Elmer replaced the pillow. Then both boys sat down on stools and stared at the cot and then at each other.
“It’s a mystery,” broke out Elmer, after a tantalizing spell of silence. “What’s Dave doing with all that money? It puzzles me.”
“No, it’s what is he going to do with it,” corrected Hiram. “You can make up your mind, it’s business. The girl’s picture I can’t exactly figure out. Dave will explain it all when the right minute comes. Here he is now.”
Somewhat flushed, the young aviator came hurrying into the tent. Hiram pretended to be arranging his necktie and Elmer was lacing a shoe. Dave proceeded to the bed and threw aside the pillow. He stored the package he found there in an inside pocket.
“You want to hurry, fellows,” he said. “There’s a lot to do this morning, you know.”
There was so much to do, that after a hurried breakfast the crew of the _Comet_ found every minute occupied for the ensuing two hours. The _Comet_ was in perfect trim for the start. There were a hundred little things to think of in the way of supplies and duplicate parts of machinery. Mr. Brackett appeared on the scene early, and went over the biplane he understood so well with the care and anxiety of an automobile owner entering his pet car for a race.
All the time bands were playing, banners flying, and a vast concourse of people had gathered. There was a speech from the president of the National Aero Association, with the contestants to the fore. The young airman and his friends went down the line, looking over the various machines that were to take part in the event. Each one bore a numeral, and had some distinctive mark that gave it a clear identity.
“We are number three,” said Hiram. “That was always my lucky number. I went to school three years, got licked three times before I left and worked three years on the farm. This is the third big event I’ve had anything to do with, there are three of us——”
“Three cheers for number three!” cried Elmer. “There’s father beckoning to me. No, he wants us all, fellows.”
Our hero and the aero manufacturer had talked over all business details earlier in the morning. The kind-hearted Mr. Brackett, however, could not see his proteges start out on a long and perilous flight without a few words of fatherly counsel. He gave them some sensible advice, and Dave fancied he looked with considerable pride at Elmer. It was with satisfaction that the indulgent father compared the present courageous ambitions of his son with the useless life the prodigal had once led.