shop, however,
-stuck to their posts.</p>
-
-<p>“Danger—look out!” shouted old Caleb Dunn,
-the foreman.</p>
-
-<p>Every man at a lathe immediately slipped the belt
-of his special machine. Those at the further end of
-the shop did not attempt this. They dodged and ran
-away from their posts of duty.</p>
-
-<p>There was a reason for this. One end of the
-big shaft nearest the engine had dropped. The jar
-of the engine had either broken a connection of the
-shaft or it had slipped a bearing. At all events, the
-shaft had taken a sidelong swing and had struck
-the floor, reducing a plank to splinters. There it
-turned, wobbled about and slammed up and down,
-smashing everything that came in its way.</p>
-
-<p>“Do something, men!” shouted Martin Hardy,
-head machinist of the auto works.</p>
-
-<p>As he spoke Mr. Hardy started on a run for the
-rear of the machine shop, but he was anticipated.
-His son, Ben Hardy, had arrived on the scene just
-in time to take part in the thrilling event of the
-moment.</p>
-
-<p>It was after school hours, and Ben always had
-free run of the plant. His father was an expert in
-his line and an old and valued employee, and his son,
-with his cheerful, accommodating ways, was always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span>
-a welcome visitor with the workmen, with whom
-he was a general favorite.</p>
-
-<p>Ben was familiar with every turn and corner of
-the shop. In a flash his eye took in the unusual
-situation as it presented itself. He guessed out the
-cause of the commotion intuitively.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t go, father!” he cried, seizing his father’s
-arm and detaining him. “I know the way.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben did, indeed, know the way. A sliding iron
-door separated the engine room from the machine
-shop. Above it was an open space, and through this
-the steam was pouring. Ben knew that it was many
-chances against one that the iron door was caught
-on the other side. Besides this, the wobbling shaft
-piece was still threshing about, a formidable barrier,
-although the power was dying down as the connecting
-dismantled shafts revolved less rapidly.</p>
-
-<p>In a far corner of the machine shop there was a
-sashless window frame. Through it Ben had clambered
-many a time. It was used for ventilation. It
-opened upon the roof of a small brick oven which
-was used to bake the sand cores used in the molding
-flasks.</p>
-
-<p>Ben leaped through the aperture and landed on
-the roof in a second. Beyond it rolled the iron drum
-which ground the fine charcoal for the dust bags
-employed in drying the wet sand in the molding
-frames. This Ben cleared at a bound.</p>
-
-<p>He heard a timber fall in the machine shop, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>
-there was an ominous quaking of the staunch timbers
-all over the place as his feet landed on the hard
-cindered floor of the boiler room.</p>
-
-<p>“Where is Shallock, the engineer, all this time?”
-murmured Ben, and running alongside of the boiler
-he discovered that the man was mysteriously missing
-from his post at a critical moment.</p>
-
-<p>Through the clouds of steam fast escaping from
-the overheated boiler Ben made out the engineer.
-He knew Tom Shallock well, and was not astonished
-at his present condition. He knew the son
-of the engineer, Dave Shallock, still better. Ben
-had no reason to feel particularly friendly towards
-either, but he sought honestly to save the engineer
-from the loss of his position and disgrace.</p>
-
-<p>Shallock sat huddled back in the big heavy armchair
-in which he rested between spells of alternate
-duty to engine and boiler. He was his own fireman,
-and his chair was directly in front of the furnace
-door. Ben ran at him and shook him forcibly by
-the arm, with the urgent words shouted into his ear:</p>
-
-<p>“Wake up, Mr. Shallock, there’s trouble!”</p>
-
-<p>But the engineer simply grunted in an incoherent
-way, and a half-filled bottle that had slipped from
-his hand to the floor told the whole miserable story.</p>
-
-<p>Ben darted past the helpless man and ran down
-two stone steps to the engine pit. It was well
-that he was a boy who noticed things and usually
-kept his bearings well in mind, for he had to grope<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span>
-his way. A thrill of gladness ran through his frame
-as his hand finally rested on the valve wheel. Two
-turns, and Ben drew back gasping for breath and
-reeking with perspiration. The whiz of the great
-driving wheel lessened, the governor slowed down
-to a stop. Returning to the boiler room, Ben set
-the escape valve on the boiler and knew that he had
-saved the day.</p>
-
-<p>Some men came running in from the molding
-room. One of them went to the iron door and unset
-its latch and rolled it open, for some one was hammering
-vigorously on it on the other side. It was
-Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Rouse him up, quick,” spoke Ben to one of the
-molders, and with a motion of his foot he kicked
-the tell-tale liquor flask towards the ash pit.</p>
-
-<p>The man laughed, winked, and with the aid of
-a comrade dragged the engineer to his feet. By
-this time Mr. Hardy had reached the spot. Pressing
-past him, the foreman faced the blinking engineer
-sternly.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded.
-“Faugh!” as he caught a whiff of the engineer’s
-breath—“at the old trick again, eh?”</p>
-
-<p>“Steam overcame me,” stammered Shallock.</p>
-
-<p>The shop foreman turned to Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Did you do that?” he inquired in his sharp, crisp
-way, waving his hand towards the engine.</p>
-
-<p>“I shut off the power—yes, sir,” replied Ben.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span></p>
-
-<p>“What was this man doing?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben hesitated and flushed up. He did not wish
-to tell on anybody, much less a person who disliked
-him and would be sure to ascribe any “peaching” to
-spite.</p>
-
-<p>“You needn’t answer,” suddenly spoke the foreman,
-his keen eye catching sight of the bottle, and
-picking it up. “Get out of here, you,” he added
-disgustedly, giving the engineer a shove towards the
-door.</p>
-
-<p>“Look here, Mr. Dunn——”</p>
-
-<p>“You get!” reiterated the foreman.</p>
-
-<p>Shallock began to snivel.</p>
-
-<p>“See here, you may be sick yourself some time,”
-he declared in a maudlin tone.</p>
-
-<p>“Sick!” repeated the foreman contemptuously.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve run my engine two years——”</p>
-
-<p>“It isn’t your engine any more,” observed the
-foreman. “One of you men go for Pete Doty,” he
-continued to the group from the molding room.
-“He’s out of a job, and he can have this one if he
-qualifies right. That’s all,” added Dunn, with a
-peremptory wave of his hand.</p>
-
-<p>The signal was understood promptly by all hands
-to get back to their respective places. Mr. Hardy
-moved over to the side of Ben. He placed a hand
-on his son’s head and his eyes were full of emotion.</p>
-
-<p>“I am proud of you, my son,” he said simply.</p>
-
-<p>“You ain’t the only one,” broke in Dunn, brusquely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>
-brushing Mr. Hardy aside and catching Ben’s
-arm in his iron grip. “You come with me, boy.”</p>
-
-<p>He was a resolute hustling piece of humanity,
-always doing things forcefully. With a rush he
-dragged Ben into and through the machine shop.</p>
-
-<p>“Good boy!” spoke a machinist, patting Ben on
-the shoulder as he passed him.</p>
-
-<p>“You did it grand, lad,” commended a second.</p>
-
-<p>“Three cheers for Ben Hardy!” roared Tim Grogan,
-a jolly and independent apprentice.</p>
-
-<p>The enthusiastic cheers, given with a will, died
-away as the foreman and Ben reached the office.</p>
-
-<p>“Where’s Saxton?” demanded Dunn in his bluff
-off-handed way.</p>
-
-<p>“He went outside the building,” explained the
-bookkeeper, who had suspended work and looked
-anxious and flustered. “Say, is the danger over?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, maybe a few shingles shaken off the roof.
-I reckon Saxton went outside to see how many,” retorted
-the foreman sarcastically. “Here he comes.”</p>
-
-<p>The portly proprietor of the works at that moment
-came strutting through the front doorway. He was
-very consequential, now that the peril was past.</p>
-
-<p>“Here Mr. Saxton,” spoke the foreman, “—you
-know this boy?”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s Hardy’s lad, isn’t it?” replied Jasper Saxton,
-with a stare at Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes. He’s saved your shop from rattling to
-pieces, that’s all,” announced the foreman bluntly.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>
-“That pet of yours, Tom Shallock, was in liquor and
-asleep at his post. If Ben here hadn’t got in action
-there’d have been a long shut-down of the Saxton
-Automobile Works, I can tell you, and maybe some
-funerals.”</p>
-
-<p>Saxton looked annoyed and angry at the reference
-to the engineer, and slightly bored at the determined
-way in which his foreman kept pushing Ben to the
-front. All this embarrassed the latter, who tried
-to wriggle free from the grasp of the foreman.</p>
-
-<p>“Where is Shallock?” asked Mr. Saxton uneasily.</p>
-
-<p>“Fired,” tersely reported the foreman.</p>
-
-<p>“Why—I—that is——” stammered Mr. Saxton.</p>
-
-<p>“You act as if you were afraid of that man,
-Mr. Saxton,” observed the foreman bluntly. “I’ve
-sent for Pete Doty. He’ll be here directly. About
-this boy, now——”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, yes,” nodded Mr. Saxton hurriedly. “Good
-boy. First-class father, too. Shake hands. Glad.
-Thank you.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hold on, Mr. Saxton,” interrupted the foreman,
-as his employer started to close the incident by entering
-the office of the works. “What are you going
-to do for young Hardy?”</p>
-
-<p>“Do—eh. Ah. I see. Come into the office,
-Hardy.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben obeyed the order. Mr. Saxton looked nettled,
-and Ben felt dreadfully conscious. The former
-put his hands in a pocket and drew out a roll of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>
-bills. These he promptly transferred to another
-pocket. He next fished out a dollar, glanced at it,
-then at Ben, went over to a desk, drew out a money
-draw and changed the large silver coin.</p>
-
-<p>He pocketed three quarters and handed the other
-twenty-five cent piece to Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, drawing back. “There
-is no need of that, Mr. Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“I insist,” said Mr. Saxton grandly. “You’ve
-done quite a big thing, Hardy, and you deserve the
-reward.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">JUST IN TIME</p>
-
-
-<p>“Thank you,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t mention it,” responded Jasper Saxton.</p>
-
-<p>The manufacturer turned from Ben with a decided
-expression of relief on his face. He acted
-like a man who had got off cheaply.</p>
-
-<p>It was in Ben’s mind to ask Mr. Saxton if he
-“was to keep all of the twenty-five cents,” but sarcasm
-was not Ben’s forte. He was too ingenious
-to cherish resentment against either friend or enemy.
-Ben simply pocketed the coin. He concealed a
-smile of comicality. The situation, displaying Jasper
-Saxton’s usual meanness, rather tickled him.</p>
-
-<p>He was about to turn and leave the office when
-an extraordinary movement on the part of Saxton
-enchained his attention. The latter with something
-between a growl and a yell had described an active
-jump. He landed up against a parcel bench on
-which lay a variety of small machine parts, bagged
-and ready for shipment.</p>
-
-<p>“What! hasn’t that gone yet?” he shouted, his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span>
-hand closing over a small steel section of some machine
-weighing about ten pounds.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, dear me!” exclaimed the bookkeeper, “I was
-just going to wrap that up and send it when the shop
-began to shake. I’ll attend to it immediately, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Immediately!” howled Saxton, as the bookkeeper
-fumbled over twine and wrapping paper—“why,
-it’s special. Do you understand that? The man it
-is for is expecting it at the depot. He is to leave
-on the five o’clock train, and it’s—seven minutes of
-five now!” yelled the manufacturer, glancing at his
-watch. “Here, wrap it quick, and send the office boy
-kiting with it fast as you can.”</p>
-
-<p>“Dan has gone for the mail, sir,” said the office
-man.</p>
-
-<p>“Then hustle with it yourself,” ordered Saxton.</p>
-
-<p>“You forget that I am lame,” submitted the bookkeeper
-reproachfully.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s got to go,” stormed the manufacturer.
-“Hold on, there.”</p>
-
-<p>He shouted these last words at Ben just as the
-latter was about to leave the office.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir!” said Ben inquiringly.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve paid you that money, you know—you’ll do
-a little extra job, hey?”</p>
-
-<p>“With pleasure,” answered Ben, with his usual
-bright accommodating smile.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s a good boy,” said Mr. Saxton. “Hustle,
-now,” to his bookkeeper.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p>
-
-<p>Ben stood awaiting the package from the nervous
-fingers of the office employee. He was more amused
-than disappointed in the narrow view Mr. Saxton
-took of things in general. The quarter of a dollar
-and the “extra job,” as he designated it, were characteristic
-of the tight-fisted manufacturer. His treatment
-of Ben had been of a piece awarded Mr. Hardy,
-and Ben was not much surprised.</p>
-
-<p>The Saxton Automobile Works was doing a large
-and growing business, but it was not his own business
-ability, as the self-centered manufacturer imagined,
-that had brought about all this progress and
-prosperity. Mr. Hardy had designed the Estrelle
-auto. The Saxton Company never gave him credit
-for this. Ben’s father was more of an inventor than
-a business man, and he had never protected himself
-as a shrewder man might have done.</p>
-
-<p>He was a valuable workman in the Saxton service
-and received very good pay. Ben, however, had
-always thought that his father should have been
-given more credit and money that he really got.</p>
-
-<p>Ben’s mother had often talked to her husband
-about this. Finally Mr. Hardy had gone to Mr. Saxton
-and had put the case before him. Nearly all the
-new and popular points about the Estrelle machine
-were inventions of Mr. Hardy. Jasper Saxton did
-not deny this, but he proposed that the patents be
-taken out in his own name. In an indefinite way he
-agreed to make some kind of an equitable settlement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span>
-with his employer as soon as the rush season was
-over. Mr. Hardy asked for a memorandum of the
-agreement.</p>
-
-<p>To this Mr. Saxton reluctantly consented after a
-great deal of delay. Mr. Hardy placed the precious
-document in his coat pocket. When he went back
-to work he hung up his coat in its usual place.
-When he got home that night the written agreement
-was missing.</p>
-
-<p>An unavailing search was made for the document.
-Then in a day or two Mr. Hardy went back to his
-employer and related the circumstances, asking for
-a new copy of the agreement.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Saxton put him off on the pretext of being
-very busy. Then, when urged by Mrs. Hardy and
-Ben, the head machinist again approached Jasper
-Saxton, the latter told him that if he would wait
-till the active selling season was over and he could
-get at his books, they would go together to a lawyer
-and have a contract drawn up in due legal form.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy was easily satisfied and rested content
-with this promise. His heart was in his work. When
-Ben intimated that he was dealing with a man with
-a general reputation for business slipperiness, his
-father told him that it would come out all right. He
-was sanguine that Mr. Saxton would do the liberal
-thing by him as soon as the selling season was over.</p>
-
-<p>“Here you are,” said the bookkeeper, at last completing
-the packing of the steel fittings.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Where am I to deliver it?” inquired Ben, accepting
-the parcel.</p>
-
-<p>“Name’s on the bag,” explained Jasper Saxton
-hurriedly.</p>
-
-<p>Ben glanced at the bag and read the name: “John
-R. Davis.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right,” he said. “Will he be at the depot?”</p>
-
-<p>“He is leaving for Blairville on the five o’clock
-train,” said Jasper Saxton. “You’ll know him when
-you see him—large, tall man with a full beard, and
-wears gold eye glasses.”</p>
-
-<p>“I will find him if he’s there,” said Ben confidently.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t delay, boy,” broke in the manufacturer,
-“you’ve got barely five minutes.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben placed the parcel under his arm and passed
-from the office. He made a bee-line for the front
-door, to be interrupted by a shout.</p>
-
-<p>“Hey there, Hardy!”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m in a desperate hurry, Mr. Dunn,” said Ben,
-recognizing his challenger.</p>
-
-<p>“Never mind—only a moment.” The big foreman
-got to Ben’s side and gripped his arm. “What
-did he give you?” he demanded.</p>
-
-<p>“It isn’t fair to tell,” declared Ben, with an evasive
-smile.</p>
-
-<p>“You’ll tell me,” firmly insisted the foreman.</p>
-
-<p>“Well then—twenty-five.”</p>
-
-<p>“H’m! He gave the night watchman only ten<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>
-dollars when he saved the shop from burning
-down. Twenty-five dollars? That’s pretty fair—for
-Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t delay me, Mr. Dunn,” again pleaded Ben,
-tugging to get loose.</p>
-
-<p>“Just one more question,” said the foreman.</p>
-
-<p>“Be quick, then.”</p>
-
-<p>“Which do you like best—open face or hunting
-case watch?”</p>
-
-<p>“Eh?” exclaimed Ben, with a start.</p>
-
-<p>“They’ve started a little appreciation list back
-there. Come, which is it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, Mr. Dunn!”</p>
-
-<p>“Decide, or we’ll buy you both,” declared Ben’s
-determined captor.</p>
-
-<p>“Any boy would like an open faced watch,” said
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“All right, you can go now,” said Dunn, with a
-chuckle.</p>
-
-<p>Ben darted off on a sprint to make up for lost
-time. It was four blocks to the depot, and he had
-about three minutes to make it in. As he darted
-through the front doorway of the works Ben heard
-the first starting bell ringing out at the depot.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve got to hustle to make it!” he declared. “No,
-it can’t be done. I know what I’ll do—I’ll cut
-across the triangle.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben figured that this short cut across a dumping
-yard would land him up to the train before it got<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>
-going at full speed. His calculations, however, were
-somewhat at fault. As he neared the tracks the
-train came down the rails at a pretty good rate of
-speed.</p>
-
-<p>Ben waited till the baggage car and one passenger
-coach had passed him. Then, hampered by his bundle,
-he gave it a fling and landed it on the platform
-of the second coach.</p>
-
-<p>Poising for a spring and a catch, Ben made a
-grab for the railing of the last car.</p>
-
-<p>Then he gripped firmly at its outer edge. With
-a wrench he was pulled from the ground, but clung
-sturdily, his feet flying out in the air like streamers.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p>
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A NEW FRIEND</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="p016" style="max-width: 70.4375em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/p016.jpg" alt="">
-  <div class="caption"><p>“I’VE MADE IT!” PANTED BEN HARDY.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>“I’ve made it!” panted Ben Hardy, with a swing
-landing both feet safely on the platform of the last
-car of the speeding train.</p>
-
-<p>“Now to find my man,” he added, pausing a
-moment or two to catch his breath and then entering
-the coach.</p>
-
-<p>Ben had the name of the man well in mind to
-whom he was to deliver the machine parts. He also
-recalled the vague description given of the man by
-Mr. Saxton. The lad glanced casually at the occupants
-of the seats on each side of the coach as he
-proceeded down the aisle of the car.</p>
-
-<p>No tall bearded man with eye glasses showed up,
-and gaining the front platform of the coach Ben
-took up the package where it had landed and entered
-the next car.</p>
-
-<p>“Fare, there,” pronounced the conductor of the
-train, confronting him.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, yes,” said Ben with a smile, resting his package
-on a radiator and producing the quarter Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>
-Saxton had given him. “Ought to keep it to frame
-as a souvenir, I suppose,” added Ben to himself
-comically, “but it happens to be all the money I’ve
-got. First stop, conductor—the junction, isn’t it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll go that far. Take fifteen cents out of that,”
-directed Ben, producing the reward coin.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s twenty-five cents if you don’t have a ticket,”
-announced the conductor, “ten cents extra, that’s the
-rule.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s so,” said Ben with a wry grimace.</p>
-
-<p>“You’d ought to have thought of that,” suggested
-the conductor.</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t have much time to think of anything
-except getting aboard this train double quick,” answered
-Ben. “You don’t happen to know a gentleman
-named Mr. Davis, do you, conductor?”</p>
-
-<p>The fare collector shook his head in dissent and
-proceeded on his round of duty to the rear coach.
-Ben took up his package again and began to scan the
-passengers beyond him.</p>
-
-<p>“That twenty-five cent piece ought to have turned
-out counterfeit to carry out the fun of the thing,”
-smiled Ben. “There’s a likely prospect—I think it is
-my man,” added the youth, fixing his eyes upon a
-person occupying a double seat near the front of the
-coach.</p>
-
-<p>This individual had a heavy beard, was tall and
-athletic, wore eye glasses, and was acting excited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>
-and nervous. He would glance from his car window
-and then ahead and back in the coach, and half arose
-as if to go in search of a train official to ask some
-important question.</p>
-
-<p>As Ben approached the seats he occupied, he
-noticed a book of mechanical drawings lying open
-against the front cushions. Also leaning against the
-seat were several quite long parcels. The ends of
-these showed what Ben took to be rods or bars. The
-man was certainly in the mechanical line, Ben
-reasoned, and he advanced without hesitation.</p>
-
-<p>“Is this Mr. Davis?” he inquired politely.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, that’s me,” responded the other, turning
-quickly and fixing an eager glance on his questioner.</p>
-
-<p>“Glad to have found you,” said Ben. “I am from
-the Saxton Automobile Works, and this is for you.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis was so glad to receive the machine part
-that he took it from Ben’s hands and held it under
-his own arm as if it were some precious treasure.</p>
-
-<p>“Good for you!” he exclaimed heartily, a pleasant
-smile chasing away the anxiety on his face. “I was
-worrying over it, I tell you. I simply had to have it
-to-day. Here, sit down. I fancy you’ve been doing
-some fast running, eh?”</p>
-
-<p>“A little,” rejoined Ben with a laugh. “It was
-jolly, though. You see, a fellow likes to beat a hard
-task just for practice once in a while.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben sank to a seat greatly enjoying the relief from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>
-a severe strain. His companion looked at him with
-interest and remarked:</p>
-
-<p>“I was afraid that part wasn’t going to reach me.
-Thought it was strange, too, for I had been very
-explicit in my directions. I told the Saxton people
-to spare no expense so I got it in time. As it was
-a sort of test as to what you folks could do and
-meant lots of work for your shop in the future, I
-counted on the right work on time.”</p>
-
-<p>The speaker unpacked the part. Ben knew something
-about machinery, and observed that it was a
-double eccentric with several complicated attachments.
-He recognized it as a class of work always
-given into his father’s expert hands. It was exquisitely
-turned, jointed and polished.</p>
-
-<p>“Neat as the works of a watch, eh?” said Mr.
-Davis admiringly. “That’s what I call fine work.”</p>
-
-<p>“My father always does fine work,” said Ben,
-with a tinge of pride.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, your father had a hand in this, did he?”
-questioned Mr. Davis.</p>
-
-<p>“I think so—yes, I am sure of it,” answered Ben,
-inspecting the part. “I remember him mentioning it
-as something outside of the usual run, and wondering
-what it was to be used for.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is a part of the machinery of my new airship,”
-explained Mr. Davis.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, say, is that it?” ejaculated Ben with great
-animation, and his eyes wandering to the open book<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>
-on the seat before him, he scanned with interest the
-outlines of an aeroplane.</p>
-
-<p>“Pleases you, does it?” interrogated his companion.</p>
-
-<p>“Immensely,” acknowledged Ben. “My father is
-the head mechanic at the Saxton works, and he is
-an inventor, too. He has got up any number of new
-improvements on the Estrelle car.”</p>
-
-<p>“I would like to know him,” said Mr. Davis. “I
-am glad to know you. Let me see, what is your
-name?”</p>
-
-<p>“Hardy—Ben Hardy.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you work at the Saxton plant, too, Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, sir,” answered Ben, “but I spend a good deal
-of my spare time there. Father works there, you see,
-and I like machinery.”</p>
-
-<p>“How did you come to bring the machine part to
-me?”</p>
-
-<p>“I happened to be around, and there was no one
-else to send at the time. The reason it was delayed
-was that the engine at the works went wild.”</p>
-
-<p>“Is that so? Tell me about it.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben had not calculated on a casual remark leading
-to a particular explanation. Before he was aware
-of it he had pretty nearly recited the whole story of
-the belt mishap at the Saxton shop.</p>
-
-<p>“They ought to do something pretty fine for you,
-those people,” suggested Mr. Davis. “I am certainly
-very much obliged to you for your share in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>
-getting this machine part to me. I suppose some
-day you will go to work at the Saxton plant?”</p>
-
-<p>“I am making drafting a special study,” replied
-Ben, “and I would like to start in at the model desk
-in the pattern rooms after school is over.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you follow after your father in the invention
-line, Ben?” asked Mr. Davis seriously.</p>
-
-<p>“I would like to,” answered Ben. “I hardly think
-it is in me, though, Mr. Davis. I once got up a perpetual
-motion machine.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis smiled, so did Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” nodded the latter gaily, “it perpetuated
-until I had to start it again. The only practical
-thing I ever did was a whistle which I made out of
-a simple piece of tin.”</p>
-
-<p>“Patented it, did you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, dear, no,” explained Ben. “I made it for a
-friend of mine. He could warble on it like a mocking
-bird. I never saw anybody else who could,
-though. There was a certain knack about it that he
-could get, it seemed. Can I look over that book, Mr.
-Davis?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben was soon immersed in the drawings before
-him. His companion seemed greatly pleased at his
-interest in them. Once or twice, too, he took occasion
-to commend Ben for some comment or suggestion
-he made concerning the models.</p>
-
-<p>“Why,” he said as they came to the last drawing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>
-of a superb machine, “you seem to have done some
-digging in the aeroplane line.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, all I know is second hand,” declared Ben.
-“My father believes that the coming motor is the
-aeroplane, and has done some experimenting in that
-line. I have taken a great delight in watching him
-and helping him. I will have to leave the train in a
-few minutes, Mr. Davis,” he added. “There is the
-whistle for the junction now, and I will have to get
-back to Woodville.”</p>
-
-<p>“Two things, Ben,” said Mr. Davis as he rose
-from the seat. “It is a big thing for me to get that
-machine part on time. Here is something for your
-trouble,” and he handed out a folded bank note.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, arising quickly.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, yes,” insisted Mr. Davis. “Here’s the
-second thing,” and he pressed a card into Ben’s hand
-after writing something on its back. “I want you
-to ask your father to let you come down to the big
-aero meet at Blairville next week. That card will
-admit you anywhere about the grounds. I shall be
-in great evidence there, to speak modestly,” smiled
-Mr. Davis, “and I will take pleasure in showing you
-some things that will set that active head of yours
-buzzing for a spell.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben’s eyes glowed over the welcome invitation.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know anything that would give me more
-pleasure than to see those airships go up,” said the
-youth.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Be sure to come—I shall expect you,” declared
-Mr. Davis, shaking hands warmly.</p>
-
-<p>“Here’s luck!” exclaimed Ben, as he alighted on
-the junction platform, ran across it, and got aboard
-a train just starting in an opposite direction for
-Woodville, the conductor of which he knew very
-well, and who had the privilege of passing friends
-short distances.</p>
-
-<p>He had calculated on a two-hours’ wait at the
-junction, and here was the afternoon accommodation
-train, twenty minutes late, but just in time to start
-him homeward bound without a minute’s delay.</p>
-
-<p>Ben reached Woodville and went up to the automobile
-works at once. It lacked half an hour of
-quitting time, and he decided he had better report
-the safe delivery of the machine part at the office.
-Besides that, he would have a chance to walk home
-with his father.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, it’s you?” observed Mr. Saxton, as he entered
-the office.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir,” replied Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Did you deliver the parcel to Mr. Davis?”</p>
-
-<p>“I did, Mr. Saxton. I managed to just catch the
-train on the fly.”</p>
-
-<p>“How was that?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben explained.</p>
-
-<p>“Then you had to go clear to the junction?”</p>
-
-<p>“Or jump off,” smiled Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“H’m—cost you fifteen cents, then?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span></p>
-
-<p>“No, sir, a quarter. You see there’s an extra
-ten cents when you do not buy your ticket in advance.”</p>
-
-<p>“H’m!” again commented the manufacturer.
-“You ought to get back that rebate. Here, Smith,”
-to the bookkeeper, “give Hardy twenty-five cents.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, and Saxton brightened
-up magically. “Mr. Davis insisted on giving me
-five dollars.”</p>
-
-<p>“He did, eh?” spoke Jasper Saxton thoughtfully.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir. He was very glad to get the machine
-part, and insisted on paying me for what he called
-my trouble.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very good. Glad. That is—h’m—you see—quite
-right, Hardy.”</p>
-
-<p>At first Ben fancied that Jasper Saxton was going
-to suggest that he divide up the five dollars with the
-company. However, Mr. Saxton dismissed him
-with a wave of the hand and Ben went in search of
-his father.</p>
-
-<p>He recited his recent experience, showed him the
-five-dollar bill with some pride in his face, and told
-his father he would wait till quitting time and go
-home with him.</p>
-
-<p>“I’m afraid we’ll have to change that programme,
-Ben,” advised Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“How is that, father?”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Saxton wants the engine overhauled and
-that shaft reset, and I will have to put in a few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>
-hours extra time, so I shall not go home till later.”</p>
-
-<p>“What about supper, father?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I’ll pick up something at a restaurant.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mother will insist on sending something to you,
-I know,” prophesied Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I won’t say that home cooking wouldn’t
-suit me best,” confessed Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>Ben started from the shop, when Caleb Dunn
-hailed him with the words:</p>
-
-<p>“Hold on there, young man.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right,” responded Ben, smiling.</p>
-
-<p>The foreman gained Ben’s side. He drew a shop-soiled
-sheet of paper from the pocket of his working
-blouse.</p>
-
-<p>“Every man in the shop,” he announced.</p>
-
-<p>“Every man what?” queried Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Name signed to the document.”</p>
-
-<p>“What for?”</p>
-
-<p>“Subscription.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh!” said Ben, guessing and flushing.</p>
-
-<p>“Understand, do you?” demanded the iron fisted,
-warm hearted foreman with a grim chuckle.
-“Testimonial—Watch—Open face—Solid gold—Get
-out.”</p>
-
-<p>He gave Ben a shove and shook his fist playfully
-at him, and the boy went on his way laughing and
-feeling joyful.</p>
-
-<p>Ben had to tell the story of the day’s experience
-all over again when he reached home. His mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>
-said little, as between the lines she read the noble
-impulses that had actuated the good son of a good
-father in striving to do his duty and be of benefit
-to others. She kissed him fondly, however, and her
-eyes were moist and loving as after supper he started
-for the works with the basket of food she had
-prepared for Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>Ben found the works closed down and his father
-overhauling some tools, ready to set at work when
-the foreman, who lived near by, returned from his
-supper. Mr. Hardy said that they would finish their
-work by about ten o’clock.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me come up about nine o’clock and watch
-around, father, and go home with you,” suggested
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“I am always glad of your company, my son,”
-said Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“All right, I’ll be here,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>He did not go directly home. It was a pleasant
-evening, and Ben leisurely strolled about the downtown
-streets, taking in the sights of the liveliest
-hour of the day among the stores.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello!” he said, quickening his steps as he
-caught the sound of music, and following its source
-he noticed a crowd gathered about a corner curb.</p>
-
-<p>As Ben neared the group he discovered a street
-piano mounted on wheels, being operated by a man.
-Standing by him was his partner. The latter had
-a piece of tin between his lips. Keeping in tune with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>
-the hurdy gurdy, he was producing beautiful liquid
-notes that rang out clear and musical as the soaring
-notes of a lark.</p>
-
-<p>The crowd was enchanted. The music was novel
-and harmonious. The whistle gave out notes as
-clear and pure as those of a flute.</p>
-
-<p>The tune ended. Ben Hardy watched the whistler
-remove the piece of tin from between his lips. As
-he did so Ben started forward, his eyes fixed upon
-the little device intently.</p>
-
-<p>“Why!” exclaimed Ben in profound astonishment,
-“that is the very whistle I invented for Bob
-Dallow.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE “SYBILLINE” WHISTLE</p>
-
-
-<p>The whistle he had invented and the name Bob
-Dallow instantly carried back the mind of Ben
-to what he looked upon as the pleasantest part of
-his young life.</p>
-
-<p>About six months previous to the opening of this
-story Bob Dallow had put in an appearance at the
-Hardy home. Neither Ben nor his parents had ever
-seen him before, but the homeless orphan boy had
-received a hearty welcome.</p>
-
-<p>It appeared that he was the son of a half sister
-of Mrs. Hardy, and he had come into the Hardy
-household in such a lively, manly fashion that he
-had won all their hearts at once.</p>
-
-<p>“Just looking up my scattered relations as I hop
-about the world, Aunt Mary,” he had announced to
-Mrs. Hardy. “Here to-day and there to-morrow.
-I won’t bother you more than this afternoon and
-to-night. It makes a fellow feel he’s got something
-to tie to, you know, when he gets lonely, so I thought
-I would drop in on you.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span></p>
-
-<p>Bob had been an orphan for two years. Thrown
-on his own resources, he had gone to work on the
-first job that offered with a smile, and left it for
-another one with a hurrah. He fascinated Ben with
-the happy, good-natured way in which he took the
-ups and downs of business life.</p>
-
-<p>“Every regular job I get,” declared Bob, airily,
-“there was a separate and distinct hoodoo about it.
-For instance, the first man I worked for was a
-groceryman. He confidentially instructed me on
-his short weight tactics one night and I left the next
-morning. My second employer was a clothier. He
-insisted on paying off my first month’s salary in a
-suit damaged by fire and water and four sizes too
-big for me, so I left him and became a clerk in a
-dry goods store. My boss there nearly starved me
-and made me sleep on a box under a stairway. I
-pined for fresh air and took to the road.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob explained that “taking to the road” meant
-for him, first, a ticket collector for a side show at a
-circus, next, a brief career at driving a band wagon,
-and lastly as a chauffeur.</p>
-
-<p>“I am now pretty good at handling a machine,”
-he declared, “and am on my way to a new job for a
-crack automobile man who makes a specialty of
-racing for prizes.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob brought a rather exciting atmosphere into
-the quiet Hardy home, but it did not harm any. He
-succeeded in stirring up some new ideas in the active<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>
-mind of Ben, but the latter, his folks knew, loved
-home life too fondly to ever become a confirmed
-rover. Then, too, Bob was a boy of excellent principles.
-There was no bravado or recklessness about
-his exuberant spirits. He was manly and always
-seeing the bright side of things, adventurous and
-undaunted by trivial disappointments.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll make it some day—in a big way. I feel it
-in my bones,” he insisted hopefully.</p>
-
-<p>“I hope you do,” replied Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“So will you,” declared Bob, enthusiastically, the
-next day, when, in showing his guest about his little
-work room at home, Ben brought to light a whistle
-he had invented. It consisted of a bent circle of
-tin. This was perforated on one side, and this in
-connection with a peculiar shaping of the outer lip
-of the device enabled a person to give out a shrill call
-that could be heard fully a mile distant on a quiet
-day.</p>
-
-<p>Ben had distributed freely samples of his handicraft
-among his boy chums, and on picnic occasions
-the woods would ring with what his comrades called
-a bird call. The modest young inventor noticed,
-however, that most of the users of the whistles
-never got much beyond a commonplace squeak,
-while the shrill efforts of the adepts scared the birds
-away instead of attracting them.</p>
-
-<p>Bob Dallow put a new phase on the affair. His
-twenty-four hours’ visit expanded and was encouraged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>
-to five days. The last afternoon of his stay,
-when Ben came home from school he was somewhat
-excitedly invited by his popular chum to accompany
-him to the garden.</p>
-
-<p>“See her,” said Bob, “—or rather, listen.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob placed the whistle between his lips. He began
-a tune, carried it through, and finished it with a
-flush of triumph.</p>
-
-<p>“I declare!” exclaimed the delighted Ben, lost in
-admiration of his friend’s splendid efforts. “I never
-heard better music.”</p>
-
-<p>Patience and practice had enabled Bob to become
-a master of the little device.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s a big thing,” he insisted, “and if I were you
-I’d have it patented. I won’t say that anybody can
-play it—not everybody can play a cornet, either.
-You’ve got to cultivate what they call the horn lip
-to do that. You’ll find lots that can do it, though.
-I am one of them. ‘Home, Sweet Home’ with variations,
-listen.”</p>
-
-<p>“Why, Bob,” exclaimed Mrs. Hardy, whom the
-boys found standing near by quite enraptured with
-the fine performance of her young guest.</p>
-
-<p>Bob influenced Ben to make him a dozen of the
-little whistles. When he left the Hardys the next
-morning with many happy thanks for their kindness
-to him, his words to Ben were:</p>
-
-<p>“I am going to make some money out of that
-whistle—see if I don’t.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span></p>
-
-<p>The prediction had somewhat faded out of Ben’s
-mind after the departure of their lively visitor.
-Bob wrote to him only once, telling him that he was
-enjoying life as a chauffeur for a liberal employer.
-For over two months, however, no word had come
-from the roving boy. As to the whistle, Ben had
-nearly forgotten about that. Now the subject came
-up to his mind in quite a forcible way on the public
-streets of Woodville.</p>
-
-<p>Ben was following the impulse to go forward
-and request the whistler to let him have a look at
-the device he used to render such melliferous sounds,
-when the man at the piano stepped in front of the
-instrument.</p>
-
-<p>He drew open the flaps of a little satchel swung
-from his shoulder, revealing a number of tin
-whistles.</p>
-
-<p>“The Sybilline whistle, gentlemen,” he announced
-in broken English. He was apparently of the better
-class of foreign street musicians. “This ees not a
-toy. It ees a musical instrument. We don’t say
-all ones can play as does these professore at my
-sides. But practeese he make perfects. Only ten
-cents, gentlemen.”</p>
-
-<p>The man with the whistle gave out a vivid and
-rapid series of thrills, tremolos and bird imitations.
-A number of purchasers handed up their dimes, Ben
-among them. Then he retired to one side and
-closely inspected the whistle.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” he said, his heart beating a trifle faster
-with pleasure and pride, “it is the same, it is my
-invention.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben went up to the whistler, who had now ceased
-playing and was strolling to one side while his partner
-continued his appeals for purchasers in the
-crowd.</p>
-
-<p>“Mister,” asked Ben, extending his bought whistle,
-“where do you get these.”</p>
-
-<p>“The Sybilline—yes,” politely answered the man
-addressed. “At the city, my friend.”</p>
-
-<p>“Where in the city?” pressed Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“At the Central.”</p>
-
-<p>“And what is the Central?”</p>
-
-<p>“It is the headquarters—it is the padrone who
-hires us.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is his name?”</p>
-
-<p>“It is Vladimir—he has many, many men who
-work for him. It is percentages.”</p>
-
-<p>“I understand,” murmured Ben, drawing back.
-“This doesn’t connect up Bob Dallow, though. Maybe
-some one else struck the same whistle idea I did.”</p>
-
-<p>As Ben reached home he craned his neck, and then
-hurried his steps with a low cry of surprise and delight.
-There was a light in the dining-room, and
-seated at the table enjoying a hastily prepared meal,
-and waited on by Mrs. Hardy, was the very boy
-so strongly in his thoughts at the present moment—Bob
-Dallow.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Well, well, well!” cried Ben, rushing unceremoniously
-into the room and greeting the smiling Bob,
-with handshakes and slaps on the shoulder, “here’s
-a grand sight for sore eyes.”</p>
-
-<p>“Glad to see me, are you?” chuckled Bob, with
-his usual tantalizing imperturbability.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s what.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’ll be gladder soon. Let a famished pilgrim
-enjoy the rarest cookery in the country first, will
-you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Say, you’re looking pretty prosperous, it seems
-to me, Bob,” said Ben, scrutinizing his chum closely
-as he reseated himself at the table.</p>
-
-<p>“Think so?” smiled Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes. That’s a pretty fine suit you’re wearing.”</p>
-
-<p>“One of my fine ones—oh, yes,” responded Bob,
-coolly. “Now then,” taking a last sup of tea, “thank
-you, Mrs. Hardy—and thank you, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“What for?”</p>
-
-<p>“That whistle idea of yours.”</p>
-
-<p>“Eh?” exclaimed Ben with a start, instantly coupling
-the musical team downtown with the appearance
-of his friend.</p>
-
-<p>“You see, I stopped over about the dividends,”
-explained Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Dividends?” repeated Ben, wonderingly.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s the business proposition, exactly,” replied
-Bob, with an affected grand air. “That whistle of
-yours—well, the results first. See that?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span></p>
-
-<p>Very grandly Bob drew out a folding pocketbook
-and placed it open on the table. Elastic bands held
-a little heap of new green banknotes on either flap.</p>
-
-<p>“Four hundred dollars,” announced Bob, with an
-expansive chuckle and a grin.</p>
-
-<p>“Where did you get it,” stammered Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Your whistle.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’re joking, Bob.”</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all. There it is, the benefits of your little
-invention—four hundred dollars, half yours.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben stared in a stupefied way at the money, then
-at the smiling face of his friend, and then at his
-mother.</p>
-
-<p>“You’re joking, Bob,” he said.</p>
-
-<p>“Does that money look like a joke?” demanded
-Bob Dallow. “Here, that’s your share, two hundred
-dollars. Count it, and then I’ll tell you how
-this little fortune came to travel down to Woodville
-with me.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob removed the banknotes from one flap of the
-pocketbook and pushed them across the table to
-Ben. The latter merely fumbled them. He was
-fairly stunned at the sensational actions of his relative.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s all along of that whistle of yours, just as I
-said,” declared Bob. “When I left here two months
-ago it was to take a job as chauffeur, you remember.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” nodded Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“It was an easy job and a paying one, so easy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>
-that I began to get fat and lazy. The man I worked
-for had a lot of sporty friends, and they got to be
-such wild company I concluded to strike out for
-something better. I got word of a nice family at
-Springfield wanting a chauffeur. When I got there
-I found the place filled. I hadn’t much ready cash
-in my pocket. I’d made fine wages, but I spent it
-laying in a good stock of clothes. At the end of the
-week I was pretty near at the end of my rope financially.
-One evening I was consoling myself driving
-away the blues with some cheerful tunes on one of
-your whistles, when a big idea struck me.”</p>
-
-<p>“About the whistle?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Just that. When I began outlining plans for
-making my fortune out of the little device, so many
-ideas came to me that I began to think I was a
-natural born promoter. Well, the next morning I
-swept away all the dreamy schemes from the proposition
-and went to work in a sensible business-like
-way.”</p>
-
-<p>“What did you do, Bob?”</p>
-
-<p>“I knew a young lawyer in Springfield, and I was
-sure he would give me his opinion free gratis. He
-did. After he had heard my story, and had inspected
-the whistle, and had looked up what he called
-authorities on the subject, he told me he didn’t believe
-a patent on the whistle would hold water.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, dear!” commented Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Even if it would, he said the whistle, being a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>
-mere passing novelty, would soon peg out. He advised
-me to find somebody who would take the whole
-business off my hands for a bulk sum—some one
-who ran a sort of supply headquarters for cheap
-novelties. That started me on a new tangent. I
-finally ran across the ideal person—a sort of padrone
-fellow who hired poor foreigners on a commission.
-I went to him fully prepared though.”</p>
-
-<p>“How was that Bob?” asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, I knew he or somebody else would steal
-the whistle idea if it struck them favorably, unless
-I made a tangible show of controlling the situation.
-I made a real impressive looking drawing of the
-whistle—sectional view and all that, you know.
-Then I went to a big hardware factory and got a
-written estimate on the whistle in ten thousand lots.”</p>
-
-<p>“Whew!” ejaculated Ben admiringly.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I’m no cheap man when I get started,”
-vaunted Bob, with a laugh. “The name of the padrone
-was Vladimir. When I went to him, I had
-the drawing and the contract and a lot of big talk
-all ready. The man was interested at once. He
-heard me play on the whistle, tried it himself, didn’t
-make much progress, and then shook his head dubiously.
-Then he called in half a dozen fellows. They
-were musicians in his employ—mostly hurdy-gurdy
-men. They all tried the whistle. Four of them got
-onto the knack at once. Then I made my star hit.”</p>
-
-<p>“How was that?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span></p>
-
-<p>“I suggested that he send out a team—organ and
-whistle—and tab results. The thing went grandly.
-The next morning, after a lot of dickering, Vladimir
-gave me four hundred dollars for the outfit.”</p>
-
-<p>“Bob, you are a genius,” remarked Mrs. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Does the price suit you, Mr. Inventor?” inquired
-the other, “or did I sell too cheap?”</p>
-
-<p>“Cheap!” cried Ben. “Think of it! All that
-money mine! What will I ever do with it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Why, invest it in a new invention, of course,”
-cried Bob. “Make it your working capital, and get
-out something finer and finer till you rival Edison.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’re poking fun at me,” declared Ben. “The
-whistle was a mere trifle, and an accident. I may
-know how to handle a few machine tools, but I’m
-no real inventor, Bob Dallow. Of course——”</p>
-
-<p>Ben paused abruptly. His eyes sparkled as a sudden
-idea came to him. Quick-witted Bob eyed him
-keenly. “Go ahead, Ben,” he ordered, “of course
-what?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I was just thinking some foolishness,” answered
-Ben, with a conscious flush.</p>
-
-<p>“What foolishness?” persisted Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Well then, airships.”</p>
-
-<p>“Eh—what’s that?” demanded Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, Ben!” murmured his mother.</p>
-
-<p>“What put airships in your head?” pressed Bob,
-with a token of real curiosity and interest in manner
-and voice.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Well, I saw a man to-day who set me wild over
-them,” confessed Ben bluntly. “He is a real airship
-man himself. He had a book on airships full of
-drawings, and he has invited me to the airship meet
-at Blairville next week.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob Dallow stared hard at Ben as the latter spoke
-this outburst.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, well,” he said slowly, but forcibly, “you’ve
-got them, haven’t you? So have I. Invited to the
-meet at Blairville? Why, that’s where I’ve got
-my new job.”</p>
-
-<p>“You have?” exclaimed Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes. Don’t look as if we’ve both gone dreaming,
-Aunt Mary,” said Bob to his hostess, with a
-merry laugh, “I’m hit, too. Tell you, I’ve figured
-out a system. I’ve made up my mind to keep up
-with the procession as it passes along. The automobile
-was a good stunt while it was fresh. Too
-common for enterprising fellows now, though. It’s
-all the new fad—airships. I’m headed for it strong.
-Yes, I’ve got a chance for work at Blairville, and
-I’m to report for duty to-morrow.”</p>
-
-<p>“What’s your airship man’s name, Bob?” inquired
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“John Davis.”</p>
-
-<p>“Why, that’s the name of my friend, too,” exclaimed
-Ben animatedly. “Say, isn’t this a queer
-coincidence?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben handed his money to his mother to keep for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>
-him. Then there was a regular “powwow” between
-the two boys. For nearly an hour there was a constant
-chorus of such words as aeroplanes, monoplanes,
-high speeders, air cars, aerials, aeratoriums,
-ultra violet rays, upper air mains, barographs and
-other technical terms, most of them proceeding from
-Bob, who it seemed had studied up aeronautics, and
-had acquired a smart smattering of aerial science
-in general. Then incidentally the conversation reverted
-back to the whistle, and Ben alluded to the
-two musicians he had seen playing near the public
-square.</p>
-
-<p>“That starts me,” declared Bob, springing to his
-feet. “They are two of Vladimir’s men, and I have
-a curiosity to find out how they are doing with the
-Sybilline.”</p>
-
-<p>The two friends went out to the street together.
-Two squares traversed they separated, Bob, to hunt
-for the street musicians, Ben to go to the automobile
-works to join his father.</p>
-
-<p>“You will come back to the house, of course,
-Bob?” asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“I should say I would—if I am invited.”</p>
-
-<p>“You don’t have to be,” declared Ben. “It’s
-welcome home to you whenever you strike Woodville.
-Father and I will be home some time within
-an hour, I think.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob proceeded towards the business portion of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>
-the town. Ben struck off in the direction of the
-Saxton shops.</p>
-
-<p>He whistled cheerily as he went along, for he felt
-pretty exuberant. The stirring events of the day,
-winding up with the remarkable arrival of his favorite
-chum, made him happy. The airship feature
-kept him dreaming, and Ben was overexcited and
-buoyant.</p>
-
-<p>As he turned a corner he came upon two boys near
-a street lamp. One was sitting in the shadow of a
-tree on a fence post. The other Ben recognized as
-the son of the engineer of the automobile works discharged
-that day.</p>
-
-<p>“Good evening,” hailed Ben pleasantly.</p>
-
-<p>The lad addressed bestowed a fearful scowl on
-him.</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t speak to you,” he muttered.</p>
-
-<p>Ben passed on. He knew the sullen, quarrelsome
-nature of Dave Shallock quite well. The latter was
-a bully. Once he had gone too far with his domineering
-tactics with Ben, and a necessary and unavoidable
-mixup had resulted, which had taught
-Dave to keep his place.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose he feels bad over his father losing his
-job,” reflected Ben sympathizingly. “I know I
-should, if our positions were changed.”</p>
-
-<p>Presently our hero turned quickly at the sound
-of footsteps behind him. It was to come face to
-face with the subject of his thoughts. Dave Shallock’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>
-eyes had a wicked glare. His hands were
-clenched, and Ben prepared for an onslaught, but
-he asked quietly:</p>
-
-<p>“Want to see me, Dave?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I do,” retorted Dave, in a husky, rage-filled
-voice. “I said a minute ago I didn’t speak to you.
-Well, I’m speaking to you now, you hear me! and
-I’ve got something to say you won’t soon forget.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is it about?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s about your mean, miserable trick in getting
-my father discharged from the Saxton Automobile
-Works!” shouted Dave Shallock wrathfully.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE AIRSHIP IDEA</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben backed to the fence. He was not a bit afraid
-of Dave Shallock, but he was fully aware of his
-tricky nature. He got into a position where he
-could be sure that Dave’s ally, the fellow he had
-noticed on the fence, did not get a chance to attack
-him unawares, side or rear.</p>
-
-<p>The boy seated on the fence did not move, however,
-and Dave himself did not press Ben closely.
-The latter decided that his adversary had learned
-his lesson in past encounters, and was simply bent
-on giving him a tongue lashing.</p>
-
-<p>“Haven’t you made a mistake, Dave?” suggested
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, yes, certainly!” shouted Dave in sarcastic
-tones, “I only dreamed that your father has been
-waiting for weeks to shove Pete Doty, his particular
-friend and crony, into my father’s job.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Doty is no more my father’s particular
-friend than is any honest deserving man,” declared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>
-Ben. “Certainly my father never suggested his
-name as the successor of your father.”</p>
-
-<p>“Tell that to the greenies!” vociferated the furious
-Dave. “It was all a nice little plot—your jumping
-in where you had no business, and exposing
-dad.”</p>
-
-<p>“If somebody hadn’t stepped in,” said Ben, “you
-mightn’t have any father now.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, is that so,” sneered Dave. “I guess my
-father knows how to run his department without
-your help. He’s been at it long enough.”</p>
-
-<p>“He wasn’t able to run it to-day, Dave,” declared
-Ben. “He was ‘asleep at the switch,’ as the saying
-goes, and I tried to rouse him and keep things quiet.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yah! Looks like it, when you let on that he’d
-been drinking.”</p>
-
-<p>“I? Never!” cried Ben indignantly. “On the contrary,
-I tried to shield him, and I don’t know that
-I had any right to do so, either. Why, I even tried
-to hide the tell-tale bottle in the ashes.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s the way you tell it,” interrupted Dave
-contemptuously. “All right. I just wanted to have
-the satisfaction of telling you that you and your
-father will rue the day you stuck your noses into
-our family’s business.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am sorry for your father, Dave.”</p>
-
-<p>“Bah! you can spare your pity. Maybe you’ll
-need it yourselves, you and your father. Wait till
-the tables turn.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p>
-
-<p>“All right,” said Ben simply. “You are wrong
-in your guesses, though, as to our having any ill
-will against your people.”</p>
-
-<p>“I guess my father has a pull—huh! I guess so,”
-blurted out Dave, as Ben started to leave the spot.
-“He wouldn’t take back his job working about that
-dirty boiler and that greasy old engine, if they
-offered him double what he got. I’d have you know
-that my father is as good a master mechanic as
-yours is, any day.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve heard that he’s a fine all-round machinist,”
-acknowledged Ben. “I would like to see him get
-right up to the top.”</p>
-
-<p>“He’ll get there. Mark you, Ben Hardy, he’s
-after your father’s scalp, and he’s going to get it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Fair play, and the best man wins,” answered our
-hero briefly.</p>
-
-<p>“There’s more than that,” shouted Dave down the
-street after Ben. “My father could just set your
-father on his pegs. Will he do it? Nix! That’s
-going to be his revenge. Ha! ha! Old Saxton has
-bamboozled your father, and my father can produce
-the evidence——”</p>
-
-<p>“Shut up, you chump!” growled the boy on the
-fence, jumping to the ground and rushing at Dave
-and silencing him. “Do you want to give the whole
-snap away?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben recognized the boy now as he came within<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>
-the radius of the street lamp. He was a cousin of
-Dave named Dick Farrell, who lived in another
-town.</p>
-
-<p>“H’m,” commented Ben, as he proceeded on his
-way, “was that all brag and bluster, or is there
-something under all this?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben recalled the remark of Dunn to Saxton that
-afternoon, when the bluff machine shop foreman
-had told the manufacturer that he acted as if he
-were afraid of Tom Shallock. He remembered, too,
-that it was general knowledge about the works that
-Shallock had been discharged for cause more times
-than any man in the place, and had always managed
-to get back again into the employment.</p>
-
-<p>“Dave said, too, that Saxton was bamboozling
-father,” reflected Ben. “Well, I have always
-thought that myself. I wonder, though, what he
-means when he talks about his father producing
-the evidence?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben reached the automobile works figuring out all
-kinds of suspicions and solutions as to the threatening
-remark of Dave Shallock. His father and
-Foreman Dunn had just concluded their labors. Mr.
-Hardy washed up, and was soon on his way home,
-Ben chattering exuberantly by his side.</p>
-
-<p>Ben, at his father’s request, recited the vivid occurrences
-of the day. He went into detail about his
-talk with Mr. Davis, and mentioned the invitation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>
-to the aero meet. Mr. Hardy said nothing as to his
-prospects of going there, but Ben knew that was his
-way, always turning a proposition over fully in his
-mind before he came to a final decision, and the son
-was hopeful.</p>
-
-<p>“Two hundred dollars?” repeated Mr. Hardy in
-great surprise, as Ben told about the money Bob
-Dallow had brought him. “That is a small fortune
-for a boy like you.”</p>
-
-<p>“Father, what did Dave Shallock mean by the
-threat he made?” asked Ben, quite anxiously, when
-the conversation had taken a new turn.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, some boastful nonsense,” said Mr. Hardy
-indifferently. “I have no time to analyze such talk.
-Tom Shallock would be a fair workman if he would
-keep sober. It is certainly true that he has some
-influence with Mr. Saxton, but he cannot injure us.
-I shall keep right on doing my best, and honest labor
-will always command a fair market. As to you,
-Ben, a very pretty and useful token of regard the
-men are getting for you will show how they esteem
-you.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben tried a hint or two to induce his father to
-take some action about the patents that he had given
-under the control of Jasper Saxton, but Mr. Hardy
-was not responsive.</p>
-
-<p>“Father is pretty tired, I suppose,” reflected the
-youth, “but, all the same, I am going to get mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>
-to urge him up to some action on that patent business.
-Delays are dangerous, and I haven’t much
-confidence in Mr. Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob Dallow greeted them as they reached home.
-Mr. Hardy went into the house, where his wife had
-a special lunch spread for him.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Bob, what about the whistle?” inquired
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Going fine,” declared Bob. “We made a big
-mistake, though.”</p>
-
-<p>“How is that?”</p>
-
-<p>“Sold it too cheap. That Vladimir seems to be
-coining money out of it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I am satisfied,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The conversation drifted to airships before the
-two boys had been together five minutes. The enthusiastic
-Bob declared that he was going to make a
-big record in the new field he was about to enter so
-ardently. He predicted that if Ben would study up
-aeronautics and put his inventive ability to work,
-he would make a grand success.</p>
-
-<p>“You overrate me,” said Ben modestly. “At all
-events, though, I would like to go to the aero meet
-next week.”</p>
-
-<p>“We’ll have one fine time, if you do,” returned
-Bob. “I’ll write you as soon as I get fixed in my
-new position. In the meantime, let us bring up the
-subject to your father and see what he thinks about
-it.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy listened with an indulgent smile to
-the plans and suggestions of their young guest.</p>
-
-<p>“I haven’t the heart to refuse you any reasonable
-request after your fine record of to-day, Ben,” he
-told his son, “but I want to take a night’s sleep over
-this.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, that will be best,” remarked Mrs. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>Bob was obliged to be content with this decision.
-Ben was sure he would be allowed to go to the aero
-meet. As to any encouragement as to experimenting
-on a machine of his own, which was a glowing ideal
-in his mind, he was not so certain.</p>
-
-<p>He regarded his father with anxious expectation
-as Mr. Hardy left the breakfast table next morning.
-As was usual they all went out on the porch, where
-Mr. Hardy generally rested and chatted a few
-minutes before starting for the automobile works.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Ben,” he said with a pleasant smile, as they
-became comfortably seated, “I’ve thought over this
-new idea which I see Bob has been so industriously
-cultivating in your mind.”</p>
-
-<p>“Blame me, that’s right, Mr. Hardy!” spoke up
-Bob airily. “I’ll bet you, though, that something
-tangible comes out of it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Your vacation begins next week, Ben,” resumed
-Mr. Hardy. “You have quite a little capital of
-your own. You can employ some of it, if you think
-it wise, in looking up this new idea, and I don’t
-mind helping you a bit on experiments.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Thank you, father,” said Ben joyfully.</p>
-
-<p>“Only don’t let all your common sense and practical
-ideas go up in an airship that won’t sail,” was
-Mr. Hardy’s final advice.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">MYSTERY</p>
-
-
-<p>“Hurrah—I’m coming!”</p>
-
-<p>Ben Hardy began a brief but enthusiastic letter
-to his friend, Bob Dallow, with these words.</p>
-
-<p>“It is all settled, Bob,” added Ben, “and if you
-are sure you won’t be put out by having me share
-your quarters, I can stay for the whole week. We
-will have a glorious time, and I am just wild to see
-those airship stunts you describe.”</p>
-
-<p>School had closed for the long vacation on Thursday.
-It was now the following Monday, and Ben
-had his satchel packed and was counting the hours
-until Tuesday morning and train time should arrive.</p>
-
-<p>Ben had calculated to devote the long vacation to
-work in the Saxton automobile plant. The pattern
-shop was a favorite spot with him in his visits to
-the great factory. He was an adept at drawing,
-and the foreman of the model department had given
-him some encouragement as to a future position.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>
-He had, however, advised Ben to wait a year or two
-and stick to his studies.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy had done some serious thinking, and
-had given his son the result of the same. Ben’s
-success with the whistle, his evident liking for machinery,
-particularly of new types, had caused Mr.
