Mr. Sharp pushed his way through the crowd.
"The committee has the certified check ready for you,Tom," called the balloonist. "Will you come and get it?"
"Send it to me, please," answered the young inventor. "Imust go to my father."
"Huh! I'd have beaten him in another round," boasted AndyFoger. No one paid any attention to him.
"Monsieur ezz plucky!" said the Frenchman, Perique. "I amhonaired to shake his hand! He has broken all ze records!"
"Dot's der best machine I effer saw," spoke the Dutchman,De Tromp, ponderously. "Shake hands!"
"Ver' fine, ver' good!" came from the little Japanese, andall the contestants congratulated Tom warmly. Never beforehad a hundred miles been covered so speedily.
A man elbowed his way through the press of people.
"Is your machine fully protected by patents?" he inquiredearnestly.
"It is," said Tom.
"Then, as a representative of the United StatesGovernment, I would like an option to purchase the exclusiveright to use them," said the man. "Can you guarantee that noone else has any plans of them? It will mean a fortune toyou."
Tom hesitated. He thought of the stolen plans. If he couldonly get possession of them! He glanced at Andy Foger, whowas wheeling his machine hack into the tent. But there wasno time now to have it out with the bully.
"I will see you again," said Tom to the government agent."I must go to my father, who is dying. I can't answer younow."
The tanks were filled. Tom gave a hasty look to hismachine, and, bidding his new friends fairwell, he and Mr.Damon took their places aboard the Humming-Bird. The littlecraft rose in the air, and soon they had left Eagle Park farbehind. Eagerly Tom strained his eyes for a sight of hishome town, though he knew it would be several hours ere hecould hover over it.
Would he be in time? Would he be in time? That questioncame to him again and again.
For a time the Humming-Bird skimmed along as though shedelighted in the rapid motion, in slipping through the airand sliding along on the billows of wind. Tom, with criticalears, listened to the hum of the motor, the puffing of theexhaust, the grinding of the gear wheels, and the clickingof the trips, as valve after valve opened or closed to admitthe mixture of air and gasoline, or closed to give thecompression necessary for the proper explosion.
"Is she working all right?" asked Mr. Damon, anxiously,and, such was the strain on him that he did not think tobless anything. "Is she all right, Tom, my lad?"
"I think so. I'm speeding her to the limit. Faster than Iever did before, but I guess she'll do. She was built tostand a strain, and she's got to do it now!"
Then there was silence again, as they slid along throughthe air like a coaster gliding down a steep descent.
"It was a great race, wasn't it?" asked Mr. Damon, as heshifted to an easier position in his seat. "A great race,Tom. I didn't think you'd do it, one spell there."
"Neither did I," came the answer, as the young inventorchanged the spark lever. "But I made up my mind I wouldn'tbe beaten by Andy Foger, if I could help it. Though it wastaking a risk to shut off the current the way I did."
"A risk?"
"Yes; it might not have started again," and Tom lookeddown at the earth below them, as if measuring the distance hewould have fallen had not his sky racer kept on at thecritical moment.
"And--and if the current hadn't come on again; eh, Tom?Would we--?"
Mr. Damon did not finish, but Tom knew what he meant.
"It would have been all up with us," he said simply. "Imight have volplaned back to earth, but at the speed we weregoing, and at the height, around a curve, we might haveturned turtle."
"Bless my--!" began Mr. Damon, and then he stopped. Thethought of Tom's trouble came to him, and he realized thathis words might grate on the feelings of his companion.
On they rushed through the air with the Humming-Birdspeeded up faster and faster as she warmed to her task. Themachinery seemed to be working perfectly, and as Tomlistened to the hum a look of pleasure replaced the look ofanxiety on his face.
"Don't you think we'll make it?" asked Mr. Damon, afteranother pause, during which they passed over a large city,the inhabitants exhibiting much excitement as they sightedthe airship over their heads.
"We've got to make it!" declared Tom between his clenchedteeth.
Ne turned on a little more gasoline, and there was a spurtin their speed which made Mr. Damon grasp the upright bracesnear him with firm hands, and his face became a little paler
"It's all right," spoke Tom, reassuringly. "There's nodanger."
But Tom almost reckoned without his host, for a fewmoments later, as he was trying to get more revolutions outof the propellers, he ran into an adverse current of air.
