or every defect, and
finally, the idea complete and perfect, Crane would impale it upon the
point of his drafting pencil and spread it in every detail upon the
paper before him, while Seaton's active mind leaped to the next problem.

Not being vitally interested in the thing being built in the shed, they
did not know that to the flawed members were being attached faulty
plates, by imperfect welding. Even if they had been interested they
could not have found the poor workmanship by any ordinary inspection,
for it was being done by a picked crew of experts picked by Perkins. But
to make things even, Perkins' crew did not know that the peculiar
instruments installed by Seaton and Crane, of which their foreman took
many photographs, were not real instruments, and were made only nearly
enough like them to pass inspection. They were utterly useless, in
design and function far different from the real instruments intended for
the Skylark.

Finally, the last dummy instrument was installed in the worthless
space-car, which the friends referred to between themselves as "The
Cripple," a name which Seaton soon changed to "Old Crip." The
construction crew was dismissed after Crane had let the foreman overhear
a talk between Seaton and himself in which they decided not to start for
a few days as they had some final experiments to make. Prescott reported
that Steel had relaxed its vigilance and was apparently waiting for the
first flight. About the same time word was received from MacDougall that
the real Skylark was ready for the finishing touches. A huge triplane
descended upon Crane Field and was loaded to its capacity with strange
looking equipment. When it left Seaton and Crane went with it, "to make
the final tests before the first flight," leaving a heavy guard over the
house and the testing shed.

A few nights later, in inky blackness, a huge shape descended rapidly in
front of the shed, whose ponderous doors opened to receive it and closed
quickly after it. The Skylark moved lightly and easily as a wafted
feather, betraying its thousands of tons of weight only by the hole it
made in the hard-beaten earth of the floor as it settled to rest.
Opening one of the heavy doors, Seaton and Crane sprang out into the
darkness.

Dorothy and her father, who had been informed that the Skylark was to be
brought home that night, were waiting. Seaton caught up his sweetheart
in one mighty arm and extended his hand past her to Vaneman, who