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diff --git a/old/69511-0.txt b/old/69511-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 694ee9f..0000000 --- a/old/69511-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6622 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ben Hardy's flying machine, by Frank -V. Webster - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. 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. - -Title: Ben Hardy's flying machine - or, Making a record for himself - -Author: Frank V. Webster - -Release Date: December 9, 2022 [eBook #69511] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Bob Taylor and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEN HARDY'S FLYING -MACHINE *** - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - -Italic text displayed as: _italic_ Bold text displayed as: =bold= - - - - -[Illustration: THE DART AROSE ON A SPLENDID ARROW COURSE. Ben Hardy’s - Flying Machine Page 143] - - - - - BEN HARDY’S FLYING - MACHINE - - Or - - Making a Record for Himself - - BY - - FRANK V. WEBSTER - - AUTHOR OF “ONLY A FARM BOY,” “AIRSHIP ANDY,” “TOM - THE TELEPHONE BOY,” “THE YOUNG TREASURE - HUNTER,” ETC. - - - ILLUSTRATED - - - NEW YORK - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - - - -BOOKS FOR BOYS - -By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - - - ONLY A FARM BOY - TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY - THE BOY FROM THE RANCH - THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER - BOB, THE CASTAWAY - THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE - THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS - THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES - TWO BOY GOLD MINERS - JACK, THE RUNAWAY - COMRADES OF THE SADDLE - THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL - THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS - AIRSHIP ANDY - BOB CHESTER’S GRIT - BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE - DICK, THE BANK BOY - DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER - -_Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York_ - - - Copyright, 1911, by - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY - - BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE - - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. “NOBLY REWARDED!” 1 - - II. JUST IN TIME 10 - - III. A NEW FRIEND 17 - - IV. THE “SYBILLINE” WHISTLE 29 - - V. FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS 37 - - VI. THE AIRSHIP IDEA 45 - - VII. MYSTERY 53 - - VIII. AT THE AERO MEET 60 - - IX. A BOMB-DROPPING EVENT 67 - - X. A RUSH ORDER 74 - - XI. THE DART 82 - - XII. A SERIOUS CHARGE 88 - - XIII. THE MAN IN THE GIG 96 - - XIV. THE MYSTERIOUS PIN 102 - - XV. A MEAN ENEMY 108 - - XVI. STEALING AN INVENTION 115 - - XVII. ON TIME 121 - - XVIII. THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR PRIZE 128 - - XIX. “GO!” 135 - - XX. CRUSOES OF THE AIR 144 - - XXI. A FIGHT WITH A BEAR 151 - - XXII. A FRIEND IN NEED 157 - - XXIII. THE LOST AVIATOR 163 - - XXIV. HOMEWARD BOUND 170 - - XXV. CONCLUSION 191 - - - - -BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE - - - - -CHAPTER I - -“NOBLY REWARDED!” - - -“Take care—that engine is going to run wild!” - -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. - -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. - -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 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. - -“Danger—look out!” shouted old Caleb Dunn, the foreman. - -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. - -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. - -“Do something, men!” shouted Martin Hardy, head machinist of the auto -works. - -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. - -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 a -welcome visitor with the workmen, with whom he was a general favorite. - -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. - -“Don’t go, father!” he cried, seizing his father’s arm and detaining -him. “I know the way.” - -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. - -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. - -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. - -He heard a timber fall in the machine shop, and 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. - -“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. - -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. - -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: - -“Wake up, Mr. Shallock, there’s trouble!” - -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. - -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 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. - -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. - -“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. - -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. - -“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?” - -“Steam overcame me,” stammered Shallock. - -The shop foreman turned to Ben. - -“Did you do that?” he inquired in his sharp, crisp way, waving his -hand towards the engine. - -“I shut off the power—yes, sir,” replied Ben. - -“What was this man doing?” - -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. - -“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. - -“Look here, Mr. Dunn——” - -“You get!” reiterated the foreman. - -Shallock began to snivel. - -“See here, you may be sick yourself some time,” he declared in a -maudlin tone. - -“Sick!” repeated the foreman contemptuously. - -“I’ve run my engine two years——” - -“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. - -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. - -“I am proud of you, my son,” he said simply. - -“You ain’t the only one,” broke in Dunn, brusquely brushing Mr. -Hardy aside and catching Ben’s arm in his iron grip. “You come with -me, boy.” - -He was a resolute hustling piece of humanity, always doing things -forcefully. With a rush he dragged Ben into and through the machine -shop. - -“Good boy!” spoke a machinist, patting Ben on the shoulder as he -passed him. - -“You did it grand, lad,” commended a second. - -“Three cheers for Ben Hardy!” roared Tim Grogan, a jolly and -independent apprentice. - -The enthusiastic cheers, given with a will, died away as the foreman -and Ben reached the office. - -“Where’s Saxton?” demanded Dunn in his bluff off-handed way. - -“He went outside the building,” explained the bookkeeper, who had -suspended work and looked anxious and flustered. “Say, is the danger -over?” - -“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.” - -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. - -“Here Mr. Saxton,” spoke the foreman, “—you know this boy?” - -“It’s Hardy’s lad, isn’t it?” replied Jasper Saxton, with a stare at -Ben. - -“Yes. He’s saved your shop from rattling to pieces, that’s all,” -announced the foreman bluntly. “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.” - -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. - -“Where is Shallock?” asked Mr. Saxton uneasily. - -“Fired,” tersely reported the foreman. - -“Why—I—that is——” stammered Mr. Saxton. - -“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——” - -“Yes, yes,” nodded Mr. Saxton hurriedly. “Good boy. First-class -father, too. Shake hands. Glad. Thank you.” - -“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?” - -“Do—eh. Ah. I see. Come into the office, Hardy.” - -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 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. - -He pocketed three quarters and handed the other twenty-five cent -piece to Ben. - -“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, drawing back. “There is no need of that, Mr. -Saxton.” - -“I insist,” said Mr. Saxton grandly. “You’ve done quite a big thing, -Hardy, and you deserve the reward.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -JUST IN TIME - - -“Thank you,” said Ben. - -“Don’t mention it,” responded Jasper Saxton. - -The manufacturer turned from Ben with a decided expression of relief -on his face. He acted like a man who had got off cheaply. - -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. - -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. - -“What! hasn’t that gone yet?” he shouted, his hand closing over a -small steel section of some machine weighing about ten pounds. - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“Dan has gone for the mail, sir,” said the office man. - -“Then hustle with it yourself,” ordered Saxton. - -“You forget that I am lame,” submitted the bookkeeper reproachfully. - -“It’s got to go,” stormed the manufacturer. “Hold on, there.” - -He shouted these last words at Ben just as the latter was about to -leave the office. - -“Yes, sir!” said Ben inquiringly. - -“I’ve paid you that money, you know—you’ll do a little extra job, -hey?” - -“With pleasure,” answered Ben, with his usual bright accommodating -smile. - -“That’s a good boy,” said Mr. Saxton. “Hustle, now,” to his -bookkeeper. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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 with his employer as soon as the rush season was over. -Mr. Hardy asked for a memorandum of the agreement. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -“Here you are,” said the bookkeeper, at last completing the packing -of the steel fittings. - -“Where am I to deliver it?” inquired Ben, accepting the parcel. - -“Name’s on the bag,” explained Jasper Saxton hurriedly. - -Ben glanced at the bag and read the name: “John R. Davis.” - -“All right,” he said. “Will he be at the depot?” - -“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.” - -“I will find him if he’s there,” said Ben confidently. - -“Don’t delay, boy,” broke in the manufacturer, “you’ve got barely -five minutes.” - -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. - -“Hey there, Hardy!” - -“I’m in a desperate hurry, Mr. Dunn,” said Ben, recognizing his -challenger. - -“Never mind—only a moment.” The big foreman got to Ben’s side and -gripped his arm. “What did he give you?” he demanded. - -“It isn’t fair to tell,” declared Ben, with an evasive smile. - -“You’ll tell me,” firmly insisted the foreman. - -“Well then—twenty-five.” - -“H’m! He gave the night watchman only ten dollars when he saved the -shop from burning down. Twenty-five dollars? That’s pretty fair—for -Saxton.” - -“Don’t delay me, Mr. Dunn,” again pleaded Ben, tugging to get loose. - -“Just one more question,” said the foreman. - -“Be quick, then.” - -“Which do you like best—open face or hunting case watch?” - -“Eh?” exclaimed Ben, with a start. - -“They’ve started a little appreciation list back there. Come, which -is it?” - -“Oh, Mr. Dunn!” - -“Decide, or we’ll buy you both,” declared Ben’s determined captor. - -“Any boy would like an open faced watch,” said Ben. - -“All right, you can go now,” said Dunn, with a chuckle. - -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. - -“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.” - -Ben figured that this short cut across a dumping yard would land him -up to the train before it got 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. - -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. - -Poising for a spring and a catch, Ben made a grab for the railing of -the last car. - -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. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -A NEW FRIEND - - -[Illustration: “I’VE MADE IT!” PANTED BEN HARDY.] - -“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. - -“Now to find my man,” he added, pausing a moment or two to catch his -breath and then entering the coach. - -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. - -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. - -“Fare, there,” pronounced the conductor of the train, confronting him. - -“Oh, yes,” said Ben with a smile, resting his package on a radiator -and producing the quarter Mr. 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?” - -“Yes.” - -“I’ll go that far. Take fifteen cents out of that,” directed Ben, -producing the reward coin. - -“It’s twenty-five cents if you don’t have a ticket,” announced the -conductor, “ten cents extra, that’s the rule.” - -“That’s so,” said Ben with a wry grimace. - -“You’d ought to have thought of that,” suggested the conductor. - -“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?” - -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. - -“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. - -This individual had a heavy beard, was tall and athletic, wore eye -glasses, and was acting excited 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. - -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. - -“Is this Mr. Davis?” he inquired politely. - -“Yes, that’s me,” responded the other, turning quickly and fixing an -eager glance on his questioner. - -“Glad to have found you,” said Ben. “I am from the Saxton Automobile -Works, and this is for you.” - -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. - -“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?” - -“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.” - -Ben sank to a seat greatly enjoying the relief from a severe strain. -His companion looked at him with interest and remarked: - -“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.” - -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. - -“Neat as the works of a watch, eh?” said Mr. Davis admiringly. -“That’s what I call fine work.” - -“My father always does fine work,” said Ben, with a tinge of pride. - -“Oh, your father had a hand in this, did he?” questioned Mr. Davis. - -“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.” - -“It is a part of the machinery of my new airship,” explained Mr. -Davis. - -“Oh, say, is that it?” ejaculated Ben with great animation, and his -eyes wandering to the open book on the seat before him, he scanned -with interest the outlines of an aeroplane. - -“Pleases you, does it?” interrogated his companion. - -“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.” - -“I would like to know him,” said Mr. Davis. “I am glad to know you. -Let me see, what is your name?” - -“Hardy—Ben Hardy.” - -“Do you work at the Saxton plant, too, Ben?” - -“No, sir,” answered Ben, “but I spend a good deal of my spare time -there. Father works there, you see, and I like machinery.” - -“How did you come to bring the machine part to me?” - -“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.” - -“Is that so? Tell me about it.” - -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. - -“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 getting this machine part to me. I suppose some day -you will go to work at the Saxton plant?” - -“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.” - -“Do you follow after your father in the invention line, Ben?” asked -Mr. Davis seriously. - -“I would like to,” answered Ben. “I hardly think it is in me, though, -Mr. Davis. I once got up a perpetual motion machine.” - -Mr. Davis smiled, so did Ben. - -“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.” - -“Patented it, did you?” - -“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?” - -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. - -“Why,” he said as they came to the last drawing of a superb machine, -“you seem to have done some digging in the aeroplane line.” - -“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.” - -“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. - -“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, arising