-Hardy to recall his own early dreams and longings
-before he became a master machinist.</p>
-
-<p>What pleased the father most was the way Ben
-went at aeronautics. The evening after Bob Dallow
-left Woodville, Mr. Hardy came home to find Ben
-seated before a stand piled high with reading matter,
-and deeply absorbed in a big volume from the town
-library.</p>
-
-<p>“Airships, Ben?” inquired his father with an indulgent
-smile.</p>
-
-<p>“One end of them,” responded Ben. “I’ve ransacked
-the town for books and magazines bearing
-on the subject, and as you see I have got a raft of
-them. They cover mostly the history end of the
-business, though. I wish I had some of the up-to-date
-books Mr. Davis showed me.”</p>
-
-<p>“What you read now will fit in all right to that
-later,” remarked Mr. Hardy. “Get as familiar as
-you can with your subject in a general way, Ben.
-You manage the theoretical end of the business, and
-when you come back from the aero meet we will
-join forces on a practical demonstration of the
-science.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Will you, father?” pressed Ben eagerly.</p>
-
-<p>“By the time you get back I will screen off a
-space next to the work shed, and we will see what
-we can do in making an airship,” continued Mr.
-Hardy. “You have talked over the subject so much,
-I am inclined to take a flier myself—not up in the
-air, Ben, but in an inventive way.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben was more filled with enthusiasm than ever
-after that. He had been made doubly happy during
-the week at receiving a handsome watch, bearing a
-pleasing testimonial in script on its inner case, for
-his bravery in saving the auto works from possible
-wreck.</p>
-
-<p>Ben was not troubled any further by Dave Shallock.
-He heard that his father, the discharged engineer,
-was loafing about some low drinking places
-in the town. Shallock was making all kinds of foolish
-boasts as to his ability to get a new and better
-place from “old Saxton,” as he designated him. He
-hinted at a certain powerful influence he had with
-the manufacturer. So far his bragging had brought
-no results.</p>
-
-<p>That evening, just about dusk, our hero started
-from home after supper for a downtown stroll.
-There was a short cut across a square which had
-once held a handsome residence, burned down a few
-months previous.</p>
-
-<p>The high hedge fence, broken in places, still lined
-the front of the grounds. As Ben neared this he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>
-paused, quite startled. Some one had made a bold
-rush through the hedge and crouched in a stealthy
-manner on its other side, as if trying to hide.</p>
-
-<p>“Why,” murmured Ben in some astonishment,
-drawing behind a bush, “it is Tom Shallock!”</p>
-
-<p>Ben wondered what the discharged engineer was
-up to. He soon learned the motive of his sudden
-rush from the public street. Almost immediately a
-sharp mandatory voice beyond the hedge shouted
-out:</p>
-
-<p>“That will do, Shallock—you come out here, if
-you want to save trouble.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, is that you?” stammered Shallock, and he
-sheepishly retraced his steps to the sidewalk.</p>
-
-<p>“You knew it was, and you tried to sneak away
-from me, didn’t you?” challenged the stormy voice.</p>
-
-<p>Ben was curious enough to press close up to the
-hedge and peer through it. Shallock stood leaning
-in a shambling way outside, a crestfallen expression
-on his face. The man addressing him was a very
-keen-eyed fellow Ben had never seen before. He
-was a stranger in Woodville. He carried a whip
-in one hand, and Ben wondered why this was.</p>
-
-<p>“Now then,” spoke the stranger, “what does this
-mean? You’ve been trying to keep out of my way
-for two hours, and I know it. That worthless cub
-boy of yours sent me off on a false hunt.”</p>
-
-<p>“I—I wasn’t prepared to see you,” said Shallock
-shiftily.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Why not?”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, then, I knew what you came after.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, money.”</p>
-
-<p>“Exactly. I had none. I know you’re a hard
-man, and I hoped you’d let me alone for a few days
-longer.”</p>
-
-<p>“See here, Shallock,” spoke the other sharply,
-“I’ve got just one last warning to give you. Produce
-one hundred dollars, and get it quick, or I’ll
-close down on you bag and baggage.”</p>
-
-<p>Shallock began to snivel in a maudlin way. He
-had been drinking, and he began to deplore his unhappy
-lot. He was an unfortunate target of fate.
-He had lost his job. His grocery credit had been
-stopped only that day, and he had been obliged to
-sell some of his wife’s jewelry to buy food for the
-family.</p>
-
-<p>“Not food, but drink for yourself, you mean,”
-derided the stranger testily. “Now then, I’m tired
-of waiting for that money. I loaned it to you on a
-promise of repayment due months ago.”</p>
-
-<p>“I can’t pay when I haven’t got it, can I?” demurred
-Shallock.</p>
-
-<p>“You can get money out of Jasper Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“Ha! yes—yes, indeed,” spurted up Shallock
-eagerly. “Say, that’s just what I’m working on.
-Honestly, if you’ll consent not to trouble me for
-a week, I’ll not only have the best job in the Saxton
-machine shops, but a lot of ready cash besides.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span></p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know that,” remarked the stranger.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, you do,” disputed Shallock. “You know
-that Saxton has got to fix me out right, or lose a
-fortune.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’d like to see some of your boasted fortune right
-now,” sneered the man.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, it’s coming. Don’t press me too hard, and
-make me spoil the whole business. You shall have
-double interest. I’ll promise you faithfully to settle
-the whole business in a month. See here, you can’t
-possibly lose. Why, if I failed you, all you’ve got
-to do is to take that security of mine and go to
-Saxton with it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t fancy mixing up in a blackmailing game,”
-observed the stranger. “Now then, Shallock, I’ll
-give you a last chance. You arrange your business
-so you can pay me one hundred dollars a week from
-to-day, the balance by the first of the month, or I’ll
-foreclose on your security.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s a bargain,” declared Shallock, in a tone of
-hopeful relief. “Yes, sir, if I don’t carry out just
-that agreement, you can take your security to old
-Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, no,” said the stranger in a deep decisive
-voice, “I’ll take it to Martin Hardy.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben was startled at this last declaration. Shallock
-uttered a gasp and put out his hands pleadingly.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t do that,” he begged in a husky tone, “say,
-don’t do that!”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p>
-
-<p>“You’ve heard me,” replied the stranger, turning
-his back on Shallock and crossing the street. “I’ll
-do just what I say if you don’t raise that money!”</p>
-
-<p>“What does this mean?” exclaimed Ben in an excited
-tone. “Here’s some dark plotting, and I’m
-going to get at the bottom of this.”</p>
-
-<p>He ran along the inside at the hedge, passed
-through it at a break, and observed the stranger
-just turning the corner of the side street.</p>
-
-<p>As Ben in turn reached it, the crack of the whip
-rang out. A sharp “Get up!” sent a mettled horse
-attached to a light gig carrying the stranger away
-in a flash. Our hero outdistanced, reluctantly admitted
-to himself that for the present at least he
-had lost the clew of a big mystery.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">AT THE AERO MEET</p>
-
-
-<p>“Well, Ben, this is life worth living, eh?”</p>
-
-<p>“Bob,” declared Ben enthusiastically, “it’s been
-the event of my life.”</p>
-
-<p>“And more to come. We want to make an early
-start to-morrow. I’ll show you what real air sailing
-is then.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben Hardy was, indeed, having the liveliest time
-in all his youthful experience. This was his third
-day at Blairville, and every minute since his arrival
-had been packed full of excitement and pleasure.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis had greeted him with a kindly courtesy
-and attention that would win the heart of any live,
-up-to-date boy. The fact that he was a relative of
-Bob Dallow had added to the friendly interest of
-the aviator. Bob, to use a popular phrase, had
-made good. He had taken to practical aeronautics
-like a duck to water.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp45" id="p060" style="max-width: 69.4375em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/p060.jpg" alt="">
-  <div class="caption"><p>IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD SEEN A
-REAL AIRSHIP AFLOAT.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>One week of practice under the direction of the
-skilled man-bird, Mr. Davis, had proven that Bob
-was going to become as good an aviator as he
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span>was an accomplished chauffeur. Mr. Davis had
-comfortable living quarters in a building on the
-aviation field. Ben was invited to double up with
-Bob, and they made a happy and a merry team.</p>
-
-<p>The first day had been a bewildering experience of
-delight and astonishment for Ben. It was an occasion
-of experiment and preparation for trial flights
-on the morrow. Bob in his lively way had become
-a general favorite with the various aeronauts on
-the field. He and Ben had free entrance to every
-tent and aero hangar in the enclosure. After a
-while Ben’s interest grew into studious attention,
-and that evening he pored industriously over the
-technical aviation literature of which Mr. Davis had
-a surfeit.</p>
-
-<p>The aviator was more than pleased at the real interest
-displayed by his willing protégé. Bob Dallow
-had gratified him with his cool daring and quick
-adaptation to his new calling. In Ben, however, the
-old aviator discovered more of the scientific and constructive
-element. He was kindly disposed, and he
-seemed decided to give Ben all the encouragement
-he could.</p>
-
-<p>The second day was fairly spectacular for our
-hero. It was the first time he had seen a real airship
-afloat. He had already mastered the mechanism
-of the aeroplane. Their ready manipulation by the
-aviators, however, fairly fascinated him.</p>
-
-<p>It was a famous sight to see a venturesome air<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>
-sailor start a daring altitude record in the teeth of
-a wind blowing twenty miles an hour. It was like
-a dream to watch a machine diminish to a mere
-speck in the air, and then in a roundabout gyration
-through several complete circles, wind up in a sensational
-glide back to its starting place.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the bird-men went so far and so high
-that they stiffly climbed from their machines as they
-regained <em>terra firma</em>. One monoplane ventured some
-practicable curves, dashed into a fence and was
-demolished. There were many triumphs, but some
-mishaps as well. Ben stored a mass of valuable
-ideas in his mind that stirring day in his new experience.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis gave the boys a ride in his monoplane,
-the <em>Flyer</em>, the day following. It was Ben’s first
-flight. He went through all the thrills of an initial
-ascent, but was charmed after the first breathless
-rush aloft in the subsequent cavortings of the light
-and dainty fabric of wood and canvas.</p>
-
-<p>The present aero meet was simply preliminary to
-a contest occasion for prizes two weeks later. A
-convention at a near city was to intervene. Until the
-last of the month the enclosed field would be simply
-a practice campus. On the coming Saturday, however,
-there were to be some endurance tests which
-would go far towards deciding the selection of the
-best aeroplane on the grounds.</p>
-
-<p>Ben had arranged to wait and see this event.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>
-Then he was to return home. He had freely confessed
-to Mr. Davis that he intended to go into
-building an airship of his own.</p>
-
-<p>It was Wednesday evening when Ben and Bob
-were discussing “the early start to-morrow.” Both
-were looking forward to the ensuing morning to an
-event in which they were especially interested. It
-was to be a free-for-all occasion. Bob had persuaded
-Mr. Davis to allow them to use the <em>Flyer</em>,
-in fact Bob and Ben had made several experimental
-flights that afternoon. It had ended in Ben making
-a suggestion which set his impulsive chum on fire
-with expectancy and enthusiasm.</p>
-
-<p>“Keep it to yourself, Ben,” directed Bob, as they
-went to their quarters for the night. “We’ll show
-these aviator-fellows some fancy work and a novelty
-feature or two.”</p>
-
-<p>“It will be quite a novelty, I think, yes,” said Ben.
-“Don’t be too venturesome, though, Bob.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s the only way to attract attention and get
-even a look in at the prize aero meet,” declared
-Bob. “I’m a candidate all right, if they’ll give me a
-show.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben made a mysterious visit to town late in the
-afternoon. He returned in a wagon, the driver of
-which was directed to deliver a mysterious load at
-an old unused shed at an unfrequented part of the
-grounds.</p>
-
-<p>Five o’clock the next morning found Ben and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>
-Bob arrived at this shed in sprightly mood. Hauling
-two long light packages outside of the structure,
-they proceeded to unpack them. They brought to
-light over two dozen cardboard boxes about a foot
-square. They had no covers, and Ben next brought
-from the shed a bundle of sticks about five feet long.</p>
-
-<p>“Now then,” said Bob, “got the hammer and
-tacks?”</p>
-
-<p>“Full supply, Bob,” replied Ben cheerily.</p>
-
-<p>“All right, you sharpen one end of the sticks,
-and I’ll tack the box on to the end of them.”</p>
-
-<p>In less than a half an hour the boys had the boxes
-open depth upwards mounted on the sticks.</p>
-
-<p>“Now then, to place them,” suggested Ben. “This
-part of the field isn’t used much, and we can cover
-all the space we want.”</p>
-
-<p>They proceeded to set the sticks in the ground at
-regular intervals, covering a space over one half a
-mile in length and extending two hundred yards
-from the fence.</p>
-
-<p>“For all the world they look like a lot of bird
-boxes on a ranch,” observed Bob. “Just about the
-right distance apart.”</p>
-
-<p>“Won’t somebody disturb them?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Why should anyone do that? Of course this
-queer layout will attract attention. No one will
-meddle with our little stations, though, for they will
-know they must be an equipment for some new
-experiments.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span></p>
-
-<p>The night watchman came forward to meet the
-boys as Ben emerged from the shed, a bag slung
-across his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p>The officer leaned perplexedly on his cane and
-stood staring wonderingly at the singular outlay
-of boxes.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello, Mr. Brown,” hailed Bob heartily.
-“Thought you had gone home, and we were stealing
-a march on you.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m waiting to be relieved by the day man. He’s
-a little late on duty,” explained the watchman.
-“What’s those boxes?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, a big new idea, Mr. Brown,” declared Bob,
-with a mysterious air.</p>
-
-<p>“No mischief, I hope?”</p>
-
-<p>“Mischief?” repeated Bob with great gravity.
-“I should say not. If Ben and I don’t tumble out
-of the airship, those boxes will comprise a very
-original and remarkable experiment in the aviation
-line.”</p>
-
-<p>“That so?” muttered the watchman in a puzzled
-way.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir. Say, Mr. Brown, won’t you speak to
-the day man and have him keep a sort of watch
-over the boxes here, so that nobody meddles with
-them?”</p>
-
-<p>“I will, if you’ll tell me what you’re up to along
-with them.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s a bargain—listen,” said Bob.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Aha!” exclaimed the watchman, as Bob whispered
-in his ear. “Well, you are two originals, and
-no mistake! I’ll tell my partner.”</p>
-
-<p>“And keep it a secret until the event comes off?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, sure—but what will he tell the fellows who
-will be snooking around here wanting to know what
-it all means?”</p>
-
-<p>“Why,” said Bob, “just say—stunts.”</p>
-
-<p>“But they will want to know what kind of stunts.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right,” replied Bob Dallow airily, “tell them
-we’re going to make some bomb dropping experiments.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A BOMB-DROPPING EVENT</p>
-
-
-<p>“I say, Davis, have you got anything to do with
-that queer layout yonder?”</p>
-
-<p>“Dallow and Hardy have, I think.”</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the stunt?”</p>
-
-<p>“You’ll have to ask them.”</p>
-
-<p>The questioner was named Burr Rollins, and he
-was the one aviator on the field for whom neither
-Mr. Davis, Bob nor Ben, nor in fact anybody else
-at the meet, had much use.</p>
-
-<p>The only merit about the man was that he was
-unquestionably a fair aeronaut. He had a small, but
-good machine, and he knew how to handle it. He
-was surly, suspicious, and on occasions an ugly customer,
-quick to resent fancied wrong, and harboring
-resentment in a vicious and sometimes dangerous
-way when any one crossed his path.</p>
-
-<p>He considered John Davis to be the big stumbling
-block in his career. This was because the old aviator,
-through his cool, courageous ways generally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>
-discounted his brilliant but erratic flights with a
-coherent record.</p>
-
-<p>“Rollins hates me because I have beaten him in
-the test flights,” Mr. Davis had observed to Ben and
-Bob one day. “He is afraid of me, though, because
-he knows I am right. I am holding him up to a
-fair, square-dealing programme. He doesn’t altogether
-like that, for he is a resourceful man, and
-full of slippery tricks. I’ve made him respect me,
-though, and some day he may learn to drop those
-grouches of his and act like a civilized being.”</p>
-
-<p>“That helper of his, the young fellow he calls
-Dick, is about as gruff a customer as you meet,”
-Bob had observed. “Ever run up against him,
-Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, I have noticed him practicing at a distance,
-and thought he did pretty well.”</p>
-
-<p>“There he goes now.”</p>
-
-<p>“Eh, that boy?” exclaimed Ben, with a stare.
-“Oh, I know him by sight. Why that is Dick Farrell.
-He’s a cousin of Dave Shallock.”</p>
-
-<p>“You mean the fellow you had some trouble with,
-the son of the engineer who was discharged from
-the Saxton Automobile Works.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” assented Ben, with a lively memory of the
-fellow on the fence the night he had last met Dave
-Shallock.</p>
-
-<p>“You told me about him,” said Bob. “Look out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>
-for this fellow, if he’s like that ill-natured cousin of
-his.”</p>
-
-<p>Now, just as the various bird-men about the field
-were preparing for practice ascents and stunts, Rollins,
-after his unsatisfactory query from Mr. Davis,
-stood glumly watching Ben and Bob who had got
-aboard the machine.</p>
-
-<p>“Let her go!” shouted Ben, and Mr. Davis lent
-a hand in sending the wheels spinning, and then at
-the end of a little run the <em>Flyer</em> made a graceful
-lateral soar, and struck a fair equilibrium about two
-hundred and fifty feet from the ground.</p>
-
-<p>Bob was strapped to the operator’s seat, hands,
-feet and eyes doing just the right thing at the right
-moment. Ben sat three feet behind him, slightly to
-one side. The machine was constructed to accommodate
-several passengers and was delicately framed
-as to nicety of balance.</p>
-
-<p>“Got the bag all right, Ben?” shot back Bob, as
-the monoplane, after describing a dizzying circle
-that made Ben hold his breath, turned its planes upward
-and shot into the air to a still higher level.</p>
-
-<p>“Right in my lap.”</p>
-
-<p>“Have it ready.”</p>
-
-<p>“There goes the opening gun for the beginning of
-the endurance tests on the spiral trials.”</p>
-
-<p>“We’ll do our own stunt on that after the crowd
-get through,” advised Bob. “We’ll just do a bit of
-floating for the present.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span></p>
-
-<p>Ben had never been so happy and elated in his life.
-It was a glorious experience, that of the ensuing
-sixty minutes. The atmosphere was just right for
-safe sailing. There were no sudden gusts of air,
-no strong cross currents. Bob kept the <em>Flyer</em> on a
-course of magnificent long sweeps, several times circling
-the aviation field.</p>
-
-<p>Thus it was easy for both boys to become comfortable
-spectators of what was going on, surveying
-the various airships in all their spectacular manoeuvres
-from a superior height.</p>
-
-<p>“A regular private box party, aren’t we?”
-chuckled Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s wonderful,” assented his entranced companion.
-“There goes the <em>Torpedo</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, and that Dick Farrell is aboard.”</p>
-
-<p>“He knows how to whiz.”</p>
-
-<p>“Whew! That’s about all he does know. H’m!
-that was a narrow graze,” commented Bob, as the
-<em>Torpedo</em> nearly collided with a scudding biplane.
-“Some day that fellow will meet his Waterloo.”</p>
-
-<p>After a spell the air began to clear of the exhibitors
-and their machines.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we’ll give Mr. Davis a genuine thrill,” announced
-Bob. “Get ready, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m all ready, Bob.”</p>
-
-<p>The young aviator brought the <em>Flyer</em> directly over
-the field. They were now on a one-thousand-foot
-level. Bob kept the machine directly over that part<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>
-of the enclosure which he and Ben had plotted with
-their boxes early that morning.</p>
-
-<p>Ben opened the bag in his lap.</p>
-
-<p>“Fire at the warships!” ordered Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“With oranges for bombs,” added Ben, displaying
-the fruit in his lap.</p>
-
-<p>His words let out the secret of the designed exploit.
-Ben in his studies on aeronautics had found
-that the deepest scientific interest was evinced in the
-practicability of using airships in warfare.</p>
-
-<p>What the boys had done that morning was to
-plot a space to represent the decks of warships.
-Each box commanded a radius of about three hundred
-feet. Bob set the motor at its swiftest, and as
-to height and variation of course followed imitated
-the probable cautious and expert manoeuvres of a
-real war airship evading the peril of rifle or cannon
-shots from a genuine enemy below.</p>
-
-<p>Ben poised his bombs with all the accuracy and
-skill he could command. It was a new and novel
-exploit in which he had no practice. The constant
-turnings of the monoplane were confusing, but after
-the first half dozen of the experiments Ben began
-to get the knack of poising and dropping the projectiles.</p>
-
-<p>“They didn’t all go wild, I think,” he said, as the
-last orange performed its mission.</p>
-
-<p>“We’ll get below and see how you have panned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>
-out as to bombardment,” said Bob. “I’ll try a record
-on plain aero stunts before we land, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“Careful, Bob!” warned Ben, as his daring comrade
-made a sensational dive.</p>
-
-<p>“The spiral dip,” announced Bob. “Hold your
-breath.”</p>
-
-<p>“Whew!” ejaculated Ben.</p>
-
-<p>In a whirling top-like series of gyrations, such
-as Ben had seen a bicycle spin in a crack trick display,
-Bob manipulated the <em>Flyer</em>. It described a
-perfect spiral effect for nearly eight hundred feet.
-Then with a sharp veer the machine turned its
-planes and shot upwards. A second venturesome
-figure eight followed. Amid a tremendous ovation
-from the spellbound crowd, the <em>Flyer</em> struck on its
-wheels, bounded, rose, dropped again, and slid one
-hundred yards to a graceful stop.</p>
-
-<p>“You’re an artist, Bob,” declared Ben enthusiastically,
-as they climbed from the machine.</p>
-
-<p>The boys proceeded over to that part of the field
-where they had set the boxes. Mr. Davis was leading
-a crowd along the line. Two men accompanied
-him, one carrying a measuring line. The other was
-making notations on a tab of paper.</p>
-
-<p>The old aviator waved his hand at his young
-assistants in a cheering fashion as they reached the
-last box.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, boys, you did finely in your bomb-dropping
-event,” he announced.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span></p>
-
-<p>“How’s that?” inquired Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Good enough to start a record,” was the reply.
-“Eleven points out of a possible twenty-five. You’ll
-have a column or two in the newspapers for
-this exploit, Ben Hardy. If I do as well as that myself,
-Saturday, I’m in for first mention at the convention,
-sure.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A RUSH ORDER</p>
-
-
-<p>“I’d like to find the man that did that!” stormed
-John Davis in great rage.</p>
-
-<p>“It wasn’t a man—it was a boy,” said Ben, but
-he distinctly said it to himself.</p>
-
-<p>There was trouble at the <em>Flyer</em> camp. It had just
-been discovered. That morning Mr. Davis had
-joined in the principal feats of the preliminary aviation
-meet.</p>
-
-<p>It had been a real endurance test and the barograph
-record was one of the principal features of
-the event. The <em>Torpedo</em> did very well as to speed,
-but was lacking in the altitude test. When the barographs
-were removed from the various machines the
-<em>Flyer</em> showed a 6,211-foot record. The <em>Torpedo</em>
-was fourth down in the list.</p>
-
-<p>There never was a glummer, more sullen man
-than Burr Rollins when the announcement was
-made. It was pretty conclusive that the <em>Flyer</em>
-would go into the convention the favorite entry for
-the coming big aero meet.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p>
-
-<p>“There’s Saturday left,” growled Rollins, as he
-turned his back on his fellow aviators in a wrathful
-way.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll beat the <em>Torpedo</em> there, too,” declared Mr.
-Davis confidently. “It can run like a whitehead on
-a straight course, but bungles at the turns. You
-lads want to keep in trim. There’s no saying what
-the <em>Flyer</em> may not want of you at the big event.”</p>
-
-<p>Now to sanguine enthusiasm there had come a
-sudden dampener that had made Ben look blank
-and Bob gruesome with anxiety. Mr. Davis, ordinarily
-cheerful and even tempered, went all to
-pieces.</p>
-
-<p>About four o’clock in the afternoon, after the
-encouraging victories of the day, the old aviator
-had decided to visit the hangar that housed the
-<em>Flyer</em>, to look over the machine and oil up and adjust
-the machinery for the last trial of the meet.
-A startling discovery greeted the aeronaut and his
-two young friends.</p>
-
-<p>One of the great claims of the <em>Flyer</em> was that it
-had a double mechanism to the steering apparatus,
-that admitted of unusually prompt and efficient
-manipulation in case of striking a sudden change
-in the air currents. Mr. Davis with a good deal of
-pride claimed to be responsible for the adaptation—he
-did not call it an invention.</p>
-
-<p>This essential and precious part of the mechanism
-of the <em>Flyer</em> was found unlocked from its bearings.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>
-Its inner rim of babbitt metal had been chiselled
-out of place, and the main part of the device
-had been broken squarely in two as if from the blows
-of a sledge hammer.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s easy to guess why this was done,” remarked
-Bob Dallow hotly.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” assented Mr. Davis, pale and excited,
-“this is foul play, the work of an enemy.”</p>
-
-<p>He glanced at the boys in turn in a significant
-way, but did not voice his suspicions. All hands
-thought instantly of Burr Rollins.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, if we found the culprit, and convicted him
-and tarred and feathered him into the bargain and
-drove him out of the camp and the profession, it
-wouldn’t mend the <em>Flyer</em>,” observed the old aviator,
-with a disconsolate look at his beloved machine.
-“It’s all up for me for to-morrow’s flight, lads.”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t say that, Mr. Davis!” cried Bob, almost
-at the point of tears. “Surely it can be repaired.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know how,” dissented the aviator. “That
-fixing was made from a special model. It took a
-week to make it, and the mechanic who assisted me
-in its construction is five hundred miles away.”</p>
-
-<p>“Let me look at it, please,” suggested Ben, and he
-went over the broken parts of the device critically.</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Davis,” he said, “I don’t want to hold out
-any false hopes, but if anything can be done towards
-fixing this I know the way.”</p>
-
-<p>“You think it can be repaired?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Or replaced—yes, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Within twelve hours?” pressed the aviator anxiously.
-“Remember, time is the main point in this
-difficulty.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I know that,” assented Ben, studying the
-device. “I think my father can help you out.”</p>
-
-<p>“But the place where he works will be shut down
-by the time you reach Woodville.”</p>
-
-<p>“You had better let me try what I can do, Mr.
-Davis,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“If you can replace that joint, Ben,” said the
-aviator, “I will stand any expense and never forget
-the favor.”</p>
-
-<p>“It shall not cost you a cent, and it will make
-me a happy boy if I can get back in time with the
-article.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis consulted a timetable. He looked
-disappointed.</p>
-
-<p>“No train moving Woodville way for four
-hours,” he reported.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I can fix that,” declared Ben.</p>
-
-<p>He wrapped up the pieces of the broken part and
-stowed them in two parcels in his pockets. Then
-he said:</p>
-
-<p>“I will be back by eight o’clock in the morning,
-Mr. Davis, or send you a telegram.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’ll be back,” predicted Bob Dallow animatedly.
-“You’re starting out right to make a go
-of it, I can see that.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Come on, Bob,” directed Ben. “Don’t worry,
-Mr. Davis. Everything shall be done that can be
-done.”</p>
-
-<p>“I believe that, Ben,” said the aviator warmly.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the programme?” inquired Bob, as Ben
-led the way from the Davis camp over to a neighboring
-one.</p>
-
-<p>“I am going to ask that friendly young fellow
-of Barton’s to loan me his motor-cycle.”</p>
-
-<p>“Grand idea!” applauded Bob. “He’s an accommodating
-boy, and will be glad to help you through.”</p>
-
-<p>Ten minutes later Ben was chug—chugging his
-way from Blairville down a fine country road in
-the direction of Woodville.</p>
-
-<p>“I won’t tell Mr. Davis of my discovery until
-after to-morrow’s event is over,” soliloquized Ben.
-“I’ll have to give him a warning, though. Of course,
-that ill-natured Rollins is behind this plot to disable
-the <em>Flyer</em>. Dick Farrell did the work for him,
-though.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben had good reasons for this decision. Immediately
-after the discovery of the disabled monoplane,
-Ben had noticed a piece of paper lying under the
-machine. It was all greasy and crinkled. Ben, inspecting
-this, found it covered with writing. It
-was a letter from Dave Shallock at Woodville to
-Dick Farrell at the aero field. The latter had used
-it to wipe the grease from his hands after his manipulation
-of the monoplane machinery.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p>
-
-<p>Ben rode into the yard at home just as his father
-and mother were sitting down to supper. He was
-covered with dust and pretty well tired out from his
-rapid run. He received a royally glad welcome,
-washed up, and thoroughly enjoyed a home meal
-once more.</p>
-
-<p>“I have come to have you help me out on something,
-father,” said Ben after supper.</p>
-
-<p>“What is that, my son?” inquired Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>Ben produced the broken parts of the monoplane
-mechanism and explained the urgency of the unexpected
-home visit. His father listened attentively
-and closely examined the pieces of metal.</p>
-
-<p>“Can you mend it, father?” inquired Ben anxiously.</p>
-
-<p>“It is no easy job,” replied Mr. Hardy seriously.
-“What time did you say you could give me on it?”</p>
-
-<p>“In order to be of any use, it must be at the field
-by eight o’clock to-morrow morning at the latest,”
-replied Ben.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy went for his hat and told his wife
-that he and Ben might not be home until very late.</p>
-
-<p>“If the plant was running, this might be a mere
-trifle,” said Mr. Hardy, as Ben accompanied him
-in the direction of the Saxton works.</p>
-
-<p>When they arrived at the plant they found the
-watchman strolling in the shop yards. A few words
-from Mr. Hardy resulted in his unlocking a side
-door and letting them into the machine shop. Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>
-Hardy went to the section where there were some
-small hand lathes. He lit the gas in their vicinity
-and took off his coat, putting on his working blouse.</p>
-
-<p>As has been indicated, Mr. Hardy was a skilled
-artisan. The present task, however, was one that
-fully tested his mettle. Ben watched his patient,
-painstaking efforts till nearly ten o’clock. He was
-glad when his father required his assistance at a
-small portable forge, and later at a lathe propelled by
-foot and hand power.</p>
-
-<p>“Lay down on the bench yonder, Ben,” directed
-Mr. Hardy about midnight, “and take a little rest.”</p>
-
-<p>“Can’t I help you, father?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing now, Ben,” replied Mr. Hardy. “It
-will take me several hours to finish up this piece of
-work, and you will have a long day before you.”</p>
-
-<p>Daylight was streaming through the windows of
-the machine shop when Ben opened his eyes. His
-father was standing at the bench inspecting the
-result of his long labors. He looked quite white
-and wearied. For all that, Ben read in his face the
-satisfaction of work successfully accomplished.</p>
-
-<p>“Did you make it, father?” he inquired, springing
-to his feet.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, Ben. I would advise, however, that Mr.
-Davis have a new bearing made soon. This will
-answer for a time, but it is only a patched-up make-shift.”</p>
-
-<p>The device was bundled up. Ben accompanied<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>
-his father home, and they had a refreshing breakfast.
-Then Ben got the motor-cycle in shape for the
-return trip to the aviation field.</p>
-
-<p>“You are the best father ever lived!” declared
-the boy, as he strapped the little piece of machinery
-to the cycle.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s worth something—coming from a bright,
-active young fellow like you,” smiled Mr. Hardy
-in reply.</p>
-
-<p>“And the smartest man in the bargain!” added
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“We’ll try some of it, then, on that wonderful
-monoplane you are going to build, Ben,” said his
-father.</p>
-
-<p>Ben reached the aviation grounds before eight
-o’clock. He received a rousing greeting from Mr.
-Davis. He had the satisfaction of seeing the <em>Flyer</em>
-make its record flight of the season two hours later.</p>
-
-<p>“Remember, Ben,” said the aviator that afternoon,
-as Ben bade him good-bye and started for the
-train with Bob Dallow, “you are to come to the big
-meet the last of the month.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll be there,” declared Ben animatedly, “and
-I’ll be there with a new airship that I am going to
-build myself.”</p>
-
-<p>“Good luck to you, Ben!” encouraged the old
-aviator.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE DART</p>
-
-
-<p>“Well, Ben, how is your airship work coming
-on?”</p>
-
-<p>“Famously, father.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s good. Here is a drawing of the new
-curve planes we talked about last night. We have
-a whole afternoon before us, and I would like to
-look over things.”</p>
-
-<p>“I will be glad to have you,” declared Ben. “I
-know you can make some valuable suggestions.”</p>
-
-<p>Bright and early the Monday morning after his
-return from the aero meet, Ben had set at work to
-build his airship. He was not daunted by the thought
-that the same was a big undertaking for a boy. Mr.
-Davis told him that it was an easy thing to do, if
-a person knew how to do it and started about it
-right.</p>
-
-<p>In his father Ben found a skilled and willing
-helper. Mr. Hardy was slow and cautious about
-entering upon any work he did not thoroughly
-understand. He was more at home with automobiles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>
-than airships, and not inclined to move from a
-groove with which he was thoroughly familiar into
-one that was so far purely speculative for him. His
-desire to encourage Ben, however, impelled him to
-take a deep interest in the efforts of his son. Before
-he had given his thoughts two days to the fascinating
-new field, the expert mechanician found himself
-quite as enthusiastic as his son over the proposition,
-although he was not as demonstrative as
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>A large shed on the Hardy property had always
-been a home workshop for the master machinist. It
-was well stored with tools, and it was here that Mr.
-Hardy had produced many of his automobile inventions.
-During the absence of Ben at the aero
-meet, he had fenced in with a screen wire a space
-over fifty feet wide adjoining the shed. Here a
-scaffolding, a light lifting crane, and work horses
-had been set to accommodate the worker. Ben
-started in at his experimental task with all necessary
-accessories for prosecuting his labors.</p>
-
-<p>The Saturday afternoon of that week his father
-had come home from work at one o’clock. He
-looked and felt as brisk and lively as a boy just out
-of school as he joined Ben in the work yard.</p>
-
-<p>Ben’s airship had begun to assume definite form
-and substance. The motor part of the machine did
-not trouble our hero at all. He knew that appurtenance
-when it was needed would be the latest and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>
-best devised that his father could select. The framework
-of wood and canvas was what tested Ben’s
-skill.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy had helped him in making the drawings
-of the machine before he had commenced work
-on it. Every morning he laid out specific work for
-the day and every evening he critically inspected it.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, father,” observed Ben, after studying over
-the new drawings, “the <em>Dart</em> begins to look like
-something, doesn’t it?”</p>
-
-<p>“The <em>Dart</em>, eh?” smiled Mr. Hardy, “so you
-have chosen that name?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I thought it quite appropriate. My first
-ambition is high sailing. Mr. Davis won on that,
-and even the <em>Flyer</em> did not make such a very
-high flight. I believe with a fair machine specially
-built I can beat his record.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right, Ben,” remarked Mr. Hardy, “we will
-continue on our model. If I had foreseen how this
-line of work was going to interest me, however,
-and had realized the practical possibilities of the
-construction, I should have recommended a larger
-model.”</p>
-
-<p>“We will try the <em>Dart</em> first. If she makes a go
-of it, we can try something more ambitious.”</p>
-
-<p>Father and son were employed in the congenial
-work in a pleasant progressive way all the afternoon.
-Ben had never been so happy in his life, and the
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span>novel labor acted as a restful variation for his
-father.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="p084" style="max-width: 70em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/p084.jpg" alt="">
-  <div class="caption"><p>“BUILDING AN AIRSHIP, ARE YOU, HARDY”</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>It was about five o’clock when Ben, holding a
-skeleton frame on a curving slant while Mr. Hardy
-covered it with canvas, chanced to glance towards
-the street.</p>
-
-<p>“Father, some one is coming,” he said in a significant
-tone.</p>
-
-<p>“Who is it, Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“Indeed,” observed Mr. Hardy. He did not discontinue
-his work, but securing it so the canvas
-would not give, then looked up to greet his unexpected
-visitor.</p>
-
-<p>The proprietor of the automobile works, portly,
-overdressed, and swelling with a sense of his own
-importance, did not look pleased or agreeable as he
-approached the work yard and passed in through its
-open gateway.</p>
-
-<p>“Good afternoon, Mr. Saxton,” observed Ben,
-while his father bowed courteously.</p>
-
-<p>“H’m,” observed Jasper Saxton in a dry non-committal
-tone, curiously scanning the skeleton of the
-monoplane, “building an airship, are you, Hardy?”</p>
-
-<p>“Trying to,” answered Ben’s father.</p>
-
-<p>“Something new?”</p>
-
-<p>“Father couldn’t make anything without striking
-some improvements,” remarked Ben.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span></p>
-
-<p>He spoke pleasantly, but all the same to give the
-wealthy manufacturer a hint along the line of his
-notorious indifference to the past valuable services
-of his head machinist.</p>
-
-<p>“Think there’s something to it, do you, Hardy?”
-inquired Saxton.</p>
-
-<p>“How do you mean?” asked Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, along practical lines. Is the aviation fever
-only a spurt, or is it going to be a real feature?”</p>
-
-<p>“In the manufacturing line, you mean.” inquired
-Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, the Diebold people over at Martinville are
-making and selling some machines. They are thinking
-of stocking up with duplicate parts. There will
-of course be a good deal of supply trade, even if the
-thing runs only as a fad.”</p>
-
-<p>“I hadn’t heard of that,” remarked Mr. Saxton
-in a thoughtful, speculative way. “Something to
-it, is there?”</p>
-
-<p>“I think so.”</p>
-
-<p>“Worth specializing as a department?”</p>
-
-<p>“You would have to decide that, Mr. Saxton,”
-replied Mr. Hardy. “I couldn’t venture an opinion.”</p>
-
-<p>“You appear to think enough of it to give your
-time to experimenting, it seems,” said the manufacturer.
-“I don’t want to get behind in the procession,
-you know. If we could work into the airship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>
-business in our dull months, it might become
-quite a profitable feature of the business.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Saxton went all around the framework on
-the wooden horses, and inspected every part of the
-skeleton machine. He asked many questions. Especially
-was he interested, when Mr. Hardy with the
-natural eloquence of an inventor explained some
-new features of the <em>Dart</em>.</p>
-
-<p>Then the manufacturer strolled to one side in a
-thoughtful way. He took out a pencil and a card
-and did some figuring.</p>
-
-<p>“See here, Hardy,” he said at length, “I’ve decided
-to give this airship business a try. We’ll just
-move this model down to the plant where we’ll have
-everything handy, and you can put in a week or two
-seeing how the proposition pans out.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A SERIOUS CHARGE</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben had never been more astonished in his life
-than he was now at the amazing words of the proprietor
-of the Saxton Automobile Works. As to
-Mr. Hardy, he gave a start and stared blankly at
-his employer.</p>
-
-<p>“What was that you said, sir?” he demanded, and
-Ben detected a latent fire in his father’s eye that was
-not usually there. Dense and thick-skinned as Jasper
-Saxton was, he could not fail to realize that his
-bulldozing methods had exceeded the limit in the
-present instance. He failed to meet Mr. Hardy’s
-fixed, challenging glance.</p>
-
-<p>“Why—er—you see, Hardy, this thing has gone
-pretty far, you know.”</p>
-
-<p>“What thing?” demanded Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“This airship work.”</p>
-
-<p>“And you expect me to turn in the <em>Dart</em> here to
-your works?”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s it, Hardy.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Well, Mr. Saxton, it can’t be done.”</p>
-
-<p>“Why not?”</p>
-
-<p>“Because it belongs to my son here, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“Rot! rubbish!” flared up Jasper Saxton, his face
-getting red, his eyes exhibiting the ugly mood that
-always surged to the surface when any one dared to
-cross his plans. “No subterfuge, now, Hardy, no
-subterfuge.”</p>
-
-<p>“I think you have generally found me a truthful,
-plain-spoken man,” said Mr. Hardy with dignity.
-“This airship is the property of my son exclusively.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, and I’d have you know that your time and
-the material you are using here are my property!”
-shouted Mr. Saxton, lashing around with his cane.
-“See here, Hardy, I buy your work and ability for
-a price, and I’ll have no man robbing me of my just
-dues. I can get you in trouble—yes, I can,” continued
-the narrow-minded manufacturer recklessly.
-“I’ve let you have your swing and said nothing,
-but now it’s got to stop.”</p>
-
-<p>“What has got to stop?”</p>
-
-<p>“You used my shop one whole night, gas, machines,
-material, on a side job for some pet of your
-boy there up at the aero field. Oh, I know all about
-it. My watchman told me.”</p>
-
-<p>“And I told him to do so, and further, mentioned
-it to your bookkeeper, and instructed him to charge
-me for it, if there was any charge to make. I think,
-though, it’s pretty small business, Mr. Saxton, when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>
-a trifling accommodation like that is refused to an
-old and faithful employee.”</p>
-
-<p>“We’ll let that pass. There are other things,”
-muttered Jasper Saxton. “You install my airship
-department, and I’ll see that the patents are duly protected.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, you certainly know how to protect patents,”
-remarked Mr. Hardy meaningly. “All the same,
-sir, this special machine, the <em>Dart</em>, belongs to my
-son, Ben, and can’t be included in any bargain you
-and I may make.”</p>
-
-<p>“Humbug! It’s got to,” insisted the manufacturer
-in his usual domineering fashion. “I don’t
-want to make you trouble, Hardy—I don’t want to
-be hard on you.”</p>
-
-<p>“About what?” demanded Mr. Hardy vaguely.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, about a number of things. You are using
-tools and materials here that belong to me.”</p>
-
-<p>“For which I shall pay you.”</p>
-
-<p>“You have taken the run of my shop, and some
-people say that there have been a lot of parts stolen
-from the plant. I know there is a lot of stuff missing.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy’s face took an expression that Ben
-had never seen there before. He advanced straight
-up to his malicious employer, his eyes blazing with
-indignation and scorn.</p>
-
-<p>“Do you mean to intimate that I am a thief?” he
-demanded.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span></p>
-
-<p>“I am not saying,” observed Jasper Saxton, wilting,
-but his mean soul showing in its true colors.</p>
-
-<p>“Shame!” cried Ben, wrought up indescribably.
-“Don’t do it, father!”</p>
-
-<p>Quick as a flash Ben sprang forward to arrest
-the descending arm of his father. Had he not done
-so, Jasper Saxton would have measured his length
-on the ground. As it was, he dodged out of the
-way, white and scared.</p>
-
-<p>“You are right, Ben,” spoke Mr. Hardy in a
-husky tone, but controlling his emotion. “Mr. Saxton,
-my boy has said it: Shame on you—I will thank
-you to leave these premises.”</p>
-
-<p>“Take care! take care!” growled the manufacturer
-threateningly.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll leave your employ.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’ll have a bill to settle first, mind that.”</p>
-
-<p>“And you, too—a big one,” retorted Mr. Hardy,
-rousing up again. “I serve you notice, sir—I shall
-sue you for my inventions on the Estrelle automobile
-just as soon as I can place the matter in the
-hands of a lawyer.”</p>
-
-<p>“You will, eh?” fairly howled Jasper Saxton,
-becoming furious. “Try it, try it! Why, I can ruin
-you. I’ll show you.”</p>
-
-<p>“You had better go away from here,” advised
-Ben, putting himself before the manufacturer to
-shield his father from further insult.</p>
-
-<p>Jasper Saxton departed, threatening and gesticulating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>
-furiously. Ben restrained himself from saying
-some pretty bitter things. As the manufacturer
-disappeared, he turned to his father with an anxious,
-sorrowful face.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, father!” he exclaimed, “what have we
-done?”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy sighed. Then his face broke into a
-smile of deep relief, as though a heavy load had
-been removed from his mind, and he said:</p>
-
-<p>“The best thing in the world, my son, and it
-ought to have been done long ago.”</p>
-
-<p>“But you have given up your position at the Saxton
-plant?”</p>
-
-<p>“Was it much of a position, Ben, with the knowledge
-in my mind all the time that I was being robbed
-by that man? I haven’t said much, Ben, but I have
-been thinking a good deal since you told me about
-the threat that Dave Shallock made.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am glad of it, father.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then do not worry about my prompt action. I
-had intended to make a last demand on Saxton for
-my rights in those patents.”</p>
-
-<p>“It would have been no use,” declared Ben rather
-gloomily.</p>
-
-<p>“I realized that, too. His behavior just now has
-only hastened my decision. Do you think any self-respecting
-man could remain in Saxton’s employ
-after his accusations?”</p>
-
-<p>“But you are no thief, father.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span></p>
-
-<p>“No one knows that better than Saxton. He was
-trying to bluff and frighten me. My record is open
-to the world, so his threats fall harmless. To think
-of his ingratitude after you saved his plant from
-destruction!”</p>
-
-<p>“I believe that Tom Shallock has some hold on
-Saxton,” said Ben. “Maybe they are in a plot together
-to get you into trouble. Perhaps Saxton
-thinks if he can discredit you, it will help in denying
-that you had any claim on those automobile
-patents.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is unfortunate that I lost that memorandum
-that he gave me. That would prove my right to
-half the patents.”</p>
-
-<p>“You mean stolen from you,” declared Ben, and
-he recalled the conversation he had overheard between
-Tom Shallock and the stranger who had outdistanced
-him in the light gig. “Father, you remember
-that man I told you about who demanded
-money he had loaned to Tom Shallock?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” nodded Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“I should know him again. I am going to make
-it my business to find that man.”</p>
-
-<p>“What good will that do, Ben?” asked his father.</p>
-
-<p>“I am satisfied that he could tell a whole lot about
-Shallock. Maybe about that stolen contract, too.”</p>
-
-<p>The visit of the conscienceless manufacturer had
-put rather a dismal end to a pleasant afternoon for
-father and son. Mr. Hardy took it quietly as was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>
-his wont, but his wife was much agitated when the
-circumstances were related to her.</p>
-
-<p>“What are you going to do?” she inquired.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, first of all, I am going to help Ben complete
-his airship—a good airship,” declared Mr.
-Hardy emphatically. “The next thing I am going
-to do is to place this patent litigation in the hands
-of a capable lawyer. I might later go into building
-air machines as a regular business for myself.
-It will take time to find out if that is best. In the
-meanwhile I shall apply for a position with the Diebold
-Company up at Martinsville!”</p>
-
-<p>“Why, they wanted you last year, didn’t they,
-father?” asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, and I feel sure they will want me now.”</p>
-
-<p>“But that is so far from home,” suggested Mrs.
-Hardy anxiously.</p>
-
-<p>“Only three miles. I can go to and come from
-my work on a bicycle, and the exercise will be the
-best thing in the world for me,” declared Mr.
-Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>Ben did a good deal of hard thinking after he
-went to bed. He had an uneasy feeling that some
-plot was working against his father’s good name.</p>
-
-<p>Monday morning a neighbor told Mrs. Hardy that
-she had got out of bed to close a window during
-the night, and had seen a man with a lantern looking
-over the flying machine in the work yard. As she
-let down the window the noise disturbed the night<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>
-prowler, and he extinguished the lantern and skulked
-away.</p>
-
-<p>Two nights later, about eleven o’clock, Ben roused
-up from his sleep to find his mother shaking him
-gently.</p>
-
-<p>“Ben! Ben!” she whispered in a quick tone of
-alarm, “get up at once.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is the matter, mother?” asked Ben excitedly.</p>
-
-<p>“A man with a bag over his shoulder just went
-through the yard into the work shed,” was Mrs.
-Hardy’s startling announcement.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE MAN IN THE GIG</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben instantly thought of the mysterious visitor
-reported by their neighbor a few evenings previous.
-He hurriedly slipped on a few clothes and was down
-the front stairs in three jumps.</p>
-
-<p>“Be careful, Ben,” Mr. Hardy called after him,
-also aroused by Mrs. Hardy, and getting ready to
-join his son in a search for the intruder in the yard
-below.</p>
-
-<p>Ben unlocked the rear door and rushed out into
-the yard. As he passed the back porch he grabbed
-up the end of a hard wood hoe handle, broken off
-short and used by Mrs. Hardy to brace the screen
-door.</p>
-
-<p>Ben’s first glance was toward his beloved flying
-machine. He was immensely relieved to discover
-no one near it. Apparently it had not been disturbed.
-The gate of the work yard stood open, and
-also the door of the work shed. With a spring Ben
-pushed this door shut, slipped the heavy latch, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>
-standing on guard armed with the hoe handle
-awaited the arrival of his father.</p>
-
-<p>Mrs. Hardy had lit a lamp and set it in the rear
-window upstairs, so that its rays might throw an illumination
-over the yard. When Mr. Hardy appeared
-he carried the lighted cellar lantern.</p>
-
-<p>“Where is the trespasser, Ben?” he inquired.</p>
-
-<p>“In there, if anywhere,” said Ben, tapping lightly
-on the shed door with the end of his club. “Mother
-says she saw a man go into the shed.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy undid the catch while Ben stood ready
-for assault or defence. His father had the lantern
-beyond the open doorway, and in his usual mild and
-inoffensive way inquired:</p>
-
-<p>“Is anybody there?”</p>
-
-<p>“There doesn’t seem to be,” said Ben, peering
-past his father as there was no response to the challenge.</p>
-
-<p>Both entered the shed. They could not discover
-the slightest indication that there had been any trespasser
-in evidence since they had last visited the
-place, earlier in the evening. Everything was in its
-accustomed place. Ben took the lantern and flashed
-its rays in all the remote cluttered-up corners of the
-structure.</p>
-
-<p>“A false alarm, I guess,” he reported finally.</p>
-
-<p>“But your mother is positive that she saw a man
-enter the shed,” suggested Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Then it was some wandering tramp,” decided<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>
-Ben, “and he slipped out while I was getting down
-stairs. At all events, nothing appears to have been
-disturbed or taken.”</p>
-
-<p>They closed up the shed and returned to the house.
-Ben drew his bed up close to the window of his
-room, to command a good view of the rear yard.
-He watched without results for nearly two hours
-and then fell asleep.</p>
-
-<p>“We are having quite a series of midnight alarms,”
-remarked Mr. Hardy at the breakfast table the
-next morning.</p>
-
-<p>“I hope they don’t signify anything of importance,”
-observed Ben. “The man with the lantern the
-other night, and this latest visitor with a bag over his
-shoulder, are certainly mysterious.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben went out to the shed and looked it over
-searchingly in the daylight. Nothing was missing, so
-far as he could discover. As he started to return
-to the house, however, he paused, stooped over and
-picked up something from the floor.</p>
-
-<p>It was an unfamiliar object about the size of a
-big breastpin. It resembled a badge, for at the back
-of it was a hinged pin and a snap catch to hold the
-pin in place. The front of the device consisted of
-a dozen criss-cross alternate threads of copper and
-silver. These were of wavy formation and resembled
-spider’s legs.</p>
-
-<p>“How did this ever get here?” ruminated Ben.
-“It wasn’t here yesterday afternoon, for it is too<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>
-conspicuous to miss. Maybe our midnight visitor
-with the bag dropped it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Now then, for a good day’s work,” said Mr.
-Hardy briskly, appearing on the scene.</p>
-
-<p>“Father, do you suppose some one is trying to
-get us into trouble?”</p>
-
-<p>“Who, for instance?”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Mr. Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“Why should he? No, he will not disturb me as
-long as I keep quiet about that suit on the patents.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t like these mysterious night callers,” said
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“They haven’t done us any harm yet.”</p>
-
-<p>“But they may. Some one did visit the work shed
-last night.”</p>
-
-<p>“How do you know that?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben showed the strange pin he had found, and
-told his suspicions.</p>
-
-<p>“You mustn’t let these things bother you, Ben,”
-advised his father sensibly. “No harm has been
-done to our machine as yet. I intend to lay a wire
-around the yard connected with a bell in the house,
-that will alarm us if anybody comes near the work
-shed.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is a good idea,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>They were so interested in their mutual work till
-noon, that both for the time being forgot their suspicions
-and fears.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span></p>
-
-<p>“I’ll have to ask you to do an errand for me,
-Ben?” said Mr. Hardy after dinner.</p>
-
-<p>“What is that, father?”</p>
-
-<p>“I need some headless screws of a certain pattern.
-None of the hardware stores in town keep them. I
-won’t ask any favors of the Saxton people.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, no, don’t be under any obligations to Mr.
-Saxton, father.”</p>
-
-<p>“I think you can get the screws from the Diebold
-works. At any rate, you see my friend, John
-Earle, the superintendent at Martinsville, and tell
-him what I want. If he hasn’t got them, he can
-probably tell you where you can get them.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy gave Ben a sample of what he wanted.
-Ben started on foot for Martinsville. He reached
-the Diebold plant and was received in a friendly
-fashion by the superintendent. Mr. Earle asked
-about his father. He drew enough out of Ben to
-guess that there was some trouble at the Saxton
-works. He told Ben to inform his father that he
-was coming over to Woodville to see him in a day
-or two.</p>
-
-<p>“As to the screws, we haven’t got the size,” explained
-the superintendent. “I am sure you can get
-those at Satterly’s shop, in Auburndale. Our wagon
-is going there in a few minutes, and you can ride
-over.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you, Mr. Earle,” said Ben, and ten minutes
-afterward he was posted on the seat of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>
-factory wagon beside the driver. It was six miles
-to Auburndale. Ben planned to return to Woodville
-by the railroad.</p>
-
-<p>Satterly’s was a carriage shop, and Ben found
-what he wanted there. He made an inquiry as to
-trains, and learned that one would pass for Woodville
-in about half an hour.</p>
-
-<p>He strolled leisurely towards the depot, the screws
-in his pocket, and was turning a street corner when
-a vehicle going at a good stiff pace passed him.</p>
-
-<p>It flashed by him quickly, but not until its driver
-was seen and recognized by Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello!” exclaimed Ben. “That’s the man I saw
-talking with Tom Shallock in Woodville—the man
-I am looking for!”</p>
-
-<p>The next moment Ben changed his course, darting
-down the street in hot pursuit of the man in
-the gig.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE MYSTERIOUS PIN</p>
-
-
-<p>“That man has got a mighty good horse,” was
-Ben’s comment, as he sped down the street.</p>
-
-<p>On the former occasion, when Ben had seen the
-man in Woodville, the horse had sprinted up at a
-touch. Now the animal trotted along at a still better
-pace.</p>
-
-<p>“I can never overtake him on foot,” thought our
-hero, “I mustn’t lose sight of this man till I find
-out who he is and where he lives.”</p>
-
-<p>The gig was rapidly outdistancing Ben. As it
-rounded a corner out of sight, the lad was wrought
-up to an intense pitch of desperation.</p>
-
-<p>Then a wild impulse sent him to the curb where
-a horse attached to a light buggy was standing. Ben
-made a reckless decision and acted promptly on its
-suggestions.</p>
-
-<p>The horse was not hitched. Ben reached the
-buggy seat in a spring and seized lines and whip with
-a vigorous:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Get up!”</p>
-
-<p>A yell of startled dismay rang out behind him.
-Ben fancied that it came from the owner of the
-horse, probably observing the theft of his rig as he
-came out from some store where he had been trading.
-Ben never looked back. He paid no attention
-to other shouts at the rear.</p>
-
-<p>“There he goes,” said Ben, as he turned the corner.
-The gig was two squares in advance. It
-turned into a new street, and our hero followed.
-There were other turns, and finally the gig was halted
-in front of a store. Its driver drew up to the curb,
-sprang out of the gig and disappeared inside the establishment.</p>
-
-<p>Ben drove slowly past the place. He observed that
-it was a store given over to the sale of second-hand
-tools. Its windows were so smoked, and grimed,
-and choked up with so much miscellaneous plunder,
-that he could not see the inside of the place.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve housed my man,” uttered Ben with satisfaction.
-“He may not live here, but he certainly is
-known here. That is enough for the present. Now
-to return this rig.”</p>
-
-<p>It suddenly occurred to Ben that he had acted on
-a decidedly reckless impulse. He realized that it
-might lead to serious results. He somewhat anxiously
-urged up the horse.</p>
-
-<p>“I must get back to the place I started from and
-make an explanation,” he decided.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Whoa!” came the stern mandate, as Ben turned
-into the street where he had appropriated the rig.</p>
-
-<p>A police officer had suddenly run out into the
-street, and halting in front of the horse, waved his
-arms strenuously. The animal paused and reared,
-and Ben was nearly thrown from his seat.</p>
-
-<p>“Looking for you,” remarked the officer, gazing
-sternly at Ben. “Horse thief, eh?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, dear no!” smiled Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“You stole this rig.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, I only took it—in fact, borrowed it for a
-few minutes.”</p>
-
-<p>“That don’t go down,” observed the officer.</p>
-
-<p>“Why you find me getting back to the place
-where I found the rig, quick as I can, don’t you?”
-challenged Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The officer got up into the seat and ordered Ben
-to drive to the police station. Ben was annoyed,
-and a trifle anxious. They had not proceeded more
-than two squares, however, when they met the seeming
-owner of the rig coming towards them.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve got him,” announced the officer.</p>
-
-<p>“See you have,” nodded the man brusquely, looking
-over the horse. “You’re a fine young jailbird,
-aren’t you?” he hailed Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“I am not what you think, mister,” declared the
-boy quietly. “My name is Ben Hardy, I live at
-Woodville, and everybody knows I am an honest
-boy.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span></p>
-
-<p>“You haven’t shown it at Auburndale,” observed
-the officer.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me explain, please,” said Ben to the owner
-of the rig. “There is a man I have been looking for
-these past ten days. I ran across him here driving
-a fast horse. The only way I could follow him was
-by borrowing your rig.”</p>
-
-<p>The owner of the vehicle looked Ben over critically.
-Our hero did not flinch from his penetrating
-glance.</p>
-
-<p>“I came back soon as I could, as you see,” proceeded
-Ben. “Now then, what’s your bill?”</p>
-
-<p>“My bill?” repeated the man in a surprised way.</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly. I’ve put you out and had the use of
-your rig.”</p>
-
-<p>“I guess he’s a pretty good boy. He seems to be
-telling the truth,” here remarked the officer.</p>
-
-<p>“Then I shan’t charge him a cent.”</p>
-
-<p>“And don’t try any more such tricks,” advised
-the officer. “You may not get off so easy the next
-time.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’re gentlemen, both of you,” declared Ben,
-glad enough that he had escaped delay and embarrassment.</p>
-
-<p>Our hero debated for sometime as to his wisest
-course of progress. His father was in no special
-hurry for the screws. The trail of the man he had
-traced to the second-hand shop was fresh. Ben felt
-sure that the man in the gig knew a good deal that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>
-might be of value to his father in his dealings with
-Saxton.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll take another look at that store, anyhow,”
-concluded Ben, and a brisk walk soon brought him
-into its vicinity.</p>
-
-<p>“The gig is gone, so the driver is probably not
-in the place,” he decided.</p>
-
-<p>Ben walked slowly past the store. He glanced in
-at the open door. A rough looking, poorly dressed
-man was sorting over some tools. Ben saw no one
-else in the place.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll make a bold break,” he reflected, and entered
-the store.</p>
-
-<p>“What do you want?” demanded the apparent
-proprietor of the place, turning around at the sound
-of intruding footsteps.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, I was looking for some one, mister.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, who is it?”</p>
-
-<p>“A man drove up here in a gig about half an hour
-ago. I want to see him.”</p>
-
-<p>“What about?”</p>
-
-<p>“Business.”</p>
-
-<p>“What kind of business?” persisted the man.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll tell him. If you will give me his address,
-I will be very much obliged to you.”</p>
-
-<p>The man shook his head strenuously. He regarded
-Ben as though he considered him an enemy
-and a spy.</p>
-
-<p>“That won’t wash,” he said, “and you had better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>
-get out of here. People who have any business with
-the man you are talking about, know just where to
-find him, without coming snooking around here the
-way you do.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben backed away. The man looked positively
-menacing now as he glared at his visitor. Ben was
-shrewd enough that this place was one operated
-under tactics of caution and evasiveness.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello!” he exclaimed suddenly, and came to a
-staring standstill.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello, what?” demanded the man suspiciously,
-edging between Ben and the door.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, nothing,” said Ben, recovering himself.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, there was.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben moved from foot to foot, sizing up the situation.
