"A good start!" shouted Mr. Damon in his car.
Tom nodded, and glanced behind him. On a line with the Humming-Bird, and
at about the same elevation, were the Bleriot monoplane and a Wright
biplane. Below were the Santos-Dumont and the Antoinette.
"Where's the Slugger?" called Tom to his friend.
Mr. Damon motioned upward. There, in the air above Tom's machine, and
slightly in advance, was Andy Foger's craft. He had gotten away in
better shape than had the Humming-Bird.
For a moment Tom's heart misgave him. Then he turned on more power, and
had the satisfaction of mounting upward and shooting onward until he was
on even terms with Andy.
The bully gave one glance over toward his rival, and pulled a lever. The
Slugger increased her speed, but Tom was not a second behind him.
There was a roaring noise in the rear, and up shot De Tromp in the
Farman, and Loi Tong, the little Japanese, in the Santos-Dumont. Truly
the race was going to be a hotly contested one. But the end was far off
yet.
After the first jockeying for a start and position, the race settled
down into what might be termed a "grind.
Pages:
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206