"Not a bit of it," he protested, "'tis yersilf has done the work, and yersilf should get the credit. And ye've done it too in the face of accident and hard luck. This time I'm hoping that luck will be on yer side. And to make sure," he grinned, "I'm going to give yer a sprig of four-leaved shamrock that came to me from the folks at home, last seventeenth of March. 'Twill not be hurting ye any to have it along with yer."

"Sure thing," laughed Bert. "I'll slip it in the tool box and carry it every foot of the way."

And as Reddy had groomed Bert, so Bert groomed his machine. Every nut and bolt, valve and spring was gone over again and again, until even his critical judgment was satisfied. It was to carry not only his fortune but perhaps his life, and he did not rest until he was convinced that nothing could add to its perfection. It had become almost a part of himself, and it was with a feeling of reluctance that at last he had it carefully crated and sent on to the starting point, to await his coming forty-eight hours later.

That evening, as he returned from the post office, he met Tom and d.i.c.k at the foot of the steps leading to their dormitory. He waved at them an open letter that he had been reading.

"It's from the Committee," he explained. "It gives the route and final instructions. Come up to the rooms and we'll go over it together."

A bond of friendship, far from common, united these three comrades--the "Three Guardsmen," as they were jokingly called, because they were so constantly together. They had first met at a summer camp, some years before, and a strong similarity of character and tastes had drawn them to each other at once. From that time on, it had been "one for three and three for one."

Full to the brim as they were of high spirits and love of adventure, they often got into sc.r.a.pes from which it required all their nerve and ingenuity to emerge with a whole skin. Their supreme confidence in themselves often led them to take chances from which older and wiser heads would have shrunk. And the various exploits in which they had indulged had taught each how fully and absolutely he might rely on the others. On more than one occasion, death itself had been among the possibilities, but even that supreme test had been met without flinching.

Only a few months before, when, on their journey through Mexico, d.i.c.k had fallen into the hands of El Tigre, the dreaded leader of guerillas, Bert and Tom had taken the trail at once, and after a most exciting chase, had rescued him from the bandit's clutches. During a trip to the Adirondacks, Tom had been bitten by a rattler and would have perished, had it not been for Bert's quickness of mind and swiftness of foot. And Bert himself never expected to come closer to death than that day on the San Francisco wharf, when d.i.c.k had grasped the knife hand of the Malay running amuck, just as it was upraised to strike.

Any man or any danger that threatened one would have to count on tackling three. Each knew that in a pinch the others would stick at nothing in the effort to back him up. And this conviction, growing stronger with every new experience, had cemented their friendship beyond all possibility of breaking.

Their early ties had ripened and broadened under the influence of their college life. d.i.c.k had entered a year before the other two, and it was this that had moved them to choose the same Alma Mater. d.i.c.k and Tom were studying to be civil engineers, while Bert was more strongly drawn toward the field of electricity and wireless telegraphy. Their keen intelligence had won them high honors in scholarship, and their brawn and muscle had achieved an enviable distinction in athletics. On the pennant winning team of the year before, Bert's brilliant pitching had been ably supported by the star work of Tom at third, while d.i.c.k, beside being the champion slugger of the team, had held down first base like a veteran. All were immensely popular with the student body in general, not only for their prowess, but because of the qualities of mind and heart that would have singled them out anywhere as splendid specimens of young American manhood.

Bert and d.i.c.k roomed together, while Tom's quarters were on the floor below. Now, as it was nearer, they all piled into Tom's sitting-room, eager to discuss the contents of the official letter.

"Here it is," said Bert, as he tossed it over to the others. "You see, I have the southern route."

"O, thunder," groaned Tom, "the toughest of the lot. You'll fairly melt down there at this time of year."

"It _is_ rough," said d.i.c.k. "The roads there are something fierce. The northern or central route would have been ten times better."

"Yes," agreed Bert, "it certainly is a handicap. If I'd been left to choose, myself, I wouldn't have dreamed of going that way. Still, it's all a matter of lot, and I've got no kick coming. Somebody would have had to draw it, and I might as well be the victim as any one else."

"Spoken like a sport, all right," grumbled Tom. "But it makes me sore at fate. You'll need something more than Reddy's shamrock to make up for it."

"You might hunt me up the hind foot of a rabbit, shot by a cross-eyed c.o.o.n in a graveyard, in the 'dark of the moon,' if you want to make sure of my winning," jested Bert. "But, seriously, fellows, I'm not going to let that rattle me a little bit. It may be harder, but if I do come in first, there'll be all the more credit in winning. As for the heat, I'll make my own breeze as I go along, and I'll take my chances on the roads."

