The engine seemed to be on its
best behavior. McClintock, the Scotch engineer, who was the only
foreigner aboard besides the boys, reported that he was beginning to
have more faith in the machinery. The work of the last twenty odd hours
had certainly been a pretty heavy tax on it and everything seemed to be
going like clockwork.
"I only hope it'll keep up, then," said Andy. "One more night is all I
ask. Then Felipe promises to have us at our journey's end, when I can
see and talk to the very man who picked up that wonderful little
parachute, with its message from the unknown valley among the cliffs. I
wish the time was here right now."
"Felipe, by the way, is taking his rest now," said Frank, after a little
time; "for he expects another night on duty. We still meet many tree
trunks sweeping down on the current. The man at the wheel has to keep on
guard constantly. Look at that tremendous one, will you, Andy? And just
notice how dense the forest is ashore around here. How any one can get
around at all beats me. I should think they'd have to keep their
machetes busy all the time cutting the matted vines away."
"I understand they do," the other went on. "And I rather guess that
there's hardly a country under the sun where an aeroplane would be of
more real benefit than right here in the tropics. Think of avoiding all
that tangle--of floating along, a mile a minute if you wanted, far above
the tree tops and away from all such a muss.
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