ons of
his motor. "Ze wind is too strong for me!"

Mr. Sharp said nothing, but, with a queer smile on his face he sent the
airship down toward the earth. A moment later he was directly under the
monoplane. Then, quickly rising, he fairly caught the Frenchman's
machine on top of a square platform of the gas container, the bicycle
wheels of the monoplane resting on the flat surface. And, so swiftly
did the Red Cloud fly along that it carried the monoplane with it, to
the chagrin of the French navigator.

"A trick! A trick!" he cried. "Eet is not fair!"

Then, dropping down, Mr. Sharp allowed the monoplane to proceed under
its own power, while he raced on to the finish mark, winning, of
course, by a large margin.

"Ha! A trick! I race you to-morrow and again to-morrow!" cried the
beaten Frenchman as he alighted.

"No, thanks," answered Tom. "We've had enough. I guess charity will be
satisfied."

The little Frenchman was a good loser, and paid over the money, which
was given to the Blakeville Hospital, the institution receiving it
gladly.

At the request of the carnival committee, Mr. Sharp and Tom gave an
exhibition of high and long flights the next day, and created no little
astonishment by their daring feats.

"Well, I think we have reason to be proud of our ship," remarked Mr.
Sharp that night. "We won the first contest we were ever in, and beat
that speedy monoplane, which was no small thing to do, as they are very
fast."

"But wait until we go on our trip," added Tom, as he looked at the cup
they had won. He little realized what danger they were to meet with in
the flight that was before them.

Chapter 9

The Runaway Auto

Had the inventors of the Red Cloud desired, they could have made
considerable money by giving further exhibitions at the Blakeville Aero
Carnival, and at others which were to be held in the near future at
adjoining cities. The fame of the new machine had spread, and there
were many invitations to compete for prizes.

But Tom and Mr. Sharp wished to try their skill in a long flight, and
at the close of the Blakeville exhibition they started for Shopton,
arriving there without mishap, though Tom more than half hoped that
they might happen to strike the tower of a certain school. I needn't
specify where.

The first thing to be done was to complete the fitting-up of the car,
or cabin. No berths had, as yet, been put in, and these were first
installed after the Red Cloud was