The wind was against them. To tack from side to side of the river as the sailboats did was to lose precious time. They furled the sail, unstepped the mast, and speeded up the engines of the Follow Me.
The machinery worked splendidly. Sometimes, when there was a catspaw of good wind, one or another of the other contestants would get somewhere near Dan and Billy; but the moment the wind shifted, or died down, the motor iceboat scurried ahead.
They never saw Spink’s boat after passing her at Karnac Lake. Mr. Darringford’s Betty B. clung to the Follow Me for a long while; but finally she fell back. The boys were far, far ahead when they came down to the Long Bridge again.
In spite of the extreme cold, there was a goodly crowd to greet them. The Academy boys and girls “rooted” loudly for the brothers and their craft. The Follow Me slid under the bridge and so down to the starting point amid the plaudits of half of Riverdale and, as Billy said, “a good sprinkling of the rest of the county.”
Mr. Darringford, when he came in, a poor second, wanted to make a thorough examination of Dan’s invention, and the boys were glad to have him do so. He at once advised Dan to cover his ingenious work with a patent, and helped the boy do this at once.
“For people are bound to see and steal your idea,” said the gentleman, convinced that young Speedwell was quite a genius in mechanics.
“Huh! they’ve done that already—but it didn’t help ’em much,” scoffed Billy.
“You mean that Spink and his foreigner?” asked Mr. Darringford, with a queer little smile.
“Yes. He stole those plans from Dan.”
Mr. Darringford looked at the older Speedwell and smiled again. “I guess you saw what he did?” he said. “I can see that he tried to steal your idea; but he seems to have got it hind-end foremost—eh?”