-The cause of his sharp ejaculation was the
-discovery on his part of an odd looking pin or badge
-on the lapel of the man’s coat.</p>
-
-<p>It was an exact counterpart of the one Ben had
-found in the work shed at home. Our hero reflected
-rapidly. Then, without attracting the attention
-of the man to what he was doing, he turned
-sideways. He got the pin out of his pocket and
-managed to attach it to his coat. Then he faced the
-man.</p>
-
-<p>“Aha!” exclaimed the second-hand dealer, fixing
-his eyes on the pin.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A MEAN ENEMY</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben saw at once that the sight of the pin had
-produced a great effect on the second-hand dealer.
-He prepared to take advantage of it.</p>
-
-<p>“Why didn’t you say so at first?” inquired the
-store keeper.</p>
-
-<p>“Say what?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The man pointed significantly to the pin that corresponded
-to the one on the lapel of his own coat.</p>
-
-<p>“You must be one of the boys from Woodville,”
-he observed.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s where I live.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then you know Knippel?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh,” said Ben to himself, “I’ve found out his
-name, have I?” and he said aloud: “I’ve seen him
-before to-day, yes.”</p>
-
-<p>“What do you want to see him for?” inquired
-the man curiously. “Say, see here, if you’ve got
-something to sell, you know it’s all one dealing with
-me.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p>
-
-<p>“All right, when I do I’ll come to you. I don’t
-want to sell anything to Mr. Knippel.”</p>
-
-<p>“What then.”</p>
-
-<p>“Other business. You know he loans money once
-in a while.”</p>
-
-<p>“I know he is able to, if he wants to,” responded
-the man. “See here,” he continued eagerly, “what
-would it be if you came to me again. Not railroad
-stuff, you know?”</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly not,” answered Ben accommodatingly.</p>
-
-<p>“Too dangerous. Prime stuff is machine shop
-plunder. Especially brass and copper. I’d give
-you a fair deal.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m sure of that,” said Ben. “Say, how am I
-going to get to Knippel?”</p>
-
-<p>“That’ll be hit and miss. He makes the rounds,
-you know. He may not be around here again to
-collect for a week.”</p>
-
-<p>“Where did you say he lived?”</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t say, but it’s at Blairville.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh,” nodded Ben. He remembered that it was
-the town near the aero field.</p>
-
-<p>“You take a chance of finding him there,” proceeded
-the man, “he flits about so much. Sometimes
-he isn’t at home once in a month.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I’ll try and locate him somehow, much
-obliged,” said our hero.</p>
-
-<p>“Remember, now, come to me direct when you’ve
-got anything to sell.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p>
-
-<p>“All right.”</p>
-
-<p>“Especially brass and copper.”</p>
-
-<p>“Good enough,” said Ben, and left the place.</p>
-
-<p>He walked to the railroad depot reflecting deeply.
-He had made a pretentious break, a sort of bluff,
-and had learned what he wanted to know. Ben sturdily
-believed that the man Knippel knew a great
-deal that could help his father, and now he knew
-where to find him.</p>
-
-<p>“The way I size it up,” ruminated Ben, “is that
-this Knippel has a lot of people in various manufacturing
-towns around here stealing things and
-selling to him and his agents. This pin shows membership
-in the gang. Some one dropped it in the
-work shed. Who was it? Well, I’ve got my start
-on this business, and I’m going to work something
-tangible out of it.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben did not tell his father of his latest experience
-when he reached home. In fact, he did not
-even then deliver to him the screws for which he had
-been sent.</p>
-
-<p>To his surprise he found the work yard deserted.
-As he passed it, a queer, indefinable sensation of
-something being out of place assailed him. Ben
-paused to figure out what it was. Then he noticed
-that the airship skeleton was partly dismantled and
-some of its parts gone.</p>
-
-<p>“Father, father, are you there?” he called towards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>
-the work shed. There was no reply. Ben
-hurried towards the house. It was untenanted, but
-coming out on the porch he came upon his mother.
-She was standing looking down the street, anxious
-faced and in tears.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, mother, what is the matter?” exclaimed
-Ben in great surprise.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, my son, trouble,” responded Mrs. Hardy in
-a broken tone of voice.</p>
-
-<p>“Father——”</p>
-
-<p>“Has gone down town in urgent haste. Mr. Saxton
-is at the bottom of it all.”</p>
-
-<p>“How—explain, mother.”</p>
-
-<p>“It was directly after you went away this morning.
-Two constables appeared with what they called
-writs of some kind. It seems that Mr. Saxton
-claimed that a great deal of valuable automobile
-parts have been missing from the plant for over a
-year. The officers searched the work shed.”</p>
-
-<p>“The villain!” fired up Ben hotly. “Did he dare
-to accuse father of stealing?”</p>
-
-<p>“It seems so,” sighed Mrs. Hardy. “The astonishing
-thing is that in a corner of the shed behind
-that barrel in which you keep odds and ends, they
-found nearly a bushel of carburetor parts.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then they put them there!” cried Ben. “Ah, I
-understand now. The man you saw with the bag is
-in the conspiracy to disgrace father. His errand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>
-was to place its contents where they would incriminate
-us. He dumped them out and escaped before
-I got into the yard.”</p>
-
-<p>“The men then proceeded to take the metal parts
-from the airship,” resumed Mrs. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, those never came from the Saxton plant!”
-exclaimed Ben. “Father made them right here in
-the work shed.”</p>
-
-<p>“Your father protested, but the officers claimed
-they were acting under sanction of the law. They
-told him he had his redress, and could replevin them,
-I think it was, if he could prove ownership.”</p>
-
-<p>“Where is father now?”</p>
-
-<p>“He hurried down town to see his lawyer and try
-to get back those airship parts.”</p>
-
-<p>“I must find him at once,” declared Ben.
-“Mother, this a pretty serious affair.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is indeed, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is all a plot, a base, wicked plot!” cried Ben.
-“Everybody knows that father is the soul of honesty.
-Mr. Saxton shall suffer for this.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben was all on fire with indignation and excitement.
-He reached the office of Mr. Pearsons, his
-father’s lawyer, breathless and perspiring. It was
-to find his father pacing the floor in a restless, anxious
-way.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, father,” exclaimed Ben, “this is terrible!”</p>
-
-<p>“For Saxton, yes,” said Mr. Hardy, in his usual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>
-calm and trustful way. “A man who will do what
-he has done, will wake up with a tormenting conscience
-some day.”</p>
-
-<p>“But what good does that do us now?”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t worry, my son, everything will come out
-right.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s a pretty hard thing to see you charged
-with stealing.”</p>
-
-<p>“They will have to prove those charges, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“And they have got hold of our new monoplane
-parts.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Pearsons has just gone to see about those,”
-said Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>The lawyer in question entered the office at that
-moment. He was in great haste. He looked stirred
-up and bothered.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Pearsons nodded to Ben. Then he turned
-towards his anxious-faced father.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Hardy,” he observed, “we’re dealing with
-a bad crowd, I can tell you.”</p>
-
-<p>“You mean Mr. Saxton?”</p>
-
-<p>“And his accomplices and lawyers. The recovery
-of those automobile parts was only a ruse.”</p>
-
-<p>“A ruse?” repeated Mr. Hardy wonderingly.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes.”</p>
-
-<p>“How do you mean, Mr. Pearsons?”</p>
-
-<p>“They were really after the parts of that flying
-machine of yours.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Why?”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Hardy,” pronounced the lawyer emphatically,
-“I am satisfied that the motive of this raid
-is to steal your airship inventions!”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">STEALING AN INVENTION</p>
-
-
-<p>“Yes,” repeated the lawyer, “that Saxton crowd
-is aiming to steal your airship inventions.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy sank on a chair looking blank and
-troubled. Ben spoke up.</p>
-
-<p>“How can they do that, Mr. Pearsons?”</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll tell my story, and you will see,” replied the
-lawyer. “I went down to the plant and cornered
-Saxton in his private office. He looked quite bored
-at our prompt action. I belong to his set, and, as
-he realizes, I know some of his business secrets.
-He began to explain, as he called it. Thousands of
-dollars worth of stuff had been stolen from the
-works he claimed. Some had been found at your
-house. He said he didn’t believe your intention was
-to steal them, that you probably took them to select
-what you wanted, and would square up later.”</p>
-
-<p>“The hypocrite!” commented Ben hotly.</p>
-
-<p>“I faced him right down,” went on Mr. Pearsons.
-“I informed him that it was a pretty dangerous
-thing to destroy a good man’s character off-hand.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>
-He is a man of no real backbone, and I scared him
-nearly to death. He kept mumbling over that he
-hoped no harm had been done, that he didn’t intend
-to prosecute. I defied him to do so. I told him if
-he didn’t, we would force the issue and fight him to
-the last ditch, till we found out which one of his
-accomplices planted those fittings in your work
-shed.”</p>
-
-<p>“Good—good!” cried Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Then I demanded the return of your airship
-parts,” continued the lawyer. “He flushed, hemmed
-and hawed, and looked flustered. Certainly he would
-return them. Sure he had made a mistake. The
-clumsy officers had no right to take them. All right,
-I said, where were they? Saxton said they were in
-the possession of the constables. If I would send
-around about four o’clock they would be ready for
-me. Then I opened up on him, I think I gave him a
-tongue lashing he will never forget. I told him he
-was a thoroughly bad man, and I would be obliged
-if he didn’t speak to me when I passed him on the
-street.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Pearsons, you are indeed a true friend,”
-said Mr. Hardy with emotion.</p>
-
-<p>“I know that I am that man’s enemy from this
-time forth,” declared the lawyer. “He is a disgrace
-to the community. As I left his place, I met
-a fellow named Bogart. I got him out of jail last
-year, and he has always felt very grateful to me.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>
-He has been doing odd jobs helping the regular
-constables, and he took me aside and let the cat out
-of the bag.”</p>
-
-<p>“How do you mean?” inquired Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, he told me that just as soon as the constable
-reported to Saxton, he sent two of the airship
-parts by special messenger to his lawyer. You know
-who that is—that shrewd, tricky Mason, a man who
-ought to be disbarred from his unscrupulous methods.
-My informant said that Mason at once put
-his office force at work to make drawings of the new
-parts and get out specifications. They expect to
-get the papers by special mail to Washington on the
-two o’clock train.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is too bad,” said Mr. Hardy gloomily.</p>
-
-<p>“And it is now one o’clock. Is there no way to
-outwit them?” asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Not in respect to getting ahead of them at Washington,”
-replied Mr. Pearsons, consulting his watch.
-“See here, Hardy,” he continued, approaching the
-dejected inventor, and placing a friendly, encouraging
-hand on his shoulder, “don’t you be downhearted.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is a pretty bad proposition for me,” said Ben’s
-father.</p>
-
-<p>“Not altogether. We shall at once follow their
-claims with our own, and we will fight it through
-the courts.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is a long and tedious process.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p>
-
-<p>“It is our only alternative. You go home, don’t
-worry, and leave this thing to me to untangle. To-morrow
-come and see me about suing Saxton on
-those automobile patents. I’m thinking we shall be
-able to raise a storm about his ears that will keep
-him awake nights for a spell.”</p>
-
-<p>“Will I be able to get the airship parts to-day?”
-inquired Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll attend to that,” assured the lawyer.</p>
-
-<p>“I want to get Ben’s monoplane done.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy and Ben left the lawyer’s office. As
-they reached the street, our hero paused. An idea
-had come into his mind, and he said:</p>
-
-<p>“You go home, father. I’ll join you there soon.”</p>
-
-<p>“What are you going to do?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh I’ve got some little things to attend to about
-town.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy proceeded on his way alone. It made
-Ben sorry and fretted to observe his depressed and
-downcast air.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll fit things if it takes all I’ve got,” said Ben
-firmly, and he walked down the street and entered
-the savings bank where he had deposited most of
-the money received from the sale of the Sybilline
-whistle.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Pearsons was busy at his desk when Ben
-re-entered the office. He looked up somewhat surprised,
-with the words:</p>
-
-<p>“Well, what’s the trouble, Hardy?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span></p>
-
-<p>“My father has gone home very much discouraged,”
-said Ben seriously. “An idea struck me that
-may change the situation somewhat, so I thought
-I would come back to see you.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very good. What then?” inquired the lawyer.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, just this—a way to get ahead of the Saxton
-crowd in filing the application for those patents.”</p>
-
-<p>The lawyer shook his head, consulting his watch.</p>
-
-<p>“No show, I’m sorry to say,” he declared. “It
-would take fully two hours to prepare the papers.
-Mason is ahead of us one mail, and no other leaves
-until to-morrow morning.”</p>
-
-<p>“I drew the design of the patents for my father,”
-explained Ben. “In fact, I have the rude draft of
-them in my pocket now. As to the description, I
-could write out those to the smallest detail.”</p>
-
-<p>“No use now, too late,” insisted Mr. Pearsons.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me ask one question, please.”</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly, lad.”</p>
-
-<p>“Have you a correspondent in Washington?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, yes.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then I suggest this: Why can’t we get up all
-the necessary formation for applying for the patents,
-describing them accurately, so they can be reproduced
-by your correspondent, and sending word for
-word the specifications, as you call them, and telegraphing
-them.”</p>
-
-<p>The lawyer fairly jumped from his seat.</p>
-
-<p>“Hardy,” he said enthusiastically, “you are a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>
-genius!” And then his face shadowed, and he
-shook his head.</p>
-
-<p>“That would certainly head off the Saxton crowd,
-and my correspondent at Washington is a bright
-active man, but—why, Hardy, it would cost at least
-one hundred dollars to telegraph all that stuff.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir; I suppose so,” said Ben quietly, “so I
-brought the money to pay for it. There is one
-hundred and fifty dollars.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">ON TIME</p>
-
-
-<p>The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll
-of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
-Then his countenance expanded.</p>
-
-<p>“You have solved the problem, Hardy. You are
-sure you want to invest all that money?”</p>
-
-<p>“To help my father—I guess so!” replied our
-hero with energy.</p>
-
-<p>“All right,” cried Mr. Pearsons briskly, arising
-from his chair. “Here sit down at that desk yonder,”
-and he pointed to an inner room. “Now then,
-you’re a smart boy, and I see it. Write out in the
-most exact detail what you want wired.”</p>
-
-<p>“You think your Washington correspondent can
-follow out instructions explicitly?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I’ll guarantee him.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben went to the inner office and set to work at
-once. It was fortunate that he had acted as secretary
-for his father on occasions similar to the present
-one. Ben made a rough draft of what he wanted
-to say, and then he studied and revised it. This took
-an hour of his time.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span></p>
-
-<p>When he had copied the description, he felt highly
-satisfied. He believed that any ordinary draftsman
-could make drawings of the airship parts from his
-directions. They made four pages of foolscap.</p>
-
-<p>“Excellent—splendid!” declared Mr. Pearsons, as
-an hour later he read over Ben’s work. “I’ll send
-this to Washington over the wires instanter. I shall
-also instruct my correspondent to telegraph your
-father if he completes the matter to-day.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you, Mr. Pearsons.”</p>
-
-<p>“The thanks all belong to you, Hardy,” insisted
-the lawyer, with an admiring glance at Ben. “Any
-time you feel like taking up with the law, there’s a
-place for you in this office, remember that.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m too full of the airship fever to think of anything
-like that just now,” smiled Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s all right, follow your bent as long as it
-is a legitimate and useful one. I think you can advise
-your father that we have scooped the enemy
-on the first move in the game.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben had no intention of disclosing his last action
-to his father, until he was sure that his plan had met
-with success. He went home and had lunch with his
-father. They pottered around the work yard for
-a spell. Then Ben went down town.</p>
-
-<p>It was about five o’clock, and he was on his way
-homewards again, when he ran up against Caleb
-Dunn.</p>
-
-<p>“Hold on, there, Ben Hardy,” hailed the foreman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>
-at the Saxton Automobile Works. “Just the fellow
-I wanted to see.”</p>
-
-<p>“What about, Mr. Dunn?”</p>
-
-<p>“About your father’s affairs. Here, give me all
-the details of this tangle with Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben realized that the bluff, outspoken foreman
-was a genuine friend of his father. He began a recital
-of most of the facts concerning his father’s
-present trouble.</p>
-
-<p>A sort of a subdued growl issued from the lips
-of the foreman when he had concluded. His face
-was grim and angry.</p>
-
-<p>“You come with me, Hardy,” he said promptly.</p>
-
-<p>“Where, Mr. Dunn?”</p>
-
-<p>“To the Saxton works.”</p>
-
-<p>“I had rather not go there,” demurred Ben, holding
-back a trifle.</p>
-
-<p>“Got to,” declared Dunn definitely, “if I have
-to lug you there bodily. You ain’t the one who will
-get hurt. It’s Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>The foreman pranced down the street at a furious
-rate. Ben kept up with him. Dunn acted like a
-smouldering volcano. He gritted his teeth, he
-clenched his fists ever and anon, he emitted growls
-and little roars.</p>
-
-<p>“The escape valve will burst if I don’t get action,”
-he advised Ben. “Hurry up.”</p>
-
-<p>When they reached the plant, Dunn proceeded
-straight towards the private office of its proprietor.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Saxton is very busy over some accounts,”
-advised the bookkeeper.</p>
-
-<p>“He’ll see me, or I’ll burst in the door,” declared
-the forcible Dunn, thrusting aside the office underling,
-and opening the door before him. “You keep
-with me, Hardy,” he advised.</p>
-
-<p>Jasper Saxton looked up from his desk in an irritated
-way at the bold intrusion. Then, observing
-Ben, he scowled darkly.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s that boy doing here?” he demanded.</p>
-
-<p>“I brought him,” retorted Dunn.</p>
-
-<p>“Take him away again. He has no business
-around here.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, he has, and he’ll stay,” observed Dunn
-sharply. “I need him.”</p>
-
-<p>“What for?”</p>
-
-<p>“As a witness.”</p>
-
-<p>“Witness to what?” demanded Saxton, with a
-blank stare.</p>
-
-<p>“To what I’m going to tell you. Saxton, you are
-an unmitigated scoundrel!”</p>
-
-<p>“W—what?”</p>
-
-<p>With a bound the manufacturer came to his feet.
-He seemed about to spring upon his audacious foreman.
-He doubled up his fists and tried to awe the
-venturesome Dunn, who coolly looked him in the eye.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, yes,” derided the foreman. “Try it. Just
-once! I think I’d be willing to pay a big fine just
-for the excuse to give you the beating of your life.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span></p>
-
-<p>“What’s that? what’s this?” gasped the astonished
-Saxton.</p>
-
-<p>“Say,” continued his foreman in sharp, cutting
-tones. “I’ve worked my last stroke for the meanest
-man I ever knew. You’ve lost a better man in
-Martin Hardy, but you’ll miss me just the same.
-Saxton, you are a thief. You stole poor Hardy’s
-automobile patents. You are now trying to rob him
-of his airship patents. You’ve sold your soul outright,
-and I predict that you’ll go down in failure
-and disgrace. I’m through with you, and in time
-every decent man in your employ will leave you in
-the lurch. You sent me out to-day to use my influence
-to get that big motor-cycle order from the
-Evans people. Well, I’ve got it, and I’m going to
-turn it over to the Diebold works. You unmitigated
-scoundrel! Come, Hardy.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben saw Jasper Saxton, white and trembling, sink
-back into his chair in a heap, collapsed. As they
-got outside, his impetuous but determined companion
-left him summarily, with the words:</p>
-
-<p>“Tell your father I shall be up to see him this
-evening.”</p>
-
-<p>“Whew!” commented Ben, in one long marveling
-breath.</p>
-
-<p>His step was brisk and his face beaming as he
-went homewards. Things had taken a turn. If
-he and his father had met with some misfortunes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>
-the same had brought to their rescue staunch, loyal
-friends.</p>
-
-<p>Ben told his father about Mr. Dunn, and Mr.
-Hardy brightened up somewhat. After supper Ben
-went down town to the village telegraph office. He
-knew the night despatcher, who welcomed him with
-a friendly smile.</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing for my father, is there, Mr. Noyes?”
-asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing so far. Expecting something?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, it may come in the half rate grist. That
-begins soon. Won’t you wait?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben sat down. The dispatcher attended to his
-wires. Then, as a new clicking succeeded to a brief
-lapse in business, he smiled and nodded at Ben, while
-writing out the message.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll deliver it to my father,” said our hero. “Don’t
-mind an envelope.”</p>
-
-<p>“Just receipt for him, then,” advised the operator,
-handing Ben the yellow sheet. “Charges prepaid.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hurrah!” shouted Ben irrepressibly, as he
-glanced at the sheet and summarily bolted from the
-place, a keen delight overcoming his embarrassment.</p>
-
-<p>His eyes sparkled and he ran like the wind all
-the way home. He was the messenger of good news,
-indeed. As he came to the house he found the sitting
-room illuminated brightly. It cheered his heart
-to observe his father laughing cheerily, while there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>
-was a growing happy expression on the face of
-his mother.</p>
-
-<p>They had company. Two men were in the same
-room. They were Caleb Dunn, and Mr. Earle from
-the Diebold machine shops at Martinville.</p>
-
-<p>Ben paused unobserved at the open window of the
-sitting room to learn that Earle had made a splendid
-offer to his father to start in at work at Martinville.</p>
-
-<p>Then our hero entered the house through the
-kitchen. On the table he noticed the airship parts
-that had been returned.</p>
-
-<p>“Father,” he said, bursting rather unceremoniously
-upon the group in the sitting room, the open
-telegram in his hand, “here is some good news for
-you.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy took the paper. He was trembling
-all over as he perused it. A look of intense joy
-illumined his usually serious face.</p>
-
-<p>The telegram read:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>“Claim filed on two airship inventions of Martin
-Hardy. All rights protected.”</p>
-</div>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR PRIZE</p>
-
-
-<p>“The <em>Dart</em> is a beauty! I’d like to meet that ingenious
-father of yours, Ben!”</p>
-
-<p>“He would feel honored to know you, I am sure,
-Mr. Davis.”</p>
-
-<p>“Just as soon as this meet is over, I am going to
-get him to build me a new airship modeled after
-the <em>Dart</em>. It’s the best machine I have yet seen.”</p>
-
-<p>“You will have to deal with the Diebold people,
-then, Mr. Davis,” advised Ben. “They have gone
-into the airship business, and father is superintendent
-of that department of their plant.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I’ll have to be contented with his supervision,”
-observed the old aviator. “I would a good
-deal rather pay him for special individual service.”</p>
-
-<p>“That would be pretty difficult for the present.
-My father is putting in all his spare time at home on
-what he calls an Airatorium.”</p>
-
-<p>“And what is that, Ben?” inquired Mr. Davis
-with interest.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span></p>
-
-<p>“A safe, substantial airship for sick people—a
-sort of an aerial hospital. His idea is to construct
-a machine that will take invalids up into perfect
-sunshine, pure air and exhilarating calmness.”</p>
-
-<p>“I see—a grand idea.”</p>
-
-<p>“Father says that light at high elevations is richer
-in ultra violet rays.”</p>
-
-<p>“Say, you’re some scientist, aren’t you?” put in
-Bob Dallow.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll give you some more,” laughed Ben: “You
-get out of the bacterial effect in the upper air currents.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I’ll have a talk with Mr. Hardy after we’ve
-won the high flight and long distance prizes,” observed
-Mr. Davis.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, you are going to win both of them, are
-you?” chuckled Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“I said ‘we,’” corrected Mr. Davis, with a quick
-glance at Ben. “I have made my record on the elevation
-feature. What do you say, Ben, to taking
-my place and seeing what the <em>Dart</em> can do?”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh!” exclaimed Ben, “you don’t mean it?”</p>
-
-<p>“I do, and you shall,” replied the old aviator
-promptly. “It’s your heart’s desire—eh? And you
-would like to get that five hundred dollar prize to
-help your father carry on his suit against Saxton.”</p>
-
-<p>“I say, Bob,” cried Ben quickly, “you have been
-telling secrets out of school.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span></p>
-
-<p>“I am glad he did, for I am interested in both
-you and your father,” spoke up the aviator. “Your
-ambition is most laudable. I have entered the <em>Dart</em>
-for the race to-morrow, and I fully expect you will
-get ready for it.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben was once more at the aviation field at Blairville
-and the <em>Dart</em> was with him. That splendid
-little machine had arrived from Woodville the day
-previous.</p>
-
-<p>Two weeks had been devoted to its completion,
-and a perfect monoplane was the result. It had
-many new features that evoked the interest and admiration
-of some of the leading aviators at the meet.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Hardy and Caleb Dunn had accepted excellent
-positions at Martinville. Tom Shallock had
-carried out his boasts. He was now head machinist
-at the Saxton Automobile Works. A week after
-he had taken charge three men left the Saxton employ,
-and Ben heard incidentally that Shallock had
-become generally disliked by his fellow employees
-and was under the influence of liquor most of the
-time.</p>
-
-<p>It was said that Saxton nearly had a fit when he
-found out how his evil plots had been circumvented
-by the Hardys in securing the airship patents first.
-Saxton troubled them no further. The report that
-Mr. Hardy had been guilty of stealing found few
-believers. One day Ben met the big manufacturer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>
-skulking down the street, as if he feared every minute
-being served with the papers by lawyer Pearsons.</p>
-
-<p>When Ben made his second visit to the aviation
-field, he found Dick Farrell still in the employ of
-Rollins. Ben always spoke pleasantly to Dick, but
-the latter greeted this courtesy with a sullen nod
-only. There was a vindictive look in Farrell’s eye
-that Ben distrusted fully.</p>
-
-<p>Several times Ben went into Blairville and finally
-located the home of Knippel. This man lived in a
-retired cottage, had a small family who associated
-with no one in the village, and he was considered
-to follow some mysterious business that took him
-away from home most of the time.</p>
-
-<p>Now Ben’s thoughts were so completely on aviation
-and all of its alluring features, that he forgot
-all his past trouble and present complications.</p>
-
-<p>That day he had made several trial flights. He
-had the advantage of the experience and direction
-of Mr. Davis and Bob. He understood the <em>Dart</em>
-perfectly. Ben could hardly sleep for excitement
-that night, and he and Bob were among the earliest
-arrivals on the aviation field next morning.</p>
-
-<p>The day was warm and still, but there were lowering
-clouds. After a critical decision as to weather
-conditions, Mr. Davis told Ben that the same were
-not very favorable for either a high or a rapid flight.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>
-Eight biplanes and four monoplanes were to take
-part in the test. Ben chose his own course away
-from the others. Bob, after urging up the <em>Dart</em>,
-uttered an enthusiastic hurrah as he noted the splendid
-start his friend had made.</p>
-
-<p>The <em>Dart</em> was soon out of sight, the heavy layer
-of surface clouds obscuring its progress. Ben
-started in on a spiral flight. As he struck a second
-strata of clouds, he encountered some strong cross
-currents of air.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s getting choppy,” ruminated the young aviator,
-and he arranged so he could lower the front
-control of the machine readily in case of a sudden
-gust.</p>
-
-<p>It began to get chilly and uncomfortable as he
-struck a higher altitude. His leather suit was none
-too warm for him and splatters of moisture clouded
-the goggles he wore.</p>
-
-<p>Ben bent himself to his work like a trained pilot.
-There were places where great banks of cloud enveloped
-him. He drove the monoplane through
-these like a torpedo boat thrusting its way through
-an opposing wave.</p>
-
-<p>“Brr-rr!” he shivered, as an icy gale made the
-planes bend and rattle, and he felt himself becoming
-benumbed by the cold.</p>
-
-<p>The highly rarefied air began now to affect heart
-and brain. Only by conserving his breath could Ben
-refrain from gasping outright.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span></p>
-
-<p>“What is that?” he exclaimed, as a grinding,
-wrenching motion shook the machine.</p>
-
-<p>It was an accumulation of ice on the planes of the
-airship. Icicles fell into the machinery, threatening
-to stop the motor.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve reached the limit, I guess,” decided Ben,
-dizzy-headed and half frozen.</p>
-
-<p>A storm of hail cut against him as he made a full
-one mile glide. Then strata after strata of clouds
-were penetrated. A blurred landscape and dim outlines
-of houses and trees gradually came into view.
-When Ben alighted, both he and the aeroplane were
-coated with ice.</p>
-
-<p>He had to be helped from the machine, but, benumbed
-as he was with the cold, he was conscious
-of ringing cheers all about the aviation field.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis carried the barograph from the machine
-to the judges’ stand. Bob and some others
-led and carried Ben to the quarters of the <em>Flyer</em>.</p>
-
-<p>Ben found it supreme luxury to repose on a
-couch. His lungs pained him, and he was so exhausted
-he dropped into profound sleep at once.</p>
-
-<p>His next conscious moment was a recognition of
-the voice of Mr. Davis, saying:</p>
-
-<p>“Let him sleep, he needs it.”</p>
-
-<p>“But—such glorious news!” cried the tones of
-Bob Dallow.</p>
-
-<p>“I am awake,” declared Ben, opening his eyes
-and sitting up. “What’s the glorious news?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Why,” said Mr. Davis with a beaming face, “the
-barograph says you have beaten the <em>Flyer</em> altitude
-record by three hundred feet. Hardy, you have won
-the five hundred dollar prize.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">“GO!”</p>
-
-
-<p>“Ben, Ben, wake up!”</p>
-
-<p>“What is the matter—what has happened?”</p>
-
-<p>“The very worst—the Davis quarters is on fire
-and the <em>Flyer</em> is burning up.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben bounded from the mattress on which he lay.
-He did not have to grope to find his clothes. A
-great glare shone into the little shed which he and
-Bob had occupied since the <em>Dart</em> had arrived on the
-field. It was some distance from the Davis place,
-and had a canvas extension which housed the Woodville
-machine.</p>
-
-<p>Bob was getting into his clothes, uttering excited
-disjointed sentences, meanwhile keeping his eyes
-fixed on the center of the fiery glare.</p>
-
-<p>“It is certainly in the direction of the Davis
-quarters,” said Ben hurriedly, “but it may not be
-his place.”</p>
-
-<p>“But it is. Can’t you see—the exact location, and
-two men rushing by shouted that it was.”</p>
-
-<p>Fleet-footed and breathless, the two youths<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>
-dashed across the patch of sward between their new
-quarters and the blazing pile. Half the distance
-accomplished, their worst fears were verified.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s the <em>Flyer</em>,” panted Bob.</p>
-
-<p>The roaring flames and excited shouts kept up
-a wild uproar about a vivid midnight picture. There
-was no water supply on the field. Before the Blairville
-fire department could be summoned the aerodrome
-would be in ashes. The only thing that helpers
-could do was to get long poles and pull the blazing
-canvas off the shelter tent away from the frame
-extension of the Davis living quarters.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s all gone up, tent and machine,” choked out
-Bob, as they came directly upon the scene.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, and—oh—Mr. Davis is hurt.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben rushed up to the old aviator as he spoke.
-Two men were leading Mr. Davis from the smouldering
-ruins. The way they helped him hold his
-hands showed that he had met with some accident.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, Mr. Davis,” cried Ben, “what is it?”</p>
-
-<p>The aviator turned a pale and troubled face on
-his young assistant.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, Ben!” he said, forcing a smile, “don’t get
-scared. Just a singe or two on the hands.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben saw that the sleeves of the coat Mr. Davis
-wore hung in shriveled threads. His hands were
-seared and blistered.</p>
-
-<p>“A little liniment will fix me up all right,” said
-the aviator with affected cheerfulness, as he noticed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>
-the deep concern on the face of Bob as well as that
-of Ben. “Keep your nerve, lads, you may need it
-to-morrow.”</p>
-
-<p>His helper, as the man was called who had oiled
-and taken care of the <em>Flyer</em>, came up at that moment.</p>
-
-<p>“Here, Jones,” called the aviator, halting. “Have
-you got a good revolver?”</p>
-
-<p>“Two of them, Mr. Davis.”</p>
-
-<p>“Get them both, and start up to the <em>Dart</em> quarters
-without a minute’s delay. Don’t keep your eye off
-the machine a single minute until I relieve you at
-daylight. If any skulker comes within ten feet of
-the place, pepper him. You, Ben Hardy, come
-along with me.”</p>
-
-<p>The old aviator spoke like some commanding
-general. There was a sternness to his expression
-that was significant. As he entered the door of
-the quarters he cast a backward glance at the smouldering
-wreck of the <em>Flyer</em> and sighed. Then his
-face became set and grim.</p>
-
-<p>“My lads here will attend to me, friends,” he
-spoke to the two men who had helped him.</p>
-
-<p>“Can’t we be of some use to you, Mr. Davis?”
-inquired one of them.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, yes, come to think of it. I wish one of
-you would tell Mr. Bridges I want to see him, the
-quicker the better.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span></p>
-
-<p>“He may be in bed, if the fire hasn’t routed him
-out.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then wake him up—it’s very important.”</p>
-
-<p>The men departed. The aviator planted himself
-in an armchair and gave his orders to Ben and Bob.
-Very soon they had the sleeves of his coat cut off
-at the elbow. Without a wince or a groan Mr.
-Davis directed them like a skilled surgeon. Liniment
-was applied to his burns, cotton and bandages
-set in place, and finally the old aviator sank back
-in real or affected comfort, with the words:</p>
-
-<p>“That’s fine. It doesn’t bring back the <em>Flyer</em>,
-poor old friend, but it mends me up for the tussle.”</p>
-
-<p>“You aren’t thinking of trying for to-morrow,
-with your hands in that condition?” interrogated
-Bob.</p>
-
-<p>Before the aviator could reply, Mr. Bridges had
-arrived. He was the director of the meet, its high
-executive official.</p>
-
-<p>“Dear me, Davis,” he exclaimed in genuine concern,
-“this is a serious affair. I needn’t tell you
-I am dreadfully sorry. Have you sent for a doctor.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” nodded the aviator with a smile, “you.”</p>
-
-<p>“Eh?”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s it—I want you to doctor up to-morrow’s
-programme.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, it will be a severe disappointment to the
-public—no <em>Flyer</em>, no Davis.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I wish to be represented, just the same.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Oh.”</p>
-
-<p>“Now, see here, Bridges,” proceeded the old aviator,
-“there is not the least occasion in the world
-for red tape. It’s a plain, simple proposition of a
-plain, straightforward man. I have a place on the
-programme. I claim it.”</p>
-
-<p>“But you have no airship to enter.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I have—the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I see,” nodded the director, “very good.
-Operator?”</p>
-
-<p>“Operators—two: Dallow and Hardy. Make a
-note of it officially, Bridges, and see that we have
-a fair show.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s a little irregular, isn’t it?”</p>
-
-<p>“So was the burning of the <em>Flyer</em>,” remarked
-Mr. Davis dryly.</p>
-
-<p>“Any suspicions?”</p>
-
-<p>“If I have any, they will keep until this meet is
-over. Then I may have something to say. Can I
-depend on the substitute entry as I make it, with no
-quibbling?”</p>
-
-<p>“You can depend on any service I can give an old
-friend and a square man,” assured the director
-heartily.</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you. You give that fair show, and I’ll
-try and keep up the Davis reputation.”</p>
-
-<p>The aviation director retired with a courteous
-bow. As the door closed on him, Mr. Davis turned
-his glance upon his two young assistants.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Well?” he demanded with a quizzical smile.</p>
-
-<p>“You have dazed me,” spoke Ben, with a wondering
-break in his voice. “Do you really mean it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Same here,” piped in Bob. “It’s like getting a
-fortune all at once.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oho! so you are counting on the prize already,
-are you?” chuckled Mr. Davis.</p>
-
-<p>“Isn’t that what you expect us to do?” challenged
-Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“I reckon it is,” assented the aviator.</p>
-
-<p>“Then we will try, Mr. Davis,” said Ben, a tremor
-of excitement in his voice, but rare determination
-in his eye, “we will try hard.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s the talk,” said the aviator encouragingly.
-“Now then, bring that little stand close to my side.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben obeyed the order.</p>
-
-<p>“Open that yellow paper. Spread it out. Both of
-you sit down close up to me. This is a special
-weather report that arrived five hours ago. The
-red lines and notations are mine. Listen carefully,
-and try and catch my idea of the surest and easiest
-course for to-morrow’s run.”</p>
-
-<p>Both boys were impressed with the intensest interest
-and admiration, as the old aviator explained
-his ideas. Mr. Davis had marked out a zig-zag
-course to the northwest. At a glance, Ben could
-discern how carefully he had calculated and planned
-with expert skill.</p>
-
-<p>Taking wind velocity, temperature readings, barometric<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>
-depressions and storm centres for a basis,
-the wise old aviator had blocked out a course like a
-pilot at sea directing his ship through sandbars, reefs
-and counter winds. Where there was a cross air
-current, a mark designated it. He even indicated
-the altitude average.</p>
-
-<p>“Why,” cried the exuberant Bob, “you make
-it a mere playing, Mr. Davis!”</p>
-
-<p>“Do I?” retorted the old aviator grimly. “You
-may change your mind after a four hour’s spin.
-It’s no fun, lads.”</p>
-
-<p>“I do not see how we can fail to do something
-quite fair, under all these conditions,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“It will be simply a question of the gasolene supply,”
-explained Mr. Davis. “There, however, is
-where that auxiliary pipe feature your father has invented
-comes in good. Now then, I want you to
-go to bed and shut your eyes and minds to the world
-till I wake you up. Remember, you have the biggest
-day of your lives before you, and you will need your
-best nerve and strength to meet it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hurrah!” crowed the irrepressible Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“We’ll say that when we win,” added Ben.</p>
-
-<p>They were not awakened until eight o’clock the
-next morning. Bob began to worry, and Ben himself
-was flustered at the lateness of the hour.</p>
-
-<p>“Easy, now,” ordered Mr. Davis, “you two fellows
-are simply dummies in the hands of trainers
-till we land you in the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span></p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis had sent for two new aviation suits
-for the boys, the latest and best that could be procured.
-They fitted comfortably, and the boys made
-a fine professional appearance in them.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis had left them to chat together over
-their meal. When they rejoined him in his sitting
-room, they found him with two telegrams lying open
-on the stand before him.</p>
-
-<p>“Change the course as I direct, Ben,” he said.
-“The weather conditions are practically the same as
-last night’s report showed, except at two points.
-I’ll name them to you. Make a westerly deviation
-at the first, and take a high level at the second.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben did as he was directed. Bob, leaning over his
-shoulder, made a wry face.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the matter with you?” inquired Mr.
-Davis quickly.</p>
-
-<p>“Huh!” complained Bob, “you’ve marked out
-only a thousand-mile run.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hear him! A thousand miles? Why, if you
-have enough backbone to beat six hundred and fifty
-miles, you win the prize,” declared the old aviator.</p>
-
-<p>It was a grandly inspiriting scene, that upon which
-Ben Hardy and Bob Dallow entered an hour later.
-The sun was bright, the sky was clear and speckless
-of a single cloud, the air brisk and invigorating. It
-was a typical day for air sailing, and the young
-sky pilots felt hopefully at their best.</p>
-
-<p>The aviation field was a gay and entrancing spectacle.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span>
-At its edge were gathered several thousand
-spectators, automobiles, motor-cycles and other vehicles,
-some trimmed in gala array. Pennants were
-strung here and there about the field, and the nine
-aeroplanes entered for the contest were as pretty as
-dainty birds, straining to try their wings in the empyrean.</p>
-
-<p>Hails and cheers rang out in every direction.
-There was hearty applause as Ben and Bob, the
-youngest aviators in the contest, took their places
-in the <em>Dart</em>. Ben tried the levers and the other various
-parts of the machine.</p>
-
-<p>“She works like a watch,” he declared to his companion.</p>
-
-<p>“Ready,” was Bob’s reply, his eye on the judge’s
-stand.</p>
-
-<p>Boom!—flared forth the signal gun, followed by
-a general chorus, uttered in the word so thrilling to
-the heart of the enthusiastic aviator:</p>
-
-<p>“Go!”</p>
-
-<p>Lifted from earth on a superb sweep, true to its
-name, the <em>Dart</em> arose on a splendid arrow course.
-There was a fascinating spiral whirl as the graceful
-aeroplane struck an upper air current. Then, fondly,
-longingly viewed by the old aviator and his friends,
-the <em>Dart</em> diminished, became a mere speck, and faded
-away in the far distance.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">CRUSOES OF THE AIR</p>
-
-
-<p>“It’s business now,” said Bob Dallow, between
-his teeth.</p>
-
-<p>“And guesswork,” added Ben. “Hit or miss,
-though, we’ve got to make land. The tank register
-is at the exhaust line. Where do you suppose we
-are, Bob?”</p>
-
-<p>“Brr-rr! Judging from the weather, Medicine
-Hat. The way we’ve spun along, I should think
-we were just about over Alaska.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s nonsense, of course,” responded Ben,
-“but we have done some travelling. Keep watch
-on the forward planes, now.”</p>
-
-<p>The young aviators were veritable Crusoes of the
-air, marooned in cloudland, lost in a void of ether.
-As Bob aptly expressed the situation, it was business
-now, sharp and serious.</p>
-
-<p>The <em>Dart</em> had made a splendid run. At first it
-had been an experience of fun, novelty and interest
-for its light-hearted crew. The vast panorama
-spread out under them had been entrancing. Up to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>
-mid afternoon they knew pretty well where they
-were. Bob kept close track of the chart markings,
-and when they descended on top of a high hill near
-a little town, they were soon visited by curious
-throngs from the village near by, and knew that they
-were over two hundred and fifty miles from the
-starting point.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s not so bad,” observed Bob, “over sixty
-miles an hour.”</p>
-
-<p>“Not if we can keep up a long flight,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>This had been their only stopping place. It cost
-them over two hours’ time. They had some difficulty
-in securing a new gasolene supply and other
-things they needed. The machine was carefully
-oiled and the flight resumed, the bold aviators feeling
-encouraged by the tremendous cheering of a
-throng viewing a real monoplane for the first time.</p>
-
-<p>Two hours later real work began. They had
-something of a tussle fighting an ugly cross current
-of air. Next a storm cloud interfered. They lost
-their bearings somewhat, and as dusk came on they
-were entirely at sea as to location.</p>
-
-<p>About ten o’clock in the evening, after a visit to
-the lower atmosphere, the air voyagers became assured
-of one fact: They were no longer traversing
-a settled range of territory. The night was black,
-and had become foggy. It had grown chill and uncomfortable
-as well.</p>
-
-<p>There was not a speck of light visible earthwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>
-anywhere. One long sweep took them over a vast
-body of water. Then came an interminable stretch
-of vast forests.</p>
-
-<p>“We seem to have passed civilization,” remarked
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“We are clear out of the United States, anyway,”
-declared Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“My plan is to get to a good altitude and put the
-motors to the limit,” was Ben’s suggestion.</p>
-
-<p>“All right, if we can stand the cold.”</p>
-
-<p>The experiments of the half dozen ensuing hours
-neither of the young aviators ever forgot. It was
-a real endurance test. There was cold, darkness, uncertainty,
-discomfort and peril to combat. Only
-that the splendid little <em>Dart</em> behaved grandly, were
-they able to keep up an uninterrupted forward progress.
-Then there were many bad tips and tilts, but
-skill and attention evaded any real mishap.</p>
-
-<p>“We have driven our craft to the last limit of
-speed,” announced Ben at last. “The fuel gauge
-is at danger line.”</p>
-
-<p>“That settles it, then,” said Bob. “It’s all over
-but the barograph readings, now.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben set the <em>Dart</em> on a downward slant. It was
-high time to descend. As they pierced a broad ribbon
-of dense cloud and made out outlines of hills
-and trees below, the chug—chug of the motor grew
-fainter and less distinct. The sound diminished
-finally to a choking gasp, and the <em>Dart</em> rested on a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span>
-broad even surface in the midst of great trees,
-almost of its own volition.</p>
-
-<p>“We made it just in time,” said Bob, climbing
-from the machine with an immense sigh of relief.
-“What time is it, Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben lighted a match and consulted the dial of
-the treasured timepiece presented to him by the employees
-of the Saxton Automobile Works.</p>
-
-<p>“Just fifteen minutes after one,” he announced.</p>
-
-<p>“Then we have been fourteen hours on the spin,”
-calculated Bob. “I don’t believe any of the others
-have beat that.”</p>
-
-<p>“We don’t know that, of course.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s surely nine hundred miles,” continued Bob,
-“maybe twelve hundred. It seemed to me we just
-spun along these last four hours.”</p>
-
-<p>“We have done finely,” declared Ben, “and we
-should feel pretty glad to land with no mishaps.”</p>
-
-<p>While his companion was seeking for the food
-sack in the body of the machine, Ben was unshipping
-some of the planes and wiring the wheels to near
-tree stumps, so the flying machine could not be
-budged if a sudden wind came up.</p>
-
-<p>“I wonder where we are, Ben?” inquired Bob,
-appearing with the canvas bag that held some tools
-and a bulky package of food.</p>
-
-<p>“No telling. I couldn’t keep track of direction
-after it got dark.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span></p>
-
-<p>“We’re probably out of the range of running fuel
-anyway,” surmised Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I think that is right.”</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the programme, then?”</p>
-
-<p>“Why, we can only wait till morning, get our
-bearings, locate some village and tell our story.
-Some reputable people must come to the monoplane
-with us, seal up the speedometer, make affidavits
-as to our arrival, and we get back to Mr. Davis to
-report.”</p>
-
-<p>“And leave the <em>Dart</em> here?” questioned Bob, in
-alarm.</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly not. We must arrange to have it
-packed and shipped on after us, no matter what it
-may cost.”</p>
-
-<p>“If we have only won the prize—oh, if we only
-have!” began Bob ardently, and then: “Hello!”</p>
-
-<p>The speaker dropped the hunk of bread and cheese
-he was eating with a vivid exclamation, and stood
-poised in a staring attitude, glancing through the
-surrounding trees.</p>
-
-<p>“What now, Bob?” questioned Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“A light.”</p>
-
-<p>“I see it!”</p>
-
-<p>“Maybe it’s a village—a house, anyhow. The
-sooner we prove our arrival, the better for our
-claims, eh, Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps.”</p>
-
-<p>“Come on—this is luck.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span></p>
-
-<p>Ben hesitated for a moment. He did not like to
-leave the <em>Dart</em>. Still, it was safely secured, and
-scarcely liable to discovery in that remote and solitary
-place. He joined his companion, and they
-started in the direction of the light.</p>
-
-<p>Bob was so eager and excited that he did not
-leave the bag behind, but kept possession of it, slinging
-it over one shoulder by the piece of flexible wire
-running through the handles.</p>
-
-<p>The two journeyers did not note their environment
-particularly. They had several tumbles going
-down a sheer hilly descent. They encountered fallen
-trees and brambles threading a jungle-like maze.
-All the time, however, they kept the distant light in
-view as a beacon. This led to many turns and windings
-to evade obstructing objects.</p>
-
-<p>“Whew!” ejaculated Bob at last, as they came to
-some kind of a stream. “We must have gone miles.
-I’m footsore and wringing wet with perspiration.”</p>
-
-<p>“That light is across the river, and miles away
-yet,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, we’ll line the stream and cross when we
-get nearer. We can’t miss reaching it now.”</p>
-
-<p>They proceeded on this basis. Less than half a
-mile accomplished, however, both halted simultaneously
-with a shock.</p>
-
-<p>“Gone!” cried Ben in consternation.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” groaned his disappointed comrade.</p>
-
-<p>The point of light seemed suddenly to lift in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span>
-air. It divided into whirling darts of flame, and
-then into a cascade of sparks. Then there was a
-black blank where the radiance had shown.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t you see?” cried Bob, in a dismayed tone.</p>
-
-<p>“See what?”</p>
-
-<p>“It wasn’t a lamp. It was a campfire. Some one
-probably stopping to cook a bite. He kicked out
-the fire and went on.”</p>
-
-<p>“It looks that way,” assented Ben slowly.</p>
-
-<p>“Yell at the top of your voice,” directed Bob,
-seizing Ben’s arm to enforce his suggestion.</p>
-
-<p>They united their voices in a series of ringing
-shouts and yells. The silent wilderness about them
-rang with the vivid echoes. For the space of two
-minutes they bent their ears in anxious, eager suspense.</p>
-
-<p>“You see, we are too far away to be heard,” said
-Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“I’m afraid so,” replied Bob, in deep disappointment.</p>
-
-<p>“Hark! I heard something,” interrupted Ben
-sharply.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, a sound—a sort of roar. Behind us, though.
-Oh, my!”</p>
-
-<p>Bob grasped his companion’s arm and dragged
-him forward.</p>
-
-<p>“Run! run!” he shouted. “It’s a bear.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A FIGHT WITH A BEAR</p>
-
-
-<p>The night was dark and cloudy and there was
-not a star in sight. However, it was possible to discover
-outlines at a near distance. As Ben cast a
-startled glance at a great bushy object not twenty
-feet away, growling savagely and moving directly
-towards them, he realized that there was some foundation
-to his companion’s startling statement.</p>
-
-<p>“Quick, this way. Climb up, I say,” shouted Bob,
-his rapid run landing them directly up against a
-large tree.</p>
-
-<p>“You first, Bob.”</p>
-
-<p>“Me last. Climb, I tell you!” screamed Bob.
-“Whew! that was close.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben had grasped at a low limb of the tree. He
-was conscious that Bob clambered up directly after
-him, but not so readily.</p>
-
-<p>“That was just in time,” panted Bob, as both
-got to a higher limb of the tree. “Got the heel of
-my shoe, that’s all.”</p>
-
-<p>Below, two baneful orbs of flickering radiance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>
-glowered up at them. The bear growled fiercely
-and began scratching at the hard bark of the tree.</p>
-
-<p>It was a benumbing realization to the two boys to
-come direct from a safe civilization within less than
-twenty-four hours into a district infested with savage
-wild beasts.</p>
-
-<p>“He’s climbing!” cried Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“We must go higher.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then so will he.”</p>
-
-<p>“We have no firearms.”</p>
-
-<p>“No,” replied the doughty Bob, “but there’s a
-good stout hammer in the bag, and I’m going to
-see what I can do with it. Here’s a candle, light it.
-They say a light keeps bears at bay.”</p>
-
-<p>“It doesn’t this one,” reported Ben a minute
-later.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s so. Keep it going so I can see, though,
-but be ready to climb if I don’t make it.”</p>
-
-<p>The head of the hammer Bob was wielding was
-flat and heavy. Its reverse end ran to quite a point.
-He swung slightly down from the limb they occupied.
-As the bear got four feet up the tree, the
-dauntless Bob reached out.</p>
-
-<p>The hammer landed on one forepaw of the bear.
-The animal growled and drew the paw away as if
-easing it from the pain. Bob swung lower. He
-made a terrific swoop with his only weapon.</p>
-
-<p>“Something cracked!” he shouted in encouraging
-tones. “It told, Ben. Down he goes.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span></p>
-
-<p>The head of the hammer had landed against the
-snarling mouth of the bear. Judging from the
-sound, the blow had smashed one or two of his
-molars. Dropped to the trunk of the tree, bruin
-now rubbed his face with his paws in an angry
-growling way, and the light of the candle showed
-blood dripping from the ponderous jaws of the
-animal.</p>
-
-<p>“He won’t venture up again, I reckon,” remarked
-Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“No, but he seems settled down there for the
-night.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, we’ll have to stay up here all night,” responded
-Bob.</p>
-
-<p>The bear now lay flat on the ground at the base
-of the tree, his eyes fixed obliquely towards his treed
-enemies. There was no doubt that the angry animal
-had taken up the patient position of a watcher
-and waiter.</p>
-
-<p>“I say,” observed Ben, after a moment’s cogitation,
-“I have an idea, if we want to drive the bear
-away.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, he isn’t very pleasant company to have
-around.”</p>
-
-<p>“Have you any of ignition oil in the bag?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, two cans of it,” reported Bob, inspecting
-the contents of the bag.</p>
-
-<p>“Give me one. That’s it. Now, you hold the
-candle and get out a coil of wire.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span></p>
-
-<p>“What’s the stunt.”</p>
-
-<p>“You will see. It may not work.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben unscrewed the top of the can of highly inflammable
-oil. Then, poising just right, he leaned
-over and let its contents drop upon the broad extended
-body of the bear.</p>
-
-<p>The animal sniffed and turned its head to one
-side as the pungent odor of the oil assailed its nostrils.
-It did not budge, however, while its eyes
-glowered up into the tree more dangerously than
-ever.</p>
-
-<p>“Its hide is pretty well soaked,” reported Ben, as
-the contents of the can became exhausted. “Now
-then, attach the candle to the wire, lower it,
-and——”</p>
-
-<p>“Fire up. Ha! ha! Ben, quite an idea.”</p>
-
-<p>The bear uttered a ferocious growl and swept
-the air with one paw furiously as the candle approached.
-Its aim was futile, however. The candle
-reached the oil-soaked hide. There was a blinding
-sweep of flame.</p>
-
-<p>In one second the great animal was swept by a
-brilliant wave of fire. It was only a surface skim,
-but, scared to death, the bear arose with magical
-swiftness, uttered a piercing roar, made for the river
-bank, took a header, and the boys heard a tremendous
-splash in the water twenty feet below.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t think his bearship will trouble us any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>
-further,” remarked Bob, preparing to descend from
-the tree.</p>
-
-<p>“No,” replied Ben, “but some other bear or animal
-may. I suggest that we climb to that big crotch
-up yonder. It looks roomy and comfortable. We
-can only wander around aimlessly in the darkness.
-We’ll take a good rest, and start out in earnest to
-find out where we are as soon as daylight comes.”</p>
-
-<p>They found the upper tree crotch roomy enough
-to lie in on a slant. They decided on alternate hour
-watches, and had a good lunch before they began
-the arrangement for passing the night.</p>
-
-<p>“How is the commissary department, Bob?” inquired
-Ben, as they descended to the ground after
-daylight.</p>
-
-<p>“Enough to last a whole day, I should think,”
-replied Bob.</p>
-
-<p>They had an ample breakfast. Then there was
-some indecision as to their immediate progress.</p>
-
-<p>“We know about where the <em>Dart</em> is,” said Bob.
-“The river is a kind of a landmark. I suggest that
-we try to find some houses or settlement.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s south,” said Ben, pointing, after consulting
-a small compass he carried with him. “Suppose
-we start in that direction.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m agreeable,” assented his lively comrade.
-“We’re bound to land somewhere.”</p>
-
-<p>The two youths were in fine spirit, and chatted
-animatedly until noon. There was so much to think<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span>
-of—the successful trip, the return home, the possible
-prize. A shower came up, and in seeking shelter
-they wandered away from the river. They could
-not locate it again after a two hours’ search, and
-night came on, finding them in a deep gully shut in
-by high frowning walls of rock.</p>
-
-<p>Ben, somewhat subdued, set about arranging some
-boulders to protect the opening of a cave-like depression
-where they had decided to spend the night.</p>
-
-<p>“I say, Ben,” observed Bob, “there’s just about
-two more meals left in the bag—light ones, too.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, well, this won’t last,” declared Ben hopefully.
-“We found some berries and nuts to-day,
-and maybe with grubbing we might discover something
-else that would tide us over.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, that’s so,” assented Bob, but not at all enthusiastically.
-“It don’t change a pretty serious
-situation, though.”</p>
-
-<p>“How is that?”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, we’re in a howling wilderness, aren’t we?”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s the wilderness all right,” assented Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“And we face two sure conclusions,” went on
-Bob Dallow, “we’ve lost the <em>Dart</em> and can’t find it,
-and we’re lost ourselves.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">A FRIEND IN NEED</p>
-
-
-<p>“We will have to get some more wood.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, Ben. It won’t do to let the fire go down,
-with a lot of all kinds of wild and bloodthirsty
-animals hanging around.”</p>
-
-<p>“Provided any disturb us.”</p>
-
-<p>“There’s the risk, isn’t there?” demanded Bob.
-“I saw sure signs of a bear, and a den that looked
-like a panther’s home. Come on. Two more big
-armfuls will pull us through.”</p>
-
-<p>After a second day of weary aimless wanderings,
-the aviator refugees had made a camp under a tree
-near a little thicket. They had built a fire as night
-came on, had divided the last bread and meat in the
-bag, and were trying to forget the disappointments
-of the day and the discouraging outlook of the morrow.</p>
-
-<p>They were soon busily engaged in gathering up
-dead pieces of wood at the edge of the thicket. The
-reflection from the campfire aided them in their
-work. Ben had a heavy branch with which he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span>
-poked up pieces of dead wood covered by leaves.
-These he would throw into a heap at one side, to
-which his comrade was also adding by his efforts.</p>
-
-<p>Ben was thinking of home and the anxiety of his
-parents. He tried to banish the blues by whistling
-a jolly tune. As he started to probe with a stick in
-a mass of matted leaves, the music halted on his lips,
-and his eyes became fixed in a terrified stare upon
-a tree ten feet away.</p>
-
-<p>Poised upon one of its branches, its eyes gleaming
-with ferocious fire, just ready to spring upon
-Bob, who, unconscious of his peril was gathering
-an armful of fuel, was a panther.</p>
-
-<p>For only an instant Ben was held breathless and
-spell-bound by the curdling spectacle. Then with a
-great shout and brandishing his stick wildly, he ran
-forward to obstruct the spring of the fierce animal
-and save his friend.</p>
-
-<p>Too late! As the lithe creature darted through
-the air, Ben reeled with horror, his eyes closed to
-shut out the hideous sight and weakness and despair
-overcame him.</p>
-
-<p>Bang! What was that? A sharp report rang out.