quickly. - -“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.” - -Ben’s eyes glowed over the welcome invitation. - -“I don’t know anything that would give me more pleasure than to see -those airships go up,” said the youth. - -“Be sure to come—I shall expect you,” declared Mr. Davis, shaking -hands warmly. - -“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. - -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. - -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. - -“Oh, it’s you?” observed Mr. Saxton, as he entered the office. - -“Yes, sir,” replied Ben. - -“Did you deliver the parcel to Mr. Davis?” - -“I did, Mr. Saxton. I managed to just catch the train on the fly.” - -“How was that?” - -Ben explained. - -“Then you had to go clear to the junction?” - -“Or jump off,” smiled Ben. - -“H’m—cost you fifteen cents, then?” - -“No, sir, a quarter. You see there’s an extra ten cents when you do -not buy your ticket in advance.” - -“H’m!” again commented the manufacturer. “You ought to get back that -rebate. Here, Smith,” to the bookkeeper, “give Hardy twenty-five -cents.” - -“Oh, no,” dissented Ben, and Saxton brightened up magically. “Mr. -Davis insisted on giving me five dollars.” - -“He did, eh?” spoke Jasper Saxton thoughtfully. - -“Yes, sir. He was very glad to get the machine part, and insisted on -paying me for what he called my trouble.” - -“Very good. Glad. That is—h’m—you see—quite right, Hardy.” - -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. - -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. - -“I’m afraid we’ll have to change that programme, Ben,” advised Mr. -Hardy. - -“How is that, father?” - -“Mr. Saxton wants the engine overhauled and that shaft reset, and I -will have to put in a few hours extra time, so I shall not go home -till later.” - -“What about supper, father?” inquired Ben. - -“Oh, I’ll pick up something at a restaurant.” - -“Mother will insist on sending something to you, I know,” prophesied -Ben. - -“Well, I won’t say that home cooking wouldn’t suit me best,” -confessed Mr. Hardy. - -Ben started from the shop, when Caleb Dunn hailed him with the words: - -“Hold on there, young man.” - -“All right,” responded Ben, smiling. - -The foreman gained Ben’s side. He drew a shop-soiled sheet of paper -from the pocket of his working blouse. - -“Every man in the shop,” he announced. - -“Every man what?” queried Ben. - -“Name signed to the document.” - -“What for?” - -“Subscription.” - -“Oh!” said Ben, guessing and flushing. - -“Understand, do you?” demanded the iron fisted, warm hearted foreman -with a grim chuckle. “Testimonial—Watch—Open face—Solid gold—Get out.” - -He gave Ben a shove and shook his fist playfully at him, and the boy -went on his way laughing and feeling joyful. - -Ben had to tell the story of the day’s experience all over again -when he reached home. His mother 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. - -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. - -“Let me come up about nine o’clock and watch around, father, and go -home with you,” suggested Ben. - -“I am always glad of your company, my son,” said Mr. Hardy. - -“All right, I’ll be here,” said Ben. - -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. - -“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. - -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 the -hurdy gurdy, he was producing beautiful liquid notes that rang out -clear and musical as the soaring notes of a lark. - -The crowd was enchanted. The music was novel and harmonious. The -whistle gave out notes as clear and pure as those of a flute. - -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. - -“Why!” exclaimed Ben in profound astonishment, “that is the very -whistle I invented for Bob Dallow.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE “SYBILLINE” WHISTLE - - -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. - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -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 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. - -“I’ll make it some day—in a big way. I feel it in my bones,” he -insisted hopefully. - -“I hope you do,” replied Ben. - -“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. - -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. - -Bob Dallow put a new phase on the affair. His twenty-four hours’ -visit expanded and was encouraged 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. - -“See her,” said Bob, “—or rather, listen.” - -Bob placed the whistle between his lips. He began a tune, carried it -through, and finished it with a flush of triumph. - -“I declare!” exclaimed the delighted Ben, lost in admiration of his -friend’s splendid efforts. “I never heard better music.” - -Patience and practice had enabled Bob to become a master of the -little device. - -“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.” - -“Why, Bob,” exclaimed Mrs. Hardy, whom the boys found standing near -by quite enraptured with the fine performance of her young guest. - -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: - -“I am going to make some money out of that whistle—see if I don’t.” - -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. - -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. - -He drew open the flaps of a little satchel swung from his shoulder, -revealing a number of tin whistles. - -“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.” - -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. - -“Yes,” he said, his heart beating a trifle faster with pleasure and -pride, “it is the same, it is my invention.” - -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. - -“Mister,” asked Ben, extending his bought whistle, “where do you get -these.” - -“The Sybilline—yes,” politely answered the man addressed. “At the -city, my friend.” - -“Where in the city?” pressed Ben. - -“At the Central.” - -“And what is the Central?” - -“It is the headquarters—it is the padrone who hires us.” - -“What is his name?” - -“It is Vladimir—he has many, many men who work for him. It is -percentages.” - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -“Glad to see me, are you?” chuckled Bob, with his usual tantalizing -imperturbability. - -“That’s what.” - -“You’ll be gladder soon. Let a famished pilgrim enjoy the rarest -cookery in the country first, will you?” - -“Say, you’re looking pretty prosperous, it seems to me, Bob,” said -Ben, scrutinizing his chum closely as he reseated himself at the -table. - -“Think so?” smiled Bob. - -“Yes. That’s a pretty fine suit you’re wearing.” - -“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.” - -“What for?” - -“That whistle idea of yours.” - -“Eh?” exclaimed Ben with a start, instantly coupling the musical team -downtown with the appearance of his friend. - -“You see, I stopped over about the dividends,” explained Bob. - -“Dividends?” repeated Ben, wonderingly. - -“That’s the business proposition, exactly,” replied Bob, with an -affected grand air. “That whistle of yours—well, the results first. -See that?” - -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. - -“Four hundred dollars,” announced Bob, with an expansive chuckle and -a grin. - -“Where did you get it,” stammered Ben. - -“Your whistle.” - -“You’re joking, Bob.” - -“Not at all. There it is, the benefits of your little invention—four -hundred dollars, half yours.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS - - -Ben stared in a stupefied way at the money, then at the smiling face -of his friend, and then at his mother. - -“You’re joking, Bob,” he said. - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -“Yes,” nodded Ben. - -“It was an easy job and a paying one, so easy 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.” - -“About the whistle?” inquired Ben. - -“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.” - -“What did you do, Bob?” - -“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.” - -“Oh, dear!” commented Ben. - -“Even if it would, he said the whistle, being a 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.” - -“How was that Bob?” asked Ben. - -“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.” - -“Whew!” ejaculated Ben admiringly. - -“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.” - -“How was that?” - -“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.” - -“Bob, you are a genius,” remarked Mrs. Hardy. - -“Does the price suit you, Mr. Inventor?” inquired the other, “or did -I sell too cheap?” - -“Cheap!” cried Ben. “Think of it! All that money mine! What will I -ever do with it?” - -“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.” - -“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——” - -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?” - -“Oh, I was just thinking some foolishness,” answered Ben, with a -conscious flush. - -“What foolishness?” persisted Bob. - -“Well then, airships.” - -“Eh—what’s that?” demanded Bob. - -“Why, Ben!” murmured his mother. - -“What put airships in your head?” pressed Bob, with a token of real -curiosity and interest in manner and voice. - -“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.” - -Bob Dallow stared hard at Ben as the latter spoke this outburst. - -“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.” - -“You have?” exclaimed Ben. - -“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.” - -“What’s your airship man’s name, Bob?” inquired Ben. - -“John Davis.” - -“Why, that’s the name of my friend, too,” exclaimed Ben animatedly. -“Say, isn’t this a queer coincidence?” - -Ben handed his money to his mother to keep for 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. - -“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.” - -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. - -“You will come back to the house, of course, Bob?” asked Ben. - -“I should say I would—if I am invited.” - -“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.” - -“All right, Ben.” - -Bob proceeded towards the business portion of the town. Ben struck -off in the direction of the Saxton shops. - -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. - -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. - -“Good evening,” hailed Ben pleasantly. - -The lad addressed bestowed a fearful scowl on him. - -“I didn’t speak to you,” he muttered. - -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. - -“I suppose he feels bad over his father losing his job,” reflected -Ben sympathizingly. “I know I should, if our positions were changed.” - -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 eyes had a wicked glare. His hands were clenched, -and Ben prepared for an onslaught, but he asked quietly: - -“Want to see me, Dave?” - -“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.” - -“What is it about?” inquired Ben. - -“It’s about your mean, miserable trick in getting my father -discharged from the Saxton Automobile Works!” shouted Dave Shallock -wrathfully. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE AIRSHIP IDEA - - -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. - -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. - -“Haven’t you made a mistake, Dave?” suggested Ben. - -“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.” - -“Mr. Doty is no more my father’s particular friend than is any honest -deserving man,” declared Ben. “Certainly my father never suggested -his name as the successor of your father.” - -“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.” - -“If somebody hadn’t stepped in,” said Ben, “you mightn’t have any -father now.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“Yah! Looks like it, when you let on that he’d been drinking.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“I am sorry for your father, Dave.” - -“Bah! you can spare your pity. Maybe you’ll need it yourselves, you -and your father. Wait till the tables turn.” - -“All right,” said Ben simply. “You are wrong in your guesses, though, -as to our having any ill will against your people.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“He’ll get there. Mark you, Ben Hardy, he’s after your father’s -scalp, and he’s going to get it.” - -“Fair play, and the best man wins,” answered our hero briefly. - -“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——” - -“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?” - -Ben recognized the boy now as he came within the radius of the -street lamp. He was a cousin of Dave named Dick Farrell, who lived in -another town. - -“H’m,” commented Ben, as he proceeded on his way, “was that all brag -and bluster, or is there something under all this?” - -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. - -“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?” - -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. - -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 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. - -“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.” - -“Father, what did Dave Shallock mean by the threat he made?” asked -Ben, quite anxiously, when the conversation had taken a new turn. - -“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.” - -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. - -“Father is pretty tired, I suppose,” reflected the youth, “but, all -the same, I am going to get mother to urge him up to some action -on that patent business. Delays are dangerous, and I haven’t much -confidence in Mr. Saxton.” - -Bob Dallow greeted them as they reached home. Mr. Hardy went into the -house, where his wife had a special lunch spread for him. - -“Well, Bob, what about the whistle?” inquired Ben. - -“Going fine,” declared Bob. “We made a big mistake, though.” - -“How is that?” - -“Sold it too cheap. That Vladimir seems to be coining money out of -it.” - -“Well, I am satisfied,” said Ben. - -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. - -“You overrate me,” said Ben modestly. “At all events, though, I would -like to go to the aero meet next week.” - -“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.” - -Mr. Hardy listened with an indulgent smile to the plans and -suggestions of their young guest. - -“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.” - -“Yes, that will be best,” remarked Mrs. Hardy. - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -“Blame me, that’s right, Mr. Hardy!” spoke up Bob airily. “I’ll bet -you, though, that something tangible comes out of it.” - -“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.” - -“Thank you, father,” said Ben joyfully. - -“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. