 Gery at Faroaks. Search me, Gerry, all I could find out, even by asking Harold, is that Harold's dad told him that Mr. X was very necessary if we were to have a course in aeronautics here at Faroaks. Hmm. Necessary to a course in aeronautics. Say, you don't suppose he's a mechanic or something like that, do you? I don't think so, Gerry. They wouldn't be so mysterious about that. You know, I think it's something bigger. Well, come on, let's walk a little faster. We can't go tearing through Custer's hall We can't go tearing through Custis Hall or we'll get a few demerits. That's right, Jerry. Take it easy. Oh, Sergeant Alden. Yes? Do you have any idea who this Mr. X is? If I did, do you think I'd give away the show by telling you? Well, just have to wait, Jerry. I guess so. Well, here's Custis Hall. Well, I hope this new excitement doesn't take away from your interest in the riding meet, Jerry. Oh, no, sir. It won't. You see, Jerry, this meet means a lot to Faroqs. Edison took the trophy back to school last year and they're pretty confident they'll be able to keep it. Well, what makes them think so, sir? Well, because in the first place they've got a veteran team. The same team that won the trophy last year will be in competition again this year. And we've got practically a green team. You know, we were hit pretty hard by graduation. Well, gee, don't you think we've got a chance? Oh, just a moment. Sure. Yes, sir? Uh, you asked me if I thought we'd have a chance, Jerry. Yeah. Well, wouldn't I be a pretty bad coach if I didn't think so? Well, Edison may be overconfident. Oh, I don't think so, Lee. Sergeant Brandy's Edison's coach will see to it that the Edison boys will be right in there giving all they've got. Winning the trophy this year gives the school permanent possession if they win. Oh, they won't, sir. What did you say about Edison being overconfident, Lee? Well, I didn't mean to have it sound that way, Sergeant Alden. I just meant that if it's up to us, I mean the Faroqs team, well, you won't have to worry. No, that isn't what I mean either. I mean, well... You meant you'd give them a real battle, is that it, Jerry? Yes, sir, that's it. But I just couldn't get the right words to say it the right time. Don't worry about the words, Jerry. Just take it out in writing to be Edison. Oh, here comes Harold Inwell. Oh, yeah. Hey, Harold. Say, hurry up. What kept you fellas? Oh, he came right over. You must have crawled. Oh, excuse me, Sergeant Alden. Oh, it's all right, Harold. I guess you're on your way over to see Mr. X, too, aren't you? Yes, sir, and I know who he is, too. Oh, you do? Well, who is he? Wouldn't you like to know? How'd you find out? Oh, I knew right along. I've heard my dad speak of him many a time. There you are, Jerry. That's the advantage of being in on the know. Harold isn't running a temperature from curiosity. I had Jim get farther away instead of us getting closer to it. Hold your horses, Jerry. I hope you put the same enthusiasm into the writing me. Say, this new fella. What's his name? Dal Campbell. Yeah, that's him. I heard Eddie Winston telling somebody that he really could ride. Can he, Sergeant Alden? Well, he's all right, Harold. Somebody said he was going to ride in a team when we meet Edison. Hmm. Where'd you hear that, Harold? Well, I don't know. I don't know who said it, but it's all around the school. Gee. Is he, Sergeant Alden? In whose place? Oh, they didn't tell that. It's just that he might ride in place of someone. I wish I knew where that information came from. Well, it isn't true. It isn't. Is it, Sergeant Alden? What did I say back in Max's place, Jerry? Well, you said that the team would stand as it is. And that's final. I'll win or lose with a team that's been practicing every day. Somebody is trying to stir up a little trouble, and I'd like to know who it is. All right. Well... Yes? What did you say, Jerry? Uh, I wasn't going to say anything, sir. Sure you were, and I'll bet I know why. Cut it out, Harold. If there's something you've got on your chest, Jerry, let's get it off now. I don't want you feeling any way but good on the day of the meet. This rumor may throw