They applied for their application blanks and walked over to a desk to fill them out.  As they were hard at work at this, Jack Curtiss and his two chums entered the office.

“You going into this, too?” asked the proprietor of the paper, Ephraim Parkhurst, as Jack loudly demanded two blanks.

“Sure,” responded Jack confidently, “and we are going to win it, too.  Hullo,” he exclaimed, as his eyes fell on the younger lads, “those kids are after the prize, too.  Why, what would they do with fifty dollars if they had it?  However, there’s not much chance of your winning anything,” he added, coming up close to the boys, with a sneer on his face.  “I think that I’ve got it cinched.”

“I didn’t know that you knew anything about aeroplanes,” responded Paul quietly.  “Have you got a model built yet?”

“I know about a whole lot of things I don’t go blabbing round to everybody about,” responded the elder lad, with a sneer, “and as for having a model built, I’m going to get right to work on one at once.  It’ll be a model of a Bleriot monoplane, and a large one, too.  I notice that there is nothing said in the rules about the size of the machines.”

Soon after this the three chums left the newspaper office together.

“Say,” remarked Paul, in a rather worried tone, “I don’t believe that there is anything said about the size of the models.  Bill may build a great big one and beat us all out.”

“I suppose that the big machines would be handicapped according to their power and speed,” rejoined Frank.  “However, don’t you worry about that.  I don’t believe that Jack Curtiss knows enough about the subject to build an aeroplane in a week, and anyhow, I think it’s all empty bluff on his part.”

“I hope so,” replied Paul, as they reached his front gate.  “Will you be over to-night, Hiram, to talk things over?  Bring your models with you, too, will you?”

“Sure,” replied Hiram; “but I’ve got to do a few things at home after supper.  I’ll be over about eight o’clock or half-past.”

“All right.  I’ll be ready for you,” responded Paul, as the lads said good-by.

A few minutes later Jack Curtiss and his chums emerged from the newspaper office, the former and Bill Bender having made out their applications.  Sam seemed more dejected than ever, but there was a grin of satisfaction on Jack Curtiss’ face.

“Well, we sent the note, all right,” he laughed under his breath, to his two chums.  “He’ll have got it by this time, and will be in town by dark.  You know your part of the program, Sam.  Don’t fail to carry it out, or I’ll see that you get into trouble.”

“There’s no need to worry about me, Jack,” rejoined Sam, with an angry flush.  “I’ll get the boat as soon as he lands, and keep it out of sight till you’ve done the trick.

“Nothing like killing two birds with one stone,” grinned Bill Bender.  “My! what a time there’ll be in the morning, when they find out that there’s been a regular double cross.”