"Bloodthirsty again!" smiled Ned. "Would that be right, Jimmie?"
"Yes, sir!" stoutly maintained Jimmie. "We've got some rights!"
"Well, we won't have much cause to argue about it," Harry announced. "He's heading away off to the northeast and going fast."
"Probably heading for Berlin," suggested Jack. "Let him go!"
"If they leave us alone, we'll be there soon, ourselves!" Ned replied. "I don't think he ever intended to go to Lille at all!"
"I can beat him in a race!" boasted Jimmie. "What speed do you think we are making right now, without half trying?"
"Don't know, I'm sure," replied Ned, glancing over the side.
"Well, I can double that! Keep your eye on me! See me overhaul that railroad train down below us. It's a passenger or mail train."
"Yes, and it's going some!" Jack stated. "You'll have to hurry!"
Jimmie, in an endeavor to exhibit his skill with the machine, began urging it to greater speed. Up to this time the boys had not endeavored to secure speed, preferring to wait until the engine, so recently from the shop, had been given time to get "down to bearings."