Mr. Hammond had grunted. “Hang on to him. He may be useful a little later on.” “Well, then what?” asked David, impatiently. “Oh!” said Red. “Well then, ‘What sorta mechanics you got?’ asks the Big Fella. “‘So-so,’ says the Colonel. “‘Only so-so?’ growls Big Stuff. ‘Better bounce ’em; the quicker the better.’ “‘Well, I dunno,’ says the Colonel, lookin’ wise the way he does. ‘I dunno. There’s one lad, now; our efficiency expert spent three days checkin’ up on that b’y, and he figured it out that the fella had saved the company one and seven-eighths cents in a week, on insulated wire! In wan week, mind you; Ryan’s the name.’” “You big liar!” exploded David, grinning. “Me?” Red’s sea blue eyes were wide and innocent. “Yes, you! When you lie, you always lie in a brogue. I can always tell.” “I wonder, now, if that’s a slam on my ancestry,” said Red slowly. “If it is, I got to fight the upstart who says it. Only, can a mechanic, first-class, stoop to the killin’ of a mere apprentice? If you’d only shut up, David; if you could only learn to be still, I’d tell you what I been strugglin’ to tell this hour back.” “Oh, go on; go on, for heaven’s sake! Spill it if you know anything. I need something to pep me up. I’m going stale.” David sighed. Red laid a hand on David’s arm and grew grave. “It’s about your baby up there, the ship. The Big Fella is plannin’ no less than a round-the-world trip, for her maiden stunt.” “Round the world!” breathed David. “That, and nothin’ less!” affirmed Red. “Yep, by diligent listening I got it all. I’m afraid they thought they were alone. So they talked free. It seems that Mr. Hammond wants an American ship that will beat the Graf Zeppelin’s time. And he thinks here’s the ship. So do I. Well, Mr. Hammond is financing the trip, with a couple of others who will go along as passengers, just for the glory.” “Oh, Lord! Red, I wish I could go with her!” “Don’t you, just? But there’s not a chance. You couldn’t get in on that trip if you was disguised as a tin of biscuit. There will be millionaires that would get into overalls and carry oil cans to get to go.” “Of course,” said David. “But I can’t help wishing. Wouldn’t you like it?” “Me? Boy, I’d hang on to a rudder blade with me right hand from here to Japan, and then merely shift to the left. Like to go? Lord love me, David, wouldn’t I just!” David sat staring at the silver ship. Men scrambled about her, popping in and out of the openings. “Listen, Davie,” said Red. “Don’t let your right ear know what I’ve poured into your left. My brother used to tell me, ‘Whatever you hear, me young buckaroo, keep it under your hat.’ But he wouldn’t have counted you, David. ‘Keep it to yourself,’ says he. ‘If it is trash, don’t clutter the highways wid it. If it is something worth while, lock it up, Red; lock it up, like you would a dimant, till the fella that owns it wants to use it.’”