"Well, a gen'man sort ob man, Massa Tom. Stranger t' me. I nebber seed him afo'. He suah was monstrous polite t' ole black Eradicate, an' he gib me a half-dollar, too, jest fo' a little ride. But I aint' gwine t' sell Boomerang, no indeedy, I ain't!" and Eradicate shook his gray, kinky head decidedly.
"Ned, there may be something in this!" said Tom, in an excited whisper to his chum. "I don't like the idea of a mysterious stranger questioning Eradicate!"
CHAPTER VI
THE AERIAL WARSHIP
Ned Newton looked at Tom questioningly. Then he glanced at the unsuspicious colored man, who was industriously polishing the half-dollar the mysterious stranger had given him.
"Rad, just exactly what sort of a man was this one you speak of?" asked Tom.
"Why, he were a gen'man—"
"Yes, I know that much. You've said it before. But was he an Englishman, an American—or—"
Tom paused and waited for an answer.