LITMIR.BIZ

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"Well, my boy, if you really have such an idea in practicable shape, I think I can encourage you to hope great things for it. Any one of a hundred manufacturers would be willing to buy your secret and pay you well for it, too."

      Ned flushed. A flicker of something akin to indignation crossed his face.

      "If it's any good, sir," he said quietly, "I intended that our navy should have it."

      The officer brought down his hand with a hearty slap on Ned's broad shoulder.

      "Good for you," he said. "I spoke as I did to test your motives in working on this invention, and I am not disappointed in you. If you will visit me at my quarters to-night, we'll talk more of the matter."

      "Thank you, sir," rejoined Ned, flushing gratefully, and his eyes shining, "at what time, sir?"

      "About nine o'clock. I've some friends coming over this evening and shall not be at liberty before that time."

      Ned saluted, and Herc likewise clicked his heels together and raised his hand, as the officer left the hangar to resume his morning tour of inspection.

      The tall form of their superior had hardly vanished from the doorway before Herc, who had turned to search for some tool, gave a sudden sharp outcry.

      There was a small window, high up in the rear of the shed, which had been left open for ventilation. As Herc turned, he was as certain as he was that it was daylight, that he had seen a face vanish quickly from the casement. Its owner had evidently dropped from the opening through which he had chosen to spy on the Dreadnought Boys.

      "What's up, Herc?" asked Ned, as he caught his chum's smothered exclamation.

      "Why – why," exclaimed Herc, "I could be almost certain that I saw the face of Chance vanish from that window as I turned round."

      "Eavesdropping, eh?"

      "Looks like it. I guess he saw Lieutenant De Frees come in here and remain longer than ordinarily. It must have aroused their curiosity."

      "What do you mean by 'they'?"

      "Merritt and Chance, of course. You know how much love they bear us. I guess they felt afraid we were stealing a march of some kind on them.

      "It's a mean trick!" continued Herc. "If I'd only caught him before I'd – I'd have bust his face."

      "Let's go round to the back of the shed. We can soon find out if anyone was really there, or if your imagination played you a trick."

      Herc readily agreed. He was fairly boiling with anger. But, on investigation, the fresh paint at the rear of the shed proved not to be scratched, as must have been the case had any one clambered up to the window.

      "Looks to me as if you're seeing things," teased Ned.

      "Does look rather like it," confessed Herc. "It seems as if – hullo, what – what's that? I guess that's how he reached the window without scratching the paint."

      He pointed to a short ladder, evidently left behind by the workmen who had fitted up the hangars. It lay in some tall grass, a short distance from where the Dreadnought Boys stood. A hasty attempt seemed to have been made to hide it, but if this had been the case, it was unsuccessful.

      "Just as I thought," declared Herc, after a minute. "The grass here is freshly trampled by the chap who threw the ladder back."

      Ned was silent a minute. Then he spoke.

      "I wonder how much they overheard?" he said slowly.

      "All our conversation, I guess, if they arrived in time. Why?"

      "Because I wanted to keep my pontoon idea secret till I'd tried it out. It isn't exactly for general publication – yet."

      Herc seemed to catch a deeper meaning in the words.

      "You're thinking of that chap who's been snooping around here for the last week posing as a newspaper photographer?" he asked quickly.

      "Yes. I'm convinced, somehow, that he is nothing of the sort. For one thing, he's far too curious about the mechanical details of the aeroplanes, and the results of the experiments so far as we've conducted them. Another thing is, that he seems unusually well supplied with money, and he also appears to be a man of far greater ability than his supposed job would indicate."

      "Gee whillakers!" gasped Herc. "You're not after thinking he's a foreign spy?"

      "That's just what I am," rejoined Ned firmly.

      "He won't get much information here."

      "Not if he depended on most of us for it. But there's Chance and Merritt. It's a mean thing to say, Herc, but I wouldn't trust those fellows any farther than I could see them, and not so far as that."

      "We-el!" whistled Herc, with huge assumed surprise, "you don't say so? I was always under the delusion that they were honest, above-board sports, who wouldn't do a mean thing for all the wealth on Wall Street."

      But just then the assembly bugle rang out sharply, summoning the aero squad to its labors. The lads hastened to get their machines out on the field. As they trundled them forth, assisted by some of the men employed about the grounds for such jobs, Ned's machine almost collided with a short, rather thick-set man, with a huge pair of moustaches and luxuriant blonde hair. The latter hung in a tangle from under a battered derby hat. The rest of the man's garments were in keeping with his disreputable head-gear. They consisted of a long, and very greasy-looking frock coat, a pair of checked trousers, badly frayed at the bottoms, broken boots and a soiled shirt and collar.

      Over his back was strapped a black leather box, which evidently contained a camera, for under his arm he bore a folded tripod. But, despite his disreputable appearance, Sigmund Muller, free-lance photographer, as he termed himself, bore an indescribable air of being something other than he pretended to be. Ned was skilled in reading human faces, and the first time he had set eyes on Herr Muller, he had decided that under the battered exterior and slouching gait lay hidden a keen, lance-like intellect, and an unscrupulous daring. The lad was impressed with the conviction that here was a man to be reckoned with.

      As the advancing aeroplane almost knocked him down, Herr Muller jumped nimbly to one side. Then he assumed what was meant to be a free-and-easy sort of manner.

      "Chust for dot," he exclaimed, "I dakes me a picdgure of your aeromoplane. Yes – no?"

      He began to unsling his camera, but Ned stopped him in a flash.

      "Don't bother yourself," he said sharply. "You recollect that I told you the other day that it was against the rules to take pictures of any of the aeroplanes on the grounds."

      "Undt I voss ordered off, too," chuckled Herr Muller, without displaying the slightest trace of irritation, "budt, you see, mein young friendt, I coom back – yah."

      "Do you mind standing out of the way?" cut in Herc suddenly. "I'd hate to run you down, but if you stand in the road any longer I'll have to."

      Once more Herr Muller jumped nimbly aside.

      "Dot'll be all righdt," he said amicably, "go on! Go ahead! Some day you break your neck, undt den I take picdgure of you – yes, no?"

      He fixed the freckled-faced boy with a glance[Pg 67][Pg 68][Pg 69] as he spoke. Herc, despite his usual equanimity, felt a shudder run through him, as he encountered the look. It seemed to penetrate like the white-hot flame of a blow-pipe.

      "Whoof!" he exclaimed, as he hastened along, "that chap's about as pleasant a thing to have around as a rattlesnake. He gives me the shivers."

      As the Dreadnought Boys hastened to the assembling place, Merritt and Chance, with their machines, emerged. They passed close to Herr Muller, and as they went by he overheard every word they said.

      "So Ned Strong is trying to sneak into favor again, eh?" snarled Merritt, who had just been listening to Chance's account of what he had overheard at the hangar window.

      "Yes, confound him. I wish we could find some way to put them both out of business. If it wasn't for them, we'd be – "

      A soft touch on Chance's arm interrupted him. He faced round and was rather startled to see the shambling figure of Sigmund Muller

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