file which includes the original illustrations.
      See 20053-h.htm or 20053-h.zip:

      or






THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR

Or

From College Campus to the Clouds

by

ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
Author of "The Rover Boys at School," "The Rover Boys on
the Ocean," "The Putnam Hall Cadets,"
"The Putnam Hall Rivals," Etc.

Illustrated







[Illustration: "THREE CHEERS FOR THE ROVER BOYS!" CALLED OUT
                ONE OF THE SENIORS.
_The Rover Boys in the Air. Frontispiece_--(Page 123.)]



New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers


       *       *       *       *       *


BOOKS BY ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
THE ROVER BOYS SERIES

THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
THE ROVER BOYS ON TREASURE ISLE
THE ROVER BOYS AT COLLEGE
THE ROVER BOYS DOWN EAST
THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR

(Other volumes in preparation.)

THE PUTNAM HALL SERIES

THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS
THE PUTNAM HALL RIVALS
THE PUTNAM HALL CHAMPIONS
THE PUTNAM HALL REBELLION
THE PUTNAM HALL ENCAMPMENT
THE PUTNAM HALL MYSTERY

_12mo, Cloth. Illustrated
Price, per volume, 60 cents, postpaid_

GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, New York


       *       *       *       *       *


Copyright, 1912, by
Edward Stratemeyer



_The Rover Boys in the Air_




CONTENTS


CHAPTER

     I. THE BOYS AND THE BIPLANE

    II. SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS

   III. SAM BRINGS NEWS

    IV. AT THE TELEPHONE

     V. LOOKING FOR THE LOST FLYING MACHINE

    VI. TWO OLD ENEMIES

   VII. THE RUNAWAY HORSES

  VIII. TRIAL FLIGHTS

    IX. THE NEW ARRIVAL

     X. FUN WITH OLD RICKS

    XI. OFF FOR BRILL COLLEGE

   XII. A GRAND ARRIVAL

  XIII. SOME INTERESTING NEWS

   XIV. THE BIRTHDAY FEAST

    XV. A PERILOUS FLIGHT

   XVI. DICK AND DORA

  XVII. CAUGHT IN A HAILSTORM

 XVIII. TOM AND HIS FUN

   XIX. STARTLING NEWS FROM HOME

    XX. GRACE'S REVELATION

   XXI. FOLLOWING DORA AND NELLIE

  XXII. OVER THE BIG WOODS

 XXIII. AT CLOSE QUARTERS

  XXIV. AT THE SWAMP

   XXV. THE TRAIL OF THE TOURING CAR

  XXVI. THE MOONLIT TRAIL

 XXVII. THE CHAUFFEUR OF THE TOURING CAR

XXVIII. AT THE OLD MANSION

  XXIX. THE ARM OF THE LAW

   XXX. THE ROUND-UP--CONCLUSION




INTRODUCTION


MY DEAR BOYS: This is a complete story in itself, but forms the
sixteenth volume issued under the general title of "Rover Boys Series
for Young Americans."

This line was started thirteen years ago by the publication of the first
three volumes, "The Rover Boys at School," "On the Ocean," and "In the
Jungle." I hoped that the young people would like the stories, but I was
hardly prepared for the very warm welcome the volumes received. The
three books were followed by a fourth, "The Rover Boys Out West," and
then, yearly, by "On the Great Lakes," "In Camp," "On Land and Sea," "On
the River," "On the Plains," "In Southern Waters," "On the Farm," "On
Treasure Isle," "At College," and then by "Down East," where we last
left our heroes and their friends.

Of course, as is but natural, Dick, Tom and Sam are older than when we
first met them. Indeed, Dick is thinking of getting married and settling
down, and with such a nice girl as Dora Stanhope, who could blame him?
All of the boys are at college, finishing their education, and all are
as wideawake as ever, and Tom is just as full of merriment. They have
some strenuous times, and take a trip through the air that is a good
deal out of the ordinary. They meet some of their old enemies, and prove
that they are heroes in the best meaning of that much-abused term.

The publishers report a sale of this series of books of _over a million
copies_! This is truly amazing to me, and again, as in the past, I thank
my many young friends for their cordial reception of what I have written
for them. I trust the present story will interest them and prove of
benefit.

Affectionately and sincerely yours,

ARTHUR M. WINFIELD.




THE ROVER BOYS IN THE AIR




CHAPTER I

THE BOYS AND THE BIPLANE


"Fo' de land sakes, Massa Dick, wot am dat contraption yo' boys dun put
togedder back ob de bahn yesterday?"

"Why, Aleck, don't you know what that is?" returned Dick Rover, with a
smile at the colored man. "That's a biplane."

"A biplane, eh?" repeated Alexander Pop, the colored helper around the
Rover homestead. He scratched his woolly head thoughtfully. "Yo' don't
mean to say it am lak a plane a carpenter man uses, does yo', Massa
Dick? 'Pears lak to me it was moah lak some ship sails layin'
down,--somethin' lak dem ships we see over in Africy, when we went into
dem jungles to find yo' fadder."

"No, it has nothing to do with a carpenter's plane, Aleck," answered
Dick, with a laugh. "A biplane is a certain kind of a flying machine."

"Wat's dat? A flyin' machine? Shorely, Massa Dick, yo' ain't gwine to
try to fly?" exclaimed Aleck, in horror.

"That is just what I am going to do, Aleck, after I have had a few
lessons. I hope to fly right over the house, just like a bird."

"No! no! Don't you try dat, Massa Dick! You'll break yo' neck suah!
Don't yo' try it! I--I can't allow it nohow--an' yo' aunt won't allow it
neither!" And the colored man shook his head most emphatically.