In an instant the Humming-Bird was tilted up almost on her"beams' ends," so to speak, and had it not been that theyoung inventor quickly warped the wing tips, to counteractthe pressure on one side, there might have been a differentend to this story.
"Bless my----!" began Mr. Damon, but he got no further,for he had to bend his body as Tom did, to equalize thepressure of the wind current.
"A little farther over!" yelled the lad. "A little fartherover this way, Mr. Damon!"
"But if I come any more toward you I'll be out of myseat!" objected the eccentric man.
"If you don't you'll be out of the aeroplane!" cried Tomgrimly, and his companion leaned over as far as he coulduntil the young pilot had brought the craft to an even keelagain.
Then Tom speeded up the motor, which he had partly shutdown as they passed through the danger zone, and again theywere racing through space.
They were nearing Shopton now, as the lad and Mr. Damoncould tell by the familiar landmarks which loomed up insight. Tom strained his eyes for the first view of his home.
Suddenly, as they were skimming along, there came acessation of the hum and roar that told of the perfectly-working motor. It was an ominous silence.
"What's--what's wrong?" gasped Mr. Damon.
"Something's given way," answered Tom quickly. "I'm afraidthe magneto isn't sparking as it ought to."
"Well, can't we volplane hack to earth?" asked the oddman, for he had become familiar with this feat when anythinghappened to the motor.
"We could," answered Tom, "but I'm not going to."
"Why not?"
"Because we're too far from Shopton--and dad! I'm going tokeep on. I've got to--if I want to be there in time!"
"But if the motor doesn't work?"
"I'll make her work!"
Tom was desperately manipulating the various levers andhandles connected with the electrical ignition system. Hetried in vain to get the magneto to resume the giving out ofsparks, and, failing in that, he switched on the batteries.But, to his horror, the dry cells had given out. There wasno way of getting a spark unless the little electricalmachine would work.
The propellers were still whirring around by their ownmomentum, and if Tom could switch in the magneto in time allmight yet be well.
They had started to fall, but, by quickly bringing up thehead plane tips, Tom sent his craft soaring upward again ona bank of air.
"Here!" he cried to Mr. Damon. "Take the steering-wheeland kept her on this level as long as you can."
"What are you going to do?"
"I've got to fix that magneto!"
"But if she dips down?"
"Throw up the head planes as I did. It's our only chance!I can't go down now, so far from Shopton!"
Mr. Damon reached over and took the wheel from Tom'shands. Then the young inventor, leaning forward, for themagneto was within easy reach, looked to see what thetrouble was. He found it quickly. A wire had vibrated loosefrom a binding-post. In a second Tom had it in place again;and, ere the propellers had ceased revolving, he had turnedthe switch. The magneto took up the work in a flash. Oncemore the spark exploded the gasoline mixture, and thepropellers sent the Humming-Bird swiftly ahead.
"We'll make it now!" declared Tom grimly.
"We're almost there," added Mr. Damon, as he relinquishedthe wheel to the young pilot. The craft had gone down some,but Tom sent her up again.
Nearer and nearer home they came, until at last the spiresof the Shopton churches loomed into view. Then he was overthe village. Now he was within sight of his own house.
Tom coasted down a bank of air, and brought the Humming-Bird up with a jerk of the ground brakes. Before the wheelshad ceased turning he had leaped out.
"It's Massa Tom!" cried Eradicate, as he saw Tom alight.
The young inventor hurried into the house. He was met bythe nurse, who held up a warning finger. Tom's heart almoststopped beating. He was aware that Dr. Gladby came from theroom where Mr. Swift lay.
"Is he--is he--am I too late?" gulped Tom.
"Hush!" cautioned the nurse.
Tom reeled, and would have fallen had not the doctorcaught him, for the lad was weak and wornout.
"He is going to get well!" were the joyful words he heard,as if in a dream, and then his strength suddenly came backto him. "The crisis is just passed, Tom," went on Dr.Gladby, "and your father will recover, and be stronger thanever. Your good news of winning was like a tonic to him. Nowlet me congratulate you on the race." Tom had flashed bywireless a brief message of his success.
"Dad's news is better than all the congratulations in theworld," he said softly, as he grasped the doctor's hand.
* * * * * *
It was a week later. Mr. Swift improved rapidly once thecourse of the disease was permanently checked, and he wassoon able to sit up. Tom was with him in the room, talkingof the great race, and how he had won. He fingered thecertified check for ten thousand dollars that had just cometo him by mail.