-Ben made out a strange form near the campfire with
-a smoking rifle in hand. He saw the panther diverge
-in its leap, turn completely over, and with a furious
-snarl drop to the ground, while Bob, lifting his
-head, demanded coolly:</p>
-
-<p>“I say, what’s happening?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span></p>
-
-<p>Ben ran to his side, clinging to his arm, faltering
-out an incoherent explanation. Then in amazement
-both advanced to the silent erect figure outlined like
-some statue in the red glow of the campfire.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, it’s an Indian,” broke out the wondering
-Bob. “Say, hello!”</p>
-
-<p>“How,” responded the stranger, with something
-of subserviency in his manner. He was a mild-faced,
-gentle-mannered half breed.</p>
-
-<p>Ben grasped his hands and swung it up and down
-fervently, pointing to the gun and then to the dead
-panther.</p>
-
-<p>“You have saved my friend!” he cried, touching
-Bob’s shoulder lovingly with his free hand.</p>
-
-<p>“Me friend,” pronounced the Indian awkwardly.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, you are my friend, too—my good friend.
-What can we do for you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Salt.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is that?” inquired Bob strangely.</p>
-
-<p>The Indian had a bag strung across his back. He
-drew out of it a fat pheasant, evidently recently
-killed, and just dressed and washed at some near
-stream, for it was dripping with fresh water.</p>
-
-<p>“No fire—no salt,” he said. “You salt?”</p>
-
-<p>“Salt?” repeated Bob buoyantly. “Loads of it.
-Why, about all we have got is salt—and pepper.
-Look here.”</p>
-
-<p>The lunch put up at the aero meet had included
-a dozen hard boiled eggs. A salt and a pepper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>
-bottle had accompanied them. Very little of the
-condiment had been used.</p>
-
-<p>The Indian’s eyes sparkled, as he at the discovery
-of a treasure, as he viewed the salt longingly. Then
-he passed the pheasant over to Ben with an unctious
-smack of the lips and the words:</p>
-
-<p>“You cook—plenty salt.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, and give you the bottle for yourself,” cried
-the exuberant Bob, slapping the Indian on the shoulder
-in a friendly familiar way. “I say, old chief,
-where are we? Can you direct us to any town?
-People, houses, white man’s wigwam, understand?”</p>
-
-<p>“Wigwam,” grinned the half breed. “Oh, yes—yes,
-so,” and he pointed south.</p>
-
-<p>“You take us there?” inquired Ben eagerly.</p>
-
-<p>“Morning. Me guide. See? Charge one dollar.”</p>
-
-<p>“You shall have ten,” cried the delighted Bob,
-“and a whole barrel of salt thrown in.”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian could speak only a few words of
-English and could not sustain any conversation with
-them. When the pheasant was broiled they gave
-him half of it. They passed him the salt bottle and
-he was supremely happy. He made his share of
-the fowl look as if it was coated over with frosting,
-ate it clear to the bones, selected a place near the
-fire, used his bag for a pillow, and was placidly snoring
-inside of two minutes.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Ben, I guess we’re headed for home at
-last,” observed Bob.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span></p>
-
-<p>“It looks so. I can hardly wait till morning to
-start.”</p>
-
-<p>“You won’t wake Powhattan until he’s all ready,”
-declared Bob, as they turned in.</p>
-
-<p>When Ben woke up in the morning, two large
-fish, scaled and cleaned, lay on pieces of bark before
-the smouldering fire. The Indian was missing, but
-his rifle lay beside the bag that had served as his
-pillow for the night.</p>
-
-<p>“Where’s Powhattan?” inquired Bob, rousing up.
-“Oh, there he is, taking a morning swim,” added
-Ben, glancing past the thicket to where a little
-stream flowed. “Breakfast provided, eh? Where
-did the fish come from?”</p>
-
-<p>“Our visitor must have got up early and gone
-fishing,” explained Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The fish were soon sizzling over the fire. Ben,
-waiting to have them browned to a turn, happened
-to glance at the rifle of the Indian and his game bag.</p>
-
-<p>Something about the latter suddenly enchained his
-attention. He advanced towards it, picked it up,
-and uttered so vivid an exclamation of surprise that
-Bob ran quickly to his side with the inquiring words:</p>
-
-<p>“What now, Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>“This bag.”</p>
-
-<p>“I see it,” nodded Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Do you notice anything familiar about it?” asked
-Ben, some latent excitement in his tones.</p>
-
-<p>“Why—no.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Look closer,” directed Ben. “See, it is made
-of a strip of something caught into bag shape and
-fastened with thorns. Do you notice the material?
-A strip of canvas.”</p>
-
-<p>“What of it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Parafined canvas, too. See the wooden braces
-at each end? Why, Bob, this is a piece of an airship!”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">THE LOST AVIATOR</p>
-
-
-<p>“A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
-“Ours?”</p>
-
-<p>“The <em>Dart</em>, yes. The piece here is discolored and
-looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this
-Indian here would do that.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then you figure out that he has discovered the
-<em>Dart</em> and utilized what he fancied about it to make
-a game bag, and this is it?”</p>
-
-<p>“That is my guess.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mine, too,” declared Bob. “If that is true, Ben,
-then the Indian must know the spot where the
-<em>Dart</em> is.”</p>
-
-<p>“Undoubtedly.”</p>
-
-<p>“Let’s find out. Hey, hi, hello, guide, my friend
-Powhattan! This way, old fellow!”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian, just through with his morning swim,
-arrived speedily, smiling and as placid as ever.</p>
-
-<p>“I say, look here,” said Bob, picking up the impromptu
-game bag, “yours?”</p>
-
-<p>“Me, yes—yes,” replied the Indian promptly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Did you make it?”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian bowed assent.</p>
-
-<p>“Where did you get this?” asked Bob, patting the
-canvas.</p>
-
-<p>The Indian spoke a string of mingled words accompanied
-by vivid pantomime. He imitated the
-movement of wings and practically described an
-airship.</p>
-
-<p>“Can you take us to the place where you found
-this?” asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The Indian pointed southwest. He held up six
-fingers.</p>
-
-<p>“He means about six miles from here,” translated
-Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“I guess he does. You take us. Understand?
-Then to the town, will you?”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian held up two fingers now.</p>
-
-<p>“He means two dollars,” declared Bob. “All
-right my friend, twenty dollars, if you say so.
-That’s the ticket, Ben. We’ll locate the <em>Dart</em> first,
-so as to be sure we can find it later, and then have
-our guide take us to the settlement. Zip! but we’re
-getting action at last.”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian seemed to understand what they
-wished him to do. He ate his fish, using nearly all
-the salt left, acted unusually satisfied and brisk, and,
-breakfast despatched, the boys followed him single
-file as he led the way from the spot.</p>
-
-<p>They had gone about four miles when their guide<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>
-struck a narrow trodden path near the river. Its
-banks were densely fringed with heavy underbrush
-for over a mile. Then there was a break, an open
-place of perhaps three hundred feet. Just before
-reaching it, the Indian paused. He looked deeply
-serious, almost alarmed, Ben fancied, as he placed
-his finger warningly to his lips with the ominous
-words:</p>
-
-<p>“Follow—quick—run fast.”</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the reason, Powhattan?” asked Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Shoot. Prisoner. Bad white men.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, an enemy around, you mean?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes—yes. Come.”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian shot past the break in the shore line
-like a flash. Ben and Bob followed his directions.
-As they did so, they noted an island in the river.
-In its center stood a large log-framed building.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s queer,” remarked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” observed Bob, “it looks like some fort.”</p>
-
-<p>“I wonder what there is to fear about it!”</p>
-
-<p>“Can’t guess. I saw no one about, did you?”</p>
-
-<p>“No,” replied Ben, “it looked deserted to me.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, our guide is going ahead. Let us follow
-him.”</p>
-
-<p>Half a mile further on, the Indian turned into
-a maze of high willow bushes. Abruptly these ended
-in a kind of a swale. It was dry now, and they
-crossed it without difficulty. Then, as Ben and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>
-Bob came to the middle of it, they halted dead
-short.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello!” projected Bob, “an airship.”</p>
-
-<p>“But not ours!” cried Ben, lost in wonderment,
-“not the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>The two friends stood bewilderedly staring at the
-wreck of a monoplane lying flat upon the ground.
-It was all in pieces. Some of the planes had been
-cut into and trampled on. The wheels were missing,
-and it had been stripped of many of its mechanical
-parts.</p>
-
-<p>“Ben, what does it mean?” inquired Bob blankly.</p>
-
-<p>“You can see for yourself. It is simply another
-airship than our own. It landed here by chance, just
-as ours landed where it did. Some one has carried
-away part of it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Probably some one living in that queer place on
-the island in the river.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very likely.”</p>
-
-<p>Their first surprise over, the young aviators made
-a closer inspection.</p>
-
-<p>“It is a Zenapin model, and was a good one,” reported
-Ben. “I wish I knew where it started from.”</p>
-
-<p>“Here’s something that may tell,” said Bob, abruptly
-tugging at the front dip board. “It’s smashed,
-but part of the name is left.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is it?” inquired Ben, coming quickly to the
-side of his companion.</p>
-
-<p>“T—E—O—”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Only part of a name. What can it stand for?”</p>
-
-<p>“Teodor? Hardly. Matteo? No, I give it up.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hold on,” cried Ben, fishing among the scattered
-debris. “Here’s another letter, or rather a part of
-one.”</p>
-
-<p>“An E,” said Bob excitedly. “Now, where does
-that belong—before or behind?”</p>
-
-<p>“Before—I’ve got it, Bob.”</p>
-
-<p>“What—quick!”</p>
-
-<p>“M-E-T-E-O-R.”</p>
-
-<p>“Whew!”</p>
-
-<p>Bob uttered such a gasp that it staggered him. He
-repeated it, as he rapidly fumbled in his coat pocket
-with the words:</p>
-
-<p>“The <em>Meteor</em>? Why didn’t I think of it before.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then you know something about the <em>Meteor</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>“I guess I do.”</p>
-
-<p>“What?”</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll show you in a minute.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob drew out his memorandum book. He extracted
-several newspaper clippings from its inner
-pocket. He selected one of these and read its heading:</p>
-
-<p>“The Lost Aviator.”</p>
-
-<p>“Who was it, Bob?”</p>
-
-<p>“Count Eric Beausire, a French aviator. Made
-a flight from Minneapolis last month. The <em>Meteor</em>
-never heard from since. Supposed lost in the wilds
-of Canada. One thousand dollars reward for any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span>
-information concerning the whereabouts of Count
-Beausire or his airship.”</p>
-
-<p>“And this is the <em>Meteor</em>,” murmured Ben, immersed
-and spellbound in a maze of speculation.</p>
-
-<p>“And where is the lost aviator? Where is the
-missing Count Beausire?”</p>
-
-<p>It was decidedly gruesome to think of that. Involuntarily,
-both boys looked all about them.</p>
-
-<p>“He must have left the airship at some other
-place,” said Ben. “There is no trace of him here.
-It looks as if a good many people had visited this
-place. If he fell with the <em>Meteor</em> he has been discovered.”</p>
-
-<p>“What shall we do?” asked Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“What can we do except to get to some settlement
-and report what we know, and have a search
-made for both the missing aviator and the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s a thousand dollars for us, what we have already
-discovered,” remarked Bob. “I’d give it to
-find the count. He must have been a fine man, for
-this newspaper clipping says that the reward is
-offered by the big International Aviation Club of
-New York.”</p>
-
-<p>The Indian had been pacing about and looking
-around him in a restless uneasy way ever since they
-had arrived at the uncanny spot. He seemed greatly
-relieved to start again on the course for the settlement.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span></p>
-
-<p>When they reached the break in the river hedge,
-he again displayed anxiety and seriousness.</p>
-
-<p>“Run fast,” he directed.</p>
-
-<p>The boys started to follow his suggestions to
-humor him. Half the open distance accomplished,
-however, Ben came to a standstill. He looked over
-towards the fort, like a structure on the island.</p>
-
-<p>“What is it, Ben?” inquired Bob, coming back to
-where he stood, while with every indication of terror
-their guide scurried to cover.</p>
-
-<p>“Did you hear a shout?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, Ben.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I did. It sounded like a cry of distress.
-And see,” added Ben excitedly, “from that cellar
-window. Some one is waving a handkerchief.”</p>
-
-<p>“I see it—I see it,” said Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“A shout for help and a signal of distress,” said
-Ben thoughtfully, “Bob, I’m going to investigate this
-mystery.”</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">HOMEWARD BOUND</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben beckoned to the Indian, but the latter refused
-to come beyond the protecting fringe of bushes.
-Ben approached him and pointed to the island.</p>
-
-<p>“I want to go there,” he said.</p>
-
-<p>The guide professed great concern and terror.
-He was genuinely frightened. Nothing could prevail
-upon him to accompany the boys. In a disconnected
-way and with numerous gesticulations, he
-made it clear that bad white men were somewhere
-about the island waiting to annihilate all intruders.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, the place is all shut up and looks practically
-deserted,” said Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“Except for the person waving at that window,”
-added Ben. “Hark! he is shouting again. Let us
-descend to the river bank.”</p>
-
-<p>No demonstration of any kind greeted their exposing
-themselves to full view from the island. At
-first it looked as though they would have to swim
-over. Then Bob discovered a light canoe hidden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>
-in among some high reeds. He and Ben got into the
-craft and paddled over to the island.</p>
-
-<p>As they approached the log structure at its center,
-it suggested to them more of a fort than ever. It
-was built solidly, had port holes here and there in
-its sides, and marks in the logs showed where at
-some time or other musket balls and even larger
-projectiles had evidently assailed its staunch timbers
-from the mainland.</p>
-
-<p>“No one seems to be moving about,” said Bob.
-“Even that man in the cellar has got out of sight.”</p>
-
-<p>They walked about the building until they came
-to a door letting into the cellar. This was protected
-with a simple hasp and bolt. Ben opened the door,
-Bob followed him into the cellar.</p>
-
-<p>A somewhat remarkable sight greeted them.
-Seated on a sawbench with an upturned barrel
-before him was a man dressed in aviator costume.
-He had a comb and some other toilet articles on the
-barrel. With these he was arranging tangled disordered
-beard and hair. He tidied up a very much
-neglected collar and tie. He waxed his long mustachios
-with a stick of cosmetic.</p>
-
-<p>“Gentlemen, I welcome!” he cried, and with
-graceful agility he sprang to his feet and made a bow
-like that of some courtier. Something jangled as he
-did this, and quick-sighted Bob exclaimed in dismay:</p>
-
-<p>“Ben, one foot is secured to a log chain running
-to that center post.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Who are you?” began Ben, but guessing.</p>
-
-<p>“I am the Count Eric Beausire,” came the pleasant-toned
-response, “but, greater than so, an aviator,
-as you are, gentlemen,” and he looked up and down
-the garb of the visitors.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,” responded Ben, “we have just made a long
-distance flight on our monoplane, the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
-
-<p>“I greet you as brothers,” cried the count with a
-glad gracious wave of his hand. “Ah, it is a pleasure
-profound after weeks of confinement. Can I be released?”</p>
-
-<p>“We shall see to that at once,” declared Ben, and
-he and Bob made immediate inspection of the chain
-that held the count a captive. It was fortunate that
-they had some of the tools used in the monoplane in
-the bag which Bob still carried. With even this
-help and all Ben’s mechanical skill it took them
-nearly two hours to get the count free.</p>
-
-<p>The rescued man urged haste as they paddled
-over to the mainland. They found the Indian cowering
-and uneasy, and immensely relieved at their
-safe return. Several allusions had been made to the
-wrecked <em>Meteor</em>.</p>
-
-<p>“I must see my beloved child of the air once more—a
-sad farewell,” declared the count.</p>
-
-<p>The boys led him to the swale brake. The nobleman
-looked over the scattered ruins of the monoplane.
-He selected a small piece of one of the
-planes, lifted his cap reverently, pressed his lips to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span>
-the little piece of wood, and placed it inside his
-breast as a cherished memento.</p>
-
-<p>“Vandals!” he exclaimed, taking a last look at
-the wrecked airship and then shaking a clenched
-fist towards the island.</p>
-
-<p>The party now took up the march for the settlement,
-much to the satisfaction of their Indian guide.</p>
-
-<p>“I assume that the <em>Meteor</em> arrived in good condition
-here originally,” began Ben, interested in
-learning the story of the refugee who was now their
-companion.</p>
-
-<p>“Except for a dead motor, yes,” responded the
-count. “I sought help. Misfortune led me to the
-house on that island. Ah, the banditti!”</p>
-
-<p>“Who are they?” asked Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“As I learned later, merciless outlaws, the proscribed
-of the commonwealth. There are ten of
-them. Immediately I was viewed with suspicion.
-Unfortunately I wore a star bearing secret symbols
-upon it—a testimonial from a foreign court where
-I had made an aero exhibition. These rabble took
-it for a badge of a detective. They refused to listen
-to explanations. I was chained up as a spy, the
-<em>Meteor</em> ruthlessly destroyed. Ah, the vampires!”</p>
-
-<p>“They were outlaws, you say.”</p>
-
-<p>“I learned from what I heard and observed that
-they were proscribed men with a price on their head,
-the terror of the district. They have defied and even
-held at bay the government for years. They have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>
-resisted a bombardment in their numerous fastnesses,
-of which the island fort is one.”</p>
-
-<p>“But we found you alone.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes. It seems they anticipated a visit from the
-mounted police, and abandoned the island two days
-ago. They promised to send a person to release
-me after they had gotten over the border line.”</p>
-
-<p>By this time the boys knew that they were over
-two hundred miles over the American line in a wild
-part of Canada. Their spirits rose as with their new
-comrade they talked over all kinds of aviation
-events, told their own experiences, and listened to
-some thrilling stories of the count.</p>
-
-<p>At last their Indian guide led them into a regularly
-traversed trail. They had not followed this
-any great distance when a trampling sound caused
-them to draw aside. In a few minutes a cavalcade
-dashed into view—the mounted police.</p>
-
-<p>There were speedy explanations. The captain of
-the party became immensely interested in the strange
-stories of the refugees. He eagerly questioned the
-count as to details concerning the outlaws. Then
-he paid full attention to the story of the <em>Dart</em> from
-Ben’s lips.</p>
-
-<p>The latter explained to the official that he had
-plenty of ready money provided by John Davis to
-pay rewards and expenses. The result was that
-the police were divided into two parties.</p>
-
-<p>“If the outlaws have really gone, good riddance,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span>
-and we won’t follow them,” said the officer. “Let
-one party visit the island and burn the old shack to
-the ground. The rest of us will look for your lost
-airship, Mr. Hardy, and report to you at the settlement.
-We’ll be glad to have a hand in helping out
-you aviators. There is a big interest in airships
-everywhere, and we may get some helpful notice in
-the newspapers.”</p>
-
-<p>It was a decided satisfaction to Ben, Bob and the
-count to sit down to a good meal in a comfortable
-little hotel at the settlement two hours later. The
-Indian guide was handsomely rewarded. A courier
-had been hired to ride on horseback across country
-to the nearest telegraph station with messages for
-New York, Blairville and Woodville.</p>
-
-<p>Before nightfall the captain of police came in
-with a report of the findings of the <em>Dart</em>. Ben immediately
-secured the services of a man owning a
-large broad wagon, and the next morning the monoplane
-was taken apart and packed on the vehicle.</p>
-
-<p>Count Beausire took charge of the barograph and
-distance register, sealed both, and announced that
-he would accompany the boys to Blairville.</p>
-
-<p>“My declaration as a representative of the international
-aero clubs, will be accepted as to the veracity
-of your exploit,” he observed, somewhat grandly.</p>
-
-<p>Ben paid liberally all those working in his behalf.
-Arrangements were made to ship the <em>Dart</em> to Blairville.
-The motor and some other parts of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span>
-wrecked <em>Meteor</em> were also to be sent forward, at the
-request of Count Beausire.</p>
-
-<p>The news quickly spread that the young aviators
-had made a truly wonderful flight, and many came
-to see Ben and Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ve got an extra telegram to send home,” said
-Bob, and went off, leaving Ben alone at the hotel.</p>
-
-<p>A little later our hero received a letter, asking him
-to call at a certain address in the town, to see a new
-invention of an airship. The letter added that Ben
-would regret it if he did not pay attention to the
-communication.</p>
-
-<p>Curious to know what the invention might be, the
-young aviator started off alone. Quarter of an hour’s
-walk brought him to the address given. It was a
-large, dilapidated house, and looked to be vacant.</p>
-
-<p>“It doesn’t look as if the inventor was very prosperous,”
-commented Ben to himself. “But I guess
-none of them are when they’re working on flying
-machines.”</p>
-
-<p>He rang the bell, but no one answered. He looked
-up at the front of the house. Many of the windows
-were broken, and there was no sign of life.</p>
-
-<p>“Guess I might as well walk right in,” he said.
-“I’ll probably find him in one of the back rooms
-puttering over some of his machinery.”</p>
-
-<p>He went into the hall, his footsteps echoing
-through the empty house. He made a tour of the
-first floor, and soon came to the conclusion that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>
-inventor must be in one of the upper stories. He
-got all the way to the top one before his search was
-successful. Then a voice hailed him from one of
-the rear rooms.</p>
-
-<p>“Who is there?” a man called, speaking with a
-slight German accent.</p>
-
-<p>“I’m Ben Hardy,” called our hero, not observing
-his questioner. “I came to inquire about a flying
-machine. Are you the inventor?”</p>
-
-<p>“I am, my young friend. I am glad you have
-called. I am just about to make a flight, and you
-shall see it.”</p>
-
-<p>A big man, in his shirt sleeves, and with a ragged
-pair of trousers on, stepped into view. He stood in
-the door of a room far down the topmost corridor.
-Ben advanced toward him, noting that the inventor
-was of great strength, as indicated by his powerful
-arms and shoulders.</p>
-
-<p>“I shouldn’t think you could go up very far in
-a place like this,” said Ben pleasantly. “What sort
-of a flying machine is yours, an aeroplane or the
-gas-bag variety?”</p>
-
-<p>“Neither,” replied the inventor. “Mine is on an
-entirely new system. It is the screw principle, as old
-as the world, but applied in a new direction. I am
-the greatest inventor in the universe. My name is
-Hans Voller. Come in and see my machine. It is
-about to fly.”</p>
-
-<p>He held open the door of the room. Ben could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>
-make out a mass of machinery, and a curious contrivance
-like a big auger.</p>
-
-<p>“We are about to fly!” exclaimed Hans Voller,
-as he took our hero by the shoulder and shoved him
-into the dingy apartment, following himself and
-quickly locking the door. “We must have no spies,
-for there are many who would steal my ideas,” the
-man added.</p>
-
-<p>Ben sized him up for a harmless crank, though
-he did not like the locked door, nor the manner in
-which the eyes of the German glared at him. Still,
-the young aviator reflected, the man might be only
-out of his mind on this one subject of flying machines,
-and he had been in just as much danger, and
-more, dozens of times since becoming a “bird-man.”</p>
-
-<p>“Now attend!” exclaimed the inventor, as he put
-the key of the room in his pocket. “I will explain
-the principles on which this most wonderful machine
-works, and then I will demonstrate it to you. You
-will write it up for your aviation club, and I shall
-become famous. Do you see that screw?”</p>
-
-<p>Ben nodded to show that he did. It was a curious
-contrivance of a double spiral, about seven feet high
-and half that in diameter at the top, tapering down
-to a point. It was made of woven basket work,
-covered with cloth, and painted white. Our hero
-compared it to two spiral stairways twined about
-a centre pole, similar to one he had seen in a circus
-once, and down which a man, shut up in a ball,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span>
-had rolled from the top of the tent to the ground.</p>
-
-<p>“That screw solves the problem,” the inventor
-went on. “I revolve that thousands of times a minute.
-It forces the air down, just as a screw of a
-steamer forces the boat ahead through the water.
-That lifts my machine up, and then I start my engine
-and we go ahead. I have not yet made a big machine,
-but I have tested this one by making it lift
-heavy weights. I want it to lift a person. I am
-too heavy for this little model, but you would be
-about right.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m afraid I wouldn’t care to try it,” spoke Ben
-with a laugh.</p>
-
-<p>“There is no danger! You must try it!” the
-German exclaimed. “See, I rotate the screw by
-this electric motor I have installed. Sometimes it
-gets going too fast and something breaks. Then I
-must look out. I hide behind this wooden screen,”
-and he pointed to a strong one near the mass of
-machinery. “Now I have a chance to try my machine
-on a live person. I have long wanted to. I
-have made some improvements to-day, and you are
-just in time. You will fly!”</p>
-
-<p>Before Ben knew what was happening the inventor
-had grabbed hold of him, pinning his arms to his
-side, and was advancing toward the big screw, which
-now began to revolve at a rapid rate.</p>
-
-<p>Ben struggled to free himself, but the big German
-held him tightly. His face was close to that of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span>
-young aviator, and the youth could see a strange
-gleam in the blue eyes. The hum of the motor as it
-increased in speed sounded loudly in the room. The
-big rattan screw was hissing as the blade cut the air.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me go!” cried Ben. “I don’t want to try
-your flying machine!”</p>
-
-<p>“But you must!” insisted the inventor. “This is
-an opportunity I have long waited for. All the
-other airship men would not come in when they got
-as far as the door. They were afraid of me, I
-guess.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben wished he had been more discreet, for he
-realized that the man was a dangerous lunatic.</p>
-
-<p>“You will soon be sailing through the air; right
-up through the roof,” the German went on, still
-holding Ben in his arms, while with one foot he
-pushed over a lever on the floor, thereby increasing
-the speed of the motor. “You will soon be among
-the birds. Then you can come down and write
-an account of it for the paper, and Hans Voller will
-be famous.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben was very much frightened. The man was
-fairly crushing him in his terrible grip, and, as he
-approached closer to the machinery, the youth saw
-that the apparatus was strongly constructed and was
-revolving at a speed so great that the spiral looked
-like a thin white streak. The blades were not visible.</p>
-
-<p>He could not imagine what the insane inventor
-was going to do with him, unless he intended to toss<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>
-him into the midst of the whirling screw. In this
-event, though the material was only light rattan, our
-hero was likely to be seriously injured, because of
-the great speed. Also, there was danger that he
-would come in contact with a live wire or part of
-the big motor, the vibrations of which shook the
-whole frail building.</p>
-
-<p>But the German soon showed that he was not
-going to do any immediate harm to the boy. He
-suddenly laid the young aviator down on an elevated
-platform, which Ben at once saw was part of
-a scale for weighing big objects. The scale was
-connected to the screw, and the arm, with the weight
-on, was oscillating up and down.</p>
-
-<p>Before Ben could wiggle away, the German had
-passed some ropes over him, tying him securely
-down on the platform. Then he sprang to his feet,
-leaving the boy lying there, trussed like a fowl.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we are ready to fly!” exclaimed the German,
-his eyes flashing strangely.</p>
-
-<p>Ben looked in vain for some way of escape. He
-was tied so tightly he could scarcely move. Close
-to his head on one side was the motor and on the
-other the whirring screw, which made such a loud
-humming that the German’s voice, loud as it was,
-sounded faint and far off.</p>
-
-<p>The inventor busied himself about his machinery
-for several seconds, adjusting wires, wheels and levers.
-Then he put some weights on the beam of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span>
-the scale. Next he began to figure on some scraps
-of paper, the while muttering to himself.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, yes, we shall do it,” Ben heard him say.
-“It is a success. He shall fly.”</p>
-
-<p>“You’d better let me go before the police come!”
-exclaimed the young aviator, thinking to frighten
-the man. The German only laughed.</p>
-
-<p>“The police never come here!” he cried. “It is too
-lonesome a place. No one lives here but me. The
-house is deserted. It is falling to pieces, for the
-owner will not repair it. It is good enough for me.
-No one shall disturb us.”</p>
-
-<p>“What are you going to do to me?” asked Ben,
-growing a little calmer.</p>
-
-<p>“I intend you shall fly—that is, theoretically, not
-actually. This machine is only a model. I put you
-on the scales. I start my screw. If this little screw
-can so push against the air, with such force as to
-cause the beam arm of the scale, with you on the
-platform, to go up, I know I am successful. That
-shows that if I make a bigger screw, and revolve
-it in the opposite direction, so as to lift up, instead
-of pulling down, as this is doing, I have solved the
-secret of flying.”</p>
-
-<p>The man seemed rational, and his language
-showed he knew something of the laws of dynamics
-and pneumatics, but his eyes had a dangerous
-glare in them, and Ben, in spite of his outward coolness,
-was much frightened.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span></p>
-
-<p>“I now prepare to revolve the screw at its highest
-speed,” went on the German, and our hero wondered
-if it could go any faster and not fly apart from
-centrifugal force. “When it is at top speed, if the
-beam of the scale goes up, I am the great inventor.
-If it does not—I am nothing. Now we are ready.
-You are going to fly, but you are not going to fly.
-It is all in theory. But I must reverse the motor,”
-which he quickly did. “I am afraid if I let the
-screw revolve the other way you would go right out
-through the roof. We may try that later. I am
-going to put a string to the electric lever that controls
-the motor, and pull it from the other room, as
-there is danger from the great speed if I stay here.”</p>
-
-<p>“Are you going to let me be killed?” cried Ben,
-now thoroughly frightened, and believing that the
-man meant to harm him. He certainly was in a
-desperate plight.</p>
-
-<p>“I hope no harm will come to you,” spoke the
-German, with an unpleasant grin. “I have to have
-some one on which to experiment. You are a good
-one. I hope you escape. Do not move when the
-screw begins to go faster.”</p>
-
-<p>He had fastened a stout cord to the lever of the
-electric switch that controlled the motor. This cord
-he passed through the keyhole of the door, which he
-unlocked. Then he went out into the hall, closing
-the door after him, but not locking it, and leaving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>
-Ben, bound and helpless, alone in the room with the
-strange machinery.</p>
-
-<p>The motor was purring like a great cat, the screw
-was whizzing around so swiftly just above his head
-that it made our hero dizzy to watch it. Once more
-he tried to break the bonds, but they were too tight.</p>
-
-<p>“Look out now!” called the voice of the insane
-inventor from the hall. “Tell me if the scale beam
-moves!”</p>
-
-<p>Ben saw the string that passed through the keyhole
-become taut. He heard the spitting of fire as
-the copper blade of the switch passed over the various
-contact points, letting more current flow to the
-motor. Then he heard the screw set up a shriller
-hum, as its speed increased.</p>
-
-<p>The scale platform on which he was lying shook
-and trembled. The whole room vibrated as though
-a strong wind was shaking the house. Sparks came
-from the motor, and there was a roar like a miniature
-cyclone in Ben’s ears.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t move!” cried the German from the hall.
-“Lie still! Watch if the arm moves! You may go
-through to the cellar! I am going down to catch
-you!”</p>
-
-<p>Then our hero heard footsteps retreating down
-the hall. He was alone with the dangerous and rapidly
-moving machinery, unable to help himself, or
-to move in case the apparatus flew apart from the
-awful force that was spinning it around. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span>
-thought was too much for the boy, and he fainted.</p>
-
-<p>How long he remained senseless he did not know,
-but it could not have been more than a few minutes,
-as after events proved. When he opened his eyes
-again he saw a pleasant-faced German youth standing
-over him, regarding him curiously.</p>
-
-<p>“Ach, Herr Voller!” cried the newcomer. “I
-find dot you are right on der chob, as dese Americans
-say. I am a writer from der magazine. Der editor
-sent me to get a story of your wonderful invention.
-I come in, as I can make no one hear der
-bell. I find you experimenting mit it. Tell me all
-about it. Ven are you going to fly? But you speak
-de German, and dis American he iss not so easy for
-me,” and with that he launched into a flow of
-German.</p>
-
-<p>“Wait! Stop! Hold on!” cried Ben above the
-din of the machinery. “I’m not the inventor of this
-thing! He’s a crazy man, an he fastened me here to
-experiment with. Cut me loose before he gets back!
-Stop the machinery!”</p>
-
-<p>“Vot is dot?” cried the magazine man, for such
-he was. “You are not the inventor? You are tied
-up by him? Stop der machinery? How shall I
-do it?”</p>
-
-<p>“First cut me loose!” cried Ben. “I’ll stop the
-motor when I get up! It’s liable to fly to pieces
-now!”</p>
-
-<p>For several seconds the newcomer stood irresolute.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span>
-It took the idea some time to get all the way
-in, though when it did he was not slow to act. Whipping
-out his knife, he cut the ropes that bound Ben.
-The latter, as soon as he could stand, sprang to the
-wall, where he had noticed the electric switch, and
-shut off the current. The motor and screw slowed
-down, and the hum of machinery stopped.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s lucky you came along when you did,” said
-Ben, who was quite pale from his adventure. “I
-thought I was a goner.”</p>
-
-<p>“How did all dis happen?” asked the German
-magazine writer.</p>
-
-<p>Our hero explained. It appeared that the German
-magazine man had also received a letter, asking that
-a reporter be sent to write up the flying machine.</p>
-
-<p>“Dot luck you speak of, he is a queer thing,” said
-the German, when Ben had finished his recital. “I
-was going first to mine supper, but I dinks I get de
-story first and eat myself afterwards. Dot is lucky
-for you.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s what it is. Now we’d better get out of
-here before that crazy inventor comes back. I don’t
-know where he went, though he said he was going
-to see if I fell through to the cellar.”</p>
-
-<p>“Ach, if he is crazy, I wants none of him!” exclaimed
-the magazine man. “Our life it is hard
-enough widout such troubles!”</p>
-
-<p>“Hark! Some one is coming!” cried Ben, as
-footsteps sounded in the hall.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span></p>
-
-<p>The two made a dash for the door, and got into
-the corridor just in time to see someone approaching.</p>
-
-<p>“He’s coming back! We’d better try for the rear
-way!” cried Ben.</p>
-
-<p>But it was not the crazy inventor who was coming.
-Instead it was a man in the uniform of an asylum
-attendant.</p>
-
-<p>The man questioned Ben and the magazine writer,
-and then explained how the crazy man had escaped
-from an asylum some months before. He had hidden
-himself away so well that he could not be located.</p>
-
-<p>“But we’ll get him now,” said the attendant, and
-he was right; the crazy man was captured a little
-later and taken back to the asylum.</p>
-
-<p>“Gracious, I hope flying machines don’t make me
-crazy!” said Ben, when telling Bob of what has
-happened.</p>
-
-<p>“They never will,” declared Bob. “Your head is
-too level.”</p>
-
-<p>It was a fine morning when the three aviators
-bade their friends at the settlement farewell and
-were driven over to the nearest railroad town. Then
-life became an animated whirl to them.</p>
-
-<p>Newspaper correspondents boarded the train at
-half a dozen points down the line, eagerly pleading
-for interviews.</p>
-
-<p>The papers they read were full of the one great
-popular current theme: “The Lost Aviators.” It
-was a strange situation for Ben to read column after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>
-column covering every phase of public interest, anxiety
-and speculation in regard to the missing <em>Dart</em>
-and its crew.</p>
-
-<p>It was before daylight the next morning that Ben
-bade a temporary adieu to Bob and the count. This
-was at a railroad junction between Blairville and
-Woodville.</p>
-
-<p>“I must see the folks,” he said. “I feel that my
-first duty. I will come straight on to Blairville afterwards.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben’s mother shed joyful tears to welcome home
-again the lost boy whose disappearance had brought
-many anxious hours of hope and fear. Ben had
-a hasty breakfast and then took the first train for
-Blairville.</p>
-
-<p>He was thinking most of the result of the long-distance
-race as he started for the aviation field. It
-was with a token of interest, however, that he
-glanced down the street where the man with the gig
-lived. Ben had it in mind always to fathom the
-mystery surrounding that individual when he had
-aero affairs out of the way.</p>
-
-<p>“Hello,” he exclaimed, coming to a halt. “There’s
-the gig standing right in front of the house at this
-very moment. My man must be at home.”</p>
-
-<p>A little girl with golden curls, evidently the child
-of the man he had sought so vainly, sat alone on the
-seat of the gig. The horse was secured to an iron
-ring on the stone curb.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p>
-
-<p>Ben irresistibly started to walk slowly in the
-direction of the house before which the gig stood.
-Then with a thrill he sprang into lightning action.</p>
-
-<p>A coal wagon half a block away suddenly dumped
-its load down an iron chute through a manhole in a
-sidewalk. The unusual rattle started up the mettled
-animal attached to the gig.</p>
-
-<p>With a jerk the horse snapped the hitch rein, and
-with a wild leap the animal darted down the street.
-The terrified little child on the seat uttered a shrill
-shriek.</p>
-
-<p>Ben buckled down to a tremendous sprint of
-speed. He foresaw that the gig would turn the
-corner. Making a diagonal cut, he reached the middle
-of the cross road just as the gig swept past.
-With a spring he caught the back of the high
-seat, pulled himself over, and seized the little girl,
-swaying from side to side, and just about to topple
-to the stone paving blocks.</p>
-
-<p>To his dismay Ben saw that the lines were dragging
-under the feet of the flying horse. He clung
-with one hand to the bar at the side of the seat. With
-the other he seized the shrinking child by the arm.
-Slowly, cautiously he lowered her over the back of
-the gig. Not a foot from the ground he released
-her.</p>
-
-<p>She dropped so gently that she was not even
-shaken, and simply swayed to one side with a slight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>
-shock. Ben was gratified to see a woman run out
-into the street and pick up the uninjured child.</p>
-
-<p>Then he turned around to decide on his own best
-course—to get out of the gig or spring upon the
-back of the flying horse and attempt to halt the furious
-runaway.</p>
-
-<p>Before he could make a move the horse made a
-sharp veer down a side street. The gig was half
-overturned and Ben was given a frightful fling.</p>
-
-<p>The boy aviator flew through space, struck a
-section of fence palings, went through them snapping
-them into fragments, and landed senseless on
-a garden plot beyond.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span></p>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">CONCLUSION</p>
-
-
-<p>Ben opened his eyes and looked about him. He
-was lying in bed in a bright and cheerful room
-that made him think instantly of home. He had a
-quick mind, however, and at once knew that this was
-not home. He tried to rise up, could not stir a limb,
-and glanced over a trim dressed lady arranging
-some medicine at a little stand.</p>
-
-<p>“This is a hospital?” he observed.</p>
-
-<p>“Dear me!” exclaimed the nurse. “You are
-awake.”</p>
-
-<p>“Am I hurt much?” was Ben’s prompt question.</p>
-
-<p>“There are no bones broken,” replied the nurse,
-coming to his side.</p>
-
-<p>“How soon can I get up to the aviation grounds?”</p>
-
-<p>“You strange boy!” voiced the astonished nurse.
-“No fever, no delirium, good for at least two weeks
-here, and talking about going to the aviation
-grounds. I suppose you would start right off in
-another of those dreadful airships——”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span></p>
-
-<p>“If I had the chance? Oh, sure,” laughed Ben.
-“Why, what is there to be serious about?”</p>
-
-<p>“You must ask the doctor, and here he comes,”
-announced the nurse, stepping to one side.</p>
-
-<p>Voices and footsteps sounded in the hall outside.
-Ben caught the words spoken by one. The tones
-were familiar, yet puzzling.</p>
-
-<p>“Doctor,” a man was saying, “you have given the
-boy the best room in the hospital?”</p>
-
-<p>“The very best, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“No expense spared, if it’s a hundred dollars
-a day.”</p>
-
-<p>“He shall have every care.”</p>
-
-<p>“And doctor,” added the voice pleadingly, “let
-me see him. Just a word. Only to tell him my gratitude—the
-hero who saved the life of my only treasure
-in the world, my darling little Lena.”</p>
-
-<p>“Come to-morrow morning, Mr. Knippel. He
-must be kept quiet now.”</p>
-
-<p>“Ah,” murmured Ben, “the man of the gig! It
-was his child I helped at the runaway,” and then a
-queer weak feeling overcame him, and he drifted
-into a dream before he could learn or even think of
-anything further.</p>
-
-<p>Later in the day, however, Ben was awake once
-more, and strong enough to learn that he had grazed
-death very narrowly in that terrific runaway experience.
-The hospital physician explained that
-there were bruises and fractures that absolute rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span>
-alone could prevent from turning into something
-critical. Ben took it all in seriously enough. Then
-he surprised the doctor by suddenly laughing outright.</p>
-
-<p>“You’re a merry chap,” observed the physician
-brightly, “what’s the funny bone idea now?”</p>
-
-<p>“Why, I was just thinking,” explained Ben,
-“here I go hundreds of miles in an airship that
-makes people shudder and escape without a scratch.
-Then I take a fifty-yard ride in an old gig four feet
-from the ground, and get a tumble that lays me flat.
-Why, it’s like the old sailor who sailed the five
-oceans for half a century, came home, fell into a
-ditch with two feet of water in it, and drowned.”</p>
-
-<p>There was a tap at the door, and the doctor admitted
-Ben’s mother. She was too sensible a woman
-to show her concern and make a scene. Not so
-John Davis, however, who arrived shortly afterwards.
-The big hearted old aviator sniffled like a
-schoolboy at a sight of the pride of his eyes lying
-helpless on a hospital cot.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, the doctor says I’ll be as well as ever in
-a week,” remonstrated Ben airily, but really affected
-at the devotion of his good friend.</p>
-
-<p>“I know, but we had arranged such an ovation
-for you up at the field,” explained Mr. Davis.</p>
-
-<p>“What were going to ovate about, Mr. Davis?”
-inquired Ben quickly.</p>
-
-<p>“Shall I tell him?” inquired the aviator, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span>
-doctor nodded assentingly, and the blunt fellow
-blurted out proudly:</p>
-
-<p>“The <em>Dart</em> won the long distance event by two
-hundred miles!”</p>
-
-<p>“Say—say, that’s great!” aspirated Ben, his face
-beaming. “We’re all rich.”</p>
-
-<p>“And famous,” added the old aviator. “Oh, boy,
-it was a gallant run!”</p>
-
-<p>The grand news was enough to make any boy
-well. Ben was sure he would be able to be up and
-around in two days. The next morning he was
-interested when a visitor was announced as Mr.
-Knippel.</p>
-
-<p>Ben was struck with the great change in the appearance
-of this man since the time he had last
-seen him. All the shrewd forcible look was subdued.
-He trembled like a child, and tears stood in
-his eyes and his voice broke as he poured out his
-gratitude to the boy who had saved his only darling
-child from a terrible death.</p>
-
-<p>“It has changed my whole life,” he declared.
-“I am about to give up my business. It has been a
-bad business. This is a warning. I shall leave the
-country. Lad, I’m not a poor man. Ask what
-you will, it shall be yours.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you mean that?” inquired Ben, fixing his eyes
-on Knippel.</p>
-
-<p>“Heartily.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you know a man named Tom Shallock?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span></p>
-
-<p>Mr. Knippel shuffled and colored. He looked embarrassed,
-but he nodded assentingly.</p>
-
-<p>“I have only one favor to ask,” said Ben. “I
-have reason to believe that this man Shallock has
-plotted against my father, that you have in your
-keeping a document of great importance which Shallock
-stole from my father.”</p>
-
-<p>“Boy, that is true,” admitted Knippel, greatly
-agitated. “But tell me more. I only know a part
-of Shallock’s affairs.”</p>
-
-<p>Ben recited the whole story of the stolen contract,
-of the suspected visits of the Shallocks to the Hardy
-home, of Saxton’s accusation of theft against his
-father. Knippel rose to his feet with a determined
-look on his face when the recital was concluded.</p>
-
-<p>“I shall go from here at once to your father’s
-lawyer at Woodville,” he promised. “The stolen
-document shall be restored—more, the Shallock plot
-against your father’s good name shall be exposed.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you,” said Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“No, it is I who thanks you,” replied Knippel in
-broken tones, “and my little child blesses you every
-day.”</p>
-
-<p>The following Monday morning, Bob Dallow,
-chipper as a lark, came to the hospital for Ben in
-an automobile. Ben was overcome with the greetings
-that welcomed him at the aviation field. Everybody
-was packing up to get away, but the Davis
-quarters were crowded with congratulating professionals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span>
-and a big feast was spread. Ben enjoyed
-a happy time. Count Beausire had delayed his departure
-to say good-bye to him.</p>
-
-<p>“Expect an honorary membership from the International
-Aero Club, my good friend,” he said in
-parting.</p>
-
-<p>Ben wondered what had become of Dick Farrell.
-He questioned one of the helpers around the flying
-machines concerning that individual.</p>
-
-<p>“What, ain’t you heard about Farrell?” asked the
-man in surprise.</p>
-
-<p>“Not a word—that is, since I came back.”</p>
-
-<p>“He’s gone.”</p>
-
-<p>“Where to?”</p>
-
-<p>“A whole lot of fellows would like to know that—Burr
-Rollins especially.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then he left rather suddenly?” questioned our
-hero, curiously.</p>
-
-<p>“He did—for he had to.”</p>
-
-<p>“Tell me what you know.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, it was this way, the nearest I can get to it.
-Farrell and Rollins got into some kind of a quarrel.
-What it was about I don’t know, but I heard ’em
-having some hot words, and some other men heard
-it too. Then, out of spite, what does Farrell do but
-run the <em>Torpedo</em> into some old building and smash it
-up, top, bottom and sides. Maybe Rollins wasn’t
-mad.”</p>
-
-<p>“What did he do?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span></p>
-
-<p>“He couldn’t do nothing. He wanted to have
-Farrell locked up, but Farrell got out of sight. Then
-Rollins got into some sort of trouble with the aero
-managers and he got out too. But before he left
-he told a friend of mine that Farrell had not only
-wrecked the flying machine but also taken two hundred
-dollars of his money and his watch.”</p>
-
-<p>“That certainly was a loss,” commented Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, it was, but, in one way, I don’t sympathize
-with Rollins. He wasn’t no square man, and it was
-a mistake to let him enter any of the contests.”</p>
-
-<p>“Is he going to build another flying machine to
-take the place of the <em>Torpedo</em>?”</p>
-
-<p>“That I don’t know. But I do know one thing—I
-don’t want anything to do with him,” returned the
-man.</p>
-
-<p>“Nor I,” concluded our hero.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Davis and Bob, on invitation, accompanied
-Ben to Woodville. They put in the first day in a
-rare whirl of excitement and pleasure. They inspected
-Mr. Hardy’s Airatorium. They visited the
-Diebold works, and in the evening they formed a
-merry gladsome group in the pleasant Hardy home.
-Ben thought he had never seen his father and mother
-look so pleased and happy.</p>
-
-<p>Bluff Caleb Dunn walked in on them about nine
-o’clock. He feigned his usual grim manner, but
-Ben saw that the hard-headed old fellow was secretly
-greatly pleased about something.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span></p>
-
-<p>“Well, Hardy,” observed Dunn, “I’ve attended to
-the business you’re too easy and good natured to
-attend to yourself.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you,” said Mr. Hardy mildly.</p>
-
-<p>“All hands are satisfied, so we’ll make a public
-meeting of it,” went on the practical old fellow.
-“The whole secret is out. That man Knippel before
-leaving the country delivered that contract about the
-automobile patents to your lawyer, Mr. Pearsons.
-We have just got through showing it to old Saxton
-and his lawyer and calling them down to terms.”</p>
-
-<p>“How was it settled?” asked Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Saxton has agreed to restore to you seventy-five
-per cent. interest in all the patents. He claims the
-other twenty-five per cent. for financing and promoting
-the inventions.”</p>
-
-<p>“Does that seem enough?” questioned the fair-minded
-Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, no!” cried Caleb Dunn with good-natured
-sarcasm. “Ought to have given Saxton the whole
-thing, as you tried to do once. We’re your guardians,
-and we nailed the old skinflint down to the last
-cent we could. So that’s all settled. The whole secret
-came out. It was Tom Shallock who stole the contract
-from you. He held it as a threat over Saxton,
-and that was the mystery of his influence with the
-old man. Saxton has fired Shallock now, though.”</p>
-
-<p>“What for?” inquired Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Stealing. He and his son Dave, and that precious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>
-Dick Farrell have been stealing supplies from
-the Saxton works for years. They belonged to a
-ring of junk dealers. That man Knippel headed the
-crowd. They had secret signs, and that pin you
-found in your work shed was an emblem of their
-order. Dave Shallock dropped it there the night
-he dumped a bag of fittings in the shed. His father
-put up the contract with Knippel as security for
-money he borrowed. The whole plot has been exposed,
-the Shallocks are disgraced, and your father’s
-name, Ben, comes out clear as crystal.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I am so glad and happy!” murmured Mrs.
-Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“There’s more, too,” announced Mr. Dunn.</p>
-
-<p>“Tell it,” said Mr. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“Saxton is all broken up, and he is going to sell
-out to the Diebold people. That means a new manager,
-Hardy, and you’re the man.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, dear!” said the delighted Mrs. Hardy.</p>
-
-<p>“As to you, old grumbler,” Caleb Dunn hailed
-Mr. Davis pleasantly, “I heard you railing around
-about being too old to sail around in the air much
-longer.”</p>
-
-<p>“And clumsy,” added the old aviator.</p>
-
-<p>“Very well, here’s your chance: You know the
-aviators all along the line. The Diebold company
-will pay you more money than you ever earned before
-to sell the Hardy new model monoplane.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s a go,” declared Mr. Davis enthusiastically.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span>
-“It gives me congenial employment and keeps
-me in touch with my old friends.”</p>
-
-<p>“Of course Ben and I are independent,” observed
-Bob, jingling some gold coins in his pocket, “but
-we’d like a show at some honest employment.”</p>
-
-<p>“Till school begins again,” supplemented Ben.
-“You know, Bob, you agreed to attend to the education
-feature while you had money to do it.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right,” said Dunn. “In the meantime though,
-Bob can pick up a few dollars selling the airship men
-supplies, and Ben can take charge of adjusting
-them.”</p>
-
-<p>“The very thing!” cried Bob, “so long as Ben and
-I work in a team, we’ll be both satisfied.”</p>
-
-<p>And the flying machine boys shook hands over the
-bargain, and everybody was happy.</p>
-
-
-<p>THE END</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="The_Webster_Series"><span class="smcap">The Webster Series</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">By FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="figleft illowp55" id="pad1" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/pad1.jpg" alt="Bob the Castaway">
-</div>
-
-<p>Mr. Webster’s style is very much like
-that of the boys’ favorite author, the late
-lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales
-are thoroughly up-to-date.</p>
-
-<p>Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
-Stamped in various colors.</p>
-
-<p>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid.</p>
-<p style="clear: both;"></p>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="autotable">
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">Only A Farm Boy</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Tom The Telephone Boy</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Mystery of a Message</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">The Boy From The Ranch</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Bob The Castaway</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Wreck of the Eagle</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">The Young Treasure Hunter</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Newsboy Partners</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or Who Was Dick Box?</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">The Boy Pilot of the Lakes</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Two Boy Gold Miners</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Nat Morton’s Perils</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or Lost in the Mountains</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">The Young Firemen of Lakeville</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or Herbert Dare’s Pluck</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">The Boys of Bellwood School</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or Frank Jordan’s Triumph</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">Jack the Runaway</td>
-<td class="tdlx">High School Rivals</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or On the Road with a Circus</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or Fred Markham’s Struggles</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">Bob Chester’s Grit</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Darry The Life Saver</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or From Ranch to Riches</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Heroes of the Coast</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">Airship Andy</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Dick The Bank Boy</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or The Luck of a Brave Boy</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or A Missing Fortune</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or Making a Record for Himself</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">Harry Watson’s High School Days</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or The Rivals of Rivertown</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">Comrades of the Saddle</td>
-<td class="tdlx">The Boys of the Wireless</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdlx br">Tom Taylor at West Point</td>
-<td class="tdlx">Cowboy Dave</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or The Old Army Officer’s Secret</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Round-up at Rolling River</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdl br">The Boy Scouts of Lennox</td>
-<td class="tdl">Jack of the Pony Express</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain</em></td>
-<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail</em></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">The Boys of the Battleship</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or For the Honor of Uncle Sam</em></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_BOMBA_BOOKS">THE BOMBA BOOKS</h2>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="r35">
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> ROY ROCKWOOD</p>
-<hr class="r35">
-<br>
-<p class="center"><em>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.&nbsp;&nbsp; With colored jacket</em></p>
-
-<div class="figleft illowp57" id="pad2" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/pad2.jpg" alt="Bomba the Jungle Boy">
-</div>
-
-<p><b><em>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</em></b></p>
-
-<p><em>Bomba lived far back in the jungles of the
-Amazon with a half-demented naturalist
-who told the lad nothing of his past. The
-jungle boy was a lover of birds, and hunted
-animals with a bow and arrow and his trusty
-machete. He had a primitive education in
-some things, and his daring adventures will
-be followed with breathless interest by thousands.</em></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or The Old Naturalist’s Secret</em></p>
-</div>
-<p style="clear: both;"></p>
-<p>In the depth of the jungle Bomba lives a life replete with thrilling
-situations. Once he saves the lives of two American rubber hunters
-who ask him who he is, and how he had come into the jungle.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>2. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING
-MOUNTAIN</b>
-<p class="center"><em>or The Mystery of the Caves of Fire</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Bomba travels through the jungle, encountering wild beasts and
-hostile natives. At last he trails the old man of the burning mountain
-to his cave and learns more concerning himself.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>3. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT
-CATARACT</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Chief Nasconora and His Captives</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Among the Pilati Indians he finds some white captives, and an
-aged opera singer, first to give Bomba real news of his forebears.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>4. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Adrift on the River of Mystery</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Jaguar Island was a spot as dangerous as it was mysterious and
-Bomba was warned to keep away. But the plucky boy sallied forth.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>5. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or A Treasure Ten Thousand Years Old</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Years ago this great city had sunk out of sight beneath the trees
-of the jungle. A wily half-breed thought to carry away its treasure.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>6. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or The Mysterious Men from the Sky</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Bomba strikes out through the vast Amazonian jungles and soon
-finds himself on the dreaded Terror Trail.</p>
-
-<p class="center"><em>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</em></p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_BOY_RANCHERS_SERIES">THE BOY RANCHERS SERIES</h2>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="r35">
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> WILLARD F. BAKER</p>
-<hr class="r35">
-<br>
-<p class="center"><em>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.&nbsp;&nbsp; Jacket in full colors</em></p>
-
-<div class="figleft illowp52" id="pad3" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/pad3.jpg" alt="The Boy Ranchers in Camp">
-</div>
-
-<p><b><em>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</em></b></p>
-
-<p><em>Stories of the great west, with cattle ranches as
-a setting, related in such a style as to captivate
-the hearts of all boys.</em></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p><b>1. THE BOY RANCHERS</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Solving the Mystery at Diamond X</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Two eastern boys visit their cousin. They
-become involved in an exciting mystery.</p>
-
-<p style="clear: both;"></p>
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>2. THE BOY RANCHERS IN CAMP</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or The Water Fight at Diamond X</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Returning for a visit, the two eastern lads learn, with delight, that
-they are to become boy ranchers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>3. THE BOY RANCHERS ON THE TRAIL</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or The Diamond X After Cattle Rustlers</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Our boy heroes take the trail after Del Pinzo and his outlaws.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>4. THE BOY RANCHERS AMONG THE INDIANS</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Trailing the Yaquis</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Rosemary and Floyd are captured by the Yaqui Indians.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>5. THE BOY RANCHERS AT SPUR CREEK</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Fighting the Sheep Herders</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>Dangerous struggle against desperadoes for land rights.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>6. THE BOY RANCHERS IN THE DESERT</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Diamond X and the Lost Mine</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>One night a strange old miner almost dead from hunger and hardship
-arrived at the bunk house. The boys cared for him and he told
-them of the lost desert mine.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>7. THE BOY RANCHERS ON ROARING RIVER</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Diamond X and the Chinese Smugglers</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The boy ranchers help capture Delton’s gang who were engaged in
-smuggling Chinese across the border.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><b>8. THE BOY RANCHERS IN DEATH VALLEY</b></p>
-<p class="center"><em>or Diamond X and the Poison Mystery</em></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The boy ranchers track mysterious Death into his cave.</p>
-
-<p class="center"><em>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</em></p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_JEWEL_SERIES">THE JEWEL SERIES</h2>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="r35">
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> AMES THOMPSON</p>
-<hr class="r35">
-<br>
-
-<p class="center"><em>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.&nbsp;&nbsp; Jacket in colors</em></p>
-
-<p class="center"><em>Price per volume, 65 cents</em></p>
-
-<div class="figleft illowp57" id="pad4" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
-  <img class="w100" src="images/pad4.jpg" alt="The Adventure Boys and the Valley of Diamonds">
-</div>
-<br>
-<p><em>A series of stories brimming with hardy
-adventure, vivid and accurate in detail, and
-with a good foundation of probability. They
-take the reader realistically to the scene of
-action. Besides being lively and full of real
-situations, they are written in a straightforward
-way very attractive to boy readers.</em></p>
-<p style="clear: both;"></p>
-
-<p><b>1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <span class="allsmcap">AND THE</span> VALLEY OF DIAMONDS</b></p>
-
-<p>Malcolm Edwards and his son Ralph are adventurers with ample
-means for following up their interest in jewel clues. In this book
-they form a party of five, including Jimmy Stone and Bret Hartson,
-boys of Ralph’s age, and a shrewd level-headed sailor named Stanley
-Greene. They find a valley of diamonds in the heart of Africa.</p>
-
-
-<p><b>2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <span class="allsmcap">AND THE</span> RIVER OF EMERALDS</b></p>
-
-<p>The five adventurers, staying at a hotel in San Francisco, find that
-Pedro the elevator man has an interesting story of a hidden “river
-of emeralds” in Peru, to tell. With him as guide, they set out to find
-it, escape various traps set for them by jealous Peruvians, and are
-much amused by Pedro all through the experience.</p>
-
-
-<p><b>3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <span class="allsmcap">AND THE</span> LAGOON OF PEARLS</b></p>
-
-<p>This time the group starts out on a cruise simply for pleasure, but
-their adventuresome spirits lead them into the thick of things on a
-South Sea cannibal island.</p>
-
-<p class="center"><em>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</em></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>
-CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;   New York<br>
-</b></p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="transnote">
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Note">Transcriber’s Note</h2>
-<br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg frontispiece Changed single quote to double for: Tom the telephone boy</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">illustration after pg 21 Change Iv’e made it to: I’ve</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_18">18</a> added period to: smiled Ben</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_21">21</a> Changed Immensely,” acknowleged Ben to: acknowledged</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_22">22</a> Changed I hardly thing to: think</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_24">24</a> Changed spelling of the afternoon accomodation to: accommodation</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_36">36</a> Changed Where did you get it. to: it,</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_46">46</a> Changed is that so. to: so,</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_46">46</a> Changed interrupted Dave contemptously to: contemptuously</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_58">58</a> Changed I’ts a bargain to: It’s</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_60">60</a> Changed It’s been the event to: it’s</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_70">70</a> Added period after: in his life</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_70">70</a> Changed their spectacular maneuvres to: manoeuvres</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_71">71</a> Changed and expert maneuvres to: manoeuvres</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_82">82</a> Changed home with automobles to: automobiles</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_84">84</a> Removed extra word the: and even the flyer</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_86">86</a> Changed you mean. inquired to: you mean, inquired</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_117">117</a> Added quote after: out of the bag.</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_123">123</a> Removed unnecessary quote after: father’s present trouble.</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_124">124</a> Changed who cooly looked him to: coolly</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_137">137</a> Changed Dart quarters wihout to: without</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_139">139</a> Added quote to: Any suspicions?</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_129">139</a> Changed nodded the director, Very to: very</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_140">140</a> Changed with a quissical to: quizzical</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_144">144</a> Changed I’ts business now to: It’s</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_149">149</a> Changed Whew ejeculated Bob to: ejaculated</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_156">156</a> Changed How it that to: is</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_160">160</a> Changed unctious snack to: smack</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_160">160</a> Removed extra colon after: and the words:</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_164">164</a> Changed by vivid pantomine to: pantomime</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_168">168</a> Change It was decidely to: decidedly</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_171">171</a> Removed unnecessary quote before: They walked about</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_176">176</a> Changed Many of the winodows to: windows</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advertisement page Removed bracket from: [Rosemary and Floyd</span><br>
-<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Various hyphenated and non-hyphenated words were left as author wrote them.</span><br>
-</div>
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEN HARDY&#039;S FLYING MACHINE ***</div>
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+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      Ben Hardy's Flying Machine, by Frank V. Webster—A Project Gutenberg eBook
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+
+    </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69511 ***</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp46" id="Cover_Page" style="max-width: 70.0625em;">
+<img class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover">
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter"></div>
+<div class="figcenter illowp46" id="frontispage" style="max-width: 70.0625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/frontispage.jpg" alt="THE DART AROSE ON A SPLENDID ARROW COURSE. Ben Hardy's Flying Machine Page 143">
+  <div class="caption"><p class="center">THE DART AROSE ON A SPLENDID ARROW COURSE.<br>
+Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine Page <a href="#Page_143">143</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<h1>BEN HARDY’S FLYING<br>
+MACHINE</h1>
+<br>
+<p class="center fs120">Or<br>
+<br>
+Making a Record for Himself</p><br>
+<br>
+<p class="center">BY</p>
+<p class="center fs150">FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
+<p class="center">AUTHOR OF “ONLY A FARM BOY,” “AIRSHIP ANDY,” “TOM<br>
+THE TELEPHONE BOY,” “THE YOUNG TREASURE<br>
+HUNTER,” ETC.</p><br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr class="r5">
+<p class="center">ILLUSTRATED</p>
+<hr class="r5">
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="center">NEW YORK</p>
+<p class="center fs120">CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY</p>
+<p class="center">PUBLISHERS</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="BOOKS_FOR_BOYS">BOOKS FOR BOYS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center fs120">By FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
+
+<p>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+ONLY A FARM BOY<br>
+TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY<br>
+THE BOY FROM THE RANCH<br>
+THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER<br>
+BOB, THE CASTAWAY<br>
+THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE<br>
+THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS<br>
+THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES<br>
+TWO BOY GOLD MINERS<br>
+JACK, THE RUNAWAY<br>
+COMRADES OF THE SADDLE<br>
+THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL<br>
+THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS<br>
+AIRSHIP ANDY<br>
+BOB CHESTER’S GRIT<br>
+BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE<br>
+DICK, THE BANK BOY<br>
+DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER<br>
+<i>Cupples &amp; Leon Co., Publishers, New York</i>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<p class="center">
+Copyright, 1911, by<br>
+CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY</p>
+<hr class="r5">
+<p class="center">BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE<br>
+<br></p>
+
+<p class="right">Printed in U. S. A.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">CHAPTER</td>
+<td class="tdl"></td>
+<td class="tdl">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">I.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">“Nobly Rewarded!”</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">II.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Just in Time</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">III.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A New Friend</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IV.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The “Sybilline” Whistle</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">V.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Four Hundred Dollars</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VI.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Airship Idea</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Mystery</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VIII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">At the Aero Meet</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IX.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A Bomb-dropping Event</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">X.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A Rush Order</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XI.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Dart</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A Serious Charge</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Man in the Gig</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIV.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Mysterious Pin</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XV.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A Mean Enemy</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVI.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Stealing an Invention</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">On Time</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVIII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Five Hundred Dollar Prize</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIX.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">“Go!”</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XX.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Crusoes of the Air</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXI.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A Fight with a Bear</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">A Friend in Need</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXIII.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Lost Aviator</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXIV.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Homeward Bound</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXV.</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Conclusion</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="BEN_HARDYS_FLYING">BEN HARDY’S FLYING
+MACHINE</h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="r5">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">“NOBLY REWARDED!”</p>
+
+
+<p>“Take care—that engine is going to run wild!”</p>
+
+<p>Those words, yelled out by a brawny mechanic,
+announced a moment of excitement in the Saxton
+Automobile Works, the home of the celebrated Estrelle
+machine.</p>
+
+<p>The big steam engine of the plant had slipped the
+belt. There was a jar and then a crash. Then the
+big driving wheel of the engine began speeding like
+an uncontrollable monster. Clouds of steam covered
+the boiler room like a snow bank. The machine
+shop gearing snapped and vibrated, and the building
+began to shake from end to end.</p>
+
+<p>One big man with a shout of dismay ran for the
+front of the shop, and disappeared through its doorway
+into the street. This was Jasper Saxton, the
+owner of the establishment. His example was followed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span>
+by several of the clerks in the glass-partitioned
+office at the front of the building. Most of
+the twenty odd machinists in the shop, however,
+stuck to their posts.</p>
+
+<p>“Danger—look out!” shouted old Caleb Dunn,
+the foreman.</p>
+
+<p>Every man at a lathe immediately slipped the belt
+of his special machine. Those at the further end of
+the shop did not attempt this. They dodged and ran
+away from their posts of duty.</p>
+
+<p>There was a reason for this. One end of the
+big shaft nearest the engine had dropped. The jar
+of the engine had either broken a connection of the
+shaft or it had slipped a bearing. At all events, the
+shaft had taken a sidelong swing and had struck
+the floor, reducing a plank to splinters. There it
+turned, wobbled about and slammed up and down,
+smashing everything that came in its way.</p>
+
+<p>“Do something, men!” shouted Martin Hardy,
+head machinist of the auto works.</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke Mr. Hardy started on a run for the
+rear of the machine shop, but he was anticipated.
