“I see the finish of the rest of the boys in Hampton when the foot races are on next fall,” Andy complained, in what he meant to be a serious tone, “if you take to doing your practicing that way, Tubby.”
“Yes,” added Hiram, “when it comes to the point that Tubby can keep along with a racing aëroplane, or a speeding motorcar, the rest of us might as well throw up the sponge and quit. He’d make circles around us like Rob’s boat the Tramp could with the old Sea Gull.”
“Make your minds easy, boys,” Tubby told them pleasantly. “I’m going out of training. Once is enough for me. You can have the field to yourself, Hiram; only if I were you I’d quit that running business. An inventor has no right to take chances; and what’s happened once may happen again.”
“Well, now, I never thought of that, Tubby,” admitted the other, shaking his head seriously. “Just as you say, an inventor has no right to expose himself like an ordinary person. No telling what he might not think up some day for the uplift of the civilized world. He sorter belongs to science, don’t he? Yep, I’ll stop chasing after aëroplanes; but of course I’ll have to go up once in a while in order to keep in touch with things.”
“We’re about ready to start for the hotel, Hiram,” announced Rob; “and if you’ve decided not to introduce yourself to the Golden Gate people to-day, you might just as well come back with us.”
Hiram sighed, and allowed his glance to rove over to where the crowd still gathered around the demonstration station.
“I s’pose I’d better,” he replied with an effort. “I don’t want to be greedy, and overdo things; but it’s giving me a jolt to have to break away from here. How about you, Tubby; coming along and have dinner with us to-night?”
“Of course he is,” said Rob immediately. “To-morrow he must change hotels, so he can be one of our party.”
“Why, you took the words right out of my mouth, Rob,” declared Andy.
“That makes it unanimous,” added Hiram, vigorously; “so you see there’s no way for you to back fire, and break away from your moorings from the same old crowd, Tubby.”