“Humph!” commented Hiram. “A romance and a mystery, eh?”
“Hardly, Hiram,” responded Dave gravely. “It is business, pure and simple. I will say this much to you at the present time: whatever dealings I am having with Mr. Deane, the father of the girl you saw, may involve all the skill and nerve the crew of the Comet have at their command.”
The young airman had given his interested assistant a good deal to think over. Hiram, however, and in fact everybody about the place, were soon immersed in things strictly professional. At noon the following day the race around the world was to start. There were not a large number of entries, but every individual contestant had his own pet machine and his coterie of friends and admirers.
The field was a lively scene all day. The various machines made trial flights. Then there was the packing of supplies, which necessarily had to be of limited volume. All of the contestants in turn visited the office of the Aero Association to receive definite route instructions. There was a good deal of red tape to go through, credentials to secure, and arrangements made for reporting progress to headquarters from set points along the route.
The young aviator and his assistants spent nearly an hour over a blue print map which had been furnished each of the contestants by the management of the event. Hiram got out a geography and studied out the situation in a more detailed way. Elmer, at the suggestions of Dave, made two copies of the list of points from which the Comet was to report progress.
The boys were interrupted in this congenial work by the appearance of one of the hangar men at the door of the living tent. He beckoned to Dave, who at once went outside, received some message, and called back to his friends:
“I’ve got to go to the city, fellows. Won’t be over two hours. Keep a close watch on everything until I get back.”
“Wonder what’s up now?” remarked Hiram, speculatively. Then he went to the door and looked out. “H’m,” he observed, “Dave has a good deal of mysterious business on hand, it seems to me.”
“Where has he gone?” asked Elmer only casually, for he was deeply absorbed in his work.
“To the city he said, and say, in that same automobile that brought the young lady here day before yesterday.”