"Now, don't get excited, Aleck," said Dick, calmly. "I won't go up until
I am sure of what I am doing. Why, don't you know that flying in the air
is getting to be a common thing these days? Tom and Sam and I bought
that biplane in New York last week, and a man who knows all about flying
is coming out to the farm to teach us how to run it. After we know how
to sail through the air we'll take you up with us."

"Me!" ejaculated the colored man, and rolled his eyes wildly. "Not in a
thousand years, Massa Dick, an' not fo' all dat treasure yo' dun brung
home from Treasure Isle! No, sah, de ground am good enough fo' Aleck
Pop!" And he backed away, as if afraid Dick Rover might carry him off
then and there.

"Hello, Aleck!" cried a merry voice at this moment, and Tom Rover came
into view. "Want to take a sail through the clouds for a change?"

"Massa Tom, am yo' really thinking ob goin' up in dat contraption?"
demanded the colored man, earnestly.

"Sure thing, Aleck. And you'll want to go, too, before long. Think of
flying along like a bird!" And Tom Rover spread out his arms and moved
them slowly up and down. "Oh, it's grand!"

"Yo' won't be no bird when yo' come down ker-flop!" murmured Aleck,
soberly. "Yo' will be all busted up, dat's wot yo'll be!"

"We won't fall, don't you worry," continued Tom. "This biplane is a
first-class machine, warranted in all kinds of weather."

"If it am a flyin' machine wot fo' you call it a biplane?" asked the
colored man curiously.

"Bi stands for two," explained Dick. "A bicycle means two cycles, or two
wheels. A biplane means two planes, or two surfaces of canvas. This
biplane of ours, as you can see, has two surfaces, or decks, an upper
and a lower. A monoplane has only one plane, and a triplane has three.
Now you understand, don't you, Aleck?"

"I dun reckon I do, Massa Dick. But look yeah, boys, yo' take my advice
an' don't yo' try to sail frough de air in dat bicycleplane, or wot yo'
call it. 'Tain't safe nohow! Yo' stick to de hosses, an' dat
autermobile, an' de boat on de ribber. A boy wasn't meant to be a bird
nohow!"

"How about being an angel, Aleck?" asked Tom, slyly.

"Huh! An angel, eh? Well, if yo' go up in dat bicycleplane maybe yo'
will be an angel after yo' fall out, even if yo' ain't one when yo'
starts." And with this remark Aleck Pop hurried away to his work in the
house.

"That's one on you, Tom," cried Dick, with a broad smile. "Poor Aleck!
he evidently has no use for flying machines."

"Well, Dick, now the machine is together, it does look rather scary,"
answered Tom Rover, slowly. "I want to see that aviator try it out
pretty well before I risk my neck going up."

"Oh, so do I. And we'll have to have a good many lessons in running the
engine, and in steering, and all that. I begin to think running a flying
machine is a good deal harder than running an auto, or a motor boat."

"Yes, I guess it is. Come on down and let us see how the engine works.
We can do that easily enough, for it's a good deal like the engine of
an auto, or a motor boat," went on Tom.

"Where is Sam?"

"He took the auto and went down to the Corners on an errand for Aunt
Martha. He said he'd be back as soon as possible. He's as crazy to get
at the biplane as either of us."

The two boys walked to where the biplane had been put together, in a
large open wagon shed attached to the rear of the big barn. The biplane
has a stretch from side to side of over thirty feet, and the shed had
been cleaned out from end to end to make room for it. There was a rudder
in front and another behind, and in the centre was a broad cane seat,
with a steering wheel, and several levers for controlling the craft.
Back of the seat was the engine, lightly built but powerful, and above
was a good-sized tank of gasoline. The framework of the biplane was of
bamboo, held together by stays of piano wire, and the planes themselves
were of canvas, especially prepared so as to be almost if not quite air
proof. All told, the machine was a fine one, thoroughly up-to-date, and
had cost considerable money.

"We'll have to get a name for this machine," remarked Tom. "Have you any
in mind?"

"Well, I--er--thought we might call her the--er----" And then his big
brother stopped short and grew slightly red in the face.

"I'll bet an apple you were going to say _Dora_," cried Tom quickly.

"Humph," murmured Dick. "Maybe you were going to suggest _Nellie_."

"No, I wasn't," returned Tom, and now he got a little red also. "If I
did that, Sam might come along and want to name it the _Grace_. We had
better give the girls' names a rest. Let's call her the _Dartaway_, that
is, if she really does dart away when she flies."

"All right, Tom; that's a first-class name," responded Dick. "And
_Dartaway_ she shall become, if Sam is willing. Now then, we'll fill
that gasoline tank and let the engine warm up a bit. Probably it will
need some adjusting."

"Can we use the same gasoline as we use in the auto?"

"Yes, on ordinary occasions. In a race you can use a higher grade, so
that aviator said. But then you'll have to readjust the magneto and
carburetor."

"Gracious, Dick! You're not thinking of an air race already, are you!"

"Oh, no! But we might get in a race some day,--and such things are good
to know," answered Dick, as he walked off to the garage, where there
was a barrel of gasoline sunk in the ground, with a pipe connection. He
got out a five-gallon can and filled it, and then poured the gasoline in
the tank of the biplane.

"She'll hold more than that," said Tom, watching him. "Here, give me the
can and I'll fill the tank while we are at it. We'll want plenty of gas
when that aviator gets here."

In a few minutes more the gasoline tank was full, and then the two lads
busied themselves putting the engine in running order, and in filling up
the lubricating oil box. They also oiled up the working parts, and oiled
the propeller bearings and the steering gear.

"Now, I guess she is all ready to run," remarked Dick, at length. "My,
but isn't she a beauty, Tom! Just think of sailing around in her!"

"I'd like to go up right now!" answered the brother. "If only I knew
more about airships, hang me if I wouldn't try it!"

"Don't you dream of it, yet!" answered Dick. "We've got to learn the art
of it, just like a baby has got to learn to walk. If you went up now
you'd come down with a smash sure."

