"A plain-clothes man from the Grand Haven police headquarters."
"Did you get this tip from Harper?"
"Harper couldn't help himself. He and Ochiltree are in the lockup."
Dennison turned to Matt and grabbed his hand.
"If it hadn't been for you, King," said he, "I'd have been laid out. You were quick as a cat and as certain as fate. I never met your kind before, and it does me good to shake hands with you. I'm mighty glad," he added, with a grin, "that we couldn't persuade you to stay behind, in Grand Haven."
"That's the way this raggie of mine does things, Dennison," remarked Ferral, looking at Matt admiringly. "He's chain lightning when he turns himself loose."
"The best part of it all is," observed Matt, anxious to change the subject, "no harm has happened to the air ship."
Throwing off his coat and cap, Matt lost not a moment in diving into the machinery. He could see nothing wrong, and he "turned over" the engine and set it to going. It worked perfectly.
"If you're looking for trouble," growled Brady, turning his head to follow Matt's movements, "you won't find any. I've fixed the motor—just got through with it when this cop in plain clothes showed up. If I'd known who he was——" and Brady finished with a diabolical light in his eyes that told plainly what he would have done.
"Pass it up," said Dennison curtly; "you came within an ace of getting me, as it was."