CHAPTER XII

NODDY MAKES TROUBLE

Of course, it was impossible, in a small town like Cresville, for the motor boys to undertake the building of anything as large as a motor ship without the news becoming pretty generally known. In fact, almost everything the three chums did was town-talk, for they were well-known and popular lads, and a source of no little pride to the residents of the place, who were eager to tell of the exploits of the lads.

So, naturally, Noddy Nixon heard of the boys’ project. Noddy was sore over the failure of his _Firefly_. He was also angry because he had lost his wager with the fat man, and because his father had cut down his allowance on account of the damages Mr. Nixon had had to pay for the destruction of the lemonade stand.

The construction of the _Comet_ had not been under way more than a week ere Noddy began making slighting remarks about it to whoever would listen to him.

Nor did he confine his remarks to friends or acquaintances of the motor boys. Whenever he saw Jerry, Ned or Bob in the street he would, in passing, remark, loud enough for them to hear, something about their motor ship, ending with a sneering phrase or laugh. But the boys paid no attention to him. They had faith in Mr. Glassford, and, to tell the truth, they were so busy helping the inventor that they had little time to bother with Noddy.

At length the building of the motor ship had progressed as far as was possible in the somewhat contracted space of the loft. The gas bag was all sewed, the framework was all ready to be put together, the planes had been made, the rudders constructed, and now little remained to do but assemble the ship, and then fit up the car, or body of it. The motor was on hand, but had not been set in its place.

Jerry had arranged to hire a big tent from Boston, and this had been set up in the midst of a field owned by Mr. Baker. Of course, after this had been done, there crowded out to the canvas shelter nearly every inhabitant of Cresville, for every one was anxious to get a view of the wonderful airship.

But the boys hired several men to mount guard, for, though they did not want to deprive their friends of an opportunity to see the invention, they feared lest some too-curious one might cause damage by handling parts of the machinery or ship.

So they only admitted a few at a time, and this only after working hours, when they and Mr. Glassford could be on hand to watch over their property. The _Comet_ was beginning to assume shape now, and looked like a real airship, though the big bag was only half filled with gas, enough to partly distend it, so that the cord netting could be constructed over it.

One day, when the boys and Mr. Glassford were quite busy, there entered the tent an old man. The boys did not see him at first, as he was on the opposite side of the gas bag, but Jerry’s attention was attracted by seeing the gas envelope sway, and when he looked he saw the old man trying to tear it.

“Here! What are you doing?” cried Jerry. “Keep your hands off that. How’d you get in here, anyhow?”

“I jest walked in. I ain’t never seen a airship, an’ I wanted to see if this here stuff was strong,” was the answer given in a high-pitched, unpleasant voice. The old man continued to pull on the bag, though it was strong enough to resist his efforts.

“Drop that and clear out of here!” cried Jerry, recognizing the old man as Sid Joffy, a sort of recluse and town character, who was a general nuisance. He was too lazy to work, and how he managed to live no one knew. He had an old cabin in the woods, on the edge of a clearing, and resided there all alone.

“What’s this? Your engine?” went on Joffy, letting go of the gas bag and beginning to turn some wheels and valves on the gasolene motor, which stood in one corner of the tent.

“Can’t you leave things alone?” cried Mr. Glassford sharply. “Who let him in, boys?”

“Guess he must have slipped past Tom Johnson at the tent flap,” replied Jerry. “Come, now, Sid, clear out of here. You can see us when we go up.”

“I want to see how the thing works,” went on the old man, moving away from Jerry, who was approaching. “I like machinery considerable,” and he began to pull on the lever that operated the elevation rudder.

“Drop that and get out of here, or we’ll put you out!” cried Jerry, now thoroughly aroused, and the old man hastened from the tent.

“What do you suppose brought him around?” asked Ned, as he paused in the work of tightening the bolts on the framework.

“Oh, he’s a general butter-in,” said Bob. “He’s always around where he isn’t wanted.”

“Well, I guess I scared him off,” remarked Jerry with a laugh.

But that same afternoon Joffy was back again. This time he crawled under the tent, and before the boys were aware of his presence he had knocked a heavy wrench down from a bench and broken one of the bamboo braces of the air planes.