the whole team off balance. You know, mental attitude means a whole lot. Sure. What were you going to say, Jerry? I... Nothing, Lee. I just thought of something and started to say it. It wasn't important. All right, Jerry. But just remember that I said I'll enter the team I have now. I'll win or lose with it. Pardon me, Sergeant Alden, but... but why does the meet mean so much? Why? Well, let's stop a moment and I'll tell you. Yes, sir. Did you ever hear of Captain Hunter, boys? It seems to me I've heard of him, sir. Wasn't he here at Faroaks for a while? Yes, he was. I served under him in the army in their regular cavalry. Captain Hunter was an officer and a gentleman. He left the army to come here to Faroaks, and when I had finished my hitch, my term, he brought me here. The horse I ride, Rascal, belonged to Captain Hunter. Belonged? You mean... Captain Hunter was killed five years ago. Oh, gee. That's a shame. And that's why you want the trophy brought here. That's not all, though, Jerry. Just a couple of months before he was killed, he had the trophy made. A mahogany plaque with a gold oak tree on it. Underneath the oak are five gold plates. Two of those plates have Faroaks Military Academy engraved on them. The other two have Edson, and one is blank. After the meet this year, the name of Faroaks Military Academy just has to be engraved on that last plate. Because Captain Hunter would want it that way. You gotta win, Jerry. Pardon me, Sergeant, but isn't it called the Hunter Craig trophy? That's right, Lee. You see, Don Craig was a cadet here when Captain Hunter was football coach. And Captain Hunter put Don off the team for unsportsmanlike conduct. I don't get it, sir. If Captain Hunter did that... Just a moment, Jerry. Later, Don Craig realized that being put off the team had been the best thing in the world for him. He realized that it had helped make a man of him by taking away the thing he liked best. So, Don Craig found out that Captain Hunter was his friend after all. Just as he was a friend to everyone here, cadets and officers at Faroaks. Don Craig, each year, comes back for the meet for all the games between Faroaks and Edson. He became Captain Hunter's greatest admirer. So, Major Davis put Craig's name with Captain Hunter's on the trophy. Well, there you are, Jerry. Something to fight for. Yeah. It makes me feel sort of funny inside. Well, that's good, Jerry. Good. Well, I'll be shaking like a leaf when I go out on the field. Just like I did in the circus the first time I did my act. That's all right. Being nervous shows you're keyed up and ready to go. Well, come on, let's walk on. I've talked too much now. Dad's waiting for us in the gym, fellas. Oh, gosh, we forgot all about Mr. Linwell. Yeah, we gotta go. Okay, boys, I'll see you all later. Well, why don't you come with us, Sergeant Alden? No, thanks, Lee. I've already met Mr. X. Hey, you told us you didn't know. Oh, not quite, Jerry. I just said that if I did know, I wouldn't give away the show. Well, we'd better be going. Goodbye, Sergeant Alden. Goodbye, Lee. See you tomorrow at practice, sir. Goodbye, Sergeant Alden. So long, boys. Oh, Jerry. Yes, sir. Don't forget what I said, that I'm going into the meet with a team I have now. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Okay. Come on. Gee, yes, Dad's been waiting for a first long time. I thought your fellas would never come from that place. Okay, let's go. Jerry. Uh-huh. I think I knew what you were going to say before. When? When you started to say something and then stopped short. I know, too. What was I going to say? Well, I think you were going to say that you knew who had been telling everyone that Bruce was going to ride on the team. Yeah, that's what I think, too. Maybe. You were going to say Red Morrison, weren't you? Well, yeah. I thought so. I wonder where he gets off telling things like that. What's he trying to do? If you ask me, it's just sour grapes with Red Morrison and with that new fella, too. Bruce Dark Campbell. I don't know about that, Harold. Why not? Just a minute. I kind of think that Bruce hasn't got a thing to do with it. That little argument we had was