he
plant pretty soon. You see that Roy would have been wiser to sell me that
'plane of his at the start-off. As things are now, the Harding Aeroplane
Company is going to discount anything in its line."

"Well, I am glad of that," said Peggy, briskly, and with some trace of
asperity. Fanning's conceited, confident air jarred upon her sadly. "But
I came over here to find Mr. Gibbons. I want him to repair this rod for
me."

"Why, that's off an aeroplane!" exclaimed Fanning, eagerly; "you must
have come to earth in the Golden Butterfly quite close to here."

"Why, yes. In that field yonder," rejoined Peggy, some instinct telling
her not to disclose the true object of her visit there; "my motor went
wrong and I had to descend."

"What field did you come down in? That one by the clump of woods round
the bend in the road?" asked Fanning, with just a trace of anxiety in his
tone.

"Yes. It was lucky I was so close. Morgan and Giles----"

"What, Morgan and Giles were there?"

Fanning seemed tremendously excited all of a sudden.

"Why, yes. What of it?"

But Fanning had pulled himself together.

"Oh, nothing," he said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "I only thought they
were a long way from home, that's all. But here comes Gid now. Hey, Gid!
Miss Prescott wants a rod welded. Can you do it for her right away?"

"Sure," responded the ill-favored blacksmith, shuffling up. His chin was
more bristly than ever, and his shifty blue eyes blinked like a rat's
beady orbs as he took the bits of metal.

"A flaw," he declared, examining them; "wonder it didn't break sooner.
Come on to the forge, miss, and I'll fix it for you in a brace-of-shakes."

Off he shuffled toward the ramshackle forge, Peggy following. Behind her
came Fanning. As they passed the cottage Hester Gibbons came flying down
the path, but stopped at a sign from Fanning. The youth dropped further
behind, and as Peggy followed Gid into the forge and the bellows began
roaring, they began to talk in low tones.

"Do you think she can suspect anything?" asked Hester at one point.

"Not a thing," was the confident response. "That pale-faced old gopher,
Morgan, was in the wood this afternoon, though. She told me that. The
existence of the Harding Aeroplane Company has become known rather before
I wanted it to, also. However, they may as well know now as any other
time that they aren't the only fliers in the air. I guess the Harding
aeroplane will beat anything in its lin