"And you look like newspaper men," remarked Alfred.
"That's a good guess," was the reply. "But how did you know?" he asked.
"I saw you taking notes as we walked across the field," answered Alfred.
"Good inference," he replied. "Are you looking for a job?"
"Yes, we're going into the aviation service," answered Ralph, with all the assurance of a winner.
"See you again," was the final reply, as the two men left them.
"Now, I wonder if they have any American flags at this place?" remarked Ralph.
They marched back and forth without a sign of that much desired emblem. At one of the hangars two men were tugging at a machine, and slowly bringing it out of the hangar. Without a word the boys sprang forward and assisted in the operation, an act which brought thanks from the men. Then, more in curiosity than anything else, they slowly walked around the machine and examined its construction.
The aviator watched them for a few moments. Evidently, to his mind, the boys knew all about flying machines, or, at least, must have had some acquaintance with them. This seemed to interest him, and he began a conversation with them. He soon learned their history, and bestowed words of praise on them for what they had done.
"So you want to be aviators, eh?" he inquired.