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,