Kit hung on tighter. The wheels of the aeroplane left the earth and the propellers whirled softly in the upper air. “Now you’ve gone and done it!” Jimmie exclaimed half-angrily. “Now I’ve got to turn back and let you out!” “I’m going with you!” insisted Kit. “You’re likely to get your neck broken!” advised Jimmie. “I guess I can stand it if you can!” responded the boy. “Anyway, my neck is long enough to tie.” Jimmie remained thoughtful for a moment, and then turned to his chum. “Come to think of it,” he said, “I guess I would better take you along. You always do seem to blunder into the right procession. You located the outlaws for us, and now you’re going out to be the candy boy in the sleuth game. You’re all right, Kit!” “What are you going to do?” demanded the boy. “Look here,” Jimmie declared. “We came out here to do some flying machine stunts, didn’t we?” “That’s the idea!” answered Kit. “Well, we haven’t done any stunts yet,” Jimmie went on. “We just plugged across the continent, half asleep all the time, like an old horse pulling a cross-town car in New York. We’ve exercised our machines good and plenty, but we haven’t had any real lively fun yet.” “It’s kept us awake, anyhow,” suggested Kit. “Well,” Jimmie went on, “the machine that followed us from New York is in one of the canyons over to the south. You remember that we saw it settling down in the darkness.” “And it isn’t very far away, either,” suggested Kit. “That’s the idea!” returned Jimmie. “It is so near at hand that this imitation ranger you saw is likely to find it at any minute. If he does, it’s all off with us!” “So you’re going to bump into this crooked aviator yourself?” asked Kit. “I aim to keep him busy all day!” Jimmie answered. “Up in the air, I presume?” queried Kit. “Exactly,” replied Jimmie. “Then I ought to have stayed behind to watch the camp,” Kit mused, regretfully. “The boys may sleep for hours, and some one may wreck or steal the _Bertha_. You see,” the boy continued, “I thought you were only out for a short spin, so I had the nerve to jump aboard.” “It’s all right to have company,” laughed Jimmie, “and now,” he added, turning on more power, “we’ll have to quit talking, for I’m going to give the motor a tip to get a move on, and her conversation will drown anything we have to say. But before I do this,” the boy went on, “I want to pass you this automatic revolver, and tell you that if anything happens to me I want you to catch hold of the steering apparatus as you’ve been taught and keep going toward the camp.” “I couldn’t run a machine on a bet!” replied Kit sorrowfully.