“Yes, we all do,” added Ralph.

They continued to stare up at the moving object, which, as seen in that uncertain light, looked not unlike a monstrous bat with extended wings.  The sound of the busily working machinery grew louder constantly.  No wonder Bud had been so perplexed when he heard all this, though more faintly, on the previous night and asked whether it could be possible to catch the sound of the mills many miles away.

As the three scouts continued to stand there gaping at the dimly seen flier, a sudden terrific crash and vivid flash almost stunned them.  Indeed, Bud crumpled up and might have fallen to the ground, only that he came in contact with Hugh and received the support of his firm footing.

The very ground shivered under them.  It seemed as though some subterranean mine must have been exploded, causing the rockribbed earth to quiver in a sickening fashion.

When they dared look up again, the queer bat-like object had vanished entirely from sight.  Voices were heard, however, close at hand.  They told of more or less excitement; and coming with them was the sound of one or more persons pushing recklessly through the thickets that grew in many places as a second growth.

Presently even these noises died away and a dead silence reigned.  By then, Bud managed to regain possession of his voice.

“Oh, another terrible meteor!  Why, we must be right in the middle of a shower of shooting stars!  And let me tell you, that one hit the earth not a great way off, too!  I’m going to take a look in the morning and see if I can find it.  They say that college professors often pay big sums for being set on the track of these meteors that bury themselves in the ground.  What if she had dropped right down on top of this shanty, boys?  I’m glad we got off as well as we did, aren’t you, Hugh?”

Hugh did not answer.  Evidently he was thinking deeply at that particular moment.  There was indeed plenty to concern him in connection with the mysterious aeroplane that nightly circled the region, always accompanied by that strange explosion.

“Seems to me I can smell something queer like burnt powder,” Bud presently remarked.  “Do meteors explode when they hit the earth, Hugh?” And would they send out a rank odor like that?”

“I don’t happen to be up in the doings of meteors, Bud,” answered the other, “but I should think it might be something like that.  We’ll all take a look after breakfast, and see what we can find.  Perhaps it may surprise us.  This seems to be a general all-around surprise party for the lot of us.  We were taken aback to find Ralph here in the old shack; he had his surprise when he watched those two men carry on so queerly; then we had the shock last night of hearing thunder and seeing lightning when the sky was clear; after that, the fellow looking in at the window startled us.  You were a little surprised your self, I reckon, Bud, at your success in trying out your stability device as applied to aeroplanes.  And now comes the discovery that one of the air craft is skimming around here nightly, doing some stunt that we can’t understand yet.”