"Maybe I would," mused Tom. "Well, let us try the engine anyhow. And
maybe we can try the propellers," he added, with a longing glance at
the smooth, wooden blades.

"One thing at a time," answered Dick, with a laugh. "We'll try the
engine, but we'll have to tie the biplane fast, or else it may run into
something and get smashed."

"Let us run her out into the field first. It's too gloomy in the shed.
I'll hammer in some stakes and tie her."

The biplane rested on three small rubber-tired wheels, placed in the
form of a triangle. Thus it was an easy matter to roll the big machine
from the shed to the level field beyond. Then Tom ran back and procured
some stakes, several ropes, and a hammer, and soon he had the biplane
staked fast to the ground, after the manner of a small circus tent.

"Now she can't break loose, even if you do start the engine and the
propellers," said he, as he surveyed his work. "Go ahead, Dick, and turn
on the juice!" he cried impatiently.

Dick Rover was just as anxious to see the engine work, and after another
critical inspection he turned on the battery and then walked to one of
the propellers.

"We'll have to start the engine by turning these," he said.

"All right!" cried Tom, catching hold of the other wooden blades. "Now
then, all ready? Heave ahoy, my hearty!" he added, in sailor fashion.

Four times were the wooden blades "turned over" and still the engine
refused to respond. It was hard work, and both of the lads perspired
freely, for it was a hot day in early September.

"Got that spark connected all right?" panted Tom, as he stopped to catch
his breath.

"Yes," was the reply, after Dick had made an inspection. "The engine is
cold, that's all."

"Humph, well I'm not! But come on, let us give her another twist."

The brothers took hold again, and, at a word from Dick, each gave the
wooden paddles of the propellers a vigorous turn. There came a sudden
hiss, followed by a crack and a bang, and then off the engine started
with the loudness of a gattling gun.

"Hurrah! she's started!" yelled Tom, triumphantly. "Say, but she makes
some noise, doesn't she?" he added.

"I should say yes. That's because airship engines don't have mufflers,
like autos," yelled back Dick, to make himself heard above the
explosions.

"And see those propellers go around!" went on Tom, in deep admiration.
"All you can see is a whirr! We sure have a dandy engine in this craft,
Dick!"

"Looks so, doesn't it?" returned Dick, also in admiration. "I reckon the
_Dartaway_ will give a good account of herself, when she is properly
handled. Now, I had better stop the propellers, I guess," he added,
moving toward the front of the biplane to do so.

"Yes! yes! stop em!" yelled Tom, suddenly. "Hurry up, Dick! See how she
is straining to break the ropes! Say, she wants to go up!"

Dick was startled and with good reason. Even while his brother was
speaking there came a sudden snap, and one of the ropes flew apart. Then
up out of the ground came the stake holding another rope. The big
biplane, thus released on one side, slewed around, and Tom was knocked
flat. Then came another snap and two more ropes flew apart.

"She's going! stop her!" screamed Tom, from where he lay, and the next
moment he saw Dick struck full in the face by the machine. Down went the
youth backwards, and as he fell, with a rush and a roar, the biplane
sped over the level ground for a distance of two hundred feet and then
went sailing into the air, headed almost point blank for the Rover
homestead, less than fifty rods away!




CHAPTER II

SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROVER BOYS


"Oh, Dick, are you hurt?"

The cry came from Tom, as he turned over on the ground and struggled to
his feet. He had seen his brother hurled backwards, and he saw that Dick
made no move to arise. He had been struck in the head, and blood was
flowing from a wound over his left ear.

"Oh, maybe he's killed!" gasped poor Tom, and then, for the moment he
forgot all about the flying machine, that was rushing so madly through
the air towards the Rover homestead. He hurried to his brother's side,
at the same time calling for others to come to his assistance.

To my old readers the lads already mentioned will need no introduction.
For the benefit of others let me state that the Rover boys were three in
number, Dick being the oldest, fun-loving Tom coming next, and sturdy
Sam being the youngest. They were the sons of Anderson Rover, a widower,
and when at home, as at present, lived with their father and their
Uncle Randolph and Aunt Martha at a pleasant place known as Valley Brook
farm, in New York state.

While their father was in Africa on a mission of importance, the three
boys had been sent by their uncle to boarding school, as related in the
first volume of this series, entitled, "The Rover Boys at School." The
place was Putnam Hall Military Academy, and there the lads had made many
friends and also a few enemies.

From school the boys had made a short trip on the ocean, and then
another trip into the jungle after their father. Then had followed a
trip out West, and another on the Great Lakes. Later the youths had
camped out in the mountains during the winter, shooting quite some game.
Then they had returned to school, to go into camp during the summer with
the other cadets.

The boys by this time thought their adventures at an end, but more were
soon to follow. There came a long trip on land and sea, and then a
voyage down the Ohio River, and soon after this the Rovers found
themselves on the plains, where they had some adventures far out of the
ordinary. From the plains they went further south, and in southern
waters--the same being the Gulf of Mexico--they solved the mystery of
the deserted steam yacht.

"Now back to the farm for me!" Sam had said at this time, and all were
glad to go back, and also to return to Putnam Hall, from which seat of
learning they presently graduated with honors. Then Mr. Anderson Rover
got word of a valuable treasure, and he and the boys, with a number of
their friends, went to Treasure Isle in search of it. They were followed
by some of their enemies and the latter did all in their power to cause
trouble.

Although the boys had finished at Putnam Hall, their days of learning
were not yet over, and soon they set off for Brill College, a high-grade
seat of learning located in one of our middle-western states. They had
with them an old school chum named John Powell, usually called
"Songbird," because of his habit of making up and reciting so-called
poetry, and were presently joined by another old school companion named
William Philander Tubbs, a dudish chap who thought more of his dress and
the society of ladies than he did of his studies. Tom loved to play
jokes on Tubbs, who was generally too dense to see where the fun came
in.

