The girls, leaving the boys to look after the aeroplanes, ran to the side of the car and were speedily ensconced in its roomy tonneau.  “We’ll see you at the hotel!” cried Roy, as the car rolled off again, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

Two local constables came up at this juncture and helped the boys keep the crowd back from the machines.  The throng seemed souvenir mad.  Many of them insisted on writing their names with pencils on the wings of the air craft.  Others would have gone further and actually stripped the aeroplanes of odd parts had they not been held back.

“This is the last time we’ll land in a town of this size,” declared Roy indignantly, as he helped the constables shove back an obstreperous individual who insisted on examining the motor of the Dart.

With the help of the constables a sheltering place for the machines was finally found.  A livery stable that had gone out of business the week before was located across the street from the small park in which they had alighted.  The owner of the property happened to be in the crowd and a bargain with him was soon struck.  The aeroplanes were then trundled on their landing wheels into this shelter and the doors closed.  Roy, for a small sum, engaged a tall, gangling-looking youth, whose name was Tam Tammas, to guard the doors and keep off the inquisitive.  This done, thoroughly tired out, the boys sought the hotel.  Like most towns of its size and importance Meadville only boasted one hostelry worthy of the name.  This place, the Fountain House, as it was called, was a decent enough looking hotel and the young aviators were warmly welcomed.  After supper, for in Meadville nobody “dined,” Miss Prescott and the girls sauntered out with The Wren to obtain some clothing for the waif who had so strangely come into their possession.  It was odd, but somehow they none of them even suggested giving up the queer little foundling to the authorities as had originally been their intention.  Instead, although none of them actually voiced it, it appeared that tacitly they had decided to keep the child with them.

While they were gone on their errand of helpfulness Roy and Jimsy were seated on the porch of the hotel watching, with more or less languid interest, the inhabitants of the town passing back and forth.  Many of them lingered in front of the hotel, for aviators were not common objects in that part of the country, and already the party had become local celebrities.

“I guess we’ll go inside,” said Roy, at length, “I’m getting sick of being looked at as if I was some sort of natural curiosity.”

“Same here,” rejoined Jimsy, “we’ll go in and I’ll play you a game of checkers.”

“You’re on,” was the response.

But as the boys rose to go, or rather the instant before they left their seats, there came a heavy step behind Roy and a gruff voice snarled: 

“What are you doing in that chair?”