"And so will I, Ned. I can do that, anyhow, even if I don't enlist. Put me down for another two thousand dollars' worth." "Say, Tom, that's fine! That will make my share bigger than I counted on. Shopton will beat the record." "That's good. We ought to pull strong and hearty for our home town. How's everything else?" "Oh, so-so. I see Koku and Eradicate trying to outdo one another in guarding that part of your plant," and Ned nodded toward the big new building. "Yes, I had to let Rad play detective. Not that he can do anything--he's too old. But it keeps him and Koku from quarreling all the while. I've got to be pretty careful about that shop. It's got a secret in it that--Well, the less said about it the better." "You're getting my curiosity aroused, Tom," remarked Ned. "It'll have to go unsatisfied for a while. Wait a bit and I'll give you a ride. I've got to go over to Sackett on business, and if you're going that way I'll take you." "What in?" "The Hawk." "That's me!" cried Ned. "I haven't been in an aircraft for some time." "Tell Miles to run her out," requested Tom. "I've got to go in and say hello to dad a minute, and then I'll be with you." "Seems like something was in the wind, Tom--big doings?" hinted Ned. "Yes, maybe there is. It all depends on how she turns out." "You might be speaking of the Hawk or--Mary Nestor!" said Ned, with a sidelong look at his chum. "As it happens, it's neither one," said Tom, and then he hastened away, to return shortly and guide his fleet little airship, the Hawk, on her aerial journey. From then on, at least for some time, neither Tom nor Ned mentioned the matters they had been discussing--Tom's failure to enlist, his exemption, and what was being built in the closely guarded shop. Tom's business in Sackett did not take him long, and then he and Ned went for a little ride in the air. "It's like old times!" exclaimed Ned, his eyes shining, though Tom could not see them for two reasons. One was that Ned was sitting behind him, and the other was that Ned wore heavy goggles, as did the young pilot. Also, they had to carry on their talk through the speaking tube arrangement. "Yes, it is a bit like old times," agreed Tom. "We've had some great old experiences together, Ned, haven't we?" "We surely have! I wonder if we'll have any more? When we were in the submarine, and in your big airship. Say, that big one is the one I always liked! I like big things." "Do you?" asked Tom. "Well, maybe, when I get--" But Tom did not finish, for the Hawk unexpectedly poked her nose into an empty pocket in the air just then, and needed a firm hand on the controls. Furthermore, Tom decided against making the confidence that was on the tip of his tongue. At last the aircraft was straightened out and the pilot guided her on toward the army encampment. "That's the place I'd like to be," called Ned through the tube as the faint, sweet notes of a bugle floated up from the parade ground.