He got his opportunity a few minutes later. Andy, hurrying here and
there, came face to face with the young inventor.
"Hello, Andy," spoke Tom, good-naturedly. "So you're going to make a
flight, eh?"
"Yes, I am, and I s'pose you came around to see if you could get any
ideas; didn't you?" sneered Andy.
"Of course," admitted Tom, with an easy laugh. "My airship doesn't
fly, you know, Andy, and I want to see what's wrong with it."
There was a laugh in the crowd, at this, for Tom's success was well
known.
"Are you going to Alaska?" suddenly asked Tom, in a low voice, of
the bully.
"To Alaska? I--I don't--I don't know what you mean?" stammered Andy,
as he turned aside.
"Yes, you do know what I mean," insisted Tom. "And I want to tell
you that the map you have won't be of much use to you. Why, do you
think," he went on, "that Abe would carry the real map around with
him that way? It's easy to make a copy look like an original, Andy,
and also very easy to put false distances and directions on a map
that may fall into the hands of an enemy."
The shot told. Andy's face turned first red and then pale.
"A--a false map!" he stammered. "Wrong directions?"
"Yes--on the copy you made of the map you took from Mr.
Abercrombie," went on Tom.
"I--I didn't make any--Oh, I'm not going to talk to you!" blustered
Andy.
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