“Not a word! No names! Act out what I start in on.” And then in a tone of affected ferocity he gave Hiram a vigorous shake. “Who are you running into, clumsy!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “Get away from here, and stay away!”
He gave Hiram a swing and a push. For only a moment was the latter bewildered. Then he was almost stunned. Amid the jeers of the Syndicate crowd near the hangars he went spinning almost twenty feet, stumbled and slid flat on the ground for a yard or two.
“I’ll get even with you!” he yelled at Borden, shaking his fist at him, affecting a boylike rage at his mistreatment, and then setting off on a run as his pretended assailant made a feint of pursuing. “Oh, say,” continued Hiram to himself, “Dave must know about this right away. ‘Acting,’ Borden called it. Good! Great! I see through it now!”
Hiram forgot about his errand for the time being. He was a quiet thinker, and he fancied he had made a big discovery. He rushed in on his chum, flustered, perspiring and gasping for breath.
“Dave,” he almost shouted, “that man—the tramp down at the Midlothian—you know—”
“Yes,” answered his chum, “Mr. Borden—what about him?”
“He’s here! He’s with the Syndicate crowd. I saw him. Listen,” and the words piled over each other recklessly as he recited his recent adventure. “Now what do you think of that? Plain as the nose on your face. ‘Acting,’ see? I took him unawares. He’s playing a part—for our benefit!”
“I believe you’re right,” agreed Dave thoughtfully. “It looks that way, anyhow. I don’t know why he should be so interested in our affairs and go to a lot of trouble to help us——”
“I do,” pronounced Hiram energetically. “I saw more of him than you did. He’s no ordinary tramp. You treated him like a gentleman and he appreciated it. You have a way of making everybody like you, Dave.”
“Thank you,” answered the young aviator, “but how about Valdec and the Syndicate outfit, Hiram?”