From the college the boys had taken another trip, as related in the
fifteenth volume of this series, called "The Rover Boys Down East."
There was a mystery about that trip, of which the outside world knew
little, but as that trip has something to do with the events which are
to follow in this story, I will here give such details as seem
necessary.

When the Rover Boys went to Putnam Hall they met three girls, Dora
Stanhope and her two cousins, Nellie and Grace Laning. Dora's mother was
a widow, living not far from the school, and it was not long before a
warm friendship sprang up between Dick and Dora,--a friendship that grew
more and more intimate as the days went by. Dick thought the world of
Dora, and the two were now practically engaged to be married. As for Tom
and Sam, they had taken to the two Laning girls from the start, and
though Tom was too full of fun to pay much attention to girls, yet
whenever Nellie was mentioned, he would grow red in the face; and it was
noticed that whenever Grace was present Sam was usually on hand to keep
her company.

The treasure unearthed on Treasure Isle had belonged to the Stanhope
estate, the bulk of it going to Mrs. Stanhope and Dora and the remainder
to the Lanings, because Mrs. Laning was Mrs. Stanhope's sister. But the
treasure had been claimed by a certain rascal named Sid Merrick and his
nephew, Tad Sobber, and when Merrick lost his life during a hurricane at
sea, Sobber continued to do all he could to get the money and jewels
into his possession.

"It's mine!" he told Dick Rover one day. "It's mine, all mine, and some
day I'm going to get it!"

"You keep on, Tad Sobber, and some day you'll land in prison," had been
Dick's answer. "We found that treasure, and the courts have decided that
it belongs to the Stanhope estate, and you had better keep your hands
off."

But Tad Sobber was not satisfied, and soon he made a move that caused
the worst kind of trouble. There was a learned but unscrupulous man
named Josiah Crabtree who had once been a teacher at Putnam Hall, but
who had been discharged and who had, later on, been sent to prison for
his misdeeds. This Josiah Crabtree had once sought to marry Mrs.
Stanhope, thinking thereby to get control of her money and the money she
held in trust for Dora. The lady was weak and sickly, and the teacher
had tried to hypnotize her into getting married, and had nearly
succeeded, but the plot was nipped in the bud by the Rover boys.

Tad Sobber met Josiah Crabtree and the pair hatched out another plot,
this time to abduct Mrs. Stanhope, getting the lady at the time to bring
a good share of the treasure with her under the impression that it was
to be invested by her friends. The lady was carried off to an island in
Casco Bay, off the coast of Maine, and thither the Rover boys and some
others followed them. There was a good deal of excitement; but in the
end the lady was rescued and the treasure brought back. An effort was
made to capture Tad Sobber and Josiah Crabtree, but the two evildoers
managed to get away.

The home-coming of the boys with Mrs. Stanhope had been a time of great
rejoicing. Dora had embraced Dick over and over again for what he had
done for her mother, and Nellie and Grace had not been backward in
complimenting Tom and Sam on their good work. There had been a general
jubilee which had lasted several days.

"Splendid work, boys, splendid work!" Anderson Rover had said. "I am
proud of you!"

"Better work than the authorities could do," had come from Uncle
Randolph.

"Now that treasure had better be placed where no outsider can get his
hands on it," Mr. Rover had added. And soon after that it was put in the
strong box of a safe deposit company, there to remain until it could be
properly invested.

At Brill College the Rover boys had fallen in with a number of fine
fellows, including Stanley Browne and a German-American student named
Max Spangler. They had also encountered some others, among whom were
Dudd Flockley, Jerry Koswell and Bart Larkspur. Led by Koswell, who was
a thoroughly bad egg, the three last-named students had tried to get the
Rover boys into trouble, and had succeeded. But they overreached
themselves and were exposed, and in sheer fright Koswell and Larkspur
ran away and refused to return. Dudd Flockley was repentant and was
given another chance.

While on the hunt for Mrs. Stanhope, the Rovers had fallen in with
Koswell and Larkspur. But instead of getting aid from the pair, the
latter did what they could to help old Crabtree and Sobber. This brought
on a fight, and Koswell and Larkspur received a thrashing they would
long remember. The former college students might have been arrested,
but, like Crabtree and Sobber, they kept out of sight.

"They are sure a bunch of bad ones," had been Dick Rover's comment, when
referring to Crabtree, Sobber, Koswell and Larkspur. "I wish they were
all in jail."

"I reckon we all wish that," had been Sam Rover's reply. "It's an awful
shame that we didn't capture at least one of 'em."

"Well, we might have caught old Crabtree and Sobber if we hadn't broken
the engine of the motor-boat," put in Tom.

"Well, the engine was broken in a good cause," came from Dick. And he
spoke the truth, as my old readers well know.

Following the home-coming of the boys, and the general jubilee, our
heroes had settled down to enjoy themselves before going back to Brill.
They had intended to take it easy on the farm, but when a great aviation
meet was advertised to take place at the county seat they could not
resist the temptation to be present.

At this meet there were five flying machines,--three biplanes, a
monoplane, and a dirigible balloon. All made good records, and the Rover
boys became wildly enthusiastic over what they saw.

"Say, this suits me right down to the ground!" cried Tom.

"What fun a fellow could have if he had a flying machine and knew how to
run it!" had come from Sam.

"Exactly--if he knew how to run it," had been Dick's words. "But if he
didn't know--well, he might have a nasty tumble, that's all."

"Pooh, Dick! If those fellows can run these machines, so can we," had
been Tom's confident words.

"We know all about autos and motor-boats," Sam had put in.

"That's true, Sam. But a monoplane or a biplane, or any kind of an
aeroplane, isn't an auto or a motor-boat."

"Are you afraid?" demanded Tom.

