"Well, I don't know," spoke Tom slowly. "I ought to—"
"Nonsense! Give up work for one day!" urged Ned. "Come along. It'll do you good—get the cobwebs out of your head."
"All right, I'll go," assented Tom, after a moment's thought.
The next day, having instructed his father and the foremen to look well to the various shops, and having seen that the work on the new aerial warship was progressing favorably, Tom left for a day's outing with his chum and the two girls.
The picnic was held in a grove that surrounded a small lake, and after luncheon the four friends went for a ride in a launch Tom hired. They went to the upper end of the lake, in rather a pretty but lonesome locality.
"Tom, you look tired," said Mary. "I'm sure you've been working too hard!"
"Why, I'm not working any harder than usual," Tom insisted.
"Yes, he is, too!" declared Ned, "and he's running more chances, too."
"Chances?" repeated Mary.
"Oh, that's all bosh!" laughed Tom. "Come on, let's go ashore and walk."