“Why, bless my soul,” said the man, “if it ain’t Frank Bird, and Andy, too! Is this your aeroplane, boys? And you say those slippery rascals were trying to get away with it, meanin’ to slip out of the county by the air route? No use chasing after ’em now, because they’ve disappeared from sight. But I’ll get in touch with the Chief over the phone, and have him come out here with more men.”
Even Colonel Josiah put in an appearance, clad in a wonderful Japanese dressing gown of gorgeous colors, and waving in one hand a tremendous sixshooter that no doubt had a history of its own.
“What happened?” he cried, as he limped, crutch and all, into the little circle surrounding the two boys. “Let me get a chance at the rogues, and I’ll settle their hash! Who are they, and what have they been trying to do, Andy, my lad?”
Half a dozen voices tried to explain at once.
“Stop!” shouted the old man, waving his crutch like the baton of a band master. “Let Andy speak. He was on the spot, and ought to know. We don’t want hearsay evidence in this court. Now, lad, what’s all the blooming row?”
So Andy had to once more tell how they had been aroused by the sounds of some one trying to get into the shed; how they crouched under the workbench while the two bold robbers examined the monoplane, and determined to sail away in it, so as to leave no trail behind that could be followed—and finally how Frank had conceived his brilliant scheme for balking this evil intention.
Every eye was of course turned upon the chain and anchor, and men began to even chuckle when the full force of Frank’s design was understood.
“A clever dodge, my lad,” said Colonel Josiah, after he had bent down and examined the novel method of holding a runaway monoplane. “I never knew a smarter trick to be turned on the spur of the moment. It does you credit, hanged if it doesn’t. And are you sure they did no harm to your machine?”
“I am confident that they had no time to think of that, sir,” replied Frank, who was now beginning to think of getting more clothes on him, if this audience were to be prolonged.
“That’s lucky, yes, deuced lucky,” declared the anxious colonel, who seemed to be about as much concerned over the safety of the monoplane as the builders themselves. “But what is this you’ve got here, boys? All ready to make a journey, were you, and take your grips along?”