"You certainly did wonderfully well," said the agedinventor, softly. "Wonderfully well, Tom. I'm proud of you."
"You may well be," added Mr. Damon. "Bless my shoelaces,but I thought Andy Foger had us there one spell; didn't you,Tom?"
"Indeed I did. But you helped me win, Mr. Damon."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed the odd man.
"Yes, you did. You helped me a lot."
"Well, are you going to keep after more air-prizes, Tom, orare you going to try for something else?" asked his father.
"I don't believe I'll go in any more aeroplane races rightaway," answered the young inventor. "For some time I've beenwanting to complete and perfect my electric rifle. I thinkI'll begin work on that soon."
"And go hunting?" asked Mr. Damon.
"I think so," answered Tom, dreamily. "I don't know justwhere, though."
Where he went, and what he shot, will be told in the nextvolume of this series, to be called: "Tom Swift and HisElectric Rifle; or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land."
For a few moments after Tom's announcement no one spoke,then the young inventor said:
"It's too bad that first set of plans were stolen. If Ihad them I could make a good deal with the Government aboutmy little aeroplane. But they don't want to take up with itas long as there is a chance of some foreign nation gettinginformation about the secret parts, and my patents won'thold abroad. I wonder if there is any way of getting thoseplans away from Andy Foger? I don't understand why hehasn't used them before this. I thought sure he would makea craft like the Humming-Bird to race against me."
"What plans are those?" asked Mr. Swift.
"Why, don't you remember?" asked Tom. "The ones I showedyou one day, in the library, when you fell asleep, and someone slipped in and stole them."
A curious look came over Mr. Swift's face. He passed hishand across his brow.
"I am beginning to remember something I have been tryingto recall ever since I became ill," he said slowly. "It iscoming back to me. Those plans--in the library--I fellasleep, but before I did so I hid those plans, Tom!"
"You hid those plans!" Tom fairly shouted the words.
"Yes, I remember feeling a drowsy feeling coming on, andI feared lest some one might see the drawings. I got up andput them under the window, in a little, hollow place in thefoundation wall. Then I came back in through the windowagain, and went to sleep. Then, on account of my illness,just as I once before forgot something, and thought theminister had called, I lost all recollection of them. I hidthose plans."
Tom leaped to his feet. He rushed to the place named byhis father. Soon his triumphant shout told of his success.He came hurrying back into the house with a roll of papersin his hands.
And there were the long-missing plans! damp and stained bythe weather, but all there. No enemy had them, and Tom'ssecret was safe.
"Now I can accept the Government offer!" he cried. And afew weeks later he made a most advantageous deal with theUnited States officials for his patents.
Dr. Gladby explained that Mr. Swift's queer action was dueto his illness. He became liable to lapses of memory, andone happened just after he hid away the plans. Even thehiding of them was caused by the peculiar condition of hisbrain. He had opened the library window, slipped oat withthe papers, and hastened in again, to fall asleep in hischair, during the short time Tom was gone.
"And Andy Foger never took them at all," remarked MaryNestor, when Tom was telling her about it a few daysafterward.
"No. I guess I must apologize to him." Which Tom did, butAndy did not receive it very graciously, especially as Tomaccused him of trying to destroy the Humming-Bird.
Andy denied this and denied having anything to do with themysterious fire, and, as there was no way to prove himguilty, Tom could not proceed against him. So the matterwas dropped.
Mr. Swift continued to improve, and was soon himselfagain, and able to resume his inventive work. Tom receivedseveral offers to give exhibition flights at big aero meets,but refused, as he was busy on his new rifle. Mr. Damonhelped him.
Andy Foger made several successful flights in his queeraeroplane, which turned out to be the product of a Germangenius who was supplied with money by Mr. Foger. Andy becamevery proud, and boasted that he and the German were goingabroad to give flights in Europe.
"I'd be glad if he would," said Tom, when he heard of theplan. "He wouldn't bother me then."
With the money received from winning the big race, andfrom his contracts from the Government, Tom Swift was now ina fair way to become quite wealthy. He was destined tohave many more adventures; yet, come what might, never wouldhe forget the thrilling happenings that fell to his lotwhile flying for the ten-thousand dollar prize in his sky racer.