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -MYSTERY - - -“Hurrah—I’m coming!” - -Ben Hardy began a brief but enthusiastic letter to his friend, Bob -Dallow, with these words. - -“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.” - -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. - -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. He had, however, advised Ben to wait a year or -two and stick to his studies. - -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. - -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. - -“Airships, Ben?” inquired his father with an indulgent smile. - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“Will you, father?” pressed Ben eagerly. - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - -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. - -The high hedge fence, broken in places, still lined the front of the -grounds. As Ben neared this he 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. - -“Why,” murmured Ben in some astonishment, drawing behind a bush, “it -is Tom Shallock!” - -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: - -“That will do, Shallock—you come out here, if you want to save -trouble.” - -“Oh, is that you?” stammered Shallock, and he sheepishly retraced his -steps to the sidewalk. - -“You knew it was, and you tried to sneak away from me, didn’t you?” -challenged the stormy voice. - -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. - -“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.” - -“I—I wasn’t prepared to see you,” said Shallock shiftily. - -“Why not?” - -“Well, then, I knew what you came after.” - -“Yes, money.” - -“Exactly. I had none. I know you’re a hard man, and I hoped you’d let -me alone for a few days longer.” - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -“I can’t pay when I haven’t got it, can I?” demurred Shallock. - -“You can get money out of Jasper Saxton.” - -“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.” - -“I don’t know that,” remarked the stranger. - -“Yes, you do,” disputed Shallock. “You know that Saxton has got to -fix me out right, or lose a fortune.” - -“I’d like to see some of your boasted fortune right now,” sneered the -man. - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“Oh, no,” said the stranger in a deep decisive voice, “I’ll take it -to Martin Hardy.” - -Ben was startled at this last declaration. Shallock uttered a gasp -and put out his hands pleadingly. - -“Don’t do that,” he begged in a husky tone, “say, don’t do that!” - -“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!” - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -AT THE AERO MEET - - -“Well, Ben, this is life worth living, eh?” - -“Bob,” declared Ben enthusiastically, “it’s been the event of my -life.” - -“And more to come. We want to make an early start to-morrow. I’ll -show you what real air sailing is then.” - -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. - -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. - -[Illustration: IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE HAD SEEN A REAL AIRSHIP -AFLOAT.] - -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 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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -It was a famous sight to see a venturesome air 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. - -Some of the bird-men went so far and so high that they stiffly -climbed from their machines as they regained _terra firma_. 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. - -Mr. Davis gave the boys a ride in his monoplane, the _Flyer_, 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. - -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. - -Ben had arranged to wait and see this event. 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. - -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 _Flyer_, 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. - -“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.” - -“It will be quite a novelty, I think, yes,” said Ben. “Don’t be too -venturesome, though, Bob.” - -“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.” - -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. - -Five o’clock the next morning found Ben and 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. - -“Now then,” said Bob, “got the hammer and tacks?” - -“Full supply, Bob,” replied Ben cheerily. - -“All right, you sharpen one end of the sticks, and I’ll tack the box -on to the end of them.” - -In less than a half an hour the boys had the boxes open depth upwards -mounted on the sticks. - -“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.” - -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. - -“For all the world they look like a lot of bird boxes on a ranch,” -observed Bob. “Just about the right distance apart.” - -“Won’t somebody disturb them?” inquired Ben. - -“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.” - -The night watchman came forward to meet the boys as Ben emerged from -the shed, a bag slung across his shoulders. - -The officer leaned perplexedly on his cane and stood staring -wonderingly at the singular outlay of boxes. - -“Hello, Mr. Brown,” hailed Bob heartily. “Thought you had gone home, -and we were stealing a march on you.” - -“I’m waiting to be relieved by the day man. He’s a little late on -duty,” explained the watchman. “What’s those boxes?” - -“Oh, a big new idea, Mr. Brown,” declared Bob, with a mysterious air. - -“No mischief, I hope?” - -“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.” - -“That so?” muttered the watchman in a puzzled way. - -“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?” - -“I will, if you’ll tell me what you’re up to along with them.” - -“That’s a bargain—listen,” said Bob. - -“Aha!” exclaimed the watchman, as Bob whispered in his ear. “Well, -you are two originals, and no mistake! I’ll tell my partner.” - -“And keep it a secret until the event comes off?” - -“Oh, sure—but what will he tell the fellows who will be snooking -around here wanting to know what it all means?” - -“Why,” said Bob, “just say—stunts.” - -“But they will want to know what kind of stunts.” - -“All right,” replied Bob Dallow airily, “tell them we’re going to -make some bomb dropping experiments.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -A BOMB-DROPPING EVENT - - -“I say, Davis, have you got anything to do with that queer layout -yonder?” - -“Dallow and Hardy have, I think.” - -“What’s the stunt?” - -“You’ll have to ask them.” - -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. - -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. - -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 discounted his brilliant but erratic flights with a -coherent record. - -“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.” - -“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?” - -“No, I have noticed him practicing at a distance, and thought he did -pretty well.” - -“There he goes now.” - -“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.” - -“You mean the fellow you had some trouble with, the son of the -engineer who was discharged from the Saxton Automobile Works.” - -“Yes,” assented Ben, with a lively memory of the fellow on the fence -the night he had last met Dave Shallock. - -“You told me about him,” said Bob. “Look out for this fellow, if -he’s like that ill-natured cousin of his.” - -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. - -“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 _Flyer_ made -a graceful lateral soar, and struck a fair equilibrium about two -hundred and fifty feet from the ground. - -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. - -“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. - -“Right in my lap.” - -“Have it ready.” - -“There goes the opening gun for the beginning of the endurance tests -on the spiral trials.” - -“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.” - -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 _Flyer_ on a course of -magnificent long sweeps, several times circling the aviation field. - -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. - -“A regular private box party, aren’t we?” chuckled Bob. - -“It’s wonderful,” assented his entranced companion. “There goes the -_Torpedo_.” - -“Yes, and that Dick Farrell is aboard.” - -“He knows how to whiz.” - -“Whew! That’s about all he does know. H’m! that was a narrow graze,” -commented Bob, as the _Torpedo_ nearly collided with a scudding -biplane. “Some day that fellow will meet his Waterloo.” - -After a spell the air began to clear of the exhibitors and their -machines. - -“Now we’ll give Mr. Davis a genuine thrill,” announced Bob. “Get -ready, Ben.” - -“I’m all ready, Bob.” - -The young aviator brought the _Flyer_ directly over the field. They -were now on a one-thousand-foot level. Bob kept the machine directly -over that part of the enclosure which he and Ben had plotted with -their boxes early that morning. - -Ben opened the bag in his lap. - -“Fire at the warships!” ordered Bob. - -“With oranges for bombs,” added Ben, displaying the fruit in his lap. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -“They didn’t all go wild, I think,” he said, as the last orange -performed its mission. - -“We’ll get below and see how you have panned out as to bombardment,” -said Bob. “I’ll try a record on plain aero stunts before we land, -Ben.” - -“Careful, Bob!” warned Ben, as his daring comrade made a sensational -dive. - -“The spiral dip,” announced Bob. “Hold your breath.” - -“Whew!” ejaculated Ben. - -In a whirling top-like series of gyrations, such as Ben had seen a -bicycle spin in a crack trick display, Bob manipulated the _Flyer_. -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 _Flyer_ struck on -its wheels, bounded, rose, dropped again, and slid one hundred yards -to a graceful stop. - -“You’re an artist, Bob,” declared Ben enthusiastically, as they -climbed from the machine. - -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. - -The old aviator waved his hand at his young assistants in a cheering -fashion as they reached the last box. - -“Well, boys, you did finely in your bomb-dropping event,” he -announced. - -“How’s that?” inquired Bob. - -“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.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A RUSH ORDER - - -“I’d like to find the man that did that!” stormed John Davis in great -rage. - -“It wasn’t a man—it was a boy,” said Ben, but he distinctly said it -to himself. - -There was trouble at the _Flyer_ camp. It had just been discovered. -That morning Mr. Davis had joined in the principal feats of the -preliminary aviation meet. - -It had been a real endurance test and the barograph record was one -of the principal features of the event. The _Torpedo_ did very -well as to speed, but was lacking in the altitude test. When the -barographs were removed from the various machines the _Flyer_ showed -a 6,211-foot record. The _Torpedo_ was fourth down in the list. - -There never was a glummer, more sullen man than Burr Rollins when -the announcement was made. It was pretty conclusive that the _Flyer_ -would go into the convention the favorite entry for the coming big -aero meet. - -“There’s Saturday left,” growled Rollins, as he turned his back on -his fellow aviators in a wrathful way. - -“I’ll beat the _Torpedo_ 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 -_Flyer_ may not want of you at the big event.” - -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. - -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 _Flyer_, 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. - -One of the great claims of the _Flyer_ 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. - -This essential and precious part of the mechanism of the _Flyer_ was -found unlocked from its bearings. 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. - -“It’s easy to guess why this was done,” remarked Bob Dallow hotly. - -“Yes,” assented Mr. Davis, pale and excited, “this is foul play, the -work of an enemy.” - -He glanced at the boys in turn in a significant way, but did not -voice his suspicions. All hands thought instantly of Burr Rollins. - -“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 _Flyer_,” observed the old aviator, -with a disconsolate look at his beloved machine. “It’s all up for me -for to-morrow’s flight, lads.” - -“Don’t say that, Mr. Davis!” cried Bob, almost at the point of tears. -“Surely it can be repaired.” - -“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.” - -“Let me look at it, please,” suggested Ben, and he went over the -broken parts of the device critically. - -“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.” - -“You think it can be repaired?” - -“Or replaced—yes, sir.” - -“Within twelve hours?” pressed the aviator anxiously. “Remember, time -is the main point in this difficulty.” - -“Yes, I know that,” assented Ben, studying the device. “I think my -father can help you out.” - -“But the place where he works will be shut down by the time you reach -Woodville.” - -“You had better let me try what I can do, Mr. Davis,” said Ben. - -“If you can replace that joint, Ben,” said the aviator, “I will stand -any expense and never forget the favor.” - -“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.” - -Mr. Davis consulted a timetable. He looked disappointed. - -“No train moving Woodville way for four hours,” he reported. - -“Oh, I can fix that,” declared Ben. - -He wrapped up the pieces of the broken part and stowed them in two -parcels in his pockets. Then he said: - -“I will be back by eight o’clock in the morning, Mr. Davis, or send -you a telegram.” - -“You’ll be back,” predicted Bob Dallow animatedly. “You’re starting -out right to make a go of it, I can see that.” - -“Come on, Bob,” directed Ben. “Don’t worry, Mr. Davis. Everything -shall be done that can be done.” - -“I believe that, Ben,” said the aviator warmly. - -“What’s the programme?” inquired Bob, as Ben led the way from the -Davis camp over to a neighboring one. - -“I am going to ask that friendly young fellow of Barton’s to loan me -his motor-cycle.” - -“Grand idea!” applauded Bob. “He’s an accommodating boy, and will be -glad to help you through.” - -Ten minutes later Ben was chug—chugging his way from Blairville down -a fine country road in the direction of Woodville. - -“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 _Flyer_. Dick Farrell did the work for him, though.” - -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. - -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. - -“I have come to have you help me out on something, father,” said Ben -after supper. - -“What is that, my son?” inquired Mr. Hardy. - -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. - -“Can you mend it, father?” inquired Ben anxiously. - -“It is no easy job,” replied Mr. Hardy seriously. “What time did you -say you could give me on it?” - -“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. - -Mr. Hardy went for his hat and told his wife that he and Ben might -not be home until very late. - -“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. - -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. 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. - -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. - -“Lay down on the bench yonder, Ben,” directed Mr. Hardy about -midnight, “and take a little rest.” - -“Can’t I help you, father?” inquired Ben. - -“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.” - -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. - -“Did you make it, father?” he inquired, springing to his feet. - -“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.” - -The device was bundled up. Ben accompanied 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. - -“You are the best father ever lived!” declared the boy, as he -strapped the little piece of machinery to the cycle. - -“That’s worth something—coming from a bright, active young fellow -like you,” smiled Mr. Hardy in reply. - -“And the smartest man in the bargain!” added Ben. - -“We’ll try some of it, then, on that wonderful monoplane you are -going to build, Ben,” said his father. - -Ben reached the aviation grounds before eight o’clock. He received a -rousing greeting from Mr. Davis. He had the satisfaction of seeing -the _Flyer_ make its record flight of the season two hours later. - -“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.” - -“I’ll be there,” declared Ben animatedly, “and I’ll be there with a -new airship that I am going to build myself.” - -“Good luck to you, Ben!” encouraged the old aviator. