"No!" thundered the treasure-seeker, "I will not go! The Silver Palace is there, and I mean to have my share of the treasure. Go if you are afraid, but here I stay till the balloon is inflated, and I can cross the chasm. The wind is right for it, and nothing shall stop me!"
He picketed the horses, and began ripping open the packs.
Frank turned to Professor Scotch, saying, quietly:
"Bushnell will not go, and I shall stay with him. At the same time, I advise you to go. Take Hans with you, and get away from here. Leave a plain trail, and Bushnell will be able to follow it, if we succeed in reaching the palace and returning alive."
The professor entreated Frank to change his mind, but the lad was determined, and nothing could alter that determination.
At last Scotch gave up in despair, groaning:
"If you stay, I stay. I am your guardian, but you seem to have things all your own way. If this volcano cooks us all, you will be to blame for it."
Frank said no word, but went about the task of assisting Bushnell in the work of inflating the balloon.
The Westerner had a "gas generator," which he was getting in order. As soon as this was ready, the balloon was unrolled, spread out, drawn up by means of poles and lines, and then secured to the ground by one stout rope, which was hitched about the base of a great bowlder.
Then Bushnell built a fire and set the "gas generator" at work.