He turned on his heel, stuck his cigar at a more acute angle in the side of his mouth, and strode off, leaving the two boys dumfounded.

"Well, what do you make of that?" demanded Roy, as soon as his astonishment had subsided a trifle.

"Just this, that Mr. Lish Kelly thinks he can run this thing to suit himself."

"What will we do about it?"

"For my part I wanted to compete before. I desire to more than ever now."

"Same here."

"Maybe he was only bluffing after all."

"Maybe; but just the same I wouldn't trust him not to try to do us some harm. As he says, his main profits come from winning the prizes offered by the different communities."

"Humph! well, so far as that goes, I don't see why that need keep us out of it."

"Nor I; but we've had troubles enough, and I don't want willingly to run into any more."

"Nor I. Well, let's sleep on it. We'll decide in the morning."

"That's a good idea."

The two lads went up to bed and slept as only healthy lads can. The next morning dawned bright and clear. There was hardly any wind. It was real "flying" weather. The aeroplanes had been sheltered in a big shed belonging to the hotel. Before breakfast the boys went out and looked them over. All were in good shape.

As they were coming out of the shed they were hailed by no less a personage than Mayor Hanks.

"Well," said he, "are you going to fly?"

"We think of doing so," said Roy, hesitating a little. He wanted to speak of the conduct of Lish Kelly, but on second thought he decided not to; the man might merely have had a fit of bad temper on him. His threats might have been only empty ones.

"If you're going to fly I have got some entry blanks with me," said the mayor. "I wish you'd sign 'em."

He drew out a bunch of blue papers with blanks for describing the name of the machine, its power, driver and other details.

This decided the boys.

"All right, we'll enter all our machines," said Roy; "let us go into the writing room and we'll sign the entry blanks."

"Good for you," cried the mayor delightedly; "you'll be a big drawing card, especially the young ladies. I never heard of gals flyin', although, come to think of it, why shouldn't they?"

In the writing room they concluded the business. When it was done all the machines had been entered in every contest, including an alt.i.tude one.

"We start at ten sharp, so be there," admonished the mayor as he departed, highly pleased at having secured quite a flock of young aviators at no cost at all.

It was as his figure vanished, that Lish Kelly crossed the writing room.

He had been sitting in a telephone booth, and leaving the door a crack open had heard every word that had pa.s.sed.

He greeted the boys with an angry scowl.

"So you ain't going to stay out?" he said gruffly, as he pa.s.sed. "All right; look out for squalls!"

CHAPTER XVII.

THE TWISTED SPARK PLUG.

"Gracious, are we in for more trouble?"

Jimsy looked blankly at Roy; but the latter only laughed at his chum's serious face.

Somehow, viewed in the bright light of early day, Lish Kelly's threats did not appear nearly as formidable as they had over night.

"Nonsense; what harm can he do us anyhow? We're going to go into this race, and we're going to win too. Just watch us."

"Going to tell the girls anything about Kelly and his remarks?"

"No; what good would that do? It would only scare them."

"That's so, too; but just the same I didn't like the look of Kelly's face when he came through."

"He looked to me like a bulldog that had swallowed a baby's boot and didn't like the taste of the blacking on it," laughed Roy.

At this juncture the girls came into the room. All were radiant and smiling in antic.i.p.ation of the day's sport.

"Well, we've been and gone and done it," announced Roy.

"Done what?" demanded Peggy.

"Signed the paperrr-r-r-s," was the rejoinder, rendered with great dramatic effect.

He waved the duplicate entry blanks above his head.

"Let's see them," begged Jess.

"All right. Look what I've let us in for!"

"Why--why--good gracious, Roy, you've got us down for everything,"

gasped Peggy.

"That's right, all the way across from soup to nuts," struck in the slangy Jimsy.

They all laughed. The color rose in the girls' faces.

"If only we can win some of them," cried Jess.