CHAPTER III

AMID THE AIRSHIPS

“Say, it’s quite an affair, isn’t it?” said Jerry, when, late that Saturday night, they rode past the grounds where the airship exhibition was to take place. The boys were on their way to the hotel, where they had engaged rooms in advance, a necessary precaution, as such a crowd flocked to Broadlands that the accommodations of the place were stretched to the utmost.

“I guess it’s going to be a first-rate show,” commented Ned. “I thought it might be a fake from the way the handbills read.”

“Oh, it’s the real thing, all right,” declared Bob. “An organization of wealthy men is back of it, I heard dad say, and they’ve got some real good machines here. They’re going to give prizes, too.”

“I don’t see any airships flying around,” objected Andy, who, as Jerry halted the machine outside of the grounds, was gazing anxiously aloft.

“Of course not,” replied Ned. “They aren’t going to bring them out before the show opens. I suppose all of them are not here yet. But there are tents and sheds enough to house half a hundred.”

Certainly there were a number of big buildings and tents on the grounds. The buildings were of the flimsiest character, but were all that were needed to shelter dirigible balloons or aeroplanes.

“I wonder where Noddy’s _Firefly_ is?” asked Bob.

“Did he ship it?” asked Ned.

“Oh, yes, he sent it off, all right,” answered Jerry. “I was asking Mr. Hitter, the freight agent at the depot, about it. He said Noddy fussed and fretted for fear it would get broken on the road. It was all taken apart and boxed up, and Noddy threatened to sue the railroad if one piece of his machine was lost or damaged. Mr. Hitter said he nearly bothered the life out of him.”

“I’d like to see it,” said Ned. “I wonder which tent or shed is his?”

“We’ll inquire later,” said Jerry. “But first we’d better get to the hotel and see about our rooms. There’s such a crowd here they may not reserve them for us if we don’t claim them soon.”

Indeed, they did not arrive at the hotel any too quickly, for the clerk was about to ignore the reservation they had telegraphed for, and give their rooms to newcomers. The boys, however, secured two nice, large ones, and were soon installed in them with their suitcases, which held their clothing.

“Let’s go out to the grounds,” proposed Bob, when they had unpacked and enjoyed a good wash, to remove some of the grime and dust of their auto trip.

“I’m with you,” said Jerry. “We’ll see if we can spot Noddy’s _Firefly_.”

The four boys got into the auto and were soon at the carnival grounds. The place was open, as it was necessary to have such a large field, for the operations of the balloons and aeroplanes, that it would have been impossible to enclose it with a fence. But though the spectators could freely view the ships of the air when they were in flight, they were prevented from noting them at rest, as every one was under some tent or housed in a temporary building.

The place was somewhat in confusion, as new exhibits were constantly arriving; stand owners, who hoped to sell refreshments, were engaged in putting up the booths; and men with big trucks were driving here and there, with immense boxes on their vehicles.

These last were, evidently, parts of airships and were to be assembled under one of the many tents or other structures that dotted the ground.

Here and there could be seen nervous men, who were anxious for the fate of some weird machine that a careless truckman had agreed to deliver. One such man was admonishing the driver of a big wagon, on which was a large case.

“Now be very careful of that--very careful,” the owner was saying. “The least jar will displace some of the delicate springs, and shift the center of gravity, besides disturbing the equilibrium of the centrifugal planes. Careful, now--look out!”

The ground was uneven, and, in driving, the truckman reined his horses into a hollow. The vehicle careened, and the big case was on the verge of falling off.

“Oh! Oh! Catch it! Quick! It will be smashed! The work of ten years will be ruined!” cried the inventor.

He was walking alongside the truck, and he tried to hold the case from sliding off the inclined platform by bracing his hands against it. But it was too heavy for him and continued to move toward the ground.

“Let’s help him,” suggested Jerry, and with one accord the boys jumped from the auto, which Jerry had stopped, and ran to the aid of the man. They managed to stop the case from sliding off, and by that time the driver had urged his horses to a level place.

“I don’t know how to thank you!” exclaimed the inventor to Andy and the motor boys. “If that case had fallen to the ground my airship would have been smashed. I am a thousand times obliged to you. That is my tent over there. Now, be very careful, truckman.”

“Aw, sure I’ll be careful. But I never see such uneven ground. What sort of an airship is it, anyhow, if a little fall like that will smash it? Sure, what’ll yez do when ye falls from the sky? Answer me that.”

Clearly he was not a firm believer in the future of airships.

“A fall, no matter from what height, will not matter when my ship is in operation, for the centrifugal planes and the equalizing balances will render any descent harmless,” declared the inventor. “Now, continue on, Mr. Truckman, if you please. I am very much obliged to you young gentlemen. Are you exhibiting here? If so I may have a race in the air with you.”

