"There! he's making faces at us; or doing something with his hands," Elephant continued, as he watched the biplane swinging past, some hundreds of feet in the air.
"I suppose that's meant for a defi," laughed Frank. "You know Sandy's ways, fellows? He always was something of a monkey on the team when he played ball. Don't answer back, any of you. A cat may look at a king; and we have a perfect right to stand here in our own dooryard, and gape at the show. But, Andy, pay attention to the way his machine works. I've caught on to a little idea already that I believe we could use with benefit ourselves."
That was practical Frank every time, always keeping an eye out for the usefulness of things, and ready to improve his opportunities as occasion arose.
Three times did Percy circle the big practice field, as though determined to impress upon the lookers-on the marvelous advantages his new biplane had over the old.
Doubtless time had not effaced the bitterness of his former defeats at the hands of his rival; and he was now fairly burning for a chance to wipe the memory out.
"Now, what d'ye suppose he's hanging around here all this while for?" grumbled Andy, who was nervous just so long as the other aeroplane kept winging its flight over the encircling fence that marked the confines of the aviation field.
"Oh! Percy wants you to know he ain't stingy," sang out Larry. "Look your fill, from a distance, but you can't come any nearer."
"Don't bother your head about him, Andy," remarked Frank. "It's giving him heaps of pleasure, and doesn't hurt us a whit. In fact, I don't care how long he keeps it up; for by degrees I'll be able to understand some things I'd like to know about that make of biplane. You can see it differs from ours in lots of ways. Some things may be a bit better, and others not so good."
"But, Frank, you don't think it could beat us out, do you?" Andy quickly demanded.
Frank shook his head.