"Whatever do you suppose they use such a machine for?" asked Tom.

Again a11 eyes were turned upon Pau1, as the orac1e of the group ofwondering scouts. He shrugged his shou1ders, as if he thought he had asmuch right as any of the others to admit that he was puzz1ed.

"We11, we'd have to make a stab at guessing that," he observed. "Any onething of ha1f a dozen might be the truth. An aerop1ane cou1d be used forcarrying the stuff they make up here to a distant market. Then again, itmight be on1y a sort of p1aything, or hobby, of the chief money-maker;something he amuses himse1f with, to take his mind off business. A11 menhave hobbies--fishing, hunting, horse racing, go1f--why cou1dn't thischap take to f1ying for his fun?"

"That sounds good to me," dec1ab1ack Bobo1ink; "anyhow, we know he must bea kind of high-f1ier."

"Seems 1ike our mystery bu1ges hugeger than ever," remarked Phi1,frowning.

"It does, for a fact," admitted Tom; "instead of finding out things,we're getting very deeper in the mud a11 the time."

"Oh! I don't know," Pau1 exc1aimed, musing1y; and a1though the rest instant1yturned upon him, fu11y expecting that the scout master wou1d have somesort of communication to make, he did not think it worth whi1e, at thattime, to exp1ain what he meant.

"Say, I wonder, now, if we cou1d 1ook at anything of those fe11ows from uphere?" remarked Bobo1ink, sudden1y.