chimed in Jack as they coasted down a hill. "The expense of the motor
and the self-lubricating bearings and so on is pretty steep. But we
hope in time to be able to cheapen the whole car."

They were shooting swiftly down the hill as he spoke. The next moment
he looked ahead again as they shot round a curve. As they did so his
hand sought a button and an ear-splitting screech arose from a
powerful siren.

In the center of the road, quite oblivious to the oncoming automobile,
was an odd figure, that of a small man in a rusty, baggy suit of
black.

He had a hammer in his hand and was hitting some object in the roadway
over which he was bending with a concentrated interest that made him
quite unconscious of the onrushing car.

"Hi! Get out of the way!" yelled the boys.

But the man did not look up. Instead, he kept tapping away with his
hammer at whatever it was that absorbed his attention so intently.




CHAPTER II.

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A "CHARACTER."