“No, we’re only here out of curiosity,” answered Jerry. “But we are very much interested in airships. What kind is yours?”

“Ah, that’s a great secret,” replied the inventor with a sly look. “I can’t tell you. But I will astonish the crowds Monday by making the most successful flight. I don’t mind admitting that my machine is built on the principle of the flying grasshopper. It acquires a start by means of two long shafts, made on the model of the hind legs of a grasshopper. By means of powerful springs my machine is launched into the air, just as a grasshopper leaps forward. Then his wings sustain him, just as the wings, the centrifugal planes and the equalizing weights, will hold up my airship with me on it. I have a great invention. I must go now and put it together. I hope it is not damaged. It is a great risk to bring it here, but I expect to win the grand prize.”

“Do you know anything about any other airships that are here?” inquired Ned as the boys started back to their auto.

“Not much. Why?”

“A fellow from our town has one here. He is Noddy Nixon, and he calls his machine the _Firefly_. We wanted to see it.”

“The _Firefly_? Oh, yes, I know about it. Young Nixon was telling me about it. He is a smart youth, but his machine will never fly.”

“That’s what we think,” declared Bob.

“No, it will never fly,” went on the inventor of the machine built on the plan of a grasshopper. “He has the wrong idea. The wings of his fly are not large enough, and are too heavy. But my machine will work. I am positive of it. Come and see me after my first flight, and I may let you go up. Just ask for Morris Abernot. I will be in this tent here,” and he indicated one toward which the truck was slowly being driven.

“Do you know where the _Firefly_ is kept?” asked Ned.

“Yes. Right over in that tent with the yellow flag,” and Mr. Abernot pointed to a canvas shelter some distance away.

“Let’s go over, fellows,” proposed Jerry. “I’d like to see what Noddy really has.”

“Maybe he’ll make trouble,” suggested Bob. “He’s mad at us.”

“Oh, he’s always that way,” put in Ned. “That’s nothing new. I’d like to see the _Firefly_, too. Maybe he isn’t there, and we can peep into the tent.”

“More likely he’s charging admission to see his freak,” was Jerry’s comment. “That’s what some of these fake inventors are doing. They know their machines will never leave the ground, and their only chance to make money is to charge admission. I’ll bet that’s what Noddy is doing.”

They went over to the tent with the yellow flag, threading their way in the auto between rows of booths and new buildings. When they got near enough they saw that the yellow flag bore the initials “N. N.” for Noddy Nixon.

“He’s doing the thing up in style,” remarked Bob. “Let’s get out of the car and walk over. It’s too rough riding here.”

They approached the large tent where the _Firefly_ was kept. About it was a curious throng, as, indeed, there was about every place where an airship was housed. On the front of the tent was a large sign reading:

NIXON’S WONDERFUL FIREFLY AIRSHIP. NONE LIKE IT. ADMISSION 25 CENTS.

“Let’s go in,” said Jerry. “I’ve got change. I want to see what Noddy is capable of.”

“He’s got nerve, asking a quarter,” commented Bob. “Most of the places only charge ten cents.”

“‘None like it,’” remarked Ned. “I guess that’s true, all right, unless it’s Professor Abernot’s grasshopper. Well, let’s go in.”

They started for the entrance to the tent and purchased four tickets of the man who stood at the flap. Something about the fellow attracted Jerry’s attention as he paid over the money.

“It’s Bill Berry,” he whispered to his chums. “I know him, even if he’s shaved off his moustache. I haven’t seen him since he tried to wreck the steamer. I wonder how he dare come around here?”

“Maybe the government has given up trying to prosecute him for changing the lanterns in the lighthouse,” suggested Bob. “He’s in with Noddy again, that’s evident. Well, they’re a fine team.”

Bill Berry was a town ne’er-do-well, who more than once had aided Noddy in his schemes to make trouble for the motor boys. But this time Bill, if indeed it was he at the tent flap, seemed to think the boys would not recognize him, for he betrayed no uneasiness.

The four lads passed into the tent, another man being stationed just inside the entrance to take up their tickets. They handed him the pasteboard slips, and had just taken a glimpse of a curious machine in the center of the canvas enclosure, when they saw Noddy Nixon rushing toward them.

“Get out of here!” cried the bully. “I don’t want you in my tent! You can’t come here and make fun of my invention!”

“We paid for our admission,” said Jerry.

“I don’t care if you did! I’m not going to let you in! Get out!”

Noddy drew back his fist to strike Jerry, while the other boys crowded up closer.