CHAPTER XIX
THE MYSTERY STILL UNSOLVED
"You fellows have been gone a long time!" observed Elephant, reproachfully, as the Bird boys came down in the open just before the workshop.
"And I've had dinner ready nearly half an hour," complained Larry, as though in his mind their delay consisted of an unpardonable sin.
"Sorry," smiled Frank, "but we found we had to land at the liberty pole in Hazenhurst, to do some little altering; and it was mighty hard work getting away again."
Larry's sharp eyes caught the quick, quizzing look which the speaker shot toward his cousin.
"Hey! be honest now, fellows," he said. "There was a reason back of that holdup, I just know. Look at Andy turning red, would you? Elephant, don't he look guilty now? Tell us all about it, Frank. Who is she; what's the name of the little witch? We're from Missouri, and we want to know."
"Oh! let up on that sort of soft stuff, won't you?" complained Andy. "Things have come to a pretty pass when a fellow can't just biff a measly old bulldog on the jaw, without having a romance made out of the thing."
"A bulldog?" echoed Larry, grinning immediately. "Listen to that,
Elephant and Nat! He's been having a fight with a terror of a dog.
And believe me, Andy didn't hunt for trouble. Tell us all about it,
Frank. Whose bulldog was it, and why did Andy tackle him? Was he
going to bite the pretty one?"
Of course Frank had to tell the story, as soon as he could recover from the fit of laughing into which Larry's persistence had thrown him. Andy wandered away, as though his modesty forbade his remaining where he could hear his praises sung. Perhaps he also disliked the idea of having those humorous eyes of Larry keep tabs on his telltale countenance while Frank was speaking of Alice, and of course remarking how very pretty the daughter of Hazenhurst's mayor happened to be.
"But you say you left there at eleven," remarked Elephant, when the story had been completed. "Then it took you all this time to get back here, did it?"
"Shucks, no," replied Andy, who had now rejoined them, since the danger of quizzing seemed past. "We tried for height, and managed to get up to a point that we only beat once with our old monoplane. And this craft can do much better, Frank says."
"We made as high a point as we dared," Frank said. "It really got too cold, and we were shivering as if we'd been dropped into winter. Next time we go after an altitude record for amateurs we'll make sure to have warmer clothes along, eh, Andy?"
"We sure will," remarked that worthy, shivering at the recollection; and yet it was a hot July day; almost sweltering, in fact, where they now stood.
Larry stepped over to the biplane, and bending down, glanced at the little instrument intended for recording the extreme height reached during a flight. It could be set over again simply enough when the key was used to unlock the frame; this particular arrangement having been adopted in order that during a contest there could be no possible tampering with the barographs, the several keys to which would remain in the possession of the judges.
"Hey! that's going some," Larry immediately called out. "Ten thousand seven hundred feet is sure high, according to my notions. I don't wonder you found it slightly chilly. I've never been half that far up in all my life; and I've seen some big mountains, too. What's the record, Frank?"
"To tell the truth," the other replied, "I don't exactly know. The last I saw recorded it was about fifteen thousand feet; but hardly a week passes without some new man forging to the front, and putting up another win."
"Anything doing here while we were gone?" asked Andy, carelessly.
"Lots," replied Larry, with a knowing grin.
"Suppose you open up then, and tell us about it. Been having visitors?"
"How smart some people can be, eh, Elephant? Hits it the very first guess," and Larry winked at his chum as he said this, purposely keeping Andy on the anxious seat.
"Perhaps you've been butting up against some sort of bulldog, too?" suggested the other, quickly.
"No such good luck, because the girls have kept away from here," replied Larry.
"Then it was Percy?" Andy persisted.
Larry only shook his head in the negative; while Elephant took occasion to remark:
"We saw him cutting all sorts of figures in the air with his new biplane. And say, don't you forget it, Percy is some pilot. He sure did skim around to beat the band. You ain't going to have any walkover, Frank."
"I understand that, Elephant," replied the other, soberly. "And I'm the last one underrate a rival. Percy is just as good as I am in this business. His weakness lies in his spirit of recklessness; and giving way to temper when things seem to be going against him. He may beat me; but he'll have to do his level best."
"But looky here," Andy broke in. "That ain't telling us who was here,
Larry."
"Guess again," answered the other, who liked to tease.
"I just can't think of anybody; unless it might happen to be that meddling, mysterious Mr. Marsh again," and then, seeing the raised eyebrows of Larry admit that he had hit the nail on the head, Andy went on: "What d'ye think of that, Frank; the bump of curiosity is pretty big with that gentleman. Now, what excuse did he have this time for invading our camp; and did he try to push into the shop like the last time he dropped around?"
"I saw him looking all about a lot, and he seemed right interested in a heap of little things," Larry remarked.
"Yes," put in Elephant, who did not like to hear his chum do all the talking. "Lots of times he'd turn to the other chap, and nod his head or wink his eye, just like he wanted to say: 'There! what did I tell you, Longley; wasn't I right?'"
"Oh! he did, eh?" grumbled Andy, shaking his own head in an angry fashion; "well, all I can say is, that Mr. Marsh'd better keep his nose away from places where it ain't wanted. He's just after something slick, Frank. He means to steal some of your clever ideas, that's what."
