Andy scratched his head, and a look of doubt came upon his face.

“H’m!  I wouldn’t like that one little bit, and that’s a fact, Frank,” he admitted, candidly.  “If we fell into their hands and were kicked around and then left tied up like a pair of mummies from the pyramids of Egypt, while they went and cleaned out that pay-car, and sailed away for Canda—­oh! excuse me, if you please.  Anything but that.  The laugh would sure be on the Bird boys.  I don’t mind posing once in a while as a hero; but it would jar me a whole lot to know that people were pointing me out, and telling how nicely these wonderful Bird boys had been taken in and done for by a couple of traveling yeggs.  Have it your own way, Frank, and don’t pay any attention to my silly schemes.

“Your ideas are all right, Andy, but the only trouble is they are too strong for a couple of boys to carry out.  I think we’d be wise to play safe.  More games are won in the long run that way, than by being dashing and venturesome.”

“Of course you’re right, and as I’ve had my little fling, and got it out of my system, let’s work along the sensible lines you laid out, Frank.”

That was just like Andy.  He might occasionally seem to yearn to break loose, and take a wild flight, but on second sober thought he nearly always came back to his cousin’s way of thinking.

Sallie still remained in the kitchen, so that they were able to keep on talking without any fear of being interrupted or overheard.

“I’m wondering if Percy will ever have the chance to handle his Farman biplane again,” Andy went on to remark.  “He seemed to set a great store by it to offer such a nice fat reward for its return.  And it’s so brand new that he hasn’t had much of a chance to try it out.  Wasn’t he mad, though, when he came racing along in that car looking for Chief Waller.  He looked as red as a turkey gobbler.  Just to think that while he was up there with three of his cronies trying to injure our machine, those yeggs were fixing it all up so that they could get his biplane, if they missed ours.  It’s a rich joke on Perc.”

“Oh!  I hope he gets it back again safe and sound,” said Frank.  “Life would be rather tame for us around home here, if we didn’t have Percy to think about.  For a long time, now, he’s kept us guessing, and we’d feel a little lonely if he gave up flying.”

“Guess you’re right there, Frank, it would seem humdrum like if we didn’t have to think of him every little while, and what new schemes he was planning to get the better of the Bird boys.  And say, some of his games kind of dazzle a fellow, if only there wasn’t so much meanness about ’em.  When Perc gets to hating a fellow he doesn’t stop half way, but goes the whole hog.  Why, more than a few times he’s given us a big scare, trying to do some stunt that would make us look small; and at the risk of sending us all down a thousand or two feet.  After all, I’m beginning to believe I’d sleep sounder if Percy Carberry took to some other play, and let aeroplanes alone.”