“You had better come with me, Hiram,” said the young aviator; “I shall need you. If you will keep track of things around the hangar, Elmer, it will help out.”
Dave waved his hand to the manufacturer and his son, and told Hiram to jump into the seat beside him. They made a quick spin for the office of the manager. The young airman came out with several telegrams in his hand. He read these over carefully while his companion was cranking the machine. Then he thrust them into his pocket and took charge of the wheel.
“Say,” began Hiram, as they left the aero grounds and started down a lonely country road; “tell me are you going on a hunt for the _Comet_?”
“Yes,” replied the young airman. “I don’t know that there is much chance of running down the people who stole the biplane, but they can’t sail far without being reported.”
“What is their object in stealing it, anyhow?” asked Hiram.
“If you want my honest opinion, I think they are trying to keep us out of the race,” replied Dave.
“Oh!” exclaimed his companion, “then you think it’s professionals who are at the bottom of this mischief?”
“It was certainly an expert airman who piloted the _Comet_ away so snugly,” declared Dave. “I believe, though, that he was hired by others.”
“Why, Dave, what do you mean?” inquired the puzzled Hiram.
“I can’t explain everything to you just now,” replied Dave. “I am not trying to throw any air of mystery about this strange disappearance of the _Comet_, but you remember telling me about seeing that schemer, Vernon, come out of the Hampton Flats in the city?”
“Why, yes,” assented Hiram, with a start of enlightenment.
“Well, I have reason to believe that he is mixed up with this affair.”
“You don’t say so! Bound to bother the Bracketts to the last limit, is he?”
“No, I believe his motives lead in an entirely different direction this time,” replied Dave, but he would say no more on the topic just then. He resumed: “Of course, we must find the _Comet_ by this time to-morrow, or start in the race with another machine.”
“Oh, then we’ll go anyway?” asked Hiram, brightening up. “Say, that’s great!” and he uttered an immense sigh of relief.
“Mr. Brackett has telegraphed for the _Zephyr_, which is at Baltimore,” explained Dave. “It will be on the grounds before night.”