"Oh, no! Only if we got a flying machine we'd have to be careful about
what we tried to do."

"Hurrah! It's settled!" cried Tom, who went headlong into everything.
"We'll get a machine to-morrow! How much do they cost?"

"I don't know--several thousand dollars, I fancy," answered his elder
brother.

"Boiled umbrellas, Dick! As much as that?"

"I think so."

"Why look at some of 'em," declared Sam. "Nothing but bamboo poles and a
few wires, and canvas,--and the engine!"

"Yes, but the poles, wires and canvas have to be put together just
right, Sam, and those engines are as powerful as they are light. And
then don't forget the propellers, and the steering outfit, and the other
things."

"Come on and ask one of the men about them," came from Tom; and a little
later they had a long talk with an aviator named Captain Colby, who
proved to be a relative to Larry Colby, one of their former chums at
Putnam Hall. He had heard about the Rover boys and some of their doings,
and willingly told them all they wanted to know.

The boys went home with their minds full of flying machines, and as the
Rovers were all well-to-do, and as the three lads had in the past proved
capable of taking care of themselves, it was not a very difficult matter
for them to persuade their father to let them buy a biplane. Then,
through Captain Colby, they learned where the flying machine could be
obtained, and the very next day bought the affair and had it shipped to
the farm, and also arranged with the aviator to visit them and give them
a number of lessons.

"We've got three weeks before we have to go back to college," Tom had
said. "If we are quick to learn we can have lots of fun in that time."

"Yes, and if we do learn, perhaps we can take the biplane to college
with us and astonish some of the students and the faculty," Dick had
added.

"That's the talk!" cried the youngest Rover. "We'll take it along!"

That morning Sam had gone off on an errand as already mentioned. Then
Dick and Tom had gotten out the flying machine and started up the engine
and the propellers. The ropes holding the biplane had broken or torn
loose from the ground, and now the machine had gone off with a wild
swoop, hurling poor Dick flat on his back and injuring him, how
seriously was still to be learned.




CHAPTER III

SAM BRINGS NEWS


As Tom ran over to his brother's side he could not help but give a
glance at the flying machine, which was rising higher and higher in the
air, with a noise from the engine that sounded like a battery of gattling
guns in action.

"Hi! hi! Wot's that?" came in a startled voice from the other side of
the barn, and Jack Ness, the Rovers hired man, came running into view.
"By gum, if them boys ain't gone an' flew without waitin' fer that man
to show 'em! Who's doin' it? I don't see nobuddy." And the hired man
blinked in amazement at the sight before him. "Is Sam in there?"

"Nobody is in the machine," answered Tom, who was kneeling beside his
brother. "Oh, gracious! Look at that!" he exclaimed.

"There goes the chimbley!" roared Jack Ness, as the biplane swooped just
high enough to clear the roof of the Rover homestead. One of the wheels
underneath struck a chimney a glancing blow, hurling the bricks in all
directions. As they came clattering down, from the house out ran Mrs.
Rover, followed by her husband and the hired help. Anderson Rover was
away on business.

"What is the matter--is it a--er--a cyclone?" gasped Randolph Rover.

"I don't know, I'm sure," answered Mrs. Rover. "But it's a terrible
noise."

"Look! look!" shrieked the cook, pointing upward. "Saints preserve us!"
she moaned. "'Tis the end of the world!"

"A flying machine!" murmured Randolph Rover. He gazed around hurriedly.
"Can it be the boys?"

"Oh, those boys! They will surely kill themselves!" groaned Mrs. Rover.
"They know nothing about airships!"

"Say, dar ain't nobuddy in dat contraption!" came suddenly from Aleck
Pop. "It am flyin' all by itself!"

"By itself?" repeated Randolph Rover. "Impossible, Alexander! A flying
machine cannot run itself. There must be somebody to steer, and
manipulate the engine, and----"

"Oh, maybe whoever was in it fell out!" screamed Mrs. Rover, and now she
looked ready to faint.

"We must find out about this!" returned her husband quickly. "They had
the machine in the shed back of the barn." And he ran in that direction,
followed by the colored man, and then by his wife and the cook. In the
meantime the biplane soared on and on, ever rising in the air and moving
off in the direction of the river.

When the others arrived they found that Tom had carried poor Dick to the
wagon shed and placed him on a pile of horse blankets, and was washing
his wounded head with water. At the sight of her nephew lying there so
still Mrs. Rover gave a scream.

"Oh, Tom, is he--is he----" she could not go on.

"He's only stunned, I guess, Aunt Martha," was the reply. "But he got a
pretty good crack."

"Did the flying machine do it?" queried Randolph Rover.

"Yes. We had it tied fast, but when we started the engine and the
propellers it broke loose and ran right over Dick."

"I dun tole you boys to be careful," burst out Aleck. "It's a suah
wondah yo' ain't bof killed. Wot kin I do, Massa Tom?" And he got down
on his knees beside Dick, for he loved these lads, who had done so much
for him in the past.

"He's only stunned, I think--and he's coming around now," answered Tom,
and at that moment Dick commenced to stir. Then he gave a gasp, opened
his eyes, and suddenly sat up.

"Stop her! Stop her, Tom!" he murmured.

"Dick! Dick, my poor, dear boy!" burst out Mrs. Rover, and got down
beside him. "Oh, I am so thankful that you weren't killed!"

"Why--er--why!" stammered the oldest Rover boy. "Say, what's happened?"
he went on, looking from one to another of the group. "Where's the
biplane?"

"Flew away," answered Tom. "You got struck and knocked down, don't you
remember?"

"Ah!" Dick drew a deep breath. "Yes, I remember now. Oh, how my head
aches!" He put up his hand and noticed the blood. "Got a pretty good
rap, didn't I? What did the machine do, Tom; go to smash?"

