loosened it."

"How did it fall in there?" asked Ned.

"It didn't FALL there." spoke Tom quietly. "It was PUT there."

"Put there! Bless my insurance policy! Who did such a dastardly
trick?" cried Mr. Damon.

"I don't know," answered Tom still quietly, "but I suspect it was
Andy Foger, and he was never any nearer to putting us out of
business than a little while ago, Ned."

"Do you mean to say that he deliberately tried to injure you?" asked
Mr. Damon.

"Well, he may not have intended to hurt us, but that's what would
have happened if I hadn't been able to throw her up into the wind
when I did," replied Tom. Then he told of Mr. Swift having seen the
red-haired bully near the aeroplane. "Andy may have only intended to
put my machine out of working order," went on the young inventor,
"but it might have been worse than that," and he could not repress a
shudder.

"Are you going to say anything to him?" asked Ned.

"I certainly am!" replied Torn quickly. "He doesn't realize that he
might have crippled us both for life. I sure am going to say
something to him when I get back."