nothing. It just sort of started. Well... Well, here's the gym. Come on. Okay. We won't talk about the other thing now. I want to see Mr. X. He's down in the basement. Yeah, okay. This way. We can go right down this way. Yeah, step on it, Harold. I'm going as fast as I can downstairs. Hey, listen. Yeah, sounds like somebody pounding. Yeah, they're unpacking Mr. X. Unpacking him? Are you kidding us? No, honest I'm not. Here we are. Hey, Dad. Gee whiz. What is all this? Mr. X. Come on. Get a closer look at him. Right this way to Mr. X, Jerry and Lee. Holy smoke. So this is Mr. X. This is Mr. X. Almost uncrated and set up. Ready for their first class in aeronautics. Pretty big fellow, isn't he? Gosh, is it real? You bet it is, Jerry. Old Mr. X has been through a lot. He was with Bill Layton and me in the aerial circus. An airplane. Well, is it real? I mean, does it fly? Well, I'm afraid that Mr. X's flying days are over, Jerry. He hasn't been in the air for years. But as an aviation guinea pig, he's the best in the world. Dad and Mr. Layton used it in experiments, didn't he, Deb? Right. Many is the time we've taken this fellow apart and put him back together again. Oh, uh, clap there in the cockpit, Jerry. Gee, may I? Sure. Go right ahead. Here, I'll give you a hand up. All right. Oh, boy, a real plane. Here you go, Jerry. Put your foot on the wing service right here. Yes, sir. Here you go. Whee. Oh, boy. How's it feel, Jerry? Swell. Take all of the stick, Jerry. Yeah, this thing that sticks up from the floor. Uh-huh, that's it. That's how you steer it, huh? Well, not quite. The rudder bar has something to do with it. The controls aren't tied in yet, but we'll have them up in a jiffy. Boy, this is keen. Hey, how do I look, Lee? Like a pilot? Oh, sure. Just sitting in there makes you an aviator. Uh-huh. I'll have you know, Cadet Phil. What's it? Someday, I expect to be an agent. Me, too. Well, you've all got a long way to go. But I think we'll have a lot of fun in the class. Gee, Dad, I... Well, I can't tell you how glad I am that you're going to stay with us. Well, same goes for me, son. Yes, sir. I'll be one big happy family. Say, that reminds me, Red Morrison has signed up for the class, too. Oh, does a happy family remind you of Red Morrison? Oh, well, not quite. Well, I should think you wouldn't. Say, Mr. Linwell. Yes, Jerry? What are all these instruments? Well, uh, that one, the big one, is the airspeed indicator. The one next to it is the groundspeed indicator. Then there's the oil pressure gauge, the gasoline gauge. Well, how can you see them all at the same time? Well, you don't, Lee. You just sort of take a quick glance at the instrument board. And after you've been flying for a long time, you can take in the whole board a glance. Now, let's see. If I wanted to loop the loop, what would I do? Trying to get the little advanced information on the rest of the glance. That it? Oh, no, I just wanted to know. Well, uh, you'd pull back on the stick, give her the gun, and when you get to the top of the loop, you'd roll her out and back into a dive, and then out on the level. Oh, I see. Yeah, I'll bet you do. There's more to it than just that. Before you do any loops in the air, you'll have to do them on the ground. Say, how about giving me a chance to sit in there? That's the hot field. Sure, Oki. Hey, give me a hand. Will you, Mr. O'well? Right. Uh-huh. Here. Put your foot here on the wing servers. All right. All right. There you are. I won't go through it, will I? Nope. It's strong enough. There you are. Come. Oh. Hey, you wonder the class is going to start. Probably in a week or so. I was talking with Major Davis this morning. Hey, give me a hand up, will you, Jerry? I'll do it, Lee. It takes a little time to learn how to get in without twisting yourself into a knot. Hey, that reminds me. Take a look at the clock and you'll see we're all five minutes past recall. And that, my fine happy family, means demerits, which I can't afford to get right now. Oh, gee, that's right. Come on, we've got to make a run for it. We've got to get to our rooms because, well, you're right, Jerry. You can't afford to get demerits.