CHAPTER XXI
THE RAG ON THE STATUE
The attention of the boy with the tires was so much taken up withtrying to look over the heads of the people about him, that, for atime, he did not notice the excitement of Jerry and his two chumscaused by the unexpected discovery.
"They are the same tires," murmured Bob.
"Exactly," agreed Jerry. "What shall we do?"
"Let's get this lad off in some quiet place, and talk to him," proposedNed. "We'll ask him where he works, and whether his firm sold any tiresto an aeroplane owner lately."
"He'd hardly know about that," objected the tall lad, "but we'llquestion him, anyhow. I'll talk to him."
After considering the matter for a few seconds, and turning over in hismind the best way to get at what he wanted to know, Jerry touched thelad on the shoulder, and asked:
"Have you got a few minutes to spare?"
"What for?" asked the boy suspiciously, taking a firmer hold of therubber tires.
"We want to ask you a few questions."
"What about?" and the lad backed away.
"About those tires," and Jerry indicated them.
"Where can we get some like them?"
"At the store where I work, Johnson and Carroll, 236 Main street. It'sjust down about two blocks."
"Are you delivering these tires to some aeroplane owner?" asked Jerry.
"No, I'm taking these back to the store. They were out at the meet inColton."
"Colton!" gasped Jerry.
"Yes, some fellows that had an aeroplane out there sent for some extraones just before the exhibition opened. They wanted a heavy anti-skidkind--wanted several sets of 'em, in case they punctured some. So Itook out three sets--nine in all. But those fellows left before themeet opened, and I was sent to-day, when it closed, to get the tiresthey hadn't used. They left word at the store that the unused tireswould be found in their tent, but the boss didn't think to send me for'em before. Those fellows used only one set, and left two."
"What were the names of those men?" asked Jerry with growing excitement.
"Brown and Black!" answered the lad, and he was little prepared for theflurry caused among his questioners by his unexpected answer.
"Brown and Black!" exclaimed Jerry.
"Yep. Was they friends of yours?" asked the boy.
"No, not exactly, but we had met them. So they used this style of tireson their wheels?" Jerry's brain was in a whirl. His suspicions againstNoddy were disappearing.
"But how is it, if they left two sets, or six tires, that you only haveone set of three here?" asked Ned. "Couldn't you carry them?"
"Sure, but they weren't in the tent that Brown and Black had usedbefore they left. There was only these three tires there. At first Ithought some one had swiped the extra set, but the secretary of theexhibition paid me for 'em."
"Had he used them?" inquired Bob.
"No, but some fellow who had an accident and needed new wheels andtires on his airship heard about these tires in the vacant tent, and hetook three, giving the money for 'em to the secretary. The secretaryknew they were our tires, and kept the money for us."
"Were the tires exactly like these?" asked Jerry, as he noted that theridges and corrugations corresponded to the marks on the roof of thebank.
"Just like 'em," replied the lad. "The fellow whose airship had asmash, and Brown and Black, each have a set like 'em. They're great forairships. Maybe you'd like a set."
"Later, perhaps," assented Jerry who could not but admire the lad'sbusiness instinct. But Jerry had something else to think about justthen. "Who was the man who bought the extra set of tires, and left themoney for them with the secretary?" asked the tall lad.
"A young feller named Noddy Nixon," replied the messenger promptly.
"Noddy Nixon!" exclaimed Ned and Bob in a breath. It was the answerthey had expected, but, nevertheless, it startled them.
"Huh! Do you know him too?" asked the boy.
"Slightly," admitted Jerry. "We're much obliged to you. Here's a dimefor some ice cream soda," and then, fearing the lad would ask questionsthat might be embarrassing to answer, Jerry pulled his two chums to oneside, and they soon lost sight of the messenger and his tires in thecrowd.
"Say, wouldn't that make you want to go in swimming?" demanded Ned,when they could talk freely.
"It's certainly got me going," admitted Bob, with a sigh.
"And it knocks most of our theory squeegee!" said Jerry, shakinghis head. "There are two aeroplanes fitted with those peculiartires--Noddy's and Brown and Black's. Now which one landed on the roofof the bank?"
