Someone told me that she side-slips badly at times.  I never heard why.  Planes don’t do things like that without there being a reason, Louis.  Maybe she needs a bit of fixing that she has never had.  It would be fun if we could rig her up so that she would fly properly, wouldn’t it?  Wonder if there is any use asking Parks?”

“Parks could only ask the colonel, I suppose.  He is a real good fellow, and always seems willing to help us in every way he can.  I don’t see, if he does not intend to repair the ‘bad bus,’ why he wouldn’t let us do it in our spare time, I know he would trust me to do the engine.  He said the other day I could tune up an engine as well as anyone he had under him.”

“You could fix up the engine easy enough,” said Joe “It is the rest of the machine that would take some doing.  She is in pretty rocky shape, an would want a lot replaced.  Harry Corwin could help us with her.  He has had a lot of work with frames lately.  For that matter, I guess all the lot would help.  We could come in early and get some time on her before work starts, stay a bit later at night, and most Sunday afternoons we could hammer away at her without interruption.  It would be rather fun to have the seven of us trying to show what we have learned and putting it into practice that way.  If we got the old bus right I don’t think they would mind our having a flight or two on her now and then, do you?”

“Sure not,” replied the French boy.  “But will the colonel give us the chance?”

“We will know before many days have passed.”

Parks shook his head at first when the boys broached the project to him.  “I don’t think the colonel will agree,” was his comment.

“I had better wait for a good time to introduce the idea.  There is no telling what he might think of it.  Personally, I was undecided what to do with that machine.  I have just let it set there waiting till I made up my mind.  I can’t recommend scrapping a plane merely because it has the reputation of being unlucky.  That is about all the bad name of the ‘bad bus’ amounts to, after all.  I am not sure that you boys would not turn her out in better shape than the repair men turned her out last time.  I can’t see the harm in the plan.”

Parks generally got his way about the hangars.  Colonel Marker depended greatly on Parks’ judgment, which the colonel was fond of calling “horse sense.”  So when the head instructor spoke to the colonel about the proposal the Brighton boys had made to repair the “bad bus” in their own time, and obtain, as a special reward for good work, permission to do a little flying on the machine when opportunity occurred, Colonel Marker felt inclined to leave the matter to Parks, and said so.  That really settled it, for Parks had decided to plead the cause of the boys.

The weeks that passed were very full ones for the Brighton boys, who worked like Trojans on the machine they had undertaken to put in order.  They made some mistakes, and more than once had to apply to Parks for help and advice.  These he gave cheerfully.  Louis and Macpherson overhauled the engine, and pronounced it in A-1 condition when it left the test bench.  Every one of the boys learned much about aircraft construction, at least so far as that type of biplane was concerned, before they were through with the job.