They at length reached a wide gateway. Outside of it was a small building resembling a switchman’s shanty. There was a light inside of it and an old man moving about.
Dollinger stopped the automobile, leaped out and knocked at the door of the building. He showed the card to the man inside who read it, seemed to give some directions to Dollinger, and then came out and unlocked the gate.
He locked it shut again when the automobile had entered the enclosure. Dollinger drove across an open space, reversed, and backed into one of a series of low sheds with the front open and exposed to wind and weather.
“Now then,” he said to Dave, “we’re housed for the night. Want to stay with me?”
“It will save me the price of a lodging somewhere else,” explained Dave.
“You’ve earned a sure one here,” declared Dollinger. “Nothing like the pure open air for health. I’ll rig you up a shakedown that will please you, I’ll guarantee.”
Dollinger was as good as his word. He spread blankets over the roomy seats of the automobile, and Dave voted he had never welcomed a more pleasant resting place.
Dave slept like a top. It was broad daylight when he awoke. For a moment he forgot where he was. Just as he arose Dave gave a jump, a gasp and a cry.
Gazing out through the open front of the shed Dave saw a dazzling object cavorting swiftly above the ground.
“An airship!” shouted Dave Dashaway in a transport of delight.