"Give it up," answered Bob.
"Same here," replied Ned. "It's too deep for me."
"Who'd ever think of such a thing?" went on Jerry. "When Noddy smashedhis wheels that time he must have heard about those extra tires thatBrown and Black didn't use, and he put them on his machine. Then thosetwo men already had a similar set on, and--there you are."
"Or rather, there you--aren't," suggested Ned. "Now who committed therobbery--Noddy or the other fellows? You 'pays your money and you takesyour choice,' as the fellow said in the circus."
"Are you going to tell President Carter now?" asked Bob.
"I don't know what to do," replied Jerry, with a puzzled shake of hishead. "This puts an entirely new turn on it. Let's go off and talk itover."
"There's a little park somewhere up this way, not far from the bank,"suggested Bob. "It's got a statue and a fountain in it, and rightacross the street is a nice restaurant. I noticed it the other day. Wecould go to the park, sit down, and----"
"Then go to the restaurant and have something to eat; eh Chunky?" askedJerry with a smile.
They walked on in silence and soon came to the little park of whichBob had spoken. It was prettily laid out, and in the centre was alarge fountain, surmounted by a large statue on a pedestal, the statuebeing that of a man on a horse, holding aloft a bronze object thatrepresented an ancient torch.
As the boys came in sight of this art work they saw several mengathered about it, and one was raising a long ladder to the shoulder ofthe figure.
"What's going on, I wonder?" asked Bob.
"Maybe they're going to wash the man's face, or feed the horse,"observed Ned. "How about it, Chunky?"
A man was now mounting the long ladder, and looking up our friends saw,fluttering from the torch which the bronze figure held aloft, a longrag.
"What's up?" asked Jerry of one of the workmen who was holding theladder steady.
"Oh the sparrows have carried a rag up on the statue to build a nest inthe torch I guess," replied the man. "The birds like to get in there,but they make such a litter of straw, grass and rags, that we have toclean it out every once in a while. The top of the torch is hollow, yousee, and it makes a good place for 'em. But I never knew 'em to take upsuch a big rag before. It's been there several days, but we've been sobusy cutting the grass that we haven't had time to take it down. To-daythere was a letter in the paper from some old lady, who said the raglooked bad, so the superintendent of the park told us to get it down."
The explanation was satisfactory, and the boys watched the man climbup, and pull down the offending rag.
"Pretty good size for sparrows to take up," he remarked to his fellowworkmen, as he descended. "There was this package in the hollow torch,too. I wonder how it got there?"
He tossed the rag on a barrel full of leaves and paper refuse that hadbeen swept up on the park paths. Something about the cloth attractedthe attention of Jerry, who picked it up. No sooner had he felt of itthan he uttered an exclamation.
"Fellows!" he cried, "this isn't an ordinary rag. It's a piece ofcanvas such as airship planes are made of!"
"Are you sure?" demanded Bob.
"Certainly," replied Jerry. "See, it's just the kind we use--in factnearly all planes are made from this kind, which is woven especiallyfor the purpose."
"An airship; eh?" mused the foreman of the park laborers. "Maybe itdropped
from some of the machines that were flying out at Colton."
"It didn't drop, it was torn off," declared Jerry, looking at theragged edges. "Some airship went too close to the statue, and a wingtip, or a rudder hit the torch. It was risky flying all right."
"Then it must have been done at night," declared the foreman, "for someof the men are on duty in this park all day, and they'd have seen it ifanything like that happened."
"Perhaps it was a night flight," assented Jerry, as he looked atBob and Ned. The same thought was in the minds of all of them--theaeroplane of the bank robbers!
"What's that other thing you found in the torch?" asked Ned of the manwho had climbed the ladder.
"I don't know. It's pretty heavy. Likely it was dropped by the fellowsin the airship. I'll undo it."
He took off the wrapping paper, disclosing a small flat stone. As hedid so two pieces of white paper fluttered to the ground. Jerry pickedthem up, and, as he read what was written on them he could not repressa cry of surprise.
For the names that confronted him were those of Noddy Nixon and BillBerry!