“What are you doing?” asked Ned boldly.

“Fixing up Andy’s old airship that was once busted,” was the unexpected answer, “and after I get that done, if I ever do, he wants me to make a platform for it on the roof of the house, where he can start it swooping through the air.  Mighty queer repairs, I call ’em.  Well, good evening, boys,” and the carpenter passed on.

CHAPTER IV

Searching for smugglers.

“Well, of all things!”

“Who in the world would think such a thing?”

“Andy going to start out with his airship again!”

“And going to sail it off the roof of his house!”

These were the alternate expressions that came from Tom and Ned, as they stood gazing at each other after the startling information given them by Mr. Dillon, the carpenter.

“Do you really think he means it?” asked Tom, after a pause, during which they watched the retreating figure of the carpenter.  “Maybe he was fooling us.”

“No, Mr. Dillon seldom jokes,” replied Ned, “and when he does, you can always tell.  He goes to our church, and I know he wouldn’t deliberately tell an untruth.  Oh.  Andy’s up to some game all right.”

“I thought he must be hanging around here the way he has been, instead of being home.  But I admit I may have been wrong about the police being after him.  If he’d done something wrong, he would hardly hire a man to work on the house while he was hiding in it.  I guess he just wants to keep out of the way of everybody but his own particular cronies.  But I wonder what he is up to, anyhow; getting his airship in shape again?”

“Give it up, unless there’s an aero meet on somewhere soon,” replied Ned.  “Maybe he’s going to try a race again.”

Tom shook his head.

“I’d have heard about any aviation meets, if there were any scheduled,” he replied.  “I belong to the national association, and they send out circulars whenever there are to be races.  None are on for this season.  No, Andy has some other game.”

“Well, I don’t know that it concerns us,” spoke Ned.

“Not as long as he doesn’t bother me,” answered the young inventor.  “Well, Ned, I suppose you’ll be over in the morning and help me try out the noiseless airship?”

“Sure thing.  Say, it was queer, about that government agent, wasn’t it? suspecting you of supplying airships to the smugglers?”

“Rather odd,” agreed Tom.  “He might much better suspect Andy Foger.”

“That’s so, and now that we know Andy is rebuilding his old airship, maybe we’d better tell him.”

“Tell who?”

“That government agent.  Tell him he’s wrong in thinking that Andy is out of the game.  We might send him word that we just learned that Andy is getting active again.  He has as much right to suspect and question him, as he had you.”