"Well, if she doesn't go by to-night, she is yours for the five hundred," promised Jardin. "I wonder where those mechanicians are. Let's go look them up."
Together the boys went out, and Bill, feeling it was high time to escape, leaped out of the plane and dodged out the door.
Across the field, Ernest, the two mechanicians, Frank and Horace were talking excitedly.
CHAPTER XI
"No use talkin' Mr. Jardin," one of the men blurted out as Bill came up. "There is some monkey work going on here. Somebody is foolin' with your plane. We lock the hangar every night, and someone is always around all day, but allee samee, as the Chinee says, allee samee, somebody gets that machine all out of tune as soon as I get it right. And it's no fool, either. Whoever is tinkering with it understands that type of flyer down to the ground. He knows just what to discombobolate in order to make us the most trouble."
Ernest laid a hand on the man's shoulder.
"The thing is, Tom, we will have to look for a motive. Now what earthly motive can anyone have?"
"Search me!" said Tom. "Whoever is doing it doesn't want to hurt Mr. Jardin here, because the damage is always to something that will keep the plane from rising. For instance, yesterday the spark plugs had mud in 'em. Before that, the exhaust wouldn't work; one time the priming pin was clean gone; once the dust cap was half off; then the drum control, warping the wings got on the blink. I tell you, it is enough to drive anybody crazy! Lately we have took to sleeping in the hangar, but things happen just the same."