CHAPTER IV

"LOOK OUT FOR MY RIVAL!"


"You'll go in an airship of course; won't you, Tom?" asked Mr.
Damon, when they had pulled their chairs up around a library table,
and Mr. Preston had taken some papers from his pocket.

"An airship? No, I don't believe I shall," replied the young
inventor. "In the first place, I'm a bit tired of scooting through
the air so much, though it isn't to be denied that it's the quickest
way of going. But in South America there are so many jungles that it
will be hard to find a level starting ground for a take-off, after
we land. Of course we could go up as a balloon, but this expedition
is going to be different from any we were ever on before."

"How so?" asked Ned.

"Well, in the first place we've got to start at one end of a trail,
and make careful inquiries all along the way. It isn't like when we
went for the city of gold. There we had to look for a certain ruined
temple, which was the landmark. When we went after the platinum in
Siberia we had to look for the place of the high winds, so I could
use my air glider. But now we're trying to locate a man who traveled
on foot through the jungles, and if we went in an airship we might
just miss the connecting link."

"So, I think the best way will be to do just as Mr. Poddington did--