"I don't know. The last I saw of her she was sailing over the house."

"She kept right on a-sailin'," answered Aleck. "Went on right ober de
woods along de ribber."

"You don't say! Then we'll have a time of it getting her back." Dick
gritted his teeth. "Phew! how my head hurts!"

"Bring him to the house, and we'll bind his head up," said Mrs. Rover.
"I'll wash the wound first and we can put on some witch hazel."

"Yes, that or some peroxide of hydrogen," added Randolph Rover, who was
a scientific farmer and something of a chemist. "That will kill any
germs that may lodge there."

Dick was half led and half carried to the house and placed on a couch in
the sitting room, and then his aunt went to work to make him
comfortable. The cut was not a deep one, and the youth was suffering
more from shock than from anything else.

"I'll be all right by to-morrow," he assured his Aunt Martha. "I only
got a knock-down blow, that's all."

"The machine didn't fight fairly," added Tom, who had to have his little
joke. "It hit Dick before he was ready."

"Well, I am thankful it was no worse," answered Mrs. Rover. "But it is
bad enough."

"And we'll have to have a mason here to mend the chimney," added
Randolph Rover.

"I'll get a man from the Corners to-morrow," said Tom. "But say, I'd
like to know where the biplane went to," he continued anxiously.

"Maybe it landed on some other house," mused Randolph. "If it did you
may have more to pay for than a dismantled chimney."

"Oh, houses are few and far between in that direction, Uncle Randolph.
What I am afraid of is, that the biplane came down in the trees or on
the rocks and got smashed. That would be a big loss."

"That is true."

"I can send Jack Ness and Aleck Pop out to look for the machine," went
on Tom. "And I can go out myself with Sam, when he returns."

"Yes, you'd better do that," answered Dick. "And I'll go out with you
to-morrow, if you can't locate the machine to-day."

"Better take it easy, Dick," cautioned his aunt.

"Oh, I'll be all right by to-morrow, Aunt Martha. A good night's sleep
will be sure to set me on my feet again. And I can fix this cut up with
a bit of adhesive plaster."

"Did you have much gasoline on board?" queried Randolph Rover.

"The tank was full," answered Tom. "Oh, the _Dartaway_ could go a good
many miles, if she wanted to," he added, dubiously.

"The _Dartaway_? Was that the name of the craft?"

"Yes, and she did _dart away_, didn't she?" and Tom grinned.

"For all we know, she may have gone fifty or a hundred miles," continued
Dick. "But I doubt it. With nobody to steer she'd be bound to turn
turtle or something before long."

"Well, if she's busted, she's busted, that's all," answered Tom,
philosophically. Yet the thought of the beautiful biplane being a wreck
caused him to sigh.

A few minutes later the honk of an automobile horn was heard in the lane
leading to the house, and Sam Rover appeared, driving the family car. He
was alone on the front seat and in the tonneau had a variety of things
purchased in the village for his aunt and the others.

"Hello! what does this mean?" cried Sam, as he came into the sitting
room and saw Dick with his head bound up. "What did you do? Did you get
that fussing with the biplane?"

"I did, Sam," was the answer.

"We both had a set-to with her ladyship," put in Tom. "And the biplane
floored us on the first round." And then he told his younger brother of
what had occurred.

"Humph! that's too bad!" murmured Sam. He took Dick's hand. "Not hurt
much, really?" he asked in a lower voice.

"No, Sam, I'll soon be O. K."

"Jumping lobsters! But this beats all!" went on the youngest Rover. "I
don't know if I had better tell you or not." And he looked around, to
see if anybody but his brothers was present. The grown folks had left
the room.

"Tell us what?" demanded Tom, who quickly saw that Sam had something on
his mind.

"Tell you the news."

"What news?" asked Dick.

"Maybe you can't stand it, Dick. It will keep till to-morrow."

"See here, Sam, I'm not a baby," retorted the oldest Rover boy. "If
you've got anything worth telling tell it."

"But it may make your head ache worse, Dick."

"No, it won't. Now, what's the news? Out with it."

Instead of answering at once, Sam Rover walked over to the door and
closed it carefully.

"No use of worrying the others about it," he half whispered.

"But what is it?" demanded Tom, and now he showed that he was as
impatient as was Dick.

"I got a letter from Grace Laning," went on Sam, slowly, and turned a
bit red. "She told me a piece of news that is bound to upset you, Dick."

"Is it about the Stanhopes--about Dora?" questioned Dick, half rising
from the couch on which he rested.

"Yes,--and about some others, too. But don't get excited. Nothing very
bad has happened, yet."

"What did happen, Sam? Hurry up and tell us,--don't keep us in
suspense!" cried Dick.

"Well; then, if you want it in a few words, here goes. Grace was
visiting the Stanhopes a few days ago and she and Dora went to Ithaca to
do some shopping. While in that town, coming along the street leading to
the boat landing, they almost ran into Tad Sobber and old Josiah
Crabtree."

"What! Those rascals in that town--so near to the Stanhope home!"
exclaimed Dick. "And after what has happened! We must have them
arrested!"

"I don't think you can do it, Dick--not from what Grace says in her
letter."

"What does she say?"

"She says she and Dora were very much frightened, especially when they
discovered that both Sobber and old Crabtree had been drinking freely.
The two got right in front of the girls and commenced to threaten them
and threaten us. Nobody else was near, and the girls didn't know what to
do. But at last they got away and ran for the boat, and what became of
Sobber and old Crabtree they don't know."

"What did the rascals say to them?" questioned Tom, who could see that
his brother had not told all of his tale.

"They said that they were going to square up with Dora and with Mrs.
Stanhope, and said they would square up with us, too, and in a way we
little expected. Grace wrote that Sobber pulled a big roll of bank bills
out of his pocket and flourished it in her face. 'Do you see that?' he
asked. 'Well, I can get more where that came from, and I am going to use
that and more, too, just to get even with the Rovers. I'm getting my
trap set for them, and when they fall into it they'll wish they had
never been born! I'll blow them and their whole family sky-high, that's
what I'll do.'"

