ngine gets
warmed up!" sneered Andy.

"Maybe," said Tom, and then he crouched down to make as little
resistance as possible to the wind. Andy, on the contrary, sat boldly
upright at the auto steering wheel of his boat.

On rushed the two motor craft, their prows exactly even and the
propellers tossing up a bulge in the water at their sterns. Rapidly
acquiring speed after the two lads had adjusted the timers on their
motors, the boats were racing side by side, seemingly on even terms.

The RED STREAK had a very sharp prow, designed to cut through the
water. It was of the type known as an automobile launch. That is, the
engine was located forward, under a sort of hood, which had two hinged
covers like a bat's wings. The steering-wheel shaft went through the
forward bulkhead, slantingly, like the wheel of an auto, and was
arranged with gasoline and sparking levers on the center post in a
similar manner. At the right of the wheel was a reversing lever, by
which the propeller blades could be set at neutral, or arranged so as
to drive the boat backward. Altogether the RED STREAK was a very fine
boat and had cost considerably more than had Tom's, even when the
latter was new. All these things the young owner of the ARROW thought
of as he steered his craft over the course.

"I hardly think I can win," Tom remarked to himself in a whisper. "His
boat is too speedy for this one. I have a chance, though, for his
engine is new, and I don't believe he understands it as well as I do
mine. Then, too, I am sure I have a better ignition system."

But if Tom had any immediate hopes of defeating Andy, they were doomed
to disappointment, for about two minutes after the race started the RED
STREAK forged slowly ahead.

"Come on!" cried the red-haired lad. "I thought you wanted a race."

"I do," answered the young inventor. "We're a long way from the dock
yet, and we've got to come back."

"You'll be out of it by the time I get to the dock," declared Andy.

Indeed it began to look so, for the auto boat was now a full length
ahead of Tom's craft and there was open water between them. But our
hero knew a thing or two about racing, though he had not long been a
motor-boat owner. He adjusted the automatic oiler on the cylinders to
give more lubrication, as he intended to get more speed out of his
engine. Then he opened the gasoline cock a trifle more and set his
timer forward a few notches to get an earlier spark. He was not