“Did you hear what that man said?” demanded Sam in a whisper, of his brothers.

“I did,” returned Dick.  “But he isn’t going to sell our property,” added Tom, warmly.

“Hardly,” responded Dick.  He pushed his way through the crowd and walked straight up to the flat car.

“Who is in charge here?” he demanded.

“What’s that?” came in some surprise from the section boss.

“I asked who was in charge of this flat car with this flying machine?”

“What business is that of yours, young fellow?”

“This is our biplane—­ it belongs to me and my brothers here,” and Dick waved his hand at Tom and Sam.

“Oh!  Are you the Rover brothers?”

“Yes.  And I want to know what business you had to bring that flying machine here?” went on Dick sharply, for he saw the kind of a man with whom he had to deal.

“Say, look here, if you’ve got any kick coming you go to the office with it,” cried Jimmy Budley.

“Very well, I will.  But I want to know who ordered you to bring that biplane here.”

“Never mind; you go to the office and find out.”

“You brought it here, didn’t you?” asked Tom, who had now come up to Dick’s side, along with the others.

“I ain’t answering questions when I don’t have to,” returned the section boss, with a sneer.

“Sure he brought it here—­ on this flat car!” cried a man in the crowd.  “Why don’t you answer the young fellow straight, Jimmy?”

“This biplane belongs to my brothers and me,” went on Dick, as sharply as before.  “You had absolutely no right to touch it.  If I wished to do so, I could have you arrested for this,” he continued.

“Say, I don’t allow nobody to talk to me like that!” growled the section boss.  “You git out of here and see the men at the office.”

“We’ll not get out!” put in Tom.  “This flying machine is ours and we want it.”

“You’ll take it right back to where you found it,” added Sam.  “And be careful that you don’t break it worse than it is, or you’ll foot the bill.”

“I won’t listen to you!” stormed the section boss, who was of an ugly disposition naturally and not liked in the neighborhood.

“Very well then,” answered Dick.  He turned to Stanley.  “Will you go out and see if you can find a policeman?” he asked, loudly.

“Sure,” returned the college youth, readily.

“Wow! he’s goin’ to have Budley locked up!” exclaimed a small boy.

“See here, don’t you get fresh!” stormed the section boss, eying Dick angrily.

“We’ll have a policeman settle this,” answered the oldest Rover boy.  “This is our property, and we can easily prove it.  You had no right to touch it.”

“I had orders,” said Jimmy Budley, doggedly.

“Why don’t you telephone to the office, Jimmy?” suggested a friend.  “Maybe there was some mistake.”

“Wasn’t no mistake,” growled the section boss; nevertheless he hopped down from the flat car and hurried in the direction of a shanty wherein was located a telephone.  Dick followed him.