“The plane is all right, I hope,” Stubby said gloomily.
“You hope!” the others echoed.
“Brent hasn’t brought it back yet,” Stubby informed them. “He went off last night with Miss Howard and her father and hasn’t come back yet.”
“But it is almost time for the races,” Valerie breathed. “Where are they?”
Stubby shook his head. “I wish I knew.”
“Will you fly the yellow plane if he doesn’t come back?” Peter asked anxiously.
“Can you fly it, Stubby?” David put in.
Stubby regarded him seriously. “I can fly it—license and everything, but it is Brent’s ship and his motor.”
“But he would want you to take his place if he couldn’t be here,” David assured him. “Come along, we’ll help you roll the ship out onto the field—just in case Brent doesn’t get back in time.”
The boys and Stubby walked to the hangar while the girls moved leisurely out to the field where a crowd had already gathered about the planes that would in a little while be vying with one another in the clouds.