+His son, Ben Hardy, had arrived on the scene just
+in time to take part in the thrilling event of the
+moment.</p>
+
+<p>It was after school hours, and Ben always had
+free run of the plant. His father was an expert in
+his line and an old and valued employee, and his son,
+with his cheerful, accommodating ways, was always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span>
+a welcome visitor with the workmen, with whom
+he was a general favorite.</p>
+
+<p>Ben was familiar with every turn and corner of
+the shop. In a flash his eye took in the unusual
+situation as it presented itself. He guessed out the
+cause of the commotion intuitively.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t go, father!” he cried, seizing his father’s
+arm and detaining him. “I know the way.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben did, indeed, know the way. A sliding iron
+door separated the engine room from the machine
+shop. Above it was an open space, and through this
+the steam was pouring. Ben knew that it was many
+chances against one that the iron door was caught
+on the other side. Besides this, the wobbling shaft
+piece was still threshing about, a formidable barrier,
+although the power was dying down as the connecting
+dismantled shafts revolved less rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>In a far corner of the machine shop there was a
+sashless window frame. Through it Ben had clambered
+many a time. It was used for ventilation. It
+opened upon the roof of a small brick oven which
+was used to bake the sand cores used in the molding
+flasks.</p>
+
+<p>Ben leaped through the aperture and landed on
+the roof in a second. Beyond it rolled the iron drum
+which ground the fine charcoal for the dust bags
+employed in drying the wet sand in the molding
+frames. This Ben cleared at a bound.</p>
+
+<p>He heard a timber fall in the machine shop, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>
+there was an ominous quaking of the staunch timbers
+all over the place as his feet landed on the hard
+cindered floor of the boiler room.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is Shallock, the engineer, all this time?”
+murmured Ben, and running alongside of the boiler
+he discovered that the man was mysteriously missing
+from his post at a critical moment.</p>
+
+<p>Through the clouds of steam fast escaping from
+the overheated boiler Ben made out the engineer.
+He knew Tom Shallock well, and was not astonished
+at his present condition. He knew the son
+of the engineer, Dave Shallock, still better. Ben
+had no reason to feel particularly friendly towards
+either, but he sought honestly to save the engineer
+from the loss of his position and disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>Shallock sat huddled back in the big heavy armchair
+in which he rested between spells of alternate
+duty to engine and boiler. He was his own fireman,
+and his chair was directly in front of the furnace
+door. Ben ran at him and shook him forcibly by
+the arm, with the urgent words shouted into his ear:</p>
+
+<p>“Wake up, Mr. Shallock, there’s trouble!”</p>
+
+<p>But the engineer simply grunted in an incoherent
+way, and a half-filled bottle that had slipped from
+his hand to the floor told the whole miserable story.</p>
+
+<p>Ben darted past the helpless man and ran down
+two stone steps to the engine pit. It was well
+that he was a boy who noticed things and usually
+kept his bearings well in mind, for he had to grope<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span>
+his way. A thrill of gladness ran through his frame
+as his hand finally rested on the valve wheel. Two
+turns, and Ben drew back gasping for breath and
+reeking with perspiration. The whiz of the great
+driving wheel lessened, the governor slowed down
+to a stop. Returning to the boiler room, Ben set
+the escape valve on the boiler and knew that he had
+saved the day.</p>
+
+<p>Some men came running in from the molding
+room. One of them went to the iron door and unset
+its latch and rolled it open, for some one was hammering
+vigorously on it on the other side. It was
+Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Rouse him up, quick,” spoke Ben to one of the
+molders, and with a motion of his foot he kicked
+the tell-tale liquor flask towards the ash pit.</p>
+
+<p>The man laughed, winked, and with the aid of
+a comrade dragged the engineer to his feet. By
+this time Mr. Hardy had reached the spot. Pressing
+past him, the foreman faced the blinking engineer
+sternly.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded.
+“Faugh!” as he caught a whiff of the engineer’s
+breath—“at the old trick again, eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“Steam overcame me,” stammered Shallock.</p>
+
+<p>The shop foreman turned to Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you do that?” he inquired in his sharp, crisp
+way, waving his hand towards the engine.</p>
+
+<p>“I shut off the power—yes, sir,” replied Ben.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What was this man doing?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben hesitated and flushed up. He did not wish
+to tell on anybody, much less a person who disliked
+him and would be sure to ascribe any “peaching” to
+spite.</p>
+
+<p>“You needn’t answer,” suddenly spoke the foreman,
+his keen eye catching sight of the bottle, and
+picking it up. “Get out of here, you,” he added
+disgustedly, giving the engineer a shove towards the
+door.</p>
+
+<p>“Look here, Mr. Dunn——”</p>
+
+<p>“You get!” reiterated the foreman.</p>
+
+<p>Shallock began to snivel.</p>
+
+<p>“See here, you may be sick yourself some time,”
+he declared in a maudlin tone.</p>
+
+<p>“Sick!” repeated the foreman contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve run my engine two years——”</p>
+
+<p>“It isn’t your engine any more,” observed the
+foreman. “One of you men go for Pete Doty,” he
+continued to the group from the molding room.
+“He’s out of a job, and he can have this one if he
+qualifies right. That’s all,” added Dunn, with a
+peremptory wave of his hand.</p>
+
+<p>The signal was understood promptly by all hands
+to get back to their respective places. Mr. Hardy
+moved over to the side of Ben. He placed a hand
+on his son’s head and his eyes were full of emotion.</p>
+
+<p>“I am proud of you, my son,” he said simply.</p>
+
+<p>“You ain’t the only one,” broke in Dunn, brusquely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>
+brushing Mr. Hardy aside and catching Ben’s
+arm in his iron grip. “You come with me, boy.”</p>
+
+<p>He was a resolute hustling piece of humanity,
+always doing things forcefully. With a rush he
+dragged Ben into and through the machine shop.</p>
+
+<p>“Good boy!” spoke a machinist, patting Ben on
+the shoulder as he passed him.</p>
+
+<p>“You did it grand, lad,” commended a second.</p>
+
+<p>“Three cheers for Ben Hardy!” roared Tim Grogan,
+a jolly and independent apprentice.</p>
+
+<p>The enthusiastic cheers, given with a will, died
+away as the foreman and Ben reached the office.</p>
+
+<p>“Where’s Saxton?” demanded Dunn in his bluff
+off-handed way.</p>
+
+<p>“He went outside the building,” explained the
+bookkeeper, who had suspended work and looked
+anxious and flustered. “Say, is the danger over?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, maybe a few shingles shaken off the roof.
+I reckon Saxton went outside to see how many,” retorted
+the foreman sarcastically. “Here he comes.”</p>
+
+<p>The portly proprietor of the works at that moment
+came strutting through the front doorway. He was
+very consequential, now that the peril was past.</p>
+
+<p>“Here Mr. Saxton,” spoke the foreman, “—you
+know this boy?”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s Hardy’s lad, isn’t it?” replied Jasper Saxton,
+with a stare at Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. He’s saved your shop from rattling to
+pieces, that’s all,” announced the foreman bluntly.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>
+“That pet of yours, Tom Shallock, was in liquor and
+asleep at his post. If Ben here hadn’t got in action
+there’d have been a long shut-down of the Saxton
+Automobile Works, I can tell you, and maybe some
+funerals.”</p>
+
+<p>Saxton looked annoyed and angry at the reference
+to the engineer, and slightly bored at the determined
+way in which his foreman kept pushing Ben to the
+front. All this embarrassed the latter, who tried
+to wriggle free from the grasp of the foreman.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is Shallock?” asked Mr. Saxton uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>“Fired,” tersely reported the foreman.</p>
+
+<p>“Why—I—that is——” stammered Mr. Saxton.</p>
+
+<p>“You act as if you were afraid of that man,
+Mr. Saxton,” observed the foreman bluntly. “I’ve
+sent for Pete Doty. He’ll be here directly. About
+this boy, now——”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, yes,” nodded Mr. Saxton hurriedly. “Good
+boy. First-class father, too. Shake hands. Glad.
+Thank you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hold on, Mr. Saxton,” interrupted the foreman,
+as his employer started to close the incident by entering
+the office of the works. “What are you going
+to do for young Hardy?”</p>
+
+<p>“Do—eh. Ah. I see. Come into the office,
+Hardy.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben obeyed the order. Mr. Saxton looked nettled,
+and Ben felt dreadfully conscious. The former
+put his hands in a pocket and drew out a roll of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>
+bills. These he promptly transferred to another
+pocket. He next fished out a dollar, glanced at it,
+then at Ben, went over to a desk, drew out a money
+draw and changed the large silver coin.</p>
+
+<p>He pocketed three quarters and handed the other
+twenty-five cent piece to Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, drawing back. “There
+is no need of that, Mr. Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“I insist,” said Mr. Saxton grandly. “You’ve
+done quite a big thing, Hardy, and you deserve the
+reward.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">JUST IN TIME</p>
+
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t mention it,” responded Jasper Saxton.</p>
+
+<p>The manufacturer turned from Ben with a decided
+expression of relief on his face. He acted
+like a man who had got off cheaply.</p>
+
+<p>It was in Ben’s mind to ask Mr. Saxton if he
+“was to keep all of the twenty-five cents,” but sarcasm
+was not Ben’s forte. He was too ingenious
+to cherish resentment against either friend or enemy.
+Ben simply pocketed the coin. He concealed a
+smile of comicality. The situation, displaying Jasper
+Saxton’s usual meanness, rather tickled him.</p>
+
+<p>He was about to turn and leave the office when
+an extraordinary movement on the part of Saxton
+enchained his attention. The latter with something
+between a growl and a yell had described an active
+jump. He landed up against a parcel bench on
+which lay a variety of small machine parts, bagged
+and ready for shipment.</p>
+
+<p>“What! hasn’t that gone yet?” he shouted, his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span>
+hand closing over a small steel section of some machine
+weighing about ten pounds.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, dear me!” exclaimed the bookkeeper, “I was
+just going to wrap that up and send it when the shop
+began to shake. I’ll attend to it immediately, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“Immediately!” howled Saxton, as the bookkeeper
+fumbled over twine and wrapping paper—“why,
+it’s special. Do you understand that? The man it
+is for is expecting it at the depot. He is to leave
+on the five o’clock train, and it’s—seven minutes of
+five now!” yelled the manufacturer, glancing at his
+watch. “Here, wrap it quick, and send the office boy
+kiting with it fast as you can.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dan has gone for the mail, sir,” said the office
+man.</p>
+
+<p>“Then hustle with it yourself,” ordered Saxton.</p>
+
+<p>“You forget that I am lame,” submitted the bookkeeper
+reproachfully.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s got to go,” stormed the manufacturer.
+“Hold on, there.”</p>
+
+<p>He shouted these last words at Ben just as the
+latter was about to leave the office.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir!” said Ben inquiringly.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve paid you that money, you know—you’ll do
+a little extra job, hey?”</p>
+
+<p>“With pleasure,” answered Ben, with his usual
+bright accommodating smile.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s a good boy,” said Mr. Saxton. “Hustle,
+now,” to his bookkeeper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ben stood awaiting the package from the nervous
+fingers of the office employee. He was more amused
+than disappointed in the narrow view Mr. Saxton
+took of things in general. The quarter of a dollar
+and the “extra job,” as he designated it, were characteristic
+of the tight-fisted manufacturer. His treatment
+of Ben had been of a piece awarded Mr. Hardy,
+and Ben was not much surprised.</p>
+
+<p>The Saxton Automobile Works was doing a large
+and growing business, but it was not his own business
+ability, as the self-centered manufacturer imagined,
+that had brought about all this progress and
+prosperity. Mr. Hardy had designed the Estrelle
+auto. The Saxton Company never gave him credit
+for this. Ben’s father was more of an inventor than
+a business man, and he had never protected himself
+as a shrewder man might have done.</p>
+
+<p>He was a valuable workman in the Saxton service
+and received very good pay. Ben, however, had
+always thought that his father should have been
+given more credit and money that he really got.</p>
+
+<p>Ben’s mother had often talked to her husband
+about this. Finally Mr. Hardy had gone to Mr. Saxton
+and had put the case before him. Nearly all the
+new and popular points about the Estrelle machine
+were inventions of Mr. Hardy. Jasper Saxton did
+not deny this, but he proposed that the patents be
+taken out in his own name. In an indefinite way he
+agreed to make some kind of an equitable settlement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span>
+with his employer as soon as the rush season was
+over. Mr. Hardy asked for a memorandum of the
+agreement.</p>
+
+<p>To this Mr. Saxton reluctantly consented after a
+great deal of delay. Mr. Hardy placed the precious
+document in his coat pocket. When he went back
+to work he hung up his coat in its usual place.
+When he got home that night the written agreement
+was missing.</p>
+
+<p>An unavailing search was made for the document.
+Then in a day or two Mr. Hardy went back to his
+employer and related the circumstances, asking for
+a new copy of the agreement.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Saxton put him off on the pretext of being
+very busy. Then, when urged by Mrs. Hardy and
+Ben, the head machinist again approached Jasper
+Saxton, the latter told him that if he would wait
+till the active selling season was over and he could
+get at his books, they would go together to a lawyer
+and have a contract drawn up in due legal form.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy was easily satisfied and rested content
+with this promise. His heart was in his work. When
+Ben intimated that he was dealing with a man with
+a general reputation for business slipperiness, his
+father told him that it would come out all right. He
+was sanguine that Mr. Saxton would do the liberal
+thing by him as soon as the selling season was over.</p>
+
+<p>“Here you are,” said the bookkeeper, at last completing
+the packing of the steel fittings.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Where am I to deliver it?” inquired Ben, accepting
+the parcel.</p>
+
+<p>“Name’s on the bag,” explained Jasper Saxton
+hurriedly.</p>
+
+<p>Ben glanced at the bag and read the name: “John
+R. Davis.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” he said. “Will he be at the depot?”</p>
+
+<p>“He is leaving for Blairville on the five o’clock
+train,” said Jasper Saxton. “You’ll know him when
+you see him—large, tall man with a full beard, and
+wears gold eye glasses.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will find him if he’s there,” said Ben confidently.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t delay, boy,” broke in the manufacturer,
+“you’ve got barely five minutes.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben placed the parcel under his arm and passed
+from the office. He made a bee-line for the front
+door, to be interrupted by a shout.</p>
+
+<p>“Hey there, Hardy!”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m in a desperate hurry, Mr. Dunn,” said Ben,
+recognizing his challenger.</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind—only a moment.” The big foreman
+got to Ben’s side and gripped his arm. “What
+did he give you?” he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>“It isn’t fair to tell,” declared Ben, with an evasive
+smile.</p>
+
+<p>“You’ll tell me,” firmly insisted the foreman.</p>
+
+<p>“Well then—twenty-five.”</p>
+
+<p>“H’m! He gave the night watchman only ten<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>
+dollars when he saved the shop from burning
+down. Twenty-five dollars? That’s pretty fair—for
+Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t delay me, Mr. Dunn,” again pleaded Ben,
+tugging to get loose.</p>
+
+<p>“Just one more question,” said the foreman.</p>
+
+<p>“Be quick, then.”</p>
+
+<p>“Which do you like best—open face or hunting
+case watch?”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh?” exclaimed Ben, with a start.</p>
+
+<p>“They’ve started a little appreciation list back
+there. Come, which is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, Mr. Dunn!”</p>
+
+<p>“Decide, or we’ll buy you both,” declared Ben’s
+determined captor.</p>
+
+<p>“Any boy would like an open faced watch,” said
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“All right, you can go now,” said Dunn, with a
+chuckle.</p>
+
+<p>Ben darted off on a sprint to make up for lost
+time. It was four blocks to the depot, and he had
+about three minutes to make it in. As he darted
+through the front doorway of the works Ben heard
+the first starting bell ringing out at the depot.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve got to hustle to make it!” he declared. “No,
+it can’t be done. I know what I’ll do—I’ll cut
+across the triangle.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben figured that this short cut across a dumping
+yard would land him up to the train before it got<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>
+going at full speed. His calculations, however, were
+somewhat at fault. As he neared the tracks the
+train came down the rails at a pretty good rate of
+speed.</p>
+
+<p>Ben waited till the baggage car and one passenger
+coach had passed him. Then, hampered by his bundle,
+he gave it a fling and landed it on the platform
+of the second coach.</p>
+
+<p>Poising for a spring and a catch, Ben made a
+grab for the railing of the last car.</p>
+
+<p>Then he gripped firmly at its outer edge. With
+a wrench he was pulled from the ground, but clung
+sturdily, his feet flying out in the air like streamers.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p>
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A NEW FRIEND</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="p016" style="max-width: 70.4375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/p016.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption"><p>“I’VE MADE IT!” PANTED BEN HARDY.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>“I’ve made it!” panted Ben Hardy, with a swing
+landing both feet safely on the platform of the last
+car of the speeding train.</p>
+
+<p>“Now to find my man,” he added, pausing a
+moment or two to catch his breath and then entering
+the coach.</p>
+
+<p>Ben had the name of the man well in mind to
+whom he was to deliver the machine parts. He also
+recalled the vague description given of the man by
+Mr. Saxton. The lad glanced casually at the occupants
+of the seats on each side of the coach as he
+proceeded down the aisle of the car.</p>
+
+<p>No tall bearded man with eye glasses showed up,
+and gaining the front platform of the coach Ben
+took up the package where it had landed and entered
+the next car.</p>
+
+<p>“Fare, there,” pronounced the conductor of the
+train, confronting him.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes,” said Ben with a smile, resting his package
+on a radiator and producing the quarter Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>
+Saxton had given him. “Ought to keep it to frame
+as a souvenir, I suppose,” added Ben to himself
+comically, “but it happens to be all the money I’ve
+got. First stop, conductor—the junction, isn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll go that far. Take fifteen cents out of that,”
+directed Ben, producing the reward coin.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s twenty-five cents if you don’t have a ticket,”
+announced the conductor, “ten cents extra, that’s the
+rule.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s so,” said Ben with a wry grimace.</p>
+
+<p>“You’d ought to have thought of that,” suggested
+the conductor.</p>
+
+<p>“I didn’t have much time to think of anything
+except getting aboard this train double quick,” answered
+Ben. “You don’t happen to know a gentleman
+named Mr. Davis, do you, conductor?”</p>
+
+<p>The fare collector shook his head in dissent and
+proceeded on his round of duty to the rear coach.
+Ben took up his package again and began to scan the
+passengers beyond him.</p>
+
+<p>“That twenty-five cent piece ought to have turned
+out counterfeit to carry out the fun of the thing,”
+smiled Ben. “There’s a likely prospect—I think it is
+my man,” added the youth, fixing his eyes upon a
+person occupying a double seat near the front of the
+coach.</p>
+
+<p>This individual had a heavy beard, was tall and
+athletic, wore eye glasses, and was acting excited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>
+and nervous. He would glance from his car window
+and then ahead and back in the coach, and half arose
+as if to go in search of a train official to ask some
+important question.</p>
+
+<p>As Ben approached the seats he occupied, he
+noticed a book of mechanical drawings lying open
+against the front cushions. Also leaning against the
+seat were several quite long parcels. The ends of
+these showed what Ben took to be rods or bars. The
+man was certainly in the mechanical line, Ben
+reasoned, and he advanced without hesitation.</p>
+
+<p>“Is this Mr. Davis?” he inquired politely.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, that’s me,” responded the other, turning
+quickly and fixing an eager glance on his questioner.</p>
+
+<p>“Glad to have found you,” said Ben. “I am from
+the Saxton Automobile Works, and this is for you.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis was so glad to receive the machine part
+that he took it from Ben’s hands and held it under
+his own arm as if it were some precious treasure.</p>
+
+<p>“Good for you!” he exclaimed heartily, a pleasant
+smile chasing away the anxiety on his face. “I was
+worrying over it, I tell you. I simply had to have it
+to-day. Here, sit down. I fancy you’ve been doing
+some fast running, eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“A little,” rejoined Ben with a laugh. “It was
+jolly, though. You see, a fellow likes to beat a hard
+task just for practice once in a while.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben sank to a seat greatly enjoying the relief from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>
+a severe strain. His companion looked at him with
+interest and remarked:</p>
+
+<p>“I was afraid that part wasn’t going to reach me.
+Thought it was strange, too, for I had been very
+explicit in my directions. I told the Saxton people
+to spare no expense so I got it in time. As it was
+a sort of test as to what you folks could do and
+meant lots of work for your shop in the future, I
+counted on the right work on time.”</p>
+
+<p>The speaker unpacked the part. Ben knew something
+about machinery, and observed that it was a
+double eccentric with several complicated attachments.
+He recognized it as a class of work always
+given into his father’s expert hands. It was exquisitely
+turned, jointed and polished.</p>
+
+<p>“Neat as the works of a watch, eh?” said Mr.
+Davis admiringly. “That’s what I call fine work.”</p>
+
+<p>“My father always does fine work,” said Ben,
+with a tinge of pride.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, your father had a hand in this, did he?”
+questioned Mr. Davis.</p>
+
+<p>“I think so—yes, I am sure of it,” answered Ben,
+inspecting the part. “I remember him mentioning it
+as something outside of the usual run, and wondering
+what it was to be used for.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is a part of the machinery of my new airship,”
+explained Mr. Davis.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, say, is that it?” ejaculated Ben with great
+animation, and his eyes wandering to the open book<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>
+on the seat before him, he scanned with interest the
+outlines of an aeroplane.</p>
+
+<p>“Pleases you, does it?” interrogated his companion.</p>
+
+<p>“Immensely,” acknowledged Ben. “My father is
+the head mechanic at the Saxton works, and he is
+an inventor, too. He has got up any number of new
+improvements on the Estrelle car.”</p>
+
+<p>“I would like to know him,” said Mr. Davis. “I
+am glad to know you. Let me see, what is your
+name?”</p>
+
+<p>“Hardy—Ben Hardy.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you work at the Saxton plant, too, Ben?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, sir,” answered Ben, “but I spend a good deal
+of my spare time there. Father works there, you see,
+and I like machinery.”</p>
+
+<p>“How did you come to bring the machine part to
+me?”</p>
+
+<p>“I happened to be around, and there was no one
+else to send at the time. The reason it was delayed
+was that the engine at the works went wild.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is that so? Tell me about it.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben had not calculated on a casual remark leading
+to a particular explanation. Before he was aware
+of it he had pretty nearly recited the whole story of
+the belt mishap at the Saxton shop.</p>
+
+<p>“They ought to do something pretty fine for you,
+those people,” suggested Mr. Davis. “I am certainly
+very much obliged to you for your share in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>
+getting this machine part to me. I suppose some
+day you will go to work at the Saxton plant?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am making drafting a special study,” replied
+Ben, “and I would like to start in at the model desk
+in the pattern rooms after school is over.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you follow after your father in the invention
+line, Ben?” asked Mr. Davis seriously.</p>
+
+<p>“I would like to,” answered Ben. “I hardly think
+it is in me, though, Mr. Davis. I once got up a perpetual
+motion machine.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis smiled, so did Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” nodded the latter gaily, “it perpetuated
+until I had to start it again. The only practical
+thing I ever did was a whistle which I made out of
+a simple piece of tin.”</p>
+
+<p>“Patented it, did you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, dear, no,” explained Ben. “I made it for a
+friend of mine. He could warble on it like a mocking
+bird. I never saw anybody else who could,
+though. There was a certain knack about it that he
+could get, it seemed. Can I look over that book, Mr.
+Davis?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben was soon immersed in the drawings before
+him. His companion seemed greatly pleased at his
+interest in them. Once or twice, too, he took occasion
+to commend Ben for some comment or suggestion
+he made concerning the models.</p>
+
+<p>“Why,” he said as they came to the last drawing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>
+of a superb machine, “you seem to have done some
+digging in the aeroplane line.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, all I know is second hand,” declared Ben.
+“My father believes that the coming motor is the
+aeroplane, and has done some experimenting in that
+line. I have taken a great delight in watching him
+and helping him. I will have to leave the train in a
+few minutes, Mr. Davis,” he added. “There is the
+whistle for the junction now, and I will have to get
+back to Woodville.”</p>
+
+<p>“Two things, Ben,” said Mr. Davis as he rose
+from the seat. “It is a big thing for me to get that
+machine part on time. Here is something for your
+trouble,” and he handed out a folded bank note.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, arising quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes,” insisted Mr. Davis. “Here’s the
+second thing,” and he pressed a card into Ben’s hand
+after writing something on its back. “I want you
+to ask your father to let you come down to the big
+aero meet at Blairville next week. That card will
+admit you anywhere about the grounds. I shall be
+in great evidence there, to speak modestly,” smiled
+Mr. Davis, “and I will take pleasure in showing you
+some things that will set that active head of yours
+buzzing for a spell.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben’s eyes glowed over the welcome invitation.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know anything that would give me more
+pleasure than to see those airships go up,” said the
+youth.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Be sure to come—I shall expect you,” declared
+Mr. Davis, shaking hands warmly.</p>
+
+<p>“Here’s luck!” exclaimed Ben, as he alighted on
+the junction platform, ran across it, and got aboard
+a train just starting in an opposite direction for
+Woodville, the conductor of which he knew very
+well, and who had the privilege of passing friends
+short distances.</p>
+
+<p>He had calculated on a two-hours’ wait at the
+junction, and here was the afternoon accommodation
+train, twenty minutes late, but just in time to start
+him homeward bound without a minute’s delay.</p>
+
+<p>Ben reached Woodville and went up to the automobile
+works at once. It lacked half an hour of
+quitting time, and he decided he had better report
+the safe delivery of the machine part at the office.
+Besides that, he would have a chance to walk home
+with his father.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, it’s you?” observed Mr. Saxton, as he entered
+the office.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir,” replied Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you deliver the parcel to Mr. Davis?”</p>
+
+<p>“I did, Mr. Saxton. I managed to just catch the
+train on the fly.”</p>
+
+<p>“How was that?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben explained.</p>
+
+<p>“Then you had to go clear to the junction?”</p>
+
+<p>“Or jump off,” smiled Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“H’m—cost you fifteen cents, then?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No, sir, a quarter. You see there’s an extra
+ten cents when you do not buy your ticket in advance.”</p>
+
+<p>“H’m!” again commented the manufacturer.
+“You ought to get back that rebate. Here, Smith,”
+to the bookkeeper, “give Hardy twenty-five cents.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, and Saxton brightened
+up magically. “Mr. Davis insisted on giving me
+five dollars.”</p>
+
+<p>“He did, eh?” spoke Jasper Saxton thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir. He was very glad to get the machine
+part, and insisted on paying me for what he called
+my trouble.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very good. Glad. That is—h’m—you see—quite
+right, Hardy.”</p>
+
+<p>At first Ben fancied that Jasper Saxton was going
+to suggest that he divide up the five dollars with the
+company. However, Mr. Saxton dismissed him
+with a wave of the hand and Ben went in search of
+his father.</p>
+
+<p>He recited his recent experience, showed him the
+five-dollar bill with some pride in his face, and told
+his father he would wait till quitting time and go
+home with him.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m afraid we’ll have to change that programme,
+Ben,” advised Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“How is that, father?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Saxton wants the engine overhauled and
+that shaft reset, and I will have to put in a few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>
+hours extra time, so I shall not go home till later.”</p>
+
+<p>“What about supper, father?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I’ll pick up something at a restaurant.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mother will insist on sending something to you,
+I know,” prophesied Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I won’t say that home cooking wouldn’t
+suit me best,” confessed Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>Ben started from the shop, when Caleb Dunn
+hailed him with the words:</p>
+
+<p>“Hold on there, young man.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” responded Ben, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>The foreman gained Ben’s side. He drew a shop-soiled
+sheet of paper from the pocket of his working
+blouse.</p>
+
+<p>“Every man in the shop,” he announced.</p>
+
+<p>“Every man what?” queried Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Name signed to the document.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?”</p>
+
+<p>“Subscription.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh!” said Ben, guessing and flushing.</p>
+
+<p>“Understand, do you?” demanded the iron fisted,
+warm hearted foreman with a grim chuckle.
+“Testimonial—Watch—Open face—Solid gold—Get
+out.”</p>
+
+<p>He gave Ben a shove and shook his fist playfully
+at him, and the boy went on his way laughing and
+feeling joyful.</p>
+
+<p>Ben had to tell the story of the day’s experience
+all over again when he reached home. His mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>
+said little, as between the lines she read the noble
+impulses that had actuated the good son of a good
+father in striving to do his duty and be of benefit
+to others. She kissed him fondly, however, and her
+eyes were moist and loving as after supper he started
+for the works with the basket of food she had
+prepared for Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>Ben found the works closed down and his father
+overhauling some tools, ready to set at work when
+the foreman, who lived near by, returned from his
+supper. Mr. Hardy said that they would finish their
+work by about ten o’clock.</p>
+
+<p>“Let me come up about nine o’clock and watch
+around, father, and go home with you,” suggested
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“I am always glad of your company, my son,”
+said Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“All right, I’ll be here,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>He did not go directly home. It was a pleasant
+evening, and Ben leisurely strolled about the downtown
+streets, taking in the sights of the liveliest
+hour of the day among the stores.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello!” he said, quickening his steps as he
+caught the sound of music, and following its source
+he noticed a crowd gathered about a corner curb.</p>
+
+<p>As Ben neared the group he discovered a street
+piano mounted on wheels, being operated by a man.
+Standing by him was his partner. The latter had
+a piece of tin between his lips. Keeping in tune with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>
+the hurdy gurdy, he was producing beautiful liquid
+notes that rang out clear and musical as the soaring
+notes of a lark.</p>
+
+<p>The crowd was enchanted. The music was novel
+and harmonious. The whistle gave out notes as
+clear and pure as those of a flute.</p>
+
+<p>The tune ended. Ben Hardy watched the whistler
+remove the piece of tin from between his lips. As
+he did so Ben started forward, his eyes fixed upon
+the little device intently.</p>
+
+<p>“Why!” exclaimed Ben in profound astonishment,
+“that is the very whistle I invented for Bob
+Dallow.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE “SYBILLINE” WHISTLE</p>
+
+
+<p>The whistle he had invented and the name Bob
+Dallow instantly carried back the mind of Ben
+to what he looked upon as the pleasantest part of
+his young life.</p>
+
+<p>About six months previous to the opening of this
+story Bob Dallow had put in an appearance at the
+Hardy home. Neither Ben nor his parents had ever
+seen him before, but the homeless orphan boy had
+received a hearty welcome.</p>
+
+<p>It appeared that he was the son of a half sister
+of Mrs. Hardy, and he had come into the Hardy
+household in such a lively, manly fashion that he
+had won all their hearts at once.</p>
+
+<p>“Just looking up my scattered relations as I hop
+about the world, Aunt Mary,” he had announced to
+Mrs. Hardy. “Here to-day and there to-morrow.
+I won’t bother you more than this afternoon and
+to-night. It makes a fellow feel he’s got something
+to tie to, you know, when he gets lonely, so I thought
+I would drop in on you.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span></p>
+
+<p>Bob had been an orphan for two years. Thrown
+on his own resources, he had gone to work on the
+first job that offered with a smile, and left it for
+another one with a hurrah. He fascinated Ben with
+the happy, good-natured way in which he took the
+ups and downs of business life.</p>
+
+<p>“Every regular job I get,” declared Bob, airily,
+“there was a separate and distinct hoodoo about it.
+For instance, the first man I worked for was a
+groceryman. He confidentially instructed me on
+his short weight tactics one night and I left the next
+morning. My second employer was a clothier. He
+insisted on paying off my first month’s salary in a
+suit damaged by fire and water and four sizes too
+big for me, so I left him and became a clerk in a
+dry goods store. My boss there nearly starved me
+and made me sleep on a box under a stairway. I
+pined for fresh air and took to the road.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob explained that “taking to the road” meant
+for him, first, a ticket collector for a side show at a
+circus, next, a brief career at driving a band wagon,
+and lastly as a chauffeur.</p>
+
+<p>“I am now pretty good at handling a machine,”
+he declared, “and am on my way to a new job for a
+crack automobile man who makes a specialty of
+racing for prizes.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob brought a rather exciting atmosphere into
+the quiet Hardy home, but it did not harm any. He
+succeeded in stirring up some new ideas in the active<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>
+mind of Ben, but the latter, his folks knew, loved
+home life too fondly to ever become a confirmed
+rover. Then, too, Bob was a boy of excellent principles.
+There was no bravado or recklessness about
+his exuberant spirits. He was manly and always
+seeing the bright side of things, adventurous and
+undaunted by trivial disappointments.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll make it some day—in a big way. I feel it
+in my bones,” he insisted hopefully.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope you do,” replied Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“So will you,” declared Bob, enthusiastically, the
+next day, when, in showing his guest about his little
+work room at home, Ben brought to light a whistle
+he had invented. It consisted of a bent circle of
+tin. This was perforated on one side, and this in
+connection with a peculiar shaping of the outer lip
+of the device enabled a person to give out a shrill call
+that could be heard fully a mile distant on a quiet
+day.</p>
+
+<p>Ben had distributed freely samples of his handicraft
+among his boy chums, and on picnic occasions
+the woods would ring with what his comrades called
+a bird call. The modest young inventor noticed,
+however, that most of the users of the whistles
+never got much beyond a commonplace squeak,
+while the shrill efforts of the adepts scared the birds
+away instead of attracting them.</p>
+
+<p>Bob Dallow put a new phase on the affair. His
+twenty-four hours’ visit expanded and was encouraged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>
+to five days. The last afternoon of his stay,
+when Ben came home from school he was somewhat
+excitedly invited by his popular chum to accompany
+him to the garden.</p>
+
+<p>“See her,” said Bob, “—or rather, listen.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob placed the whistle between his lips. He began
+a tune, carried it through, and finished it with a
+flush of triumph.</p>
+
+<p>“I declare!” exclaimed the delighted Ben, lost in
+admiration of his friend’s splendid efforts. “I never
+heard better music.”</p>
+
+<p>Patience and practice had enabled Bob to become
+a master of the little device.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a big thing,” he insisted, “and if I were you
+I’d have it patented. I won’t say that anybody can
+play it—not everybody can play a cornet, either.
+You’ve got to cultivate what they call the horn lip
+to do that. You’ll find lots that can do it, though.
+I am one of them. ‘Home, Sweet Home’ with variations,
+listen.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Bob,” exclaimed Mrs. Hardy, whom the
+boys found standing near by quite enraptured with
+the fine performance of her young guest.</p>
+
+<p>Bob influenced Ben to make him a dozen of the
+little whistles. When he left the Hardys the next
+morning with many happy thanks for their kindness
+to him, his words to Ben were:</p>
+
+<p>“I am going to make some money out of that
+whistle—see if I don’t.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span></p>
+
+<p>The prediction had somewhat faded out of Ben’s
+mind after the departure of their lively visitor.
+Bob wrote to him only once, telling him that he was
+enjoying life as a chauffeur for a liberal employer.
+For over two months, however, no word had come
+from the roving boy. As to the whistle, Ben had
+nearly forgotten about that. Now the subject came
+up to his mind in quite a forcible way on the public
+streets of Woodville.</p>
+
+<p>Ben was following the impulse to go forward
+and request the whistler to let him have a look at
+the device he used to render such melliferous sounds,
+when the man at the piano stepped in front of the
+instrument.</p>
+
+<p>He drew open the flaps of a little satchel swung
+from his shoulder, revealing a number of tin
+whistles.</p>
+
+<p>“The Sybilline whistle, gentlemen,” he announced
+in broken English. He was apparently of the better
+class of foreign street musicians. “This ees not a
+toy. It ees a musical instrument. We don’t say
+all ones can play as does these professore at my
+sides. But practeese he make perfects. Only ten
+cents, gentlemen.”</p>
+
+<p>The man with the whistle gave out a vivid and
+rapid series of thrills, tremolos and bird imitations.
+A number of purchasers handed up their dimes, Ben
+among them. Then he retired to one side and
+closely inspected the whistle.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” he said, his heart beating a trifle faster
+with pleasure and pride, “it is the same, it is my
+invention.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben went up to the whistler, who had now ceased
+playing and was strolling to one side while his partner
+continued his appeals for purchasers in the
+crowd.</p>
+
+<p>“Mister,” asked Ben, extending his bought whistle,
+“where do you get these.”</p>
+
+<p>“The Sybilline—yes,” politely answered the man
+addressed. “At the city, my friend.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where in the city?” pressed Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“At the Central.”</p>
+
+<p>“And what is the Central?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is the headquarters—it is the padrone who
+hires us.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is his name?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is Vladimir—he has many, many men who
+work for him. It is percentages.”</p>
+
+<p>“I understand,” murmured Ben, drawing back.
+“This doesn’t connect up Bob Dallow, though. Maybe
+some one else struck the same whistle idea I did.”</p>
+
+<p>As Ben reached home he craned his neck, and then
+hurried his steps with a low cry of surprise and delight.
+There was a light in the dining-room, and
+seated at the table enjoying a hastily prepared meal,
+and waited on by Mrs. Hardy, was the very boy
+so strongly in his thoughts at the present moment—Bob
+Dallow.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well, well, well!” cried Ben, rushing unceremoniously
+into the room and greeting the smiling Bob,
+with handshakes and slaps on the shoulder, “here’s
+a grand sight for sore eyes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Glad to see me, are you?” chuckled Bob, with
+his usual tantalizing imperturbability.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s what.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’ll be gladder soon. Let a famished pilgrim
+enjoy the rarest cookery in the country first, will
+you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Say, you’re looking pretty prosperous, it seems
+to me, Bob,” said Ben, scrutinizing his chum closely
+as he reseated himself at the table.</p>
+
+<p>“Think so?” smiled Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. That’s a pretty fine suit you’re wearing.”</p>
+
+<p>“One of my fine ones—oh, yes,” responded Bob,
+coolly. “Now then,” taking a last sup of tea, “thank
+you, Mrs. Hardy—and thank you, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?”</p>
+
+<p>“That whistle idea of yours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh?” exclaimed Ben with a start, instantly coupling
+the musical team downtown with the appearance
+of his friend.</p>
+
+<p>“You see, I stopped over about the dividends,”
+explained Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Dividends?” repeated Ben, wonderingly.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s the business proposition, exactly,” replied
+Bob, with an affected grand air. “That whistle of
+yours—well, the results first. See that?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span></p>
+
+<p>Very grandly Bob drew out a folding pocketbook
+and placed it open on the table. Elastic bands held
+a little heap of new green banknotes on either flap.</p>
+
+<p>“Four hundred dollars,” announced Bob, with an
+expansive chuckle and a grin.</p>
+
+<p>“Where did you get it,” stammered Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Your whistle.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’re joking, Bob.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not at all. There it is, the benefits of your little
+invention—four hundred dollars, half yours.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben stared in a stupefied way at the money, then
+at the smiling face of his friend, and then at his
+mother.</p>
+
+<p>“You’re joking, Bob,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Does that money look like a joke?” demanded
+Bob Dallow. “Here, that’s your share, two hundred
+dollars. Count it, and then I’ll tell you how
+this little fortune came to travel down to Woodville
+with me.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob removed the banknotes from one flap of the
+pocketbook and pushed them across the table to
+Ben. The latter merely fumbled them. He was
+fairly stunned at the sensational actions of his relative.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s all along of that whistle of yours, just as I
+said,” declared Bob. “When I left here two months
+ago it was to take a job as chauffeur, you remember.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” nodded Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“It was an easy job and a paying one, so easy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>
+that I began to get fat and lazy. The man I worked
+for had a lot of sporty friends, and they got to be
+such wild company I concluded to strike out for
+something better. I got word of a nice family at
+Springfield wanting a chauffeur. When I got there
+I found the place filled. I hadn’t much ready cash
+in my pocket. I’d made fine wages, but I spent it
+laying in a good stock of clothes. At the end of the
+week I was pretty near at the end of my rope financially.
+One evening I was consoling myself driving
+away the blues with some cheerful tunes on one of
+your whistles, when a big idea struck me.”</p>
+
+<p>“About the whistle?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Just that. When I began outlining plans for
+making my fortune out of the little device, so many
+ideas came to me that I began to think I was a
+natural born promoter. Well, the next morning I
+swept away all the dreamy schemes from the proposition
+and went to work in a sensible business-like
+way.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you do, Bob?”</p>
+
+<p>“I knew a young lawyer in Springfield, and I was
+sure he would give me his opinion free gratis. He
+did. After he had heard my story, and had inspected
+the whistle, and had looked up what he called
+authorities on the subject, he told me he didn’t believe
+a patent on the whistle would hold water.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, dear!” commented Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Even if it would, he said the whistle, being a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>
+mere passing novelty, would soon peg out. He advised
+me to find somebody who would take the whole
+business off my hands for a bulk sum—some one
+who ran a sort of supply headquarters for cheap
+novelties. That started me on a new tangent. I
+finally ran across the ideal person—a sort of padrone
+fellow who hired poor foreigners on a commission.
+I went to him fully prepared though.”</p>
+
+<p>“How was that Bob?” asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I knew he or somebody else would steal
+the whistle idea if it struck them favorably, unless
+I made a tangible show of controlling the situation.
+I made a real impressive looking drawing of the
+whistle—sectional view and all that, you know.
+Then I went to a big hardware factory and got a
+written estimate on the whistle in ten thousand lots.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whew!” ejaculated Ben admiringly.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I’m no cheap man when I get started,”
+vaunted Bob, with a laugh. “The name of the padrone
+was Vladimir. When I went to him, I had
+the drawing and the contract and a lot of big talk
+all ready. The man was interested at once. He
+heard me play on the whistle, tried it himself, didn’t
+make much progress, and then shook his head dubiously.
+Then he called in half a dozen fellows. They
+were musicians in his employ—mostly hurdy-gurdy
+men. They all tried the whistle. Four of them got
+onto the knack at once. Then I made my star hit.”</p>
+
+<p>“How was that?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I suggested that he send out a team—organ and
+whistle—and tab results. The thing went grandly.
+The next morning, after a lot of dickering, Vladimir
+gave me four hundred dollars for the outfit.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bob, you are a genius,” remarked Mrs. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Does the price suit you, Mr. Inventor?” inquired
+the other, “or did I sell too cheap?”</p>
+
+<p>“Cheap!” cried Ben. “Think of it! All that
+money mine! What will I ever do with it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, invest it in a new invention, of course,”
+cried Bob. “Make it your working capital, and get
+out something finer and finer till you rival Edison.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’re poking fun at me,” declared Ben. “The
+whistle was a mere trifle, and an accident. I may
+know how to handle a few machine tools, but I’m
+no real inventor, Bob Dallow. Of course——”</p>
+
+<p>Ben paused abruptly. His eyes sparkled as a sudden
+idea came to him. Quick-witted Bob eyed him
+keenly. “Go ahead, Ben,” he ordered, “of course
+what?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I was just thinking some foolishness,” answered
+Ben, with a conscious flush.</p>
+
+<p>“What foolishness?” persisted Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Well then, airships.”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh—what’s that?” demanded Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Ben!” murmured his mother.</p>
+
+<p>“What put airships in your head?” pressed Bob,
+with a token of real curiosity and interest in manner
+and voice.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well, I saw a man to-day who set me wild over
+them,” confessed Ben bluntly. “He is a real airship
+man himself. He had a book on airships full of
+drawings, and he has invited me to the airship meet
+at Blairville next week.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob Dallow stared hard at Ben as the latter spoke
+this outburst.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, well,” he said slowly, but forcibly, “you’ve
+got them, haven’t you? So have I. Invited to the
+meet at Blairville? Why, that’s where I’ve got
+my new job.”</p>
+
+<p>“You have?” exclaimed Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. Don’t look as if we’ve both gone dreaming,
+Aunt Mary,” said Bob to his hostess, with a
+merry laugh, “I’m hit, too. Tell you, I’ve figured
+out a system. I’ve made up my mind to keep up
+with the procession as it passes along. The automobile
+was a good stunt while it was fresh. Too
+common for enterprising fellows now, though. It’s
+all the new fad—airships. I’m headed for it strong.
+Yes, I’ve got a chance for work at Blairville, and
+I’m to report for duty to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p>“What’s your airship man’s name, Bob?” inquired
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“John Davis.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, that’s the name of my friend, too,” exclaimed
+Ben animatedly. “Say, isn’t this a queer
+coincidence?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben handed his money to his mother to keep for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>
+him. Then there was a regular “powwow” between
+the two boys. For nearly an hour there was a constant
+chorus of such words as aeroplanes, monoplanes,
+high speeders, air cars, aerials, aeratoriums,
+ultra violet rays, upper air mains, barographs and
+other technical terms, most of them proceeding from
+Bob, who it seemed had studied up aeronautics, and
+had acquired a smart smattering of aerial science
+in general. Then incidentally the conversation reverted
+back to the whistle, and Ben alluded to the
+two musicians he had seen playing near the public
+square.</p>
+
+<p>“That starts me,” declared Bob, springing to his
+feet. “They are two of Vladimir’s men, and I have
+a curiosity to find out how they are doing with the
+Sybilline.”</p>
+
+<p>The two friends went out to the street together.
+Two squares traversed they separated, Bob, to hunt
+for the street musicians, Ben to go to the automobile
+works to join his father.</p>
+
+<p>“You will come back to the house, of course,
+Bob?” asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“I should say I would—if I am invited.”</p>
+
+<p>“You don’t have to be,” declared Ben. “It’s
+welcome home to you whenever you strike Woodville.
+Father and I will be home some time within
+an hour, I think.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob proceeded towards the business portion of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>
+the town. Ben struck off in the direction of the
+Saxton shops.</p>
+
+<p>He whistled cheerily as he went along, for he felt
+pretty exuberant. The stirring events of the day,
+winding up with the remarkable arrival of his favorite
+chum, made him happy. The airship feature
+kept him dreaming, and Ben was overexcited and
+buoyant.</p>
+
+<p>As he turned a corner he came upon two boys near
+a street lamp. One was sitting in the shadow of a
+tree on a fence post. The other Ben recognized as
+the son of the engineer of the automobile works discharged
+that day.</p>
+
+<p>“Good evening,” hailed Ben pleasantly.</p>
+
+<p>The lad addressed bestowed a fearful scowl on
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“I didn’t speak to you,” he muttered.</p>
+
+<p>Ben passed on. He knew the sullen, quarrelsome
+nature of Dave Shallock quite well. The latter was
+a bully. Once he had gone too far with his domineering
+tactics with Ben, and a necessary and unavoidable
+mixup had resulted, which had taught
+Dave to keep his place.</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose he feels bad over his father losing his
+job,” reflected Ben sympathizingly. “I know I
+should, if our positions were changed.”</p>
+
+<p>Presently our hero turned quickly at the sound
+of footsteps behind him. It was to come face to
+face with the subject of his thoughts. Dave Shallock’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>
+eyes had a wicked glare. His hands were
+clenched, and Ben prepared for an onslaught, but
+he asked quietly:</p>
+
+<p>“Want to see me, Dave?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I do,” retorted Dave, in a husky, rage-filled
+voice. “I said a minute ago I didn’t speak to you.
+Well, I’m speaking to you now, you hear me! and
+I’ve got something to say you won’t soon forget.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is it about?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s about your mean, miserable trick in getting
+my father discharged from the Saxton Automobile
+Works!” shouted Dave Shallock wrathfully.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE AIRSHIP IDEA</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben backed to the fence. He was not a bit afraid
+of Dave Shallock, but he was fully aware of his
+tricky nature. He got into a position where he
+could be sure that Dave’s ally, the fellow he had
+noticed on the fence, did not get a chance to attack
+him unawares, side or rear.</p>
+
+<p>The boy seated on the fence did not move, however,
+and Dave himself did not press Ben closely.
+The latter decided that his adversary had learned
+his lesson in past encounters, and was simply bent
+on giving him a tongue lashing.</p>
+
+<p>“Haven’t you made a mistake, Dave?” suggested
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes, certainly!” shouted Dave in sarcastic
+tones, “I only dreamed that your father has been
+waiting for weeks to shove Pete Doty, his particular
+friend and crony, into my father’s job.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Doty is no more my father’s particular
+friend than is any honest deserving man,” declared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>
+Ben. “Certainly my father never suggested his
+name as the successor of your father.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell that to the greenies!” vociferated the furious
+Dave. “It was all a nice little plot—your jumping
+in where you had no business, and exposing
+dad.”</p>
+
+<p>“If somebody hadn’t stepped in,” said Ben, “you
+mightn’t have any father now.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, is that so,” sneered Dave. “I guess my
+father knows how to run his department without
+your help. He’s been at it long enough.”</p>
+
+<p>“He wasn’t able to run it to-day, Dave,” declared
+Ben. “He was ‘asleep at the switch,’ as the saying
+goes, and I tried to rouse him and keep things quiet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yah! Looks like it, when you let on that he’d
+been drinking.”</p>
+
+<p>“I? Never!” cried Ben indignantly. “On the contrary,
+I tried to shield him, and I don’t know that
+I had any right to do so, either. Why, I even tried
+to hide the tell-tale bottle in the ashes.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s the way you tell it,” interrupted Dave
+contemptuously. “All right. I just wanted to have
+the satisfaction of telling you that you and your
+father will rue the day you stuck your noses into
+our family’s business.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am sorry for your father, Dave.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bah! you can spare your pity. Maybe you’ll
+need it yourselves, you and your father. Wait till
+the tables turn.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p>
+
+<p>“All right,” said Ben simply. “You are wrong
+in your guesses, though, as to our having any ill
+will against your people.”</p>
+
+<p>“I guess my father has a pull—huh! I guess so,”
+blurted out Dave, as Ben started to leave the spot.
+“He wouldn’t take back his job working about that
+dirty boiler and that greasy old engine, if they
+offered him double what he got. I’d have you know
+that my father is as good a master mechanic as
+yours is, any day.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve heard that he’s a fine all-round machinist,”
+acknowledged Ben. “I would like to see him get
+right up to the top.”</p>
+
+<p>“He’ll get there. Mark you, Ben Hardy, he’s
+after your father’s scalp, and he’s going to get it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Fair play, and the best man wins,” answered our
+hero briefly.</p>
+
+<p>“There’s more than that,” shouted Dave down the
+street after Ben. “My father could just set your
+father on his pegs. Will he do it? Nix! That’s
+going to be his revenge. Ha! ha! Old Saxton has
+bamboozled your father, and my father can produce
+the evidence——”</p>
+
+<p>“Shut up, you chump!” growled the boy on the
+fence, jumping to the ground and rushing at Dave
+and silencing him. “Do you want to give the whole
+snap away?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben recognized the boy now as he came within<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>
+the radius of the street lamp. He was a cousin of
+Dave named Dick Farrell, who lived in another
+town.</p>
+
+<p>“H’m,” commented Ben, as he proceeded on his
+way, “was that all brag and bluster, or is there
+something under all this?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben recalled the remark of Dunn to Saxton that
+afternoon, when the bluff machine shop foreman
+had told the manufacturer that he acted as if he
+were afraid of Tom Shallock. He remembered, too,
+that it was general knowledge about the works that
+Shallock had been discharged for cause more times
+than any man in the place, and had always managed
+to get back again into the employment.</p>
+
+<p>“Dave said, too, that Saxton was bamboozling
+father,” reflected Ben. “Well, I have always
+thought that myself. I wonder, though, what he
+means when he talks about his father producing
+the evidence?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben reached the automobile works figuring out all
+kinds of suspicions and solutions as to the threatening
+remark of Dave Shallock. His father and
+Foreman Dunn had just concluded their labors. Mr.
+Hardy washed up, and was soon on his way home,
+Ben chattering exuberantly by his side.</p>
+
+<p>Ben, at his father’s request, recited the vivid occurrences
+of the day. He went into detail about his
+talk with Mr. Davis, and mentioned the invitation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>
+to the aero meet. Mr. Hardy said nothing as to his
+prospects of going there, but Ben knew that was his
+way, always turning a proposition over fully in his
+mind before he came to a final decision, and the son
+was hopeful.</p>
+
+<p>“Two hundred dollars?” repeated Mr. Hardy in
+great surprise, as Ben told about the money Bob
+Dallow had brought him. “That is a small fortune
+for a boy like you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Father, what did Dave Shallock mean by the
+threat he made?” asked Ben, quite anxiously, when
+the conversation had taken a new turn.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, some boastful nonsense,” said Mr. Hardy
+indifferently. “I have no time to analyze such talk.
+Tom Shallock would be a fair workman if he would
+keep sober. It is certainly true that he has some
+influence with Mr. Saxton, but he cannot injure us.
+I shall keep right on doing my best, and honest labor
+will always command a fair market. As to you,
+Ben, a very pretty and useful token of regard the
+men are getting for you will show how they esteem
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben tried a hint or two to induce his father to
+take some action about the patents that he had given
+under the control of Jasper Saxton, but Mr. Hardy
+was not responsive.</p>
+
+<p>“Father is pretty tired, I suppose,” reflected the
+youth, “but, all the same, I am going to get mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>
+to urge him up to some action on that patent business.
