Part 18 (2/2)

”I wonder if that's a heavy wind starting up?” he mused ”Good luck, if it is! We need it” The noise increased, sounding ht, saw the leaves of the trees barely etting here,” he went on

The sound came nearer, and then Tom knew that it was not the noise of the wind in the trees It was

”Can it be distant thunder?” Ton of a storht was calm and clear--the trees as still as if they were painted

The sound was even more plain now, and Tom, who had sharp ears, at once decided that it was just over the house--directly overhead An instant later he knehat it was

”The ible balloon!” he exclai overhead!”

For an instant he feared lest the shed had been broken into, and his Hulance toward the place seeht

Then Toht of stairs led to a little enclosed observatory on the roof

”I' that noise,” he said

As he opened the trap door, and stepped out into the little observatory the sound was so plain as to startle him He looked up quickly, and, directly overhead he saw a curious sight

For, flying so low as to al rod on the chimney of the Swift home, was a sht that glea down on him

Chapter Sixteen

A Mysterious Fire

For a few ht of aeroplanes in flight were any novelty to hiht was a little out of the ordinary

Then, as he realized that night-flights were beco more common, Tom tried to ht the night glasses with me,” he said aloud

”Here they are,” spoke a voice at his side, and so suddenly that To beside hiineer

”Yes It wokearound, and I heard you coht of lasses would be handy, so I stopped for them Take a look, To very fast, either They see inventor was peering through the binoculars, and, as soon as he had the mysterious craft in focus, he cried:

”Look, Mr Jackson, it's a new kind of monoplane I never saw one like it before I wonder who could have invented that? It's so like a Santos-Dumont and a Bleriot, with some features of Cornu's Helicopter

That's a queer ineer, as now sighting through the glasses In spite of the darkness the binoculars brought out the peculiarities of the aeroplane with considerable distinctness

”Can you make out who are in it?” asked Tom