“I’ve got to admit I didn’t take a heap of stock in what that machine could do, when you fellers first landed here,” observed Chip, who was cleaning and oiling his revolvers. “I gotta take off my lid to it now, though. Looks to me as though I’d orter sell my cayuse now, and rustle me one of them aryplanes.”
“Huh!” snorted Dan, “you’d bust the critter clean to bits the fust time you tried to land it. We’d have to collect your remnants with a broom an’ shovel.”
“I reckon you think you’d jest have to step in an’ say ‘giddap’ to it, an’ it would up an’ fly like that there flyin’ horse that the college sharp was tellin’ us about one time,” retorted Chip. “I might have a chance to learn how, but you’re too old to learn them new tricks, Dan.”
“Mebbe so, mebbe so,” said the other. “I’ll stick to my pinto awhile yet, anyways. He spied a rattlesnake the other day, and blamed if he didn’t jump almost as high as that machine kin fly. That pony could give points to a jack rabbit when it comes to jumpin’.”
“Some day I’ll take you up for a flight, Dan, if you think you’d like to try it,” offered Phil.
“Nary flight, thanks just the same,” said Dan, shaking his grizzled head. “I’ll stick to hosses awhile yet, when I want to go anywhere. They ain’t as fast, but still I’ve got a pretty good idea what they’re goin’ to do next, and I wouldn’t have in that aryplane.”
“Go on, Dan, take a chance,” urged Steve, a mischievous light in his eyes, “You can’t any more than get killed, anyway.”
But the old plainsman was obdurate, and could never be persuaded to set foot in the machine. But there was no lack of passengers, nevertheless, for most of the men were only too glad to take a trial flight when opportunity offered.
In the meantime, the Mexicans continued to give trouble at different places along the border, although more than once the boys, patrolling in their machine, detected raiding bands and gave warning in neighboring towns so that the raiders’ reception was considerably warmer than they had anticipated. A number had been captured, and from them it was learned that the Radio Boys had incurred the undying hatred of Espato and his band, who had sworn to kill them.
“Threatened people live long,” quoted Phil, when he heard of this.