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE DART - - -“Well, Ben, how is your airship work coming on?” - -“Famously, father.” - -“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.” - -“I will be glad to have you,” declared Ben. “I know you can make some -valuable suggestions.” - -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. - -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 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. - -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. - -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. - -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 best -devised that his father could select. The framework of wood and -canvas was what tested Ben’s skill. - -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. - -“Well, father,” observed Ben, after studying over the new drawings, -“the _Dart_ begins to look like something, doesn’t it?” - -“The _Dart_, eh?” smiled Mr. Hardy, “so you have chosen that name?” - -“Yes, I thought it quite appropriate. My first ambition is high -sailing. Mr. Davis won on that, and even the _Flyer_ did not make -such a very high flight. I believe with a fair machine specially -built I can beat his record.” - -“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.” - -“We will try the _Dart_ first. If she makes a go of it, we can try -something more ambitious.” - -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 novel labor acted as a restful variation for his -father. - -[Illustration: “BUILDING AN AIRSHIP, ARE YOU, HARDY”] - -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. - -“Father, some one is coming,” he said in a significant tone. - -“Who is it, Ben?” - -“Mr. Saxton.” - -“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. - -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. - -“Good afternoon, Mr. Saxton,” observed Ben, while his father bowed -courteously. - -“H’m,” observed Jasper Saxton in a dry non-committal tone, curiously -scanning the skeleton of the monoplane, “building an airship, are -you, Hardy?” - -“Trying to,” answered Ben’s father. - -“Something new?” - -“Father couldn’t make anything without striking some improvements,” -remarked Ben. - -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. - -“Think there’s something to it, do you, Hardy?” inquired Saxton. - -“How do you mean?” asked Mr. Hardy. - -“Well, along practical lines. Is the aviation fever only a spurt, or -is it going to be a real feature?” - -“In the manufacturing line, you mean.” inquired Mr. Hardy. - -“That’s it.” - -“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.” - -“I hadn’t heard of that,” remarked Mr. Saxton in a thoughtful, -speculative way. “Something to it, is there?” - -“I think so.” - -“Worth specializing as a department?” - -“You would have to decide that, Mr. Saxton,” replied Mr. Hardy. “I -couldn’t venture an opinion.” - -“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 business in -our dull months, it might become quite a profitable feature of the -business.” - -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 -_Dart_. - -Then the manufacturer strolled to one side in a thoughtful way. He -took out a pencil and a card and did some figuring. - -“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.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A SERIOUS CHARGE - - -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. - -“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. - -“Why—er—you see, Hardy, this thing has gone pretty far, you know.” - -“What thing?” demanded Mr. Hardy. - -“This airship work.” - -“And you expect me to turn in the _Dart_ here to your works?” - -“That’s it, Hardy.” - -“Well, Mr. Saxton, it can’t be done.” - -“Why not?” - -“Because it belongs to my son here, Ben.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“What has got to stop?” - -“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.” - -“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 a trifling accommodation like that is refused to an old -and faithful employee.” - -“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.” - -“Yes, you certainly know how to protect patents,” remarked Mr. Hardy -meaningly. “All the same, sir, this special machine, the _Dart_, -belongs to my son, Ben, and can’t be included in any bargain you and -I may make.” - -“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.” - -“About what?” demanded Mr. Hardy vaguely. - -“Oh, about a number of things. You are using tools and materials here -that belong to me.” - -“For which I shall pay you.” - -“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.” - -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. - -“Do you mean to intimate that I am a thief?” he demanded. - -“I am not saying,” observed Jasper Saxton, wilting, but his mean soul -showing in its true colors. - -“Shame!” cried Ben, wrought up indescribably. “Don’t do it, father!” - -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. - -“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.” - -“Take care! take care!” growled the manufacturer threateningly. - -“I’ll leave your employ.” - -“You’ll have a bill to settle first, mind that.” - -“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.” - -“You will, eh?” fairly howled Jasper Saxton, becoming furious. “Try -it, try it! Why, I can ruin you. I’ll show you.” - -“You had better go away from here,” advised Ben, putting himself -before the manufacturer to shield his father from further insult. - -Jasper Saxton departed, threatening and gesticulating furiously. -Ben restrained himself from saying some pretty bitter things. As the -manufacturer disappeared, he turned to his father with an anxious, -sorrowful face. - -“Oh, father!” he exclaimed, “what have we done?” - -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: - -“The best thing in the world, my son, and it ought to have been done -long ago.” - -“But you have given up your position at the Saxton plant?” - -“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.” - -“I am glad of it, father.” - -“Then do not worry about my prompt action. I had intended to make a -last demand on Saxton for my rights in those patents.” - -“It would have been no use,” declared Ben rather gloomily. - -“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?” - -“But you are no thief, father.” - -“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!” - -“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.” - -“It is unfortunate that I lost that memorandum that he gave me. That -would prove my right to half the patents.” - -“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?” - -“Yes,” nodded Mr. Hardy. - -“I should know him again. I am going to make it my business to find -that man.” - -“What good will that do, Ben?” asked his father. - -“I am satisfied that he could tell a whole lot about Shallock. Maybe -about that stolen contract, too.” - -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 his wont, but his wife was much agitated when the -circumstances were related to her. - -“What are you going to do?” she inquired. - -“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!” - -“Why, they wanted you last year, didn’t they, father?” asked Ben. - -“Yes, and I feel sure they will want me now.” - -“But that is so far from home,” suggested Mrs. Hardy anxiously. - -“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. - -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. - -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 prowler, and he extinguished -the lantern and skulked away. - -Two nights later, about eleven o’clock, Ben roused up from his sleep -to find his mother shaking him gently. - -“Ben! Ben!” she whispered in a quick tone of alarm, “get up at once.” - -“What is the matter, mother?” asked Ben excitedly. - -“A man with a bag over his shoulder just went through the yard into -the work shed,” was Mrs. Hardy’s startling announcement. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE MAN IN THE GIG - - -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. - -“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. - -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. - -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 standing on guard armed with the hoe -handle awaited the arrival of his father. - -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. - -“Where is the trespasser, Ben?” he inquired. - -“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.” - -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: - -“Is anybody there?” - -“There doesn’t seem to be,” said Ben, peering past his father as -there was no response to the challenge. - -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. - -“A false alarm, I guess,” he reported finally. - -“But your mother is positive that she saw a man enter the shed,” -suggested Mr. Hardy. - -“Then it was some wandering tramp,” decided Ben, “and he slipped out -while I was getting down stairs. At all events, nothing appears to -have been disturbed or taken.” - -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. - -“We are having quite a series of midnight alarms,” remarked Mr. Hardy -at the breakfast table the next morning. - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - -“How did this ever get here?” ruminated Ben. “It wasn’t here -yesterday afternoon, for it is too conspicuous to miss. Maybe our -midnight visitor with the bag dropped it.” - -“Now then, for a good day’s work,” said Mr. Hardy briskly, appearing -on the scene. - -“Father, do you suppose some one is trying to get us into trouble?” - -“Who, for instance?” - -“Well, Mr. Saxton.” - -“Why should he? No, he will not disturb me as long as I keep quiet -about that suit on the patents.” - -“I don’t like these mysterious night callers,” said Ben. - -“They haven’t done us any harm yet.” - -“But they may. Some one did visit the work shed last night.” - -“How do you know that?” - -Ben showed the strange pin he had found, and told his suspicions. - -“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.” - -“That is a good idea,” said Ben. - -They were so interested in their mutual work till noon, that both for -the time being forgot their suspicions and fears. - -“I’ll have to ask you to do an errand for me, Ben?” said Mr. Hardy -after dinner. - -“What is that, father?” - -“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.” - -“No, no, don’t be under any obligations to Mr. Saxton, father.” - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Earle,” said Ben, and ten minutes afterward he was -posted on the seat of the factory wagon beside the driver. It was -six miles to Auburndale. Ben planned to return to Woodville by the -railroad. - -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. - -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. - -It flashed by him quickly, but not until its driver was seen and -recognized by Ben. - -“Hello!” exclaimed Ben. “That’s the man I saw talking with Tom -Shallock in Woodville—the man I am looking for!” - -The next moment Ben changed his course, darting down the street in -hot pursuit of the man in the gig. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE MYSTERIOUS PIN - - -“That man has got a mighty good horse,” was Ben’s comment, as he sped -down the street. - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - -The horse was not hitched. Ben reached the buggy seat in a spring and -seized lines and whip with a vigorous: - -“Get up!” - -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. - -“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. - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -“I must get back to the place I started from and make an -explanation,” he decided. - -“Whoa!” came the stern mandate, as Ben turned into the street where -he had appropriated the rig. - -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. - -“Looking for you,” remarked the officer, gazing sternly at Ben. -“Horse thief, eh?” - -“Oh, dear no!” smiled Ben. - -“You stole this rig.” - -“No, I only took it—in fact, borrowed it for a few minutes.” - -“That don’t go down,” observed the officer. - -“Why you find me getting back to the place where I found the rig, -quick as I can, don’t you?” challenged Ben. - -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. - -“I’ve got him,” announced the officer. - -“See you have,” nodded the man brusquely, looking over the horse. -“You’re a fine young jailbird, aren’t you?” he hailed Ben. - -“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.” - -“You haven’t shown it at Auburndale,” observed the officer. - -“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.” - -The owner of the vehicle looked Ben over critically. Our hero did not -flinch from his penetrating glance. - -“I came back soon as I could, as you see,” proceeded Ben. “Now then, -what’s your bill?” - -“My bill?” repeated the man in a surprised way. - -“Certainly. I’ve put you out and had the use of your rig.” - -“I guess he’s a pretty good boy. He seems to be telling the truth,” -here remarked the officer. - -“Then I shan’t charge him a cent.” - -“And don’t try any more such tricks,” advised the officer. “You may -not get off so easy the next time.” - -“You’re gentlemen, both of you,” declared Ben, glad enough that he -had escaped delay and embarrassment. - -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 might be of value to -his father in his dealings with Saxton. - -“I’ll take another look at that store, anyhow,” concluded Ben, and a -brisk walk soon brought him into its vicinity. - -“The gig is gone, so the driver is probably not in the place,” he -decided. - -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. - -“I’ll make a bold break,” he reflected, and entered the store. - -“What do you want?” demanded the apparent proprietor of the place, -turning around at the sound of intruding footsteps. - -“Why, I was looking for some one, mister.” - -“Well, who is it?” - -“A man drove up here in a gig about half an hour ago. I want to see -him.” - -“What about?” - -“Business.” - -“What kind of business?” persisted the man. - -“I’ll tell him. If you will give me his address, I will be very much -obliged to you.” - -The man shook his head strenuously. He regarded Ben as though he -considered him an enemy and a spy. - -“That won’t wash,” he said, “and you had better 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.” - -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. - -“Hello!” he exclaimed suddenly, and came to a staring standstill. - -“Hello, what?” demanded the man suspiciously, edging between Ben and -the door. - -“Oh, nothing,” said Ben, recovering himself. - -“Yes, there was.” - -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. - -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. - -“Aha!” exclaimed the second-hand dealer, fixing his eyes on the pin. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -A MEAN ENEMY - - -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. - -“Why didn’t you say so at first?” inquired the store keeper. - -“Say what?” inquired Ben. - -The man pointed significantly to the pin that corresponded to the one -on the lapel of his own coat. - -“You must be one of the boys from Woodville,” he observed. - -“That’s where I live.” - -“Then you know Knippel?” