He set to work on them, and in the meanwhile tried to learn whether or
not Andy had the missing plans. He sought this information by stealth,
and was aided by his chum, Ned Newton. But all to no purpose. Not the
slightest trace or clue was discovered.




Chapter Five

Building the Sky Racer


"What will you do, if, after you have your little monoplane all
constructed, and get ready to race, you find that some one else has one
exactly like it at the meet?" asked Ned Newton one day, when he and Tom
were out in the big workshop, talking things over. "What will you do,
Tom?"

"I don't see that there is anything I can do. I'll go on to the meet, of
course, and trust to some improvements I have since brought out, and to
what I know about aeroplanes, to help me win the race. I'll know, too,
who stole my plans."

"But it will be too late, then."

"Yes, too late, perhaps, to stop them from using the drawings, hot not
too late to punish them for the theft. It's a great mystery, and I'll be
on the anxious seat all the while. But it can't be helped."