“Here, you! You’re worse than the kids!” cried Jerry. “What are you doing here, anyhow?”

“I--I didn’t mean to break it,” said the old man. “I wanted to see how heavy that wrench was.”

“Well, you saw, all right,” went on Jerry. “Now clear out.”

“That’s rather funny, him coming back,” said Ned, after the man had gone. “Do you suppose he’s trying to steal some of your ideas, Mr. Glassford?”

“No, I don’t believe so. My greatest secret is the gas, and no one knows that but myself.”

“Sid Joffy is too lazy to steal anything,” remarked Bob. “He wouldn’t steal second or third base if he was playing on a ball nine. I guess he hasn’t anything else to do, and he comes around here to bother us.”

“I wish he’d keep away,” spoke Jerry.

He wished that more strongly than ever the next day, when the old man was again found in the tent, though how he entered the boys did not know. This time, before he could be detected, he had unscrewed some of the framework, and caused it to sag over against the bag, which it might have punctured.

“Say! This is the limit!” cried Ned. “What are you up to, anyhow, Joffy?”

“I--I just wanted to see how tight you had to have your frame. I--I didn’t mean any harm.”

“Well, you’ve done harm, all right,” said Jerry angrily. “If we catch you in here again we’ll run you down to the river and duck you.”

“That ought to keep him away,” observed Bob, when the nuisance had hurried from the tent. “He hates water. I guess he never took a bath in his life.”

“There’s something queer about his coming around here, boys,” said Jerry. “I don’t like it. Seems to me as if he had more of an object than mere curiosity. We must keep watch of him.”

“It is rather odd that he comes over here so often,” admitted Ned. “It’s quite a distance from his shack, and he doesn’t like walking, or any other exercise.”

But the secret of Joffy’s visits was disclosed the next day, when Andy Rush, all excited and hardly able to breathe, hurried into the tent.

“I seen ’em!” he cried. “Joffy an’ Noddy--talking together--they’re up to some trick--Noddy pointed toward our tent--Joffy nodded his head--then Noddy gave him some money. I’ll bet Noddy’s put him up to all this--to bother you boys.”

“That’s it!” declared Jerry emphatically. “I knew it must be something more than Joffy’s curiosity that brought him here. Boys, this is part of Noddy’s plan to make trouble for us. He’s mad because we’re going to have a better airship than his tin fly that never flew. But we’ll fix him!”

“Let’s make sure that he put Joffy up to it, though,” proposed Ned.

“Oh, that will be easy enough. Wait until the old man comes in again and I’ll tackle him.”

They had not long to wait. That very afternoon the old nuisance sneaked in again, coming under the tent so quietly that he was not noticed until a crash in a corner told that something had happened. Joffy, in reaching up to finger one of the big propellers, had knocked it from the shaft, to which it was not yet fastened. Fortunately, little damage had been done.

“There you are again!” cried Jerry.

“Yes--yes--Mr. Hopkins--I’m here agin,” admitted Joffy with an uneasy grin. “I--I didn’t mean to do any damage. I--I jest wanted to see if that there thing-a-ma-bob would whirl around.”

“Well, it did, all right, and you might have broken it. If you had we would arrest you for malicious mischief.”

“Arrest me! Why, I ain’t done nothin’!”

“Yes, you have!” exclaimed Jerry. “You’re taking money from Noddy Nixon to come here and annoy us. Now, don’t deny it!” he cried as he saw that the old man was about to protest. “Andy Rush saw you. We know, now, why you sneak in here. You want to keep away if you don’t want to get arrested.”

“All right--all right, Mr. Hopkins. I’ll go if you don’t want me around.”

“Of course we don’t want you.”

“But I didn’t mean no harm. I jest--I jest wanted to see if that there big thing like a paddle would go around.”

“Well, you saw; now vamoose.”

“Do you think he’ll keep away?” asked Ned, as the old man crawled under the tent and went outside.

“I don’t believe he will because I told him to,” said Jerry, “but I’ve got a plan to make him.”

“What is it?”

“Come over here and I’ll tell you.”