+Delays are dangerous, and I haven’t much
+confidence in Mr. Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob Dallow greeted them as they reached home.
+Mr. Hardy went into the house, where his wife had
+a special lunch spread for him.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Bob, what about the whistle?” inquired
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Going fine,” declared Bob. “We made a big
+mistake, though.”</p>
+
+<p>“How is that?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sold it too cheap. That Vladimir seems to be
+coining money out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I am satisfied,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>The conversation drifted to airships before the
+two boys had been together five minutes. The enthusiastic
+Bob declared that he was going to make a
+big record in the new field he was about to enter so
+ardently. He predicted that if Ben would study up
+aeronautics and put his inventive ability to work,
+he would make a grand success.</p>
+
+<p>“You overrate me,” said Ben modestly. “At all
+events, though, I would like to go to the aero meet
+next week.”</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll have one fine time, if you do,” returned
+Bob. “I’ll write you as soon as I get fixed in my
+new position. In the meantime, let us bring up the
+subject to your father and see what he thinks about
+it.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy listened with an indulgent smile to
+the plans and suggestions of their young guest.</p>
+
+<p>“I haven’t the heart to refuse you any reasonable
+request after your fine record of to-day, Ben,” he
+told his son, “but I want to take a night’s sleep over
+this.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, that will be best,” remarked Mrs. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>Bob was obliged to be content with this decision.
+Ben was sure he would be allowed to go to the aero
+meet. As to any encouragement as to experimenting
+on a machine of his own, which was a glowing ideal
+in his mind, he was not so certain.</p>
+
+<p>He regarded his father with anxious expectation
+as Mr. Hardy left the breakfast table next morning.
+As was usual they all went out on the porch, where
+Mr. Hardy generally rested and chatted a few
+minutes before starting for the automobile works.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Ben,” he said with a pleasant smile, as they
+became comfortably seated, “I’ve thought over this
+new idea which I see Bob has been so industriously
+cultivating in your mind.”</p>
+
+<p>“Blame me, that’s right, Mr. Hardy!” spoke up
+Bob airily. “I’ll bet you, though, that something
+tangible comes out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Your vacation begins next week, Ben,” resumed
+Mr. Hardy. “You have quite a little capital of
+your own. You can employ some of it, if you think
+it wise, in looking up this new idea, and I don’t
+mind helping you a bit on experiments.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, father,” said Ben joyfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Only don’t let all your common sense and practical
+ideas go up in an airship that won’t sail,” was
+Mr. Hardy’s final advice.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">MYSTERY</p>
+
+
+<p>“Hurrah—I’m coming!”</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hardy began a brief but enthusiastic letter
+to his friend, Bob Dallow, with these words.</p>
+
+<p>“It is all settled, Bob,” added Ben, “and if you
+are sure you won’t be put out by having me share
+your quarters, I can stay for the whole week. We
+will have a glorious time, and I am just wild to see
+those airship stunts you describe.”</p>
+
+<p>School had closed for the long vacation on Thursday.
+It was now the following Monday, and Ben
+had his satchel packed and was counting the hours
+until Tuesday morning and train time should arrive.</p>
+
+<p>Ben had calculated to devote the long vacation to
+work in the Saxton automobile plant. The pattern
+shop was a favorite spot with him in his visits to
+the great factory. He was an adept at drawing,
+and the foreman of the model department had given
+him some encouragement as to a future position.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>
+He had, however, advised Ben to wait a year or two
+and stick to his studies.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy had done some serious thinking, and
+had given his son the result of the same. Ben’s
+success with the whistle, his evident liking for machinery,
+particularly of new types, had caused Mr.
+Hardy to recall his own early dreams and longings
+before he became a master machinist.</p>
+
+<p>What pleased the father most was the way Ben
+went at aeronautics. The evening after Bob Dallow
+left Woodville, Mr. Hardy came home to find Ben
+seated before a stand piled high with reading matter,
+and deeply absorbed in a big volume from the town
+library.</p>
+
+<p>“Airships, Ben?” inquired his father with an indulgent
+smile.</p>
+
+<p>“One end of them,” responded Ben. “I’ve ransacked
+the town for books and magazines bearing
+on the subject, and as you see I have got a raft of
+them. They cover mostly the history end of the
+business, though. I wish I had some of the up-to-date
+books Mr. Davis showed me.”</p>
+
+<p>“What you read now will fit in all right to that
+later,” remarked Mr. Hardy. “Get as familiar as
+you can with your subject in a general way, Ben.
+You manage the theoretical end of the business, and
+when you come back from the aero meet we will
+join forces on a practical demonstration of the
+science.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Will you, father?” pressed Ben eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>“By the time you get back I will screen off a
+space next to the work shed, and we will see what
+we can do in making an airship,” continued Mr.
+Hardy. “You have talked over the subject so much,
+I am inclined to take a flier myself—not up in the
+air, Ben, but in an inventive way.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben was more filled with enthusiasm than ever
+after that. He had been made doubly happy during
+the week at receiving a handsome watch, bearing a
+pleasing testimonial in script on its inner case, for
+his bravery in saving the auto works from possible
+wreck.</p>
+
+<p>Ben was not troubled any further by Dave Shallock.
+He heard that his father, the discharged engineer,
+was loafing about some low drinking places
+in the town. Shallock was making all kinds of foolish
+boasts as to his ability to get a new and better
+place from “old Saxton,” as he designated him. He
+hinted at a certain powerful influence he had with
+the manufacturer. So far his bragging had brought
+no results.</p>
+
+<p>That evening, just about dusk, our hero started
+from home after supper for a downtown stroll.
+There was a short cut across a square which had
+once held a handsome residence, burned down a few
+months previous.</p>
+
+<p>The high hedge fence, broken in places, still lined
+the front of the grounds. As Ben neared this he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>
+paused, quite startled. Some one had made a bold
+rush through the hedge and crouched in a stealthy
+manner on its other side, as if trying to hide.</p>
+
+<p>“Why,” murmured Ben in some astonishment,
+drawing behind a bush, “it is Tom Shallock!”</p>
+
+<p>Ben wondered what the discharged engineer was
+up to. He soon learned the motive of his sudden
+rush from the public street. Almost immediately a
+sharp mandatory voice beyond the hedge shouted
+out:</p>
+
+<p>“That will do, Shallock—you come out here, if
+you want to save trouble.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, is that you?” stammered Shallock, and he
+sheepishly retraced his steps to the sidewalk.</p>
+
+<p>“You knew it was, and you tried to sneak away
+from me, didn’t you?” challenged the stormy voice.</p>
+
+<p>Ben was curious enough to press close up to the
+hedge and peer through it. Shallock stood leaning
+in a shambling way outside, a crestfallen expression
+on his face. The man addressing him was a very
+keen-eyed fellow Ben had never seen before. He
+was a stranger in Woodville. He carried a whip
+in one hand, and Ben wondered why this was.</p>
+
+<p>“Now then,” spoke the stranger, “what does this
+mean? You’ve been trying to keep out of my way
+for two hours, and I know it. That worthless cub
+boy of yours sent me off on a false hunt.”</p>
+
+<p>“I—I wasn’t prepared to see you,” said Shallock
+shiftily.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, then, I knew what you came after.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, money.”</p>
+
+<p>“Exactly. I had none. I know you’re a hard
+man, and I hoped you’d let me alone for a few days
+longer.”</p>
+
+<p>“See here, Shallock,” spoke the other sharply,
+“I’ve got just one last warning to give you. Produce
+one hundred dollars, and get it quick, or I’ll
+close down on you bag and baggage.”</p>
+
+<p>Shallock began to snivel in a maudlin way. He
+had been drinking, and he began to deplore his unhappy
+lot. He was an unfortunate target of fate.
+He had lost his job. His grocery credit had been
+stopped only that day, and he had been obliged to
+sell some of his wife’s jewelry to buy food for the
+family.</p>
+
+<p>“Not food, but drink for yourself, you mean,”
+derided the stranger testily. “Now then, I’m tired
+of waiting for that money. I loaned it to you on a
+promise of repayment due months ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“I can’t pay when I haven’t got it, can I?” demurred
+Shallock.</p>
+
+<p>“You can get money out of Jasper Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ha! yes—yes, indeed,” spurted up Shallock
+eagerly. “Say, that’s just what I’m working on.
+Honestly, if you’ll consent not to trouble me for
+a week, I’ll not only have the best job in the Saxton
+machine shops, but a lot of ready cash besides.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know that,” remarked the stranger.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, you do,” disputed Shallock. “You know
+that Saxton has got to fix me out right, or lose a
+fortune.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’d like to see some of your boasted fortune right
+now,” sneered the man.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, it’s coming. Don’t press me too hard, and
+make me spoil the whole business. You shall have
+double interest. I’ll promise you faithfully to settle
+the whole business in a month. See here, you can’t
+possibly lose. Why, if I failed you, all you’ve got
+to do is to take that security of mine and go to
+Saxton with it.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t fancy mixing up in a blackmailing game,”
+observed the stranger. “Now then, Shallock, I’ll
+give you a last chance. You arrange your business
+so you can pay me one hundred dollars a week from
+to-day, the balance by the first of the month, or I’ll
+foreclose on your security.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a bargain,” declared Shallock, in a tone of
+hopeful relief. “Yes, sir, if I don’t carry out just
+that agreement, you can take your security to old
+Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no,” said the stranger in a deep decisive
+voice, “I’ll take it to Martin Hardy.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben was startled at this last declaration. Shallock
+uttered a gasp and put out his hands pleadingly.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t do that,” he begged in a husky tone, “say,
+don’t do that!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You’ve heard me,” replied the stranger, turning
+his back on Shallock and crossing the street. “I’ll
+do just what I say if you don’t raise that money!”</p>
+
+<p>“What does this mean?” exclaimed Ben in an excited
+tone. “Here’s some dark plotting, and I’m
+going to get at the bottom of this.”</p>
+
+<p>He ran along the inside at the hedge, passed
+through it at a break, and observed the stranger
+just turning the corner of the side street.</p>
+
+<p>As Ben in turn reached it, the crack of the whip
+rang out. A sharp “Get up!” sent a mettled horse
+attached to a light gig carrying the stranger away
+in a flash. Our hero outdistanced, reluctantly admitted
+to himself that for the present at least he
+had lost the clew of a big mystery.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">AT THE AERO MEET</p>
+
+
+<p>“Well, Ben, this is life worth living, eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“Bob,” declared Ben enthusiastically, “it’s been
+the event of my life.”</p>
+
+<p>“And more to come. We want to make an early
+start to-morrow. I’ll show you what real air sailing
+is then.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hardy was, indeed, having the liveliest time
+in all his youthful experience. This was his third
+day at Blairville, and every minute since his arrival
+had been packed full of excitement and pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis had greeted him with a kindly courtesy
+and attention that would win the heart of any live,
+up-to-date boy. The fact that he was a relative of
+Bob Dallow had added to the friendly interest of
+the aviator. Bob, to use a popular phrase, had
+made good. He had taken to practical aeronautics
+like a duck to water.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp45" id="p060" style="max-width: 69.4375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/p060.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption"><p>IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD SEEN A
+REAL AIRSHIP AFLOAT.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>One week of practice under the direction of the
+skilled man-bird, Mr. Davis, had proven that Bob
+was going to become as good an aviator as he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span>was an accomplished chauffeur. Mr. Davis had
+comfortable living quarters in a building on the
+aviation field. Ben was invited to double up with
+Bob, and they made a happy and a merry team.</p>
+
+<p>The first day had been a bewildering experience of
+delight and astonishment for Ben. It was an occasion
+of experiment and preparation for trial flights
+on the morrow. Bob in his lively way had become
+a general favorite with the various aeronauts on
+the field. He and Ben had free entrance to every
+tent and aero hangar in the enclosure. After a
+while Ben’s interest grew into studious attention,
+and that evening he pored industriously over the
+technical aviation literature of which Mr. Davis had
+a surfeit.</p>
+
+<p>The aviator was more than pleased at the real interest
+displayed by his willing protégé. Bob Dallow
+had gratified him with his cool daring and quick
+adaptation to his new calling. In Ben, however, the
+old aviator discovered more of the scientific and constructive
+element. He was kindly disposed, and he
+seemed decided to give Ben all the encouragement
+he could.</p>
+
+<p>The second day was fairly spectacular for our
+hero. It was the first time he had seen a real airship
+afloat. He had already mastered the mechanism
+of the aeroplane. Their ready manipulation by the
+aviators, however, fairly fascinated him.</p>
+
+<p>It was a famous sight to see a venturesome air<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>
+sailor start a daring altitude record in the teeth of
+a wind blowing twenty miles an hour. It was like
+a dream to watch a machine diminish to a mere
+speck in the air, and then in a roundabout gyration
+through several complete circles, wind up in a sensational
+glide back to its starting place.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the bird-men went so far and so high
+that they stiffly climbed from their machines as they
+regained <em>terra firma</em>. One monoplane ventured some
+practicable curves, dashed into a fence and was
+demolished. There were many triumphs, but some
+mishaps as well. Ben stored a mass of valuable
+ideas in his mind that stirring day in his new experience.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis gave the boys a ride in his monoplane,
+the <em>Flyer</em>, the day following. It was Ben’s first
+flight. He went through all the thrills of an initial
+ascent, but was charmed after the first breathless
+rush aloft in the subsequent cavortings of the light
+and dainty fabric of wood and canvas.</p>
+
+<p>The present aero meet was simply preliminary to
+a contest occasion for prizes two weeks later. A
+convention at a near city was to intervene. Until the
+last of the month the enclosed field would be simply
+a practice campus. On the coming Saturday, however,
+there were to be some endurance tests which
+would go far towards deciding the selection of the
+best aeroplane on the grounds.</p>
+
+<p>Ben had arranged to wait and see this event.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>
+Then he was to return home. He had freely confessed
+to Mr. Davis that he intended to go into
+building an airship of his own.</p>
+
+<p>It was Wednesday evening when Ben and Bob
+were discussing “the early start to-morrow.” Both
+were looking forward to the ensuing morning to an
+event in which they were especially interested. It
+was to be a free-for-all occasion. Bob had persuaded
+Mr. Davis to allow them to use the <em>Flyer</em>,
+in fact Bob and Ben had made several experimental
+flights that afternoon. It had ended in Ben making
+a suggestion which set his impulsive chum on fire
+with expectancy and enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>“Keep it to yourself, Ben,” directed Bob, as they
+went to their quarters for the night. “We’ll show
+these aviator-fellows some fancy work and a novelty
+feature or two.”</p>
+
+<p>“It will be quite a novelty, I think, yes,” said Ben.
+“Don’t be too venturesome, though, Bob.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s the only way to attract attention and get
+even a look in at the prize aero meet,” declared
+Bob. “I’m a candidate all right, if they’ll give me a
+show.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben made a mysterious visit to town late in the
+afternoon. He returned in a wagon, the driver of
+which was directed to deliver a mysterious load at
+an old unused shed at an unfrequented part of the
+grounds.</p>
+
+<p>Five o’clock the next morning found Ben and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>
+Bob arrived at this shed in sprightly mood. Hauling
+two long light packages outside of the structure,
+they proceeded to unpack them. They brought to
+light over two dozen cardboard boxes about a foot
+square. They had no covers, and Ben next brought
+from the shed a bundle of sticks about five feet long.</p>
+
+<p>“Now then,” said Bob, “got the hammer and
+tacks?”</p>
+
+<p>“Full supply, Bob,” replied Ben cheerily.</p>
+
+<p>“All right, you sharpen one end of the sticks,
+and I’ll tack the box on to the end of them.”</p>
+
+<p>In less than a half an hour the boys had the boxes
+open depth upwards mounted on the sticks.</p>
+
+<p>“Now then, to place them,” suggested Ben. “This
+part of the field isn’t used much, and we can cover
+all the space we want.”</p>
+
+<p>They proceeded to set the sticks in the ground at
+regular intervals, covering a space over one half a
+mile in length and extending two hundred yards
+from the fence.</p>
+
+<p>“For all the world they look like a lot of bird
+boxes on a ranch,” observed Bob. “Just about the
+right distance apart.”</p>
+
+<p>“Won’t somebody disturb them?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Why should anyone do that? Of course this
+queer layout will attract attention. No one will
+meddle with our little stations, though, for they will
+know they must be an equipment for some new
+experiments.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span></p>
+
+<p>The night watchman came forward to meet the
+boys as Ben emerged from the shed, a bag slung
+across his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>The officer leaned perplexedly on his cane and
+stood staring wonderingly at the singular outlay
+of boxes.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello, Mr. Brown,” hailed Bob heartily.
+“Thought you had gone home, and we were stealing
+a march on you.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m waiting to be relieved by the day man. He’s
+a little late on duty,” explained the watchman.
+“What’s those boxes?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, a big new idea, Mr. Brown,” declared Bob,
+with a mysterious air.</p>
+
+<p>“No mischief, I hope?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mischief?” repeated Bob with great gravity.
+“I should say not. If Ben and I don’t tumble out
+of the airship, those boxes will comprise a very
+original and remarkable experiment in the aviation
+line.”</p>
+
+<p>“That so?” muttered the watchman in a puzzled
+way.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir. Say, Mr. Brown, won’t you speak to
+the day man and have him keep a sort of watch
+over the boxes here, so that nobody meddles with
+them?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will, if you’ll tell me what you’re up to along
+with them.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s a bargain—listen,” said Bob.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Aha!” exclaimed the watchman, as Bob whispered
+in his ear. “Well, you are two originals, and
+no mistake! I’ll tell my partner.”</p>
+
+<p>“And keep it a secret until the event comes off?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, sure—but what will he tell the fellows who
+will be snooking around here wanting to know what
+it all means?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why,” said Bob, “just say—stunts.”</p>
+
+<p>“But they will want to know what kind of stunts.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” replied Bob Dallow airily, “tell them
+we’re going to make some bomb dropping experiments.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A BOMB-DROPPING EVENT</p>
+
+
+<p>“I say, Davis, have you got anything to do with
+that queer layout yonder?”</p>
+
+<p>“Dallow and Hardy have, I think.”</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the stunt?”</p>
+
+<p>“You’ll have to ask them.”</p>
+
+<p>The questioner was named Burr Rollins, and he
+was the one aviator on the field for whom neither
+Mr. Davis, Bob nor Ben, nor in fact anybody else
+at the meet, had much use.</p>
+
+<p>The only merit about the man was that he was
+unquestionably a fair aeronaut. He had a small, but
+good machine, and he knew how to handle it. He
+was surly, suspicious, and on occasions an ugly customer,
+quick to resent fancied wrong, and harboring
+resentment in a vicious and sometimes dangerous
+way when any one crossed his path.</p>
+
+<p>He considered John Davis to be the big stumbling
+block in his career. This was because the old aviator,
+through his cool, courageous ways generally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>
+discounted his brilliant but erratic flights with a
+coherent record.</p>
+
+<p>“Rollins hates me because I have beaten him in
+the test flights,” Mr. Davis had observed to Ben and
+Bob one day. “He is afraid of me, though, because
+he knows I am right. I am holding him up to a
+fair, square-dealing programme. He doesn’t altogether
+like that, for he is a resourceful man, and
+full of slippery tricks. I’ve made him respect me,
+though, and some day he may learn to drop those
+grouches of his and act like a civilized being.”</p>
+
+<p>“That helper of his, the young fellow he calls
+Dick, is about as gruff a customer as you meet,”
+Bob had observed. “Ever run up against him,
+Ben?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I have noticed him practicing at a distance,
+and thought he did pretty well.”</p>
+
+<p>“There he goes now.”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh, that boy?” exclaimed Ben, with a stare.
+“Oh, I know him by sight. Why that is Dick Farrell.
+He’s a cousin of Dave Shallock.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean the fellow you had some trouble with,
+the son of the engineer who was discharged from
+the Saxton Automobile Works.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” assented Ben, with a lively memory of the
+fellow on the fence the night he had last met Dave
+Shallock.</p>
+
+<p>“You told me about him,” said Bob. “Look out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>
+for this fellow, if he’s like that ill-natured cousin of
+his.”</p>
+
+<p>Now, just as the various bird-men about the field
+were preparing for practice ascents and stunts, Rollins,
+after his unsatisfactory query from Mr. Davis,
+stood glumly watching Ben and Bob who had got
+aboard the machine.</p>
+
+<p>“Let her go!” shouted Ben, and Mr. Davis lent
+a hand in sending the wheels spinning, and then at
+the end of a little run the <em>Flyer</em> made a graceful
+lateral soar, and struck a fair equilibrium about two
+hundred and fifty feet from the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Bob was strapped to the operator’s seat, hands,
+feet and eyes doing just the right thing at the right
+moment. Ben sat three feet behind him, slightly to
+one side. The machine was constructed to accommodate
+several passengers and was delicately framed
+as to nicety of balance.</p>
+
+<p>“Got the bag all right, Ben?” shot back Bob, as
+the monoplane, after describing a dizzying circle
+that made Ben hold his breath, turned its planes upward
+and shot into the air to a still higher level.</p>
+
+<p>“Right in my lap.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have it ready.”</p>
+
+<p>“There goes the opening gun for the beginning of
+the endurance tests on the spiral trials.”</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll do our own stunt on that after the crowd
+get through,” advised Bob. “We’ll just do a bit of
+floating for the present.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ben had never been so happy and elated in his life.
+It was a glorious experience, that of the ensuing
+sixty minutes. The atmosphere was just right for
+safe sailing. There were no sudden gusts of air,
+no strong cross currents. Bob kept the <em>Flyer</em> on a
+course of magnificent long sweeps, several times circling
+the aviation field.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it was easy for both boys to become comfortable
+spectators of what was going on, surveying
+the various airships in all their spectacular manoeuvres
+from a superior height.</p>
+
+<p>“A regular private box party, aren’t we?”
+chuckled Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s wonderful,” assented his entranced companion.
+“There goes the <em>Torpedo</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, and that Dick Farrell is aboard.”</p>
+
+<p>“He knows how to whiz.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whew! That’s about all he does know. H’m!
+that was a narrow graze,” commented Bob, as the
+<em>Torpedo</em> nearly collided with a scudding biplane.
+“Some day that fellow will meet his Waterloo.”</p>
+
+<p>After a spell the air began to clear of the exhibitors
+and their machines.</p>
+
+<p>“Now we’ll give Mr. Davis a genuine thrill,” announced
+Bob. “Get ready, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m all ready, Bob.”</p>
+
+<p>The young aviator brought the <em>Flyer</em> directly over
+the field. They were now on a one-thousand-foot
+level. Bob kept the machine directly over that part<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>
+of the enclosure which he and Ben had plotted with
+their boxes early that morning.</p>
+
+<p>Ben opened the bag in his lap.</p>
+
+<p>“Fire at the warships!” ordered Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“With oranges for bombs,” added Ben, displaying
+the fruit in his lap.</p>
+
+<p>His words let out the secret of the designed exploit.
+Ben in his studies on aeronautics had found
+that the deepest scientific interest was evinced in the
+practicability of using airships in warfare.</p>
+
+<p>What the boys had done that morning was to
+plot a space to represent the decks of warships.
+Each box commanded a radius of about three hundred
+feet. Bob set the motor at its swiftest, and as
+to height and variation of course followed imitated
+the probable cautious and expert manoeuvres of a
+real war airship evading the peril of rifle or cannon
+shots from a genuine enemy below.</p>
+
+<p>Ben poised his bombs with all the accuracy and
+skill he could command. It was a new and novel
+exploit in which he had no practice. The constant
+turnings of the monoplane were confusing, but after
+the first half dozen of the experiments Ben began
+to get the knack of poising and dropping the projectiles.</p>
+
+<p>“They didn’t all go wild, I think,” he said, as the
+last orange performed its mission.</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll get below and see how you have panned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>
+out as to bombardment,” said Bob. “I’ll try a record
+on plain aero stunts before we land, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“Careful, Bob!” warned Ben, as his daring comrade
+made a sensational dive.</p>
+
+<p>“The spiral dip,” announced Bob. “Hold your
+breath.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whew!” ejaculated Ben.</p>
+
+<p>In a whirling top-like series of gyrations, such
+as Ben had seen a bicycle spin in a crack trick display,
+Bob manipulated the <em>Flyer</em>. It described a
+perfect spiral effect for nearly eight hundred feet.
+Then with a sharp veer the machine turned its
+planes and shot upwards. A second venturesome
+figure eight followed. Amid a tremendous ovation
+from the spellbound crowd, the <em>Flyer</em> struck on its
+wheels, bounded, rose, dropped again, and slid one
+hundred yards to a graceful stop.</p>
+
+<p>“You’re an artist, Bob,” declared Ben enthusiastically,
+as they climbed from the machine.</p>
+
+<p>The boys proceeded over to that part of the field
+where they had set the boxes. Mr. Davis was leading
+a crowd along the line. Two men accompanied
+him, one carrying a measuring line. The other was
+making notations on a tab of paper.</p>
+
+<p>The old aviator waved his hand at his young
+assistants in a cheering fashion as they reached the
+last box.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, boys, you did finely in your bomb-dropping
+event,” he announced.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span></p>
+
+<p>“How’s that?” inquired Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Good enough to start a record,” was the reply.
+“Eleven points out of a possible twenty-five. You’ll
+have a column or two in the newspapers for
+this exploit, Ben Hardy. If I do as well as that myself,
+Saturday, I’m in for first mention at the convention,
+sure.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A RUSH ORDER</p>
+
+
+<p>“I’d like to find the man that did that!” stormed
+John Davis in great rage.</p>
+
+<p>“It wasn’t a man—it was a boy,” said Ben, but
+he distinctly said it to himself.</p>
+
+<p>There was trouble at the <em>Flyer</em> camp. It had just
+been discovered. That morning Mr. Davis had
+joined in the principal feats of the preliminary aviation
+meet.</p>
+
+<p>It had been a real endurance test and the barograph
+record was one of the principal features of
+the event. The <em>Torpedo</em> did very well as to speed,
+but was lacking in the altitude test. When the barographs
+were removed from the various machines the
+<em>Flyer</em> showed a 6,211-foot record. The <em>Torpedo</em>
+was fourth down in the list.</p>
+
+<p>There never was a glummer, more sullen man
+than Burr Rollins when the announcement was
+made. It was pretty conclusive that the <em>Flyer</em>
+would go into the convention the favorite entry for
+the coming big aero meet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p>
+
+<p>“There’s Saturday left,” growled Rollins, as he
+turned his back on his fellow aviators in a wrathful
+way.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll beat the <em>Torpedo</em> there, too,” declared Mr.
+Davis confidently. “It can run like a whitehead on
+a straight course, but bungles at the turns. You
+lads want to keep in trim. There’s no saying what
+the <em>Flyer</em> may not want of you at the big event.”</p>
+
+<p>Now to sanguine enthusiasm there had come a
+sudden dampener that had made Ben look blank
+and Bob gruesome with anxiety. Mr. Davis, ordinarily
+cheerful and even tempered, went all to
+pieces.</p>
+
+<p>About four o’clock in the afternoon, after the
+encouraging victories of the day, the old aviator
+had decided to visit the hangar that housed the
+<em>Flyer</em>, to look over the machine and oil up and adjust
+the machinery for the last trial of the meet.
+A startling discovery greeted the aeronaut and his
+two young friends.</p>
+
+<p>One of the great claims of the <em>Flyer</em> was that it
+had a double mechanism to the steering apparatus,
+that admitted of unusually prompt and efficient
+manipulation in case of striking a sudden change
+in the air currents. Mr. Davis with a good deal of
+pride claimed to be responsible for the adaptation—he
+did not call it an invention.</p>
+
+<p>This essential and precious part of the mechanism
+of the <em>Flyer</em> was found unlocked from its bearings.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>
+Its inner rim of babbitt metal had been chiselled
+out of place, and the main part of the device
+had been broken squarely in two as if from the blows
+of a sledge hammer.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s easy to guess why this was done,” remarked
+Bob Dallow hotly.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” assented Mr. Davis, pale and excited,
+“this is foul play, the work of an enemy.”</p>
+
+<p>He glanced at the boys in turn in a significant
+way, but did not voice his suspicions. All hands
+thought instantly of Burr Rollins.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, if we found the culprit, and convicted him
+and tarred and feathered him into the bargain and
+drove him out of the camp and the profession, it
+wouldn’t mend the <em>Flyer</em>,” observed the old aviator,
+with a disconsolate look at his beloved machine.
+“It’s all up for me for to-morrow’s flight, lads.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t say that, Mr. Davis!” cried Bob, almost
+at the point of tears. “Surely it can be repaired.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know how,” dissented the aviator. “That
+fixing was made from a special model. It took a
+week to make it, and the mechanic who assisted me
+in its construction is five hundred miles away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Let me look at it, please,” suggested Ben, and he
+went over the broken parts of the device critically.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Davis,” he said, “I don’t want to hold out
+any false hopes, but if anything can be done towards
+fixing this I know the way.”</p>
+
+<p>“You think it can be repaired?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Or replaced—yes, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“Within twelve hours?” pressed the aviator anxiously.
+“Remember, time is the main point in this
+difficulty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I know that,” assented Ben, studying the
+device. “I think my father can help you out.”</p>
+
+<p>“But the place where he works will be shut down
+by the time you reach Woodville.”</p>
+
+<p>“You had better let me try what I can do, Mr.
+Davis,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“If you can replace that joint, Ben,” said the
+aviator, “I will stand any expense and never forget
+the favor.”</p>
+
+<p>“It shall not cost you a cent, and it will make
+me a happy boy if I can get back in time with the
+article.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis consulted a timetable. He looked
+disappointed.</p>
+
+<p>“No train moving Woodville way for four
+hours,” he reported.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I can fix that,” declared Ben.</p>
+
+<p>He wrapped up the pieces of the broken part and
+stowed them in two parcels in his pockets. Then
+he said:</p>
+
+<p>“I will be back by eight o’clock in the morning,
+Mr. Davis, or send you a telegram.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’ll be back,” predicted Bob Dallow animatedly.
+“You’re starting out right to make a go
+of it, I can see that.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Come on, Bob,” directed Ben. “Don’t worry,
+Mr. Davis. Everything shall be done that can be
+done.”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe that, Ben,” said the aviator warmly.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the programme?” inquired Bob, as Ben
+led the way from the Davis camp over to a neighboring
+one.</p>
+
+<p>“I am going to ask that friendly young fellow
+of Barton’s to loan me his motor-cycle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Grand idea!” applauded Bob. “He’s an accommodating
+boy, and will be glad to help you through.”</p>
+
+<p>Ten minutes later Ben was chug—chugging his
+way from Blairville down a fine country road in
+the direction of Woodville.</p>
+
+<p>“I won’t tell Mr. Davis of my discovery until
+after to-morrow’s event is over,” soliloquized Ben.
+“I’ll have to give him a warning, though. Of course,
+that ill-natured Rollins is behind this plot to disable
+the <em>Flyer</em>. Dick Farrell did the work for him,
+though.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben had good reasons for this decision. Immediately
+after the discovery of the disabled monoplane,
+Ben had noticed a piece of paper lying under the
+machine. It was all greasy and crinkled. Ben, inspecting
+this, found it covered with writing. It
+was a letter from Dave Shallock at Woodville to
+Dick Farrell at the aero field. The latter had used
+it to wipe the grease from his hands after his manipulation
+of the monoplane machinery.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ben rode into the yard at home just as his father
+and mother were sitting down to supper. He was
+covered with dust and pretty well tired out from his
+rapid run. He received a royally glad welcome,
+washed up, and thoroughly enjoyed a home meal
+once more.</p>
+
+<p>“I have come to have you help me out on something,
+father,” said Ben after supper.</p>
+
+<p>“What is that, my son?” inquired Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>Ben produced the broken parts of the monoplane
+mechanism and explained the urgency of the unexpected
+home visit. His father listened attentively
+and closely examined the pieces of metal.</p>
+
+<p>“Can you mend it, father?” inquired Ben anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>“It is no easy job,” replied Mr. Hardy seriously.
+“What time did you say you could give me on it?”</p>
+
+<p>“In order to be of any use, it must be at the field
+by eight o’clock to-morrow morning at the latest,”
+replied Ben.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy went for his hat and told his wife
+that he and Ben might not be home until very late.</p>
+
+<p>“If the plant was running, this might be a mere
+trifle,” said Mr. Hardy, as Ben accompanied him
+in the direction of the Saxton works.</p>
+
+<p>When they arrived at the plant they found the
+watchman strolling in the shop yards. A few words
+from Mr. Hardy resulted in his unlocking a side
+door and letting them into the machine shop. Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>
+Hardy went to the section where there were some
+small hand lathes. He lit the gas in their vicinity
+and took off his coat, putting on his working blouse.</p>
+
+<p>As has been indicated, Mr. Hardy was a skilled
+artisan. The present task, however, was one that
+fully tested his mettle. Ben watched his patient,
+painstaking efforts till nearly ten o’clock. He was
+glad when his father required his assistance at a
+small portable forge, and later at a lathe propelled by
+foot and hand power.</p>
+
+<p>“Lay down on the bench yonder, Ben,” directed
+Mr. Hardy about midnight, “and take a little rest.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t I help you, father?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing now, Ben,” replied Mr. Hardy. “It
+will take me several hours to finish up this piece of
+work, and you will have a long day before you.”</p>
+
+<p>Daylight was streaming through the windows of
+the machine shop when Ben opened his eyes. His
+father was standing at the bench inspecting the
+result of his long labors. He looked quite white
+and wearied. For all that, Ben read in his face the
+satisfaction of work successfully accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you make it, father?” he inquired, springing
+to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ben. I would advise, however, that Mr.
+Davis have a new bearing made soon. This will
+answer for a time, but it is only a patched-up make-shift.”</p>
+
+<p>The device was bundled up. Ben accompanied<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>
+his father home, and they had a refreshing breakfast.
+Then Ben got the motor-cycle in shape for the
+return trip to the aviation field.</p>
+
+<p>“You are the best father ever lived!” declared
+the boy, as he strapped the little piece of machinery
+to the cycle.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s worth something—coming from a bright,
+active young fellow like you,” smiled Mr. Hardy
+in reply.</p>
+
+<p>“And the smartest man in the bargain!” added
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll try some of it, then, on that wonderful
+monoplane you are going to build, Ben,” said his
+father.</p>
+
+<p>Ben reached the aviation grounds before eight
+o’clock. He received a rousing greeting from Mr.
+Davis. He had the satisfaction of seeing the <em>Flyer</em>
+make its record flight of the season two hours later.</p>
+
+<p>“Remember, Ben,” said the aviator that afternoon,
+as Ben bade him good-bye and started for the
+train with Bob Dallow, “you are to come to the big
+meet the last of the month.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll be there,” declared Ben animatedly, “and
+I’ll be there with a new airship that I am going to
+build myself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good luck to you, Ben!” encouraged the old
+aviator.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE DART</p>
+
+
+<p>“Well, Ben, how is your airship work coming
+on?”</p>
+
+<p>“Famously, father.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s good. Here is a drawing of the new
+curve planes we talked about last night. We have
+a whole afternoon before us, and I would like to
+look over things.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will be glad to have you,” declared Ben. “I
+know you can make some valuable suggestions.”</p>
+
+<p>Bright and early the Monday morning after his
+return from the aero meet, Ben had set at work to
+build his airship. He was not daunted by the thought
+that the same was a big undertaking for a boy. Mr.
+Davis told him that it was an easy thing to do, if
+a person knew how to do it and started about it
+right.</p>
+
+<p>In his father Ben found a skilled and willing
+helper. Mr. Hardy was slow and cautious about
+entering upon any work he did not thoroughly
+understand. He was more at home with automobiles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>
+than airships, and not inclined to move from a
+groove with which he was thoroughly familiar into
+one that was so far purely speculative for him. His
+desire to encourage Ben, however, impelled him to
+take a deep interest in the efforts of his son. Before
+he had given his thoughts two days to the fascinating
+new field, the expert mechanician found himself
+quite as enthusiastic as his son over the proposition,
+although he was not as demonstrative as
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>A large shed on the Hardy property had always
+been a home workshop for the master machinist. It
+was well stored with tools, and it was here that Mr.
+Hardy had produced many of his automobile inventions.
+During the absence of Ben at the aero
+meet, he had fenced in with a screen wire a space
+over fifty feet wide adjoining the shed. Here a
+scaffolding, a light lifting crane, and work horses
+had been set to accommodate the worker. Ben
+started in at his experimental task with all necessary
+accessories for prosecuting his labors.</p>
+
+<p>The Saturday afternoon of that week his father
+had come home from work at one o’clock. He
+looked and felt as brisk and lively as a boy just out
+of school as he joined Ben in the work yard.</p>
+
+<p>Ben’s airship had begun to assume definite form
+and substance. The motor part of the machine did
+not trouble our hero at all. He knew that appurtenance
+when it was needed would be the latest and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>
+best devised that his father could select. The framework
+of wood and canvas was what tested Ben’s
+skill.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy had helped him in making the drawings
+of the machine before he had commenced work
+on it. Every morning he laid out specific work for
+the day and every evening he critically inspected it.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, father,” observed Ben, after studying over
+the new drawings, “the <em>Dart</em> begins to look like
+something, doesn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p>“The <em>Dart</em>, eh?” smiled Mr. Hardy, “so you
+have chosen that name?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I thought it quite appropriate. My first
+ambition is high sailing. Mr. Davis won on that,
+and even the <em>Flyer</em> did not make such a very
+high flight. I believe with a fair machine specially
+built I can beat his record.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right, Ben,” remarked Mr. Hardy, “we will
+continue on our model. If I had foreseen how this
+line of work was going to interest me, however,
+and had realized the practical possibilities of the
+construction, I should have recommended a larger
+model.”</p>
+
+<p>“We will try the <em>Dart</em> first. If she makes a go
+of it, we can try something more ambitious.”</p>
+
+<p>Father and son were employed in the congenial
+work in a pleasant progressive way all the afternoon.
+Ben had never been so happy in his life, and the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span>novel labor acted as a restful variation for his
+father.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp47" id="p084" style="max-width: 70em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/p084.jpg" alt="">
+  <div class="caption"><p>“BUILDING AN AIRSHIP, ARE YOU, HARDY”</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>It was about five o’clock when Ben, holding a
+skeleton frame on a curving slant while Mr. Hardy
+covered it with canvas, chanced to glance towards
+the street.</p>
+
+<p>“Father, some one is coming,” he said in a significant
+tone.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is it, Ben?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed,” observed Mr. Hardy. He did not discontinue
+his work, but securing it so the canvas
+would not give, then looked up to greet his unexpected
+visitor.</p>
+
+<p>The proprietor of the automobile works, portly,
+overdressed, and swelling with a sense of his own
+importance, did not look pleased or agreeable as he
+approached the work yard and passed in through its
+open gateway.</p>
+
+<p>“Good afternoon, Mr. Saxton,” observed Ben,
+while his father bowed courteously.</p>
+
+<p>“H’m,” observed Jasper Saxton in a dry non-committal
+tone, curiously scanning the skeleton of the
+monoplane, “building an airship, are you, Hardy?”</p>
+
+<p>“Trying to,” answered Ben’s father.</p>
+
+<p>“Something new?”</p>
+
+<p>“Father couldn’t make anything without striking
+some improvements,” remarked Ben.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span></p>
+
+<p>He spoke pleasantly, but all the same to give the
+wealthy manufacturer a hint along the line of his
+notorious indifference to the past valuable services
+of his head machinist.</p>
+
+<p>“Think there’s something to it, do you, Hardy?”
+inquired Saxton.</p>
+
+<p>“How do you mean?” asked Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, along practical lines. Is the aviation fever
+only a spurt, or is it going to be a real feature?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the manufacturing line, you mean.” inquired
+Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, the Diebold people over at Martinville are
+making and selling some machines. They are thinking
+of stocking up with duplicate parts. There will
+of course be a good deal of supply trade, even if the
+thing runs only as a fad.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hadn’t heard of that,” remarked Mr. Saxton
+in a thoughtful, speculative way. “Something to
+it, is there?”</p>
+
+<p>“I think so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Worth specializing as a department?”</p>
+
+<p>“You would have to decide that, Mr. Saxton,”
+replied Mr. Hardy. “I couldn’t venture an opinion.”</p>
+
+<p>“You appear to think enough of it to give your
+time to experimenting, it seems,” said the manufacturer.
+“I don’t want to get behind in the procession,
+you know. If we could work into the airship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>
+business in our dull months, it might become
+quite a profitable feature of the business.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Saxton went all around the framework on
+the wooden horses, and inspected every part of the
+skeleton machine. He asked many questions. Especially
+was he interested, when Mr. Hardy with the
+natural eloquence of an inventor explained some
+new features of the <em>Dart</em>.</p>
+
+<p>Then the manufacturer strolled to one side in a
+thoughtful way. He took out a pencil and a card
+and did some figuring.</p>
+
+<p>“See here, Hardy,” he said at length, “I’ve decided
+to give this airship business a try. We’ll just
+move this model down to the plant where we’ll have
+everything handy, and you can put in a week or two
+seeing how the proposition pans out.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A SERIOUS CHARGE</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben had never been more astonished in his life
+than he was now at the amazing words of the proprietor
+of the Saxton Automobile Works. As to
+Mr. Hardy, he gave a start and stared blankly at
+his employer.</p>
+
+<p>“What was that you said, sir?” he demanded, and
+Ben detected a latent fire in his father’s eye that was
+not usually there. Dense and thick-skinned as Jasper
+Saxton was, he could not fail to realize that his
+bulldozing methods had exceeded the limit in the
+present instance. He failed to meet Mr. Hardy’s
+fixed, challenging glance.</p>
+
+<p>“Why—er—you see, Hardy, this thing has gone
+pretty far, you know.”</p>
+
+<p>“What thing?” demanded Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“This airship work.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you expect me to turn in the <em>Dart</em> here to
+your works?”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s it, Hardy.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well, Mr. Saxton, it can’t be done.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because it belongs to my son here, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“Rot! rubbish!” flared up Jasper Saxton, his face
+getting red, his eyes exhibiting the ugly mood that
+always surged to the surface when any one dared to
+cross his plans. “No subterfuge, now, Hardy, no
+subterfuge.”</p>
+
+<p>“I think you have generally found me a truthful,
+plain-spoken man,” said Mr. Hardy with dignity.
+“This airship is the property of my son exclusively.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, and I’d have you know that your time and
+the material you are using here are my property!”
+shouted Mr. Saxton, lashing around with his cane.
+“See here, Hardy, I buy your work and ability for
+a price, and I’ll have no man robbing me of my just
+dues. I can get you in trouble—yes, I can,” continued
+the narrow-minded manufacturer recklessly.
+“I’ve let you have your swing and said nothing,
+but now it’s got to stop.”</p>
+
+<p>“What has got to stop?”</p>
+
+<p>“You used my shop one whole night, gas, machines,
+material, on a side job for some pet of your
+boy there up at the aero field. Oh, I know all about
+it. My watchman told me.”</p>
+
+<p>“And I told him to do so, and further, mentioned
+it to your bookkeeper, and instructed him to charge
+me for it, if there was any charge to make. I think,
+though, it’s pretty small business, Mr. Saxton, when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>
+a trifling accommodation like that is refused to an
+old and faithful employee.”</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll let that pass. There are other things,”
+muttered Jasper Saxton. “You install my airship
+department, and I’ll see that the patents are duly protected.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, you certainly know how to protect patents,”
+remarked Mr. Hardy meaningly. “All the same,
+sir, this special machine, the <em>Dart</em>, belongs to my
+son, Ben, and can’t be included in any bargain you
+and I may make.”</p>
+
+<p>“Humbug! It’s got to,” insisted the manufacturer
+in his usual domineering fashion. “I don’t
+want to make you trouble, Hardy—I don’t want to
+be hard on you.”</p>
+
+<p>“About what?” demanded Mr. Hardy vaguely.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, about a number of things. You are using
+tools and materials here that belong to me.”</p>
+
+<p>“For which I shall pay you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You have taken the run of my shop, and some
+people say that there have been a lot of parts stolen
+from the plant. I know there is a lot of stuff missing.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy’s face took an expression that Ben
+had never seen there before. He advanced straight
+up to his malicious employer, his eyes blazing with
+indignation and scorn.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you mean to intimate that I am a thief?” he
+demanded.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I am not saying,” observed Jasper Saxton, wilting,
+but his mean soul showing in its true colors.</p>
+
+<p>“Shame!” cried Ben, wrought up indescribably.
+“Don’t do it, father!”</p>
+
+<p>Quick as a flash Ben sprang forward to arrest
+the descending arm of his father. Had he not done
+so, Jasper Saxton would have measured his length
+on the ground. As it was, he dodged out of the
+way, white and scared.</p>
+
+<p>“You are right, Ben,” spoke Mr. Hardy in a
+husky tone, but controlling his emotion. “Mr. Saxton,
+my boy has said it: Shame on you—I will thank
+you to leave these premises.”</p>
+
+<p>“Take care! take care!” growled the manufacturer
+threateningly.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll leave your employ.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’ll have a bill to settle first, mind that.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you, too—a big one,” retorted Mr. Hardy,
+rousing up again. “I serve you notice, sir—I shall
+sue you for my inventions on the Estrelle automobile
+just as soon as I can place the matter in the
+hands of a lawyer.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will, eh?” fairly howled Jasper Saxton,
+becoming furious. “Try it, try it! Why, I can ruin
+you. I’ll show you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You had better go away from here,” advised
+Ben, putting himself before the manufacturer to
+shield his father from further insult.</p>
+
+<p>Jasper Saxton departed, threatening and gesticulating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>
+furiously. Ben restrained himself from saying
+some pretty bitter things. As the manufacturer
+disappeared, he turned to his father with an anxious,
+sorrowful face.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, father!” he exclaimed, “what have we
+done?”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy sighed. Then his face broke into a
+smile of deep relief, as though a heavy load had
+been removed from his mind, and he said:</p>
+
+<p>“The best thing in the world, my son, and it
+ought to have been done long ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“But you have given up your position at the Saxton
+plant?”</p>
+
+<p>“Was it much of a position, Ben, with the knowledge
+in my mind all the time that I was being robbed
+by that man? I haven’t said much, Ben, but I have
+been thinking a good deal since you told me about
+the threat that Dave Shallock made.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am glad of it, father.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then do not worry about my prompt action. I
+had intended to make a last demand on Saxton for
+my rights in those patents.”</p>
+
+<p>“It would have been no use,” declared Ben rather
+gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>“I realized that, too. His behavior just now has
+only hastened my decision. Do you think any self-respecting
+man could remain in Saxton’s employ
+after his accusations?”</p>
+
+<p>“But you are no thief, father.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No one knows that better than Saxton. He was
+trying to bluff and frighten me. My record is open
+to the world, so his threats fall harmless. To think
+of his ingratitude after you saved his plant from
+destruction!”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe that Tom Shallock has some hold on
+Saxton,” said Ben. “Maybe they are in a plot together
+to get you into trouble. Perhaps Saxton
+thinks if he can discredit you, it will help in denying
+that you had any claim on those automobile
+patents.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is unfortunate that I lost that memorandum
+that he gave me. That would prove my right to
+half the patents.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean stolen from you,” declared Ben, and
+he recalled the conversation he had overheard between
+Tom Shallock and the stranger who had outdistanced
+him in the light gig. “Father, you remember
+that man I told you about who demanded
+money he had loaned to Tom Shallock?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” nodded Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“I should know him again. I am going to make
+it my business to find that man.”</p>
+
+<p>“What good will that do, Ben?” asked his father.</p>
+
+<p>“I am satisfied that he could tell a whole lot about
+Shallock. Maybe about that stolen contract, too.”</p>
+
+<p>The visit of the conscienceless manufacturer had
+put rather a dismal end to a pleasant afternoon for
+father and son. Mr. Hardy took it quietly as was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>
+his wont, but his wife was much agitated when the
+circumstances were related to her.</p>
+
+<p>“What are you going to do?” she inquired.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, first of all, I am going to help Ben complete
+his airship—a good airship,” declared Mr.
+Hardy emphatically. “The next thing I am going
+to do is to place this patent litigation in the hands
+of a capable lawyer. I might later go into building
+air machines as a regular business for myself.
+It will take time to find out if that is best. In the
+meanwhile I shall apply for a position with the Diebold
+Company up at Martinsville!”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, they wanted you last year, didn’t they,
+father?” asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, and I feel sure they will want me now.”</p>
+
+<p>“But that is so far from home,” suggested Mrs.
+Hardy anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>“Only three miles. I can go to and come from
+my work on a bicycle, and the exercise will be the
+best thing in the world for me,” declared Mr.
+Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>Ben did a good deal of hard thinking after he
+went to bed. He had an uneasy feeling that some
+plot was working against his father’s good name.</p>
+
+<p>Monday morning a neighbor told Mrs. Hardy that
+she had got out of bed to close a window during
+the night, and had seen a man with a lantern looking
+over the flying machine in the work yard. As she
+let down the window the noise disturbed the night<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>
+prowler, and he extinguished the lantern and skulked
+away.</p>
+
+<p>Two nights later, about eleven o’clock, Ben roused
+up from his sleep to find his mother shaking him
+gently.</p>
+
+<p>“Ben! Ben!” she whispered in a quick tone of
+alarm, “get up at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is the matter, mother?” asked Ben excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>“A man with a bag over his shoulder just went
+through the yard into the work shed,” was Mrs.
+Hardy’s startling announcement.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE MAN IN THE GIG</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben instantly thought of the mysterious visitor
+reported by their neighbor a few evenings previous.
+He hurriedly slipped on a few clothes and was down
+the front stairs in three jumps.</p>
+
+<p>“Be careful, Ben,” Mr. Hardy called after him,
+also aroused by Mrs. Hardy, and getting ready to
+join his son in a search for the intruder in the yard
+below.</p>
+
+<p>Ben unlocked the rear door and rushed out into
+the yard. As he passed the back porch he grabbed
+up the end of a hard wood hoe handle, broken off
+short and used by Mrs. Hardy to brace the screen
+door.</p>
+
+<p>Ben’s first glance was toward his beloved flying
+machine. He was immensely relieved to discover
+no one near it. Apparently it had not been disturbed.
+The gate of the work yard stood open, and
+also the door of the work shed. With a spring Ben
+pushed this door shut, slipped the heavy latch, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>
+standing on guard armed with the hoe handle
+awaited the arrival of his father.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hardy had lit a lamp and set it in the rear
+window upstairs, so that its rays might throw an illumination
+over the yard. When Mr. Hardy appeared
+he carried the lighted cellar lantern.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is the trespasser, Ben?” he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>“In there, if anywhere,” said Ben, tapping lightly
+on the shed door with the end of his club. “Mother
+says she saw a man go into the shed.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy undid the catch while Ben stood ready
+for assault or defence. His father had the lantern
+beyond the open doorway, and in his usual mild and
+inoffensive way inquired:</p>
+
+<p>“Is anybody there?”</p>
+
+<p>“There doesn’t seem to be,” said Ben, peering
+past his father as there was no response to the challenge.</p>
+
+<p>Both entered the shed. They could not discover
+the slightest indication that there had been any trespasser
+in evidence since they had last visited the
+place, earlier in the evening. Everything was in its
+accustomed place. Ben took the lantern and flashed
+its rays in all the remote cluttered-up corners of the
+structure.</p>
+
+<p>“A false alarm, I guess,” he reported finally.</p>
+
+<p>“But your mother is positive that she saw a man
+enter the shed,” suggested Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Then it was some wandering tramp,” decided<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>
+Ben, “and he slipped out while I was getting down
+stairs. At all events, nothing appears to have been
+disturbed or taken.”</p>
+
+<p>They closed up the shed and returned to the house.
+Ben drew his bed up close to the window of his
+room, to command a good view of the rear yard.
+He watched without results for nearly two hours
+and then fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>“We are having quite a series of midnight alarms,”
+remarked Mr. Hardy at the breakfast table the
+next morning.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope they don’t signify anything of importance,”
+observed Ben. “The man with the lantern the
+other night, and this latest visitor with a bag over his
+shoulder, are certainly mysterious.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben went out to the shed and looked it over
+searchingly in the daylight. Nothing was missing, so
+far as he could discover. As he started to return
+to the house, however, he paused, stooped over and
+picked up something from the floor.</p>
+
+<p>It was an unfamiliar object about the size of a
+big breastpin. It resembled a badge, for at the back
+of it was a hinged pin and a snap catch to hold the
+pin in place. The front of the device consisted of
+a dozen criss-cross alternate threads of copper and
+silver. These were of wavy formation and resembled
+spider’s legs.</p>
+
+<p>“How did this ever get here?” ruminated Ben.
+“It wasn’t here yesterday afternoon, for it is too<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>
+conspicuous to miss. Maybe our midnight visitor
+with the bag dropped it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Now then, for a good day’s work,” said Mr.
+Hardy briskly, appearing on the scene.</p>
+
+<p>“Father, do you suppose some one is trying to
+get us into trouble?”</p>
+
+<p>“Who, for instance?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Mr. Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why should he? No, he will not disturb me as
+long as I keep quiet about that suit on the patents.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t like these mysterious night callers,” said
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“They haven’t done us any harm yet.”</p>
+
+<p>“But they may. Some one did visit the work shed
+last night.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you know that?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben showed the strange pin he had found, and
+told his suspicions.</p>
+
+<p>“You mustn’t let these things bother you, Ben,”
+advised his father sensibly. “No harm has been
+done to our machine as yet. I intend to lay a wire
+around the yard connected with a bell in the house,
+that will alarm us if anybody comes near the work
+shed.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is a good idea,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>They were so interested in their mutual work till
+noon, that both for the time being forgot their suspicions
+and fears.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I’ll have to ask you to do an errand for me,
+Ben?” said Mr. Hardy after dinner.</p>
+
+<p>“What is that, father?”</p>
+
+<p>“I need some headless screws of a certain pattern.
+None of the hardware stores in town keep them. I
+won’t ask any favors of the Saxton people.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, don’t be under any obligations to Mr.
+Saxton, father.”</p>
+
+<p>“I think you can get the screws from the Diebold
+works. At any rate, you see my friend, John
+Earle, the superintendent at Martinsville, and tell
+him what I want. If he hasn’t got them, he can
+probably tell you where you can get them.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy gave Ben a sample of what he wanted.
+Ben started on foot for Martinsville. He reached
+the Diebold plant and was received in a friendly
+fashion by the superintendent. Mr. Earle asked
+about his father. He drew enough out of Ben to
+guess that there was some trouble at the Saxton
+works. He told Ben to inform his father that he
+was coming over to Woodville to see him in a day
+or two.</p>
+
+<p>“As to the screws, we haven’t got the size,” explained
+the superintendent. “I am sure you can get
+those at Satterly’s shop, in Auburndale. Our wagon
+is going there in a few minutes, and you can ride
+over.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, Mr. Earle,” said Ben, and ten minutes
+afterward he was posted on the seat of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>
+factory wagon beside the driver. It was six miles
+to Auburndale. Ben planned to return to Woodville
+by the railroad.</p>
+
+<p>Satterly’s was a carriage shop, and Ben found
+what he wanted there. He made an inquiry as to
+trains, and learned that one would pass for Woodville
+in about half an hour.</p>
+
+<p>He strolled leisurely towards the depot, the screws
+in his pocket, and was turning a street corner when
+a vehicle going at a good stiff pace passed him.</p>
+
+<p>It flashed by him quickly, but not until its driver
+was seen and recognized by Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello!” exclaimed Ben. “That’s the man I saw
+talking with Tom Shallock in Woodville—the man
+I am looking for!”</p>
+
+<p>The next moment Ben changed his course, darting
+down the street in hot pursuit of the man in
+the gig.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE MYSTERIOUS PIN</p>
+
+
+<p>“That man has got a mighty good horse,” was
+Ben’s comment, as he sped down the street.</p>
+
+<p>On the former occasion, when Ben had seen the
+man in Woodville, the horse had sprinted up at a
+touch. Now the animal trotted along at a still better
+pace.</p>
+
+<p>“I can never overtake him on foot,” thought our
+hero, “I mustn’t lose sight of this man till I find
+out who he is and where he lives.”</p>
+
+<p>The gig was rapidly outdistancing Ben. As it
+rounded a corner out of sight, the lad was wrought
+up to an intense pitch of desperation.</p>
+
+<p>Then a wild impulse sent him to the curb where
+a horse attached to a light buggy was standing. Ben
+made a reckless decision and acted promptly on its
+suggestions.</p>
+
+<p>The horse was not hitched. Ben reached the
+buggy seat in a spring and seized lines and whip with
+a vigorous:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Get up!”</p>
+
+<p>A yell of startled dismay rang out behind him.
+Ben fancied that it came from the owner of the
+horse, probably observing the theft of his rig as he
+came out from some store where he had been trading.
+Ben never looked back. He paid no attention
+to other shouts at the rear.</p>
+
+<p>“There he goes,” said Ben, as he turned the corner.
+The gig was two squares in advance. It
+turned into a new street, and our hero followed.
+There were other turns, and finally the gig was halted
+in front of a store. Its driver drew up to the curb,
+sprang out of the gig and disappeared inside the establishment.</p>
+
+<p>Ben drove slowly past the place. He observed that
+it was a store given over to the sale of second-hand
+tools. Its windows were so smoked, and grimed,
+and choked up with so much miscellaneous plunder,
+that he could not see the inside of the place.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve housed my man,” uttered Ben with satisfaction.
+“He may not live here, but he certainly is
+known here. That is enough for the present. Now
+to return this rig.”</p>
+
+<p>It suddenly occurred to Ben that he had acted on
+a decidedly reckless impulse. He realized that it
+might lead to serious results. He somewhat anxiously
+urged up the horse.</p>
+
+<p>“I must get back to the place I started from and
+make an explanation,” he decided.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Whoa!” came the stern mandate, as Ben turned
+into the street where he had appropriated the rig.</p>
+
+<p>A police officer had suddenly run out into the
+street, and halting in front of the horse, waved his
+arms strenuously. The animal paused and reared,
+and Ben was nearly thrown from his seat.</p>
+
+<p>“Looking for you,” remarked the officer, gazing
+sternly at Ben. “Horse thief, eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, dear no!” smiled Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“You stole this rig.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I only took it—in fact, borrowed it for a
+few minutes.”</p>
+
+<p>“That don’t go down,” observed the officer.</p>
+
+<p>“Why you find me getting back to the place
+where I found the rig, quick as I can, don’t you?”
