The boys spent some time going over the motorship. They had not used it in the past two weeks, on account of bad weather; but they found it in good shape, and, after a few adjustments and a tightening of the guy wires, it was ready for service.
“We’ll take a flight in the morning,” decided Jerry, as he and his chums left the shed, making sure that the doors were securely fastened.
“And maybe we’ll meet that other aeroplane—the Silver Star,” suggested Ned.
“Not much likelihood of that,” declared Bob. “Those fellows are up to some game, I think.”
“What game?” demanded Jerry quickly.
“Oh, I don’t know,” was the somewhat uncertain reply of the stout lad, “only I have my suspicions of them.”
“So have I,” admitted Ned, “only I don’t know what I’m suspicious of.”
“Well, I’m going to get to bed,” announced the tall lad with a yawn. “Be on hand early fellows, and we’ll go off on a little flight.”
Jerry and Ned were on hand in good time at the aeroplane shed the next morning. They wheeled the craft out into the broad, level starting place, and proceeded to tighten the few wires they had overlooked the night before.
As has been told in previous books of this series, the Comet was a combined dirigible balloon and aeroplane. By means of a powerful gas, forced into a container above the aeroplane proper, it could ascend as a balloon, or it could scud along over the ground on bicycle wheels and, when sufficient momentum had been obtained it could rise by means of the tilted forward lifting planes, and maintain itself as long as it was in motion.