Tom next gave orders to have one of his speedy double planes run into the flying field while he went to the house to wash and get ready for the trip with Mary. Then he added his name to the signatures on the bet agreement, and said inside of six months from the present time he would start to circle the globe.
Mr. Swift, who had somewhat regretted his rash action, was all smiles now, for he had great faith in Tom.
“Of course twenty thousand dollars won’t break us, Tom,” he confided to his son as the latter was putting on his leather flying helmet and getting one ready for Mary, together with a leather jacket. “But, at the same time, I’d like to win it.”
“Same here, Dad,” echoed Tom. “And we will, too!”
In a short time the little plane, which would carry only two, was in readiness. The motor was tuned up and Tom and Mary took their places in the double cockpit, where the girl sat beside her sweetheart. It was a type of plane perfected by Tom.
“Where to, Mary?” asked Tom, as he looked over the controls.
“Oh, anywhere,” she answered. “I want to get away from everything for a while.”
“Then maybe you’d rather go up alone,” suggested the young man.
“I said everything—not everybody,” and Mary’s accent made the meaning clear, at which Tom laughed.
He turned on more gas, there was a roar from the motor, the plane taxied across the field, and a few seconds later was soaring up toward the blue.