is race--which I would have liked to back
out of, but couldn't and save my honor--this chap showed me some
blue-prints of a novel kind of airplane which he claimed to have
co-devised with a flyer friend who, he said, was helping to make you a
machine of the same type for this contest. He--"

"What is this young man's name?" inquired John Ross excitedly.

"Peter Deveaux."

"Peter Deveaux!" exclaimed John and Paul at once. And John added: "Mr.
Wrenn, that fellow did not refuse to fly in the Air Mail service; he
_did_ fly, and was dishonorably discharged for drunkenness.
Furthermore, he stole those plans from our hangar!"

The publisher of the _Clarion_ opened his eyes wide. "Can you prove
those assertions?" he inquired. "That last one is a serious charge,
sir."

"Nevertheless we can prove it when we get back to New York," declared
John warmly.

"Well," said Mr. Wrenn, "I'll finish my story, and then we can talk
over this new development more understandingly. As I said, Deveaux
claimed to have a half-right in the plans, and having no reason to
doubt it, I told him to proceed, when he proposed to make an airplane
for us from the designs and to head a crew for the _Clarion_ in this
race around the world. Now you will understand my position in the
matter."

"Wrenn," spoke up Mr. Giddings with quick frankness, "I beg your
pardon. The young men here and myself fancied you must have had a
guilty part in the production of this fac-simile of our airplane. We
now see who is really to blame."

"I do not blame you for your suspicions," was the candid reply of the
fat man, "if things are as you state; and I will do you the honor,
Giddings, to say that, although we are business rivals, your word is as
good as gold with me. This is a lamentable situation. What shall we
do about it?"

Mr. Giddings studied deeply before making answer. Then he observed:
"Wrenn, this contest, as you know, has been too widely advertised to
wreck it just as it is about to begin by the arrest of this man, Peter
Deveaux. Say nothing to him about it; in fact, we will none of us
mention a word of this to anybody; but when the race is over you can
quietly dismiss him from your service, if you wish. As I now look at
it, no great harm has been done, if any, by his duplicity; with two
planes practically alike, the race will really be a fairer one, and a
more exciting one for the public who read our newspapers, and supremacy
will probably go