“You big liar!” exploded David, grinning.
“Me?” Red’s sea blue eyes were wide and innocent.
“Yes, you! When you lie, you always lie in a brogue. I can always tell.”
“I wonder, now, if that’s a slam on my ancestry,” said Red slowly. “If it is, I got to fight the upstart who says it. Only, can a mechanic, first-class, stoop to the killin’ of a mere apprentice? If you’d only shut up, David; if you could only learn to be still, I’d tell you what I been strugglin’ to tell this hour back.”
“Oh, go on; go on, for heaven’s sake! Spill it if you know anything. I need something to pep me up. I’m going stale.” David sighed.
Red laid a hand on David’s arm and grew grave.
“It’s about your baby up there, the ship. The Big Fella is plannin’ no less than a round-the-world trip, for her maiden stunt.”
“Round the world!” breathed David.
“That, and nothin’ less!” affirmed Red. “Yep, by diligent listening I got it all. I’m afraid they thought they were alone. So they talked free. It seems that Mr. Hammond wants an American ship that will beat the Graf Zeppelin’s time. And he thinks here’s the ship. So do I. Well, Mr. Hammond is financing the trip, with a couple of others who will go along as passengers, just for the glory.”
“Oh, Lord! Red, I wish I could go with her!”