AN AIR RACE FINISH AND A CHALLENGE
All in all, Mr. Giddings expressed himself as more than pleased with the drawings for the Sky-Bird II. At the end of the explanation, he put the papers back in the envelope, and asked:
"Have you another set of these drawings in ink, Paul?"
"Yes, sir; this is a copied set; the original drawings from which we will make our tracings and blue-prints are at home."
"You had better leave them there in a safe place, and work from your blue-prints in the old exhibition building at the fair-grounds, being careful to lock them up in your workbench every time you depart. I think you boys have a valuable thing here, and it is to your interest to keep others from knowing your plans or seeing the airplane until we have full government protection in the shape of patent rights. I shall turn this set of drawings over to a patent attorney in the city and ask him to make application to the Patent Office in Washington without delay."
The next morning all three boys, filled with new confidence and energy, met at the fairgrounds as soon as they had had their breakfasts. Paul carried two rolls of fresh blue-prints, which he and John had made while their mother was preparing the meal. One of these sets he gave to Bob to take home as his own special property, and the other one he spread out on the workbench for consultation as their needs required.
Up to this time no effort had been made to keep children and curious adults out of the grounds, but as their machine was now beginning to take on real form, they determined to do this. On a piece of board, Paul printed in large letters, "Private Grounds; Keep Out," and Bob nailed this up on the outside of the high board fence at the entrance. The gate itself they closed and barred on the inside.
"Guess that will be a sufficient hint to the grown-ups," said Bob with a grin. "If the kids climb over, we'll fasten a red flag to the front of our big hangar and paint 'Dynamite' in letters a yard long across the front of the building."
"Yes, and if that doesn't keep them away we'll turn the hose on them," laughed John.
Then they fell to work on the new airplane, applying themselves like beavers. All three boys had had the splendid benefits of manual training when they were in the public schools, and knew how to handle every machine they had set up. In addition to this, Paul and Bob were first-class amateur machinists, as their courses of engineering in Clark Polytechnic embraced the use of metal-working appliances of the latest design, as well as wood-working machinery, and they could have operated other machines had they needed them.