This suited the eccentric man, and a little later, after he had
eaten one of Mrs. Baggert's best meals, including rice pudding,
of which he was very fond, Mr. Damon accompanied Tom to one of
the big hangars where the new aeroplane had been set up.

"So that's the Air Scout, is it, Tom?" asked Mr. Damon, as he
viewed the machine.

"Yes, that's the girl. 'Air Scout' is as good a name as any,
until I see what she'll do."

"It doesn't look different from one of your regular craft of
the skies, Tom."

"No, she isn't. The main difference is here," and Tom showed
his friend where a peculiar apparatus had been attached to the
motor. This was the silencer--the whole secret of the invention,
so to speak.

To Mr. Damon it seemed to consist of an amazing collection of
pipes, valves, baffle-plates, chambers, cylinders and reducers,
which took the hot exhaust gases as they came from the motor and
"ate them up," as he expressed it.

"The cylinders, too, and the spark plugs are differently
arranged in the motor itself, if you could see them," said Tom to
his friend. "But the main work of cutting down the noise is done
right here," and he put his hand on the steel case attached to
the motor, the case containing the apparatus already briefly