“well, tom, what do you make it?”
the young inventor and his chum were in the snug cabin of the air monarch which was speeding over the last few hundred miles of the pacific that lay between her and the golden gate. tom was poring over a chart and making some calculations.
“if we reach san francisco by night, and we ought to do it at the rate we’re traveling, we’ll have used up nearly eighteen days of the twenty.”
“that leaves you one day to cross the continent,” remarked ned.
“correct,” agreed tom. “but we’ll have to stop in frisco to take on more gas and oil. after that we’ll have a straight-away run to new york.”
“and victory,” added ned.
“that remains to be seen,” replied tom.
it was the day after the sensational escape in honolulu from the trumped-up charges of kilborn. the air monarch had got away to a flying start, though what kilborn had done remained a matter of conjecture. doubtless, tricked by tom’s quick action, the red arrow pilot had also completed his repairs and was racing after his most dangerous rival.
“with good luck, no more delays and fair feather, we’ll just about do it,” tom said, putting away the maps and calculating tables and instruments as they neared san francisco. they had arranged for a landing field there—the same field that tom used for his airline express, though he did not now consider using that machine, since the air monarch was doing so well.
it was evening when the great craft, going fast, passed the golden gate amid a salvo of whistles from all sorts of craft in the harbor, for scouting aeroplanes had discovered tom’s approach and heralded it. out to the landing field without mishap the air monarch soared, and there willing hands assisted in making a few slight repairs and in filling the gas and oil tanks.
“we’d like to have you address our chamber of commerce,” said the president of it to tom, as that young man was nervously walking about his craft. “we have our annual meeting this evening and——”
“sorry,” cut in tom, with a smile. “but i’m going to hop off at once. i have only about a day left of my allowance, and there’s too much at stake to take any time here. if i win this race i may fly back and give you a talk.”
“i wish you would,” said the president.
at last everything was in readiness, and while police were clearing the field that tom might have a runway to get a start for taking the air, there echoed above the air monarch a throbbing and beating in the night. it was a sound the nature of which tom and ned knew only too well.
“there goes the red arrow!” cried tom, recognizing the peculiar throb of his rival’s propellers. “he’s ahead of us!”
in vain ned sought to pierce the blackness above for a sight of the other machine. he could see a dim blur of light, and that was all.
“cast off! let’s start!” cried tom, and a moment later, amid shouts of farewell and cries of good luck, the air monarch started on the last lap of the twenty-five-thousand-mile journey around the earth.
“think we can make it, tom?” asked ned.
“we’re going to try,” was the answer.
but as tom, during the night that followed—the last night of their flight—looked at the barometer, he shook his head a bit dubiously.
“i’m afraid we’re going to run into a storm when we hit the middle west,” he said.
that is just what happened. through the night the air monarch soared on, crossing the rockies and heading for the east. when dawn broke the occupants of the craft found themselves navigating in the midst of a swirling storm of wind, rain, and, at times, beating hail.
“some storm!” cried ned, as the fierce wind careened the aircraft. “will it hold us back, tom?”
“it’s bound to, somewhat, but it isn’t as bad as the typhoon or the hurricane.”
there was an anxious look on the young inventor’s face, however, and ned guessed that it was caused as much by the thought that kilborn in the red arrow was ahead of him as it was by the storm. the air monarch might beat the storm, but could she beat the rival plane?
on and on raced tom’s craft, until at last she was clear of the storm which had done its best, but in vain, to hold her back or cripple her.
“pittsburgh!” shouted ned, who was marking off the principal cities as they flew over them.
“four hundred miles more to new york and victory!” echoed tom.
it was shortly after noon. a hasty meal had been served. in about two hours more, if all went well, the race would be over. the twenty days were not quite up. tom swift still had a chance to win the twenty thousand dollars for mr. swift. would he also win the prize money?
suddenly, through the mist in front, ned caught sight of another plane, traveling in the same direction as the air monarch.
“look, tom!” the financial manager cried.
tom leveled a glass at the other craft.
