A boat put out from the mainland where a crowd of spectators was watching the race. Four men jumped out as the island was reached.
“Take care of this man,” ordered Andy.
“You’re a pretty fair fellow to risk losing the race to save a competitor,” spoke one of the men heartily.
He and his companions followed Andy’s instructions the best they could in starting the Racing Star, and Andy shot skywards again, making up for lost time.
CHAPTER XXIII—THE GREAT RACE
“Hurrah!”
“Why, it’s only a boy!”
“Parks’ man—get your rest, lad, while we see to things.”
Andy found himself in a whirl of motion and excitement. When he had left the island where he had sacrificed his time and risked his chances of winning the race, he had discovered that he was fourth on the programme. The Flash was becoming a distant speck, and the two other contesting biplanes were lagging after the leader.
Andy now set a pace to force the Racing Star to do its utmost. His good knowledge of detail as to the machinery and his masterly manipulation of the same soon brought results. The Racing Star easily passed two of the airships ahead. Then Andy ran neck-and-neck with the pilot train for several miles.