But Frank was not so easily convinced. He believed in hearing all he could before making up his mind.
"Look here, Larry," he said, earnestly, "he must have given some sort of an excuse for coming out here again, didn't he?"
"More than a few, Frank," was the other's prompt reply.
"As what?" continued the young aviator.
"Oh! he kept on saying he was so much interested in you fellers that he just couldn't continue his vacation tour without seeing more of you. In town they're talking already about the race that's going to take place between you and the other biplane; make up your mind Percy was the one to scatter the news, and spread his boasts about how he's going to make you look like thirty cents. And Mr. Marsh, he just wanted to know if it was so, and all about the same; because he says he means to hang around Bloomsbury till that event is pulled off."
"Hear that, Frank, will you?" burst out Andy. "Told you he was a spy of some kind. Perhaps Mr. Marsh expects to spring a neat little surprise just before we start in that bully old race. Mebbe he's got a few cards up his sleeve. Mebbe he wants to stop us from starting, and claim we're using a device that is patented by the firm that employs him. Anyhow, he's bound to give us trouble."
Apparently Frank was not in the same anxious and worried frame of mind as his cousin. He paid no attention to what Andy was saying, but went on questioning the one who had been in camp, and talked with the gentleman in question.
"What other reason did he give for coming out here?" he asked.
"Oh! let's see," Larry, replied, slowly, as though thinking. "Elephant, he mentioned the fact that he had heard something of our little circus last night, didn't he; and wanted to hear the truth about the arrest of Jules?"
"Yes, and even told us that Mr. Longley was connected with a big New York newspaper, an editor or something, and wanted to wire the truth down to his office," Elephant added.
"I wonder if that was a yarn, now?" remarked doubting Andy.
"Oh! well, he did take a lot of notes down in shorthand, while the lot of us kept on telling all about the coming of Jules," Larry went on.
"I hope you didn't stretch things too much," Frank remarked, knowing that this was really a failing of Larry's, especially when relating the exploits of any of his chums, rather than his own adventures.
"Now, that's mean of you, Frank, to suspect me of yarning," protested the other. "I just hewed as straight to the line as I could. Elephant here, and Nat, tried to widen things every little while; but I wouldn't have it. When you read the story you'll see how Truthful Larry talked."
Frank smiled at the idea of poor Stuttering Nat being drawn into the mess; when the chances were he could not have said even one word with two such ready and willing talkers close by.
"How am I ever going to read about it?" he inquired.
"Why, you see, Mr. Longley promised to have some papers with the interview in, mailed to me as soon as it appeared, which would be tomorrow morning. Said it was a dandy piece of news, didn't he, fellows? And thanked me ever so many times for my extremely modest way of telling it."
Elephant had a wide grin on his face about this time, and Frank could draw his own conclusions as to just what the gentleman really did say.
"Well, I must say that Mr. Marsh puzzles me right along," he remarked. "And all I hope is, that when we come to learn the truth about him it isn't some unpleasant surprise he means to fling us."
"He acted mighty nice, anyhow," remarked Elephant.
"And that's a fact, ain't it, Nat?" remarked Larry, turning to the stutterer.
Possibly Nat had been preparing for his little speech, and shaped his lips so as to give utterance to the few words promptly; for he astonished them all by calmly remarking, with not a trace of hesitation:
"It sure is; there, how's that?"
"Bully! Keep it up, and you'll be all hunky!" ejaculated Larry.
"But see here, how about that grub?" demanded Andy, suddenly remembering that it was now one o'clock, and that they had eaten an early breakfast.
"Wow! the chances are it's all burned up!" cried Elephant, making a bee-line for the door of the shop; in which rush he was followed by all the others.
But Larry was too good a cook to leave his dinner exposed to any such danger. Before he went outdoors he had moved everything back on the stove; so that when the five hungry lads finally sat down they found every article just right.
While they ate, many questions flew back and forth. Larry wanted to know more particulars about that little affair with the dog, and just how Andy knocked the savage beast headlong with that handy monkey wrench; also what Miss Alice looked like; whether she had black eyes, or blue; and so many other things in connection with the dainty little miss that Andy begged Frank to seal his lips, because their comrade was only doing this for a lark.
Frank on his part was not wholly satisfied with what he had heard concerning the new attempt of the mysterious tourist to pry into his affairs. He every little while would spring some new question, which Larry answered to the best of his ability. Evidently Frank was trying to discover the real motives actuating Mr. Marsh when he so suddenly decided to remain around Bloomsbury a few days, and made such a lame excuse for so doing.
The balance of the afternoon was passed as usual. Frank and Andy went up again along about four o'clock, everything being favorable for an ascent. It was the desire of the young pilot to ascertain just what effect the several little changes he had made would have upon his mastery of the biplane.
Evidently they gave him more or less solid satisfaction; since, when the time came for a final landing, with the westering sun throwing almost horizontal beams upon the aviation field before dropping beyond the trees, Frank had a smile on his face, and Andy looked more pleased than ever.
So another night came around, on which at least they need not fear a repetition of the escaped convict's visit.