By the time he reached home the pendulum had swung again. He couldn’t give up his ships. Why, he was kin to every dirigible, every balloon, every little fat blimp that adventured into the upper tides! He couldn’t give them up. As well ask a sailor to go inland and hoe turnips. As well ask a violinist to drive rivets for a living. Well, he’d hoe turnips, drive rivets; hoe fast and drive hard. He was no shirk. Quite simply and trustingly, David turned to that Great Source upon whom strong hearts are not ashamed to call. “Help me to find a way!” he whispered. After dinner, while turning the pages of a magazine David chanced on an article on dirigibles. He commenced to read it. Parts of it he reread, scarcely believing his eyes. He gave a whoop of delight. “The very thing!” he cried. “Mother, listen to this!” “What is it?” cried Mrs. Ellison and his older sister Lydia. “Something big! Just listen!” David’s face glowed with excitement. “Today I went over to Black & Black’s to see about a job. They will take me on at fifteen bucks a week, and a chance for a raise occasionally. But they wouldn’t sign me on today because the Mr. Black who attends to such things is away, thank goodness!” “Why ‘thank goodness’?” said Lydia. “This magazine says Goodlow & Company, at Ayre, Ohio, have expanded into the largest dirigible works in the world; and owing to the necessity of having expert pilots and mechanics, they are about to open a school for novices. It is a four-year course, in four departments. First year, ground work; second year, construction and development; third year, balloon fabrics and gases; and fourth year, intensive piloting. “Some rich guy has already posted a big prize to be competed for by the students, for the best invention that will add to the safety of dirigible navigation. And there is a prize in each department given at the close of each year, for the student who has done the best work. They will accept only a limited number of students, and what do you know about this? They pay ’em real money, with bigger salaries, of course, as they go along.” “Why, they couldn’t afford to do that, could they, David?” inquired his mother. “Yes, because the students are at first really laborers and then mechanics in a small way—apprentices to the real big fellows until they acquire skill themselves. Mother, if I can make it, it will fix everything. The students have their quarters at the plant; dormitories, I suppose. It is rather like being in the army. Pretty stiff discipline, and all that. There won’t be any expenses to speak of, and I can send home almost every cent they give me.” “But flying, Davie!” said Mrs. Ellison, her beautiful soft eyes filled with tears. “Flying! I have hoped so that you wouldn’t fly.”