he pulled over the lever of the
deflecting rudder. "Say when, Dick."

"Oh, keep her up about two thousand feet. We don't want to interfere
with any of their evolutions."

But the advent of the Abaris seemed welcomed by the other airships that
were taking part in the evolutions below. Two of them, which had been
flying high, at once pointed their noses upward, and raced forward to
get in line with Dick's craft.

"They're going to race us!" Paul shouted.

"Come on, Dick, now's your chance!"

"Shall I?" the young millionaire asked of Mr. Vardon.

"Yes, go ahead. Let's see what we can do to them. Though they are
probably much swifter than we are."

"Take the wheel, Dick!" cried Innis. "I want to see you beat 'em."

The implied challenge was at once accepted, and in another moment the
impromptu race was under way.

CHAPTER XXIV

GRIT'S GRIP

Two large biplanes were in the race with Dick Hamilton's airship. They
were of the latest type, as could be noted by the young millionaire,
and were swift craft. They had come up from behind, on a long, upward
slant, and were now about in line with each other, and on a par with
the Abaris, though considerably below her.

"Say, look at that crowd of people!" exclaimed Paul, as he stood at the
side of Dick who was at the wheel. The cadet was ready to lend any
assistance that might be needed in working the airship.

"Yes, there is quite a bunch," observed Dick, as he opened the gasolene
throttle a little wider, and took a quick glance down through the
celluloid bull's-eye in the floor of the cabin. "It's a big meet."

They were flying over a big aviation park, that Mr. Vardon at once
recognized as one in which he had given several exhibitions.

"This is quite a meet, all right," the aviator remarked as he noted at
least ten machines in the air at one time. There were mono and
biplanes, but only two of the latter were near enough to Dick's machine
to engage in the impromptu race with it.

"How are we coming on?" asked Paul.

"Holding our own," answered the young millionaire. "I haven't started
to speed yet. I'm waiting to see what those fellows are going to do."

The latter, however, were evidently also hanging back trying to "get a
line" on the performance of the big craft. The pilots of the lower
biplanes could, very likely, tell by the size of the Abaris that she
was no ordinary airship, and, in all probability, they had read of her,
and of the try