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“Brilliant,” he said, and goosed the throttle with his foot

The burners responded with a throaty whisper, and after a pause the aircraft began to rise As they ascended, the heat of the sun was beginning to burn off the reen Reddish flowers grew in patches on the treetops like coral reefs

At three thousand feet Ga over there”

Paul started the power plant and turned the steering wheel that controlled the cables running to the rudder until the airship ca quietly, the airship gained speed slowly as it overca the at ten miles per hour Ga the

“Incredible,” she said as the mists cleared

“What do you see?”

Gamay was silent for a second “The Hand of God,” she said with quiet awe

Paul hesitated He hadn’t slept much and was slow on the uptake “The Great Falls the Dutchman talked about?”

Ganificent”

Paul tried to increase their speed He sensed so peculiar about the controls The airship seeular object dangling froondola

“Hello,” he said “We’ve got company”

Gaaze “It looks vaguely like a life raft Made out of rubber tubing and mesh in the middle They probably used it to drop people and supplies off on the tree canopy”

“Sounds like a reasonable explanation We’ll have to be careful it doesn’t catch in the treetops” He lifted his head to check on their course What he saw sent chills up his spine

They were approaching a high headland that rose froiant step A river coursed from the forest toward the precipice of the plateau where rocky forht sparkling off the white water the streaers of a diamond merchant The falls had the deceptive slow-ht A thick cloud of foglike condensation rose froallons of water cascading into a lake directly below the steep-sided bluff

Paul said, “Those fallsbrook”