"I am honaired to
shake his hand! He has broken all ze records!"
"Dot's der best machine I effer saw," spoke the Dutchman, De Tromp,
ponderously. "Shake hands!"
"Ver' fine, ver' good!" came from the little Japanese, and all the
contestants congratulated Tom warmly. Never before had a hundred miles
been covered so speedily.
A man elbowed his way through the press of people.
"Is your machine fully protected by patents?" he inquired earnestly.
"It is," said Tom.
"Then, as a representative of the United States Government, I would like
an option to purchase the exclusive right to use them," said the man.
"Can you guarantee that no one else has any plans of them? It will mean
a fortune to you."
Tom hesitated. He thought of the stolen plans. If he could only get
possession of them! He glanced at Andy Foger, who was wheeling his
machine hack into the tent. But there was no time now to have it out
with the bully.
"I will see you again," said Tom to the government agent. "I must go to
my father, who is dying.
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