Bloomsbury, both winter and summer.

The railroad skirted one shore and then passed through the town. Some
miles off arose a lofty peak known as Old Thundertop, which had a road
running part way up its side. The summit was believed to be utterly
inaccessible to mortal man until one day the Bird boys managed to
accomplish the wonderful feat by the aid of their aeroplane.

They had been spending all their spare time, when not in school, working
upon the line that seemed to have a strange fascination for them.
Frank's father was one of the best known doctors in town, a man of
considerable means, and with a firm faith in his boys, so that he was
easily convinced whenever Frank wished to do anything.

Andy had been living with his guardian for some time, until the return
of his own father, Professor Bird, who had been lost while attempting a
difficult balloon trip in Central America, and found in a most
miraculous way by the two boys as told in a previous story.

Andy had inherited the passion which his father, a noted professor, had
always had for navigating the air. It was a favorite expression of his
"A bird by any other name would fly as high," and his cousin would
retort: "A Bird takes to the air just as naturally as a duck does to
water."

They had been doing some fine "stunts" during the last year or two; and
it may be supposed that the people of Bloomsbury were more than a little
proud of seeing the name of their town mentioned so favorably in the
papers in connection with the doings of the Bird boys.