Page:Tom Swift and His Airship.djvu/72

62 am a great admirer of professors&mdash;I mean in a strictly educational sense," she went on, as she detected a tendency on the part of some of the young ladies to giggle.

"No, fifty dollars will be about right," went on Mr. Sharp, pulling out a well-filled wallet. "I will pay you now."

"And if you will wait I will give you a receipt," continued the principal, evidently as much appeased at the mention of a professor's title, as she was by the money.

"We're getting off cheap," the balloonist whispered to Tom, as the head of the seminary started down the scuttle to the class-rooms below.

"Maybe it's easier getting out of that difficulty than it will be to get off the roof," replied the lad.

"Don't worry. Leave that to me," the aeronaut said. It took considerable to ruffle Mr. Sharp.

With a receipt in full for the damage to the tower, and expressing the hope that, some day, in the near future, Professor Swift would do the seminary the honor of lecturing to the young lady pupils, Miss Perkman bade Mr. Sharp and Tom good-by.

"Young ladies, to your rooms!" she commanded. "You have learned enough of airships,