e biplane with its boy driver, the
scarlet and silver machine of Jimsy Bancroft and the delicate green and
gold color schemes of the other two flying machines.

"The first stop will be Palenville," announced Roy, "the biplane will be
the pathfinder."

Despite the earliness of the hour and the efforts that had been made to
keep the motor flight a secret, the information of the novel experiment
had, in some way, leaked out. Quite a small crowd gave a loud cheer as
Roy cried:

"Go!"

"We're off!" cried Peggy, athrill with excitement.

Propellers flashed in the sunlight and the next instant the biplane,
after a short run, soared aloft toward a sky of cloudless, clean-swept
blue. In rapid succession the _Dart, Golden Butterfly_ and _Red Dragon_
followed.

"Come on," cried Bess to Jimsy, waving her hand challengingly.

"Ladies first, even off the earth," came back from Jimsy gallantly,
as he skillfully "banked" his machine in an upward spiral.

Then upward and outward soared the gayly colored sky racers, like a
flock of wonderful birds. It was the greatest sight that the crowd left
behind and below had ever witnessed, although one or two shook their
heads and prophesied dire results from young ladies tampering with
them blamed "sky buggies."

But not a thought of this entered the heads of the aerial adventurers.
With sparkling eyes, and bounding pulses they flew steadily southward,
from time to time glancing below at the touring car. Even though they
were flying slowly it was plain that the big auto had hard work to keep
up with them. The unique motor flight was on, and was about to develop
experiences of which none of them at the moment dreamed.

CHAPTER III.

LITTLE WREN AND THE GIPSIES.

They flew on, keeping the motor car beneath them in constant sight till
about noon. Then, from the tonneau of the machine, came the waving of a
red square of silk. This had been agreed upon as a signal to halt for a
brief lunch.

Shouting joyously, the young adventurers of the air began circling their
machines about, dropping closer earthward with every sweep. Beneath them
was a green meadow, bordered on one side by a country road and on the
other by a small brook of clear water and a patch of dark woods. It was
an ideal place to halt for a roadside lunch, and as one after the other
the machines dropped to earth Miss Prescott was warmly congratulated on
her choice of a halting place.

The car was left in the road