“You’re getting fat over it,” Jimmie insisted.
“Sailing up in the air after a bunch like that won’t put fat on any one’s ribs,” Kit continued. “They’ll see our lights, and we might as well try to sleuth out a moonshiner with a brass band.”
“Come on, you little monkey,” urged Jimmie. “We’ll go and find the machine anyhow. We’ll see what shape she’s in before we decide.”
Throwing more wood on the fire in order to illuminate the bowl as much as possible, the boys started away. Before they had proceeded far a glimmer of light in a thicket almost at the lip of the bowl attracted their attention. It was a very brilliant light, but seemed to be shining through a small aperture.
“Acetylene!” exclaimed Jimmie as the boys drew nearer. “That’s the acetylene lamp on that old machine. Our blond friend forgot to turn it off. Now wasn’t that kind of him!”
“I guess he was about all in,” Kit advised. “We gave him a mighty swift chase, and he seems to have kept in the air a long time after we quit. They probably fed him up on some of our good provisions so he felt better before he went away.”
“Of course they did!” laughed Jimmie. “Did you notice how those fellows laid into our bread and butter?”
Jimmie began a systematic examination of the machine. He found the gasoline tanks nearly full, which indicated that the blond aviator had traveled to some filling station after the conclusion of the race.
So far as Jimmie could see, the aeroplane was in perfect condition except that the spark plugs were badly worn and cracked.
“Can we use them?” asked Kit. “The spark plugs, I mean.”