“it’s the red arrow!” he yelled. “and she’s limping. we’ve got a chance to beat her! turn on the super-gas. we’ve got just about enough to finish the race!”
in an instant the powerful new gas tom had evolved was turned on, and at once the improvement in the pace of the air monarch was noted. tom had been saving his precious fuel for just such an emergency as this. he gave the red arrow a wide berth in passing her, lest perhaps kilborn, in his rage at seeing himself about to be beaten, might try to ram tom’s craft. then the mist closed in again and it is probable that those on the red arrow did not know the air monarch was passing, unless they heard the throb of her propellers.
on and on rushed tom swift and his friends. one hour passed. in less than sixty minutes they would be in the neighborhood of new york city and could glide out to the long island landing field.
“if this mist would only let up!” complained tom. “we may over run the field in the fog!”
passing pittsburgh and other cities, messages had been dropped, to tell the committee in charge of the race the air monarch’s progress and let them know the approximate time she would arrive. he also hoped his father, and perhaps mary, would be on the field to greet him.
suddenly the mist cleared away and ned, looking down, saw the tall and jagged skyline of new york’s big buildings.
“we’ve arrived, tom!” he yelled.
“not quite yet! a few minutes more!”
tom steered with a clear vision now, out toward long island. the airship had been sighted, and a din of whistled greetings arose from the harbor.
“stand by to land!” cried tom a little later, as he glimpsed the field he had left nearly three weeks before. a big crowd was with difficulty kept out of the danger zone.
“and the red arrow isn’t in sight!” exulted ned.
down to the ground floated the air monarch. her wheels ran over the sod and she came to a stop within a few feet of where she had taken off. cries and cheers greeted the returning voyagers.
“tom! tom!” yelled mr. damon, rushing out of the crowd as tom, ned and the others stepped from the plane. “you win! bless my alarm clock, but you win!”
“what was our time?” asked tom, as he greeted the eccentric man and then noticed mary coming toward him with her father and mr. swift.
“nineteen days, eleven hours, fifteen minutes, eleven seconds,” was the answer of the official timekeeper. “i congratulate you, mr. swift. you have won the hundred thousand dollar prize!”
“and your father wins his bets!” echoed mr. trace who, with mr. burch, had arrived in time to see the landing. “i didn’t believe it was possible to circle the globe in less than twenty days.”
“we had several narrow squeaks!” admitted tom, as he paused to allow the news reel men to make moving pictures of him.
“oh, tom, i’m so glad you’re back!” murmured mary. “and i guess helen is glad to see ned, too,” she added, as tom noticed his chum being greeted by another pretty damsel.
“has anything been heard of any of the other contestants?” asked tom when his time had been officially set down. “how about the red arrow?”
“hasn’t been heard from,” some one said. “and most of the others gave up soon after starting.”
just then a reporter came bursting into the crowd.
“the red arrow just crashed in new york harbor!” he cried. “she’s a wreck!”
“too bad!” murmured tom. “we didn’t get here any too soon,” he added to ned. “whew, but i’m tired!” and well he might be, for the last part of the trip had been a terrible strain.
the air monarch was wheeled into a hangar and left in charge of the three mechanics while tom and his friends, after a reception in new york, made ready to go back to shopton.
meanwhile further news came of the wrecking of the red arrow. her motors, worn by excessive strain, had collapsed just when kilborn might have given tom a close finish, and the machine, a complete wreck, fell into the water. some of her crew were seriously hurt, and it was thought her pilot would die.
under this impression kilborn made a complete confession, admitting that he had set hussy and another man on not only to steal tom’s secret if possible, and, failing in that, to try to cripple tom and disable the air monarch.
but all their evil plans came to naught. tom did not press his charges, and hussy was released, but his employer, kilborn, was discredited in the eyes of every one and tom, acclaimed a hero and a sport on all sides, received the hundred thousand dollars.
one of the first things he bought with the prize money was a fine diamond pin for mary.
“just a souvenir!” tom explained.
“some souvenir!” murmured ned. but then he did not need to be envious, for he was given a large share of the prize money by tom, and was able to get a souvenir for helen.
peltok, hartman and brinkley were also well rewarded for their part in helping win the great race.
“and i won a bit myself,” admitted mr. damon, when matters were being talked over. “but bless my phonograph,” he said, “don’t tell my wife. she doesn’t believe in making wagers. only i’m glad you won, tom!”
“i’m a bit glad myself,” laughed the young inventor.
