“I don’t quite see,” said Peggy, but Hal, with an apology interrupted her.
“It’s plain as day to me,” he said; “these two lanterns attached to that big box kite on a breezy night would certainly give any one the impression that an aeroplane was sailing about. Harding knew you would be flying home in that vicinity on that night and rigged up this contrivance to delude you.”
“A phantom airship!” cried Peggy.
“That’s about the size of it,” put in the slangy Jimsy, “and I think that friend Homer here has hit on the correct solution.”
“But if that were so, why did Fanning fit up a shop out at Gid Gibbons’s place?” asked Jess in a puzzled tone.
“I guess that shop had no more in it than this hangar,” was Roy’s reply. “Gid Gibbons is a bad character who would do anything for money, and I think it likely that he fell in with Harding’s schemes because he had no great liking for any of us.”
“Looks that way,” agreed Jimsy.
“But that doesn’t explain that ruby which Hester was wearing,” thought Peggy to herself as the laughing party of young folks drove off up the town, followed by Farmer Ingalls and his good wife, who had been invited to take part in the little celebration of their triumph. Here and there they were recognized and cheered, but among the crowds on the sidewalks all discussing the thrilling race, there were three that took no part in the good-natured jubilation. Who these were we can guess.
Jukes Dade at Fanning’s side had to listen to some savage abuse as they slunk along, avoiding as far as possible the crowds.
“I told you to burn up the hangar so that there would be no trace left of the bluff we had been putting up,” he growled.