These facts the professor and his young associates discovered as soon
as Dr. Todd's instructions arrived. They made their plans accordingly.

By telegraph the professor ordered a trainload of supplies to be started
at once from Fort Yukon. First, these supplies would go by boat down
the Yukon Flats and up the Chandler River, past Chandler and Caro,
beyond which latter town there was a good road over a small range of
hills to Coldfoot. This trail was open at all seasons and there was
a regular system of transportation into Coldfoot.

From that town dogs and men would be hired to take the supplies on to
Aleukan. These arrangements were made through an express company, and
in three days the professor received word that the supplies were already
aboard a small steam vessel which had left the Fort Yukon dock for the
trip to Caro.

The trip by boat and overland for the supply train would consume about
a week or two, providing nothing untoward happened to delay it. And
the season was favorable to a quick journey.

But the professor and his young comrades figured that the _Snowbird_,
following the shortest air-line to the far side of the Endicott Range,
could make the trip in much shorter time. The distance "as the crow
flies" was from 3,700 to 3,800 miles from their point of departure.
Under favorable conditions the great flying machine should travel ninety
miles an hour on the average. Unless there was a breakdown, or they ran
into a heavy storm, which would necessitate their descending to the
earth, they could count upon the _Snowbird_ being in the vicinity of
Aleukan within three or four days' time at the longest.