"Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio
running away. "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

"No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned. "We had the
fun." And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

"Tried to damage the airship, eh?" asked Mr. Sharp. "I wish I'd caught
them at it; the scoundrels! But perhaps you handled them as well as I
could have done."

"I guess so," assented Tom. "I must see if they did cut any of the
wires."

But the young inventor and his chum had acted too quickly, and it was
found that nothing, had been done to the Red Cloud.

A little later the airship was taken out of the shed, and made ready
for a trip. The gas ascension was first used, and Ned and Mr. Swift
were passengers with Tom and Mr. Sharp. The machine went about a
thousand feet up in the air, and then was sent in various directions,
to the no small delight of a large crowd that gathered in the meadow
back of the Swift property; for it only required the sight of the
airship looming its bulk above the fence and buildings, to attract a
throng. It is safe to say this time, however, that Andy Foger and his
cronies were not in the audience. They were probably too busy removing
the soot and red paint.

Although it was the first time Mr. Swift had ever been in an airship,