Nestor is found--if
he's alive."
Preparations for the test flight went on apace, and one
afternoon Tom and Jackson took their places in the big, new
aeroplane. He no longer feared daylight crowds in case of an
accident. They made a good start, and the motor was so quiet that
as Tom passed over his own plant the men working in the yard, who
did not know of the flight, did not look up to see what was going
on. They could not hear the engine.
"I think we've got everything just as we want it, Jackson,"
said Tom, much pleased.
"I believe you," answered the mechanician. "It couldn't be
better. Now if--"
And at that moment there came a loud explosion, and Silent Sam
began drifting rapidly toward the earth, as falls a bird with a
broken wing.
CHAPTER XX
QUEER MARKS
"What happened?" cried Jackson to Tom, as he leaned forward in
his seat which was in the rear of the young inventor's.
"Don't know, exactly," was the answer, as Tom quickly shifted
the rudders to correct the slanting fall of his craft. "Sounded
as though there was a tremendous back-fire, or else the muffler
blew up.
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