"Well, I suppose there's no use growling," admitted Tom, grudgingly. "At any rate, we'll see a section of the country we've never seen before."

"_We_," cried Bert. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I say," answered Tom, looking a little guiltily at d.i.c.k.

"What," yelled Bert, leaping to his feet. "Are you two rascals going along?"

"Surest thing you know," said d.i.c.k, calmly. "Did you think for a minute that Tom and I would miss the fun of seeing you scoot across the continent and win that ten thousand dollars? Not on your life. We were going to surprise you, but since this dub has let the cat out of the bag, we might as well own up. There's nothing to do, now that we know the route but to go out and get the tickets."

"Well, you're a pair of bricks," gasped Bert. "The finest pals a fellow ever had. That's the best news I've had 'since Hector was a pup.' I didn't know that I'd see a friend's face from the start to the finish.

Talk about shamrocks and rabbit's feet! This news has got them skinned to death. It won't be any trick at all to toss off a few hundred miles, if I can figure on seeing you fellows when I turn in for the night.

Say, fellows, I can't put it into words, but you know how I feel."

"Pure selfishness on our part," said d.i.c.k, airily, to mask his own deep feeling. "We want to see the San Francisco Fair, and figured that we'd never have a better chance."

"Yes," mocked Bert, delightedly, "I size up that selfishness all right.

But now let's study the route and figure out the schedule. Then you gay deceivers can get through tickets with stopover privileges, and I'll know just where to find you along the way."

"You see," explained Tom, "we figured that we could get into the big towns ahead of you and act as a sort of base of supplies. You can keep tab on the way the 'Blue Streak' is running, and if anything goes wrong--if a tire bursts or a fork breaks or you have engine trouble--you can wire ahead and we'll have everything ready for you to make a lightning change the minute you heave in sight. Of course, you may have to do some temporary patching and tinkering along the way, but in really big things we may come in handy. But now let's cut out the hallelujahs and get down to bra.s.s tacks."

Which they did to such good effect that before they turned in for the night, they had outlined a plan that covered every probable contingency.

Of course there was no such precision possible as in the case of a railroad schedule. A hundred things might happen to cause a change here, a delay there, but, between certain elastic limits, the route and time were carefully worked out. If they should have to revise it, as they doubtless would, the telegraph and long distance telephone could be depended on to help them out.

Starting from New York, Bert figured that the first leg of the journey would take him as far as Philadelphia. This, of course, would not be typical of the regular distance he would have to cover each day, in order to beat the time record. But the race was not to start until noon, so that a half day was all that would be left the riders. And that half day would be slower than the average, because they would have to thread the streets of the greater city with all its hindrances and speed regulations, and would have bridges and ferries to cross before they could fairly let themselves out. Of course this would not count for a day in the timing, as they would be allowed a half day at the end of the journey to make up for it. In other words, the day ran from noon to noon, instead of from midnight to midnight.

From Philadelphia the route would lead to Baltimore and Washington. Then he proposed to strike down through West Virginia and into the famous Blue Gra.s.s region of Kentucky and thence swing down toward Little Rock, Arkansas, which would mark the extreme southern point of the journey.

After that, he would be going almost directly west, with a slight trend to the north. He would cut through Oklahoma on a direct horizontal, and then for a short time traverse the upper part of Texas. Leaving the Lone Star State, he would strike in succession Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona. Then, at last, he would be in California, getting a glimpse of the sea at Santa Barbara, and then sweeping up the valley to San Francisco.

The record he had to beat was twenty days. He planned to do it in fifteen. That is, he was confident that as far as mere time were concerned, he could reel off enough miles every day to take him over the route within that limit. But that was a.s.suming that everything went smoothly, and, in a trip of this length, he knew that such an a.s.sumption was absurd. He gave himself three days for accidents and delays. This, added to the fifteen of actual running time, would still give him a comfortable margin of forty-eight hours. But, on the average, despite accident or breakdown, wind or rain, sickness or health, mistaken roads or dangerous spills, flood or freshet or tempest, he must make from two to three hundred miles every day. Not only he must be in shape to do it, but the "Blue Streak" also. There were two machines that had to take all the chances of wear and tear and mishap--the physical machine above the saddle, and the steel and rubber machine below it.

