"A man with your tongue would be
an affinity for a cackling old woman!"

"That is your hastily formed opinion. Permit me to warn you against
forming opinions too quickly. It is a bad habit to get into, and----"

"Sir!" shouted the little man, "there is the door!"

Scudmore bowed profoundly.

"I noticed it when I came in," he chirped. "Very ordinary door, but I
don't suppose we can expect anything better out in this wild section of
the country."

Scotch was ready to tear his hair.

"Will you take a hint, or do you need a kick?" he bellowed, in his
hoarsest tone.

"A man with hair and whiskers colored like yours should always beware of
undue excitement. Don't think of kicking anybody, for you may lose your
dignity. Speaking about aerial navigation, beyond the shadow of a
doubt, I, Septemas Scudmore, A. M., B. A., LL. D., and B. C, have solved
the problem. I say beyond the shadow of a doubt, and I mean exactly what
I say. It is not a matter of fans and wheels----"

"I think it is a matter of wheels," broke in Scotch, "and they are in
your head."

Scudmore waved one thin hand loftily, his nose high in the air.

"Peace, professor, peace," he said. "It ill becomes you to interrupt a
fellow scientist. Hear me out."

"I had much rather see you out--of the door."

"I see you are skeptical--you doubt the practical and practicable value
of my invention. But you shall be convinced--you shall be my fellow
passenger on my first voyage through space."

"Not if I know myself!" shouted the little man. "You may be a fool,
but----"

"There are others, sir--there are others. I beg you to grant me this
favor. Think what an honor it will be to have it go abroad that you
accompanied Professor Septemas Scudmore on his first voyage in his new
airship."

"Oh, you make me very languid!" cried the little man, using a bit of
slang which he had heard from the lips of one of his youthful
companions.

"I am shocked--shocked beyond measure," declared the lank professor,
sinking his chin upon his bosom and looking reproachfully over his
spectacles at Scotch.

The three boys were enjoying this immensely. It was sport to Frank, who
saw in Septemas Scudmore a character worth studying. Barney laughed
heartily.

"Begorra!" cried the Irish lad, "it's shocked we all are. Th' profissor
has gone crazy, sure."

"If I have, it is not surprising, after what I have passed through. It
has been enough to drive any man insane."

"I fancy y