+challenged Ben.</p>
+
+<p>The officer got up into the seat and ordered Ben
+to drive to the police station. Ben was annoyed,
+and a trifle anxious. They had not proceeded more
+than two squares, however, when they met the seeming
+owner of the rig coming towards them.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve got him,” announced the officer.</p>
+
+<p>“See you have,” nodded the man brusquely, looking
+over the horse. “You’re a fine young jailbird,
+aren’t you?” he hailed Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“I am not what you think, mister,” declared the
+boy quietly. “My name is Ben Hardy, I live at
+Woodville, and everybody knows I am an honest
+boy.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You haven’t shown it at Auburndale,” observed
+the officer.</p>
+
+<p>“Let me explain, please,” said Ben to the owner
+of the rig. “There is a man I have been looking for
+these past ten days. I ran across him here driving
+a fast horse. The only way I could follow him was
+by borrowing your rig.”</p>
+
+<p>The owner of the vehicle looked Ben over critically.
+Our hero did not flinch from his penetrating
+glance.</p>
+
+<p>“I came back soon as I could, as you see,” proceeded
+Ben. “Now then, what’s your bill?”</p>
+
+<p>“My bill?” repeated the man in a surprised way.</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly. I’ve put you out and had the use of
+your rig.”</p>
+
+<p>“I guess he’s a pretty good boy. He seems to be
+telling the truth,” here remarked the officer.</p>
+
+<p>“Then I shan’t charge him a cent.”</p>
+
+<p>“And don’t try any more such tricks,” advised
+the officer. “You may not get off so easy the next
+time.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’re gentlemen, both of you,” declared Ben,
+glad enough that he had escaped delay and embarrassment.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero debated for sometime as to his wisest
+course of progress. His father was in no special
+hurry for the screws. The trail of the man he had
+traced to the second-hand shop was fresh. Ben felt
+sure that the man in the gig knew a good deal that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>
+might be of value to his father in his dealings with
+Saxton.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll take another look at that store, anyhow,”
+concluded Ben, and a brisk walk soon brought him
+into its vicinity.</p>
+
+<p>“The gig is gone, so the driver is probably not
+in the place,” he decided.</p>
+
+<p>Ben walked slowly past the store. He glanced in
+at the open door. A rough looking, poorly dressed
+man was sorting over some tools. Ben saw no one
+else in the place.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll make a bold break,” he reflected, and entered
+the store.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you want?” demanded the apparent
+proprietor of the place, turning around at the sound
+of intruding footsteps.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I was looking for some one, mister.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, who is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“A man drove up here in a gig about half an hour
+ago. I want to see him.”</p>
+
+<p>“What about?”</p>
+
+<p>“Business.”</p>
+
+<p>“What kind of business?” persisted the man.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll tell him. If you will give me his address,
+I will be very much obliged to you.”</p>
+
+<p>The man shook his head strenuously. He regarded
+Ben as though he considered him an enemy
+and a spy.</p>
+
+<p>“That won’t wash,” he said, “and you had better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>
+get out of here. People who have any business with
+the man you are talking about, know just where to
+find him, without coming snooking around here the
+way you do.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben backed away. The man looked positively
+menacing now as he glared at his visitor. Ben was
+shrewd enough that this place was one operated
+under tactics of caution and evasiveness.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello!” he exclaimed suddenly, and came to a
+staring standstill.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello, what?” demanded the man suspiciously,
+edging between Ben and the door.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, nothing,” said Ben, recovering himself.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, there was.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben moved from foot to foot, sizing up the situation.
+The cause of his sharp ejaculation was the
+discovery on his part of an odd looking pin or badge
+on the lapel of the man’s coat.</p>
+
+<p>It was an exact counterpart of the one Ben had
+found in the work shed at home. Our hero reflected
+rapidly. Then, without attracting the attention
+of the man to what he was doing, he turned
+sideways. He got the pin out of his pocket and
+managed to attach it to his coat. Then he faced the
+man.</p>
+
+<p>“Aha!” exclaimed the second-hand dealer, fixing
+his eyes on the pin.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A MEAN ENEMY</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben saw at once that the sight of the pin had
+produced a great effect on the second-hand dealer.
+He prepared to take advantage of it.</p>
+
+<p>“Why didn’t you say so at first?” inquired the
+store keeper.</p>
+
+<p>“Say what?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>The man pointed significantly to the pin that corresponded
+to the one on the lapel of his own coat.</p>
+
+<p>“You must be one of the boys from Woodville,”
+he observed.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s where I live.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then you know Knippel?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh,” said Ben to himself, “I’ve found out his
+name, have I?” and he said aloud: “I’ve seen him
+before to-day, yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“What do you want to see him for?” inquired
+the man curiously. “Say, see here, if you’ve got
+something to sell, you know it’s all one dealing with
+me.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p>
+
+<p>“All right, when I do I’ll come to you. I don’t
+want to sell anything to Mr. Knippel.”</p>
+
+<p>“What then.”</p>
+
+<p>“Other business. You know he loans money once
+in a while.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know he is able to, if he wants to,” responded
+the man. “See here,” he continued eagerly, “what
+would it be if you came to me again. Not railroad
+stuff, you know?”</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly not,” answered Ben accommodatingly.</p>
+
+<p>“Too dangerous. Prime stuff is machine shop
+plunder. Especially brass and copper. I’d give
+you a fair deal.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m sure of that,” said Ben. “Say, how am I
+going to get to Knippel?”</p>
+
+<p>“That’ll be hit and miss. He makes the rounds,
+you know. He may not be around here again to
+collect for a week.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where did you say he lived?”</p>
+
+<p>“I didn’t say, but it’s at Blairville.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh,” nodded Ben. He remembered that it was
+the town near the aero field.</p>
+
+<p>“You take a chance of finding him there,” proceeded
+the man, “he flits about so much. Sometimes
+he isn’t at home once in a month.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I’ll try and locate him somehow, much
+obliged,” said our hero.</p>
+
+<p>“Remember, now, come to me direct when you’ve
+got anything to sell.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p>
+
+<p>“All right.”</p>
+
+<p>“Especially brass and copper.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good enough,” said Ben, and left the place.</p>
+
+<p>He walked to the railroad depot reflecting deeply.
+He had made a pretentious break, a sort of bluff,
+and had learned what he wanted to know. Ben sturdily
+believed that the man Knippel knew a great
+deal that could help his father, and now he knew
+where to find him.</p>
+
+<p>“The way I size it up,” ruminated Ben, “is that
+this Knippel has a lot of people in various manufacturing
+towns around here stealing things and
+selling to him and his agents. This pin shows membership
+in the gang. Some one dropped it in the
+work shed. Who was it? Well, I’ve got my start
+on this business, and I’m going to work something
+tangible out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben did not tell his father of his latest experience
+when he reached home. In fact, he did not
+even then deliver to him the screws for which he had
+been sent.</p>
+
+<p>To his surprise he found the work yard deserted.
+As he passed it, a queer, indefinable sensation of
+something being out of place assailed him. Ben
+paused to figure out what it was. Then he noticed
+that the airship skeleton was partly dismantled and
+some of its parts gone.</p>
+
+<p>“Father, father, are you there?” he called towards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>
+the work shed. There was no reply. Ben
+hurried towards the house. It was untenanted, but
+coming out on the porch he came upon his mother.
+She was standing looking down the street, anxious
+faced and in tears.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, mother, what is the matter?” exclaimed
+Ben in great surprise.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, my son, trouble,” responded Mrs. Hardy in
+a broken tone of voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Father——”</p>
+
+<p>“Has gone down town in urgent haste. Mr. Saxton
+is at the bottom of it all.”</p>
+
+<p>“How—explain, mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“It was directly after you went away this morning.
+Two constables appeared with what they called
+writs of some kind. It seems that Mr. Saxton
+claimed that a great deal of valuable automobile
+parts have been missing from the plant for over a
+year. The officers searched the work shed.”</p>
+
+<p>“The villain!” fired up Ben hotly. “Did he dare
+to accuse father of stealing?”</p>
+
+<p>“It seems so,” sighed Mrs. Hardy. “The astonishing
+thing is that in a corner of the shed behind
+that barrel in which you keep odds and ends, they
+found nearly a bushel of carburetor parts.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then they put them there!” cried Ben. “Ah, I
+understand now. The man you saw with the bag is
+in the conspiracy to disgrace father. His errand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>
+was to place its contents where they would incriminate
+us. He dumped them out and escaped before
+I got into the yard.”</p>
+
+<p>“The men then proceeded to take the metal parts
+from the airship,” resumed Mrs. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, those never came from the Saxton plant!”
+exclaimed Ben. “Father made them right here in
+the work shed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Your father protested, but the officers claimed
+they were acting under sanction of the law. They
+told him he had his redress, and could replevin them,
+I think it was, if he could prove ownership.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where is father now?”</p>
+
+<p>“He hurried down town to see his lawyer and try
+to get back those airship parts.”</p>
+
+<p>“I must find him at once,” declared Ben.
+“Mother, this a pretty serious affair.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is indeed, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is all a plot, a base, wicked plot!” cried Ben.
+“Everybody knows that father is the soul of honesty.
+Mr. Saxton shall suffer for this.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben was all on fire with indignation and excitement.
+He reached the office of Mr. Pearsons, his
+father’s lawyer, breathless and perspiring. It was
+to find his father pacing the floor in a restless, anxious
+way.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, father,” exclaimed Ben, “this is terrible!”</p>
+
+<p>“For Saxton, yes,” said Mr. Hardy, in his usual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>
+calm and trustful way. “A man who will do what
+he has done, will wake up with a tormenting conscience
+some day.”</p>
+
+<p>“But what good does that do us now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t worry, my son, everything will come out
+right.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a pretty hard thing to see you charged
+with stealing.”</p>
+
+<p>“They will have to prove those charges, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“And they have got hold of our new monoplane
+parts.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Pearsons has just gone to see about those,”
+said Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer in question entered the office at that
+moment. He was in great haste. He looked stirred
+up and bothered.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Pearsons nodded to Ben. Then he turned
+towards his anxious-faced father.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Hardy,” he observed, “we’re dealing with
+a bad crowd, I can tell you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean Mr. Saxton?”</p>
+
+<p>“And his accomplices and lawyers. The recovery
+of those automobile parts was only a ruse.”</p>
+
+<p>“A ruse?” repeated Mr. Hardy wonderingly.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you mean, Mr. Pearsons?”</p>
+
+<p>“They were really after the parts of that flying
+machine of yours.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Hardy,” pronounced the lawyer emphatically,
+“I am satisfied that the motive of this raid
+is to steal your airship inventions!”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">STEALING AN INVENTION</p>
+
+
+<p>“Yes,” repeated the lawyer, “that Saxton crowd
+is aiming to steal your airship inventions.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy sank on a chair looking blank and
+troubled. Ben spoke up.</p>
+
+<p>“How can they do that, Mr. Pearsons?”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll tell my story, and you will see,” replied the
+lawyer. “I went down to the plant and cornered
+Saxton in his private office. He looked quite bored
+at our prompt action. I belong to his set, and, as
+he realizes, I know some of his business secrets.
+He began to explain, as he called it. Thousands of
+dollars worth of stuff had been stolen from the
+works he claimed. Some had been found at your
+house. He said he didn’t believe your intention was
+to steal them, that you probably took them to select
+what you wanted, and would square up later.”</p>
+
+<p>“The hypocrite!” commented Ben hotly.</p>
+
+<p>“I faced him right down,” went on Mr. Pearsons.
+“I informed him that it was a pretty dangerous
+thing to destroy a good man’s character off-hand.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>
+He is a man of no real backbone, and I scared him
+nearly to death. He kept mumbling over that he
+hoped no harm had been done, that he didn’t intend
+to prosecute. I defied him to do so. I told him if
+he didn’t, we would force the issue and fight him to
+the last ditch, till we found out which one of his
+accomplices planted those fittings in your work
+shed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good—good!” cried Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Then I demanded the return of your airship
+parts,” continued the lawyer. “He flushed, hemmed
+and hawed, and looked flustered. Certainly he would
+return them. Sure he had made a mistake. The
+clumsy officers had no right to take them. All right,
+I said, where were they? Saxton said they were in
+the possession of the constables. If I would send
+around about four o’clock they would be ready for
+me. Then I opened up on him, I think I gave him a
+tongue lashing he will never forget. I told him he
+was a thoroughly bad man, and I would be obliged
+if he didn’t speak to me when I passed him on the
+street.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Pearsons, you are indeed a true friend,”
+said Mr. Hardy with emotion.</p>
+
+<p>“I know that I am that man’s enemy from this
+time forth,” declared the lawyer. “He is a disgrace
+to the community. As I left his place, I met
+a fellow named Bogart. I got him out of jail last
+year, and he has always felt very grateful to me.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>
+He has been doing odd jobs helping the regular
+constables, and he took me aside and let the cat out
+of the bag.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you mean?” inquired Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, he told me that just as soon as the constable
+reported to Saxton, he sent two of the airship
+parts by special messenger to his lawyer. You know
+who that is—that shrewd, tricky Mason, a man who
+ought to be disbarred from his unscrupulous methods.
+My informant said that Mason at once put
+his office force at work to make drawings of the new
+parts and get out specifications. They expect to
+get the papers by special mail to Washington on the
+two o’clock train.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is too bad,” said Mr. Hardy gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>“And it is now one o’clock. Is there no way to
+outwit them?” asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Not in respect to getting ahead of them at Washington,”
+replied Mr. Pearsons, consulting his watch.
+“See here, Hardy,” he continued, approaching the
+dejected inventor, and placing a friendly, encouraging
+hand on his shoulder, “don’t you be downhearted.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is a pretty bad proposition for me,” said Ben’s
+father.</p>
+
+<p>“Not altogether. We shall at once follow their
+claims with our own, and we will fight it through
+the courts.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is a long and tedious process.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It is our only alternative. You go home, don’t
+worry, and leave this thing to me to untangle. To-morrow
+come and see me about suing Saxton on
+those automobile patents. I’m thinking we shall be
+able to raise a storm about his ears that will keep
+him awake nights for a spell.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will I be able to get the airship parts to-day?”
+inquired Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll attend to that,” assured the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>“I want to get Ben’s monoplane done.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy and Ben left the lawyer’s office. As
+they reached the street, our hero paused. An idea
+had come into his mind, and he said:</p>
+
+<p>“You go home, father. I’ll join you there soon.”</p>
+
+<p>“What are you going to do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh I’ve got some little things to attend to about
+town.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy proceeded on his way alone. It made
+Ben sorry and fretted to observe his depressed and
+downcast air.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll fit things if it takes all I’ve got,” said Ben
+firmly, and he walked down the street and entered
+the savings bank where he had deposited most of
+the money received from the sale of the Sybilline
+whistle.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Pearsons was busy at his desk when Ben
+re-entered the office. He looked up somewhat surprised,
+with the words:</p>
+
+<p>“Well, what’s the trouble, Hardy?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span></p>
+
+<p>“My father has gone home very much discouraged,”
+said Ben seriously. “An idea struck me that
+may change the situation somewhat, so I thought
+I would come back to see you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very good. What then?” inquired the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, just this—a way to get ahead of the Saxton
+crowd in filing the application for those patents.”</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer shook his head, consulting his watch.</p>
+
+<p>“No show, I’m sorry to say,” he declared. “It
+would take fully two hours to prepare the papers.
+Mason is ahead of us one mail, and no other leaves
+until to-morrow morning.”</p>
+
+<p>“I drew the design of the patents for my father,”
+explained Ben. “In fact, I have the rude draft of
+them in my pocket now. As to the description, I
+could write out those to the smallest detail.”</p>
+
+<p>“No use now, too late,” insisted Mr. Pearsons.</p>
+
+<p>“Let me ask one question, please.”</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly, lad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you a correspondent in Washington?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then I suggest this: Why can’t we get up all
+the necessary formation for applying for the patents,
+describing them accurately, so they can be reproduced
+by your correspondent, and sending word for
+word the specifications, as you call them, and telegraphing
+them.”</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer fairly jumped from his seat.</p>
+
+<p>“Hardy,” he said enthusiastically, “you are a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>
+genius!” And then his face shadowed, and he
+shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>“That would certainly head off the Saxton crowd,
+and my correspondent at Washington is a bright
+active man, but—why, Hardy, it would cost at least
+one hundred dollars to telegraph all that stuff.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir; I suppose so,” said Ben quietly, “so I
+brought the money to pay for it. There is one
+hundred and fifty dollars.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">ON TIME</p>
+
+
+<p>The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll
+of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
+Then his countenance expanded.</p>
+
+<p>“You have solved the problem, Hardy. You are
+sure you want to invest all that money?”</p>
+
+<p>“To help my father—I guess so!” replied our
+hero with energy.</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” cried Mr. Pearsons briskly, arising
+from his chair. “Here sit down at that desk yonder,”
+and he pointed to an inner room. “Now then,
+you’re a smart boy, and I see it. Write out in the
+most exact detail what you want wired.”</p>
+
+<p>“You think your Washington correspondent can
+follow out instructions explicitly?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I’ll guarantee him.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben went to the inner office and set to work at
+once. It was fortunate that he had acted as secretary
+for his father on occasions similar to the present
+one. Ben made a rough draft of what he wanted
+to say, and then he studied and revised it. This took
+an hour of his time.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span></p>
+
+<p>When he had copied the description, he felt highly
+satisfied. He believed that any ordinary draftsman
+could make drawings of the airship parts from his
+directions. They made four pages of foolscap.</p>
+
+<p>“Excellent—splendid!” declared Mr. Pearsons, as
+an hour later he read over Ben’s work. “I’ll send
+this to Washington over the wires instanter. I shall
+also instruct my correspondent to telegraph your
+father if he completes the matter to-day.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, Mr. Pearsons.”</p>
+
+<p>“The thanks all belong to you, Hardy,” insisted
+the lawyer, with an admiring glance at Ben. “Any
+time you feel like taking up with the law, there’s a
+place for you in this office, remember that.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m too full of the airship fever to think of anything
+like that just now,” smiled Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s all right, follow your bent as long as it
+is a legitimate and useful one. I think you can advise
+your father that we have scooped the enemy
+on the first move in the game.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben had no intention of disclosing his last action
+to his father, until he was sure that his plan had met
+with success. He went home and had lunch with his
+father. They pottered around the work yard for
+a spell. Then Ben went down town.</p>
+
+<p>It was about five o’clock, and he was on his way
+homewards again, when he ran up against Caleb
+Dunn.</p>
+
+<p>“Hold on, there, Ben Hardy,” hailed the foreman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>
+at the Saxton Automobile Works. “Just the fellow
+I wanted to see.”</p>
+
+<p>“What about, Mr. Dunn?”</p>
+
+<p>“About your father’s affairs. Here, give me all
+the details of this tangle with Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben realized that the bluff, outspoken foreman
+was a genuine friend of his father. He began a recital
+of most of the facts concerning his father’s
+present trouble.</p>
+
+<p>A sort of a subdued growl issued from the lips
+of the foreman when he had concluded. His face
+was grim and angry.</p>
+
+<p>“You come with me, Hardy,” he said promptly.</p>
+
+<p>“Where, Mr. Dunn?”</p>
+
+<p>“To the Saxton works.”</p>
+
+<p>“I had rather not go there,” demurred Ben, holding
+back a trifle.</p>
+
+<p>“Got to,” declared Dunn definitely, “if I have
+to lug you there bodily. You ain’t the one who will
+get hurt. It’s Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>The foreman pranced down the street at a furious
+rate. Ben kept up with him. Dunn acted like a
+smouldering volcano. He gritted his teeth, he
+clenched his fists ever and anon, he emitted growls
+and little roars.</p>
+
+<p>“The escape valve will burst if I don’t get action,”
+he advised Ben. “Hurry up.”</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the plant, Dunn proceeded
+straight towards the private office of its proprietor.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Saxton is very busy over some accounts,”
+advised the bookkeeper.</p>
+
+<p>“He’ll see me, or I’ll burst in the door,” declared
+the forcible Dunn, thrusting aside the office underling,
+and opening the door before him. “You keep
+with me, Hardy,” he advised.</p>
+
+<p>Jasper Saxton looked up from his desk in an irritated
+way at the bold intrusion. Then, observing
+Ben, he scowled darkly.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s that boy doing here?” he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>“I brought him,” retorted Dunn.</p>
+
+<p>“Take him away again. He has no business
+around here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, he has, and he’ll stay,” observed Dunn
+sharply. “I need him.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?”</p>
+
+<p>“As a witness.”</p>
+
+<p>“Witness to what?” demanded Saxton, with a
+blank stare.</p>
+
+<p>“To what I’m going to tell you. Saxton, you are
+an unmitigated scoundrel!”</p>
+
+<p>“W—what?”</p>
+
+<p>With a bound the manufacturer came to his feet.
+He seemed about to spring upon his audacious foreman.
+He doubled up his fists and tried to awe the
+venturesome Dunn, who coolly looked him in the eye.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes,” derided the foreman. “Try it. Just
+once! I think I’d be willing to pay a big fine just
+for the excuse to give you the beating of your life.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What’s that? what’s this?” gasped the astonished
+Saxton.</p>
+
+<p>“Say,” continued his foreman in sharp, cutting
+tones. “I’ve worked my last stroke for the meanest
+man I ever knew. You’ve lost a better man in
+Martin Hardy, but you’ll miss me just the same.
+Saxton, you are a thief. You stole poor Hardy’s
+automobile patents. You are now trying to rob him
+of his airship patents. You’ve sold your soul outright,
+and I predict that you’ll go down in failure
+and disgrace. I’m through with you, and in time
+every decent man in your employ will leave you in
+the lurch. You sent me out to-day to use my influence
+to get that big motor-cycle order from the
+Evans people. Well, I’ve got it, and I’m going to
+turn it over to the Diebold works. You unmitigated
+scoundrel! Come, Hardy.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben saw Jasper Saxton, white and trembling, sink
+back into his chair in a heap, collapsed. As they
+got outside, his impetuous but determined companion
+left him summarily, with the words:</p>
+
+<p>“Tell your father I shall be up to see him this
+evening.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whew!” commented Ben, in one long marveling
+breath.</p>
+
+<p>His step was brisk and his face beaming as he
+went homewards. Things had taken a turn. If
+he and his father had met with some misfortunes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>
+the same had brought to their rescue staunch, loyal
+friends.</p>
+
+<p>Ben told his father about Mr. Dunn, and Mr.
+Hardy brightened up somewhat. After supper Ben
+went down town to the village telegraph office. He
+knew the night despatcher, who welcomed him with
+a friendly smile.</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing for my father, is there, Mr. Noyes?”
+asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing so far. Expecting something?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, it may come in the half rate grist. That
+begins soon. Won’t you wait?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben sat down. The dispatcher attended to his
+wires. Then, as a new clicking succeeded to a brief
+lapse in business, he smiled and nodded at Ben, while
+writing out the message.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll deliver it to my father,” said our hero. “Don’t
+mind an envelope.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just receipt for him, then,” advised the operator,
+handing Ben the yellow sheet. “Charges prepaid.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah!” shouted Ben irrepressibly, as he
+glanced at the sheet and summarily bolted from the
+place, a keen delight overcoming his embarrassment.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes sparkled and he ran like the wind all
+the way home. He was the messenger of good news,
+indeed. As he came to the house he found the sitting
+room illuminated brightly. It cheered his heart
+to observe his father laughing cheerily, while there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>
+was a growing happy expression on the face of
+his mother.</p>
+
+<p>They had company. Two men were in the same
+room. They were Caleb Dunn, and Mr. Earle from
+the Diebold machine shops at Martinville.</p>
+
+<p>Ben paused unobserved at the open window of the
+sitting room to learn that Earle had made a splendid
+offer to his father to start in at work at Martinville.</p>
+
+<p>Then our hero entered the house through the
+kitchen. On the table he noticed the airship parts
+that had been returned.</p>
+
+<p>“Father,” he said, bursting rather unceremoniously
+upon the group in the sitting room, the open
+telegram in his hand, “here is some good news for
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy took the paper. He was trembling
+all over as he perused it. A look of intense joy
+illumined his usually serious face.</p>
+
+<p>The telegram read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>“Claim filed on two airship inventions of Martin
+Hardy. All rights protected.”</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR PRIZE</p>
+
+
+<p>“The <em>Dart</em> is a beauty! I’d like to meet that ingenious
+father of yours, Ben!”</p>
+
+<p>“He would feel honored to know you, I am sure,
+Mr. Davis.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just as soon as this meet is over, I am going to
+get him to build me a new airship modeled after
+the <em>Dart</em>. It’s the best machine I have yet seen.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will have to deal with the Diebold people,
+then, Mr. Davis,” advised Ben. “They have gone
+into the airship business, and father is superintendent
+of that department of their plant.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I’ll have to be contented with his supervision,”
+observed the old aviator. “I would a good
+deal rather pay him for special individual service.”</p>
+
+<p>“That would be pretty difficult for the present.
+My father is putting in all his spare time at home on
+what he calls an Airatorium.”</p>
+
+<p>“And what is that, Ben?” inquired Mr. Davis
+with interest.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span></p>
+
+<p>“A safe, substantial airship for sick people—a
+sort of an aerial hospital. His idea is to construct
+a machine that will take invalids up into perfect
+sunshine, pure air and exhilarating calmness.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see—a grand idea.”</p>
+
+<p>“Father says that light at high elevations is richer
+in ultra violet rays.”</p>
+
+<p>“Say, you’re some scientist, aren’t you?” put in
+Bob Dallow.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll give you some more,” laughed Ben: “You
+get out of the bacterial effect in the upper air currents.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I’ll have a talk with Mr. Hardy after we’ve
+won the high flight and long distance prizes,” observed
+Mr. Davis.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, you are going to win both of them, are
+you?” chuckled Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“I said ‘we,’” corrected Mr. Davis, with a quick
+glance at Ben. “I have made my record on the elevation
+feature. What do you say, Ben, to taking
+my place and seeing what the <em>Dart</em> can do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh!” exclaimed Ben, “you don’t mean it?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do, and you shall,” replied the old aviator
+promptly. “It’s your heart’s desire—eh? And you
+would like to get that five hundred dollar prize to
+help your father carry on his suit against Saxton.”</p>
+
+<p>“I say, Bob,” cried Ben quickly, “you have been
+telling secrets out of school.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I am glad he did, for I am interested in both
+you and your father,” spoke up the aviator. “Your
+ambition is most laudable. I have entered the <em>Dart</em>
+for the race to-morrow, and I fully expect you will
+get ready for it.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben was once more at the aviation field at Blairville
+and the <em>Dart</em> was with him. That splendid
+little machine had arrived from Woodville the day
+previous.</p>
+
+<p>Two weeks had been devoted to its completion,
+and a perfect monoplane was the result. It had
+many new features that evoked the interest and admiration
+of some of the leading aviators at the meet.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy and Caleb Dunn had accepted excellent
+positions at Martinville. Tom Shallock had
+carried out his boasts. He was now head machinist
+at the Saxton Automobile Works. A week after
+he had taken charge three men left the Saxton employ,
+and Ben heard incidentally that Shallock had
+become generally disliked by his fellow employees
+and was under the influence of liquor most of the
+time.</p>
+
+<p>It was said that Saxton nearly had a fit when he
+found out how his evil plots had been circumvented
+by the Hardys in securing the airship patents first.
+Saxton troubled them no further. The report that
+Mr. Hardy had been guilty of stealing found few
+believers. One day Ben met the big manufacturer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>
+skulking down the street, as if he feared every minute
+being served with the papers by lawyer Pearsons.</p>
+
+<p>When Ben made his second visit to the aviation
+field, he found Dick Farrell still in the employ of
+Rollins. Ben always spoke pleasantly to Dick, but
+the latter greeted this courtesy with a sullen nod
+only. There was a vindictive look in Farrell’s eye
+that Ben distrusted fully.</p>
+
+<p>Several times Ben went into Blairville and finally
+located the home of Knippel. This man lived in a
+retired cottage, had a small family who associated
+with no one in the village, and he was considered
+to follow some mysterious business that took him
+away from home most of the time.</p>
+
+<p>Now Ben’s thoughts were so completely on aviation
+and all of its alluring features, that he forgot
+all his past trouble and present complications.</p>
+
+<p>That day he had made several trial flights. He
+had the advantage of the experience and direction
+of Mr. Davis and Bob. He understood the <em>Dart</em>
+perfectly. Ben could hardly sleep for excitement
+that night, and he and Bob were among the earliest
+arrivals on the aviation field next morning.</p>
+
+<p>The day was warm and still, but there were lowering
+clouds. After a critical decision as to weather
+conditions, Mr. Davis told Ben that the same were
+not very favorable for either a high or a rapid flight.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>
+Eight biplanes and four monoplanes were to take
+part in the test. Ben chose his own course away
+from the others. Bob, after urging up the <em>Dart</em>,
+uttered an enthusiastic hurrah as he noted the splendid
+start his friend had made.</p>
+
+<p>The <em>Dart</em> was soon out of sight, the heavy layer
+of surface clouds obscuring its progress. Ben
+started in on a spiral flight. As he struck a second
+strata of clouds, he encountered some strong cross
+currents of air.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s getting choppy,” ruminated the young aviator,
+and he arranged so he could lower the front
+control of the machine readily in case of a sudden
+gust.</p>
+
+<p>It began to get chilly and uncomfortable as he
+struck a higher altitude. His leather suit was none
+too warm for him and splatters of moisture clouded
+the goggles he wore.</p>
+
+<p>Ben bent himself to his work like a trained pilot.
+There were places where great banks of cloud enveloped
+him. He drove the monoplane through
+these like a torpedo boat thrusting its way through
+an opposing wave.</p>
+
+<p>“Brr-rr!” he shivered, as an icy gale made the
+planes bend and rattle, and he felt himself becoming
+benumbed by the cold.</p>
+
+<p>The highly rarefied air began now to affect heart
+and brain. Only by conserving his breath could Ben
+refrain from gasping outright.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What is that?” he exclaimed, as a grinding,
+wrenching motion shook the machine.</p>
+
+<p>It was an accumulation of ice on the planes of the
+airship. Icicles fell into the machinery, threatening
+to stop the motor.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve reached the limit, I guess,” decided Ben,
+dizzy-headed and half frozen.</p>
+
+<p>A storm of hail cut against him as he made a full
+one mile glide. Then strata after strata of clouds
+were penetrated. A blurred landscape and dim outlines
+of houses and trees gradually came into view.
+When Ben alighted, both he and the aeroplane were
+coated with ice.</p>
+
+<p>He had to be helped from the machine, but, benumbed
+as he was with the cold, he was conscious
+of ringing cheers all about the aviation field.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis carried the barograph from the machine
+to the judges’ stand. Bob and some others
+led and carried Ben to the quarters of the <em>Flyer</em>.</p>
+
+<p>Ben found it supreme luxury to repose on a
+couch. His lungs pained him, and he was so exhausted
+he dropped into profound sleep at once.</p>
+
+<p>His next conscious moment was a recognition of
+the voice of Mr. Davis, saying:</p>
+
+<p>“Let him sleep, he needs it.”</p>
+
+<p>“But—such glorious news!” cried the tones of
+Bob Dallow.</p>
+
+<p>“I am awake,” declared Ben, opening his eyes
+and sitting up. “What’s the glorious news?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why,” said Mr. Davis with a beaming face, “the
+barograph says you have beaten the <em>Flyer</em> altitude
+record by three hundred feet. Hardy, you have won
+the five hundred dollar prize.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">“GO!”</p>
+
+
+<p>“Ben, Ben, wake up!”</p>
+
+<p>“What is the matter—what has happened?”</p>
+
+<p>“The very worst—the Davis quarters is on fire
+and the <em>Flyer</em> is burning up.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben bounded from the mattress on which he lay.
+He did not have to grope to find his clothes. A
+great glare shone into the little shed which he and
+Bob had occupied since the <em>Dart</em> had arrived on the
+field. It was some distance from the Davis place,
+and had a canvas extension which housed the Woodville
+machine.</p>
+
+<p>Bob was getting into his clothes, uttering excited
+disjointed sentences, meanwhile keeping his eyes
+fixed on the center of the fiery glare.</p>
+
+<p>“It is certainly in the direction of the Davis
+quarters,” said Ben hurriedly, “but it may not be
+his place.”</p>
+
+<p>“But it is. Can’t you see—the exact location, and
+two men rushing by shouted that it was.”</p>
+
+<p>Fleet-footed and breathless, the two youths<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>
+dashed across the patch of sward between their new
+quarters and the blazing pile. Half the distance
+accomplished, their worst fears were verified.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s the <em>Flyer</em>,” panted Bob.</p>
+
+<p>The roaring flames and excited shouts kept up
+a wild uproar about a vivid midnight picture. There
+was no water supply on the field. Before the Blairville
+fire department could be summoned the aerodrome
+would be in ashes. The only thing that helpers
+could do was to get long poles and pull the blazing
+canvas off the shelter tent away from the frame
+extension of the Davis living quarters.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s all gone up, tent and machine,” choked out
+Bob, as they came directly upon the scene.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, and—oh—Mr. Davis is hurt.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben rushed up to the old aviator as he spoke.
+Two men were leading Mr. Davis from the smouldering
+ruins. The way they helped him hold his
+hands showed that he had met with some accident.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, Mr. Davis,” cried Ben, “what is it?”</p>
+
+<p>The aviator turned a pale and troubled face on
+his young assistant.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ben!” he said, forcing a smile, “don’t get
+scared. Just a singe or two on the hands.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben saw that the sleeves of the coat Mr. Davis
+wore hung in shriveled threads. His hands were
+seared and blistered.</p>
+
+<p>“A little liniment will fix me up all right,” said
+the aviator with affected cheerfulness, as he noticed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>
+the deep concern on the face of Bob as well as that
+of Ben. “Keep your nerve, lads, you may need it
+to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p>His helper, as the man was called who had oiled
+and taken care of the <em>Flyer</em>, came up at that moment.</p>
+
+<p>“Here, Jones,” called the aviator, halting. “Have
+you got a good revolver?”</p>
+
+<p>“Two of them, Mr. Davis.”</p>
+
+<p>“Get them both, and start up to the <em>Dart</em> quarters
+without a minute’s delay. Don’t keep your eye off
+the machine a single minute until I relieve you at
+daylight. If any skulker comes within ten feet of
+the place, pepper him. You, Ben Hardy, come
+along with me.”</p>
+
+<p>The old aviator spoke like some commanding
+general. There was a sternness to his expression
+that was significant. As he entered the door of
+the quarters he cast a backward glance at the smouldering
+wreck of the <em>Flyer</em> and sighed. Then his
+face became set and grim.</p>
+
+<p>“My lads here will attend to me, friends,” he
+spoke to the two men who had helped him.</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t we be of some use to you, Mr. Davis?”
+inquired one of them.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, yes, come to think of it. I wish one of
+you would tell Mr. Bridges I want to see him, the
+quicker the better.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span></p>
+
+<p>“He may be in bed, if the fire hasn’t routed him
+out.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then wake him up—it’s very important.”</p>
+
+<p>The men departed. The aviator planted himself
+in an armchair and gave his orders to Ben and Bob.
+Very soon they had the sleeves of his coat cut off
+at the elbow. Without a wince or a groan Mr.
+Davis directed them like a skilled surgeon. Liniment
+was applied to his burns, cotton and bandages
+set in place, and finally the old aviator sank back
+in real or affected comfort, with the words:</p>
+
+<p>“That’s fine. It doesn’t bring back the <em>Flyer</em>,
+poor old friend, but it mends me up for the tussle.”</p>
+
+<p>“You aren’t thinking of trying for to-morrow,
+with your hands in that condition?” interrogated
+Bob.</p>
+
+<p>Before the aviator could reply, Mr. Bridges had
+arrived. He was the director of the meet, its high
+executive official.</p>
+
+<p>“Dear me, Davis,” he exclaimed in genuine concern,
+“this is a serious affair. I needn’t tell you
+I am dreadfully sorry. Have you sent for a doctor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” nodded the aviator with a smile, “you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s it—I want you to doctor up to-morrow’s
+programme.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, it will be a severe disappointment to the
+public—no <em>Flyer</em>, no Davis.”</p>
+
+<p>“But I wish to be represented, just the same.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Oh.”</p>
+
+<p>“Now, see here, Bridges,” proceeded the old aviator,
+“there is not the least occasion in the world
+for red tape. It’s a plain, simple proposition of a
+plain, straightforward man. I have a place on the
+programme. I claim it.”</p>
+
+<p>“But you have no airship to enter.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I have—the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I see,” nodded the director, “very good.
+Operator?”</p>
+
+<p>“Operators—two: Dallow and Hardy. Make a
+note of it officially, Bridges, and see that we have
+a fair show.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a little irregular, isn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p>“So was the burning of the <em>Flyer</em>,” remarked
+Mr. Davis dryly.</p>
+
+<p>“Any suspicions?”</p>
+
+<p>“If I have any, they will keep until this meet is
+over. Then I may have something to say. Can I
+depend on the substitute entry as I make it, with no
+quibbling?”</p>
+
+<p>“You can depend on any service I can give an old
+friend and a square man,” assured the director
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you. You give that fair show, and I’ll
+try and keep up the Davis reputation.”</p>
+
+<p>The aviation director retired with a courteous
+bow. As the door closed on him, Mr. Davis turned
+his glance upon his two young assistants.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well?” he demanded with a quizzical smile.</p>
+
+<p>“You have dazed me,” spoke Ben, with a wondering
+break in his voice. “Do you really mean it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Same here,” piped in Bob. “It’s like getting a
+fortune all at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oho! so you are counting on the prize already,
+are you?” chuckled Mr. Davis.</p>
+
+<p>“Isn’t that what you expect us to do?” challenged
+Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“I reckon it is,” assented the aviator.</p>
+
+<p>“Then we will try, Mr. Davis,” said Ben, a tremor
+of excitement in his voice, but rare determination
+in his eye, “we will try hard.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s the talk,” said the aviator encouragingly.
+“Now then, bring that little stand close to my side.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben obeyed the order.</p>
+
+<p>“Open that yellow paper. Spread it out. Both of
+you sit down close up to me. This is a special
+weather report that arrived five hours ago. The
+red lines and notations are mine. Listen carefully,
+and try and catch my idea of the surest and easiest
+course for to-morrow’s run.”</p>
+
+<p>Both boys were impressed with the intensest interest
+and admiration, as the old aviator explained
+his ideas. Mr. Davis had marked out a zig-zag
+course to the northwest. At a glance, Ben could
+discern how carefully he had calculated and planned
+with expert skill.</p>
+
+<p>Taking wind velocity, temperature readings, barometric<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>
+depressions and storm centres for a basis,
+the wise old aviator had blocked out a course like a
+pilot at sea directing his ship through sandbars, reefs
+and counter winds. Where there was a cross air
+current, a mark designated it. He even indicated
+the altitude average.</p>
+
+<p>“Why,” cried the exuberant Bob, “you make
+it a mere playing, Mr. Davis!”</p>
+
+<p>“Do I?” retorted the old aviator grimly. “You
+may change your mind after a four hour’s spin.
+It’s no fun, lads.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not see how we can fail to do something
+quite fair, under all these conditions,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“It will be simply a question of the gasolene supply,”
+explained Mr. Davis. “There, however, is
+where that auxiliary pipe feature your father has invented
+comes in good. Now then, I want you to
+go to bed and shut your eyes and minds to the world
+till I wake you up. Remember, you have the biggest
+day of your lives before you, and you will need your
+best nerve and strength to meet it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah!” crowed the irrepressible Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll say that when we win,” added Ben.</p>
+
+<p>They were not awakened until eight o’clock the
+next morning. Bob began to worry, and Ben himself
+was flustered at the lateness of the hour.</p>
+
+<p>“Easy, now,” ordered Mr. Davis, “you two fellows
+are simply dummies in the hands of trainers
+till we land you in the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis had sent for two new aviation suits
+for the boys, the latest and best that could be procured.
+They fitted comfortably, and the boys made
+a fine professional appearance in them.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis had left them to chat together over
+their meal. When they rejoined him in his sitting
+room, they found him with two telegrams lying open
+on the stand before him.</p>
+
+<p>“Change the course as I direct, Ben,” he said.
+“The weather conditions are practically the same as
+last night’s report showed, except at two points.
+I’ll name them to you. Make a westerly deviation
+at the first, and take a high level at the second.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben did as he was directed. Bob, leaning over his
+shoulder, made a wry face.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the matter with you?” inquired Mr.
+Davis quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“Huh!” complained Bob, “you’ve marked out
+only a thousand-mile run.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hear him! A thousand miles? Why, if you
+have enough backbone to beat six hundred and fifty
+miles, you win the prize,” declared the old aviator.</p>
+
+<p>It was a grandly inspiriting scene, that upon which
+Ben Hardy and Bob Dallow entered an hour later.
+The sun was bright, the sky was clear and speckless
+of a single cloud, the air brisk and invigorating. It
+was a typical day for air sailing, and the young
+sky pilots felt hopefully at their best.</p>
+
+<p>The aviation field was a gay and entrancing spectacle.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span>
+At its edge were gathered several thousand
+spectators, automobiles, motor-cycles and other vehicles,
+some trimmed in gala array. Pennants were
+strung here and there about the field, and the nine
+aeroplanes entered for the contest were as pretty as
+dainty birds, straining to try their wings in the empyrean.</p>
+
+<p>Hails and cheers rang out in every direction.
+There was hearty applause as Ben and Bob, the
+youngest aviators in the contest, took their places
+in the <em>Dart</em>. Ben tried the levers and the other various
+parts of the machine.</p>
+
+<p>“She works like a watch,” he declared to his companion.</p>
+
+<p>“Ready,” was Bob’s reply, his eye on the judge’s
+stand.</p>
+
+<p>Boom!—flared forth the signal gun, followed by
+a general chorus, uttered in the word so thrilling to
+the heart of the enthusiastic aviator:</p>
+
+<p>“Go!”</p>
+
+<p>Lifted from earth on a superb sweep, true to its
+name, the <em>Dart</em> arose on a splendid arrow course.
+There was a fascinating spiral whirl as the graceful
+aeroplane struck an upper air current. Then, fondly,
+longingly viewed by the old aviator and his friends,
+the <em>Dart</em> diminished, became a mere speck, and faded
+away in the far distance.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">CRUSOES OF THE AIR</p>
+
+
+<p>“It’s business now,” said Bob Dallow, between
+his teeth.</p>
+
+<p>“And guesswork,” added Ben. “Hit or miss,
+though, we’ve got to make land. The tank register
+is at the exhaust line. Where do you suppose we
+are, Bob?”</p>
+
+<p>“Brr-rr! Judging from the weather, Medicine
+Hat. The way we’ve spun along, I should think
+we were just about over Alaska.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s nonsense, of course,” responded Ben,
+“but we have done some travelling. Keep watch
+on the forward planes, now.”</p>
+
+<p>The young aviators were veritable Crusoes of the
+air, marooned in cloudland, lost in a void of ether.
+As Bob aptly expressed the situation, it was business
+now, sharp and serious.</p>
+
+<p>The <em>Dart</em> had made a splendid run. At first it
+had been an experience of fun, novelty and interest
+for its light-hearted crew. The vast panorama
+spread out under them had been entrancing. Up to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>
+mid afternoon they knew pretty well where they
+were. Bob kept close track of the chart markings,
+and when they descended on top of a high hill near
+a little town, they were soon visited by curious
+throngs from the village near by, and knew that they
+were over two hundred and fifty miles from the
+starting point.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s not so bad,” observed Bob, “over sixty
+miles an hour.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not if we can keep up a long flight,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>This had been their only stopping place. It cost
+them over two hours’ time. They had some difficulty
+in securing a new gasolene supply and other
+things they needed. The machine was carefully
+oiled and the flight resumed, the bold aviators feeling
+encouraged by the tremendous cheering of a
+throng viewing a real monoplane for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>Two hours later real work began. They had
+something of a tussle fighting an ugly cross current
+of air. Next a storm cloud interfered. They lost
+their bearings somewhat, and as dusk came on they
+were entirely at sea as to location.</p>
+
+<p>About ten o’clock in the evening, after a visit to
+the lower atmosphere, the air voyagers became assured
+of one fact: They were no longer traversing
+a settled range of territory. The night was black,
+and had become foggy. It had grown chill and uncomfortable
+as well.</p>
+
+<p>There was not a speck of light visible earthwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>
+anywhere. One long sweep took them over a vast
+body of water. Then came an interminable stretch
+of vast forests.</p>
+
+<p>“We seem to have passed civilization,” remarked
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“We are clear out of the United States, anyway,”
+declared Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“My plan is to get to a good altitude and put the
+motors to the limit,” was Ben’s suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>“All right, if we can stand the cold.”</p>
+
+<p>The experiments of the half dozen ensuing hours
+neither of the young aviators ever forgot. It was
+a real endurance test. There was cold, darkness, uncertainty,
+discomfort and peril to combat. Only
+that the splendid little <em>Dart</em> behaved grandly, were
+they able to keep up an uninterrupted forward progress.
+Then there were many bad tips and tilts, but
+skill and attention evaded any real mishap.</p>
+
+<p>“We have driven our craft to the last limit of
+speed,” announced Ben at last. “The fuel gauge
+is at danger line.”</p>
+
+<p>“That settles it, then,” said Bob. “It’s all over
+but the barograph readings, now.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben set the <em>Dart</em> on a downward slant. It was
+high time to descend. As they pierced a broad ribbon
+of dense cloud and made out outlines of hills
+and trees below, the chug—chug of the motor grew
+fainter and less distinct. The sound diminished
+finally to a choking gasp, and the <em>Dart</em> rested on a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span>
+broad even surface in the midst of great trees,
+almost of its own volition.</p>
+
+<p>“We made it just in time,” said Bob, climbing
+from the machine with an immense sigh of relief.
+“What time is it, Ben?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben lighted a match and consulted the dial of
+the treasured timepiece presented to him by the employees
+of the Saxton Automobile Works.</p>
+
+<p>“Just fifteen minutes after one,” he announced.</p>
+
+<p>“Then we have been fourteen hours on the spin,”
+calculated Bob. “I don’t believe any of the others
+have beat that.”</p>
+
+<p>“We don’t know that, of course.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s surely nine hundred miles,” continued Bob,
+“maybe twelve hundred. It seemed to me we just
+spun along these last four hours.”</p>
+
+<p>“We have done finely,” declared Ben, “and we
+should feel pretty glad to land with no mishaps.”</p>
+
+<p>While his companion was seeking for the food
+sack in the body of the machine, Ben was unshipping
+some of the planes and wiring the wheels to near
+tree stumps, so the flying machine could not be
+budged if a sudden wind came up.</p>
+
+<p>“I wonder where we are, Ben?” inquired Bob,
+appearing with the canvas bag that held some tools
+and a bulky package of food.</p>
+
+<p>“No telling. I couldn’t keep track of direction
+after it got dark.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We’re probably out of the range of running fuel
+anyway,” surmised Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I think that is right.”</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the programme, then?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, we can only wait till morning, get our
+bearings, locate some village and tell our story.
+Some reputable people must come to the monoplane
+with us, seal up the speedometer, make affidavits
+as to our arrival, and we get back to Mr. Davis to
+report.”</p>
+
+<p>“And leave the <em>Dart</em> here?” questioned Bob, in
+alarm.</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly not. We must arrange to have it
+packed and shipped on after us, no matter what it
+may cost.”</p>
+
+<p>“If we have only won the prize—oh, if we only
+have!” began Bob ardently, and then: “Hello!”</p>
+
+<p>The speaker dropped the hunk of bread and cheese
+he was eating with a vivid exclamation, and stood
+poised in a staring attitude, glancing through the
+surrounding trees.</p>
+
+<p>“What now, Bob?” questioned Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“A light.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see it!”</p>
+
+<p>“Maybe it’s a village—a house, anyhow. The
+sooner we prove our arrival, the better for our
+claims, eh, Ben?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come on—this is luck.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ben hesitated for a moment. He did not like to
+leave the <em>Dart</em>. Still, it was safely secured, and
+scarcely liable to discovery in that remote and solitary
+place. He joined his companion, and they
+started in the direction of the light.</p>
+
+<p>Bob was so eager and excited that he did not
+leave the bag behind, but kept possession of it, slinging
+it over one shoulder by the piece of flexible wire
+running through the handles.</p>
+
+<p>The two journeyers did not note their environment
+particularly. They had several tumbles going
+down a sheer hilly descent. They encountered fallen
+trees and brambles threading a jungle-like maze.
+All the time, however, they kept the distant light in
+view as a beacon. This led to many turns and windings
+to evade obstructing objects.</p>
+
+<p>“Whew!” ejaculated Bob at last, as they came to
+some kind of a stream. “We must have gone miles.
+I’m footsore and wringing wet with perspiration.”</p>
+
+<p>“That light is across the river, and miles away
+yet,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, we’ll line the stream and cross when we
+get nearer. We can’t miss reaching it now.”</p>
+
+<p>They proceeded on this basis. Less than half a
+mile accomplished, however, both halted simultaneously
+with a shock.</p>
+
+<p>“Gone!” cried Ben in consternation.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” groaned his disappointed comrade.</p>
+
+<p>The point of light seemed suddenly to lift in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span>
+air. It divided into whirling darts of flame, and
+then into a cascade of sparks. Then there was a
+black blank where the radiance had shown.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t you see?” cried Bob, in a dismayed tone.</p>
+
+<p>“See what?”</p>
+
+<p>“It wasn’t a lamp. It was a campfire. Some one
+probably stopping to cook a bite. He kicked out
+the fire and went on.”</p>
+
+<p>“It looks that way,” assented Ben slowly.</p>
+
+<p>“Yell at the top of your voice,” directed Bob,
+seizing Ben’s arm to enforce his suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>They united their voices in a series of ringing
+shouts and yells. The silent wilderness about them
+rang with the vivid echoes. For the space of two
+minutes they bent their ears in anxious, eager suspense.</p>
+
+<p>“You see, we are too far away to be heard,” said
+Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m afraid so,” replied Bob, in deep disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>“Hark! I heard something,” interrupted Ben
+sharply.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, a sound—a sort of roar. Behind us, though.
+Oh, my!”</p>
+
+<p>Bob grasped his companion’s arm and dragged
+him forward.</p>
+
+<p>“Run! run!” he shouted. “It’s a bear.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A FIGHT WITH A BEAR</p>
+
+
+<p>The night was dark and cloudy and there was
+not a star in sight. However, it was possible to discover
+outlines at a near distance. As Ben cast a
+startled glance at a great bushy object not twenty
+feet away, growling savagely and moving directly
+towards them, he realized that there was some foundation
+to his companion’s startling statement.</p>
+
+<p>“Quick, this way. Climb up, I say,” shouted Bob,
+his rapid run landing them directly up against a
+large tree.</p>
+
+<p>“You first, Bob.”</p>
+
+<p>“Me last. Climb, I tell you!” screamed Bob.
+“Whew! that was close.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben had grasped at a low limb of the tree. He
+was conscious that Bob clambered up directly after
+him, but not so readily.</p>
+
+<p>“That was just in time,” panted Bob, as both
+got to a higher limb of the tree. “Got the heel of
+my shoe, that’s all.”</p>
+
+<p>Below, two baneful orbs of flickering radiance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>
+glowered up at them. The bear growled fiercely
+and began scratching at the hard bark of the tree.</p>
+
+<p>It was a benumbing realization to the two boys to
+come direct from a safe civilization within less than
+twenty-four hours into a district infested with savage
+wild beasts.</p>
+
+<p>“He’s climbing!” cried Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“We must go higher.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then so will he.”</p>
+
+<p>“We have no firearms.”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied the doughty Bob, “but there’s a
+good stout hammer in the bag, and I’m going to
+see what I can do with it. Here’s a candle, light it.
+They say a light keeps bears at bay.”</p>
+
+<p>“It doesn’t this one,” reported Ben a minute
+later.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s so. Keep it going so I can see, though,
+but be ready to climb if I don’t make it.”</p>
+
+<p>The head of the hammer Bob was wielding was
+flat and heavy. Its reverse end ran to quite a point.
+He swung slightly down from the limb they occupied.
+As the bear got four feet up the tree, the
+dauntless Bob reached out.</p>
+
+<p>The hammer landed on one forepaw of the bear.
+The animal growled and drew the paw away as if
+easing it from the pain. Bob swung lower. He
+made a terrific swoop with his only weapon.</p>
+
+<p>“Something cracked!” he shouted in encouraging
+tones. “It told, Ben. Down he goes.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span></p>
+
+<p>The head of the hammer had landed against the
+snarling mouth of the bear. Judging from the
+sound, the blow had smashed one or two of his
+molars. Dropped to the trunk of the tree, bruin
+now rubbed his face with his paws in an angry
+growling way, and the light of the candle showed
+blood dripping from the ponderous jaws of the
+animal.</p>
+
+<p>“He won’t venture up again, I reckon,” remarked
+Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“No, but he seems settled down there for the
+night.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, we’ll have to stay up here all night,” responded
+Bob.</p>
+
+<p>The bear now lay flat on the ground at the base
+of the tree, his eyes fixed obliquely towards his treed
+enemies. There was no doubt that the angry animal
+had taken up the patient position of a watcher
+and waiter.</p>
+
+<p>“I say,” observed Ben, after a moment’s cogitation,
+“I have an idea, if we want to drive the bear
+away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, he isn’t very pleasant company to have
+around.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you any of ignition oil in the bag?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, two cans of it,” reported Bob, inspecting
+the contents of the bag.</p>
+
+<p>“Give me one. That’s it. Now, you hold the
+candle and get out a coil of wire.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What’s the stunt.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will see. It may not work.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben unscrewed the top of the can of highly inflammable
+oil. Then, poising just right, he leaned
+over and let its contents drop upon the broad extended
+body of the bear.</p>
+
+<p>The animal sniffed and turned its head to one
+side as the pungent odor of the oil assailed its nostrils.
+It did not budge, however, while its eyes
+glowered up into the tree more dangerously than
+ever.</p>
+
+<p>“Its hide is pretty well soaked,” reported Ben, as
+the contents of the can became exhausted. “Now
+then, attach the candle to the wire, lower it,
+and——”</p>
+
+<p>“Fire up. Ha! ha! Ben, quite an idea.”</p>
+
+<p>The bear uttered a ferocious growl and swept
+the air with one paw furiously as the candle approached.
+Its aim was futile, however. The candle
+reached the oil-soaked hide. There was a blinding
+sweep of flame.</p>
+
+<p>In one second the great animal was swept by a
+brilliant wave of fire. It was only a surface skim,
+but, scared to death, the bear arose with magical
+swiftness, uttered a piercing roar, made for the river
+bank, took a header, and the boys heard a tremendous
+splash in the water twenty feet below.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t think his bearship will trouble us any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>
+further,” remarked Bob, preparing to descend from
+the tree.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied Ben, “but some other bear or animal
+may. I suggest that we climb to that big crotch
+up yonder. It looks roomy and comfortable. We
+can only wander around aimlessly in the darkness.
+We’ll take a good rest, and start out in earnest to
+find out where we are as soon as daylight comes.”</p>
+
+<p>They found the upper tree crotch roomy enough
+to lie in on a slant. They decided on alternate hour
+watches, and had a good lunch before they began
+the arrangement for passing the night.</p>
+
+<p>“How is the commissary department, Bob?” inquired
+Ben, as they descended to the ground after
+daylight.</p>
+
+<p>“Enough to last a whole day, I should think,”
+replied Bob.</p>
+
+<p>They had an ample breakfast. Then there was
+some indecision as to their immediate progress.</p>
+
+<p>“We know about where the <em>Dart</em> is,” said Bob.
+“The river is a kind of a landmark. I suggest that
+we try to find some houses or settlement.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s south,” said Ben, pointing, after consulting
+a small compass he carried with him. “Suppose
+we start in that direction.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m agreeable,” assented his lively comrade.
+“We’re bound to land somewhere.”</p>
+
+<p>The two youths were in fine spirit, and chatted
+animatedly until noon. There was so much to think<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span>
+of—the successful trip, the return home, the possible
+prize. A shower came up, and in seeking shelter
+they wandered away from the river. They could
+not locate it again after a two hours’ search, and
+night came on, finding them in a deep gully shut in
+by high frowning walls of rock.</p>
+
+<p>Ben, somewhat subdued, set about arranging some
+boulders to protect the opening of a cave-like depression
+where they had decided to spend the night.</p>
+
+<p>“I say, Ben,” observed Bob, “there’s just about
+two more meals left in the bag—light ones, too.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, well, this won’t last,” declared Ben hopefully.
+“We found some berries and nuts to-day,
+and maybe with grubbing we might discover something
+else that would tide us over.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, that’s so,” assented Bob, but not at all enthusiastically.
+“It don’t change a pretty serious
+situation, though.”</p>
+
+<p>“How is that?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, we’re in a howling wilderness, aren’t we?”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s the wilderness all right,” assented Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“And we face two sure conclusions,” went on
+Bob Dallow, “we’ve lost the <em>Dart</em> and can’t find it,
+and we’re lost ourselves.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">A FRIEND IN NEED</p>
+
+
+<p>“We will have to get some more wood.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ben. It won’t do to let the fire go down,
+with a lot of all kinds of wild and bloodthirsty
+animals hanging around.”</p>
+
+<p>“Provided any disturb us.”</p>
+
+<p>“There’s the risk, isn’t there?” demanded Bob.
+“I saw sure signs of a bear, and a den that looked
+like a panther’s home. Come on. Two more big
+armfuls will pull us through.”</p>
+
+<p>After a second day of weary aimless wanderings,
+the aviator refugees had made a camp under a tree
+near a little thicket. They had built a fire as night
+came on, had divided the last bread and meat in the
+bag, and were trying to forget the disappointments
+of the day and the discouraging outlook of the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>They were soon busily engaged in gathering up
+dead pieces of wood at the edge of the thicket. The
+reflection from the campfire aided them in their
+work. Ben had a heavy branch with which he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span>
+poked up pieces of dead wood covered by leaves.
+These he would throw into a heap at one side, to
+which his comrade was also adding by his efforts.</p>
+
+<p>Ben was thinking of home and the anxiety of his
+parents. He tried to banish the blues by whistling
+a jolly tune. As he started to probe with a stick in
+a mass of matted leaves, the music halted on his lips,
+and his eyes became fixed in a terrified stare upon
+a tree ten feet away.</p>
+
+<p>Poised upon one of its branches, its eyes gleaming
+with ferocious fire, just ready to spring upon
+Bob, who, unconscious of his peril was gathering
+an armful of fuel, was a panther.</p>
+
+<p>For only an instant Ben was held breathless and
+spell-bound by the curdling spectacle. Then with a
+great shout and brandishing his stick wildly, he ran
+forward to obstruct the spring of the fierce animal
+and save his friend.</p>
+
+<p>Too late! As the lithe creature darted through
+the air, Ben reeled with horror, his eyes closed to
+shut out the hideous sight and weakness and despair
+overcame him.</p>
+
+<p>Bang! What was that? A sharp report rang out.
