Each one of the judges read the 27 letters and then wrote down his choice for the first prize. Tim gathered up the four slips. They were all alike; every one had agreed on the name for the plane, the Good News.
When Tim informed the managing editor of the prize winning name, Carson was elated.
“Great,” he bubbled, “great! Couldn’t have been better if I had named it myself. That ought to make a real hit.”
The managing editor’s hunch was right and for the next two or three days there was a steady stream of visitors at the airport to inspect the Good News. The contest and the appropriateness of the name caught the public fancy.
With the success which attended the selection of a name for the plane, Carson gave Tim free rein in writing stories of the good will air tour which was to start from Prairie City, the state capital, and finish at Atkinson. Tim, by dint of much correspondence, persuaded the officials in charge of the tour to bring it to a close at Atkinson instead of going back to Prairie City. The chamber of commerce woke up to the possibilities of the air tour. Tim was frequently consulted and the News occupied a prominent place in the preliminary arrangements.
The day before Tim was to start for Prairie City to join the air tour, Carson called him to his desk.
“Better take Ralph with you,” he suggested. “He can relieve you of the burden of writing a lot of the stories and can also help you in piloting. I’ll have him take a high speed camera and he may be able to get some good action pictures of planes in the clouds.”
Tim welcomed the suggestion that Ralph accompany him for there would be plenty for two reporters to do and the managing editor had indicated that he wanted the tour fully covered. That would mean two or three columns of news a day in addition to about 250 miles in the air with an average of four stops a day for each of the five days on the tour.
When Tim and Ralph reached the airport the next morning ready to start for Prairie City, the state capital and starting point for the good will tour, they found Kurt Blandin waiting for them.
“Hello Murphy,” greeted the head of the Ace flying circus. “Little surprised to see me?”