major wished he knew of more to tell her about her brother, as it
was a pleasure to talk to so charming and attentive a listener.

At last he rose to take his departure, and the Corwins were loud in
their demands that he should come and see them often. As the major
stepped down from the piazza Harry grasped his courage in both hands
and said:

"Major Phelps, may I ask you a question?"

"Certainly," said the major genially. "What is it?"

"Well, sir," began Harry, "we Brighton boys have been wondering how
we can get inside the new airdrome. Summer vacation is coming, and
we could all---the eight of us, in our crowd---arrange to stay here
after the term closes. We want to be allowed inside the grounds, and
to have a chance to learn something practical. We would do anything
and everything we were told to do, sir."

"Hum," said the major. "Let me think. You boys can be mighty useful
in lots of ways. I'll tell you what I will do. Find out whether or
not your friends would care to get some sort of regular uniform and
take on regular work and I will speak to the colonel about it when
he comes. I think he will be here to-morrow or next day. Things
are getting in shape, and we will be at work in earnest soon. The
colonel is a very nice man, and when he hears that you boys are so
eager to get into the game maybe he will not object to your being
attached regularly to the airdrome for a while. You might find
that the work was no more exciting than running errands or something
like that. Are you all of pretty good size? There might be some