This was not a joke on Elephant’s part. He was never known to show genuine humor himself, although his chums frequently found cause for hilarious laughter in some of the numerous suggestions he put forward. But Elephant himself really believed in them all, marvelous though they may have been.
“Well, now that is a clever idea,” observed Frank, always ready to lead the other on, in order to enjoy a laugh. “I tell you, that old king of the upper air must have heard Andy boasting how he meant to follow in his father’s wake, and be an aeronaut for keeps?”
He winked at the others while speaking; but Elephant of course failed to see anything of this side show.
“That’s the ticket!” cried the originator of the idea vigorously, happy in the belief that for once he must have actually hit upon a bright thought; “the measly old pirate just made up his mind that he’d cripple Andy in the start, and stop all work on your wonderful monoplane. No competition allowed, understand, Andy! So he hooked the wrench; and that ties up the whole business.”
“Oh! shucks! You give me a pain, Elephant,” grunted Larry, pretending to double up as a boy might in the green apple season.
“Huh! it’s easy to pick flaws,” sniffed the other, contemptuously. “But if you don’t like my clever thought, Larry Geohegan, just suppose you give us a better one. Now, none of your hedging, but out with it!”
“That’s as simple as falling off a log,” sneered the bantered boy, as he thrust his thumbs into the upper pockets of his coat, and assumed the air of consequence with which he loved to tantalize Elephant.
“Talk’s cheap; do something, can’t you?” demanded his competitor.
“Listen,” said Larry, impressively. “It seems to me that something happened to Andy on last Saturday, P. M. How about that little episode of the quicksand you got stuck in, old fellow? Didn’t we have to run and get a fence rail to pry you out, wheel and all.”
The two Bird cousins exchanged quick looks.