+Ben made out a strange form near the campfire with
+a smoking rifle in hand. He saw the panther diverge
+in its leap, turn completely over, and with a furious
+snarl drop to the ground, while Bob, lifting his
+head, demanded coolly:</p>
+
+<p>“I say, what’s happening?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ben ran to his side, clinging to his arm, faltering
+out an incoherent explanation. Then in amazement
+both advanced to the silent erect figure outlined like
+some statue in the red glow of the campfire.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, it’s an Indian,” broke out the wondering
+Bob. “Say, hello!”</p>
+
+<p>“How,” responded the stranger, with something
+of subserviency in his manner. He was a mild-faced,
+gentle-mannered half breed.</p>
+
+<p>Ben grasped his hands and swung it up and down
+fervently, pointing to the gun and then to the dead
+panther.</p>
+
+<p>“You have saved my friend!” he cried, touching
+Bob’s shoulder lovingly with his free hand.</p>
+
+<p>“Me friend,” pronounced the Indian awkwardly.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, you are my friend, too—my good friend.
+What can we do for you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Salt.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is that?” inquired Bob strangely.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian had a bag strung across his back. He
+drew out of it a fat pheasant, evidently recently
+killed, and just dressed and washed at some near
+stream, for it was dripping with fresh water.</p>
+
+<p>“No fire—no salt,” he said. “You salt?”</p>
+
+<p>“Salt?” repeated Bob buoyantly. “Loads of it.
+Why, about all we have got is salt—and pepper.
+Look here.”</p>
+
+<p>The lunch put up at the aero meet had included
+a dozen hard boiled eggs. A salt and a pepper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>
+bottle had accompanied them. Very little of the
+condiment had been used.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian’s eyes sparkled, as he at the discovery
+of a treasure, as he viewed the salt longingly. Then
+he passed the pheasant over to Ben with an unctious
+smack of the lips and the words:</p>
+
+<p>“You cook—plenty salt.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, and give you the bottle for yourself,” cried
+the exuberant Bob, slapping the Indian on the shoulder
+in a friendly familiar way. “I say, old chief,
+where are we? Can you direct us to any town?
+People, houses, white man’s wigwam, understand?”</p>
+
+<p>“Wigwam,” grinned the half breed. “Oh, yes—yes,
+so,” and he pointed south.</p>
+
+<p>“You take us there?” inquired Ben eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>“Morning. Me guide. See? Charge one dollar.”</p>
+
+<p>“You shall have ten,” cried the delighted Bob,
+“and a whole barrel of salt thrown in.”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian could speak only a few words of
+English and could not sustain any conversation with
+them. When the pheasant was broiled they gave
+him half of it. They passed him the salt bottle and
+he was supremely happy. He made his share of
+the fowl look as if it was coated over with frosting,
+ate it clear to the bones, selected a place near the
+fire, used his bag for a pillow, and was placidly snoring
+inside of two minutes.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Ben, I guess we’re headed for home at
+last,” observed Bob.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It looks so. I can hardly wait till morning to
+start.”</p>
+
+<p>“You won’t wake Powhattan until he’s all ready,”
+declared Bob, as they turned in.</p>
+
+<p>When Ben woke up in the morning, two large
+fish, scaled and cleaned, lay on pieces of bark before
+the smouldering fire. The Indian was missing, but
+his rifle lay beside the bag that had served as his
+pillow for the night.</p>
+
+<p>“Where’s Powhattan?” inquired Bob, rousing up.
+“Oh, there he is, taking a morning swim,” added
+Ben, glancing past the thicket to where a little
+stream flowed. “Breakfast provided, eh? Where
+did the fish come from?”</p>
+
+<p>“Our visitor must have got up early and gone
+fishing,” explained Ben.</p>
+
+<p>The fish were soon sizzling over the fire. Ben,
+waiting to have them browned to a turn, happened
+to glance at the rifle of the Indian and his game bag.</p>
+
+<p>Something about the latter suddenly enchained his
+attention. He advanced towards it, picked it up,
+and uttered so vivid an exclamation of surprise that
+Bob ran quickly to his side with the inquiring words:</p>
+
+<p>“What now, Ben?”</p>
+
+<p>“This bag.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see it,” nodded Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you notice anything familiar about it?” asked
+Ben, some latent excitement in his tones.</p>
+
+<p>“Why—no.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Look closer,” directed Ben. “See, it is made
+of a strip of something caught into bag shape and
+fastened with thorns. Do you notice the material?
+A strip of canvas.”</p>
+
+<p>“What of it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Parafined canvas, too. See the wooden braces
+at each end? Why, Bob, this is a piece of an airship!”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">THE LOST AVIATOR</p>
+
+
+<p>“A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
+“Ours?”</p>
+
+<p>“The <em>Dart</em>, yes. The piece here is discolored and
+looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this
+Indian here would do that.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then you figure out that he has discovered the
+<em>Dart</em> and utilized what he fancied about it to make
+a game bag, and this is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“That is my guess.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mine, too,” declared Bob. “If that is true, Ben,
+then the Indian must know the spot where the
+<em>Dart</em> is.”</p>
+
+<p>“Undoubtedly.”</p>
+
+<p>“Let’s find out. Hey, hi, hello, guide, my friend
+Powhattan! This way, old fellow!”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian, just through with his morning swim,
+arrived speedily, smiling and as placid as ever.</p>
+
+<p>“I say, look here,” said Bob, picking up the impromptu
+game bag, “yours?”</p>
+
+<p>“Me, yes—yes,” replied the Indian promptly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Did you make it?”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian bowed assent.</p>
+
+<p>“Where did you get this?” asked Bob, patting the
+canvas.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian spoke a string of mingled words accompanied
+by vivid pantomime. He imitated the
+movement of wings and practically described an
+airship.</p>
+
+<p>“Can you take us to the place where you found
+this?” asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian pointed southwest. He held up six
+fingers.</p>
+
+<p>“He means about six miles from here,” translated
+Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“I guess he does. You take us. Understand?
+Then to the town, will you?”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian held up two fingers now.</p>
+
+<p>“He means two dollars,” declared Bob. “All
+right my friend, twenty dollars, if you say so.
+That’s the ticket, Ben. We’ll locate the <em>Dart</em> first,
+so as to be sure we can find it later, and then have
+our guide take us to the settlement. Zip! but we’re
+getting action at last.”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian seemed to understand what they
+wished him to do. He ate his fish, using nearly all
+the salt left, acted unusually satisfied and brisk, and,
+breakfast despatched, the boys followed him single
+file as he led the way from the spot.</p>
+
+<p>They had gone about four miles when their guide<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>
+struck a narrow trodden path near the river. Its
+banks were densely fringed with heavy underbrush
+for over a mile. Then there was a break, an open
+place of perhaps three hundred feet. Just before
+reaching it, the Indian paused. He looked deeply
+serious, almost alarmed, Ben fancied, as he placed
+his finger warningly to his lips with the ominous
+words:</p>
+
+<p>“Follow—quick—run fast.”</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the reason, Powhattan?” asked Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Shoot. Prisoner. Bad white men.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, an enemy around, you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes—yes. Come.”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian shot past the break in the shore line
+like a flash. Ben and Bob followed his directions.
+As they did so, they noted an island in the river.
+In its center stood a large log-framed building.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s queer,” remarked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” observed Bob, “it looks like some fort.”</p>
+
+<p>“I wonder what there is to fear about it!”</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t guess. I saw no one about, did you?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied Ben, “it looked deserted to me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, our guide is going ahead. Let us follow
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>Half a mile further on, the Indian turned into
+a maze of high willow bushes. Abruptly these ended
+in a kind of a swale. It was dry now, and they
+crossed it without difficulty. Then, as Ben and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>
+Bob came to the middle of it, they halted dead
+short.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello!” projected Bob, “an airship.”</p>
+
+<p>“But not ours!” cried Ben, lost in wonderment,
+“not the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>The two friends stood bewilderedly staring at the
+wreck of a monoplane lying flat upon the ground.
+It was all in pieces. Some of the planes had been
+cut into and trampled on. The wheels were missing,
+and it had been stripped of many of its mechanical
+parts.</p>
+
+<p>“Ben, what does it mean?” inquired Bob blankly.</p>
+
+<p>“You can see for yourself. It is simply another
+airship than our own. It landed here by chance, just
+as ours landed where it did. Some one has carried
+away part of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Probably some one living in that queer place on
+the island in the river.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very likely.”</p>
+
+<p>Their first surprise over, the young aviators made
+a closer inspection.</p>
+
+<p>“It is a Zenapin model, and was a good one,” reported
+Ben. “I wish I knew where it started from.”</p>
+
+<p>“Here’s something that may tell,” said Bob, abruptly
+tugging at the front dip board. “It’s smashed,
+but part of the name is left.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is it?” inquired Ben, coming quickly to the
+side of his companion.</p>
+
+<p>“T—E—O—”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Only part of a name. What can it stand for?”</p>
+
+<p>“Teodor? Hardly. Matteo? No, I give it up.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hold on,” cried Ben, fishing among the scattered
+debris. “Here’s another letter, or rather a part of
+one.”</p>
+
+<p>“An E,” said Bob excitedly. “Now, where does
+that belong—before or behind?”</p>
+
+<p>“Before—I’ve got it, Bob.”</p>
+
+<p>“What—quick!”</p>
+
+<p>“M-E-T-E-O-R.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whew!”</p>
+
+<p>Bob uttered such a gasp that it staggered him. He
+repeated it, as he rapidly fumbled in his coat pocket
+with the words:</p>
+
+<p>“The <em>Meteor</em>? Why didn’t I think of it before.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then you know something about the <em>Meteor</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>“I guess I do.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll show you in a minute.”</p>
+
+<p>Bob drew out his memorandum book. He extracted
+several newspaper clippings from its inner
+pocket. He selected one of these and read its heading:</p>
+
+<p>“The Lost Aviator.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who was it, Bob?”</p>
+
+<p>“Count Eric Beausire, a French aviator. Made
+a flight from Minneapolis last month. The <em>Meteor</em>
+never heard from since. Supposed lost in the wilds
+of Canada. One thousand dollars reward for any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span>
+information concerning the whereabouts of Count
+Beausire or his airship.”</p>
+
+<p>“And this is the <em>Meteor</em>,” murmured Ben, immersed
+and spellbound in a maze of speculation.</p>
+
+<p>“And where is the lost aviator? Where is the
+missing Count Beausire?”</p>
+
+<p>It was decidedly gruesome to think of that. Involuntarily,
+both boys looked all about them.</p>
+
+<p>“He must have left the airship at some other
+place,” said Ben. “There is no trace of him here.
+It looks as if a good many people had visited this
+place. If he fell with the <em>Meteor</em> he has been discovered.”</p>
+
+<p>“What shall we do?” asked Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“What can we do except to get to some settlement
+and report what we know, and have a search
+made for both the missing aviator and the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a thousand dollars for us, what we have already
+discovered,” remarked Bob. “I’d give it to
+find the count. He must have been a fine man, for
+this newspaper clipping says that the reward is
+offered by the big International Aviation Club of
+New York.”</p>
+
+<p>The Indian had been pacing about and looking
+around him in a restless uneasy way ever since they
+had arrived at the uncanny spot. He seemed greatly
+relieved to start again on the course for the settlement.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span></p>
+
+<p>When they reached the break in the river hedge,
+he again displayed anxiety and seriousness.</p>
+
+<p>“Run fast,” he directed.</p>
+
+<p>The boys started to follow his suggestions to
+humor him. Half the open distance accomplished,
+however, Ben came to a standstill. He looked over
+towards the fort, like a structure on the island.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Ben?” inquired Bob, coming back to
+where he stood, while with every indication of terror
+their guide scurried to cover.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you hear a shout?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Ben.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I did. It sounded like a cry of distress.
+And see,” added Ben excitedly, “from that cellar
+window. Some one is waving a handkerchief.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see it—I see it,” said Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“A shout for help and a signal of distress,” said
+Ben thoughtfully, “Bob, I’m going to investigate this
+mystery.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">HOMEWARD BOUND</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben beckoned to the Indian, but the latter refused
+to come beyond the protecting fringe of bushes.
+Ben approached him and pointed to the island.</p>
+
+<p>“I want to go there,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>The guide professed great concern and terror.
+He was genuinely frightened. Nothing could prevail
+upon him to accompany the boys. In a disconnected
+way and with numerous gesticulations, he
+made it clear that bad white men were somewhere
+about the island waiting to annihilate all intruders.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, the place is all shut up and looks practically
+deserted,” said Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“Except for the person waving at that window,”
+added Ben. “Hark! he is shouting again. Let us
+descend to the river bank.”</p>
+
+<p>No demonstration of any kind greeted their exposing
+themselves to full view from the island. At
+first it looked as though they would have to swim
+over. Then Bob discovered a light canoe hidden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>
+in among some high reeds. He and Ben got into the
+craft and paddled over to the island.</p>
+
+<p>As they approached the log structure at its center,
+it suggested to them more of a fort than ever. It
+was built solidly, had port holes here and there in
+its sides, and marks in the logs showed where at
+some time or other musket balls and even larger
+projectiles had evidently assailed its staunch timbers
+from the mainland.</p>
+
+<p>“No one seems to be moving about,” said Bob.
+“Even that man in the cellar has got out of sight.”</p>
+
+<p>They walked about the building until they came
+to a door letting into the cellar. This was protected
+with a simple hasp and bolt. Ben opened the door,
+Bob followed him into the cellar.</p>
+
+<p>A somewhat remarkable sight greeted them.
+Seated on a sawbench with an upturned barrel
+before him was a man dressed in aviator costume.
+He had a comb and some other toilet articles on the
+barrel. With these he was arranging tangled disordered
+beard and hair. He tidied up a very much
+neglected collar and tie. He waxed his long mustachios
+with a stick of cosmetic.</p>
+
+<p>“Gentlemen, I welcome!” he cried, and with
+graceful agility he sprang to his feet and made a bow
+like that of some courtier. Something jangled as he
+did this, and quick-sighted Bob exclaimed in dismay:</p>
+
+<p>“Ben, one foot is secured to a log chain running
+to that center post.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?” began Ben, but guessing.</p>
+
+<p>“I am the Count Eric Beausire,” came the pleasant-toned
+response, “but, greater than so, an aviator,
+as you are, gentlemen,” and he looked up and down
+the garb of the visitors.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” responded Ben, “we have just made a long
+distance flight on our monoplane, the <em>Dart</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>“I greet you as brothers,” cried the count with a
+glad gracious wave of his hand. “Ah, it is a pleasure
+profound after weeks of confinement. Can I be released?”</p>
+
+<p>“We shall see to that at once,” declared Ben, and
+he and Bob made immediate inspection of the chain
+that held the count a captive. It was fortunate that
+they had some of the tools used in the monoplane in
+the bag which Bob still carried. With even this
+help and all Ben’s mechanical skill it took them
+nearly two hours to get the count free.</p>
+
+<p>The rescued man urged haste as they paddled
+over to the mainland. They found the Indian cowering
+and uneasy, and immensely relieved at their
+safe return. Several allusions had been made to the
+wrecked <em>Meteor</em>.</p>
+
+<p>“I must see my beloved child of the air once more—a
+sad farewell,” declared the count.</p>
+
+<p>The boys led him to the swale brake. The nobleman
+looked over the scattered ruins of the monoplane.
+He selected a small piece of one of the
+planes, lifted his cap reverently, pressed his lips to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span>
+the little piece of wood, and placed it inside his
+breast as a cherished memento.</p>
+
+<p>“Vandals!” he exclaimed, taking a last look at
+the wrecked airship and then shaking a clenched
+fist towards the island.</p>
+
+<p>The party now took up the march for the settlement,
+much to the satisfaction of their Indian guide.</p>
+
+<p>“I assume that the <em>Meteor</em> arrived in good condition
+here originally,” began Ben, interested in
+learning the story of the refugee who was now their
+companion.</p>
+
+<p>“Except for a dead motor, yes,” responded the
+count. “I sought help. Misfortune led me to the
+house on that island. Ah, the banditti!”</p>
+
+<p>“Who are they?” asked Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“As I learned later, merciless outlaws, the proscribed
+of the commonwealth. There are ten of
+them. Immediately I was viewed with suspicion.
+Unfortunately I wore a star bearing secret symbols
+upon it—a testimonial from a foreign court where
+I had made an aero exhibition. These rabble took
+it for a badge of a detective. They refused to listen
+to explanations. I was chained up as a spy, the
+<em>Meteor</em> ruthlessly destroyed. Ah, the vampires!”</p>
+
+<p>“They were outlaws, you say.”</p>
+
+<p>“I learned from what I heard and observed that
+they were proscribed men with a price on their head,
+the terror of the district. They have defied and even
+held at bay the government for years. They have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>
+resisted a bombardment in their numerous fastnesses,
+of which the island fort is one.”</p>
+
+<p>“But we found you alone.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. It seems they anticipated a visit from the
+mounted police, and abandoned the island two days
+ago. They promised to send a person to release
+me after they had gotten over the border line.”</p>
+
+<p>By this time the boys knew that they were over
+two hundred miles over the American line in a wild
+part of Canada. Their spirits rose as with their new
+comrade they talked over all kinds of aviation
+events, told their own experiences, and listened to
+some thrilling stories of the count.</p>
+
+<p>At last their Indian guide led them into a regularly
+traversed trail. They had not followed this
+any great distance when a trampling sound caused
+them to draw aside. In a few minutes a cavalcade
+dashed into view—the mounted police.</p>
+
+<p>There were speedy explanations. The captain of
+the party became immensely interested in the strange
+stories of the refugees. He eagerly questioned the
+count as to details concerning the outlaws. Then
+he paid full attention to the story of the <em>Dart</em> from
+Ben’s lips.</p>
+
+<p>The latter explained to the official that he had
+plenty of ready money provided by John Davis to
+pay rewards and expenses. The result was that
+the police were divided into two parties.</p>
+
+<p>“If the outlaws have really gone, good riddance,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span>
+and we won’t follow them,” said the officer. “Let
+one party visit the island and burn the old shack to
+the ground. The rest of us will look for your lost
+airship, Mr. Hardy, and report to you at the settlement.
+We’ll be glad to have a hand in helping out
+you aviators. There is a big interest in airships
+everywhere, and we may get some helpful notice in
+the newspapers.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a decided satisfaction to Ben, Bob and the
+count to sit down to a good meal in a comfortable
+little hotel at the settlement two hours later. The
+Indian guide was handsomely rewarded. A courier
+had been hired to ride on horseback across country
+to the nearest telegraph station with messages for
+New York, Blairville and Woodville.</p>
+
+<p>Before nightfall the captain of police came in
+with a report of the findings of the <em>Dart</em>. Ben immediately
+secured the services of a man owning a
+large broad wagon, and the next morning the monoplane
+was taken apart and packed on the vehicle.</p>
+
+<p>Count Beausire took charge of the barograph and
+distance register, sealed both, and announced that
+he would accompany the boys to Blairville.</p>
+
+<p>“My declaration as a representative of the international
+aero clubs, will be accepted as to the veracity
+of your exploit,” he observed, somewhat grandly.</p>
+
+<p>Ben paid liberally all those working in his behalf.
+Arrangements were made to ship the <em>Dart</em> to Blairville.
+The motor and some other parts of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span>
+wrecked <em>Meteor</em> were also to be sent forward, at the
+request of Count Beausire.</p>
+
+<p>The news quickly spread that the young aviators
+had made a truly wonderful flight, and many came
+to see Ben and Bob.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve got an extra telegram to send home,” said
+Bob, and went off, leaving Ben alone at the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>A little later our hero received a letter, asking him
+to call at a certain address in the town, to see a new
+invention of an airship. The letter added that Ben
+would regret it if he did not pay attention to the
+communication.</p>
+
+<p>Curious to know what the invention might be, the
+young aviator started off alone. Quarter of an hour’s
+walk brought him to the address given. It was a
+large, dilapidated house, and looked to be vacant.</p>
+
+<p>“It doesn’t look as if the inventor was very prosperous,”
+commented Ben to himself. “But I guess
+none of them are when they’re working on flying
+machines.”</p>
+
+<p>He rang the bell, but no one answered. He looked
+up at the front of the house. Many of the windows
+were broken, and there was no sign of life.</p>
+
+<p>“Guess I might as well walk right in,” he said.
+“I’ll probably find him in one of the back rooms
+puttering over some of his machinery.”</p>
+
+<p>He went into the hall, his footsteps echoing
+through the empty house. He made a tour of the
+first floor, and soon came to the conclusion that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>
+inventor must be in one of the upper stories. He
+got all the way to the top one before his search was
+successful. Then a voice hailed him from one of
+the rear rooms.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is there?” a man called, speaking with a
+slight German accent.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m Ben Hardy,” called our hero, not observing
+his questioner. “I came to inquire about a flying
+machine. Are you the inventor?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am, my young friend. I am glad you have
+called. I am just about to make a flight, and you
+shall see it.”</p>
+
+<p>A big man, in his shirt sleeves, and with a ragged
+pair of trousers on, stepped into view. He stood in
+the door of a room far down the topmost corridor.
+Ben advanced toward him, noting that the inventor
+was of great strength, as indicated by his powerful
+arms and shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>“I shouldn’t think you could go up very far in
+a place like this,” said Ben pleasantly. “What sort
+of a flying machine is yours, an aeroplane or the
+gas-bag variety?”</p>
+
+<p>“Neither,” replied the inventor. “Mine is on an
+entirely new system. It is the screw principle, as old
+as the world, but applied in a new direction. I am
+the greatest inventor in the universe. My name is
+Hans Voller. Come in and see my machine. It is
+about to fly.”</p>
+
+<p>He held open the door of the room. Ben could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>
+make out a mass of machinery, and a curious contrivance
+like a big auger.</p>
+
+<p>“We are about to fly!” exclaimed Hans Voller,
+as he took our hero by the shoulder and shoved him
+into the dingy apartment, following himself and
+quickly locking the door. “We must have no spies,
+for there are many who would steal my ideas,” the
+man added.</p>
+
+<p>Ben sized him up for a harmless crank, though
+he did not like the locked door, nor the manner in
+which the eyes of the German glared at him. Still,
+the young aviator reflected, the man might be only
+out of his mind on this one subject of flying machines,
+and he had been in just as much danger, and
+more, dozens of times since becoming a “bird-man.”</p>
+
+<p>“Now attend!” exclaimed the inventor, as he put
+the key of the room in his pocket. “I will explain
+the principles on which this most wonderful machine
+works, and then I will demonstrate it to you. You
+will write it up for your aviation club, and I shall
+become famous. Do you see that screw?”</p>
+
+<p>Ben nodded to show that he did. It was a curious
+contrivance of a double spiral, about seven feet high
+and half that in diameter at the top, tapering down
+to a point. It was made of woven basket work,
+covered with cloth, and painted white. Our hero
+compared it to two spiral stairways twined about
+a centre pole, similar to one he had seen in a circus
+once, and down which a man, shut up in a ball,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span>
+had rolled from the top of the tent to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>“That screw solves the problem,” the inventor
+went on. “I revolve that thousands of times a minute.
+It forces the air down, just as a screw of a
+steamer forces the boat ahead through the water.
+That lifts my machine up, and then I start my engine
+and we go ahead. I have not yet made a big machine,
+but I have tested this one by making it lift
+heavy weights. I want it to lift a person. I am
+too heavy for this little model, but you would be
+about right.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m afraid I wouldn’t care to try it,” spoke Ben
+with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>“There is no danger! You must try it!” the
+German exclaimed. “See, I rotate the screw by
+this electric motor I have installed. Sometimes it
+gets going too fast and something breaks. Then I
+must look out. I hide behind this wooden screen,”
+and he pointed to a strong one near the mass of
+machinery. “Now I have a chance to try my machine
+on a live person. I have long wanted to. I
+have made some improvements to-day, and you are
+just in time. You will fly!”</p>
+
+<p>Before Ben knew what was happening the inventor
+had grabbed hold of him, pinning his arms to his
+side, and was advancing toward the big screw, which
+now began to revolve at a rapid rate.</p>
+
+<p>Ben struggled to free himself, but the big German
+held him tightly. His face was close to that of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span>
+young aviator, and the youth could see a strange
+gleam in the blue eyes. The hum of the motor as it
+increased in speed sounded loudly in the room. The
+big rattan screw was hissing as the blade cut the air.</p>
+
+<p>“Let me go!” cried Ben. “I don’t want to try
+your flying machine!”</p>
+
+<p>“But you must!” insisted the inventor. “This is
+an opportunity I have long waited for. All the
+other airship men would not come in when they got
+as far as the door. They were afraid of me, I
+guess.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben wished he had been more discreet, for he
+realized that the man was a dangerous lunatic.</p>
+
+<p>“You will soon be sailing through the air; right
+up through the roof,” the German went on, still
+holding Ben in his arms, while with one foot he
+pushed over a lever on the floor, thereby increasing
+the speed of the motor. “You will soon be among
+the birds. Then you can come down and write
+an account of it for the paper, and Hans Voller will
+be famous.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben was very much frightened. The man was
+fairly crushing him in his terrible grip, and, as he
+approached closer to the machinery, the youth saw
+that the apparatus was strongly constructed and was
+revolving at a speed so great that the spiral looked
+like a thin white streak. The blades were not visible.</p>
+
+<p>He could not imagine what the insane inventor
+was going to do with him, unless he intended to toss<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>
+him into the midst of the whirling screw. In this
+event, though the material was only light rattan, our
+hero was likely to be seriously injured, because of
+the great speed. Also, there was danger that he
+would come in contact with a live wire or part of
+the big motor, the vibrations of which shook the
+whole frail building.</p>
+
+<p>But the German soon showed that he was not
+going to do any immediate harm to the boy. He
+suddenly laid the young aviator down on an elevated
+platform, which Ben at once saw was part of
+a scale for weighing big objects. The scale was
+connected to the screw, and the arm, with the weight
+on, was oscillating up and down.</p>
+
+<p>Before Ben could wiggle away, the German had
+passed some ropes over him, tying him securely
+down on the platform. Then he sprang to his feet,
+leaving the boy lying there, trussed like a fowl.</p>
+
+<p>“Now we are ready to fly!” exclaimed the German,
+his eyes flashing strangely.</p>
+
+<p>Ben looked in vain for some way of escape. He
+was tied so tightly he could scarcely move. Close
+to his head on one side was the motor and on the
+other the whirring screw, which made such a loud
+humming that the German’s voice, loud as it was,
+sounded faint and far off.</p>
+
+<p>The inventor busied himself about his machinery
+for several seconds, adjusting wires, wheels and levers.
+Then he put some weights on the beam of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span>
+the scale. Next he began to figure on some scraps
+of paper, the while muttering to himself.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, yes, we shall do it,” Ben heard him say.
+“It is a success. He shall fly.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’d better let me go before the police come!”
+exclaimed the young aviator, thinking to frighten
+the man. The German only laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“The police never come here!” he cried. “It is too
+lonesome a place. No one lives here but me. The
+house is deserted. It is falling to pieces, for the
+owner will not repair it. It is good enough for me.
+No one shall disturb us.”</p>
+
+<p>“What are you going to do to me?” asked Ben,
+growing a little calmer.</p>
+
+<p>“I intend you shall fly—that is, theoretically, not
+actually. This machine is only a model. I put you
+on the scales. I start my screw. If this little screw
+can so push against the air, with such force as to
+cause the beam arm of the scale, with you on the
+platform, to go up, I know I am successful. That
+shows that if I make a bigger screw, and revolve
+it in the opposite direction, so as to lift up, instead
+of pulling down, as this is doing, I have solved the
+secret of flying.”</p>
+
+<p>The man seemed rational, and his language
+showed he knew something of the laws of dynamics
+and pneumatics, but his eyes had a dangerous
+glare in them, and Ben, in spite of his outward coolness,
+was much frightened.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I now prepare to revolve the screw at its highest
+speed,” went on the German, and our hero wondered
+if it could go any faster and not fly apart from
+centrifugal force. “When it is at top speed, if the
+beam of the scale goes up, I am the great inventor.
+If it does not—I am nothing. Now we are ready.
+You are going to fly, but you are not going to fly.
+It is all in theory. But I must reverse the motor,”
+which he quickly did. “I am afraid if I let the
+screw revolve the other way you would go right out
+through the roof. We may try that later. I am
+going to put a string to the electric lever that controls
+the motor, and pull it from the other room, as
+there is danger from the great speed if I stay here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you going to let me be killed?” cried Ben,
+now thoroughly frightened, and believing that the
+man meant to harm him. He certainly was in a
+desperate plight.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope no harm will come to you,” spoke the
+German, with an unpleasant grin. “I have to have
+some one on which to experiment. You are a good
+one. I hope you escape. Do not move when the
+screw begins to go faster.”</p>
+
+<p>He had fastened a stout cord to the lever of the
+electric switch that controlled the motor. This cord
+he passed through the keyhole of the door, which he
+unlocked. Then he went out into the hall, closing
+the door after him, but not locking it, and leaving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>
+Ben, bound and helpless, alone in the room with the
+strange machinery.</p>
+
+<p>The motor was purring like a great cat, the screw
+was whizzing around so swiftly just above his head
+that it made our hero dizzy to watch it. Once more
+he tried to break the bonds, but they were too tight.</p>
+
+<p>“Look out now!” called the voice of the insane
+inventor from the hall. “Tell me if the scale beam
+moves!”</p>
+
+<p>Ben saw the string that passed through the keyhole
+become taut. He heard the spitting of fire as
+the copper blade of the switch passed over the various
+contact points, letting more current flow to the
+motor. Then he heard the screw set up a shriller
+hum, as its speed increased.</p>
+
+<p>The scale platform on which he was lying shook
+and trembled. The whole room vibrated as though
+a strong wind was shaking the house. Sparks came
+from the motor, and there was a roar like a miniature
+cyclone in Ben’s ears.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t move!” cried the German from the hall.
+“Lie still! Watch if the arm moves! You may go
+through to the cellar! I am going down to catch
+you!”</p>
+
+<p>Then our hero heard footsteps retreating down
+the hall. He was alone with the dangerous and rapidly
+moving machinery, unable to help himself, or
+to move in case the apparatus flew apart from the
+awful force that was spinning it around. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span>
+thought was too much for the boy, and he fainted.</p>
+
+<p>How long he remained senseless he did not know,
+but it could not have been more than a few minutes,
+as after events proved. When he opened his eyes
+again he saw a pleasant-faced German youth standing
+over him, regarding him curiously.</p>
+
+<p>“Ach, Herr Voller!” cried the newcomer. “I
+find dot you are right on der chob, as dese Americans
+say. I am a writer from der magazine. Der editor
+sent me to get a story of your wonderful invention.
+I come in, as I can make no one hear der
+bell. I find you experimenting mit it. Tell me all
+about it. Ven are you going to fly? But you speak
+de German, and dis American he iss not so easy for
+me,” and with that he launched into a flow of
+German.</p>
+
+<p>“Wait! Stop! Hold on!” cried Ben above the
+din of the machinery. “I’m not the inventor of this
+thing! He’s a crazy man, an he fastened me here to
+experiment with. Cut me loose before he gets back!
+Stop the machinery!”</p>
+
+<p>“Vot is dot?” cried the magazine man, for such
+he was. “You are not the inventor? You are tied
+up by him? Stop der machinery? How shall I
+do it?”</p>
+
+<p>“First cut me loose!” cried Ben. “I’ll stop the
+motor when I get up! It’s liable to fly to pieces
+now!”</p>
+
+<p>For several seconds the newcomer stood irresolute.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span>
+It took the idea some time to get all the way
+in, though when it did he was not slow to act. Whipping
+out his knife, he cut the ropes that bound Ben.
+The latter, as soon as he could stand, sprang to the
+wall, where he had noticed the electric switch, and
+shut off the current. The motor and screw slowed
+down, and the hum of machinery stopped.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s lucky you came along when you did,” said
+Ben, who was quite pale from his adventure. “I
+thought I was a goner.”</p>
+
+<p>“How did all dis happen?” asked the German
+magazine writer.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero explained. It appeared that the German
+magazine man had also received a letter, asking that
+a reporter be sent to write up the flying machine.</p>
+
+<p>“Dot luck you speak of, he is a queer thing,” said
+the German, when Ben had finished his recital. “I
+was going first to mine supper, but I dinks I get de
+story first and eat myself afterwards. Dot is lucky
+for you.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s what it is. Now we’d better get out of
+here before that crazy inventor comes back. I don’t
+know where he went, though he said he was going
+to see if I fell through to the cellar.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ach, if he is crazy, I wants none of him!” exclaimed
+the magazine man. “Our life it is hard
+enough widout such troubles!”</p>
+
+<p>“Hark! Some one is coming!” cried Ben, as
+footsteps sounded in the hall.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span></p>
+
+<p>The two made a dash for the door, and got into
+the corridor just in time to see someone approaching.</p>
+
+<p>“He’s coming back! We’d better try for the rear
+way!” cried Ben.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not the crazy inventor who was coming.
+Instead it was a man in the uniform of an asylum
+attendant.</p>
+
+<p>The man questioned Ben and the magazine writer,
+and then explained how the crazy man had escaped
+from an asylum some months before. He had hidden
+himself away so well that he could not be located.</p>
+
+<p>“But we’ll get him now,” said the attendant, and
+he was right; the crazy man was captured a little
+later and taken back to the asylum.</p>
+
+<p>“Gracious, I hope flying machines don’t make me
+crazy!” said Ben, when telling Bob of what has
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>“They never will,” declared Bob. “Your head is
+too level.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a fine morning when the three aviators
+bade their friends at the settlement farewell and
+were driven over to the nearest railroad town. Then
+life became an animated whirl to them.</p>
+
+<p>Newspaper correspondents boarded the train at
+half a dozen points down the line, eagerly pleading
+for interviews.</p>
+
+<p>The papers they read were full of the one great
+popular current theme: “The Lost Aviators.” It
+was a strange situation for Ben to read column after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>
+column covering every phase of public interest, anxiety
+and speculation in regard to the missing <em>Dart</em>
+and its crew.</p>
+
+<p>It was before daylight the next morning that Ben
+bade a temporary adieu to Bob and the count. This
+was at a railroad junction between Blairville and
+Woodville.</p>
+
+<p>“I must see the folks,” he said. “I feel that my
+first duty. I will come straight on to Blairville afterwards.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben’s mother shed joyful tears to welcome home
+again the lost boy whose disappearance had brought
+many anxious hours of hope and fear. Ben had
+a hasty breakfast and then took the first train for
+Blairville.</p>
+
+<p>He was thinking most of the result of the long-distance
+race as he started for the aviation field. It
+was with a token of interest, however, that he
+glanced down the street where the man with the gig
+lived. Ben had it in mind always to fathom the
+mystery surrounding that individual when he had
+aero affairs out of the way.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello,” he exclaimed, coming to a halt. “There’s
+the gig standing right in front of the house at this
+very moment. My man must be at home.”</p>
+
+<p>A little girl with golden curls, evidently the child
+of the man he had sought so vainly, sat alone on the
+seat of the gig. The horse was secured to an iron
+ring on the stone curb.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ben irresistibly started to walk slowly in the
+direction of the house before which the gig stood.
+Then with a thrill he sprang into lightning action.</p>
+
+<p>A coal wagon half a block away suddenly dumped
+its load down an iron chute through a manhole in a
+sidewalk. The unusual rattle started up the mettled
+animal attached to the gig.</p>
+
+<p>With a jerk the horse snapped the hitch rein, and
+with a wild leap the animal darted down the street.
+The terrified little child on the seat uttered a shrill
+shriek.</p>
+
+<p>Ben buckled down to a tremendous sprint of
+speed. He foresaw that the gig would turn the
+corner. Making a diagonal cut, he reached the middle
+of the cross road just as the gig swept past.
+With a spring he caught the back of the high
+seat, pulled himself over, and seized the little girl,
+swaying from side to side, and just about to topple
+to the stone paving blocks.</p>
+
+<p>To his dismay Ben saw that the lines were dragging
+under the feet of the flying horse. He clung
+with one hand to the bar at the side of the seat. With
+the other he seized the shrinking child by the arm.
+Slowly, cautiously he lowered her over the back of
+the gig. Not a foot from the ground he released
+her.</p>
+
+<p>She dropped so gently that she was not even
+shaken, and simply swayed to one side with a slight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>
+shock. Ben was gratified to see a woman run out
+into the street and pick up the uninjured child.</p>
+
+<p>Then he turned around to decide on his own best
+course—to get out of the gig or spring upon the
+back of the flying horse and attempt to halt the furious
+runaway.</p>
+
+<p>Before he could make a move the horse made a
+sharp veer down a side street. The gig was half
+overturned and Ben was given a frightful fling.</p>
+
+<p>The boy aviator flew through space, struck a
+section of fence palings, went through them snapping
+them into fragments, and landed senseless on
+a garden plot beyond.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">CONCLUSION</p>
+
+
+<p>Ben opened his eyes and looked about him. He
+was lying in bed in a bright and cheerful room
+that made him think instantly of home. He had a
+quick mind, however, and at once knew that this was
+not home. He tried to rise up, could not stir a limb,
+and glanced over a trim dressed lady arranging
+some medicine at a little stand.</p>
+
+<p>“This is a hospital?” he observed.</p>
+
+<p>“Dear me!” exclaimed the nurse. “You are
+awake.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I hurt much?” was Ben’s prompt question.</p>
+
+<p>“There are no bones broken,” replied the nurse,
+coming to his side.</p>
+
+<p>“How soon can I get up to the aviation grounds?”</p>
+
+<p>“You strange boy!” voiced the astonished nurse.
+“No fever, no delirium, good for at least two weeks
+here, and talking about going to the aviation
+grounds. I suppose you would start right off in
+another of those dreadful airships——”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span></p>
+
+<p>“If I had the chance? Oh, sure,” laughed Ben.
+“Why, what is there to be serious about?”</p>
+
+<p>“You must ask the doctor, and here he comes,”
+announced the nurse, stepping to one side.</p>
+
+<p>Voices and footsteps sounded in the hall outside.
+Ben caught the words spoken by one. The tones
+were familiar, yet puzzling.</p>
+
+<p>“Doctor,” a man was saying, “you have given the
+boy the best room in the hospital?”</p>
+
+<p>“The very best, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“No expense spared, if it’s a hundred dollars
+a day.”</p>
+
+<p>“He shall have every care.”</p>
+
+<p>“And doctor,” added the voice pleadingly, “let
+me see him. Just a word. Only to tell him my gratitude—the
+hero who saved the life of my only treasure
+in the world, my darling little Lena.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come to-morrow morning, Mr. Knippel. He
+must be kept quiet now.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ah,” murmured Ben, “the man of the gig! It
+was his child I helped at the runaway,” and then a
+queer weak feeling overcame him, and he drifted
+into a dream before he could learn or even think of
+anything further.</p>
+
+<p>Later in the day, however, Ben was awake once
+more, and strong enough to learn that he had grazed
+death very narrowly in that terrific runaway experience.
+The hospital physician explained that
+there were bruises and fractures that absolute rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span>
+alone could prevent from turning into something
+critical. Ben took it all in seriously enough. Then
+he surprised the doctor by suddenly laughing outright.</p>
+
+<p>“You’re a merry chap,” observed the physician
+brightly, “what’s the funny bone idea now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I was just thinking,” explained Ben,
+“here I go hundreds of miles in an airship that
+makes people shudder and escape without a scratch.
+Then I take a fifty-yard ride in an old gig four feet
+from the ground, and get a tumble that lays me flat.
+Why, it’s like the old sailor who sailed the five
+oceans for half a century, came home, fell into a
+ditch with two feet of water in it, and drowned.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a tap at the door, and the doctor admitted
+Ben’s mother. She was too sensible a woman
+to show her concern and make a scene. Not so
+John Davis, however, who arrived shortly afterwards.
+The big hearted old aviator sniffled like a
+schoolboy at a sight of the pride of his eyes lying
+helpless on a hospital cot.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, the doctor says I’ll be as well as ever in
+a week,” remonstrated Ben airily, but really affected
+at the devotion of his good friend.</p>
+
+<p>“I know, but we had arranged such an ovation
+for you up at the field,” explained Mr. Davis.</p>
+
+<p>“What were going to ovate about, Mr. Davis?”
+inquired Ben quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“Shall I tell him?” inquired the aviator, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span>
+doctor nodded assentingly, and the blunt fellow
+blurted out proudly:</p>
+
+<p>“The <em>Dart</em> won the long distance event by two
+hundred miles!”</p>
+
+<p>“Say—say, that’s great!” aspirated Ben, his face
+beaming. “We’re all rich.”</p>
+
+<p>“And famous,” added the old aviator. “Oh, boy,
+it was a gallant run!”</p>
+
+<p>The grand news was enough to make any boy
+well. Ben was sure he would be able to be up and
+around in two days. The next morning he was
+interested when a visitor was announced as Mr.
+Knippel.</p>
+
+<p>Ben was struck with the great change in the appearance
+of this man since the time he had last
+seen him. All the shrewd forcible look was subdued.
+He trembled like a child, and tears stood in
+his eyes and his voice broke as he poured out his
+gratitude to the boy who had saved his only darling
+child from a terrible death.</p>
+
+<p>“It has changed my whole life,” he declared.
+“I am about to give up my business. It has been a
+bad business. This is a warning. I shall leave the
+country. Lad, I’m not a poor man. Ask what
+you will, it shall be yours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you mean that?” inquired Ben, fixing his eyes
+on Knippel.</p>
+
+<p>“Heartily.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know a man named Tom Shallock?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Knippel shuffled and colored. He looked embarrassed,
+but he nodded assentingly.</p>
+
+<p>“I have only one favor to ask,” said Ben. “I
+have reason to believe that this man Shallock has
+plotted against my father, that you have in your
+keeping a document of great importance which Shallock
+stole from my father.”</p>
+
+<p>“Boy, that is true,” admitted Knippel, greatly
+agitated. “But tell me more. I only know a part
+of Shallock’s affairs.”</p>
+
+<p>Ben recited the whole story of the stolen contract,
+of the suspected visits of the Shallocks to the Hardy
+home, of Saxton’s accusation of theft against his
+father. Knippel rose to his feet with a determined
+look on his face when the recital was concluded.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall go from here at once to your father’s
+lawyer at Woodville,” he promised. “The stolen
+document shall be restored—more, the Shallock plot
+against your father’s good name shall be exposed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“No, it is I who thanks you,” replied Knippel in
+broken tones, “and my little child blesses you every
+day.”</p>
+
+<p>The following Monday morning, Bob Dallow,
+chipper as a lark, came to the hospital for Ben in
+an automobile. Ben was overcome with the greetings
+that welcomed him at the aviation field. Everybody
+was packing up to get away, but the Davis
+quarters were crowded with congratulating professionals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span>
+and a big feast was spread. Ben enjoyed
+a happy time. Count Beausire had delayed his departure
+to say good-bye to him.</p>
+
+<p>“Expect an honorary membership from the International
+Aero Club, my good friend,” he said in
+parting.</p>
+
+<p>Ben wondered what had become of Dick Farrell.
+He questioned one of the helpers around the flying
+machines concerning that individual.</p>
+
+<p>“What, ain’t you heard about Farrell?” asked the
+man in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>“Not a word—that is, since I came back.”</p>
+
+<p>“He’s gone.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where to?”</p>
+
+<p>“A whole lot of fellows would like to know that—Burr
+Rollins especially.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then he left rather suddenly?” questioned our
+hero, curiously.</p>
+
+<p>“He did—for he had to.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me what you know.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, it was this way, the nearest I can get to it.
+Farrell and Rollins got into some kind of a quarrel.
+What it was about I don’t know, but I heard ’em
+having some hot words, and some other men heard
+it too. Then, out of spite, what does Farrell do but
+run the <em>Torpedo</em> into some old building and smash it
+up, top, bottom and sides. Maybe Rollins wasn’t
+mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did he do?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span></p>
+
+<p>“He couldn’t do nothing. He wanted to have
+Farrell locked up, but Farrell got out of sight. Then
+Rollins got into some sort of trouble with the aero
+managers and he got out too. But before he left
+he told a friend of mine that Farrell had not only
+wrecked the flying machine but also taken two hundred
+dollars of his money and his watch.”</p>
+
+<p>“That certainly was a loss,” commented Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, it was, but, in one way, I don’t sympathize
+with Rollins. He wasn’t no square man, and it was
+a mistake to let him enter any of the contests.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is he going to build another flying machine to
+take the place of the <em>Torpedo</em>?”</p>
+
+<p>“That I don’t know. But I do know one thing—I
+don’t want anything to do with him,” returned the
+man.</p>
+
+<p>“Nor I,” concluded our hero.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Davis and Bob, on invitation, accompanied
+Ben to Woodville. They put in the first day in a
+rare whirl of excitement and pleasure. They inspected
+Mr. Hardy’s Airatorium. They visited the
+Diebold works, and in the evening they formed a
+merry gladsome group in the pleasant Hardy home.
+Ben thought he had never seen his father and mother
+look so pleased and happy.</p>
+
+<p>Bluff Caleb Dunn walked in on them about nine
+o’clock. He feigned his usual grim manner, but
+Ben saw that the hard-headed old fellow was secretly
+greatly pleased about something.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well, Hardy,” observed Dunn, “I’ve attended to
+the business you’re too easy and good natured to
+attend to yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said Mr. Hardy mildly.</p>
+
+<p>“All hands are satisfied, so we’ll make a public
+meeting of it,” went on the practical old fellow.
+“The whole secret is out. That man Knippel before
+leaving the country delivered that contract about the
+automobile patents to your lawyer, Mr. Pearsons.
+We have just got through showing it to old Saxton
+and his lawyer and calling them down to terms.”</p>
+
+<p>“How was it settled?” asked Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Saxton has agreed to restore to you seventy-five
+per cent. interest in all the patents. He claims the
+other twenty-five per cent. for financing and promoting
+the inventions.”</p>
+
+<p>“Does that seem enough?” questioned the fair-minded
+Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no!” cried Caleb Dunn with good-natured
+sarcasm. “Ought to have given Saxton the whole
+thing, as you tried to do once. We’re your guardians,
+and we nailed the old skinflint down to the last
+cent we could. So that’s all settled. The whole secret
+came out. It was Tom Shallock who stole the contract
+from you. He held it as a threat over Saxton,
+and that was the mystery of his influence with the
+old man. Saxton has fired Shallock now, though.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” inquired Ben.</p>
+
+<p>“Stealing. He and his son Dave, and that precious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>
+Dick Farrell have been stealing supplies from
+the Saxton works for years. They belonged to a
+ring of junk dealers. That man Knippel headed the
+crowd. They had secret signs, and that pin you
+found in your work shed was an emblem of their
+order. Dave Shallock dropped it there the night
+he dumped a bag of fittings in the shed. His father
+put up the contract with Knippel as security for
+money he borrowed. The whole plot has been exposed,
+the Shallocks are disgraced, and your father’s
+name, Ben, comes out clear as crystal.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I am so glad and happy!” murmured Mrs.
+Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“There’s more, too,” announced Mr. Dunn.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell it,” said Mr. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“Saxton is all broken up, and he is going to sell
+out to the Diebold people. That means a new manager,
+Hardy, and you’re the man.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, dear!” said the delighted Mrs. Hardy.</p>
+
+<p>“As to you, old grumbler,” Caleb Dunn hailed
+Mr. Davis pleasantly, “I heard you railing around
+about being too old to sail around in the air much
+longer.”</p>
+
+<p>“And clumsy,” added the old aviator.</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, here’s your chance: You know the
+aviators all along the line. The Diebold company
+will pay you more money than you ever earned before
+to sell the Hardy new model monoplane.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s a go,” declared Mr. Davis enthusiastically.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span>
+“It gives me congenial employment and keeps
+me in touch with my old friends.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course Ben and I are independent,” observed
+Bob, jingling some gold coins in his pocket, “but
+we’d like a show at some honest employment.”</p>
+
+<p>“Till school begins again,” supplemented Ben.
+“You know, Bob, you agreed to attend to the education
+feature while you had money to do it.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” said Dunn. “In the meantime though,
+Bob can pick up a few dollars selling the airship men
+supplies, and Ben can take charge of adjusting
+them.”</p>
+
+<p>“The very thing!” cried Bob, “so long as Ben and
+I work in a team, we’ll be both satisfied.”</p>
+
+<p>And the flying machine boys shook hands over the
+bargain, and everybody was happy.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE END</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="The_Webster_Series"><span class="smcap">The Webster Series</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">By FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="figleft illowp55" id="pad1" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/pad1.jpg" alt="Bob the Castaway">
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Webster’s style is very much like
+that of the boys’ favorite author, the late
+lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales
+are thoroughly up-to-date.</p>
+
+<p>Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
+Stamped in various colors.</p>
+
+<p>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid.</p>
+<p style="clear: both;"></p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">Only A Farm Boy</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Tom The Telephone Boy</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Mystery of a Message</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">The Boy From The Ranch</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Bob The Castaway</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Wreck of the Eagle</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">The Young Treasure Hunter</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Newsboy Partners</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or Who Was Dick Box?</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">The Boy Pilot of the Lakes</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Two Boy Gold Miners</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Nat Morton’s Perils</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or Lost in the Mountains</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">The Young Firemen of Lakeville</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or Herbert Dare’s Pluck</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">The Boys of Bellwood School</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or Frank Jordan’s Triumph</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">Jack the Runaway</td>
+<td class="tdlx">High School Rivals</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or On the Road with a Circus</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or Fred Markham’s Struggles</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">Bob Chester’s Grit</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Darry The Life Saver</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or From Ranch to Riches</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Heroes of the Coast</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">Airship Andy</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Dick The Bank Boy</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or The Luck of a Brave Boy</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or A Missing Fortune</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or Making a Record for Himself</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">Harry Watson’s High School Days</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or The Rivals of Rivertown</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">Comrades of the Saddle</td>
+<td class="tdlx">The Boys of the Wireless</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdlx br">Tom Taylor at West Point</td>
+<td class="tdlx">Cowboy Dave</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or The Old Army Officer’s Secret</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Round-up at Rolling River</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl br">The Boy Scouts of Lennox</td>
+<td class="tdl">Jack of the Pony Express</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdrx br"><em>or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain</em></td>
+<td class="tdrx"><em>or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail</em></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdcx" colspan="2">The Boys of the Battleship</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="2"><em>or For the Honor of Uncle Sam</em></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_BOMBA_BOOKS">THE BOMBA BOOKS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r35">
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> ROY ROCKWOOD</p>
+<hr class="r35">
+<br>
+<p class="center"><em>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.&nbsp;&nbsp; With colored jacket</em></p>
+
+<div class="figleft illowp57" id="pad2" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/pad2.jpg" alt="Bomba the Jungle Boy">
+</div>
+
+<p><b><em>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</em></b></p>
+
+<p><em>Bomba lived far back in the jungles of the
+Amazon with a half-demented naturalist
+who told the lad nothing of his past. The
+jungle boy was a lover of birds, and hunted
+animals with a bow and arrow and his trusty
+machete. He had a primitive education in
+some things, and his daring adventures will
+be followed with breathless interest by thousands.</em></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or The Old Naturalist’s Secret</em></p>
+</div>
+<p style="clear: both;"></p>
+<p>In the depth of the jungle Bomba lives a life replete with thrilling
+situations. Once he saves the lives of two American rubber hunters
+who ask him who he is, and how he had come into the jungle.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>2. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING
+MOUNTAIN</b>
+<p class="center"><em>or The Mystery of the Caves of Fire</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Bomba travels through the jungle, encountering wild beasts and
+hostile natives. At last he trails the old man of the burning mountain
+to his cave and learns more concerning himself.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>3. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT
+CATARACT</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Chief Nasconora and His Captives</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Among the Pilati Indians he finds some white captives, and an
+aged opera singer, first to give Bomba real news of his forebears.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>4. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Adrift on the River of Mystery</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Jaguar Island was a spot as dangerous as it was mysterious and
+Bomba was warned to keep away. But the plucky boy sallied forth.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>5. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or A Treasure Ten Thousand Years Old</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Years ago this great city had sunk out of sight beneath the trees
+of the jungle. A wily half-breed thought to carry away its treasure.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>6. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or The Mysterious Men from the Sky</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Bomba strikes out through the vast Amazonian jungles and soon
+finds himself on the dreaded Terror Trail.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><em>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</em></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_BOY_RANCHERS_SERIES">THE BOY RANCHERS SERIES</h2>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r35">
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> WILLARD F. BAKER</p>
+<hr class="r35">
+<br>
+<p class="center"><em>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.&nbsp;&nbsp; Jacket in full colors</em></p>
+
+<div class="figleft illowp52" id="pad3" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/pad3.jpg" alt="The Boy Ranchers in Camp">
+</div>
+
+<p><b><em>Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid</em></b></p>
+
+<p><em>Stories of the great west, with cattle ranches as
+a setting, related in such a style as to captivate
+the hearts of all boys.</em></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p><b>1. THE BOY RANCHERS</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Solving the Mystery at Diamond X</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Two eastern boys visit their cousin. They
+become involved in an exciting mystery.</p>
+
+<p style="clear: both;"></p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>2. THE BOY RANCHERS IN CAMP</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or The Water Fight at Diamond X</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Returning for a visit, the two eastern lads learn, with delight, that
+they are to become boy ranchers.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>3. THE BOY RANCHERS ON THE TRAIL</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or The Diamond X After Cattle Rustlers</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Our boy heroes take the trail after Del Pinzo and his outlaws.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>4. THE BOY RANCHERS AMONG THE INDIANS</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Trailing the Yaquis</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Rosemary and Floyd are captured by the Yaqui Indians.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>5. THE BOY RANCHERS AT SPUR CREEK</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Fighting the Sheep Herders</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Dangerous struggle against desperadoes for land rights.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>6. THE BOY RANCHERS IN THE DESERT</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Diamond X and the Lost Mine</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>One night a strange old miner almost dead from hunger and hardship
+arrived at the bunk house. The boys cared for him and he told
+them of the lost desert mine.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>7. THE BOY RANCHERS ON ROARING RIVER</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Diamond X and the Chinese Smugglers</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The boy ranchers help capture Delton’s gang who were engaged in
+smuggling Chinese across the border.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><b>8. THE BOY RANCHERS IN DEATH VALLEY</b></p>
+<p class="center"><em>or Diamond X and the Poison Mystery</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The boy ranchers track mysterious Death into his cave.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><em>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</em></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_JEWEL_SERIES">THE JEWEL SERIES</h2>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="r35">
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> AMES THOMPSON</p>
+<hr class="r35">
+<br>
+
+<p class="center"><em>12mo.&nbsp;&nbsp; Cloth.&nbsp;&nbsp; Illustrated.&nbsp;&nbsp; Jacket in colors</em></p>
+
+<p class="center"><em>Price per volume, 65 cents</em></p>
+
+<div class="figleft illowp57" id="pad4" style="max-width: 6.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/pad4.jpg" alt="The Adventure Boys and the Valley of Diamonds">
+</div>
+<br>
+<p><em>A series of stories brimming with hardy
+adventure, vivid and accurate in detail, and
+with a good foundation of probability. They
+take the reader realistically to the scene of
+action. Besides being lively and full of real
+situations, they are written in a straightforward
+way very attractive to boy readers.</em></p>
+<p style="clear: both;"></p>
+
+<p><b>1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <span class="allsmcap">AND THE</span> VALLEY OF DIAMONDS</b></p>
+
+<p>Malcolm Edwards and his son Ralph are adventurers with ample
+means for following up their interest in jewel clues. In this book
+they form a party of five, including Jimmy Stone and Bret Hartson,
+boys of Ralph’s age, and a shrewd level-headed sailor named Stanley
+Greene. They find a valley of diamonds in the heart of Africa.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <span class="allsmcap">AND THE</span> RIVER OF EMERALDS</b></p>
+
+<p>The five adventurers, staying at a hotel in San Francisco, find that
+Pedro the elevator man has an interesting story of a hidden “river
+of emeralds” in Peru, to tell. With him as guide, they set out to find
+it, escape various traps set for them by jealous Peruvians, and are
+much amused by Pedro all through the experience.</p>
+
+
+<p><b>3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <span class="allsmcap">AND THE</span> LAGOON OF PEARLS</b></p>
+
+<p>This time the group starts out on a cruise simply for pleasure, but
+their adventuresome spirits lead them into the thick of things on a
+South Sea cannibal island.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><em>Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</em></p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><b>
+CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;   New York<br>
+</b></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Note">Transcriber’s Note</h2>
+<br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg frontispiece Changed single quote to double for: Tom the telephone boy</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">illustration after pg 21 Change Iv’e made it to: I’ve</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_18">18</a> added period to: smiled Ben</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_21">21</a> Changed Immensely,” acknowleged Ben to: acknowledged</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_22">22</a> Changed I hardly thing to: think</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_24">24</a> Changed spelling of the afternoon accomodation to: accommodation</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_36">36</a> Changed Where did you get it. to: it,</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_46">46</a> Changed is that so. to: so,</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_46">46</a> Changed interrupted Dave contemptously to: contemptuously</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_58">58</a> Changed I’ts a bargain to: It’s</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_60">60</a> Changed It’s been the event to: it’s</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_70">70</a> Added period after: in his life</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_70">70</a> Changed their spectacular maneuvres to: manoeuvres</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_71">71</a> Changed and expert maneuvres to: manoeuvres</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_82">82</a> Changed home with automobles to: automobiles</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_84">84</a> Removed extra word the: and even the flyer</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_86">86</a> Changed you mean. inquired to: you mean, inquired</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_117">117</a> Added quote after: out of the bag.</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_123">123</a> Removed unnecessary quote after: father’s present trouble.</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_124">124</a> Changed who cooly looked him to: coolly</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_137">137</a> Changed Dart quarters wihout to: without</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_139">139</a> Added quote to: Any suspicions?</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_129">139</a> Changed nodded the director, Very to: very</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_140">140</a> Changed with a quissical to: quizzical</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_144">144</a> Changed I’ts business now to: It’s</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_149">149</a> Changed Whew ejeculated Bob to: ejaculated</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_156">156</a> Changed How it that to: is</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_160">160</a> Changed unctious snack to: smack</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_160">160</a> Removed extra colon after: and the words:</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_164">164</a> Changed by vivid pantomine to: pantomime</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_168">168</a> Change It was decidely to: decidedly</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_171">171</a> Removed unnecessary quote before: They walked about</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pg <a href="#Page_176">176</a> Changed Many of the winodows to: windows</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advertisement page Removed bracket from: [Rosemary and Floyd</span><br>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Various hyphenated and non-hyphenated words were left as author wrote them.</span><br>
+</div>
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69511 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-25 05:31:14 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-25 05:31:14 -0800
commit	26db8300f7e342f8061ab342df60cd7ca642ba66 (patch)
tree	a0fa06fd83d38f7ef25516812e184dba96bf43e2 /69511-h
parent	14cae89badc8bc2959c930d4897c06fc12d6864e (diff)