"Maybe we can," said Hawke. "We might run him a race for a mile or so."
"Jiminy, that'd be great," cried Jerry, almost dropping his hammer.
"Hope I can fly by then," commented Fred.
"Me too," eagerly exclaimed Fly. "Wonder if I'll ever be tryin' for a record," he added wistfully.
"Can't tell," laughed Hawke.
That evening when Carl returned he reported that he had been unable to find the Indian, and that he had not been seen around the cliff dwellings for several days.
"Tommy says the last time he saw him he told him he was going up into the mountains to look for the Thunder Bird," said Carl. "That's the bee in his bonnet, all right."
"So long as he don't come 'round here making bonfires out of our Thunder Bird, we'll leave him alone," commented Jerry.
Though Carl visited the cliffs every day after that, the Indian either religiously avoided him or had previously disappeared.
Three days later the aeroplane was again in first-class condition, and Monday, the first week in August, was set for the try-out day.