The San Francisco call., 1910-11-13

HOW THE COMET Won THE HIGH FLIERS CONTEST

Comet over the 60 foot rise. She
cleared it by several feet Jims first
attempt missed the crosscord by four
feet His next try was even poorer,
and then he proceeded carefully TO ad-
just every part OF the Silver Flash. The
resulting flight just fouled the cross
cord, and, being allowed a fourth at
tempt under the rules. Jim finally sue
ceeded in just sailing over the cross
cord, 1t was so close, though. that
opinion was equally divided as to
whether the aero really touched the
cord with one OF her planes as she
tipped to one side. Frank said, GIVE
him the benefit of the doubt" and just
then the storm broke. leaving the con-
test draw For one of the big kites
swept away in the wind, thus wrecking
the aerial hurdles
Every body scurried under cover
while the Aero club rushed for its
clubhouse, at the corner of the aero
drome. Jim made things unpleasant
during the short rain by boasting more
loudly than ever Of how he would have
won if the storm hadn't come up.
Frank did not retort, but Jims conduct
started him thinking, and when the
squau had passed by, half an hour
later, and the sun shone again he
turned suddenly to Jim and said:
Now I'm going to give you chance
to prove all your statements right off.
Don't ask me how, but If you're game
you'll come with mei' Jim couldn't
exactly back out in the face Of the
crowd, who jeered him when he tried
to make Frank reveal his mysterious
plan. For the others were as heartily
tired of Jim's boasting as was Frank
So telling Jim to brink his aero, Frank
picked up his own machine and, ac-
companied by the rest. proceeded
straight into PrairieVillei
He marched over to Main street and
down 1t until he reached the business
section. There he stopped before the
two highest buildings in town.
Cant you guess what I'm going to
do?" laughed Frank. The crowd looked
puzzled while Jim protested against
this long tramp for nothing"
1T isn't for nothing that my uncle's
law office is on the sixth floor of the
Belvidere blockr' cried Frank point
ing to that noble example of Main
street architecture, and I guess we
won't find much trouble in getting the
man in the opposite office to let us set
up our hurdle either!' concluded Frank
and then they saw his new scheme for
directly opposite the. Merchants ex-
change reared its imposing front fully
seven stories high
Frank left his escort downstairs
while he briefly explained to his uncle
tleman entered delightedly into the
plan, and even wrote note to the
neighboring tenant in the opposite Of
fee, whom he knew.
Frank had left instructions for the
boys below to be on the watch for him
at his uncles window. He opened it,
tied one end of the ball of twne he
carried to a chair and. leaning out,
shouted to Jim Spencer to catch the
twine. The ball unrolled as it fell and
Frank work on this side of the ''hur-
die" was DONE
He now descended rejoined the boys,
gave them a few instructions and then
presented his note to the other man in
the Merchants exchange opposite, who
good humoredly acceded to Frank S re-
quest.
The street was much too wide to toss
the unraveling twine across it accu-
rately, so Frank leaned out of the win
dow and dropped a second ball OF twine
to the boys below, after first securing
1t to a chair. The end of the first bail
dropped on the other side, was spliced
to the end of the new ball; Frank
pulled it up, hauled the string taut and
the new aerial crossbar." or. rather.
crosscord. stretching horizontally from
widow to window. was ready for busi-
ness. Only one thing now remained to
do-that was to plumb the exact height.
FRANK naO remembered 10 DTlnB the
plumb line and the figures from the
street pavement to the window ledge
showed IA feet
BY this time a crowd had begun to
collect, all of which rather gratified
Franks 'P. L. Barnum" instincts, as he
jeered at Jim:
Now right here is where you either
win the contest or where you swallow
your words after we made 1t draw
this afternoon. Wen toss a penny to
see who flies first-same condition as in
the other trials"
Frank won the toss and elected to let
Jim fly first. Perhaps this extract from
the next mornings Prairieville Clarion
win tell the result best:
Main street was blocked for 10 min
utes yesterday afternoon when the
great high fiiers contest pulled off its
final aVanf"-(Hara fO1lomad