“I’ll be there,” declared Ben animatedly, “and I’ll be there with a new airship that I am going to build myself.”
“Good luck to you, Ben!” encouraged the old aviator.
CHAPTER XI
THE DART
“Well, Ben, how is your airship work coming on?”
“Famously, father.”
“That’s good. Here is a drawing of the new curve planes we talked about last night. We have a whole afternoon before us, and I would like to look over things.”
“I will be glad to have you,” declared Ben. “I know you can make some valuable suggestions.”
Bright and early the Monday morning after his return from the aero meet, Ben had set at work to build his airship. He was not daunted by the thought that the same was a big undertaking for a boy. Mr. Davis told him that it was an easy thing to do, if a person knew how to do it and started about it right.
In his father Ben found a skilled and willing helper. Mr. Hardy was slow and cautious about entering upon any work he did not thoroughly understand. He was more at home with automobiles than airships, and not inclined to move from a groove with which he was thoroughly familiar into one that was so far purely speculative for him. His desire to encourage Ben, however, impelled him to take a deep interest in the efforts of his son. Before he had given his thoughts two days to the fascinating new field, the expert mechanician found himself quite as enthusiastic as his son over the proposition, although he was not as demonstrative as Ben.