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“All right, when I do I’ll come to you. I don’t want to sell anything -to Mr. Knippel.” - -“What then.” - -“Other business. You know he loans money once in a while.” - -“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?” - -“Certainly not,” answered Ben accommodatingly. - -“Too dangerous. Prime stuff is machine shop plunder. Especially brass -and copper. I’d give you a fair deal.” - -“I’m sure of that,” said Ben. “Say, how am I going to get to Knippel?” - -“That’ll be hit and miss. He makes the rounds, you know. He may not -be around here again to collect for a week.” - -“Where did you say he lived?” - -“I didn’t say, but it’s at Blairville.” - -“Oh,” nodded Ben. He remembered that it was the town near the aero -field. - -“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.” - -“Well, I’ll try and locate him somehow, much obliged,” said our hero. - -“Remember, now, come to me direct when you’ve got anything to sell.” - -“All right.” - -“Especially brass and copper.” - -“Good enough,” said Ben, and left the place. - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - -“Father, father, are you there?” he called towards 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. - -“Why, mother, what is the matter?” exclaimed Ben in great surprise. - -“Oh, my son, trouble,” responded Mrs. Hardy in a broken tone of voice. - -“Father——” - -“Has gone down town in urgent haste. Mr. Saxton is at the bottom of -it all.” - -“How—explain, mother.” - -“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.” - -“The villain!” fired up Ben hotly. “Did he dare to accuse father of -stealing?” - -“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.” - -“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 was to place its contents where they would incriminate us. He -dumped them out and escaped before I got into the yard.” - -“The men then proceeded to take the metal parts from the airship,” -resumed Mrs. Hardy. - -“Why, those never came from the Saxton plant!” exclaimed Ben. “Father -made them right here in the work shed.” - -“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.” - -“Where is father now?” - -“He hurried down town to see his lawyer and try to get back those -airship parts.” - -“I must find him at once,” declared Ben. “Mother, this a pretty -serious affair.” - -“It is indeed, Ben.” - -“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.” - -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. - -“Oh, father,” exclaimed Ben, “this is terrible!” - -“For Saxton, yes,” said Mr. Hardy, in his usual calm and trustful -way. “A man who will do what he has done, will wake up with a -tormenting conscience some day.” - -“But what good does that do us now?” - -“Don’t worry, my son, everything will come out right.” - -“It’s a pretty hard thing to see you charged with stealing.” - -“They will have to prove those charges, Ben.” - -“And they have got hold of our new monoplane parts.” - -“Mr. Pearsons has just gone to see about those,” said Mr. Hardy. - -The lawyer in question entered the office at that moment. He was in -great haste. He looked stirred up and bothered. - -Mr. Pearsons nodded to Ben. Then he turned towards his anxious-faced -father. - -“Well, Hardy,” he observed, “we’re dealing with a bad crowd, I can -tell you.” - -“You mean Mr. Saxton?” - -“And his accomplices and lawyers. The recovery of those automobile -parts was only a ruse.” - -“A ruse?” repeated Mr. Hardy wonderingly. - -“Yes.” - -“How do you mean, Mr. Pearsons?” - -“They were really after the parts of that flying machine of yours.” - -“Why?” - -“Well, Hardy,” pronounced the lawyer emphatically, “I am satisfied -that the motive of this raid is to steal your airship inventions!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -STEALING AN INVENTION - - -“Yes,” repeated the lawyer, “that Saxton crowd is aiming to steal -your airship inventions.” - -Mr. Hardy sank on a chair looking blank and troubled. Ben spoke up. - -“How can they do that, Mr. Pearsons?” - -“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.” - -“The hypocrite!” commented Ben hotly. - -“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. 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.” - -“Good—good!” cried Ben. - -“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.” - -“Mr. Pearsons, you are indeed a true friend,” said Mr. Hardy with -emotion. - -“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. He has been doing odd jobs -helping the regular constables, and he took me aside and let the cat -out of the bag.” - -“How do you mean?” inquired Mr. Hardy. - -“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.” - -“It is too bad,” said Mr. Hardy gloomily. - -“And it is now one o’clock. Is there no way to outwit them?” asked -Ben. - -“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.” - -“It is a pretty bad proposition for me,” said Ben’s father. - -“Not altogether. We shall at once follow their claims with our own, -and we will fight it through the courts.” - -“That is a long and tedious process.” - -“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.” - -“Will I be able to get the airship parts to-day?” inquired Mr. Hardy. - -“I’ll attend to that,” assured the lawyer. - -“I want to get Ben’s monoplane done.” - -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: - -“You go home, father. I’ll join you there soon.” - -“What are you going to do?” - -“Oh I’ve got some little things to attend to about town.” - -Mr. Hardy proceeded on his way alone. It made Ben sorry and fretted -to observe his depressed and downcast air. - -“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. - -Mr. Pearsons was busy at his desk when Ben re-entered the office. He -looked up somewhat surprised, with the words: - -“Well, what’s the trouble, Hardy?” - -“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.” - -“Very good. What then?” inquired the lawyer. - -“Why, just this—a way to get ahead of the Saxton crowd in filing the -application for those patents.” - -The lawyer shook his head, consulting his watch. - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“No use now, too late,” insisted Mr. Pearsons. - -“Let me ask one question, please.” - -“Certainly, lad.” - -“Have you a correspondent in Washington?” - -“Oh, yes.” - -“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.” - -The lawyer fairly jumped from his seat. - -“Hardy,” he said enthusiastically, “you are a genius!” And then his -face shadowed, and he shook his head. - -“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.” - -“Yes, sir; I suppose so,” said Ben quietly, “so I brought the money -to pay for it. There is one hundred and fifty dollars.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -ON TIME - - -The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben -had placed on the desk before him. Then his countenance expanded. - -“You have solved the problem, Hardy. You are sure you want to invest -all that money?” - -“To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy. - -“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.” - -“You think your Washington correspondent can follow out instructions -explicitly?” - -“Oh, I’ll guarantee him.” - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Pearsons.” - -“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.” - -“I’m too full of the airship fever to think of anything like that -just now,” smiled Ben. - -“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.” - -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. - -It was about five o’clock, and he was on his way homewards again, -when he ran up against Caleb Dunn. - -“Hold on, there, Ben Hardy,” hailed the foreman at the Saxton -Automobile Works. “Just the fellow I wanted to see.” - -“What about, Mr. Dunn?” - -“About your father’s affairs. Here, give me all the details of this -tangle with Saxton.” - -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. - -A sort of a subdued growl issued from the lips of the foreman when he -had concluded. His face was grim and angry. - -“You come with me, Hardy,” he said promptly. - -“Where, Mr. Dunn?” - -“To the Saxton works.” - -“I had rather not go there,” demurred Ben, holding back a trifle. - -“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.” - -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. - -“The escape valve will burst if I don’t get action,” he advised Ben. -“Hurry up.” - -When they reached the plant, Dunn proceeded straight towards the -private office of its proprietor. - -“Mr. Saxton is very busy over some accounts,” advised the bookkeeper. - -“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. - -Jasper Saxton looked up from his desk in an irritated way at the bold -intrusion. Then, observing Ben, he scowled darkly. - -“What’s that boy doing here?” he demanded. - -“I brought him,” retorted Dunn. - -“Take him away again. He has no business around here.” - -“Yes, he has, and he’ll stay,” observed Dunn sharply. “I need him.” - -“What for?” - -“As a witness.” - -“Witness to what?” demanded Saxton, with a blank stare. - -“To what I’m going to tell you. Saxton, you are an unmitigated -scoundrel!” - -“W—what?” - -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. - -“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.” - -“What’s that? what’s this?” gasped the astonished Saxton. - -“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.” - -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: - -“Tell your father I shall be up to see him this evening.” - -“Whew!” commented Ben, in one long marveling breath. - -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, the same had brought to their rescue staunch, loyal -friends. - -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. - -“Nothing for my father, is there, Mr. Noyes?” asked Ben. - -“Nothing so far. Expecting something?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Well, it may come in the half rate grist. That begins soon. Won’t -you wait?” - -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. - -“I’ll deliver it to my father,” said our hero. “Don’t mind an -envelope.” - -“Just receipt for him, then,” advised the operator, handing Ben the -yellow sheet. “Charges prepaid.” - -“Hurrah!” shouted Ben irrepressibly, as he glanced at the sheet -and summarily bolted from the place, a keen delight overcoming his -embarrassment. - -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 was a growing -happy expression on the face of his mother. - -They had company. Two men were in the same room. They were Caleb -Dunn, and Mr. Earle from the Diebold machine shops at Martinville. - -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. - -Then our hero entered the house through the kitchen. On the table he -noticed the airship parts that had been returned. - -“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.” - -Mr. Hardy took the paper. He was trembling all over as he perused it. -A look of intense joy illumined his usually serious face. - -The telegram read: - - “Claim filed on two airship inventions of Martin Hardy. All rights - protected.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR PRIZE - - -“The _Dart_ is a beauty! I’d like to meet that ingenious father of -yours, Ben!” - -“He would feel honored to know you, I am sure, Mr. Davis.” - -“Just as soon as this meet is over, I am going to get him to build me -a new airship modeled after the _Dart_. It’s the best machine I have -yet seen.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“And what is that, Ben?” inquired Mr. Davis with interest. - -“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.” - -“I see—a grand idea.” - -“Father says that light at high elevations is richer in ultra violet -rays.” - -“Say, you’re some scientist, aren’t you?” put in Bob Dallow. - -“I’ll give you some more,” laughed Ben: “You get out of the bacterial -effect in the upper air currents.” - -“Well, I’ll have a talk with Mr. Hardy after we’ve won the high -flight and long distance prizes,” observed Mr. Davis. - -“Oh, you are going to win both of them, are you?” chuckled Bob. - -“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 _Dart_ can do?” - -“Oh!” exclaimed Ben, “you don’t mean it?” - -“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.” - -“I say, Bob,” cried Ben quickly, “you have been telling secrets out -of school.” - -“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 _Dart_ for the race to-morrow, and I fully expect you will get -ready for it.” - -Ben was once more at the aviation field at Blairville and the _Dart_ -was with him. That splendid little machine had arrived from Woodville -the day previous. - -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. - -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. - -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 skulking down the street, as if he -feared every minute being served with the papers by lawyer Pearsons. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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 -_Dart_ perfectly. Ben could hardly sleep for excitement that night, -and he and Bob were among the earliest arrivals on the aviation field -next morning. - -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. 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 _Dart_, uttered an enthusiastic hurrah as he noted the -splendid start his friend had made. - -The _Dart_ 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. - -“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. - -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. - -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. - -“Brr-rr!” he shivered, as an icy gale made the planes bend and -rattle, and he felt himself becoming benumbed by the cold. - -The highly rarefied air began now to affect heart and brain. Only by -conserving his breath could Ben refrain from gasping outright. - -“What is that?” he exclaimed, as a grinding, wrenching motion shook -the machine. - -It was an accumulation of ice on the planes of the airship. Icicles -fell into the machinery, threatening to stop the motor. - -“I’ve reached the limit, I guess,” decided Ben, dizzy-headed and half -frozen. - -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. - -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. - -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 -_Flyer_. - -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. - -His next conscious moment was a recognition of the voice of Mr. -Davis, saying: - -“Let him sleep, he needs it.” - -“But—such glorious news!” cried the tones of Bob Dallow. - -“I am awake,” declared Ben, opening his eyes and sitting up. “What’s -the glorious news?” - -“Why,” said Mr. Davis with a beaming face, “the barograph says you -have beaten the _Flyer_ altitude record by three hundred feet. Hardy, -you have won the five hundred dollar prize.