As usual he had what he considered a good excuse for his arriving second; but few persons ever knew how Puss and his helper Sandy had tried to injure Frank’s airship when it was directly beneath them, by deliberately dropping a sand bag, taken along, singularly enough, as “ballast,” but with this very idea in view.

“Seems to me you’ve gotten the big head ever since you happened to drop on that rocky plateau on top of the mountain just three little seconds ahead of me, Frank Bird!” he said, with a steely glitter in his eyes that those who knew him best understood to mean coming trouble.

“Oh!  I hope not, Puss,” replied the other, with a smile.  “I give you my word my hat fits me just as comfortably as ever.  It was a close race, and the one who got there first hadn’t much to crow about, for a fact.  We happened to be lucky not to have any trouble with our new little Kinkaid engine, that was all.”

“Huh!” grunted his cousin Andy, shaking his head, and scowling at Puss in turn.  “But we had plenty of other sorts of trouble, all the same, sand bags full of it, in fact.  They just rained down on us; but then Frank knows how to check up his engine suddenly, and the storm passed by without any hurt!”

Some of the fellows, who happened to know what this sly reference on the part of the hotheaded Andy meant, began to chuckle.  Of course such a thing would only serve to make Puss more angry.  He chose to believe that they were all only trying to bait him.

Frank in particular came in for his dark looks.  And Larry, who had once run in the same company as Puss, so that he knew his whims better than many others, took occasion to give Frank Bird a sly nudge in the side, as he whispered: 

“Look out for him, Frank; he’s getting near the danger point, sure!”

But Frank did not have to be warned.  He had grown tired of warding off this ever threatening danger of a broil with Puss Carberry.  Like his cousin Andy, the other had no father; and his wealthy mother had long since given up in despair the idea of controlling the headstrong lad.  So that Puss had his way, whenever he wanted to do anything out of the ordinary.

Because Mrs. Carberry was one of his father’s patients, and Dr. Bird esteemed her very highly, Frank had postponed the reckoning just as long as he could endure the insults of the bully.  But he believed the last ditch had been reached, and was determined to no longer raise a hand to avert the threatening storm.

Puss had turned when Andy spoke, to flash a look in his direction.  But it had no effect upon the other, who could be as reckless at times as the next one.  Indeed, Frank often had to curb the impatience and daring of his chum.

“Oh! that’s what sticks in your craw, does it, Andy Bird?” demanded Puss.  “Just because Sandy happened to drop that ballast, thinking we might make better time if we lightened ship, you choose to make all sorts of nasty insinuations about us wanting to knock you out!  Shows where your mind is.  Another fellow wouldn’t ever let such a fool notion get a grip on him.  And you’d better put a reef in that tongue of yours, my boy, unless you want to have it get you into trouble.”