e Tom's, who throttled down his
powerful motor so as not to pass his friend.

"Races? I hadn't heard of them," he replied.

"Oh, indeed there are to be fine ones under the auspices of the Lanton
Motor Club. Mr. Hastings, of whom you bought that boat, is going to
enter his new CARLOPA, and Dick has entered the DOT, in the baby class
of course. But I'm going to run it, and that's why I'm practicing."

"I hope you win," remarked Tom. "I hadn't heard of the races, but I
think I'll enter. I'm glad you told me. Do you want to race now?" and
he laughed as he looked into the brown eyes of Mary Nestor.

"No, indeed, unless you give me a start of several miles."

They kept together for some little time longer, and then, as Tom knew
his father would be restless at the slow speed, he told Miss Nestor the
need of haste, and, advancing his timer, he soon left the DOT behind.
The girl called a laughing good-by and urged him not to forget the
races, which were to take place in about two weeks.

"I suppose Andy Foger will enter his boat," commented Ned.

"Naturally," agreed Tom. "It's a racer, and he'll probably think it
can beat anything on the lake. But if he doesn't manage his motor
differently, it won't."

The distance from Sandport to Shopton had been more than half covered
at noon, when the travelers ate a lunch in the boat. Mr. Swift was
looking anxiously ahead to catch the first glimpse of his dock and Tom
was adjusting the machinery as finely as he dared to get out of it the
maximum speed.

Ned Newton, who happened to be gazing aloft, wondering at the perfect
beauty of the blue sky after the storm, uttered a sudden exclamation.
Then he arose and pointed at some object in the air.

"Look!" he cried, "A balloon! It must have gone up from some fair."

Tom and his father looked upward. High in the air, almost over their
heads, was an immense balloon. It was of the hot-air variety, such as
performers use in which to make ascensions from fair grounds and
circuses, and below it dangled a trapeze, upon which could be observed
a man, only he looked more like a doll than a human being.

"I shouldn't like to be as high as that," remarked Ned.

"I would," answered Tom as he slowed down the engine the better to
watch the balloon. "I'd like to go up in an airship, and I intend to
some day."

"I believe he's going to jump!" suddenly exclaimed Ned after a few
minutes. "He's going to do something, anyhow."

"Prob