He wanted to make the most of the good roads that he would have at the very beginning of the trip. The first three days would be the best ones, as far as this feature was concerned. The Eastern and Northern States were far ahead of the rest of the country in this respect. Their wealth and population, as well as the vastly greater number of motor vehicles in use, had early turned their attention to the value and necessity of the best kind of roads that money could buy and science invent. After he left Louisville, the going would be harder. While, at places, there would be magnificent turnpikes along the main arteries of travel, these would be more than counterbalanced by roads where clay and sand predominated. But, to make up for this, would be the fact that for long distances the roads would be clearer and the speed regulations less stringent. And, on these stretches, Bert promised himself to "hit it up"

hard enough to compensate for the inferior quality of the road. It was "all in the game," and, in the long run, things would about even up.

"It's a good deal of a lottery, when all is said and done," was the way he summed it up, as they rose from the maps and papers spread out before them; "I may get knocked out on the first day, and then again I may turn up smiling at the finish."

"Of course," a.s.sented Tom, "there's no telling what may happen before the race is over. But I have a hunch that in this lottery you are going to draw the capital prize."

"Well," laughed Bert, "if you're as good a prophet as you are a pal, I'd be sure of it."

CHAPTER IV

A FLYING START

The day of the race dawned bright and clear. There was just enough breeze to temper the heat of the sun, but not enough to interfere with the riders. There had been no rain since three days before, and the roads, while a little dusty, were firm and fast. Everything bespoke ideal conditions for the event that, it was hoped, would hang up new records in one of the most modern of sports.

The three friends had left college the day before, and had taken up their quarters at one of the hotels near the beach. They were full of health and hope and enthusiasm. The work of the college year was over, and they felt like colts kicking up their heels in a pasture. d.i.c.k and Tom were looking forward to the trip across the continent and the wonders of the great Exposition. This of itself would have been enough to account for their exuberance, but there was the added excitement of watching the progress of the great race, and, in a sense, taking part in it. And, with all the optimism of youth, they did not let themselves feel the shadow of a doubt that their comrade would come in triumphant.

And Bert, although somewhat sobered by the weight of responsibility that rested upon him, was almost as jubilant as they. He was a born fighter, and his spirits always rose on the eve of a contest. He was "tuned to the hour." The muscles of his arms and legs glided like snakes beneath the white skin, his color was good, his eyes shone, and he had never in all his many contests felt in better physical trim.

Early in the morning, he had hurried to the garage to which the "Blue Streak" had been consigned, and was delighted to find that it had made the journey without a scratch. No one but himself was permitted to give it the final grooming. He personally filled the tank, looked to the oil, and went over every nut and bolt and valve. Then he sprang into the saddle and took a five-mile spin around the neighboring race track. And even his exacting criticism could find no shadow of defect. The "Blue Streak," like its master, was in perfect condition.

"Well, old boy," said Bert, as he patted the beautiful machine, after the test, "we're going to be pretty close companions for the next few weeks, and you've got a big job cut out for you. But I believe you're game for it, and if your rider is as good as you are, I won't have anything left to ask."

As the hour drew near, a great crowd a.s.sembled to see the start.

The contest had stirred up a vast amount of interest among motor enthusiasts, and many of the motorcycle clubs were represented by big delegations. One or two of the entries had dropped out at the last moment, and there were ten contestants who faced the starter. Each had his coterie of friends and well wishers who had gathered to give him a rousing send off. But none were greeted so uproariously as Bert, who had a reception that "warmed the c.o.c.kles of his heart." Undergraduates of the old college flocked around him, and these were reinforced by hundreds of alumni, living in or near the city, who scented one more victory for the blue colors that they loved so dearly. They swarmed about him, grasped his hand and thumped him on the back, until if he had been in poorer condition, he would have been black and blue. It was with difficulty that he could tear himself away from the mult.i.tude whose enthusiasm outran their discretion. But many a day thereafter, in loneliness and peril and the shadow of death, the memory of that boisterous farewell was an inspiration. The last hands he clasped were those of Tom and d.i.c.k and Reddy, whose face was as red as his hair from excitement.

"Good luck, me bye," he called. Then in a whisper, "Ye haven't forgot the shamrock?"

"You bet I haven't," laughed Bert, and lifting the cover of his tool box, he showed it lying on top. Whereat, Reddy heaved a sigh of relief, and fell back satisfied.

And now everything was ready for the start. The wheels had been dipped in the Atlantic, whose surf curled up to meet them, as though to whisper a message to its sister ocean. Then all the riders, standing by their machines, were drawn up in line on the boulevard that came down almost to the beach. The conditions of the race were read aloud and all of the racers with uplifted hand swore to observe them. A letter from the Mayor of New York to the Mayor of San Francisco was delivered to each contestant. Only the one who reached there first was to deliver his.