from his
cottage and the pair were in the act of pushing apart the burning
brands in order to wheel out the plane, when Bob and Frank arrived to
help them.

"Et's mighty cur'ous," said Old Davey, shaking his head dolefully;
"mighty cur'ous, the trouble you boys hev with thet airyplane. D'ye
think now et was them Mexicans comin' back?"

"No, Davey," said Jack. "Not this time. Some other set of rascals was
responsible."

"What does he mean, may I ask?" inquired Captain Folsom, his curiosity
aroused.

Briefly, Jack related to him how the previous summer two
representatives of a faction of Mexican bandits engaged in making war
on a group of independent oil operators headed by his father in New
Mexico, had appeared at the quiet Long Island home, stolen the
airplane, and flown with it to Old Mexico where they had employed it
in kidnapping Mr. Hampton. The boys, said Jack, not only had effected
Mr. Hampton's release but also had recovered the plane, as related in
"The Radio Boys On The Mexican Border."

"It's too long a story to be told now, however," he concluded, after
giving the above bare outline. "Some other time I'll give you the
details if you are interested."

"I certainly am interested," said Captain Folsom, regarding Jack with
increased respect. "To think of you boys having done all that!"

"Oh, it was fun," said Jack hastily, embarrassed by the other's
praise. "Come on, let's see what the fellows are doing."

The others proved to be engaged in spraying the last of the chemical
on the expiring embers of the blaze, and in stamping and beating out
the last of the fire. As the light died out, Bob fumbled for and found
the switch in the hangar and the electric lights sprang on.

"Whoever did this made a hurried job of it," said he. "I wonder----"

"What?" asked Jack.

"Oh, I was just wondering why the job was left uncompleted? Tom," he
added, turning to Tom Barnum; "how big was the blaze when you saw
it?"

"Nothin' much," answered the other, his round, good-natured face
shining through a fog of pipe smoke. "I was restless. Somethin' I et
for dinner, I guess. So I got up to smoke a pipe an' stroll around
outside the station a bit, to see if I couldn't get myself sleepy. My
room's back o' the power house, ye know. Well, as I come outside I see
a light over here. Not much bigger than a flashlight. But it was 2
o'clock in the mornin' an' I knew none o' you could be there. So I
thinks either that's fire or s