s the young reporter came across
the campus. "How does it feel to sail above the clouds?"

"Well, I haven't yet gone up that far. This is only about my fifth
flight, and we only did 'grass cutting' for the first few--that is
going up only a little way above the ground. I had to get used to it
gradually.

"But it's great! I like it, and you're only afraid the first few
minutes. After that you don't mind it a bit--that is not until you get
into trouble, as we did."

"And I can't understand that trouble, either," said Mr. Vardon, who had
joined the group of cadets. "Something went wrong!"

"You mean something was MADE to go wrong," put in Jack Butt, who had
now recovered sufficiently to be about.

"Something made to go wrong?" repeated Dick Hamilton, wonderingly.

"That's what I said. That machine was tampered with before we started
on our flight. I'm sure of it, and if we could get it up from the
bottom of the river I could prove it."

"Be careful," warned the aviator. "Do you know what you are saying,
Jack? Who would tamper with my machine?"

"Well, there are many who might have done it," the machinist went on.
"Some of the mechanics you have discharged for not doing their work
properly might have done it. But the fellow I suspect is that young
army officer who got huffy because you wouldn't explain all about your
equalizing gyroscope, or stabilizer."

"Oh--you mean him?" gasped the aviator.

"That's the man," declared Jack. "He went off mad when you turned him
down, and I heard him muttering to himself about 'getting even.' I'm
sure he's the chap to blame for our accident."

"I should dislike to think that of anyone," said Mr. Vardon, slowly.
"But I am sure something was wrong with my aircraft. It had worked
perfectly in other trials, and then it suddenly went back on me. I
should like a chance to examine it."

"We'll try and give you that chance," said Colonel Masterly, who came
up at that moment. "We are to have a drill in building a pontoon
bridge across the river tomorrow, and I will order it thrown across the
stream at the point where your airship went down. Then we may be able
to raise the craft."

"That will be fine!" exclaimed the airship man. "I may even be able to
save part of my craft, to use in demonstration purposes. I may even be
able, to use part of it in building another. It was a fine machine,
but something went wrong."

"Something was made to go wrong!" growled Jack Bu