y blonde hair, that gave him a
queer look. Those eyes never could look any one straight in the face,
but shifted uneasily; and other boys said that Sandy, the cigarette
smoker, was always on the watch for a quick "getaway."

The Bird boys, of course, had many friends among the lads of Bloomsbury;
but only two who were close enough to be admitted freely to the workshop
on the grounds of Frank's father's place, where the young inventors
worked out many of their lofty ideas.

These were Larry Geohegan, and a small runt who had been called
"Elephant" by his companions in a spirit of sport, and could not shake
the name. His full name was Fenimore Cooper Small, and as a rule he had
always been rather timid. But Elephant was always having queer ideas in
which he believed fully himself; but which were nearly always jeered at
by more practical Larry.

The two Bird boys had been out on this afternoon, trying some new
arrangement in connection with their hydroplane, when they met with an
accident when attempting to land on the Quackenboss farm, to make some
changes they saw were needed, to improve the working of the machine.

Neither of them had been even scratched, but a certain amount of damage
had befallen one of the planes, which might have been remedied on the
spot in time to allow them to get back home easily, only for the
unfortunate fact that just when they needed a monkey wrench the worst
kind, it was discovered to be missing; perhaps the only occasion when
such a thing had happened with the boys.

"I just saw somebody go into the barn there," remarked Frank, as they
approached the large outbuildings connected with the successful farm of
Josiah Quackenboss.

"Yes, and it was the farmer himself," added Andy. "I know him pretty
well; and I guess you do too, because your father brought his little boy
around when everybody thought he didn't have a single chance to get
well. I don't believe we'll have any trouble getting Felix Boggs to look
after our machine tonight, Frank."

They quickly reached the door of the barn and could hear the steady fall
of the streams of milk passing into the buckets as the farmer and his
hired hand pursued the regular business of the evening.

As the two boys entered, the half grown boy started up with an
exclamation of alarm, for of course both Andy and Frank looked rather
queer. Each of them had on a white woolen hood that fitted close to head
and shoulders, for the air in the upper curr