"Sobber said that?" asked Dick, slowly.

"So Grace writes. No wonder she and Dora were scared to death."

"Oh, maybe he was only blowing, especially if he had been drinking too
much," came from Tom.

"I don't know about that," answered Dick, with a long sigh. "With such a
rascal at liberty,--and with money in his pocket--there is no telling
what will happen."

"What do you suppose he meant by blowing us sky-high?" asked Tom. But
this question was not answered, for at that moment Mrs. Rover came into
the room, and the course of the conversation had to be changed,--the
lads not wishing to worry her with their new troubles.




CHAPTER IV

AT THE TELEPHONE


Tom and Sam spent the balance of the day in looking for the missing
biplane, walking down to the river, and even visiting Humpback Falls,
where the youngest Rover had once had such a thrilling adventure.

"Don't seem to be in sight," remarked Tom, after they had tramped
through the woods and over the rocks until they were tired.

"Looks to me as if the _Dartaway_ had gone further than we supposed
possible," replied Sam. "Maybe she's a hundred miles from here."

"Oh, she may have gone clean over to the ocean and dropped in," said
Tom. "But I don't see how she could--with nobody to steer. How long
would an auto keep to the road without somebody steering?"

"Do you know what I think we ought to do? Go back home and telephone to
the villages and towns in the direction the biplane took. Somebody must
have seen the craft,--if she kept in the air."

"By Jove, Sam, that's the idea! Why didn't you think of that before? It
would have saved us quite a tramp."

The two boys turned back, and reached home a little after the supper
hour. The meal had been held back for them.

"Any luck?" asked Dick, who sat in an easy chair on the front piazza.
His cuts had been plastered up and he felt quite like himself again.

"No luck; but Sam has an idea," answered Tom, and mentioned what it was.

"You must have supper first," said Mrs. Rover. "Then you can do all the
telephoning you please." And so it was agreed.

During the past few months the telephone service in the neighborhood of
Dexter's Corners had been greatly improved and the lines could be
connected with nearly all of the villages and towns roundabout.

"I'll try Carwood first," said Sam. "I'll call up Tom Bender. He's a
wideawake fellow and would know if an airship had been seen."

Carwood was soon had on the wire and Sam presently was talking to the
boy he had mentioned--a lad who worked in the general store with his
father.

"See an airship?" cried Tom Bender. "We sure did--scooting over this
burgh like a streak, too! Was it your machine? Who was running it? I
tried to make out but couldn't."

"Nobody was running it," answered Sam. "It ran away on its own account,
from back of our barn. Where did it go to?"

"Ran away! Suffering toadstools, Sam, you don't mean it! I don't know
where it went, it went so fast."

"Which way was it headed? Try to tell me as nearly as you can."

"It was headed over Bear Hill, near the Spring. That would about take it
over Rayville."

"Thank you, Tom; then I'll call up somebody in Rayville. Good-bye."

"Oh, say, Sam, hold on a minute. You say the machine broke away. How was
that?" Tom Bender was all curiosity.

"We were trying the engine and propellers, that's all. I'll tell you the
rest when I see you," answered the youngest Rover, and rang off. "Tom
would keep me answering questions for a year if I let him," he added, to
his brothers.

He next tried the Rayville general store, but could get no information
concerning the missing biplane. Then he tried several farmers who were
utter strangers to him but whose names were in the telephone directory.

"Airship, eh?" queried one farmer, a man named Peter Marley. "Well, we
sure did see an airship, fer it came nigh onto rippin' off the roof o'
the barn. Ef I had the feller here as was runin' it I'd give him a dose
o' buckshot! He nigh scart my wife into a fit, he did!"

"Which way did the airship go, Mr. Marley?"

"Went right over into Rocker's Woods,--over where the old saw mill used
to be."

"Did the airship come down, do you think?"

"I guess so--leas'wise she looks like she was goin' to come down. But
who was the crazy loon as was runnin' her?"

"Nobody was running the craft--she ran away on her own hook."

"By gum! Ye don't tell me! No wonder she acted so blamed crazy like! Any
reward fer her?" And the farmer's voice betrayed a sudden interest.

"I don't know--I'll find out," answered Sam, and then consulted hastily
with his brothers.

"Tell him the biplane is ours and if he will help locate it and get it
to a safe place we will pay him well for his services," said Dick.

"When can we go to Rayville?"

"First thing in the morning. There's a good road, and we can make the
sixteen miles in the auto in no time."

"All right," said Sam, and told Peter Marley of what had been said. The
farmer agreed to remain around his house until they arrived and then do
all in his power to help locate the _Dartaway_.

"Dick, do you think you'll be able to take that trip?" questioned
Randolph Rover. "Hadn't you better remain behind? I can go with Tom and
Sam if necessary."

"Oh, I'll be all right in the morning," was the reply.

"But you've got to let me and Sam run the machine," put in Tom. "No use
of your doing that."

"All right," answered the eldest Rover boy.

That night, when the others had gone to bed, the three Rover boys
gathered in Dick's room to discuss further the news regarding Josiah
Crabtree and Tad Sobber.

"Do you suppose it is possible that Sobber thinks to come here and blow
the house up?" queried Tom.

"He might be equal to it," answered Dick, soberly. "We'll have to keep
our eyes peeled, and, when we go back to Brill, we'll have to warn dad
and Uncle Randolph."

"Do you know, dad looked worried when he went away," put in Sam.

"I noticed it, Sam. Did he say anything to you about business?"

"Not a word. Why, do you think it's that?"

