“One of you men go to the barracks and bring Dixon to the office,” said Smith as he walked away.
Captain Smith was in his office when Bill arrived. He sat down and waited as he was interested to learn why that piece of board was in the plane.
“Come in, Dixon,” said Captain Smith after a while, and Dixon entered.
“Dixon, did you ever see this board before?” asked Captain Smith as he handed the board across the desk.
“I can’t say that I have, Captain,” replied Dixon.
“Were you working in the cockpit of Airplane Number 1 this evening?”
“Yes, I was,” replied Dixon. “Come to think of it, I did have a piece of board with me, but I don’t know if that’s the one, for I left it in the cockpit.”
“Why did you leave it there?” asked Smith.
“Barney told me to clean out the cockpit and I couldn’t find a dustpan,” said Dixon. “I took a piece of board with me to gather up the dirt. I had just started to look for the dirt when Sergeant Barney called me. I left the board there so that it would be handy when I returned. I didn’t know that anyone wanted the board or I would have put it back where I found it. It looked like a piece that someone had thrown away.”
“Now listen to what I say,” said Smith. “Hereafter, don’t you ever leave anything in any airplane which doesn’t belong there. This little piece of board came near wrecking an airplane tonight. It might have caused the pilot and a mechanic to lose their lives had it not been for good headwork on the part of the pilot. Just remember that. That’s all.”