The Boy Scouts of the Flying Squadron

him standing there with his head cocked on one

y the ambitious inventor. They seemed to be close at hand and constantly growing louder all th

rather startled him, too, as well it might, for

air!" he exclaim

r and everywhere else. Seems to me I might be li

added; at which both the others gasped in wonder, though rea

n it mean?"

makes me think of som

county fair week!

aeroplane?"

t what would a flier be doing away up here, g

may be able to find out. There it comes again, swinging around in a circle. I

better range of observation. "Of all the things that we could meet up here, an aeroplane! And me just pining away with yearning to s

w the course of the swiftly circling though as yet unseen object by listening to the rattl

n see it now!" cr

ll do," ad

ded wings. The sound of the busily working machinery grew louder constantly. No wonder Bud had been so perplexed when he heard all th

crash and vivid flash almost stunned them. Indeed, Bud crumpled up and might have fallen to t

h some subterranean mine must have been exploded, causi

eard, however, close at hand. They told of more or less excitement; and coming with them was the sound o

d a dead silence reigned. By then, Bud m

too! I'm going to take a look in the morning and see if I can find it. They say that college professors often pay big sums for being set on the track of these met

There was indeed plenty to concern him in connection with the mysterious aeropl

Bud presently remarked. "Do meteors explode when they hit the

e lot of us. We were taken aback to find Ralph here in the old shack; he had his surprise when he watched those two men carry on so queerly; then we had the shock last night of hearing thunder and seeing lightning when the sky was clear; after that, the fellow looking in at the win

is Camp Surprise, th

what," e

rks might be all over for this particular night. Even the aeroplane

away, like the old field where we tried out my little model this morning. And say, doesn't it

the run of strange events that had fallen to their share of late to

time who gave utterance to a certain fact that had been in his

but there seemed to be something foreign about the voices we heard after the big noise.

f the men who spoke were your mysterious friends of the other day, one t

hat?" queried Bud, bec

e from the same level as our own location. I'm dead sure of that fact. Then again we could hear the

ht, as though the nearness of that explosion had given them a bad scare. Only a s

uch, either. I came near being knocked flat on my back, myself, when that one let go with a bang. My ea

ion certain suspicions that had taken root in his own mind. He believed he was on the track o

iumphs, for his heavy breathing quickly announced that he was dead to the world. With the other two it was a more protra

ied the scouts very much, for no matter how seasoned a camper may be, the weather has considerable to do with his enjoyment. If rain continues to pour down, there is very little pleasure to be found in spending hours or days under canvas or

move shortly afterward. There was a long hike before them ere they could expect to reach th

n journey would be down-grade. In consequence they expected to make the distan

is seeming lack of appetite; for as a rule Bud was a good feeder and ca

h the list. First thing of all is to take a little tramp around toward the west of the camp, to see if I can stumble on the place where that last old shooting sta

ed out Ralph. "We're just as anxious as you a

ted, with a queer little smile that Bud n

in something like a fan formation. They took to the west, because all of them seeme

ppened to be. In this manner some ten minutes went by and Hugh was thinking that the explosion must ha

ays broke loose and al

've run the old meteor to earth. My stars! what a te