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -“GO!” - - -“Ben, Ben, wake up!” - -“What is the matter—what has happened?” - -“The very worst—the Davis quarters is on fire and the _Flyer_ is -burning up.” - -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 _Dart_ had arrived on the -field. It was some distance from the Davis place, and had a canvas -extension which housed the Woodville machine. - -Bob was getting into his clothes, uttering excited disjointed -sentences, meanwhile keeping his eyes fixed on the center of the -fiery glare. - -“It is certainly in the direction of the Davis quarters,” said Ben -hurriedly, “but it may not be his place.” - -“But it is. Can’t you see—the exact location, and two men rushing by -shouted that it was.” - -Fleet-footed and breathless, the two youths dashed across the patch -of sward between their new quarters and the blazing pile. Half the -distance accomplished, their worst fears were verified. - -“It’s the _Flyer_,” panted Bob. - -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. - -“It’s all gone up, tent and machine,” choked out Bob, as they came -directly upon the scene. - -“Yes, and—oh—Mr. Davis is hurt.” - -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. - -“Oh, Mr. Davis,” cried Ben, “what is it?” - -The aviator turned a pale and troubled face on his young assistant. - -“Yes, Ben!” he said, forcing a smile, “don’t get scared. Just a singe -or two on the hands.” - -Ben saw that the sleeves of the coat Mr. Davis wore hung in shriveled -threads. His hands were seared and blistered. - -“A little liniment will fix me up all right,” said the aviator with -affected cheerfulness, as he noticed the deep concern on the face of -Bob as well as that of Ben. “Keep your nerve, lads, you may need it -to-morrow.” - -His helper, as the man was called who had oiled and taken care of the -_Flyer_, came up at that moment. - -“Here, Jones,” called the aviator, halting. “Have you got a good -revolver?” - -“Two of them, Mr. Davis.” - -“Get them both, and start up to the _Dart_ 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.” - -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 _Flyer_ and sighed. Then his face became set and grim. - -“My lads here will attend to me, friends,” he spoke to the two men -who had helped him. - -“Can’t we be of some use to you, Mr. Davis?” inquired one of them. - -“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.” - -“He may be in bed, if the fire hasn’t routed him out.” - -“Then wake him up—it’s very important.” - -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: - -“That’s fine. It doesn’t bring back the _Flyer_, poor old friend, but -it mends me up for the tussle.” - -“You aren’t thinking of trying for to-morrow, with your hands in that -condition?” interrogated Bob. - -Before the aviator could reply, Mr. Bridges had arrived. He was the -director of the meet, its high executive official. - -“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.” - -“Yes,” nodded the aviator with a smile, “you.” - -“Eh?” - -“That’s it—I want you to doctor up to-morrow’s programme.” - -“Yes, it will be a severe disappointment to the public—no _Flyer_, no -Davis.” - -“But I wish to be represented, just the same.” - -“Oh.” - -“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.” - -“But you have no airship to enter.” - -“Yes, I have—the _Dart_.” - -“Oh, I see,” nodded the director, “very good. Operator?” - -“Operators—two: Dallow and Hardy. Make a note of it officially, -Bridges, and see that we have a fair show.” - -“It’s a little irregular, isn’t it?” - -“So was the burning of the _Flyer_,” remarked Mr. Davis dryly. - -“Any suspicions?” - -“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?” - -“You can depend on any service I can give an old friend and a square -man,” assured the director heartily. - -“Thank you. You give that fair show, and I’ll try and keep up the -Davis reputation.” - -The aviation director retired with a courteous bow. As the door -closed on him, Mr. Davis turned his glance upon his two young -assistants. - -“Well?” he demanded with a quizzical smile. - -“You have dazed me,” spoke Ben, with a wondering break in his voice. -“Do you really mean it?” - -“Same here,” piped in Bob. “It’s like getting a fortune all at once.” - -“Oho! so you are counting on the prize already, are you?” chuckled -Mr. Davis. - -“Isn’t that what you expect us to do?” challenged Bob. - -“I reckon it is,” assented the aviator. - -“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.” - -“That’s the talk,” said the aviator encouragingly. “Now then, bring -that little stand close to my side.” - -Ben obeyed the order. - -“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.” - -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. - -Taking wind velocity, temperature readings, barometric 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. - -“Why,” cried the exuberant Bob, “you make it a mere playing, Mr. -Davis!” - -“Do I?” retorted the old aviator grimly. “You may change your mind -after a four hour’s spin. It’s no fun, lads.” - -“I do not see how we can fail to do something quite fair, under all -these conditions,” said Ben. - -“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.” - -“Hurrah!” crowed the irrepressible Bob. - -“We’ll say that when we win,” added Ben. - -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. - -“Easy, now,” ordered Mr. Davis, “you two fellows are simply dummies -in the hands of trainers till we land you in the _Dart_.” - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -Ben did as he was directed. Bob, leaning over his shoulder, made a -wry face. - -“What’s the matter with you?” inquired Mr. Davis quickly. - -“Huh!” complained Bob, “you’ve marked out only a thousand-mile run.” - -“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. - -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. - -The aviation field was a gay and entrancing spectacle. 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. - -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 _Dart_. Ben tried the levers and the other -various parts of the machine. - -“She works like a watch,” he declared to his companion. - -“Ready,” was Bob’s reply, his eye on the judge’s stand. - -Boom!—flared forth the signal gun, followed by a general chorus, -uttered in the word so thrilling to the heart of the enthusiastic -aviator: - -“Go!” - -Lifted from earth on a superb sweep, true to its name, the _Dart_ -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 -_Dart_ diminished, became a mere speck, and faded away in the far -distance. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -CRUSOES OF THE AIR - - -“It’s business now,” said Bob Dallow, between his teeth. - -“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?” - -“Brr-rr! Judging from the weather, Medicine Hat. The way we’ve spun -along, I should think we were just about over Alaska.” - -“That’s nonsense, of course,” responded Ben, “but we have done some -travelling. Keep watch on the forward planes, now.” - -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. - -The _Dart_ 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 -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. - -“That’s not so bad,” observed Bob, “over sixty miles an hour.” - -“Not if we can keep up a long flight,” said Ben. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -There was not a speck of light visible earthwards anywhere. One long -sweep took them over a vast body of water. Then came an interminable -stretch of vast forests. - -“We seem to have passed civilization,” remarked Ben. - -“We are clear out of the United States, anyway,” declared Bob. - -“My plan is to get to a good altitude and put the motors to the -limit,” was Ben’s suggestion. - -“All right, if we can stand the cold.” - -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 _Dart_ 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. - -“We have driven our craft to the last limit of speed,” announced Ben -at last. “The fuel gauge is at danger line.” - -“That settles it, then,” said Bob. “It’s all over but the barograph -readings, now.” - -Ben set the _Dart_ 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 _Dart_ rested on a broad even surface in the midst of great -trees, almost of its own volition. - -“We made it just in time,” said Bob, climbing from the machine with -an immense sigh of relief. “What time is it, Ben?” - -Ben lighted a match and consulted the dial of the treasured timepiece -presented to him by the employees of the Saxton Automobile Works. - -“Just fifteen minutes after one,” he announced. - -“Then we have been fourteen hours on the spin,” calculated Bob. “I -don’t believe any of the others have beat that.” - -“We don’t know that, of course.” - -“It’s surely nine hundred miles,” continued Bob, “maybe twelve -hundred. It seemed to me we just spun along these last four hours.” - -“We have done finely,” declared Ben, “and we should feel pretty glad -to land with no mishaps.” - -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. - -“I wonder where we are, Ben?” inquired Bob, appearing with the canvas -bag that held some tools and a bulky package of food. - -“No telling. I couldn’t keep track of direction after it got dark.” - -“We’re probably out of the range of running fuel anyway,” surmised -Bob. - -“Yes, I think that is right.” - -“What’s the programme, then?” - -“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.” - -“And leave the _Dart_ here?” questioned Bob, in alarm. - -“Certainly not. We must arrange to have it packed and shipped on -after us, no matter what it may cost.” - -“If we have only won the prize—oh, if we only have!” began Bob -ardently, and then: “Hello!” - -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. - -“What now, Bob?” questioned Ben. - -“A light.” - -“I see it!” - -“Maybe it’s a village—a house, anyhow. The sooner we prove our -arrival, the better for our claims, eh, Ben?” - -“Perhaps.” - -“Come on—this is luck.” - -Ben hesitated for a moment. He did not like to leave the _Dart_. -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. - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -“That light is across the river, and miles away yet,” said Ben. - -“Well, we’ll line the stream and cross when we get nearer. We can’t -miss reaching it now.” - -They proceeded on this basis. Less than half a mile accomplished, -however, both halted simultaneously with a shock. - -“Gone!” cried Ben in consternation. - -“Yes,” groaned his disappointed comrade. - -The point of light seemed suddenly to lift in the 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. - -“Don’t you see?” cried Bob, in a dismayed tone. - -“See what?” - -“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.” - -“It looks that way,” assented Ben slowly. - -“Yell at the top of your voice,” directed Bob, seizing Ben’s arm to -enforce his suggestion. - -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. - -“You see, we are too far away to be heard,” said Ben. - -“I’m afraid so,” replied Bob, in deep disappointment. - -“Hark! I heard something,” interrupted Ben sharply. - -“Yes, a sound—a sort of roar. Behind us, though. Oh, my!” - -Bob grasped his companion’s arm and dragged him forward. - -“Run! run!” he shouted. “It’s a bear.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A FIGHT WITH A BEAR - - -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. - -“Quick, this way. Climb up, I say,” shouted Bob, his rapid run -landing them directly up against a large tree. - -“You first, Bob.” - -“Me last. Climb, I tell you!” screamed Bob. “Whew! that was close.” - -Ben had grasped at a low limb of the tree. He was conscious that Bob -clambered up directly after him, but not so readily. - -“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.” - -Below, two baneful orbs of flickering radiance glowered up at them. -The bear growled fiercely and began scratching at the hard bark of -the tree. - -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. - -“He’s climbing!” cried Bob. - -“We must go higher.” - -“Then so will he.” - -“We have no firearms.” - -“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.” - -“It doesn’t this one,” reported Ben a minute later. - -“That’s so. Keep it going so I can see, though, but be ready to climb -if I don’t make it.” - -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. - -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. - -“Something cracked!” he shouted in encouraging tones. “It told, Ben. -Down he goes.” - -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. - -“He won’t venture up again, I reckon,” remarked Bob. - -“No, but he seems settled down there for the night.” - -“Well, we’ll have to stay up here all night,” responded Bob. - -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. - -“I say,” observed Ben, after a moment’s cogitation, “I have an idea, -if we want to drive the bear away.” - -“Well, he isn’t very pleasant company to have around.” - -“Have you any of ignition oil in the bag?” - -“Yes, two cans of it,” reported Bob, inspecting the contents of the -bag. - -“Give me one. That’s it. Now, you hold the candle and get out a coil -of wire.” - -“What’s the stunt.” - -“You will see. It may not work.” - -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. - -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. - -“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——” - -“Fire up. Ha! ha! Ben, quite an idea.” - -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. - -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. - -“I don’t think his bearship will trouble us any further,” remarked -Bob, preparing to descend from the tree. - -“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.” - -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. - -“How is the commissary department, Bob?” inquired Ben, as they -descended to the ground after daylight. - -“Enough to last a whole day, I should think,” replied Bob. - -They had an ample breakfast. Then there was some indecision as to -their immediate progress. - -“We know about where the _Dart_ is,” said Bob. “The river is a -kind of a landmark. I suggest that we try to find some houses or -settlement.” - -“That’s south,” said Ben, pointing, after consulting a small compass -he carried with him. “Suppose we start in that direction.” - -“I’m agreeable,” assented his lively comrade. “We’re bound to land -somewhere.” - -The two youths were in fine spirit, and chatted animatedly until -noon. There was so much to think 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. - -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. - -“I say, Ben,” observed Bob, “there’s just about two more meals left -in the bag—light ones, too.” - -“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.” - -“Yes, that’s so,” assented Bob, but not at all enthusiastically. “It -don’t change a pretty serious situation, though.” - -“How is that?” - -“Well, we’re in a howling wilderness, aren’t we?” - -“It’s the wilderness all right,” assented Ben. - -“And we face two sure conclusions,” went on Bob Dallow, “we’ve lost -the _Dart_ and can’t find it, and we’re lost ourselves.