"There is some trouble out west--has been ever since there was a strike
at that Golden Horseshoe mine in which dad invested so heavily last
summer. They had a strike, and now one crowd is trying to get the
control from another crowd. I don't know the particulars, but I guess
dad is worried."

"Dick, don't you think you ought to help him in these affairs?" came
suddenly from Sam. "Uncle Randolph is too absorbed in his books and in
scientific farming to pay any attention, and--well, dad isn't as young
as he used to be--and we are growing older."

"I've been thinking of that, Sam. I wish I was through college, I'd jump
right into the game and try to take the load from his shoulders."

"Are you going to take the full course?"

"No, I talked it over with dad last week and I'm going to take the
shorter course. He said you two could take the long course if you wanted
to."

"Not much! The short course for yours truly!" cried Tom.

"Ditto here!" came from Sam.

"I want to settle down and get into business," went on Tom.

"He thinks Nellie won't wait much longer," remarked Sam, with a wink at
Dick.

"Huh! I guess, you think Grace won't wait!" snorted Tom. "Didn't I see
you looking over that furniture and picture catalogue the other day? Ha!
I caught you, Sammy, my boy!"

"Rats!" cried Sam, growing suddenly red in the face. "I was thinking of
buying a new chair and maybe a picture or two for our quarters at Brill.
The old ones are pretty punk, if you'll remember. Besides, we've got to
wait until Dick and Dora step off, you know," went on the youngest
Rover.

"That's so--so we have," added Tom, with more of a grin than ever. "By
the way, Dick, how much longer are you going to linger before you scrape
up money enough to pay the minister's fee?"

"Just long enough to hammer some common-sense into the heads of two
brothers of mine!" cried Dick, and threw a book at Tom and a pillow at
Sam. "Now go to bed and don't forget to wake up early, for we want to be
in Rayville by eight o'clock, so we can have all day, if necessary, to
locate the biplane." And then he chased Tom and Sam out of the bedroom
and locked the door on them.

Left to himself, Dick walked slowly across the room to where the bureau
stood. On the top was a small, framed picture of Dora Stanhope, that had
been taken only a few months before. Dick could not help but take up the
portrait and gaze at it long and earnestly.

"Dear, dear Dora!" he murmured fondly. "The best girl in all this wide
world! Some day you are going to be Mrs. Dick Rover, and that day can't
come any too soon for me. Oh, I hope those rascals don't do anything
more to harm you!"

Dick was still holding the picture when there came a soft knock on the
door.

"Who is it? What do you want?" he asked, as he put the picture down.

"Dick, my child," came in a whisper from the fun-loving Tom. "Be careful
and don't kiss all the glaze off that photo. She's a sweet girl,
warranted all silk and a yard wide, but the glaze may be poisonous,
and----"

"Tom, if you don't get to bed I'll--I'll throw a pitcher of water over
you!" cried Dick, and started to unlock the door. With a merry laugh Tom
ran off; and that was the last seen or heard of him that night.

Before retiring Dick gave his wounded head another application of
liniment, and in the morning he was gratified to find that much of the
soreness was gone. The cuts, of course, remained, and he bound these up
with extra strips of adhesive plaster. The three lads had an early
breakfast, and by half-past seven o'clock were in the touring car, bound
for Rayville.

"How are you going to get the biplane back here, even if you do find
it?" questioned their uncle, before they started off.

"I don't know," answered Dick. "It will depend on what condition the
_Dartaway_ is in. She may be so broken up as to be unfit for anything,
and then it wouldn't pay to move her."

"Well, better not attempt to fly in the craft," cautioned Randolph
Rover.

"Hardly," said Tom. "Maybe we'll telephone for Captain Colby to come and
get her."

Tom was at the wheel of the touring car and, once the farm was left
behind, and they were on a fairly good country road, he advanced the
spark and the gasoline control until they were running at twenty-five
and then thirty miles an hour.

"Now, don't get gay, Tom!" warned Dick. "This road wasn't built for
racing."

"Pooh, what's thirty miles an hour!" declared the fun-loving Rover, who
just then felt like "letting out." "You know this machine can make fifty
and better, Dick."

"I know it, but you've got to have a safer road than this, Tom."

"Beware of the turn!" cried Sam, who sat on the front seat with Tom,
while Dick was alone in the tonneau. "It's a bad one!"

"I know it, but I'll make it," answered Tom, and then the touring car
reached a bend in the road, and went whizzing around it with a sudden
lurch that made Sam cling desperately to the seat and sent Dick flying
from one side of the tonneau to the other.

"Tom, be careful!" cried Sam. "Do you want to pitch me out on my head?"

"Do that again, and I'll make you let Sam drive," came from Dick.

"It was the brake--it didn't act just right," answered Tom, just a
little frightened. "I think it's loose."

"Better stop and look at it," answered Dick, promptly.

"Oh, I guess it's all right," said Tom. The touring car continued to
move along, up a winding hill. Then came a level stretch for half a
mile, and then a sharp descent, leading into Carwood.

"Now be careful----" commenced Dick. And then stopped short, for a
sudden snapping sound reached his ears.

"What's that?" cried Sam, in alarm.

"The brake--it's broken!" answered Tom. And then he set his teeth
grimly, to try to guide the heavy touring car down the steep hill
without disaster.




CHAPTER V

LOOKING FOR THE LOST FLYING MACHINE


It was the foot brake that had given away. The hand brake was still fit
for use, but each of the Rover boys remembered with dismay that this
brake had been loose for some time. They had thought to tighten it up,
but other matters had claimed their attention, and they had not deemed
it absolutely necessary before taking the short trip to Rayville, since
on starting the other brake had seemed to be in good order.

"Can you do it, Tom?" asked Dick, quickly, as the big car gathered
headway on the steep hill.

"I'll try!" was Tom's reply. "But it's some hill."

"If only we don't meet anything," put in Sam. "Blow the horn, Dick!"