interrupted Larry. "Good for you! I'll give you a good
write-up when you make your first flight."

"I wasn't thinking so much of that," proceeded the young millionaire.
"But when I do get my airship I'd like to have you make some flights
with me. That might serve your end as well as going with some other
aviator, and you could be getting in the practice that your paper wants
for you."

"Fine and dandy!" cried Larry. "I'm with you, Dick. I'll send off a
wire at once, and let the managing editor know I'm going to get right
on the flying job again. This will be great!"

"I don't know that there'll be such an awful lot of news in it at
first," went on Dick, "for I've got to learn this art of flying, and I
don't expect to do any hair-raising stunts right off the reel.

"But, Larry, there may be other news for you around this Academy soon."

"Real news?"

"Yes. You probably heard what Mr. Vardon said about his machine being
tampered with."

"I sure did. And I think the same thing myself. It worked to
perfection the day before, and then, all at once, she turned turtle.
The gyroscope equilibrizer must have broken."

"Well, you can see what happened, for we've got her out of the water
now," said Dick. "And there may be more news when the army aviators
arrive."

"Are they coming here? I hadn't heard. I've been so busy getting
straightened out after my plunge into the river."

"Yes, they're coming here to give us instructions, and there may be all
sorts of stunts pulled off. So you'd better stick."

"I will, thanks. But I'm mostly interested in your airship. It sure
will be great to take a flight with you. But there's Mr. Vardon. I
want to hear what he says."

The aviator, and his helper, who had almost fully recovered from their
narrow escape from death, were carefully examining the airship which
was now hauled out on a level spot in the campus, just above the river
bank. Eagerly the cadets crowded around the machine.

"Come here, Grit!" called Dick to his prize bulldog. "First you know
someone will step on you, and you'll just naturally take a piece out of
his leg. You don't belong in a crowd."

Grit came at the word of command, and Dick, slipping on the leash, gave
the animal in charge of one of the orderlies to be taken to the stable.
Grit whined and barked in protest at being separated from his master,
but Dick wanted no accidents.

"Do you find anything wrong?" asked Innis of his cousin