dren, and every train brought more. They swarmed about the aerodromes and almost

green dress and a red parasol of old Schmidt, the owner of the

rejoined Billy Barnes, who happened to be stand

work putting the finishing touches on t

arrested and locked where he would be out of further mischief, fo

on to the field. They swarmed in such numbers that the judges of the course found it impossible to keep them back of the rows of red flags, that had been planted as a boundary mark, and therefo

-Ta-ra-ta

rang out

the competitors to m

hines were practicable at all. The others were destined for the scrap-heap. Their owners, however, all fairly beamed with

r inkhued shape loomed up, came in for a buzz of admiration. Malvoise, in a leathern jacket of black, with black leggings, gauntlets and go

revolutions a minute. All her cylinders worked perfectly and the steady drone, rising in intensity as her young owner

pellers created back draughts that swept off the spectators' hats and gave the men who were holding on to the struggling machines al

out, half of derision, half

!" yelled

scertain what could have

shopper leaping and bounding across the fi

te his stopping levers and to cut out his engine. But something was wrong

craft and speeding the engine to the limit. Then as the propeller reached its maximum velocity the terrific strain caused the holding-back grips to part and the machine had instantly darted away. The

little estate the Grasshopper headed, driven as it seemed by some perverse instinct. Schmidt, seeing evidently that he

bronco. She shot into the air to a height of about twenty feet and then suddenly, without the slightest warning, she gave a crazy swoop d

whom were the boys, feared at first that several persons had been hurt instead of the luckless aviator. All a

the sudden appearance of the Grasshopper's owner had given way to wrath at his invasion, suddenly charged at him. She caught him

he Luckless Avia

rt?" yelled

ead, I dink!" shouted

er Grasshopper is a pig

going and her propeller still beating the air, lay like a

"Vos iss los mit you, any vay, you bad Grasshobber. Himmel! dot propeller almost takes my nose off. Aber ni

e old man finally turned off the switch and the en

the propeller came to a stop. "Aber maybe dot's chust as vell. If

thought a rough-looking man in overa

houted to the crowd, "or I'll

dt among them; but the man with th

n account to settle before you get away from me. What do you m

ostulated Schmidt, "I vould much rather have been so

nd brought a lot of folks, who ought to be at home instead of fooling around a lot of crazy

e quits, I dink. I spoil your pig-pen, but your pig-pen spo

rk over fifty dollars or

produced a fat wallet, and peeling off two twenty-dol

and then you don't fly excepd in mit der hogs," he exclai

on from this scene, which they had watched from a

the war

s the big rac