But neither the boys nor girls cared much for this, so they went to a vaudeville show on the grounds, and then Ned treated the crowd to ice cream. After that it was time for the girls to start home, as they had only come with the intention of remaining one day.
The boys bade them good-by with some feelings of regret, and went to their hotel.
The following three days at the carnival were given up to other contests of the dirigible balloons, in every one of which number five, Jerry’s favorite, was a winner. There were also aeroplane races and contests, and, though these heavier-than-air machines were rather limited in their flights, some of them did remarkably well. But the boys held to the dirigible balloon as the model which they would have if everything went well and there was no objection to their owning a motor ship.
They left the carnival on Friday, as it was to close the following day, and motored back to Cresville, having spent an enjoyable week and learned much about airships.
“I wonder what happened to Noddy after his Firefly tried to plow up the earth?” asked Bob.
“I heard he took what was left of his machine away from the grounds,” replied Andy, who was a good news gatherer.
“Well, we’ll show him an airship as is an airship,” remarked Ned. “Wait until we get Mr. Glassford to work on his.”
“We’ll put it all over Noddy,” was Bob’s opinion. “Won’t he be mad, though!”
“Well, I only hope we can get a motor ship that will work,” said Jerry thoughtfully. “The more I see and hear of these air machines the more uncertain I think they are. A strong wind seems to play topsy-turvy with them. See what happened to the aeroplane.”