“Did he ship it?” asked Ned.
“Oh, yes, he sent it off, all right,” answered Jerry. “I was asking Mr. Hitter, the freight agent at the depot, about it. He said Noddy fussed and fretted for fear it would get broken on the road. It was all taken apart and boxed up, and Noddy threatened to sue the railroad if one piece of his machine was lost or damaged. Mr. Hitter said he nearly bothered the life out of him.”
“I’d like to see it,” said Ned. “I wonder which tent or shed is his?”
“We’ll inquire later,” said Jerry. “But first we’d better get to the hotel and see about our rooms. There’s such a crowd here they may not reserve them for us if we don’t claim them soon.”
Indeed, they did not arrive at the hotel any too quickly, for the clerk was about to ignore the reservation they had telegraphed for, and give their rooms to newcomers. The boys, however, secured two nice, large ones, and were soon installed in them with their suitcases, which held their clothing.
“Let’s go out to the grounds,” proposed Bob, when they had unpacked and enjoyed a good wash, to remove some of the grime and dust of their auto trip.
“I’m with you,” said Jerry. “We’ll see if we can spot Noddy’s Firefly.”
The four boys got into the auto and were soon at the carnival grounds. The place was open, as it was necessary to have such a large field, for the operations of the balloons and aeroplanes, that it would have been impossible to enclose it with a fence. But though the spectators could freely view the ships of the air when they were in flight, they were prevented from noting them at rest, as every one was under some tent or housed in a temporary building.
The place was somewhat in confusion, as new exhibits were constantly arriving; stand owners, who hoped to sell refreshments, were engaged in putting up the booths; and men with big trucks were driving here and there, with immense boxes on their vehicles.
These last were, evidently, parts of airships and were to be assembled under one of the many tents or other structures that dotted the ground.