"I'd give anything I've got if I could be the first fellow to go around the world's belt," declared John, his brown cheeks glowing with deeper color at the thought; "I wouldn't care so much about beating these other chaps in the matter of time, just so long as I made a fair trail."
"Oh, John, wouldn't that be a great trip!" cried Paul.
"Say, look at here," broke in Bob Giddings, who had been near enough to overhear all of this conversation. His face was glowing, too, as he turned toward the brothers. "When we get the Sky-Bird II done, why couldn't the three of us pick out a new course around the globe in her? If she's as good as we think she will be, we could travel over any kind of land or water with her, and I think we could pick out islands in the Pacific so that we could cross that and make the entire journey by air."
"I believe this old ship could do it all right," said John, full of confidence and thrilled at the idea, as he stepped back and looked at the partly-assembled fuselage with a loving eye. "But, Bob, a trip like that would cost a lot of money just for gas, and you know Paul and I could hardly afford it."
"I'm going to speak to dad about it, anyhow," decided Bob; "he has been talking airplanes and world routes at home to mother and me for the last three months, and maybe he will be interested enough to back us up. He never stops at anything when he once sets his mind on it."
It was several days after this that Bob Giddings came to work with another newspaper in his hands.
"Things seem to be coming our way as fast as they can," he said, with a mysterious smile. "Take in what Mr. Wrenn, the editor of this paper, says in this framed insert on the front page."
John and Paul did as directed. The article was prominently displayed, and was to the effect that the Clarion disagreed very strongly with the attitude adopted by its contemporary, the Daily Independent, in regard to around-the-world routes. It declared that it was physically impossible by any mode of modern travel to follow a route along, or even within twenty degrees of, the equatorial line, and said it was a shame to assail the creditable records made in the past. In conclusion it stated:
If our esteemed sheet, the Daily Independent, feels so cock-sure of its position, why does it not do a little demonstrating? Why does it not organize an expedition, and prove its claim? This is all bunk! We are so sure of it, that we right now challenge our misguided friend to run us a race around the world on a course of his own selection, at any time, by any mode of travel he may choose. There! we have knocked the chip off of the Daily Independent's shoulder. Now let's see if our friend is really a bluffer or a fighter.
"You know the Clarion is a powerful evening newspaper, too," said Bob, when the Ross boys looked up from their reading. "It has always been a hot rival of dad's paper, but it never got quite so sarcastic as this before. Dad was good and mad when he read this last night. 'I'll show both the Clarion and the public whether I'm a bluffer or not,' he said to mother. 'If it takes the last cent I've got I'll organize an expedition to meet their challenge and prove my theory to be the correct one.' Then I woke up to our opportunity. I suggested to dad that if the Sky-Bird turned out as we hoped, she would be the very thing to pioneer such a route and give the Clarion people a race to make their eyes stick out; and I said John Ross was willing to head a crew including Paul and myself."