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At a good round pace, where open going per boldly across country in the probable direction of the lost aeroplane

Soh setting out upon the Great Sunken Sea in fishing boats But one common purpose and ambition thrilled them all

A ht long, and long hesitated, before thus plunging into a desolated and unknown territory on such a hunt

For, to speak truth, the finding of the needle in the haystack would have been as easy as any hope of ever locating the machine in all those thousands of square reat need of the colony made the expedition imperative; his supre of things, back there in the tower overlooking Madison Forest, he had never even ad Defeat lay wholly outside his sches That it could ever be his portion siressed he carefully reviewed everything in his mind Plans and equipment seemed perfectly adequate In addition to the impedimenta already e for transporting the encies had been judiciously added to the men's burdens

Each, in addition, carried a s over his shoulder Allan counted on strea plentiful; but he meant to look out even for the unexpected, too

He had wisely takentramp In spite of all their opposition he had oat's leather Hitherto they had gone barefooted at Settleer perhed not less than one hundred pounds, including tools and all No weaklings, like the aff e fellows, h it had been a

Allan himself bore an equal burden In addition to arms and provisions he carried a powerful binocular, the spoil of a wrecked optician's shop in Cincinnati

Underfoot, as the colu line, loose dust and wood-ashes rose in clouds The air grew thick and irritating to the lungs

Now and then they had to make a detour round a charred and fallen trunk, or cut their way and clah a calcined barricade of twisted limbs and branches Not infrequently they saw burned bones of animals or of Anthropoids