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -A FRIEND IN NEED - - -“We will have to get some more wood.” - -“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.” - -“Provided any disturb us.” - -“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.” - -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. - -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 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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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: - -“I say, what’s happening?” - -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. - -“Why, it’s an Indian,” broke out the wondering Bob. “Say, hello!” - -“How,” responded the stranger, with something of subserviency in his -manner. He was a mild-faced, gentle-mannered half breed. - -Ben grasped his hands and swung it up and down fervently, pointing to -the gun and then to the dead panther. - -“You have saved my friend!” he cried, touching Bob’s shoulder -lovingly with his free hand. - -“Me friend,” pronounced the Indian awkwardly. - -“Yes, you are my friend, too—my good friend. What can we do for you?” - -“Salt.” - -“What is that?” inquired Bob strangely. - -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. - -“No fire—no salt,” he said. “You salt?” - -“Salt?” repeated Bob buoyantly. “Loads of it. Why, about all we have -got is salt—and pepper. Look here.” - -The lunch put up at the aero meet had included a dozen hard boiled -eggs. A salt and a pepper bottle had accompanied them. Very little -of the condiment had been used. - -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: - -“You cook—plenty salt.” - -“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?” - -“Wigwam,” grinned the half breed. “Oh, yes—yes, so,” and he pointed -south. - -“You take us there?” inquired Ben eagerly. - -“Morning. Me guide. See? Charge one dollar.” - -“You shall have ten,” cried the delighted Bob, “and a whole barrel of -salt thrown in.” - -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. - -“Well, Ben, I guess we’re headed for home at last,” observed Bob. - -“It looks so. I can hardly wait till morning to start.” - -“You won’t wake Powhattan until he’s all ready,” declared Bob, as -they turned in. - -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. - -“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?” - -“Our visitor must have got up early and gone fishing,” explained Ben. - -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. - -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: - -“What now, Ben?” - -“This bag.” - -“I see it,” nodded Bob. - -“Do you notice anything familiar about it?” asked Ben, some latent -excitement in his tones. - -“Why—no.” - -“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.” - -“What of it?” - -“Parafined canvas, too. See the wooden braces at each end? Why, Bob, -this is a piece of an airship!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE LOST AVIATOR - - -“A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly. “Ours?” - -“The _Dart_, yes. The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a -day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.” - -“Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized -what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?” - -“That is my guess.” - -“Mine, too,” declared Bob. “If that is true, Ben, then the Indian -must know the spot where the _Dart_ is.” - -“Undoubtedly.” - -“Let’s find out. Hey, hi, hello, guide, my friend Powhattan! This -way, old fellow!” - -The Indian, just through with his morning swim, arrived speedily, -smiling and as placid as ever. - -“I say, look here,” said Bob, picking up the impromptu game bag, -“yours?” - -“Me, yes—yes,” replied the Indian promptly. - -“Did you make it?” - -The Indian bowed assent. - -“Where did you get this?” asked Bob, patting the canvas. - -The Indian spoke a string of mingled words accompanied by vivid -pantomime. He imitated the movement of wings and practically -described an airship. - -“Can you take us to the place where you found this?” asked Ben. - -The Indian pointed southwest. He held up six fingers. - -“He means about six miles from here,” translated Bob. - -“I guess he does. You take us. Understand? Then to the town, will -you?” - -The Indian held up two fingers now. - -“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 -_Dart_ 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.” - -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. - -They had gone about four miles when their guide 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: - -“Follow—quick—run fast.” - -“What’s the reason, Powhattan?” asked Bob. - -“Shoot. Prisoner. Bad white men.” - -“Oh, an enemy around, you mean?” - -“Yes—yes. Come.” - -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. - -“That’s queer,” remarked Ben. - -“Yes,” observed Bob, “it looks like some fort.” - -“I wonder what there is to fear about it!” - -“Can’t guess. I saw no one about, did you?” - -“No,” replied Ben, “it looked deserted to me.” - -“Well, our guide is going ahead. Let us follow him.” - -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 Bob came to -the middle of it, they halted dead short. - -“Hello!” projected Bob, “an airship.” - -“But not ours!” cried Ben, lost in wonderment, “not the _Dart_.” - -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. - -“Ben, what does it mean?” inquired Bob blankly. - -“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.” - -“Probably some one living in that queer place on the island in the -river.” - -“Very likely.” - -Their first surprise over, the young aviators made a closer -inspection. - -“It is a Zenapin model, and was a good one,” reported Ben. “I wish I -knew where it started from.” - -“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.” - -“What is it?” inquired Ben, coming quickly to the side of his -companion. - -“T—E—O—” - -“Only part of a name. What can it stand for?” - -“Teodor? Hardly. Matteo? No, I give it up.” - -“Hold on,” cried Ben, fishing among the scattered debris. “Here’s -another letter, or rather a part of one.” - -“An E,” said Bob excitedly. “Now, where does that belong—before or -behind?” - -“Before—I’ve got it, Bob.” - -“What—quick!” - -“M-E-T-E-O-R.” - -“Whew!” - -Bob uttered such a gasp that it staggered him. He repeated it, as he -rapidly fumbled in his coat pocket with the words: - -“The _Meteor_? Why didn’t I think of it before.” - -“Then you know something about the _Meteor_.” - -“I guess I do.” - -“What?” - -“I’ll show you in a minute.” - -Bob drew out his memorandum book. He extracted several newspaper -clippings from its inner pocket. He selected one of these and read -its heading: - -“The Lost Aviator.” - -“Who was it, Bob?” - -“Count Eric Beausire, a French aviator. Made a flight from -Minneapolis last month. The _Meteor_ never heard from since. Supposed -lost in the wilds of Canada. One thousand dollars reward for any -information concerning the whereabouts of Count Beausire or his -airship.” - -“And this is the _Meteor_,” murmured Ben, immersed and spellbound in -a maze of speculation. - -“And where is the lost aviator? Where is the missing Count Beausire?” - -It was decidedly gruesome to think of that. Involuntarily, both boys -looked all about them. - -“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 _Meteor_ he has been -discovered.” - -“What shall we do?” asked Bob. - -“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 -_Dart_.” - -“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.” - -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. - -When they reached the break in the river hedge, he again displayed -anxiety and seriousness. - -“Run fast,” he directed. - -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. - -“What is it, Ben?” inquired Bob, coming back to where he stood, while -with every indication of terror their guide scurried to cover. - -“Did you hear a shout?” - -“No, Ben.” - -“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.” - -“I see it—I see it,” said Bob. - -“A shout for help and a signal of distress,” said Ben thoughtfully, -“Bob, I’m going to investigate this mystery.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -HOMEWARD BOUND - - -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. - -“I want to go there,” he said. - -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. - -“Why, the place is all shut up and looks practically deserted,” said -Bob. - -“Except for the person waving at that window,” added Ben. “Hark! he -is shouting again. Let us descend to the river bank.” - -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 in among -some high reeds. He and Ben got into the craft and paddled over to -the island. - -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. - -“No one seems to be moving about,” said Bob. “Even that man in the -cellar has got out of sight.” - -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. - -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. - -“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: - -“Ben, one foot is secured to a log chain running to that center -post.” - -“Who are you?” began Ben, but guessing. - -“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. - -“Yes,” responded Ben, “we have just made a long distance flight on -our monoplane, the _Dart_.” - -“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?” - -“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. - -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 -_Meteor_. - -“I must see my beloved child of the air once more—a sad farewell,” -declared the count. - -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 the -little piece of wood, and placed it inside his breast as a cherished -memento. - -“Vandals!” he exclaimed, taking a last look at the wrecked airship -and then shaking a clenched fist towards the island. - -The party now took up the march for the settlement, much to the -satisfaction of their Indian guide. - -“I assume that the _Meteor_ arrived in good condition here -originally,” began Ben, interested in learning the story of the -refugee who was now their companion. - -“Except for a dead motor, yes,” responded the count. “I sought help. -Misfortune led me to the house on that island. Ah, the banditti!” - -“Who are they?” asked Ben. - -“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 -_Meteor_ ruthlessly destroyed. Ah, the vampires!” - -“They were outlaws, you say.” - -“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 -resisted a bombardment in their numerous fastnesses, of which the -island fort is one.” - -“But we found you alone.” - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - -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 _Dart_ from Ben’s -lips. - -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. - -“If the outlaws have really gone, good riddance, 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.” - -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. - -Before nightfall the captain of police came in with a report of the -findings of the _Dart_. 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. - -Count Beausire took charge of the barograph and distance register, -sealed both, and announced that he would accompany the boys to -Blairville. - -“My declaration as a representative of the international aero clubs, -will be accepted as to the veracity of your exploit,” he observed, -somewhat grandly. - -Ben paid liberally all those working in his behalf. Arrangements were -made to ship the _Dart_ to Blairville. The motor and some other parts -of the wrecked _Meteor_ were also to be sent forward, at the request -of Count Beausire. - -The news quickly spread that the young aviators had made a truly -wonderful flight, and many came to see Ben and Bob. - -“I’ve got an extra telegram to send home,” said Bob, and went off, -leaving Ben alone at the hotel. - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -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 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. - -“Who is there?” a man called, speaking with a slight German accent. - -“I’m Ben Hardy,” called our hero, not observing his questioner. “I -came to inquire about a flying machine. Are you the inventor?” - -“I am, my young friend. I am glad you have called. I am just about to -make a flight, and you shall see it.” - -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. - -“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?” - -“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.” - -He held open the door of the room. Ben could make out a mass of -machinery, and a curious contrivance like a big auger. - -“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. - -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.” - -“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?” - -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, had -rolled from the top of the tent to the ground. - -“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.” - -“I’m afraid I wouldn’t care to try it,” spoke Ben with a laugh. - -“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!” - -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. - -Ben struggled to free himself, but the big German held him tightly. -His face was close to that of the 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. - -“Let me go!” cried Ben. “I don’t want to try your flying machine!” - -“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.” - -Ben wished he had been more discreet, for he realized that the man -was a dangerous lunatic. - -“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.” - -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. - -He could not imagine what the insane inventor was going to do with -him, unless he intended to toss 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. - -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. - -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. - -“Now we are ready to fly!” exclaimed the German, his eyes flashing -strangely. - -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. - -The inventor busied himself about his machinery for several seconds, -adjusting wires, wheels and levers. Then he put some weights on the -beam of the scale. Next he began to figure on some scraps of paper, -the while muttering to himself. - -“Yes, yes, we shall do it,” Ben heard him say. “It is a success. He -shall fly.” - -“You’d better let me go before the police come!” exclaimed the young -aviator, thinking to frighten the man. The German only laughed. - -“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.” - -“What are you going to do to me?” asked Ben, growing a little calmer. - -“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.” - -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. - -“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.” - -“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. - -“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.” - -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 Ben, bound and -helpless, alone in the room with the strange machinery. - -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. - -“Look out now!” called the voice of the insane inventor from the -hall. “Tell me if the scale beam moves!” - -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. - -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. - -“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!” - -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 thought was too much for the -boy, and he fainted. - -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. - -“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. - -“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!” - -“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?” - -“First cut me loose!” cried Ben. “I’ll stop the motor when I get up! -It’s liable to fly to pieces now!” - -For several seconds the newcomer stood irresolute. 