He was back in just an hour and told the boys that he would have the necessary papers early the next day. He had been back only a few minutes when a boy came in with a telegram from Washington.
“Good,” the captain said as soon as he had read it. “Brice says that he is just leaving. Nothing could be better.”
“What time will he get here?” Bob asked.
“Well, now, that’s pretty hard to tell. You know an airplane is still a pretty uncertain quantity, but if he has no trouble he ought to get here some time this afternoon. It’s about seven hundred and fifty or eight hundred miles from here and he ought to make it in eight or ten hours.”
The day passed quickly and they had just returned to the office when the phone rang.
“That was Brice,” the captain said after a short conversation. “He has just landed about five miles out of town. Come on, we’ll get my car and go out for him.”
They found Captain Brice waiting for them on the porch of an old farm house, and the greeting between the two captains was very hearty, as they were old friends. Then the boys were introduced and the red blood mounted to their cheeks at the words of praise bestowed upon them.
“Brice, if there are two smarter boys than these I’d like to see them. You just wait till I tell you some of the things they’ve done.”
They drove at once to the hotel, and after supper went to the captain’s room, where he explained the situation to Captain Brice.
“And now what do you think of it?” he asked.