“I wish I’d happened along before you sent for that stuff,” Halliday remarked at last, flicking Johnny’s face with a glance.  “I’ve got a dope of my own that beats that, any way you take it—­and don’t cost a quarter as much.  And that linen—­I sure would love to cram it down old Abe Smith’s gullet.  Say!  You got tacks and hammer, and varnish and brushes?  If you’re away off from the railroad, as you say you are, all these things must be laid in before we start work.  And what about your oil and gas?  And how’s the propeller?  Does she show any crack anywhere?  How far is it, anyway?  I’d like to look ’er over before I do anything about it.  From all I can see, you don’t know what condition the motor’s in.  How far is it, anyway?  I might go and take a look.”

“When you take a look,” said Johnny, with a flash of his old spirit, “it will be with your sleeves rolled up.  If you think I’m running a sight-seeing bus, you’d better tie a can to the thought.  My time ain’t my own—­yet.  I can get by, this trip, because the bronk I’m riding needed the exercise; or I can say he did, and it will get over.  But I don’t expect to be riding in to the railroad every day or so.  If I get another chance in a month, I’ll say I’m lucky.”

“Well, I’d like to help you out all right.  I can see where you’re going to need it, and need it bad.  Tell you what I will do, providing it suits you.  I’ll go over with you, and take a look at the plane.  If it can be repaired without shipping it into a shop, all right!  I’ll help you repair it.  You’ll learn to fly, all right, on the way to the Coast.  That is, if you’ve got it in you.

“And the other side of it is, if the plane can’t be repaired at your camp, and you don’t want to trust me to get it to a shop where I can repair it, all right.  You stake me to a ticket to Los Angeles and money to eat on.  It’s going to be worth that to you, to know just what shape your plane’s in, and what it will cost to fix it.  And without handing myself any flowers, I’ll say I’m as well qualified as anybody.  I’ve built fifteen of ’em, myself.  I can tell you down to the last two-bit piece what it’s going to stand you to put her in shipshape condition, ready to take the air.  And believe me, old top, you can throw good money away faster on an airplane than you can on a jamboree.  I’ve tried both ways; I know.”  He leaned back on the truck and clasped his hands around one bent knee, as though, having stated his terms and his opinion, there remained nothing further for him to say or to do about it.

Johnny looked at him dubiously, did some further rapid thinking, and went to inquire of the station agent the price of a ticket to Los Angeles.

“All right, that goes,” he said when he returned.  “Come on and eat.  We’ve got to do some hustling to get back before sundown.  You make out a list of what we’ve got to have besides this—­you said hammer and tacks—­and I’ll see if the hardware store has got it.  Lucky I brought an extra horse along to pack this stuff on.  You can ride him out.”