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. - -“It’s lucky you came along when you did,” said Ben, who was quite -pale from his adventure. “I thought I was a goner.” - -“How did all dis happen?” asked the German magazine writer. - -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. - -“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.” - -“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.” - -“Ach, if he is crazy, I wants none of him!” exclaimed the magazine -man. “Our life it is hard enough widout such troubles!” - -“Hark! Some one is coming!” cried Ben, as footsteps sounded in the -hall. - -The two made a dash for the door, and got into the corridor just in -time to see someone approaching. - -“He’s coming back! We’d better try for the rear way!” cried Ben. - -But it was not the crazy inventor who was coming. Instead it was a -man in the uniform of an asylum attendant. - -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. - -“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. - -“Gracious, I hope flying machines don’t make me crazy!” said Ben, -when telling Bob of what has happened. - -“They never will,” declared Bob. “Your head is too level.” - -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. - -Newspaper correspondents boarded the train at half a dozen points -down the line, eagerly pleading for interviews. - -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 column covering every phase of public interest, -anxiety and speculation in regard to the missing _Dart_ and its crew. - -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. - -“I must see the folks,” he said. “I feel that my first duty. I will -come straight on to Blairville afterwards.” - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -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. - -She dropped so gently that she was not even shaken, and simply swayed -to one side with a slight shock. Ben was gratified to see a woman -run out into the street and pick up the uninjured child. - -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. - -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. - -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. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -CONCLUSION - - -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. - -“This is a hospital?” he observed. - -“Dear me!” exclaimed the nurse. “You are awake.” - -“Am I hurt much?” was Ben’s prompt question. - -“There are no bones broken,” replied the nurse, coming to his side. - -“How soon can I get up to the aviation grounds?” - -“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——” - -“If I had the chance? Oh, sure,” laughed Ben. “Why, what is there to -be serious about?” - -“You must ask the doctor, and here he comes,” announced the nurse, -stepping to one side. - -Voices and footsteps sounded in the hall outside. Ben caught the -words spoken by one. The tones were familiar, yet puzzling. - -“Doctor,” a man was saying, “you have given the boy the best room in -the hospital?” - -“The very best, sir.” - -“No expense spared, if it’s a hundred dollars a day.” - -“He shall have every care.” - -“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.” - -“Come to-morrow morning, Mr. Knippel. He must be kept quiet now.” - -“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. - -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 alone could prevent from -turning into something critical. Ben took it all in seriously enough. -Then he surprised the doctor by suddenly laughing outright. - -“You’re a merry chap,” observed the physician brightly, “what’s the -funny bone idea now?” - -“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.” - -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. - -“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. - -“I know, but we had arranged such an ovation for you up at the -field,” explained Mr. Davis. - -“What were going to ovate about, Mr. Davis?” inquired Ben quickly. - -“Shall I tell him?” inquired the aviator, and the doctor nodded -assentingly, and the blunt fellow blurted out proudly: - -“The _Dart_ won the long distance event by two hundred miles!” - -“Say—say, that’s great!” aspirated Ben, his face beaming. “We’re all -rich.” - -“And famous,” added the old aviator. “Oh, boy, it was a gallant run!” - -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. - -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. - -“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.” - -“Do you mean that?” inquired Ben, fixing his eyes on Knippel. - -“Heartily.” - -“Do you know a man named Tom Shallock?” - -Mr. Knippel shuffled and colored. He looked embarrassed, but he -nodded assentingly. - -“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.” - -“Boy, that is true,” admitted Knippel, greatly agitated. “But tell me -more. I only know a part of Shallock’s affairs.” - -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. - -“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.” - -“Thank you,” said Ben. - -“No, it is I who thanks you,” replied Knippel in broken tones, “and -my little child blesses you every day.” - -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, and a big feast was spread. Ben -enjoyed a happy time. Count Beausire had delayed his departure to say -good-bye to him. - -“Expect an honorary membership from the International Aero Club, my -good friend,” he said in parting. - -Ben wondered what had become of Dick Farrell. He questioned one of -the helpers around the flying machines concerning that individual. - -“What, ain’t you heard about Farrell?” asked the man in surprise. - -“Not a word—that is, since I came back.” - -“He’s gone.” - -“Where to?” - -“A whole lot of fellows would like to know that—Burr Rollins -especially.” - -“Then he left rather suddenly?” questioned our hero, curiously. - -“He did—for he had to.” - -“Tell me what you know.” - -“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 -_Torpedo_ into some old building and smash it up, top, bottom and -sides. Maybe Rollins wasn’t mad.” - -“What did he do?” - -“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.” - -“That certainly was a loss,” commented Ben. - -“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.” - -“Is he going to build another flying machine to take the place of the -_Torpedo_?” - -“That I don’t know. But I do know one thing—I don’t want anything to -do with him,” returned the man. - -“Nor I,” concluded our hero. - -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. - -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. - -“Well, Hardy,” observed Dunn, “I’ve attended to the business you’re -too easy and good natured to attend to yourself.” - -“Thank you,” said Mr. Hardy mildly. - -“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.” - -“How was it settled?” asked Mr. Hardy. - -“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.” - -“Does that seem enough?” questioned the fair-minded Mr. Hardy. - -“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.” - -“What for?” inquired Ben. - -“Stealing. He and his son Dave, and that precious 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.” - -“Oh, I am so glad and happy!” murmured Mrs. Hardy. - -“There’s more, too,” announced Mr. Dunn. - -“Tell it,” said Mr. Hardy. - -“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.” - -“Oh, dear!” said the delighted Mrs. Hardy. - -“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.” - -“And clumsy,” added the old aviator. - -“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.” - -“That’s a go,” declared Mr. Davis enthusiastically. “It gives me -congenial employment and keeps me in touch with my old friends.” - -“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.” - -“Till school begins again,” supplemented Ben. “You know, Bob, you -agreed to attend to the education feature while you had money to do -it.” - -“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.” - -“The very thing!” cried Bob, “so long as Ben and I work in a team, -we’ll be both satisfied.” - -And the flying machine boys shook hands over the bargain, and -everybody was happy. - - -THE END - - - - -THE WEBSTER SERIES - -By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -[Illustration] - - -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. - -Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. Stamped in various -colors. - -Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid. - - Only A Farm Boy - _or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life_ - - The Boy From The Ranch - _or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences_ - - The Young Treasure Hunter - _or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska_ - - The Boy Pilot of the Lakes - _or Nat Morton’s Perils_ - - Tom The Telephone Boy - _or The Mystery of a Message_ - - Bob The Castaway - _or The Wreck of the Eagle_ - - The Newsboy Partners - _or Who Was Dick Box?_ - - Two Boy Gold Miners - _or Lost in the Mountains_ - - The Young Firemen of Lakeville - _or Herbert Dare’s Pluck_ - - The Boys of Bellwood School - _or Frank Jordan’s Triumph_ - - Jack the Runaway - _or On the Road with a Circus_ - - Bob Chester’s Grit - _or From Ranch to Riches_ - - Airship Andy - _or The Luck of a Brave Boy_ - - High School Rivals - _or Fred Markham’s Struggles_ - - Darry The Life Saver - _or The Heroes of the Coast_ - - Dick The Bank Boy - _or A Missing Fortune_ - - Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine - _or Making a Record for Himself_ - - Harry Watson’s High School Days - _or The Rivals of Rivertown_ - - Comrades of the Saddle - _or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains_ - - Tom Taylor at West Point - _or The Old Army Officer’s Secret_ - - The Boy Scouts of Lennox - _or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain_ - - The Boys of the Wireless - _or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep_ - - Cowboy Dave - _or The Round-up at Rolling River_ - - Jack of the Pony Express - _or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail_ - - The Boys of the Battleship - _or For the Honor of Uncle Sam_ - - - - -THE BOMBA BOOKS - -BY ROY ROCKWOOD - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. With colored jacket_ - -[Illustration] - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - -_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._ - - =1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY= _or The Old Naturalist’s Secret_ - -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. - - =2. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN= _or The Mystery of - the Caves of Fire_ - -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. - - =3. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT= _or Chief Nasconora - and His Captives_ - -Among the Pilati Indians he finds some white captives, and an aged -opera singer, first to give Bomba real news of his forebears. - - =4. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND= _or Adrift on the River - of Mystery_ - -Jaguar Island was a spot as dangerous as it was mysterious and Bomba -was warned to keep away. But the plucky boy sallied forth. - - =5. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY= _or A Treasure Ten - Thousand Years Old_ - -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. - - =6. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL= _or The Mysterious Men - from the Sky_ - -Bomba strikes out through the vast Amazonian jungles and soon finds -himself on the dreaded Terror Trail. - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - - -THE BOY RANCHERS SERIES - -BY WILLARD F. BAKER - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_ - -[Illustration] - -_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_ - -_Stories of the great west, with cattle ranches as a setting, related -in such a style as to captivate the hearts of all boys._ - - =1. THE BOY RANCHERS= _or Solving the Mystery at Diamond X_ - -Two eastern boys visit their cousin. They become involved in an -exciting mystery. - - =2. THE BOY RANCHERS IN CAMP= _or The Water Fight at Diamond X_ - -Returning for a visit, the two eastern lads learn, with delight, that -they are to become boy ranchers. - - =3. THE BOY RANCHERS ON THE TRAIL= _or The Diamond X After Cattle - Rustlers_ - -Our boy heroes take the trail after Del Pinzo and his outlaws. - - =4. THE BOY RANCHERS AMONG THE INDIANS= _or Trailing the Yaquis_ - -Rosemary and Floyd are captured by the Yaqui Indians. - - =5. THE BOY RANCHERS AT SPUR CREEK= _or Fighting the Sheep Herders_ - -Dangerous struggle against desperadoes for land rights. - - =6. THE BOY RANCHERS IN THE DESERT= _or Diamond X and the Lost Mine_ - -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. - - =7. THE BOY RANCHERS ON ROARING RIVER= _or Diamond X and the Chinese - Smugglers_ - -The boy ranchers help capture Delton’s gang who were engaged in -smuggling Chinese across the border. - - =8. THE BOY RANCHERS IN DEATH VALLEY= _or Diamond X and the Poison - Mystery_ - -The boy ranchers track mysterious Death into his cave. - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - - -THE JEWEL SERIES - -BY AMES THOMPSON - -_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in colors_ - -_Price per volume, 65 cents_ - -[Illustration] - -_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._ - - -1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS AND THE VALLEY OF DIAMONDS - -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. - - -2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS AND THE RIVER OF EMERALDS - -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. - - -3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS AND THE LAGOON OF PEARLS - -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. - -_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_ - - - CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, PUBLISHERS New York - - - - - Transcriber’s Note - - pg frontispiece Changed single quote to double for: Tom the telephone - boy - illustration after pg 21 Change Iv’e made it to: I’ve - pg 18 added period to: smiled Ben - pg 21 Changed Immensely,” acknowleged Ben to: acknowledged - pg 22 Changed I hardly thing to: think - pg 24 Changed spelling of the afternoon accomodation to: accommodation - pg 36 Changed Where did you get it. to: it, - pg 46 Changed is that so. to: so, - pg 46 Changed interrupted Dave contemptously to: contemptuously - pg 58 Changed I’ts a bargain to: It’s - pg 60 Changed It’s been the event to: it’s - pg 70 Added period after: in his life - pg 70 Changed their spectacular maneuvres to: manoeuvres - pg 71 Changed and expert maneuvres to: manoeuvres - pg 82 Changed home with automobles to: automobiles - pg 84 Removed extra word the: and even the flyer - pg 86 Changed you mean. inquired to: you mean, inquired - pg 117 Added quote after: out of the bag. - pg 123 Removed unnecessary quote after: father’s present trouble. - pg 124 Changed who cooly looked him to: coolly - pg 137 Changed Dart quarters wihout to: without - pg 139 Added quote to: Any suspicions? - pg 139 Changed nodded the director, Very to: very - pg 140 Changed with a quissical to: quizzical - pg 144 Changed I’ts business now to: It’s - pg 149 Changed Whew ejeculated Bob to: ejaculated - pg 156 Changed How it that to: is - pg 160 Changed unctious snack to: smack - pg 160 Removed extra colon after: and the words: - pg 164 Changed by vivid pantomine to: pantomime - pg 168 Change It was decidely to: decidedly - pg 171 Removed unnecessary quote before: They walked about - pg 176 Changed Many of the winodows to: windows - advertisement page Removed bracket from: [Rosemary and Floyd - Various hyphenated and non-hyphenated words were left as author wrote - them. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEN HARDY'S FLYING -MACHINE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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