"Wish we were in the same comfortable condition," smiled Harry. "I'm slightly chilly myself and hope you are the same, thank you."
"Greatly obliged," returned Ned. "You are entirely correct."
"Look here," interposed Jack, "if you fellows are sufficiently frozen, I've got a scheme to propose. Want to hear it?"
"Slip us an earful," said Harry in response to Jack's query, although he winced slightly at Ned's reproachful glance, for he knew well the older lad's aversion to slang.
"Suppose the railroad is over there to the northward," went on Jack. "In that case, Jimmie and Dave'll be in that direction. Now, by running over that way we can get nearer to them and at the same time discover whether that other machine is following us."
"Fine!" declared Ned. "Head to the northward, and if they are after us we'll quickly find it out. Then we can determine what to do."
Accordingly Jack shifted the levers and the Eagle swung sharply to the northward. Ned kept the glasses leveled at the following machine in an effort to discover the movements of its pilot.
Scarcely had the Eagle regained a level keel after the sharp turn before Ned's exclamation of dismay attracted the attention of his chums.
"They're after us as sure as shooting!" he cried. "They're cutting across the corner of the angle. That'll give them some advantage. It won't pay us to try any more dodging if we want to outrun them."
"Sure!" declared Jack. "The pursuer always has the shorter course to travel if the one running away tries to tack about any."